ADV Makes List of 2003's Best VAs

In his new Lost in Translation column Allen Divers gives his picks for the top voice actors of 2003. We?re happy to report that 3 ADV regulars made the list!

Luci Christian ? ?One of only two relative newcomers to the list Luci broke out in the anime scene with her performance of Kaname Chidori playing quite well against ADV's bad boy in training Chris Patton. Luci brings the right type of emotion to a show that wavers between a high-tech mecha show and a runaway school comedy. Not to be outdone Luci follows up that great performance with the role of Ran Kotobuki the lynchpin of SuperGALs. Playing Ran over the top while managing to keep Ran real Luci shows a strong range of acting skill. And just to prove her flexibility Luci ends the year with the role of Satoshi in Abenobashi. Sure she can play the girly girls but she doesn't make a half bad perverted boy either!?

Chris Patton ? ?I tease Chris about his bad boy moniker but when it comes down to it Chris has built a solid reputation playing the angst-ridden teenage protagonist. His big roles for 2003 proved to be Sousuke Sagura in Full Metal Panic and the widely acclaimed part of Ayato Kamina in RahXephon. While many will say he's basically playing the same role with Ayato and Sousuke the true magic comes in the subtle differences seen between them. Sousuke is a by the book military fanatic hardly showing any emotion while Ayato is constantly tearing at the reality around him. While the voice is the same Chris creates truly unique performances for each character. And just to prove the angst-ridden teenager thing is a crock; Chris snuck in a very upbeat performance as Ohjiro in Angelic Layer and teased the girls a bit as Rei in SuperGALs.?

Monica Rial ? ?Much like Chris it wouldn't be a Houston ADV dub without Monica involved somewhere. When you first meet Monica the first thing you notice is her voice. It practically screeches for attention. From that you can understand why Monica is such a great performer. While she's gotten kind of stuck in the soft-spoken girly roles (Hyatt Lila and Kirika) she's managed to surprise many critics with strong and mature roles like Haruka Shitow in RahXephon. Monica manages to put the right amount of emotion to convey many of the darker secrets of a show. With her performances even the quiet girls convey more than what they are saying. Monica also has a knack for getting those lines that just stick with you (This is hard). Monica remains a staple of the ADV Houston scene and probably hasn't shown what she is truly capable of.?

Allen also give honorable mention to Greg Ayres and Joey Hood.

Congrats folks! Keep up the great work!

Posted on Thursday, January 22, 2004 (Archive on Sunday, February 22, 2004)