Another Top 10 Dubbed Anime

Drilling through to the heavens with ridiculously gigantic mecha, the quirkiness of this show could have resulted in a dub that had all the outrageousness but none of the charm. However, all fears were put to rest when we heard the likes of Kyle Hebert and Yuri Lowenthal perfectly capture the comradery of the two soul brothers, and nailing their catchphrases. Throw in Hynden Walsh’s serenely beautiful performance as Nia along with Dave Mallow’s monstrously entertaining take on the Anti-Spiral, and this dub easily lives up to the grandeur of the original Japanese.

Whether it’s in its comedy or its action scenes, this anime goes beyond the pale with just how ballistic it is. Despite such vocal demands, this very recent dub by the folks at FUNimation knocked up another winner. On the one hand you have Kyle McCarleyas Mob, who manages to sell the protagonist’s somewhat blank demeanour while also layering it with hints to his constantly restrained emotions. Then there’s Chris Niosi as Reigen, whose humour is so on point and meshes with the character’s crazed personality so well that its bound to have you in stitches.

Major props to the team who worked on this dub, given how the English counterparts sound practically identical to the Japanese in terms of pitch and tone. Erica Mendez, Cristina Vee and Erika Harlacher easily bring to life the youth, vitality and in some cases trauma of Gon, Killua and Kurapika, with good old Matt Mercer bringing up the rear as comic relief Leorio. We also must give special mention to the villains in this dub. Patrick Seitz, Joe T Thomas and everyone else behind the voices of the Phantom Troupe more than delivered, and then of course there’s the crème de le crème; Hisoka. Keith Silverstein, you nailed it bro.

Given how this one is more of a golden oldie, special praise should be given the voice actors since they managed to raise the dub far above mediocrity. Given how this is also a Gundam series, a rather dark one at that, you’d expect some cheesey dialogue and performances just as par of the course. However, pretty much all the characters, even the supporting cast, are solid with their delivery. As such, the heavier moments of the series pack some real punch, made all the more potent by Jonathan Lachlen-Stewart as Kamille Bidan, capturing both his anguish and determination.

This masterfully paced shonen has gone down as definitely one of the better dubs to come out of the 90s and is still enjoyed to this very day. Like Togashi’s other hit, it’s all down to our four male leads whose personalities, relationships and struggles lend themselves to some pretty riveting storytelling. Justin Cook and Christopher Sabat’s Yusuke and Kuwabara are just as brash and badass as you would expect, while Chuck Huber’s Hiei slices apart the competition by channelling all the anger, arrogance and general awesomeness that we’ve come to expect from the demon sword-wielder.

It’s a modern classic whose characters are universally adored as flawed, tragic and conflicted. With its legacy as a standout psychological and detective thriller, giving this series an English voiceover must have been a daunting task. Luckily, the result was a superb one. Brad Swaile’s Light Yagami covered all the bases in terms of the character’s desire for justice, descent into villainy and overall desire to outwit his rival. Also huge credit to Brian Drummond and Alessandro Juliani for their portrayals of Ryuk and L, whose weird and wonderful aspects are shown in all their glory.

Following on from the equally exquisite Fate/Zero, fans were finally given a Fifth Holy Grail war that they could revel in. Not only were the production values and fight animations top notch, but it also came with a damn good English dub as well. As Servants and Masters clash for control of the grail, we’re treated to the always stellar work of Kari Wahlgren as the devoted yet stoic Saber, along with everyone’s favourite backstabbing badass Archer, in this instance portrayed by Kaiji Tang. With these guys at the helm you won’t need much convincing to give this dub a try.

Talk about going all out. This monster hit of an anime had some big shoes to fill when it came to its inevitable English dub, namely in its chosen voice cast for the Survey Corp, who serve as the foundation for the whole show. Luckily, each actor manages to bring out the inner demons of their respective character, especially in the case of Bryce Papenbrook as Eren Jaeger, who goes to town when it comes to all those battle cries and vengeful screams. Then of course there’s fan-favourite Levi, with Matt Mercer managing to capture the Captain’s authority and swagger almost effortlessly. Heck, they even got Ashly Burch to play Sasha!

Whether you prefer the original or its masterful remake, this franchise has always been treated with such care to the point where it pretty much transcended into mainstream culture. This is in part due to the fantastic work of the cast, both old and new, with the likes of Vic Mignogna stealing the show as the short-statured Edward Elric. Cocky, broken and compassionate, Vic’s performance radiates across the board. Of course, we can’t forget about Alphonse, played brilliantly by both Aaron Dismuke and Maxey Whitehead. Then there’s Travis Willingham’s Roy Mustang, Coleen Clickenbeard’s Riza Hawkeye, Caitlin Glass’ Winry Rockbell, the State Alchemists, the Homonculi…ah, screw it, every performance here rocks!

Before we reveal our number one pick, here are a few honourable mentions.

“Cromartie High School” (2003-04)

“Ultimate Muscle” (2002-06)

“My Hero Academia” (2016-)

We just couldn’t resist. While it’s been expertly remade, redubbed and revamped over the years to the point where you can pick and choose your preference, we still have to stick with the original. Sean Schemmel is infectiously fun as Goku, while Christopher Sabat’s take on everyone’s favourite prideful prince Vegeta is pretty much all you need to hear to be encouraged to dive right back into this classic series. Besides, given how much these guys had to scream their lungs out with every single fight scene they deserve some recognition for all their hard work!