Although the first season of the anime adaptation of Oshi no Ko has already ended, the series is still relevant. Not only because of the announcement of a second season, but also among the English-speaking audience now that the English dub is currently on the air. Given the immense popularity of the series, it was evident that the HIDIVE platform would quickly take care of an English dub. English (while completely forgetting the Latin Spanish language, for a change).
Unfortunately, the fact that Oshi no Ko is extremely popular also brings with it a rather particular problem: the existence of a group of extremist fans. In particular, a great deal of criticism has arisen towards the interpretation of Akane Kurokawa by the voice actress Kristen McGuire , who has had to respond to a wave of negative comments that invade her on social networks.
Recall that, towards the end of the seventh episode, Akane Kurokawa has managed to perfect her performance as Ai Hoshino, the mother of Aqua, her now love interest. To impress him, she does her first performance in front of him, making a huge personality change that is immediately apparent not only in her appearance, but also in her voice.
This change was perfectly depicted in the Japanese, however, it seems that viewers were not satisfied with the way this scene was carried out in the English dub. " I have nothing against the English voice actress, but to play someone like Akane, you really need that coy, whispery voice, even in this scene when she imitates Ai's voice," one user wrote . « It's also a matter of sound mixing. It is awful. The dubbing director is new, and I guess so is the sound editor ," wrote another.
According to some viewers, the English version was too loud and lighthearted, with some stating that the Japanese version, with a more natural performance, was superior. Unfortunately, it seems that some viewers have taken criticism of the voice cast too far, to the point that the cast of the series has been forced to respond. Following the episode's release, Kristen McGuire, Akane's English voice actress, shared a message to these people on her personal Twitter account :
- « The hardest thing about being an anime voice actress is knowing that no matter how much you love a project and how hard you try to get it right, there will always be people who hate it. I appreciate the kindness of the community. I will always do my best in the characters I play ».
Despite criticism of his portrayal, some fans expressed appreciation for McGuire's performance. At the same time, others have condemned those viewers who have expressed themselves in excessively hateful ways. It is ironic that this situation occurred with Akane's voice actress, since in the Oshi no Ko story, Akane's character was also the victim of cyberbullying. It is sad that a certain sector of the viewers of the series seems not to have learned from the events depicted in the anime.
Source: Official Twitter Account
