Another casting problem is CPM's choice for the male Maze. Now, I've never endorsed the idea that the English voices have to sound exactly like their Japanese counterparts. However, when a dubbed character sounds radically different from the Japanese version, something is wrong. In the case of male Maze, his Japanese voice, while somewhat villainous in tone, turns high-pitched and comical when he gets angry or goes into "lust" mode. In a curious contrast, the dub actor, Greg Wolfe (Ghim in "Record of Lodoss Wars"), plays the character with a low, rumbling voice, almost like what you would expect from a professional wrestler. Not only does this change the character from comic relief to serious menace, but also the voice is so wrong. Male Maze is a scrawny individual. He simply does not look like someone who would have a voice that low.

As the dub suffers from departing too far from the original in one respect, it suffers from holding too closely to it in another. I've already gone over the long silent pause near the beginning, the result of a faithful translation being too short. Another problem arises with the name of the villainous organization, the Jaina Holy Group, pronounced "JY-na." When I first heard this, I thought they were saying "Vagina Holy Group." I played this bit for a few friends, and they all thought the same thing. In my opinion, CPM should have changed the pronunciation to "JAY-na." Anyone who would be offended by the change would be watching the sub anyway.

I struggled with my decision as to how many stars to award this dub. The actors come so close to rescuing it, becoming more and more comfortable with their characters as the anime progresses. And William Rodham turns in a good performance as the egomaniacal Duke Den Den. Unfortunately, the voices don't come close to compensating for the problems in the production's execution. If I were judging the voices only, I'd give it two stars. If I were only judging the production, I'd give it only one, thus the rating below.

If it's not obvious, I vastly prefer the Japanese track to the dub. In fact, if you've only seen the dub, I highly recommend seeing the subtitled version. It will probably raise your opinion of the anime.

Rating: * 1/2 (out of 4)

Released by: Software Sculptors (Central Park Media)

Dubbed in-house

Producer: Stephanie Shalofski

Dubbing Manager: Christopher Sippel

Dubbing Coordinator: Karel Havle

ADR Director: Allan Gas

Female Maze - Angora Deb

Male Maze - Greg Wolfe

Mill - Elisa Wain

Solude - Tara Jayne

Aster - Michael Schwarz

Rapier - Suzy Prue

Woll - Tristan Goddard

Randy - Michelle Medlin

Duke Den Den - William Rodham

Trivia: In addition to Filia in "Slayers Try," Tara Jayne has also provided the voices for several of the clay combatants on "Celebrity Deathmatch." I don't suppose she could provide for the directing committee of this dub to make an appearance on that show?

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!