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

[TheGreatness25]

What the heck are these people doing over there? Man, they all need to get their act together. Business means money. Doesn't anyone want to make money anymore? You know... money? The whole reason as to why they even started their businesses in the first place? Geez, get the hell over yourselves, people! In the end who ends up suffering, really? The fans. The fans are the one and only thing that will ever keep any of them in business. No fans, no money, no business, period. So shape the hell up. The idea of Toei not fully -- or at all, in this case -- capitalizing on one of its most overwhelmingly popular series, is absolutely crazy to me.

Make your stupid deals with whomever you need to make your deals with and get some traction on these things. A bad deal that doesn't see the maximum possible returns is better than having a highly in-demand product just floating in a sea of nothingness earning exactly $0.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

That's… odd. The Rock the Dragon set is region free

It is now OOP, I had the chance to order it, didn't regretted it ever since. So this is would be sweet.

Though since MangaUK deal with Toei Europe not FUNi things maybe tricky, Toei Europe kinda suck tbh I wouldn't be surprised if nothing happened, MangaUK and FUNi had a fallout so if they somehow have to go through them then it isn't looking good on that end too.

Toei Europe do suck at times, like how they don't seem to want to let Manga UK release Super yet despite Australia getting a home release with no TV deal.

Yeah.../: It took us forever to get the OB's of Z and then subsequently GT and DB. But then with the likes of Kai on home video doing poorly, it took us forever to get Kai on HV and the FUNi sets were region B so of course it was no surprise to find out they didn't do well. Madman will release Buu Kai and now Super not too long after FUNi and in turn likely do well but we are sat here twiddling our thumbs. We still don't even have the old Z movies or specials...

We managed to get BoG and ResF in adequate time and in turn they did well and the latter even had a big theatrical roll out! So Toei Europe can be competent! Just so frustrating. I also here Manga released OP movies subbed and Toei Europe gave them crappy sub titles... doesn't surprise if that is accurate.

Furthermore this no streaming thing that Toei Europe have, like we have a FUNiNow over the UK but the Toei shows like OP or DB aren't allowed to be streamed here... for flip knows why.

[8000 Saiyan]

Yes, that's a good one. And spoiler alert: Saffron Henderson would knock it out of the ballpark.

I'm sure she would, given that she has more experience nowadays (She was in her twenties when she did Z, and did Kai in her forties).

[TheGreatness25]

I think even in her 20's with less experience, she killed that role. She's by far my favorite incarnation of kid Gohan.

[8000 Saiyan]

I think even in her 20's with less experience, she killed that role. She's by far my favorite incarnation of kid Gohan.

Yeah, she's also my favorite Kid Gohan voice.

[ButtfaceKalinski]

Well, now I'm a little embarrassed; I got this from the Dragon Ball wikia years ago, and never questioned it.
Still though, I can't find any sources on that aside from TV Tropes, and as much as I do enjoy that site, it's far from a reputable source in terms of this kind of info.

Yes, TV Tropes isn't a reliable source (which is why I checked with you to see if you had a source of your own) but IMDB also states that she has been married to Chris Pritchett since 2001. The timing matches when she was replaced in DBZ and Inuyasha so it seems the most likely cause when connecting the dots.

Well you can put your magnifying glass away, but you're correct. Saffron had her wedding planned and the date locked in for early 2001 even before DBZ came back to Vancouver. The producers asked her to work dates that she couldn't, so she had a bit of a mad rush to finish as many episodes as possible before the end of 2000 and auditions were held for people who would be available.

[8000 Saiyan]

I don't doubt they can deliver a better dub than what we got at the time, I just think at this point an Ocean Dub of Kai is pointless.

What's an Ocean Dub of Kai going to do, air solely on Canadian TV then never get a home release? That is a massive waste of time and money. If people in Canada want Kai, they have the FUNi dub already, for many years. How many people would even rebuy the series if it was an option given that the FUNi release was a good dub?

Personally, I'd say that at the time, we got something good with their dubs of the first three movies. Along with Funimation's Kai dub, that's the example of what a dub of Dragon Ball Z should be. I assume you don't like those dubs.

I don't think this dub was ever meant to have a home release, unfortunately. It was probably only meant to be released on TV, which is kind of a waste if you ask me.

[Robo4900]

I don't think this dub was ever meant to have a home release, unfortunately. It was probably only meant to be released on TV, which is kind of a waste if you ask me.

Funimation basically have a monopoly on English Dragon Ball releases. Unless they can get Funimation's approval(Which will never happen), anything they do will be TV-only.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

I don't think this dub was ever meant to have a home release, unfortunately. It was probably only meant to be released on TV, which is kind of a waste if you ask me.

Funimation basically have a monopoly on English Dragon Ball releases. Unless they can get Funimation's approval(Which will never happen), anything they do will be TV-only.

Who is "they" in this context you are referring to?

[Robo4900]

Who is "they" in this context you are referring to?

Whoever produced Ocean Kai.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Who is "they" in this context you are referring to?

Whoever produced Ocean Kai.

Then that would have to be Toei then right?

[8000 Saiyan]

Who is "they" in this context you are referring to?

Whoever produced Ocean Kai.

Then that would have to be Toei then right?

It probably wasn't Toei. Maybe it was an unknown Canadian production company.

[8000 Saiyan]

I don't know about you all, but I loved Spider-Man The Animated Series. Just like X-Men, it covered a lot of ground for a relatively short series. In just five seasons, the series really felt like you were watching a never-ending growth of the character. The story was pretty connected and didn't really have any moments that felt random.

Of course, it sucks that their SWAT/ESU looked like Power Rangers who fired laser beams, and the animation was give or take, but I really enjoyed it. Was Spider-Man more grown-up badass sounding than teenager? Yeah (I especially remember him yelling out, "Mary Jane!" when it turned out that she was a clone who was dying), but it was still pretty damn good. Of course when it comes to 90's cartoons, I think Batman kills them all, but they were completely different shows.

Fun Fact: Shuki Levy did the music for Spider-Man The Animated Series... and Dragon Ball Z (the original Ocean run, including "Rock the Dragon").

Barnes might have sounded older than Spidey's age in the cartoon, but he still did a great job capturing his personality. It's a shame he hasn't played him in anything since Marvel Heroes.

[Cure Dragon 255]

What are you talking about he played him in various video games... If I remember correctly.

[8000 Saiyan]

What are you talking about he played him in various video games... If I remember correctly.

Yes, he did and thanks for reminding me.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Wishful thinking here but anyone else holding out for the Funimation dub ending on Toonami for this dub to air on Canadian TV? I know at this point we'd like to just see the damn thing and not wait until next year at earliest, but it's just a thought keeping in mind TOEI's love of TV deals and the theory many of us have had that Funimation's dub had preference from the get-go.

[8000 Saiyan]

Wishful thinking here but anyone else holding out for the Funimation dub ending on Toonami for this dub to air on Canadian TV? I know at this point we'd like to just see the damn thing and not wait until next year at earliest, but it's just a thought keeping in mind TOEI's love of TV deals and the theory many of us have had that Funimation's dub had preference from the get-go.

I doubt that this dub will air on Canadian TV because another dub ends its airing on Toonami. I'd rather have them air it already. Canadian television networks should realize that Canadians love the Dragon Ball franchise, but apparently they're too thickheaded to realize that.

[8000 Saiyan]

Wait....is Linda Young the lead for Freeza?... *gulp*

Nope, Ayres is in the lead with 92 votes compared to Young's 39. One of the reasons I like Behind the Voice Actors is that is debunks the myth of Kai's voice actors being less favored than Z, or Funimation's cast ALWAYS being preferred to Ocean Group.

Some other examples are:

Reacoom: Kaye - 45, Sabat - 20

They both suck in my opinion. Bad Sylvester Stallone impression or HERP-A-DERP. Whoever is in charge of Ocean Kai, please don't screw what may be our final chance for a decent English Reacoom.

Ghurd/Guldo: Klassen - 25, Ayres - 18, Townsley - 9, Thompson - 1

This one surprised me the most. While I agree Greg made Ghurd sound a bit too young I though he was miles better compared to Klassen. His Ghurd just sounds like his Kuririn only constipated. Townsley sounds like he has a gallon of saliva stuck in his throat and Thompson was just generic.

Yep! Haha, I went and checked after that was said. It's nice to see that people are all over the board for characters! I don't know why anyone would like anything Terry Klassen has done. To me, he's in the wrong business I never liked any one of his roles. I hope we get a proper Recoome for this dub as well. I hope Krillin is re-cast as well, Roshi too (I'd like to see French Tickner as Roshi, he has the proper, real old man sound that every Roshi prior in English has lacked). I hope the people coming in from Blue Water/Calgary don't blow a fat one this time around. Their work from DB/GT are making my hopes of a quality dub this time around slip away, plus we have no idea if the director for this dub is any good... I have to agree with Penguintruth, that just about any voice work Blue Water has done has been awful, paraphrased a bit; but, you guys get what I mean.

While Klassen isn't the best voice actor Ocean has, he's a pretty good voice director. Seems like you have a problem with someone liking his work or the man as a person. That is not cool.

I've heard that Blue Water's work on Gregory Horror Show and the Megaman games is very good, according to the members from the Behind the Voice Actors site. So, maybe their problem is not that they can't act, more like bad direction is what they get. But anyway, there are a few Calgary voice actors and the bulk is the Vancouver cast.

[SylentEcho]

Wishful thinking here but anyone else holding out for the Funimation dub ending on Toonami for this dub to air on Canadian TV? I know at this point we'd like to just see the damn thing and not wait until next year at earliest, but it's just a thought keeping in mind TOEI's love of TV deals and the theory many of us have had that Funimation's dub had preference from the get-go.

I doubt that this dub will air on Canadian TV because another dub ends its airing on Toonami. I'd rather have them air it already. Canadian television networks should realize that Canadians love the Dragon Ball franchise, but apparently they're too thickheaded to realize that.

Is this dub even happening, or are we all still speculating?

[8000 Saiyan]

Wishful thinking here but anyone else holding out for the Funimation dub ending on Toonami for this dub to air on Canadian TV? I know at this point we'd like to just see the damn thing and not wait until next year at earliest, but it's just a thought keeping in mind TOEI's love of TV deals and the theory many of us have had that Funimation's dub had preference from the get-go.

I doubt that this dub will air on Canadian TV because another dub ends its airing on Toonami. I'd rather have them air it already. Canadian television networks should realize that Canadians love the Dragon Ball franchise, but apparently they're too thickheaded to realize that.

Is this dub even happening, or are we all still speculating?

This dub is happening. Brian Drummond, Kirby Morrow, Scott McNeil, Trevor Devall and Lee Tockar have all confirmed that this dub is real. Drummond and McNeil are reprising Vegeta and Piccolo and Tockar is playing Frieza.

Listen to this interview Drummond did with Geekdom101:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9Qs5FfhO2Q (They start talking about Ocean Kai at 42:52)