Welcome ladies and gents to another Cafe Talk, a segment where I record my ramblings–
I know, I know. I’m supposed to be catching up on comments and posts. Well—this kinda came up first considering that we’re already almost done with the second title. *gasps* Where did the time go?
For those unfamiliar with our Movie Theater nonsense, click here for the full backstory and last year’s line up. Essentially, since I am the self-acclaimed Otaku Pioneer for my siblings, I gather my cash each year and blow it all on a list of shows that we can watch together. For me, I’ve seen all of them, and merely want them to watch them too since they’re curious. Unless they’re exceptions to the rule (necessary sequels or prequel material), the shows I pick are not only favorites of mine but also highly rated titles by myself and the community. Here is how this season will be divided:
Act One: A Lull in the Sea, Girls und Panzer, Danganronpa, ef – A tale of memories and melodies.
You’ll notice that I’m currently missing the second season to Fate UBW and the other four volumes of KLK.
Budget cuts. But I have a job now, no sweat :3
You’ll also probably see that the first and second acts greatly differ – That is done on purpose. The order I selected for this set of shows, I believe, is the best order to achieve each title’s maximum potential without blotting out the others. Feel free to argue against my madness below.
BUT YEAH. More shows. More great content. I’m hella stoked to rewatch all of Danganronpa with them now, as that is what comes following today’s girls-meet-tanks finale, haha! If you have any sibling/anime stories, let’s talk in the comments. I’m dying to know if I’m just the weird one running my own business here XD. ‘Till next time!
– Takuto, your host
PS: Did anyone recognize the Nagi-Asu upgrade from DVD in my past birthday haul to that blu-ray monster collection you see above? We’ll talk about that in the next post, kyu kyu kyu.
As you all know, I once again sold my left arm and my magic circuits over to Aniplex of America so that I could purchase their DVD set of the first season (episodes 1-12) for Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (TV). The fantasy action anime all about the 5th fight for that elusive chalice includes an all-new English dub. This is particularly exciting considering that I’m a veteran who watched the original Fate/stay night (2006) and the Unlimited Blade Works Movie (2010) in SUBTITLES. Curiosity did get the best of me, and I ended up watching segments from these Studio Deen adaptations, but their dubs sucked (just cuttin’ to the chase). Luckily, I pretty much only have positive reviews for the Ufotable version, so read on for more depth!
This is just epic. To watch it go from simulcast, to Japanese set, to English DVD is a beautiful journey.
While the image above is the cool slipcover art, the DVD case itself contains this absolutely stunning artwork. The only difference is that where the text is, the English logo for F/sn: UBW is stamped.
Let’s kick things off with Shirou Emiya, portrayed by the infamous Bryce Papenbrook. Now, Papenbrook has quite the streak in misplaced voice acting, his role of Kirito being my biggest turnoff. But for a character like Shirou, his age and position, I thought Papenbrook pulled things off without a hitch! He does a damn good job at imitating Noriaki Sugiyama’s rather high and somewhat obnoxious voice, so my hat’s off to you, Papenbrook!
On to everyone’s favorite tsundere mage, Rin Tohsaka is voiced by Mela Lee. Apparently Lee’s been with Tohsaka since the first dub of the adaptations, but every one of her performances lacked the natural stuck-up attitude I’ve been searching for – Until now. Once you get past the first hour-long pilot, Lee’s voice stops ringing in my ears and becomes one of the more fun – and pretentious – performances to hear from. It sure isn’t as great as Kana Ueda, but it’ll do.
B*tchy-Mc-B*tch-Face Archer is brought to life by the smart-assy Kaiji Tang (as you can see, I don’t fancy Archer). Brilliant in every way possible, Tang milks all that he can out of Archer and puts up a stunning fight on the vocal front. He, too, fits the range of voice necessary to Archer’s arrogant dialect. Love it!
And last (but certainly not least) for the main cast, Kari Wahlgren once again dons armor and all to surmise Queen-friggin’-Arthur herself – Saber! *Slight spoilers* Because she is no longer partnered with the cold and distant Kiritsugu from Fate/Zero, Saber speaks with much more curt and “oogly” expressions as she develops her relationship with her idiot partner. And since I don’t speak Japanese, Ayako Kawasumi’s five-star performance doesn’t come for me as naturally as it does with my native speak. I’m obviously biased to this [literally] English role, so I stop before the sparkles start gleaming ^.^
Since those are the main characters, I’ll just list the minors with a brief reaction:
Todd Haberkorn as Assassin – F*ck yeah, even though I kinda forgot whom he was in the original, I’ll now never forget! Just YES, YES TO ALL!
Megan Hollingshead as Caster – THIS RIGHT HERE was surprisingly fantastic! Caster’s sly, mature voice reflects so well in Hollingshead’s performance. It was also so darn sexy 😉
Matthew Mercer as Kiritsugu Emiya – He’s only around for a couple of flashbacks, but those are just enough to bring tears to your eyes as you recall Fate/Zero‘s tragedy.
Julie Ann Taylor as Fujinee, or Taiga Fujimura – Always. Excited. Is the Taiga. Fujinee~ has a very nice English voice actress, simple as that!
David Vincent as Gilgamesh – More F/Z carry-over drama, and in fact, Vincent has such a pompous and snarky that its perfect for the King of Heroes. We’ll hear more of him in the second season, though.
Dorothy Elias-Fahn as Kane Himuro – One of Tohsaka’s classmates, can’t say she was very memorable, but not bad either
Crispin Freeman as Kirei Kotomine – This is one “fake priest” that you don’t want to run into on a dark night. Freeman will never be as solid as Jouji Nakata, but so, so damn close! It was a pleasure to listen to Kirei’s rich, melt-in-your-mouth voice again.
Lex Lang as Souichirou Kuzuki – “Mr. Kuzuki” as he is in the dub also shares the same voice as Count Cruhteo from A.Z, who just happened to be one of my favorites! Ironically, he was Issei in the old dub, the student who shares residence with Kuzuki.
Tony Oliver as Lancer – Oh boy, oh boy, Lancer’s English voice will not disappoint whatsoever! I’ll admit, Nobutoshi Canna was excellent, but Oliver wins it for me!
Erica Lindbeck as Kaede Makidera – Another one of Tohsaka’s gals, nothing fancy
Kyle McCarley as Shinji Matou – Now, this might be the only exception to an otherwise wonderful English dub. McCarley’s not by any means bad; Hiroshi Kamiya just has a skimpier edge and superiority to the damned Shinji we all know and hate :>
Cristina Vee as Sakura Matou – Agh, it’s Cristina Vee – and aww, it’s Sakura! This combo goes hand in hand, but I’m interested to see if they’ll keep the same actress when “Heaven’s Feel” makes it over here in the States, fingers crossed.
Brina Palencia as Ayako Mitsuzuri – Mitsuzuri is given a shocking amount of lines despite her role, and it was on the tip of my tongue as to who voiced her – and it was this chick all along! Hooray for Brina Palencia, I just love hearing her voice 🙂
Melissa Fahn as Rider – And the most enchanting voice goes to Rider without a doubt!! *Slight spoiler* It’s a shame she doesn’t last very long, as I could listen to Rider talk on and on. Yet another reason why they should’ve adapted F/sn instead of UBW, but I digress. Fantastic job, Fahn!
Robbie Daymond as Issei Ryuudou – Just another guy in glasses, what can I say?
Jessica DiCicco as Yukika Saegusa – A friend of Tohsaka’s? Gosh, I don’t even remember who this is.
Stephanie Sheh as Illyasviel von Einzbern – We’re gonna finish this dub reaction strong with another veteran from the original series and Fate/Zero. Sheh’s “Time to kill you” cute/deadly Illya voice is one I really enjoy. While she did sound too mature in F/Z, her older reappearance tosses that issue away easily. I love Illya, and Sheh does her justice, she really does, and I can’t wait for the epic fight in the second half. The only thing I’ll miss is her charming “Bah-sah-kah” *cue superhuman barbarian with a huge-ass club charging at you*
Below is the English Dub Trailer Aniplex posted a while back. See it for yourself!
I don’t care who says they hate this dub. I don’t care who thinks Papenbrook is a terrible Shirou. I don’t care how much people think Rin’s voice is a letdown. I LOVE THIS DUB, and I will be buying the second season, mind you! It’s gonna be a tragic long wait for the second half, and yes, it will break my wallet, but what can I say – I support things that I like! For those curious, the sub is still superior, and I recommend watching the entire series on Crunchyroll before blindly buying this uber-expensive dub (cause it was an atrocious $80 USD for only the first half on DVD only). However, like with A.Z, I had so much fun each night plugging in each of the voices and watching the first half of the Fifth Holy Grail War play out all over again . . .
But you mages and Masters, what did you think of this new English dub? How do you think it stands up to all of the previous versions and the Japanese itself? I’ll await your answers in the comments below, and until next time, this has been
Here’s the scoop: I was overcome with joy at my family’s gift to me for my birthday – $130 on anything that I wanted. Yeah, intense, I know! After picking my extravagant items, throwing a bit of my own cash in the mix just to complete the large payment, I thought, “Hmm, selector is a preorder (cause it was at the time, the official release is tomorrow), but RightStuf is known for shipping items as they arrive in stock, so I’ll just get it a month later, sure. (My b-day was 8/27)
Apparently, since they remodeled their site which I’m sure everyone is a bit frustrated with, they unfortunately do not deliver preordered items separately anymore. They wait until all of the items are in stock so that they can save on shipping. Smart move, I guess, but for me:
Shit.
Now it’s the 21st of September. My brothers birthday is tomorrow (wish him a happy day cause I bought him a couple shows I think he’d love :3), so I basically got my gifts on his special day and additionally had to go pick him up something for tomorrow. Funny how my luck works, isn’t it?
Anyway guys, some of you were curious as to what I ‘wished’ for, and besides my secret desire from the candles, my anime came in today! And I took a picture before tearing into the plastic just for you 😉
I got: selector infected WIXOSS LTD ED, A Lull in the Sea Set One DVD, Fate/stay night: [Unlimited Blade Works] Season One DVD and a manga, Puella Magi Tart Magica: The Legend of “Jeanne d’Arc!!!!!!!!!!!”
I might do dub reactions, as I made sure they were all the brand spankin’ new English versions, if you guys would like to see that, or if I have some extra time. But that was just a mini update. Thanks again for all of the birthday praise from a month ago. It’s finally time to do the real celebrating 😛 Till next time everyone! I’ve got a nice stack of delicious dubs to judge!
Oh boy. It’s gonna be a full house tonight – and I won’t even get into instrumental covers, DARN. Enjoy the selection!
From Guilty Crown, “Euterpe” English Cover by Amanda Lee
It has begun, the AmaLee FAN RAVE! Gosh, this woman is incredible. All of her English lyrics are superbly written, fitting for any original song and show they come from. Not to mention, her voice is very easy on the ears; whenever I search for English covers, the voices tend to be a bit pitchy (whiny, scratchy, poorly recorded, what have you, still glad people try though), but not hers, uh, nope. She’s fantastic, and I love the way she always rhymes the lyrics ^.^ “Euterpe” is one of my all-time favorite insert songs from a show, and AmaLee covers it wonderfully.
From Puella Magi Madoka Magica, “Magia” English Cover by Amanda Lee
Now for the dark side of AmaLee. Dive into Hell itself with Madoka Magica‘s twisted, corrupt ending theme. What I like most about this cover is the way she transfers the lyrics into English. They’re simple, but incredibly powerful; intense and understandable. I used to have her dub memorized at one point, but time stole that from me (perhaps I should frequent this song more often).
From Attack On Titan, “Reluctant Heroes” English Cover by Amanda Lee
I swear to God, I never even noticed how bloody tragic this song was until I listened to this fairly recent cover. Since the original is sung by male Engrish and features loud rock instrumentals, this softer and sweeter feminine contrast shines even brighter. Her harmony is timeless, and the piano – LAWD, the piano! You’re bringing me to tears!
From Fate/stay night: UBW, “Brave Shine” English Cover by Amanda Lee
Sh*t, this is brilliant, like I can’t even. First off, the song is so EPIC, but then you have the English lyrics that make it understandable. I think people can better relate to music sung in their own language, don’t you agree? But it is necessary to give foreign songs a listen, too. Otherwise, you’re not sampling all of the lovely flavors the buffet of song offers, right? 😉 Great dub lyrics, on-point harmony!
From ALDNOAH.ZERO, “Heavenly Blue” English Cover by Amanda Lee
This is one of those songs that giving a new drum to changes the entire meaning of the work. Personally, I still prefer Kalafina’s to this new meter, but these lyrics are so, soo good, fitting for the show’s tone.
From Parasyte -the maxim-, “Let Me Hear” English Cover by Amanda Lee
I love everything that she does with this one. The remixing is intense, but it’s a subtle eeriness. I think it gives the show a whole new beauty, one that I can’t honestly get enough of. Pull the song out of its screamo rock context and you’re left with an emotional ballad about humanity.
From The Heroic Legend of Arslan, “Lapis Lazuli” English Cover by Horiphin
Sick of AmaLee yet lol? The recording itself may not be the brightest, but oh boy is this a gem of a cover. THESE LYRICS ARE PERFECT!!! It’s already one of my favorite songs, but once you put it in my native tongue, it nearly doubles the value of the entire experience! I hope this cover hits a million views someday, because it definitely deserves a listen. Did I mention that the lyrics were absolutely incredible? Hot damn.
From Negima!?, “1000% Sparking” English Cover by FUNimation
FIRST ANIME SWAGGG. Part of me wishes that studios still dubbed their songs (maybe as an extra or something), because I really like this cover – In fact, I prefer it tenfold over the original! This song embodies a small warm spot in my heart, and it’ll never leave, so I had to throw this one out there. I hope you like the cover, too (ignore the audio issues, I know, audio skips are the pits)!
From Sword Art Online, “Overfly” English Cover by Amanda Lee
I know, you’re probably all sick of this name (show or singer or both), but before I head onto my number one cover (no, this list is not in order, just best for last), I had to mention that this “Overfly” cover is absolutely brilliant. I can’t even speak about how great this cover’s lyrics are without foaming at the mouth and collapsing. It is Miss Lee’s Magnum Opus in my eyes, and I always feel so alive when I give this a listen. The message transfers so differently in English, but it feels so righteous! This one I do have memorized 😉 and I hope you enjoy her beautiful voice one last time on this list ~
From Neon Genesis Evangelion, “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” English Cover by Geeky McGeekstein
Here it is. My favorite English cover to ever exist for a song. These lyrics transcend the song, and the recording itself carries a quality that makes it feel vintage, much like the 1995 anime. I already mentioned this one a couple days ago, but it’s seriously one of the best songs and covers ever. I CANNOT think of another cover that surpasses this masterpiece! Top-notch singing and bloody fantastic English lyrics!!!!! (and no, I don’t care if you dislike it)
If you read all of this, then a high-five for you *slaps hands* Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy my selection. It’s quite the extensive list, but I couldn’t just leave one or two on this one. Besides, it wouldn’t be like me if I didn’t have you reading a freakin’ 10-paged B-essay every time I posted 😉 See you tomorrow!
Takuto's Anime Cafe 