Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Episode 34 ENGLISH DUB Review

Episode 34, "Ice Queen"

I love this woman.  

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Edward and Alphonse ask for Major General Armstrong's help in finding Mei, which she only agrees to in order to obtain a possible new weapon to defend Briggs with. She orders her subordinate Miles to find the brothers work. Walking through the base, Miles reveals that he is part Ishbalan, but was accepted by Olivier. Edward expresses his desire to not be ignorant, which Miles finds amusing. The brothers are given the duty to take down icicles, along with Falman, who was transferred to Briggs. Suddenly, a homunculus, Sloth, digs its way into the base, with Ed suspecting he's been followed. The soldiers attack Sloth, but to no effect. Suddenly, Olivier has an idea.

Comments:

So, yeah, apparently the familiar voice of the Briggs doctor was actually Mary Elizabeth McGylnn herself, posing under her "Lucy Todd" alias. I think of it as an amusing, albiet mean tease, since I thought she would have made an awesome Olivier Mira Armstrong, and thought of her as perfect for that role before the show was ever licensed. I'm always surprised when I hear a voice talent from California in a Texas dub, because it doesn't happen often. McGlynn is one of my favorite voice talents, so I'm glad she got a role at all in one of my favorite anime.

Don't get me wrong, though. I have no problem with Stephanie Young's Olivier Mira Armstrong. In fact, I think she's awesome in the role. She really brings a respectability to the cast of the show, totally bowling over some of the more mediocre talents and performances. Her ferocity almost perfectly matches the Japanese VA's. Hers is definitely one of my favorite performances in this dub, and one of its redeeming qualities.

Oh, but it doesn't stop there. I'm really digging Jason Douglas as Miles. He gives the character a unique sound to it, much like Kazuya Nakai's, and without being too garish or obvious. It's a natural distinctness. Douglas was Lord Ilpalazzo in Excel Saga and recently King Cold in Dragon Ball Kai. He was one of ADV's better VAs and now he gets to be a good addition to Funimation's pool, too.

I guess Sloth's voice works. It's very drawn and langourish, the way you would expect, but somehow I get a more distant, exhausted feel from the Japanese VA.

I believe I actually gave this episode a perfect "5 out of 5" score when I rated the episode itself. Fortunately, the English dub comes pretty close to being as good as the Japanese episode.

Overall ENGLISH DUB Score:

4.5 out of 5 


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