One other notable character is Mizuha Miyama, the president of the manga club, which loans the magic club space to hold their meetings. Miyama is Takeo's "natural enemy." She abuses him mercilessly, and Takeo can do nothing about it because any time he attempts to confront her he becomes distracted by her large chest and loses his ability to speak in complete sentences. Miyama is the reason I gave the dub three stars rather than four, yet it's not the actress' fault. I rather liked Suzanne Gilad's portrayal, using a low-key, contemptuous and dismissive tone of voice, when she could have easily gone with a bombastic, loud, snotty performance. Gilad's subtle performance makes it all the more humorous when Miyama freaks out, such as when she opens her eyes to find herself being "probed" by countless alien optical tentacles. However, care was not taken during the mixing process to ensure that Gilad's voice could actually be heard. In the second episode, Miyama's first appearance, Gilad's low-key performance was nearly drowned out by the sound effects. I watched the episode twice and still couldn't understand her first line.

Fans of "Magic User's Club!" will note there is one more character of import, Akane Aikawa, the final member of the club, played by Nicole Tieri. Akane doesn't get much screen time until episode three, so I haven't seen enough of her to form an educated opinion. What I've seen, I've liked. Tieri plays the bored little socialite well. I'll have to see how well she handles the role when things go badly for Akane next episode.

Michael Sinterniklaas deserves a lot of credit for writing a great ADR script and directing it skillfully. Little touches like the next episode previews, which are just as fast-paced and funny as in the original Japanese, are a big part of what makes this dub so good. But more than anything else, it's the wonderful chemistry between the actors. Save for the technical problem with Miyama's voice, this dub easily holds its own with the Japanese. I highly recommend giving it a listen.

Rating: *** (out of 4)

(review based on episodes 1 & 2)

Released by: Anime Works (Media Blasters)

Dubbed by: NYAV

Director: Michael Sinterniklaas

Sae Sawanoguchi - Misty Daniels

Nanaka Nakatomi - Lisa Ortis

Takeo Takakura - Jamie McGonnigal

Ayanojyo Aburatsubo - Kevin Collins

Akane Aikawa - Nicole Tieri

Mizuha Miyama - Suzanne Gilad

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

Agree? Disagree? Have a comment about a dub, or just about dubbing in general? Let me know!