Welcome to the Fantasy Zone
This Zone is dedicated to the lesser known elements of anime hosted by the cast of Victory Script.
What weapon is the best?
Who will win in this Death Battle?
Is this costume practical?
You name it, it's all covered here in the Fantasy Zone!
Considering I'm taking alot of these takes from today's fans the well will dry up quick so if you got a few Hot Takes of your own, I shall give you my two cents.
"Misty's still the best Pokemon girl"
That's a funny way of spelling Dawn. Dawn is the only female character in Pokemon history to have equal billing with Ash and the only former female companion to actually turn up in person to his Championship match, Misty was memorable but has very limited appeal.
"Gundam Wing is the best Gundam"
Even Heero thinks your statement is a load of bull.
Real talk, there is no definitive best Gundam series as each series brings something to the table that it's contemporaries don't have, looking at the latest series Witch from Mercury has Utena vibes for instance, anyone who does name a best Gundam series is likely to have only seen that Gundam series, another issue the franchise has, is that it's very difficult to like more than one Gundam series because of how wildly different the content can be each series.
"Goku is not a good character"
I've seen this alot, in fact it's the most common hot take next to the argument on fan service and subs vs dubs, don't think we'll be seeing the last of it anytime soon. Goku's status is usually helped by the fact that funimation made him act more heroic but he's still raised in the boonies and taught martial arts by a known pervert and it's pretty obvious when Toriyama has more input as his sense of humour is utterly juvenile, I can see where the argument is coming from, at the same time like the grandmother that voices him in Japan, it's a familiar face that reassures you that the world is okay, not every hero is written to be perfect but can still be a symbol of peace.
"Modern Isekai is the worst anime genre ever created"
It's not, you're just sick of the over saturation of the genre in recent years, the actual worst genre is surreal comedy, if you don't believe me, watch the Super Milk Chan Show and you'll be begging Truck-Kun to send you to another world.
"Sailor Moon has aged like milk, and there's nothing it did well that Nanoha and Precure haven't done significantly better since"
Precure's existence relies on homaging previous ideas from older magical girl shows, even the original referenced the Dirty Pair; Precure even had the director of the Sailor Moon anime direct Hugtto Precure.
Nanoha is just a trashy magical girl show that's trying way too hard.
While the content of the 90s Sailor Moon anime is a little dated, it still has a charm that keeps people invested, most anime fans when asked to name a magical girl show, the same three shows will turn up, Sailor Moon, Madoka Magica and Card Captor Sakura, it has the strongest staying power in all of anime along with Evangelion and the Dragonball franchise.
I've been around the anime scene for a while now and I probably should give a few of my starter anime another look from a different perspective starting with Gundam Wing.
Rules are simple, I compare the sub and dub actors in regards to the regular characters to see which one is better, let's begin.
Heero Yuy
Hikaru Midorikawa vs Mark Hildreth
Heero Yuy is meant to be the perfect soldier but is also a teenager, Hikaru makes him sound more boy band, standard shonen protagonist, Mark nails the tone of someone who's been setup to take orders without question, prefer the dub voice.
Dub wins.
Duo Maxwell
Toshihiko Seki vs Scott McNeil
Duo is meant to be happier and upbeat and Toshihiko is just a constant pro, Scott meanwhile is using his comic relief cartoon voice, obvious win for sub.
Sub wins.
Trowa Barton
Shigeru Nakahara vs Kirby Morrow
Trowa is naturally quiet so comparing is difficult, I'd say they're both fairly even.
Draw.
Quatre Rabarba Winner
Ai Orikasa vs Brad Swaile
Quatre had a female VA in the sub and it makes his ordeal alot more sympathetic compared to Brad's voice that's channeling Amuro Ray and Light Yagami.
Sub wins.
Chang Wufei
Ryuuzou Ishino vs Ted Cole
They sound relatively similar but I tolerate the sub more than his dub voice.
Sub wins.
Relena Peacecraft
Akiko Yajima vs Lisa Ann Beley
This is actually the main reason why Relena is hated, Lisa Ann Beley was horribly miscast as Relena, her portrayal makes her sound bored most of the time and when she has to act more emotive she falls short, she also sounds 30 not 16, Akiko suits the role better as she sounds her age and maintains a better demeanour.
Sub wins.
Zechs Merquise
Takehito Koyasu vs Brian Drummond
Brian's performance is memorable as he really does well to ham up his voice as the brooding wandering soldier but he's got tough competition in Takehito who also voices Dio Brando.
Draw.
Treize Kushrenada
Ryotaro Okiayu vs David Kaye
Really tough to decide, David Kaye did a fantastic job but Ryotaro is renowned for his villains and has voiced my favourites.
Draw.
I've not done a character ranking for a while but for this one I'm strictly doing the Gundam Wing ladies, this sort of came up as an idea while composing the next Walk of Fame article on Relena Peacecraft; there will be eight to go through so lets begin.
Mariemaia: Let's start with the character that may as well be a filler villain. Considering how a Gundam series treats everyone, Mariemaia got off lightly with just a gunshot, honestly she didn't need to be in the show and her role could've easily been filled by Dekim.
Hilde: Gundam Wing's balanced casting allowed the male characters to play off a female character tailored to them, Duo got Hilde, an Oz soldier turned artist, her lack of official art makes her almost invisible, not helped by the fact she looks like a much younger Noin, her only crowning achievement failing a being a spy.
Sally: Playing off the misogynist Wufei was Sally, a UESA officer turned rebel, she would later become a useful ally in keeping the Gundam pilots in check as well as knocking some much needed sense into Wufei. She's one of the most grounded characters among a cast of extraordinary people.
Catherine: Matching with Trowa is Catherine, a circus knife thrower, she has no military or diplomatic powers or even part of a faction, her only role is playing a big sister figure to Trowa, a role she does really well.
Dorothy: Strangely matching with Quatre, Dorothy was made to keep tabs on Relena but actively joined the conflict herself with White Fang. I don't really follow her philosophy and she plays off as a fanfic character.
Noin: Generally well respected as a leader but subjected to some torrid luck, Noin took the mentor role for Relena instead as well as the only one who could even get close to Zechs.
Une: My favourite character, a hard no nonsense woman who carried out very successful operations for Treize but would later go through a literal split personality when Treize criticised her attempt to force the Gundams to surrender. Lady Une went through the most complete arc, getting better written development than even the lead characters, she's quite a woman.
Relena: Probably the most divisive female character ever written in the Gundam franchise until Lacus Clyne. Relena starts off as the rich daughter of a noted politician but later discovers her heritage as the lost princess of Romefeller, a journey triggered by a meetup with Heero Yuy by pure accident. Depending who you ask she's one of three things. 1. She had a habit of causing the series plot to stop progressing just to hear her opinion on things.
2. She wasn't exactly liked personality wise often not reading the situations she was in and acting out of character frequently.
3. She always managed to force her way into the plot making her more of a Mary Sue type.
There is a 4th reason but that's irrelevant, ask a yaoi fangirl for that reason.
Mariemaia Khushrenada - 4.0/10
Hilde Schbeiker - 6.5/10
Sally Po - 8.0/10
Catherine Bloom - 8.4/10
Dorothy Catalonia - 7.2/10
Lucrezia Noin - 7.8/10
Lady Une - 9.7/10
Relena Peacecraft - 5.9/10
Time for some more hilarious lines of dialogue.
"I can't sleep until you fire a laser from your butt" - Asobi Asobase Sub
Hanako's butler displaying his Shogi talents.
"I'll use my trusty frying pan, as a drying pan" - Pokemon Dub
Brock again displaying his talent for thinking on his feet
"It's Thick! And it's Hard! And it's coming to get ya!" - s-CRY-ed Dub
George's Magnum weapon...I hope
"Erupting! Burning! Finger!" - G Gundam Dub
By changing the attack name in the dub you now have a much dirtier sounding attack
"I wouldn't be surprised if one day he starts saying his lack of effort is the reason there is no air in outta space" - Gundam Wing Dub
Duo sums up Quatre pretty well
"I'll take a potato chip and EAT!" - Death Note Dub
Kinda kills the intensity there Light
"I am a boy! This is an Octopus!" - Otokojuku Sub
In standing up to a burly American, a Japanese delinquent uses JoJo Engrish
"Look a Dame! A Woman!" - Dream Dimension Hunter Fandora Lost Dub
Yes, yes it is
"Let that child alone" - Dragonballz Big Green Dub
Piccolo you've had how long on planet Earth? The language ain't that difficult
"Now I'm freakin dead" - Outlanders OVA Dub
You've been stabbed right through your mouth, you shouldn't be talking
End
