Okay…how do you wanna do this…?
Guys, I gotta confess something to you, and this won’t be the only one either. Hope you’re sitting down for this, cuz’ I’m not sure what you’re reaction will be afterwards. Ok, here we go.
I don’t watch anime that much anymore.
I know, I know. Some of you are wondering ‘But why? There are so many good shows out this season! You’ve got Solo Leveling, Demon Slayers’ Final Arc, DanDaDan, like c’mon bro you’re missing out!’ Yeah, yeah, you don’t have to tell me. I know that there are some good shows out, and for many fans they think its the best thing since sliced bread. However when you’re an OG anime fan from the trenches, you get REAL selective of what shows you watch, because your tastes have changed over the years. Matter of fact, the last anime I’ve touched was Fena: Pirate Princess. It was an original anime about pirates that WASN’T One Piece!
I know I’ve talked about it before, but the anime community is totally different from the time I grew up as an anime fan; especially coming from the 4Kids era of anime dubbing. Speaking of dubbing, how we feeling about the New Panty & Stocking dub? (*goes and reads the comment sections*) Oh…damn…ouch…harsh.
Well, before I address the elephant in the room, I wanna lock this in. You ready? Here we go.
“The OG dub of Panty and Stocking IS the definitive way to watch the series. Jamie Marchi and Monica Rial (hate em’ or love em’) will ALWAYS be the definitive English VAs of OG Panty and Stocking, along with the rest of the OG cast. Even if they don’t come back to the series in the long run, they have solidified their names in PSG dub history, and nobody can take that from them! Even the new cast acknowledged how legendary the OG series is, and that they’ll work really hard to match/capture the same energy. It’s been 15 years since the OG series dropped, and a LOT has changed in the industry since then. We didn’t think we’d get a second season at all, but by God it’s here!”
Now that we’ve got that rant/speech out of the way, let’s talk about the shock to the system that was the recast. When the dub trailer for New PSG got announced, all the hype that the fans of the OG series had, was killed. Panty didn’t sound like Jamie, Stocking didn’t sound like Monica, Scanty was ok, Kneesocks wasn’t too bad, Brief sounded like his OG VA, and Garterbelt…was FINALLY voiced by a Black Man! (*insert Kendrick Lamar’s TV Off Instrumental*) Studio Trigger understood the assignment, and the cherry on top was the redesign of his lips!
Like myself, fans of the OG series reacted to the new voice cast reveal in one of two ways; sheer disappointment over the fact that the whole OG cast was recast, and denouncing the dub in favor of only watching the sub since most of the OG Japanese voice cast is back. It was shocking to find out that the OG cast (especially Jamie and Monica) was not returning (even though they REALLY wanted to), and that Amazon didn’t even bother to give em’ a holla, or anything. As usual fans speculated that the recast had something to do with Jamie and Monica’s involvement in the ‘Weeb War of 2019’, and frankly…I’m past that.
With Crunchyroll in the state that it is now, I can see why Studio Trigger gave the series to Amazon Prime Video. Yes, this will probably mean New PSG will be in ‘Amazon Jail’ long after the series is over, so it won’t get the ‘DBZ Kai’ treatment OG fans are hoping for; for it’s Home Media Release. (Who knows maybe it will, but I dunno.) Look, I know I said I was going to talk about my first impression of the New PSG season, so here it is…
It’s FYRE!!!
I know we’re only 3 episodes (6 segments) in, but Studio Trigger didn’t miss a beat! The OST is bangin’, and the New Opening sounds like an early 2000s Disney Channel Original Movie. If you’re a fan of the OG dub and are expecting New PSG’s dub to be on the same level (or even better) in terms of localization, I hate to tell you this, but you’re gonna be disappointed. (Its not the Jamie Marchi 2012 Remix you’re hoping for.)
However, if you’re not attached to the OG cast, then you’re gonna like the New PSG. Who knows how many seasons and movies we’ll get from this franchise, but one thing’s for sure, the B*tches are BACK, and Stocking will ALWAYS be BEST GIRL!!
Oh yeah, my other anime confession…
I never watched One Piece. It’s too damn long.
OG Founder!
Out!