Figured i would ask who everyones top 3 voice actors (or seiyu not to assume someone didnt prefer the japanese va to the english) in the Tenchi series were. Thought about saying top 5 but then top 3 makes you think

anyway, for me

1. Petrea Burchard - Ryoko - without Petrea Burchards voice as Ryoko i dont think i would have liked the character as much, she exemplifies the voice in everyway, emotion, comedy, and not only adds to the persona but pushes it to make it even better, she didnt just fill the role she became the character, sorry Ai Orikasa, you have a seductive voice but you cant touch this

2. Jay Hopper/Bob Papenbrook - Noboyuki/Katsuhito - Yea i know i cheated i listed 2 people for the character but let me explain, i had always loved Jay Hopper's Katsuhito and Nobuyuki (Mainly because he gave them definitive voices, to the point i always thought it was 2 people), His gruffness with Yosho yet Silliness with Noboyuki was perfect, The first couple of times i heard Bob Papenbrook i wasnt too impressed, you could tell he did both voices, His Katsuhito being the better of the 2, HOWEVER, as I watched and rewatched the Tenchi series i realized if anybody was gonna replace Jay Hopper, it was him, i dont even think Jay Hopper could have done a better job in MnE and his best Noboyuki was in TiT, to know we wont hear there voices as those 2 characters again saddens me

3. Kate. T. Vogt - Washu - Now this one was kinda hard, i mean i had already 2 people down, so what did i do to whittle it down more? thought back to GXP "Whos the other voice that absolutely floored me to hell? AHH Washu, Just like Petrea Burchard, no one on Earth (or anywhere) is Washu but Kate Vogt, that sinister little laugh, the way she says "little WASHU!!" nobody could do that voice better then her, during serious situations even more, her performance as Washu was definitive, you just dont hear any other voice but hers when you look at Washu

I have to admit my honorable mentions for that last spot were Sasami and especially Aeka, but 3 is 3 and those are the ones i favor the most

On Bob Papenbrook: I preferred his Nobuyuki, but not his Katsuhito. However, both voices were very fitting. Indeed it is sad we will never hear him again - however, on the good side, he passed away AFTER they finished OVA 3 rather than before. Whatever happened to Mr. Hopper? I haven't seen him credited anywhere else, and if that's a stage name it's a damn good one because no one's figured out who he is.

As for Kate T. Vogt... a very mixed bag. She had this GREAT voice at the very beginning (OVA episode 6), but I guess the voice direction decided she needed a more nasal-quality voice. I kind of dislike that.

Now my top list.

1. Petrea Burchard. Yup, same as yours. There's something about her voice that seems to really fit the character - and she was quite capable of using emotion. The time I met her, she said she only auditioned because Matt Miller was (and he happened to be a friend of hers). She sent in a tape with all these different voices, and then they picked her natural - go figure! And it definitely works. And from all those interviews, you could tell she TRULY loved playing the character. I rented OVA 12-13 on tape once, and really enjoyed her short interview. I keep in contact with her on occasion; she runs a very successful blog called Pasadena Daily Photo, which is pretty self-explanatory.

2. Sherry Lynn as Kiyone. The first Kiyone, just so yall know who I'm talking about - much as I love Wendee Lee, not as Kiyone. Mrs. Lynn got the frustration that's so part of Kiyone's character so well - and especially got the sadder moments in her story. My favorite part of her performance is Kiyone's world in the Time and Space adventures.

3. Jay Hopper as Katsuhito. You covered him already, I have nothing more to say.

Here are mine!

1. Petrea Burchard - Ryoko. Hands down. Her voice for Ryoko was amazing and it just fits the character so well. It's hard to imagine Ryoko with some other voice. I was watching the OVA 3 dubs once and I thought to myself "If Ryoko had always sounded this way in the dub, I'm not sure if I would have liked her as much." And while I do like Ai Orikasa's voice, Petrea will always be the voice of Ryoko to me.

2. Matt Miller - Tenchi. I feel like he plays the character well. I've never liked Tenchi's Japanese voice. For some reason, in the Japanese version, Tenchi comes off as kind of a jerk. Maybe it's just me. But Matt Miller is great for Tenchi. He's got all of Tenchi's voices down perfectly - confused, panicked, annoyed, kind.

3. Ellen Gerstell - Mihoshi. She was pretty good. I liked when she'd giggle in that ditzy way. But she didn't sound like an over-the-top stereotypical ditz. I don't have much more to say about her, but I liked her a lot.

1. Petrea for the same reasons youve all said basically.
2. Sasami's, i mean how cute can a little girl possibly get?
3. Washu's voice actor is great, very expressive, and i love how she seems have this sorta
'50s mum vibe to her.