Darker than BLACK

(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

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 Animaze's 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.  (Part of this may be due to an audio mastering fault; according to sources, other dubs from AniMaze from this period have not sounded this scratchy.)  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) (David A. Thomas, Jr.) -- When we first meet the main character of this tale (pronounced as Shiro-tsgu Ladatt), he is a cynical, lazy young man who goofs 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.  David 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).  David's Shiro reflects that atmosphere very effectively.

RIQUINII NONDERAIKO (Melora Harte) -- 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 Melora Harte 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, Harte's performance is overall very solid and serves as a nice contrast to David's 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 the late Kevin Seymour, 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 Seymour 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.  One such example is the scene where the grumpy army trainer (with a cartoonishly scratchy voice) yells at Shiro for slacking off in the training scene at the beginning of the movie.

In the subtitled version, his monologue reads like this:

"Lots of free time, eh, Shiro?  I didn't realize your job here was to take naps!  You know what this is?  A one deem coin.  It can buy you a loaf of broad or a bottle of oil.  But they say a Khozel bandit would kill a man for one of these.  So, if you think about it, it's worth quite a lot.  Overtime pay.  Getting an advance should make you weep with joy!  And now from you I want 300 push-ups.  And after that, I want 500 sit-ups!"

The dub rewords it to the following:

"And here he is, asleep again, sitting like a vat of basking fat, waiting for his dough to double in size!  Suppose I'm the bandit in Khozel.  Your life now equals nothing.  But that's familiar to you, right?  And my gun's in your face and your offer is one deem coin of overtime.  Think, ya damn idiot!  You'd be dead right now, and there's your pay.  Do you ever even think?!  Five-hundred sit-ups.  NOW!"

Most of the other differences I detected didn't seem all that drastic or out of spirit with the original, although it CAN be a bit of an oddity at times.  I can only wonder what StarQuest's was like, but if reports are any indication, then Animaze's translation will have to do, warts and all.

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!

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...

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

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&!

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

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.