The two male stars, the policemen Leon (Jason Douglas), and Daley (Chris Patten) have only slightly greater roles than they did in the original series, which is to say, not much of any role at all. Daley's primary purpose, as in the original, is to poke fun at Leon. Patten nails the voice. The character sounds virtually identical on both language tracks. Leon spends much of his time in the early episodes being angry and shouting a lot. The Japanese Leon is in slightly more control of his rage than Douglas' Leon, who seems ready to strangle someone if given the slightest provocation. One of the most unintentionally hilarious lines in the dub belongs to Leon, who bellows at the top of his lungs, "Damn those Knight Sabers to hell!! I need some coffee!!" Decaf, Leon. Decaf.

Comparing the dub track to the Japanese track, the Japanese is slightly better. It's more polished, and to my ears, better directed. For many of the actors, I noticed a slight tendency toward overacting in their first scenes, usually a sign that the director is having trouble getting a handle on how he wants the characters to sound. Nevertheless, despite its flaws, I recommend this dub as an enjoyable way to watch "Bubblegum Crisis 2040" in English.

Rating: *** (out of 4)

Released by: ADV

Dub by: ADV/Industrial Smoke and Mirrors

Director: Matt Greenfield

ADR Recording Engineer: Ricardo Villa

Priss - Christine M. Auten

Sylia - Laura Chapman

Linna - Kelly Manison

Nene - Hilary Haag

Leon - Jason Douglas

Daley - Chris Patton

Tiffany Grant, one of ADV's most popular actresses (Asuka in "Evangelion") plays Linna's cybernetic supervisor, or as I call her, "the bitcharoid".

I couldn't possibly write this column without the help of the Dub Seiyuu Database.

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