I have previously written a number of times about English dubs out for genuine interest in how well or poorly titles are adapted for American consumption. That’s why I was very pleased to read G.B. Smith’s detailed review of Ouran High School Host Club Part 1 for Mania – the first of what I think should become a regular series of Eigo kudasai columns. (This seems like a more fleshed out spiritual successor to a previous AOD column – “Being a Brief Discussion of Anime Dubs” – that was written by Way Jeng, although it should be easier now to evaluate performances more fully now this age of 13-episode season sets.) The reviewer evaluated how well the respective voice actors’ performances conveyed their characters’ emotions, their ability to reflect the existing character dynamics, and the script issues that appear in varying degrees in any English adaptation, especially FUNimation.
It’s a good read if you want to get a sense of how some of the roles were not much of a challenge (Vic Mignogna’s Tamaki, Luci Christian’s Honey) or were “hardly unique” in the case of Monica Rial’s Renge. I concur with the “recommended” verdict of a “solid effort” after sampling some illicitly uploaded dubbed episodes on a certain video-sharing site. FUNi, I would advise you start clamping down on those out of pure business interest since they may detrimentally affect your box set sales to a certain degree!
The Lagann Dub and the Decade Ahead
July 29, 2008 in Commentary, Dubside by Tom Langston (calaggie) | No comments
Last night, I tuned into Sci-Fi Channel to watch the TV premiere of the Bang Zoom-produced Gurren Lagann dub. I actually thought it was pretty good and something I’d watch weekly but then again, I am more forgiving of dubs than other, more purist fans may be. Kamina didn’t seem to possess all the machismo that he should’ve and Leeron’s voice may have played up a certain angle a bit too much but Simon (aka Simoun), strong Yoko, and the extras sounded good. Now we have to wait for next week to see how Viral, Kittan and his sisters stack up. (Other bloggers’ reactions: DTZ loved it, CJ called it “bearable”, xephfyre played it safe, Author-san: “quite palatable”, and Mr. Miao rightfully hates on the commercials.)
While I’m on the subject, I’d like to talk about the short Gainax interview that ANN posted yesterday. At the end of it, TTGL product manager and Gainax co-founder Hiroyuki Yamaga said, “We hope to be working on Gurren Lagann for the next decade. This work we know as Gurren Lagann will continue.” They have already released most of their Parallel Works project (which has been halted until just before the Sept. 6 premiere of series recap film #1 of 2), a DS game last fall (review from a Destructoid C-blog), a cancelled MMORPG involving first-person digging of tunnels, and a manga adaptation drawn by Kotaro Mori. It’s obvious that the studio will focus on its other projects including Shikabane Hime over the next few years but this franchise is too popular not to expand upon sometime in 2010 or 2011, although I hope it won’t get overly revised like Eva did.
Tags: dubs, future, gurren lagann