Ranka Lee’s Seikan Hikou Philippine Fandub is Awesome

I’m not a fan of dubs. It’s very rare that I come across an english dub that sounds as good as the Japanese cast. While there’s something that doesn’t quite sit well with me preferring to watch/listen to non-japanese characters speaking atrocious engrish, or speaking with zero accents (i.e. Monster, set almost entirely in Europe after 40 episodes, or lol Legend of the Galactic Heroes set entirely in space with no Japanese ethnicities depicted after 76 episodes I’ve seen), I find that the performance of most American voice actors lacking.

I enjoyed Spirited Away’s, and Princess Mononoke’s dubs (mainly because these used good professional actors), and Cowboy Bebop’s. The fact that Cowboy Bebop’s dub is awesome is very satisfying, given that hardly anyone in the anime is Japanese.

In the Philippines, dubs are mostly bad in my opinion – to be enjoyed for the lulz for the most part, but this video may just change my opinion somewhat.

In the Philippines most anime viewers watch dubs in the vernacular. When I was a kid and watching shows starting around 1980 we had local english dubs (Choudenji Machine Voltes V, Tossho Daimos, and yes Super Dimension Fortress Macross), the grammar was good and the Filipino accents were unobtrusive. Today the dubs in the vernacular account for the massive popularity (I think) of anime in the Philippines, with some channels showing titles at primetime, as well as having a dedicated channel in basic cable.

Like other countries, the dubs are plagued with having the same 12 people giving voice to OVER 9000 different characters in various anime. It’s off-putting to say the least. When Hagu of Honey and Clover sounds almost exactly like Nina Fortner from Monster and Katie from MIRMO!, I don’t think I can bear to listen long to any of the characters. Now Seiyuu like Jun Fukuyama and Kikuko Inoue can give voice to a variety of characters without sounding too much alike. Fukuyama did Lelouch and Luca (from Macross Frontier) and Inoue did Belldandy and Grace O’Connor giving sterling performances for both.

Please recommend great, and I mean great dubs in english or otherwise! I want to know what makes a dub good or great, so be sure to tell me why you recommend what you do recommend. My waifu sometimes gets annoyed with listending to Japanese all the time, so this will be good for us.

In the mean time, here’s the Seikan Hikou dub:

In its original form:

A shorter version used as an intro for episode 17 (for those hard-pressed for time):

Lyrics c/o animelyrics.com:

Original / Romaji Lyrics	English Translation
Suimen ga yuragu Kaze no wa ga hirogaru Fure atta yubisaki no Aoi denryuu	The water's surface quivers A ring of wind spreads Your fingertips feel the The blue current
Mitsumeau dake de Kodoku na kasokudo ga Isshun ni kudakechiru Anata ga suki yo	With only a glace That lonely acceleration is One moment that breaks into pieces I love you
Toumei na shinju no you ni Chuu no uku namida Higeki datte kamawanai Anata to ikitai	Like clear pearls The tears within you are shed It's a tragedy and it doesn't matter I want to live with you
KIRA! Ryuusei ni matagatte Anata ni kyuukouka ah ah Noukon no hoshizora ni Watashitachi hanabi mitai Kokoro ga hikari no ya wo hanatsu	Sparkle! Ride a shooting star It dives with you In a dark blue starlit sky We're like fireworks Our hearts shot through with an arrow of light
Kaiwa nado nashi ni Uchigawa ni mogutte Kangae ga yomitoeru Fushigi na yoru	I hide inside The silence and Read your thoughts This wonderful night
Anata no na Jumon mitai ni Mugen no RIPIITO Nikurashikute te no kou ni Tsume wo tatete miru	Your name is like a spell I repeat forever My nails dig into the palm of my hand that I hate
KIRA! Karada goto sukitoori He no you ni tadayou uh uh Keshitsubu no inochi demo Watashitachi matataiteru Tamashii ni ginga Nadareteku	Sparkle! Your whole body is clear It drifts like a picture A drop of life but We're in the moment In the galaxy of our souls, snow falls
Ryuusei ni matagatte Anata ni kyuujoushou ah ah Aoukon no hoshizora ni Watashitachi hanabi mitai Kokoro ga hikari no ya wo hanatsu	Ride a shooting star You suddenly rise In a dark blue starlit sky We're like fireworks Our hearts shot through with an arrow of light
Keshitsubu no inochi demo Watashitachi matataiteru Tamashii ni ginga Nadareteku Tamashii ni ginga Nadareteku	A drop of life but We're in the moment In the galaxy of our souls, snow falls In the galaxy of our souls, snow falls

Finally, DO NOT WANT: