ICYMI – ‘DOTA: Dragon’s Blood’ has a Filipino dub
DOTA: Dragon's Blood, an eight-episode anime adaptation of Valve’s wildly-popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game franchise DOTA 2, premiered globally on Netflix last week on March 25.
The fantasy series follows the story of Davion, a renowned Dragon Knight devoted to wiping the scourge from the face of the world. But as he embarks on a mission, he eventually finds himself embroiled in events much larger than he could have ever imagined.
Since the show dropped, it’s already made it to the top 10 most watched list in the Philippines and is currently number 2 on the list as of this writing. The main surprise for Pinoy viewers is that it comes with a Filipino dub.
Netflix previously announced that the anime series would be available in 12 Voiced Languages, including English and Filipino. Other languages include Russian, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian, Brazilian, Portuguese, Spanish (Neutral), Spanish (Castilian), French, German and Italian. Additionally, subtitles are also available in 30 languages.
DOTA: Dragon’s Blood will be voiced in 12 languages
— DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) February 23, 2021
• English
• Russian
• Japanese
• Filipino
• Thai
• Indonesian
• Brazilian Portuguese
• Spanish (Neutral)
• Spanish (Castilian)
• French
• German
• Italian
Additionally, subtitles will be available in 30 languages. pic.twitter.com/USoGEXvsVE
If you’re watching from the Philippines, the default setting of the trailer puts it to Filipino.
I watched the first episode of the show in English first and then in Filipino just for comparison, and found the Filipino dub of the fantasy setting amusing and reminiscent of classic dubbed cartoons like Sailor Moon and Ghost Fighter. In case you haven't checked it out yet, it's worth switching back and forth just to listen to the translations and voice acting to choose your preference for the remaining episodes.
Watching it in our own language adds a bit of local flavor, with phrases like “brave son of a bitch” translating to “napakatapang ng lokong yan,” “piece of shit” becoming “walang kwenta” and “halimaw” referring to monsters peppered into the dialogue.
Davion the Dragon Knight is voiced by Paolo Añana who played Kim Shin in ABS-CBN’s localization of Goblin.
The Dragon Knight’s entire family was massacered by dragons when he was a boy. After he witnesses Terrorblade's evil forces, he allies with the Eldewyrms and aids Mirana and Marci on their quest.
Mirana, the Princess of the Moon, is voiced by Jo Anne Chua, who has featured in multiple Sailor Moon seasons as Sailor Jupiter.
The exiled princess of the Nightsilver Woods goes on a quest with Marci, her mute bodyguard, to recover the stolen lotuses of her patron goddess, Selemene.
Luna the Moon Rider is voiced by Steffi Graf Bontogon, the same voice actress behind the meek Megumi Tadokoro in the Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma Filipino dub. Once known as Scourge of the Plains, Luna commits war crimes upon the Elves who refuse to worship Selemene.
Check out the Filipino dub of the trailer below.
As previously reported, Ashley Edward Miller (X-Men: First Class, Thor and Black Sails) serve as the series’ showrunner and executive producer, while the studio behind The Legend of Korra and Voltron: Legendary Defender is handling the animation, with Ryu Ki Hyun serving as co-executive producer.
DOTA 2 is one of the leading online games in the world, hosting millions of players daily and holding multiple records for top e-sports tournament prize earnings. Launched in 2011 by Valve, the annual International DOTA 2 Championship has paid over $150 million to its winning teams.
(Images via Netflix)