Funimation | The Ocean Group | ADV Films | Sentai Filmworks
- Despite working in the exact same facility as the old ADV Films with a lot of the same crew on both sides of the glass, due to having less time to finish their work and a smaller budget then their predecessor, they aren't exactly the best at dubbing anime (especially when compared to rival Texan dubbing studio Funimation). But when they hit, they hit big.
- One of those hits is Tsuritama. It was originally going to be a sub-only release until Sentai gave in to fan demand and gave it an English dub, and it is one of their best. Most of the main and minor characters are perfectly cast, the scripting is excellent and full of witty lines (episode 5 has most of these, and they're awesome!), and the voice actors really sound like they're enjoying what they're doing here. The only flaw is Sakura's voice. Nancy Novotny does her voice, and while she isn't BAD, her voice just doesn't fit for a kid like Sakura, and she unfortunately really misses the mark on one pivotal moment in episode 7, but that's about it. Haru's voice actor (Clint Bickham) is absolutely amazing, and is able to completely capture his quirks and personality perfectly! Seriously, it's like they shipped Miyu Irino out to America, made him take English for five years, and then re-cast him as Haru. One reason it's so good is that it's directed by Janice Williams, a longtime employee of the old ADV Films who mostly worked on the physical side of things ("DVD Coordinator" was her most common job description) and only dabbled in directing occasionally back in the day. She's very good at it and needs to do it more often.
- CLANNAD's English dub has its share of critics, but it's easily one of the best dubs (if not the best) to come out of Houston since the collapse of ADV Films and its resurrection as Sentai. That it was one of the first dubs of the Sentai period helps—despite the name on the box, it still feels like an ADV dub—it was clearly given the care that later Sentai dubs rarely enjoy. Every single actor, even the ones whose casting may be seen as questionable, nails their performance and every emotional crescendo, especially Luci Christian, who does a lovely job as Nagisa. It's admittedly not as tight as Kanon or even Air, but it's still much better than critics give it credit for. Probably the only real issue—other than the casting and the name pronounciations, which is YMMV—is the dub's retention of honorifics when the earlier KeyAni dubs adapted them out.
- One standout example: During Season 2, Luci's take on Nagisa's having to explain to her well-meaning but overprotective dad that she's pregnant and how that happenednote is simultaneously adorable, touching, and hilarious.
- Demon King Daimao is quite an underrated English dub from Sentai. Most of the cast sound quite focused, yet sometimes pretty aloof in terms of character acting when the situation demands it. Highlights include Chris Patton delivers quite well as Akuto, capturing his struggle of him being a Demon King, but also making his Nice Guy traits quite believable. Maggie Flecknoe as Korone is able to sound better than the Japanese version by actually not sounding high-pitched as her more deadpan and low tone just fits the character much better. But the best performance by far is no doubt Melissa Davis as Keena. She is clearly having a blast voicing the red-haired Cloudcuckoolander to the point that, even if you won't like the show as much, as soon as you'll see her, get ready for some hilariously executed lines, not to mention how charismatic she is.
- While the English dub for Little Busters! does have its hiccups and occasional miscasts, there is one character whose voice everyone agrees is a drastic improvement over the Japanese version: Komari. There's no disputing it: Komari's voice is the best voice in the entire English dub, especially considering the majority of fans agree that her voice in the Japanese version is absolutely horrid in comparison. It's also a first in that they picked someone outside of Sentai Filmworks's normal voice actor pool, which proved to be a great decision.
- Another dub of a visual novel-based anime that deserves more recognition is the ef duology. While the dub integrates honorifics and some Japanese words such as onii-chan, the melodrama expected of the anime is excellently delivered by long-time ADV/Sentai veterans. Luci Christian captures Miyako's sweet, free-and-easy nature; Monica Rial lends her voice to Chihiro in her usual cute-girl voice with a hint of sadness (given her condition); and Carli Mosier gives Yuuko a mature, motherly vibe as an addendum to her mysterious nature. And once a tale of melodies, the second season, hits, she really gives her all—especially in episode 6, when Yuuko reveals her long history of physical and sexual abuse to Yuu. The males are no slouches either. Greg Ayres defies pessimistic assumptions by the fandom when he voices Hiro; Clint Bickham is a perfect fit as Renji; Illich Guardiola's unique accent is strangely appropriate for Kuze; and David Matranga as Yuu shows that he can surpass his own performance as Tomoya, another visual novel protagonist with lots of emotional baggage like Yuu does. Another thing that helps the dub is SHAFT's animation approach that made it easier for the voice actors to dodge Lip Lock and deliver the lines needed for the strong melodramatic punches.
- Sentai redubbed another Streamline title from yesteryear: Vampire Hunter D. Unlike the campy and often stilted Streamline version, this redub adheres closer to the tone of the original Japanese, dialing back the added in lines and with generally more believable performances by John Gremillion (D), Luci Christian (Doris), Brittany Karbowski (L'armica) and Andy McAvin (Left Hand/Rei Ginsei). But David Wald steals the show as Count Lee; his smooth, regal baritone and upper class accent standing out as a particularly huge improvement over the laughable Transylvanian accent from the Streamline dub and choppy delivery. This is also the first Vampire Hunter D dub to properly retain the translation of D's heritage as a dhampir.
- Say as you want against Black Bullet, but it has one of the best dubs made. In particular, Chris Ayres casted Luci Christian as Enju Aihara and have her give Enju a more natural voice for a 10-year-old loli instead of casting someone who is a naturally high-pitched voice (mind you that Luci isn't often typecast into lolis), which is a large stark contrast to Rina Hidaka's high-pitched voice take on Enju. The dub is also one of the few examples of Sentai Filmworks competency when it comes to casting their voice actresses into lolis (as this falls more into the lines of Difficult, but Awesome category) with voice actresses like Caitlynn French, Brittney Karbowski, and Hilary Haag. Chris Patton also delivers Rentaro's Deadpan Snarker moments better in the dub as well. The only drawback is that the dub adds more profanity than the original Japanese dub and took more liberties on the script, but across from that, Sentai delivered a dub worthy for Toonami airing.
- While Steven Foster may have had his share of questionable English dubs, one dub that stands out in particular (and needs more love) is Inu × Boku SS. The Japanese version was a Tough Act to Follow as it bought in many all-star seiyuu like Rina Hidaka, Yūichi Nakamura, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Yōko Hikasa, Mamoru Miyano, Tomokazu Sugita, and Kana Hanazawa. So how did Sentai approach this dub? They casted some of their most well-known talents who really gave it their all. David Matranga as Kagerou was easily the highlight of the dub doing a fantastic job of hamming it up and capturing the eccentric energy of the character. It was a pleasant surprise since David Matranga isn't quite known to be one for Large Ham characters. Hilary Haag also gives a strong performance as Ririchiyo having a very snide tone to her voice fitting the character's snarky attitude but also sounding youthful enough. The dub also bought along Chris Patton, David Wald, Blake Shepard, Shelley Calene-Black, Monica Rial, and Greg Ayres who were all good fits for their characters and above all sounded like they had fun with their roles.
- Sentai's dub of Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun is not only one of the best comedies of its year, it's one of the best dubbed comedies period. With the exception of veteran Monica Rial all the main leads are fairly new to or don't have much credits in the anime dubbing scene, and yet all their performances were superb. Ty Mahany as Nozaki finds the perfect balance between his normally stoic behavior and dorky moments instead of just straight out going monotone. Juliet Simmons as Chiyo was absolutely adorable, but she adds a bit of sass to the character which gives more to Chiyo apart from always being the nice one. She also displayed a wide comedic range, nailing the exaggerated delivery when the joke calls for it. Just watching the dub, you'd never guess she'd only been in the business for two years. Scott Gibbs is absolutely hilarious as Mikoshiba and is at his best whenever the poor boy embarrasses himself. Monica Rial is unexpectedly the cool and deep-voiced Kashima, but it's a befitting performance and it's always a delight to hear Monica do her more sultry pitch. Cameron Bautsch may sound a bit shaky at first as Wakamatsu, but there's an Adorkable and childish nature to his voice that just works for the character. But by far the best performances aside from Chiyo comes from Joanne Bonasso as Seo and Adam Noble as Hori. Bonasso had a roughness to her voice that emphasized Seo's rather oblivious and blunt nature, and Noble always hit just the right tone whenever Hori switched from relaxed to annoyed to just flat out angry. The script is also well written and faithful, taking a few liberties here and there whenever a joke doesn't translate well, and the dialogue flows naturally, lacking stiffness or pauses that even Japanese dubs can't always escape. Overall, it's a dub worth watching and one of Sentai's best efforts.
- Even after being dubbed after nearly 8 years since its release, the dub of The Pet Girl of Sakurasou still managed to be one of the best dubs that Sentai Filmworks has ever dubbed. Caitlynn French provides a monotone yet cute and charming voice for the ditzy Mashiro in the same vein as what Ai Kayano did. And say what you will about his voice, but no doubt that Greg Ayres captured an emotional performance as Sorata.
- Princess Principal: By giving all the girls English Accents (and leaving the genuine Japanese in Japanese with subs), The Princess Principal dub is a standout example.
