How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Discussion regarding the entirety of the franchise in a general (meta) sense, including such aspects as: production, trends, merchandise, fan culture, and more.

Moderators: General Help, Kanzenshuu Staff

User avatar
Bajosexto
Beyond Newbie
Posts: 263
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2017 11:17 pm

How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by Bajosexto » Thu Sep 28, 2017 9:19 am

The first time I interacted with the FUNi dub was not with the dub it self but with two of its fans. It was back around 2005-2006. I remember I was with two of my cousins one day. They would come to visit around twice a year. We were playing with our Gameboys and they just happend to have one of the Legacy of Goku games. And as fans of the series, they as fans of the FUNi dub and I as a fan of the Latin American dub, we started to talked about this awesome show that the three of us liked. The Latin American dub was all I knew. I had never heard the English version in my life. So I wasn't aware of the changes FUNi had made.

I Don't remember exactly what we were talking about, but I remember that every time I said Freezer (Freeza in the LatAm dub) they would shout "FREEZA!", "His name is FREEZA!". and I was like, "Huh isn't his name Freezer?". But I would forget and I kept saying Freezer and they kept shouting "FREEZA!". Then they started talking about Mr. Satan but they would call him "Hercule". So I was really confused. I had no idea who they were talking about. With context I figured out that they were talking about Mr. Satan. I was thinking to myself, "Hercule?" "But his name is Mr. Satan." "Why do they call him that?". But I was too embarrassed to tell them that his name was Mr. Satan because I thought that Mr. Satan was the name change. For some reason I thought that his original name had to be "Hercule" because there was no way he was called Mr. Satan in the original version. And I didn't want to get "corrected", like with Freezer, for saying Mr. Satan. So I just said "Hercule". And thats pretty much all I remember from our conversation. I almost forgot, that was also the first time I heard the term "Kid Boo". I only knew Boo as Majin Boo. Someting that was pretty cool was that after I had to go home they decided to give me the Legacy of Goku game. Don't know why. I guess they were already bored of it? I was really thankful for it.

This brings me to the second part of my first experience with the FUNi dub. The games.

I got home really excited to play my new and first Dragon Ball game. I was expecting to hear Chala head Chala in the game's intro. And also was really excited to hear it. As I turned it on, I heard the Rock the Dragon theme and my smile went away. Again I was confused. I was like WTF is this? Where is Chala head Chala? Was that the English opening? I also didn't like the Rock the Dragon theme. It felt cheap and bad. Nothing compared to the Chala head Chala I was so used to hearing. I don't remeber much about that game other than that.

A couple of years go by and I buy my first true Dragon Ball game. Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkachi 2. This was around February of 2008. At that point my only interaction with English Dragon Ball had been with my cousins conversation and with the Legacy of goku game. Which I had forgotten all about. So I turned on the game and the itro was pretty cool. Then I went straight to the character selection. The First voice I heard was Sean Schemmel's Goku. And it sounded exactly how I imagined an English Goku would sound. I actually liked it. I heard a few other characters but I don't remember my reaction to them. Then I got to Freeza. And I was like WTF!? My immediate reaction was "That is not Freezer". The rest of the voices were okay and sounded somewhat similar to what I had grown up with. But Freeza just sounded bad. Instead of an elegant, polite but terrifying space emperor, he sounded like an old gramma. Very different to my reaction of the first time I heard Nakao's Freeza. Which was, "Now this is how Freeza is supposed to sound."


Anyway these were just a couple of stories about my first interactions with the FUNi dub that I wanted to share for some time. It was pretty interesting learnig about all the changes that FUNi did to Dragon Ball. What about you guys? What was your first experience with the FUNimation dub like?

User avatar
8000 Saiyan
I Live Here
Posts: 2841
Joined: Sun Oct 02, 2016 9:03 am

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by 8000 Saiyan » Thu Sep 28, 2017 9:22 am

Can't say I was fond of it, although there were stuff I liked about it such as Rick Robertson's Dabura, Chris Rager's Mr. Satan, Duncan Brannan's Babidi and Dameon Clarke's Cell. I only really started to become fond of the Funimation voice actors in Kai. Any thing they did before their Kai dub is not good whatsoever, not even the Buu saga dub that many people praise.
"It was deemed to be too awesome." - Scott McNeil on Dragon Ball Kai not being aired yet in Canada.

User avatar
GreatSaiyaJeff
Regular
Posts: 569
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2017 11:28 pm

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by GreatSaiyaJeff » Thu Sep 28, 2017 10:40 am

Being 10 years old, I was a little thrown off when season 3 started. After all being used to the ocean dub voices, the new voices felt weird. They eventually grew into their own in the roles. Also the excitement of Freeza saga coming to a close, made it feel exciting at least.
"I just realized something. Honestly... it kinda doesn't matter where I go... whether I'm alive or dead... I'm still pretty dandy." - Space Dandy

User avatar
Chuquita
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 15155
Joined: Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:16 am
Location: New Jersey
Contact:

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by Chuquita » Thu Sep 28, 2017 10:59 am

I can't say it was the first time I saw something db-related (that would be the original cover to the U.S. release of Final Bout in a Blockbuster store; I thought blue dougi adult Goku on the cover looked cool, but I never played the game because I never had a PS1) but Z was at the time something fun to watch that I only even found by doing something else I never do anymore--channel surf in search of something to watch on TV. Whatever aired opposite of it on Nick was something I'd already seen (brain's telling me it was reruns of Rocko) and I barely watched Disney anymore by that point. I did notice the voices changed, but I didn't care about it at that point; it was just something I enjoyed watching with friends. We each had our favorite characters (mine was and still is Goku) and it was a part of what kept me occupied that summer.

With the tiny amount of TV I watch now (which is basically either in a group setting or because there's already TV on at the gym or at the dentist's) there's no way I would've stumbled onto Dragon Ball if all of today's technology had been available back then because almost everything I watch now is streamed online and doesn't have that large of an episode count. If today's internet existed then I wouldn't have been flipping through channels in the first place that day; I'd be on the computer instead. I loved having a giant episode count for DB back then, but the way the internet is now I can't see myself sinking time into something so long that I haven't already grandfathered in from earlier (why I'm still following One Piece).
My deviantart * My tumblr * My twitter
---
フレフレ みんあ! フレフレ 私!

User avatar
TheBigBoy
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 305
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 5:29 pm

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by TheBigBoy » Thu Sep 28, 2017 6:08 pm

Sheeeit....I remember like it was yesterday.

I had been a huge fan of the "Ocean dub" and knew next to nothing about the original Japanese version. Ignorance is bliss...right?

Well one day at a friend's house, in...late 1998 I think, I discovered Greg Werner's Ultimate DBZ Information site. After reading the crazy detailed recap of the Freeza fight, I found the section where Greg showed the (mostly out of context) edits of the English dub. I was furious - Dragon Ball was actually a violent show! With swearing! And nudity! I felt validated that the show I enjoyed wasn't a silly, poorly paced kids cartoon, but actually A SERIOUS, BLOODY CARTOON FOR ADULTS. At least that's how I felt when I was 14. I soon discovered DBZ Uncensored after which just further fueled my righteous fury. After a while, I somehow considered myself an expert on the Japanese version, despite only knowing what I read from websites and only seeing a few short video clips of the original version.

In early 1999, we saw that Funimation was finally picking the series back up. I was ecstatic. My anime-loving friend went with his mom to pick up the two tapes at Suncoast. I remember waiting at home, vainly trying to pass time playing some shitty N64 game I rented (I think it was Fighting Force 64). It was about 3 hours, but felt like 3 days. Around 6 PM, my buddy called me and told me to come over.

I don't know what I was expecting. I had sort of a love/hate relationship with the Ocean dub. I hated the edits...but I was comfortable with most of the voices. I assumed that because people had complained about it on the Internet, that Funimation would have listened to our complaints. After all, guys like Chris Psaros and Greg Werner were among the biggest, most dedicated fans, why WOULDN'T Funi listen to them (Over the years, I realized the influence of Nerds Complaining On The Internet is greatly exaggerated)? I figured the bad voices (Freeza, King Kai) would be recast, but the good ones (Piccolo would remain). It would be uncensored, and much more faithful to the original series. Of course the original music would be in as well. "Another dimension" would be tossed and we'd see characters start to swear and issue death threats again.

I looked at the tapes he got. They looked fine...but cheap. He owned all the previous Pioneer VHSes and those had some extremely cool art. These just looked like lazy screencaps. My buddy fired up the tape. After a few ads, Rock the Dragon played. I knew that wasn't the original theme song but whatever. The episode began...One of the first shots is of Vegeta's face completely caked in blood. We all threw up a cheer! Blood and guts! That's what we came for, baby!

Then everyone started talking. They all came off like sound-alikes. Not particularly good ones either. We all groaned loudly when Krillin started talking in a weird, almost piglike voice. Gohan was OK, and the guy doing Vegeta was trying to do a bad impression of Brian Drummon. Freeza still sucked and Jeice's accent completely changed. In one of the episodes where Vegeta assaults Freeza's men on his ship, I realized the lo-fi butt rock I was hearing wasn't the original music either. I hadn't heard much, but the original score was orchestrated and sounded like something from a 70s kung fu movie. This music just...sucked. And sounded cheap. As a matter of fact, most of the production felt extremely cheap. They even used the "another dimension" line again! I don't know a ton about Dragon Ball production, but something about the tape quality even made it look cheaper.

Still, it was "uncensored" Dragon Ball Z, and it was exhilarating to watch. I watched the dub gradually improve until the Buu saga. Finally discovered the Japanese version proper (High speed Internet will do that for ya) in college and I haven't looked back (for the most part). I'll admit the dub has improved immeasurably over time and is pretty damn watchable now. Though I think the weakest voices by far are the "core" cast (Schemmel, Sabat) who have been around forever. They also seem to be the ones that have the most defenders...but whatever.

User avatar
KBABZ
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 5180
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:38 pm
Location: The tallest tower in West City

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by KBABZ » Thu Sep 28, 2017 6:42 pm

I remember watching DBZ after school along with everyone else... but I think it says a lot that I can't remember a lick of it and yet fondly recall watching the dub of OG Dragon Ball, to the point where watching Kai was practically watching Z for the first time.

User avatar
Hellspawn28
Patreon Supporter
Posts: 15191
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 9:50 pm
Location: Maryland, USA

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by Hellspawn28 » Thu Sep 28, 2017 7:04 pm

I saw the 1995 Dragon Ball dub on VHS back in 1997 when I was 6. I was like "Meh this is okay" and move on. Shortly, I notice DBZ stuff at my local video store in 1997 and I was like "I thought that spiky hair guy is a little kid. What's going on?". So in 1998, I was waiting for Beast Wars to show up on TV and I saw DBZ. I had no idea what was going on (It was the episode when Goku got wish back in the Saiyan saga) and I changed the channel.

Later on in 1998, I notice how DBZ was a bigger thing now in my school and I didn't get it. In 1999, I saw Piccolo vs. Freeza and I was like "This is awful. Why do people like this show". So my first experience with the Funi dub of Dragon Ball is all over the place. It was not until I saw SSj2 Gohan vs. Cell on the Midnight run in late 2000 or early 2001 when I got into DBZ.

It's strange how that episode got me into DBZ, but I was super bored during the middle of the night as a kid and it was uncut. I was like "That was.....kinda cool" and I later discover DBZ Uncensored the next day. I was stuck with the Funimation dub of the series until mid-late 2001 when I discover fan subs on VHS tapes (Better late than never).
She/Her
PS5 username: Guyver_Spawn_27
LB Profile: https://letterboxd.com/Hellspawn28/

User avatar
SylentEcho
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 808
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 7:36 pm
Contact:

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by SylentEcho » Thu Sep 28, 2017 7:24 pm

The first time I saw the Funi dub was when the Ocean cast was replaced on the second coming of Dragon Ball Z on 'Z-Day'. It was really jarring at first, but I got used to it. That being said, I always preferred the JP version even back then, coz I had already seen a few episodes and movies by then.

User avatar
Hellspawn28
Patreon Supporter
Posts: 15191
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 9:50 pm
Location: Maryland, USA

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by Hellspawn28 » Thu Sep 28, 2017 11:18 pm

I remember some kids at my school thought the voice actors are on vacation or sick, so they will be back soon. You had some kids that was like "I'm pretty sure that they will be back soon guys. They are probably sick in bed and they hire new ones to fill in for them".
She/Her
PS5 username: Guyver_Spawn_27
LB Profile: https://letterboxd.com/Hellspawn28/

User avatar
Boo Machine
I'm, pretty, cozy, here...
Posts: 1928
Joined: Thu May 26, 2016 7:44 pm
Location: On the Track to NoWhere

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by Boo Machine » Thu Sep 28, 2017 11:23 pm

I was in the 1st grade when it first switched to FUNi so I got it in my head that the characters could actually grow up from between the switch, so I had just assumed they had gotten older and thus sounded different because of it. So it didn't really bother me all that much. I was just hyped to see the continued adventures of this one cartoon that had a never ending plot where all the other cartoons had episodes that concluded in 1 episode.

Blew my fucking mind.
SUBARASHII! - Goku Black

I am the Great Saiyaman! Defender of truth! Protector of the innocent! Upholder of justice! Doer of good!

To Infinity, then stop!

Anime are Cartoons.

User avatar
Kaio_Krazy
Not-So-Newbie
Posts: 76
Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2016 12:50 am

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by Kaio_Krazy » Thu Sep 28, 2017 11:39 pm

My family didn't have Cartoon Network until 2003, when I was 10. I had seen a few minutes of the Mexican dub while flipping through the channels. Specifically when Goku was chasing bubbles, and when Gohan was sitting on his ass, getting powered up, in the Buy arc. Dragon Ball was something I'd only ever heard of in passing, and those clips only served to make me confused. One day, my friend Evander, from down the street brought over DBZ Budokai 1. I thought it was awesome, and soon after we finally got Cartoon Network, DBZ was what I wanted to see the most. The Saturday we got it, Return of Cooler was on toonami. It blew my mind, and I was hooked ever since. So I'd say my first experience with the funi dub was pretty favorable.

User avatar
JEFFMAN219
Regular
Posts: 691
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 10:55 pm

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by JEFFMAN219 » Thu Sep 28, 2017 11:42 pm

I first started watching DBZ with the Funimation dub back in 2000 when I was 8 and I was fine with the voice acting. But I first experienced the Ocean dub when YTV was showing reruns of the Saiyan saga later that same year and I remember being a little thrown off by the different voice actors for all the characters and the different background music.

Cipher
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 6333
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 11:54 pm
Location: Nagano
Contact:

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by Cipher » Fri Sep 29, 2017 5:15 am

I thought it was cool when I started watching it during the Freeza arc on '99-'00 Toonami rerun, but I was also a little kid, so what the fuck did I know? I was just caught up in its story and style.

User avatar
SylentEcho
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 808
Joined: Fri Apr 14, 2006 7:36 pm
Contact:

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by SylentEcho » Fri Sep 29, 2017 8:18 am

Hellspawn28 wrote:I remember some kids at my school thought the voice actors are on vacation or sick, so they will be back soon. You had some kids that was like "I'm pretty sure that they will be back soon guys. They are probably sick in bed and they hire new ones to fill in for them".
I don't think anyone I knew back then got used to the new voices until the Boo arc. Years later, even after GT was done, everyone would still fondly remember how awesome the "first" Goku and Vegeta voices were.

User avatar
dbgtFO
Kicks it Old-School
Posts: 7888
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2010 5:07 pm
Contact:

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by dbgtFO » Fri Sep 29, 2017 8:26 am

Dragon Ball Z episode 264(in the dub at the time, actual episode number is 279).
Watched it with some friends in an.. let's say unconventional way :P
For those who don't know, that was the episode Goku started fighting Kid Buu in the Kaioshin realm.
And we were amazed, so much so, that it's still one of my favority episodes of DBZ! Furthermore the difference in quality in voice work between the Funi dub and the Danish dub was stark, so there was no doubt it was more to our liking, than what we were already used to.

User avatar
ABED
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 20276
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:23 am
Location: Skippack, PA
Contact:

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by ABED » Fri Sep 29, 2017 10:08 am

Do you mean the in-house dub from 99? I bought the Captain Ginyu tapes in the spring of 1999 and immediately was taken aback by the different voices. I didn't like them and thought they sounded like cheap imitations. The music was terrible, and the dialog was attrocious, but I didn't care. There was blood and the footage was unedited, and after a year of waiting (which felt like an eternity), I was happy to get anything.
The biggest truths aren't original. The truth is ketchup. It's Jim Belushi. Its job isn't to blow our minds. It's to be within reach.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take - Wayne Gretzky" - Michael Scott
Happiness is climate, not weather.

DragonBallKing
Regular
Posts: 604
Joined: Mon Jun 05, 2017 6:44 pm
Location: Oklahoma, USA

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by DragonBallKing » Fri Sep 29, 2017 12:24 pm

Well my first experience with the Funi dub and DBZ in general was in 2004 through the first 3 Budokai games I played with a friend. The first time I watched the anime it was the Coolers revenge movie VHS, which also introduced me to Disturbed. After that I got a bunch of other random tapes of various episodes from a used electronics store. At 9 years old I didn't have standards for good acting so I didn't really care, all I wanted was cool fights and loud music. Nowadays I wouldn't watch older Funi dub material if I had the choice. Kai, Super, and the new movies are the only dubs that meet my standards.
Check out my MAL page: https://myanimelist.net/profile/RapeHorse


Original Dragon Ball arcs ranking: 23rd Budokai, Saiyan, 21st Budokai, Red Ribbon, Freeza, Piccolo Daimao, 22nd Budokai, DB Hunt, Cell, Buu

Ripper 30
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 788
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2016 4:16 am
Location: India

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by Ripper 30 » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:37 am

I grew up watching DBZ in Hindi so my first Exposure to it was not through the Show but PS2 games like Budokai Tenkaichi 3 and Infinite World.
I used to like all those voices as a kid but after I grew up, I started appreciating the Japanese version and after Kai Dub I got to know the errors that Kai dub fixed but I wish some of the bad voices in FUNi cast was Recasted.
I prefer Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, DB/Z/GT Movies, Dragon Ball Super and Dragon Ball GT in Japanese.
For DBZ Kai and two new Movies I like both Dub and Sub. I Prefer Shunsuke Kikuchi Soundtracks over All other Composers.
My MAL profile : https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ripper_30

User avatar
Lord Beerus
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 21389
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 5:20 pm
Location: A temple on a giant tree
Contact:

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by Lord Beerus » Tue Oct 03, 2017 12:18 pm

I didn't really make much of it. I started off with the Ocean cast, given that I live the UK, and didn't really take into consideration much about the quality of the voice cast as I most attentive to the fight scenes, being the hyperactive 8 years I was at the time. My first exposure to the cast of FUNimation was through Budokai 2, and even then it never really dawned onto me to bring up a comparison between those voice actors and the ones I heard on TV, even though they were quite distinct.

User avatar
Robo4900
I Live Here
Posts: 4383
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2016 2:24 pm
Location: In another time and place...

Re: How was your first experience with the FUNi dub like?

Post by Robo4900 » Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:53 pm

I remember watching some of it at one point, and being really annoyed that the voices and music were wrong. :lol:
The point of Dragon Ball is to enjoy it. Never lose sight of that.

Post Reply