What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Discussion regarding any musical aspect of the franchise, from game soundtracks to BGM to remixes. Upcoming & classic CDs, reviews, where to find them, and more!

Moderators: General Help, Kanzenshuu Staff

wjbraden
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 341
Joined: Tue Dec 28, 2010 10:07 pm

What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by wjbraden » Sat May 13, 2017 3:31 am

For those of you keeping up with the Toonami airings of Dragon Ball Super (in the US), I'm sure you have noticed some inconsistencies with the ending songs. "Chouzetsu Dynamic", the opening song has been left undubbed since episode 1, but "Hello, Hello, Hello", ending 1, aired with two different versions. In episodes 1-4, the song was left undubbed, but for episodes 5-11, it aired with a dubbed version, only to switch back to the Japanese version for episode 12. "Starring Star", ending 2, has aired undubbed up to this point as well.

This whole scenario seems very strange and confusing to me. Why would they only dub the ending, use it for a few episodes, and then ditch it? Even stranger, other international dubs of Super have dubbed the opening and endings without issue, like the Hebrew dub. Chris Sabat has told fans via twitter that Funimation has been seeking permission to dub the openings and endings, but that it is "very complicated." Some fans have speculated that Toei is forbidding Funimation from dubbing many of these songs because several of the original artists have put out English covers of said songs (the single releases of "Chouzetsu Dynamic","Hello, Hello, Hello", and "Starring Star" feature English covers). Yet this explanation doesn't seem to hold much water, since Funimation has not chosen to use these English covers for their dub. And this still doesn't explain why "Hello, Hello, Hello" was allowed to air with a dubbed version for 7 episodes.

Dragon Ball is not the only Toei franchise that has run into some weird issues with undubbed opening and ending themes internationally in recent years. The Funimation dub of One Piece was allowed to dub all of its openings and endings until episode 207, when there were told they were no long allowed to do so. Some speculated that Avex, the music label for these songs, requested that their music remain in its original language to support the original artists (though this has never been out-rightly stated by someone at Toei). The Italian dub of Sailor Moon Crystal recently aired with a dubbed version of the first opening, but aired its first ending undubbed. The list goes on and on.

Anyways enough rambling from me. What do you think is going on with the lack of dubbed openings and closings?
Interested in learning about the many international dubs of Dragon Ball? Then contribute to our Dragon Ball International Dubs spreadsheet here!: https://goo.gl/Zay3za It's open for anyone to edit* and view, so go ahead and add your own information to our ever-growing list!

* If you request access with a google account.

User avatar
simtek34
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 938
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2016 3:40 pm
Location: Minnesota
Contact:

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by simtek34 » Sat May 13, 2017 10:36 am

What I think, and what is probably right, is that FUNimation was trying to dub the song, they got the rights to Hello, Hello, Hello but later couldn't get the rights to Chozets-Dynamic, so decided to get rid of the dubbed Ending 1 and keep them all Japanese, which I'm perfectly OK with.

Newbie — 06/27/2016
Not-So-Newbie — ???
Beyond Newbie — ???
Beyond-The-Beyond-Newbie — 12/20/2016
Regular — 02/05/2017
OMG CRAZY REG — 06/14/2017

Xbox Live: PlushGerm24109
Everywhere else: simtek34

User avatar
Baggie_Saiyan
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 10283
Joined: Sat Mar 30, 2013 5:22 pm
Location: Atlantis.

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by Baggie_Saiyan » Sat May 13, 2017 1:35 pm

I might be wrong but I think music is licensed separately (which I think is why we had a replacement scores to begin with), so the issue would be with whoever the music licencor is and not Toei which I think is why Sabat said it is complicated. Also given the fact that Super has been changing the ED every cour I think has added to the complications. I wouldn't be surprised if they left all the OPs and EDs in Super in Japanese, which it seems they have, unless the complications get sorted by July where the first set arrives on home video.

Dragon Ball Ireland
I Live Here
Posts: 3539
Joined: Thu May 21, 2015 9:09 am
Location: Sligo, Ireland

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Sat May 13, 2017 6:06 pm

If I had to guess I'd say its because they wanted to test the waters with 'Hello, Hello, Hello' and have decided to keepkeepsettle consistency for now and settle for the Japanese openings and endings until the rights issue can be resolved fully.

I hope they can find a solution before the Blu-Rays drop as I'd like to have both options at hand, but with just over two months till the first set is released that may indeed be wishful thinking.

It will be interesting to see what happens if Funi have to wait longer to be able to use their own openings and endings. Will they discontinue older Super parts without the dubbed openings and endings and print new copies with both hoping people will double dip? Maybe it could be a selling point for when the Season sets come out.
Do you have any info about international non-English broadcasts about the Dragon Ball anime or manga translations/editions? Please message me. Researching for a future book with Dragon Ball scholar Derek Padula :thumbup:

User avatar
floofychan333
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1377
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2016 10:03 pm
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by floofychan333 » Sat May 13, 2017 7:46 pm

I don't want them to be dubbed personally. The English "Hello Hello Hello" was quite possibly the most cringe worthy thing to come out of the entire Dragon Ball franchise, and for some reason anime songs are excruciatingly corny in English. Also, dubbing songs is a remnant of the Americanization of anime era that needs to go.
"All of you. All of you must have KILL all the SEASONS!" -Dough (Tenshinhan), Speedy Dub of Movie 9.

"My opinion of Norihito's Sumitomo's new score is... well, very mixed. The stuff that's good is pretty darn good, but the stuff that's bad makes elevator music sound like Jerry freaking Goldsmith." -Kenisu

wjbraden
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 341
Joined: Tue Dec 28, 2010 10:07 pm

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by wjbraden » Sat May 13, 2017 10:16 pm

So, apparently the "Engrish" cover of Chosetzu Dynamic aired with episode 18 on Adult Swim Swim, in addition to a dubbed version of Starring Star. Who knows what in the world is going on now. :crazy:
Interested in learning about the many international dubs of Dragon Ball? Then contribute to our Dragon Ball International Dubs spreadsheet here!: https://goo.gl/Zay3za It's open for anyone to edit* and view, so go ahead and add your own information to our ever-growing list!

* If you request access with a google account.

Dragon Ball Ireland
I Live Here
Posts: 3539
Joined: Thu May 21, 2015 9:09 am
Location: Sligo, Ireland

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Sun May 14, 2017 4:58 am

floofychan333 wrote:Also, dubbing songs is a remnant of the Americanization of anime era that needs to go.
How? The point of dubbing is to present the same material but in another language. As long as you have both versions on the home release I don't see why the dubbing company can't take a crack at the opening.

That said I'm not a fan of the dubbed 'Chaozetsu Dynamic' or 'Hello, Hello, Hello' at this point. 'Shining Star' (also known as 'Starring Star') was good though.
Do you have any info about international non-English broadcasts about the Dragon Ball anime or manga translations/editions? Please message me. Researching for a future book with Dragon Ball scholar Derek Padula :thumbup:

wjbraden
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 341
Joined: Tue Dec 28, 2010 10:07 pm

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by wjbraden » Sun May 14, 2017 8:43 pm

Dragon Ball Ireland wrote:
floofychan333 wrote:Also, dubbing songs is a remnant of the Americanization of anime era that needs to go.
How? The point of dubbing is to present the same material but in another language. As long as you have both versions on the home release I don't see why the dubbing company can't take a crack at the opening.

That said I'm not a fan of the dubbed 'Chaozetsu Dynamic' or 'Hello, Hello, Hello' at this point. 'Shining Star' (also known as 'Starring Star') was good though.
I completely agree. Why would you dub the entire show into one language, but leave the openings and endings in their original language? It just seems lazy and inconsistent. Unless leaving the OPs and EDs in Japanese/original language makes sense or serves a purpose, it just seems jarring, in my opinion. I find it very interesting to listen to multi-language covers of anime songs, and listen to many different takes of the same song. And just like with covers of other musical genres, they can be better than the original (check out the German version of We Gotta Power, it definitely gives the original a run for its money)! Besides, having a dubbed version of a song doesn't take away from the fact the original version still exists. Buy the DVD and set the OP/ED from English to Japanese and you're all set!

By the way, Funimation did not "dub" 'Chaozetsu Dynamic' for episode 18 last night, they aired an English cover sung by Kazuya Yoshii, the original artist of the song, which was released a few years ago with the Single in Japan. I am not really a fan of this "Engrish"-style cover as well, and am hoping that Funimation will eventually make a true blue English cover of their own in the coming weeks, or at least throw one on DVD release. I agree that the cover of 'Hello, Hello, Hello" was a little rough around the edges, probably because Funimation rushed to get it out there. I hope that they'll rerecord a new version for the DVDs.
Interested in learning about the many international dubs of Dragon Ball? Then contribute to our Dragon Ball International Dubs spreadsheet here!: https://goo.gl/Zay3za It's open for anyone to edit* and view, so go ahead and add your own information to our ever-growing list!

* If you request access with a google account.

User avatar
floofychan333
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1377
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2016 10:03 pm
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by floofychan333 » Mon May 15, 2017 8:29 pm

wjbraden wrote:
Dragon Ball Ireland wrote:
floofychan333 wrote:Also, dubbing songs is a remnant of the Americanization of anime era that needs to go.
How? The point of dubbing is to present the same material but in another language. As long as you have both versions on the home release I don't see why the dubbing company can't take a crack at the opening.

That said I'm not a fan of the dubbed 'Chaozetsu Dynamic' or 'Hello, Hello, Hello' at this point. 'Shining Star' (also known as 'Starring Star') was good though.
I completely agree. Why would you dub the entire show into one language, but leave the openings and endings in their original language? It just seems lazy and inconsistent. Unless leaving the OPs and EDs in Japanese/original language makes sense or serves a purpose, it just seems jarring, in my opinion. I find it very interesting to listen to multi-language covers of anime songs, and listen to many different takes of the same song. And just like with covers of other musical genres, they can be better than the original (check out the German version of We Gotta Power, it definitely gives the original a run for its money)! Besides, having a dubbed version of a song doesn't take away from the fact the original version still exists. Buy the DVD and set the OP/ED from English to Japanese and you're all set!

By the way, Funimation did not "dub" 'Chaozetsu Dynamic' for episode 18 last night, they aired an English cover sung by Kazuya Yoshii, the original artist of the song, which was released a few years ago with the Single in Japan. I am not really a fan of this "Engrish"-style cover as well, and am hoping that Funimation will eventually make a true blue English cover of their own in the coming weeks, or at least throw one on DVD release. I agree that the cover of 'Hello, Hello, Hello" was a little rough around the edges, probably because Funimation rushed to get it out there. I hope that they'll rerecord a new version for the DVDs.
The Engrish songs are quite cringey and I don't want them playing on the airing. I want the opening and closing to be kept in Japanese so kids realize that they're taking in foreign media and are able to pick up a few words, like I have done with some songs. The Americanization of anime was basically "beat the Japanese out of this thing to the point that it's almost unrecognizable" and making corny theme songs is part of trying to hide the fact that the shows are Japanese. Since FUNimation has made good progress on keeping some Japanese stuff in their dubs (example: they no longer recoil at having a character say Takoyaki) it would be a shame if the theme songs were one thing they weren't willing to move forward on.
"All of you. All of you must have KILL all the SEASONS!" -Dough (Tenshinhan), Speedy Dub of Movie 9.

"My opinion of Norihito's Sumitomo's new score is... well, very mixed. The stuff that's good is pretty darn good, but the stuff that's bad makes elevator music sound like Jerry freaking Goldsmith." -Kenisu

User avatar
TheOverlyMadHatter
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 378
Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 8:04 pm

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by TheOverlyMadHatter » Thu May 18, 2017 8:13 am

I could have sworn there was talk of possibly having JorporXx's english cover of Chozetsu Dynamic as the official opening for FUNi's dub, but it didn't work out and we should "stay tuned for more information ;) "

I would site the source, but I'm having trouble finding it.

Anyway, I guess we'll get our answers when the FUNi Blu-rays drop.

User avatar
Dragon Ball Gus
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1130
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 4:51 pm
Location: Planet Sadla

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by Dragon Ball Gus » Mon May 22, 2017 4:12 pm

I'm gonna make a prediction right now. And this is based on what happened with the English "Hello Hello Hello". I'm predicting that when we reach episode 25, they're gonna switch back to the Japanese opening and ending, then when we reach episode 31, they're gonna dub "Light Pink" and keep "Chouzetsu Dynamic' in Japanese, making this situation even more confusing.
Caulifla best girl! :)

SaintEvolution
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 782
Joined: Tue May 26, 2015 2:56 pm

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by SaintEvolution » Wed May 24, 2017 7:41 am

floofychan333 wrote:I don't want them to be dubbed personally. The English "Hello Hello Hello" was quite possibly the most cringe worthy thing to come out of the entire Dragon Ball franchise, and for some reason anime songs are excruciatingly corny in English. Also, dubbing songs is a remnant of the Americanization of anime era that needs to go.

Sorry, but this is not "americanization". The entire world dub anime songs at least for some series. Brazil, Germany, Thailand, Mexico, Spain, Italy, well, and many other countries.

Do some stuff like "Rock the Dragon" or any other alternative different opening from the original version is a remnant of the anime era that needs to go. But dubbing the original songs is a different thing of that.
wjbraden wrote:Dragon Ball is not the only Toei franchise that has run into some weird issues with undubbed opening and ending themes internationally in recent years. The Funimation dub of One Piece was allowed to dub all of its openings and endings until episode 207, when there were told they were no long allowed to do so. Some speculated that Avex, the music label for these songs, requested that their music remain in its original language to support the original artists (though this has never been out-rightly stated by someone at Toei). The Italian dub of Sailor Moon Crystal recently aired with a dubbed version of the first opening, but aired its first ending undubbed. The list goes on and on.
Well, the Avex stuff makes a lot of sense, since not only the Funimation english dub, but all the international dubs of One Piece have stopped dubbing the songs at some way after 2012 or 2013. The catalan dub for example, dubbed the intro songs until Share the World but after that stopped. German dub in other way, dubbed until Jungle P if I'm not wrong.

User avatar
Puto
I Live Here
Posts: 2668
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:40 am
Location: Portugal, Oeiras

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by Puto » Wed May 24, 2017 12:09 pm

Last one they dubbed was the anniversary version of We Are.
Blue wrote:I love how Season 2 is so off color even the box managed to be so.

cheddarsword
Regular
Posts: 746
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2017 10:59 am

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by cheddarsword » Wed May 24, 2017 10:11 pm

Probably not gonna have Boogie Back when Funi gets to the Universe Survival arc.

A shame really, I rather like that song. But you know how it goes with Japanese music companies.

User avatar
simtek34
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 938
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2016 3:40 pm
Location: Minnesota
Contact:

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by simtek34 » Thu May 25, 2017 3:43 pm

cheddarsword wrote:Probably not gonna have Boogie Back when Funi gets to the Universe Survival arc.

A shame really, I rather like that song. But you know how it goes with Japanese music companies.
You mean dubbed, right? Since I don't see why they wouldn't have the Japanese Version of the song.

Newbie — 06/27/2016
Not-So-Newbie — ???
Beyond Newbie — ???
Beyond-The-Beyond-Newbie — 12/20/2016
Regular — 02/05/2017
OMG CRAZY REG — 06/14/2017

Xbox Live: PlushGerm24109
Everywhere else: simtek34

cheddarsword
Regular
Posts: 746
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2017 10:59 am

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by cheddarsword » Thu May 25, 2017 3:56 pm

simtek34 wrote:
cheddarsword wrote:Probably not gonna have Boogie Back when Funi gets to the Universe Survival arc.

A shame really, I rather like that song. But you know how it goes with Japanese music companies.
You mean dubbed, right? Since I don't see why they wouldn't have the Japanese Version of the song.
...You do know that the song wasn't made for DB Super, right? Miyu Inoue is actually a known singer in Japan and full length versions of the song have been hit with copyright notices on YouTube, making a full version hard to find. They seem to leave the cropped DBS Ending versions alone though.

User avatar
floofychan333
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1377
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2016 10:03 pm
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by floofychan333 » Sun May 28, 2017 1:33 pm

wjbraden wrote:Dragon Ball is not the only Toei franchise that has run into some weird issues with undubbed opening and ending themes internationally in recent years. The Funimation dub of One Piece was allowed to dub all of its openings and endings until episode 207, when there were told they were no long allowed to do so. Some speculated that Avex, the music label for these songs, requested that their music remain in its original language to support the original artists (though this has never been out-rightly stated by someone at Toei). The Italian dub of Sailor Moon Crystal recently aired with a dubbed version of the first opening, but aired its first ending undubbed. The list goes on and on.
SaintEvolution wrote:Well, the Avex stuff makes a lot of sense, since not only the Funimation english dub, but all the international dubs of One Piece have stopped dubbing the songs at some way after 2012 or 2013. The catalan dub for example, dubbed the intro songs until Share the World but after that stopped. German dub in other way, dubbed until Jungle P if I'm not wrong.
There's a reason why they aren't dubbing One Piece's songs any more. It's the truly awful and wretched mess that is 4kids' One Piece rap.
"All of you. All of you must have KILL all the SEASONS!" -Dough (Tenshinhan), Speedy Dub of Movie 9.

"My opinion of Norihito's Sumitomo's new score is... well, very mixed. The stuff that's good is pretty darn good, but the stuff that's bad makes elevator music sound like Jerry freaking Goldsmith." -Kenisu

User avatar
uncutpokemon
Not-So-Newbie
Posts: 84
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2017 2:25 pm

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by uncutpokemon » Thu Jun 15, 2017 12:15 am

A lot of you seem to be confusing replacement openings with dubbed openings, so I should explain the difference

Replacement openings are when the (incompetent) company decides to scrap the original song entirely in favor of something they created of their own. Some examples of replacement openings would be all the English themes of Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, Rock the Dragon, and that disgraceful excuse for a rap known as the Gum Gum Rap for One Piece. This is what I like to call the 4kids approach.

Dubbed themes are when the company in charge decides to create a song that contains the same (or closely similar) tune to the Japanese song, and then has someone *cough Vic Mignogna* sing that song but with English lyrics. Some examples of shows that have done this include the first 3 seasons of FUNimations dub of One Piece, Dragon Ball Z Kai, Yu Yu Hakusho, and half the time with Dragon Ball Super. I like to call this the Yu Yu Hakusho approach/

Hope that helps in explaining the difference between the 2. Personally I enjoy hearing dubbed themes when done well.

User avatar
songohan619
Patreon Supporter
Posts: 1435
Joined: Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:17 am
Location: Askøy, Norway

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by songohan619 » Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:04 pm

Puto wrote:Last one they dubbed was the anniversary version of We Are.
Do you have video of that version?

User avatar
Puto
I Live Here
Posts: 2668
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:40 am
Location: Portugal, Oeiras

Re: What is going on with the Openings and Endings for Funimation's dub of Dragon Ball Super?

Post by Puto » Tue Aug 08, 2017 2:59 pm

Blue wrote:I love how Season 2 is so off color even the box managed to be so.

Post Reply