Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Free! Eternal Summer English Dub Cast Thoughts (12 Days of Anime 2014 Day 3)

I know it's been a while since the cast was announced, and we haven't gotten a dub trailer yet, but I would like to express some of my thoughts on this casting.
I will do this in order of when the announcements came out.

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J. Michael Tatum as Rei Ryugazaki

Awwwww, double megane! I was hoping for Rei to be voiced by Chris Cason, because I was imagining Chris' Hanai (School Rumble) voice with Rei's face, and it all fit together so well in my mind. That said, however, I can totally imagine the Tatum with a ridiculously flamboyant and fabulous voice deserving of the character.

Free Nagisa
Greg Ayres as Nagisa Hazuki

At first, I wished that the roles of Nagisa and Aiichro were switched around. However, after Anime America Podcast published this video, I quickly warmed up to the idea.

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Johnny Yong Bosch as Makoto Tachibana

Alright, I'll admit it. This announcement had me fangirling the most. First of all, I'm very happy Johnny is doing dubbing work for Funimation, which is in Dallas, and not just staying in L.A. (But I believe that's because he's done working on Bleach with VIZ.) I have great confidence in him to properly portray Makoto. Although I wanted Vic Mignogna to voice him, because I was imagining his Tamaki from Ouran voice, but less crazy, and sweeter, as Makoto. And here comes the fangirling: MY HUSBANDO. VOICED BY ONE OF MY FAVORITE ENGLISH VOICE ACTORS. OHHHHH MYYYYY GOSHHHHH.

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Todd Haberkorn as Haruka Nanase

In my opinion, Todd is at his best when he's voicing characters with a screw loose, see Natsu, Death the Kid, and Italy, which is why I wanted him to voice Momotaro. But I'm totally okay with this casting choice, even though I wanted Haru-chan to be voiced by Micah Solusud... 
But I know Todd has the range to pull off this role, and the chemistry between him and Vic, who plays Rin, will boost this dub's quality.

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Vic Mignogna as Rin Matsuoka

I would like to say at this point that I think those who started the angry petition to re-cast Rin were completely out of their minds, and Justin Sevakis does a great job explaining why here (It's the last question and response, and the forum posts are a good read too.) And whoever "leaked" the announcement, well, yours did look good...(I swear that photo up there is the legit one)
When I was thinking of who to pick for Rin, I was having a very difficult time, actually. I think Vic is a great actor, and I was greatly troubled to hear all of the initial negative feedback from the community upon this announcement being made. I have good faith in him to portray Rin very well.

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Josh Grelle as Aiichiro Nitori

I actually think Josh could pull off Nitori's quiet and sweet disposition quite well, in fact. I'm also happy Josh is in this dub to begin with.

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Jerry Jewell as Momotaro Mikoshiba

First, I don't think I've heard Jerry in a recent dub, to be honest. I'm still a little skeptical of how he'll do Momo's crazy personality, but I am happy he is finally getting the chance to exercise his range.

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Ian Sinclair as Sosuke Yamazaki

I knew Sosuke had to have a super-manly voice, and in my ear fantasies, I thought Robert McCollum would fit the bill perfectly. But, Ian is a very talented actor, and I am perfectly happy with this casting decision.
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Jamie Marchi as Gou Matsuoka

Unless Jamie really impresses me with her range, I am most skeptical about this casting decision. In the original Japanese, Gou has such a sweet and girly voice thanks to Akeno Watanabe. So I was hoping someone with an equally girly voice, such as Luci Christian or Alexis Tipton, would be cast. Jamie Marchi, however, seems to do more of those seductive, sarcastic, bossy, and brash voices. Only the trailer, though will cement an opinion from me.

Caitlin Glass as Miho Amakata, Chris Sabat as Goro Sasabe, and Robert McCollum as Seijuro Mikoshiba were all great casting choices. I can't really form an opinion on Clifford Chaplin as Takuya Uozumi, or Micah Solusod as Kazuteru Minami, as these guys are only minor characters.

Those were all of my thoughts of the Free Eternal Summer English cast, but now I want to know yours! Which role do you think was cast the best? The worst? Let me know in the comments!

Cheers,
~Selena

Last Updated: 3 January 2015
Originally Published: 16 December 2014


1 comment:

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    voice over needed  

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