> Anyone seen the English dub of MH yet?  I'm looking forward to it, but for 
> some reason the SF Bay Area doesn't yet seem to qualify for the limited 
> release...

I saw it yesterday. Just over a week before, I'd seen a fansubbed version
for the first time, at a anime club, so I had a little bit of a
point of comparision.

I originally wasn't planning to see the dubbed release, (and wait for
a sub or DVD hybrid on home video), but two things moved me: (1) the
opportunity to see a good print on a big screen, (2) the idea that
good sales for this may mean more anime in the US.

On the whole, I was pleasantly surprised: this was a dubbing job that
didn't make me wince to hear it. It avoided some of the common problems
of US anime English dubs: grossly mispronouncing names, flat expressionless
voices, and odd accents. 

Lady Eboshi, the head of the iron works, etc. has an upper-class English
accent, but that's probably an appropriate way to suggest refinement
in English speech.

The head of the hunters (I forget his name), had a voice that sounded
wrong to me, but not so badly that it pained me to listen to it.

(I get uncomfortable watching many dubs rather quickly, even those that
others seem to think are good dubs (I have various hybrid DVDs and LDs
with both versions).)

It was evident, having seen the sub, that they altered the dialog or
naration at some points to try and make something seem clearer or fill in
missing cultural context. It was artfully done but not seamless.

I suspect someone who watched both versions several times could pick
more nits in translation.

One thing that struck me watching the fansub (which was blunted a bit
by the translation in the dub) was the extent to which this story
was based on a fundamentally pagan, polytheistic mythos
(though it may also read as a cautionary tale about ecology).
--
    Albert Lunde                      Albert-Lunde@nwu.edu