I've only read the synopsis on Uzaki Chan but if I were directing, I'd probably cast someone young who could pull off "high energy little sister in college" as Uzaki Hana.
Luci Cristian would've been able to pull it off if they weren't going to go with one of their newcomers. If Sentai Filmworks had gotten the rights, I believe Hilary Haag would've been able to do it, though I think they would've gone with Brittney Karbowski. Hell, if Laura Bailey were still with FUNimation full-time,
she could pull off Uzaki.
Monica uses that voice a
lot, but I think that's the voice she used for Renge, you know, the psychotic yaoi fangirl. But that might also be her actual natural "This is my voice I use around other people whenever I get really into a conversation", because there's a reason she keeps being typed-cast into loli roles, she has vocal fry. Which is funny because Luci can do loli voices, too, and not just because she's a tiny woman. She has the right energy for Uzaki, not the hag who gets exhausted and cries over tweets calling her out for her lies.
Naomi Oozora has a bit of a scratchy high voice when she does Uzaki's obnoxious parts, but otherwise has a normal somewhat-deep voice for a woman other times. And the voice-actress has voiced young characters, too, such as Inari Fushimi from
Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha. and has the appropriate voice for them, but that deep voice is also used for characters who have some age or experience to them like Kiriha from
Tsugumomo. This is a range that Monica doesn't actually have, but this
is Luci's actual range. This is a total miscast just because FUNimation really hates its audience and doesn't give a shit even though Luci is still very much an active member of the company, and Monica is clearly the favorite for whatever reason.
And usually they're to do auditions even though everyone knows each other there. The ADR director may have a good idea who to cast as certain people, but they should still do the audition process, otherwise it just comes off as favoritism and maybe laziness, too.
Sakurai sounds off, but whatever. You guys might know Ricco Fajardo best as Itona Horibe (
Assassination Classroom), Daryun (
Arslan Senki) and Mirio Toogata (
My Hero Academia), and he might not be giving his best here. Honestly, I think the at-home recording FUNimation has been doing just isn't working out well for a lot of the actors, quality has clearly taken a hit since Corona-chan made her rounds. Which isn't saying much because their simul-dubs haven't been great, either, but at least people were being directed in person.
So yeah, FUNimation dropped the ball here, but I think they really don't give a shit anymore and will continue to blame the haters for why they aren't selling this series as much as they thought they would. Also keep an eye out for anyone pointing out any egregious script-changes in future episodes, because if there's no audience to catch them, no big deal in pissing off people (especially the creators).
EDIT: OH, I almost forgot about Jessica Calvello. I think
she could pull off Uzaki better than Monica despite being a couple years older, she has the right voice and energy for the obnoxious parts. Given her roles as Excel and Hange Zoë, I think she'd have been a good fit.
