English Dub Review: Full Dive: This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier than Real Life! “VRxReality”

Overview:

VR games have evolved to the point where they are almost indistinguishable from real life. Only real life sucks and that isn’t what people play games for. Eventually, people stopped playing them and games became more game-like. Enter Hiroshi Yuuki (Johnny Yong Bosch), something happened in his past so all he does is game. When the new big game comes out he tried to buy it but was short the right amount. He went to an off-brand game store and got duped by the busty Reona Kisaragi (Natalie Van Sistine) into buying a ten-year-old game called “Kiwame Quest”. Will he enjoy this game or is it really shittier than real life?

Our Take:

I was hoping this one would get a dub because it’s a pretty fun show. Though it feels like nothing but bad things happen to Hiro. So you kind of have to not let that bother you and just ride with the laughs. Since I have seen the sub as well I will mention a few things the dub does differently. So far it’s nothing too crazy just a few slight changes here and they have actually added to the comedy in my opinion.

One of the changes is Hiro has a bit of a catchphrase I don’t really remember him having. When something bad happens he tends to say “Yeah… that tracks”. As someone who says that from time to time I thought it was a funny addition. The other thing that stood out to me was after Hiro enters the game world. It was so realistic he brought up his status screen and said “Okay good, I haven’t been Isekai’d” and I thought it was a fun poke at the current anime landscape.

I am pretty sure this is the first show I have had the honor of reviewing with Johnny Yong Bosch as the lead. I have always been a huge fan of his so getting to talk about his work was something I was looking forward to. All I can say from the first episode is he did good, no complaints. A typical performance I would expect from him but there are some moments later in the show I can’t wait to see him work with. There were two performers I really wanted to mention though.

Natalie Van Sistine has mostly had supporting roles and in this, she plays Reona Kisaragi. Reona is a pretty major character so when I saw the name I was a little hesitant. Especially when they put an A-lister like Bosch opposite her essentially. After the first episode, I think she has done a great job with the character. I am definitely looking forward to some of her later scenes.

The standout performance has to go to Kayli Mills though. She plays one of the NPC’s named Alicia. Alicia becomes a yandere and while Kayli has had “crazy” roles before nothing quite this intense comes to mind. I did not think she could pull it off and while we only get a sneak peek of it I am sold. I cannot wait to see more of her rendition of Alice.

The story is just okay so far, Hiro clearly has some trauma from his past that turned him into a reclusive gamer. So far the show is funny so it will be interesting to see if they can be a bit “real” too. It was a solid first episode and I am definitely looking forward to more. Mainly cause I really love the voice cast and they bring these characters to life in an awesome way!