This is one of the best dubs ever made, hands down. It's right up there with "Cowboy Bebop" and "El-Hazard." Johnny Yong Bosch turns in an inspired performance as Vash the Stampede, stunning everyone by proving that a former Power Ranger can actually act. He handles Vash's gradual transition from goofball comic figure to tortured soul well. His voice seems made for Vash, gentle enough that you understand why kids (and Meryl) fall for him, but capable of being hilariously silly and comic when the script calls for laughs.

Dorothy Melendrez and Lia Sargent have a great chemistry as the "insurance ladies," Meryl and Millie. Lia is just so sweet as Millie, that it's all the more heartbreaking when... But that would be a spoiler.

By Animaze's standards, I consider this to be a mediocre dub. But it illustrates just how good Animaze is when their mediocrity is this good. Like all Animaze dubs of the last few years, the actors are confident with their roles, the characterizations are accurate, and the dialogue flows so smoothly that you forget you're watching a dub. I only classify this dub as mediocre (again, by Animaze standards) because there are truly no memorable voices, such as Jinnai in "El-Hazard" or Ed in "Cowboy Bebop." The closest is Katie Ashley (Sasami in "Tenchi Muyo") as the artificial alien girl D, but she has so few lines that she barely counts.

Nevertheless, I highly recommend this dub. "Mediocre" it may be, but other dubbing studios would kill to produce a dub this good. And for fans of Wendee Lee, she plays Miss Rah.

I saw this dub after having seen all of "Nadesico" in Japanese, so I found the dub a little hard to get used to at first. Once I did, I found that I liked it quite a bit. Whether or not you like this dub will probably hinge on how you react to Jennifer K. Earheart's portrayal of Yurika, the slightly ditzy captain of the Nadesico. Earheart plays Yurika with a sing-song voice that's a bit jarring the first time you hear it. After I'd heard an entire episode, though, I was convinced she had the character nailed. Earheart's Yurika is especially funny in those scenes where she wanders the ship, neglecting her duties, completely preoccupied with her would-be boyfriend: "Akito! Akito!"

And speaking of Akito, Spike Spencer (Shinji in "Evangelion") does a great job as the cook and occasional mecha pilot. Akito is one of those poor souls whose life is a constant string of crises, and his actor needs to be able to fly off the handle with great comic effect. Spencer fits the bill nicely.

The weak link in the cast is Tamara Lo (Tira in "Sorceror Hunters") as the strange, pun-obsessed female pilot Izumi. I don't want to be too hard on Lo - the curious, low, raspy voice she uses actually suits the character quite well. However, she can be very hard to understand at times, a problem for any character, but even more so for one whose appeal is based on a constant stream of bad jokes. Making matters worse is the fact that said bad jokes are untranslatable, and ADV's substitutions often miss the mark.

If anyone from the "Tylor" dub is reading this, this is how you dub a song. The English songs for "Rayearth" are excellent. First off, Sandy Fox has a wonderful singing voice. Secondly, the job of writing the song was clearly done by someone who knows how to write lyrics. With a few negligible exceptions, the lyrics sound completely natural, with a rhythm and rhyme that fits the tune. I was especially blown away by the closing theme to "Rayearth 2." It's the best English anime theme I've heard since the days of Pioneer's dubbed songs.

As for the dub itself, it has a simplistic style that's well suited for such a Shôjo adventure tale. The trio of Julie Maddelena, Wendee Lee, and Ruby Marlowe are charming as the heroines Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu. Maddelena's Hikaru is spunky and determined, one of the best voices in the dub. Wendee Lee also plays a second role as Princess Emeraude. Such extra-sweet, gentle characters are really not her forte, and she seems to be reaching a bit. She redeems herself, though, in a third voice, the identity of whom I can't reveal without spoiling the end to the first season.

Also notable is Mokona, voiced by Kaeko Sakamoto. There's no interpretation in this role - Sakamoto merely does a dead-on impersonation of the Japanese Mokona. When I heard this for the first time, I was convinced they had somehow edited the original Mokona into the dub track.

I do have one minor gripe with the translation, though. I understand wanting to use something other than "mashin" to refer to the Magic Knights' giant robots, but who the heck came up with "rune gods"?

What's this? An Ocean dub I actually liked? Yes, but I'm unsure of how much credit to give them.

"Jubei-chan" is a very funny anime, and the humor is enhanced by the overly deadpan delivery of most of the actors. The actress for Jiyu delivers her lines as if in a daze, which seems appropriate when you consider the character. Jiyu is constantly attacked by assassins, yet only gets mildly angry. Her "croquettes today, croquettes tomorrow" song made me laugh.

Also shining are the voices of Ozaru and Kozaru. They're two great character voices that really carry the scenes featuring the "Unrefined Trio."

As I watched, though, I couldn't help but wonder: was this deadpan style the result of clever directing, or of little directing at all (Ocean's apparent standard)? Then I decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and sat back and enjoyed it.

I couldn't possibly write this column without the help of the Dub Seiyuu Database.

Agree? Disagree? Have a comment about a dub, or just about dubbing in general? Let me know!