No, I don't have any updates. I have to have a decent income and a place to live in a little under a month and a half, so when that's settled (and I get back from Japan) I can start doing real work again. I know, excuses, excuses.

I am just writing this because I bought the US-Version Prince of Tennis first boxed set... and *wow* was the dub bad. I mean, I was prepared to stand by the Japanese track no matter what, but I always *watch* the dub track once just so that I can say I don't like it (or sometimes that I *do* like it ::cough, cough [Shinesman]::) in good conscience. Can't say something is terrible if you haven't seen it...

That was *terrible*... poor Tezuka. I'm biased when it comes to his Japanese voice acting (Okiayu Ryoutarou is my absolute favorite seiyuu of all time), but still. Poor Tezuka (or should I say, "Tuh-ZOO-ka"). And then there was Fuji Syuusuke. I can't imagine anyone who could sound more like an Average Guy and less like Fuji. I was expressing my happiness that at least they pronounced his name right to a friend, and her response deserves to be remembered:

"What? Did you think they'd call him 'Fudgie'?"

Ryoma had one good line, that I heard. He pronounced the word, "Whatever" exactly as I always imagined Echizen would.

But in short, I couldn't distinguish the regulars voices at all, except for Inui (who sounded like a dweeb and not at all sexy) and Kaidou (who had bad villain voice). This one registers here and now the vote of "I do not approve". But I did have to get that one set, just to find out (since I don't get cable here). From now on, I will resume collecting the Japanese DVDs -- since on those, the original openings and endings are attached to the episodes and the pictures are just as pretty. Which is not to say that I think the US release wasn't worth buying -- I absolutely do, and if I was depending on subtitles and/or couldn't play Region 2 DVDs I would continue buying the US release without qualm. See note on subtitle track below.

I will actually be checking later to find out if Atobe is being called "uh-TOWB" or "uh-TOW-bee".

(Fudgie. There but for the grace of apples and a mountain.)

Okay, enough about the dub.

On a scale of one to ten, I give the subtitle track a nine. Sure, there are a couple stylistic changes or grammatical changes I might make, but the subs are decidedly not bad. Won many many points for using the term "Sempai" in the subs instead of trying to translate it.

Add to that the pictures being much better quality than you can get on a bootleg or a downloaded file, the sheer fun of the series, the comparatively low cost of the 13-episode set (about the same cost as getting one normal disc from Japan if you have Region 2 capability, or even the same as some one-disc special editions in the US), and the importance of supporting licensed anime -- I rate the boxed set Entirely Worth Buying.

Just be sure to watch the Japanese language track, unless you, too, need to know just how bad the dub is before you will say you'll never watch it again.

Well, there's my opinion.

Have a wonderful evening (or day, depending on your timezone).

Your humble proprietor,

Skinner