New Generation is a dubbing studio that I want to like. They try so hard to do things the "right" way. While other studios stay hidden with little to no fan contact, New Generation holds well-attended panels at major anime conventions. You practically need to be an industry insider to know how to get noticed by Animaze or Ocean Studios, but New Generation eagerly accepts demo tapes from anyone with the desire to act. New Generation gives full credits to all its actors, and on the "3X3 Eyes" DVD, even provides headshots and a career history. New Generation takes a liberal approach to writing dub scripts, sacrificing lip sync for greater accuracy in translation. And, to boot, the studio is run by some of nicest guys you'll ever meet.

As I said, I want to like New Generation. The problem is that, no matter how much I wish it were otherwise (and I truly, truly do), I haven't liked any of their dubs. When you come down to it, that's all that really matters. They're a dubbing studio. They have to be judged on the quality of their dubs. And so far, that quality has been pretty poor.

This is the third New Generation dub I've watched, the other two being "Nazca" and "Amazing Nurse Nanako," and it's the best of the bunch. However, considering what I thought of the other two, that's not saying much. "3X3 Eyes" lacks any of the out-and-out awful voices that ruined the others. Nevertheless, it's a morass of questionable casting and even more questionable directing.

I'll get the good out of the way first. Christian Campbell does an excellent job of playing the protagonist, Yakumo. He has a good dramatic voice and handles subtlety well. The fear and confusion he feels when he realizes just what Pai has done to him (absorbing his soul and transforming him into an immortal zombie) come right through, as does his determination to protect Pai and regain his humanity. Campbell clearly understands that there is more to sounding subtle than merely dialing down the emotion in your voice.

Episode two is also worth a listen to hear a great character voice by New Generation frontman Taliesin Jaffe. He voices the frog demon that attacks Yakumo and his human friends. There's not a great deal of depth to this character, it's just a baddie with a great voice, all raspy and evil.

But that was it as far as the impressive voices were concerned, at least in the small sample I watched. I had intended to watch all seven episodes prior to this review. However, about halfway through the third episode, I quit. Listening was too much torture and I couldn't conceive of anything that would improve my review. The reason? Pai.

Brigitte Bakko plays Pai, and she plays the character completely, utterly wrong. For the life of me, I cannot see how she was cast in the role. Pai is supposed to be cute. Bakko couldn't sound less cute if she tried. Anyone who's read the manga (or heard the Japanese version) knows that Pai's perky innocence and cheerful attitude are one of the primary sources of comic relief in what is otherwise a fairly gruesome horror/action story. Bakko doesn't sound perky at all. Her voice is much too deep, much too restrained, much too normal.

Bakko's inability to go over-the-top with a perky, cute, voice ruins one comical scene after another. Take episode three. When Yakumo compliments her for the idea of sending her pet monster after the bad guys as a spy, she giggles and shouts "Praise Pai! Praise Pai more!" Now that's supposed to be funny. Bakko just makes it sound odd. The famous scene where Pai loses control of the machine gun is also ruined.

I'll give Bakko this: she does a decent job of portraying the Sanjian, Pai's deadly serious second personality. However, Pai is really a character that needs to be played with a character voice, a special voice invented by the actor for the role. She's much too cute and perky to be acted in an ordinary voice. Bakko's Pai just sounds flat.