Initial Dub

I've never really liked cars... not that I don't appreciate them, of course, but I've never really gotten that thrill of seeing a new car for the beauty or the desire to own one. I just see them as a means to go around. But if someone gifted me with a car, I'd be pretty happy. Heh.
Anyway, the point is that as a non-car lover, I would probably NEVER like the car-racing anime series, Initial D. Even just seeing the show for a few seconds doesn't do it for me... the art is UGLY (perhaps it is fitting that the cars look nicer than any of the people), and looks count a lot in anime for me. Then, there's the recent much-hyped release of the title on local Animax. The show had been dubbed by local talents- particularly young racing champ Matteo Guidecelli (who plays the lead guy) and Angel Locsin, actress and former 'Darna' star. The result? As far as everyone in an anime group I know is concerned, the local dub is horrible.
It's not that tagalog isn't good... a totally Filipino dub would not suck- I have heard shows on the new anime channel Hero dubbed in tagalog and they don't come off bad or jarring at all. What makes the Initial D dub suck is that its in TAGLISH. Irritatingly, droningly so. Everyone seems to speak like some monotone, robot kolehiyala, alternating between Filipino lines and 'high-sounding' english. It really sounds so fake, or just bad. Mr. Guidecelli may be a great driver, but that doesn't necessarily make him a fit voice actor. And as for Angel Locsin... well, someone on a mailing list put it best... Miss Locsin is better seen than heard.

Oh well. Whatever. Let the show go as it will, and just go another road.