In the midst of the ongoing discourse surrounding AI in anime, Amazon Prime suddenly released English dubs of Banana Fish and other anime rendered entirely in AI. Naturally, they were all critically panned from the moment they were discovered, not only for robbing voice actors of work, but for being flat-out terrible dubs, as well.
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Amazon Prime’s AI dub of Banana Fish and other anime is nothing but a travesty, but at the very least, its quality and reception prove that AI will never overtake genuine voice acting. No matter how advanced AI allegedly gets, true voice acting will always be superior, and there are plenty of great English dubs to prove that.
7) Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Sunrise’s Mobile Fighter G Gundam takes place in the Future Century, where the nations of the world decide their ruler with a Mobile Suit tournament called the Gundam Fight. Domon Kasshu enters as the representative of Neo-Japan, but he’s there not just to win, but to find his traitorous brother Kyoji and uncover the truth behind the mysterious Dark Gundam.
While G Gundam doesn’t have the best dub, with how goofy an anime it is, the often odd voice acting actually works to emphasize how wonderfully hammy the writing is. It also helps that voice actors like Mark Gatha as Domon do give great performances now and then, and overall, it’s easy to see why the dub is so iconic.
6) Dandadan
Science Saru’s Dandadan stars Momo Ayase and Okarun, two teenagers who awaken to supernatural abilities after an encounter with violent spirits and aliens. Unfortunately, it also left Okarun without his genitals, and the two must team up to turn Okarun back to normal while fighting any supernatural threat they come across, all while slowly falling in love along the way.
Dandadan’s English cast features incredible talent like Abby Trott, A.J. Beckles, Kari Wahlgren, and even Barbara Goodson of Power Rangers fame, and they all come together for a dub with incredible charm that perfectly matches the energy of the original Japanese. Dandadan season 3 is in development, and hopefully, it will bring even more talent to the team.
5) Dragon Ball Z Kai
Toei Animation’s Dragon Ball Z Kai is a modern remaster of the original Dragon Ball Z anime. The series was designed to revise the original anime with better pacing and improved animation, and for the English dub, specifically, it also came with a more accurate script compared to Funimation’s original dub of Dragon Ball Z.
Dragon Ball Z already had a great English dub, and when most of the cast returned for Kai, the result was some of the best writing and experienced voice acting around. Dragon Ball Z Kai is the ideal way to experience Dragon Ball Z, and sure enough, its stellar dub is a big reason why.
4) Black Lagoon
In Madhouse’s Black Lagoon, when Rokuro “Rock” Okajima is taken hostage by the pirate mercenary group known as the Lagoon Company and left for dead by his boss, Rock, fed up with his old life, decides to join the Lagoon Company and moves to the lawless city of Roanapur, despite the ever-escalating danger he faces in his new life.
With a cast that included Brad Swaile, Maryke Hendrikse, and other talented voice actors, every episode was filled with incredible voice acting that captured both the schlocky moments and the genuinely sincere ones at every turn. Geneon Entertainment was once one of the biggest names in anime dubs, and Black Lagoon is easily one of their best productions.
3) Yu Yu Hakusho
Studio Pierrot’s Yu Yu Hakusho stars Yusuke Urameshi, a delinquent who, surprisingly, saves a kid from being run over at the cost of his own life. As a reward for his actions, Yusuke is brought back to life, but now he must use his newfound spiritual powers as a spirit detective to protect humanity from the demons who threaten it.
While Yu Yu Hakusho’s dub took some liberties with the script, in addition to occasionally enhancing the story, with how much love the cast put into their performances, there was hardly a moment when it didn’t work. Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the most iconic ’90s anime around, and its stellar English dub plays a big part in that.
2) Cowboy Bebop
Sunrise’s Cowboy Bebop takes place in a futuristic setting where humanity has begun living in space, bringing about a new wave of crime and bounty hunters called Cowboys. Among those Cowboys are Spike Spiegel and the crew of the Bebop, and the series follows their episodic adventures as they chase bounties while occasionally confronting the demons of their pasts.
Cowboy Bebop has an ensemble cast of talent like Steve Blum, Beau Billingslea, and Wendee Lee, and they and others come together for an English dub of amazing quality that perfectly complements the anime’s high-level craft. Cowboy Bebop is often heralded as having the best English dub in anime, and even after so many years, few others even come close.
1) Baccano!
Brain’s Base’s Baccano! takes place during the Prohibition era, when gang violence was at its peak. The series doesn’t have a single protagonist as it constantly shifts focus between different characters and years, but everything that happens appears to be related to alchemists creating an elixir of immortality in 1930.
ADR director Tyler Walker spent extensive time watching movies of Baccano!’s genre to write the script, resulting in a dub with dialogue completely authentic to the show’s aesthetic, down to giving everyone appropriate accents, as well. Baccano!’s dub is a true work of art, and it’s the biggest proof that AI will always be garbage in every form.
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Image courtesy of Lucasfilm
