Before I begin discussing this, allow me to demonstrate my feelings of this announcement.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIuqH6BQRNo[/youtube]
Okay, maybe that was a little over the top, but can you blame me? I know for a fact that Lydia has to be excited about this shocking announcement and if you couldn't tell already, so am I!
And the fact that it was Viz that acquired the license makes it even more shocking since there had been speculation going around that Funimation would be licensing it since around 2009! For Funimation, it has to be the biggest missed opportunity in their entire 20-year history, but for Viz, it's the coup d'état to end all coup d'état! They have their own cash cow to milk for all it's worth, and this one in particular is worth quite a bit! Yes, I know they have Bleach and Naruto, but this is probably the biggest score Viz has ever had! The fact that we're getting a redub of the original series just makes it even more epic! The cast for the dub will be announced at Anime Expo on July 5 (Sailor Moon day), but I will throw out some speculation of my own as to who I think will make up the core cast:Usagi: Laura Bailey
Ami: Stephanie Sheh
Rei: Kate Higgins
Makoto: Michelle Ruff
Minako: Kari Wahlgren
Mamoru: Johnny Yong Bosch
Luna: Karen Strassman (with English accent)
Artemis: either Yuri Lowenthal, Vic Mignogna, or Kyle Hebert
I'm not going to go into too much depth on who I think will make up the rest of the cast, like the Outer Scouts, all the villains, and other supporting and minor characters, but I do think that Megan Hollingshead would make an awesome Haruka and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn would really be able to pull off Queen Beryl very well. Which leads me to the next detail I learned about:
Naoko Takeuchi herself will have a major influence on who will voice the characters in the dub. And by major influence, I mean absolute creative control. The decision for her to have the final say in who the cast is, in my opinion, an extremely big gamble on Viz's part, one that personally I would never do. I mean, how much in the loop is Naoko Takeuchi as far as English language VAs are concerned or even know what to look for in a language that's not native to her own? In this department, either they know something I don't or they just royally shot themselves in the foot. Based on the short trailer I watched, it's not looking good. Oddly enough, this is the only part of the redub that I actually have concerns about. I mean, the original dub, questionable quality aside, in a way captured lightning in a bottle, despite the majority of the characters switching VAs throughout the duration of the dub. I do not sense a middle ground on this for me; a decision like this will either be a genius move or the worst godawful mess since anything 4Kids got their hands on, like Tokyo Mew Mew, which, oddly enough, is a ripoff of Sailor Moon. Only time will tell, though.
One other thing I would like to mention is that the first 4 episodes of the subbed anime will be available for streaming on Hulu plus and neonalley.com TOMORROW! There will also be 2 additional episodes to come every Monday (or Moon-day) after that. I'm excited! I'm sure you are, too! Did I mention that the dub will be 100% UNCUT?
If Viz plays their cards right, this is what will best describe them for the next several years:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yIOFlTsxKo[/youtube]
At this point in time, it's definitely a good time to be a Sailor Moon fan.
