Eating my own weiner

woooo I finally did it. I based it off a manga panel from banana fish

First, let me admit that I don't like dubs. I don't think I've willingly watched anime in English since 1998 or so (apart from Howl's Moving Castle, which I love passionately in English). To me it's very jarring and I don't love American voice-acting styles much, as they tend to be more cartoon-y. However, I've heard that the industry has come a long way. Plus, Banana Fish is set in New York, and only two characters (and maybe Yut Lung?) didn't grow up as native English speakers.

So I decided to give it a go. I've watched four episodes, which isn't much, but enough to have a good idea what a large chunk of the cast sounds like.

There are some characters who sound great to me: I think Dino, Charlie, Skip, Ibe, and Arthur are all really well done. And then there are the ones that seem fine--not fantastic, but good enough--like Shorter and Max. I honestly think that my standards are higher for them because I love them, but otherwise, they're fine. But my thoughts on our main boys is more complicated.

Ash: My first reaction when Ash spoke was a flinch. I had expected a voice with more quiet control, like Yuma Uchida. In English, I thought he sounded both too old and too emotional. I especially didn't like when he yelled, because the voice pitched lower and sounded even older.

But I kept going. The first episode of anything is rarely its best work, after all. And I was glad to note that I liked him more and more. By episode four, he's really grown on me.

But Eiji? Dear Lord, I'm sorry, but I don't think I will EVER get used to Eiji. I was hoping so hard that they'd play him with an accent, and while I'm still deeply disappointed in that lack, that's not what bothers me about Eiji.

My issue with Eiji is that he sounds like everything I hate about English dubs. He doesn't sound like a person using an authentic voice at all to my ears. He sounds like he's doing a bit, pitched higher than necessary to sound youthful. Every time he speaks, I'm dragged out of the story, and by the second episode I had to justify continuing at all. (I decided that, since I don't like Eiji much in the anime, compared to his wonderful, charismatic self in the manga, that it's okay for me to just like him even less in English, and I'll watch it for Ash alone.)

his solace

Blossom - Ash x Eiji

Blossom - Ash x Eiji

big day for the community

Happy Birthday Ash

Before:

And after!

It’s hurt/comfort.

Summary: What happens when you plan a surprise party for a traumatized gang leader with superior observation skills?

5 chapters, 1 posted each day

Read it here: