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pouralaura · 2 months

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reflection

a small helping of psychosexual fluff featuring my Tav (Eris) and the devil she knows.

Her hair is too long, yes – but perhaps the perfect length for this purpose. A murmured incantation coats her hand with sweet-smelling oil, and she slicks her short-but-unruly blue-grey locks back loosely in an imitation of Raphael’s own coiffure. His hissed exhale is audible, and she stifles a grin, softening it into a smirk so very much like the one he often wears.

“Do you like it?”

His jaw clenches and she watches a vein in his neck pulse.

“Yes.”

tags: femdom, roleplay, degradation, very light genderplay, oral sex, mention of pegging, the usual light foot stuff you know me for

Eris had worn her hair much longer when she was younger. Blue locks hung down past her shoulder blades at one time; she'd pull it up into a messy bun or plait it when active. Pain in the ass to maintain, honestly. On her twenty-seventh birthday she’d cut it into a wavy pixie. It suits her, she thinks. Easy, no fuss. Painless in the bath, too – long hair she’d have to tie up to use the boudoir’s vast, gaudy pool, but now she leans her head back comfortably against Raphael’s damp bicep, his arm laid out casually behind her, and doesn’t worry about getting her short hair wet.

It's verging on too long, now, though. Tickles the nape of her neck in the worst way. Needs to be cut every two months or so, which is annoying, but at least it doesn’t take long to snip back into shape. She’ll do it when she returns to Baldur’s Gate tomorrow after finishing up her weekend stay at the House of Hope.

Eris pecks Raphael on the cheek – cherishing the ensuing slight upward quirk of his mouth – and climbs out of the pool, grabbing a soft towel from nearby to dry off. She’ll spend an hour or two curled up with a book while he lounges and casually carries out some revisioning work.

He pays her no mind as she busies herself with redressing, choosing to spread his other arm along the rim of the pool and lean his head back into a tasseled pillow, eyes closing in contentment. Satisfied as a cat; regal as a king.

Eris doesn't reach for her own tunic. Instead she pulls Raphael’s crisp, clean white shirt from the neat pile of their clothing on the plush chair next to the wardrobe and slides her arms into the sleeves, buttoning it up halfway and wearing nothing underneath. He likes this look on her, of course – what manner of man wouldn’t enjoy seeing his lover in his clothing? A mark of possession; a claim; a deed of ownership. Not that Raphael would ever assume to own her, of course; she’s long refused his offer to make her his consort, and estimates said offer isn’t up for review for at least another few years (lest he incur her wrath).

Something pushes her to pick up and don his doublet, too. With an ego the size of his, certainly he’ll delight in seeing both layers on her form. It's not just for him, either; Raphael’s overwhelming scent, sweet and smoldering, always stirs her – not that she's trying to be a fucking weirdo about it, but it is what it is – and she pulls the thick material closer, inhaling him.

The sloshing sounds of the water alert her to the man's presence nearing her, and Eris soon feels the heated press of his body at her back.

“Well, well. I have to commend you on your choice of attire.”

She leans her head back against his shoulder and smiles. “Perhaps you're rubbing off on me.”

“Oh, I have before, and I will again.” The double meaning in Raphael’s words is clear as he presses his naked hips against her rear and inclines his head to mouth at her neck, moving the high collars on the shirt and doublet out of the way. “I can be very persuasive.”

“Don’t I know it, with that sinful voice of yours. What was the line, again – oh, I remember –”

Eris turns in the devil’s arms to face him.

“The mouse smiled brightly; it outfoxed the cat!” She pitches her voice a bit lower for the next line, remembering Raphael’s seductive, lilting delivery from their first meeting. “Then down came the claw; and that, love –”

She leans in to kiss him lightly on the mouth, but he grips her hips with a bit more enthusiasm than she'd been expecting and groans softly at the press of her lips, opening his own underneath them. Eager tongue meets eager tongue and it's clear Eris’s earlier hypothesis on his opinion was well-founded.

“Ohhh,” she purrs as they part. “Do I make a fine enough Archdevil Supreme, devil mine?”

“Second only to the real thing,” he rumbles, sliding a hand beneath his unbuttoned white shirt inside the doublet she now wears to shamelessly grope at her breast.

“Haarlep will be terribly disappointed to hear that.”

“Haarlep isn't here. And what a gift that is.”

“Shall I continue, then? Model the rest of your handsome ensemble?”

“If you must,” he grouses, but his eyes are alight with interest. She knows that look very well.

Eris turns away from him as she slides his trousers on. Of slighter stature than her lover, she finds the waist too large and the legs too long, as expected – but a clean snap of Raphael’s fingers from behind her heralds a quick cinch around her hips and a loss of excess fabric around her ankles. (She’ll remember that the next time she needs something of hers hemmed.)

“How do I look?” she asks slyly, and turns back to find him flushed.

Ah. Well-founded, indeed. Terribly, terribly correct, she was. Marvelous.

“Put on your boots,” he demands. “Complete the picture.”

Eris does exactly that, stepping over to lean against the wardrobe behind her to pull each boot on rather than balance precariously on one foot – as the waves of arousal and tension emanating from him are palpable enough to nearly knock her over. When finished, she straightens and spreads her arms wide in an obscenely Raphael-like gesture of welcome.

“Well?”

For all the words the devil has at his disposal, all seem to fail him now. He still holds his head high, mighty like a king, but the deepening flush spreading down his neck and into the wiry hairs on his chest says more than any words would regardless. His cock had already been stirring against her when he’d pressed his hips to hers before; now it’s full and hard and heavy as he looks Eris up and down.

With forced steadiness, haughty tone more than a little patronizing despite his clear interest, he finally says, “It’s as if I’m looking in a mirror, my dear. Besides the obvious differences.”

Eris smiles, and now she's the one resembling the satisfied cat. “Perhaps another touch, I think –”

“Do you like it?”

His jaw clenches and she watches a vein in his neck pulse.

“Yes.”

Victory.

Eris steps lightly, purposefully over to the ornate bed. Her voice is low again when she speaks after a moment. Smooth. Just like his.

“Then, come here…little mouse.”

As if hypnotized, Raphael comes to her slowly and deliberately. His pretty cock bobs thickly between his legs, flushed nearly as red as his cheeks. Upon reaching her, the devil says nothing, filling the silence with his shallow breaths and hesitant eye contact. Eris reaches out to touch his face, brushing fingertips softly, dangerously over his handsome jawline.

“Tell me how you'll indulge me today.”

Her lover takes a deep breath before responding, only the slightest of wavers discernible in a tone rough with arousal.

“I am yours…Archdevil Supreme.”

Eris’s heart thuds in her chest.

“Get on your knees.”

And he obeys.

Despite having only just donned Raphael’s attire, Eris lets him undress her again now, noting only the smallest of tremors in his strong, elegant hands. He begins with her boots, pulling each one off gently and placing it to the side. She’d foregone footwraps in the interest of simplicity, so her feet are bared to him quickly – true to form, he lifts each one to his face, breathing in and out, heavy cock beginning to leak between his thighs onto the ornate rug beneath him. Presses his open mouth to each arch in turn, moistening her skin and lapping up the condensing droplets, salty and heady.

But as much as Eris loves to watch him fall apart underneath her heel, now’s not the time. She flexes her foot in his grasp, pushes her sole against his striking nose just hard enough that his head falls back. Sneers.

“There are better uses for your mouth, I think, than chasing your own sick cravings. Perhaps we ought to stuff it with cock.”

She’s not harnessed up right now; isn’t equipped with her pretty polished leather phallus her dangerous darling often desires so dearly; but this isn’t about fucking him. It’s about him worshiping her – as him. A narcissist’s fantasy. A perverse, masturbatory scene. The very flavor of deviance her handsome devil adores.

(She'll put her lovely faux cock down his throat another time, though.)

“Continue undressing me, and then we’ll discuss the terms of our agreement.”

Raphael scrambles to heed her request, unbuttoning his own trousers and pulling them eagerly down over the curves of Eris’s hips. Helps her step out of them so she’s wearing nothing below the waist. So he can see her pretty pink sex.

Bared, she studies him. His eyes are wide, pupils blown as he stares back. Hands clenched into tight fists on his knees. Beautiful cock so hard, so wanting, so desirous of himself and of her in tandem.

“Open.”

Eris slides two fingers onto Raphael’s tongue, pressing further and further back into his throat as he moans around them. Slips the other hand underneath his chin; makes him look up at her while she leisurely explores the inside of his wet mouth.

“A devil’s plaything, aren’t you? So obedient for me, sweet mouse.”

She leans back against the bed and brings her fingertips to her dripping slit, parting her delicate lips for him to see. Traces around her entrance with his saliva, thick between her digits.

“Suck me, girl.”

His mouth is between her legs faster than she can blink. So willing and pliant and needy and serving.

She hoists a knee up onto the bed to give him easier access, and to see his every move more clearly. Watches him reach for his cock. Buries a hand in his hair and yanks his head back. He whines. It’s indecent.

“What makes you think you can attend to your own pleasure? Did I grant you permission?”

“No, Your Grace,” he breathes, face shiny with her slick. “Accept my apologies.”

“Pathetic,” she sneers. “Tell me you won’t touch your cock again.”

“I won't touch my cock again.”

Rare that she can get him to obey so easily. So eagerly. He brats for her, as she does for him. It's how they’ve operated from the beginning – he likes a challenge, likes a fight.

But, up against himself (in a manner of speaking)?

Different.

Fascinating.

“Get back to work.”

For Eris, there is nothing like watching her devil chase his indulgence. She thrives on being the one he chooses to delight in; for all the years he's lived, he says, there is no sweeter nectar than that which drips from her honeyed cunt. His self-possessed hunger is unforgiving, and what use would she have, anyway, for forgiveness?

The act of giving oral pleasure is, by nature, a generous thing. But this is not how Raphael usually approaches it. He usually eats at Eris greedily, harsh tongue licking and savoring deeply. Pushes her, overstimulates her to the point of ache, nearly to the point of pain. Usually clutches at her soft hips and pulls her closer still, holds her in place for a sloppy and rampant feast. Usually makes a selfless act into a selfish one, making her pleasure an afterthought even when she’s the one riding his face and he's groaning, whimpering in delight beneath her, trapped so willingly between her thighs.

But now – now, with his own sex-laced tone painting his blue cherry’s words; with his own affectation and mannerism adorning her every move – Raphael is reverent with every stroke of his wicked tongue.

And the comparison, the juxtaposition, is fucked up. There’s a sick sort of pleasure in her gut, a depraved thrill at being worthy of the highest worship only when she’s playing as him. It’s demeaning and debasing for both of them: for him to be so plainly an egomaniac; for her to feel – to be – less than him, less than how he sees himself.

They’re both terribly pathetic, aren’t they?

The thought makes her shiver as the tension builds low in her belly, spurred on by Raphael’s loud and unrestrained sucks and licks at her core. She won’t be long.

(Never is. But then again, neither is he.)

“Don’t you dare come before I do.” Threat is evident in her tone. She doesn’t expect he’ll last, even with her warning.

And he doesn’t. Last, that is. Raphael shudders and pauses his ministrations briefly to spill onto the rug between them with a low groan, lips framing a single word, and the sight of him giving in sends a hot throb of arousal through Eris’s every godsdamned nerve. She doesn’t have time to dwell on it though, because he drags two fingers through his release, through the fibers of the carpet, and brings them to join his mouth at the apex of her legs. Slides them inside, lifting a bare thigh with his other hand to rest on his shoulder for leverage, and looks worshipfully up at her with a mouthful of her cunt as he carries her the rest of the way to her end and she comes on his tongue with a soft cry.

She knows his feelings for her match hers for him. She’s not stupid. The two of them wouldn’t be as they are if anything were different.

The single word on his lips was her name – as it always is – and she’d be an idiot to acknowledge it. He – they both – are too proud to speak of love, too stubborn to admit pride as a greater weakness than emotion.

This is enough, though, she thinks, as they curl into bed after another quick dip in the bath, after what feels like a thousand kisses she presses to his mouth. Raphael with furrowed brow, a draft and quill pen on his lap, spectacles on the tip of his nose; Eris with that book she’d promised herself earlier, too-long hair mussed in her usual style tickling the devil’s bare skin where her head rests on his shoulder.

This is enough for them.

#laura's writing #raphael bg3 #raphael x tav #bg3 raphael #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #now you get to see how insane I am about my own guy #it's a slippery slope #ty mel for the initial brainworm it Killed Me

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smytherines · 3 months

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Overly long staircase scene acting analysis because I'm autistic

Watched the staircase scene again, because this is my life now. But I just cannot get over how incredible Joey Richter is in this scene. Every beat is absolutely heartbreaking. The anger and hurt in his voice as he yells "I'm going to single-handedly dismantle everything you've ever believed in," the way his voice breaks.

During the reprise he does a stunning job of "guy trying to be cold and intimidating but is actually incredibly sad and unbelievably angry." The way Owen says "a world without agencies, a world without spies, a world without secrets" with so much quiet contempt for the thing that ruined his life.

Maybe the best piece of acting in the entire show is when Curt steps up into Owen's gun and says "the feelings we had for each other." And Owen looks pained, he looks wistful for a second. His gun lowers to Curt's heart and his hand repositions like he's really struggling with what he believes he has to do. The thing he's been wanting to do for four years. But he just can't manage to pull the trigger, despite having ample opportunity to do so.

When Curt finally shoots his gun out of his hand and aims the gun at his head, the way Joey Richter plays Owen just feels incredibly sad. To me it reads as Owen, not being able to kill Curt, thinking Curt wouldn't be able to kill him either, and realizing too late that he was wrong about that. There's a kind of incredulous disappointment in his voice as he says "so what are you doing?"

I know I get ridiculous with my Owen Carvour headcanon, but this one scene just gives SO much insight into his character and motivations, without outright telling you pretty much anything. That's partially clever writing, but its also just Joey Richter absolutely killing this role, making Owen feel like a real person with real anguish and doubt and anger. Its spectacular.

And it's wild because Curt Mega is also really fucking good in this scene, but kind of in different ways? His delivery doesn't subvert what we know about Agent Mega, it reinforces it. Curt has been grieving for four years. He fell apart after Owen's "death," his alcohol use turning into a full-on disorder, making him incapable of doing the one thing he loves, the thing he feels he does best. And actor Curt Mega does an incredible job at conveying all of that without even saying a word. Curt's stance, the way he braces against the staircase just kind of numb with the realization that Owen is alive, the anger and resentment that he mourned Owen for so long only for him to be out there doing evil schemes. It's all played perfectly.

As an Owen Carvour defender I have issues with what agent Mega does here that are mostly subtextual, so I'm gonna stick to the acting choices within the actual text of the show:

The thing that stands out the most about Joey Richter's performance to me is the little vocal breaks and how raw the line deliveries are, but what stands out to me about Curt Mega's performance is his body language and facial expressions, which are just pitch perfect from start to finish.

Our guy is speedrunning the five stages of grief on that staircase.

First is denial and anger, kinda wrapped up in one package- denying that Owen has the upper hand, there's something about the stance here that feels like he's planting himself with a false confidence, like he doesn't want Owen to know how scared and overwhelmed and sad he is about this. How angry he is that his life fell apart mourning someone who isn't even dead.

Then bargaining- when Curt is pleading with Owen, telling him that he's sure the agencies can pull some strings and get him pardoned if he agrees to give up Chimera. It's hard to describe the expressions & body language in a way that doesn't sound kinda weird, but there's a flash on Curt's face that reads to me like "if you give up Chimera maybe there's a chance for us," which is of course cut off by Owen's anger. There's a desperation, and even a little hint of optimism- it isn't too late to fix this.

Then depression- the expressions here are just heartbreaking, as Owen pontificates Curt is just slowly unraveling, leaning back into the staircase his face just crumbles. Like every word Owen says is physically hurting him. Like he's realizing slowly that there is no going back, that the time they shared & the feelings they had aren't going to be enough. Actor Curt Mega makes so many interesting acting choices here that say so much more than you could say through dialogue alone. The way Curt steps into the gun very much feels like he is accepting that baring his heart to Owen could get him killed, and that it's worth the risk to try (damn, just gave myself more empathy for agent mega here)

And then- acceptance. After Curt has his big moment of vulnerability, appealing to Owen's memories of their time together, and Owen rejects him by telling him to move on, Curt accepts that he has to kill Owen. It reads to me like he isn't doing it to save the world (or at least not exclusively for that) he's doing it to save himself. To remove the spectre of Owen that has been haunting him for the last four years. That as long as Owen is alive he will be haunting Curt.

(As an Owen Carvour defender I have to point out that Owen is *disarmed* at this point, so I personally have a whole big rant I could make but this shit is too long already)

Again it's weird to describe someone's facial expressions and body language, but all of the emotions you can infer from this scene are down to just great acting. Two really good actors doing a well-written scene spectacularly. As good as the rest of the show is- and its very good- this scene is why there's still an active fanbase for a comedy spy parody musical, still making art and writing fanfiction and doing edits and memes about the relationship between Owen Carvour and Agent Curt Mega nearly eight years later.

#spies are forever #tin can bros #agent curt mega #owen carvour #curtwen #joey richter #curt mega #staircase scene #SAFtistic

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raayllum · 8 months

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It's about the Framing

Also the "just get this over with" makes me think that while Karim is driven (and fool hardy), making his own terrible choices every step of the way, he still isn't going to revel in the defeat of his sister. He doesn't necessarily want Janai to die, he just thinks it's necessary, and somehow that's worse, tbh

Kim'Dael prioritizing her own needs and freedom over Karim's political ploys + vague parallels / juxtaposition ("I'm not going to help you murder the archdragon of the Ocean [...] That's the dark magic you want. Just let her go" / "Release me from my debt to your bloodline. Then I will kill whoever you like") between Callum trying to make a deal by going along with Finnegrin's murderous intents for freedom vs Kim'Dael's demands, showing who still holds the power in her dynamic with Karim

And this line delivery from Janai always makes me laugh because the "disappointed older sister" vibe is just pitch perfect

#dragons liveblogs #5x08 #prince karim #kim'dael

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thankskenpenders · 2 years

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youtube

The first proper trailer for Sonic Prime came out yesterday, as I'm sure you've all heard. I've gotten several messages asking me my thoughts, so... here's some thoughts! Thoughts on how the show's looking, and a certain bat whose presence is somehow the biggest news to me.

First off? This looks phenomenal, visually speaking. I'm kind of in awe of how good the visuals in CGI cartoons are getting. The scenery looks great. The characters move so fluidly. Everything's beautifully lit. I could go on and on. I wish the in-engine game cutscenes had animation half this good.

I continue to be pleased with how slavishly faithful to the games the main universe is - to the point that they're saying this is, in fact, just set in the game universe. Yeah, we're all getting tired of Green Hill Zone, but we've never had a cartoon that was this faithful. The closest we got was Sonic X, which I like, but it's hard to look at any random episode about Sonic having to save the extensive human cast from another generic robot and say it really has the feel of the games. Seeing Sonic and co. fight some classic Badniks in a cartoon with (mostly) their normal designs feels special after all these years of never quite getting that.

That slavish faithfulness to the classic iconography also makes the differences with the multiverse stuff hit harder, and thank GOD they're finally showing some of that. This teaser is pitching it as a show about Sonic meeting alternate timeline versions of his friends who form an underground resistance against the Eggman Empire (funny how the franchise keeps finding itself back in Freedom Fighter territory), which is fun and all. Tall cyborg Amy! A version of Tails who can walk like a spider on a set of robotic kitsune tails! Hell yeah! But if the synopsis blurbs about a "multiverse" and "new worlds" and that pile of leaked concept art from a year and a half ago are anything to go off of, this is presumably only the first of multiple alternate worlds that we'll be seeing. I'm very excited to see more of them!

We also hear a little more from the new voice cast. Brian Drummond is kinda doing his own thing with Eggman. I like it. It sounds compatible with the usual Mike Pollock take without aping it 1:1. He seems maybe a little more sinister here, which fits what we've seen so far from this take on Eggman. And Deven Mack still sounds great as Sonic, although I kind of wonder if he's being instructed to sound like Roger since the delivery in what we've heard so far is pretty similar. I get that desire for consistency, but I hope he's able to inject a bit more of his own spin on Sonic in the full show, even if it's supposed to technically be the same Sonic as Roger's.

Meanwhile, the roles for the rest of the main voice cast have been confirmed elsewhere, and they mostly match up with what I expected because these casting choices just make perfect sense. I already know Shannon Chan-Kent, known primarily for playing Misa in Death Note and Pinkie Pie's singing voice (and Smolder) in MLP, is perfect casting for Amy. Ashleigh Ball's one brief line as Tails sounds a lot like her Rainbow Dash voice, but like... hey, it fits! I'm excited to hear more from her. And Knuckles... well, I don't know his VA as well and also he has no lines in this trailer.

But by now y'all know which characters I stan the most, and you know what I'm gonna be excited about. The big surprise here is the fact that Rouge is on the main cast. The main cast.

The cast posters revealed that she was in the show, which was big enough news, but then the trailer drops and she's on the damn team. Every hero team in a kids' show needs three boys and two girls, and this time they rounded out the group with Rouge. AND she's being voiced by Kazumi Evans, yet another MLP alum on this show - this time Rarity's singing voice and the voice of Adagio Dazzle in Equestria Girls. I don't even need to hear any lines, I know that's another perfect fit.

I'm just shocked. Rouge hasn't been in a TV series in almost two decades since she was kept out of Boom, robbing us of the "Rouge somehow ropes Team Sonic into doing a goofy heist with her" episode the world deserved. Ian's even said that he pitched some ideas for Boom Rouge after being asked to pitch more Boom-ified game characters, but it went nowhere. While she's continued to show up in the comics and (to a lesser extent) the games due to her fan favorite status, it's kind of felt like she was being swept under the rug. Fewer major story appearances than in the '00s, not much merch, it took them until the fifth Mario & Sonic game to make her playable. And she's probably seen as less broadly marketable as a mascot character because of... well, two big reasons.

And so, understandably, Rouge is here with a new outfit that covers those two big reasons up more than usual.

Yeah as a Rouge fan, a person who's talked at length about the fanservice in Archie Sonic, and a sapphic furry artist, I can't avoid talking about this stuff lol

I mostly like the new outfit and think it was a smart call. We can have lots of nuanced discussions about objectification and sexual liberation and the fact that seeing some cleavage isn't gonna kill you and how being the flirty femme fatale is a core part of Rouge's character and whether that's objectifying or empowering and all the other things that get brought up every time a new Bayonetta game comes out. But at the end of the day their main audience is 8-year-olds, and because of that I really can't blame them for dressing Rouge slightly more modestly. I've always loved Rouge as a character the way she already is, but people (particularly non-fans, and also just... Sonic fans who aren't also furries lol) often write her off as "that weird bat lady with the tits that people are really horny for." Hopefully the writing will show non-comic readers that she's a genuinely fun character when used well as a foil to the rest of the cast, and hopefully her new outfit(s) will allow people to focus on that.

I do think something's a little off with the new outfit, though, even if I think it looks solid overall. Is it just that the heart motif is more abstract and less of a central focus here? That might be part of it. Maybe the suit just looks slightly overdesigned next to Team Sonic. Unsurprisingly I've also already seen multiple pieces of fanart giving this outfit a boob window, with one arguing that showing more of her skin tone on her torso gives the design better color balance, and... yeah, on that level I do kinda agree lol. Although I think a similar balance could be achieved just by having her upper arms be exposed or something. (Which is a feature on her bad timeline counterpart's outfit!) But, yeah, overall I do think I like it.

I also don't think they actually made her boobs smaller compared to most of her modern appearances despite the many, many, MANY claims to the contrary but I am not getting into that debate lol. Also she's literally still wearing a skintight catsuit and doing cool flying kicks you are not allowed to say they made her less hot

The fact that they're putting Rouge front and center has me VERY curious about her future prospects in the movie universe, though, given the particular projects currently in the works. To me, this makes it seem WAY more likely than it previously did. But who knows?

Uhhh anyway yeah the show looks good. I like pretty much everything we've seen so far. I like basically all of the previous Sonic cartoons except Underground to some extent, but if they stick the landing with this one then it seems like it'll pretty easily be the best one. I guess it's kinda lame that they made Sonic say "gotta go fast" in the trailer, but idk, it's a modern Sonic project, they gotta pay the obligatory lame meme toll. I am mostly fixated on Rouge because she's one of my favorite characters and her being on the main team is somehow the biggest curveball this show's previews have thrown so far, like seriously what.

#tkp post

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freakdeerr · 12 days

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Brendan got me to watch the show Stella yesterday, which I somehow missed despite my best friend in 2005 being obsessed with Michael Ian Black and David Wain around that time (and I can't even ask them about it now because we haven't been on speaking terms for a decade), and me generally being familiar with all 3 main cast members/creators and their work (also just realized Michael Showalter directed the horny age-gap relationship Anne Hathaway movie that my instagram feed would not shut up about like a month ago). To be fair it did just sort of get released, cancelled and then fell off the face of the earth.

It's extremely enjoyable! The main thing that keeps getting me is everyone is doing such phenomenally stupid line readings but it works so well. Michael Showalter especially does so many goofy voices and I love it. (Wow really not selling it but imagine if someone doing stupid annoying voices was pitch perfect for the tone and delivery every time lmao)

Haven't watched it all yet and a few bits tickled my memory so I have definitely at least seen like clips of it or screenshots at least before at some point, but wow really great. It's been a while since I've watched something new because I mostly just veg out to youtube videos for hours every day (and it has definitely made me worse & dumber).

#Also the humour is actually largely “inoffensive” outside of a few jokes for 2005 #I really want to rewatch superjail now #Thank you Brendan

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marvel-ousmondays · 4 months

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The Avengers (Avengers Assemble)

So it took me a week to finish watching The Avengers.

It wasn't the movie's fault. It's a great film, especially if you are into the action-packed, fighting scenes. The dynamic between characters is great, and it has one of (if not my absolute) favorite quotes of the series.

But it is 2 hours and 23 minutes long and I had a weird week in terms of work, plus I wasn't actually feeling like watching a bunch of fight scenes. So it took a hot minute. Also, I had just finished season 2 of Loki not that long ago and going back to really bad Loki was a bit hard. He has few if any redeemable qualities in this one.

I'm not going to attempt a standard review given my less than standard watching procedure. I'm just going to call out things I liked.

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow will forever be flipping incredible. In the Battle of New York where she's jumping on the flying Chitari and such- epic. But also her clear care for Barton and her emotional manipulation of both the criminals at the beginning and Loki later on- chef's kiss. I'm so glad she's the one to close the portal.

(Quick side note/small spoiler- there's a fan theory going around that her "feelings" for Banner in Ultron are all fake, just a method of control. I call bullshit. She is clearly fascinated by him throughout this film. If anyone's feelings are fake, it'd be Banner's, but Mark Ruffalo is too genuine for us to ever know.)

Erik Selvig and Barton both under Loki's control and then when they come out of it did incredible jobs. I particularly like the writing of Selvig under Loki's control- the science fascination unbridled, versus any actual desire for power. I think this hits the Tesseract's power and Loki's manipulation abilities dead on- they don't project what Loki would assume others would want onto them- they magnify the worst parts of anyone's desires and abilities. Barton is a master strategist and Selvig wants to understand every aspect of the cosmos. Generally these are traits they've put to good use. But under Loki, they're manipulated into awful acts.

Samuel L. Jackson's line "I recognize the council has made a decision, but as it is a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it" could be emblazoned on my tombstone and I'd be happy. The delivery was pitch perfect and always makes me laugh, while also being deadly serious.

Coulson- Clark Gregg's best role by far and the small amount of fanboying here just humanized his normally very stoic disposition so well. So glad they did opt to bring him back and in style.

I'm a huge Mark Ruffalo fan, both as an actor and just as a human being. It was incredibly difficult to come in after Edward Norton to fill this role but he nailed it. The moment when he tells about how he tried to commit suicide and the Hulk spat the bullet back out breaks my heart every time. There's obviously a lot of parable here about learning how to channel your anger. I personally think anger has gotten a bad rap, especially among women and activists. Righteous anger, as Starfire might say (yes, I know, I'm daring to mix DC and Marvel again, fight me later), is a powerful motivator. Anger can fuel us to change that which needs changing, but it has to be directed. Hulk shows that well enough. But I also appreciate the slow realization by Banner throughout the film that the Hulk is less crazed, destructive monster and more protector. We're not *there* just yet by the end, there's still some concern, but he's beginning that process of acceptance and understanding.

Captain America is mostly well written here, particularly in demonstrating he doesn't just follow the U.S. or orders blindly any more. He still sees himself as a soldier, but when Tony and Bruce alert him to the smell of fish in the air, he goes looking for answers. This is key character development for him as there was a time where he would have considered himself more bound to higher-ranking officials. However, I would wager Marvel regrets the one "God" comment they made in there as it doesn't really fit him overall.

Stark and Thor perform well, I just don't have a lot of commentary for either. Their rivalry is solid, though the idea that Thor would leave his brother unattended, even in remote mountains, seems unlikely.

I will also argue for more women sooner but that ship has sailed. I had forgotten about Thanos in the post- credits scene, so that was a good addition.

Note for me

Directed by: Joss Whedon

#marvel #marvel mcu #mcu

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technicolorfamiliar · 5 months

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Technicolor Familiar Watches Too Many Conrad Veidt Movies Part 4 of ?

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3

The Wandering Jew, 1933 Dir. Maurice Elvey ⭐2.5/5 Watched Nov 30, Youtube Maybe it was my mood, maybe my expectations were too high, maybe it was the poor quality of the version I watched on Youtube, but I kept waiting for this movie to get better. It sort of did, eventually. The whole last act, especially Mathathias' powerful monologue during the courtroom/Inquisition scene, almost made up for the rest. I get what they were going for style-wise, but I think this kind of epic, mythical story could have benefited from some more grounded writing and performances. Either that or it should have gone harder in the other direction to be more impressionistic, more dreamlike. In the end I feel like it didn’t know what kind of movie it wanted to be.

Casablanca, 1942 Dir. Michael Curtiz ⭐4/5 Watched Dec 2, Max The balls they had to make this movie in 1942. I think the first time I saw this a few years ago I must not have been paying very close attention. This time around I definitely appreciated the whole thing a lot more. The cast, the production design, the lighting, the atmosphere are all pitch perfect. Why not 5 stars then? Maybe because I'm greedy and I want more. This is the only film on this list so far that I wouldn't mind being longer. I want to get to know all the supporting and side characters more. It's nice to see Connie with an ensemble of other excellent actors for a change. It really let him off the hook to be purely unlikeable and not have to carry the movie. As Strasser, he's ice cold with only the slightest trace of camp (which was much more pronounced in the previous year's All Through the Night). He played a lot of villains and unfortunately was typecast in these kinds of roles late in his career, but I think he finally got to showcase here his fervent contempt for the Nazis by playing this utterly icky guy with zero redeeming qualities. He understood the assignment.

Whistling in the Dark, 1941 Dir. S. Sylvan Simon ⭐2.75/5 Watched Dec 3, Archive.org This makes All Through the Night look like auteur cinema. But once again Connie sells it by being totally deadpan amongst all the slapstick tomfoolery. Love to see him with a bunch of underlings, especially at the beginning as they hatch their plan. It's clear he's having a lot of fun with his line delivery. Kind of wish there was more cult/con artist stuff for him to do, but the premise is enjoyable in an absurd way. I love the two ladies, Ann Rutherford and Virginia Grey; they sort of make up for how obnoxious Red Skeleton is. Most of the bits go on far too long though. My main take away from this movie is that I'll now be leaving every future interaction saying, "We part in radiant contentment."

Der Gang in die Nacht, 1921 Dir. F. W. Murnau ⭐2.5/5 Watched Dec 10, Archive.org It's been a minute since my last foray into silent Connie, so I wanted to watch Kreuzzug des Weibes which recently surfaced on Youtube only to have since mysteriously disappeared. Figures. So I watched this instead. A lot of these movies, silents and talkies, have rushed and disjointed endings and this is no exception. The restoration of the version on Archive is amazing, the quality is just beautiful. But I had a hard time connecting with this one, and I don't think it has anything to do with the expressionistic performances. I feel like they were maybe trying to say something about science vs art, while also throwing in messages about infidelity, etc. I don't know what I wanted, but this wasn't it. But I can't complain too much, Connie's romantic anguish is a thrill to watch. When he wakes up after recovering from surgery, his intensity is something else. It's crazy how palpable his performances are across so many years.

King of the Damned, 1935 Dir. Walter Forde ⭐3.5/5 Watched Dec 11, Archive.org This is only 3.5 because of the absolutely god awful quality of the version that's on Archive -- it's like someone did 18 shots of jäger, picked up a camcorder and recorded a bootleg of the movie on tv. It made me kind of seasick. Probably the worst copy of any of these movies I've seen so far. And that really sucks because I actually really liked the movie. It's surprisingly progressive in a way I wasn't expecting. The conversation it's trying to start about prison reform is still really relevant. And we get wet, sweaty, grimy shirtless Connie gently caressing other men in the jungle. I wish we had learned his name at the end, once the revolt was successful and the prisoners had control of the island, it would have been really satisfying for him to reclaim his identity again. But I also completely understand that it needed to not be about him, that he was committed to serving and advocating for the collective. Ugh, love it.

#my writing #conrad veidt #the wandering jew #casablanca #whistling in the dark #der gang in die nacht #king of the damned

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what2watch2night · 1 year

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What To Watch Tonight - The 2022 Series Edition

What a year! Some might complain we had more choices (too much?!) than ever but if this means we have the opportunity to watch a wide range of projects representing a diversity of people and genres, who are we to whine about something that does no wrong? Well, I guess this was also the year of FOMO and goodbyes since so many shows ended or got canceled… So we might as well enjoy the abundance of choices of series, miniseries, and other “made-for-TV” while we can as the future might look a little less generous.

So let’s celebrate and reminisce about some of those we liked this past year that brought us unadulterated joy when we needed it, got us SO emotionally invested and EMOTIONAL, pleasantly occupied our time in the background while maybe-doing-some-light-activity;), they were perfect for when we were bored/sick/relaxing/avoiding “extreme weather events” inside, they were here for us when we needed some fun cheering or a change of perspective, taught us a thing a two, and definitely entertained us to the max - and pluses and beyond!

BEST OF THE BEST

*best of 2022 out of around 150 selected shows…

ANDOR

10/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

Well, this is definitely one of those rare flawless shows.

Sure it helps that this was one of this year's STAR WARS series and prequel to *The best* film ROGUE ONE and manage to keep the same unsettling, exhilarating, grounded yet powerful same vibe, and that intensity hitting at the perfect moment.

And of course, it was visual marvel bringing multiple Best episodes of the year(the end of that first Adani blinding bringing us to the sky, the INTENSE final, to the escape from Alcatraz Narkina 5... )

This show excelled in every aspect from banging sound and score (they introduced house music, and a marching band with RE-INVENTED INSTRUMENTS so people could lose losing their minds on Twitter accordingly) We also had as expected incredible special and practical effects, grandiose scenes, and a production design that makes you want to go back to some scene to appreciate all the little details and easter-egg in the background. On top of that, the costumes were probably some of the best ever seen in the series, from the space-chic cocktail dresses to the fashionable impeccable authoritarian uniform, or the creative outfit with wild fabrics and edgy elements, the out-of-this-world yet looking realistic and practical enough that we can just picture ourselves casually wearing them... Enough to say that every single cast member, including extras, was making some serious fashion statement!

ANDOR got it all but obviously the storytelling and direction thanks to CREATOR Tony Gilroy back from ROGUE ONE and all other formidable collaborators and crews, but last but not least the pitch-perfect cast - including the secondary characters - delivered “Oscar-winning” monologues after monologues from the like of Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O'Reilly, Fiona Shaw, Andy Serkis... With so many quotable lines combo best deliveries… and timing... “Never more than 12”...

HOUSE OF DRAGONS

9.5/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

Ah yes, the BIGGEST show of the year that hopefully, everyone watched religiously every year.

This GAME OF THRONE prequel might have outdone itself despite being focused on fewer (non-male) characters, stories, and locations. Yet the feeling of returning to something we all cherished was incomparable. Much virtual ink has been spilled on this one so we do not need to tell you how everyone in the cast deserves laurels for best performance, or how some DRAMATIC scenes (mostly involving swords and/or blood) stayed with us long after the episodes aired, or how the tales transported us to Westorosi lands and made us google way too many nonsenses about GOT “history” or fam-theories and so forth...

But part of its charm was also undoubtedly the post-watch parties on social media with all the reactions and memes - so many memes - for years to come!

ATLANTA

9.75/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

What a time to be alive indeed! This is what we told ourselves at the end of each episode (scenes!) of this last season of ATLANTA. The show we will definitely miss the most forever.

Sure last season was…A TRIP (to casually racist EUROPE lol!) but each entry of season 4 was wild wild rides unlike anything else out there and switched between styles, genres, and storylines...

But most importantly ATLANTA not only brought us the most incredible episode of the year but maybe the best ever with 'The Goof Who Sat by the Door'!

To talk about it would be to spoil the reason why it is so perfect but let's say every intrigued viewer was bewildered from the first second, jaws dropped to the floor, and we kept asking ourselves "WTF I am watching right now!"

(then probably followed by multiple “Oh Sh!!!!!iiittttt”!)

This was simply the most genuinely hilarious Brilliant and perfectly executed mockumentary or anything we had the pleasure to screen in 2022. So was ATLANTA as a whole.

It was a little touch of magic, fun, nostalgia, and philosophy every week, making us think and rethink various concepts and ourselves and we will now forever wonder if it was all real or a dream, and we are left with memories AND so many questions left unanswered ...

BETTER CALL SAUL

9/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

Another show we had to bid a sad sad farewell to... and this one hurts really bad since it was so bittersweet and many of us “grew up”(at any stage of life!) with those characters for more than 10 years…

This show, although using formulas from its sequel/prequel BREAKING BAD reinvented the wheel and was groundbreaking in its own way, with perfect editing, musical cue, props and costumes, entertaining writing, menacing characters, relatable deeply flawed (murderous/criminal) individuals topped by shenanigans and mindblowing plotting with accompanied montages that will forever be seared in our brain.

We will miss Saul and all the beautifully executed scams by some of the most oddly bonkerz characters and we will miss the underrated Rhea Seehorn and all the other actors with their tour-de-force performances...

EUPHORIA

8.5/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

Ha yes, it had to be here as not only was it a grandiose season but it was definitely one of the buzziest show/pop culture events of the year (with HOD) Returning for a second season even more unbelievable in every way than its predecessor. The show managed to be even CRAZIER and more bold, with incredible chases (mostly while high), tense dramatic scenes worthy of the most dramatic drama, uncomfortable yet powerful meltdowns, and crises, and important moments appropriate for teens, YA, and adults of all ages alike, hilarious youngster shenanigans (also while high), but also a full-on high-school Broadway production basically recapping the show…Very meta!

EUPHORIA aesthetic is surely here to stay representing a very distinct period of our era but its appeal is wider as it is equally style and substance. It is the sort of immersive show that makes you want to tune in every week! (Yes it would have been the most binged show if it was avail in full tho!)

Now, not sure how they can top all the coming-of-age/adulting foolish beguiling nonsense, and that rebellious teenage spirit attitude next!

RESERVATION DOGS

8.75/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

We talked about this show last year but this is another case of sophomore season topping it up while staying authentic and fresh.

RESERVATION DOGS is one of those rare shows managing to be a true dramedy, with scenes that will make you chuckle non-stop and others that will make you want to ball out... Sadly, it took so long for this sort of show to be on our screens but anyone can see that the uniqueness of the narratives offered has such a universal appeal.

Powerful scenes delivered by a cast that “live “ their characters, bleeding facts into great storytelling sublimed by the perfect wicked sense of humor and a heavy dose of surrealism, this is our kind of show!

*Although we had a few projects with a strong indigenous presence this year we can only hope this will become the norm.

PACHINKO

8.75/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

An epic tale about a Korean family fighting for its survival and success generation after generation. This series spanning decades set in Korea during the Japanese occupation, then in Japan, is a feat of cinematography and certainly a masterpiece.

Every episode looked like an Oscar-winning best picture, it was crafted with so much care and all actors elevated the already sweeping and potent material to new heights.

PACHINKO was a cinephile treat like no other...

THE BEAR

7.5/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Imagine the intensity of BOILING POINT in a series that you can binge in one go because you did not know any better!

THE BEAR made everyone who worked in the restaurant/hospitality industry justice, but also made some of us so glad we are not part of this special gratifying yet hellish work environment!

Despite being low-key and quite short it manages to bring the heat and make a mighty impact.

PEAKY BLINDERS

8/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another show we wish we did not have to say goodbye to but hey at least we got a movie coming our way!

The aesthetic, the mood, the brooding, the FACKING AMAZING cast, the costume, the scenery, the sets, the darkness of it all... It haunted our screen masterfully

FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL

8.25/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A mini-series not for the faint-of-heart but of the utmost importance. Some might say it was too soon, but we can appreciate it even more now, particularly after these few years of pandemic and climate-change-related catastrophes. This show about helpers and all its heartbreaking complications is not one to overlook.

(Also not to overlook the incredible FX work and chaos of the set recreation of flooding)

THIS IS GOING TO HURT

7.75/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Would make for the most miserable double-watch if coupled with the previous, but this show is indeed one that'll hurt you if you care about the state of the healthcare system, may it be in the UK or elsewhere as it says a lot about societies and nowadays life at large.

FOR ALL MANKIND 7.4/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We slept on this show for wayyy too long but for every space fan, history fan out there this will be the most fascinating show.

WESTWORLD 7.5/10⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I guess we also have to say goodbye to WESTWORLD. Despite the many changes and twists no other show will ever be able to replicate the viewing experience and effect, it had on so many...

Other must-watch and honorable series:

FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE

ONLY MURDER IN THE BUILDING

UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN

LITTLE AMERICA

INDUSTRY

OBI-WAN KENOBI

IRMA VEP

THE CROWN

RAMY

THE ENGLISH

SEVERANCE

HANDMAID'S TALE

RINGS OF POWER

MOON KNIGHT

THE WHITE LOTUS

WE OWN THIS CITY

SHINING GIRLS

BLACK BIRD

DARK WIND

DHAMER

WEDNESDAY

RUSSIAN DOLL

ARCHIVE 81

SHANTARAM

(with special mentions to the entertaining and must-watch show about the villainous “visionaries” and such disturbed individual

WE CRASHED

THE DROPOUT

INVENTING ANNA

PAM & TOMMY

SUPER PUMPED

CHIPPENDALES

PHYSICAL

SERPENT QUEEN

THE OFFER

*BONUS soundtrack of the series year

The White Lotus Opening theme - the remix

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shelbbswrites · 2 years

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Titans is a perfectly cast show. Every single line delivery from Alan Ritchson is pitch-perfect. Jay Lycurgo is endlessly endearing as Tim Drake. I can go on…

#dc titans #titans #titans hbo max

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ultraericthered · 2 years

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Pokemon English Voice Compare/Rank, League Trainers

In which I rank the English dub voice actors of Pokemon characters from strongest to weakest, and sometimes throw in my 2 cents of who I think would be solid casting choices. This one is for League Trainers (covers Gym Leaders, Elite Four, Frontier Brains, Trial Captains, and Island Kahunas.)

BROCK: 1. Eric Stuart - Original dub voice actor for Brock. When it comes to voices that fit the age, appearance, and whole personality of this character, there’s none better. His Casey Kasem-esque voice was especially great in the original series dub, providing plenty of iconic and memeable (”jelly donut”, “drying pan”, etc.) moments. 2. Johnny Yong Bosch - Voice of Brock in Pokemon Origins. This is up there with Lucien Dodge as Blue and Jamieson Price as Giovanni in terms of being A+ perfect casting. He sounds similar to Stuart’s earliest Brock voiceover, and carries a great, gravely intensity. 3. Tom Bauer - Voice of Brock in Pokemon Masters. Tom does a decent Eric Stuart impression, but it’s all too clearly just that: an impression. His voice also is a bit higher than the design calls for. 4. Bill Rogers - VA who took over from Eric Stuart in the main anime. At first, he was a worthy successor to Stuart, and his acting was some of the best from all the new TPCI cast. I don’t know what happened but his Brock devolved into this deep, gruff, overly mature growliness and very unconvincing acting. It doesn’t sound right at all.

MISTY: 1. Rachael Lillis - Original dub voice actress for Misty, and boy did she ever hit it out of the park. She absolutely EPITOMIZES Misty. 2. Reba Buhr - Voice of Misty in Pokemon Masters. She channeled Rachael Lillis exceptionally well in her initial outings as the tomboyish mermaid, but unfortunately sounds higher and more child-like as of her last reprisal. I don’t know what happened but it’s not working out. 3. Michele Knotz - VA who took over from Rachael Lillis in the main anime. At first, in The Mastermind of Mirage Pokemon, her imitation was freakishly spot on, just as it can be as Jessie. But her Misty is now kind of its own thing and while it’s not awful, it’s not very distinct. FANCAST OPTION - Brianna Knickerbocker. We’ve recently seen in her role as Pirika in the new Shaman King anime dub that Brianna can totally nail the Rachel Lillis voice, so had she been cast as Misty, she would’ve done her part flawlessly.

LT. SURGE: 1. Patrick Seitz - Voice of Lt. Surge in Pokemon Masters. He does a good but not stellar job. The doofy, macho Patrick Warburton type voice works fine, but you’d think they would’ve had him give a gruffer, more militant type of performance like Gamagori or Keith Shadis. 2. Maddie Blaustein - Voice of Lt. Surge in the anime. She gave him her best deep, macho voice, but it just wasn’t the right kind of macho voice for the character. Sounds too dumb and thuggish. FANCAST OPTION - Phil Parsons, doing his Nappa voice. If any studio had somehow got a hold of him for this, he would’ve slayed it.

ERIKA: 1. Xanthe Hyunh - Voice of Erika in Pokemon Masters. Her past roles would peg her as a naturally perfect fit for Erika, and yes, she is. 2. Lauren Landa - Voice of Erika in Pokemon Journeys, taking over from Leah Applebaum and a trade up in almost every way. 3. Nathalie Gorham - Voice of Erika in Movie 20, I Choose You! She does a passable job in a bit part, though it’s a bit odd that she seems to be imitating Jennifer Darling as Ayeka from Tenchi Muyo!. 4. Leah Applebaum - First voice actress of Erika in the anime. Her voice fit the shallow and absent-minded Gym Leader perfectly, but her acting and line delivery ruins it. It’s not that much better than her Nanami Kiryuu performance in the Revolutionary Girl Utena dub.

KOGA: 1. Christopher Bevins - Voice of Koga in Pokemon Masters. Everything Koga’s voice needs, he gets down. The deep pitch, gruff tone, Japanese accent, and “Fwahahahaha!” It’s sheer perfection. 2. Stan Hart - Voice of Koga in the anime. The VA of Professor Oak putting on a Japanese ninja voice. It’s okay, but pretty forgettable. FANCAST OPTION - Chris Tergliafera. Just give a slight fake Japanese accent to Gundham Tanaka and he’d be an ideal Koga.

SABRINA: 1. Lizzie Freeman - Voice of Sabrina in Pokemon Masters. The tranquil sound of her voice and her line delivery makes a perfect fit. 2. Lisa Ortiz - Voice of Sabrina in the anime. Lisa gives a memorably low-key, creepy performance in this role, but we don’t really get to hear her as regular Sabrina, just Evil Sabrina. Also, her child voice kind of sucked.

BLAINE: 1. Kirk Thornton - Voice of Blaine in Pokemon Masters. He gets it down perfectly, sounds just how an eccentric, hot-blooded old man like Blaine ought to. 2. Michael Haigney - Voice of Blaine in the anime. The voice he puts on fits Blaine very well, but it’s very apparent that it is indeed “put on” by a guy who’s not exactly an old man in any sense. FANCAST OPTION - Quinton Flynn. Imagine Flynn reprising his Dr. Riddles voice in his 60s? That would be a perfect Blaine!

GIOVANNI: 1. Ted Lewis - Voice of Giovanni in the main anime. This is what most kids growing up with Pokemon, especially from the very beginning, no doubt hear in their heads for Giovanni. His fancy Italian accent he put on at first was a little inconsistent prior to him dropping it in favor of a transatlantic Yami Bakura type voice, and nowadays he blends the best of both into his deliciously evil voice. And he’s always killed it in giving Giovanni the menacing presence and charm that he needs. 2. Jamieson Price - Voice of Giovanni in Pokemon Origins and by far one of the strongest casting choices and strongest performances in that dub. The tone he takes is very cold but suave and intelligent sounding, and his naturally deep voice just commands authority. 3. Andrew Russell - Voice of Giovanni in Pokemon Masters. Given his minimal amount of previous work, this was an unorthodox casting choice, but Andrew really nails the smooth, shady, devious criminal mastermind voice, often sounding like a Keith Silverstein impression. 4. Richard Epcar - Voice of Giovanni in Pokemon Generations. On paper, this is solid casting, but his material was so lackluster that all he had to do was phone it in, making his Giovanni very forgettable. 5. Craig Blair - Remember that one season where this frankly awful (and thankfully now retired) voice actor filled in for Ted Lewis twice, and sucked big time at imitating him? You’re forgiven if you didn’t. FANCAST OPTION - Keith Silverstein. For whatever reason, I was henging my bet on him being the VA they’d use for Giovanni in Pokemon Masters, so when Andrew Russell ended up channeling him so much I can’t help but wonder if that was the initial idea. He’d be a perfect fit given how he’s performed in villainous roles such as Ougai Mori, Gabriel Agreste, Gild Teroso, and Masayoshi Shido. Other spot on voice talents to cast as Giovanni would be Crispin Freeman and Chris Rager, who’d easily measure up to Price’s take.

BLUE: 1. James Carter Cathcart - Voice of Gary Oak in the main anime. Look, I just have to put this one first, it’s GARY MOTHERFUCKING OAK. Plus it just fits the original Gen 1 character way too well. Smug and insufferably snotty when he’s a jerk, but more amiable when he mellows out without ever quite losing the defining cockiness. 2. Lucien Dodge - Voice of Blue in Pokemon Origins. Lucien just totally nails Blue. The natural tone of his voice and his every vocal inflection carries across a better-than-thou jackass characterization, and his turn towards humility in the final act is convincingly played. 3. Billy Kametz & Henry Mason - Voice(s) of Blue in Pokemon Masters. If we could take the voice that Lucien Dodge gives Blue and combine it with the more rough delivery of Erik Kimerer, it would pretty much be the late Billy Kametz’s take on Blue, which is emulated by Henry Mason following Billy’s unfortunate passing. Not one of their strongest roles, but definitely suitable for Blue. 4. Erik Scott Kimerer - Voice of Blue in Pokemon Generations. He gets the arrogance down pat, but his voice just doesn’t really fit Blue the way the others do. It’s just Ryuji Takasu if he was an asshole. FANCAST OPTION: Billy Bob Thompson. Not only has he provven he can flawlessly imitate James Carter Cathcart, but even his awful Pokemon Trainer voice sounds more Gary/Blue than it does Red!

LORELEI: 1. Erica Lindbeck - Voice of Lorelei in Pokemon Generations. She uses her most natural sounding voice brimming with a cold, calculated sort of confidence, like she’d later use for Ritsuko Akagi. It’s ideal voice acting for how you’d imagine Lorelei to sound like. 2. Lauren Landa - Voice of Lorelei in Pokemon Masters. While she’s got a suitable voice for the part, her problem is the opposite of Jayne Grande’s - she’s not cold enough and puts too much feeling into her lines when she should’ve approached the role more like Erica did. 3. Jayne Grande - Voice of Lorelei in the main anime. Lorelei may specialize in Ice types, but this performance is cold, even for her!

BRUNO: 1. Greg Chun - Voice of Bruno in Pokemon Masters. Sounds very much like the below two, with the extra advantage of being an Asian-American VA, perfect for a martial arts master! 2. Bill Rogers - Voice of Bruno in Pokemon Generations. A deeper, gruffer, more refined version of Blaustein’s take in just a few lines. 3. Maddie Blaustein - Voice of Bruno in the main anime. The acting is solid, but the voice is basically the same she’d used for Sabrina’s father earlier in the series, and for most male characters she voiced.

AGATHA: 1. Ellyn Stern - Voice of Agatha in Pokemon Generations. Sounds convincingly aged AND creepy as well? This totally IS Agatha! 2. Dorothy Elias Fahn - Voice of Agatha in Pokemon Masters. She does alright, but I can tell that she’s putting on a voice and it does not sound as natural. She sounds more like an English noblewoman! 3. Lisa Ortiz - Voice of Agatha in the main anime. Same as the above FANCAST OPTION - Linda Chambers-Young, of course!

LANCE: 1. Bill Milsap - Voice of Lance in Pokemon Masters. Think Grant George crossed with Steve Blum and that describes Bill’s voice for Lance here, and I think it works really well. He sounds appropriately bold and heroic, but his voice can veer towards warmth and towards intimidating fearsomeness depending on the lines he’s speaking. 2. Ben Diskin - Voice of Lance in Pokemon Generations. While basically the same voice he does for other serious bishie characters like Young Xehanort, it suits a character like Lance. He’s particularly good when he raises his voice and displays his feroctiy. 3. Wayne Grayson - Voice of Lance in the main anime. When the character appeared in Johto and Hoenn, Wayne’s voice for him was terrible and not remotely fitting. But when Lance was reintroduced in Journeys, Wayne reprised the role and finally did him justice. 4. Robert Bucholtz - Voice of Lance in Pokemon Origins. For a Dragon Master, leader of the Elite Four, and future Champion, Bob’s voice acting for Lance is exceptionally dull and carries no presence. It’s just the most Average Joe sort of voice you could hear. FANCAST OPTION(S): Grant George or Max Mittelman for Lance?

FALKNER: 1. Howard Wang - Voice of Falkner in Pokemon Masters. He carries the right qualities to his voice and line reading to match the original. 2. Matthew Mitler - Voice of Falkner in the anime. He did alright. Much different than his usual roles in the anime, and fairly accurate to Akira Ishida.

BUGSY: 1. Cristina Vee - Voice of Bugsy in Pokemon Masters. The voice she uses for Bugsy sounds kind of like Jimmy Neutron, which really works for conveying the young prodigy aspect of Bugsy’s character. 2. Tara Jayne Sands - Voice of Bugsy in the anime. Decent but generic, not sounding all that different from her Ritchie voice.

WHITNEY: 1. Sarah Williams - Voice of Whitney in Pokemon Masters. A very fitting casting choice, and her peppy, ditzy delivery perfectly delivers. 2. Megan Hollingshead - Voice of Whitney in the anime. Decent but generic, not sounding all that different from her Duplica voice. Or in other terms, she needed to go more Mion and less Shion in this role.

MORTY: 1. Brian Hanford - Voice of Morty in Pokemon Masters. His very low, flat sounding voice just really suits the inquisitive Ghost type trainer, though his delivery has unfortunately sort of gone all over the place. 2. Andrew Rannells - Voice of Morty in the anime. Not one of Andrew’s more notable roles, but he got the job done best he could. FANCAST OPTION - Daniel J. Edwards. Given his voice acting in Yu-Gi-Oh!, he could easily combine the best of Brian and Andrew.

CHUCK: 1. Bob Carter - Voice of Chuck in Pokemon Masters EX. Not super deep but still very growly and forceful is just how I like him to sound. 2. Dan Green - Voice of Chuck in the anime. Obvious casting is obvious, and he did a decent job in the role when he appeared in Johto, but got much better with his Journeys reprisal.

FANCAST OPTION - Marc Thompson. Again, Dan Green didn’t do poorly at all, but this is who I wished 4Kids had cast instead.

JASMINE: 1. Kimberly Woods - Voice of Jasmine in Pokemon Masters. Some complain she sounds too high and childish, but I think it suits Jasmine perfectly; makes her sound super sweet and likable. 2. Tara Jayne Sands - First voice actress for Jasmine in the anime. In Jasmine’s first episode, Tara got it down perfectly, but then sounded all wrong in her second appearance. To be fair, this was likely the writing’s fault since Jasmine’s characterization across both episodes was not consistent. 3. Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld - Second voice actress for Jasmine in the anime, taking over from Tara Jayne Sands. Had to imitate Tara’s second portrayal of Jasmine and she did alright at that.

PRYCE: 1. Kyle Hebert - Voice of Pryce in Pokemon Masters. A perfect fit: Kyle’s old man voice is just right for the kind of old man that Pryce is. 2. James Carter Cathcart - Voice of Pryce in the anime. HIS old man voice, though, is never convincing and sucks just as bad here. FANCAST OPTION - James Siei. He’s it in him to convincingly voice an older character and deliver a “wise sensei” quality for Pryce.

CLAIR: 1. Sarah Williams - Voice of Clair in Pokemon Masters. She slayed it! 2. Eva Kaminsky - Second voice actress for Clair in the anime, taking over from Megan Hollingshead. A massive improvement, though her material was regrettably limited due to Iris’ special not being dubbed. 3. Megan Hollingshead - First voice actress for Clair in the anime. Generic Megan Hollingshead performance. Phoned in and boring. FANCAST OPTION - Carol Jacobanis would’ve been an ideal fit.

ROXANNE: 1. Sarah Miller Crews - Voice of Roxanne in Pokemon Masters. Sounds a little bit similar to a Sarah Williams role, but there’s just something about the tone she uses in her voice and for her lines that works so well for the tough and beautiful little know-it-all. 2. Karen Neill - Voice of Roxanne in the main anime. Karen was far from the best voice actress 4Kids had, to put it lightly, but she’s got a nice voice and this, like Ishizu Ishtar, was one of her better roles. 3. Erica Schroeder - Voice of Roxanne in the animated trailer Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire. There’s nothing to this gig - it’s just phoned in.

BRAWLEY: 1. Jon Allen - Voice of Brawley in Pokemon Masters. He got it down almost too perfect. Sounds exactly like a rough brawling surfer dude! 2. Jason Griffith - Voice of Brawley in the anime. Right casting, wrong performance. The “surfer dude” aspect was WAY too exaggerated!

FLANNERY: 1. Lisa Ortiz - Voice of Flannery in the anime. Lisa tended to be overused by 4Kids as a VA for characters, but casting her as Flannery was truly a slam dunk, as her Lina Inverse voice is exactly what a hot-blooded spitfire like Flannery calls for. She’s just perfect! 2. Laura Post - Voice of Flannery in Pokemon Masters. I certainly can’t call Laura’s take BAD, but I just don’t buy it all that much, especially not when we have Lisa Ortiz’ take to compare it to. FANCAST OPTION(S) - Carrie Savage, had only she been doing voicework for Bang Zoom at the time (when she’d guest starred in the Black & White series episode “Where Did You Go, Audino?”, she sounded a lot like Lisa Ortiz) Or for more outside-the-box casting, theater actress Dana Steingold - anyone else hear her Saraline Timbers voice sounding very Lisa Ortiz-esque?

NORMAN: 1. Keith Silverstein - Voice of Norman in Pokemon Masters. All he had to do was use his most natural voice, and he totally rocked it! 2. Dan Green - Voice of Norman in the anime. It’s akin to his later Knuckles voice and while that’s not the worst you could do for Norman, they JUST had Dan Green voicing the other “Brendan or May’s father” character, Professor Birch, a role he fit far more naturally into, so I’d rather they’d cast someone else. FANCAST OPTION - Travis Willingham. He’d sound close enough to Dan Green without literally being Dan Green, and be a better fit for Norman’s voice in the JP version of Masters than Keith was.

WINONA: 1. Jeannie Tirado - Voice of Winona in Pokemon Masters. She’s got such a lovely sounding voice and it really works for breezy Winona. 2. Amy Birnbaum - Voice of Winona in the anime. She was just okay.

FANCAST OPTION - Molly C Quinn, if anyone could get hold of her.

TATE & LIZA: 1. Cassandra Lee Morris & Kira Buckland - Voices of Tate & Liza in Pokemon Masters. Yeah, they sound about right, though it’s odd that Cassandra didn’t voice them both since she reprised her Leo voice for Tate but her Luna voice went to Iris (because Eileen Stevens?) 2. Jason Griffith & Andi Whaley - Voices of Tate & Liza in the anime. No, they do not sound right. Their voices nor their acting!

WALLACE: 1. Mickey Caputo - Voice of Wallace in Pokemon Masters EX. Goes very low and raspy despite the light, effeminate tone, and his delivery really sells the elegant artist who’s perfromative but level-headed. 2. Sean Reyes - Voice of Wallace in the anime. Nothing about this vocal performance stands out to me. Just like Wallace in this anime! FANCAST OPTION - Johnathan Todd Ross. He’s got the sort of voice I’d imagine for Wallace, so with acting and delivery akin to what Mickey Caputo did in the role, he’d be surprisingly excellent.

DRAKE:

1. Brian Maillard - First voice actor for Drake in the anime. Hard to recall that Leopold Loggle used to be in 4Kids dubs, but he got Drake right in all ways.

2. Edward Bosco - Second voice actor for Drake in the anime, taking over from Brian Maillaird. Basically a soundalike performance, but a fairly decent one.

3. Steve Kramer - Voice of Drake in Pokemon Masters. ??? Steve! STEVE! Drake is a sailor, not a pirate! What are you doing?!?

FANCAST OPTION - Gregg Berger. He’s pretty old now, and he’s got just the right kind of voice for the part.

FACTORY HEAD NOLAND: 1. Kaiji Tang - Voice of Noland in Pokemon Masters. 100% the right casting for a character like this. Kaiji owns the role with his every line. 2. David Wills - Voice of Noland in the anime. Noland is supposed to be a handyman that doesn’t seem to be too bright a guy but is much more knowlegable than he first appears - David’s performance just makes him sound like a doofus frat boy. I blame poor direction here.

PIKE QUEEN LUCY: 1. Emilyn Morinelli - Voice of Lucy in the anime. Despite Lucy being massively out-of-character in this anime, Emilyn’s voice for her was just the sort of light, “snakey” type voice I’d expect to hear from her. 2. Carrie Keranen - Voice of Lucy in Pokemon Masters EX. Satsuki Kiryuin’s VA doing her Satsuki Kiryuin is pretty easy casting and it works for Lucy, but just not quite as well as Emilyn Morinelli’s take.

SALON MAIDEN ANABEL:

1. Alexis Tipton - Voice of Anabel in Pokemon Masters EX. Very elegant, fairly androgynous, warm and inviting yet undeniably formidable and threatening when need be. She gets it all down in a commendable vocal performance that does justice to Anabel’s awesomeness.

2. Hilary Thomas - Voice of Anabel in the anime. I can tell she’s going for a deep and androgynous voice, but the problem is...well, she fails at it. Hard. This is clearly the voice of some random grown woman, and her delivery leaves much to be desired as well.

FANCAST OPTION - Erika Harlacher and Caitlin Glass would’ve been easy picks given their work as Kyoko Kirigiri. And for a less big name casting choice, they could’ve gone with Norma Gose, whose natural voice sounds pretty much totally on point with how I’d imagine Anabel to sound like.

ROURK: 1. Alejandro Saab - Voice of Rourk in Pokemon Masters. Yeah, this sounds totally right for how this guy would sound. 2. Craig Blair - Voice of Rourk in the anime. A typical badly acted perfromance from Craig, but Rourk’s so boring it kind of works?

GARDENIA: 1. Erica Mendez - Voice of Gardenia in Pokemon Masters. Has got more of this manic “pothead” energy to it than Erica’s usual roles, and it totally encapsulates the lovable plant-loving oddball. 2. Lara Starr Rigores - Voice of Gardenia in the anime. This...is not right. Not the right tone, not the right delivery, doesn’t even sound the right age! One of the most glaring miscasts in the dub’s history.

FANTINA: 1. Erica Schroeder - Voice of Fantina in the anime. The clear, pretty sounding voice, goofy French accent, and energetic acting all delivers at perfectly portraying the fabulous Fantina’s character. 2. Karen Strassman - Voice of Fantina in Pokemon Masters. Her French accent is more authentic sounding than the above and her voice ain’t bad, but there’s not as much detectable enthusiasm in many of her lines, which puts her take at a decent second place.

MAYLENE: 1. Erica Lindbeck - Voice of Maylene in Pokemon Masters. The young voice and forceful yet humble and friendly tone she gives just nails what Maylene’s character is all about. 2. Rachael Lillis - Voice of Maylene in the anime. She does nothing wrong in her performance, but the fact that it’s Rachael Lillis, so recognizable as the original VA for both Misty and Jessie in this anime, is distracting.

CRASHER WAKE: 1. Kyle Hebert - Voice of Crasher Wake in Pokemon Masters. His voice for Wake sounds deep, snarly, and above all BIG AND LOUD! 2. J. David Brimmer - Voice of Crasher Wake in the anime. Spot on casting, and I like his voice for Wake better than Kyle’s, but the direction and acting failed him - he gave a standard performance rather than go as gloriously over-the-top as this role warrants.

CANDICE: 1. Kether Donohue - Voice of Candice in the anime. Casting was on point and the performance she gives is definitively Candice. KIAI! 2. Ryan Bartley - Voice of Candice in Pokemon Masters. It’s an alright voiceover...it’s just not Candice the same way Kether was. Sounds not high enough, not hot-blooded enough, and just too plain.

FANCAST OPTION - Julie Ann Taylor. Why wasn’t she available to voice Candice? She would’ve done it way better than Ryan did!

VOLKNER: 1. Chris Hackney - Voice of Volkner in Pokemon Masters EX. Everything about his voice and how he reads his lines here works. 2. Eli James - First vocie actor for Volkner in the anime. He doesn’t quite own the role the way Chris would, but he set the standard for Volkner’s voice and gave a wonderfully fitting performance. 3. Griffin Puatu - VA for Volkner in Pokemon Journeys. His take is decent, but lacks the authenticity in the voice that Eli and Chris got. AARON: 1. Kevin K. Gomez - Voice of Aaron in Pokemon Masters EX. He sounds a bit Robbie Daymond Spider-Man-esque in this role, which is obviously perfectly suitable for a Bug type trainer. 2. Chris Adams - Voice of Aaron in the anime. His take was alright. FANCAST OPTION - Greg Ayres. C’mon, you can hear it too!

BERTHA: 1. Dorah Fine - Voice of Bertha in Pokemon Masters EX. Didn’t really imagine Bertha sounding any way other than this, so she’s got it. 2. Sondra Jayne - Voice of Bertha in the anime. Her take was alright.

FLINT: 1. Landon McDonald - Voice of Flint in Pokemon Masters. Just look at the dude and try to imagine anything less than this as his voice! 2. Tom Wayland - First voice actor for Flint in the anime. Precursor to Landon’s Flint and one of Wayland’s most notable performances. 3. Daman Mills - VA for Flint in Pokemon Journeys. Just like Flint’s pal Volkner’s replacement VA, his take is decent, but lacks the authenticity of Tom or Landon.

LUCIAN: 1. Brandon McInnis - Voice of Lucian in Pokemon Masters EX. He gets the refined, snobby geekiness down perfectly. This IS Lucian! 2. David Lapkin - Voice of Lucian in the anime. Uh, no. This is NOT Lucian. The voice is too deep and the acting is wooden as hell. FANCAST OPTION - Joe Ochman. Might seem too old for this role, but he can totally pull off a voice that’d fit Lucian exceptionally well.

CILAN: 1. Jason Griffith - Voice of Cilan in the anime. His energy is a tad lower than it should be for this version of Cilan, but his voice is so distinct and charming that it fits Cilan perfectly. 2. Caleb Yen - Voice of Cilan in Pokemon Masters EX. This was solid casting, but he way overdid it on the high, effete voice. “Mild mannered” should not translate to girly-voiced mousiness. FANCAST OPTION - Shannon McKain, from what we’ve heard of his work, could do a refined, improved version of Caleb’s take. As could Daman Mills, the VA for another green-haired Unovan male.

CHILI TIE - Adriel Varlack & Lucien Dodge - Both the anime VAs and the Pokemon Masters EX VAs sound identical in just how well they fit.

CRESS: TIE - Kory Getman & Tom Wayland - Both the anime VAs and the Pokemon Masters EX VAs sound identical in just how well they fit.

LENORA: 1. Taylor Billingslea - Voice of Lenora in Pokemon Generations. No real voice acting experience, but her bit part as Lenora delivered. 2. Norma Nongauza - Voice of Lenora in the main anime. Her voice is nice, but clearly this woman was not an actress in any capacity.

BURGH: 1. Billy Bob Thompson - Voice of Burgh in the main anime. The sound of his honey-sweet voice and the quality of his flamboyantly artsy acting is exactly what Burgh needed, he got it down so hard! 2. Ezra Weisz - Voice of Burgh in Pokemon Masters EX. I’ve warmed up to his initial take compared to when I first heard it, but maintain that he didn’t need to push the flamboyance so hard since he had such a perfectly, naturally good voice for Burgh without it. And then he only made it worse in the reprisals. Fuck, go back! I hate it! 3. Chris Niosi - Voice of Burgh in Pokemon Generations. His problem is the opposite of Brandon’s - he didn’t go flamboyant enough.

FANCAST OPTION(S) - Bang Zoom had Jonah Scott and Brandon McInnis available. I think they’d have done better than Ezra Weisz.

ELESA: 1. Sarah Natochenny - Voice of Elesa in the animated trailer for Black2/White 2. While quite recognizable since she voices Ash, Sarah has got the medium pitch voice and showy yet in control delivery that best suits Elesa. Plus, she really was a fashion model! 2. Deborah Gatton - Voice of Elesa in Pokemon Masters EX. It’s a little higher that I’d have liked, but otherwise she does a fantastic job. 3. Mela Lee - Voice of Elesa in Pokemon Generations. Decent enough for a single line, though still a bit high in pitch and Mela got more to work with when voicing Karen in Pokemon Masters. 4. Eileen Stevens - Voice of Elesa in the main anime. As with Jupiter, Eileen does not convince in this type of role. She puts on a very typical fashionista voice and goes all over the place acting-wise.

CLAY: 1. Kirk Thornton - Voice of Clay in Pokemon Masters. Deep, gruff, aged, and with the right western accent, Kirk totally nails Clay. 2. Sean Schemmel - Voice of Clay in the main anime. He sounds like he’s voicing Gokule (Goku and Hercule fused together) doing a Yosemite Sam impression. That’s hilarious, even if not too fitting. 3. Steve Staley - Voice of Clay in Pokemon Generations. He does the cowboy accent, and that’s it. His voice sounds way too light and young, it doesn’t sound right coming out of Clay’s mouth at all! FANCAST OPTION(S) - Marc Thompson or Kyle Hebert. If either one of those guys did a deep cowboy voice, they’d nail Clay too.

SKYLA: 1. Laura Stahl - First voice of Skyla in Pokemon Masters. Unlike her Hau, Laura is all too perfectly fitting as ever-enthusiastic Skyla. 2. Sarah Natochenny - Voice of Skyla in the main anime. She and Eileen Stevens totally needed to swap Skyla and Elesa around, as Sarah’s airhead take can grate on you. Of course, it’s really the lacking writing for Skyla as a character in this anime that disservices Sarah in the role. 3. Serena Varghese - Voice of Skyla in Pokemon Generations. She sounds like a squeaky voiced little girl. What were they thinking? FANCAST OPTION - Carrie Keranen, ‘cause a more upbeat and optimistic sounding Alya Cesaire would be a great Skyla voice!

BRYCEN: 1. Benjiman Becker - Voice of Brycen in the main anime. He got the tone right, but that voice sounds a little too light to fully fit him. 2. Christopher Bevins - Voice of Brycen in Pokemon Masters. He does have the voice down, but the acting is atrocius! Yeah, the guy looks like a masked superhero and he’s an actor in Poke’ Star Studios, but this does not justify the cheesy tone that Bevins uses. 3. Chris Niosi - Voice of Brycen in Pokemon Generations. All he did was grunt. No dialogue. Barely even a performance. FANCAST OPTION - Zeno Robinson. How well he channeled Keith David in Amphibia really showed he’s got the potential for this.

DRAYDEN: 1. Michael McConnohie - Voice of Drayden in Pokemon Generations. One of the finest casting choices in this series. In both shorts the character appears in, Michael just naturally is THE ideal Drayden! 2. Mike Pollock - Voice of Drayden in the anime. His take got much better after his first appearance, it’s just not Michael McConnohie.

IRIS: 1. Cassandra Lee Morris - Voice of Iris in Pokemon Masters. Going higher, squeakier, and even more youthful than she normally does, Cassandra gives Iris exactly the sort of rambunctious, energetic, and sassy voice and performance I’d imagine to hear from the character. 2. TIE - Eileen Stevens & Anairis Quinones - Voices of Iris in the main anime. Eileen’s vocal performance as Iris is, for the most part, really good and lots of fun to listen to. My only issue is actually just the voice itself, how it sounds a little too matured and sometimes shrill compared to Aoi Yuki’s take. Anairis Quinones was my Fancast Option for Iris for a while since she’s got a voice not too unlike Eileen Stevens, isn’t white, and has Iris in her name...and then they actually cast her as Iris for the Masters 8 Tournament in Pokemon Journeys!

3. Cherami Leigh - Voice of Iris in Pokemon Generations. Cherami Freaking Leigh should be casting gold, but she unfortunately fell into the same trap Grant George did as N in that her line reads come in three different voices without any solid consistency. Had she carried her initial voice through the whole performance, she’d have got it.

CHEREN: 1. Landon McDonald - Voice of Cheren in Pokemon Masters. While some of his line delivery would fit better with BW Cheren than the B2W2 Cheren that he’s playing, his voice and tone are dead on for how Cheren ought to sound. Smart alecky but not overly arrogant. 2. Todd Haberkorn - Voice of Cheren in the main anime. This was as ideal casting as you could get for Cheren. His voice and Landon’s voice sound quite alike. He really only gets second place here due to his material; I did not care for the Cheren he was playing at all. 3. Jason Griffith - Voice of Cheren in the animated trailer for Black 2/White 2. Oh dear, what were they thinking with this one? This voice doesn’t suit Cheren whatsoever. It’s like you’re expecting Ienzo but get Zexion, as in Vince Corazza’s horribly awkward sounding Zexion! FANCAST OPTION - Darren Dunstan. His Kaz Kalinkaz in Chaotic was basically a dead ringer for Landon and Todd as Cheren anyway.

ROXIE: 1. Alyson Rosenfeld - Voice of Roxie in the anime. Her young voice and her loud, performative delivery just ROCKED this role! 2. Brianna Knickerbocker - Voice of Roxie in Pokemon Masters. She gives a fun performance, but she kinda overdoes the stereotypical punk rocker quality when a more natural take would’ve sufficed. MARLON: 1. Ray Chase - Voice of Marlon in Pokemon Masters. Not the most obvious casting choices for Marlon, yet he slid right into the role. 2. Ted Lewis - Voice of Marlon in the anime. Blegh. This does not work, Ted. Stick only to Tracey and Giovanni from now on!

CAITLIN: 1. Sarah Miller Crews - Voice of Caitlin in Pokemon Masters. She gives the best balance of elegance and sleepiness that you could ask for, making her the definitive fit for Caitlin’s character. 2. Miriam Pultro - Voice of Caitlin in the anime. The sound of her voice is okay, but the acting left a whole lot to be desired. FANCAST OPTION(S) - Tara Jayne Sands or Carrie Savage. Miss Kaya from One Piece really should’ve voiced Caitlin at least once.

VIOLA: 1. Lori Gardner - Voice of Viola in the anime. She totally gets it! 2. Brianna Knickerbocker - Voice of Viola in Pokemon Masters. One word for her performance: annoying. Look, just because Viola’s a Kalos Gym Leader doesn’t mean she needs a French accent, especially since no other Kalosian character has one and we have both Professor Bellis AND Fantina talking with one in this game!

GRANT: 1. Cory Willis - Voice of Grant in the anime. He, too, totally gets it! 2. Erik Scott Kimerer - Voice of Grant in Pokemon Masters. Typical sounding Kimerer voice that just has me thinking “that’s a white boy!”

KORRINA: 1. Ryan Bartley - Voice of Korrina in Pokemon Masters. If her Candice underwhelmed, then her Korrina more than makes up for it. 2. Lisa Ortiz - Voice of Korrina in the anime. Third Gym Leader she’s voiced after Sabrina and Flannery, and this is also a casting slam dunk.... so why did she have to go and do the Amy Rose voice like she did for Mars, AGAIN?!? Korrina oughtn’t sound so squeaky!

RAMOS: 1. Steve Kramer - Voice of Ramos in Pokemon Masters. Does he kind of sound like Bill Farmer as Hopediah Plantar to anyone else? If so, then that means he did perfectly in this role. 2. Anthony Salerno - Voice of Ramos in the anime. Clearly a much younger guy trying to voice an old man with a hick accent. YEESH!

CLEMONT: 1. Michael Liscio - Voice of Clemont in the anime. He portrays Clemont very much along the lines of how I’d imagine he’d sound. 2. Kyle McCarley - Voice of Clemont in Pokemon Masters. He does not, but he’s such a natural fit for a nerd that it works all the same.

VALERIE: 1. Skyler Davenport - Voice of Valerie in Pokemon Masters. I tend to enjoy her voice acting in just about anything, and this no exception. 2. Kate Bristol - Voice of Valerie in the anime. Misses the “manic pixie girl” energy completely and voiced Valerie the same way she did Sixth from Future Diary. No! Absolutely not!

FANCAST OPTION - Lisa Jacqueline. She reprised her role in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links, so she’s not totally done voice acting, and what better fit for the fairy type Gym Leader than the original dub voice of Bloom from Winx Club?

WULFRIC: 1. J. David Brimmer - Voice of Wulfric in the anime. So glad they got him back for more voice acting, as he is a perfect fit for Wulfric! 2. Jamieson Price - Voice of Wulfric in Pokemon Masters (credited as Taylor Henry). Decent, but I think he’s better at voicing bad guys.

WIKSTROM: TIE - Brad Venable and Barrett Leddy, the voices of Wikstrom in Pokemon Masters and the Pokemon Journeys anime dub respectively. They sound so alike in how they approached this role!

MALVA:

1. Samara Naevmi - Voice of Malva in the main anime. Gives Malva this smug, aristocratic tone that the other VAs for her lack, which is what I feel is needed to help Malva really stand out as a character.

2. Marissa Lenti - Voice of Malva in Pokemon Evolutions. Her part is brief, but the solemn tone harboring an emotional undercurrent is deliverted perfectly for what that bit part requires of her.

3. Kira Buckland - Voice of Malva in Pokemon Generations. She sounds like a female newscaster, alright. That’s literally about it.

FANCAST OPTION - Sabrina Weisz, given her work in Miraculous.

SIEBOLD: 1. Sean Chiplock - Voice of Siebold in Pokemon Masters. This very Dee Bradley Baker-sounding voice is exactly how he should sound. 2. Eli James - Voice of Siebold in the anime. As always he does a fine job, but his Siebold is in the shadow of his Volkner and Colress.

HALA: 1. Kane Jungbluth-Murray - Voice of Hala in Pokemon Masters EX. Can’t really say much other than he sounds just right for the part. 2. Ryan Andes - Voice of Hala in the anime. Very similar sounding to the above, but at times he doesn’t sound quite old enough to me.

OLIVIA: 1. Marissa Kennedy - Voice of Olivia in the anime. A case like Cilan where the version of Olivia she’s voicing is radically different a character from the games, but her voice still sounds so ideal for her. 2. Julia McIlvaine - Voice of Olivia in Pokemon Masters. Olivia is around Brock’s age, right? Well, Juliva’s take is too deep and makes her sound a good few years older than she’s meant to be!

NANU: 1. Michael McMillian - Voice of Nanu in the anime. When I look at Nanu and his thuggish face, a gruff, grizzeled, raspy voice is what I hear, and this relatively unknown VA was able to deliver just that. 2. Sean Chiplock - Voice of Nanu in Pokemon Masters. How he plays the part suits Nanu too, but it’s just not quite “dark” sounding enough. FANCAST OPTION - Kirk Thornton. Why’d he have to stop at just Blaine and Clay? He would’ve absolutely killed this role too!

HAPU: 1. Della Saba - Voice of Hapu in Pokemon Masters. She sounds PERFECT in this role. Exactly the kind of voice I’d expect of Hapu! 2. Brittany Lee Hamilton - Voice of Hapu in the anime. She doesn’t do bad, she’s just not entirely convincing. Her Georgia in the Black & White dub was so iconic that I can’t unhear it in this voice. FANCAST OPTION - Philece Samplar. She was alive prior to last year, and she’d have made an ideal voice for Hapu too.

LANA: 1. Rosie Reyes - Voice of Lana in the anime. The definitive Lana! 2. Ama Lee - Voice of Lana in Pokemon Masters EX. Ama makes for a perfectly decent Lana. I felt that with her initial take that too many of the line reads that they went with were misdirected as she starts to sound a bit too much like Misty and not nearly as good as Rosie Reyes’ Lana, but she showed notable improvement upon reprising the role for Sygna Lana during the Villain Arc. FANCAST OPTION - Could we maybe have traded Ama Lee out for Mela Lee? She totally would’ve been able to deliver a fitting take.

KIAWE: 1. Marc Swint - Voice of Kiawe in the anime. He just had such a cool sounding voice as Kiawe right out the gate, sounding ferocious when in battle and also hysterical with his comedic delivery. No wonder his voice acting career really took off following this role. 2. Chris Jai Alex - Voice of Kiawe in Pokemon Masters. He also does great, capturing Kiawe’s laid back side and his fiery side very well.

MALLOW: 1. Rebecca Soler - Voice of Mallow in the Sun & Moon anime. Rebecca’s been around and done voices for a while, and she was a golden choice for voicing Mallow. And her performance in “Memories In The Mist” is so powerfully moving, it’s hard not to weep over it! 2. Amber Connor - Voice of Mallow in Pokemon Masters. She gets a nice voice for Mallow down to, but due to a lack of more extensive material she just could not hope to match Rebecca Soler’s turn.

3. Emily Cramer - Voice of Mallow in Pokemon Journeys. She gets the job done, but is simply doing a stand-in performance/impression of Rebecca Soler for a limited amount of time.

SOPHOCLES: 1. Jeannie Tirado - Voice of Sophocles in Pokemon Masters. Sounds just about right for the character, and as we hear from Norman in The Promised Neverland, Tirado can naturally nail down a ‘boyish’ quaity. 2. Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld - Voice of Sophocles in the anime. She tried way too hard to sound like a boy at first, but eased it up so that her Sophocles sounds more like a slightly lighter version of Tirado’s.

ACEROLA: 1. Christine Marie Cabanos - Voice of Acerola in Pokemon Masters. Flawlessly cast, and gives her usual energized, high-pitched vocal performance that’s so likable and enduring for her roles. 2. Lauren Kammerling - Voice of Acerola in the anime. Fucking WOW. And I thought Lara Starr Rigores as Gardenia was a huge misfire but THIS might well be the single worst miscast of a League Trainer voice in the anime dub. She’s super flat in the acting and sounds NOTHING like the child that Acerola is supposed to be!

FANCAST OPTION - Monica Rial, poster child for Creepy Cute.

MINA: 1. Cherami Leigh - Voice of Mina in Pokemon Masters. One of her lower and deeper tones, sounding something like Linda Cardelini in Gravity Falls. An exact match for how I’d pictured Mina to sound. 2. Samara Naeymi - Voice of Mina in the anime. Meh. Not godawful or anything, but unlike her Malva, it’s pretty bland and forgettable.

KAHILI: 1. Janice Kawaye - Voice of Kahili in Pokemon Masters. Sounds close to her Peko Pekoyama voice, and it absolutely works here. 2. Unknown VA - Voice of Kahili in the anime. Who even was this?

FANCAST OPTION - Colleen O’Shaughnessey. For whatever reason, I feel her voice would go well with Kahili’s character.

NESSA: 1. Anairis Quinones - Voice of Nessa in Pokemon: Twilight Wings. Just love the way she plays the role, she sounds best suited for it. 2. Tiana Camacho - Voice of Nessa in Pokemon Masters EX. Initially she sounded off with this “slighty above a whisper” tone in much of her line delivery, but her reprisal saw improvement and her voice and accent sound spot on.

BEA: 1. Shara Kirby - Voice of Bea in Pokemon Masters EX. Her voice most naturally suits the character, and the accent she uses is an added plus. I can totally buy her as one tough customer. 2. Laura Stahl - Voice of Bea in Pokemon: Twilight Wings. Slightly lighter than Shara’s voice and lacks the accent, but otherwise great. 3. Tiana Camacho - Voice of Bea in the main anime. On one hand, her acting is super on point. On the other hand, she pitches her voice way deeper than was needed, which makes her sound kinda goofy.

ALLISTER: 1. Casey Mongillo - Voice of Allister in Pokemon: Twilight Wings. They were such an ideal pick for the role, wish they got more lines! 2. Norma Gose - Voice of Allister in Pokemon Masters EX. Does a decent enough job sounding like a boy, and with a nice accent too! 3. Ryan Bartley - Voice of Allister in the main anime. Shinji was better suited for this than Rei. This just isn’t Ryan’s natural element.

FANCAST OPTION - David Errigo Jr. Ferb for Allister, please?

OPAL: 1. Mairin M. Miller - Voice of Opal in the main anime. This is exactly the sort of voice I was thinking I’d hear out of Opal. Well played! 2. Laura Post - Voice of Opal in Pokemon: Twilight Wings. Sounds like Ragyo Kiryuin trying to imitate an old lady. Doesn’t really work.

MELONY:

1. Wendee Lee - Voice of Melony in Pokemon Masters EX.

2. Laura Post - Voice of Melony in Pokemon: Twilight Wings.

PIERS: 1. Aleks Le - Voice of Piers in Pokemon Masters EX. He’s got the grunge, the flair, the mood, and above all, THE YELL! He rocks it! 2. Edward Bosco - Voice of Piers in Pokemon: Twilight Wings. Not a whole lot of lines, but what we do hear from him suits Piers very well. 3. Howard Wang - Voice of Piers in the main anime. Like with Roxie in Masters, just doing a typical punk rocker voice isn’t quite enough.

RAIHAN: 1. Danny Kramer - Voice of Raihan in the main anime. A total unknown as a VA, but he manages to pin down all the essentials of Raihan in this performance, with a suave voice that fits him best. 2. Nazeeh Tarsha - Voice of Raihan in Pokemon: Twilight Wings. He was a great casting pick and on a single line, he got Raihan right. But he direction failed him, as he mostly sounds too smug and weasely! 3. Mike Dent - Voice of Raihan from Pokemon Masters EX. Mike just…isn’t it as Raihan. He sounds overly peppy and like a casual geek rather than a cool guy who gets real feral in battle.

IONO:

1. Lily Ki - Voice of Iono in Pokemon Masters EX. LilyPichu is an actual online personality and streamer well known from Youtube well before she got more voice acting gigs - there could be no more perfect a fit for Iono. She puts in all the chipmunky squeakiness and manic gremlin energy you’d expect to hear out of this character given her design and dialogue. A bit grating? Yeah! That’s the whole idea!

2. Julia Gu - Voice of Iono in Pokemon: Paldean Winds. Julia voiced a manic-obsessive school idol fangirl turned school idol in Love Live! Superstar!!, so she was pretty ideal casting for a enthusiastic showboat like Iono. I think the only issue with her is that the voice direction let her down a little but not pushing her to go even harder and more energized in her line delivery.

3. Erika Harlacher - Voice of Iono in Pokemon Horizons. Sort of a reversal of the above: she goes impressively wild with her delivery, but the voice itself is just not nearly high enough in pitch, making it weird to hear coming out of Iono.

FANCAST OPTION - Hilary Haag was my go-to headcanon Iono voice, for obvious reasons. Everything Iono is, she can get down erffortlessly.

#Pokemon #Pokemon League #voice acting #comparison #opinion

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