Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Hetalia's Russia Revealed: Jerry Jewell.

Click here for the vid and short article.

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Richard J. here to talk about Russia's VA, Jerry Jewell and how I feel about him and his character.

Let me begin by reminding everyone that I have seen very little of Hetalia: Axis Powers but I'm increasingly of the opinion that it is crazy fun.

Basically, I love the accent. It's just so. . . osmotic Russian. It reminds me of the old Cold War era movies, the accent helping to emphasize the slightly crazy communist evil. This take on Russia, at least from that clip, seems to be going for the quietly Yandere madness of a barely restrained madman.

I love it. Russia has a bit of a history of conquest as well as generally unpleasant events happening to its people. Add in the brutal Russian winter and you can really understand why the personification of Russia might be just a tad dark inside.

Now for his VA, I dig Jerry Jewell. He's great and I feel a bit of Barry The Chopper in this clip. At the same time, I think his overall performance might be more like Tony in Blue Gender. At first your like "oh, he seems nice" and then the sanity leaves and the vicious madness descends. Delicious.
Jerry Jewell's a great choice if you ask me, which you probably didn't.

Jerry Jewell's talent isn't used enough if you ask me. He's got the ability to play crazy in a truly breathtaking manner and yet he can also produce a nice voice and feel to a character that makes you feel like you know someone just like him. Rarely has he gotten a chance to show off that range in one character. Picking him for Russia is inspired casting.

What I most like though is the sheer guts with taking the plunge and going for the accents. In our currrent polically correct environment, it's refreshing to see a company say "screw the whiners, we're making it awesome." I imagine America's VA will be a bit silly no matter what though.

Anyway, the accents aren't poorly applied in this scene, suggesting they'll be the sort of "people will get what this accent is but they won't laugh because it sounds silly" sort of accents. That scene sounded just fine to my ear and I found the transition to creepy very smooth. (Admittedly, I've never been to Russia but France sounded less accent-heavy than some French I've met.)

I personally think this is a great first listen and a perfect VA choice!

What do you think? Accents working for you? Do you want to invade France? Join Russia for a few glasses of water? Let me know what you think!

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So creepy and yet so bishonen.

Bye-ni!

8 comments:

  1. Ha! I told you their accents kick ass! I wish they would upload that 5min clip they showed us at AX. Amazing!

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  2. Though I'm personally not interested in Hetalia, the clip sounded pretty good to me. :)

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  3. Hey bal-anime. Two words for Dokuro Chan... Sensitive Salaryman. Rofl have you gotten to that part yet? Even the English scream is better than the JP scream! That dub is so full of win! Or how about the Valentine's Day gift box? Johnny Yong Bosch's HUH?!? face reaction was priceless may I add better than the JPs too. I'm re watching that show tonight it's that good!

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  4. lol, I've gotten to where Sensitive Salaryman was on screen while they were at the theater, but I haven't gotten to the song yet, lol. Haven't gotten to Valentines yet either.

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  5. I'm usually not a fan of accents too be honest, but in cases like this I'm ok with it. I'll be skipping Hetalia sadly. It will just take time to get used to.

    OMG that video brings back memories of watching Colossus on the 90's X-Men. But Jerry does fit the voice well.

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  6. Hey guys! I found the sneak peek clip that was shown at AX. Sound only but this is what I saw while I was there!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQzVU3jLO9g

    Ok if any of you are good at guessing VAs here's your shot. I'm semi good but these accents blow me away. America is talking at first about the global warming, starts at :07. Japan is the person who says "I agree with America", starts at :28. China is the one who says "Would you guys like to sample some pastry treats" starts at :46. Germany is the one screaming and you can't quite hear what he says at the end but it was something like "ask my friend Italy" starts at 1:26.

    Rofl any ideas? The other voices I can't remember which country went with who. This is the best I can do for you guys lol. At least I'm giving you a head start! ;D

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  7. @ wilhelminaanime: Why are you skipping Hetalia? Just not your kind of show or too many other shows you're getting and money's tight?

    Originally, I wasn't very interested in it either but after watching a little, I'm finding myself drawn in.

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  8. Yeah a little bit of an overload right now, I'm still pretty behind in other series :D. Plus money might get really tight next year.

    It just doesn't look like my cup of tea. I'd probably have to do a lot more research on it.

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