Fans are blasting Yong Yea for his role in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth after sharing some side-by-side clips of the upcoming game’s cutscenes with his dubbing and the original Japanese version.
Yea posted the clips on Twitter where he explained the clips shown were “some of the first stuff” recorded and that it got more refined later on. It didn’t take long, though, before people started raising concerns over his performance, namely, that his portrayal lacked the “gruff” demeanor the Japanese VA had.
Quite frankly, it is noticeable, as well, that Yea is significantly younger than the role he was hired to play. That’s not to say young actors can’t play old characters, but the English dub actor’s real voice is still very much in the background. It’s hard not to notice, especially if you’re a fan of his YouTube channel.
Here is an official look at Kiryu in English. Did a side-by-side with J for those wanting to hear the difference. This is some of the first stuff we ever recorded a year ago, performance got more refined as we went further along. Excited for y'all to experience the full games! pic.twitter.com/xAzxdtXbHY
— Yong Yea 🐉 Eng Voice of Kiryu (@YongYea) November 8, 2023
What do you think? Are you going to stick with the OG Japanese cast or wait for the dub? Let us know below!