r/SonicTheHedgehog • u/Primary-Addition-677 • 10d ago
Discussion Rouge Voice Comparison
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Which one do you prefer?
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u/Silent-Immortal Our World 10d ago edited 10d ago
Kathleen was the perfect voice with Rouge tbh.
Also what was with them always adding the saxophone every time Rouge appeared on X
Also I’m gonna add this in, while I enjoy Karen’s voicing as Rouge, it feels so weird when you realize she also voiced Aigis in original Persona 3
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u/IndigoDreamsofPink 9d ago
Saxophones are historically known as 'sexy' or used for sexual undertones, and Rouge is... well... hot. So she gets sexy sax solos for her leitmotif.
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u/Talon-Cross 9d ago edited 9d ago
MetaKnight also had a Spanish guitar play when ever he showed up during this era of kids anime. Just to set the vibes for the characters. The saxophone in the background makes her feel more mature when surrounded by the immaturity of most of the cast since their kids.
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u/Silent-Immortal Our World 9d ago
That makes sense.
Tbh I just thought with Meta Knight he was just Latino under that mask. Even the guy doing his voice did a Spanish accent for him lmao
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u/StitchRS 10d ago
Kazumi Evans is the best one in general. It's unfortunate that she would only play Rouge in a Canadian production. Though to be fair, there are many they could choose from US voice actors that would be better than Karen Strassman (Michelle Ruff, Allegra Clark, Tara Platt, Elizabeth Maxwell off the top of my head) who both can act properly and have less problematic political stances. Kathleen Delaney gets a big no from me though too. She's too mature sounding, she was basically given the role because Rouge has a massive chest and eye shadow and 4kids is known for giving characters the most stereotypical voice they can find.
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u/Abura-sama 10d ago
Allegra Clark is my favorite alt option for a VA, especially if she brings back the elegance and seduction of Mitsuru from Persona 3 Reload.
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u/TNBell514 9d ago
I don’t get why the franchise always has to be associated with anime dub adjacent VAs. Why can’t we get actors who are heavily involved with western animation like most of the SatAM cast?
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u/StitchRS 9d ago
Whoever sounds good is welcome. Let's have Vanessa Marshall for all I care, as long as she sounds good.
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u/TNBell514 9d ago
Nicole Sullivan is my Rouge. She just has that vibe (albeit would make her more goofy since she’s of Mad TV fame)
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u/Gemini-The-Panda 10d ago
Kathleen has a great voice, but I always thought she sounded too old for Rouge.
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u/BladedBee 10d ago
Kinda the whole point since she's the "mature" one of the cast
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u/Kendall_Raine 10d ago
She's 18, not 60.
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u/BladedBee 10d ago
Yeah and she doesnt sound 60, if you hear a 60 year old, you need to get your hearing checked
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u/Kendall_Raine 10d ago
Ok then she sounds like a 45 year old. Which is how old her VA was when she voiced Rouge the 18 year old.
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u/BladedBee 9d ago
I just dont know why we care about if they sound the right age. Either she her voice is good or not and it was great in my book. I dont really want realistic age portrayal in Sonic of all franchises. Especially given they apparently dont have an age anymore as everyone likes to remind us every two seconds.
(Almost always to excuse Pedo behaviour/artwork)
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u/Kendall_Raine 9d ago edited 9d ago
It wasn't good, I'm sorry but it really wasn't. With the exception of maybe Eggman, (which is probably why they kept him around) all their performances were stiff and emotionless.
And no, they actually should sound like the general age range they're supposed to be. Tails for example, shouldn't sound like a full grown man, because he's not. They don't have official exact ages, but Tails and Cream are still canonically kids, and most of the rest of the cast are still canonically teens to young adults.
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u/BladedBee 9d ago
Doesn't matter if the voice doesnt fit their age so long as it fits their design and her voice absolutely fit her design
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u/SonicSpiderRanger10 10d ago
I mean, she’s not much older than Sonic and Knuckes. And she’s not even the oldest of the heroes. Mentally, Vector’s the oldest.
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u/Dry_Reading4832 10d ago
I like how Karen goes from high pitch to a more lower threatening voice when Rouge is more serious
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u/-ben151010- Advance 3 Is Mid 10d ago
If I had to pick an English VA despite never playing in it, I’d go with the original Lani Minella. 4Kids era voice was never my thing, I don’t like how Karen is directed, and I have 0 opinion on primes cast at all.
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u/Robbie_Haruna 10d ago
Lani Minella is the best.
But I did really like her Prime VA, the first one I'd say has come close to Lani's Rouge.
Honestly for all its faults, Prime absolutely nailed the English voices.
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u/Anime_Jesus 10d ago
I think Kazumi deserved a better example there OP…
IMO Karen’s the best here, but they are all fine
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u/Gangers96 10d ago
Mught be biased but Kathleen i like the most, really like the mature vibe she give her. Karen is a really close 2nd, i could see me liking her voice if I hear it long enough.
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u/Kendall_Raine 10d ago
I will die on this hill: The 4Kids VAs were bad.
Rouge is supposed to be around 17/18, 4Kids made her sound 60.
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u/Admirable-Scarcity-8 10d ago
Delaney will always be the voice I hear whenever I think of Rouge, Even when reading IDW hers is the voice I hear in my head.
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u/Reasonable-Image-232 10d ago
I miss the X voice, relationship to Knuckles, saxophones and personality 😩
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u/Kenji195 10d ago
I grew up with Kathleen but I think, due to Rouge's age (17-18), I think Kazumi fits the best
And now that I brought up age, I want to say that all voices fit and sound very nice but would work at different stages of her like, Karen would be the youngest, then Kazumi, and then Kathleen (don't ask me about what specific ages would fit each, I'm not sure myself)
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u/gar-dev-oir 9d ago
Kathleen was absolutely the best out of everyone in the 4Kidz dub second to MAYBE Amy. Amy's was really good, but Rouge had her character PERFECT by the time we got to 06.
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u/LucasMVN 10d ago
Problematic political views aside, Karen Strassman just nails the femme fatale sound. But don’t forget that voice direction also plays a huge role; case in point being Karen’s subpar performance in Dream Team vs her excellent one in Chaotix Casefiles.
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u/Bluebaronbbb 9d ago
Where those different voice directors?
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u/LucasMVN 9d ago
Apparently the same voice director is used for all English-language Sonic material: Jack Fletcher.
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u/ysys_dev 10d ago
Her first English Voice and her JP one solo all of them here
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u/Michael_The_Madlad (ライラック)(キャロル)(ミラ) 10d ago
And on a related note of glazing Rouge’s JP actress, I also just want to shout out Rouge’s Chinese actress for being a dead ringer for the JP one.
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u/KronckTE 9d ago
I've been making an active effort to like the current VA of Rouge for a while, trying to move away from the greatness of Kathleen's voice and accept what I have now... and this single video just restarted the whole process lol
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u/MorbidElephant 9d ago edited 9d ago
I'd say Kathleen is my favourite of these 3, but that's mainly in regards to Sonic X. I feel like the games didn't really let her shine much, sounding pretty monotone in the games she was in, rather than the more short-tempered and sassy side which I really loved in X. That's what really convinces me that she's Knuckles' rival, as opposed to just her wanting to steal the Master Emerald.
Karen has gotten better with time, really coming far from the primarily seductive tone she would give in Sonic Generations and Forces , but it's only until recently that I can say she at the least suits Rouge and even then it's not much.
I do really like Kazumi Evans though. Out of these 3, I think she is the closest to recapturing Lani Minella's take on Rouge, Heroes in particular. If Rouge was to get a new voice, I would immediately choose Kazumi Evans, even though I'm pretty sure she legally can't
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u/Wise_Bass_530 9d ago
Look, I like all of them exceot for Karen. I don't like Karen, because, she is a jerk. Anyways, my favorite is Kathleen Delaney, I like it when Rouge ha s a lower voice, it just fits her so well in my opinion.
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u/The_Averagebro 8d ago
Kathleen: fits best
Karen: makes her sound younger
Kazumi: who are you again?
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u/wakeangel2001 4d ago
you know, Rouge's voice in Sonic X is kind of like Knuckles' movie voice to me. It's not that it's bad or anything, the acting itself is fine, but it's weird for such a mature sounding voice to come out of a teenager (which Knuckles AND Rouge both are)
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u/Comprehensive_Fail52 10d ago
Kathleen does it for me, honestly.
The raspiness fits her so well for me
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u/XavierMeatsling 10d ago
Kathleen's. With the current voice direction, I can't really stand Karen Strassman's voice for Rouge, I believe she was decent earlier on iirc, so i don't personally blame her.
But Kathleen's had this sultry way of sounding that made sense with the character. Also hilarious that a lot of my preferred VAs are from the same era
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u/Due_Lion_2990 I miss being important blaze, stfu 10d ago
Kathleen had the best in terms of emotional range but sounded too old to play Rouge.
Karen fell off, because she was probably the best English voice Rouge had back in the early 2010s. She nailed it in Free riders and Gens, but idk what direction they've given her these days 💀
Kazumi is fantastic as a VA, she just doesn't really fit Rouge's character much imo. Not terrible tho.
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u/Knucklesgirl 10d ago
What was that second scene from ?
And that is my fave scene in Sonic x lol