Mr. Buu’s Voice: English vs. Japanese

[Thanos]

So switching between English and Japanese in Xenoverse 2 out of morbid curiosity, I noticed something I haven’t heard in a while—in English, Mr. Buu’s childlike, third-person speech. I find it to be kind of strange and completely unnatural sounding, and I find it odd that FUNimation is sticking with it; I’d almost hoped we’d get slightly more articulate Buu in Kai. Is there a Japanese-language precedent to this, like there is with Goku’s poor grammar? Perhaps it doesn’t translate in Japanese subtitles, but it’s a little strange to go from “I’m going to eat you!” to “BUU EAT YOU!!!”, and somehow I feel there’s a blind spot when it comes to his characterization. He goes from seeming borderline brain dead to someone you could have a conversation with.

Maybe I’ve hit a wall here, but I thought it might be worthy of some at least surface-level discussion.

[Kataphrut]

Like many of the more divergent Funi dub choices (see King Kai) it's one of those holdovers from a different era of dubbing that they can't really change because people expect it now. Fortunately, unlike say, Linda Young's Frieza (which they did change and rightly so), the approach still fits the character. I've seen English and Japanese Buu as well, and both versions capture the same idea, which is that he sounds and acts disarmingly childlike compared to his reputation.

[dragon boss z]

I don't think this should be in the in universe discussion forum.

And I'm fine with both voices.

[DragonBallKing]

It's honestly still more jarring switching back and forth between Schemmel and Nozawa even though Iike both. It's like this anytime a woman plays the male character in Japanese and then played by a male in English.

[sintzu]

I love his english voice, it fits someone who's been a sleep for millions of years. It's not like he got grammer classes in.

[8000 Saiyan]

Don't like his English voice. Too high-pitched for my tastes.

[ABED]

His American voice is annoying.

[Cipher]

Boo's Japanese is very short and simple; childlike. Because it's already a high-context language that leaves "out" a lot more information than English, it isn't a 1:1 equivalent with the speech patterns FUNimation gives him, but it's not far off in spirit.

[AgitoZ]

Boo's Japanese is very short and simple; childlike. Because it's already a high-context language that leaves "out" a lot more information than English, it isn't a 1:1 equivalent with the speech patterns FUNimation gives him, but it's not far off in spirit.

I feel like it's something that could've been fixed with Kai. Freeza's writing and acting were greatly improved and resulted in a far more faithful adaptation of the character into English. I'm not sure why they couldn't accomplish that with Boo (other than certain script writers no longer working on the dub at that point).

[Super Sonic]

It's honestly still more jarring switching back and forth between Schemmel and Nozawa even though Iike both. It's like this anytime a woman plays the male character in Japanese and then played by a male in English.

It can be more jarring when it's the opposite. When I mainly watched G Gundam on tv, Sai Saici was voiced by a woman in English. So I was rather surprised when I turned on the dvd to Japanese out of curiosity and he sounded rather deep and was voiced by a man.

[DragonBallKing]

Like many of the more divergent Funi dub choices (see King Kai) it's one of those holdovers from a different era of dubbing that they can't really change because people expect it now. Fortunately, unlike say, Linda Young's Frieza (which they did change and rightly so), the approach still fits the character. I've seen English and Japanese Buu as well, and both versions capture the same idea, which is that he sounds and acts disarmingly childlike compared to his reputation.

What makes you think people would react negatively If they changed it? They already changed the voice of Gohan and Bulma for the better, so why not try for a more accurate and fitting Kaio and Buu as well. I'm sure Martin could play fat buu more accurately if he was directed to do so.

[Forte224]

Like many of the more divergent Funi dub choices (see King Kai) it's one of those holdovers from a different era of dubbing that they can't really change because people expect it now. Fortunately, unlike say, Linda Young's Frieza (which they did change and rightly so), the approach still fits the character. I've seen English and Japanese Buu as well, and both versions capture the same idea, which is that he sounds and acts disarmingly childlike compared to his reputation.

What makes you think people would react negatively If they changed it? They already changed the voice of Gohan and Bulma for the better, so why not try for a more accurate and fitting Kaio and Buu as well. I'm sure Martin could play fat buu more accurately if he was directed to do so.

Well uh, people freaked when Gohan changed to Clinkenbeard even though it was a massive improvement. Same with Freeza, though people have become more accepting of Ayres now. There was definitely a turn during the years after DBZ Kai Ep 98 to The Battle of Gods/Kai TFC dub. I remember a tweet from Sabat I can't find now where he basically seemed fed up with all the hate the old dub got. I feel like there was a turning point where they were no longer as concerned about accuracy. It was more prioritizing OG Funi Dub fans first while trying to remain as accurate as possible as a close second; if being accurate meant displeasing OG Funi fans, they wouldn't be accurate basically. If Kai ran from Raditz to Boo from the start, I'm positive the dub would've turned out much differently than it did

[DragonBallKing]

Like many of the more divergent Funi dub choices (see King Kai) it's one of those holdovers from a different era of dubbing that they can't really change because people expect it now. Fortunately, unlike say, Linda Young's Frieza (which they did change and rightly so), the approach still fits the character. I've seen English and Japanese Buu as well, and both versions capture the same idea, which is that he sounds and acts disarmingly childlike compared to his reputation.

What makes you think people would react negatively If they changed it? They already changed the voice of Gohan and Bulma for the better, so why not try for a more accurate and fitting Kaio and Buu as well. I'm sure Martin could play fat buu more accurately if he was directed to do so.

Well uh, people freaked when Gohan changed to Clinkenbeard even though it was a massive improvement. Same with Freeza, though people have become more accepting of Ayres now. There was definitely a turn during the years after DBZ Kai Ep 98 to The Battle of Gods/Kai TFC dub. I remember a tweet from Sabat I can't find now where he basically seemed fed up with all the hate the old dub got. I feel like there was a turning point where they were no longer as concerned about accuracy. It was more prioritizing OG Funi Dub fans first while trying to remain as accurate as possible as a close second; if being accurate meant displeasing OG Funi fans, they wouldn't be accurate basically. If Kai ran from Raditz to Boo from the start, I'm positive the dub would've turned out much differently than it did

The Nadolny/Volmer change was not for accuracy though, they simply weren't working at Funi anymore. And Young was physically incapable of accurately portraying Freeza so they went with Ayres. Old Funi dub fan's arent going to watch Kai anyway because acting and accuracy is not a priority for them and "they ruined Gohan". So if most old dub fan's aren't going to bother with kai then it wouldn't hurt to change Buu and Kaio's voice. But then again you have to consider those fans from a marketing standpoint when it comes to new material like Super.

[Forte224]

What makes you think people would react negatively If they changed it? They already changed the voice of Gohan and Bulma for the better, so why not try for a more accurate and fitting Kaio and Buu as well. I'm sure Martin could play fat buu more accurately if he was directed to do so.

Well uh, people freaked when Gohan changed to Clinkenbeard even though it was a massive improvement. Same with Freeza, though people have become more accepting of Ayres now. There was definitely a turn during the years after DBZ Kai Ep 98 to The Battle of Gods/Kai TFC dub. I remember a tweet from Sabat I can't find now where he basically seemed fed up with all the hate the old dub got. I feel like there was a turning point where they were no longer as concerned about accuracy. It was more prioritizing OG Funi Dub fans first while trying to remain as accurate as possible as a close second; if being accurate meant displeasing OG Funi fans, they wouldn't be accurate basically. If Kai ran from Raditz to Boo from the start, I'm positive the dub would've turned out much differently than it did

The Nadolny/Volmer change was not for accuracy though, they simply weren't working at Funi anymore. And Young was physically incapable of accurately portraying Freeza so they went with Ayres. Old Funi dub fan's arent going to watch Kai anyway because acting and accuracy is not a priority for them and "they ruined Gohan". So if most old dub fan's aren't going to bother with kai then it wouldn't hurt to change Buu and Kaio's voice. But then again you have to consider those fans from a marketing standpoint when it comes to new material like Super.

Physically incapable? You mean how Sabat said she couldn't keep up with the new dialogue? I don't know, to me that sounded like a nice way of saying her Freeza wasn't good. And if old Funi fans won't watch Kai, why did they change back to the old dub attack names like Special Beam Cannon and Destructo Disk and what not? Pretty jarring to switch back in the Android Arc if they weren't trying to appease that fanbase, isn't it? From what I've seen they clearly have tried to pander to the OG Funi fanbase, sorta-kinda starting with reverting attack names in the Android Arc, but coming in full force in Kai TFC and BoG where they make started making weird script changes and the like again

[DragonBallKing]

Well uh, people freaked when Gohan changed to Clinkenbeard even though it was a massive improvement. Same with Freeza, though people have become more accepting of Ayres now. There was definitely a turn during the years after DBZ Kai Ep 98 to The Battle of Gods/Kai TFC dub. I remember a tweet from Sabat I can't find now where he basically seemed fed up with all the hate the old dub got. I feel like there was a turning point where they were no longer as concerned about accuracy. It was more prioritizing OG Funi Dub fans first while trying to remain as accurate as possible as a close second; if being accurate meant displeasing OG Funi fans, they wouldn't be accurate basically. If Kai ran from Raditz to Boo from the start, I'm positive the dub would've turned out much differently than it did

The Nadolny/Volmer change was not for accuracy though, they simply weren't working at Funi anymore. And Young was physically incapable of accurately portraying Freeza so they went with Ayres. Old Funi dub fan's arent going to watch Kai anyway because acting and accuracy is not a priority for them and "they ruined Gohan". So if most old dub fan's aren't going to bother with kai then it wouldn't hurt to change Buu and Kaio's voice. But then again you have to consider those fans from a marketing standpoint when it comes to new material like Super.

Physically incapable? You mean how Sabat said she couldn't keep up with the new dialogue? I don't know, to me that sounded like a nice way of saying her Freeza wasn't good. And if old Funi fans won't watch Kai, why did they change back to the old dub attack names like Special Beam Cannon and Destructo Disk and what not? Pretty jarring to switch back in the Android Arc if they weren't trying to appease that fanbase, isn't it? From what I've seen they clearly have tried to pander to the OG Funi fanbase, sorta-kinda starting with reverting attack names in the Android Arc, but coming in full force in Kai TFC and BoG where they make started making weird script changes and the like again

I understand Funi doesn't want to take a risk of alienating the fanbase of it's biggest title and they are definitely still pandering to OG dub fans, but would using Japanese attack names really be the kind of thing that would turn dub fans away? The fans that stayed after hearing Gohans new voice shouldn't really mind a few small changes.

[Forte224]

The Nadolny/Volmer change was not for accuracy though, they simply weren't working at Funi anymore. And Young was physically incapable of accurately portraying Freeza so they went with Ayres. Old Funi dub fan's arent going to watch Kai anyway because acting and accuracy is not a priority for them and "they ruined Gohan". So if most old dub fan's aren't going to bother with kai then it wouldn't hurt to change Buu and Kaio's voice. But then again you have to consider those fans from a marketing standpoint when it comes to new material like Super.

Physically incapable? You mean how Sabat said she couldn't keep up with the new dialogue? I don't know, to me that sounded like a nice way of saying her Freeza wasn't good. And if old Funi fans won't watch Kai, why did they change back to the old dub attack names like Special Beam Cannon and Destructo Disk and what not? Pretty jarring to switch back in the Android Arc if they weren't trying to appease that fanbase, isn't it? From what I've seen they clearly have tried to pander to the OG Funi fanbase, sorta-kinda starting with reverting attack names in the Android Arc, but coming in full force in Kai TFC and BoG where they make started making weird script changes and the like again

I understand Funi doesn't want to take a risk of alienating the fanbase of it's biggest title and they are definitely still pandering to OG dub fans, but would using Japanese attack names really be the kind of thing that would turn dub fans away? The fans that stayed after hearing Gohans new voice shouldn't really mind a few small changes.

Well I mean, why else would they do it? It makes Kai's 1-98 dub inconsistent with itself, considering it was all done relatively close together and is considered the same product. Changing back midway is a pretty rash thing to do.

Also I think you're really underestimating the stuff dub fanatics get upset about, lol. Trust me, I used to be one. They crazy

[Kataphrut]

Look, it's a bad idea to start tossing around generalisations. Not every dub fan hated Kai. Not every dub fan doesn't care about accuracy. I care about consistency; the indecision about which attack names to use in Kai grinds my gears way more than defaulting to old dub things like Buu's voice, provided they work well.

I maintain the reason Buu stayed the same while Frieza and Gohan changed (Bulma too, but I think that was purely to do with the actress not working their and Monica Rial is awesome so who cares) is because unlike original Frieza and Gohan, that version of Buu is accurate to the original portrayal. I mean, what would a "more accurate" English Buu sound like? A childish blob constantly demanding sweets and babbling to himself, which is what he already is.

[Cipher]

Yeah, I definitely would not submit Boo as being among FUNimation's most unfaithful adaptations. Again, it's pretty true to the original in spirit. They could have gone with a less high-pitched voice, in favor of something a bit lower in the vein of the original, but it's not awful.

[floofychan333]

His American voice is annoying.

Yeah, exactly. I can't figure out for the life of me how Josh Martin manages to do that. The Japanese voice is way better in this case and has an enormous edge over the English voice not enjoyed by other voices in the original.

[Tian]

Yeah, exactly. I can't figure out for the life of me how Josh Martin manages to do that. The Japanese voice is way better in this case and has an enormous edge over the English voice not enjoyed by other voices in the original.

There are two possibilites : either the guy inhales helium before recording Buu or he has a pretty darn good voice range.