Anime Dub Reviews

More troubles for 2012: Media Blasters downsizing, and Funimation VS Sentai/ADV

2012-01-13T15:56:00.000-08:00

This is not a good start for 2012. Two bad news for the industry in a row for this week.

First off, Media Blasters has decided to cut its staff down from 16 to 6. That's a pretty sharp decline, but in all fairness, the company DID start out with six employees, and even though business for them has been slow, they are not closing down any time soon. So while this may seem unfortunate, it may not be all bad. If anything, hopefully MB will make careful decisions as to survive this year. With the recent news that they're acquired Fushigi Yugi, it's at least a sign that they're still chugging on. Now if only they can get around to that Lodoss War remaster....

For the second bit of news, two Anime companies are headed for a showdown in court. In the left corner, we have FuniMation, currently the hottest anime company around. In the right corner, we have the company that used to be known as ADV, now restructured as Sentai Filmworks. Even under its new name, the company is still licensing quite a lot of titles for Anime (check out their release schedules), but unfortunately, they are now faced with a problem. The case: Funimation is suing ADV/Sentai for $8 million. Here is the whole story as quoted from Anime News Network:

On November 4, 2011, FUNimation Entertainment filed a lawsuit in the district court of Harris County, Texas against John Ledford, as well as companies A.D. Vision, AEsir Holdings, Sxion 23 (A.K.A. Section23 Films), Valkyrie Media Partners, Seraphim Studios, Sentai Filmworks, Sentai Holdings, and Unio Mystica Holdings (A.K.A. Switchblade Pictures) for breach of contract and other claims. Ledford is the CEO and co-founder of A.D. Vision. In the lawsuit, Funimationclaims that the defendants owe Funimation "an amount to be proven at trial but currently estimated" to be approximately US$8 million plus interest, costs, and attorneys' fees.
Funimation's lawsuit alleges that it became a creditor of A.D. Vision (ADV) in regard to a debt ADV owed ARM Corporation, which was a third party licensing entity jointly owned by Sojitz Corporation and several other companies. The lawsuit notes that ADV had purchased anime licenses from ARM after May 2006, and in January 2008 ARM "declared ADV to be in default of the parties' agreements." ADV lost the rights to more than 30 anime properties, and in July 2008,Funimation and ARM announced that they had reached a distribution agreement for those properties.
In the lawsuit, Funimation claims that ARM also gave Funimation the right to enforce ARM's agreement with ADV, specifically in regard to the debt that ADVowed ARM — making Funimation a creditor. The suit alleges that ADV never paid this debt, and instead sold its assets for below market price to several companies owned by former ADV executives and shut down.
The suit goes on to claim that ADV's transfer of assets "was made with the intent to defer, hinder or defraud the creditors of ADV," including Funimation, and that the new companies "succeeded ADV's contractual liability" in regard to the outstanding debt.
Funimation is also requesting that the court declare ADV's transfer of assets "as null, voided and without effect," restoring those assets to the parent company.Funimation is also requesting a jury trial.
On December 23, Sentai Filmworks, Seraphim Studios, Sentai Holdings, Valkyrie Media Partners, Unio Mysteica Holdings, AEsir Holdings, and Section23 Filmsfiled a counterclaim disputing these charges. The companies claim, among other things, that they do not have a contract with Funimation and are not liable to the company. They claim that the companies did not exist when Funimation acquired the rights from ARM to enforce ADV's contract with ARM. In addition, the companies claim that Funimation's lawsuit was filed after the two-year statute of limitations, and that Funimation was not involved with the original contract and cannot claim any direct damages.
The companies are asking that the court declare that Funimation's contract "is not a valid agreement binding on the Defendants," that the companies owe "no duties or performance of any obligations" to Funimation, and that Funimation pay for the companies' attorney's fees, costs, and expenses.
The first pre-trial meeting is currently scheduled for October 5, 2012.
Section23 Films provided ANN with the following statement:
Funimation's lawsuit is completely without merit or basis and we look forward to proving it when we have our day in court.
When asked to comment, Funimation told ANN that its official statement is addressed in the lawsuit.

So there you have it. How 2012 started off with three shocking industry "development" stories in a row is totally shocking. Is there no way to recover? Are we doomed to a future where the only way Anime can be viewed is through fan-subbed videos with no companies to pick them up and no talented voice actors translating these titles into a language we can understand? I dread the idea totally.

If it turns out that all Anime companies in America cease to exist, then I can only wish, giving the ever-expanding fanbase of Anime, that others can be built so as to compete in an environment as unstable as ours. We NEED dubs in order to make Anime titles more accessible to America. Without companies, we don't get them. But I refuse to believe in a future like that. I will continue to fight for the industry and support the dubs in any way I can, and if any new "upstart" company can step up to rebuild this once thriving industry, by all means, go ahead. To quote Enjorlas from Les Miserables: "Let others rise to take our place until the Earth IS FREE!!!!!" Better make that "Anime".

Bad start for 2012: Bandai "Restructuring"

2012-01-03T10:33:00.000-08:00

According to a news article on ANN, Bandai Entertainment, the folks who distributed titles such as Cowboy Bebop, The Vision of Escaflowne, Wolf's Rain, and Haruhi Suzuhara will no longer be licensing new titles as of February 2012. Not a great way to start the new year by any means, and an even bigger slap in the face for those of us who like watching dubs. This means that we're down to about five companies who actually distribute dubbing, which is not a good sign in any way.

Nothing disgusts me more than piracy putting voice actors or companies out of work. If this doesn't stop, we won't even HAVE new Anime titles with good dubbing. The only kind of releases we'll get are subbed-only. Hardcore fans, please show sympathy for the other side and support the industry you care about. If nothing else comes out, then the companies will not be to blame. Consider yourself warned.

Haibane Renmei (spoiler warning)

2011-05-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

Haibane Renmei strikes me as a difficult show to dub or even market to Western audiences. It's a gentle, slower-paced show, with almost no violence, deliberately ambiguous symbolism, and while there is comedy, it is based more on observation and subtlety than on silly sight gags (not that I am opposed to silly sight gags on principle, mind you). This is a show that requires great, nuanced acting, and thankfully New Generation Pictures offers up a terrific dub for a series that has quickly become an odd favorite for myself.

RAKKA (Carrie Savage)-Aside from her delightfully subversive work as Maromi, this might be my favorite Carrie Savage role. Carrie, as we've discussed before, tends to get typecast as sickeningly saccharine young girls, and this pigeonholing can sometimes serve as a detriment despite her prodigious acting talent. Rakka is different, however; she is as lost and confused as the audience in the early goings of the series, but she eventually grows in confidence and ends up doing some pretty daring things by series' end. Carrie's soft voice is a perfect fit for this little haibane in any of her moods, be they confused, happy, or even heroic.

REKKI (Erika Weinstein)-Possibly my favorite performance in the dub, Rekki is arguably the most complex character in the show, a "sinbound" haibane who wrestles with a dark, lonely past even as she proves to be a truly kind, caring individual. Erika's voice for Rekki is surprisingly deep and husky, but it works perfectly for this deadpan, secretly tormented soul, and she does a great job with both Rekki's normal, caring self and the more emotionally wrenching scenes when Rekki tries to come to grips with her past. It's terrific work all around.

HIKARI (Hunter Mackenzie Austin)-The bubbly, slightly mischievous haibane of the group, Hunter gives Hikari an appropriately young-sounding voice and a bright, cheerful tone that gives way to concern when necessary. Not much to say except, "It's great!"

KANA (Zarah Little)-Kana is the tomboy of the group, so Zarah gives her a somewhat rougher, boyish voice to distinguish her, although we never doubt that she's a girl. Zarah also does some great acting here, particularly in Kana's "spotlight" episode where we learn where she works and what her outlook on life is. It's my third-favorite performance in the dub behind Carrie and Erika.

KUU (J. Ray Hochfield)-Kuu is perhaps even more sprightly and energetic than Hikari, and J. Ray sounds so young that I almost thought they had actually hired a young girl to play the part. Sadly, Kuu's only around for about half the series, and J. Ray does an equally great job with the burgeoning sadness in Kuu's voice as she prepares to take her "Day of Flight".

NEMU (Karen Strassman)-Karen has one of the voices that can suit a variety of female characters, be they hot-blooded ass-kickers like Kallen in Code Geass, femme fatales like Fasalina in GunXSword, or characters like Nemu, a haibane so sleepy she almost seems narcoleptic. Karen takes that "sleepiness" and applies it to her voice, although she thankfully avoids the trap of sounding dull. Nemu turns out to have an interesting "shared past" with Rekki, and Karen does a good job with those scenes as well.

THE COMMUNICATOR (Michael McConnohie)-A strange being who seems to hold sway over the lives of the haibane, Michael gives this character a harsh, authoritative tone that can nevertheless shift into a more perceptive, understanding mode when that kind of conversation is needed. It's another great performance from an actor I love.

HYOHKO (Josh Phillips)-It's admittedly a little odd hearing Josh in this role, seeing as his most famous character is the foul-mouthed, thuggish Jan Valentine in Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate. Hyohko seems thuggish at first, but ultimately turns out not to be, and Josh does a good job with this shift in characterization.

Miscellaneous actors include Stephanie Sheh, Taliesin Jaffe, Wendee Lee, and William Knight, all of whom do lovely work in their small roles. Overall, this is a terrific dub for a great show.

Up next: Baccano!, then Black Butler, Welcome to the NHK, RIN: Daughters of Mnemosyme, Corpse Princess/Shikabane Hime and, eventually, RahXephon.

Paranoia Agent (spoiler warning)

2011-05-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

When Satoshi Kon died last year, the outpouring of grief from the animation community was the strongest I had seen since the death of legendary Looney Tunes director Chuck Jones in 2002. Kon was frankly taken before his time, a genius who took the best mind-bending aspects of American thrillers and suffused them with life, humor and true horror. Many have compared him to David Lynch and Alfred Hitchcock, though I'd argue he's a far more disciplined director than Lynch, and his recurring theme of identity brings him more in line with the master Hitchcock.

His sole series work, Paranoia Agent, is a terrific show all on its own, a 13-episode exploration of, well, paranoia, and how it can be both beneficial and harmful to us. And yet, like Cowboy Bebop or Wolf's Rain, the stellar dub elevates it to an even higher level in my esteem. New Generation Pictures, a company who I can sometimes find to be hit-or-miss in their dubbing (though not nearly as inconsistent as, say, Canada's Ocean Group), outdid themselves here, and many of the actors here give the performances of their careers.

THE CAST

DETECTIVE KEIICHI IKARI (Michael McConnohie)-Michael is an actor I have a great amount of respect for, always turning in rock-solid performances with that great, gravelly voice. Here, he gets a character truly worthy of his skill, an aging detective who proves to be just as insecure and wracked with self-doubt over his place in the world as the rest of the cast. And yet, Ikari also proves to be ultimately heroic by the end of the series, one of the few characters who confronts and conquers his problems. Michael nails all of this, as well as the more comedic moments early on when Ikari is frustrated beyond belief by the "Little Slugger" case.

DETECTIVE MITSUHIRO MANIWA (Liam O'Brien)-Here's another actor I have a lot of love for, always turning in great work, even in dreck like Naruto. Liam has a different challenge as Maniwa: he starts off as kind of an "audience surrogate", openly questioning the routine investigation tactics Ikari favors and trying to get inside the heads of the Slugger's victims in order to catch him. Liam has a charming, youthful voice, so he gets us to like Maniwa right away. And yet, this detective also succumbs to paranoia and fear as the series progresses, eventually donning a superhero costume as he tries to pinpoint the origin of Little Slugger. What Liam does here is interesting; instead of going for a stereotypical "crazy" tone, he takes Maniwa's seemingly reasonable, questioning nature and amplifies it to a fever pitch. We get caught up in his mad rush of discovery even as we question his sanity.

TSUKIKO SAGI (Michelle Ruff)-Our third "key character" of sorts, Tsukiko is the first victim of Little Slugger, and she turns out to be an extremely troubled young woman. Michelle tends to play these quiet types fairly often, yet she brings a new, haunted quality to Tsukiko that I don't think I've heard from her before. It's a performance that makes you keep your eye on this strange girl; she's hiding something, but what? Michelle's terrific performance is key to this ambiguity at the heart of the series.

MAROMI (Carrie Savage)-Now here's a delightful little performance. Carrie tends to play sugary sweet characters, and Maromi doesn't seem all that different at first: she's a cute little anthropomorphic dog created for an animated show by Tsukiko. Yet we learn rather quickly that Maromi is not what she appears to be, turning out to possibly be even creepier and more malevolent than Little Slugger himself. As a result, Carrie's high-pitched, babyish tones take on a strange, eerie quality, instantly ratcheting up the tension of any scene where she speaks. It's a great example of playing against our expectations, and Carrie commits completely to Maromi's ultimate creep factor. She also makes the educational lessons we learn about how an anime is produced in episode 10 (yes, this really happens) rather amusing.

THE OLD MAN (William Frederick Knight)-William seems to have been playing older men since the beginning of his dub career, but this might be his best. The old man seems to be off his rocker, but actually turns out to be quite key to the mystery of Little Slugger, and William manages to pull off that mix of age, hidden wisdom, and nuttiness wonderfully.

LITTLE SLUGGER/MAKOTO KOZUKA (Sam Regal)-Sam has one of those young voices that can suit a variety of characters, and he's quite creepy as Slugger early on, but he gets to shift that performance as our perception of Slugger changes. In episode 5, for example, we find out that a young boy named Makoto Kozuka, who we think we've been seeing as Slugger the whole time, is actually a copycat (he later confesses that he only attacked two people), and has his own delusion about the world. He sees the world as an RPG and himself as the hero, and Sam makes this demented worldview very funny as Kozuka persists in his delusions and takes the two detectives along with him. Sam also does a great job with the growls and snarls of the taller, more demonic Little Slugger we see in the latter part of the series.

MISAE IKARI (Melodee Spevack)-Ikari's terminally ill wife, Misae doesn't appear until Episode 11, and she gets the episode almost entirely to herself as she confronts Little Slugger and tells him about her past and why she no longer "needs" Slugger. Melodee has a lot of dialogue in a single episode as a result, and she does a terrific job with all of it, getting across the idea that Misae is awfully frail without overdoing it, yet also conveying her hidden strength. Melodee also pitches her voice higher when we see a vision of a younger Misae in Ikari's fantasy world in the series finale.

MASAMI HIRUKAWA (Deem Bristow)-The late Mr. Bristow is probably best known for his performances as Dr. Eggman in the first two Sonic Adventure games, but he definitely has better material to work with here. Hirukawa turns out to be one of the most despicable characters in the series, a corrupt cop who doesn't see anything wrong with helping run a prostitution ring or installing a video camera in his daughter's room so he can watch her undress (all together now: eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww!). Bristow's aged voice provides a terrific contrast to his behavior, sounding "noble" even in the depths of depravity.

AKIO KAWAZU (Doug Stone)-Stone gives this slimy, frog-like reporter an appropriately throaty voice, and as a result this paparazzi ends up as another creep we can root against.

HARUMI CHONO/"MARIA" (Erica Shaffer)-Erica does a great job with both Harumi's normal, kindly teacher personality and the harsh prostitute "Maria" personality. Not much else to say, really.

YUICHI TARA (Johnny Yong Bosch)-Another shrewd bit of "playing against expectations", I'm not sure Bosch has ever played a character this young before. Sure, he's got a great, youthful voice, but he tends to play teenagers or young adults, not elementary school students. Still, much like with Carrie and Maromi, this provides a delicious bit of playing around with Bosch's usual range. Yuichi at first seems like a heck of a guy, a typical Bosch character, but he turns out to be tormented by jealousy and an inferiority complex that ultimately leads Little Slugger right to him, and Bosch does a great job with this shift in perception.

TAEKO HIRUKAWA (Kari Wahlgren)-As always, Kari is great, portraying Taeko's all-abiding love for her father expertly, and then doing a wonderful job with Taeko's feelings of betrayal and disgust when she finds the computer folder full of pictures of her undressing, and then the camera that took them in her room.

Most of the other characters are extras or small roles, but they're all performed well, with folks like Kirk Thornton, Dave Mallow, Megan Hollingshead, Wendee Lee, and Steve Blum popping up to expertly do small roles here and there. The scripting is equally excellent, and I rather like the translation of "Shonen Bat" to "Little Slugger", to be honest. All in all, it's quickly become one of my favorite dubs.

Up next: My long-in-the-works review of Baccano!, Haibane Renmei, and then probably Black Butler.

JesuOtaku's Fruits Basket Audio Drama

2011-05-16T15:25:00.001-07:00

http://furubadrama.weebly.com/index.html

Internet anime reviewer JesuOtaku (her videos are located here: http://jesuotaku.blip.tv/posts?view=archive&nsfw=dc) has decided to take on a monumental, seemingly unprecedented task: adapting the Fruits Basket manga into an audio drama, which is basically like older radio plays except over the Internet. Auditions are already complete, the cast list will be announced this Friday, and episodes will begin "airing" sometime in June.

In this reviewer's opinion, this is an immensely cool thing. Fruits Basket isn't a horribly long manga, but it's still a hefty 136 chapters, so I have to applaud JO for dreaming big. I auditioned for the project myself, and while I wasn't cast, it was still a lot of fun. I eagerly await the beginning of this new journey.

Fruits Basket: The Manga Fantasy Cast (SPOILERS!)

2011-05-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

I generally don't like to draw unfavorable comparisons between an anime series and the manga it's based on (IF it's based on one, as not all are); comics and animation are ultimately different mediums and have different needs, so really it all comes down to personal preference in most cases.

However, there is one manga that absolutely obliterates its adaptation in terms of quality: Natsuki Takaya's Fruits Basket. The anime isn't bad, but it's unfinished, covering about 5 volumes of material from a 23-volume series, and as a result it lacks many of the fascinating characters introduced later in the series, as well as the true emotional power that the manga eventually obtains.

Ergo, this fantasy cast will cover both characters who appeared in the anime and only in the manga, though I won't be casting EVERY character, just most of them. Funimation's dub was weak in some aspects (it was one of their earliest non-Dragonball Z efforts), but nevertheless well-acted on the whole. I'll be keeping many of the actors who originally portrayed their anime roles (this will be indicated by "Original" appearing before the actual casting reasons), but also recasting some, so hopefully this will be interesting.

THE CAST

TOHRU HONDA (Laura Bailey)-Original. Laura's sweet, winning portrayal is part of what caused me to fall in love with this character almost immediately, and I can't think of anyone better to reprise the role.

YUKI SOHMA (Eric Vale)-Original. I never liked Yuki's voice in the Japanese much; it was obviously a woman, and while Yuki looks feminine, he doesn't act like it much, and is actually pretty masculine most of the time. That's why I liked Eric Vale's portrayal so much; his voice was soft, yes, but there was still an edge in his voice that spoke to the deeper complexities of the character. Since Yuki ends up growing much more as a person and even getting his own romance further into the manga, I think Vale would be more than up to the task of acting in them.

KYO SOHMA (Jerry Jewell)-Original. Kyo at first glance seems like a fun, showboating part, and Jewell certainly had fun with his comedic yelling and bravado in the original dub, but Kyo (like many other characters) is examined much more thoroughly from a psychological perspective in the manga. In the more dramatic scenes of the anime, Jewell brought a haunted quality to Kyo that would work wonders for the scenes where we peel back more of Kyo's psyche.

SHIGURE SOHMA (John Burgmeier)-Original. Much like Eric and Jerry, John did such a great job with suggesting Shigure's true nature (as it's mostly neutered for the anime) that I'd love to hear him take on the darker themes of Shigure's manga-self.

ARISA UOTANI (Colleen Clinkenbeard)-Colleen has a terrific "tough" quality to her voice that would work great for this ex-gang member, but she also has the talent to make that voice sound both young enough for a high-schooler, and vulnerable for Arisa's moments of self-doubt and insecurity.

SAKI HANAJIMA (Brina Palencia)-Brina has an underrated talent for deadpan creepiness, but she can also make creepy characters sympathetic, which is what "Hana" ultimately is. She could also play Hana's equally eerie little brother, Megumi, with no trouble at all as she can do a darn good "little boy" voice.

AKITO SOHMA (Stephanie Young)-The mysterious head of the Sohma family, Akito begins the series as something of a villain, abusing the other members of the family both physically and psychologically. Oh, and he's also secretly a woman. Yet Takaya takes Akito through some rather drastic changes by the end, and I was amazed at how sympathetic the character eventually became. I think Stephanie would manage to do a terrific job of mixing the early villainy with the eventual sympathy and understanding that Akito eventually gains.

KYOKO HONDA (Lydia Mackay)-OK, this is admittedly another "mom who's dead as the story begins" (Lydia previously played Trisha Elric in both Fullmetal Alchemist series), but I think Lydia would knock both Kyoko's motherly side and her younger, angrier self out of the park. Nothing against the original actress, Meredith McCoy, but Meredith doesn't seem to be working much anymore, so that's part of why I picked Lydia.

KAGURA SOHMA (Monica Rial)-Again, nothing against Meredith McCoy (who also originally played this part), but I think Monica could make Kagura a real comic highlight whenever she shows up, as well as handle her more dramatic scenes effectively.

MOMIJI SOHMA (Luci Christian)-The now seemingly retired Kimberly Grant did an OK job with this part in the original dub, but I think Luci, doing a variation on her Hunny voice from Ouran, could be light-years better in this role. Not only does she do a more convincing young-boy voice, she's a terrific actress, and Momiji is a surprisingly tough role that I think could give her a good challenge.

HATORI SOHMA (Kent Williams)-Original. Kent's older-sounding voice was a perfect fit for the mature doctor, so I don't see any reason why he shouldn't reprise the role.

MITSURU (Cynthia Cranz)-Original. Cynthia was so funny as Mitsuru in the original dub that I can't see anyone else doing as well in the part.

HATSUHARU SOHMA (Justin Cook)-Original. Justin can do "tough" in his sleep, but what's surprising about his original portrayal of Haru is how low-key it is much of the time, as he tends to get cast as exuberant, screaming fighters. True, Haru's "Black" mode is like this, but that shift doesn't occur all that often, so I think Justin could do fine with Haru's own manga-only romance.

AYAME SOHMA (Chris Sabat)-Original. An early bit of playing against type for Sabat, Ayame is simply, well, fabulous in everything he does, and Sabat's deep timbre managed to get that across without using the typical, stereotypically "gay" voice (which is inappropriate anyway as Ayame really isn't gay). It was also hilarious, so I have no complaints about letting Sabat back into the booth for this one.

KAZUMA SOHMA (Sonny Strait)-As Kazuma's original VA Dameon Clarke no longer works for Funimation, I decided to go with Sonny because he's another actor who can sound both genuinely nice and yet still have a certain "edge" to his voice (look at his Maes Hughes from Fullmetal Alchemist for a great example). I think this would work quite well for Kyo's martial arts sensei and surrogate father.

KISA SOHMA (Jad Saxton)-Jad's performance as Eve Genoard in Baccano! convinced me she'd be great for this role, as she sounds young but not saccharine, which fits Kisa perfectly.

HIRO SOHMA (Anastasia Munoz)-As much as I liked Aaron Dismuke's hilariously petulant performance in the original dub, he's waaaaayyy too old-sounding now. Anastasia's voiced some young boys, so I think she could do wonderfully here.

RITSU SOHMA (Mike McFarland)-Original. Despite only appearing in one episode in the original (and only a few chapters in the manga), Mike made Ritsu both hilarious and relatable enough that I'd love to hear him again.

KAKERU MANABAE (Joel McDonald)-Here we're getting into "manga-only" characters, and I had admittedly thought of a couple other voices for this goofy soul who ends up becoming a good friend to Yuki: Todd Haberkorn and Greg Ayres. I ultimately decided on Joel because while Todd and Greg are both great, I can imagine very easily how they'd play this role. Joel's a bit more unpredictable, which suits Kakeru's own hidden depths quite well.

MACHI KURAGI (Maxey Whitehead)-Yuki's eventual love interest in the manga, I decided on Maxey for this complicated girl because, well, frankly she needs more female roles. But I also think Maxey could work wonders with Machi's mixture of deep-seated fears and comic neuroses.

ISUZU "RIN" SOHMA (Kate Oxley)-Kate has a terrific voice that can sound tough and vulnerable in equal measure, which suits this temperamental lass to a tee.

KURENO SOHMA (Vic Mignogna)-Vic doesn't get to play purely nice guys that often, so I thought this would be a fun change of pace from all the loudmouths and scenery-chewers he does, and he has a certain softness to his voice that Kureno needs to have for his nice-guy persona.

REN SOHMA (Stephanie Young)-There's a reason I cast Stephanie in both this role and Akito; as Ren is Akito's mother, I thought it would make sense for some of Akito's voice to "come from" Ren, and Stephanie could break out both the uber-sexy part of her voice and the screaming, crazy aspects as Ren grows steadily unhinged.

KATSUYA HONDA (J. Michael Tatum)-Tohru's father, Katsuya is a cold man who softens and warms after he meets and falls in love with Kyoko, and I think Tatum could perfectly capture that change, as well as sound young enough for the role.

Whew! That was a rather large post. I should have more coming soon, especially my long-in-the-works review of one of my favorite dubs, Baccano!, as well as reviews for the dubs of Paranoia Agent and Haibane Renmei. Catch y'all later!

Akira (Streamline and AniMaze Versions)

2011-04-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

Akira is often considered the holy grail (if not one of the greatest holy grails) of Japanese animation. While some may dispute that statement (myself included), there is no denying that Katsuhiro Otomo's considerably complex post-apocalyptic sci-fi tale about power, corruption, street punk gangs, corrupt government officials, and a whole lot more besides got many introduced to the world of Anime. In its initial 1989 United States premiere, a hastily produced dub (commissioned by the Japanese distributors) was shopped around to many American studios; all except one independent company called Streamline Pictures turned it down. The theatrical release was limited, but the film played to sell-out crowds and soon became a best-seller on video. Indeed, many oldschool fans proudly display the Streamline-distributed English release of Akira as a much-sought after prize in their collection, which not only includes the characters speaking with New York accents, but pronouncing everyone's names in a way that can be, at best, described as pretty laughable.

That said, I cannot claim to be one a fan of this older dub in any way. Part of the problem may have been my own trauma from being so horrified by the violence in Akira when I foolishly rented it at the age of thirteen. Even after giving Anime a second chance, and seeing other considerably better dubs, I didn't find the violence so bothersome, but even so, there was something about this older dub that grinded on me. Perhaps it was because I felt that nobody involved knew what they were doing.  Or maybe that the script was totally, completely incomprehensible (not at all helped by rather dated "slang" talk obviously shoehorned into the muddled dialogue). Whatever the case, the Streamline dub of Akira only succeeded in alienating me from the movie; it's hard for me to listen to it without cringing.

When Streamline Pictures collapsed in 1996, Pioneer/Geneon rescued Akira.  Five years later, it was announced that a fresh new dub would be produced to go along with restored picture. At a cost of $1 million, Otomo's script was painstakingly retranslated and carefully revised, providing a more coherent, less confusing flow to an already super-complex story. Later, the folks at AniMaze used this revamped screenplay as a guide for the new cast to record their vocals, with precise attention provided to the pronounciations and details that were previously hard to comprehend. The resulting redub, which I'll refer to as the AniMaze version, is something else. It's a skillfully executed English track which not only enhanced the film for me, but gradually led me to change my mind about Akira as a whole. The quality of the writing and the performances are much smoother than the previous version, and best of all, the story is much easier to follow.

TETSUO (Joshua Seth, AniMaze dub; Jan Rabson, Streamline dub) -- Not your typical protagonist for any kind of film, Tetsuo Shima is a deeply insecure, needy teenager who unfortunately comes into contact with a withered boy with psychic powers, gradually degenerates (literally) into a super-powerful, vengeful, psychotic megalomaniac, and, gradually, into an indistinguishable mass of mutating flesh (arguably one of the most horrifying pieces of animation in any film). If anything, he is an anti-hero. A role like this is very demanding, requiring a lot of tangible emotions while providing a touch of vulnerability and insanity. And that's ultimately what makes Joshua Seth's take on the character so fascinating. From the start, he brings a very needy tone to his lines, effectively conveying Tetsuo's inner issues. His resentment/admiration for Kaneda also comes across very clearly with the conflicted delivery of his interactions with him. Particularly noteworthy are the scenes where he yells at Kaneda for saving him from the Clowns, and later on, when he, at the point of insanity, condescendingly tells him that he no longer needs him--these moments are handled excellently. As his character turns into a dangerous psychopath, cackling hysterically, Seth lets loose and never holds back, but at the same time he does not make Tetsuo sound "evil". There is something about the crazed tone of his laugh that gives one the impression that he sounds like a kid ready to use his powers to achieve exactly what he wants. He gives his all to the climactic moments when Tetsuo's pain worsens and ultimately corrupts him. It's a wonder that Seth is no longer working as a voiceover artist, but if Tetsuo was a dream come true for him, then it could very well indeed be his finest role ever.
Streamline's Jan Rabson, on the other hand, didn't give me the same feel. His early scenes where Tetsuo is inspecting Kaneda's bike is handled very weakly, and come across more like cold reading instead of genuine acting.  His attempts to provide raw emotion also came across as very forced and shrill on my ears. He's a little better when he descends into madness, but even then, there's something about his approach that feels very off. Oh sure, he sneers contemptuously and laughs maniacally, except it came across to me like a stereotypical villain, without any of the nuances of humanity that Joshua provides (which, I felt, was much more effective). Jan Rabson is a fine voice actor, but his Tetsuo just didn't strike me as one of his finest roles.

KANEDA (Johnny Yong Bosch, AniMaze dub; Cam Clarke, Streamline dub) -- Aside from Tetsuo, the other central character in the film is Kaneda, a cocky, rambunctious biker who serves as the leader of the gang, and probably comes as close to the role of "hero" as possible. Bosch has a distinctively recognizable "leading teen" voice, and for all the flak he gets for being overexposed, he nonetheless is a very solid choice for this character. He brings a brash attitude to the character and delivers his lines with zest and enthusiasm. Most of his dialogue consists of shouting and cursing, and Bosch really sounds like he's having a blast with those moments. But the scenes where he shows off other aspects of his personality are effective, too; his attempts to sweet-talk the elusive Kei, his internal concern for Tetsuo, and of course, his final scene in the movie. Johnny has had lots of other roles like this in many other Anime, but Kaneda is definitely up there with one of his finest.
As much as I respect Cam Clarke as a voice actor, his take on the character felt more alienating to me than effective.  His vocal tone is enough to make one think of, say, Michaelangelo or Leonardo from Ninja Turtles, which struck me as very odd from the get-go. But that's not the reason I found his Kaneda underwhelming. Half of his "angry" scenes come across as very strained and his attempts at emotion either clash with the onscreen visuals or sound very exaggerated. Even his screams of "Tetsuo" toward the end are just overacting with no real force. In short, this performane gave me the impression that Clarke didn't know where he wanted to go with his role and was just recording his lines in one take. It's a shame, too, because I really liked him as Kratos in Tales of Symphonia and Liquid Snake in Metal Gear Solid.

KEI (Wendee Lee, AniMaze dub; Lara Cody, Streamline dub) -- In cahoots with an underground resistance to overthrough the corrupt government of Neo Tokyo, Kei is an extremely strong-willed yet also very fragile terrorist who actually comes across as traumatized when she takes out a cop with one (bloody) shot to the head. She is something of a love/hate interest for Kaneda, but naturally she becomes an important ally in the latter events of the film, particularly when she is possessed by three emancipated children to stop Tetsuo from his madness (although we're never really told how she got mixed up with them). Wendee raises her voice slightly to sound like a teenage girl. It's not too deep to sound otherwise, but it's also not too shrill to come across as convincing either. I like this balance, as it makes her voice much easier on the ears. But she also does a great job of bringing out Kei's toughness, vulnerability, and stoicness (when she is possessed by the children toward the climax of the film), without overdoing it. Her chemistry with Bosch is very believeable, and doesn't hold back in the scenes where she is supposed to raise her voice or scream. Overall, it is a very solid performance and consistently believeable.
As far as Cody is concerned, she has a considerably higher pitch and there are a few moments of effectiveness, but unfortunately there isn't enough of it. Most of her acting sounds rushed and forced, as if she did it in one take. (Her "Kaneda" scream at the end has a two-sided effect, on one hand it is indeed strong, but on the other it sounds quite off and unfocused. While changing that line to "Kaneda! Can you hear me?" in the new dub was a call on the scriptwriters' part, it at least sounds more consistent and better delivered.) In all honesty, it's not the worst I've heard from Lara, but she has done better in other roles than this.

COLONEL (Jamieson Pryce, AniMaze dub; Anthony Mozdy, Streamline dub) -- The idea behind the murky narrative of Akira is that the street gangs are the protagonists and that the government officials are the antagonists. While that may be true for the most part, the Colonel teeters very much toward "hero" territory. He is a very stern figuree, contemptuous of the current conditions of Neo Tokyo, yet at the same time dedicated to doing the right thing. He takes action to stop Tetsuo when the latter gets out of control, and is one of the others to survive the (literally) apocalyptic finale. Pryce lends his booming voice to this character, bringing both a strong gravitas and a sense of authority that gives one the impression that he is not someone to be dismissed. In addition, he does an excellent job at expressing the Colonel's frustration with the politicians, uneasy alliance with the Doctor, and sounds entirely believeable during the dramatic scenes toward the end. While there are some places where he comes across as though he's trying to keep up with the lipflaps, he doesn't miss a beat in his acting. Pryce seems to be born to play characters of this nature, and this is yet another fantastic role for his resume.
Mozdy, on the other hand, gives the character a much raspier tone which would probably work in favor of the Colonel being a world weary soldier, but it doesn’t have the same tone of authority that Pryce brings. He also seems uncertain of where he wants to go with the character, growling and grunting his way through each line with no real force. While there may be at least one line that didn’t sound so bad (“Are you satisfied now, Tetsuo?”) which came across a bit missed in the newer version, many others aren’t as strongly delivered as they could be. In particular, his shouting at the children to get out of the stadium when Tetsuo metamorphs or his earlier scolding of the doctor aren't forceful enough. It's just the same gruff tone with no range of emotion. Pryce has the advantage over Mozdy in those moments, as he sounds much stronger in his delivery.

KAORI (Michelle Ruff, AniMaze dub; Barbara Goodson, Streamline dub) – Tetsuo's girlfriend has a small part in the film, and regretably, her role is limited. She spends most of the time worrying about Tetsuo, and, at one point, is almost raped by the Clown gang leader. It's hard for the audience to really care, one way or another, when she makes her final exit from the movie. Which is arguably what makes her role something of a challenge. For the AniMaze dub, Ruff raises her voice to a high pitch and at times it does come across as strained, but at the same time she does a very good job of conveying the character's emotions. Her delivery is solid and believeable throughout.
Goodson is less strained in her vocal portrayal of Kaori, but while she tries to make an effort at putting emotion into her role, it didn't seem very natural. It doesn’t help that the character’s dialogue is not all that compelling to begin with, given that she has little to do in the film. Overall, neither role is particularly outstanding, but Ruff is the better of the two by far.

YAMAGATA (Michael Lindsay, AniMaze dub; Anthony Mozdy, Streamline dub) – Taller and lankier than Kaneda and perhaps even more sarcastic, Yamagata is a bit of a bully and an ally, in that while he treats Tetsuo like the runt of the pack, he also expresses concern for him after the latter crashes his bike. He is also the only member of the Capsules to be murdered by Tetsuo. In the Animaze dub, he is voiced by Michael Lindsay, who brings a noticeably scrappy but youthful sounding tone which works in favor of the character. (After all, he is a teenager.) But what I really liked about his performance was the enthusiasm he shows; his lines are delivered with a genuine liveliness that really gives one the impression that he was having a great time with this role.
If Mozdy’s take on the Colonel is lacking, his Yamagata makes that role sound like Shakespeare. His voice wavers between sounding goofy and/or artificial, and his dialogue ranges from Shatneresque “That. Peabrain!” or rushed with no real energy. His performance is very off from the start, and it delves into pretty forgettable territory fairly fast.

RYU (Robert Buchholz, AniMaze dub; Steve Kramer, Streamline dub) – This character doesn't have many scenes, but from the start it becomes clear that he is the leader of an underground resistance movement trying to overthrow Neo-Tokyo's corrupt government. It's a bit strange to hear Gene Starwind from Outlaw Star voicing this character, but surprisingly, it works very well. He has a great "leader" voice and delivers his lines in a very firm, controlled manner. His final scene in the movie is also very effectively done--Buchholz provides the character with the appropriate weariness required for that moment. I wouldn't say this is one of Bob's finest roles, but his overall performance is very strong and quite fitting.
Kramer’s voice isn’t terrible, but his acting feels more like reading directly from the script with no genuine emotion. This is not a good showcase of what he’s capable of (he turns in a much better performance as the interrogation officer whom Kaneda calls “old man” -- “pops” if you’re watching the Streamline version), and it doesn’t help that his character is mistranslated as “Roy”. At best, it’s a mediocre performance.

DOCTOR (Simon Isaacson, AniMaze dub; Lewis Lemay, Streamline dub) -- Obsessed with solving the mystery behind Akira, this character is compelled to continue experimenting on Tetsuo... to the point where he disobeys the Colonel's order not to do so when the situation gets eccentrically worse. It's tempting to say that he comes close to being a major villain, except he's not actively evil, but corrupt from his ambitious plans. Isaacson's quavering tone lends itself very well to the elderly appearance of the doctor, and he does an excellent job of portraying the Doctor as a somewhat mad but surprisingly sympathetic character. You can feel the obvious concern in his voice for his subjects as well as the gleeful enthusiasm for his work. One is reminded of Isaacson's work as Dr. Laughton from Metropolis, but the actor succeeds very well in making the character his own.
Lewis Lemay’s vocal tone is a tad raspier than Simon’s, which is vocally sound. But like everyone else, he sounds very, very dry, as if he's simply reciting lines from a play with no depth of emotion or comprehension of the material. In particular, his final moments toward the end of the film suffer from some unintentional humor, probably because of the laughably scripted "cosmic rebirth" (which frankly, doesn't make any sense) or the confused manner in which he delivers it. In other words, he suffers from the syndrome of just reading lines from the page, not actually acting.

KIYOKO (Sandy Fox, AniMaze dub; Melora Harte, Streamline dub) -- As one of three withered children, Kiyoko is also the most clairvoyant. When we first meet her, we learn that she has dreamt about the eventual downfall of Neo-Tokyo on account of Akira's resurrection. She can also speak directly to Kei through her mind, causing the latter to recite her directions/exposition to an obviously confused Kaneda. In many ways, she is still a child, but she is also adult, as well. How do you portray such a character? Sandy Fox rises to the task, and she does a solid job of conveying the character's nature, although it should be noted that in order to sound youthful, she raises her voice to a nasally-sounding pitch. This is a risky choice as it could cause for some aural discomfort. She sounds especially strained when Kiyoko is warning Tetsuo in a worried tone not to continue on his rampage. Despite that, her actual acting never feels forced, and Sandy fares especially well during normal dialogue.
Melora Harte’s version is less high-pitched than Sandy’s, which probably works in favor of her character’s withered appearance. At the same time, though, her delivery is inconsistent and all over the place, ranging from an ineffectively delivered, lame-sounding “That’s enough” to a forced, stilted, unbalanced staccato speech. I don't know if that is due to poor vocal direction or a lack of understanding about the character, but either way, it's not a very inspired performance. Neither choice is ideal, but Sandy fares much better overall.

TAKASHI (Cody MacKenzie, AniMaze dub; Barbara Goodson, Streamline dub) -- Of the three children, Takashi is something of an unintentional catalyst. It is his psychic powers that causes Tetsuo to crash, even though he's really trying to shield himself out of fear. When he is horrified by a person's death, his reponse is to scream, which in turn causes a skyscraper to collapse. In AniMaze's dub, he is voiced by Cody MacKenzie. This was probably his first dubbing role, and as such, there are some places where he sounds a bit green, particularly when he's relaying Kiyoko's warning to Tetsuo about awakening Akira's power. As he gets more comfortable with the character, though, I felt that his delivery improved along with it. One of his best moments is toward the climax of the film, where he tries to stop Kaneda from leaping after the transformed Tetsuo. Here he sounds very natural and genuinely worried.
As far as Goodson's take is concerned, I didn't find her particularly effective.  Aside from a lack of genuine emotion, she sounds surprisingly nasally and unconvincing. I'm sure she could have done a much better job if the production didn't feel so rushed. One thing that both VAs have in common is that their weak point is a scene about nine minutes in when Takashi reacts with a scream to a terrorist being gunned down. (This scream, incidentally, causes a tower to collapse.) Goodson makes the scream raspier sounding than Cody's (which does come across as a little too "polished" sounding), but otherwise that moment is underwhelming and unnatural in both dubs. Despite this, I still maintain that Cody is the better of the two vocal performances overall.

MASARU (Cody MacKenzie, Geneon dub; Bob Bergen, Streanline dub) -- Masaru is the most authoritative of the children; that is to say, he acts as their leader, as evidenced in the scene where he implores Takashi to come back with them at the beginning of the movie, and later on, when he motivates his friends(?) to attack Tetsuo. As with Takashi, Masaru is also voiced by Cody MacKenzie (or is he? The sources for confirmation are VERY confusing). Anyway, AniMaze's version of the character (which is what I'll refer to his voice actor as from now on) is very convincing and for the most part, acquits himself (herself?) extremely well. That said, there were a couple of places where I felt his delivery seemed a bit stiff, notably his first line in the film and, toward the end, his "Hi... Akira." (Then again, it would be difficult to imagine how to convey the appropriate response to that pivotal moment.) I do cut him slack, though, because otherwise his delivery sounds very natural and solid, and if there are any moments of awkwardness, it actually works in favor of this character, not against him.
While I can see what Bob may have been trying to do with his Masaru, he otherwise comes across as a very strange choice for the character and sounds completely off half the time. Yes, there are a few moments where he's effective, but overall it's not one of Bergen's finest moments. I steer around that argument for Pazu in Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky because he is basically a teenager and either approach (higher or lower pitched) is fitting, but Masaru is a much younger kid (despite having a weary appearance to him) and to have him sound like Grumpy from Care Bears on helium is very distracting. With all apologies to Bergen, this is not one of his finest moments.

Other roles in the AniMaze dub are provided by many other California regulars: Mike Reynolds voices the wheezy, nasty politician Nezu, Robert Axelrod has a brief role as a terrorist who is gunned down before we have a chance to know him (Shimazaki), Ivan Buckley is the bartender, and Matt Miller, Mike McConnohie, and many more round out the cast. With the exception of a few lines that seem a bit one-offish, the rest of the cast in AniMaze's dub sounds very solid and are directed extremely well. The older version's minor characters have a very strange, raspy quality, which, while probably appropriate for a satirical comic book, today sound very hard on the ears.

It's the translation, though, where AniMaze's dub really shines. As mentioned, Akira is an EXTREMELY difficult movie to follow, and, with all apologies to I. Michael Haller, his adaptation didn't do much to clarify the multiple subplots running alongside the central arc. There were also several instances in his script that I felt really needed work. For instance, there's one scene in the early quarter of the film where Kaneda and his friends are punched across the face by their school teacher. In Streamline's dub, the teacher in question simply shouts "Shut up!" to each of them one by one. The resulting scene, as such, sounds very confused and even laughable. By contrast, AniMaze's script (which is based on a fresh new translation of the Japanese script) uses the word "Discipline!" for each time the teacher strikes. Hearing this, the audience is given a much better implication on what Kaneda's friends are being reprimanded for--according to the liner notes on the DVD, it is a form of capital punishment in vocational schools. This is one of the many subtle examples which brings the story to a much more believeable tone.

Two other examples include a brief moment where Tetsuo starts to have grotesque hallucinations while the voices of the children shout "Akira!" in his mind. In Streamline's version, he shouts "I'm... not Akira!" which, again, caused for confusion and seemed like a last-minute scripting issue. The new dub replaces this line with "I don't know who that is!" which is similarly cryptic, but it's less head-scratching and feels more natural. In another scene much later on in the film, when Tetsuo is confronted by Kei (who is possessed by the children), after the latter warns him not to press on with his powers any further, Streamline's dub has him shout "stupidity! Utter stupidity!" I didn't know what he was reacting about and I had even forgotten at that point that Kei was possessed. The new dub solves this problem by having Tetsuo shout instead, "It's the KIDS talking! You're those brats, right?!" Not only does it remind the audience that Kei is not herself, it's also closer to the subtitled line. Based on these examples, it is obvious that the scriptwriters involved with the new dub really gave their new script a lot of thought, although considering the time and money put into the current version as opposed to the first one, it really isn't surprising.

Also worthy of mention are that the characters' names are pronounced correctly; so for those of you who still believe that Akira should sound like "A-Kir-rah" and Kaneda as "Ka-nay-da" or Takashi as "Ta-kah-shi" as the older dub describes them, they are not enunciated the same way in the Japanese language track. This time around, though, we hear "A-kee-ra", "Kah-nae-da", and "Taka-shi". While the change may seem disorienting, it also shows how much research the AniMaze team did in order to get the names just right.

Is AniMaze's dub of Akira flawless? Well, for all its accolades, there is one noticeable problem that makes it fall just slightly short of perfection--the lip-sync. Unlike most other Japanese animated features, Akira had its Japanese dialogue recorded first, and its mouths are more synchronized to its actors, a pratice very similar to Disney animated features. As such, the words don't always match very well in the dub. On the other hand, considering the difficulties of ADR and the challenges the writers must have been faced with in getting around this problem, it really doesn't harm the new dub at all. Only the most carefully trained eye will notice any minor imperfections.

Despite that, the overall effect of AniMaze's dub of Akira ultimately succeeds in making the film fresh and arguably much more accessible even to anyone who may have found it complicated the first time around. It is definitely an excellent entry for the folks responsible for efforts like Cowboy Bebop, Wolf's Rain, and countless other dubs. It even converted this once skeptical writer into a fan. As for the Streamline dub, it may have been passable for its time, but many older dubs from the '80s to the mid '90s have not aged so gracefully over the years, and this is no exception. I understand that there are many who will disagree with me, but if I ever want to experience Otomo's tale, I'd rather hear AniMaze's version. If the average viewer gives it a chance, I'm sure they'll have little trouble agreeing.

Fantasy Dub Casting: Skip Beat!

2011-03-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

(First off, everyone continue to keep Japan and its people in your prayers. Even if you can't afford to donate money, at least give them something)

Skip Beat is my latest favorite manga, one that everyone should be reading. I don't want to give a plot summary, so Wiki or TVTropes is the place for that, but I definitely think it's one of the best shoujo manga this side of Fruits Basket (which I'm going to do a fantasy cast of for the characters who didn't make it into the first anime, as well as a couple of legitimate recasts). That it's a story about acting certainly helps, and for a show about actors, you need great ones.

While there was an anime adaptation in 2008, it only ran for 25 episodes and doesn't appear to be getting a second season. Ergo, my casting here is more based on my experience with the manga. Once again, this will be a mix of different studios, mainly Texas and LA.

KYOKO MOGAMI (Luci Christian)-The heroine of our story, I had already cast Luci as Kyoko before the end of the first chapter. Kyoko has so many different sides to her personality and her own acting roles, but she's such an energetic, positive presence overall that I couldn't help but give it to Luci. This could end up as one of her classic characters, to tell you the truth.

SHO FUWA (Johnny Yong Bosch)-One of Johnny's best recent roles was Izaya Orihara in Durarara (which I do plan to review once Aniplex finishes releasing the show in America). To be frank, he's the largest, most evil prick Johnny's played in his career, and that's what inspired this casting. Sho seems to be getting some character development as the series goes on, but he's a hateful douche at the beginning of the series, and I can see Johnny having a blast with that brand of unrepentant douchebaggery.

REN TSURUGA (Crispin Freeman)-A beautiful young man who seems cold and jerky at first, but is secretly good and kind? Crispin can do this in his sleep, but Ren is complex enough in his emotions that I think the challenge would be interesting for him to tackle.

KANAE KOTONAMI (Trina Nishimura)-Trina is one of my favorite fresh Funimation talents, so I think she'd be perfect for the girl who starts as Kyoko's rival and very quickly becomes her best friend. Kanae is also a total perfectionist who perhaps takes too much pride in her work, and I think this could make for a great comedy duo between Trina and Luci.

LORY TAKARADA (Michael McConnohie)-The eccentric president of the agency Kyoko ends up at, Lory is a role that demands EPIC OVERACTING at times, but significantly more subtle acting at other times when he's manipulating his employees into making each other happier (no really, he does this. A lot). Michael's deep voice can be just as fit for comedy as it can be for drama, so I instantly thought of him for this role.

MARIA TAKARADA (Monica Rial)-Yes, I know it's a cliche, though as Monica herself will tell you, she's had plenty of non-little girl roles. Still, I couldn't think of anyone better to bring forth Maria's particular mix of sweetness and brattiness than Ms. Rial, so maybe it's for the best.

YUKIHITO YASHIRO (Greg Ayres)-Ren's hyperactive, matchmaking manager looks and acts fairly young, so I think Greg could make something really special and funny out of this role.

HIROAKI OGATA (Liam O'Brien)-Liam doesn't seem to play "meek" characters that much, so I thought this would both fit his voice and provide a nice bit of playing against type.

KUU HIZURI (Steve Blum)-Steve absolutely has the ability to pull off the uber-cool movie star who nevertheless ends up as Kyoko's surrogate father for reasons too complicated to explain here (GO READ IT!). That mix of fatherly tenderness (as well as hilariously proud doting) and sheer coolness fits Steve's repertoire to a T.

Coming up on Fantasy Casts: the aforementioned Fruits Basket thing as well as Star Driver. I may also post a review for Summer Wars as well.

Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

2011-03-16T08:03:00.000-07:00

Today's new post is not a review, but a rather upsetting piece of news. As many of you are aware, Japan recently was hit with both a 9.0 earthquake and a huge tsunami which literally wiped a whole town off the map. Reportedly 10,000 people were killed. Fortunately, none of Japan's creators of Anime or videogames that I know of were harmed by the disaster. Even so, it is never good when a horrific event like this occurs. We at AnimeDubReviews extend our hearts to the people of Japan who are suffering this tragedy.

There are lots of sites proclaiming donations to help the people from the land of Mario, Ghibli, etc. recover from the earthquake. For more information check out Anime News Network.

Darker than BLACK

2011-03-06T05:44:00.000-08:00

(First of all, I'd like to apologize for not making a post in several months. You'll be seeing more posts from me in addition to this one very soon, so I hope that will make up for lost time)

At this point, I am convinced that Funimation is incapable of dubbing a show poorly. They get mediocre or even bad shows sometimes, sure, but they've come so far since those early days of Dragonball Z where, as Chris Sabat will tell you, no one knew what they were doing. This is especially evident in the dub under discussion today, Darker than BLACK, a supernatural action show from director Tensai Okamura (Wolf's Rain) and Studio BONES. Like Wolf's Rain, DtB (abbreviated for convenience) is a series that plays events very close to the chest; emotional outbursts are powerful but rare, and one has to pay very close attention in order to catch the significance of many events and symbols within the series. Such a show needs to be carefully dubbed, and Funimation once again triumphs with this difficult show.

This will be divided into "Main Characters" and "Recurring/Two-Shot Characters" due to DtB's unusual series structure of two-episode mini-arcs until the last few episodes. I won't be analyzing EVERY minor or recurring role, just the ones I think are the most important and/or interesting. There's nary a poorly cast or poorly acted role in the dub, though, so anyone I don't mention is still great. Also, here be spoilers. You have been warned.

Main Characters

HEI/LEE SHENSHUN (Jason Liebrecht)-I'll be honest right now: until this role and Luck Gandor in Baccano! (I've also heard good things about his performance as the male lead in Eden of the East), I wasn't much of a fan of Jason. His early roles in shows like Black Cat or Tsubasa were basic male leads, and his voice didn't seem inherently interesting enough to justify his casting. Now he seems to be getting cast in more suitable roles, and his Hei is definitely excellent. Hei is hard to figure out: is his real self his on-the-job persona as "the Black Reaper", or is he really more like his agreeably dorky civilian identity Lee Shenshun? Liebrecht captures all the facets of Hei wonderfully, whether he's being a badass and fighting other Contractors (the superpowered beings of the story), his facade as Lee, or his own self-reflective moments where he ponders the past or his own feelings. It's a terrific performance all around.

MAO (Kent Williams)-Kent is one of my favorite Funi talents. Not only does he have a great, memorable voice, but he's an excellent, professional actor who almost never hits a wrong note. Mao, a Contractor who can "jump" into animals' bodies that is currently stuck in a cat form, is undoubtedly one of his largest roles and certainly one of his best. Sarcastic talking cats in a supernatural setting are nothing new (remember Jiji from Kiki's Delivery Service or Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch?), but Kent manages to put his own spin on the trope, his older voice sounding more legitimate and biting in its sarcasm. Mao is quite possibly one of my favorite characters in the whole show, and Kent's wonderful performance is a large part of why. He certainly gets the best line in the whole show: "By the way, Hei doesn't just wear that coat as a fashion statement... it's bulletproof." And then Hei kicks the ass of everyone in the vicinity. Awesomesauce.

YIN (Brina Palencia)-Brina admittedly doesn't get as much to do as some of the others, but she manages to portray Yin's gradual emotional awakening quite effectively, especially in the episodes where we learn about her past. No complaints.

HUANG (John Swasey)-Swasey can do this type of role (gruff jerk with a heart of gold) in his sleep, but Huang is definitely one of his best. He's not a very likable guy at first, but Swasey subtly gets the idea across that Huang's jerk attitude is largely a front for his real feelings, and he certainly excels in the arc where we learn just why he thinks he hates Contractors so much. By the end of the series, Swasey has portrayed Huang's subtle transformation into a man who is willing to die to help people he previously said he hated so well that one nearly weeps at his demise, and cheer when he pops up again in a very unexpected form.

MISAKI KIRIHARA (Kate Oxley)-In addition to Kent Williams, this might be my favorite long-term performance in the whole dub. Kate is fairly fresh talent, but she establishes Misaki perfectly from the get go as a strong, capable woman who doesn't flinch even when she knows she's dealing with powers far beyond her own, normal capabilities. Kate also captures the other facets of Misaki's personality well, such as her embarrassment when she's squeezed into a sexy chinadress for a fancy party, or her hesitation in dealing with her boss since he's also her father. She also has a great interplay with Monica Rial's Kanami (who I'll get to later), and you really get the sense that these two women have been friends for a long time even before we learn they went to school together.

YUSUKE SAITO (Chris Sabat), YUTAKA KONO (Todd Haberkorn), KUNIO MATSUMOTO (Kenny Green), and MAYU OTSUKA (Leah Clark)-The other members of Misaki's team aren't too important in the long run, but they're all performed well. Sabat is rock-solid as usual, and he has some fun with Saito's unrequited crush on Misaki, Todd is youthful and sarcastic, Kenny is older and professional, and Leah doesn't have much to do in the series proper, but she gets to have a lot of fun in the extra OVA episode where Mayu's otaku tendencies are revealed.

YOSHIMITSU HORAI (R. Bruce Elliott)-Bruce has a great, authoritative voice, which suits this secretly sinister bureaucrat very well, and he does a wonderful job with Horai's subtle breakdown at the end of the series when his plans come crashing down around him.

KANAMI ISHIZAKI (Monica Rial)-The funny thing about Monica is that her higher-pitched characters are actually much closer to her real voice; go listen to an interview or con panel with her and you'll see what I mean. That makes her huskier roles more interesting, and while her Kanami isn't AS deep as she can go, it's more than we're used to, and it fits the sexy, friendly scientist quite well. She's great in moments where Kanami's doting over her experiments as well as teasing Misaki about her lack of a boyfriend.

NOVEMBER 11 (Troy Baker)-One of the interesting factors of DtB's story is that it's not restricted to Japan; a major incident in the backstory occurred in South America, and several intelligence agencies conflict with their own Contractors. One of the most memorable is November 11, an ice-powered British agent who steals nearly every scene he's in through pure suaveness. Baker puts on a pretty good British accent for the role (it sounds fine to MY Yankee ears at any rate), and he manages to get across November's buried camaraderie as well as his default "James Bond" mode.

AMBER (Laura Bailey)-Amber is an important figure in Hei's past and the series plot at large, and until the end we're never quite sure whether she's a hero or a villain. Laura's excellent performance helps with this delightful ambiguity; she always seems so concerned for Hei, yet has no hesitation about having her comrades fight (though not kill) him, and her love almost seems creepy at times. Laura expertly acts all of these feelings, and she meets another challenge that Amber presents: Amber's powers require her to "de-age", so Laura ends up playing her at several different ages. She nails it.

Recurring/Two-Shot Characters

GAI KURASAWA (Brandon Potter)-At first glance, a private eye homage character would seem to be horribly out of place in a story that takes more inspiration from, say, X-Men than from Raymond Chandler. Yet that's exactly why Gai is such a fun character whenever he pops up; his chain-smoking and hilarious noir monologues are delightfully anachronistic and out of place, and Potter has so much gravelly fun with the character that it's hard not to love him.

KIKO KAYUNAMA (Brittney Karbowski)-Gai's beleaguered teenage assistant is equally fun in a different way: she's a giant otaku, and the running gag of her abandoning her boss to go watch anime or to a convention never stops being funny. Brittney is a hoot in the role, especially when she points out Gai's awful smoking habit in her first line.

HAVOC (Luci Christian)-Havoc is one of the saddest characters in the series, a Contractor whose awful, destructive power came with a price that would drive anyone mad. When she's introduced, she's a broken shell seeking redemption for the horrible things she did, so terrified of her powers coming back that she begs her old comrade Hei to kill her if her powers start to come back. Luci is just GREAT, so anguished and pitiful that you want to hug her, and she also has a great monologue where she remembers a lone happy memory in a past soaked in blood.

ALICE WANG (Caitlin Glass)-At first glance, Alice seems like a typical cheerful, friendly Caitlin role, right? WRONG. Alice turns out to be deeply disturbed, and Caitlin effortlessly makes the transition from "bubbly childhood friend" to "major psycho", yet she manages to keep her sympathetic enough that her painful death is still sad.

WEI ZHIJUN (Robert McCollum)-Robert's not stretching his range much, but he brings a lot of menace and energy to Wei nonetheless. Though for me, it's hard not to be reminded of Shinobu Sensui from Yu Yu Hakusho, another superpowered nutjob he portrayed.

Royal Space Force—The Wings of Honneamise

2011-01-14T13:36:00.000-08:00

Despite a lengthy period of production and a staggering cost of eight million yen, Gainax's ambitious sci-fi tale of a cadet struggling to become his planet's first astronaut was a commercial bomb in its 1987 theatrical release; not even turning a profit until seven years later. Part of the gradual success comes from screenings of the film handled by Manga Entertainment, with a dub produced by AniMaze, inc. This is not the only dub to have been made. Back in the '80s, when Anime was all about hack and slash compilated edits, Wings of Honneamise was released as "Star Quest" (just Miyazaki's Nausicaa was retitled and edited as "Warriors of the Wind"), which not only cut the picture down by multiple minutes, but was so badly received that it has been forgotten. Luckily, the currently existing dub is uncut, so no problems there.

This is one of their earliest dubs, dating back to 1994, so there are some technical issues to be had. The sound quality is a bit lacking in clarity at times, as the dialogue can come across as sounding trebly. Then there is the occasional stilted line and/or less than stellar reads. Even so, considering that it is from a period when dubs rarely achieved stellar results, Wings of Honneamise holds up surprisingly well as an early dub, showcasing some bits of quality that future efforts from the studio would bring.

Before I start, though, I should mention that the film has some of the hardest-to-pronounce names I've ever listened to in a long time! As such, the "correct" spelling of the characters' names will probably give readers the wrong idea on how they are supposed to be pronounced, and I'm not sure if the dub gets it right. As such, it is important to take these names with a grain of salt and see them as face value. Another point of contention is that half of the cast doesn't have their names revealed when they're onscreen. As such, only the principal characters will be fully reviewed.

SHIROTSUGH LHADATT (aka SHIRO) (Robert Matthews) -- When we first meet the main character of this tale (pronounced as Shiro-tsgu Ladatt), he is a cynical, lazy young man who goof around with his buddies at the Royal Space Force, where the idea of "crossing into the stars" is, at best, laughable. His character undergoes the most growth, from his spark of inspiration after meeting Riquinni, to the fit of depression (which includes a very shocking -- and to this day controversial -- rape attempt scene), to his eventual maturation into a stable, eager hero who ends up reciting his priestess' friends prayers when he orbits the Earth for the first time in a successfully launched satellite. Matthews does an excellent job of conveying all these aspects of Shiro's character without venturing into cartoonish territory. He delivers his lines very naturally, like a real person in a civilized territory trying to find his way. Which isn't to say that he remains soft-spoken for the film. When he stands up to volunteer as the first man in space, he raises his voice to a earnest, gung-ho level, only letting loose (without overacting) when he refuses to call off the launch when an invading army threatens to disrupt it. And his final monologue at the end of the film is delivered with a quiet, understated manner filled with a new wisdom. This "low-key" approach is one of the many reasons why this dub is very solid, as this is an "adult" drama rather than an escapist fantasy (where the kind of mellodramatic dialogue is appropriate). Matthews' Shiro reflects that atmosphere very effectively.

RIQUINII NONDERAIKO (Melody Lee) -- Considering that her character is the major motivation behind Shiro's growth, one would expect Riqunni (Rikinni) to have a bigger part. Instead she only appears in select scenes; even so, her relationship with Shiro is one of the driving conflicts of the film. Whereas the latter appears to her out of false aspirations of courtship, Riquinni only treats Shiro as a friend, shooting down potentially romantic ideas (she brings along her adopted companion, Manna to see the stars with Shiro instead of going alone with him) while handing him "holy books" containing depressing stories as a method to "help" him. Riquinni is also overly religious and sometimes priggish: she doesn't want to read to Shiro "out of fun", simply because that would go against her belief that "the world is all messed up because of that kind of compromise!" Probably the most confusing aspect of her character is why she would beg for Shiro's forgiveness for smashing a vase over his head when the latter attempted to assault her. Is it her way of brushing him off? Or does she subscribe to the belief that two wrongs don't make a right? Whatever the nature of her character, one cannot fault Melody Lee for what she brings to her part. She has a fairly pleasant voice that works in favor of Riquinni being a down-to-earth, religious person, and her "preaching" scenes are handled very well. At other times, however, she does come across as a bit jittery and inconsistent, particularly the scene where she first meets Shiro and when she turns down his invitation to read to him. Her screams during the rape attempt scene also vary from genuine shock to forced. Despite this, Lee's performance is overall very solid and serves as a nice contrast to Matthews' Shiro.

MANNA (Wendee Lee) -- The orphaned girl who stays with Riquinni doesn't have many lines, and as such it is more difficult to evaluate her overall performance. In a way, it is a very curious role for Wendee Lee, better known for more husky-voiced characters (she uses that same tone for a news reporter midway through the film). Nonetheless, her performance in this film is uneven. For normal dialogue, Lee sounds fine, raising her voice to a somewhat nasal tone in order to sound five or six years old. Unfortunately, this approach doesn't always work in her character's favor, as the two scenes where her character is bawling come across as forced and not very natural; the same is true for Manna's brief chuckle during her final scene with Shiro. Since Manna is not a major role, however, I cut Wendee some slack.

GENERAL KHAIDENN (Steve Bulen) -- In what may be one of the most infuriating aspects of the dub and the film, the character's name is not even mentioned (except for Manga's trailer). As such, it took me some research to figure out who he was. That aside, he is clearly portrayed as the frustrated, easily exasperated "leader" of the Royal Space Force. Bulen's voice for the character is a bit too nasally, but not to the point that it distracts. The only time he somewhat "drops" this tone is during a brief moment when he's evaluating Shiro's progress. Overall, it is a decent performance, even if there are a couple of lines that sound a bit stilted and/or not always well delivered.

MATTI (Brian Crayston) -- At the Royal Space Headquarters, Matti is Shiro's best friend, and like the latter, he too undergoes growth. At the beginning he is just as cynical about the whole "space program" and it isn't until the climactic launch toward the end of the film that he finally seems to have come around. Otherwise, his role is primarily to be initially smug, but always on the lookout for his friend. Brian Crayston has a very fitting voice for the character and he mostly acquits himself well, but there are a couple of lines where he does sound stiff (notably when he tells the technicians that "we're in the final stages, everyone take your positions"). Otherwise, this is a solid performance. Nothing outstanding, but appropriate overall.

DR. GNOMM (Michael Forest) -- Even though he partially functions well to the plot, this grizzled, somewhat boastful nozzle-building expert has only three scenes (and he even dies before his character has much chance to develop). As such, Michael's performance doesn't make enough of a lasting impression. Nonetheless, the vocal tone that he uses to the character is appropriate and he does what he can with the little bits of dialogue he has. (His opening line is a hoot, though.)

NERREDON (Simon Prescott) -- If there is a character that plays anything in the way of a "villain" role, it's the Vice Minister of the rivalling republic of Rimada. Even so, his role is too scanty to make an impression, and he is not necessarily "evil". Rather, he's more of a disgruntled individual who doesn't approve of violent tactics to carry out his opposition (as evidenced by his muttering of "Weapons people, they're stupid!") but only approves of them because his secretary argues that they are beneficial. His role is not necessarily effective; even so, Simon rises to the task. For anyone familiar with his more "quavering" roles as scientists in Akira and Metropolis, he doesn't apply that same vocal style to his part. He sounds more deep and grumpy, to the point where one may not realize he is the same actor. It should be noted, though, that every scene he is in is obstructed by Japanese subtitles--this is because in the original, his scenes are spoken in a "different" language, so as to convey that this is from a different kingdom. Since there is no getting around this barrier, it is a bit of a distraction, but not to the point where it harms the film.

OFFICER TENZ KOVICH (Ellyn Stern) -- This stuffy officer only appears at the end, mainly to warn the Royal Space Force about the approaching invasion, insisting that they evacuate. (When Shiro refuses to comply, the rest of the cadets of course defy her orders.) She doesn't have many lines, but the tone of voice Ellyn uses is very fitting and almost amusing... especially when she introduces herself and her final line, "I guess the crew's going down with its ship!"

These are the only characters in the film that emerge as distinctively memorable. Many others, notably Shiro's buddies at the Royal Space Force, are either unnamed or referred to when they are offscreen, making it confusing for the viewer to identify which character is which. (Indeed, it took me a LOT of research to figure out who was who!) But just for those who are interested, Shiro's other friends include the stubbled, stout Majaho (voiced by Tony Pope, whose tone is quite recognizable), the blue-haired Domorhot (Jan Rabson), the earnest, orange-haired Darrigan (Jimmy Theodore), the smug-looking Nekkerout (Dan Woren) who purchases a new model satellite for Shiro to practice in, the bulky but soft-hearted Yanalan (Richard Epcar), the bespactled technician Kharock who gets to say "lift-off!" at the climactic launch (Arnie Hanks), and Tchallichallami (Cha-challi, as he's pronounced, strange as that may be, played by Christophe deGroot), who sets off with Majaho to the observatory to monitor the flight with a cat on his shoulders. All do passable jobs, but neither of their roles really stand out that much.

Of the elderly scientists who help design the rocket, we have the wheelchair bound Professor Ronta (who speaks in a high-pitched, quavering tone) and the more spikey Professor Dekro, both of who are more or less suspect (and oddly uncredited... or at least I have not been able to identify either voice actor). Then there are the two aristocrat guys at the defense ministry (one of who is voiced by Steve Blum), a couple of newscasters, occasional girlfriends, army soldiers in crafts and meetings, and dozens of nameless protestors. All of who are voiced by names such as Doughary Grant, Doug Stone, Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Bambi Darro, and many other Animaze regulars. Bonus points if you can identify who is who!

The dialogue, adapted by Quint Lancaster and Mary Mason, under the supervision of the film's original executive producer, Shigeru Watanabe (after being translated by Neil Nadelman) flows smoothly for the most part, although there are places, as mentioned, where it does fall into stilted territory. There are also a lot of places where it seems to deviate from the subtitle script, although in all fairness, no line seemed to be out of context or that far removed from the places I checked. I can only wonder what StarQuest's was like, but if reports are any indication, then Animaze's translation will have to do.

Since Wings of Honneamise is from the "dark days of dubbing", or at least that's what the '90s could be referred to as, it may be dismissed as another forgettable affair (as critics at the time of its release in traditional newspapers have done). Other Anime websites have been mixed, but there were several enthusiasts. Personally, I think this dub succeeds as a good starting point for AniMaze, standing out fairly well from many other dubious efforts from the early 1990's.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-12-31T18:49:00.000-08:00

Each new year brings lots of surprises. As we draw to the end of 2010, we enter a whole new year: 2011. It is my sincerest hope that dubs will continue to exist; whatever naysayers may say about them, they are crucial to our market and bringing in new fans. Here's hoping that we'll continue to see great shows in the coming year!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!

Updates are coming...

2010-11-28T18:21:00.000-08:00

Y'all, I am SO sorry that there hasn't been an update lately. I don't know what Jon's position is, but my own is pure laziness. There will be new reviews coming very soon, and I hope you'll enjoy them.

Upcoming Reviews

2010-10-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

Hello again, FightingDreamer here, and I want to use this post to preview some of the upcoming reviews from both myself and Jon, as well as Fantasy Dub Casts that I have planned. In short:

Upcoming FightingDreamer Reviews-Baccano!, El Cazador De La Bruja, El Hazard: The Magnificent World, Paranoia Agent, Koi Kaze, Princess Tutu, Aquarion and Yu Yu Hakusho.

Upcoming Jon reviews: Akira, possibly Jungle Emperor Leo and Wings of Honneamise.

Upcoming Fantasy Casts: Mahou Sensei Negima, which would be a full, manga-based series rather than the previous two series or the current manga-based OVAS (which are good, but I'd prefer a whole show), Heroman and Naoki Urasawa's Pluto.

Stay tuned for more!

Fantasy Dub Casting: Yotsuba&!

2010-10-12T18:50:00.001-07:00

Welcome to a new feature for Anime Dub Reviews! Fantasy dub casting threads pop up all the time on animation community sites/fansites, so I thought it would be a great idea to share some of my own (and hopefully Jon will get involved too). I won't be limiting myself to any particular dubbing studio, and I'll also cast actors who don't do a lot of dubbing but do extensive voicework where I see fit. I'll also, if the first title I'm doing wasn't an indication, occasionally do manga that don't have an anime adaptation yet. With that intro out of the way, let's begin!

Yotsuba&! is a charming, hilarious manga from Kiyohiko Azuma, the creator of Azumanga Daioh, and I'm rather baffled that it hasn't gotten an anime adaptation yet. If it ever did, however, these are who I'd want to play the various characters:

YOTSUBA KOIWAI (Laura Bailey)-I had to think long and hard about this one, going through several choices in my head, but I ultimately decided on Laura. She has a great, youthful sound to her voice in many of her roles, and she can certainly get high-pitched. Combine that with the enthusiasm of, say, Tohru Honda, and you have a perfect match for this ridiculously energetic little girl.

MR. KOIWAI/"DAD" (Steve Blum)-Well, he just looks like a Steve Blum character to begin with. I know that sounds weird, but go look up an image of him and you'll see what I mean. That aside, Blum has a great, naturally casual sound to his normal voice, and this gets brought out in a lot of his best roles (particularly Spike Spiegel). But he can also get crazy and hyper, and that combination fits Yotsuba's adoptive father who's practically a big kid himself like a glove.

TAKASHI TAKEDA/"JUMBO" (Crispin Freeman)-This is another one I thought about for a while, but I ultimately decided on Crispin because I really like hearing him do straight-up comedy. He doesn't get to do it a whole lot, although he's certainly brought deadpan humor to many of his badasses, but when he does the results are always magnificent (see Chobits for a great example). Add the fact that he can make his voice pretty darn deep, and you have a great fit for Koiwai's freakishly tall best friend.

FUUKA AYASE (Wendee Lee)-Yeah, yeah, I know: "She's in everything, FD!" Y'know why? 'Cause she's good. And I have a feeling that she could knock Yotsuba's teenage neighbor who often gets caught up in the little girl's adventures and provides some relative sanity to the proceedings out of the park.

ASAGI AYASE (Grey DeLisle)-Grey is one of my favorite voice actresses, and she's played at least one incredibly memorable "older sister" in the psychotic Azula from Avatar: Ther Last Airbender. However, she's also played more "cool big sis" type characters such as Frankie from Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, and I have a feeling that voice and performance type would work perfectly for the equally cool Asagi.

ENA AYASE (Lara Jill Miller)-Ena is Fuuka and Asagi's younger sister, and she almost immediately hits it off with Yotsuba, exhibiting as much curiosity and wonder about the world as her friend. Lara can do that type of role in her sleep.

MRS. AYASE (Kath Soucie)-What can I say? Kath's really, really good at playing moms. Next!

MR. AYASE (Michael McConnohie)-Considering how often he plays villains or tough guys, Michael is surprisingly adept at playing dads, although they sometimes turn out to be evil as well (Code Geass anyone?). Ergo, he'd be perfect for the laid-back, kindly Ayase patriarch.

MIURA HAYASAKA (Mona Marshall)-OK, part of this is just amusing to myself: Miura often gets mistaken for a boy, and Mona's played a lot of young boys, so to hear her apply her usual young boy voice to a young girl would be pretty amusing in theory. That said, Mona could also act this part really well, especially since Miura is relatively down-to-earth compared to the rest of the cast.

TORAKO (Cricket Leigh)-I decided to pick Leigh, who played Mai in Avatar: The Last Airbender, for this role because I think her deadpan performance in that show, with perhaps a little more comedic energy, would work wonders for Asagi's chain-smoking, "cool" best friend.

YANDA (Vic Mignogna)-The great thing about Vic is that his voice can suit heroes, villains, nice guys and jerks equally well, and Yanda is a pretty big jerk, albeit in a funny way. So I think Vic could be quite a comedic highlight when he pops up.

That's it for now, but be sure to keep an eye out for more entries in this series as well as more dub reviews.

Ponyo

2010-10-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

Audiences in North American hadn't seen a theatrical release of a Ghibli film since 2005's Howl's Moving Castle, and even then, the box office take for that film in America was considerably lower than that of Spirited Away and many miles beyond its gross in Japan. Despite this, though, in August of 2009, (roughly around ten years after the first Disney-dubbed Miyazaki, Princess Mononoke, hit the screens), Miyazaki's newest tale about a goldfish aspiring to become human had a wide-scale release in North America. With rave reviews and a gross of $15 million, it holds the rank of being the highest grossing Ghibli movie in America. Of course, that doesn't amount to much since the film already made a massive amount of money in its native country, but either way, it was a solid dent for both Disney and the house of Totoro.

While longtime Miyazaki fanboy John Lasseter resumes his role for supervising the dub, Ponyo has a different team at its helm. This includes scriptwriter Melissa Mathison (E.T.), and executive producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy, and a huge roster of all-star names... including the offspring of the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana. The selection of the latter was a sour sticking point for purists, who naturally were prepared to write off the whole dub. As such, Ponyo has fallen victim to the usual love/hate reaction that Disney's Ghibli dubs typically receive--high acclaim from most critics and viewers, but harsh detraction from naysayers. (In fact, this writer recalls running into a little girl who hated the Ponyo dub simply because she couldn't stand Cyrus.) Yet as with any of the Ghibli dubs, the key to enjoying Ponyo is not with bias against any of the performers, nor as a comparison tool to the Japanese version--but simply on its own merits.

And the good news is that Ponyo acquits itself very well. Mathison's script is fluent and natural for the most part, avoiding the occasional stilted sentence now and then (part of that problem is more due to the animation than the acting). Surprisingly, it's even nearly identical to the subtitled script of the Japanese version, with the exception of several lines (or at least that's the "official" subtitles on the R1 DVD release; I'm not sure how they compare to the R2 DVD). Of course, what really matters is how good the vocal talents are in order to breathe life into the dialogue to make it sound as fresh and fluent as possible.

SOSUKE (Frankie Jonas): Harsh detractors of Disney's dubs have been overly critical about the casting choices for the lead characters (e.g. the leads in Laputa, Michael Keaton as Porco Rosso, and the sisters in Totoro), and many of them were filling their ammunition for this casting choice, the youngest member of Disney's popular Jonas Brothers band. Having had no such problems with the aforementioned examples (and not the least bit familiar with that group), I wasn't about to put that much burden on him, and I am happily surprised to announce that he surpassed my expectations. Frankie does a GREAT job in this role, sounding very natural and comfortable throughout. His scenes with Lisa and the title character are credited by the exuberance he brings to the role. Only one crying scene in the first half after he loses Ponyo comes across as less convincing, but not enough to bring down the overall quality of his performance. I tip my hat to this guy--he really is quite good.

PONYO (Noah Cyrus): This is a trickier performance to evaluate. Voiced by the little sister of Hannah Montana 's Miley Cyrus (another point of contention for detractors), Ponyo surprisingly doesn't talk until about midway through the first quarter. And when she does talk, you should prepare to cover your ears: SHE YELLS MANY OF HER LINES LIKE THIS. On one hand, it is appropriate for the character, as she is, after all, an extremely hyperactive girl totally thrilled to be part of humanity. On the other, though, there are many moments when she goes overboard... to the point where she becomes the most grating element of the entire dub. Fortunately, she tones it down in the latter half, and never fails to deliver childish exuberance. Whether that's a compliment to the character or a detriment is up to the viewer.

LISA (Tina Fey): Sosuke's mother, Lisa, is my favorite voice in the whole dub. It's funny that I always find one particular actor that ends up "stealing the show" in any Disney Ghibli English track, and Fey takes the spot. She imbues her character with just the right amount of spirit and personality and sounds very much like the sort of mother anybody would want to have. Her exasperated scenes and concern for Sosuke are handled in a way that feels very natural to both the character and her overall performance. Particularly memorable is the scene where she expresses frustration with her husband for not returning to his family (and her subsequent "request" to tell Sosuke to flash the signal message "B-U-G-O-F-F"). The manner in which she delivers this scene is hilarious and priceless. All in all, an excellent job all around.

KOICHI (Matt Damon): Lisa's husband, the seafaring Koichi, has a surprisingly small part. Since his screentime is limited, it's more difficult to evaluate his performance as a whole. That said, Damon does do a fine job with what he has to do, which is mostly either excitement over seeing Sosuke flash a signal to his ship, stumbling his way through thunderstorms, or even calling out at the end.

FUJIMOTO (Liam Neeson): Ponyo's father is some sort of magician whose primary concern is to bring balance to the ocean (mainly by creating jellyfish from his magic elixirs) and becomes rather nerotic when his youngest daughter gets into trouble... to the point where he has to try to bring her back. It should come across as no surprise that Mr. Neeson nails this role, having proved himself capable of doing dramatic voiceovers for characters like Aslan in the Narnia movies. Contrary to the King of Beasts, however, Neeson gets to show emotions of exasperation and frustration. He never holds back in those moments (the scene where he tries to stop Ponyo from turning into a human is especially funny), and is overall a very nice presence in the cast.

GRAN MAMARE (Cate Blanchett): In many ways, this is a very effortless performance... but I don't mean that as a criticism at all. Blanchett's portrayal of this sea goddess isn't that much different from Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings. Employ the character with that same serene tone of voice and add a vocal reverb, and there you go! It may come across as somewhat distracting, but all in all it works in her character's favor.

YOSHIE (Betty White): Miss White plays one of three elderly women who live at the Senior Citizens' Center. Her character gets to speak most of them, and it sounded fine to my ears. Nothing that I'd write home about, though.

NORIKO (Cloris Leachman): One of my major disappointments of the dub. Her Dola from Castle in the Sky was, and remains, one of my favorite performances from a Ghibli dub ever, but here she doesn't have anywhere nearly as much lines or screen time! And whenever she does talk, she doesn't have very many lines. Her acting sounded fine, but if I were casting this movie, I'd select her as the next character I'm going to bring up.

TOKI (Lily Tomlin): Of the three elderly women, only Toki has a distinctive personality, a cantankerous pessimist who always sees the negative side of things. Vocally, Tomlin is fine for the part and sounds appropriately sharp and snappish, but as mentioned, I'd swap places with Leachman for this part.

KUMIKO (Jenessa Rose): This little classmate of Sosuke's makes a brief appearance, and is as childish and priggish as you'd expect. Her insult of Ponyo is impeccably done, as is her subsequent crying scene. No problems.

I had a hard time identifying the incidental cast, but I did notice names like Crispin Freeman, Colleen O'Shaughnessy, Seth MacFarlane, and others in the credits. I've never had problems with these minor parts, and this is no exception, but I didn't really pick out anybody from my first time around.

No dub is perfect, though, and, aside from my quibbles about Cyrus and Leachman, there were two other things that irked me. While Mathison's script is smooth for the most part, it oddly decides to include Japanese "honorifics" into the dialogue. This includes phrases like "san" and "Sensei". Past Disney dubs have avoided this to prevent confusion with audiences unfamiliar with Japanese culture, but as this is supposed to be a translation for a mainstream audience who doesn't resort to subtitles, it comes across as jarring and out of place. Not that it takes me out of the film, but I did find it distracting.

My second, and only really major problem that I have is the handling of the film's end title song. The first half is actually pretty faithful to the original version, with Frankie and Noah delivering the childish-sounding vocals that accompany the credits over some beautiful still-shots. Unfortunately the second half devolves into a blasty techno-style remix which is subsequently less cute and clearly more of a marketing ploy. Considering that the rest of the movie contains a luscious score and a breathtaking opera number for the opening credits, it's a very odd, unfortunate addition... probably the only major problem I've ever had with any of these dubs. In all fairness, though, it only appears at the second half of the credits.

All in all, Ponyo's dub is pretty good. Not five-star material, but it does its job well. I don't think this will be the sort of dub to challenge fans that predetermine to cast off Disney dubs, but if you don't go in with that attitude, it's easier to appreciate the dub as a whole. Not the best Disney-Ghibli dub I've heard, but watchable nonetheless, Ponyo gets a passing grade as an English track.

Vampire Hunter D

2010-10-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

Contrary to what extremists say, not all dubs are uniformly bad. There are dubs that are superbly acted and still remain as fresh and fascinating as they were the first time around. There are also dubs which, although not perfect, are still entertaining. And then there are dubs which are flawed in places but still have merit... as well as dubs that may have seemed passable at one time, but ultimately lose their appeal and are hard to even listen to again without cringing.

Streamline Pictures' dub of Vampire Hunter D, a 1985 B-grade OVA based on a novel by Hideyuki Kikuchi and featuring character designs by Final Fantasy's Yoshitaka Amano, is a dub that falls into this last category. Released around 1992, at a time when dubs were, at best, of poor quality, it does sort of stand out as being "not so bad". Of course, this is typically what most newcomers to Anime who stumble upon this dub without hearing a wide variety of them would think. However, after listening to many modern dubs or even some older ones that happen to hold up well, then Vampire Hunter D seems quite outdated. And by that I don't mean that it is simply bad, but both technically and emotionally, it feels like a chore to listen to after being spoiled by so many other better ones.

The actors who participate in this dub are good voice actors. Honestly, they really are. Yet sometimes circumstances beyond their control, poor vocal direction or rushed takes, can cause them to turn out performances that are nowhere near the caliber of superior work. And this is exactly what Vampire Hunter D is: a case of fine actors all sounding off their mark and/or not as effective as they should be.

D (Michael McConnohie) -- The title character of this post-apocalyptic western-themed slasher is a very tall, mysterious, and often stoic man clad in a long cloak and a tall hat. (SPOILER ALERT: It turns out that he's actually a half-human/half-vampire, the son of Count Dracula!) He is devoted to rid the world of all vampires and protect the innocent. Since D is not a very emotional and often stiff character, it's probably easier to lay off on McConnohie's portrayal. He does have a fairly deep voice and his often monotonous delivery isn't too detrimental. On the flip side, however, his performance often veers into "newscaster reading from cue cards" territory, particularly the scene where he's comforting Dan from crying; other times it feels like one of those cheesy old-fashioned record albums of Batman (from Power Records) in which the title character speaks in a similarly robotic tone (hence my phrase "superhero syndrome"). McConnohie also comes across as rather stilted, too, although that is more of a problem of both lackluster direction and the rather choppy animation. In all fairness, he does manage to put more emotion toward the end for moments such as D's "death" scene and at the beginning of the final confrontation with Magnus Lee (particularly his energized "Back to the abyss... OF OBLIVION!"), but even with that, his overall performance as D is only so-so.

LEFT HAND (Kirk Thornton) -- D's only companion is his left hand--that is to say, there is some sort of face engraved on his hand who often chides his master, but also proves to be quite an independent and powerful character in its own right. It can inhale mist-like creatures, and gobble them up, and, when D is (temporarily) murdered by Ray Ginsay, after being cut off, it crawls back to its host and even whacks D's body to awaken him! That leads to a major problem: what kind of voice would you give an unusual character such as this? Thornton's approach is to give him a rather nasally, high-pitched, prissy tone. On one level this approach can be seen as valid, as it does provide for a somewhat "creature"-like character, but his delivery is another matter. It is literally all over the place, ranging from irritating to condescending ("You're not in LOVE with her, are you?"). He's also saddled with a vocal amplifier that not only sounds artificial, but unfortunately also emphasizes how hokey the effect of this dub is. There are a couple of places where Thornton does manage to evoke a few laughs (his urging of D to stir "Wake up!"), but many of his other lines fall flat or evoke laughter for the wrong reasons. Sad to say, it's a pretty underwhelming performance from an actor who has turned in more entertaining work in other dubs.

DORIS LANG (Barbara Goodson) -- We first meet Doris at the beginning of the movie, when she is stalking lizardly mutants in her garden. Here, she is brave but also vulnerable. Soon after, however, she is reduced to screaming and helplessness when Count Magnus Lee confronts her. When we see her again, there are two puncture marks on her neck, and unfortunately this is where her personality starts to veer all over the place. Sometimes she is tough and vicious (in moments such as when she lashes with her whip, or even fends off Grecco's advances), other times she's hopelessly smitten (with the title character), at one point defiant (when she's brought to Magnus Lee's room), and then, ultimately, more whiney, whimpy moments. Given all this, Doris does not come across as a very consistent character, and so that does create problems for any attempt to portray her character. In all fairness, however, Goodson does make an effort, although her performance, like the character, is a mixed bag. When she is in her "strong" mode in moments such as telling Grecco off or even speaking normally, Goodson is decent. However, the scene where she initially strikes D with the whip (to test his skills) does come across as stilted as not as forceful as it should. She also overacts during most of her "crying" and "screaming" scenes--granted such moments are very demanding to pull off to begin with, but either because of poor direction or the confused nature of her character, they don't feel strong enough. She also utters "Oh my god!" one too many times, which sometimes recalls Kate Capshaw's character in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. (It doesn't help either that her dialogue sometimes consists of lines such as "I'll bite off my tongue and bleed to death!") All of this makes for a very uneven and sometimes stiff result, but even so, Goodson does try, and for that I have to give her points.

DAN LANG (Lara Cody) -- Very seldom are there roles which totally grate on me to the point that it takes me out of a dub, but this is one exception. One of the more useless characters in the film, Doris' younger brother is approximately five years old. And that is part of the problem with Cody's performance. She doesn't even sound like a young boy, but instead falls into the obvious "little boy sounding like a woman" trap. It's made all the more so by the feminine tone in Dan's voice. (For a much more convincing example of a woman trying to sound like a boy, try Brianne Siddall's Kenichi in Metropolis.) His dialogue ranges from surprisingly intelligent for his age talk to sniveling. One particularly cringeworthy delivery is in the scene where Dan is trapped on a rock: "Oh pleeeeeeease help meeeeeee!" What makes it even worse is that Cody doesn't put enough emotion into that moment, rendering it both ineffective and lifeless. Even when she's not stuck with moments like that, her "normal" scenes sound very off, both in terms of vocal tone and in delivery. Lara has had other fine roles, but Dan ranks as one of the lowest points in her career.

COUNT MAGNUS LEE (Jeff Winkless) -- The late Winkless' voicing of the goofy-looking villain fares no better. Oh sure, he has an evil chuckle and a deep voice, but his performance is handicapped by many other elements. To make him sound like a vampire, the sound engineers try to amplify his voice through some kind of "vocal effects". Unfortunately, it's not particularly convincing, and only comes across as artificial instead of frightening. The other major problem is that his dialogue is either corny or just laughable, particularly an added-in monologue at the beginning of the film that begins with the stereotypical "Permit me to introduce myself!" This only succeeds in providing unintentional humor. Furthermore, the delivery of his lines is not effective enough; most of it is obviously stilted, like he's concentrating on the mouth movements, and whatever traces of emotion he tries to put out sound either forced or nowhere nearly strong enough. It's just too cartoonish. That he's saddled with a phony-sounding Transylvanian accent also drives the final nail in the coffin. (This could have been an effective if the accent were executed more fluently, but as it is here, it only provides more laughs, and that is a real detriment.) Chalk this one up as yet another misfire on Jeff's career.

RAY GINSAY (Kerrigan Mahan) -- If the Count comes across as a rather laughable villain, Ray Ginsay is a much more effective one. He is driven by a desire to become a nobleman, willing to go to any extreme to acquire his wishes, even if it means kidnapping. Of course, his efforts are hampered by both D's intervention and his master's own disdain. As such, he may not really be considered a total baddie, especially since toward the end he saves Dan from falling to his death (a surprise move considering he had kidnapped the latter earlier on) and even tries (unsuccessfully) to kill the Count. Kerrigan Mahan provides the character with a considerably nasally yet slimy sounding tone which does convey the character's treacherous nature and "mutant" origins. But his overall performance, while otherwise fairly decent, suffers from a lot of very stilted delivery--much of this problem is attributed to the similarly stilted lipflaps, but the sometimes choppily written script also contributes to the problem. In his defense, he does cackle wickedly and handles his killing of D (and subsequent amputation) effectively (he also gets the best line: "An eye for an eye, and a hand for a hand"). However, other moments such as a rather laughably delivered and hokey-sounding "Now you die" (during his first fight with D) and the abruptly harsh tone in which he says "Stop! Release them immediately!" when his face is still cool and casual while closing his eyes work against such effective moments. It's a mediocre performance, at best.

LAMIKA (Edie Mirman) -- If there is any performance in this dub that emerges anywhere near close to "effective" (aside from Goodson), it's Mirman--of course, that's mainly because that her character, Lamika, is the most interesting character in the whole movie. As Count Lee's only daughter, she is jealous of her father's infatuation with Doris and even attempts murder on the latter at one point... but Lamika is not a purely "evil" character. Her main concern is the purity of her bloodline: she detests the idea of having a "country girl" mating with her noble father, fearing (correctly) that it will disgrace her household. At first she is merely acting to save her own father from his own desires, but when she is both spared by D and later learns that her own mother is not of noble birth, Lamika feels betrayed and quickly declares that the House of Lee must fall. Mirman gives the character an appropriately sultry sounding tone and for the most part, she handles Lamika's nature fairly well, from her initially smug first appearance to her jealousy and finally her resolved resign of defeat. This could make her the best voice in the whole dub; alas, there are two problems that cause Mirman to fall short of that mark. The first and most obvious problem is the Transylvanian accent. Sometimes it seems effective, but at other times it does verge into cheesy territory. Secondly, there are places where her dialogue sounds stilted and/or not as strongly delivered as it should (for instance, her chiding of Ray Ginsay is surprisingly weak and a scream of "Kill me! Kill me now!" sounds both forced and stilted--of course that latter problem is attributed to the animation.) Which is unfortunate, because Mirman's Lamika, otherwise, is probably the only thing that comes anywhere near close to being a saving grace.

DR. FEHRING (Steve Kramer) -- This character, who serves as the medical man of Doris's village, is a kindly man who sympathizes with Doris's plight and tries to offer support, only to become corrupted into a demonic monster by Count Lee. The quavering tone that Kramer uses for the character is fine. However, a lot of his dialogue comes across as very choppy and stilted, and as such, he doesn't get to emote as much as he would like. Even in the scene where he's cautioning Doris about her affections for D, there is something about his delivery that feels very pedantic. The worst moment of his performance is when he becomes a vampire; like Count Lee, his voice is given an electronic amplifying device which, again, comes across as very artificial, and his dialogue is acted laughably, particularly the guffawing and his opening line "Yes, that's who I used to be until yesterday". Thankfully, this only lasts for a few minutes, because once he is stabbed, he returns to his "normal" tone where he begs for Doris' forgiveness before finally falling to his death. In short, Kramer is OK during Fehring's normal moments but not great, but his "evil" transformation scene could have been much better executed.

GRECCO (Steve Bulen) -- The final major character to the story is the spoiled, arrogant elder's son from Doris's village. He is sort of like Gaston from Disney's Beauty and the Beast: he wants Doris for himself and uses bullying to get his way (first, from informing everyone in the village about Doris's contamination, and later on, threatens to kill Lamika while blinding Doris with a blaring candle). At one point, he is also flanked by two girls. Ultimately, however, his role is rather small, and he gets bumped off even before the story is over. Bulen's vocal tone for the character is mostly passable and he handles his "villainous" moments fairly well (particularly when he screams about Doris' condition). Simultaneously, however, he is also handicapped with lots of stilted dialogue (including one very rushed "You want to play rough, huh?") and also speaks with a rather phony and laughable Transylvanian accent. Again, it's an average performance, at best.

The rest of the cast consists of minor characters portrayed by Joyce Kurtz (as the three hydra-sirens who D encounters when he storms Lee's castle for the first time) and Tom Wyner (as the mayor of the village, again with a Transylvanian accent). Both are passable at best, but not particularly memorable.

Performances aside, there are other issues with Vampire Hunter D's dub. One of them is the script adaptation, as applied by Wyner and Macek. It is a very liberal translation with quite a lot of alterations from the subtitled script and a fair share of added-in dialogue. I often don't have a problem with this approach for dubs like Disney's Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle in the Sky or Funimation's Fullmetal Alchemist -- mainly because all three somehow manage to still maintain the essence of the original and are executed with skill and professionalism. With D, however, the liberal/added-in approach suffers not just in the fact the extra dialogue is either cliche or corny, but that the dialogue doesn't flow very smoothly. As mentioned earlier, much of the script is choppy and stilted, with lines that are either forced or laughably delivered. Of course, considering the nature of the source material, it would be difficult to imagine how it could be improved, but one listen to modern dubs and this, well, it only shows how far dubbing has come since the early '90s.

The other major problem with Vampire Hunter D is on a technical level. The dialogue itself has a very hollow, flat quality which almost gives the impression that the dub was recorded in a sound studio with poor acoustics. Or perhaps with outdated audio equipment. Either way, it results for a sound mix that is lacking in dynamic range and clarity--remixing it to Dolby Digital 5.1 as the DVD release does only succeeds in highlighting these technical faults. Considering that the dub was made in 1992, part of this is understandable, but that is also is very unevenly synched to the mouth movements further excacerbates its overall dated quality.

All in all, Vampire Hunter D has not aged very well; perhaps it may have been marginally better than many other dubs made during its era, but due to the laughable accents, stiff performances and dialogue and poor sound quality, it comes across very amateurish, especially when a good majority of today's dubs have set much higher standards. I can just imagine this dub being highlighted on Mystery Science Theatre 3000. 2001's Vampire Hunter D--Bloodlust, helmed by Jack Fletcher, is a much better effort and more easy to listen to.

Howl's Moving Castle

2010-09-30T15:36:00.000-07:00

Howl's Moving Castle marks the third Ghibli movie to receive a large-scale theatrical release, courtesy of the folks at Disney. Their first, Princess Mononoke, although highly acclaimed (for the most part), failed to repeat the sterling business of its Japanese box office take; Spirited Away fared considerably better, although it barely cracked $10 million. Sadly, Howl took in only about half as much as Spirited, but of course, went on to have a solid afterlife on DVD. As with the previous Disney-distributed Ghibli films, a dub was recorded, consisting of famous names and screen legends. The reactions to the dub, as usual, were mixed, with the usual supporters and detractors (for every person who relishes the actors in the dubs, there are others who refuse to listen to it.)

Love it or hate it, though, it cannot be denied that Howl's Moving Castle is a very fine dub, although considering the consistently top-notch track record for previous Ghibli productions, it really isn't so surprising. As directed by Pete Docter (the man behind Monsters Inc. and Up), and adapted by the now expected team of Cindy and Donald Hewitt, the dub is the usual mix of star-studded actors and experienced voice artists.

HOWL (Christian Bale) -- The title character of Miyazaki's interpretation of Diana Wynne Jones' beloved fantasy is a dashingly handsome but enigmatic wizard. He is very charismatic and has a charm that enchants many a lady, but he can also be, at other times, tormented, childish, self-centered, caring, cowardly, and courageous. It was decided to cast Christian Bale for the part. Ironically enough, this choice has drawn the typical split reaction that most lead characters in Ghibli dubs often face -- there were viewers who found him to be an ideal choice and effective, but there were others who declared that he was miscast and ultimately underwhelmed the character. Divided views aside, Bale has voice acted before as a minor character in Disney's Pocahontas, but Howl is quite different. He intones his lines in a very deep voice, which effectively conveys both the character's sensual appeal and unusual nature. In at least two scenes, Howl speaks as a fearsome, gryphon-like creature--the gritty, raspy tone that Bale brings to these moments will remind viewers of his work in Christopher Nolan's Batman movies. There are a couple of places where some of his lines sound a little too monotonous, and it is somewhat curious that Bale decided not to use his natural British accent for the character; after all this is a British fantasy. Nonetheless, these are only minor quibbles of an otherwise fine performance. (One of my personal favorite parts from him is the scene where he throws a tantrum after his hair is "sabotaged"--Bale lets loose in this scene without overacting, and it's all the more funny for it.)

SOPHIE (Emily Mortimer, Jean Simmons) -- Aside from Howl, the real main character of the story is Sophie. There are two different incarnations of this character, as noted from the use of two different actresses. First, there is young Sophie, a beautiful but very reserved young woman who is rather mousey and soft-spoken. Emily Mortimer conveys young Sophie's fragile nature in a way that feels very genuine and natural. She also does an excellent job of bringing out her more emotional moments (her concern for Howl, and screams of terror, for instance) without overdoing it.
The film is barely halfway through when our heroine is transformed (by the Witch of the Waste) into "Grandma" Sophie, an aged woman with an aching back and an arguably fiestier nature than her younger counterpart. Interestingly, in the Japanese version, the actress voicing Sophie plays both versions of her character, but here, her older "form" is portrayed by the late Jean Simmons. One strange oddity is that Mortimer speaks with a somewhat light British accent, and Simmons does not. Issue aside, Jean sounds like she is really into her character, obviously relishing such funny moments as when Sophie expresses her frustration over being cursed ("If I ever get my hands on that witch, I'm going to ring her fat neck!" before responding with a very sharp "Finish your breakfast!" to the surprised Markl) and very relaxed when she is saying softer, less forceful dialogue. Her crying scene, too, is very effective and doesn't sound strained. It's unfortunate that Simmons isn't with us anymore, but her voice will definitely live on as Old Sophie. All told, both versions of this character are voiced excellently.

LETTIE (Jena Malone) -- Sophie's younger sister, who works at a bakery, has a very small part, showing up for only one scene (the one where Sophie is just recovering from her first encounter with Howl). Her primary role is to warn her sister that her newest "friend" may actually be dangerous (something which naturally turns out to be not true). For this minor role, Malone gives her a somewhat higher-pitched voice with a thick British accent. It is very appropriate for the character, and her acting never hits a false note. I've always admired how Disney's dubs give a lot of thought to even the minor supporting roles in these movies, and this is no exception.

WITCH OF THE WASTE (Lauren Bacall) -- When Docter approached Bacall for this role, she confessed, "Dahling, I was born to play despicable!" There couldn't have been a more ideal choice for this character, who initially starts out as sinister and creepy (not to mention condescending, hence she uses the word "tacky" to describe Sophie's character and environment), then becomes exhausted and breathy (as her outer beauty literally melts away to reveal her true form--starting from her tortorous climb up the stairs to Suliman's palace), and ultimately, becomes a kindly grandmother. (Even so, she is still caught smoking a cigar and nearly gets our pals into trouble by her own greed for Howl's heart.) Bacall nails all these facets of her character to a T and beyond; her sultry voice is equally effective, with a slight air of "prissiness" to convey the Witch's authority.

CALCIFER (Billy Crystal) -- Yet another alumni from The Princess Bride gets to be in a Ghibli dub, this time it's Miracle Max himself as the film's truly memorable character, Calcifer, a self-proclaimed "fire demon" who mostly resides in the hearth of Howl's castle. (What next, Robin Wright Penn for The Borrower Arriety?) The tone of voice he uses for this little guy is somewhat similar to Phil Hartman's tone for Jiji from Kiki's Delivery Service, only his character is less of a zany smart aleck and more of a down-to-earth type. He gets to be grumpy, critical, fussy, and even show bits of elation (notably when he reacts to Sophie's compliment, "She likes MY SPARK!" -- which brings some echoes of his role from Monsters Inc.). Like Bale, Crystal's Calcifer has gotten the usual love/hate reaction -- for fans of the dub, he steals the show (adding to the traditional "stand-out" role that typically characterizes these dubs), but for others he was an obnoxiously grating distraction that was not complimentary to the character or the film at all. Whatever side of the fence you're on, it cannot be denied that Crystal obviously enjoys himself in every second of his role, and the chuckles he emits from audiences are a testament to that. (And yes, he IS my favorite voice in the dub.)

MARKL (Josh Hutcherson) -- Aside from Calcifer, the only other person who lives in Howl's castle is Markl (initially named Michael), a small boy who (aside from being the spitting image of Ket from Kiki's Delivery Service) serves as an apprentice magician. Whenever a customer comes calling (where the magic transportation dial of the castle switches colors), he often dons a cloak and disguises himself with a large grey beard. I wager this must have been an early role for Hutcherson, because in many of the subsequent films I've seen him in (Zathura, and arguably most memorably, Bridge to Terabithia), he obviously has grown quite a bit. So it was a good thing that he was cast while he was around the character's age! Hutcherson obviously enjoys the bits where he has to pose as an old man for customers (deepening his voice in the process), but he's also conveys the other aspects of his character very effectively--this shows in his growing love for Sophie and in how he cares for the Witch of the Waste. His screams of "Sophie" are also very effective and never once sound obnoxious or irritating. Great work all around.

MADAME SULIMAN (Blythe Danner) -- The most surprising aspect about this icy character is that she only shows up for two scenes. That probably is more of a criticism of the script, but since Suliman doesn't have much screen time, it's somewhat difficult to determine if she is a genuine villainess or just a misunderstood grump. But as confused as the nature of the character may be, it in no way affects Danner's voicing of her. The soft, yet cold tone she uses is properly affective for the part and she does a good job sounding contemptous without being "over-the-top".

KING (Mark Silverman) -- Anyone familiar with Silverman's voicing for King Jihl in Nausicaa will probably know what to expect for his brief cameo as the King: soft-spoken, authoritative, and natural. Actually, when we meet him, for the first time, he turns out to be Howl in disguise. (Hence he declares that he refuses to use magic in a war that his country is fighting--a subplot that never really feels fleshed out.) The real King shows up about several seconds later, where he guffaws at his own clone with pompous amusement. Silverman handles both of these parts very well.

HONEY (Mari Devon) -- As with Lettie, Sophie's stepmother has a very small part; near the end of the film she shows up at the newly refurbished hat shop to beg Sophie to stay with her and her new husband. While speaking with an American accent, Devon amusingly nails the overly smothering qualities of this latter scene, sounding effectively obnoxious, desperate, and, later on, regretful. Since her character appears so briefly, it's difficult to evaluate her overall performance, but for the time that she's on, it's solid work overall.

PRINCE (Crispin Freeman) -- Aside from Crystal, the surprise of the dub is Mr. Freeman as a character who only appears at the end. (Actually, he spends most of the film as a bouncing scarecrow dubbed "Turniphead".) Freeman has always expressed his passion for Miyazaki's work, and to hear him voice a character in one of his films is not only a treat, but a dream come true for this actor. The tone of voice he uses for the prince is very similar to the earnest, youthful quality heard in characters such as Tylor and Spark (from Lodoss TV); but the genuine enthusiasm he brings to this minor character is what really makes any dub involving him a pleasure. Here's hoping that Crispin will get to have other parts in future Ghibli dubs.

Aside from the performances (which include the usual background voices), the writing, direction, and overall production values for Howl's Moving Castle are as impeccable as one would expect from a Disney dub, sounding as professional and polished as a film of this caliber would demand. (The lip sync is sometimes uneven, but not to the point of distraction.) While I wouldn't call this my favorite Ghibli dub, Howl certainly earns its place alongside the other Disney-Pixar produced English tracks for these films. It's remarkable that the Ghibli-Disney partnership has resulted with great translations such as this, and one hopes that trend will continue.

Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (Manga Entertainment)

2010-08-25T06:57:00.000-07:00

(Note: While this film was previously dubbed by Streamline Pictures, that version seems nigh-impossible to get your hands on legally these days, so I'll be reviewing the 2000 Manga Entertainment dub that I currently own on DVD. I have also seen very little of the other Lupin III dubbed properties, so there won't be any comparison to them here)

Ah, Lupin III. He's perhaps the most legendary thief in animation, the Danny Ocean of Japan, and his finest hour may just be 1979's The Castle of Cagliostro, which also served as the theatrical debut for the legendary director Hayao Miyazaki. It's one of his most purely fun, exciting films, and Manga Entertainment's 2000 dub reflects that quality as well as the few more serious moments. It's not my favorite Miyazaki dub, to be sure. The adding cursing occasionally seems unnecessary, and the acting occasionally gets a bit stiff, but overall it's quite good and certainly recommendable. On with the review!

LUPIN III (David Hayter)-It's admittedly a bit amusing to see Hayter in this role, considering how his most famous role, Solid Snake, is also well-known for sneaking around. But Hayter is quite excellent here, giving oodles of charm and confidence to the gentleman thief, especially since the odds are against him quite often. Hayter also does well in Lupin's quieter, more reflective moments, as when he remembers his first visit to the castle and when he says goodbye to Clarisse at the end of the film. Aside from the occasional bit of stiff delivery, Hayter is easily one of the highlights of the dub.

DAISUKE JIGEN (John Snyder)-Snyder's gruff, scratchy tones bring both humor and badassery to the grouchy gunslinger, and he plays off of Lupin's eternal optimism quite well. No complaints.

GOEMON ISHIKAWA (Richard Epcar)-Goemon doesn't get a whole lot to do here, but Epcar's deep voice is a perfect match for the honor-bound samurai, and his delivery of "This object is unworthy of my blade!" makes up for the fact that I prefer the original line "Once again, I have cut a worthless object." Again, no complaints.

FUJIKO MINE (Dorothy Elias-Fahn)-Dorothy fits Fujiko perfectly, whether she's undercover as Clarisse's governess, making a daring escape with a bleeding Lupin, or impersonating a newscaster to help expose the Count's counterfeiting scandal. I'm disappointed she hasn't been able to play Fujiko anywhere else, but her performance here works perfectly.

INSPECTOR KOICHI ZENIGATA (Dougary Grant)-Aside from Hayter and another actor we'll see in a moment, Grant gives my favorite performance in the dub, giving Zenigata plenty of his usual hilarious enthusiasm for pursuing Lupin as well as a surprising amount of dignity. Zenigata gets his finest hour as a character here, seen as a truly honest cop in a world of criminals and corrupt Interpol officials, and Grant gets that across beautifully with his scratchy, world-weary voice. He also gets a hilarious scene where Zenigata, exposing the Count's printing presses with the help of Fujiko's camera, does a very poor job of acting surprised and shocked at the discovery (since he and Lupin had already discovered it), especially the line "Oh, no! I came here to capture Lupin and uncovered a criminal plot! Oh, what to do?"

COUNT CAGLIOSTRO (Kirk Thornton)-Kirk is just great here. He brings a wonderfully snooty, aristocratic haughtiness to the Count that does a very good job of giving us the impression that the Count will be a more cultured, Bond-esque villain. This impression is very wrong, and as the film goes on the Count gets slimier and more piggish with every scene, and Thornton's performance reflects that beautifully, even getting in some great evil laughter at the climax. He's just having so much fun playing this awful, awful man and the Count's comeuppance is even more effective as a result. Next to Hayter and Grant, this is easily the high point of the dub.

CLARISSE D'CAGLIOSTRO (Bridget Hoffman)-It's tough to play the innocent ingenue, but Hoffman is very good at it, and she manages to suggest Clarisse's true inner strength as well as her fragility and soft heart. Not much else to say, honestly, except that it's a very good performance.

JODO (Milton James)-The Count's butler/right-hand man is almost as slimy yet aristocratic as he is, and Milton does that perfectly, although it's kind of amusing since he played another butler (Norman in the first season of The Big O) who's much nicer than the creepy Jodo.

The smaller roles and extras are done quite well, with Joe Romersa providing an amusing Schwarzenegger impression as the Count's captain of the guard Gustav, while the late, great Barry Stigler gives a legitimate sense of warmth and age to the old groundskeeper Christopher, and actors like Jeff Nimoy (as the archbishop's driver) or Bambi Darro (the waitress who gives Lupin some crucial info) pop up as well.

In summary, The Castle of Cagliostro is a solid dub. It's not the greatest dub I've heard, no, but it does its job quite well with some very good performances, and you won't be clawing your eardrums out from sheer audio agony. If you get the chance, give it a whirl and prepare to have some fun.

Wolf's Rain Part 1: The Regulars

2010-06-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

You know a dub is something truly special when people who don't even like the show it's for are praising it, you actually bother to watch the "next time on..." previews just so you can hear more of it, and people are still praising it to this day.

That seems to be the case with Wolf's Rain, a show that definitely has a "love it or hate it" status amongst anime fans (for the record, I'm of the former group who thinks this show is amazing). Yet no matter how many people I've run across who either like or dislike this show, everyone seems to agree that the dub is terrific. It's certainly one of the best I've ever heard, a "gold standard" if there ever was one, and most of the cast has rarely been better.

Because I love this dub so much and because there are so many minor/supporting characters I'd like to discuss in addition to the leads, this review will be divided into two posts in order to fit all of them in. Also, this will be a long one in both cases, with MASSIVE SPOILERS. Do NOT read either part of the review if you haven't seen the whole show.

THE REGULARS

KIBA (Johnny Yong Bosch) -- Bosch's performance here is interesting because it's not quite what we're used to hearing from him. His distinct voice is still recognizable, and he's not stretching his vocal range terribly (though he is a bit more soft-spoken than usual), but his acting is curious because it's much less energetic and more low-key than Bosch's usual timbre. This is entirely appropriate, however, because Kiba is more conflicted and uncertain than the more heroic everyman Bosch usually plays, and he nails everything about Kiba with his performance. Besides, he still gets some great "shouty", angry moments, so everybody wins!

TSUME (Crispin Freeman) -- Ah, I finally get to discuss one of my favorites! Freeman has stated several times that out of all the projects/roles he's worked on over the years, Wolf's Rain is still his favorite, and it's easy to see why. Again, Crispin's working in a pretty familiar vocal range, that of scene-stealing, deep-voiced badass, but as with Kiba (hell, everyone in the series), Tsume is more complex than he initially appears. As time goes on, Freeman gets to play around with Tsume's insecurities and self-doubt while still being totally awesome, so it's little wonder that he ends up being a highlight of the dub, although there's so many of them that might not count for much. His grief in the final episodes regarding two deaths is just astounding from an acting perspective.

TOBOE (Mona Marshall) -- Let's face facts: Mona Marshall has played a lot of young boys. From the super-smart Izzy in Digimon, to the fantastically creepy Wen in the Cowboy Bebop episode "Sympathy for the Devil", to the hotheaded Wolfram from Kyo Kara Maoh, she's all over the place. She's so ubiquitous as young boys in anime, in fact, that it always throws me off whenever she plays an actual female character, if only because they sound freakishly similar to her male roles. Anyway, her shining moment as a VA has to be Toboe (who, amusingly enough, is already kind of feminine-looking within the show). Toboe is possibly the most purely huggable/adorable character in the show, always earnest and willing to believe the best of people, and Marshall does it all wonderfully, as well as Toboe's more insecure, "whiny" moments. I can also say with no shame that her beautiful rendition of Toboe's death scene (yeah, there's a lot of that going around in this show) actually made me cry. This has NEVER happened to me before; I've welled up before at movies and TV, but Mona (with the help of the animation and music, of course) actually made tears flow. So I have to give her massive props for that alone.

HIGE (Joshua Seth) -- It's a shame Mr. Seth seems to have permanently retired from voice acting, as he's always been a favorite of mine, with that distinct, youthful, instantly recognizable voice and terrific acting even in silly kid's shows like Digimon (and I LIKE Digimon, but man can it get silly). Hige is his finest role, bar none, and it's another interesting study of vocal range vs. acting range. As noted before, Seth has an instantly recognizable voice in nearly all of his roles, and that holds true here, but the acting is just on a completely different level than anything else he's done (except possibly the 2001 redub of Akira, where he stole the show with a terrific Tetsuo). Seth gets a lot of heavy stuff later in the series, and he plays it for all it's worth, and his death scene is gut-wrenching.

CHER DEGRE (Kari Wahlgren) -- My jaw dropped when this credit popped up. Cher is nothing like anything the lovely Ms. Wahlgren has played before (at least in my experience); rather than the usual high-pitched young girl Wahlgren excels at, Cher is a career-minded, divorced scientist with a husky voice, and Wahlgren is astoundingly good here. In addition to showing off her vocal range something fierce, her acting is note-perfect in both Cher's default "trying to figure things out" mode as well as her more wistful, tender scenes with her ex-husband Hubb (who we'll get to in a moment). Wahlgren frankly needs more roles like this, because they show she can play adults just as well as the kids.

HUBB LEBOWSKI (Robert Buchholz) -- Unlike Ms. Wahlgren, Buchholz sounds much like he usually does, but yet again it's the acting that truly distinguishes his work here. Unfortunately, I don't have as much as to say about Buchholz's work here other than that, like everyone else, it's fantastic, and one particularly great moment is his muffled screaming over Cher's lifeless body. No complaints.

QUENT YAIDEN (Tom Wyner) -- This is quite frankly the role of a career for Wyner, who's had a long history in the anime industry as both an actor and a director/writer for dubs as well as shows like Power Rangers. To reiterate a familiar refrain, he's never been better, and his rough, scratchy voice serves as a perfect complement to this grizzled old hunter. I especially like his performance when he travels with Hubb, and Wyner's voice adds to the authenticity of Quent's seen-it-all advice to the younger man.

LORD DARCIA THE THIRD (Steve Blum) -- Another favorite of mine, Blum is working in the "smooth and sinister" part of his vocal range, and his work here is on par with Spike Spiegel for sheer awesomeness. As the primary antagonist for the series, Darcia goes through a lot of, shall we say, "mood swings" during the show, and Blum captures the gradually slipping sanity perfectly. He even manages to slip in some great psychotic cackling in the final episodes.

CHEZA (Sherry Lynn) -- Lynn manages to make a potentially uninteresting "wallflower" (pun not intended) fascinating thanks to that strange, wispy voice, and her acting is (sing it with me if you know the words) just magnificent.

BLUE (Jessica Straus) -- Admittedly, Straus doesn't become a regular until later in the series, but it would otherwise feel weird for me to not put her here. I'm surprisingly unfamiliar with Straus, but her work here is excellent, making Blue a formidable "action girl" while keeping her femininity intact.

Next time: the supporting cast and any minor roles I feel fit to mention.

The World of Narue

2010-06-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

Even though Central Park Media is no more, there are fans who hold dearly to their hearts many titles in their library. One of them was The World of Narue, a sci-fi love-comedy about a girl who's actually an alien from outer space (no, seriously) and a nerdy boy who loves Anime. Spanning over a dozen episodes in total, the show follows the pair's relationship as they encounter obstacles, new friends, and unexpected misadventures.

As one of the latter day Central Park Media dubs, The World of Narue is a pure delight as an English track, proudly joining the ranks of my favorite dubs not only from the company, but of all-time, period. Directed by the ever-reliable Tom Wayland of Tripwire Productions, who also served as the script writer, this is a show packed with memorable performances and lines which still tickle me every time I watch it.

NARUE NANASE (Veronica Taylor) -- The title character is voiced by one of my favorite voice actresses, Veronica Taylor, better known as the initial voice of Ash Ketchum from Pokemon, but to me, is remembered best as the multi-faceted Yukino Miyazawa from a similarly top-notch NY dub, His and Her Circumstances. As you may expect, Taylor embues this character with just the right amount of sweet-natured innocence and occasional spunk and ditziness (she is, after all, from outer space, so a little bit of absent-mindedness is more than a welcome bonus). Some may find her voice a little saccharine at times, but there really is no better way to portray a character such as this. When she exclaims at the end of each episode, "it's a direct hit to your heart!" you've just gotta love the energy she provides to the line. Taylor nails all her other qualities impeccably, too, making her performance a delight all around.

KAZUTO IIZUKA (Jamie McGonnigal) -- Aside from Narue, the other main character in the story is Kazuto, a shy but goodhearted teenager who doesn't really mind that his new girlfriend is from a far off planet. McGonnigal seems to be born to play roles of this type, particularly when they get into humorous "perverted" moments (his role from Magic User's Club, in particular). Admittingly, Kazuto doesn't get many moments like that, but McGonnigal is obviously having a blast, whether he is describing his favorite Anime show with pure fanboy zest (which includes a sly dig at sub-purists!), exasperation (the scene where he tries to keep his mother and sister out of his room when Narue is visiting is particularly funny), or more mellow moments between him and Narue.

MASAKO MARUO (Jimmy Zoppi) -- Kazuto's nutty best friend, self-nicknamed "Dr. Hunkenstein, the Guru of Love", exuberantly serves as comic relief. Zoppi has played zany roles of this kind; this one is a bit more "laid-back" compared to others, but nonetheless, every line of his performance is a riot. Particularly amusing bits include his so-called expert dating tips lecture in Episode 2 (which include "No videogames, don't go to sleep during the movie"... guess who ends up breaking the rules?) and any moment where he is dealing with next-door neighbor Hajime Yagi (notably when he disguises himself as a bizarre creature to snap the latter out of a sour mood swing). It really is no surprise that he gets many of the best lines.

HAJIME YAGI (Michelle Knotz) -- Arguably the most interesting character in the show is Yagi, a bespectacled, self-proclaimed expert on aliens and UFOs who initially despises Narue and continually tries to expose her as a fake, but eventually becomes friends with her. She has a strained relationship with Maruo and has many periods where she explodes into hilariously overexasperated fits of shock and fury. Since she shows the most depth in the show, it's unsurprising that she is also the dub's major highlight. You may be surprised to discover that this was Knotz's first voice-acting role (she got the part by winning a "voice acting contest" at the New York Anime Fest many years ago). While there are a few moments of trepidation in her first scenes, they are hardly noticeable, because every minute that she's onscreen obviously shows Knotz's intangible enthusiasm for the role. Her "crazy" moments are an absolute scream (literally), and she even handles Yagi's more mellow moments very effectively. (Her first visit with Kanaka is particularly touching; ditto with both her later reconciliation with Narue and the two scenes where Yagi tries to help the latter in her relationship with Kazuto.) All told, Knotz's performance is both my favorite of the show and the one I will always remember her for; the lucky actress later found greater notoriety in Pokemon, but Yagi is simply her best role ever. Period.

KANAKA NANASE (Rachael Lillis) -- Aside from Yagi, another one of the most interesting characters in the show is Narue's "younger, older" sister, Kanaka. When we first come across Kanaka, she comes across as a rather moody, sullen girl who, like Yagi, initially resents Narue (not being particularly thrilled to discover that she is her new sister), but eventually comes to accept her. Since her character is also "mentally" young, she can also come across as rather childish at times (not to mention mischevious, especially in my favorite episode of the show, the seventh--in which our pals start out on a visit to the pool that turns into a wet and wild adventure in a virtual fantasy world!), and even act somewhat spoiled, but she also emerges into a fully realized, likeable individual. Lillis is another one of my favorite voice actresses both from the Big Apple and of all-time; it almost seems like destiny that she gets cast in comical roles such as this where she REALLY gets to STRESS HER EXASPERATION LIKE THIS. But that's what makes her Kanaka so funny; Lillis can also be very sympathetic, too, particularly in the softer moments when Kanaka realizes that she must come to terms with feeling like an outsider or in generally trying to offer support to her sister or her new best friend, Yagi. In short, it's yet another wonderful performance in the dub.

BATHYSCAPHE (Carol Jacobanis) -- This character is actually an "android" with the ability to turn into a spaceship. Essentially, her role in the show is to serve as Kanaka's guardian and, later on, become something of a supportive adult to the teenage cast. Most of her dialogue tends to be words of wisdom with the occasional sternness. Since her character doesn't have much of an expressive face for most of her scenes, there is a potential for her voice to come across as monotonous, but Jacobanis miraculously steers around that trip, providing a very even tone while making her character a pleasure to listen to.

TADASHI NANASE (Dan Green) -- As his last name implies, Tadashi serves as Narue and Kanaka's father. He is a somewhat bumbling and weary man who nonetheless cares dearly for his daughters. It is somewhat surprising to hear Green speaking for this character, as he tends to be cast in more dramatic roles. Nonetheless, it doesn't take too long for him to find his stride. His more "down-to-earth" manner is very fitting, and the few moments where he gets to let loose (notably in a flashback episode where we learn how Tadashi met Narue's future mother, which feature a few screams of terror) are humorously delivered without sounding forced. Very well played all around.

KYOKO KUDO (Lisa Ortiz) -- Another one of my all-time favorite actresses, Ortiz gets to play multiple characters in The World of Narue, all of which are nothing like her more renowned roles such as Deedlit from Record of Lodoss War, Lina Inverse from The Slayers, Azalyn from The Irresponsible Captain Tylor... the list goes on and on for favorite roles from her. We first hear her as Kyoko, a snobbish, mean-spirited bully who constantly picks on Narue and Yagi. Ortiz has often mentioned that she had always wanted to play "evil" roles; Kyoko may not be a major character (she shows up for only three episodes), but it is nonetheless very refreshing to hear Lisa's performance. The nasally, prissy tone she uses couldn't have been a better match for the character, and she obviously relishes every minute of it.

MAGICAL GIRL #4 aka MANAKA OATARI and KIRIRI KAIBASHIRA (Lisa Ortiz) -- Lisa's other significant role in the show is that of "Magical Girl #4", the title character of Kazuto's favorite Anime show. There are three different incarnations of this role. First there is Magical Girl's "normal" counterpart, Manaka Oatari, who has only one small scene, but Ortiz provides her with a high-pitched, breathy tone that is slightly similar to Tsubasa Shibahime in His and Her Circumstances. Then there's the character herself, a spunky, heroic "action" girl whose catch slogan is "It's a direct hit to your heart!" (hence the origin of this oft-repeated quote at the end of each episode preview.) Anyone familiar with Ortiz as Lina Inverse or Nanaka Nakatomi in Magic User's Club will surely recognize the voice that she uses for this rather brief character, and, as one would expect, she's as spunky, sassy, and full of attitude as other roles she tends to get typecast as.
Finally, there is the voice actress behind the character, Kiriri Kaibashira, whom Kazuto somehow gets mixed up with and Narue must try to fight for him. Needless to say, Kiriri turns out to be anything but ideal, for, like Kyoko, she's mean-spirited and a bully (not to mention irritatingly clingy). As a further way to emphasize the obnoxious aspects of her personality, Ortiz pwovides Kiwiwi with a speech impediment which is vewwy simiwar to a certain Elmer Fudd. This works in favor of this (thankfully) minor character, so much so that one wish that Ortiz would voice some similarly villainous roles.

TAIL MESSA (Tristan Goddard) -- The tall, stern figure wearing dark sunglasses serves as the Head Inspector of the Galactic Federation police who occasionally comes to check on Narue and her father's status. Goddard has a very strict authoritative tone that lends itself well to the mysterious nature of the character, but he never makes him cold or unsympathetic. He appears briefly in selected scenes, but Goddard makes the most of them with style.

SPACE NINJA (Tristan Goddard) -- Another role that Goddard is saddled with is similarly minor, but nonetheless deserving of mention. This deranged, malicious terrorist, who is, essentially, a ninja from outer space (or, to put it more promptly, an Avalonian alien -- good luck if you can decipher Tadashi's intentionally sped-up "description" of where the character in question comes from!). He serves as the series' central villian, but the Space Ninja only appears in the first and last episode. Nonetheless, he is a true menace, threatening both Narue and her father with a deadly laser machete. Goddard's portrayal is the total opposite of his Tail Messa; slimy, cackling, and downright ruthless.

RIN ASAKURA (Zoe Fries) -- Since Avalonian aliens like the abovementioned space ninja pose a threat not just to the Nanase residence but to the galaxy as well, Inspector Tail Messa employs a group of super-charged "android girls" to fight them off. One of them, Rin Asakura, has a small but significant role. We first meet her in episode 6, where she addresses a shocked Kazuto as "big brother." From this point, she puts him under a hypnotic trance (a trick that she tries on many other characters in the episode) and clings to Kazu like a long lost girlfriend, mainly to break Narue's heart enough to return to the galaxy. (The resolution of this episode is pretty much what you'd expect, with Kazu fighting back against her brainwashing pulses and showing his love for Narue.) Later, she shows up in the final episode to help Kazu and Narue against the attacking Avalonian aliens who have disrupted the couple's latest date at a Japanese festival. Zoe's extremely high-pitched tone for the character will definitely strike many as irritating and annoying, but that's the point of the character. Nonetheless, in spite of the squeaky voice, Zoe remembers to provide Rin with the proper emotions without sounding fake or forced.

NARUMI MUTSUKI (Zoe Fries) -- Later on, Zoe gets to voice a more "down-to-earth" character, in the form of one Narumi Mutsuki, whom Tadashi Nanase meets on an exploratory mission on Earth. Essentially, she becomes his (second) wife. Contrary to Rin, Zoe gives this minor character a very pleasant tone, breathing enough life to make her memorable. Her best moment is the scene where she goes on a never-ending rant about her troublesome job (which Tadashi listens -- calmly -- to every second of); it's funny without being over-the-top.

HARUNA (Debbie Rabbai) -- Debbie is another one of my favorite New York actresses; having shown her skill in roles such as Leaf from Record of Lodoss War TV and Nayuta in Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars. In World of Narue, she portrays a lovestruck "starship" android (similar to Bathyscaphe) who only shows up for two episodes. When Kanaka and Bathyscaphe first encounter her at a food stand during a day at the beach, Haruna is initially terrified, for she fears that the latter has come to arrest her. The paranoia that Debbie conveys for this portion of her character is both sincere and funny, particularly when she threatens to "kill herself" using a spoon. As the episode progresses, she becomes more and more relaxed and even performs a heroic deed. Haruna's second appearance as at a Hot Springs Inn, initially starts off as ditzy when she puts on a "welcome" party for our pals, and eventually turns genuinely heartfelt, especially at the ending. Although this is not one of my all-time favorite roles from Debbie, is is nonetheless always a pleasure to hear her voice, and again she manages to provide another top-notch performance.

AKIO SHIMADA (Josh Mosby) -- Aside from Haruna, the other important character in her story arc is Akio, a gentle young man who takes the latter under his wing after encountering her on the beach. His role is a bit smaller and has less comic timing, but Mosby has a very relaxed, genial tone that works effectively for the role; one sequence which deserves mention is when Akio is initially shocked at Haruna's true identity but then later says that he wants to be with her forever. Mosby handles this really effectively.

As typical for most New York produced dubs, the remainder of the characters are either dual roles from any of the other actors, or small bit parts. The number of actors employed for such "walla" moments is somewhat limited, but there are no amateurish performances to be heard, and it really isn't all that distracting anyway.

Aside from directing his cast with a sincere, believeable flair, Wayland's script adaptation also does a solid job of treading the line between remaining faithful to the original while occasionally peppering up the dialogue for some funny moments. As mentioned, Maruo's self-description of himself as "the Guru of Love" is a riot, as is Kazuto's sly sub-purist dig. But one other moment that deserves mention is during the second episode, where Kazu and Narue are sitting through a movie. We don't actually see what is onscreen, but the sounds accompanying it (underneath the sparse bits of dialogue from Kazu) include a dead-on Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, and a sound mix that definitely screams B-movie. This really shows that Wayland is a "go to" person when it comes to pulling out quality work from the Big Apple.

All in all, The World of Narue excels as both a sweet-natured and funny sci-fi love story and as a dub. Initially released on a four-set DVD by Central Park Media (highlighted by excellent extras, particularly voice-talent featurettes containing comments from the principal cast members), The World of Narue can currently be found from ADV-- sorry, Section 13. If you missed out on this show or its dub, I highly recommend giving it a second look. Not only an excellent entry from the Big Apple, it is "a direct hit to your heart", indeed!

My Neighbor Totoro (Disney and Streamline Versions)

2010-05-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

There really is no argument that Hayao Miyazaki's 1998 whimsical fantasy My Neighbor Totoro is one of the greatest Anime -- correction, greatest films -- of all time. Despite this, however, a major debate about this movie still continues to rage on: which English dub version is preferable?

Before I offer my answer, here's a history lesson.

Back in the late 1980's, sometime after My Neighbor Totoro made its first Japanese premiere in 1988, Streamline Pictures' Carl Macek (who was dissastisfied by the quick-and-dirty disaster that was the JAL-produced dub of Castle in the Sky -- which Disney nonetheless redubbed for its recent release) was commissioned to produce the version that many viewers were introduced to regarding this film. This dub was later picked up by Troma Pictures Studio, who gave the film a very limited theatrical release in 1993. It was followed by a successful video release from FOX, clearing over half a million copies. Even Macek's harshest detractors declared that this early dub was his finest hour, and it remains a favorite of many to this day. (Unfortunately, the DVD release that followed more than seven years later was another matter--it was a pan & scan copy with no Japanese language track or bonus features, much to the disappointment of many fans.)

As fate would have it, FOX's rights for Totoro soon expired, and, as Disney acquired the Ghibli catalog, it is probably unsurprising that they would produce their own version of Totoro. The now expected team of scriptwriters Cindy Davis Hewitt and Donald H. Hewitt, voice director Rick Dempsey, and translator Jim Hubbert, brought in famous stars to redub this film. Due to rights complications, however, the new dub, scheduled for release in 2004, didn't appear until two years later. But unlike Fox's version, reaction to the new dub was wildly divided (an atmosphere not uncommon with Disney's dubs for Ghibli's works); most critics were generally favorable, welcoming the new version as a fresh update for a new generation, but many longtime fans of the FOX dub were furious, condemning the new dub as a travesty and a desecration of a great family film. The saddest fact is that most of these viewers had decided from the get-go that the Disney version, regardless of its quality, would never live up to the movie; such an atmosphere only succeeded in fueling fire to those who believe that Disney only acquired Ghibli's works just to destroy them, an argument which is totally fatuous in every way. (It was back then, and remains so today.)

The negative backlash against the Disney redub of this beloved masterpiece is totally unjustified. Despite my affection for the initial dub, it is no excuse to dismiss this new version as an inferior imitation. To the average ear, it is a very fine English adaptation in its own right, and, if one is not so attached to the Fox version or the Japanese track, there really isn't anything truly wrong with it. The only thing that may work against Disney's dub is nostalgia, but otherwise, it doesn't deserve half of the scathing slamdunks it receives.

In other words, both Fox and Disney's dubs of My Neighbor Totoro are appealing in their own ways. Neither version is superior or inferior to the other, they're only, well, different approaches. Both are produced by very talented people who obviously love Miyazaki's work (the Hewitt scriptwriters have even said that they liked the Streamline/Fox dub too). Both are well cast and genuinely well acted. And there's nothing about either dub that compromises the atmosphere or tone of this masterpiece at all. Contrary to what anyone else may declare.

So in my evaluation of both dubs, I will not pedestalize one over the other; nor will I compare them to the Japanese version, as I feel that dubs should always be viewed on their own merits, not as a comparison tool. The cast of Totoro is a considerably small one compared to most other Ghibli movies, so only the principal (important) characters will be covered.

SATSUKI (Lisa Michelson, Streamline/FOX dub; Dakota Fanning, Disney dub) -- The two sisters who serve as the main characters carry the show along, so it is important for both to be voiced appropriately and ACT like children. Lisa Michelson, the late wife of the ADR director for FOX Totoro, raises her mature-sounding voice to sound childlike. Usually such attempts can sound strained or unbelievable, but it works very well for Lisa. She obviously sounds like a sister of the verge of adulthood while struggling to maintain her childlike innocence.
Dakota takes the character in a similar way, but with a different approach. While her performance may not be on the same caliber as, say, Coraline, it's a very good one in its own right. She has an odd tendency to sound "older than her age," but this works pretty well with her character. There are some scenes where she comes across as more low-key than necessary, yet her interactions with her little sister Elle make the dub equally natural and believeable. She's not afraid to let loose during the scenes where she and Mei are frolicking around the house or even screaming to scare away mysterious specters. Bottom-line: Lisa Michelson's efforts are great for their time, but Dakota is a great actress, too. Both tie in this role.

MEI (Cheryl Chase, Streamline/FOX dub; Elle Fanning, Disney dub) -- Arguably the juiciest role in the film, Mei is a hyperactive and sometimes impatient youngster who often upstages her big sister. At the time I listened to the first dub, I didn't realize that Cheryl actually was trying to sound very childlike, because it sounded very natural. This is a very fitting example of adults voicing children convincingly.
Elle Fanning's interpretation is no less entertaining; in fact, one might argue that she steals the show. Also working in her favor is that she is approximately around the character's age (off by about two years, but not by much). She is consistently lively and adorable, with a cute laugh to match. She relishes any moment where Mei is in action and handles her emotions in a very effective way that don't feel forced. Her crying scene toward the end, too, is priceless. I've heard many declare that she is annoying, but one could say the same thing about Cheryl's take. All in all both Cheryl and Elle are great, and again, they tie, however, Elle gets an edge from me due to sounding more "realistic", so to speak.

DAD (aka MR. KUSAKABE) (Greg Snegoff, Streamline/FOX dub; Tim Daly, Disney dub) -- The scatterbrained but kindly father of the girls is at times easygoing and fun and other times serious and comforting, just like any father. Snegoff's approach on the character is pretty much as you would expect, and more than appropriate (he also served as the ADR director and wrote the script, as mentioned earlier).
Tim Daly plays the character identical to Snegoff's, and is pretty much on par. He has a soothing, soft gentle voice, and he doesn't hesitate to let go in the moments where he acts childlike (in the bath scene, for instance). Once again, both actors tie.

MOM (aka MRS. KUSAKABE) (Alexandra Kenworthy, Streamline/FOX dub; Lea Salonga, Disney dub) -- The mother of the girls has a very small part, but is equally well played in both dubs. Both Salonga and Kenworthy have soft, motherly voices and portray their characters pretty much the same.

GRANNY (NANNY in FOX dub) (Natalie Core, Streamline/FOX dub; Pat Carroll, Disney dub) -- This character is approached differently but effectively in both dubs. Natalie is as grandmotherly as you'd expect, very soft and gentle, only getting emotional in the film's critical scenes toward the end.
As for Pat Carroll, I was surprised when I found out that she was cast for this character, but there were no traces of Ursula within her. It was also very pleasing and refreshing to hear her play a different kind of character rather than a nasty, bargaining, double-crossing Sea Witch. Once you get past the jarring recognition, it's easy to appreciate her performance too.

KANTA (Kenneth Hartman, Streamline/FOX dub; Paul Butcher, Disney dub) -- One thing that both dubs have in common is that this impish youngster who teases Satsuki (and later befriends her) is played by a young boy. Kenneth's voice is noticeably deeper than Paul's, but both play the character just as they should: shy, antagonistic, and, later on, emphatic. One thing that Paul does differently is that he makes these "grunting" noises to accentuate his attempted gestures to hand his either a picnic basket or his umbrella to Satsuki. I found this pricelessly funny. There's also a difference in the approach to the scene where the boy argues with his mother: Kenneth sounds bratty and defiant, while Paul has a bit more of a "whiney" tone. Both are effective, however.

TOTORO (Frank Welker, Disney dub) -- The titular character is only in for a few scenes, and does little more than growl, grumble, and roar. There is no actual credit to who did Totoro's voice in the Fox dub (and, contrary to popular belief, it's not the Japanese voice actor), but it's difficult to evaluate the performance as a whole when it consists basically of only one speaking line (if it can be called that). One thing that should be mentioned is, probably due to the scratchy sound mix, at times his roar sounds a bit like a chainsaw being revved up.
One of the biggest criticisms I hear of the Disney dub is the dubbing of Totoro's voice; fans have declared that he sounds too ferocious in comparison. However, I will argue that either interpretation is valid. Welker shouldn't be discredited, either; he is a fabulous actor and what he brings is no less credible. Granted, all he has to do is provide bass-rumbling "creature noises", but he does them pretty much as you'd expect. (For other roles where he does similarly "beastly" noises, check out BigFoot in A Goofy Movie or even the Tiger God from Aladdin).

CAT BUS (Carl Macek, Streamline/FOX dub; Frank Welker, Disney dub) -- The approach to the most unusual character in the film is strikingly different in both dubs. In FOX's version, Carl Macek gives the cat a high-pitched male voice with only two lines, "Next stop, little sister!" which works fairly well. Otherwise, it's basically distorted sounding "growls" and not much else.
Welker, on the other hand, provides the character with cat-like meows and at one point even screeches, "MEEEEEEI!"; an odd substitute, but it's no less effective. It may only be jarring to hear Welker's approach if you're so accustomed to the FOX dub, yet that's really my only quibble with him.

The minor supporting characters in both the FOX and Disney dubs are portrayed equally well.

Voices aside, one other difference in the FOX and Disney dubs is in the adaptation of the script. Macek and Snegoff's script is sometimes a bit loose in places (naming the fuzzy creatures "dust bunnies", for instance), but is otherwise faithful to the original. Unfortunately, I did notice several places where the dialogue sometimes sounds stilted, particularly in Mei's confrontation with the goat. Yet since this was done in an era when technology had not yet caught up with how to do dubbing, I'm more forgiving.

The Disney version, scripted by the Hewitts, on the other hand, is a fresh new translation of the Japanese script, and, as such, hews closer in tone to it. Past Disney dubs have sometimes gone overboard with adding in extra dialogue (although I'm nowhere nearly as anal about it; the dubs are still charming), but with Totoro this habit is very much toned down. Many may argue otherwise, but this script actually surpasses that of the previous dub, for sounding both natural and going the extra mile of including details that the previous dub neglected to mention (the origin of the Totoros, for instance). And while fans may groan all they want about "classic" lines being replaced, the fact remains is that the basic story is unchanged. There are a few places where the lip-sync doesn't always mesh, but note that I emphasize the word FEW.

Probably the only (minor) false note of Disney's dub is in the handling of the opening and ending songs. The translated lyrics are the same as in the FOX version, but the singer is different. Unlike the warm tones of the nameless singer who delivered "Hey Let's Go" and the showclosing "Totoro", respectively, these songs are instead handled by one Sonya Isaacs. Her voice is competent enough and she hits high notes appropriately, but her approach to the opening song has more of a "gung-ho" attitude and as such, is a bit less charming. She does fare a little better in the ending song, particularly in the bits that she harmonizes parts of the last couple of verses. One other difference is that the songs sound more crisper and vibrant in the new dub but come across as somewhat scratchy-sounding in the older one. So, basically, there are pros and cons to both versions: one is more soothing but more "old" in terms of clarity, while the other offers technical improvements but not so much on the singing end.

Otherwise, however, there really aren't any major quibbles I can find with Disney's dub of My Neighbor Totoro. There is no denying that the FOX dub is a classic of its time, but Disney's reinterpretation is by no means a disservice. While the arguments over which version is superior may rage on until the very bitter end, it's obvious that the creators of both dubs are fans of Miyazaki, and it shows in both takes. Each takes their own approach to the story, and are neither better nor worse. They simply are what they are.

Whisper of the Heart

2010-04-25T15:35:00.000-07:00

Several days after this film made its long awaited debut on DVD in 2006, the following quote was made on the forums of the Internet Movie Database concerning the English version, produced, as usual by Disney:

"I think this one of the worst Disney dubs yet...Absolutely lousy, rotten, the standard Disney policy of bulldozing and flattening any subtlety in the original story, throwing away every bit of mystery and suspense, and piled on with layer after layer of syrupy, over-done, unrealistic cartoon voices. Gimmie a break. These people sound like parents talking down to a baby, or stroke victims."
--The Ghibli Blog

The owner of the Ghibli Blog may have meant what had said (it should also be noted that he detests dubbing in general, particularly any of the Ghibli dubs save Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Ponyo), but if truth be told, the dub for Whisper of the Heart (Yoshifumi Kondo's first and only film for Studio Ghibli) is the exact opposite. It is a delightful, well-produced English track, just like any of the Ghibli-Disney dubs. Other reviewers such as AnimeonDVD's Chris Beveridge and Dani Moure have praised it as one of their best. That said, Whisper of the Heart's dub has also received its share of detractors; there are those who simply refuse to give this dub any credit, in the form of either stubborn, unpleasable fans who are too fond of the original Japanese or even a few reviewers who simply have an axe to grind (e.g. Film Freak Central's own Walter Chaw, who dismissed the dub as "sub-par" compared to Disney standards). However, if one doesn't watch any of the Ghibli dubs with any said baggage on their shoulders, it is much easier to appreciate them as a whole. That certainly applies to Whisper of the Heart, which, to the average ear, is a very natural-sounding, well-written, and top-quality English track. I wouldn't say it's the best Ghibli dub (I love the others too much), but it is definitely an effort that does not deserve to be tossed aside as second-rate.

Produced by the now-expected team of ADR director Rick Dempsey and scriptwriters Cindy Davis and Donald H. Hewitt (who helmed the Ghibli dubs since Spirited Away), Whisper of the Heart is not an easy movie to translate, and if done straightly, it could make the mistake of alienating the audience. A crucial part of the story involves an American song, "Take Me Home, Country Road" by John Denver (delivered in the opening credits by Olivia Newton-John), where the protagonist attempts to translate the song into Japanese. Obviously that wouldn't work, so the scriptwriters have her rewrite the lyrics to suit her own tastes. This is not the only example of pragmatic changes that occur in the script. Other ones include a tongue-in-cheek comment about the parody writing of "Concrete Road", "Great lyrics. They're even cornier than the original version!" (vs. "You should give up on 'Concrete Road'"), and lastly a marriage proposal at the end. (Considering that the two have only met for a few days, hearing them agree to a marriage does feel somewhat abrupt. If anything, this could be counted as an improvement over the original script.) The dialogue is not word-for-word with the literal translation, but it somehow succeeds in maintaining the spirit of the original without compromising it. This is the sort of standard I've come to expect from any Ghibli-Disney dub, and this is no exception.

The casting for this story is important because Whisper is a story about High school teenagers; thankfully, Disney puts together a capable cast for the characters in question with performances that bring sincerity and believability to this slow-paced love story. (And contrary to the aforementioned poster, they are not "syrupy, overdone" or "cartoonish" in the least.)

SHIZUKU (Brittany Snow): For the lead character, an insecure teenager with a passion for stories and an obliviousness to certain responsibilites (a weakness which is magnified in the latter half), Miss Snow handles herself excellently. She has a very lovely voice, conveying the character's innocence and childlike wonder; every emotional moment is handled in a way that is lively and believeability without sounding saccharine. Brittany even gets to show off her singing abilities for the film's solo vocal piece ("Country Road"). There are several moments where she has to speak fast to keep up with the mouth movements, but that's more of a criticism of the animation lip flaps than her overall performance. (This wouldn't be her only voice acting job, either; some time after, she was heard as the lonely sorceress Namine in Kingdom Hearts II.)

SEIJI (David Gallagher): Speaking of Kingdom Hearts, Riku himself speaks for the boy whose name Shizuku notices in the library cards on the books she regularly checks out. When we first meet Seiji he comes across as anything but the "nice, intelligent, civilized person" that Shizuku imagines him to be; in fact he "comments" on her work and her father's lunch. But that's only one side of his personality, we discover, as he shows himself to also be a kind, genial boy who has a lot more in common with Shizuku than even she imagines. Gallagher handles these earlier moments in a way that is very cocky and amusing. His scenes with Snow are the core of the entire story, and it helps that there is chemistry between the two throughout the dub. It's hard to believe that neither recorded their lines together. (It also seems that Disney just can't escape criticism, either, when it comes to casting leads; I've heard naysayers say that both Snow and Gallagher are wrong for their roles. It seems there is no pleasing everybody.)

YOKO (Ashley Tisdale): Shizuku's best friend is also Brittany Snow's real life best friend, as mentioned in the behind-the-scenes documentary. I like casting choices like this, as it brings an added authenticity and naturalism to the relationship between the two girls. Tisdale has a more nasally voice which lends well to her bits of irritation and her timid moments. She also does a great job with her emotional breakdown scene. Interesting note: Tisdale was familiar with the song "Country Road", unlike Snow, and so she had to teach Brittany the song; this works in favor of the first scene where the two girls sing Shizuku's initial lyrics.

SHIHO (Courtney Thorne-Smith): The older sister of Shizuku is a cantankerous character, always in a foul mood, and sometimes at odds with her sibling. It is easy to portray this girl as an annoying bitch, but Courtney somehow steers around that trap, making Shiho appropriately grumpy but also concerned and caring for Shizuku, especially when the latter neglects her house chores (and exam scores!) in favor of writing a story.

SHIZUKU'S MOTHER AND FATHER (Jean Smart and James Seking): Nothing much to write about their performances here, other than that they play Shizuku's parents pretty much as you'd expect--stern, caring, and warm at heart. Seking has a few moments which come across as somewhat monotonous, but not enough to bring down the character or the scenes he is in.

SUGIMURA (Martin Spanjers): The other significant "child" character in the movie is Shizuku and Yuko's classmate, or to put it mildly, an oblivious but goodhearted dope who has no idea that Yuko is in love with him. What really makes his character work is the dialogue; Martin's delivery of "I don't speak girl-code! Why don't you spell it out for me?" is pricelessly funny. He also has the right tone for this kind of character. Considering that this is a modern-day "realistic" story, it helps that the children all sound authentic (no offense to any of the other Ghibli dubs, of course).

BARON (Cary Elwes): I've always found it amusing that several veterans from The Princess Bride have somehow found their way into Ghibli dubs (Inigo Montoya in Laputa, Miracle Max in Howl, and Prince Humperdinck in Nausicaa), but Westley is lucky. This is his third appearance in a Ghibli film, the first being Donald Curtis in Porco Rosso. His second role is the character he plays in this film, a charismatic gentleman cat named Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, or simply Baron. His performance was the highest point of the otherwise predictable and uninspired The Cat Returns (the only Ghibli film to have disappointed me thus far). Compared to that film, however, Baron’s role is smaller, and so Elwes has few lines, but even so, the third time is a charm.

NISHI (Harold Gould): This guy takes my vote for being the best performer in the overall dub. It always seems to be a tradition for every Ghibli dub to have a performer who takes the status of "stealing the show", so to speak (save Pom Poko); Gould's portrayal of the kindly old shopkeeper who helps Shizuku on her spiritual growth into a young woman is no exception. Gould has the sort of gentle, grandfatherly voice that one would naturally expect from this character, and his natural delivery throughout really makes the viewer wish that Mr. Nishi was the sort of kindly uncle everyone wishes they had. In other words, Mr. Gould really contributes to the movie's overall "heart". Only issue: occasional distortion in the clarity of the voice, yet it is a nuisance that gradually goes away.

Anyone who has viewed a Disney-Ghibli dub should not expect anything less for the additional characters, and there's no disappointments to be had here. The high school students, in particular, sound great, not only for being age-appropriate, but for the handling of the walla scenes. This is especially amusing in the scene where the students tease Shizuku about her relationship with Seiji.

It is a wonder, too, that Whisper of the Heart ever got dubbed at all; at the time Disney acquired the rights to these movies, one would wonder about how they would handle a Japanese-centric film like this. There was even a legality issue that delayed its release (involving the use of the John Denver song). In the end, however, it is worth it, because the resulting dub is yet another commendable achievement in the high-profile Disney-Ghibli English tracks. While Whisper is not my favorite Ghibli-Disney dub, I will not deny that it is indeed a top-notch effort; nor do I hesitate to recommend it in the least. It is certainly deserving of an appreciative audience.

R.I.P. Carl Macek

2010-04-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

Reported on Anime News Network:

Animation historian Jerry Beck reported on his blog on Sunday that American producer Carl Macek passed away due to a heart attack on Saturday. Macek and Beck had co-founded the anime importing company Streamline Pictures in 1988.

Macek is best known for producing Robotech, the 1985 redubbed and edited adaptation of three different anime series — Macross, Southern Cross, and Mospeada. He also worked on the dubbing of many anime projects from Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years (redubbed and edited adaptation of Captain Harlock and Queen Millennia) to more recently, Bleach and Naruto. His other dubbing production credits include Vampire Hunter D, Robot Carnival, My Neighbor Totoro, and Aura Battler Dunbine. Although Streamline Pictures did not dub the 1988 film Akira, it did release the film in theaters and on video tape in the United States.
Outside anime, Macek wrote The Art of Heavy Metal (Animation for the Eighties), the 1981 book about the Canadian animated film Heavy Metal. That led to his co-writing credit on the Heavy Metal 2000 spinoff. He also developed the Lady Death film at ADV Films and wrote War Eagles, a novel based on an unproduced film treatment by Merian C. Cooper.

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My comments:
As controversial as the subject of dubbing for Anime is, it is nonetheless disheartening when we lose anyone who made a significant impact on the market of today. While I have mixed opinions about his work (some dubs of his I like, others not so much), Macek was still pretty much undeserving of the backlash he received from many detractors. Controversial though his translation decisions may have been, they nonethless have opened up a gate for Anime; we wouldn't be watching Anime in English. More importantly, people unfamiliar with Anime may not have become introduced to these works if it weren't for him.

My condolences to Mr. Macek's family.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

2010-03-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, when the Anime industry was still non-existant and the only way fans of this new form of art could have any access to it was through importing fan-subtitled videotapes, it was a common, although very controversial, practice for American companies to take Japanese produced movies, or series, and cobble the "footage" into something "marketable" for mainstream audiences. Needless to say, this was a practice that many fans didn't take very kindly to, least of all one particular director named Hayao Miyazaki. Around this era of cut-and-paste compilations, Miyazaki's 1984 animated epic, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, despite achieving cult status with both the Japanese public and overseas fans, suffered from a heavily edited American release. Chopped down from its two-hour running time into a 90-minute edit, and altering much of the plot and characters, the resulting disaster was infamously known as "Warriors of the Wind". Needless to say, Miyazaki was appalled by this treatment; so much so, in fact, that he declared that any future adaptation of his work should be done under his terms. As such, the public was denied of Miyazaki's work for more than twenty years.

Flash forward about twenty years later. Having successfully produced English versions of six Ghibli features under their agreement with the Japanese studio, Disney commissioned a brand-new dub for what many fans consider one of Miyazaki's most important films ever. Unlike "Warriors", however, this version would not omit even one second, nor even change even one aspect of its storyline or characters. In fact, the only thing that would count as an alteration of any kind is the inclusion of the celebrity and voice actors and English dialogue. (As well as a few minor terminology tweaks.) So how did Disney's new version of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind turn out? Well, as usual, reaction ranged from genuinely favorable to harshly critical. (The owner of the Ghibli Blog, for instance, once declared on a now deleted post on IMDB that the redub of Nausicaa is actually worse than "Warriors of the Wind" "if I was really rotten.") Whether it was derided or praised, a good majority of viewers agreed that, after what New World Video had done to Nausicaa, anything else had to be a considerable improvement.

As "Warriors of the Wind" shouldn't even be counted as a proper dub at all, I will not even cover it in my mentioning of my review, except that I did manage to see a brief clip of it. Needless to say, it's below the standards of the current version, even if it does feature respected actors like Jack Angel, Hal Smith, and Ginny Tyler, and it doesn't help that it was heavily edited. The performances in Disney's dub, meanwhile, are an entirely different matter. Produced by the now expected team of ADR director Rick Dempsey and scriptwriters Donald and Cindy Hewitt, the new dub of Nausicaa is a fresh, competently produced effort that easily outclasses its predecessor.

NAUSICAA (Alison Lohman) -- The titular character of Miyazaki's epic tale is a very demanding and essentially challenging one. Nausicaa is a strong-willed but sometimes vulnerable teenage girl with a compassionate, caring nature and a strong stand on solving problems without using violence. Simultaneously, she is wrestling with her own inner demons of anger (as evidenced in the scene where she flies into a murderous rage at her father's killers) and has some very poignant moments of fragility. All of this makes for a daunting task for any actress; initially it seemed as though Natalie Portman (yes, Queen Amidala) would be speaking for this character, but in the end, the role went to Alison Lohman. Her performance as this character has divided many viewers--an atmosphere not much different from other lead characters in Ghibli/Disney dubs. Most reviewers greeted her performance very favorably, but others found her lacking in every way. (The cruelest critic of all was the owner of the Ghibli Blog, who declared that Lohman "sounds more like the typical teenage girl on a Disney Channel sitcom. Good glayvin, she can't even yell properly.") In fact, there are a few places where her delivery isn't always strong, mostly in some of the more quiet scenes (such as her exploration of the gloomy area beneath the quicksand pit). But to castigate her overall performance based on a few minor setbacks would seem unfair, because overall, Lohman does a very commendable job. Vocally, she has a genuinely calm, pleasant tone which never ventures into saccharine territory, and while there are a few moments where her shouting or screaming scenes falter, other such moments are very strong... particularly at the climax where she struggles against a baby Ohmu. In this latter sequence, she gives her all. Not the strongest performance in the dub, but better than average overall.

LORD YUPA (Patrick Stewart) -- The first person to speak in the dub is this elderly but charismatic swordsman, who serves as something of a mentor to Nausicaa and aids her plight to keep the piece. Stewart's deeply rich baritone is instantly recognizable, bringing a dramatic gravitas to this character and adds a powerful presence to the cast. Unsurprisingly, too, he adds himself to the tradition of the usual "show-stealer" that these dubs often have. Whether he is talking with Nausicaa or addressing the Tolmekians in a stern tone, Stewart shows why he is a true pro when it comes to both acting and in voicing a character. Another quirk about his performance is that he is not really "lip-synching", since all that is seen of the character when he talks is his moving moustache. Patrick jokes in the voice talent featurette that he is "moustache-synching", and he does that with style. (Interestingly, some time after this, he would show up in another Anime, Katsuhiro Otomo's Steamboy, alongside another Ghibli alumni, Castle in the Sky's lead actress Anna Paquin, but that's another topic altogether.)

MITO (Edward James Olmos) -- There are several male characters in Nausicaa's kingdom who serve as her trusted servants/allies, and Mito is one such person. In addition to being fiercely loyal, he is very concerned for his charge. He also has a bit of a "rough and ready" edge, as evidenced when he tries to shoot down a Tolmekian craft carrying a badly damaged Ohmu baby. Olmos has a considerably scratchy-sounding voice which is fairly appropriate for the character, although there are moments in his performance where he comes across as though he's reading. Otherwise, however, it's a decent role all around.

KUSHANA (Uma Thurman) -- Like Lady Eboshi in Princess Mononoke, this character is a very fierce, strong-willed figure of authority (in this case, the Princess of the Tolmekian Army) who insists on destroying a natural resource (the Toxic Jungle) for the sake of saving her people. Unlike Eboshi, however, Kushana is a much more ruthless and less sympathetic character--even after Nausicaa, Yupa, and the elders from the valley combined pardon her, she is still deeply committed to awaken the most deadly creature in the world (the Giant Warrior) to carry out her cruel vengeance. Thurman conveys these bitter aspects of the character aptly; although unlike Minnie Driver, she does not use an accent. Nonetheless, she does have a steel, harsh quality to her voice which works in favor of her declarations of war and threats. Yet as Kushana is not really an "evil" person, Thurman wisely steers her performance around cliche territory.

KUROTOWA (Chris Sarandon) -- One thing I've always found amusing in the Ghibli dubs is the casting of actors best known for their roles in the cult-classic The Princess Bride. In Castle in the Sky, we have Mandy "Inigo Montoya" Patinkin as one of Dola's goofy but loveable sons, Cary "Westley" Elwes speaks for both Donald Curtis in Porco Rosso as well as the Baron in both Whisper of the Heart and The Cat Returns, while Prince Humperdinck gets to play this sneaky swordsman who serves as Kushana's ally. Actually, Sarandon is no stranger to voice acting, as animation fans remember him best as Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Nonetheless, the snide, somewhat smarmy tone he provides to Kurotowa brings him somewhat more in line with the role he's famous for in Rob Reiner's film. He makes the most of his scenes, and, if it weren't for Stewart, would probably tie as one of the best in the dub. Either way, though, it is gratifying to hear Humperdinck -- sorry, Sarandon -- participate in a Ghibli production. One wonders if he'll participate in another.

ASBEL (Shia LaBeouf) -- If there is a weak link in the dub of Nausicaa, it may be for LaBeouf's performance as Asbel, the aggressive prince from Pejite who eventually becomes Nausicaa's friend and ally. Vocally, LaBeouf does have the right tone for the character, but his actual acting is another matter. His initial readings come across as rather stiff and monotonous. It's not drastic enough to bring down the dub, but it is definitely not one of the strongest performances in a Ghibli dub. (Even James van der Beek's Pazu, while -- perhaps unfairly -- criticized for sounding more mature than his character, was a lot more, well, animated in his actual acting than here.) That said, he does grow more into his role (although considering that he has a considerably small part in the film it's really hard to say how Asbel could be better fleshed out vocally), and moments where he is thrust into action (threatening the guards to release Nausicaa, or helping the latter escape when his carrier is attacked) are definitely all uphill from his first appearance.

PEJITE MAYOR (Mark Hamill) -- This marks the second time that the multi-talented voice actor formerly known as Luke Skywalker participates in a Disney/Ghibli production. His first, an impeccable turn as the deviously treacherous Muska, has always been hailed as one of Castle in the Sky's greatest strengths. Compared to that role, however, the Mayor of Pejite is a considerably smaller part, and as such, Hamill's voice work here isn't as outstanding. That said, it is gratifying to hear him in another film by Miyazaki, even as a cameo. A note about the character: the Mayor of Pejite is not a villainous character, but rather, a misguided man dedicated to protecting his tribe regardless of whether his ruthless decision to send a stampede of raging Ohmu toward Nausicaa's home kingdom causes any harm. Hamill plays him as such; while his harsh, gritty tone is somewhat similar to Muska, he wisely steers around making the Mayor another "evil" character.

KING JIHL (Mark Silverman) -- The father of Nausicaa, the bedridden ruler of the Valley of the Wind, has a considerably scanty but noteworthy part. Silverman has the sort of aged voice that works very well for this character and he sounds very solid throughout.

OBABA (Tress MacNeille) -- Adding yet another role to her rather impressive list of credits in a Ghibli dub, Miss MacNeille plays this blind old woman who serves as something of a fortune-teller. Her voice is considerably raspy and very ancient in tone; this is not an easy trick to pull off, but Tress manages it well.

The rest of the vocal cast consist of Disney's standard use of traditional voice actors for other roles, all of who blend seamlessly into the cast. The late Tony Jay (better known to Disney fans as Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame) provides a brief opening narration (ala Keith David in Princess Mononoke); James Arnold Taylor, Frank Welker, and Jeff Bennett voice three "elderly" characters who are both warriors and loyal servants to Nausicaa; and other voices such as Bridget Hoffman, Edie Mirman, Peter Renaday, and Robert Clotworthy can all be heard among the incidental cast. Hey, even Jodi Benson (yes, Ariel herself) makes a brief but noteworthy cameo as a woman who serves as an important plot point to the character of Asbel. One thing that is also noteworthy about the Nausicaa dub is that the children of the valley are voiced by actual children. I like this, as it adds an authenticity to an already compelling epic drama. Not that you can't cast adults to voice children provided they do it convincingly, but ADR director Rick Dempsey nonetheless deserves to be commended on his part for striving for that touch of realism.

Scriptwriters Cindy Davis Hewitt and Donald H. Hewitt again rise to the task of adapting Miyazaki's own screenplay into a smooth, natural-sounding ADR script, and they do so seamlessly. Any changes to the dialogue are not out of spirit with the original; what may be controversial to some fans, though, is the minor tweaking of some terminology. Readers who have grown accustomed to the comic book series of the same title will notice that Nausicaa's glider, Mehve, is simply called a "glider"; all the insects are referred to as simply insects or giant dragonflies, and the deadly area that our protagonists venture into is called the "Toxic Jungle". This latter change was included in the "Warriors of the Wind" dub, but before anybody criticizes Disney for supposedly stealing this term, keep in mind that the Hewitts never even saw the edit, and that the decision to use this term was made due to careful consultations with Ghibli.

All in all, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind ranks as yet another noteworthy entry to the cannon of the Disney-Ghibli dubs, effectively erasing dreaded memories of the travesty that New World Video was responsible for. Although not without its occasional stiff moments and sync issues (there is one moment where Obaba is talking where the mouth doesn't seem to match her words), this new Disney edition is still very much welcome overall. I tip my hat to the folks at the Mouse House.

Spice and Wolf

2010-03-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

Spice and Wolf is a tricky show to dub; the main thrust of the show is, surprisingly, economics, and many of the long conversations in the show are the equivalent of verbal warfare as one character tries to convince another to agree to some sort of business dealing. Add in the fact that Holo has a very formal, archaic accent and style of speaking in the original Japanese version, and you have some quite large potential headaches. Thankfully, Funimation has met the challenge head-on and produced a fantastic dub for the show. In fact, I would actually recommend watching the show in English prior to watching the Japanese since the conversations are much easier to follow without having to read the subtitles. Onto the cast!

CRAFT LAWRENCE (J. Michael Tatum)-Tatum has quickly become one of Funimation's stock actor, and he's shown to have both massive reserves of talent and range. Lawrence is probably his most down-to-earth role yet, and Tatum is unsurprisingly excellent in the role. He brings an amiable, "horribly good-natured" (to quote Holo for a moment) charm as well as a much lighter voice than we're used to hearing from him to the role (most of Tatum's characters tend to have very deep voices), and he sounds completely natural in the role. He also handles Lawrence's moments of anger, sadness or embarrassment beautifully, never overacting any of them. It's another great notch to add to Tatum's belt.

HOLO (Brina Palencia)-As good as Tatum is, Brina Palencia completely steals the dub with her magnificent star turn as Holo. It helps that Holo is one of the best-written, most fascinating female anime leads in recent memory, and Ami Koshimizu's performance was admittedly quite memorable to begin with (I say "admittedly" because I tend to not be much of a sub fan). I called Palencia's work here a "star turn" because it may be her best performance yet, as she gets to run the whole gamut of emotions, sometimes in a single episode! The difficulty of playing a character like Holo is that her moods are quite fickle; by turns she can be playful, vain, arrogant, furious or even unintentionally insensitive, such as when she goes too far in teasing Lawrence about wolves possibly eating him early on. Thankfully, Palencia matches Holo beat-for-beat with a formal, almost regal tone that often has an air of arrogance or haughtiness about it, though that certainly doesn't negate Holo's likability. One of her most memorable moments comes early on when Holo eats a potato that is too hot and she grumbles "Stupid potato!" in a way that is simply hilarious that print cannot accurately convey; you have to see it for yourself. Palencia also plays off of Tatum so wonderfully that it almost seems like they're actually recording in the same room. In short, Palencia's performance alone makes this dub worth watching.

CHLOE (Jamie Marchi)-While Holo and Lawrence carry the lion's share of the show between him, the supporting cast has some equally memorable players. The first is Marchi's Chloe, who seems nice at first but turns out to have an incredibly nasty streak later on, and Marchi sells it all, with her best scene being her cruel taunting of Holo when the latter has been captured. Marchi makes it her mission to make the audience completely hate Chloe by the end of this scene, and she succeeds so well that her comeuppance is even more satisfying than it already was.

ZHEREN (John Burgmeier)-Burgmeier's always had a certain sleazy quality in his performances, and Zheren is perhaps his sleaziest, a young man who attempts to con Lawrence and Holo in the first half of the series and nearly succeeds. Burgmeier is great here, and he made me suspicious of Zheren long before Lawrence did, which was almost certainly intentional.

NORA (Leah Clark)-Clark uses a very light, soft voice to the young shepherd who falls in with Lawrence and Holo in the second half of the series, and it works quite well. Clark also brings a great air of mystery as we're not quite sure of Nora's motives until almost the end. Is she really as nice as she seems, or is she hiding something and can't be trusted? Clark is perfect in this area as well as Nora's genuine kindness.

The rest of the cast consists of one-to-three shot characters, such as Chris Sabat's ultimately helpful Marlheit, Kent Williams' nervous Lemerio, Chuck Huber's distrustful Liebert or Eric Vale's womanizing Weiz. All the above actors perform perfectly, as do the many other one-shot or minor performers. Overall, Spice and Wolf is a great dub that I give my full seal of approval.

Porco Rosso

2010-03-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

Despite creating four genuinely well-received (if not critically) English tracks for Ghibli's works, it wasn't until the acquisition of Spirited Away's Oscar for Best Animated Feature that Disney decided to proceed with more English adaptations of Ghibli features. Their next project was Porco Rosso, which is arguably one of the oddest entries in director Hayao Miyazaki's output. It also happens to be one of this writer's least favorite of his, but that's another topic. The dub, hailed by Ghibli insiders as their finest yet, premiered at the Austin Film Festival in 2003 before debuting on DVD on 2005. That said, reception to it, like all the other Ghibli dubs, have been divided. There were reviews that sang praises (at places like DVDTimes, UltimateDisney, and DVDTalk), but others were negative for whatever reason (The Ghibli Blog, who dubbed this as "the most frustrating" of the Ghibli-Disney dubs, decrying it as a case of "Disney treating Ghibli's movies like their syrupy cartoon features", as well as Australia's DVDNet, calling it one of the "worst" Disney dubs yet, saying that the actors show no enthusiasm for their roles). Needless to say, even with a man as respected as John Lasseter at the helm for these dubs since Spirited Away (or even a skillful ADR director like Jack Fletcher), detractors will probably decry these Disney versions as blasphemy either way, and there are some who actively dislike this dub even after its release. In spite of what the naysayers say, however, any of the Disney Ghibli dubs have done nothing but introduce newcomers to Miyazaki's works, and there are plenty who get a kick of them, including this writer.

Even so, it is important to note that, like Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service, and My Neighbor Totoro, there was an early dub prior to Disney's release briefly distributed, but not produced, by Streamline Pictures. The pre-Disney dubs of Ghibli have been a mixed bag for this viewer. Macek's own dubs for Kiki and Totoro were better than average and quite good for their day, but Castle's, produced by an unknown company and distributed by Streamline, was a complete disaster, paling miserably compared to Disney's version (controversial though it may be with fans, the current dub surpasses the '80s version by far). Needless to say, Porco Rosso's older dub seems to have fallen into the same category as the pre-Disney Laputa dub did, as reviews of this 1992 English track which I've discovered have been quite harsh. (It should be noted, too, that this older dub of Porco, like Laputa's, was produced very quickly by an unknown company and saw a limited release, which explains why it isn't very well remembered.) Not having heard this older dub, I cannot make any comparisons. However, I will say that, as someone who wasn't all that thrilled with Porco Rosso to begin with and as a genuine fan of all the Disney-Ghibli dub tracks, this is yet another winner, with top-notch performances and writing all around. Scripted by Spirited Away's Cindy Davis Hewitt and Donald H. Hewitt, who helmed all the other dubs after Spirited, painstakingly and directed by Tony Bancroft, Disney's dub of Porco Rosso features the usual star-studded cast of actors and smooth, natural writing that one would come to expect from any of their dubs.

The cast of Porco Rosso is a considerably small one, so only the principal roles will be fully covered in my review.

PORCO ROSSO (Michael Keaton) -- Even as someone who doesn't really mind some of the more controversial casting choices of Disney's other dubs (e.g. Phil Hartman in Kiki, the leads in Castle, and San and Jigo in Mononoke), I was a little unsure about Keaton portraying the titular character, a (literally) pig-headed pilot who makes a living as a bounty hunter while also earning himself a reputation as a rebel and a womanizer. Not that I have any sort of loyalty to the original Japanese version or even the supposedly superb French version featuring Jean Reno, but having seen the film at least one time in its native language track, I had an idea of how Porco should sound, and Keaton wasn't it. After seeing the dub for myself, however, I laid my case to rest: Keaton is an excellent Porco. He tends to be deadpan most of the time, and yet somehow this works in favor of his world-weary nature. When the moments arise for him to shout or be energetic, Keaton does that with pinanche. Some may have trouble with the occasional pig-grunts he makes, but I personally found it very fitting and added to the role.

DONALD CURTIS (Cary Elwes) -- Aside from Porco, the other major character in the film is his rival, a dashing, boastful pilot who falls for every pretty woman he comes across. Based on this description, he ought to be a villain, but Miyazaki doesn't characterize him as such. Neither does Elwes, although he does manage to put across his aggressive swagger and arrogance in a way that would make Curtis teeter toward that area. Even so, it is a very peculiar casting choice, as Elwes, like Jada Pinkett-Smith's Toki in Princess Mononoke, is clearly playing against type. Curtis is a Southerner (or at least that's what Disney's dub chracterizes him as), and it feels very strange to hear the very British Elwes trying to sound like he's from Texas! Yet he clearly is enjoying himself, whether he is making proposals to Gina or Fio or taunting Porco in mid-air fights. A note about the character's origin: in the Japanese version, Curtis is from Alabama, but due to lipflap purposes, it was decided to make him come from Texas. Whether that is a distraction or not depends on the viewer.

GINA (Susan Egan) -- Having shown her skill in as Lin in Spirited Away, it isn't totally surprising that Miss Egan (better known as Belle from Broadway's Beauty and the Beast) gets to play another role in a Ghibli dub, this time as a sultry, thrice(!)-widowed woman who spends most of her time singing at taverns (and yes, Egan does manage to flex her vocal skills with her impeccable reindition of "Les Temps des Cerises") and secretly longing for her childhood friend, Porco, to return her affections. Egan has the sort of husky, sensual quality that works brilliantly for this character, and she even adds a touch of sarcasm and humor to her performance, particularly in the scene where she fends off Curtis' advance. She also doesn't hesitate to let out her emotional edge in moments like the scene where Porco telephones the lady at the Hotel Adriano to inform her that he's making an illegal visit to Italy. Aside from at least one flat line toward the end, "Marco, get up!", Egan's Gina is a solid performance all around.

MAMMA AIUTTO BOSS (Brad Garrett) -- The Mamma Aiutto pirates could very well be seen as a distant cousin of the Dola Gang from Castle in the Sky, as they are, after all, aerial pirates who aren't as evil as they appear to be. For this film, however, the leader of these rogues is a burly, bearded man who is clearly referred to as their "boss". No stranger to playing "heavy" characters of this type, it's unsurprising that Brad manages to fit himself into the character, employing a little bit of "Bluto" into the performance. He is as gravelly as you'd expect, and he tends to spend a lot of time shouting his lines. That's not really a criticism, though; for characters of this type, giving a more flat, deadpan kind of voice would work against the character. Garrett obviously relishes his role from the start, and, even though less memorable compared to Cloris Leachman's Dola, his performance is undeniably funny and a riot.

MR. PICCOLO (David Ogden Stiers) -- Also making a return appearance in a Ghibli dub is Disney's own good luck charm, who previously spoke for Kamaji in Spirited Away. While one wouldn't recognize his voice in that role, here it's hard not to think of him as a cousin of Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast, for the tone he uses for this cheeky engineer is somewhat similar to that role. Where he manages to make it stand out is by providing him with an appropriately Italian accent. It's an interesting choice, but it's effective nonetheless. He also gets to have several opportunities to call Porco out on his disapproving views of women by proclaiming "don't be such a pig." (This is one of the many opportunities that the English script provides for adding in pork-based humor into the dialogue.)

FIO PICCOLO (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) -- Fitting nicely into the usual formula of the show-stealer in any of the Ghibli dubs, Kimberly takes the prize for the Best Performance in the dub as the film's appealing and intriguing young female lead, a sprightly mechanic who is much tougher than she appears and is not afraid to show it in any way. From the start, Kimberly makes Fio an instantly likeable character to root for, and she especially relishes herself in scenes where she chews the Mamma Aiutto gang out for not playing fair with Porco (one of the funniest scenes in the film). What ultimately makes her performance a real delight, however, is the chemistry between her and Keaton: it is a joy to listen to, and what ultimately sells Porco Rosso's dub as a whole.

Naturally, Disney uses their usual stable of actors for the supporting characters. Goofy himself, Bill Farmer, gets to have a brief role as a photographer for the scene where Fio and the (newly cleaned up) pirates pose for a picture; the ubiquitous Tress MacNeille gets to be a newscaster on a boat as well as several of Piccolo's elderly relatives; and others such as Jeff Bennett, Michael Bell, Debi Deriberry, Corey Burton, Sherry Lynn, Rob Paulsen, and Frank Welker are among the incidental voices.

The script adaptation by the Hewitts is pretty much on the same level as their work on Spirited Away and any of the other dubs they've done: their ADR script is not word for word with the literal translation (as well as it shouldn't be, as such an approach would only result in stale and awkward-sounding dialogue), but is instead constructed to sound both natural and convey the essence of Miyazaki's unusual tale. While some purists may make noise about the decision to replace lines like "otherwise I'll kill you" with "I'd hate to put you jerks out of business", personally I applaud the decision, as the latter line sounds more fluent and provides more character as a result. There are also places where the Hewitts get to work in some extra humor ala Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle in the Sky, only not to the sometimes extraneous level as those two dubs, while still enjoyable, occasionally stumbled into.

All in all, while Porco Rosso may not be my favorite Disney-Ghibli dub, it still surprises me to see that it has its share of detractors. On its own, it is a well-produced, carefully written, entertaining dub that deserves to stand alongside the other English tracks Disney has done. Considering the reportedly dubious quality of the previous dub that Streamline distributed, it really is hard to get any better treatment than what the Mouse House provides. Not only did it help me to appreciate Porco Rosso as a movie, it entertained me, just as well as a good dub should. If that doesn't make it a worthwhile dub, I don't know what does.

Azumanga Daioh

2010-03-10T17:10:00.001-08:00

Ah, Azumanga Daioh. This, along with Fruits Basket, was one of the first "non-mainstream" anime/dubs I ever watched, and for that I will always be grateful. It's kind of like an animated version of Seinfeld, where conversations can drag on or go off on weird tangents, and not much of consequence really happens aside from the girls building their friendship and graduating school. Still, it's easily one of the better anime comedies out there, and it remains a favorite. The dub's flaws are more apparent than they were when I first watched it, but so are its virtues, thankfully. So, onto the dub:

CHIYO MIHAMA (Jessica Boone) -- I'm still sad that Boone appears to have permanently retired from voice acting, because she's such an excellent performer. That said, her performance here has some occasional flaws; while Chiyo-chan is indeed supposed to be high-pitched and cutesy, occasionally Boone gets a little *too* cutesy and veers into "annoying" territory. Thankfully, it's not that often, and Boone is otherwise wonderfully endearing and funny in the role.

SAKAKI (Christine Auten) -- Weirdly enough, this is one of my favorite performances in the dub, despite the fact that Sakaki doesn't have nearly as much dialogue as some of the other characters. Still, she gets more and more dialogue as the show goes on, and Auten nails it all, from Sakaki's default deadpan mode to her joy as she rolls around on the floor with Maaya near the end of the series. Granted, I'm a huge Auten fanboy anyway thanks to her performance as Izumi Curtis in Fullmetal Alchemist, but her work here is just as good.

TOMO TAKINO (Mandy Clark) -- This is another performance that hasn't aged quite as well, but it's still pretty solid. Like Boone, Clark certainly nails the energy and annoyance factor of Tomo, but that works a little too well sometimes, so she occasionally grates on the eardrums. Still, she definitely gets across that "sugar high" energy of Tomo, as well as her jerkiness, quite well.

KOYOMI "YOMI" MIZUHARA (Nancy Novotny) -- Like Auten, Novotny completely nails her character and sounds totally natural in the part. As a result, Novotny gets some of the funniest moments in the show, such as whenever she scolds Tomo (which is often) or complains about her weight.

AYUMU "OSAKA" KASUGA (Kira Vincent-Davis) -- For the dub, Davis decides to adopt a soft Southern accent for the Osakan native, and using accents to adapt characters from different regions of Japan is not an uncommon practice in dubbing. It's a choice that works for the most part, and Davis backs it up with some great acting. Osaka is terminally clueless, providing many of the aimless conversations in the show, and Davis brings a nice floating, dreamy quality to her voice in addition to the accent that suits Osaka perfectly.

KAGURA (Allison Sumrall) -- Kagura doesn't join the main cast until about halfway through, but Sumrall's likeable, energetic performance makes an instantly winning impression. She also gets a great, purely character-driven conversation with Chiyo-chan later in the show, and Sumrall nails it.

KAORIN (Tiffany Grant) -- Tiffany Grant really makes this character shine; what could have been (and admittedly still kind of is) a stereotypical "schoolgirl lesbian" instead becomes hilarious, and I especially love Grant's performance when Kaorin goes into hyperactive, panicky mode.

YUKARI TANIZAKI (Luci Christian) -- And now we come to the star of the show, ladies and gentlemen. Luci Christian is perfect as the spectacularly unqualified schoolteacher, and I dare you to stop yourself from laughing or at least giggling whenever she opens her mouth. Nearly every moment of Christian's performance is comedy gold, and I daresay it's both one of her shining roles and one of the best dub performances in history. Her performance alone merits the dub a listen.

KIMURA (Andy McAvin) -- McAvin is probably the second funniest actor in the dub, with his perverted deliveries hitting the mark every time. A particular favorite is his legendary delivery of "CAUSE I LIKE HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS, THAT'S WHY!"

MINAMO "NYAMO" KUROSAWA (Monica Rial) -- Miss Rial is sweet, likeable and down-to-earth as the similarly level-headed gym teacher, although she gets plenty of funny, hyper moments as well.

CHIYO-FATHER (Jason Douglas) -- Douglas' deep-voiced performance is just as weird and memorable as the dream cat himself.

Overall, Azumanga Daioh is both an excellent show and a fairly excellent dub. If you haven't seen it, check it out.

Grave of the Fireflies

2010-02-06T15:48:00.000-08:00

Much has been made over the Disney-produced dubs for Ghibli's works, but there are other existing English tracks for Ghibli films which don't get much recognition and/or are often given the shaft. One such dub is Grave of the Fireflies, Isao Takahata's heartbreaking masterpiece about two children in post-World War II. The company who released the dub (produced by Skypilot Entertainment) is the now defunct Central Park Media, whose track record for dubs had been mixed. Although I have a soft spot for several of their dubs (Record of Lodoss War OVA, Slayers, The World of Narue, Now and Then Here and There, Night on Galactic Railroad, and Animation Runner Kuromi, to name a few), the company has also released a lot of others which (according to some) were pretty much sub-par.

Based on this, you would assume that Grave of the Fireflies is a bad dub; it isn't, but if you're expecting something that would rival any of the better Ghibli dubs or even Carl Macek's earlier dubs of My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, you'll probably be disappointed, for, while it is a competent enough production, it does not reach the high standards of its peers. Still, in spite of the uneven results, one does have to give credit for the attempt.

As with most CPM dubs, the ADR script adheres closely to the literal subtitle script; while that may be ideal for purists, this also results in some lines that come across as stilted and stale-sounding. I was more forgiving with the abovementioned dubs since the performances in most of them were good enough to overcome the sometimes awkward dialogue. The problem is that this is a Ghibli movie, where the standards for ADR scripting are much higher, and unfortunately the literal sounding script is a bit of a detriment to the overall production.

The cast of Grave of the Fireflies is a very small one, so in evaluating the voices, I shall be focusing on the three principal characters--the ones who have the most lines.

SEITA (J. Robert Spencer): Probably the best voice in the entire dub, and arguably the best performance. Spencer has the sort of teenage boy tone that is more than appropriate for Seita, and for the most part he handles himself fairly well. His chemistry with the younger sister who co-stars with him is largely attributed to the believability he provides the character, whether he is speaking quietly to her out of comfort, chasing her playfully across the beach, or breaking into tears as his sister's condition continually worsens. There are a couple of places, though, where he doesn't always nail his lines, but that's more toward the end, and even then, it isn't that detrimental to the overall performance.

SETSUKO (Rhoda Chrosite): By contrast, Chrosite's Setsuko is the weak link of the dub. The Japanese version cast an actual 4-year-old to play this sweet, innocent little girl, but the dub does just the opposite in casting an adult actress who raises her pitch as high as possible to sound young. In doing so, however, it comes across as very strained and unnatural sounding--this works against the character. Normally I'd be more excusing of this problem if this movie was a fantasy, but since this is based on a true story, the lack of authenticity in the performance and casting is detrimental. Her crying scenes are especially weak, coming across more like a Siamese cat yowling. Only toward the end of the film where Setsuko gets more and more frail does Chrosite find the right tone for the character. Despite my quibbles, she comes across fairly well in her chemistry with Spencer. It's just too bad that they couldn't find an actual child to do the role for the dub.

AUNTIE (Amy Jones): The last major part in the movie is Seita and Setsuko's aunt, a self-serving woman who treats the children with coldness and contempt during their (brief) stay with her. Given her harsh attitude toward the children (and kindness toward her own daughter), one would almost feel tempted to call her the villain of the piece. However, this is not the case; she is merely a bitter, frustrated character who is overburdened with both her responsibility and the war situation. Jones plays the character exactly as you'd expect, with a low-key understatedness during her "normal scenes" while being snappish during others.

Competent though these three actors are, the major point of interest to the Fireflies dub are the cameo roles voiced by popular NYC Anime actors/actresses. These include Veronica Taylor, who is apparently credited for Seita and Setsuko's mother at the beginning of the film, but her voice is deeper than one would expect from her... so much so, in fact that one would assume she didn't actually play her. Her sprightly "young woman" voice is much more noticeable for the sympathetic neighbor who briefly speaks with Seita at the beginning of the film. Nonetheless, she does a fine job. Another recognizable name is Crispin Freeman, a longtime Ghibli fanboy. Believe it or not, this was his first appearance in a Ghibli dub (he would later appear in a brief cameo toward the end of Howl's Moving Castle as Prince Turnip). He uses his "natural" speaking voice for several doctors; while it may not seem like anything special, his enthusiasm for Ghibli and consistently excellent voice work make him a name that should not be doubted. Finally, Dan Green has a lot of miscellaneous speaking roles, most notablyl that of a sympathetic police officer who pardons Seita for stealing food from a farmer (suggesting that the latter has abused the poor kid too harshly). Like Freeman and Taylor, he does a solid job and is enjoyable to listen to.

I didn't recognize most of the other actors in the dub, but they seemed pretty solid as well... although the foley/crowd scenes are somewhat lacking, sounding as though only a small group of people were brought into the studio, creating an unconvincing result. Again, this "problem" is less of a grating issue in other CPM dubs, but it's more so for this film, as there are several major sequences involving thousands of people screaming in terror as the American bombers unleash their explosive artillery on the town. Consequently, these moments don't come across as dramatic as they should.

If Grave of the Fireflies' dub was produced for a different animation studio, I would do nothing less than recommend it, as it still emerges as a fairly good attempt. In the context of Studio Ghibli's currently existing dubs, however, Fireflies' dub unfortunately is at the short end of the stick. I will say, though, that for fans who are adverse to subtitles, one could do a whole lot worse. Uneven though Fireflies' dub may be, it's decent enough to earn a passing grade, but moreso as a CPM dub, not a Ghibli one. The cameos by the NYC actors are the real point of interest here.

Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage

2009-12-22T09:57:00.000-08:00

Warning: spoilers ahead! Do not read this full article if you haven't seen Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage.

To quote reviewer Ed Liu at ToonZone, "If Cowboy Bebop is the anime equivalent of a sly, sexy come-on from the coolest human being you have ever seen, Black Lagoon is the equivalent of a punch in the face from a brash, abrasive biker." That seems to be the most apt description I can think of when preparing to talk about this awesome, awesome show, especially the second season. Like the first season, Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage is perhaps one of the finest efforts ever by Ocean Group, the Canadian voiceover/dubbing company behind Beast Wars, Death Note, Gundam Wing, Ranma 1/2, Escaflowne, Inuyasha and many others. While they occasionally lack the consistency of some of the best LA or Texas dubs, their stronger efforts are frequently incredible. This is certainly true for both the first and second seasons of Black Lagoon, but they still manage to outdo themselves on The Second Barrage.

This review will be divided into two main sections: a discussion of the regular characters and their dub performances and then reviews of the three Season 2 arcs which will cover all the new/returning guest characters introduced in those arcs. Yes, this will be long.

The Regulars

ROKURO "ROCK" OKAJIMA (Brad Swaile)-Swaile tends to play most of his roles in a pretty similar vocal range, and that's true here as well. What he varies is his acting choices; for example, in the equally superb Death Note dub, he plays the lead Villain Protagonist Light Yagami, who goes from a well-intentioned, freakishly intelligent young man to a complete psychopath over the course of the series, and Swaile plays it all beautifully. Contrast that to his role as Rock, where he stays in roughly the same vocal range but offers a completely different performance. Rock is simultaneously not fit and perfectly suited for living in Roanapur, and Swaile's performance reflects that. Yes, Rock is often kind, caring and optimistic, but every so often he displays a surprising ruthlessness or profane streak, which always feels like both a shock and yet completely right (i.e. we're shocked but we still totally buy it) thanks to Swaile's acting. Two of his best moments come in the "Fujiyama Gangster's Paradise": his meeting with Balalaika where he manages to talk his way out of getting shot with chilling ease, and his note-perfect "(Bleep) you!" after bashing the vile Chaka in the head with a bowling pin.

REVY (Maryke Hendrikse)-Miss Hendrikse was not an actress I was familiar with prior to watching Lagoon, so I'm perhaps even more impressed by her work even though I eventually learned that she was no newcomer to the business. Hendrikse, much like Revy herself, completely dominates her scenes, swearing up a storm in a semi-gravelly tone that works beautifully for the emotionally conflicted gunslinger, and she manages the balance between Revy's brash exuberance and her darker, moodier moments. She also seems legitimately angry almost all of the time, with none of it feeling forced (well, from an acting standpoint; I have my doubts about the legitimacy of some of Revy's outbursts), and an especially good moment is when she threatens to kill Gretel after the latter.... disturbs Rock. Full marks for Miss Hendrikse.

DUTCH (Dean Redman)-Would you believe that this was Dean Redman's first anime dub? Yeah, me neither. Redman simply is Dutch, completely at ease and natural in the role. His performance helps Dutch transcend the "giant, cool black man" stereotype and into a legitimate character. Redman doesn't get as much to do this season, but each moment he does have is absolutely perfect.

BENNY (Brian Drummond)-As in the first season, Drummond's performance is a nice blend of easygoing charm and general geekiness, which suits Benny perfectly. No complaints.

EDA (Lisa Ann Beley)-Beley's spirited, enthusiastic performance fits this unorthodox nun perfectly, although she does do quite well with Eda's rare serious moments.

BALALAIKA (Patricia Drake)-While she doesn't really sound Russian (sounds more like a British accent to me), Drake is otherwise superb as the frightening-but-beautiful crime boss Balalaika. She nails every aspect of Balalaika: her dark sense of humor, her sense of duty to her men, and her seeming utter lack of morals, especially in the final arc where we see just how far she's willing to go to gain power.

"THE VAMPIRE TWINS COMEN"

HANSEL (Ashleigh Ball) and GRETEL (Jocelyne Loewen)-"Creepy" is hard to play: it can often be either too much or too little, and this applies to voice acting as well. Thankfully, Ball and Lowen manage to avoid the various pitfalls of "playing it creepy" as the main antagonists of Lagoon's most purely unsettling story. Part of the challenge is that Hansel and Gretel, while deeply disturbed and depraved (alliteration is fun) thanks to their horrible "upbringing", are still children, and thus have a different outlook on life than the adult characters. Ball and Loewen are both excellent at portraying both sides of their characters, and on occasion even manage to make you feel some sympathy for these little monsters (Ball's pathetic whimpering as Hansel slowly bleeds to death is a great example). Loewen also shows off her lovely singing voice in the final episode of the arc, and I'm glad they let her do it.

VERROCHIO (Scott McNeil)-Verrochio doesn't last long, but what little time he does have is massively entertaining thanks to McNeil's hilariously over-the-top Italian accent.

BORIS (Mark Acheson)-Acheson continues to be rock-solid as Balalaika's utterly loyal lieutenant, and he has a nice moment near the end of the arc where even he's shocked at her ruthless nature.

"GREENBACK JANE"

JANET BHAI (Kelly Sheridan)-Admittedly, the titular Jane is kind of annoying, but Sheridan does a good job of making her not too annoying, as well as portraying her smug braininess.

"GROOVY GUY" RUSSELL (Brian Dobson)-Dobson is a lot of fun here as the increasingly frustrated cowboy, with funny moments coming from both his frustration at essentially being ignored and his exaggerated Southern accent/mannerisms. He also gets a great hyperbolic statement near the end of the arc that is, alas, too naughty to post here (well, probably) that involves what he's going to do after this mess is over.

SHENHUA (Saffron Henderson)-A lot of the fun of this arc comes from the various colorful bounty hunters who show up to catch Greenback Jane, and one we've met before is Shenhua, the beautiful but deadly knife-wielding Taiwanese woman who speaks broken English that is probably very offensive but still hilarious. Henderson continues to be a hoot in this role, and her gusto manages to make me overlook the stereotype factor.

FREDERICA SAWYER "THE CLEANER" (Venus Terzo)-Aided by an electronic filter of some sort since Sawyer speaks with a voicebox, Terzo is nicely creepy but fun as the chainsaw-wielding goth.

LAWTON "THE WIZARD" (Sam Vincent)-Vincent doesn't have many lines as the overdramatic-but-benevolent gunslinger, but he nails all of them, especially Lawton's hilarious speech interrupted by Revy's bullet.

CLAUDE "TORCH WEAVER (Jason Simpson)-Simpson makes the corpulent pyromaniac into a threatening figure thanks to the sheer disconnect between his light, calm voice and his divorced-from-reality attitude and lines.

"FUJIYAMA GANGSTER'S PARADISE"

YUKIO WASHIMINE (Lalainia Lindbjerg)-Miss Lindbjerg has a difficult role to play here: she has to seem convincing as both a book-loving high school student and a budding crime lord. Thankfully, she meets that challenge head-on, with the highlight of her performance being the speech she makes to Rock that deconstructs his motivations after the bowling alley confrontation.

GINJI MATSUZAKI (Michael Adamthwaite)-Adamthwaite manages to make the tall, imposing swordsman into a compelling figure with his authoritative performance, and he manages Ginji's quieter moments equally well.

CHAKA (Jonathan Holmes)-Chaka is a truly despicable creature even by Lagoon's fairly lax standards, and Holmes goes all-out in both sleaze and arrogant machismo, matched only by his glorious panicking and empty threats as he dies in a truly pathetic way.

The other Washimine gangsters are voiced excellently, and Ashleigh Ball does a good job as Yukio's friend Maki.

In conclusion, The Second Barrage is a great show and a great dub. Check it out.

Sites Which Are AGAINST Dubs

2009-10-08T22:42:00.000-07:00

Finding sites which review dubs in a very fair light is a rarity, especially on the internet. There, people can post all kinds of opinions, no matter how ridiculous they may be. Here are some sites which I find totally offensive and a slapping insult to dub fans. Be forewarned!

http://www.fuzakenna.com/ -- "There are no good Anime English dubs"? Seriously? How can you expect me to believe that? Seeing this entire post made me angry; OK, so he DOES acknowledge Vic Mignogna's performance as Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, but everything else about this site? Don't even bother wasting your time.

http://ghiblicon.blogspot.com/ -- I really, really dislike this website. The owner of this place practically hates every dub Disney has done except for Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Ponyo. To say that they're consistently horrible and that Ghibli should only be in Japanese is both a very unfortunate, one-sided argument and a slapping insult both to fans of these movies in English as well as Miyazaki--he personally had NO PROBLEMS WITH ANY OF THEM. Yes, this guy does make recommendations to obscure movies, but dub fans, AVOID AT ALL COSTS. And as a sidenote to a certain comment I received recently about how this site makes "excellent" reasons why the dubs are "bad"—to me, a person who makes comments such as "I am firmly against ever dubbing a foreign movie" is NOT someone whose reasons I would consider valid for any reason. Especially since so much of his "arguments" are over such trivial issues.

Dub Haters at MyAnimeList -- They even dare to put a cross on Crispin Freeman, one of the best voice actors of all time. He was terrific as Spark in Lodoss TV, Tylor, Zelgadis in Slayers, Regal in Tales of Symphonia, and just about anything else I've heard his voice in. That should tell you something about this place. Luckily, this place DOES have a Dub fan section.

And there are lot of others that I won't even dare to mention.

I'll be honest. I confess to hearing some truly hideous English tracks such as Demon City Shinjuku, M.D. Geist, Love Hina, Roujin Z, and the Streamline distributed dubs of Akira and Laputa -- both of which are thankfully available in newer and more improved versions courtesy of Geneon and Disney, respectively. But a good majority of the dubs I've heard (which may not be as many as other "anime experts" declare) are at least passable to great. This is why sites such as these only compel me to stand behind my position as a dub fan.

At the same time, though, it is unfortunate to see how narrow-minded a lot of internet Anime fans have shown themselves to be when regarding dubs; a good many of these so-called "unlistenable" dubs have performances that naysayers are truly missing out on. (Seriously, half the time I listen to said "horrible" dubs makes me wonder if the "reviewers" in question saw the same English version.)

Ultimately, I shall say this: whether a dub is good or bad is dependent on the viewer. It's totally subjective. There is no "only way" to watch Anime; nor are there any rules for dissing English dub actors and fawning over the Japanese actors, talented though they may be. Dubs, and translations, for that matter, are a form of art. They are here to stay, no matter what purists may feel about them. Fans who watch dubs are just as much Anime fans as sub-fans are; there's no superiority contest. It's just a preference.

Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis

2009-09-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

OK, I know I said I would do part II of Giant Robo next, but I honestly haven't had the time to sit down and watch the whole thing again. So my next few entries will probably be movies. Anyway, on to Metropolis.

The film: It's simply beautiful. Next to obvious choices like Miyazaki's canon, Akira or Ninja Scroll, it's one of the best anime films I've ever seen. Are there some flaws? Yeah. The CG, while incredibly utilized, is pretty conspicuous, and one character seems to exit the film too early, but these are minor complaints at best. The apocalyptic climax set to Ray Charles' "I Can't Stop Lovin' You" is one of the most haunting, beautiful things I've ever seen.

The dub: I don't really have any complaints scripting or direction-wise in regards to Animaze's dub. It's a pretty solid, excellent dub.

Second Take (by Jon Turner): Metropolis is interesting in that it's another case of a major Hollywood studio (Sony Pictures Entertainment) giving a Japanese animated film wide exposure through a theatrical release. Oddly enough, rather than applying Disney's practice of supplying a dub complete with big-name stars, it was decided to release the film subtitled theatrically. On DVD, however, there is a dub, provided by AniMaze, inc.. AniMaze is a very reliable studio for producing top-quality English dubs, and this is no exception. I do, however, want to take to task a grating flaw in Sony's treatment of the dub: there are no credits for the dub cast on the DVD. Not even a mention of the ADR director, scriptwriter, studio, or production staff. It is a practice that I've found very annoying on every Anime DVD Sony has released with a dub. Regardless of what hardcore Anime fans feel about dubbing, it is important for the English dubbing crew to be recognized instead of being reduced to anonymous territory.

That said, onto the performances! (Word of note: the review is primarily written by Fighting Dreamer, but my comments will be included in the "second take" category.)

KENICHI (Brianne Siddall) -- We've got another "adult woman voicing a small boy" role here, but Siddall does this sort of thing pretty often, so she's gotten good at it. It's not my favorite performance in the dub, but Siddall's good nonetheless, especially since there's a lot of ADR "grunt 'n' groan" stuff that Kenichi does.
Second Take (By Jon Turner): Contrary to his Japanese counterpart, the lead character of Metropolis is surprisingly younger sounding, almost like a 12-year-old boy. The only thing is that it's a woman voicing him, none other than Siddall. Casting women as young boys is a risky decision, as it can sometimes veer into obviously feminine-sounding territory, making it less authentic than it aims to be. Miraculously, Siddall steers around that trap. Hearing Kenichi speak, you wouldn't even know that it's voiced by a female, as it sounds authentically close to that of a boy's. That's how seamless her performance is. There's a lot of "action scenes" in which Kenichi does a lot of shouting, grunting, and screaming, and Siddall handles this in a way that is very natural and convincing.

TIMA (Rebecca Forstadt) -- Forstadt is working in familiar territory here, but she pulls it off very well, making Tima high-pitched but not annoying. She's also seriously intimidating when Tima's programming kicks in and she goes into "crazy kill-all-humans" mode.
Second Take (By Jon Turner): Aside from Kenichi, the other important character in the show is Tima. There are two different versions of her. The first is her initial appearance, an inquisitive child who acts very much like a baby unused to the world around her. (This is obvious in the scene where Kenichi teaches her how to talk and write.) The second incarnation occurs at the film's climax--a dangerous killing machine who threatens to exterminate humanity as punishment for their misuse of robots. While Siddall's Kenichi is seamless, there is a bit of an artificiality in Forstadt's Tima; one can very slightly sense that it is a woman trying to sound young. However, it works well in the case of this character, who is, in fact, an android girl. What ultimately makes her performance is how natural Forstadt sounds, both as the sweet child (she does this without venturing into saccharine territory), and as the avenging angel (where she clearly sounds harsh and cold; her voice is also amplified by electronic sound processing equipment).

SHUNSAKU BAN (Tony Pope) -- The late Mr. Pope does an excellent job as Kenichi's uncle, making him both gruff and tough yet also warm and compassionate. No complaints.
Second Take (by Jon Turner): The courageous private eye who also happens to be Kenichi's uncle is voiced by a very talented actor who unfortunately is no longer with us. Tony gives him a gruff but gentle tone which is just right for the character. Even at the moments where he is in action, he handles himself very well. His performance makes this character all the more loveable. It's also interesting to note that this character's design is not that much different from Dr. Moustache in Jungle Emperor Leo; ironically enough, Mike Toole of AnimeJump.com, who panned the dub, said he would have preferred Moustache's VA, Mike Pollock, to voice this guy instead. Personally, though, I think it works well to have both characters sound distinctly different from each other.

PERO (Dave Mallow) -- Mallow is one of my favorite underrated dub performers, and he gets some good stuff to play with here as robot detective Pero. His calm, mellow tone brings just a touch of humanity to Pero, which makes his eventual, uh, exit from the film more effective. He also gets a lot of exposition, which is never fun or easy to perform; props to Mallow for making it fun to listen to.
Second Take (by Jon Turner): Since this detective is a robot, it would be tempting to give him a stereotypically robotic voice--monotone and emotionless. However, Mallow goes in a different direction, setting a new standard for characters of this type. He brings a calm, even tone to Pero without venturing into dull territory. It is also interesting to note that his voice is slightly amplified by electronic equipment (you'll have to listen extremely carefully to notice).

ATLAS (Scott Weinger) -- Now here's an interesting performance. Weinger is known to most animation fans as the speaking voice of Disney's Aladdin, a role he's played off and on for over fifteen years. As Aladdin, he's your standard cocky-but-clever hero, and it's a role he does very well. Rebel leader Atlas, on the other hand, is strong and compassionate, but also prejudiced and violent (a fact he is aware of). Weinger plays Atlas in the same vocal range as Aladdin, but from an acting standpoint the two performances are completely different. It's a small-but-key role, and Weinger performs magnificently.
Second Take (by Jon Turner): Have you ever wished that the voice behind Disney's Aladdin would ever perform in an Anime dub? Well, no need to ask a genie; this dub gives Weinger an opportunity to do so. The tone that he uses for this rebel leader isn't that much different from his more famous role for Disney, but what ultimately makes his Atlas distinctive from Aladdin is that the former is a more complicated role to perform. Weinger must have been aware of this, which is why, despite the initial familiarity, he manages to turn this minor character into a major highlight for the dub. It's a very solid performance all around; one hopes that Weinger will participate in another production of this kind.

DUKE RED (Jamieson Price) -- Price has a nice clear, deep voice that's well-suited for smooth villainy, so his performance as Duke Red is an example of how typecasting can work for you.
Second Take (by Jon Turner): For the central "bad-guy" of the show, it was decided to cast Jamieson Price, a deep-voiced actor who has often been typecast as authoritative roles (his take on the Colonel in the superb re-dub of Akira being one such notable example). The tone he uses for Duke Red is recognizable, but very fitting, and he delivers his lines with the sort of stern attitude and ruthless nature that this character requires. His opening monologue about how Metropolis will usher in a new age thanks to the completion of the Ziggurat sets the stage for his overall performance, and it stays on that level throughout.

ROCK (Michael Reisz) -- Given that Rock is the best, most interesting character in the film, it's unsurprising that Reisz walks away with the dub. Like most of the other actors, Reisz is working within a familiar vocal range, but his acting is just... wow. Rock is a full-blown psychotic, with a devotion to his "father" that borders on fanatical, and Reisz captures that creepy insanity perfectly. His best scene is undoubtedly his conversation with Tima, particularly his boisterous, disturbing laughter after Tima calls Kenichi her father. Full marks for Reisz.
Second Take (by Jon Turner): Fighting Dreamer pretty much says it all for me (I know, that's not much of a review, but when an opinion like this obviously sums up how I feel about a particular character, I really see no reason to say much else).

DR. LAUGHTON (Simon Prescott) -- Laughton's not around for long, but Prescott does a nice blend of "grandfather" and "mad scientist".
Second Take (by Jon Turner): This character is important to the plot in that he serves as Tima's creator, but he only is in one scene. Still, from the start, we obviously get the impression that he is a brilliant inventor who is also greedy and desires only to keep Tima for himself. Prescott has the sort of voice that is very well-suited to characters of this type, and he effectively manages to pull off Laughton as an old man bordering on alternatingly maniacal and fatherly territory.

That's about it, really. Most of the supporting roles are well-cast with Animaze veterans such as Steve Blum (the President's assistant, Lamp), Dan Woren (the traitorous State Minister Skunk), Robert Axelrod (Ham & Egg, the Zone 2 guard that Rock kills), Peter Spellos (the Mayor of Metropolis, Leon), and Barbara Goodson (Duke Red's maid, Enmy). Overall, the Metropolis dub is excellent, solid work.

Second Take (by Jon Turner): There really isn't much else that I can say about this dub other than that it is proof that AniMaze is a solid "go-to" studio for quality dubbing. From the smooth, natural scriptwriting to the well-cast, believeable performances (even from the minor supporting roles), and spot-on lip sync. If only Sony could give these guys more credit....

Record of Lodoss War—Chronicles of the Heroic Knight

2009-09-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

Since my last review covered the Lodoss OVA dub, I figured it would be fitting to do another entry for the follow-up, subtitled Chronicles of the Heroic Knight; even though it would be ideal to attach it to the OVA dub review, both the TV and the OVA series are different entities and should be treated as such. The former dub received mixed reviews but it proved to be quite popular with the casual fanbase. So much so, in fact, that anticipation for ROLW TV, which is what I'll refer Chronicles as from now on, was high. Unlike the OVA dub, however, ROLW TV's dub is not remembered or relished as highly as its predecessor. Part of this may be due to the fact that the TV series itself is less popular than its OVA counterpart, but there were also other problems, too. While scriptwriter Michael Alben (who did not direct ROLW OVA but did this one) and most of the returning cast signed up, the dub was recorded not at National Sound, but at a new studio called Headline Sound, located in Irvington, NY. Back then, its founder, Joe DiGiorgi, had no experience in dubbing Anime, and so this was a first time experience for him. (He later admitted at an Anime convention that he learned how not to dub the show.) Over the course of a year, the dub was released on nine VHS tapes, three episodes each, and during the recording period, several members of the cast dropped out. Some of these drop-outs were permanent, while others lasted a few episodes (more on that later). Also problematic were the occasional awkward-sounding line and a few scenes where the dialogue is unsynched. Had this been recorded in 1996, this flaw would be excusable, but considering that this was a more recent dub (1999-2000), it's less so.

It is difficult to gauge the overall reputation the dub has among Anime fans using a limited source like the Internet (where most of the more vocal fans dominate the forums), but the reviews I noticed were wildly divided. Some, like Mike Toole, Chadwick Ngan, Chainsaw on AnimeWorld, and one DVDTalk.com review spoke favorably of ROLW TV (so have some on initial VHS releases on pages like Amazon.com and RightStuf.com--the latter of which was taken down), but others were negative--two Reader Reviews of ROLW TV on Mania.com have said to have despised the TV dub, calling it one of the "worst dubs of all time". While this statement has not been equalled among everyone, the general consensus is that ROLW TV's dub falls short in comparison to its OVA counterpart (which, granted had its share of problems, too, but somehow it managed to overcome them).

Still, in all fairness, ROLW TV isn't a bad dub, and it certainly isn't the worst around. (Then again, this is coming from someone who has heard dubs that offended me far more so than this one.) A better adjective for it might be "variable". Compared to other NY dubs like, say, Slayers, The World of Narue, His and Her Circumstances, Now and Then Here and There or even the first ROLW, the TV dub does not come close to reaching the high standards of those titles. It does, however, have its share of interesting vocal performances that do make it worth a look. As mentioned, its biggest asset is the return of most of the voices from the original (the total opposite of the Japanese language track, which basically replaced all the seiyuu).

That said, the dub gets off to a very, very rough start; even though it's great to hear most of the voices return, the quality of the acting in the first eight episodes is a notch below that of the OVA, with dialogue which, more often than not, runs into stilted and occasionally stale territory. (Part of that problem can also be attributed to the lower-quality of the animation and the actual script of the series, which reduce many of the principal characters from the original to deadpan shadows of their former selves; on that level, it's hard to see how exactly that imperfection could be improved upon.) Another issue are the vocals of some of the newer characters. However, once this first arc passes and the second story begins, the dub eventually finds its stride, even though there are still the occasional odd-sounding dialogue (with at least one Shatner-esque "Stay alert! Spark!" that I detected).

THE NARRATOR (Alexander J. Rose) -- Rose once again lends his deep, resonant voice to the faceless voiceover who introduces the tale. I've always loved hearing him recite "Lodoss, the Accursed Island", and it's gratifying to have him back. I had no issues with him.

PARN (Billy Regan) -- Bill Timoney has stated that Parn is one of his favorite Anime characters; so much so, in fact, that he took approximately nine flights from his (then) new home in California to New York to record the role for the series. Since this tale sets five years after the original for the first eight episodes and another ten years for the final nineteen, it was decided to deepen Parn's voice. Logically, the choice is sound (and Billy stands behind his decision even after all this time)... but his initial appearance in the first couple of episodes are another matter. In trying to sound mature, he unfortunately sacrifices most of the enthusiasm he brought to the character in the OVA, and, more often than not, comes across as stiff-sounding. This annoyance gradually disappears in the second half; I don't know if it's because he finds his stride or whether it grew on me, but I thought he came across as better in the second half, although I did detect some missed lines. I know there were those who found him annoying in the OVA, but I personally prefer the performance there. Not that his TV performance is a total loss, but it does take some getting used to.

DEEDLIT (Lisa Ortiz; A.J. Parks, episodes 20 & 21) -- By contrast, Lisa continues to do an excellent job as Deedlit, bringing out the character's mystical qualities when reciting magical incantations or in normal situations. Like Billy, she also matures the character's voice, but does so in a way that still keeps the character's charm afloat. Unfortunately, for at least two episodes (20 and 21), Ortiz was unable to voice the character due to illness and so a last-minute replacement was hired to stand in, that of A.J. Parks. Needless to say, her take on Deedlit is far duller than Lisa's. I personally wish that I could go back in time and have Lisa dub her lines for those two episodes.

SLAYN (Al Muscari) -- Muscari continues to do a fine job as Slayn as well. His performance, like that of the OVA, is very low-key and soothing and rarely ever treads into monotonous territory. His spell recitations are classic (particularly the "Vanna fulame ve igloss!", which may sound like overacting, but considering the nature of the material it's more than appropriate). I think I did detect a vocal change for at least episodes 22-24, but it's not that far off from Muscari to be so dramatically aversive.

LEYLIA (Simone Grant, episodes 1-9; Alyssa Beaux, episodes 22-24; Meg Frances, episodes 25-27) -- Grant only plays this kindly priestess (and her mother, Big Neese), for only the first nine episodes, and throughout she is solid if weaker than her OVA appearance... although the opening conversation between Neese and Ashram comes across as surprisingly limp. Leylia does not speak again until the final six episodes, and two times during that period, her voice actress is replaced. The first, Alyssa Beaux (22-24) is very, very lame, sounding quite out of place for the first couple of minutes. And just when one gets accustomed to the replacement, Meg Frances steps in for 25-27. Frances fares marginally better, but even then there are places where she comes across as too whiny-sounding. Too bad Grant's no longer with us to redub her missing sections.

ETOH (Ed Paul) -- Some reviewers of the ROLW OVA dub have singled his surprisingly high-pitched voice out for being the weak link, but here in the TV dub he deepens the character. (I actually didn't realize it was the same actor; I had checked the closing credits and only after I met the actor in person did I realize that he did do both.) Not only is this an improvement over the original, it works very well, especially considering that his role is that of a noble king.

SHIRIS (Karen Smith) -- One of the other returning voices is that of Karen Smith, who plays the impulsively rowdy, headstrong mercenary. Her voice is very fitting and she does a great job throughout, despite at least one weak breakdown moment in episode 6 and the occasional missed line. One of her best moments is in the last few minutes of episode 7 where she literally breaks down in tears after a heartwrenching sacrifice--it always makes me cry, even if her dialogue during that moment sometimes veers on over-the-top.

ASRHAM (John Knox) -- Knox returns to take on everyone's favorite Black Knight antagonist as well. And throughout he does a good job of maintaining the "bad-ass" attitude that makes his character so intriguing. The only issues I had were a few flat line reads in the first few episodes and at least one uncharacteristically goofy and over-the-top laugh in episode 6. Otherwise, though, he does bring gravitas and weight to his part. It's a solid performance overall.

PIROTESS (Meg Frances; A.J. Parks, episode 21) -- The good news is that Frances reprises the opposite of Deedlit, and she doesn't fare too badly, acting-wise... unfortunately, her voice is not as good as her OVA counterpart; while she sounded appropriately sultry and husky, here she comes across as too whiny--although she does handle her confrontation scenes with Deedlit very well. (Like Deedlit, A.J. Parks steps in for Pirotess for episode 21--I really don't know what was going on with the switching of the actors, but the continuity issue is one of the problems of this dub. Joe DiGiorgi told me at one point that there were a lot of difficulties involved during production, which partially explains the switching actors/actresses.)

WAGNARD (Oliver Wyman; Bruce Winant, episode 18) -- Only in one episode does the original VA, Bruce Winant, return, and that is in episode 18. As far as I'm concerned, he simply is Wagnard, what with the evil laugh and the "I'm going to rule the world" attitude he provides to the character. (OK, so it's cliche, but it works.) Unfortunately, that's the only time he voices the character. Throughout he's replaced by Oliver Wyman, who doesn't fare too badly for the most part, but his voice is much more scratchy-sounding than one would expect--and his first two appearances (episodes 4 and 5) are very weak. There are a couple of mediocre reads as well, particularly one monologue in episode 21 where he describes his exile from the Academy of Sages. Despite these two quibbles, Oliver does manage to provide an appropriately evil (if over-the-top) laugh and does an amazingly loud and agonizing scream for his obligatory death scene in his final episode (#26).

KASHUE (Anthony Cruise) -- Sadly, Kashue is another matter. Here he is given a new voice, and unfortunately it gets off on the wrong foot. The problem isn't that he does a bad job, but his voice sounds a little too much of a "weary old man" and he lacks the charisma that Chris Yates brought to the role. He does, however, manage to get into character as the show progresses, bringing the performance of his later appearances to "passable" quality. (I could tell he got more into it by about episode 8 or so, because his screams at Shooting Star provide a dramatic contrast to his more deadpan initial appearance.)

ORSON (Oliver Gregory) -- Like Wagnard and Kashue, Orson is completely recast for the TV series, by one Oliver Gregory. Unlike those two, though, Gregory is actually the best of the replacements. While his emotionless "normal" self may seem off-putting, this is justifiable in that his character is basically one who has lost all but one of his emotions--anger. When he becomes released from his curse, Gregory provides the opportunity to flesh out his character who has trouble dealing with the new feelings he hasn't experienced in years. Even if he does come across as a whiner, he still manages to wrench a tear out of this viewer's eye when he decides to cast aside his newly awakened humanity... and his life (sorry if I'm spoiling the story), to save Shiris from death.

KARLA (Simone Grant, episode 2; Meg Frances; A.J. Parks, episode 21) -- There are two different Karlas in the show; both hosts of this character are anonymous female bodies; the former is voiced by Simone Grant, with the appropriate amount of commanding regality minus the scary malice of the OVA, while the latter is by Meg Frances from episode 18-27. She seems to be well suited to the role and intones pretty much as you'd expect, even though her overall performance is a bit below that of the original. Still, it's not too bad. (Like Pirotess and Deedlit, A.J. Parks takes over for her for one episode --21-- but she thankfully only has one or two lines.)

These are the principal characters we know from the original ROLW. The newer characters are as follows:

CECIL (Harry Krause) -- This guy is a somewhat arrogant, hotheaded mage serving as something of an apprentice to Slayn who gets into quarrels with Shiris and occasionally Maar, too. But Krause's voicing comes across as too "rough" sounding, even for this character. He also tends to overact (or underact) in most of his scenes instead of providing genuine enthusiasm. It's an average performance, at best. (He becomes a minor character in the Spark arc, only showing up for one scene.)

HOBB (Cliff Hangar) -- Vocally, Hangar is sound for the role of this easily deceived priest (who has trouble with loyalty), but his actual performance is not one of the more praiseworthy ones of the show. He sings the "Song of Battle" adequately, but his acting sounds more like reading instead of emoting. Even in some of the more exciting parts of the show, he comes across as forced. Fortunately, he's only in a few episodes.

MAAR (Crispin Freeman) -- The self-appointed "comic relief" character in the show, an elfish little "grass runner" is one of the many characters to be voiced by Crispin. Here he raises his voice to a somewhat nasally pitch to sound mischievous and annoying, and it works pretty well. Some may find this to be grating, but I felt it was appropriate for the character and he provides some of the livelier moments during the first eight episodes. (The only exception is his ballad in episode 9, which you can thankfully skip past without having to suffer through it.)

LITTLE NEESE (Roxanne Beck) -- There are two different Little Neeses in the show; the first is that of a sweet little girl of about four (and she sounds appropriately and authentically like one), and later on in the series, where she is portrayed by Beck. Her performance is mixed; when she is talking normally or involved in her chemistry with Spark (or even screaming in insufferable pain), she is decent, but some of her other scenes aren't emoted as strongly as they should (particularly one confrontation scene with Wagnard which isn't made any easier by at least one groanworthy one-liner "You're a sick man!"). That her voice also treads into saccharine territory at times is also an issue.

SPARK (Crispin Freeman) -- Some of the harshest detractors of the ROLW TV dub is that the performances lack emotion, but the same can never be said for Spark, as voiced by Crispin Freeman. (The first time we see him he's a reckless young boy with a voice that sounds a little too much like a woman pretending to be a boy, but never mind that.) Taken as a character, this could be seen as the least interesting of the show (he's basically a more stripped down version of Parn), but Freeman provides a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and emotion, fleshing him out so well that one finds himself rooting for him. Vocally, his character doesn't sound much different from that of Tylor or his first ever dub appearance (a minor character in Slayers), but there is no doubt that his performance as Spark is the highlight of the dub; he brings a lot of much needed life to the show and makes what could have been an otherwise pedestrian second arc compelling. (On a side note, one can almost subtitle this dub as the "Crispin Freeman" show! He not only plays Spark and Maar, but Garrack -- more on that later, but also two of Ashram's comrades for at least one episode!)

GARRACK (Michael Gerard, episodes 10-14; Crispin Freeman, episodes 16-27) -- The first time we meet this muscular wise-guy with a heart of gold in episode 10, he is played by Michael Gerrard. He has the sort of lazy, laid-back yet goofy kind of voice that fits the character, but it isn't until about two episodes in that he finds his stride... but by the time he finally does (after episode 14), Crispin Freeman takes over from episodes 16-27. At first the change is jarring, but I found myself liking Freeman better; he brings out the more "bad-ass", burly aspect of the character and is very enthusiastic throughout (a couple of missed lines not withstanding). (It is somewhat funny to hear the scenes where he's communicating with Spark--since he's basically talking with himself.)

LEAF (Debbie Rabbai) -- This is my other favorite voice from the dub. For this playful, mischievous half-elf, Debbie gives her a squeaky, but charming voice that is not only cute, but sassy. She really seems to be enjoying herself in the role, and any of her lines are a delight. And like Freeman, she brings just the right amount of enthusiasm to the role (with the exception of at least one missed line, but it's not glaring enough to detract).

GREEVUS (Greg Wolfe) -- The dwarf member of the group is also voiced by the same man behind Ghim in ROLW OVA. His performance is pretty much what you'd expect; gruff, gutteral, and full of wisdom and energy. I had no problems with him. A word of note: in episode 19, there is one line which obviously sounds like Crispin Freeman dubbed in for him.

RYNA (Meg Frances; A.J. Parks, episodes 19-21) -- I think Frances must have decided to give this spunky thief character her Pirotess voice from the OVA, because that's pretty much what she sounds like. Save for her parting scene with her former love the first time she appears, Frances does a fine job, alternating between sassiness, maternal warmth, toughness, sexy (her flirting scene with Spark in episode 14 is especially funny), and friendly. Again, no problems, other than that A.J. Parks takes over for her for episodes 19-21 (although she isn't too bad there; at least her voice is closer in tone to Frances).

ALDONOVA (Steve Patterson) -- The final member of the "heroic" (no pun intended) team of ROLW TV is this fussy mage (nicknamed "Aldo") who spends most of the time with his eyes shut and trying (unsuccessfully) to keep watch on Little Neese. Vocally, Patterson is suitable for the role, and does well in several magic spell chanting scenes (although the "Spell of Sleep" chant comes across as somewhat laughable, but that's more of a problem of the dialogue than the performance) and normal dialogue. However, his constant "Lady Neese!" whining in the latter half does get a tad too tedious, and his crying scenes aren't as strongly emoted as they should be. Particularly weak is when he breaks down in tears when he describes Little Neese's predicament to Spark's comrades in episode 14--he still intones his lines in the same monotonic delivery. In Episode 21, he at least does a little better in the sobbing department, but even then it's too overdramatic to be genuinely effective. Again, it's an average performance, at best.

GRODER (Walter Hershman; Crispin Freeman, episodes 7 & 8) -- Ashram's dark sorcerer buddy from Marmo is one of the more lackluster performances in the series. Most of the voices I mentioned are either good or average, but this is one of the "bad" ones. Hershman has the sort of "harsh" voice that might work for a demonic sorcerer, but he sounds way too deadpan. Incidentally, Crispin Freeman takes over the role in one episode; vocally he miraculously matches Hershman's tone, yet whether that's complimentary or not is debatable. Freeman fares a little bit better, acting-wise; all in all, though, neither actor particularly stands out for this rather forgettable character.

PRINCE REONA (Walter Hershman) -- Hershman's take on this heroic fighter for Lodoss is even worse. I don't know if the idea was to make him less charismatic than Ashram or if this was a case of last-minute casting, but Hershman's tone is too harsh for this character (and ill-fitting, too). A less jarring voice would be preferable, especially for someone with long blonde hair; considering the more monodimensional characterization of this role, however, it's really hard to say how this guy could be any better. His performance is totally annoying (one victory cry at the end of episode 15 is particularly laughable and grating), but thankfully he only speaks for at least four episodes and doesn't have many scenes.

It's the minor characters that have the weakest voices in the dub; in the OVA dub the incidental characters were somewhat cheesy-sounding, too, but they were nowhere nearly as bad as these guys here. These include Ashram's four minions from Marmo (Gaberra, Astar, Smeddy, and Gilram), Governor Rabido (a two-episode baddie with a loud and much too blustery kind of voice), soldiers, and the dragons Shooting Star and Abram (yes, they both TALK in the show!). All come across as eleventh-hour casting and that they did their lines in one take. Rabido, Smeddy, and Astar are especially bad--and the dragons' super-deep, growly voices come across as laughable (the Japanese VAs of the dragons are just as lackluster). (Excluded from this are Alexander J. Rose's Governer Randall and Daybreak Mercenary Captain in episode 19, Oliver Gregory as the treacherously sly Jay in episodes 16-18, Roxanne Beck as Naneel the evil priestess, and Debbie Rabbai's Marfa the Earth Mother at the end, because all four of these minor roles are good, or at least fairly effective.) Most NY dubs around this area tended to have a trend of having solid major characters and lackluster minor roles, and ROLW TV is unfortunately a part of that trend.

It's a shame, too, because stripped of this problem and the sometimes awkward sounding dialogue (which this time around comes across as less memorable, due mainly to the fact that the subtitled script wasn't that inspired to begin with), most of the dub for ROLW TV is of a passable quality. I'm sure it's because I'm a pretty serious Lodoss fan and one who doesn't mind this dub as much as others, but there are far worse dubs around.

One thing that also bears noting is that at the end of each episode, there are these four-minute Super-Deformed shorts called "Welcome to Lodoss Island", in which the characters become pint-sized and engage in goofy skits consisting of bad jokes and playful silliness. Honestly, I only saw one episode of this and that was pretty much all I could take. In all fairness, though, the idea behind the shorts is that the cast all raise their voices and embellish their stoic characters with wacky cartoonishness. This is handled very well, but the lines they say are often very... dumb. Since much of the humor is derived from Japanese-based jokes, the ADR script tries to Americanize them with Brooklyn-based humor... with wishy-washy results. Some of them are pricelessly funny while others are a major groaner. I've honestly been too afraid to see another one of these after being so annoyed with the first one, although there are some who found them to be hilarious.

All in all, ROLW TV's dub isn't an altogether disaster, but it falls short of greatness. Had its consistency issues been fixed and most of its minor cast members replaced, it probably wouldn't have been forgotten; as it is, however, it's an uneven result. The performances by most of the returning cast and especially Freeman and Deb don't make the dub a classic, but they do manage to elevate the overall dub to a passing grade. Not the best, but not the worst, it is what it is. For Headline Studios, though, it was a learning experience, and most of its subsequent dubs from there all uphill. Despite its faults, I do stand behind ROLW TV; not a perfect effort, but an interesting one.

Record of Lodoss War

2009-09-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

Nowadays it seems as though people are so accustomed to top quality dubbing; this is more of the standard these days rather than the exception, which wasn't necessarily how things were in the '90s. Around this period, the consensus was that dubbing just wasn't very good at all, and "efforts" such as most of the output from Streamline and Manga UK often fell into truly dreary territory. However, there were some notable exceptions to the rule, and Record of Lodoss War OVA, dubbed by National Sound for Central Park Media in 1996, was one of them. That said, reactions to this dub have been wildly divided; as with another famous fantasy Anime series, Slayers, Lodoss's dub has gone on many fans' best or worst dub lists. In spite of the naysayers, though, it has had its share of loyal fans over the years (Mike Toole on AnimeJump.com, for instance).

To fully appreciate Lodoss OVA as an overall dub, one must evaluate it as a product of its era, because, as much as I love this dub, I will admit that it does have its share of drawbacks, one of which is the uneven lip-sync. Most of this can be attributed to the technology of the time (reel-to-reel in contrast to the ProTools software we know today), but the animation sometimes results with some stilted mouth flaps which sometimes makes the flow of the dialogue sound choppy (not by much, however). And speaking of the script, while the late Mike Alben can be applauded for staying as faithful as possible to the original Japanese, there are occasional moments when his lines come across as awkwardly written or delivered. Then there are the performances by the incidental characters (soldiers, courtiers, villagers, etc.), which come across as cheesy sounding (although in all fairness, they're nowhere nearly as embarrassing as the minor bit players in the follow-up Lodoss TV dub).

In spite of its weaknesses, though, Lodoss OVA has its share of memorable vocal performances which really carry the dub as a whole. It's interesting to note that at the time, most of these actors were unknowns, but most would go on to have fairly successful careers in dubbing. The man responsible for bringing them in is none other than Bill Timoney, who not only voices the young hero, Parn (more on that later), but happened to help scout out the talent for the dub and even directed the first eight episodes. The previous ADR director had been called off to do another project, hence why Timoney had to fill-in. That said, the dub starts out somewhat stiffly in the opening three episodes, but by episode 4, the actors all settle into their roles and turn in fine work. Of the performances, here are the ones that really captivate me the most:

THE NARRATOR (Alexander J. Rose) -- is the first to speak in the dub. He has a deep, authoritative voice which aptly sets the tone for the epic tale; hearing him utter "Lodoss, the accursed island" left me breathless. His role is sparse, but it is always a pleasure to hear his vocal whenever he is brought in.

PARN (Billy Regan) -- No, it wasn't Bill's first role in Anime, but the actor claims that it was his breakthrough and one of his favorite characters. Billy has a very good "young leading man"'s voice which works well for heroic roles of this type. Unlike his television counterpart in Lodoss TV, Regan provides range and enthusiasm; his scenes with Deedlit (particularly the dance scene in episode 5 as well as everything from episodes 11 to the end) and his action bits are among the highlights of his performance. Some might argue that his voice is a bit "rough" sounding, but this works in favor of the character as a reckless, impulsively heroic knight wanna-be. There are a couple of places in the beginning which sound somewhat tentative, but otherwise it's a solid performance overall, and, as mentioned, it is superior to that of the TV series.

DEEDLIT (Lisa Ortiz) -- Without a doubt, the voice that everyone remembers best from the Lodoss OVA dub. This was her first voice acting role, and while there are a few places where it's obvious, note that I stress the word few. It's a lively performance, with just the right amount of emotion and sassiness. Her voice is distinctively different from that of Yumi Tohma, and yet it suits this mystical high elf very well. Her acting, too, is quite effective, whether she is flirting with Parn, casting spells, or becoming gradually weaker in the final episodes as her life force is nearly drained to resurrect the Dark Goddess. (When she breathlessly utters, "Stay back, save yourself, Parn" one feels a tingle up their spine.) While Lisa has gone on to be better known as Lina Inverse from Slayers, to me, she will always be Deedlit.

ASHRAM (John Knox) -- This is yet another role that really stands out. I don't think Knox has done much Anime other than Lodoss, which is a shame, because his role of this ruthless yet honorable knight is amazing. He has an appropriately deep voice which is more than appropriate for the character, and while he comes across as rather stoic sounding, this is how Ashram should be. Only in several moments do a few lines come across as cold reading, but somehow this works in favor of the character instead of against him.

ETOH (Ted Lewis) -- Like Ortiz, this was Ed Paul's first Anime voice-acting role, and is often signaled out as the weak link of the show. He raises his voice to a surprisingly high pitch to sound somewhat boyish. This tone works in favor of the character being a bookish priest, although I did detect a couple of missed lines at the start (mostly the first half of the opening episode). As the show progresses, he gets more into character and becomes more confident with his subsequent appearances. He's mostly soft-spoken, save for the penultimate episode where he gets to fight a ghoulish wraith. (It should also be noted that I do have a soft spot for his performance in spite of its shortcomings.)

GHIM (Greg Wolfe) -- Of course, how could I forget this guy? Gruff, tough, and stony, Greg's burly-sounding voice lends itself well to the grizzled old dwarf with an axe to grind (pun intended). He has an infectiously hearty laugh and a wry sense of humor ("Pathetic! You can hardly even handle a sword."), but also a deep, emotional side which he often displays when reminded about the missing priestess he is searching for. There are several places where he comes across as a bit stiff, but not enough to detract from his overall performance. The last we hear of him is in Episode 8, and the actor really hits the marks there. (I won't get into that, however, because doing so would provide spoilers.)

SLAYN (Al Muscari) -- Mike Toole has mentioned that this was one of his favorite performances from the Lodoss dub. Muscari has a calm, yet dramatic sounding voice that is easy to visualize belonging to a benevolent magician. He delivers his lines in an understated tone without sounding monotonous (his spell recitations, in particular, are both fantastic and priceless), raising his voice only at the appropriate moments. It's a shame that we haven't heard much more from this actor.

KARLA/LEYLIA (Simone Grant) -- A sorely missed actress, fans probably remember her best for her role as Boogiepop Phantom. Her performance as Karla, the unstable witch who threatens Lodoss, is something of a precursor to that role. She intones her lines in a cold, icy monotone, which emits both a devilish aura and commanding presence that sends chills up one's spine. Her sinister cackling is spot-on, too. This lasts until episode 9, where she becomes the kind, gentle priestess under the witch's control. There are also several instances where she can be heard as several different female characters: the Zaxon mayor's daughter Liara, Princess Fianna of Valis, etc., and while this does cause for some disconcertation, there's no denying that it's unfortunate that Grant is no longer with us. Lodoss is a fine example of her talent.

WOODCHUCK (Jacques LeCan) -- Another unknown with not much of a career, LeCan gives this surly thief a smarmy, "gangster"-like voice which is distinctively different from his Japanese counterpart, but fitting nonetheless. For the most part, he seems to be enjoying himself... although I did notice several places where he misses some of his lines. One such case is in episode 4, when Woodchuck is trying to escape from a dark void, his "help me!" isn't as strong or emotional as the scene demands. In all fairness, it doesn't spoil the performance and there are plenty of other moments where he gets to have fun (episodes 1 and 3, as well as the dice scene in episode 5). When his character becomes possessed by Karla, though, he really shines. There he sounds spooky and deeper-voiced, with a hair-tinglingly frightening sinister laugh. Note that a trace of his "gangster"-like persona remains at times in lines like "I gamble. My purpose is to preserve Lodoss."

KASHUE (Chris Yates) -- Although essentially a key figure, Kashue has a somewhat small part, but Chris plays it pretty much as you'd expect: commanding, with dignity, warmth, discipline, and occasional humor. It's a very nice performance overall, particularly in his action scenes. Only in a couple of places does his dialogue come across as somewhat unsynched, but not jarring enough to detract.

ORSON (Chris Yates) -- Chris also voices Orson, a "Berserker" warrior possessed by the Spirit of Rage, making him prone to burst out in vicious attacks. His voice is considerably deeper and tone and he doesn't use much emotion, but considering the nature of his character (where he must keep all his emotions under control), it is more than appropriate.

PIROTESS (Meg Frances) -- The opposite of Deedlit, character-wise, Pirotess is a dark elf who serves as Ashram's love interest. Frances has a husky, sultry voice which brings a quality that is alternatingly alluring and dark. There are a few moments that come across as cold reading, but otherwise she acquits herself fairly well, and her final scene in episode 10 is appropriately effective.

SHIRIS (Karen Smith) -- Rough and ready, with an aggressive quality and understated sassiness. That sums up Karen's Shiris, in a nutshell. There are several places where she overacts, but since her character screams quite a bit in her first appearance (and with occasionally mellodramatic dialogue), it's unavoidable. Her exasperation provides a nice contrast to her more stoic partner's deadpan responses.

WAGNARD (Bruce Winant) -- This is another one of my favorite performances from the dub. Bruce has a voice which fits this meglomaniacal sorcerer to a tee, but what really sells his performance is the laugh: it's terrifying, overflowing with pure evil and malice that never gets boring. (Some of my friends/family members were quite scared by this laugh, effectively so.) As far as his acting goes, there isn't much depth to the performance, but there doesn't have to be. All Bruce has to do is be despicable and chew the scenery with glee as his character gets gradually crazier, and he does that wonderfully... particularly in the final episode where he gets to do a lot of maniacal laughing, shouting, and screaming. (The actor admits he couldn't talk for weeks after recording that very episode!)

I neglected to mention the performances of Bob Barry as the raspy-sounding Emperor Beld, J.W. Gunther as King Fahn (who at times sounds a bit like Patrick Stewart), and Alexander J. Rose as the great sage Wort (who is really just a more weary-sounding version of his narrator voice, albeit effective overall); all three are decent, but they don't really strike me as memorable as the guys I mentioned above.

One thing I neglected to mention is that the opening and ending theme songs for Lodoss OVA are translated and sung into English. Mike Alben and Peter Fish somehow manage to transform the Japanese-written lyrics into something palatable (if at times a tad cheesy), but it is the beautiful voice of Lisa DeSimone that really make these new reinditions soar. She sings with a lot of emotion and passion, giving these tunes the sort of "timeless" quality they deserve. Like the dub, these songs are grossly underrated and always a pleasure to listen to for each episode.

No one will argue that Lodoss OVA's dub is on par with today's standards, but even having said that, it has aged fairly well for a 1996 production. In today's light it probably doesn't compare, but as an older dub, it's above many other English tracks from its era. And it is superior to the more uneven (and inconsistent) Lodoss TV dub, Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, which followed approximately four years later.

Nadia—The Secret of Blue Water (ADV and Streamline Versions)

2009-09-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

In the mid 1970's, prior to obtaining his well-deserved status as Japan's greatest animator ever, a young Hayao Miyazaki was hired by Japanese movie giant Toho to develop ideas for TV series. One of these concepts was "Around the World Under the Sea", based on Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, in which two orphan children pursued by villains team up with Captain Nemo and his mighty submarine, the Nautilus. Although it was never produced, Toho nonetheless kept the rights to the story outline. Miyazaki would reuse elements from his original concept in later projects of his, notably the Sci-Fi series Future Boy Conan and the action-adventure feature Castle in the Sky (this explains why Anime fans often find similarities between the show I'm about to review and the latter film). Flash forward about ten years later. Animation studio GAINAX was appointed by Toho in 1989 to produce a TV series which would be broadcast on the Japanese educational network NHK (the equivalent of PBS). Miyazaki's outline for "Around the World Under the Sea" was the one which captivated GAINAX the most. Under the direction of brilliant but angst-ridden Hideaki Anno, the animation studio took the central story and setup Miyazaki had developed and touched it up with their own creativity. The result was Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, which has since become a longtime fan favorite with many followers of Anime. (Incidentally, Anno had previously worked for Miyazaki; his most notable credit for animating the climax from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.) The show was a tremendous success in its initial 1990 Japanese broadcast; the title character, Nadia, showed up on the Japanese Animage polls as favorite Anime heroine, dethroning Miyazaki's own Nausicaä, the previous champion.

The show has been dubbed into international languages around the world, but its English premiere in America was another matter. In the early 1990's, Carl Macek and his company, Streamline Pictures, produced an English version which only got about as far as eight episodes. Interestingly, Macek has stated that he had planned to make some cuts in the latter half of the show (notably the "island/Africa" sequence, which, aside from episode 31, fell short compared to the show's superb 22 opening episodes and final five) to eliminate what even the original producers felt was a lot of padding. Due to financial difficulties, however, Streamline was unable to complete the dub, and in 1996, they went out of business and their license expired. Since then, the show has been acquired by ADV Films (now known as Section 23), and provided a new dub at their now defunct Monster Island studios in Austin, Texas. All 39 episodes (plus the lesser-known, often maligned theatrical film -- which I will not cover here, nor will I the filler arc) were dubbed under the production period of a full year.

Although the website containing detailed information about how the present-day dub was produced is no more (one made by diehard Nadia fan Marc Hairston, who conducted interviews with the cast for a memorable article in a 2001 issue of AniMerica -- which this writer still holds onto to this day), it is unfortunate that this dub has never gotten the recognition it deserves. There are naysayers who have given this dub the cold shoulder (including DVDTalk and the initial reviews of the first volumes by AnimeNewsNetwork -- the latter volumes were more positively reviewed by Allen Divers), declaring it as a dub to avoid. However, I think that doing so would deprive you of a charming, delightful dub that matches the tone of the show. According to the aforementioned source, the dub directors, Charles Campbell and Lowell Bartholomee, cared about the quality of the show and worked hard to ensure that the dub would match its tone. It's not perfect, but considering that this show is set in Europe, watching this show in Japanese would seem odd. No offense to the original Japanese voice actors, but there are many things about this dub which add in many ways to the show, particularly in the use of the accents for each character. While some, like Jean's, are shaky in places, others, like the crew members of the Nautilus, work in their characters' favor, as they are supposed to be survivors from around the world.

I have only heard samples of the first dub on CrystalAcids Database due to the difficulty of finding it. As such, I will be focusing mainly on the performances of the principal characters from that version and this current one in this review.

NADIA (Meg Bauman, ADV dub; Wendee Lee, Streamline dub) -- The first thing that struck me about ADV's dub is that the three young protagonists who propel the plot are all voiced by actual children. While there is an understandable air of inexperience in their performances, it also adds an intangible aura of realism and charm to the dub. It's also a refreshing change from hearing actors/actresses straining their voices to sound like children (no offense to said people, of course, it's just nice to hear children sound like children for a change). Of the three, it's Bauman as Nadia who gives the stand-out performance. This character is a very complicated one; moody, temperamental, stubborn, and suspicious about everything, yet has a kind, caring side that gradually transforms her as a result of her relationships with her new friends (notably her growing love for Jean). There's a complex array of emotions to be had with this character while maintaining a fragile childlike innocence, and Bauman nails all these emotions perfectly... to the point where it is hard to imagine anyone else voicing her. It is also interesting to note that, like Nadia, she was fourteen at the time she recorded the part. She even speaks with a neutral accent--a surprising choice, but it works well.
Lee's take, on the other hand, I'm of two minds about. I like the voice she uses, but on the flipside, it doesn't come across as convincing to be a fourteen-year-old girl. This aspect proves to be a major plot point toward the end of the show, as both she and Jean age by about a year. Disappointing enough, but she also doesn't emote as strongly as she should. Especially cringeworthy is her confrontation scene with Gargoyle, "You are murderer!" she shouts, in a tone which is both lifeless and enough to make one cringe. Unlike ADV's Nadia, Lee also uses a French accent for the chracter. I'm similarly split about this: at times it works, but at others, it really gets in the way. Wendee Lee is a talented actress, but if there's anyone who I'd rather hear as Nadia, it's Meg; she does the better job all around.

JEAN (Nathan Parsons, ADV dub; Ardwright Chamberlain, Streamline dub) -- OK, here's the voice which determines wheteher you'll like ADV's dub or not. Like Bauman, Parsons (aged 12) has a very daunting task in his voice acting debut as Jean. He has to be enthusiastic, genuinely charming, and express growth over the course of the show... all while speaking with a French accent. As mentioned, this accent is on the thick side. Viewers have made the mistake of writing off Parsons' performance alone due to the accent, as there are places in the early episodes where he obviously struggles to pull it off without sounding fake (he drops it at one point, too). With each subsequent episode, though, Parsons grows more and more into his character... to the point where his accent sounds completely natural. In a way, this, and a few moments where his inexperience shows, is complimentary to his overall performance at portraying Jean's innocence and naive view of the world. This issue aside, Parsons brings an infectious exuberance and determination to the character which is impossible to dislike. Like Bauman, it's hard for me to imagine anyone else other than him voicing this character. One of his best moments, if not his best, is in Episode 15, in which he bears witness to the death of a loveable sailor. While he admits on the DVD interview that serious scenes are not his specialty, he obviously gives his all to this moment, and his breaking-down at the end is genuinely heartrendering. Another major important factor of his performance is how his chemistry with Bauman clicks. This is because they both knew each other in real life as students at the Austin Musical Theatre, which explains why their interactions feel so natural and real in ADV's dub.
He is also better than Chamberlain's take on the character in Streamline's version. While this guy has more experience as a voice actor, there are several things that work against his performance as Jean. No, it's not the French accent, which is as shaky as Parsons' is, but his voice sounds too mature. I often steer around the argument of needing boys to sound young to represent children, especially if their acting is sound (in dubs such as Vic Mignogna's Edward in Fullmetal Alchemist and, perhaps to a lesser extent, James Van der Beek's Pazu in Castle in the Sky). With Nadia, however, this flaw is detrimental to Chamberlain as the character is supposed to age by about a year by the end of the show, and as such, it works against the character. Not only that, but his emoting sounds more artificial instead of genuine, a trend not uncommon with most dubs of the early 1990's.

MARIE (Margaret Cassidy, ADV dub; Cheryl Chase, Streamline dub) -- The third of the child trio, little Marie, is also voiced by a child actress, 11-year-old Margaret Cassidy. That's approximately seven years older than her onscreen character, but you wouldn't even know this by hearing her performance. From the start, she brings an intangible cuteness and charm to the character which makes her presence onscreen a delight. For the most part, Marie gets to be happy and cheerfully childlike (especially when she's playing with King), although she also does have scenes where she has to be serious and in tears. One such moment in particular, ironically enough, is the episode where she is introduced. This scene, in which she describes her parents being shot (and her subsequent heartbreak from learning that they are dead) is utterly believeable, and really makes the audience share her trauma. It must have been a lot of hard work for Cassidy to pull it off, especially since it was her first episode, but she does it beautifully. Elsewhere in the show, she obviously relishes her character, and it pays off. Her interactions with Parsons and Bauman also deserve a shout-out; she went to the same musical theater they did, which is why there's a genuine attachment between all three that really comes across in the ADV dub. Since the whole show rests on these three children, Monster Island deserves commendment for bringing that extra punch of effort for their version.
In Streamline's version, Marie (Mary) is voiced by Cheryl Chase, better known to viewers as Angelina Pickles but unforgotten by many as Mei in Streamline's own dub of My Neighbor Totoro (arguably Carl Macek's finest moment ever). The tone of voice she uses isn't that much different from her Mei, and the lines I heard from her sounded pretty decent. However, I think Cassidy wins out, because she sounds more natural and cuter.

GRANDIS (Sarah Richardson, ADV dub; Melanie MacQueen, Streamline dub)
SANSON (Martin Blacker, ADV dub; Steve Kramer, Streamline dub)
HANSON (Corey Gagne, ADV dub; Tom Wyner, Streamline dub)
Aside from the children, the other main characters in the show are the "Grandis gang", who start off as villains but ultimately turn into allies. And like the children in ADV's version, the three actors chosen to play their parts couldn't have been better.
From the start, Richardson simply is Grandis. She recreates the character's fiery temper, amorous fickleness, and secret soft nature to a T and beyond. It's an over-the-top performance which works very well in her nature, making her all the more hilarious when things goes wrong... which they often do. It is interesting to note that while her character is Italian (or Spanish, it's debatable), she speaks with a somewhat disciplined English accent. This was because when she auditioned for Italian and Spanish accents, it sounded too much like she was in a pizza parlor(!), according to Hairston's interview. It doesn't matter, though; it fits her character marvelously, and her grandiose relish for the role really comes through.
Likewise, it is very obvious that Blacker had a lot of fun voicing Sanson, who, like Grandis, uses a veddy British accent. He also has a goofy, yet vain and expressive voice that works wonderfully with the character, and he lets loose every time Sanson goes over the top. I really, really LOVE this guy! Some other moments from him which I loved include his scenes with Marie, particularly when he breaks down into tears out of fear that she'll die from a tropical illness. It's moving and genuine without feeling forced.
The third member of the trio, Hanson, is voiced by the rather down-to-earth, sometimes scrappy sounding tones of Gagne. When he raises his voice, he is a hoot, but Gagne also handles the quieter moments very well. I also found his scenes with Electra very sweet and heartbreaking. One other interesting aspect is that he has a somewhat neutral accent. I'm not sure why this was done, but strangely, this doesn't detract from his character at all.
What really makes these three come alive is their chemistry; it is so natural you'd swear they were all in the recording studio together.
But what about Streamline's counterparts? Well, I had no problems with either of them. McQueen, Kramer, and Wyner all sound pretty good with their roles, and are roughly about on par with ADV's dub, but I think I prefer the current voice actors for these parts a bit more. Perhaps it's because it's bias, but that isn't to discredit Streamline's actors of these guys; they're decent in their own right.

KING (Shawn Sides, ADV dub; Carl Macek, Streamline dub) -- This character is a grey-colored lion cub who doesn't speak a word at all. Rather, he does a lot of growling noises, roars, or even purrs. There have been lots of animated features where traditional voice actors have provided animal noises, such as Frank Welker as Abu the monkey from Aladdin and John Kassir as Meeko the raccoon from Pocahontas. The voice actress behind this little guy is none other than Sides, who adds a bit of a high-pitched gargle to emphasize how much of a cub he is. This is a very difficult task, and she manages it superbly. (It is also interesting to note that she recorded all her lines before Cassidy's Marie, which is what makes their playful relationship all the more natural.)
Interestingly enough, in Streamline's version, King is voiced by none other than Carl Macek, who also serves as the opening narrator for the first episode. Not having access to any clips of King's performance, I cannot evaluate him altogether.

AYERTON (Jason Phelps, ADV dub; Bob Bergen, Streamline dub) -- When we first meet this character in episode 3, he is a flamboyant and charismatic, but flakey and arrogant man whose main characteristic is bragging about himself. He doesn't show up again until much later in the island arc (where the writers clearly decided they needed another character); the Ayerton portrayed there is every bit as boastful, but he also becomes a bizarre whacko, ranting about ridiculous happenings on an island and trying to act like he is a Count from England. Phelps is clearly having fun with this character, and, for all of the stupidities Ayerton is reduced to doing in the filler arc, he really lets loose and shows enthusiasm throughout. One oddity is that he uses an American accent--which is somewhat strange when he is revealed to be from England.

Bergen is less manic in his approach with Ayerton, but then again he's only featured in one episode in Streamline's version (which stopped at 8 episodes). The little bit of him I heard there sounded more like a mellow, easy-going but slightly over-the-top guy. He sounded fine, but I think I prefer Phelps.

CAPTAIN NEMO (Ev Lunning Jr., ADV dub; Jeff Winkless, Streamline dub) -- A professional accent coach and graduate of Yale, Lunning lends his voice to the mysterious leader of the futuristic submarine, Nautilus. As required for the character, he brings a sense of intrigue and aloofness for his initial appearances. It should also be noted that Lunning uses a sophisticated Indian accent, providing an exotic tilt to his performance. This was a decision on the voice directors' part, as they were trying to link Nemo to the origin of the "Mysterious Island" story (where he's revealed to be a lost Indian prince). It is not only an ingenious touch, it works excellently in the character's favor. There are a few scenes where he comes off as a bit stiff, but that's more attributed to the mouth flaps than his actual acting. In the later episodes, however, (particularly the final four) Lunning really gets into his role, whether he's belting orders to his crew, or communicating intensely with Gargoyle. One other thing that deserves mention is that in real life Lunning was Parsons' director in a play the latter participated in, and he coached the boy into pulling off the accent. Learning about this, the scenes where Nemo is educating Jean gave me the impression that I was listening to a real-life schooling session between Ev and Nathan. I like this, as it brings a very natural touch to the performance as a whole.
In Streamline's version, Nemo does not use an Indian accent, but he still has a deep voice. This is provided by Jeff Winkless, who has had a career of being cast for random roles with varying degrees of success. His Muska in the older dub of Castle in the Sky was a dreadful misfire, and he sounded rather cheesy (and artificial) as the evil Count Lee in Vampire Hunter D. However, this is one of his better roles, in that he does succeed in bringing an edge of mystery to the character. Having said that, though, I prefer Lunning, because he provides more of an "authoritative" tone that Winkless doesn't necessarily bring.

ELECTRA (Jennifer Stuart, ADV dub; Edie Mirman, Streamline dub) -- The first thing you'll notice upon hearing Stuart's performance as Nemo's pretty but multi-layered first officer in the ADV dub is that she speaks with a British accent. Again, this was a creative decision on the part of the directors. Since Electra is a complex character, complete with a "no-nonsense" attitude, and an overcontrolled nature she tries very hard to display, it adds a depth of dimension to the role. This is an excellent performance throughout, sounding very natural and distinctively memorable. There are a few places at the beginning where her accent wavers, but I emphasize the word few. Particularly spectacular are her explosive catfights with Grandis--she and Richardson obviously relish those scenes--and her emotional breakdown in Episodes 21 and 22. The latter, especially, is utterly engrossing and powerful. (Interestingly enough, Stuart, who was pregnant while recording the part, was going through labor at the time she delivered this particular moment; no wonder she nails it so beautifully.) Anyone who says that English voice actors cannot emote should hear these two examples in the ADV dub--it's the stuff of absolute excellence.
In Streamline's dub, Mirman plays the character pretty much the same way, with the same light tone and also with a British accent. While the performances in the older dub vary, I will say that she ties with Stuart.

GARGOYLE (David Jones, ADV dub; Steve Bulen, Streamline dub) -- This is probably the only voice that took me a long time to get used to in the ADV dub. Considering that Gargoyle is the major villain of the show, one would expect something menacing and vile-sounding. Instead, Jones opts to give him a deadpan, casual sounding tone which I initially found off-putting. As his performance develops, however, Jones begins to bring a depth of haughtiness and sarcasm, which actually works in favor of Gargoyle's arrogance and his condescending attitude about humanity. He even gets to do some really evil cackling in the last two episodes, to the point where you'll be surprised that it's the same actor. Nowadays, I can't imagine Gargoyle in English without Jones' voice.
And that represents the problem with Streamline's Steve Bulen, who takes on the challenge of the character. While he has the right "sinister" tone, he plays him too much like a straightforward, run-of-the-mill villain instead of an arrogant being obsessed with restoring Neo-Atlantis to its former glory. I don't think this would work very well for the character, particularly in the final episode where he finally drops his mask.

These are all the principal characters that make up Nadia as a show. The additional characters are similarly well-cast and give genuinely lively performances. My favorites in particular include: Edwin Neal as Jean's fun-loving, jovial uncle (a deliciously funny role which only appears in episode 1), Lana Dietrich as the sourpuss aunt (episode 2), Eric Henshaw as the blustering Captain Melville, Maurice Moore as the doomed sailor Ensign Fait (another one-episode performance where he brings a genially friendly nature to this character which makes one feel all the more crushed as Jean is when he must sacrifice himself--the latter moment is amazing in terms of acting and emoting), Robert Rudie as the gentle whale Irion (his voice slightly amplified to emphasize his spirituality as a creature), and Russ Roten as the stentorian robotic voice of Red Noah, also amplified by electronic effects (this character is in the only "island" episode that Hideaki Anno would have saved, episode 31; as it ties in better with the central plot than the rest of the island/Africa episodes, I couldn't agree more).

The crew members of the Nautilus are initially stiff in their first appearances, but they gradually get more comfortable in their roles as they go on. It should be noted, though, that Dan Bisbee as the Primary Helmsman is replaced for the final four episodes by Brian Yanish. The voice from the latter is slightly higher, although since we don't see him again after episode 22, it doesn't really matter. Aside from that, other crew members which show distinctive performances are Greg Gondek as the Sonar Officer (who reveals himself to be a survivor of the ship Jean's father captained), Werner Lang as the German-accented doctor, Amie Elyn as his granddaughter Ikoli, and Douglas Taylor as the cook. Another performance that deserves mention is Billy Hardin as the Chief Engineer; he has a great character voice for this role and sounds very natural throughout.

I was unable to evaluate the performances of the supporting characters in the older dub, although most of them consist of Streamline regulars such as Cliff Wells, Michael McConnohie, Kerrigan Mahan, and Milton James... a considerably smaller ensemble compared to the dozens of actors assembled for the "walla" moments in the current dub.

One performance I neglected to mention is the disembodied voice whose gentle narration opens each episode (save for 36-39). This voice belongs to the late Karen Kuykendall, whose elderly intonations give one the impression of a grandmother telling a child a bedtime story. This is a nice touch and also works better than the opening narration in the first episode on Streamline's version. No offense to Michael McConnohie, but while he does a credible job, his deadpan delivery gave me the feeling that I was hearing a typical newscaster giving a cold read.

Vocal performances aside, the script adaptation, penned by Lowell Bartholomee, warrants a shout-out. Rather than providing a literal word-for-word transliteration, he somhow skillfully manages to transform the literal, dull subtitle script into convincing, believeable English with little touches that give the characters more personality. Even some occasional awkwardnesses in the original script, such as Gargoyle's speech about the destruction of Sodom and Gamorrah, is corrected to fit better with the original Bible story. There are also several moments where the characters in the original Japanese version speak English phrases. Wisely knowing that using these phrases directly would feel out of place in the dub, Bartholomee rewords them into jokes that are still very much in line with the original intention yet pleasing to the English ear. In other words, his script succeeds as both being smooth and natural while remaining faithful in tone to the original.

That said, I did have two minor quibbles in the final two episodes. In previous combat scenes involving the Nautilus, a European-accented sailor sends his voice through the radio reporting the status of the submarine. For the climactic battle between the newly supercharged spaceship and the crimson-colored flying saucer, there are lines from the Status Sailor in the Japanese version, but mysteriously they are not spoken at all in the dub. Not that it affects the episodes too badly, but one moment in which Nemo reacts verbally to an announcement about the barrier weakening comes across as odd without the voice. Furthermore, a space satellite, Slave Star Michael, is nuked in one blast from the aforementioned spaceship in a previous episode, but when Gargoyle and his minions decide to raise the saucer into outer space to use the more deadly Slave Star Lucifer, one technician says "transferring power to Slave Star Michael"! This is an obvious error that will make even casual viewers scratch their heads.

Other than that, though, Bartholomee's script job is a very commendable effort. Even the songs in the (thankfully) last of the filler episodes (34, which is mostly a sequence of recapped footage accompanying character songs, although one of them serves as the focal point of this episode's "plot") are very well translated into English without diverting from the original intent. As a nice bonus, too, the dub cast rises to the challenge of singing them! Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's Bauman's Nadia's songs that fare the best; as with her overall performance, her reindition of the original Japanese written songs are both beautiful and very haunting. Not that the rest of the songs aren't any well handled. the Grandis Gang's song is a hoot (particularly Blacker's opening line), and Cassidy obviously has fun with her musical rant about grown-ups (there are a few places where she strains her notes, but I emphasize the word few). Parsons' vocals have trouble hitting high notes, but he acquits himself very well in the final two songs, particularly in the former where he's supposed to sing off-key. While this entire episode is not considered one of the best in the show by many (myself included), I do have to give Monster Island a shout-out for their efforts at translating the songs.

As mentioned, Carl Macek has stated that if he had been able to complete his dub of Nadia, he would have pared down the dozen filler episodes into something shorter and less time-consuming (a sentiment that even director Hideaki Anno shares). As much as hardcore fans have detested his editing practices on previous shows (in fact, some have even termed such moves as "Macek-re"s, rather unfairly), this editing choice probably would have been one of the few decisions that even detractors of these episodes would agree with. Since he no longer has the rights, we probably may never know how that would have turned out. Not that it compares favorably to the ADV version overall, however. While far from the total writeoff fans made it out to be, it falls short of greatness. Even though it has its share of good voices, the overall weaknesses of the Streamline dub (including the miscast voices of the leads) outweigh any assets this version may have had. It's not surprising that it isn't very well remembered.

As for ADV's dub of Nadia, reception has been mixed. Aside from Allen Divers and Marc Hairston, there have been a share of reviewers who have provided praise (Bob's Anime Corner Store, as well as Roman Martel , Brett Barkley, and Bryce Coulter of Mania.com, Bryan Hansen of AnimeJump, and Jeremy Conrad of IGNDVD), others such as the guys at the aforementioned DVDTalk, AnimeInferno, Digitally Obsessed, Sequential Tart, and DVDVerdict have been unkind. There are few, if any, online Anime fans who confess to ADV's dub as one of their favorites. As a matter of fact, some label it as a dub to avoid. This is unfortunate, because Monster Island's Nadia is one of the finest dubs ever made; the care and quality provided to it ultimately shines through. While it's not a flawless dub by any means, it certainly deserved far better recognition than what it received in 2001 (even though a premiere at Texas's A-Kon convention was very successful). That said, it is refreshing to hear from people who have actually given the dub a second chance. While there may be those who say that Japanese is the only way to go for Nadia, I simply cannot, especially since this is a series based in Europe. In fact, rather than pedastalizing the dub to the original Japanese cast, I have to say that it succeeds in its own right, and in many ways adds to what the creative staff involved in Nadia had in mind.

Giant Robo: Part 1: The NYAV Post Dub

2009-09-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

The OVA: Ah, Giant Robo. Next to the Miyazaki canon and Cowboy Bebop, this is probably one of my favorite anime series/films of all time. It is epic and awesome in every sense of the word, mixing gorgeous animation, wild fight scenes, personal drama and sheer hot-blooded awesomeness into one great package. Really, watching it will be more instructive than anything I have to say about it. Go see it. Now.

The dub: This is the first of a two-part series where I'll examine the recent New York re-dub, the original LA dub, and how they stack up to each other (in my opinion, of course). Since GR has a huge cast, I'll primarily be looking at the already-large cast of important speaking characters within the Experts of Justice and Big Fire. Let's get started!

First, the direction and script. Director Mike Sinterniklaas (best known to non-anime fans as Dean Venture, the current Leonardo, and Kappa Mikey) does an excellent job, coaxing great performances out of people like Dan Green, Wayne Grayson and Addie Blaustein who've mostly had to deal with 4Kids crap in their acting careers. Overall, the acting and writing (which removes a lot of the added profanity from the 90s dub) is much more consistent than the LA dub, though I still have a good deal of affection for that dub. Full marks here. Now, onto the cast.

THE EXPERTS OF JUSTICE

DAISAKU KUSAMA (Michelle Newman) -- It's a fairly well known fact amongst animation geeks that female actors often voice young boys in animation, Western or otherwise. Usually, they're pretty good, especially folks like Kath Soucie or Tress MacNeille, though one can occasionally a certain straining for effort to sound younger and higher-pitched (being top-of-the-line people that they are, Soucie and MacNeille have this problem less than others). Newman has that problem sometimes, getting a little too high-pitched and even slightly whiny at certain points, but she's otherwise really good in the role. She does a good job with Daisaku's required plucky youthfulness, as well as his more serious, introspective side. She also nails Daisaku's big emotional scenes, such as when he tries desperately to free Ginrei from the tube in Episode 6, or when he declares that "Too many people have died!" to let Genya's rampage continue as he straps himself to Giant Robo for the final confrontation. Newman's not the best performer in the dub, but she's still pretty excellent.

GINREI (Eva Christensen) -- I suspect that it's really hard to play a character like Ginrei. She's a conflicted character of conflicting moods, alternately gung-ho and cautious, flirtatious and reserved. Thankfully, Christensen rises to the challenge with a performance that matches those traits perfectly.

TETSUGYU (Sean Schemmel) -- Ah, finally, someone I've heard of! Schemmel is best known as Dragonball Z's Goku, though he has plenty of other roles to his credit. Thankfully, Schemmel does not merely recycle his Goku voice for Tetsugyu, which would've been easy. Schemmel plays Tetsugyu about like you'd expect: gruff, deep, and smarter than his initially doofy actions would suggest. His best scene is his big speech where the bleeding warrior explains why he hated Daisaku so much at first, but now vows to protect the young boy at even the cost of his own life. Schemmel nails this scene, as well as everything else Tetsugyu does. I particularly like the scene where a drunken Tetsugyu is causing a traffic jam; Schemmel performs what sounds like an improvised drinking song that's pretty funny. No complaints here.

TAISO (Marc Thompson) -- Thompson perfectly captures Taiso's fatherly attitude towards Daisaku as well as his badassery when he fights Alberto and, later, when he sacrifices himself to buy Daisaku time. Not much more to say here.

INSPECTOR KENI MURASAME (Marc Diraison) -- Despite an occasionally goofy French accent, Diraison is excellent as Murasame. We're not always quite sure what to think of Murasame; sometimes we like him, and sometimes we hate him. It's actually very close to what Daisaku feels about Murasame, since the man applies a very "tough love" approach. Diraison captures that ambiguity quite well, and he does give Murasame's big Heroic Sacrifice near the end an appropriate heft and weight (well, there's two sacrifices, but the second is better).

PROFESSOR GO (Kevin T. Collins) -- Collins plays Go as a very light-voiced intellectual most of the time, and musters up the appropriate passion for the professor's rare moments of anger or sorrow.

YOUSHI (Erica Schroeder) -- Schroeder overdoes the toughness of Youshi's character occasionally, but she's otherwise quite good.

ISSEI (Mike Pollock) -- Pollock gives Issei a nice mix of authority and wisdom. I'll say more about Pollock when his other, more substantial role comes up later.

CHIEF CHUJOU (John Campbell) -- Campbell is perfectly gruff and badass as Chujou, with the highlight being his declaration that he's not going to let anymore of his friends die as he preps his Forbidden Punch.

KOSHIN (Addie Blaustein) -- The late Mr./Mrs. Blaustein (in case you're unaware, Blaustein was a transgender/transsexual) is another 4Kids veteran. Sadly, I've never felt Blaustein ever rose above 4Kids material that much, but here he/she's pretty good as the stern general who attempts to slap some sense into Daisaku in the final episode.

BIG FIRE/THE MAGNIFICENT TEN

GENYA/EMANUEL VON VOGLER (DAN GREEN!--sorry, couldn't resist that little YGO Abridged reference) -- Here we have the highlight of the dub. Like Jon, I often find that particular performances in dubs tend to stand out for me, whether it's a comic character like Yuri Lowenthal's Leo in Scrapped Princess (a dub I plan to review eventually) or Green's work here. This is undoubtedly the best work I've ever heard from Green, who invests Genya with the smooth, suave coolness of a Bond villain as well as his emotional motive. But he's also great at capturing Genya's gradually slipping psyche, especially in the final episode when he discovers the true meaning of his father's last words and rails against the unfairness as well pleading to Daisaku when he shows up ("TELL ME!"). Green's always been one of the better actors who's worked on projects by the dreaded 4Kids (this also applies to Marc Diraison), but here he's just astonishingly good.

LORD ALBERTO (Lex Woutas) -- Woutas nails Alberto, whether he's in his default mode of suave and threatening, or when he sacrifices himself to give Daisaku a chance to kick Genya's ass.

IVAN (Wayne Grayson) -- Grayson makes Ivan threatening as well as bumbling, and he gives the moment where Ivan briefly tears up over the loss of his home in Bashtarle some good gravitas.

HANZUI (Eric Stuart) -- It's a little weird hearing a much gruffer Seto Kaiba, but Stuart does a good job with the not-so-evil Hanzui.

The rest of the Magnificent Ten is well cast, from Mike Pollock pulling triple duty as Jyujouji, Christopher Kromer doing a sleazy turn as Fitzcarrald, and Vic Mignogna as both Zangetsu and Red Mask (he's not credited for the latter, but it sure sounds like him to me). I can't seem to find who voices the dastardly planner Komei; whoever it is, he does an excellent job of making you hate the coward.

OTHER CHARACTERS

PROFESSOR SHIZUMA (Mike Pollock) -- Pollock is simply excellent here, capturing both the current frazzled, repentant Shizuma and the more arrogant, younger Shizuma perfectly. His work as present-day Shizuma is interesting from an acting standpoint because the story, at this point, is telling us that Shizuma is a modern hero. So why is he so nervous and twitchy? Well, the eventual true Bashtarle flashback shows us why, though I'm not going to spoil the revelation there. Let's just say that it adds real weight to current-day Shizuma, and that Pollock does wonders with it.

PROFESSOR VON VOGLER (Zachary Alexander) -- Alexander has a hard role to play: he has to seem evil and sinister at first, but as more revelations about the past come to light, we get more of an idea of what Von Vogler was really like as a person. Thankfully, Alexander nails both parts of his performances.

OK, next time I'll cover the LA dub and how it stacks up to the NYAV Post dub. See you next time!

Other upcoming reviews: Ninja Scroll, Metropolis, Jungle Emperor Leo, Genshiken, Scrapped Princess, The Big O and the Pioneer, Greg Weisman-directed dub of 3x3 Eyes.