Some actors express anger at the system that pays what former Goku voice actor Ian Cortlett calls "chump change." On a fan-run web page he cites his reasons for leaving his "Dragonball Z" gig.

"I simply got tired," he says. "Dubbing work is grueling. You're quite likely to sit in a dark booth for a full eight-hour day, grinding out multiple episodes on a given show. That's what 'DBZ' was like. Honestly, it all came down to (money), especially when the project moved to the Ocean Group. They are notorious for chiseling and paying fractions of what actors are paid elsewhere ... I love to work ... I just think it's cheesy when actors are replaced because of what amounts to chump change. I mean I wasn't pulling a 'Seinfeld' by any means ... I could make more money washing windows for goodness sake!"

According to Freeman, the attention and care that goes into dubbing anime is lacking. Actors come into the business concerned only with making a quick buck and production companies open a project concerned only with how many videos they can move.

"Anime productions companies don't treat the anime well, never mind the actors!" Freeman says. "Most actors don't get paid enough for their work. Most don't care. They're doing it to get a quick paycheck on the side and can't even tell you what anime they were working on. It's far from an ideal situation to be doing justice to some of the anime out there ... Unfortunately, the really wonderful, revelatory or exciting anime gets the same treatment from a production standpoint as the cheesy stuff."

Greenfield asserts that not all production companies pay so little that their principle actors can't make voice acting their full-time job. For example, according to him, ADV pays their actors practically union scale.

Jessica Calvello, who voices Cutey Honey, recalls the time when ADV wanted to bring in a big star to voice Cutey Honey - along the lines of what Kristen Dunst did for "Kiki's Delivery Service" and Claire Danes did for "Princess Mononoke." The company considered Winona Ryder, but the financial reality of the anime industry precluded the same kind of tactics.

Calvello explains, "Matt (Greenfield) said we don't have the money to pay the stars. (He said,) 'We can't do that, we only have the salary that we have to work with to give to our voice actors, so we can't.'"

Despite the working conditions, low pay scale and lack of respect, some actors are fans just happy to be a part of anime. Jonathan Osborne, a full-time Earthlink customer service representative has provided background voices for "Fushigi Yûgi," "Cowboy Bebop" and "Mobile Suit Gundam" among other titles.

"I'm hoping to bring voice acting off the ground," Osborne says. "I feel that I've taken steps forward ... I tell people I'm in 'Cowboy Bebop,' and I'm ecstatic about doing that."

The few career voice actors, Ortiz and Calvello among them, who remain non-union, attest to the fact that some companies are making it possible for talented and prolific voice actors to succeed in this difficult business. But for the most part, they are the exceptions. Though anime could become bigger as more Japanese imports make their way into the American consciousness, the popularity facilitating better pay is another story.

However, the recent SAG commercial actors strike and the upcoming entertainment contract negotiations have shoved performer unions into the public spotlight. And it is in this climate that anime has the opportunity to gain the kind of prominence in the professional world that it has already gained in the entertainment world.

Currently American anime voice actors tend to be the most recognizable stars at conventions and the internet teems with sites enshrining them. This popularity has spurred some voice actors into action.

Voice actors Amanda Winn Lee (Rei in "Neon Genesis: Evangelion") and Jason Lee (Kusanagi in "Blue Seed") have established their own production company in Los Angeles. "Our production company is called Gaijin Productions, I am the president. Jason is the CEO. Basically what we do is we do dubs for anime companies," Winn Lee explains. "And the really cool thing about our company is that we are a signatory of SAG. So it is all union."

In an effort to take control of the situation, as well as set new standards in the quality of dubbing a few actors are assuming power over their own careers. The Lees, as well as a number of other individuals are taking positive steps to address the issue, but it may be many years before the anime voice acting profession becomes a well-paying, well-respected occupation within the larger entertainment industry.