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Bubblegum Crisis: The English Dub
In this article I'm trying to analyse the English dub of BGC, which was often criticized and not regarded as worthy of being watched. In most cases such judgements were made without any arguments or just had a kind of prejudice behind them. I do not agree with all those critics saying that English BGC sucks, and I'm going to explain why in detail. Even if you're a fan of the Japanese version, just consider the following points and you might see a difference.
One last warning: SPOILERS AHEAD
Well then, let's get started...
First off, I'm not an "original freak" like many dedicated fans are. If a good dub exists, be it in German or English, I'll take it for a simple reason: I understand it. I am by no means too lazy to read subtitles as I actually watched Japanese dubs with subtitles, like Evangelion, Stand Alone Complex or Paranoia Agent and didn't have a problem reading those lines for hours. But while I still like the Japanese language and know that it is superior to most other dubs in many cases, I prefer a good dub because I understand what they actually SAY, not just what I READ.
That being said, there are several English dubs that I watched and I was disappointed by, just like many other fans in America and England. Many people told me that Ghost in the Shell, one of my big favourites, had a great English dub. I think that's just not true. I've never heard the Japanese dub, though. The same with Akira (the original, not the remastered version). These dubs aren't anything to write home about. The acting may sometimes be acceptable, but the voices sound so illogically wrong compared to other languages that I just shake my head. However, quite a few animes that I've watched in English were dubbed (almost) perfectly, e.g. ADV's series.
And now we have Bubblegum Crisis, a series that is half English already from its source. Try to find a Japanese word written in Hiragana or Kanji in BGC - you'll have to search for a while. Already the opening credits are in English. Then the music features English lyrics in every song, the posters and logos are all in English, and even most of the characters in the series have English names. When I first thought about buying BGC, I came to the conclusion that I'd very much like to see the English dub since it would certainly create a better atmosphere. The series doesn't look particularly Japanese, particularly since Sonoda's trademark designs are Americanized characters, such as Sylia, Daley, Leon or Quincy.
There is something about this series that makes it so popular within the western world, and I think it is connected to the fact that half of what you see in it is English. Now, while we don't have a German dub for BGC here, my store offered me the AnimEigo BGC Megaseries box set, and I took it. I brought it home and decided to watch it in English first and later tried some episodes again with Japanese audio.
In the following part I will examine the English voices and acting and compare them to the Japanese version in some cases. I'll give some explanation where necessary.
Okay, I already talked about the reason why I find the English version subjectively better - the atmosphere. This is my opinion and others may think differently. There is little to say about bad acting in most cases, though. I heard many people say that the voice talent was terrible. As far as I can judge it, and I think I can since I understand every word of the series, the acting is good. Everyone taking part in the English dub has contributed a serious voice talent to it. There are only some few exceptions which I'll cover later on. In general, most of the voices are well acted - they might sound inappropriate to some people, but this has nothing to do with acting.
The Knight Sabers
The series' most important characters also got the most critical voices. While I have no doubt about the voices of Sylia and Nene, I agree that Linna's and Priss' voices may be too deep, and Priss is such a special case that I'm going to take a deeper look at her later on. Compared to the Japanese version, Nene's actresses sound almost identical and feature the same acting qualities, especially in Scoop Chase where she's the main character. Sylia's voice was chosen even better for the English dub than in the original, in my opinion. The cool (or cold?) leader of the Knight Sabers just has to have a low, calm voice. The Japanese actress, Yoshiko Sakakibara, has a higher tone and sounds still appropriate for the role, but in my eyes she is not as fitting as the English Sylia. Linna is a special case. While I think that her voice isn't completely fitting with the role, the acting is done quite well here, too. However, in her case I would indeed prefer the higher Japanese voice of Michie Tomizawa.
When taking special episodes of BGC into account, there are bad and good examples on the English as well as the Japanese side of things. For example, while the first episodes might not star the best English acting there could be and the Japanese voices generally put more emotions into it, there is a funny scene from Scoop Chase where Nene has failed her training and the other Knight Sabers are laughing and making jokes about her. While in the English version this scene is done perfectly well without sounding forced, the Japanese dub lacks a lot of this laughter and I even heard the same laugh sound of Priss three times in a row (after she weighed Nene)!
Last but not least. You could count Mackie Stingray and Doctor Raven as members of the Knight Sabers as well, and considering them, I think that at least Mackie is dubbed very well. He sounds like a 16-year-old boy and acts like one. When I remember the voices in Akira, which sounded way too adult for all the guys, Mackie is appropriate for the role. Dr. Raven may be a bit overacted in some scenes, but I find his voice still fitting and can't remember the acting lacking.
Generally the English dub, not only regarding the Knight Sabers, develops its qualities from the start of episode one to the end of number eight, and while I don't like the dub of the first three episodes much, it gets only better and better, and at least there aren't any big audible mistakes.
A.D. Police
Leon's English voice is by far the best I've heard in the whole series. It is acted perfectly and there's no artificial emotion noticeable except for the first episode. And on top of everything, the English voice gives Leon that cool yet sympathetic appearance, and you just like this guy after a few minutes. I don't have anything more to say about this voice except that I prefer it to the Japanese version where Leon sounds way too high in my eyes, somehow like a real youngster, and let's face it, he is not a rookie anymore.
Daley's voice is also done very well in the English dub, featuring quality acting and a very appropriate voice tone for his character. I have nothing to criticize about it. While not being such an important character, the A.D. Police chief who freaks out several times also got a fitting voice for his role. As far as I remember, it is similar to the Japanese dub and acted in a very lively way, considering the chief's character. It might sound a little comical, but that enhances the humour factor in many scenes.
So to make it short, I have no objections against the A.D. Police members' English voices. They're done naturally and I can't remember one scene where Leon & Co. would have sounded badly acted. Give them a chance and you'll see.
The Sexaroids
Here we have another special case. The Sexaroids are the five women attempting to escape from the Genaros Space Station in episode five, "Moonlight Rambler", and although only Sylvie and Anri survive the incident, Anri's voice which is used over two episodes got a lame actress for the English dub. For the screen time Anri is given, an actress with the same qualities as Sylvie's Martha Elizabeth Senseney would have been fine. In fact all Sexaroids have acceptable or good voices, but Anri is badly acted in most scenes. She keeps her panic level too high and especially in situations when Anri is injured, her actress Katherine Kopec Burton fails to simulate the suffering of those injuries remarkably.
I was pleased about Sylvie's English voice, though. I could understand if anyone told me they didn't like her deep, strange tone compared to the Japanese voice of Yoshino Takamori, but this low tone is precisely what fascinates me. It fits Sylvie's strange character very well. This mystery girl has very good English acting in most cases, and only her screams sound a bit artificial. Her voice definitely packs a lot more punch than Anri's, although the Japanese actress might have put a little more emotion into it.
Genom
All of the important Genom characters got acceptable voices in the English dub, sometimes even surpassing the Japanese sound. You can have different opinions about the voice of Quincy, Largo and Mason since they sound very American. However, characters like Katherine Madigan feature a completely fitting voice, and her actress Emily Young manages to give Madigan a realistic, lightly sarcastic tone which definitely fits the character. I like Quincy's voice a lot as well - his calm and slow way of speaking is just right for the Genom chairman who must concentrate on each decision he makes and keep cool even in a crisis situation.
I am not satisfied with Largo's Japanese voice. It is too deep for this man. The English version tries to give Largo a special tone by replacing the deep voice with a slightly higher and lively voice of an actor who seemed to enjoy the role. Largo appears much meaner and more confident of himself here, but still this voice isn't perfect. I like it much better than the Japanese, though. An example for the qualities of the English voice is the failed rescue of Priss and Anri shortly before the final fight between Largo and Priss.
Other Characters
People who appear in just one episode or are not part of the groups mentioned above, like Vision, Lisa Vanette, Irene Chang or J. B. Gibson, are discussed here. There are of course also a lot of auxiliary characters that appear only for a few minutes, for example Flint from Genom, Frederic from episode one, or the Killer Doll Cynthia. These characters often randomly have good and bad voices, but since they are not that important, I won't get in-depth with them.
In episode four, "Revenge Road", J. B. Gibson does have quite a fitting voice which displays his almost insane character quite well. His laughter sounds typical of a mad American villain. There may be a bit of overacting here and there, though. The fact remains that he doesn't say much anyway. Episode seven, starring several one-shot characters like Reika Chang alias Vision, Dr. McLaren and Kou, features well done and "mixed bag" voices. While I think that for an American character Dr. McLaren's English voice is fitting, Vision's Japanese actress Maiko Hashimoto (who is a damn good singer, in addition) is better than the English voice. In her case the English actress lacks the vulnerable tone of Vision, and of course the two songs Vision does are sung by a different woman, just like with Priss & The Replicants. However, the musical aspect is still another thing to talk about later.
Vision's sister Irene, appearing in episode two and shortly again on the video disc in episode seven, is done by two different English actresses which I don't welcome, especially because the second actress has a terrible voice and can't even speak naturally. However, Irene's first actress for episode two sounds younger (just as the character design is different from episode seven) and more innocent, giving the girl a tone I appreciated. However, the Japanese voice may be better in emotional scenes again.
Last but not least, Lisa Vanette, the A.D. Police chief's niece appearing as the second main character in episode eight, is done well in English and in Japanese. There was even one mistake in the Japanese dub which was corrected in the English version: in the opening scene where Priss trashes Lisa's camera, Lisa's mouth is animated but doesn't feature any dubbing. In the English version she actually says something in that scene. The rest of the episode is done very well by Lisa's English actress Amy Parrish, even in scenes where she is in an excited state, and the acting quality is identical to the Japanese version.
The Voice of Priss
There is something to say about the English actress of Priss. In fact there is quite a lot I've come to think about when watching BGC a second time. The first time, when I watched it in English, I didn't even know Kinuko Oomori's voice and accepted Priss' English actress Sinda Nichols as the original voice of Priss. At the time I found the voice to be completely fitting, with the warm and sympathetic underlying tone. However, when I checked several episodes in Japanese again, I noticed how Priss actually sounded, which made me think about her voice for a long time over and over. As a result I paid special attention to her when I watched the series completely a second time in English.
Kinuko Oomori, very popular within the BGC community, contributed the most memorable voice to the series. She is actually a professional singer, and the songs performed by "Priss & The Replicants" were all sung by her, giving the first episodes that rocking music style every fan can remember. My personal favourite singer of BGC is Yuiko Tsubokura, but Kinuko Oomori comes right after her. Her voice is just beautiful and fits completely to Priss' emotional, cool and highly tempered kind. In emotional scenes she does a really great job of showing Priss' feelings. However, I have some criticism here, too. I'll take the scene of Sylvie's death in "Moonlight Rambler" as an example. Priss' motoroid is destroyed by the D.D. and she floats in mid-air, screaming out Sylvie's name and opening fire on her. After Sylvie is shot, Priss catches her, lays her down on the ground and exchanges the last words with her. After Sylvie has died, Priss again screams out her name and starts to cry desperately. Now, while this scene seems to be very dramatic, the English dub takes it a bit easier. Firstly, Priss doesn't scream her lungs out of her body, and secondly, the crying is done in a more calmed tone. I can imagine Priss' panic when she realizes that there is no way except through killing Sylvie for the others to survive, and that she is desperate over Sylvie's death. However, I find that the scene sounds a bit overacted in the Japanese version, considering Kinuko Oomori's overly loud scream when Priss opens fire. I felt not that Priss was screaming, but that it was only an actress giving her that voice; it was just too much. And when you hear the actress instead of the character, the dub isn't good to me. It takes away the atmosphere. If she only had driven her emotions a bit lower, it would have sounded more believable.
Of course this scene is just one of several hundred and in fact I didn't hear any other bad moments in Priss' Japanese voice acting except for the scene from Scoop Chase I described above in the Knight Sabers section. I just meant to say that the Japanese dub of BGC isn't perfect either, even in Priss' case. On to the English voice.
After I already said above that Linna's voice sounds a bit too deep for a young woman like her, Priss got an English actress I tend to see with a lot of criticism, but there are good points I'd like to talk about here. To state the most obvious fact that still dominates my opinion about her: Priss sounds sympathetic. If Priss was real and an American, the voice could be the same. Before I knew her Japanese voice, I found the English voice to be almost perfectly fitting. Priss is a girl of steel, but at the same time she has a warm heart for some people, and she knows how hard life can be as she suffered it all herself. Now, in scenes where Priss is calmly talking, the English voice is very good. The whole case changes in action scenes or dramatic moments, though. If there's something that Sinda Nichols isn't capable of, it is emotions. Priss' screams, may they be from psychological suffering or from pain, and her crying are way too artificial in most cases. She just overacts. Kinuko Oomori did such scenes extremely well in the Japanese version - except for the Sylvie scene. Also, if you don't find your way into the way of talking and the deep tone, it's hard to connect the voice with Priss at all. I found myself feeling comfortable with it when I rewatched BGC yesterday whereas I had gripes with it before. I guess it also depends on how much you value the original voice.
At last there is something to say about the general portrayal of Priss. Her Japanese voice is (almost) perfect. I have no doubt about it, and I actually like it more than the English voice. However, since I still think that the English dub overall creates a great atmosphere that the Japanese doesn't, I have to cope with Priss' lovely but unrealistic voice. Like I said, in some scenes she sounds terrific, in others terrible. Overall she is just too deep. For a Japanese girl, not American, at the age of 19, Kinuko Oomori's voice is far better. But when I compare Priss' English actress to Anri's, I find that she still sounds very acceptable.
General Thoughts
Overall there are some shortcomings in the English dub which aren't so noticeable in the Japanese version. However, even the Japanese dub isn't perfect. The two Scoop Chase scenes, the scene of Sylvie's death, some of the voices like Leon and Largo - they are all lacking in my eyes as well. Generally AnimEigo tried to get rid of such mistakes in their dub, and in most cases they actually did it. Some scenes sound livelier than in the original. Some plot holes were also fixed. It is just remarkable that a company actually does this kind of "bug fixing". However, some things could still have been done better. A good example of this is the timing. People who bought the BGC Megaseries DVDs and checked out the English dub on the first disc probably have noticed that the whole audio track has a delay of half a second. The original Japanese track is timed accurately. I believe that this is a production failure since it doesn't appear anymore on the other discs. However, in episode six the Japanese track also has a short delay of about two tenths of a second where the English dub is accurately timed. But actually this is not what I meant when saying "timing". There are just some scenes where the Japanese actors say something earlier than it's said in the English dub. Sometimes this is better, but in other cases, e.g. when somebody talks to another one and the other character turns around in response, there are situations in the English version where the other person responds BEFORE the character talking to them has even started speaking. In one scene this really annoys me over and over again: when Sylvie tells Priss to kill her, you can see Priss' face under her suit, shocked. In the English dub it is already shown before Sylvie even asked Priss to kill her.
Apart from all the characters I've mentioned above, there are also some unimportant ones which unfortunately got bad voices, for example the young Sylia or Dr. Stingray. And at last there is the music. I know that many people have been complaining about the English songs, and in this point they are right. Perhaps there are two or three acceptable English versions, but the rest of the songs are simply bad. Not only do the singers have poor voices, but the music was replayed very weakly by programming and using other instrumental effects than in the originals. The Japanese music rocks. The English sucks. It misses all the beauty that the original songs have, and it especially lacks the voice talent. I don't really see why it is necessary at all to replace Japanese songs by English versions, but even if done so, a quality English soundtrack would have made a difference.
Again: the statement "bad voice talent" is wrong here. The acting is good in most cases throughout the whole series. Some people who actually tested it out in the first episodes and were disappointed should look into the last few episodes as well, since the dub gets better by that time. It surpasses the original sound in a few scenes and is one of the better dubs I've seen yet. And to me, it creates better atmosphere. And again, this is MY opinion and others may think differently, however I think this dub isn't as bad as it may seem to some people. Give it a chance! I know that Japanese is almost always better in any anime, but if everyone thought this way, why would there be any more dubs produced?