T5W#134-Top 5 Favorite English Dubbed Anime

In the eternal battle between subs and dubs, I tend to rest in the middle.  I will gladly watch a show or movie in Japanese if it has my full attention (or in the case of Free or Cowboy Bebop if ive seen them enough to commit them to memory).  If I need to multitask, the English language will be my go to for Anime.  For me, being introduced to Anime through English Dubs was the norm and it was a long time before I could find ways to check out Anime in Japanese, starting with the International Channel airing Dragon Ball Z.  Still, some of those shows do hold some fond memories for me and English Dubbing has come a long way, with some even being praised as equal to or even surpassing the original.  So today on Top 5 Wednesday, im counting down my Top 5 Favorite English Dubbed Anime.

 

#5-Hellsing

If there’s one thing the original Hellsing series got right it was the voice casting.  Crispin Freeman is delectably entertaining as the immortal Vampire, Vampire slaying bad ass Alucard, Victoria Harewood is so commanding and sexy as Integra and my freaking God is Steven Brand just having an absolute blast as Alexander Anderson.  The writing for the show might not have been the best but the cast was always a ball of fun to listen to.  In fact the shows dub was so successful that when Hellsing Ultimate finally got around to being dubbed, most of that original cast was reassembled to recapture and escalate the magic brought about by their first time taking on these characters.  Plus, if you think about it, the original series was incomplete.  So bringing everybody back for Ultimate felt like a good way to give them a chance to play out the full arcs of their awesome characters.

 

#4-Fullmetal Alchemist

To call the English Dub of Fullmetal Alchemist excellent is selling it a bit short.  There’s so much energy Vic Minogna brings to the character of Edward Elric that its easy to see it infecting the rest of the English Dub crew who bring their A Game.  Of course, there’s also the incredibly rich and deep storytelling of Fullmetal Alchemist, with themes of brotherhood (hey like that other FMA show), sacrifice and discovery that everyone attached would want to give their all to.  This dub was one of the main reasons FMA was so successful here in the states.  So when Funimation lost the rights a couple of years back, it was understandable many would be worried if this unique dub would fade off as a result.  Well fear not, both the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemsit Brotherhood are alive and well on Netflix with both dubs intact for a whole new generation of Anime fans to find and experience for themselves.

 

#3-Cowboy Bebop

This is the granddady of all English Dubs.  Steve Blum, Beau Billingslea, Wendee Lee, Michelle Fahn and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn all became instant dubbing legends when this show hit the airwaves on Adult Swim (though theyd already done plenty before hand but still).  If Cowboy Bebop is condisered one of the most universally accessible Anime ever, it needs the English crew to match it.  I have to say, there is no Spike without Steve Blum, Jet without Beau Billinglea etc.  These are the voices I will always associate with those characters and with every other character in the whole show, no exceptions.  It has stood the test of time and will no doubt continue to be the high bar that all Anime Dubs will look to for inspiration.

 

#2-Golden Boy

This dub makes me laugh so damn hard and I don’t think its even that straightforward of a translation.  Some dubs of their time are just that, products of the time period they were produced.  So every once in a while, you get a few references to say the 80’s or 90’s that might go over some peoples heads.  Golden Boy is one such example of that kind of dub but that actually only adds to the humor of the Anime.  Hearing Kintaro proclaim “I had to open up a can of whoop ass” to a corrupt businessmen is one of the hands down funniest lines ive ever heard in a dub ever.  You’d almost swear this was an abridged dub that became an official one.  Nope, this is genuine and just as entertaining as you’ve been lead to believe when it comes to this title of the ages.

 

 

 

#1-FLCL

There is so much going on in FLCL at once, it’s a miracle someone could write it on paper much less put it into a script.  With so many references, exasperations, shouts, battle cries, general hilarity, it would be an even greater challenge to translate that entire OVA.  Sure enough, it was done and it still feels so effective and well done.  Ive often thought of FLCL as the Anime you watch after you’ve watched a ton of Anime because it’s basically Studio Gainax’s love letter to the genre.  In the same way, the English Dub feels like that for an American audience listening.  All of the references are intact, with probably a couple more added (idk ive never actually listened to the Japanese track, to my shame), and it’s still funny and entertaining as hell.  Honestly, I could listen to it all day.