Birth by Sleep Better VA for Aqua?

Discussion in 'Kingdom Hearts HD II.5 ReMIX' started by Chad Thundercucc, Nov 20, 2013.

  1. Chad Thundercucc The dharma of valvu; the dream of a clatoris

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    The KH series is full of great voice actors, but most of us can agree that Aqua's VA stands out for being lifeless and emotionless. Despite having her voice fit completely with Aqua's appearance, her tone usually wasn't there, and usually was monotone. Who, in your opinion, would've been a better VA for Aqua?

    In my opinion, Emma Stone would've worked.
     
  2. A Zebra Chaser

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    Whoever is doing Korra's voice. Korra sounds suspiciously like Aqua
     
  3. Miles Cull a Duty 2 : Electric Boogaloo

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    I never had anything against her voice. It sounds fine to me.
     
  4. Meilin Lee RPG (Red Panda Girl)

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    I have to disagree. Yes, at first her voice threw me off. But after replaying the game, her voice grew on me, and now I cannot imagine anyone else voicing her. Same thing happened to me with Terra.
     
  5. 61 No. B

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    I disagree with that, but I do agree with her VA being terrible. I think the voice itself works, but as you said she delivers every line incredibly monotone with no emotion, and when there is emotion is feels really forced.
     
  6. Explode Who?!

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    Honestly, Willa Holland's one of my favorite voice actors in the series. I was a bit put off when the first trailer came out, but as soon as I started the game I was totally on board with her. No doubt she's not as seasoned as a lot of the other VA's, so some lines fall a little flat, but there's something very genuine and unique about her voice. I couldn't disagree more with people reading into it her acting as monotone. Toned down, for sure, but not emotionless. Aqua's personality calls for a little more subtlety than say, Sora or Ven. While she's an overall outgoing character, she doesn't always say exactly what's on her mind, and though she doesn't emote a whole lot, there's a lot of weight behind her words. I think Holland strikes that balance perfectly.

    As I mentioned before, her voice is a little eccentric, which in my opinion makes it more memorable. A more generic-sounding voice actor with better vocal control would have made her a less interesting character. She's become my favorite Kingdom Hearts protagonist, and her voice is a good part of the reason.

    So no, I wouldn't want them to switch her out for someone else.
     
  7. Jin うごかないで

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    In my opinion the only voice actor who ever needed someone better would have had to have been Vexen, but maybe his voice was always supposed to be annoying other than that; I felt Aqua's voice was always so timid rather than upfront but maybe that's me, I did feel as if the Voice suited her for the most part I only felt that when it came to the serious moments within game her voice didn't emphasise the seriousness of it. It's hard to explain for me though but I hope you get the gist of it.
     
  8. Vagineer Hollow Bastion Committee

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    Aqua's voice actor is just fine. Terra and Marluxia's are terrible in my opinion though, both of their VAs either need more practice or need to be replaced.
     
  9. Ars Nova Just a ghost.

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    Do they have to replace her? Couldn't she just give a better performance next time? Girl's gotta train her actin' chops.
     
  10. DanceWaterDance Twilight Town Denizen

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    Vexen's voice is one of the best in my opinion. It really fits the character, arrogant and annoying
     
  11. 61 No. B

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    This. Like I said, the voice itself is fine, the problem is that there is little emotion in her delivery. If she did better with that I wouldnt have a problem.
     
  12. Misty gimme kiss

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    I agree, I thought Willa Holland's voice itself was great for Aqua, but the delivery was terrible. As far as I know this is her first time voice acting (though please correct me if I'm wrong), so it may just be an adjustment, particularly if she's used to traditional acting where you can interact with and feed off of your costars. That said, I think BBS in general has pretty sorry voice acting, particularly Terra, but even Jesse McCartney, who is usually great, didn't sound quite right. I'm just as willing to blame the actors as the directors. If the actor isn't familiar with the plot of the game & series, or the tone of the scene, they may not know how to deliver the lines. It's the director's job to address that and to keep them going if it didn't sound right (or voice coach? idk).

    Does anyone know if KH lines are typically recorded in groups (all the actors together) or all the actor's lines at once? Or if BBS had particularly rushed acting?
     
  13. Antidote Façade

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    I can agree with the flaws pointed out regarding Willa's performance. It's the tonal delivery of the lines that need work. While I did like her, I wish she just had more "oomph", particularly at the end of the game when coming across as aggressive.

    That being said, I'm willing to give her some leeway since it was her first time. It seems to be either hit or miss with newbie voice actors. Some take right to it and are great, others...not so much.

    Uh, I think it depends, really. I remember Jesse sharing images on Twitter of just himself alone recording lines. I think more of the "bigger" characters would get single sessions. I would imagine that all the Disney cameos would be in groups due to the sheer amount of them.
     
  14. Misty gimme kiss

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    I'm curious because I know Willa Holland has experience in acting with others (wasn't she on Gossip Girl?). Going from a situation where you can, like I said in my first post, play off the other people in the scene to a room with just you and a mic has to be a big adjustment. But then, I haven't seen her in anything, so she may just be a poor actress. I don't think that's the case, though.
     
  15. Antidote Façade

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    Oh, she is a good actress, no doubt. I liked her in Gossip Girl and I'm liking her as Thea in Arrow currently.

    I get what you mean, though. She's more suited towards acting on-screen with others, where you can use expression, body language, etc - that's her forte. With video games, it's just your voice.

    Hopefully the next time we see her as Aqua she's got more of a feel for voice acting and is able to bring more into her performance.
     
  16. Glen Returned from the dead

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    Personally I've never played Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, but I've seen all the cutscenes and I actually really like Aqua. There are some instances where it seemed kind of bland, I'll agree on that, but for the most part I liked the sound and gentleness of her voice. I hope to see her in any future games that involve Aqua.
     
  17. A Zebra Chaser

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    The issue honestly isn't her ability to act, but her inability to act convicted when delivering KH's corny bs. Which isn't a knock at her, it takes a lot of talent and a certain kind of person to actually deliver lines like "Who will I eat ice cream with" with any level of conviction.
    If you look at the less terrible moments of BBS' writing it's clear she CAN act. When she sounds pissed she sounds legit, but she just can't really invest in her cheesy friendship speeches and stuff
     
  18. Railos Hollow Bastion Committee

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    I didn't see anything wrong with her voice. It seemed to fit her well enough. Though I do agree that it seemed a bit off when the scene called for something a bit more comical, but I think that added a bit of maturity or the adult-ish sort of feeling to the character. Maybe, with enough practice or some lessons from other people, it'd be perfect.
     
  19. CloudStrife2k9 Twilight Town Denizen

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    Willa Holland must stay.

    We need more of her.

    For science.