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The Dub Track
by Ryan Mathews
Dub Track Letters


In my review of the Cowboy Bebop, I was unable to identify the actors who played Spike and Jet due to a lack of proper credits. Two readers helped me out:


I am 99.9% sure that Jet Black's dub VA is Beau Billingsley.

The dub lists a John Billingslea among the VAs and that same VA is listed in the dub credits for "Outlaw Star." The narrator for "Outlaw Star" is clearly the same VA as Jet. The voice is unmistakable. On the History Channel is a documentary series called "Suicide Missions" narrated by one Beau Billingsley according to the credits. That voice is clearly and unmistakably the same as Jet Black's. Beau Billingsley is listed at Voicechasers (www.voicechasers.org) as appearing in "Dinozaurs" as well. I don't know about Spike but I am sure this is the man behind Jet.

Now the question is whether Beau Billingsley is his real name.



I just read your review of the "Cowboy Bebop" dub and I would have to agree with you. "Cowboy Bebop" is definitely one of the best dubs around. I wanted to e-mail you because I have a little information to pass onto you about who the English voice actors for Spike and Jet are. The voice actor who portrays Jet is John Billingslea, who also portrayed Gohei in Media Blasters' dub of "Rurouni Kenshin." The voice actor who portrayed Spike is David Lucas. I have little to no information about David Lucas, but from some research I'm pretty sure he is the voice actor who portrayed Spike.

-William Grimes rkgrimes@fls.infi.net


When I read that Jet's voice was the same as that of the narrator of "Suicide Missions," I could have kicked myself. I've watched that program many times and simply never made the connection. Mind you, Billingsley sounds a little different acting than he does narrating, but still, it's clearly the same voice.




First of all, congratulations on the new job at akadot. So far from what I have seen from this site, it looks quite good. Up there with Animenation and AnimeOnDVD, two of my favorite websites.

Secondly, I agree with you on most of the points for the dub for "Bebop." The voices for Jet and Spike seem to fit very well (and I swear I heard Jet on the History Channel the other day). As a matter of fact, I would say that the voice for Jet is exceptional. Also, Wendee Lee does, in fact, do an excellent job in the dub for Faye.

However, I thought Melissa Charles was a little too squeaky-sounding and girlish to be Ed. When I watched "Bebop" for the first time, I was watching a fansub. Until the end of the episode (Episode 9, I want to say?) that Ed was introduced, I didn't know if she was a boy or a girl, something that is lost on the dub. Ms. Charles' voice acting was quite good, but I kept on thinking, "Wow, Ed's our favorite lesbian from El-Hazard," which I picked up on in a microsecond. It seemed to me that she was almost too feminine and squeaky to be Ed. Nonetheless, I must admit, that after watching the entire series both ways (as I often do with two audiences, each liking one or the other) that her voice has grown on me.

Translation-wise, the Japanese track is, of course, truer, like in the short bit about women and honor. Jet says something to the affect that "women have no honor." Whereas they reworked a lot of that bit in the dub.

That's my opinion in a nutshell. I'd love to respond to more, if given the chance. I had a few ideas for additional columns, if you're of mind to hear them.

"Trigun": This dub was as good, or almost better in some cases than the Japanese track. A rarity in anime.

"Escaflowne": In a word? Horrible. Accentuated by Meruru's voice.

"Tenchi Muyo!": This is one of the few series that I can say that I actually like the dub better than the sub. I found that almost every female character's voice in this series sounds the same.

Thanks for listening,



Thanks for the suggestions! Since I'm only reviewing one dub a month, I want to stick as much as possible to newer dubs to which not everyone has yet been exposed. I love the "Tenchi" dub too, but with 13 OAVs, 3 movies, 4 video specials, and 52 television episodes all dubbed and on the market, it's safe to say this would be a review of old news.




I read your column "Last Exit Before Toll" on Anipike and read your first article on Akadot. I won't go into praising you just to inflate your ego. However I think there is a good dub you should review, "Vampire Hunter D." I personally think it has one the best quality dubbings out there. Anyway I'll let you be the judge.


Oh, please, inflate away! :-) I've actually never heard the dub of "Vampire Hunter D." I learned to stay away from Streamline dubs early on after some bad experiences, although their dubs had gotten better by the time Carl Macek packed it in.

Thanks to all who wrote! Please keep it up!


Send all comments and criticism regarding The Dub Track to mathews1@ix.netcom.com. If you don't want your letter printed, or wish your name and/or email address withheld, just let me know. I reserve the right to edit your letter for length and/or content.
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