What was your first experience with the Japanese version and what was your first impression?

[SansrivaaL]

I dont really remember much of how I reacted.. all thats clear was that I was weirded out by Goku's voice, it sounded off for me, then later after 2-3yrs I found out Goku's being voiced by an old lady in Japan surprised me, I mean yeah that was off putting but damn Nozawa kills it once you get used to her, its like she has this charm that you cant imagine Goku without her voice in the anime.

[Hellspawn28]

Did the subs look like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbEgVkcSRDA

Yep. I thought (So did other kids) that the Japanese version was really like this. I remember before I saw GT, people would create rumors that GT is more darker and violent than DBZ. There would be more F bombs and even sex scenes in GT. I remember being told that GT would air on HBO and not on Toonami .

[samuraix123]

While I haven't made the full jump from Dub to the Japanese because I like the dub. I remember trying to download the movies on something like Kazaa with dial up and that taking forever! and what's funny is I remember the title would say English next to it and I just thought ''Okay I speak English so that's the one I want'' LOL I think the Japanese fans were trolling the dub fans back then...letting us download something that we thought was our version for ohhhh about a month only to find out it was the Japanese version the whole time. LOL But from that to friends at the video stores saying ''check this out. new dbz movie that hasn't been released here'' was what made me like it a lot. I have friends who say they can't stand the Japanese version but it doesn't bother me at all. I'm just happy to get to see my favorite characters of any cartoon series ever. I still have my cds that they gave from back then because I like re-looking at how far we've came from getting this stuff. the quality is.......awesome. LOL

[Forte224]

Became a fan of DBZ (aka the FUNI/Ocean dub) in 1997. Initial exposure to the original Japanese was largely via movie DVD's and Budokai 3 special edition (the version with the JP cast option was a bitch to obtain, as I recall). Somewhere along the line around 2003 somebody (probably on this forum) suggested I fire up Japanese subtitles with the dub on and see what happens. I was a power level fiend back then, so you can figure out how that played in as well.

Anyway, I didn't bother revisiting the English Dub after that until Kai. Not sure I would have even done that if not for my girlfriend at the time wanting to get into the series. It's neat when they do well in English, but it's not particularly relevant. Battle of Gods is the only example I can think of where the FUNImation cast may have excelled beyond the Japanese version.

With that wording do you mean after BoG the Japanese cast is back on top? Because if so I agree. They were lacking...something in BoG but appear to have new life since then. Maybe it's just me

[Duo]

Became a fan of DBZ (aka the FUNI/Ocean dub) in 1997. Initial exposure to the original Japanese was largely via movie DVD's and Budokai 3 special edition (the version with the JP cast option was a bitch to obtain, as I recall). Somewhere along the line around 2003 somebody (probably on this forum) suggested I fire up Japanese subtitles with the dub on and see what happens. I was a power level fiend back then, so you can figure out how that played in as well.

Anyway, I didn't bother revisiting the English Dub after that until Kai. Not sure I would have even done that if not for my girlfriend at the time wanting to get into the series. It's neat when they do well in English, but it's not particularly relevant. Battle of Gods is the only example I can think of where the FUNImation cast may have excelled beyond the Japanese version.

With that wording do you mean after BoG the Japanese cast is back on top? Because if so I agree. They were lacking...something in BoG but appear to have new life since then. Maybe it's just me

Pretty much that. 'F' was a notable improvement and everything has been pretty clutch since the U6 arc started.

[Gaffer Tape]

Did the subs look like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbEgVkcSRDA

Yep. I thought (So did other kids) that the Japanese version was really like this. I remember before I saw GT, people would create rumors that GT is more darker and violent than DBZ. There would be more F bombs and even sex scenes in GT. I remember being told that GT would air on HBO and not on Toonami .

Oh, geez, I remember before the U.S. season 4 began airing, I had a friend swearing to me that, in the Japanese version, there was the infamous "space pod" scene where Blooma and Vegeta get freaky and conceive Trunks.

[DragonBallKing]

Did the subs look like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbEgVkcSRDA

Yep. I thought (So did other kids) that the Japanese version was really like this. I remember before I saw GT, people would create rumors that GT is more darker and violent than DBZ. There would be more F bombs and even sex scenes in GT. I remember being told that GT would air on HBO and not on Toonami .

Oh, geez, I remember before the U.S. season 4 began airing, I had a friend swearing to me that, in the Japanese version, there was the infamous "space pod" scene where Blooma and Vegeta get freaky and conceive Trunks.

Holy crap, that's amazing . I now ironically want to hear either Sabat or Drumond say "You candy-ass faggot" in Vegeta's voice

[Forte224]

Became a fan of DBZ (aka the FUNI/Ocean dub) in 1997. Initial exposure to the original Japanese was largely via movie DVD's and Budokai 3 special edition (the version with the JP cast option was a bitch to obtain, as I recall). Somewhere along the line around 2003 somebody (probably on this forum) suggested I fire up Japanese subtitles with the dub on and see what happens. I was a power level fiend back then, so you can figure out how that played in as well.

Anyway, I didn't bother revisiting the English Dub after that until Kai. Not sure I would have even done that if not for my girlfriend at the time wanting to get into the series. It's neat when they do well in English, but it's not particularly relevant. Battle of Gods is the only example I can think of where the FUNImation cast may have excelled beyond the Japanese version.

With that wording do you mean after BoG the Japanese cast is back on top? Because if so I agree. They were lacking...something in BoG but appear to have new life since then. Maybe it's just me

Pretty much that. 'F' was a notable improvement and everything has been pretty clutch since the U6 arc started.

Makes me wonder if they got some new voice direction or something, because it was the exact same time the "adadadadadadada" stuff became more prevalent too which is the only scrutiny I have for the Japanese version at the moment. It's a small complaint though.

[Duo]

Makes me wonder if they got some new voice direction or something, because it was the exact same time the "adadadadadadada" stuff became more prevalent too which is the only scrutiny I have for the Japanese version at the moment. It's a small complaint though.

It's hard to say. I'm sure there are others that have studied this more closely. The biggest thing that stood out to me was how lackluster Masako Nozawa was in the combat scenes. She sounds thirty years younger by comparison in the ToP, especially in the hour special, much more akin to that glorious performance in Movie 12.

[Forte224]

Makes me wonder if they got some new voice direction or something, because it was the exact same time the "adadadadadadada" stuff became more prevalent too which is the only scrutiny I have for the Japanese version at the moment. It's a small complaint though.

It's hard to say. I'm sure there are others that have studied this more closely. The biggest thing that stood out to me was how lackluster Masako Nozawa was in the combat scenes. She sounds thirty years younger by comparison in the ToP, especially in the hour special, much more akin to that glorious performance in Movie 12.

Yeah the "Yahhhhhhh, I will not let you destroy my wooorrrrrrrrrrllllllllllllllllllllld" (even if the line itself is kinda goofy) followed by the screams by Schemmel sounded great and trailed out perfectly just as the song lyrics cut in, but Nozawa barely screamed at all. Would love a re-voice of that movie by the Japanese actors. Even Beerus doesn't sound quite right in it, almost like he hadn't fully decided how the character should sound yet which could be very possible

[TheBlackPaladin]

It kinda came in three phases...

1) The first thing that I ever heard from the Japanese version was--rather appropriately, in hindsight--a kamehameha from Masako Nozawa, from the PlayStation videogame, Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout back in '97. The pre and post-battle dialogue in that game was dubbed, but the screams, attack cries, and in-battle dialogue were not. I remember wondering if my game was glitched, because Masako Nozawa, as I'm sure we can all agree, sounded absolutely nothing like Steve Blum (who dubbed Goku's dialogue). As it was, I was already wondering why the voices in the video game were not those of the Ocean cast.

2) My second exposure was through the Cartoon Network airings of the Ocean/Pioneer-dubbed DBZ movies. I still wasn't putting it together that what I was watching was the dub of a Japanese show, so when I suddenly heard Masako Nozawa singing this on my TV, I remember thinking, "Wait...huuuuh?"

3) Finally, my first exposure to an actual clip of the Japanese version of the show was the scene where Vegeta finds Kuririn and Bulma on Planet Namek and demands that they hand over their Dragon Ball. I remember being surprised at how high-pitched Kuririn's voice was, but otherwise thinking that the voices fit. I also remember instantly loving the music a lot more. There were some things that took some "getting used to" when I finally watched the Japanese version, but the music was not one of them. I loved it from the first day I heard it, and was one of the (few, I guess) people to actually enjoy the "dub with original music" audio track on the orange bricks. I never went back to the dubbed music after that.

[Chuquita]

A friend lent me fansubs of Z eps 273, 274, and 275.
I fangirl'd hard over how damn cute Gokû sounded and how super cool Vegeta sounded.

I was sold on the original voices instantly. They're still my preference today.

[Fizzer]

My first experience was likely checking out a few episodes of Z online, and my reaction was "this is so dated and cheesy, a lot of the music reminds me of a really old cliché horror film". After reading the manga, though, I couldn't go back to the dub, and I watched the series in Japanese from the beginning. Getting to the Z-era after watching the earlier parts of the story in Japanese made it much less jarring than going straight there from Faulconer, and it's since been my favourite (only) way to watch the series.

[Super_Divine_Genki]

"CHA-LA HEAD CHA-LA"

That Opening song still throws me back.


Timeline looked kinda like this:

'98-ish - DBZ Movie #1 Dead Zone DVD that I played on a PC. I remember that being my first experience with the JPN audio. Afterwards, two online video clips stand out to me -- first was the scene when F.Trunks puts down Cold, and the other was when Gohan became a SSJ in the RoSaT (well before the airing of Goku becoming a SSJ aired in the U.S.). My chronology with everything post Freeza arc was all over the place back then.

Next, it was Dragon Ball: Final Bout (in-battle sounds were JPN audio) around that same time. Then, two DBZ import video games for the Playstation -- Ultimate Battle 22 and Legends around '99. To get these to work with NTSC, there was some method that required an odd work-around involving an import adapter, or something.

The first full episode of DB/Z that I watched with original audio was Episode #68 from the Ginyu Assault DVD that was released in 2000. That was my first in-universe listen of Horikawa's Vegeta, and I remember that voice really opening up my ears. Same with Nakao's Freeza. That experience was nothing short of a DBZ epiphany to me back then after hearing some of the in-house FUNi dub.

When speaking about first impressions with original audio, most -- if not all -- go straight to Nozawa's Son Goku. I liked it right away (from Dead Zone). There was no conscious thought about adjusting to that voice -- I embraced it without even realizing what was going on. Nozawa simply was Goku in my very uneducated mind in the early days. Needless to say, the JPN audio became my go-to whenever the episodes/films/specials became available (*resists talking negative about in-house FUNi + replacement soundtrack here*). The characters became the characters. Wakamoto's Cell is still my favorite voice out of the major antagonists, but they are all standout. C'mon, not just anyone (Shioya) can pull off the various Boo's, especially Pure Boo.

Also from the Dead Zone DVD, was my first experience with Kikuchi's score. That music just grabbed me right away, perhaps even mesmerizing. I had no choice but to go along with it. Simply a masterwork that's perfectly interwoven together with the voices and visuals of that universe.

And that's my little story about DB.

[Robo4900]

About 8-10(-ish) years ago, I found a subbed version of the first arc of the original series online. I was intrigued by it, and gave it a look. Thought the opening and ending themes were a little odd, being used to the dub versions, but I was amazed to see all this dialogue that I only really knew from the BLT/Ocean and Blue Water versions, now in its uncensored glory. Laughed my head off at how much raunchier it was than the toned-down dub versions.

I realised this must apply to the whole run, and decided I'd watch the entire run like this. I got maybe 7 episodes into DB before other life stuff in general happened, and I basically stopped watching any Dragon Ball for a while.

Eventually, I did rediscover the Japanese version, basically thinks to Super and those modern Japanese TV rips that are floating around online of GT with broadcast audio, and nowadays for me, I primarily watch in Japanese.

[Meshack]

I was confused honestly. I didn’t know what they were saying because they weren’t soeaking English. I hated Gokuh’s voice and some of the others

[Tian]

The first time I heard the japanese cast was when I played Final Bout. I was like wut? my 6 year old me couldn't understand why Goku sounded like a granny, I didn't like it. The only voices I liked at the time were Cell, Freeza, Piccolo and Trunks.

[Hyena_Yamcha]

When i played the eu version of Budokai 1

Actually i thought it was cooler than the ENG Version

How ever , Goku's Voice was strange to me at first but i got used to it quickley

[Bryesque]

This bad boy right here:



(God, who remembers those days? I think I paid as much or more for three episodes back then than I have for newer, fuller Blu-ray volume releases. Unreal.)

That DVD was my first introduction to the original/uncut Japanese version and the original score. I couldn't afford to follow it much past that point via the DVDs, but I immediately recognized how much the older Funi English dub had been altered from the original, and not for the better.