"Dragon Ball Super" Bang Zoom Dub Official Discussion Thread

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Episode 10 and Lex still hasn't improved. That Kamehama was pretty awful, general screaming still isn't good enough the script still isn't helping too. First it was don't judge on a clip then don't judge on a couple of episodes then it was wait until episode 10 we improved! Sorry but Lex is definitely one of miscast in the dub.

[hulkedoutdude]

Episode 10 and Lex still hasn't improved. That Kamehama was pretty awful, general screaming still isn't good enough the script still isn't helping too. First it was don't judge on a clip then don't judge on a couple of episodes then it was wait until episode 10 we improved! Sorry but Lex is definitely one of miscast in the dub.

Definitely i can see good improvement upon how he performed initially but still not quite there yet!!! It feels like he is having hard time screaming kamehameha with this voice... here's hoping that he will improve upon criticism, I still don't think he is bad as goku overall but needs to improve certain aspects which i think he will eventually, dbs is no 10 episodes series anyway!!

[Thesagebeast]

Episode 10 and Lex still hasn't improved. That Kamehama was pretty awful, general screaming still isn't good enough the script still isn't helping too. First it was don't judge on a clip then don't judge on a couple of episodes then it was wait until episode 10 we improved! Sorry but Lex is definitely one of miscast in the dub.

I look forward to the day we hear frieza , I feel like they might go with the OG DBZ Agry at the world frieza Lol

[VejituhTheWarriorGuy]

Yeah, still not feeling Lex Lang's Goku after 10 episodes. He was horribly miscast in this dub from Episode 1 and I still feel that way

[Lord Beerus]

Yeah, still not feeling Lex Lang's Goku after 10 episodes. He was horribly miscast in this dub from Episode 1 and I still feel that way

Same here. His Goku just flat out doesn't work. Tang's Vegeta has been getting better. Beerus is still horrendous.

[ProjectAlpha22]

Yeah, Lex isn't fit for Goku. We gave it 10 episodes, he just doesn't fit. Tang sounds fantastic however, love his take on Vegeta!

[Jinzoningen MULE]

I really don't hate him. The casting choice could have been much worse, but this Goku is just so meh compared to his counterparts

[LexVO]

I really don't hate him. The casting choice could have been much worse, but this Goku is just so meh compared to his counterparts

I appreciate all of your opinions. Given the circumstances, the timing, direction, hours of screaming, and many different guiding people... I am trying to adjust in a way that is true to the character. I obviously haven't found the sweet spot yet, but I'll keep doing my best to get there. If you guys really hate it, maybe we can get Steve Blum or Eric Kimerer to do it, if it gets picked up for more episodes.

[VejituhTheWarriorGuy]

I really don't hate him. The casting choice could have been much worse, but this Goku is just so meh compared to his counterparts

I appreciate all of your opinions. Given the circumstances, the timing, direction, hours of screaming, and many different guiding people... I am trying to adjust in a way that is true to the character. I obviously haven't found the sweet spot yet, but I'll keep doing my best to get there. If you guys really hate it, maybe we can get Steve Blum or Eric Kimerer to do it, if it gets picked up for more episodes.

Lex, thank you for appreciating our opinions. If you get recast, you can still play Hit or someone else

[ButtfaceKalinski]

I really don't hate him. The casting choice could have been much worse, but this Goku is just so meh compared to his counterparts

I appreciate all of your opinions. Given the circumstances, the timing, direction, hours of screaming, and many different guiding people... I am trying to adjust in a way that is true to the character. I obviously haven't found the sweet spot yet, but I'll keep doing my best to get there. If you guys really hate it, maybe we can get Steve Blum or Eric Kimerer to do it, if it gets picked up for more episodes.

For what it's worth Lex, I think you're doing a good job, especially considering you're just stepping into a character with decades of history. ADR is a process that's uniquely unfair to performers at the best of times, and I think you're catching some flak for some issues beyond your control like audio mixing. I don't know how quickly you guys are turning episodes around, but I know it's not very long at all. I was involved in a show that was doing it in 2 weeks and frequently booked the wrong people for recording sessions because the scripts they got from Japan listed the wrong characters and there was no time to fix it. You guys are leagues above that.

[rs_chaosmaster]

Erik Kimerer as Goku would be amazing but I will say I do think Lang has gotten better just not good enough yet. I haven't watched episode 10 to see if he improved with his screaming and Kamehamehas yet but I did think Lex sounded more natural in episode 9. I still would love to see ESK in this role even if it was just a fan dub by him his younger high pitched persona just fits Goku IMO. Blum I don't see it although he did voice him in a video game.

[rs_chaosmaster]

Any idea how far did they license the Bang Zoom dub for the first two Arcs or up until Future Trunks Arc?

[NitroEX]

I really don't hate him. The casting choice could have been much worse, but this Goku is just so meh compared to his counterparts

I appreciate all of your opinions. Given the circumstances, the timing, direction, hours of screaming, and many different guiding people... I am trying to adjust in a way that is true to the character. I obviously haven't found the sweet spot yet, but I'll keep doing my best to get there. If you guys really hate it, maybe we can get Steve Blum or Eric Kimerer to do it, if it gets picked up for more episodes.

I have to admit, the English dub fanatic in me would be very curious to hear Steve Blum playing Goku again after so many years but at the same time, knowing his voice and what he can do, I don't realistically see him sounding much different from what you (Lex Lang) are already doing with the role. In my opinion, based on what little we've actually heard of his Goku in the Final Bout video game (and it was very little), I would say that your take shares many similarities in terms of the way you speak. The key difference maker here would be how both you and Steve handle the screaming and fighting kiai, if Steve isn't willing to go all out then there wouldn't be much point in replacing you. I would just be very wary of going in that direction merely for name recognition alone or because he has past history in the role (which wasn't much to begin with).

If you were to ever get a replacement I would definitely be open to hearing Eric Kimerer in the role. As much as some of us have bashed this dub for having "soundalikes", his speaking voice has occasionally reminded me of Peter kelamis (one of the previous Vancouver VA's for Goku). Similarities aside, Eric Kimerer's higher pitch and youthful sound would actually be a strong jumping off point for a successor (should you choose to go that route). I have no idea how he would handle the screaming though.

While on this subject, a name I once threw out for a hypothetical LA Goku was Joshua Seth. I think someone with his youthful, heroic and energetic qualities could easily be able to portray Goku faithfully and be strong competition for the current actors who've portrayed the character. I'm not sure how active he still is when it comes to dubbing though as from what I understand, his reprisal in the recent Digimon Tri was merely a special exception for him since he has claimed to be retired.

I don't want to come across as someone encouraging you to quit your job or anything of that sort, I've actually been pleasantly surprised by some of the unique qualities you've brought to this role so far and I was looking forward to hearing you as Black Goku in future episodes. I can understand how grueling this job must be and it can't bet the most rewarding either judging from all the criticism that's been thrown your way. At the end of the day, you should do what's best for your sanity.

[Nia]

I've been lurking on this thread for a while (since I think the first clip was shown), so I may as well say my thoughts on this, especially seeing as how this thread is why I signed up for these forums.

Honestly, I'm greatly enjoying this dub for the most part. There's a few issues I dislike (mostly leftovers from the FUNI dub, such as the mispronunciation of "Saiyan" (I don't mind them using that spelling over Saiyajin, but it would be nice if they'd say 'sigh-yahn' instead of 'say-yan' and what-not), but I can safely say I enjoy it more than the FUNImation dub.

My thoughts on the voice acting:

Goku - Lang's got the easy-going part down. He sounds so laid back, and completely unaware of the ramifications of his actions, that I totally hear Son Goku in it. I've got a legitimate laugh out of him saying "My bad!" when he does something stupid, and gets called out on it.
On the other hand, I'm not quite sold on the yells yet. His grunts/kiai/etc. are fine, but the yells sound a bit off. It sounds a bit like a warm-up exercise, as opposed to a legitimate roar.
Despite the yells, I think he's got the character's thought process (or lack thereof) down pat. It's the first time I've heard Goku in English since Peter Kelamis played the part where I can recognize him as the character (discounting MasakoX, but... that's kinda cheating).

Vegeta - I believe my thoughts on Kaiji Tang being cast as Vegeta were along the lines of ol' 'Geta's thoughts in the TFS parody of the first Broly movie: "Never in my life have I needed something so much and never known until I recieved it." While he started out like a Sabat-clone with (in my opinion) much better acting, he's gotten a lot less gruff, and in the video he sent to LittleKuriboh for his birthday, he sounded a lot like something in between Brian Drummond and Ryo Horikawa... which was pretty great.
Plus, now I can make a joke about Vegeta being an Archer class Servant joke.

Piccolo - Pretty much a dead-on Piccolo performance and voice. He sounds calm and wise, and I don't get the claims of him sounding like Sabat at all, either. He's precisely what I would want out of an English speaking Piccolo (even if I always liked McNeil's voice for the role).

Gohan: A good choice. He hasn't done anything mindblowing performance wise, but it's suitable, and sounds similar to Lang's Goku. Not unlike Kyle Herbert's voice in the role, but I don't think that's a bad thing either.

Goten: Nothing spectacular, but it works. Has a good 'bonehead' vibe in contrast to Trunks' more haughty performance. No complaints, other than in a couple of the earlier episodes, it seemed like they occasionally veered in and out of character.

Trunks: Good lawd, every time they have a line, they steal the show. Absolutely superb. This voice and performance completely sell the idea they're Vegeta's son, no question. Easily one of the standout performances.

Videl: Just like Trunks, a complete and total show stealer. They sound so entirely natural, and the voice works so well. I'm really looking forward to hearing them in the mini-arc focusing on Saiyaman.

Bulma: As expected from Wendee Lee (that's who voices her, right? I'd feel dumb if I get one of the names I think I know wrong), this is a great performance. No complaints here.

Chichi: This is probably the only English speaking Chichi that I've ever liked (the Ocean voice I was indifferent toward, and Cynthia Cranz kinda irked me in the role, never really seeming all that motherly). I was actually a bit unsure about Michelle Ruff being cast, as I was a bit worried she'd use her Jill Valentine voice, but I needn't have worried.

Roshi: I've actually never had a problem with any of the English voices for ol' Muten Roshi, and this one is just fine amongst them. Seems to be especially good at the goofy old man stuff (though I'm sad his perverted nature got toned down).

Kuririn: He sounds like an actual person! By far my favorite English performance in the role. They didn't make him sound goofy, and he doesn't have any weird gruffness to his voice. Very satisfied.

Yamcha: I was surprised when he popped up sounding like Shinjiro Aragaki! I thought I'd dislike this performance, but... it's entirely fine. Looking forward to him in the baseball episode.

Tenshinhan: He hasn't said a lot (unless I missed it), but it seems okay. Although, in all fairness, what I have heard isn't as good as Burgmeier, whom I will gladly give props to.

Mr. Satan: Suitable, but hasn't blown me away yet. Still, it's a good enough job.

Buu: I think he's a bit more 'childish' in his performance than the FUNI performance, though if you put the voices one after another, I don't think I'd be able to really tell the difference. I don't dislike it, but it's not particularly good either. He's 'passable.'

Kaio: I can listen to Kaio-sama in English without rupturing my eardrums again! WONDERFUL! Also, his back and forth with Lang's Goku has been cracking me up the whole way.

Kaioshin: This one is okay. Nothing great, nothing terrible. Just okay.

Elder Kaioshin: His performance is fine, but that voice is nails on a chalkboard. Probably the only voice that actually outright annoys me.

Beerus: I uh... I don't get the hate on this one. His acting was a bit stiff at first, but around the time he started screaming at Gotenks, I feel like he got in the zone. He could stand to have a few more cat-like mannerisms, but only the Japanese VA does that to the best of my knowledge.

Whis: This VA sounds like he's having the time of his life in the role, and it's infectious. Clearly he likes his job, and his performance and voice have both been excellent.

As for the script... it can be a little off, but nothing has really bothered me about it in terms of it being 'too literal.' The only things that bother me are the dubisms as I mentioned before, and the censorship, which does bum me out.
The audio mixing in some episodes does seem to get a bit wonky, which is a shame. Also, the 'echo filter' put over the voices when charging doesn't particularly bother me, as a similar effect is used in the Japanese version, although I wish the dubs would take a cue from the Japanese version and use the Oozaru roar when a Saiyajin does their transformation.
Either way, this is the first time I've truly enjoyed an English dub of the series in general since the Ocean dubs of the first three movies, and I hope it goes the distance.

Sorry for the long post!

[hulkedoutdude]

I really don't hate him. The casting choice could have been much worse, but this Goku is just so meh compared to his counterparts

I appreciate all of your opinions. Given the circumstances, the timing, direction, hours of screaming, and many different guiding people... I am trying to adjust in a way that is true to the character. I obviously haven't found the sweet spot yet, but I'll keep doing my best to get there. If you guys really hate it, maybe we can get Steve Blum or Eric Kimerer to do it, if it gets picked up for more episodes.

I feel like you nailed the character of goku more than any other english dub goku did... Its just that if you improve upon your yells you will be just perfect, don't get discouraged so early Mr. Lang!!

[ProjectAlpha22]

I really don't hate him. The casting choice could have been much worse, but this Goku is just so meh compared to his counterparts

I appreciate all of your opinions. Given the circumstances, the timing, direction, hours of screaming, and many different guiding people... I am trying to adjust in a way that is true to the character. I obviously haven't found the sweet spot yet, but I'll keep doing my best to get there. If you guys really hate it, maybe we can get Steve Blum or Eric Kimerer to do it, if it gets picked up for more episodes.

First off, I respect this. I honestly thought your next post would be something far more condescending, but the humility you show here has singlehandedly renewed all respect I had and now again have for you. It's not so much you as an actor, it's just your natural tone I think is our main problems. The main problems from what I have gathered people have with your portrayal are:
1. It is pronounced Kah-May-Hah-May-Hah.
2. The screams you have given are very conservative. You seem to get Goku pretty well, but I feel the need to point out as a friendly reminder this guy doesn't know the meaning of constraint and always is exerting full force. Personally, I think it may be beneficial to change to a more deep, throat scream rather than your Bruce Lee kind of yells. If you haven't already, I'd look up the Japanese VA Masako Nozawa and listen to some of her screams.
3. The pitch you give Goku is quite low. For me, it's a "the voice doesn't sound like it comes out of that body" scenario. Perhaps raise Goku's voice overall? More of a Neo Cortex pitch than a Kenshiro?

These 3 areas are some of my, and it seems many others, main problems. I think these areas, if worked on, could make your Goku the best out there. I wish you luck, and also look forward to hearing your improvements in the role over time!

[huzaifa_ahmed]

I think Shenlong is almost certainly Chris Terglaferia, Mohammad Avdol from Stardust Crusaders test dub. It sounds a bit like Richard Epcar & Patrick Seitz, but edgier & more range.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... Hkpnv68Gog

[floofychan333]

How do I watch this dub? Is it legal to watch online? Or do I have to wait until it comes out on DVD?

[OmegaRockman]

I really don't hate him. The casting choice could have been much worse, but this Goku is just so meh compared to his counterparts

I appreciate all of your opinions. Given the circumstances, the timing, direction, hours of screaming, and many different guiding people... I am trying to adjust in a way that is true to the character. I obviously haven't found the sweet spot yet, but I'll keep doing my best to get there. If you guys really hate it, maybe we can get Steve Blum or Eric Kimerer to do it, if it gets picked up for more episodes.

Please don't give up, Mr. Lang. While others may not agree, I personally think you've come a long way in these ten episodes. A bit more pep in places and some more oomph in the big yells are the only suggestions I could make. Well, outside of directorial stuff like the pronunciation of Kamehameha (it shouldn't be pronounced like the Hawaiian king's name - that was an error in previous dubs) and the somewhat stilted scripts, bit that's oUT of your control. I really think you're doing a fantastic job now, and you can only get better from here. You have a lot of that childlike enthusiasm that Goku exudes and your Bruce Lee yells are great. Your portrayal is a bit different from other actors', but that's part of what I love about it - it's a breath of fresh air.

Also, while I love Sean Schemmel's portrayal, he's had over fifteen years to perfect his performance. Masako Nozawa, the truely definitive Goku, has been doing it for over thirty. You have big shoes to fill, but you're doing everything you can to bring Goku to life with your version despite that. So I don't want you to give up on the role - I want you to come back stronger. Plus, I think you'll really shine as Goku Black.

Lastly, one of my best friends would be very disappointed if you quit - he was super excited to hear that you were cast as Goku in this dub and really likes your performance. You might remember him as Sailor Doom from AWA last year. You don't want to disappoint Sailor Doom, do you?

[noham-el]

I really don't hate him. The casting choice could have been much worse, but this Goku is just so meh compared to his counterparts

I appreciate all of your opinions. Given the circumstances, the timing, direction, hours of screaming, and many different guiding people... I am trying to adjust in a way that is true to the character. I obviously haven't found the sweet spot yet, but I'll keep doing my best to get there. If you guys really hate it, maybe we can get Steve Blum or Eric Kimerer to do it, if it gets picked up for more episodes.

Big respect for this. If it is voluntary (and not by pressure).
But that's really sad. By recording 10 episodes in a row, difficult to have an opportunity to catch up and refine your acting afterwards... Specifically with criticisms from a weekly broadcast, seen by a lucky & geeky few.
Giving up that early, because of Internet and your conditions of work, is outrageous. Schemmel was awful in his first moments, Christopher Sabat too. Everything was horrible. Luckily, they did not have Internet.

You have really well understood the subtleties of the character. You improve from episode to episode... In the last two episodes, you were good. You just do not sharpen your fighting character yet, it's a matter of time.

I hope you're not going to give up... If it happens: huge thanks for your performance, original, away from "Superman" standards. You were good, but you had only begun...