The Dub Gold Standard

[populuxe]

Which show do you think is the Gold Standard of English anime dubbing? The show that is dubbed so well, everything else has to measure up to it? I'm not asking for your favorite show, or even your favorite dub. The Gold Standard could be a show you hate, but it was dubbed so well, you can't help but hold every other dub up to it.

I think that for a long time, most people would have said "Cowboy Bebop". But there have been several excellent dubs since then. What about the uniformily excellent "Last Exile"? Or the steamroller that is "R.O.D. the TV"? There's only only one volume of "Princess Tutu" but it's already at the top of many people's lists for best dub ever. What do you guys think?

[bctaris]

His and Her Circumstances

It is not necessarily its technical merits (other dubs have been more polished, with all incidentals held to greater scrutiny) as it is the emotional vibrancy it brought to the table. Every romantic couple must measure up to Taylor and Nicholas, every crazy and meddling girl to Ortiz, and every smooth-talking ladies man must bow at the alter of O'Brien.

Next question.

[Arcturus]

For the first few years of my anime fandom, Trigun was the dub to beat. In the funny scenes, serious scenes, and just about every other scene, it sounded great. JYB was perfectly cast as Vash, and I loved the Dorothy Melendrez/Lia Sargent pairing as Meryl and Millie. The real star of the dub for me, though, was Jeff Nimoy, with his powerful performance in the scene in the church in the episode "Paradise."

In recent memory, though, there are some dubs that may have superceded it in quality.

Three of the most talked-about (and awarded) dubs of the last year or so were R.O.D. the TV, Wolf's Rain, and Last Exile. All are terrific. R.O.D. took home the most awards by far. Last Exile had its share, although my favorite performance of last year - Kari Wahlgren as Lavie - was unfortunately snubbed in the awards department. It still stands as my favorite dub in recent memory.

However, I'd have to say that Wolf's Rain is the best of the group. It may be the best anime dub created at this point in time.

Some of the best performances received awards. Crispin Freeman as Tsume, Tom Wyner as Quent, Joshua Seth as Hige. Tom Wyner was my pick for 2004's best performance from a voice actor. He's perfect in his role. Crispin Freeman turned in a performance that at first seemed like it was going to be similar to his typical bishounen roles, but in the end turned out to be quite different - he had some very moving scenes in there, especially towards the end. Joshua Seth's performance as Hige was equally awesome, and was possibly the most genuine-sounding performance he's ever given.

But there are many other performances that were deserving of awards. The two that stand out the most are Mona Marshall as Toboe and Bob Buchholz as Hubb. Toboe is possibly Mona's most memorable role, and Bob's devastating rendition of Hubb in the last volume made me a little misty-eyed. They just went up against the wrong competition at the wrong time, I guess.

Who else is there? Well, there's Johnny Yong Bosch as the main character, who is actually one of the least interesting characters in the show - but JYB still did a great job with him. Kari Wahlgren did a wonderful job as Cher, a role that really proved how much range she has. Sherry Lynn also showed us something very different with Cheza. Steve Blum had a very imposing presence as Darcia, with some very memorable lines ("Will you follow me into the heart of darkness?").

There have been a lot of great dubs in recent memory, but Wolf's Rain set a new standard of excellence. While Last Exile is my favorite dub of the last few years, Wolf's Rain is my pick as the best.

[B-Rad Lascelle]

[ QUOTE ]
bctaris said:
His and Her Circumstances

It is not necessarily its technical merits (other dubs have been more polished, with all incidentals held to greater scrutiny) as it is the emotional vibrancy it brought to the table. Every romantic couple must measure up to Taylor and Nicholas, every crazy and meddling girl to Ortiz, and every smooth-talking ladies man must bow at the alter of O'Brien.

Next question.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'll second 'Taris on this pick. Followed by RahXephon, The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Wolf's Rain and R.O.D The TV... in that order.

Picks 6 through 10 are comprised of any combination of your choosing of dubs from Rob Bakewell, Liam O'Brien and Don Rush. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[populuxe]

I should answer my own question. The two dubs that I held up as my own Gold Standard were the two that made me a dub fan in the first place: Princess Nine and NieA_7. They came out at the same time, and despite being so completely different, there was no way to deny how good they were. But recently, the R.O.D. the TV dub has replaced them as the dub to beat. It won so many awards because it's that good. First, there are the Paper Sisters: Rachel Hirschfeld as Anita; Sarah Lahti as Maggie; and Hunter McKenzie Austin as Michelle. Rachel stunned me with her natural presence, Sarah was wonderfully subdued, and Hunter had extraordinary depth. Then there's Wendy Tomson's masterful performance as Nenene, dour and commanding at the same time. J.B. Blanc was one of the best evil madmen in anime ever, because he was fully committed to his character. Joker believed everything he was doing was right, and that's how Blanc played him. Siohbyn Flynn as Wendy may be one of the great performances of the past few years. She was a character with great depth and dimension to her. She was fragile and strong at the same time, and Siohbyn did a wonderful job conveying the conflicted nature of her character very well. The rest of the show was equally well cast, well acted and well directed. I haven't heard everything out there, but of the shows I've heard, this is the one all the rest have to measure up to.

[Nork22]

I'll add one to the His and Her Circumstances dub. A right balance of great performances, careful directing, great adaptiation, and above all, Liam O'Brien's first ever playboy role. The dub to me certainly slaughtered the Japanese track in almost every aspect (even with Arima sounding older than he should in the dub)

[aniki21]

RahXephon was the show that showed me the dub light. I think it's got fantastic performances from everyone in it.

[Vicious]

I'd still have to go with Cowboy Bebop. Especially Wendee Lee's Faye Valentine.

[super rats]

Wolf's Rain. Arcturus pretty much explained why.

[Splitter]

Cowboy Bebop - the first dub that everyone noticed as being really really good

Fruits Basket - got FUNi noticed as a company that actually knows how to make a good dub

His And Her Circumstances - best dub hands down

[BonifaceVIII]

Fruits Basket, or Boogiepop Phantom (although not enough people have seen that for it to be any kind of "standard").

[Mr. Nail Bat]

I am going to say Rurouni Kenshin, simply because for many West coast VA's, when I think of a defining role for them, I think of the role they played in RK.

Kenshin also had a great cast of guest performers: think of Dave Lelyveld, Karen Strassman, Tony Oliver, and the late Anthony Mozdy in the "Dreams of Youth" arc. And in the Christian arc, Bang Zoom cast Crispin Freeman in his first major West coast role, with the great Lia Sargent as Sayo.

[EmperorBrandon]

I agree with Arc on Wolf's Rain (and on being disappointed by Mona Marshall and Bob Buchholz not winning /images/graemlins/sad.gif). Animaze really outdid itself on that one and showed what their highest potential was, which was ever better than the widely-acclaimed Cowboy Bebop dub IMHO. I don't even consider to show itself to be anywhere near being a favorite of mine, but the dub was so good it really drew me into the show watching on Adult Swim (else I might have just given up on it like I did with Gundam Seed and other shows that don't catch my interest that much).

And though I bring it out as my favorite dub quite often, I still think Hand Maid May measures up well as a standard for shounen rom-com anime. It's go a great ensemble of well-known female talent that fits each role distinctly (and excellent work with male protagonist and antagonist on top of that), keeps the Japanese nature of the show intact with an accurate script and good pronunciations (while not managing to cramp the dub acting quality at the same time), and is basically a fun and endearing dub that holds up well with the show on multiple viewings.

[toy_brain]

This could be a case of me liking a dub because its supported by a good show, but Full Metal Panic is my absolute favorate dub, and the first time I thought to myself "Wow, ADV really have nailed this one 100%". (Most of their previous dubs were close, marred only by the odd weak episodic/incidental character).
Every characther seems to be perfectly cast and every line delivered spot-on. (I realise that Chris' Sagara is played differently to the original, but it still fits the 'look' of the character perfectly). Also, the timing and delivery of the comedy is absolutely spot-on.

On a different note, I'd also like to mention Dai-Guard as a perfect example of dub writing.
The acting itself is mostly solid - often very good - but what really shines is the script, which seems to have been 'massaged' just enough to retain the intent of the original, but make the office humour and other jokes more applicable to a western audience.
Watch the dub with the subtitles turned on and you'll see that it constantly deviates from the original dialogue - but never really by that much, and there were only 2 instances when I was first watching it that I thought "Thats gotta be totally re-written". So, only 2 slip-ups in a 26-ep series of otherwise very well-written dialogue is damn good going IMO.

Of course, the issue of re-writing scripts is often a thorny one, so uhhh, mabye I shouldnt have gone there. /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

Thats my 2 cents.

[BigPants]

While I would put shows like Princess Nine, and Last Exile, very high up on my personal list for this, I have to go with Wolf's Rain.

Arc pretty much did a good write-up on the voices. Although, I don't think Kiba is an uninteresting character.

[Njr Scrawl]

Spirited Away as the best to beat. Nausicaa is almost as good IMDB opinion.

My personal non-Ghibli favourite is Oh My Goddess OVAs. After starting anime on Manga & CPM dubs, it was like music to my ears.

Special mentions for Angelic Layer & Figure Seven.

[TuxedoFred]

Well, of all the show's you've listed, only Cowboy Bebop has had an English dub that was better than the Japanese language track. The other shows that were mentioned I felt flowed a lot better in Japanese. Which raises the question, was Bebop's English dub excellent because it was truly excellent, or because the Japanese track wasn't?

Due to the escalation of elitism on either side of the dub/sub war, I don't think it's likely we'll ever know the answer.

[BigPants]

[ QUOTE ]
TuxedoFred said:
Which raises the question, was Bebop's English dub excellent because it was truly excellent, or because the Japanese track wasn't?

Due to the escalation of elitism on either side of the dub/sub war, I don't think it's likely we'll ever know the answer.

[/ QUOTE ]

That and... well, it varies with each person. I thought the Japanese dub was rather well done (Megumi Hayashibara's portrayal from Faye Valentine, aside, as I thought it wasn't her best). Actually, I even watched it in Japanese first before going back to watch it in English.

While I will agree with a lot of people that the Bebop dub is quite exceptional, I think that when it was released here back in... 2000(?), it was the gold standard, but since then, I don't think it's held it's position there. Going back and hearing parts of it and comparing it to things being released over the past couple of years, I definitely wouldn't keep it at the top.

[rowen]

His and Her Circumstances by far...

I try to give Japanese and English dubs a fair listen before sticking to one and going forward through the show with it. In contrast with the Japanese dub, the English dub is a notch above. Very strong work from all the roles, even the minor ones - from the sisters and parents down to the list of friends. Even looking back on this series I watched years ago, I can't picture these characters having anything other than the English dub voices. The English dub is also one of the reasons I've double-dipped on this series, and have always recommended viewing with the English dub when lending this series to friends.

[bctaris]

[ QUOTE ]
BonifaceVIII said:
Fruits Basket, or Boogiepop Phantom (although not enough people have seen that for it to be any kind of "standard").

[/ QUOTE ]

If not for His and Her taking all the acclaim for a TRSI/Headline dub, and if it was reasonably well known like you said, I might go with Boogiepop. It's bloody brilliant. No purely dramatic dub has come close to what was in that one, though I'll admit with what very, very little of it I heard on TV, Wolf's Rain might be on par. Unfortunately, WR will never interest me near as much as BP.

The thing with His and Her Circumstances is that it matches the drama of BP, but also masters other forms of dubbing like comedy--which was a benefit of the show itself, of course. Magic Users Club comes close for the same reason, and on that note, Princess Tutu, as 'stax hinted at top may very well be similarly benefited as His and Her and might share a position near the top at its end.

[machineger4]

Not to repeat the others too much, I would say His and Her Circumstances, R.O.D the TV, and Princess Nine are all on the highest level(which is why the longest clips in the presentation of dubs I'm doing at my club tonight are from those shows). There's nothing really wrong with any of them, everything works. The actors capture the drama of the show as well as the comedic aspects. I know some had a problem with Arima's voice in English, but while watching the show in Japanese, it took me like 20 eps to accept that voice for Arima and it took a bit to adjust to the other characters as well.

One dub that's just as good as any other is Koi Kaze's. I was blown away by Patrick Seitz and Tiffany Hsieh as Koshiro and Nanoka, respectively. Michelle Ruff gave a great performance as Kaname(especially towards the end), Liam O'Brien did an excellent job directing. I was really suprised at how good it was. If you haven't seen the show because of its story, you're missing out on a helluva dub.

[Hayate Kurogane]

I'd have to hand over my vote to the His and Her Circumstances dub as well.

A while back, there was a thread asking what everyone thought made a good dub good, or something to that effect. Though I can't remember if I actually posted a response or not (Ever do that? Swear you've posted, or mean to come back and post later, but forget? Sure you have. /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif), one of the things that people listed, and which I agree wholeheartedly with, is that a good dub is one that works so well it doesn't take you out of the viewing experience. Or, to put it another way, you could say it's one that works so well that, even if you sit down specifically to pick apart the dub and analyze performances or if you're naturally inclined to do so for the sake of discussion later on, it just sort of sucks you in and suppresses that inclination.

Moreso in many ways, and on many levels, than any other dub I've yet heard, the dub for His and Her Circumstances succeeds at that.

Of course, that's certainly not to say there a ridiculously huge gap between His and Hers and some of the other dubs out there. As a general rule, NewGen's dubs are top-notch, and if the question had been asking for a studio rather than a specific dub then their work would beat the competition hands-down. The Blue Sub No.6 dub by Coastal Carolina is always awesome, and the one I'd consider to be their best work. ADV's Princess Nine dub, Animaze's Wolf's Rain dub, and Ocean's SoulTaker dub are also among those select standouts to which others are compared. But His and Her Circumstances took that extra step.

[Vicious]

Another one that was really good was You're Under Arrest.

[DKL]

For me just about anything NGP or DISNEY/Ghibli *the newer stuff... well, I haven't seen all of it yet, but the stuff I've heard is great*

...

oh yeah, that other show, WOLFS RAIN, I totally didn't bother watching it in JAPANESE, but when you here Johnny Yong Bosch, it's beautiful

I have to bow down to its greatness

Oh wait! I have to plug in stuff by Sinterklaas and Wayland too

Haven't heard Wayland and Kaplan's work on SHOOTFIGHTER TEKKEN?

... well, do it now

[Legion]

[ QUOTE ]
toy_brain said:
On a different note, I'd also like to mention Dai-Guard as a perfect example of dub writing.
The acting itself is mostly solid - often very good - but what really shines is the script, which seems to have been 'massaged' just enough to retain the intent of the original, but make the office humour and other jokes more applicable to a western audience.
Watch the dub with the subtitles turned on and you'll see that it constantly deviates from the original dialogue - but never really by that much, and there were only 2 instances when I was first watching it that I thought "Thats gotta be totally re-written". So, only 2 slip-ups in a 26-ep series of otherwise very well-written dialogue is damn good going IMO.

Of course, the issue of re-writing scripts is often a thorny one, so uhhh, mabye I shouldnt have gone there. /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

The first volume fo Dai Guard had more re-writes than I would care for, but from vol. 2-6 (when Dan Dietz took over all scripting duties) the script was noticeably tighter in terms of accuracy. Some lines were loosly adapted, other re-written, but overall the rewrites didn't strike me as any worse than, say, Princess Nine. I'd say the script is roughly 80-90 per cent accurate to the original after vol. 1. And yes, the quality of the writing is very good and I found brought the humanity of the show across better than the original. I actually found myself preferring the dub for Dai Guard after watching it in full after the subtitled version.

[porkchopexpress]

When I started watching anime very little of it was dubbed. It just wasn't available. What little I did see dubbed... um, left something to be desired. Akira and Fist of the North Star come to mind, though I kinda remember liking the Macross 2 dub. Oddly enough all the early anime that I saw subbed I still have not seen dubbed. Bubblegum Crisis, Ah My Goddess OVAs, Vampire Princess Miyu, Project A-ko, Gunbuster (obviously) and Venus Wars to name a few. Anyways, the way I'm going to answer your question is telling you the first dub I ever saw that really connected with me. That I really enjoyed and became immersed in. My gold standard by which all dubs I watched after had to be judged. That anime dub was FlCl.

[Legion]

[ QUOTE ]
BigPants said:
[ QUOTE ]
TuxedoFred said:
Which raises the question, was Bebop's English dub excellent because it was truly excellent, or because the Japanese track wasn't?

Due to the escalation of elitism on either side of the dub/sub war, I don't think it's likely we'll ever know the answer.

[/ QUOTE ]

That and... well, it varies with each person. I thought the Japanese dub was rather well done (Megumi Hayashibara's portrayal from Faye Valentine, aside, as I thought it wasn't her best). Actually, I even watched it in Japanese first before going back to watch it in English.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've listened to the whole subtitled version and for the most part I really liked it: Koichi Yamadera's Spike is different from David Lucas's, but it's appealing all the same and I really liked Jet's voice. However, Hayashibara misses the mark and Ed, while solid, was not as entertaining as the English version voice/dialog. Plus the English dialog, really captured the international falvor of the show. So IMO, the Japanese version is actually quite good, but the English version is even better.

[Legion]

[ QUOTE ]
Sakura Shinguji said:
I'd have to hand over my vote to the His and Her Circumstances dub as well.

A while back, there was a thread asking what everyone thought made a good dub good, or something to that effect. Though I can't remember if I actually posted a response or not (Ever do that? Swear you've posted, or mean to come back and post later, but forget? Sure you have. /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif), one of the things that people listed, and which I agree wholeheartedly with, is that a good dub is one that works so well it doesn't take you out of the viewing experience. Or, to put it another way, you could say it's one that works so well that, even if you sit down specifically to pick apart the dub and analyze performances or if you're naturally inclined to do so for the sake of discussion later on, it just sort of sucks you in and suppresses that inclination.

[/ QUOTE ]

The only thing that actually bothered me about the dub was there wasn't enough variety in the backgound conversations: you could hear Miyazawa's sister's and mother chatting in the background and they didn't mask their voices quite enough. Also, I wished they had picked different people to play Subasa's father and Tonami (sp?). Ed Paulson's got a good voice, but it was ridiculously obvious it was the same voice for both characters and quite honestly I didn't think he was the best choice to play the latter character. And as is usually said, Arima was a little too deadpan and tired-sounding in the first two eps. Another nitpick is the mixing wasn't quite as good as it could've been. But when you take in the dub's strength's, they far, far outweigh the weaknesses. It's truly some of the finest work I've ever heard from the NY actors and definitely one of my favorite dubs ever.

[porkchopexpress]

[ QUOTE ]
Machineger4 said:
One dub that's just as good as any other is Koi Kaze's. I was blown away by Patrick Seitz and Tiffany Hsieh as Koshiro and Nanoka, respectively. Michelle Ruff gave a great performance as Kaname(especially towards the end), Liam O'Brien did an excellent job directing. I was really suprised at how good it was. If you haven't seen the show because of its story, you're missing out on a helluva dub.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats the thing I love about Koi Kaze, and why it should be watched. I love the idea of Cartoon characters just emoting like crazy. Its also what I like about anime in general. I mean, I enjoy watching Teen Titans and all, but do you ever get to hear Scott Menville as Robin on his knees in the recording booth just balling his fricken eyes out? Screaming "Why God why?! Shes my sister!".

[bctaris]

[ QUOTE ]
porkchopexpress said:
... Anyways, the way I'm going to answer your question is telling you the first dub I ever saw that really connected with me. That I really enjoyed and became immersed in. My gold standard by which all dubs I watched after had to be judged. That anime dub was FlCl.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not a bad choice. And I have to admit--though maybe its short length gives it an advantage--but it is currently my favorite LA dub.

But echoing something Sakura said above, this it not to say the rest of the dubs out there are very far back. There are maybe 1 or 2 point differences between a dozen or more dubs on a 100 point scale for me. I mean, just in LA there, every NGP dub and four or five Animaze and BZ! dubs are in some order 1 point behind. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[populuxe]

[ QUOTE ]
bctaris said:
But echoing something Sakura said above, this it not to say the rest of the dubs out there are very far back. There are maybe 1 or 2 point differences between a dozen or more dubs on a 100 point scale for me. I mean, just in LA there, every NGP dub and four or five Animaze and BZ! dubs are in some order 1 point behind. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I've heard one NGP dub that is well behind the rest and that's Amazing Nurse Nanako. But it was also NGP's first dub (I believe), so they're allowed some slack.

[bctaris]

[ QUOTE ]
Mike Dungan said:
[ QUOTE ]
bctaris said:
But echoing something Sakura said above, this it not to say the rest of the dubs out there are very far back. There are maybe 1 or 2 point differences between a dozen or more dubs on a 100 point scale for me. I mean, just in LA there, every NGP dub and four or five Animaze and BZ! dubs are in some order 1 point behind. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I've heard one NGP dub that is well behind the rest and that's Amazing Nurse Nanako. But it was also NGP's first dub (I believe), so they're allowed some slack.

[/ QUOTE ]

I haven't heard that one, but for the hell of it I think I'll put every one I have in order:

1.) Texhnolyze
1.) R.O.D. the TV
2.) Rumiko Takahashi Anthology
2.) NieA_7
2.) Paranoia Agent
2.) Haibane Renmei
2.) L/R
3.) Mermaid Forest
3.) Yamamoto Yohko

Well, sort of.

I would also include 3X3 Eyes, but I kind of consider it an outside job since Weisman's cast was mostly non-NGP regulars at the time. Niea, of course, is the first dub I heard from them and a life-long sentimental top-10 dub for me. Mermaid hasn't impressed me much story-wise, and that dragged the dub down in my selfish estimation, and I haven't heard volume 2 yet. Yohko's on bottom, and is another relatively early dub, but it's still good and J-Ray is brilliantly insane as Lote.

And yeah, I know I'm missing some fine dubs that could shake this up, Koi Kaze for one. There might be room at #1.

Still, back to topic somewhat, it all makes NGP the current Dub Studio Gold Standard, I have to say.

[Legion]

[ QUOTE ]
Mike Dungan said:
I've heard one NGP dub that is well behind the rest and that's Amazing Nurse Nanako. But it was also NGP's first dub (I believe), so they're allowed some slack.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think Nazca was their first dub, actually... the second might have been Nanako, but part of me wants to say it was 3 X 3 Eyes.

[Legion]

[ QUOTE ]
bctaris said:
I would also include 3X3 Eyes, but I kind of consider it an outside job since Weisman's cast was mostly non-NGP regulars at the time.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just got 3 X 3 Eyes in the mail yesterday and spot checked the dub a bit. Doesn't sound too bad to me, honestly. It's kinda cool to hear the Gargoyles VA's in anime (like the voice of Lexington as one of Yakumo's classmates) and I can't wait to hear Keith David's cameo. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif Also, I have a crush on Bridgitte Bako, so I'll likely enjoy hearing her in a dub. Of course, that's all going to have to wait as I'm watching the subtitled version first. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[porkchopexpress]

[ QUOTE ]
Legion said:
I think Nazca was their first dub, actually... the second might have been Nanako, but part of me wants to say it was 3 X 3 Eyes.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm gonna assume it was the second dub, not the first that NGP did.

[Shsway]

Another one for His and Hers.

I also think that a lot of folks who got into the medium around the same time as myself, hasve a great fondness for the Tenchi cast. It's one of those that just works well in a lot of places, not to mention the ease that the actors must have felt with the name pronunciations (none of them are hard!)

[Dagger]

This is pretty recent, but I have to say Koi Kaze came to mind first.

Wolf's Rain is another dub I hold in extremely high regard. Plus His and Her Circumstances, if only for Liam O'Brien. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

And I daresay that Kodocha could end up being a very strong contender.

[AmericanBeauty]

[ QUOTE ]
Arcturus said:
For the first few years of my anime fandom, Trigun was the dub to beat. In the funny scenes, serious scenes, and just about every other scene, it sounded great. JYB was perfectly cast as Vash, and I loved the Dorothy Melendrez/Lia Sargent pairing as Meryl and Millie. The real star of the dub for me, though, was Jeff Nimoy, with his powerful performance in the scene in the church in the episode "Paradise."

In recent memory, though, there are some dubs that may have superceded it in quality.

Three of the most talked-about (and awarded) dubs of the last year or so were R.O.D. the TV, Wolf's Rain, and Last Exile. All are terrific. R.O.D. took home the most awards by far. Last Exile had its share, although my favorite performance of last year - Kari Wahlgren as Lavie - was unfortunately snubbed in the awards department. It still stands as my favorite dub in recent memory.

However, I'd have to say that Wolf's Rain is the best of the group. It may be the best anime dub created at this point in time.

Some of the best performances received awards. Crispin Freeman as Tsume, Tom Wyner as Quent, Joshua Seth as Hige. Tom Wyner was my pick for 2004's best performance from a voice actor. He's perfect in his role. Crispin Freeman turned in a performance that at first seemed like it was going to be similar to his typical bishounen roles, but in the end turned out to be quite different - he had some very moving scenes in there, especially towards the end. Joshua Seth's performance as Hige was equally awesome, and was possibly the most genuine-sounding performance he's ever given.

But there are many other performances that were deserving of awards. The two that stand out the most are Mona Marshall as Toboe and Bob Buchholz as Hubb. Toboe is possibly Mona's most memorable role, and Bob's devastating rendition of Hubb in the last volume made me a little misty-eyed. They just went up against the wrong competition at the wrong time, I guess.

Who else is there? Well, there's Johnny Yong Bosch as the main character, who is actually one of the least interesting characters in the show - but JYB still did a great job with him. Kari Wahlgren did a wonderful job as Cher, a role that really proved how much range she has. Sherry Lynn also showed us something very different with Cheza. Steve Blum had a very imposing presence as Darcia, with some very memorable lines ("Will you follow me into the heart of darkness?").

There have been a lot of great dubs in recent memory, but Wolf's Rain set a new standard of excellence. While Last Exile is my favorite dub of the last few years, Wolf's Rain is my pick as the best.

[/ QUOTE ]
Stole my words. Wolf's Rain is my absolute favorite English dub, beating only Fruits Basket. Everyone was just perfect, Mary McGlynn did an excellent job directing this. And I think it's Crispin Freeman's best role honestly.

It may have been robbed of many awards here, but the dub (and the show itself) still holds a special place in my heart. Great job, Animaze.

[RaeS]

Wow, something to replace Bebop. That's kind of hard since there is so much great work that's been produced since then to choose from. Bebop represents to me something that is as good if not better than the Japanese track. More and more dubs these days measure up. But something that is just a little bit extra special?

My choice would be Noir. I didn't like the show one bit but the dub, wow. It connected with me in a way the sub track wasn't somehow. I could totally forget about everything but the characters for a half an hour. The cast list would be enough to expect something good. It was Monica Rial's & Shelly Calene-Black's lines in one of the ADV trailers, that made me pick it up in the first place. Noir also has my favorite performance to date by Hilary Haag as Chole. If you haven't heard her in Noir, then go get it now.

[Kevinroc]

Not quite as big as a number of other series but the dubbing on Rumiko Takahashi Anthology was excellent. For a series with a rotating cast, every episode came out just great. I think that's what makes the dub so amazing.

[Kiggy]

[ QUOTE ]
kogalsin said:
Wow, something to replace Bebop. That's kind of hard since there is so much great work that's been produced since then to choose from. Bebop represents to me something that is as good if not better than the Japanese track. More and more dubs these days measure up. But something that is just a little bit extra special?

My choice would be Noir. I didn't like the show one bit but the dub, wow. It connected with me in a way the sub track wasn't somehow. I could totally forget about everything but the characters for a half an hour. The cast list would be enough to expect something good. It was Monica Rial's & Shelly Calene-Black's lines in one of the ADV trailers, that made me pick it up in the first place. Noir also has my favorite performance to date by Hilary Haag as Chole. If you haven't heard her in Noir, then go get it now.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ms. Haag's performance as Chloe in NOIR gave me goosebumps.

It's that good.

[populuxe]

[ QUOTE ]
Kiggy said:
[ QUOTE ]
kogalsin said:
Wow, something to replace Bebop. That's kind of hard since there is so much great work that's been produced since then to choose from. Bebop represents to me something that is as good if not better than the Japanese track. More and more dubs these days measure up. But something that is just a little bit extra special?

My choice would be Noir. I didn't like the show one bit but the dub, wow. It connected with me in a way the sub track wasn't somehow. I could totally forget about everything but the characters for a half an hour. The cast list would be enough to expect something good. It was Monica Rial's & Shelly Calene-Black's lines in one of the ADV trailers, that made me pick it up in the first place. Noir also has my favorite performance to date by Hilary Haag as Chole. If you haven't heard her in Noir, then go get it now.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ms. Haag's performance as Chloe in NOIR gave me goosebumps.

It's that good.

[/ QUOTE ]

There are some people who aren't especially fond of either Hilary as Chloe or Tiffany Grant as Altena, but I loved their performances. Noir is a show I love both for it's story and it's dub. I've watched it several times, many times just to listen to the dub.

kogalsin, I know what you're talking about with the trailer. Those few lines that were featured were from the first episode, and it's riveting. I find it especially impressive, when you consider that most VAs need at least a few episodes to really find their characters. But Shelley and Monica had Mireille and Kirika perfected right from the start.

[Vicious]

[ QUOTE ]
Kiggy said:
Ms. Haag's performance as Chloe in NOIR gave me goosebumps.

It's that good.

[/ QUOTE ]

*gives Kiggy a gold star*

[evilarrex]

For me
ROD TV is my favorite dub.
Koi Kaze a close second.

I also love the dubs for
Kare Kanno
Louie the Rune Soldier
FMP and Fumuffo
and of course Hellsing - was a benchmark - despite the content of that show taking a dive.

I never really warmed to the dubs for Bebop or RahXephon - I could respect the results for Wolfs Rain.
But, Scrapped Princess and Galaxy Angels have been my personal fav Bandai commissioned dubs. While Mona Marshal was good in Wolf's Rain - I prefer for instance her work in Kyo Kara Maoh as Wolfram.

[TuxedoFred]

[ QUOTE ]
Arrex said:
and of course Hellsing - was a benchmark - despite the content of that show taking a dive.


[/ QUOTE ]

I liked Hellsing except for Crispin Freeman as Alucard. There wasn't enough crazy in his menacing.

[evilarrex]

[ QUOTE ]
TuxedoFred said:

I liked Hellsing except for Crispin Freeman as Alucard. There wasn't enough crazy in his menacing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Freeman's voice doesn't quite as as low as Jouji's. So, to my ears he didn't quite sound as downright eVil.
However, I thought he got the malicious part of Alucard's personality right.
Harwood was amazing as Integra though.

[banksie]

Boogiepop Phantom, Paranoia Agent, RahXephon, Texhnolyze, Haibane Renmei and ROD TV would be my picks.

Boogiepop Phantom is just so well done from the acting, script work and audio design. The 5.1 mix is used well to expand on the stoyr being told and properly support it. Excellent stuff. It remains my favourite anime and dub although the competition for that spot is getting stronger.

Paranoia Agent nails characterisation well, weakest was the suicidal schoolgirl in my opinion, and took advantage properly of the animation quality to gives the actors room to act and not over-emote. (Which is the norm in either language dub at the moment.) As a result it has some subtle and clever performances that you just won't hear elsewhere.

RahXephon has a dub that while interpreting the characters a little gives pretty much pitch perfect interpretations and performances. The knowing games of Shogi between Futagami and Rikudoh, Haruka's anguish whenever reminded of the future lost thanks to Tokyo Jupiter forming and all the Foundation arrogance comes through clearly with a pretty accurate script. It's ADVs finest dub in my opinion.

Texhnolyze had a mostly male cast who, literally, are trapped in Hell. Doomed to repeat a cycle of violence and madness that they little understand you have a strong cast providing us our window into that world. Poor Justin Gross who had to spend three episodes grunting, screaming and groaning without any substantive dialogue to speak of. Heavily laden in subtext and symbology the dub renders it all well giving appropriately nuanced performances. Sadly because of its grim and violent nature few will end up watching this.

Haibane Renmei while I have some issues with the dub, I'd have preferred a little less echo in a certain climactic scene and less sub-vocal utterances overall, it still is a very strong dub that brings out the emotion in this character study. It is one of the few anime that moves me sufficiently that I usually am teary around episode eleven or so which speaks volumes about the calibre of the performances present here.

ROD TV don't need to say much here. Marking, I think, a first for using kids to dub kid roles in English dubs of Japanese anime this dub simply rocks and rolls all night long. Good performances that play to the humour and drama make a very watchable show. In many ways this is the spiritual successor to Bebop in tone and it's good to have a nice strong dub to let ROD TV become a solid introductory anime much as Bebop did.

Those are my picks and why.

[Legion]

[ QUOTE ]
banksie said:
ROD TV don't need to say much here. Marking, I think, a first for using kids to dub kid roles in English dubs of Japanese anime this dub simply rocks and rolls all night long. Good performances that play to the humour and drama make a very watchable show. In many ways this is the spiritual successor to Bebop in tone and it's good to have a nice strong dub to let ROD TV become a solid introductory anime much as Bebop did.

[/ QUOTE ]

Er, it's not quite a first. I think the first use of kids for kid roles was for the You're Under Arrest OAV dub. ADV has used some child actors too, namely Kevin Corn, but there's been a few others. I think the same would apply for the other studios like Ocean, Animaze and Bang Zoom.

[aniki21]

[ QUOTE ]
Arrex said:
[ QUOTE ]
TuxedoFred said:
I liked Hellsing except for Crispin Freeman as Alucard. There wasn't enough crazy in his menacing.

[/ QUOTE ]
Freeman's voice doesn't quite as as low as Jouji's. So, to my ears he didn't quite sound as downright eVil.

[/ QUOTE ]I always got two different kinds of evil vibes off them - Jouji was definitely more "insane" evil than Crispin, but I thought Freeman had a really cool malicious, sadistic delivery. I preferred the idea that Alucard was completely in control and just really enjoyed himself when he was being so downright eevil, compared to the implication that he was just kinda crazy in the Japanese.

The best performance in the dub for me, was Steven Brand as Anderson. He nailed that part, in my opinion.

[Mr. Nail Bat]

[ QUOTE ]
aniki21 said:
The best performance in the dub for me, was Steven Brand as Anderson. He nailed that part, in my opinion.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm very fond of the Valentine Brothers performances. Josh Phillips as Jan was obviously spectacular, and Patrick Seitz as Luke? He's unlike any vampire you've ever faced before...

[populuxe]

[ QUOTE ]
Legion said:
[ QUOTE ]
banksie said:
ROD TV don't need to say much here. Marking, I think, a first for using kids to dub kid roles in English dubs of Japanese anime this dub simply rocks and rolls all night long. Good performances that play to the humour and drama make a very watchable show. In many ways this is the spiritual successor to Bebop in tone and it's good to have a nice strong dub to let ROD TV become a solid introductory anime much as Bebop did.

[/ QUOTE ]

Er, it's not quite a first. I think the first use of kids for kid roles was for the You're Under Arrest OAV dub. ADV has used some child actors too, namely Kevin Corn, but there's been a few others. I think the same would apply for the other studios like Ocean, Animaze and Bang Zoom.

[/ QUOTE ]

ROD TV isn't even a first for using kids to voice kids for New Gen. Taliesin Jaffe used a child to voice Chie in NeiA_7, and she did as good a job then as Rachel Hirschfeld later did as Anita in ROD.

[Bitterman]

I don't think there's any one show that's a gold standard. Different shows have different needs, and it's not easy to compare them directly. For example, I think Hello Kitty's Animation Theater did a fine job for what it was--a children's title acting out fairy tales. But I think we can all agree that a drama (i.e. RahXephon, Gasaraki, Last Exile) would have very different needs. That having been said, some of the shows that I look at as getting pretty much everything right are Dai-Guard (fantastic giant robot show with an ensemble cast), Steel Angel Kurumi (very funny), and Haibane-Renmei (excellent casting, very polished).