Is the Japanese Version Underrated?

[Ripper 30]

one thing which I always notice when Watching any DBZ Clip and any posts of DB related thing,the fans out there often call dbz an anime where "the dub far surpasses the original" or "English Dub made it better" and they go on giving examples of DBZ as a Quality Dub and go on comparing it with Fullmetal Alchemist, Deathnote or Cowboy Bebop Dubs despite the DBZ dub involving lots of script changes and entire score was replaced too and the fans think the dub that they saw on T.V. is The real show and they can't watch it without Faulconer's Music so I just think that the Japanese Version is kind of underrated specially compared to other anime Japanese version like naruto, one piece or bleach where they watch only Japanese version and for dbz they are like "Eww DBZ In Sub is Torture" when clearly it's not the case, what do guys think is it underrated and if it is then what is the reason for the Japanese version being overlooked?

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

It is criminally underrated by the dub-exclusive fans that trash it, but it is fairly rated by its own fanbase.

[Cure Dragon 255]

I think there was a thread about this already...

[omaro34]

I never watched the Japanese version until Super's debut in July 2015. I instantly became hooked ever since. It is extremely underrated here in the West, but that is understandable that people would prefer to watch a show that features their native tongue.

[LuckyCat]

YouTube is in a world of its own when it comes to discussions, but on this forum, reddit, and such, I feel like the original version is fairly well-respected. Dragon Ball is one of those things that's had international fame before localization was readily available in many continents, so the older fans can even remember a time when there was only the Japanese version, and every fan loved it.

Of course, there's a newer I-prefer-the-local-version fanbase nowadays, but that seems only natural. It's easier to watch things in a language you understand, and overcoming a language barrier is a chore that viewers, especially casual ones, don't want to put with in a tv show.

[Saikyo no Senshi]

Nah. I don't think so. It had his fair share of fans worldwide back in the day as already mentioned by the poster above.

With DBS on Crunchyroll, it's popularity has grown even further. There are some naysayers, but I'd say overall it has a good enough fan following, so they can be overlooked.

[TheMikado]

After watching the Toonami Funimation Dub, I've gained new respect for Super in Japanese. I cannot watch Super dubbed now.

[dario03]

I'm going to say no.

Though personally I have never understood the whole "underrated" thing. To me underrated would be something that most people that have seen it really like it but for whatever reason it never got much exposure, like if it was under advertised. Saying something is underrated because some people don't like what you like just seems odd to me. Unless they are actually lying and in reality actually like it, they are not underrating it, they are just stating their opinion.

[FortuneSSJ]

It was until Super come out and "force" people to watch Dragon Ball in japanese. It's much more loved nowadays, Nozawa included.
You will always see those comments because it will always be an intense battle against nostalgia.

It's not only Dragon Ball related. Yu Yu Hakusho comes to mind too.
They go by the pattern "All the shows I grew up watching are better dubbed, and all the others I saw subbed first have a bad dub." No matter how much the dub they grew up watching sucks.

[MajinMan]

I don't think it's underrated, but it is definitely under appreciated by the English speaking fandom. Few fans stray away from the dub and actually give the Japanese version a chance, instead of just complaining about it after they've seen a few clips on youtube. Obviously not everyones going to like it, but most "haters" don't even give it a legitimate chance.

Dragon Ball Super has forced most dub only fans to adapt to the Japanese version, and the response has been mostly positive. Some people still complain about Goku's voice, but those people have probably never seen DB/Z in Japanese, so they don't have the natural appreciation for the voice like sub fans do. I encourage all fans who enjoy Super in Japanese but don't like Goku's voice to go watch the originals in Japanese if they haven't.

At the end of the day, the show is the show. I don't watch the Japanese version because it's Japanese. I watch it because it is the show in its purest form. If it was Italian rather than Japanese, I wouldn't care. I watch Dragon Ball for Dragon Ball, and I recommend fans to approach the series with this mentality as well.

[TheUltimateNinja]

Among the general fandom? Certainly. Among the hardcore fans on Kanzenshuu? I wouldn't say so.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

Obviously, this discussion is nothing new, and my opinions aren't new either. Is it underrated by the dub community? Yes, of course it is. Many of them refuse to even try it for any reasonable length because of the lower audio quality, Nozawa's Goku/Gohan, etc.

However, in the only communities that matter, opinion of the original is just fine. If anything, it's overrated.

[floofychan333]

I suppose it's underrated? I mean, I prefer the dub (with the Kikuchi score) but people crap on the original version way too much.

[8000 Saiyan]

Underrated? Only by the people who are way too attached to the Funimation dub,

[Soppa Saia People]

It is kinda fun seeing the script flipped so to speak after Super came out. Sure you still have that part of the fanbase that lives and dies by the dub, and hate the JPN version, but a lot more people seemed to have formed an opinion on it, rather then hating it by default.

[Thanos]

We are talking in the United States, right? Then yes. I feel like the dub is particularly bad among dubs in general, and the original Japanese is fantastic among voice productions in general. Now obviously, the Kai dub is pretty spot-on and I have nothing but admiration for that version, but the fans who say the dub is superior think Linda Young as Freeza is superior (in voice and dialogue) to Chris Ayers (and by extension, the original Z dub is better than the Kai one), so I think these people are beyond help.

[sintzu]

I saw the Japanese version first so I personally think it was and still is great. I'm however someone who likes to watch dubs so I watched it dubbed afterwards and enjoyed it but I'll be the 1st to say that the dub was very bad (during Namek till the end of the Cell games), both in terms of scripts and acting.

I'd understand them if they were talking about Kai but Z's dub ? I don't get it. Maaaaaaaaybe if Kai didn't exist then you could say they're defending it cause it's the only thing they have but that's not the case. not only do they still defend it even though there's a better dub, they say it's better than Kai!!!!.

How ? why ? I don't get it and I don't think I ever will.

[Ripper 30]

Dragon Ball Super has forced most dub only fans to adapt to the Japanese version, and the response has been mostly positive. Some people still complain about Goku's voice, but those people have probably never seen DB/Z in Japanese, so they don't have the natural appreciation for the voice like sub fans do. I encourage all fans who enjoy Super in Japanese but don't like Goku's voice to go watch the originals in Japanese if they haven't.

At the end of the day, the show is the show. I don't watch the Japanese version because it's Japanese. I watch it because it is the show in its purest form. If it was Italian rather than Japanese, I wouldn't care. I watch Dragon Ball for Dragon Ball, and I recommend fans to approach the series with this mentality as well.

The Good Thing about DB Super is Many fans who used to hate the Japanese Voices of Dragon Ball have actually developed appreciation for Japanese Version as Geekdom also said it in his videos and some even switched to Subbed side to from dub and actually praised Nozawa's Black Goku Performance too,but then there are Dub-Only Fans of Dragon Ball Series who were holding themselves back from watching it in Japanese and have recently started watching it on Adult Swim and I said underrated because they kind of treat DBZ as its a western Type of Cowboy Bebop or Baccano type of anime where English Voice make it better but that's not the case, DBZ May not be as Japanese as Yu Yu Hakusho or even Naruto but still it's far from being called a western anime specially with all Tenkaichi Budokai Eastern type of Fighting and Use of Spiritual Power but whenever they are showing clips of animes for DBZ they like "Subs?....eww" and for Other animes like Naruto, Bleach or One Piece theu are like "Dubs suck" when the dub of all 3 is way Superior to innacurate Z Dub but I definitely agree with you, watching the show in its original form is the purest way to get right information and enjoy it so if DBZ was originally in Spanish or French then I would have definitely tried that language dub too so that's the best way to enjoy it

[Ripper 30]

Among the general fandom? Certainly. Among the hardcore fans on Kanzenshuu? I wouldn't say so.

I was referring to the general fandom

[Ripper 30]

I think there was a thread about this already...

Yes a similar thread was there but it was more like "Is Japanese Kai Underrated" and my thread is about overall series not Kai