Dog Days Episode 8 Dog Days 08

Opening Theme:
"SCARLET KNIGHT" by Nana Mizuki

In the land of Fronaldo, the Republic of Biscotti has been aggressively attacked by the Lion Kingdom of Garette.

Cast

Ami Koshimizu as Leonmitchelli Galette Des Rois
Ayana Taketatsu as Eclair Martinozzi
Kana Asumi as Yukikaze Panettone
Mamoru Miyano as Shinku Izumi
Mikako Takahashi as Rebecca Anderson
Nana Mizuki as Ricotta Elmar
Takehito Koyasu as Loran Martinozzi
Tetsuya Kakihara as Gaul Galette Des Rois



Although the dub is mostly excellent, it too begins to show some cracks. The screenplay is incredible, giving the back-and-forth between athletic teenagers a naturalistic feel sorely missing from many dubs. Despite a very smart ear for casual dialogue, it never strays too far from the intent of the show. Greg Ayers is a tremendous standout as Abe -- this rare opportunity for him to act more and screech less proves the guy has more chops than he's usually allowed to exercise. Other notables include Todd Haberkorn as the lovable spaz Tajima, and Joel McDonald as conflicted team captain Hanai. But as more rival teams are introduced Funimation clearly starts to run out of top-tier voice talent. There are a few decent actors on each team (usually the characters with more lines), but lesser ones tend to fare worse and worse as episodes go by. Name pronunciations have always been a problem for this cast, and this volume is rife with inconsistencies. The final episode, a side story involving none of the main cast, is a significant misstep, featuring uniformly stiff performances, off-meaning intonation, and some truly mangled Japanese names.

These are ultimately nit-picks; the project as a whole is still solid, and I generally prefer Funimation's less-polished, more natural sounding cast to the too-perfect Japanese. (Tsubasa Yonaga's Mihashi is so effeminate that I was truly shocked to find he wasn't voiced by a woman!) Moreover, these episodes are so heavy on the expository monologues that trying to watch the subtitled version would be tantamount to reading a reference book on baseball analysis. With a cast as strong as this one, viewers with an open mind towards dubs would be best served giving this one a chance.