Voice-over artist Inka Magnaye weighed in on Liza Soberano‘s voice acting on Netflix animated series “Trese.”
Liza was the voice actress for the Filipino version of the titular character “Alexandra Trese.”
Inka, meanwhile, became notable for her TikTok videos that featured her and her family’s popular spiels on airlines, radio stations and television ads and advisories.
First note: Liza Soberano’s voice is perfect for the character. It’s got a great balance of youthfulness and grim. A bit more exaggeration could have added more dimension, even an exaggeration of a deadpan delivery (think Daria). But other than that, I’m liking it so far!
— Inka Magnaye (@inkamagnaye) June 13, 2021
In a Twitter thread on Sunday, the voice talent shared that as she started watching the animated show, she immediately noticed and praised Liza for fitting the bill for her role.
“First note: Liza Soberano’s voice is perfect for the character. It’s got a great balance of youthfulness and grim,” Inka said.
She also suggested that the actress could have done better, citing Daria Morgendorffer, MTV’s animated character known for her deadpan personality.
“A bit more exaggeration could have added more dimension, even an exaggeration of a deadpan delivery (think Daria). But other than that, I’m liking it so far!” Inka said.
Inka also defended Liza from criticisms about her skills in voice acting, citing that the latter is not “monotonous.”
“She has dynamics in her delivery. However, she DOES tend to deliver her lines in almost the exact same cadence, and people confuse that with monotony,” Inka said.
Comments on Liza’s voice acting
When “Trese” was released on Netflix Philippines last June 11, Liza and the rest of the voice cast were praised for their work.
“Weirdly, I love Trese’s Filipino dub over the Japanese one. Liza Soberano nailed this. Hard,” one user wrote.
Some Filipinos, however, said that the Kapamilya star might not be suited to voice the animated character as they criticized Liza’s tone.
“Acting is so bland, monotonous, 0 emotion in every word. I know the character is supposed to be edgy and all but I really think a more experienced Filipino VA is better suited for the role,” one Twitter user said.
“I love Liza as an actor but I hope they got an actual voice actor for the character. Also, the dialogue was a bit unnatural to me,” another user wrote.
Voice acting vs acting
The voice director might have something to do with how Liza delivered her lines, according to Inka.
“I believe this could have been a direction thing. Seeing as she is an actor and not really a voice actor, whoever was directing her during the recording sessions could have guided her a little more to explore different deliveries, but that’s just what I think,” she said.
Inka also recalled discussing her views on the difference between an actor and a voice actor with an “actor friend.”
“You can be a great actor when it comes to your physicality—your face and body perfectly conveying the necessary feeling, but sometimes the voice acting can fall short because people can see your face anyway,” Inka said.
“This is the difference between acting and voice acting! Because people can’t see your face, the expressions need to be heard in your voice,” she added.
The popular TikTok content creator also praised Shay Mitchell, who lent her voice for the English version of the animated series.
READ: Liza Soberano, Shay Mitchell to voice ‘Alexandra Trese’
Inka then compared Shay’s voice acting with Liza’s delivery and noted that there is still room for improvement.
“I like how Shay Mitchell does the deadpan badass delivery! Deadpan blasé, deadpan annoyed, deadpan snarky. The little nuances are so satisfying,” Inka said.
“This is the nuance that Liza Soberano’s dub would have benefited from, but it’s not that easy to do so it’s understandable! Not even all VAs can do that. It’s something very trainable though, and an actress like her will surely be able to get that down with practice!” she added.
