Tuesday, January 1, 2008

And thus things started and ended all the same
Nana spent her new year watching the US release of Kanon TV2. Now she knows that most everyone has seen atleast some of the fansub that spread like wild fire not long ago so she will speak not of the story, but of the dub.

To start, Nana is neither a sub or dub fanatic. She will give props where props are deserved. So, she went ahead and watched the dub. Impartially and inquizatively.

First off, as most know, english VA's can't quite get the same sugary pitch as their Japanese counterparts. Their voices are usually lower and for harem series like this, that can be a problem. Much like it was with the last Key release, Air. For that the voices didn't fir the characters. That is not to say that the acting was bad. Nana waqtched some of the key scenes and felt that the acting was well on. Monica Rial, someone know for a higher, softer voice than most does play her part with great finess, but her voice just didn't feel like Misuzu. Tangent I know, but Nana feels Rial is in her prime right now. The other dub she is currently on is Tsubasa, as Sakura. Since the first episode, she has been a wonderful english Sakura. Her voice flows well for all the scenes and has the right feel for the Sakura of Tsubasa. Nana can't see anyone else toping her proformance for the english cast. As with her Japanese counterpart, Yui Makino. The Tsubasa Sakura is more mature and level headed than the CCS Sakura, and thus needs a more mature, yet innocent feel. Makino is the right fit.

Anyway, back on track with the original review. The main girl cast of Kanon is made up of the girls of Red Garden, another well off dub that only fails in the insert song translations. Brittney Karbowski takes the lead as Ayu. A slight tomboyish feel, but having flipped back and forth between the two tracks, it fits Ayu quite well. Then, for those of moe fashion, the "Uguu" is kept for the most part. Karbowski doesn't go out of her way to enphasize the cute phrase and is able to fit it naturally. She makes Ayu sound more like a high schooler than a moe fest girl and Nana doesn't mind that.
Next up is Jessica Boone as Nayuki. Again, instead of the high, cute role off of Mariko Kouda, she brings a more high school voice to the role. She can even sound cute when Nayuki goes gaga over the fox. A fine start, so Nana is looking forward to future episodes when things get angsty and emo.
Next is Tiffany Terrell as Makoto. A slight valley girl feel, but after the first few minutes it fleshes out into a fair portral of the troublesome fox. Due to the small script changes, she mouths of more, but the character's feeling is brought across with ease. Makoto's "Auu" is more of a whine,but that is more fitting in english than a flat out "auu". Nana enjoyed the banter between her and Chris Patton, Yuichi. It felt natural and brought a smile to Nana's face.
Since Nana brought up Patton, lets take a look at Yuichi. Patton is a well seasoned and decent Va so Nana didn't have much of a worry. He is able to change pass easily, from the softer scenes to the above mentioned banter and Ayu fun making. Nana has no worries when things get emo, Patton should beable to continue on strong.
For the supporting cast, we have Joanne Bonasso as Akiko. A newcomer to the biz, but she has the right voice for the mother role that Akiko plays. Mature sounding, never deviating. Well fit.
Greg Ayres is Kitagawa. A beautiful fit for the class dunce.
Caitlin Glass pulls up a chair for Kitagawa's unrequited love, Kaori. Since she has few scenes, much like Ayres, Nana can't say much. But from the little Nana saw,there should be no proble for Glass to play the role.
Both Mai, Melissa Davis, and Sayuri, Natalie Arneson, Have little lines, so Nana will have to wait for later episodes to really see how they do.
On Sayuri,though, ADV has went for the whole translation and repeated Sayuri's tendency to refer to herself by her own name. While there really is no problem in Japanese, it feels a bit off in English.

The script fits close enough to never change meaning or conveyed emotion. So all in all, this dub ranks much higher than Air and gets a 8 out of 10 from Nana.


That's all Nana's been up to lately. Work is fairly quiet before christmas, but Nana expects that the new year will bring the shadows out again.


NNM
Again, because this guy is a freakin genius:

Michael Franks- Inuendo

Here we are again
That fatal combination
I guess it's opposite attraction
It's gone too far again
This crazy conversation
It's like a nuclear reaction
Lady your lip service has no rival
Don't you know deception is uncouth?
Didn't you read somewhere in the Bible
Not to bend the truth?
If you think your lip service will amaze me
You're utterly confused - that much is clear
'Cause baby your lip service doesn't faze me
It's so insincere
It's only lip service
It's nothin' but lip service
There you are again
Unable to conceal it
That hourglass configuration
It's gone too far again
Believe me, I can feel it
I can't resist that old temptation
Lady your lip service can be vicious
Don't you know deception is uncouth?
However your lips look so delicious
While they bend the truth
Give me some lip service, just attack me
I know I have asked you to be real
But sometimes your lip service is exactly
What I want to feel
Tired of of truces
Eloquence is useless
Eighty-six it
'Cause all this talk won't fix it
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