Review of the Slayers Evolution-R DVDs
Jun. 4th, 2010 07:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brendalaI finished my Evolution-R DVDs and overall it was a real mixed bag.
It had some good points: Pocota was a fun addition to the main group. When I first saw the promo pictures of Pocota, I wanted to hate him (he seemed to be a blatant ploy to sell merchandise and cutesy up the show). And I was pleasantly surprised when I was proven wrong. I also really liked how Wizer and the Zuuma story arc were handled.
But, as I've said before, the fact that Rezo was the Big Bad was a huge letdown. The inclusion of Rezo wouldn't bother me if another season and/or OVA was confirmed. But since this could very well be the last season of Slayers we get (or at least, the last one where the old casts will be able to come back), I would have preferred to see some unused novel villain(s) and/or someone new.
THE DVD
It seriously ticks me off that a creditless version of the final episode's ending isn't an extra; because it is REALLY hard to see the animation behind that massive wall of English text! I can live with a bare bones release of Revolution/Evolution-R because getting the old dub cast was the most important thing. But, since clean versions of all the other opening and ending songs have been standard thus far, I naturally assumed we'd get one for the final episode as well (I'm pretty sure a clean version of it exists somewhere).
THE DUB
Having (most of) the English actors back was the highlight of this season.
-By Evolution-R, Lisa Ortiz's Lina-voice is back in full force and no longer dips into chipmunk territory.
-Veronica Taylor is the star of this show. Just like in Revolution, she sounded EXACTLY the same as she did 10 years ago and her acting was flawless. The Amelia-centric scenes were a definite highlight because of her.
-Sinterniklaas' Xellos won me over pretty quickly. After 2 or 3 episodes, it felt as if he had been Xellos forever (he was THAT good).
-I was surprised that Eric Stuart's voice had changed so much since TRY (if I didn't know it was him, I'd swear Gourry was being played by some guy doing an Eric Stuart impression!). His acting was good. But his performance sometimes sounded strained; as if recapturing the old voice was really difficult for him.
-I understand that getting Kelly Manison back to play Nama was probably impossible. But I don't know what the casting people were thinking when they picked an actress who couldn't even do "The Laugh"! Veronica Taylor would have been the perfect replacement for Manison! I just don't get why they didn't give the role to her.
-Liam O'Brien is a great Rezo. He sounds brilliant and crazy at the same time.
-I liked the little nod the the last novel in the final episode (Gourry: "Hey Lina, you feeling homesick yet?")
-I thought it was a little odd that Crispin Freeman didn't try to make Zelgadis sound younger in the flashback episode. But that was the only hiccup in an otherwise outstanding episode.
-Speaking of Crispin Freeman, he had a pretty funny ad lib in the 'Fishperson Melodrama' episode (you'll know it when you hear it ~_^).
-Speaking of the 'Fishperson Melodrama' episode, it's a blast to watch in English. Toppi was given a really funny nebbish voice and the performances were great all around.
OVERALL
If you're a fan of the dub (or just curious to see if the American actors have improved), this is a definite must-buy. I had already seen the whole series subbed, but I caught nuances and jokes in the dub that I missed when I watched in Japanese. So, even if you're a die-hard subbie, it's worth watching it again in English if only for that.
It had some good points: Pocota was a fun addition to the main group. When I first saw the promo pictures of Pocota, I wanted to hate him (he seemed to be a blatant ploy to sell merchandise and cutesy up the show). And I was pleasantly surprised when I was proven wrong. I also really liked how Wizer and the Zuuma story arc were handled.
But, as I've said before, the fact that Rezo was the Big Bad was a huge letdown. The inclusion of Rezo wouldn't bother me if another season and/or OVA was confirmed. But since this could very well be the last season of Slayers we get (or at least, the last one where the old casts will be able to come back), I would have preferred to see some unused novel villain(s) and/or someone new.
THE DVD
It seriously ticks me off that a creditless version of the final episode's ending isn't an extra; because it is REALLY hard to see the animation behind that massive wall of English text! I can live with a bare bones release of Revolution/Evolution-R because getting the old dub cast was the most important thing. But, since clean versions of all the other opening and ending songs have been standard thus far, I naturally assumed we'd get one for the final episode as well (I'm pretty sure a clean version of it exists somewhere).
THE DUB
Having (most of) the English actors back was the highlight of this season.
-By Evolution-R, Lisa Ortiz's Lina-voice is back in full force and no longer dips into chipmunk territory.
-Veronica Taylor is the star of this show. Just like in Revolution, she sounded EXACTLY the same as she did 10 years ago and her acting was flawless. The Amelia-centric scenes were a definite highlight because of her.
-Sinterniklaas' Xellos won me over pretty quickly. After 2 or 3 episodes, it felt as if he had been Xellos forever (he was THAT good).
-I was surprised that Eric Stuart's voice had changed so much since TRY (if I didn't know it was him, I'd swear Gourry was being played by some guy doing an Eric Stuart impression!). His acting was good. But his performance sometimes sounded strained; as if recapturing the old voice was really difficult for him.
-I understand that getting Kelly Manison back to play Nama was probably impossible. But I don't know what the casting people were thinking when they picked an actress who couldn't even do "The Laugh"! Veronica Taylor would have been the perfect replacement for Manison! I just don't get why they didn't give the role to her.
-Liam O'Brien is a great Rezo. He sounds brilliant and crazy at the same time.
-I liked the little nod the the last novel in the final episode (Gourry: "Hey Lina, you feeling homesick yet?")
-I thought it was a little odd that Crispin Freeman didn't try to make Zelgadis sound younger in the flashback episode. But that was the only hiccup in an otherwise outstanding episode.
-Speaking of Crispin Freeman, he had a pretty funny ad lib in the 'Fishperson Melodrama' episode (you'll know it when you hear it ~_^).
-Speaking of the 'Fishperson Melodrama' episode, it's a blast to watch in English. Toppi was given a really funny nebbish voice and the performances were great all around.
OVERALL
If you're a fan of the dub (or just curious to see if the American actors have improved), this is a definite must-buy. I had already seen the whole series subbed, but I caught nuances and jokes in the dub that I missed when I watched in Japanese. So, even if you're a die-hard subbie, it's worth watching it again in English if only for that.
