The age-old question

Liberal or Torry? Catholic or Proddy? Pro-Skub or Anti-Skub? But more importantly: Anime dub or anime sub?

I long took for granted that the issue was resolved in favor of subs; but there apparently are those, after all, who prefer dubs–and at that, quite vehemently. To me dubs are the most preposterous idea; the only place I’ve seen them outside of anime is on the Criterion edition of Kurosawa’s Rashomon(!?). But I can understand that subtitles take some getting used to. It must be confessed that there a few good dubs out there–and more than a few very, very bad ones. Thus, without further ado (because everyone loves lists)(and because we like to accentuate the positive), the top five best anime dubs of all time:

5. Tenchi Muyo

Am I the only one who has fond memories of this series? At the tender age of thirteen, I watched it on VHS tapes from the local video store, some of which were subbed, some dubbed; and perhaps it’s nostalgia that recalls Tenchi’s absurd squeaky voice as the zenith of voice acting.

4. Princess Mononoke

Realizing that Miyazaki puts their best to shame, Hollywood has been quick in recent years to latch onto his films and give them the star treatment with, among other things, A-list vocal casts. This (with Neil Gaiman on script) was their first major attempt and still, I think, the best: Minnie Driver as Lady Eboshi was a stroke of pure genius.

3. Azumanga Daioh

Have I mentioned how sad I am that ADV Films is no more? Because apparently, as this dearly departed company reminded us for some time, a lot of our world-class voice actors and actresses were based out Houston. Some of them now work for Funimation. But who can forget Kyra Vincent Davis’ turn as Ayumu Kasuga, Our Lady of Osaka?

2. Neon Genesis Evangelion

This series (still among the most popular in Japan) introduced anime to a whole generation of Wapanese, and thank heaven that they took the time to give it a remarkably solid dub. The 2005 “Platinum Edition” contains commentary from some of the cast, especially Tiffany Grant (Asuka), who is delightfully mad.

1. FLCL

Here it is. This is the only series ever, in my opinion, of which it can be said that the dub is as enjoyable–if not moreso–than the sub. Why? Because they make all the weird noises. There’s no attempt whatsoever to recast it in culturally familiar terms. It speaks to the dedication of the industry that with FLCL, one of the weirdest series ever, someone rose to the challenge and gave it exactly the treatment it deserved.

Q: Why isn’t Cowboy Bebop on there?

A: Because I’m a heathen who’s never seen Cowboy Bebop no matter how much my friends bug me. For what it’s worth, I do think quite highly of the Samurai Champloo dub, which I understand uses (as the original did) many of the same actors.