Okay. SO.
There are...a LOT of thoughts I have about this crazy thingamabob's premiere. XD I will attempt to keep them succinct, and stick to the big points.
BEFORE I GET INTO THINGS, TWO IMPORTANT NOTES: one, I will NOT be doing this for every single episode. That would be insane. :P But I WILL give my thoughts on the season as a whole once it concludes. Two, I should state that the anime is based largely on the manga adaptation, and...shockingly enough, I haven't actually read most of the manga. I'm not a big manga reader in general, to be honest, and while I've become more vested in anime over the years, it's very, VERY rare I get into manga, specifically, even now. So I'm not sure how many of the things I noticed here that were different from the game are found in the manga or not.
WITH THAT SAID...HERE ARE MY BIG POINTS. (Placing a Keep Reading marker below for the sake of length.)
Let's start with the cast. Naturally, all of the original voice actors in the Subbed version are hitting out of the park. Nothing is ever going to replace them in my head, I suspect; this isn't like Moriarty the Patriot where, yes, I was introduced by the subbed version, but then the dub came out relatively soon after. These people have had YEARS to jam themselves into my noggin, and they simply ARE those characters. With that said, the Dub actors are doing an awesome job so far! It's admittedly hard to judge most of them, however; while we DO get a brief glimpse of/introduction to almost every major character in this one episode (which...is kind of amazing, when you think about it), the majority of them only have one or two lines to get a word in edgewise. This isn't THEIR story, at least not yet. The standout for me is DEFINITELY Paul Castro as Riddle, who absolutely knocks it out of the park; I never knew I needed Riddle with an English/Mid-Atlantic dialect before, but he's doing magnificently already.
The animation is wonderful, and the use of color fantastic. After living so long with either black-and-white stills from the manga, or cards and moving sprites and such from the game itself, seeing this world and these characters brought to fully animated life is just a marvel, and it is all done perfectly. There are also just a lot of really great visuals in general, which weren't in the game and I don't THINK have ever been found in the manga so far, so it definitely does its job well.
I don't know how common or uncommon it is for projects like this to use music from the actual game itself (aside from the opening themes), but I was rather impressed by the commendable use of actual in-game music in here...hearing the Summoning music when Yuuken first entered the Mirror Chamber DID cause my blood to boil slightly, though. '8)
This isn't a critique, but just something I feel I have to say: it's just amazing to me to try and think of this being people's introduction to this universe and its story/stories. Like, really think about how this sucker starts, then reflect on how far its come since then, and even how it changes in tone within the course of the one episode. I love imagining people enjoying this for the first time and wondering how they'll react and are reacting to the utter LUNACY on display. Because, let's be honest...this whole concept IS lunacy. I love it, but it's beyond bonkers! XD
Overall...Episode 1 is a great first impression, no matter which dubbing language you watch it in. I will say, though...and a lot of you are PROBABLY going to call this sacrilege...depending on how things go as we get more of this series our way, it's very possible I'll actually be watching the DUBBED version more often than the SUBBED version.
Why? One simple reason: because there's just not a lot for me to say ABOUT the subbed version. OF COURSE these guys do a brilliant job, they ARE the characters. I would be more surprised if something WASN'T amazing there. The English Dub, however, is something COMPLETELY new, in EVERY respect: not only do we have new animation, new elements put in here and there that weren't in the game, and so on, but now we even have new voices to judge; new interpretations of these characters we love so much. So there's just a lot more to TALK ABOUT.
And the good news is that, if - as we go forward - the Dub doesn't turn out to be the most brilliant creation on God's good Earth...welp. The subbed version with the voices I already know and love so much will be there to fall back on. And if I want to see any specific moments or scenes that are new or interesting handled by the original cast, it's not difficult to change the language setting. ;)
So, yeah...I think those are the shorthand versions of my thoughts. We'll regroup after season one ends, shall we? Bua ha ha...
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
β Live Streamingβ Interactive Chatβ Private Showsβ HD Qualityβ Free Actions
Free to watch β’ No registration required β’ HD streaming
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
β Live Streamingβ Interactive Chatβ Private Showsβ HD Qualityβ Free Actions
Free to watch β’ No registration required β’ HD streaming
a stupidly handsome guy walked into my workplace to buy some Avatar magic cards (I work at a TCG and video game store), and he paid us via a mega ton of change in a Chipotle cup
*rises from the grave* I'm alive :>
Been busy with school and stuff (yay) but I also had region theater competition two days ago and that took up so much of my time.
Speaking of Theater Comp- Guess who got 1st place in Costume Design... (yes its me, I won, I'm so happy but I don't want to bombard people with all Caps rn)
yeeeeeeeeee
I feel like I'm a ghost sometimes- I show up randomely for 1 hour then I disappear for a week before remembering I have to maintain an online presence lol
