So I picked up the Reign DVD today like a dutiful fanboy. It's excellent, overall. The animation is extremely high-quality, and Peter's great designs are utilized to their full potential. As an architecture nerd, I'm going to be doing a lot of freeze-frame examination to catch all the spiffy details. Oh, and the interview with Peter in the extra material is great.

The dubbing work is very good - not quite on the same level as Cowboy Bebop, but then, what is? The voices for Phillip and Olympias are kind of grating, but on the whole the cast is excellent.

Minor quip: What the hell is with Hephaestion? Easily the strangest member of Alexander's little cadre. I hope to hell there's some backstory coming up in later episodes...

I've got a question which I think was sort-of addressed already but not too clearly. (Or I could just be slow...) Did someone say there's a switch in the dubbing cast after the first four episodes? Perhaps you cable junkies with CN access already know? I ask because Aristotle & Cassandra are sadly under-utilized in the early eps, and I'd be very disheartened to hear them in later episodes done by folks other than John & Denise. (That is Denise, isn't it?)

Final note: It's been about a year since I've watched Aeon Flux, but did anyone else get the impression that Roxanne looks exactly like Sybil with a new hairstyle? (And fewer clothes, of course...)

-- Charles Martin (bebop432@eathlink.net), March 07, 2003

Answers

Oh. Duh. The question's answered by Mr. Chung himself down in John Lee's last thread. Yes, Tokyopop recast after episode 4. Barring the appearance of a convenient deity, I suppose there's no higher authority on the matter. Dammit. Cassandra only has about thirty words in these episodes. *sob*. I suppose I'll start listening to the Japanese track & try and get used to the original cast... I'm so damn conflicted about Tokyopop. They do import good stuff, and I'm really happy to see their right-to-left manga, but they seem to be too willing to half-ass some aspects of the translation process...

-- Charles Martin (bebop432@earthlink.net), March 07, 2003.

hephaestion (or "heph" as i like to call him) is my favorite character! so odd, beautiful, mysterious, and disturbingly scarey. ^_^

-- Salena B. (rameca@bellsouth.net), March 12, 2003.

Are you asking what importance Hephaestion had in real life that got him to be on the show, or something? ^^;; I've been researching around and I guess the best I can describe it is that Hephastion was Alexander's "best friend", keeping in mind that Greeks had a pretty open mind and view about friends and what they did with each other. The story's kinda sweet, lmao. Like, other people in Alexander's little army or whatever were "Friends of the King" but Hephaestion he nicknaked "Philoalexandros", "Friend of Alexander". ^^

Personally I think he's really cool, what with the awesome fighting he did and all those sweet little knives. And the constant harp playing of the same song over and over, rotfl. I wish he would talk more; he's awesome ^^

I loved the DVD as well. My first anime DVD, so that was probably the best choice I could have made..

Anyway, I hope I helped out a little with your question ^^d!

-- Topaz (topazina@hotmail.com), March 13, 2003.

Omigod, not "nicknaked", that's a major typo... nickNAMED, I meant xD

-- Topaz (topazina@hotmail.com), March 13, 2003.

Freudian slip there, maybe? ^_~

skye

-- skye (skyknyt@aol.com), March 13, 2003.

nicknaked hahahaha XD

-- Salena B. (rameca@bellsouth.net), March 13, 2003.

muahaha! I think the whole "royal entourage" thing is kinda sexy...what with the revealing if not bizarre attire and all...VERY COOL. The hair styles rock too--heck, EVERYTHING rocks!

-- Kaitlyn (princess_diva45@msn.com), March 18, 2003.

Chung's always been freaky like that. Remember the extras in "Ether Drift Theory"?

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), March 19, 2003.

Ah, Hehp *sighs*... nicknaked.

Sorry, I just loved that too much to let it go.

Also, adding to the whole historical aspect, Alexander did 'take his close [male] friend into bed with him, and after his death, wept for days, still lying with the body'. If that's not love (twisted, yes, but love nonetheless), what is?

-- Anne Marsh (DanaksZoul@hotmail.com), March 21, 2003.

ha! nicknaked whatever =_=

-- jade byran (sasauls@bellsouth.net), December 31, 2003.