Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball GT FUNimation inaccuracies?

[gregoryluis09]

Now these days, dubs are very faithful to the Japanese scripts and they don't do changes to the scripts just because be cool or corny.

Saban disagrees of that.

[Hellspawn28]

Besides Saban, I was mainly talking about major anime companies. Today we have Funimation, Viz, Sentai Filmworks and even Media Blasters (I thought their dub of Mazinkasier SKL was pretty faithful) that do a good job on staying faithful to their dubs in my opinion.

[B]

For what it's worth, Goku and Kuririn are taught some form of book learnin' by Kame Sennin in the first series(and FUNimation didn't cut the scene out), which is always how I interpreted the GT "back to school" line.

Of course, if my textbook was Bob & Margaret, I'd never leave class.

[MagicBox]

We had a similar thread like this not too long ago. Here's an incomplete list of script change highlights from early on in the series.

Episode 01 (Written By Eric Vale)

Spoiler:

After Goku and Uub finish their fight, Dende originally asks if that battle was Uub’s graduation ceremony. Goku says no, and states that he just wanted to fight all-out against Uub at least once. In the dub, the fight is treated as if it were some kind of "final test," with Goku stating that Uub “passed with flying colors.” It's the exact opposite of what was said in the original.

Goku also doesn’t mention Freeza in the original version.

Seconds later, when Goku and Uub fall down in the dub, Dende tells Mr. Popo to "grab the first-aid kit." So, um... what? Dende is the first-aid kit. In the original version, Dende simply tells Mr. Popo that they need to tend to Goku and Uub's injuries. Now, you could make the argument that Dende doesn't immediately heal them in the original version, too, but c'mon. "The first-aid kit?" At least write "senzu beans" or something. This shows just how little FUNi's scriptwriters know about this series.

In the original version, Muten Roshi recognizes Goku because he can sense Goku’s ki. In the dub, Roshi recognizes Goku based on his looks.

Also...

Goku: “So, uh, do I have to go back to school now?”

That speaks for itself.

Episode 02 (Written By Eric Vale and Brian Thomas)

Spoiler:

When Trunks escapes from work, he comments on how much he loves the Bukujutsu technique when it comes to flying (as opposed to capsule machines, I guess). In the dub, Trunks just comments on how glad he is to be away from work. Completely different dialogue.

When Goku tries to avoid traveling through space, he originally proposes that they could just get all of the Earth Dragon Balls together and relocate to another planet, a request that Videl says they can "save for a last resort" (ho ho ho, foreshadowing…). In the dub, Goku’s excuse is that he’s "tired." Again, completely different.

Later, when Gohan proposes that he go into space as well, ChiChi originally gets excited because it means "she won’t have to worry as much about Goku." In the dub, she gets excited because it "will give Goku and Gohan a chance to bond."

Pan’s habit of referring to herself in the third person is not carried over to the dub.

Also, when Pan states that she isn’t afraid of the monsters that ChiChi describes, Videl originally counters this by telling Pan "not to be selfish" for insisting that she go into space with Goku and Gohan. In the dub, Videl counters this by saying that Pan is afraid because "she sleeps with a nightlight." So basically, Videl’s a good parent in the original version for disciplining her daughter, and a bad parent in the dub for revealing one of her daughter’s insecurities in front of a group of people. Lovely.

The two kidnappers originally speculate that Goku could be either A.) Bulma’s grandson, or B.) an illegitimate love child of the family. I think it goes without saying that the “love child” talk is excluded from the dub.

Although, in the dub's defense...

Bulma: “He hung up.”
Gohan: “Who hung up?”
Bulma: “Some guy complaining about your father for some reason.”
Gohan: “Was it someone from a restaurant? We get those calls a lot…”

To be honest, that line actually makes me smile. Of course, it implies that restaurants (or Goku himself) actually knows the Son family’s phone number. It also ignores the fact that Goku hasn't seen his family in years. Okay, so it’s not very well thought-out, but it still makes me smile.

Episode 03 (Written By Christopher Neel)

Spoiler:

The robots in the hotel are more talkative in the dub. Like, a lot more talkative. They keep going on and on about what their functions are and what the hotel’s rooms are like, and they seem to think that Trunks and Pan are on their honeymoon (which I guess is sorta funny, but the point is that it's not in the original script). And the added dialogue is annoying. For example...

Desk Clerk: “Fitting a room is like fitting a shoe.”

If I were DBZ Uncensored, I’d throw one of those “stupid dialogue” alerts up there.

When Trunks, Pan, and Goku are walking towards the ship, Goku’s conversation with Trunks is rewritten.

Goku: “I hope those nice people can find a way to get their problems sorted out.”
Trunks: “Yeah, I do, too.”

Originally, Goku asked Trunks if they would be leaving the planet as soon as they get their spaceship fixed, to which Trunks replies by saying "that’s the goal." It's a completely different conversation giving the viewer less information.

Episode 04 (Written By Christopher Neel)

Spoiler:

Many fans state that Pan is a jerk in GT. I think it's debatable in the original version (She's mean in the first 14 episodes, then has a whole episode dedicated to character development, and then she's perfectly fine for the rest of the series). Whatever your opinion, the dub made this problem so much worse. Let’s just take a look at some of the things she says in this episode.

“We’re in the same spot as before, you knucklehead!”
“Grandpa, if I live, please remind me to kill you!”
“Thanks a lot, Grandpa! You could have told us, you know! What a jerk!”
“This is a stealth operation, you numbskull!

Holy crap, dude. You want "character defining" changes? Here you go. Dub Pan seems to think that Goku is the stupidest, most useless person she’s ever met, and she seems to do nothing but ridicule her grandfather for almost the entire episode. It's not just dialogue; it’s rare that you’ll hear her without a sarcastic tone of voice in this whole episode’s dub. The character doesn't do this in the Japanese version. She’s almost unwatchable in the dub, really.

At this point in the dub, we start getting entirely rewritten conversations. Here are a few examples.

Original Japanese Version
Gel: “We’ve recovered a spaceship that the security team discovered in the wastelands to the East last night, Don Kia-sama.”
*Silence*
Sheila: “It’s a ship whose type we’ve never seen before, so we think it may have come from an unknown planet.”
Don Kia: “That doesn’t matter! Value! Does it have any value!?”
Sheila: “N-no, not in particular…”
Don Kia: “What about the crew? Were there any cute girls among the crew on board, who could pass off as dancers, or as idols, to any talent producers?”
Gel: “I-I’ve received information that there wasn’t anyone on board. What’s worse, upon further inspection, the ship will not hold up as merchandise.
Don Kia: “In that case, scrap it immediately. It will bring at least some money as scrap iron, right?”

English Dub
Gale: “Aye Lord, that spaceship that was found in the desert, we got it. It’s all yours now, finders keepers!
Don Kee: “Show me. Sheila, what’s your evaluation?”
Sheila: “Lord, whoever designed it had function in mind, but not fashion. It may work well, but as you can see, it’s an eyesore. It’s not going to fetch anywhere near what the sleeker models are getting in the marketplace. In a word, it’s ugly.”
Don Kee: “Well then, what good is it? There’s no rare treasure inside, no crew members for slaves, so why have you brought me this ridiculous ship?
Gale: “Sire, you’re the one with the good taste; I’m just a grunt. Only a refined person like you could truly know if a thing has any value or not.”
Don Kee: “You’re not as stupid as you look, Gale. Now tear that ship apart and sell it as scrap. That’s my word. Make it happen.”

Here's another one.

Original Japanese Version
Pan: “Then again, it’s a good thing we’ll be able to fix it just by swapping parts.”
Goku: “Especially considering how bad it got messed up, huh?
Pan: “Well, excuse me!”
Trunks: “Sorry, sorry. Okay, let’s go.”
Pan: “Are you coming with us, Grandpa? Stay with the ship and keep an eye on it.”
Goku: “No way. I’m hungry.”
Pan: “That’s all you ever say.”
Trunks: “It’s all right. Out here, we don’t have to worry about it getting stolen again.”

English Dub
Pan: “Hey, if I’m that good of a driver now, just wait ‘til I’m actually old enough!”
Goku: “With a positive attitude like that, things will sure go quicker.”
Pan (Ignoring Goku, like a jerk): “Sorry, did I hear something?”
Trunks: “That was the voice of wisdom from your ten-year-old grandfather.”
Pan: “Ten? You think he’s ten? That’s ridiculous!”
Goku: “Well, how old do I look?”
Pan: “I dunno, three or four?”
Trunks: “I hate to interrupt, but I’m ready to go to town to get our parts.”

Mr. Neel was paid to take the original script, ignore it, and make up something completely different.

Also, the amount of money the random Imeggan charges for the fruit is changed from 500 gamets to 400 gamets in the dub. Because 500 would be too faithful.

Episode 05 (Written By Christopher Neel)

Spoiler:

Trunks states that they have to go north according to the Dragon Radar’s compass to find the Dragon Ball that Giru is detecting. Trunks doesn’t specify which direction the radar is telling them to go in the dub, though I guess it isn’t a big deal since the audience is able to see the compass in the animation. Admittedly, this episode had very few changes (probably because of all the fighting). Sometimes they get lucky.

As a side note, how the hell did they calculate magnetic north for outer space? You can’t just say “oh, that planet’s to the north of here.” It doesn’t work like that.

Episode 06 (Written By Christopher Neel)

Spoiler:

Gill’s production number is shortened from DB4649T2006RS to just T2006 in the dub.

Also...

Trunks: “Well, she’s a little shaken up, but she’ll “bee” just fine.”

Ugh. Originally, Trunks just said that the bee he rescued was a queen bee.

More rewritten conversations...

Original Japanese Version
Trunks: “Now then, after this wild detour, shall we go look for the Dragon Ball?
Pan: “Huh? You haven’t found it yet?”
Trunks: “No. We found it once, but it got taken away by a giant.”
Pan: “G-giant? You don’t mean?”

English Dub
Trunks: “I dunno, having a countless number of personal attendants does have its advantages, Pan.”
Pan: “Bleh, I’ll never eat honey again.”
Trunks: “But Pan, to them, honey is worth more than diamonds and gold!”
Pan: “I guess you’re right. How sweet.”

Keep in mind that scriptwriting is all about conveying information to the audience. This conversation serves a purpose, and the dub ignores it.

When Goku’s looking at the Dragon Radar, he originally commented on how the signal was disappearing. In the dub, Goku comments on the fact that the radar is picking up five readings.

Episode 07 (Written By Christopher Neel)

Spoiler:

Christopher Neel LOVES "Superhero Goku." For example...

Goku: “He sure does! But what he’s doing is wrong, and that gives us the advantage!”

Mr. Neel wrote some of the "Super Saiyan Goku VS Baby" episodes, and he's directly responsible for all of Goku's "power of right" speeches during that battle. Seriously, go watch them. You have to hear that dialogue to really see how unfitting it is for somebody like Goku.

The “potion” that Trunks is supposed to feed Zoonama was originally very strong saké.

Episode 08 (Written By Christopher Neel)

Spoiler:

The female name Trunks gives himself is changed from “Tolerance” (“Toreransu”) to “Trunksette.”

When telling Doma that he shouldn’t worry about Trunks, Goku’s original reason is that "Trunks is really strong, so he should be fine." In the dub, Goku tells Doma not to worry because "I can keep track of anyone, anywhere."

Um... what?

When the volcano is about to erupt, Zunama tells our heroes that the reason he’s been taking so many things from the village lately is because the mountain’s magma activity has been rising. Zoonama doesn’t say this in the dub; he just states that the eruption is the biggest disaster he’s predicted yet. That's a pretty big change.

Goku is given some added dialogue when he’s about to attack the volcano. He states that "now that the volcano’s let some pressure out, it will be easier to stop the magma." Of course, that’s something that Goku would really never say, so it’s out-of-character.

A very important piece of information is left out of the episode’s conclusion in the dub. The villagers originally said that they will allow Zunama to live in the village as long as Zunama promises to let everyone know when an earthquake is coming whenever he predicts one. This is left out of the dub for seemingly no reason.

Episode 09 (Written By Christopher Neel)

Spoiler:

The Parapara Brothers’ speech quirk of saying “para” in their sentences is, of course, removed. The same thing happened to Zunama in the previous episodes. Such is the fate of quirky characters in FUNimation’s dub. Everybody’s gotta be written exactly the same, with normal speech, to avoid originality.

The computer on the Parapara Brothers’ ship states that Goku and company are five kilometers behind them in the dub. No distance is established in the original version.

This next conversation is always fun to point out.

Original Japanese Version
Trunks: “It (the Parapara Bros.’ ship) must have been built by someone with a great deal of intelligence.”
Pan: “You mean, they’re going to get away from us?”
Trunks: “It’s all right. I can manage to cover our difference in performance with technique.”
Pan: “Technique? Trunks, you said this was the first spaceship you’ve ever piloted!
Trunks: “D-don’t bring that up right now.”
Pan: “There’s just no counting on you.”

English Dub
Trunks: “… And they’re basically reaching speeds that my engineers said couldn’t be reached.”
Pan: “How much are you paying those guys, Trunks?”
Trunks: “My engineers? They’re all making about eight figures, plus benefits.”
Pan: “That’s a lot of money… Well, I’d cut their pay in half with no benefits until they do better than second best!”
Trunks: “Man, I’m glad you’re not my boss.”
Pan: “Hello? Yes I am.”

There are some things about the dub that you can tell have been rewritten without even having to reference the original version; this is one of those times. The difference here is that in the original version, Trunks and Pan are actually talking about something relevant to the situation at hand and not some random-ass business jargon that has zero basis in the original script.

Episode 12 (Written By Eric Vale and Andrew Rye)

Spoiler:

In the original version, it’s stated that Dolltacki last appeared 20 years prior to the events in the episode. In the dub, that has been changed to 25 years. Again, change for the sake of change.

Episode 13 (Written By Eric Vale and Andrew Rye)

Spoiler:

The first line of the episode contains a change.

Pan: “I don’t know what’s going on, but it looks bad.”

Originally, Pan commented on how she could feel an incredible Ki. I always wonder why only about half of the “Ki” comments go adapted in the dub. They’ve proven that it’s incredibly easy to just call it “energy.” These small rewrites don’t need to happen.

Episode 14 (Written By Brian Thomas and Andrew Rye)

Spoiler:

When Pan and the others are formulating a plan to get out of Lood’s body, the dub messes up a tiny scene between Pan and Dolltacki. In the original version, Pan was so excited about getting out of Lood’s body that she raised her hands up to the sky and accidentally hit Dolltacki in the face. In the dub, though, the hit seems to have been intentional, a result of Dolltacki annoying Pan. This change takes a bit of humor out of the scene, which is strange because FUNi usually changes dialogue to insert humor, not remove it.

The words that Goku and Pan use as their “ready, set, go” for firing at Lood are changed from “pork bowl, tempura bowl, chicken & egg bowl” to “pepper pot, pickle pot, purple pot” in the dub.

Episode 15 (Written By Charles Davis)

Spoiler:

In the original version, the "fuel tank" was damaged from the sand monster’s attack (which seems to imply that their ship runs on water?). In the dub, the "cooling system" was damaged.

In the dub, Pan seems to have run away so that she can find the Dragon Ball by herself. In the original, though, she’s just running away; it isn’t specified whether or not she’s looking for the Dragon Ball. I would guess not, since I suspect she would have taken Giru if she was really looking for it.

Giru states that the temperature on the planet is 112 degrees. Gill doesn’t say the temperature in the original version.

[Cetra]

I would not totally send the dub to hell. While I like stuff like "And I admire your ability to die" there are other funny scenes though that people like and mostly don't even know that they were not like this. Like the famous shaving-scene of Vegeta which had nothing to do with trying to show Chichi that he shaved but instead was about being embarassed to act like a normal husband in front of her without noticing she was here.

[LSSJGODSSJ4Gogeta]

"Does this mean I have to go back to school?" Worst... line... ever.

I remember back when GT was airing on Toonami, they used to include that line in at least one of the commercials, and even back then when I was still more familiar with the English dubs I remember thinking to myself "When did Goku go to school in the first place?"

As a kid in the original dragonball. Roshi taught him and Krillin no joke man. He waned their bodies AND mind stronger.