Lost in Translation

By: Allen Divers
Date: Sunday, February 03, 2002

After the release of the OAV on 3 discs, Magic User's Club switched to a more standard release format for the following TV series. I Wanna Do More contains the first 4 episodes of the TV series picking up where the OVA series left off. The dub of the TV series continues to be handled by NYAV Post, with the cast remaining the same. Michael Sinterniklaas handles the chore of writing and directing. I Wanna Do More does a great job of building on the foundation set by the OVA series in terms of voice performances and solid acting.



The English dub script follows the Japanese script taking a few liberties in the direction of the style each of the voice actors has developed for the characters. Some script changes exist simply for timing reasons to match mouth flaps, while other changes seem more in line with maintaining the personality of the characters. Only one major instance occurs where a set of Japanese dialog was completely ignored: This is the recap right at the beginning of episode one retelling the major point of the finale for the OVA series. Sae's Japanese voice actress speaks very fast, and the established rhythm of Sae's English VA probably couldn't keep up.



The script keeps the proper Japanese character and place names with the cast doing a great job of keeping the pronunciation consistent and as near as possible to the original Japanese sounds using an English accent. The characters also often refer to each other by last name, which is the Japanese standard. Use of the terms sempai and sensei would have added a bit of flavor, but their absence doesn't cause any harm.




Casting for Magic User's Club was done quite well with a lot of attention being done to match voices to personality. Misty Daniels is well cast as the heroine, Sae. Sae is a bit of a scatterbrain klutz, but has a heart of gold. Misty's performance helps bring out Sae's naïve personality and good nature. Lisa Ortiz does a great job as Nanaka, Sae's best friend. Her performance comes across more as a big sister to Sae, often concerned with protecting her best friend from herself. Nanaka seems to do more scowling at Sae's actions than anything else. Lisa does a good job of going from the big sister to a more vulnerable Nanaka as she reflects on her life and her own troubles. Nicole Tieri does a good job as Akane, the youngest of the girls who spends more time being an idol than using magic. At times this character comes off as being aloof and a bit of a ditz, but in fact is a very intelligent caring individual. The voice performance transitions very easily between the two, showing no awkwardness.



The 2 male leads in this series are also performed well. Jamie McGonnical does a good job of bringing out the multiple sides of Takeo Takakura. In many ways, his performance seems better suited to the character than the Japanese actor. Being the leader of the Magic User's Club, the character of Takeo jumps from being a confident leader (when in front of the girls) to a nervous wreck of a man. He's also a bit of a pervert so the voice performance needs to be flexible. Jamie does a good job of this as Takeo jumps through his various personality quirks. Kevin Collins takes on the role of Ayanojyo Aburatsubo. Aburatsubo is the big man on campus. He's extremely popular at the school and even has his own fan club. The thing is, he really likes Takakura. There is a pitfall here that the characterization could be taken to an extreme and hit the usual gay stereotypes. Luckily Kevin does a good job of staying away from that with a consistent performance.



Of course, what's a group of heroes without a nemesis? Voiced by Sue Gillad, Miyama Mizuha fits the bill nicely as a recurring villain. Well, she's more of Takakura's nemesis, often making him lose his composure at the most inappropriate times.



Despite the fact that each character is often recorded separately, Magic User's Club feels like the actors were together working off of each other. Being a comedy, a lot of the humor comes from the character interactions. Between Takakura and Aburatsubo there is a lot of playful banter shot back and forth. Most of it is overt sexual innuendo, that turns out to be something completely benign, but is good for a laugh.



This cast has also been working on these characters for a while, so there is a great feeling of familiarity with the roles. This allows the voice actors to take a few liberties when it comes to the script which accounts for some of the wording changes from the original Japanese script. These changes aren't jarring or avert in anyway, they feel as if that's what the character would say in that situation.



The incidental music and the sound effects used for the English dub are the same as the Japanese version. Audio is mixed well, so sound effects and music don't overpower the dialogue. What is very nice is the care given to the various environments the characters inhabit. Voices are muffled; they echo and basically play off the environment instead of being a flat level. A good example of this is when Aburatsubo is talking to Takakura from the inside of an oven.



An interesting feature including in the extras are the English outtakes. These are a collection of audio clips of obvious bloopers. It's an interesting side of the production to see because you can catch a glimpse of what the actors think of the characters.



Overall, this is a great dub with a strong cast. Each of the voice actors fits comfortably with their role, adding that needed believability. I Wanna Do More presents a strong story arc that lets each of the voice actors flex their acting skills as the viewer learns more about each of the characters. The story also presents a lot of opportunities for growth, so viewers shouldn't be easily bored!



Allen Divers



boxie@azraelproductions.com