#i love grelles character development and i love seeing her be more serious

[missgrelle]

wishing grelle could have been more of a scary character and less of a comedic relief 💔 look at this potential

[midnight-in-town]

Hi, this has been on my mind for a few weeks. After chapter 105 and with Chekhov’s Gun and all, I think getting at least one grim reaper backstory is inevitable, most likely Undertaker’s. What I am wondering is, do you think Yana would be able to properly handle a backstory for *Grell* if she went there? As a trans person and a Grell enjoyer the thought has me worried, Yana is certainly more conscious of trans issues now than when Grell was introduced in 2007, but she still slips up sometimes. A backstory could potentially be really interesting but I am worried she will fall into the trap of writing the kind of dramatized, simplified trans angst you see in Hollywood movies. Also, trans su!c!de is an incredibly touchy subject, and Grell as a trans character carries a lot of baggage from her early portrayal, so I don’t know that she’d be a good medium for a narrative about transphobia. Transgender women as killers of cisgender women is an incredibly offensive trope dating back to the late 1950s, and the sissy villain trope goes back to the early days of the Hays Code. Another worry of mine is that Yana may still conflate being trans with being gay, depending on whether she decides to research trans issues or not. My friend and I both agree that reaper su!c!des might just go better untouched as a whole because of how personal they are. It also could feel jarring to see a mostly comedic character in such a serious context if done wrong. I would love to hear your thoughts because you’ve been with this series for longer than I have, and probably have stronger opinions on Yana as a writer!

Hey Anon! Thanks for passing by! Allow me to answer you, points by points. 

“I think getting at least one grim reaper backstory is inevitable, most likely Undertaker’s. [...] My friend and I both agree that reaper su!c!des might just go better untouched as a whole because of how personal they are.”

For anyone who doesn’t know what Chekhov’s gun is : “Chekhov's gun is a dramatic principle that suggests that details within a story or play will contribute to the overall narrative.” 

A principle which I don’t think is entirely relevant in Kuroshitsuji, if not related to the main mystery (aka the target of our!Ciel’s revenge), since Yana also enjoys developing her worldbuilding. 

Anyway, to be honest with you Anon, I do not think we should get backstories for every character in the story. For example, Ciel’s servants getting backstories is logical, since it directly gives us more insight into our!Ciel as a main character who has issues with seeing his own worth. 

When it comes to the Shinigamis, as you said, I agree it is inevitable that we are at least going to get UT’s backstory/flashback in order to get answers about his current objectives. 

However, I know it might sound strange as one of UT’s big fans, but I truly hope we will only get a flashback about UT during his days as a Shinigami until his desertion and his meeting with Claudia Phantomhive, because that sort of backstory would be useful in answering what exactly UT found out about the Shinigami Organization that displeased him so much, making him go from one of the best Shinigamis to a deserter, which is all that matters. [x][x][x]

So yes, I really don’t think we need to know why or how any of the Shinigamis ended up killing themselves, UT included. By developing these recurring characters and getting insight about their little quirks and flaws, Yana already kinda hinted at why most of them decided to give up on their previous human life (at least for UT, Ronald, Grell and a little bit for William). 

Besides, detailing their suicides brings no answer to the actual plot and no insight for the main characters’ development, therefore it is not actually necessary, storytelling-wise. 

“Yana is certainly more conscious of trans issues now than when Grell was introduced in 2007, but she still slips up sometimes. [...] Also, trans su!c!de is an incredibly touchy subject, and Grell as a trans character carries a lot of baggage from her early portrayal, so I don’t know that she’d be a good medium for a narrative about transphobia.”

Oh, I agree with you. First of all, Yana already owned up to her mistakes about her initial portrayal of Grell, as @chibimyumi brilliantly explained here. In fact, @chibimyumi​​ wrote a lot of posts about gender in Kuroshitsuji that you can find here! I really think they’re worth the read, I personally learnt a lot!

Anyway, Yana was very humble when she admitted that unfortunately she can’t erase what was already written, but she can try and write Grell more accurately nowadays, which I think is a very positive attitude to have! 

However, as you said, sometimes she still slips up, because she’s a human and no author is perfect, on top of culture differences bearing a certain weight, as we could see with Bard’s rather controversial flashback recently. 

Grell is such a popular character in the fandom though that Yana might still be tempted to give her a backstory in canon. As I said, while always interesting, I don’t think it will bring anything narratively speaking, on top of fearing that it is a touchy subject that has to be addressed properly indeed.

“Transgender women as killers of cisgender women is an incredibly offensive trope dating back to the late 1950s, and the sissy villain trope goes back to the early days of the Hays Code. Another worry of mine is that Yana may still conflate being trans with being gay.”

Concerning the latter, I do not think it is the case, thanks to @chibimyumi​​‘s posts from which I learnt a lot about Yana’s perspective and her own view of Grell’s character. 

About the former, unfortunately I hear you and that’s why, personally, I tend to see the Jack the Ripper arc as Grell relating to Madam Red’s anger and seeing a certain beauty and freedom in Red’s madness, therefore supporting her in killing these ladies (for baby/pregnancy/abortion-related reason, rather than gender) more than bearing any real and personal resentment towards their victims. 

In fact, Ann, a cis woman, started this on her own and it was about her hatred and her loss from the beginning.

At the very least, I really don’t think that Yana meant this arc to be related to such an offensive trope, which I see as a promising intent, considering how off the rails the beginning of Kuroshitsuji was, compared to now. 

As a very general note to Grell’s fans whom, as you pointed out Anon, are numerous in the fandom, I’d like to add that I kinda have high hopes for Grell when it comes to her involvement in this arc on two aspects.

First of all, considering UT’s obvious contempt for the Shinigami Organization (see the links above) and Grell’s previous slip up with the rules, I think Grell will possibly play a role when it comes to uncovering the (probably horrible) truth that UT found out about the Shinigami Organization. 

Secondly, considering the likely possibility that Canopus is BD! Madam Red [x][x], I enjoy the thought of Grell reflecting upon causing the death of someone she once related to immensely. 

As such, a team-up with our!Ciel’s side in a near future is not so unlikely, which would obviously allow Grell to receive more focus and more development, which is what I care about personally. 

“I would love to hear your thoughts because you’ve been with this series for longer than I have, and probably have stronger opinions on Yana as a writer!”

Thank you very much for the kind words. I hope I managed to convey my opinion to you somewhat understandably! 

I wish you a great day Anon! Thanks again for passing by! ^3^

[beels-burger-babe]

Grelle and Lucifer share the most closest of interactions, she just hit fairly on him, since she's not the disobedient type and of course we all know Lucifer likes obedience and to be just the authority in there, so Grelle only went by his will and command, the both of them started to fall for one another slowly, and Grelle without realizing, she made the first move by saying "If I had to wish for something, that'd be being with you for all eternity." and we know, his pride and all went to the moon and stars, accepting her rather quickly plus it's funny and cute how a shy character can make a dominant and serious character full of authority to get bland, that's what Lucifer and Grelle's relationship is all about.

Grelle originally didn't get along that well with Mammon, seeing how rude he received her when he was told to be the one in charge of her. It took a lot of time for her to open up to Mammon, and out of fear she only obeyed him, and Mammon well, he didn't really like how she was just following what he said out of fear, he wanted to get her to trust him. He tried to stop being smug and rude to her, and Grelle learned how to accept him. Sure he got her to do a lot of for him, like borrowing some Grimm to him which she of course, out goodness did.Earned Mammon such the problem with Lucifer, who was not happy at all that he was using her for money. But Grelle considers Mammon a friend, that's good.

Levi and Grelle share so many things in common, such as shyness, low self-steem, they think they're not good enough, speak ill of themselves ect. And Grelle is an anime and manga lover, the things that Levi enjoys, so quickly they formed a friendship. Obviously called a normie, but Grelle didn't mind it, she thought it was his way of being, surely the two of them began hanging out a lot in Levi's room and watch binged a lot of anime together, Grelle introduced him to new anime of her likes, viceversa, read a lot of manga and played a lot of games. The shy duo is what they call themselves, even if an anime scene is too sad for them to bear with, they hug one another and cry. (Lucifer is there having to stop them from watching that, he's always a recipient of tissues and lots of comfort stuff for them both, lol)

Satan and Grelle DO NOT get along at all. With Satan's constant pranks and mean words to her about her favoring Lucifer, Grelle's own low self-steem drops a lot of meters underground. Lucifer scolds Satan many times, makes him do a lot of chores for making the human girl feel any less of important, that makes the wrath demon to snap more at the girl and it's a mess. And then Grelle gets a bit of confidence and tells him off things like. "At least I am not a cheap copy of own brother." oops. Uh oh. That doesn't put things between them any less tense. Lucifer is ever stressed because of that, since it's a back and forth arguing and he never likes to yell at Grelle, but he does if he has too, which causes Satan to smirk in satisfaction. Yeah, they're frenemies. Sometimes though, they know how to interact with one another, since Grelle owns a cat and Satan loves cats, that's the only time they're not at each other's throats!

Asmo and Grelle do have a good friendship, Grelle actually asks him for advice on how to stop being so shy and so close-minded. He tells her to be a show off and to be the center of attention all the time which in reality helps with nothing, only makes things awkward for her. They do hang out when they're free, he takes her to the places that he goes, but Grelle isn't really a party person for the same social awkwardness that she has, she only sticks closer to him when they go to a party and Asmo makes comments on how much of a shut-in as Levi she is, which she giggles, admitting that she also is a shut-in. But them both are on good terms, Asmo also defends her whenever Satan messes with her, he doesn't like to see her cry.

Beel and Grelle, also are good friends. Beel is way too nice, that Grelle likes making him company, sure he's always eating, but it's nice to have a good time together to speak and to get snacks. Grelle's not a very big eater, so she always gives her serving of food to Beel when she's full or not hungry anymore, even when she feels not like eating, when she's stressed about something, her meals go over to Beel and the glutton demon is very happy when that happens, while also concerned about her of her lack of eating, he forces himself not to accept her food if she hasn't eaten a lot, because from food is where energy comes from, and Grelle needs all that energy. She's very thing, so whenever he can, Beel gets her to eat healthy. They do have that of a sibling-kind of bonding, Grelle appreciates him a lot.

With Belphie and Grelle there's not much interactions, she's highly terrified of him, so she avoids him and prefers to be with either one of the other brothers when she does have to be near Belphie. The reason if it, is what happened in Lesson16, she got a lot of trauma because of it. So no much happens between them both.

(Lol, this was a lot of writing, I just got inspired! But I hope you find Grelle interesting with all the character development I'm giving her and thanks for the hugs!!)

I do normally ask people not to submit full lengthed pieces of writing like this in my asks, but because I did ask about the character, it's alright. Grelle definitely sounds like an interesting character! She seems quite empathetic, and definitely the kind of person who's feelings tend to mirror the environment their in. That's pretty cool! I love her.

[requiem626k]

Book of Circus is the next manga arc that comes after the curry competition! ☺️ And pleeease watch the movie, otherwise you won't understand why my favourite character is the Untertaker 💘🥰.

Oh yes, it was my first favourite manga, I've been following it for yeaers 🥰. I look up the the mangaka, her drawing style is SUPREME...I think I will make photos so you may know what I mean 👀.

Ah, please don't worry about it, you know that I understand ☺️. Sebastian is a wonderful character, I get it 🥰. Not my fave either, but how could one NOT love him he's even a comfort character of mine ☺️.

And 😂👏🏼👏🏼 please, I should have seen it coming. William is like the more stern and less soft version of Kunikida. I am personally more of a Grell gal though, as you might have guessed 🤭 I see them more as a bestie though.

I really hope you find a possibility to read the manga, I know you'll love it!

Oh and Joker's fate always tugs at my heartstrings as well 🥺

OH MY GOD YES UNDERTAKER-!! I totally forgot about Undertaker’s existence!! He’s honestly so so intriguing, I really wanted him to have more screentime but they unfortunately didn’t do much with him in the anime😩 I’m looking forward to watching the movie now👀

Oya oya~ I saw them but I’ll react to them in the next ask🤭

Oh exactly, he has such an interesting personality.

And I know, ugh that was too predictable😂 But that’s true, William is much much more stereotypical than Kunikida. Kunikida has a third dimension unlike him, he’s gone through some serious character development, which is why I truly love him and keep him in my heart <3 I wonder if William gains some depth in the manga too, but in the anime he sadly doesn’t haha. And yeah haha, I was sure you’d like Grell🤭 My God I feel like she’d annoy me so much though, spending one day with her would give me a heart attack I probably wouldn’t survive it, either out of fluster or of frustration-😭😭 I think she goes by she/her pronouns, I remember checking it from the wiki🤔

Omg I’m so happy that manga has the circus arc too, I thought it was anime only😭 Please, for some reason Joker attracted me so much from the beginning I don’t even know why or how, and when things happened I- I cried so much😭🥺

[chibimyumi]

In the Shadows of the Spotlights – Kuromyu 2015

First of all, thank you, @rmglawliet for your interest and prompt for analyses. Thank you @lambsthroat, @inarislair and @downthebitterrabbithole for your interest and compliments. As my blog is dedicated to only Furukawa-era Kuromyus, I shall start with the first Yunbastian musical: The Lycoris that Blazes the Earth 2015

Details in the Shadows of the Spotlights

The main differences between the manga and the musical are brought by the result of different possibilities that come with different media type.

Unlike in manga, stage portrayals allow for what can be called a simultaneous panelling. With manga, as pages and panels are limited in both size and number, a mangaka must often choose to sacrifice certain things for the sake of aesthetics. Just imagine every single panel to be drawn in panorama featuring every single character’s reaction just because the mangaka is indecisive. Nope, not pretty. On stage however, the opposite is true; even if the centre of attention might only be on one character, whoever is present also on stage –however far in the background – cannot be ‘out of view’. This is where skilled performers and concrete character interpretation become essential to a good production. The most memorable examples in my opinion are brought by Sebastian and Madam Red.

1. Hints in the Background

The first scene for analysis is when Ciel first meets up with Madam and Lau in the London town house. When we meet Lau, he behaves like nothing but an utter and complete airhead. He gives nobody reason to suspect he is not the ‘dumb foreigner’ as dictated by Chinese stereotype. In this rendition, ‘nobody’ seemed to include Madam Red and Grell as well. Though I personally think Araki laid emphasis on the clown aspect of Lau a bit too thick, he does fit in with the goofy half of the Lycoris musical. While I would have loved to see how Lau would function as a more subtle bridge between the musical’s starkly contrasted serious-vs-goofy tone, he is what he is. The only problem is that I personally find it hard to believe how this Lau could have survived this well in 19th century supremacist England as a foreigner, let alone made his way through the ranks to becoming branch leader of a crime syndicate… but that’s just me perhaps.

♪The air is filled with darkness and a beast-like stench, unlike anything you have ever seen. You could hold your breath and desperately try to keep your calm. But once you set foot in there, all that is left is being consumed by madness ♪

Lau joins a comic song where he enjoys gossiping and taunting Grell together with Madam, and Madam seems to enjoy his company, until Lau suddenly displays a sudden hint of intellect and wit previously invisible in him. At this, Madam who was originally sitting to the side of the table springs up in seeming paranoia.

She appears to try to assess Lau from closer up and subtly shifts towards the man. The second Madam gets up, Sebas already takes notice and makes to collect the empty cups. Sebas’ action here gives us a hint that he has been paying a very close eye to the duo and is constantly on alert. This is perhaps the first indication that Sebas already knows something is wrong with Madam and her butler.

Grell meanwhile, notices the increasing distress in her mistress and approaches her, convincing her to remain calm and sit down. A very small but telling detail is when Madam is about to sit down again, she waves a gesturing hand to assure Grell that everything will be alright. This small gesture is easily overlooked, and yet is a powerful detail in storytelling. To spectators who are already familiar with the story, it adds layer to the characters and is almost a spoiler to cracking the case. To unfamiliar spectators, it is subtle enough to not spoil the outcome, but does give them a glimpse of the deep bond in this master-servant relationship.

2. Not ineffective, just nasty

The second scene that can serve as splendid example is Sebastian’s passive aggressive upside-down reading previously mentioned in this post. Here however, I shall go into more analytical detail.

Another hint we are given that Sebastian knows more than he lets on is the scene where Ciel and Madam play chess. Sebastian has been ordered to go through the list of suspects over and over again, because Ciel remained dissatisfied about his report that “other than the Viscount of Druitt, none of the humans present at the party could have committed the crimes.”

「ドルイット子爵以外の人間には不可能です」 “Druitt shishaku igai no ningen ni wa fukanou desu”

Although translated to English, ‘none of the humans’ sounds like such a blatant give-away that people might even doubt Ciel’s intelligence, in Japanese this phrase is art itself. ‘Ningen’ means ‘human kind’ as well as ‘people’. In Japanese however, though the word explicitly stresses the type of species, to average listeners, nothing about the phrase would sound out of the way. (If there’s something similar in a language that you know, please share! I’d love to know how this ‘hint’ would best be translated in other languages.) Sebas could have opted for equally natural alternatives such as 人 hito, meaning simply ‘persons’, or 容疑者, yougisha, meaning ‘suspects’, of course. But why would he? This specific wording is a very subtle way of Sebastian to hint at his master that he is headed in an altogether wrong direction, without giving the boy the satisfaction of getting the answer presented to him on a silver platter. Sebastian cares little that his sense of humour would come at the expense of more human lives. What the demon does mind is that his master would make him put up with more of the boring paperwork, again.

This annoyance was not explicit because no lines were given to Sebas in either manga or musical script. Though Sebastian remained graceful, his true sentiments probably boiled down to a simple ‘bitch, please’. In the shadows, Yunbastian would display his irritation with the attitude of a five year old in the most elegant fashion ever to be seen in theatre.

In an interview, Furukawa shared with us that his Sebas would obey his master’s instructions, so reading is what he would do. But he would not hesitate to let his master know just how foolish these instructions were. Passive-aggressive loud turnings of the pages and upside-down reading are what were due. Sadly the loud turning of the pages is inaudible in a grand theatre, but the upside-down reading can be witnessed in its full glory. No, it was not a coincidence, and I can assure you. Even if it was just so that the stack of paper was wrongly sorted, nobody besides Furukawa could have seen that the words were upside down. So why would Yunbastian bother? Turning paper with gloved hands is tricky! (Seriously, you try it yourself).

This seemingly small gesture is more important to the entire flow of the story and the characterisation of Sebas’ character than one may suspect at first. Sebastian is designed as a demon butler to whom the even most herculean of tasks seem like a doddle. The way that it has been revealed in the manga that Sebas had always known whose tail his master should have been after seemed a bit of out of the blue. In the musical version however, thanks to this ‘simultaneous panelling’ I mentioned before, the revelation was turned into an inevitable result of a gradual development in time. The manga left me personally wondering why Sebas didn’t help Ciel solve the Ripper case sooner. The obvious reasoning is that he simply couldn’t, be it because of order restraints or even personal incompetence. As it turns out in the musical however, Sebas was not ineffective, he’s just nasty.

The small hints in the backgrounds did not only show us how savvy Sebas had been, but also function as a warning that behind the elegant façade, a nasty jester hides. This is perhaps the first example we get of Yana-sensei’s claim that ‘she was beaten to the punch by Yunbastian.’ Glimpses have been shown, but we did not get any explicit confirmation that Sebastian is a nasty demon with an even nastier sense of humour until 2018 in chapter 138. During the run of Lycoris back in 2015, we already see that Furukawa foresaw how petty and tempestuous Sebas truly is behind his concocted beauty.

3. That Demon, Still Butler

The third and final scene I selected for analysis is the one with Undertaker after Madam’s funeral.

After the funeral, Undertaker brutally taunts the boy about the loss of his aunt, but Ciel buffs up and lies: “I prioritised catching Jack the Ripper over saving her life. I left her to her fate… with knowledge. Even my own blood relative.”

In the manga, Sebastian’s reaction ⇈ to Ciel during and after the funeral had mostly been a stoic and disapproving one. This is to be expected, as without Sebastian, Ciel would simply have been useless at his own job in this case. It had been Sebas who had given all the puzzle pieces to his master, and it was also he who had to lay all the pieces into its frame. Ciel was only there to see that the job be done the way he wanted it to be done, but otherwise only served to slow the case down. Sebastian’s attitude? If you see fit to waste my time I would happily waste yours too, my Lord.

Yunbastian too has grown rather spiteful by the end of this arc, but he is sassier than Sebas in the manga. While Sebastian in the manga seems to merely disapprove, Yunbastian raises a very judgemental eyebrow. He said nothing, but the eyebrow may as well have been knitted into a frown spelling ‘oh-really-now?’

Then, although Undertaker was hardly a threat at that point of the manga, when he grabbed the boy by his collar in a somewhat aggressive manner, Yunbastian turned immediately and stays on alert from that point on. However subtle this gesture, we are once again reminded of the sole reason Sebastian is on Earth. He is still bound by the terms of his contract, and is therefore first and foremost Ciel’s mother butler.

All in all, I think that both Akane Live and Furukawa Yuuta made very significant contributions to their characters that Yana herself admitted to have failed to portray in the manga (I shall add the source when I find it again). Although the Jack the Ripper arc is very interesting and beautiful, I do wish the manga could have been fleshed out a bit more. I personally found the solemn-vs-goofy balance a bit askew in the Lycoris musical, but the actors really did give the characters so much more depth and layers.

Thank you all for your interest and compliments, and also for reading this long fan-ramble disguised as an in-depth analysis!

[dewbond-blog]

The Summer of Love: The English Dub of High School DxD

We will be jumping into the second half of season one next week with a look at the “Raiser Arc” and all it brings to the table, but this week I wanted to steer the Summer of Love into a topic that many people don’t really discuss: The English Dub, and my overall thoughts and feelings on it. There is a good, a lot of good, and some slightly not so good. So join me after the cut as we jump into our next chapter of The Summer of Love, the dub! This is another long one, so be ready!

To discuss the English Dub of High School DxD, it is important to give some backstory about English dubbing of anime in general. If you grew up in my generation, (late 90s, early 2000s)  then you are very familiar with the 4kids of era; a time in which the american company 4kids entertainment pretty much had a stranglehold on the western anime market. Simply put, they called the shots and every anime that was actually on television had to go through the 4kids “Americanizing process.” Needless to say, this was a bad thing.

Cardcaptor Sakura had it’s entire yuri/yaoi subtext removed and whole episodes removed. Dragon Ball censored and omitted world building, Yu-Gi-Oh became a “so bad it’s good” mess of a dub. Vision of Escaflowne became a shadow of it’s former self. Monster Rancher went from a 50+ episodes series to only a handful, and of course what they did to One Piece. The list just goes on and on. The 4kids era of anime was not a good time for the youthful medium, and frankly the wounds inflicted by this era are still fresh in many minds of my generation.

Things have gotten far better since then, with companies like Funimation, Sentai Filmworks and Aniplex taking over the dubbing market and delivering quality dubs of anime that are true to form and (sometimes) even superior to their Japanese counterparts. Yet despite this massive improvement there are still many who refuse to even give an English dub a chance, whether it is loyalty to the “authentic’ Japanese version, or trauma for the scars of the 4kids era.

Now how is this connected to High School DxD? Well not really that much, but I think it is important for readers to understand why people are somewhat hesitant on English dubs, despite a whole new generation growing up with them. There are old wounds that have yet to heal, and in this era where censorship is a hot button issue, I wanted to explain why.

Anyway, let’s get into the dub itself, and let’s start by talking about the cast.

The Cast

The English cast of DxD is frankly very strong, though it has been a cast that has had a few replacements. Akeno has been voiced by two different actress, as has Asia, and the while voice changes are noticeable, they thankfully don’t differ too much to make much of a difference. What I can say is that Asia and Akeno are both voiced excellently, with Asia being played with that cute innocent perfection, and Akeno with a level of sultry seductiveness that, while not on par with her Japanese seiyuu, gets the job done well.

The biggest voice change though has to be Issei himself, who was voiced by both Scott Freeman and later Josh Grelle, and while the change over in season 3 is a rather noticeable change (unlike Akeno’s voice change in the same season), with many people being initially put off by the sudden shift in voices. I can both say that they play an excellent Issei and bring a-

Wait..what’s this?

Fuck…do I have to do this? Do I really have to bring it up? REALLY?

ALRIGHT FINE…FINE..I’LL FUCKING ADDRESS IT.

In 2015. Scott Freeman, the voice actor of Issei and several other Funimation dub roles, was arrested, convicted and imprisoned for the possession of Child Pornography. Funimation rightfully and subsequently cut all ties with him and his roles current and future were replaced with new actors, hence the sudden change to Josh Grelle in season 3 and later 4.

Anyway, Issei’s work in the English dub marks the first, but not the most significant change in the DxD anime. While the script plays him true to form, Issei’s performance in the dub is markedly more “american” compared to his Japanese counterpart. While it is 100% loyal to the authentic story, there is a lot more ‘sex jokes’ and ‘western references’ that peek out from time to time. I’ll get into this when I discuss the script, but I did find it worked quite well for the story, and both voice actors are able to ‘get serious’ when the time comes, especially in season 4 when Josh Grelle gives his best performance as a harem lead, and this guy has MANY to his name.

However the biggest and frankly best change has to be Jad Saxton as Koneko Toujou, who completely re-invents the character for the English dub. In the Japanese version, Koneko is the quiet little kouhai who seems to only have one single emotion, very much in the veins of the Rei-clones that had a stranglehold the industry for years. The English dub however turns this completely on it’s head. Koneko becomes a motor-mouthed little girl who, while still holding true to the character’s spirit, adds far more to the plot and group chemistry than her Japanese counterpart. I just find Jad Saxton’s Koneko to be a far more interesting character, acting as a sort of the reality foil for Issei for many season, and still willing to call him out on his perverseness even after falling in love with him. Frankly, the difference between the two voices is astonishing, just watch this comparison clip.

The rest of the cast do a find job. Jamie Marchi as Rias is an excellent casting choice, and while I prefer the Japanese voice, Marchi’s signature voice is able to play both sides of Rias’ personality well and she only gets better as the seasons roll on. Kiba, Gasper, Xenovia and Rossweise are all again done very well, but it is only really characters listed above who are the real stand outs.

The Script

Remember how I brought up 4kids at the start of this post. Well I did also bring that up, because the English script of High School DxD does feel very much like a bit of a holdover from that era of anime dubs. There is more than a hint of the adapters putting in their own lines and having some fun with the dialogue than compared to other shows. It was clear to me that the writers were having some real fun trying to adapt this show for an English dub, and while some may grumble by only  being a 90% authentic script, the show does give us some great memorable one-liners like:

“I’m gonna make you eat those words like a kid doing the tide-pod challenge!”

“Cunt-tuckey fried chicken over there is in love with you”

“Forgive dat ass, don’t spank it!”

“Her milk-shakes are all over my yard”

Those are just some of the examples of the fun bit of humor that is injected into the series via the English dub and yes, it is not for everyone and yes, it is going to turn some of the purists off. Yet the voice actors give it their all and when the time comes for the show to “get serious” like with the Akeno break down, Asia story-line, the Issei/Rias fight, and more, those actors absolutely step up to the table and deliver excellent performances. So I can forgive them for having just a bit more fun with a show that is, again, about busty big boobed girls fawning over a perverted idiot.

What I do NOT forgive though, is the “president gaffe,” which undermines a vital and important plot point.

See, there is a very clear reason that Issei calls Rias “president throughout most of the anime’s run.” It helps show the class and social difference between the two characters and how, despite Rias falling truly deeply in love with Issei, her social status and his role as a servant make him hesitant to step up. It is only when that issue comes to a head that does Issei finally start calling Rias by her full name, and it is a great moment to cap off four seasons of development.

The dub however ignored that completely for the first four seasons and admitted that they weren’t aware of just how important it is. While they do address it in the season 4 dub, making an offhand comment that “Issei has been calling her President a lot lately” it doesn’t really fix the problem and remains an annoying nitpick for me. Is it a deal breaker? No, but it is a pretty glaring problem when looking at the series as a whole.

Final Thoughts.

Overall, the English Dub of High School DxD is a great one, and I honestly love it to death. As i said in my primer, I would have watched the series dubbed to do this event, but I wanted to be faithful to the Japanese release. The dub is still my go-to way of watching DxD and I suggest anyone to give it a show after watching a bit of the OG Japanese version. It’s not perfect, but it’s made with love and affection and doesn’t stray too far from it’s routes, but when it does what 4kids never could do to anime. It adds something without taking anything away.

[circuspierrot-blog]

I recently hit 150 followers on this blog, so as a thank you I have decided to create a bias list/follow forever/whatever you want to call this! If you are not on here I’m sorry, this was created off the top of my head and as a result it is inevitable that I miss some people. Just know that I appreciate every single one of you (except the p.orn blogs) and that I look forward to being more active on here!

But before I start the bias list, there’s some special people that I just need to have a bit of a rant about. So, in no particular order:

🎪 @facadesmiled - you’ve mentioned several times that you’ve been RPing as Joker since 2014, and it shows. The depth you give to his character is simply astounding! You have gone above and beyond the little canon information on him and developed your muse into someone that’s honestly a lot more human. He is suffering, he is hurt and, perhaps most importantly, you show that Joker is not inherently bad. Your writing (especially the Father’s Day drabble that you posted recently) really works to emphasise Kelvin’s influence over not just Joker, but the circus as a whole, and that really helps broaden your muse’s character. 🎪 @kniifethrower - the thing I like best about your blog is definitely how well you capture Dagger’s personality. He’s such an energetic, excitable character, and you manage to portray that really well through the dialogue you use. Even if it’s just a dashboard commentary or a one-liner, everything is so accurate to how he’s been presented in canon, and because of that your writing is a lot of fun to read! Not to mention that the way you write his accent is so cute. 🎪 @tameratrix - your Beast is amazing! She’s so well rounded and well thought out! She’s more than willing to stand up for herself and has a love-hate relationship with Betty, but at the same time she’s protective of her family and gets flustered and is just such a brilliantly thought out character. It’s clear that you’ve put a lot of effort into her character. 🎪 @pupacirci - I absolutely adore your Doll! A lot of your writing seems to emphasise her more childish qualities, and it really makes the reader think about her in a different light. A lot of the time Doll is seen as the ‘baby sister’ of the other First-Tiers, and your emphasis of her childish nature really shows that despite everything she’s been through she is still a child and she is the ‘baby’ of the group. However, you do play the more serious aspects of her personality very well too, creating a good balance between the two sides of her character. 🎪 @xircrocodile - scrEAMS IN YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION. Where do I even start??? You play Crocodile perfectly (so perfectly, in fact, that you are the reason I got into One Piece)and honestly you’re just a joy to talk to. Your writing is on point, you’re a great friend, and it’s amazing how even when you get the most random, out of place anons you still manage to stay 110% in character! You balance dialogue and description very well in your writing, and it’s fascinating to watch as your muses develop. 🎪 @jzsketch - your art style is adorable! All of your OCs have such creative designs, and your work is such a delight to see on the dashboard. The expressions, the colour palette, everything just works so well together, and your pictures are always a joy to look at! 🎪 @knoxsu - your writing is such a joy to see on the dashboard! Your Ronald is just so accurate to canon, it’s clear that you must have put a great deal of thought into how to write his character. The accent is perfect, and I think that the icon style you use works really well with your blog. 🎪 @aka-freckles - you’re someone who I followed very soon after making the blog, and I could not be happier that I did. Your Doll is true to canon, the description you use is always detailed and able to paint a vivid picture in the reader’s mind, and every time you use an icon the expression perfectly corresponds with the emotion she’s showing in the thread. (An impressive feat, considering that she’s minor character and so has less icons available). 🎪 @sassygreytea - we’ve been mutuals for a few months now, and throughout that time you have actually made me like Grey’s character much more than I did initially. You play him so well, and I always enjoy talking with you, be it IC or OOC. I read through your threads even if I’m not involved in them because your characterisation is so interesting and your writing is always gripping. 🎪 @oflicorice - I can not tell you how great it is to see a minor character get so much attention from the fandom. Your Othello is laid back and gets straight to the point, and your writing is so fun to read. We haven’t gotten the chance to speak OOC much, but from what I’ve seen you seem like a great person! 🎪 @ask-peter-ofnoahsarkcircus - I’m so glad that Peter’s getting some attention within the fandom. Even though he featured very little in the actual circus arc, your writing brings him to life and gives some much-needed attention to a very underrated character. I always enjoy talking with you ooc, and our character interactions are always fun to write. 🎪 @erebus-cheslock - your writing is enjoyable to read not just because of how well you portray Cheslock, but also because of how developed his character is. He is someone who (unfortunately) does not have a lot of personality development in canon, yet the life you breathe into his character makes it seem as though he was a major part of the manga. His back story, the AUs, everything has clearly had so much time and effort into it and it shows how much you care about making your muse a more well-rounded, interesting character and not reduce him down to being just an upper-class musician who went to Weston.

Now, onto the bias list!

@ancerest (I’m so happy that Irene’s getting some attention, and your portrayal is 11/10) 🎪 @collapsahr (great url btw, and what I’ve seen of your writing is A+) 🎪 @domina-gladiis (you could literally write Elizabeth’s canon dialogue since you play her character so well) 🎪 @morsance (it’s fantastic to see you consider all aspects of Alois’ complex character in your writing as opposed to reducing him down to just a few key traits) 🎪 @thorncladreaper (reading your portrayal of Alan is always enjoyable, especially since he’s a character that’s often overlooked by the fandom) 🎪 @kodomokira (both your characterisation of Sachiko and your mobile banner are astounding tbh) 🎪 @ask-badly-drawn-sebastian (that mobile banner says it all. This blog is a masterpiece and should be cherished) 🎪 @fxtedtemsik (I love Ghost Trick, and I really like the way that you portray Yomiel) 🎪 @maurlce (your characterisation is so on point, it breathes a lot of life into your muse and really makes your writing a delight to read) 🎪 @deviliciious (I really love your portrayal of Sebastian’s demon form, it’s very creative) 🎪 @raajasii (you do Soma’s character so much justice! You clearly understand his character well) 🎪 @sugxrlips (you have a fascinating OC, both in terms of his personality and design, and I look forward to interacting with you) 🎪 @sullyxwan (we’ve never interacted, but I admire how well you play your muse) 🎪 @offearitself (we only became mutuals recently and by ‘recently’ I mean yesterday and although I don’t have much knowledge of Batman I find your portrayal of Jonathan to be very interesting and enjoyable to read) 🎪 @vphantomhive (can we all just take a moment to appreciate your aesthetic reblogs because they fit Vincent perfectly) 🎪 @hismaster-demanding (your threads are very interesting to read, and you always keep Ciel in character) 🎪 @moartea-rosie (the way you play Grelle is amazing, and I love the friendship her and my Ronald have)🎪 @mcdararui (I don’t actually know much about your character, but you’re very nice to talk to and I look forward to interacting with you IC)🎪 @hxpelesszetsubx (you play Junko so well, and I enjoy talking OOC with you)

Once again, I’m sorry if you’re not included on here, but just know that I appreciate you and feel free to interact with me anytime!