High & Low (Patreon)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXzcyx9V0xw

Several days ago I had a chance to see the official trailer of Disney/Pixar's Elemental (already in theaters in U.S., not yet here in Japan). With any discussions about its PC orientation or box office performance aside, I noted that the voice of Ember (the protagonist fire character) is set assertively low. Since she is small and has a slim torso, it won't be surprising if she were chirping like a bird, but here she is instead sounding assertively low and husky.

I have noted this difference in voice performance between U.S. (i.e. English) and Japan - and I recall an example in the anime classic Gunslinger Girl (note: the first series, not the second). Japanese actresses for GG pitched their voices pretty high, while the English counterparts act at a fairly low key, sometimes revealing their actual physical build and age. While both versions were acted out very well, in the former the characters felt frail and sometimes helpless, while in the latter they sounded more confident and passively aggressive, occasionally with streaks of concealed rage.

I guess this difference actually goes beyond voice acting and I assume it has cultural/sociological roots - one way to easy demonstrate is to switch your GPS voice navigation modes between different languages. And my mom back in the days used to tease me for the "old lady in my car," since I always kept my mode at American English.

And I never mean to imply which way is good or bad - after all, the important thing, I think, to keep sticking to and demonstrating your true elements. :-)