Why do Anime Dubs Use the "Same 12 Voice Actors?"

CORRECTIONS AT 7:58, 10:08 & 17:07 - At 7:58 we mentioned that a studio might "fly a voice actor in" however Clifford Chapin pointed out on Twitter that this doesn't happen, and if an actor is going to fly interstate to record they will pay for their own ticket. Original response:   / 940095605392654336  

Natalie Hoover further clarified that paid travel may sometimes occur in union dubs however in general it depends on the project. Original response:   / 941390019264176128  

At 10:08, when mentioning that actors can move to the Dallas Fortworth area in the hopes of working with FUNimation the reality is that there may not actually be enough work for them to actually make a living, even by covering expenses with other jobs on the side. Thank you to Caitlin Glass (@caitlinsvoice) for correcting us on this one:   / 940088135047720961  

Also, at 17:07, we had reason to believe that Chris had recorded this cameo at his personal studio but, according to Terry Dotty, he had apparently recorded this scene specifically in California
  / 940365070495834112  

Special thanks to voice actors Marissa Lenti (@LentiSoup) and Michelle Rojas (@litteramyun) for fact-checking this video, as well as Chris Niosi (@Kirbopher) for his Kirblog series that highlights much of the insight used to create this video:    • Voice Acting Kirblogs  

A common complaint people often lobbed at dubs is that they’re lazy in how they select their voice actors despite the fact that there are a multitude of ways people can get cast for projects and a lot of circumstance that informs those decisions most of the time. Before, dubbing companies were far more limited with regards to who they could hire as well as how they could record their shows. And even though the biggest obstacles that stood in their way back then (such as time, location and budget) still influence a lot of decisions made today, there are still opportunities for innovation.

Granted there is far more to this issue than what we had time to cover in this video (which ended up being almost the length of an anime episode anyway). Budget, time and technology are issues, and while some fans may cry for these problems to be nipped in the bud, I think discussing that is well beyond the scope of what we could do here. It’s true that many dubbing studios such as NGP and even some in England seem to have almost entirely turned away from anime (most likely due to their unprofitability), however these comparative monetary issues behind English dubs could potentially involve factors such as client involvement, financial distribution and other information which the public are not privy to. So while many will inevitably say “just give dubs more money”, “give them longer to be produced” or “get the Japanese client to have more hands-on involvement”...we also shouldn’t ignore the possibilities that staff have already been taking advantage of that some fans might not know about. So from the beginning, let's spend some time breaking down the different modes of casting and how the dubbing industry as a whole has changed.

Special Thanks to Chris Niosi and his Vlogs with people working in the industry:
   • My New Favorite Hero Show Academia (f...  

Behind The Scenes Footage:
My New Favourite Hero Show Academia (feat. Cliff Chapin) - Kirblog 4/1/17 (   • My New Favorite Hero Show Academia (f...  )
One Piece - On the Boat with Sonny Strait (   • One Piece - On the Boat with Sonny St...  )
Inside Dragon Ball Z: Interview with Christopher R. Sabat (FUNimation Season 2 BD Release)
Inside Dragon Ball Z: Interview with Sonny Strait (FUNimation Season 5 BD Release)
Only Yesterday: Meet the Voice Cast (Madman Entertainment BD Release)
The Voices of Dragon Ball Z: Unveiled (Dragon Ball Z Battle of Gods Madman Entertainment BD Release)
Fairly Odd Parents: Behind the Scenes Season 10
History of Trunks Breakdown
Dezel’s Final Moments in Tales of Zestiria the X English Dub
Neumann U87 AI Microphone Review

Music Featured:
I Will Become a Hero - Yuuki Hayashi
Moon Base - Kensuke Ushio
Tear Drops to Earth - Edison
Dotabata Chorogon Zu - Masumi Itou
Cavalry Battle - Yuuki Hayashi
A Day of Peco - Kensuke Ushio
High Spirits - Tatsuya Kato
Presage - Taisei Iwasaki
Surf - Yoko Kanno
Tranquil Times - Kenji Yamamoto
Kame House - Kenji Yamamoto
A Circular Reeducation - Tycho
Under the Blue Sky - Norihito Sumitomo
Ichigoichi - Shirou Sagisu
Your Silent Portrait - Kensuke Ushio
You Can Become a Hero - Yuuki Hayashi
Dandy in Love - Shutoku Mukai
Future Boyfriend - Trevor Horn

Narrated & co-written by Eric
Edited & co-written by Abhi
Fact-checking by Marissa Lenti and Michelle Rojas

Follow us all on Twitter:
Eric: @MrAJCosplay
Abhi: @RBKapoor1
Marissa Lenti: @LentiSoup
Michelle Rojas @littleramyun
Chris Niosi @Kirbopher