Lovely Complex: Breaking Down the Drama Surrounding Its Dub

Lovely Complex is under fire after a dubbing exec posted controversial remarks about the anime.

By Megan Peters

These days, anime is everywhere you look. The industry has been growing steadily for decades, but global interest in the medium has taken anime to new heights. Of course, this means dubs have become increasingly visible as more and more fans want to watch shows in their native language. So naturally, the fandom did a double take when someone in the industry admitted to sabotaging a popular anime dub.

The controversy cropped up this week when Brendan Blaber (Jelloapocalypse) took to Patreon. In a now-deleted post, the freelance contractor recounted his work on the English dub of Lovely Complex, a popular rom-com anime from years ago. They stirred drama online by suggesting they made intentional changes to Lovely Complex's story during localization given their disdain of the series.

"It is quite unprofessional to openly sh-t talk a property you've worked on in this industry... But I will tell you what I think. And I think that LoveCom is a bad show about Risa Koizumi, [an] actual psychopath and all-over useless freak," Blaber's original post read.

The post goes on to examine changes Blaber allegedly pushed in Lovely Complex regarding its transgender character Seiko. The contractor suggested the dub handled Seiko's storyline more generously than the original sub of Lovely Complex did. But in a new post by studio Discotek Media, the company suggests none of Blaber's mentioned final cut of Lovely Complex's dub.

"Literally the exact lines that a certain person claims he cut because he didn't like the manga artist," Justin Sevakis, a producer at Discotek Media, shared online with a clip mentioned by Blaber. "Stop listening to him. There was no vandalism. The Lovely Complex dub is delightful."

Continuing, Sevakis posted a response on behalf of Discotek Media distancing itself from Blaber while embracing the art of localization in anime. The letter, which you can read below, also confirms the contractor will not be working with Discotek Media any longer.

"We are aware of the comments made by a contractor that worked on Lovely Complex. The English version was made with the supervision and approval of the show's original producers. Dubs commonly punch up comedy and smooth over rough patches so that the end product aligns with the show's intended audience and provokes the intended response, and there will always be shades of grey when adapting a work. Anyone expecting exact fealty to the Japanese dialogue should be watching the subtitles which Discotek has always presented with as little alteration as is possible when translating from a very different language. We are deeply diasappointed at this individual's lack of professional discretion and will not be working with him in the future. We will continue to work on future projects with an eye towards satisfying as many fans as possible. Thank you for your continued support."

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In the wake of this drama, Lovely Complex's profile has risen dramatically with fans. The anime's dub is selling out on Amazon as well as Crunchyroll if that tells you anything. So if you have not given Lovely Complex a shot, let yourself be the judge of the rom-com and its rich chemistry.

What do you make of this Lovely Complex debacle? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

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