Top ten anime

I have been working lately on compiling a list of anime that I have seen in the past so that I can get input on what I should review next, but that has been taking a while and so I thought perhaps I should list my favorite anime to tide me over. I can't continue to neglect my blog, but it feels strange to randomly pick and choose anime to review.

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Code Geass 23; Moribito 07; Gurren Lagann 19-20

Code Geass 23
To Sorrow with Love

The exhibition site is filled with horror. The Black Knights use this opportunity to attack the Tokyo settlements. Suzaku heads to the site to save Euphemia, but he is shocked at what he sees there.The battle that will determine the future of Area 11 and Japan has begun.

So again, another terribly emotional episode of Code Geass. And again, another wonderful triumph in the world of anime voice acting. Euphemia in particular played her death well. Her voice soft and caring and so full of hope, trailing off softly as finally she died. But not slowly, in that melodramatic way in which we see most characters die. And Suzaku, panicked and pained by her side, carrying her blood soaked body to the hangar and speaking with all the right emotions. I hope these actors are paid well, because they truly were the ones carrying this episode. Had either of those two done poorly, Euphemia's death would have been far less tragic, possibly becoming a laughable event. Hopefully even those who disliked Euphemia felt at least a little saddened by her passing. That would speak very well for their talents.

And Suzaku, after her passing, making thinly veiled threats to the man he considered his best friend. There was no hostility in his voice towards Lelouch, and yet every person watching knew, somehow knew, that Suzaku had finally figured out who his true enemy was. He spoke with such determination and clarity that I feel fairly confident in my belief that he has figured out Zero's true identity.

And of course, there is Lelouch, who has finally begun to realize his wish. A wish of nihilism and destruction. The wish of a man finally gone mad. As the city crumbled around him, his laugh echoed in my mind even into the ending credits, where I sincerely longed for the next episode to play straightaway. Sadly, I will have to wait another week. And during his conversation with Nunally (who plays so stoic a character that I feel I cannot fairly give an opinion on her talents), shocked by her proposal and having a difficult time speaking of Euphemia--the sister he just murdered.

And of course, there is his end of the conversation with Suzaku. His calm, composed tone of voice, as if he hadn't the slightest clue what it was that Suzaku was implying, and yet you could tell that he also understood what was going on. And then his confident words to C.C.... Really, in Lelouch's voice I find little fault if any.

The other characters also did well, especially Kallen. Kagura has finally given herself voice and it fits her quite well. Her lines are delivered well and she does not sound awkward in her role. With only two more episodes to go, I'll jump ahead of myself and dare say that this is the best dub to have been released in the United States. Even better than those directed by Disney (such as Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and the like).

Moribito
Chagum's Resolve

Balsa, Chagum, and Tanda settle into their new lives together, and Chagum begins to think more independently after learning how the world works.

Again it comes to Moribito, and I must say I haven't a complaint to raise. Amazing, really, considering how vehemently I used to hate anything other than subtitled releases. When Balsa wishes to sound corny, she does, and when she wishes to sound sincere, she does. And yet in both cases she still carries with her that elegant tone to her voice, and a soft grace. She manages to sound at all times both tough and caring, a fine choice considering her current position as not only a warrior but also as a mother-figure to Chagum.

Chagum also sounded wonderful, curious at times and determined at others. When he cried I was moved. And yet his serious voice when he spoke of leaving made me smile, for some reason or other. Maybe it was his soft, determined voice contrasting with his childish face. And yet even now he sounds princely and regal, although it seems that this is due to the nature of his voice and not his mannerisms. It's adorable, in a way.

There was really very little in the way of action this episode, but the tender moments the characters shared were delivered well and show that they have a talent for conveying each mood required of them. Hopefully next episode will have more for me to comment on, but this episode was done well and was a neccessary break in the flow of the story.

Gurren Lagann 19-20

Oh Gurren Lagann, you truly are an amazing show. It pains me to see such talent fall to your influences, even those who I otherwise have no reason to criticize.

So maybe I'm being a little melodramatic, but after so much praise of Lelouch, I find it saddening to criticize Rossiu. And yet I must. While he generally does a good job, and the voice fits well, there were times in these episodes that it seemed almost as if he forgot that he needed to breathe between lines. Particularly when on the train, as he escourted Simon to his holding cell. While explaining his reasoning, it seemed at one point as if he sped up, dropped emphasis, and grew softer--which is what leads me to believe he read the lines in one breath. But oh well, that is one instance. Hopefully we'll see no more of this.

Gimmy had himself a lapse in quality, although only for an instance. Leeron, so dearly loved, at times sounded forced--as if it were impossible to convey certain emotions with that overly done voice of his. Perhaps it is, but if that was the case he should have played it down a little.

Viral did well for the most part (especially his greeting to Simon), but during their fight I had a bit of trouble getting into it. Viral's bit about his immortal body seemed out of place, although I know it was there in the original Japanese as well. Perhaps it was the lack of cockiness in the English version. It was more like a statement, less like a boast.

Kittan, Nia, and Yoko all did their parts well. Nia and Yoko themselves had little part to play in these episodes, but Kittan was finally portrayed as a major figure and he did his job well. Sadly, the same can't be said for his sisters. When leaving Kittan behind, they cry after him in what should be a sincere and moving scene. And yet I couldn't help myself but to laugh at the pure lack of emotion. Your brother has just departed on a suicide mission, and you aren't even upset? You just don't sound very concerned.

Rossiu's new apprentice (Guinble?) sounds weird and doesn't do as well as I had hoped. In fact, I'm a little unsure of most of Rossiu's subordinates. They never really become particularly important characters, however, so who knows if I'll ever really get a chance to get used to them. Or if there will even be a need.

Gurren Lagann 17-18

Gurren Lagann 17-18

Sorry I didn't post the day of the initial airing, but to tell the truth I kind of lost my interest in it. That's not to say I'm uninterested in the show or in analyzing the dub, but rather my apathy for this show's dub has slightly decreased. I know that sounds strange, that a lack of apathy would be a bad thing, but I just don't feel as much need to complain about it.

Yes, the time jump has arrived, and with it each character sounds a million times better than they did before. While some lines may seem a little forced, the person with whom I had the most problem was Yoko, and she was hardly present in these episodes so I didn't have much chance to pick on her.

Gimmy and Darry have both grown up the most (from children to teenagers), and it is indeed noticeable both in their design and their voices. Their voices are fitting to their characters and, because the team has used the same actors for both the young and teenage versions, their voices sound like they would had the characters really grown up. It's silly when different voice actors are hired, and later you realize the character doesn't sound anything like they used to when they were children. While this isn't the only case in which a show has used the same voices for adults as well as children, it is something worth praise.

The only person whose voice I wasn't too appreciative of was Nia. The voice is the same sort of bubbly, and it's still cute, but... Well, it just doesn't fit her image as well anymore. The sudden pitch change disturbed me and made any mistakes she made all the more obvious. Her whole existence before was pretty played up and adorable, but now that she's mellowed out her voice has as well and she kind of lost her cuteness. I wanted that high-pitched, innocent refusal of Simon's ring. She kind of sounded like a bitch in the English version, but that's not her fault. I think it's the fact that her simple 'iya da' (no) in Japanese turned into 'no way' in English. It just sounds so much crueler that way.

But it isn't like she did a bad job or anything of the sort. It's mostly an image problem. And anyway, we won't be seeing too much of Nia for a while. And when we do, she'll be the antispiral. And her voice fits that character perfectly.

But the highlight of the whole night was definitely Yuri Lowenthal's battle cries. How can you resist the charm of a man screaming 'Oriyaaaaa!' when he attacks? Really, it's nigh on impossible I tell you! It's dorky and it's cute and at the same time it really, really makes me happy.

Oh! I know I promised to steer clear of talking about the station, but I'm pretty angry so I'll rant here. Sci-Fi Network, in a show of sheer stupidity, went and cut out the most important part of episode 17--Nia's transformation. After Simon's battle, Nia randomly appeared as an evil entity in the sky. Even worse is that the scene was played just a few minutes later, when they aired episode 18, as a part of the recap. Seriously, Sci-Fi, a little continuity would be nice. Stop inserting commercials left and right and play the episode in a way that makes sense! If you have to cut something out, cut out some of Rossiu's self-righteous crap or something! He spends a lot of time walking and talking and praising the young people. Nia's transformation is far more important than much of his bull.

Rant over.

So the dub is getting better over time and the voices better fit their grown personas. But really, we're seventeen episodes into the series already. It's a bit late.

Which isn't to say I'm not going to be a little marketing whore and buy the multilingual DVDs. I'm weak like that.

The Shows

Since it is imperative that you at least be somewhat familiar with the shows, a brief overview of each shall follow, as well as my opinion so far on not only the show but also on the quality of the dub.

Code Geass

Summary: Code Geass sets itself in a war torn world, where the Holy Britannian Empire has conquered much land, stripping people of their rights and their identity, renaming their homelands according to numbers. Their latest conquest was the country of Japan, renaming them "Elevens" and forcing its inhabitants to live in the ghettos while their citizens lived in luxury. They enforce these laws with giant war machines called Knightmare Frames.

This show centers its plot around Lelouch Lamperouge (left), a young Britannian living in Japan. Since childhood he has detested Britannia, and he spends his days gambling against the Britannian nobles. When he is accidentally caught up in a terrorist plot to take back Japan, he encounters a strange girl who gives him the power of Geass, allowing him to issue irrefutable orders to anyone he might encounter. With this power, Lelouch swears to finally take down the Britannian Empire. Meanwhile, his best friend Suzaku (right), an Eleven, has pledged his allegiance to the Britannian Empire...

Opinions: Code Geass is an art form perfected. While the plot may sound fairly stale and unoriginal (teenage boy aims to take down an unjust empire), it is what the writers do with this plot that is incredible. Each episode runs you through an emotional portrait of these characters' lives, and Lelouch's brilliant strategies keep this show separate from others of its type.

Dub: So far, this dub has been absolutely amazing. Johnny Yong Bosch (Lelouch) and Yuri Lowenthal (Suzaku) have really taken these characters and made them their own. The supporting characters are equally as dedicated, especially Kate Higgins (C.C.) and Michelle Ruff (Euphemia). While the dub is certainly not perfect, I dare say this is quite possibly the best I've seen yet. To tell the truth, I've actually come to prefer the dub. I strongly urge everyone to give it a try.

Gurren Lagann
Summary: Gurren Lagann takes place in a world wrought with hardships. People have been forced to live underground, for reasons long since forgotten. All anyone knows is their village, most not even knowing about what lies beyond it.

One such village, Jeeha, is plagued by a young upstart who swears there is a whole new world outside their village. This man is Kamina (left), self-proclaimed leader of the Gurren Brigade. Simon (center), on the other hand, is a hard-working boy who excels in finding meaningless treasure. He looks up to Kamina as a brother figure and as such is the most dedicated member of the brigade. One day, he manages to find a strange device buried outside of the city limits, and when the ceiling finally collapses to reveal a giant monster, he uses this machine to defeat it and escape to the surface with Kamina. However, they find the surface world to be overrun with these monsters, and discover that life above ground is a constant struggle against creatures known as beastmen, who for some reason want all humans eradicated...

Opinions: I have nothing but praise for this show. GAINAX is mostly widely known for its series Neon Genesis Evangelion, considered a classic by many. Gurren Lagann may, at the moment, be hiding in Evangelion's shadow, but I feel it has the potential to overtake it as GAINAX's number one work. It can't become a classic after just one year, after all.

Dub: Here, unfortunately, is where the praise has to end. Don't get me wrong: The dub isn't bad. More often than not the actors do a good job of portraying their characters. It's just... Well, it's pretty corny. Now, I'm not necessarily saying that's a bad thing. Gurren Lagann is a pretty corny show so far. Next week will push us into the more serious side of the show.

The voice actors they've hired are good ones (in fact, I just finished praising Yuri Lowenthal and Michelle Ruff for their work in Code Geass). I really can't come out and say the dub is bad, it just needs polishing. The voices, for the most part, fit the characters. But sometimes, their emotions end up sounding pretty forced. As time goes on, this has improved and I hope it continues to do so. As far as I'm concerned, however, you're better off just watching the subtitles.

Moribito
Summary: Balsa is a wandering warrior in ancient Japan, who has taken it upon herself to atone for her sins by successfully protecting the lives of others. One life away from her goal, she is forced to take a mission to protect the second prince of the land. This child has been possessed by a water spirit, and as such his life is in danger. His father, the emperor, must slay this demon, despite the fact that it dwells in his own son.

Opinion: Really, there isn't a whole lot I can say. The series has only been running for a little over a month now and only a small handful of episodes have been shown. However, it is an interesting story with interesting characters, and the art is gorgeous.

Dub: I know nothing of the Japanese language track for this series, so I am unable to make any comparisons, but the dub so far has been nothing short of amazing. The show is much more somber than the others I am watching, and it shows in the characters' voices. The casting director fit each character with an appropriate voice and each actor delivers their lines perfectly. I've yet to find a problem with it. So go ahead and watch it in English, if you aren't already dreadfully attached to the subtitled version. I sincerely doubt you'll find much to complain about.

Introduction

I'll be the first to admit that I'm no good at this whole 'introductory' thing, but here goes. My name is Kasey, and I've been watching anime since before I could spell my own name. It started with the campy, over-done Speed Racer, and spiraled into Samurai Pizza Cats, Sailor Moon, Pokémon, Dragon Ball Z, and so on. At the time I watched all of these in English, as they were aired on television.

Around the time that I turned ten I began watching Dragon Ball Z in the Japanese subtitles. These were much harder for me to get my hands on, but I had some connections and breezed through the Cell Saga while most people were waiting for new episodes to air (for those of you unfamiliar with Dragon Ball Z, I was probably a good thirty or forty episodes ahead). It was around that time that I started paying attention to the debate of dub versus sub.

Which is to say, whether a show is better when dubbed over in English, or when the Japanese audio is merely subtitled.

So what does this have to do with anything? I would like to think that over the years I've become at least somewhat knowledgeable about this subject. I give each show I watch a fair try in both Japanese and English, both with and without translations. These days dozens of new anime are being brought to the United States, and a good handful of those are being aired on television. My goal is to tell you which ones are worth watching, and which dubs you should avoid.

Right now, the three shows I aim to analyze are these:
Code Geass: Cartoon Network, Sunday 5:00 AM
Moribito: Cartoon Network, Sunday 5:30 AM
Gurren Lagann: Sci-Fi Network, Monday 11:01 PM
(all times listed are in Eastern Standard Time)

Of these, I have the most familiarity with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, having watched all of it in Japanese. On the other hand, I have only seen a few episodes of Code Geass in Japanese, and have seen nothing of Moribito. For each of these I hope to bring a different approach, as I have a different frame of reference for each.

Unfortunately, a good deal of time has passed since each of these shows began airing, so for those people simply wishing to know more about the show, I suggest going elsewhere. I will provide a general overview of the show's main plot, but that is no exception for actually watching the episodes. For those people who have already seen the show, this is for you.

I especially hope to be useful to those people who, like me, have seen a series in Japanese and wish to know if the English is worth watching. This is particularly relevant in the case of Gurren Lagann, as DVDs are being released without the English language track included. Why bother buying the multilingual DVDs if the dub is simply mediocre? These are the sorts of things I would like to discuss.

The Shows

Code Geass: Cartoon Network
Sunday 5:00 AM
Moribito: Cartoon Network
Sunday 5:30 AM
Gurren Lagann: Sci-Fi Channel
Monday 11:01 PM