Mayl 2008 ADR Awards Winners & Highlights

[Chris Beveridge]

Dub of the Month: Kanon Vol. 4 (Amusement Park Media / ADV Films)

Kanon, from Amusement Park Media (ADV's in-house studio), is a tale of losing and then regaining one's memories. Dramatic progressions are interspersed with comedic interludes. When it comes to creating a dub for such a work, the right balance needs to be struck. Kyle Jones and the talented voice cast he has assembled manage to do exactly that. In this fourth volume, of six, we have the powerful conclusion to the story of Mai Kawasumi, the taciturn, sword-wielding demon hunter played by Melissa Davis (ADRA nominee for Best Female Performance of May 2008). She does well handling the dual role presented to her in this volume, as she voices both her present day self, and her younger self in flashback, with equal ease.

The second half of the volume moves on to a new girl, as we finally get to learn more about the mysterious Shiori Misaka (Maggie Flecknoe), who previously seemed to appear only in the school's snow covered courtyard. As Shiori herself begins to open up, so does Ms. Flecknoe in her performance, giving us a closer view of her inner thoughts. Of course, little needs to be added to the description of Chris Patton's winning portrayal (ADRA Best Male Performance for May 2008) of the lead character Yuichi Aizawa. But strong performances continue to be provided as well by Brittney Karbowski as Ayu Tsukimiya, Jessica Boone as Nayuki Minase, and Joanne Bonasso as Akiko Minase.

With that, it is no secret why Kanon has won the Best Dub of the Month Award in every month it has been nominated: the combination of outstanding performances (Tiffany Terrell and Chris Patton have both won Best Performance awards twice for their roles in this production) with expert direction make Kanon one of the finer examples of dubbing in the current scene. This marks the final time this dub will be eligible for the monthly awards, but its place in the voting for the year end Dubbies is secure.

Male Performance of the Month: Chris Patton as Yuuichi Aizawa in Kanon Vol. 4 (Amusement Park Media / ADV Films)

It has been on occasion noted that the monthly VA award for actors can be dismissed as the “Patton-Freeman Award,” due to the seeming regularity with which these two actors, Patton and Crispin Freeman, win this award. Whether there is any truth to this or not, it would be a mistake to overlook those occasions when one or the other provides us with a performance that strikes such a powerful chord with the audience, that to deny it recognition would seem petty. This is one of those occasions. Especially in his scenes with Mai Kawasumi (Melissa Davis) in this volume, which are heartbreaking in their intensity, Patton has provided us with a fully rounded portrait of the young man who ignites the plot progressions in Kanon. His rage, his frustration, his anxiety, his courage, all of these are brought to vivid life in his scenes with her. In marked contrast, Patton, after this emotionally draining end to Mai's story, finds the right level of bemused concern for Shiori as we move to her tale. It is a quiet interlude, where we learn more of this sickly girl, before the next hit to Yuichi's carefree manner occurs at the close of the volume.

Female Performance of the Month: Stephanie Sheh as Akira Kogami in Lucky☆Star Vol. 1 (Bang Zoom! Entertainment / Bandai Entertainment)

The "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" streak comes to an end for Stephanie Sheh as she finally picks up her first ADR Award. Playing a jaded, possibly bi-polar, desperately-in-need-of-therapy child star in the moe farce, Lucky☆Star, she wonderfully demonstrates the range that propelled her popularity over the prior six years of her winless streak. When first encountering sweet and innocent Akira Kogami in the Lucky Channel segments that end every episode of the show, the audience cannot help itself from thinking, upon seeing the character's physical design and hearing the bubbly voice that Sheh provides, that an overdose of copious cuteness is imminent. It is a revelation when Akira's true colors come forth, in the shape of Sheh's voice that sounds straight out of the larynx of a 40-something, chain-smoking veteran of the footlights. The transformation is stunning the first time, and while the effect lessens only slightly with repetition, it is buoyed by added amusing richness with each of Sheh's sudden falls into showbiz's depths. Simple, but mesmerizing, a performance to remember.

To nominate performances and dubs for June 2008, please visit this thread.Again

[The Great Bear]

Kanon's stranglehold on Best Dub ends with this volume (though it can still pick up more acting awards). Now, let's just see when Funimation decides to release vol.6

Sheh's performance in Lucky Star is just that good. She manages to keep it up in volume 2.

[bctaris]

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge

To nominate performances and dubs for June 2008, please visit this thread.

A-heh. Sent this in right before the merge, so this link is dated, sorry. For those interested (and I hope some are) please visit the updated link here for the June 2008 Nominations.

Thanks once again to nominators, voters, of course all nominees and winners, and those minions responsible for the content of these pieces.

[Avatar]

I usually wait until all of a series is out to check it out since I generally don't do fansubs, but my fear is now with the handoff from ADV to Funi it may be a while before I can see the end of Kanon. Very frustrating considering all the acclaim the dub has gotten!

While the Lucky Star dub has been pretty good so far, Stephanie Sheh is definitely stealing the show with her performance as black/white Akira! Truly my favorite parts of the series so far!