Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" Dub Turns 14; Still Unreleased

[8000 Saiyan]

I don't care if a fused character has one or two voices. They work fine.

[SX10]

Okay, so I've gone through everything we know again with a fine toothed comb and even found some new info I wasn't aware of.

The new info is basically well thought out theories from anime fans who seem to be really into tracking the economic and financial situations regarding dubs.

Also, a tweet from Lee Tockar, replying to a question on when it will air from the 8th December 2016.

Best theory I saw was that Funi were actually putting the money up for this alternate dub to put on the Canadian market. But weren't much more hands on with it than that.

Also, Lee Tockar's response was, "Your guess is as good as mine! I really don't know. I hope they release it. I know I read the lines."

That's concerning. If what GodGoku has said is true, then you know, maybe things have changed since December but right now that tweet I is the actual latest from him on the matter.

Sooooo, basically, few options:

1) Toonami returns to Canada
2) Corus Entertainment air more anime which hopefully becomes more popular in the mainstream
3) Ocean & whoever financed the dub try and collaborate with Funi to get a box set

Right now I'm just trying positive thinking on the the back of sheer blind faith… well, that and building Ocean cast effigies in my closet o_O

[Arian]

Sooooo, basically, few options:

1) Toonami returns to Canada
2) Corus Entertainment air more anime which hopefully becomes more popular in the mainstream
3) Ocean & whoever financed the dub try and collaborate with Funi to get a box set

Right now I'm just trying positive thinking on the the back of sheer blind faith… well, that and building Ocean cast effigies in my closet o_O

#2 is your best bet. No way will Corus put enough effort into that joke of a Cartoon Network we have to actually bring Toonami here, and FUNimation doesn't care enough about the Ocean dub to finance a release of a dub they had nothing to do with.

The closest thing to reality to happen is, they put enough stock into fan demand or have a lack of action shows to air and give it a once-a-week spot on Teletoon. Maybe Fridays at 8:30pm after Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V.

[SX10]

Yeah! The petition is probably by far the best option we have right now.

How the hell do we get more signatures short of going door-to-door with a clipboard?

That reminds me, Arian, I read your message and like the idea! Finances aren't tight for me though haha! Will focus on a reply after work today

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Best theory I saw was that Funi were actually putting the money up for this alternate dub to put on the Canadian market. But weren't much more hands on with it than that.

The existence of a replacement score makes me doubt Funimation were behind this dub because creating them is a practice they seem to have left in their dust, unless the decision to replace the score was made by another company (possibly the one that financed this dub) after the deal was made with Ocean to carry out the edits and caused a rift between Ocean and Funi, which could have led to Funi preventing this dub from getting on the air. While we'll more than likely never know if something like that happened it will seem plausible if it ever emerges that Funi
did an edited version of The Final Chapters in case a children's network picked it up (like they did with Super) and hired another company besides Ocean to do the video edits. It's worth noting Kei said it is possible, although unlikely that TOEI decided all the changes made to this dub convinced them to pull the plug. Granted its just me being a conspiracy theorist but this dub wasn't offered to the UK makes me suspect more went on behind-the-scenes than most of us even anticipated.

3) Ocean & whoever financed the dub try and collaborate with Funi to get a box set

In an ideal world this dub would get a home release, but the fact it hasn't even aired long after Kai was fresh doesn't help the chances it would recoup the costs required to produce a DVD/Blu-Ray set in the first place, not to mention if this dub is edited (which is highly likely) the audio would need to sync up with the Japanese track, which this release would also need to sell well. The only way I could see such a release working at this point would be if Funimation created an "Original Broadcast" Kai set, like 'Rock the Dragon' and the audio options were the Nicktoons Kai version and the Ocean dub. I don't know how it could be marketed though. Maybe if it was something along the lines of "Bridging the two generations of fans who grew up with Dragon Ball Z, this set brings together two incredible dubs for the first time ever on home video, first the original broadcast of Kai featuring your favourite in-house cast, plus straight from the vault a never-before-seen anywhere in the world dub featuring the legendary Ocean cast. Whether you were raised on Chris Sabat or Brian Drummond as the prince of all saiyans 'Dragon Ball Z Kai : The Definitive Original Broadcast Edition' has it all, not to mention an "Over 9000" scream by each actor in all their glory. A true Dragon Ball Z experience uniting the best of two eras. For a very limited time only while stocks last." Still very, very unlikely, but one can dream right

[SX10]

Very unlikely haha!

But it's just killing me at this point. The fact that Bang Zoom have a dub out there airing the same time as Funimation's Super is really getting to me, because now it apparently IS possible to have two different dubs of the same show floating around at the same time.

But nah, not here in the U.K. They just give us the Funi dub then pull it when's it's done.

If Canada doesn't get Toonami or become convinced that there's an audience for action Anone, 'tis toast.

And OF COURSE THERE IS AN AUDIENCE! Gaaahhh!

[NitroEX]

It's too bad a company can't just sponsor this dub to get on air in Canada or the UK. I realize they wouldn't have much of a financial incentive to do so but it just seems like there's no other way of convincing these channels other than outright paying them. This really is a cruel joke, maybe Ocean Dragon Ball dubs are just cursed.

On a semi-related note, it looks like Ocean's dub of World Trigger started airing in January on a bilingual Hispanic kids channel called Primo TV. It seems like a very odd choice to say the least, but then again maybe this was the only channel that would accept it in the current climate. The trailer for it did come out back in 2015 but I have no idea when they actually dubbed the thing, it could've taken them this long to complete or maybe this is just how long it took to find a channel for it (Canada likely turning it away).

It's a shame the channel is in America otherwise I'd try emailing them about airing Kai. Funimation and Turner Broadcasting seem to have the brand under complete control in the U.S.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Very unlikely haha!

But it's just killing me at this point. The fact that Bang Zoom have a dub out there airing the same time as Funimation's Super is really getting to me, because now it apparently IS possible to have two different dubs of the same show floating around at the same time.

But nah, not here in the U.K. They just give us the Funi dub then pull it when's it's done.

If Canada doesn't get Toonami or become convinced that there's an audience for action Anone, 'tis toast.

And OF COURSE THERE IS AN AUDIENCE! Gaaahhh!

Problem is that the BZ dub is for the Asian market, Canada however covers the same Northern American market, FUNi have already cornered Kai in Canada with home video and will do the same with TFC and Super (FUNi also have broadcast rights for Super in Canada, so we can pretty much kiss goodbye to any chance of an Ocean dub of DBS) too. Ocean dub has missed the boat, they needed to air the same time that FUNi's dub of Kai did on Nicktoons.

In an ideal world this dub would get a home release, but the fact it hasn't even aired long after Kai was fresh doesn't help the chances it would recoup the costs required to produce a DVD/Blu-Ray set in the first place, not to mention if this dub is edited (which is highly likely) the audio would need to sync up with the Japanese track, which this release would also need to sell well. The only way I could see such a release working at this point would be if Funimation created an "Original Broadcast" Kai set, like 'Rock the Dragon'

The problem with this Rock the Dragon solution you came up with is unlike that, FUNi have zero involvement in this Ocean dub, therefore FUNi releasing the Ocean dub is unfortunately impossible, plus for HV in general there is not a market for this dub, you have to sell an 98 episode show where Z already exists and Kai has already been released and re-released by FUNi, I know as much as I want this dub I won't re-buy Kai again for it.

[NitroEX]

Problem is that the BZ dub is for the Asian market, Canada however covers the same Northern American market, FUNi have already cornered Kai in Canada with home video and will do the same with TFC and Super (FUNi also have broadcast rights for Super in Canada, so we can pretty much kiss goodbye to any chance of an Ocean dub of DBS) too. Ocean dub has missed the boat, they needed to air the same time that FUNi's dub of Kai did on Nicktoons.

Dragon Ball Z was also sold in Canada on home video but that did not prevent the Canadian dubs from airing at the same time. It seems to be a different situation when it comes to TV broadcasts in Canada, although this could have possibly been amended when Funimation signed the new deal for Super, we really don't know.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Problem is that the BZ dub is for the Asian market, Canada however covers the same Northern American market, FUNi have already cornered Kai in Canada with home video and will do the same with TFC and Super (FUNi also have broadcast rights for Super in Canada, so we can pretty much kiss goodbye to any chance of an Ocean dub of DBS) too. Ocean dub has missed the boat, they needed to air the same time that FUNi's dub of Kai did on Nicktoons.

Dragon Ball Z was also sold in Canada on home video but that did not prevent the Canadian dubs from airing at the same time. It seems to be a different situation when it comes to TV broadcasts in Canada, although this could have possibly been amended when Funimation signed the new deal for Super, we really don't know.

Oh so the FUNi dub of Z sold in Canada back when it was airing? For some reason that never occurred to me lol. It is as you were then, looks like the dub airing on TV is the best bet to hear this dub then.

[NitroEX]

Oh so the FUNi dub of Z sold in Canada back when it was airing? For some reason that never occurred to me lol. It is as you were then, looks like the dub airing on TV is the best bet to hear this dub then.

I believe that was the case, IMDB even lists certified age ratings specifically for Canadian territories on some of the Z movies (VHS & DVD). The distributor for those was Funimation.

The major difference seems to be that Canadian toy manufacturer Irwin Toys closed down in 2003 and are no longer around. They made some of the Dragon Ball Z action figures back then. Now that Dragon Ball and anime no longer have the same pull that they did back in the early 2000s, a toy manufacturer might've been able to sweeten the deal and get Kai on air. Unfortunately that's not the case.

[SX10]

So our best shot really is the petitions :S or waiting till an anime broadcaster comes along in Canada and wants Kai on their channel. That is so shit. Like what are the odds?! Years off, potentially never? Blind faith now. Nowhere else to logically turn.

[8000 Saiyan]

So our best shot really is the petitions :S or waiting till an anime broadcaster comes along in Canada and wants Kai on their channel. That is so shit. Like what are the odds?! Years off, potentially never? Blind faith now. Nowhere else to logically turn.

I don't think the petition is gonna work.

[NitroEX]

I don't think the petition is gonna work.

Do you ever elaborate on your posts? I hate to mini-mod but, this isn't a chatroom. If you're going to respond to people then you could at least explain why you feel the way you do, rather than just having the final word and adding nothing to the discussion.

Sorry if this comes off as rude but I've noticed this for a while and felt I should speak up.

[8000 Saiyan]

I don't think the petition is gonna work.

Do you ever elaborate on your posts? I hate to mini-mod but, this isn't a chatroom. If you're going to respond to people then you could at least explain why you feel the way you do, rather than just having the final word and adding nothing to the discussion.

Sorry if this comes off as rude but I've noticed this for a while and felt I should speak up.

Most of the time, they just don't work. I doubt this will be any different. Besides, Kai is like 7 years old. And I'm sure a lot of people aren't that interested in a second English dub of Kai.

Canadian networks don't seem to care about anime anymore.

[Arian]

Most of the time, they just don't work. I doubt this will be any different. Besides, Kai is like 7 years old. And I'm sure a lot of people aren't that interested in a second English dub of Kai.

Canadian networks don't seem to care about anime anymore.

You also said that you were going to go out of your way to not sign it. But here are the facts:

Corus Entertainment has at least one network that airs a few anime titles. On top of that, they have a hotline in Toronto so they have people who will listen to the public.

All we need is enough signatures on that petition and it's at least worth trying to appeal to them. I'm not saying it will automatically just work, but at least we had a real case to bring to them.

So please, I implore you, and any other non-believers reading this to please reconsider your stance and put your name on this petition. The only way we have to go is up.

[8000 Saiyan]

Most of the time, they just don't work. I doubt this will be any different. Besides, Kai is like 7 years old. And I'm sure a lot of people aren't that interested in a second English dub of Kai.

Canadian networks don't seem to care about anime anymore.

You also said that you were going to go out of your way to not sign it. But here are the facts:

Corus Entertainment has at least one network that airs a few anime titles. On top of that, they have a hotline in Toronto so they have people who will listen to the public.

All we need is enough signatures on that petition and it's at least worth trying to appeal to them. I'm not saying it will automatically just work, but at least we had a real case to bring to them.

So please, I implore you, and any other non-believers reading this to please reconsider your stance and put your name on this petition. The only way we have to go is up.

All right, fine. I'll think about this.

[Super Sayian Prime]

On a semi-related note, it looks like Ocean's dub of World Trigger started airing in January on a bilingual Hispanic kids channel called Primo TV. It seems like a very odd choice to say the least, but then again maybe this was the only channel that would accept it in the current climate. The trailer for it did come out back in 2015 but I have no idea when they actually dubbed the thing, it could've taken them this long to complete or maybe this is just how long it took to find a channel for it (Canada likely turning it away).

World Trigger was being recorded as late as last September. That 2015 trailer was done when Toei only ordered 5 episodes for pilot/test purposes.

It's worth noting Kei said it is possible, although unlikely that TOEI decided all the changes made to this dub convinced them to pull the plug. Granted its just me being a conspiracy theorist but this dub wasn't offered to the UK makes me suspect more went on behind-the-scenes than most of us even anticipated.

If Toei cared that much about alterations being done to their productions, Glitter Force wouldn't exist.

[Cure Dragon 255]

I fucking love you.

[Arian]

It's worth noting Kei said it is possible, although unlikely that TOEI decided all the changes made to this dub convinced them to pull the plug. Granted its just me being a conspiracy theorist but this dub wasn't offered to the UK makes me suspect more went on behind-the-scenes than most of us even anticipated.

If Toei cared that much about alterations being done to their productions, Glitter Force wouldn't exist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpj6Nuc1SI4

Take that, Toei!

But seriously, I don't think Toei or even FUNimation have anything to do with this ridiculous delay. It's all the fault of the TV networks being stubborn and not just giving us half an hour a week for one of the greatest shows of all time.