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!
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.
Welcome to a new feature called Trending Now, a look back at the history of anime trends throughout the years, we start with one of the earliest trends, Masterpieces.
What is a Masterpiece?
A masterpiece in anime terms is an adaptation of a popular world renowned story, anything from Fairytales, Folklore, Fables, Myths and Legends. The Japanese have Momotaro, Princess Kaguya and Taro Urashima as popular examples, Journey to the West being another popular Masterpiece around that territory, but the most popular adaptations throughout the 60s and 70s were often fairy tales.
Some Highlights
The picture above is Puss in Boots, if this version seems familiar, then you'd be right, Puss here has been Toei's Mascot since day one.
Popular Finnish story, the Moomins didn't have the best transition into anime but over time managed to become what the original author wanted.
Jack and the Beanstalk gained a bit of a cult following as one of the most bizarre adaptions going.
Cinderella managed a full 26 episode anime expanding a ten minute story into a full series.
If you remember the Tom Sawyer cartoon, it's actually an anime as well.
A common feature with these series is that you couldn't tell they were anime as the style hadn't really been popularised yet.
Heidi Created a Sub Genre
Swiss story Heidi lays claim to being one of the best selling anime of it's era, the result formed the basis of a new sub genre that saw young girls go on coming of age stories to discover their destiny or birthright creating the likes of Candy Candy, Lady Georgie as well as attempts on other masterpiece stories including Anne of Green Gables and My Daddy Long Legs.
The Miyazaki Touch
While the Masterpieces weren't as prevalent in the 80s and 90s, Hayao Miyazaki was quietly keeping them going, adapting stories such as the Borrowers and Howl's Moving Castle as well as creating new masterpieces with legendary status such as Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro; Miyazaki's breathtaking style giving each movie an epic feel that could easily rival Disney and Pixar.
The Final Years
Masterpieces struggled to stay relevant as the 2000s rolled into the 2010s, odd hits like Gankotsuou Count of Monte Cristo and the last real coming of age shojo Ashita no Nadja were good but the competition made them irrelevant, even Studio Ghibli's attempt at the Princess Kaguya story didn't bare much fruit.
Replaced by Historical Set Anime
The best thing to come out of this was that the historical settings of these masterpieces gave life to anime that weren't really based on any story but still used elements associated with them.
Earl & Fairy, Victorian Romance Emma and Black Butler fall into this category as well as Gosick and the Kyoto anime masterpiece Violet Evergarden.
Remembered Through Sketch Comedy
Masterpieces started as one of the founding anime genres and has matured into a genre where there isn't a need to adapt these old stories anymore as there is enough to create new masterpieces.
Today, the names of Cinderella, Momotaro, Pinocchio and Puss in Boots are remembered through the sketch series Aware Meisaku-kun about a Masterpiece loving boy going to school with kids each based on a Masterpiece. It's unclear if Masterpieces still have a place in the future but it remains one of the big three founding trends that formed the basis of anime as we know it alongside Mecha and Ecchi.
I think we need to revisit a long forgotten feature on the Fantasy Zone, Genre Savvy, our first subject will be isekai.
Isekai translates as simply going to another world, it's origins are routed in the high fantasy genre with early adopters of Isekai include Rayearth, Fushigi Yuugi and Inuyasha to name a few, other variations of Isekai can also include being stuck in a video game, with Dot Hack experimenting with the concept and Sword Art Online taking it to it's logical extreme, it's popularity exploded in the late 2010s early 2020s helped by the global pandemic but it's over saturation of anime is causing it to die off as ideas run out of steam.
Depending on what you watch can also set the tone, there are lots of examples of the chosen one and fish out of water plots as well as world breakers when the isekai'd character has something that can break the laws of the world they've entered.
The earliest isekai I can name is the Inuyasha prototype Fire Tripper by Rumiko Takahashi.
The future of the genre is a bit up in the air as the next trend, I dub, the best girl anime in which the anime is defined by it's best girl, is taking over the trends boosted by Twitter's outrage over it working against them.
So what is my verdict on MAL's taste in anime? Well I'm going to give my own verdict on all these popular series, I'll be looking at anime from the top rated, popularity and favourited.
Kaguya-Sama Love is War: Not seen much of it but can honestly see it being a favourite with me.
Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood: Extremely well made but I'm always upset that the original series is snubbed in favour of this.
Gintama: I always found it quite funny, really good comedy.
Stein's Gate: It's so cool, Sonuvabitch. Joking aside, it's been on my to watch list for a while.
Attack on Titan: I want to like it but just can't take it seriously.
Hunter x Hunter: If I wanted a super generic shonen anime with nothing I haven't already seen before then this is your answer.
Fruits Basket: I glad they finally gave it the treatment it deserves but I can't overlook the fact that Akito exists.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: I'm still baffled how high up an 80s anime is and literally no one in this era will bring it up in conversation.
Death Note: It's a mystery anime with no replay value and Netflix refuses to let it die.
One Punch Man: I guess it survived the massacre of Season 2.
Sword Art Online: Never liked it and it was not through lack of trying.
My Hero Academia: I have high expectations for this anime when I'm ready to watch it, don't let me down!
Tokyo Ghoul: I guess it survived the massacre of Root A.
Naruto: I appreciate it more now that it's finished and Boruto ruining itself.
Demon Slayer: I hope it lives up to the hype.
Your Name: Fatally flawed movie.
No Game No Life: And no season 2 either, it's a very neglected series despite the popularity.
Code Geass: Pretty unforgettable and I honestly find it better than alot of what Gundam offers.
One Piece: Always found it can nosedive in quality just as much as it rises depending on what it does in a given arc.
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Has actually gotten worse with age.
I'm currently weighing up whether I should join MAL MyAnimeList.net, I've been reviewing anime for over a decade now and I feel much of the anime on there could do with a boost in rating.
However I'm reminded of my failed experience on DeviantArt (Don't ask) of maybe not wanting to express my opinions on a website where there is a literal war over the top anime on the list.
At time of writing, Season 3 of Kaguya-Sama Love is War is at the top.
I've read stories of how toxic the Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood fandom can be that they will down vote an anime for daring to take the top spot.
My favourite anime is still Black Lagoon, ain't no one changing that for a long time, and my own top list can change regularly depending on where I can find time to watch bigger series, I'm in my 30s and time is not as frequent as I want it to be and I would inevitably favour much older series, also most of my high marks on Anime tend to favour how much I'm entertained by them over finding an epiphany on the meaning of life with how some people act, this doesn't mean I reject popular anime, I recently picked up Demon Slayer Mugen Train, I dare say that'll give it a few new positions up the list.
So back to the topic at hand, should I join MAL or avoid it?
