Why hire an old lady when you can get a dude?

[JohnnyCashKami]

I guess it's because of how Frieza looks like that people don't mind him having a woman's voice.

I tried watching the Z FUNimation dub with Linda Young as Freeza but that was such a complete miscast, she made a total mockery of Freeza and didn't even had the menacing spirit which other VAs managed to maintain.

I'm not a huge fan of Chris Ayres, but thank god FUNi hired him. Though, my favorite English Freeza is TFS's one. Whenever I hear Young as Freeza, I just imagine an old lady who smoked one too many cigars.

[8000 Saiyan]

TFS Frieza only works for a parody. I can't imagine him deliver the most threatening moments of Frieza like Ayres does.

[JohnnyCashKami]

TFS Frieza only works for a parody. I can't imagine him deliver the most threatening moments of Frieza like Ayres does.

Ayres Freeza sounds too polite, posh, formal and friendly. Much better than Linda Young but not very threatening.

Then again, Freeza is becoming more or less like Vegeta (a good character that was once evil) on Modern DB.

[Thanos]

I remember when I first switched to sub exclusively. It was slightly jarring at first, but after all these years, Goku sounds like Goku to me. He doesn't sound like an old lady, or even a woman. He sounds like a childish man with a somewhat higher-pitched voice name Goku. You just get used to it... and it works--something I can totally imagine would be lost on you if you heard a masculine man voicing him as a super hero and have only heard his Japanese voice in scant YouTube videos.

Unless you actually have the context and have heard the voice as the character at length for many years, it doesn't seem like an entirely appropriate question. It's almost like asking why Goku is still around in Super when he obviously died at the beginning of Z. If you don't understand the nuance or the history, you tend to come across with... very little eloquence, let's say.

That's forgetting entirely the fact that there are grown men in real life with unusually high-pitched voices--it just happens. That coupled with the fact that he's an alien in an absurd cartoon, it altogether seems like a non-issue.

[ABED]

I guess it's because of how Frieza looks like that people don't mind him having a woman's voice.

I tried watching the Z FUNimation dub with Linda Young as Freeza but that was such a complete miscast, she made a total mockery of Freeza and didn't even had the menacing spirit which other VAs managed to maintain.

I'm not a huge fan of Chris Ayres, but thank god FUNi hired him. Though, my favorite English Freeza is TFS's one. Whenever I hear Young as Freeza, I just imagine an old lady who smoked one too many cigars.

TFS Freeza is just an imitation of Ayres' performance. TFS is not a legitimate example because it's not DB, it's a parody, not to mention it's just not well acted.

That coupled with the fact that he's an alien in an absurd cartoon, it altogether seems like a non-issue.

Agreed.

[WittyUsername]

TFS Freeza is just an imitation of Ayres' performance. TFS is not a legitimate example because it's not DB, it's a parody, not to mention it's just not well acted.

Actually, the TFS Freeza precedes Chris Ayres’ performance by about eight or so months.

[ABED]

TFS Freeza is just an imitation of Ayres' performance. TFS is not a legitimate example because it's not DB, it's a parody, not to mention it's just not well acted.

Actually, the TFS Freeza precedes Chris Ayres’ performance by about eight or so months.

That's awfully prescient of them. It sounds like an Ayres imitation. I stand corrected, but stand by the rest of it.

[Izanagi]

What does a muscular man sound like? Seems to me that strong men are defined by their strength, not by their voice. I do not mind Masako Nozawa's Goku. It's a good representation of his character. Goku is a pure-hearted manchild who talks like a backwater hick, he was never supposed to be a manly man who reeks of testosterone like Vegeta and Piccolo does. Unironically, MasakoX managed to capture that spirit. Not that I hate on Shcemmel, I think he's good on his own right, but he and the script still miss the simple things about Goku's character. He speaks broken Japanese and his inflections refer that. This isn't a jab on Schemmel though, it's just the script. They couldn't do it without giving him a southern accent and that wouldn't be right either. I think Schemmel puts his all into it, especially nowadays. The same could be said for Nozawa. But by and large, the Japanese script preserves Goku's identity and that's an important part of what ultimately makes their performances. Both range from good to incredible thanks to Kai, but they're still playing pretty different characters.

[ABED]

Stop bringing in TFS to the conversation - it's a parody show. There's no acting required. Even if it did, MasakoX does not capture Goku's spirit. He's not required to because he's not voicing Goku. It's a parody Goku. Do you think Power Rangers has good acting? Because that's about the level of acting in TFS.

Goku's had several good voice actors, but Nozawa is the best by far. Schemmel is the next closest and I appreciate that he doesn't try to imitate another performance. Corlette is after him, but he's a little flat. I haven't heard enough of Morrow, but after hearing him several times over the years, I can't remember anything about his performance. It's that bland. Bringing up the rear, is Kelamis. His voice is high pitched and his scream is vaguely like Nozawa's but that doesn't make his performance anywhere close to hers. I'm sure everyone knows how I feel about his take. I just don't like it at all.

Goku doesn't have to be voiced by a man, but any other actor subsequent to Nozawa doesn't have to sound like her either. In fact, I wish they wouldn't.

[Izanagi]

Stop bringing in TFS to the conversation - it's a parody show. There's no acting required. Even if it did, MasakoX does not capture Goku's spirit. He's not required to because he's not voicing Goku. It's a parody Goku. Do you think Power Rangers has good acting? Because that's about the level of acting in TFS.

And that's your conjecture, which is fine, but don't think your is opinions are more right that anyone else's. Tastes arecinherently subjective, if you're talking purely about subjective enjoyment then there is no right or wrong. If you're trying to ascertain the actual quality of a work to some objective degree, then you have to analyze it and present arguments supported by the analysis of the work, not just opinions, otherwise boils down to "what I like and don't like."

[ABED]

It is 100 percent fact that TFS is a parody. It's NOT Dragon Ball.

And I'm completely at a loss for any moment that anyone being honest with themselves would consider TFS to have good much less great acting. Show me a moment.

[MasenkoHA]

It is 100 percent fact that TFS is a parody. It's NOT Dragon Ball.

I don’t think anyone but the most deluded of TFS fanbois would argue Dragon Ball Z Abridged isn’t a parody.

It’s just odd that you keep on conflating its worth with its status as a parody. I know your issue is you don’t think its funny. Which is fine because humor is incredibly subjective but everytime it gets brought up your whole dismissiveness toward it seems to solely be on the fact that it’s a parody. Like if someone dismissed Dragon Ball because its a shonen anime

And I'm completely at a loss for any moment that anyone being honest with themselves would consider TFS to have good much less great acting. Show me a moment.

What kind of moment are you expecting to show? Like are you expecting someone to show a dramatic piece of acting (in a parody) and be wowed?

The acting in DBZA is good because the performers are able to play a character and keep their line reads in a convincing manner without sounding incredibly stilted or like they’re stumbling over the dialog. They’re not just “reading the script” I could compare anything from MasakoX’s performance as Goku to Schemmel’s Goku in 1999 and point to how MasakoX is a much better voice actor (at the time) even though he’s voicing a parody of Goku he can deliver his dialog without sounding awkward as fuck

[Ripper 30]

Can't believe i am seeing this question in 2018 and that too on a sight like Kanzenshuu,

To be fair, he was posting shallow bait threads in other places too, like on the Super forum. Which is why he was banned. Kanzenshuu has gotten a bad rap for simply primarily preferring the Japanese version, so it's not surprising there will be a few trolls every now and then. I'm pleasantly surprised we don't have more people like that guy.

Yea i interacted with him lol, his strawman arguments are proof of how much of a troll he is but anyway, he is banned for good.

[Metalwario64]

It is 100 percent fact that TFS is a parody. It's NOT Dragon Ball.

And I'm completely at a loss for any moment that anyone being honest with themselves would consider TFS to have good much less great acting. Show me a moment.

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of DBZA, but when the Cell Games episodes were released, I decided to watch an episode since YouTube wouldn't stop pestering me with suggestions for them.

I immediately took notice of MasakoX's Goku talking the same as he normally does after Goku was beat half to death by the Cell Jr.s. Most of the acting sounds like something from The Simpsons or Family Guy, which is perfectly fitting given the satirical nature of the product, but so many people treat it as a replacement for the original, but even with the FUNimation cast's remaining problems, I feel they are a much better fit for the series.

[Kamiccolo9]

Give me TFS' Recoome over Sabat's take any day.

[Kunzait_83]

I could compare anything from MasakoX’s performance as Goku to Schemmel’s Goku in 1999 and point to how MasakoX is a much better voice actor (at the time) even though he’s voicing a parody of Goku he can deliver his dialog without sounding awkward as fuck

With all due respect to MasakoX, that speaks FAR more to what an incredibly awful, untalented actor Schemmel is than it does to MasakoX's abilities.

That Schemmel, who's been in the VA business professionally for decades now, can be completely outshined in (a variation of) his "signature role" by a total and complete nobody from nowhere, an average fan who prior to TFS (to the best of my knowledge at least, someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here) likely had little to no professional acting experience whatsoever, is WAY more of a damning indictment on Schemmel's complete and utter inadequacy as a performer much more so than it is a glowing example of how gifted MasakoX is.

I have nothing at all against MasakoX by the way, either as a person or a VA: this wasn't a dunk on him, it was a dunk on Schemmel, who I have less than zero respect for as a VA.

What does a muscular man sound like? Seems to me that strong men are defined by their strength, not by their voice.

Perfect real life example: Mike Tyson. Guy who's built like a mack truck and hits like a freight train, but sounds vocally like a 12 year old girl with a lisp.

[ABED]

It's not about it's worth, it's that people keep putting it in the same category as the official product. MasakoX didn't voice Goku. Stop putting him in a list of voice actors who have played Goku. It's not in the same boat.

Like are you expecting someone to show a dramatic piece of acting (in a parody) and be wowed?

I don't know, at least something that would allow me to understand where this praise comes from. Even if I don't like something, I can usually see why others praise it. For instance, I'm not a big fan of The Sopranos, but I can see why others do see it as the greatest show ever.

The acting in DBZA is good because the performers are able to play a character and keep their line reads in a convincing manner without sounding incredibly stilted or like they’re stumbling over the dialog. They’re not just “reading the script” I could compare anything from MasakoX’s performance as Goku to Schemmel’s Goku in 1999 and point to how MasakoX is a much better voice actor (at the time) even though he’s voicing a parody of Goku he can deliver his dialog without sounding awkward as fuck

Sounds great, except there's nothing convincing about it. It's a parody. They don't have to sound convincing because there's nothing real about it. It's not bound by the rules of a story, it's just jokes. If you can point to a scene where you think MaskaoX is more convincing, I would appreciate it.

I have nothing against MasakoX personally, but he's not voicing Goku in DB. He doesn't have to convince the audience he's a battle maniac manchild. He just has to deliver funny jokes.

[Ripper 30]

I actually find Sean Schemmel's Goku overall to be very forced and overly raspy. It's like FUNimation is trying to promote how macho and manly they can sound. Ocean dub never really tries to show off their Macho-ness that's why all three Goku voices in it sound calm and not overly deep or raspy like Sean. I always thought he fits a Macho American Hero more than the role of Goku irrespective of how well he can scream because screaming isn't end all be all thing in voice acting. Chris Sabat himself admitted that from 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai he found Nozawa voice awkward on Goku because he's macho, this reflects FUNimation cast's mindset as well that's why out of all the dubs, FUNimation's dub Goku sounds like a hardcore macho dude phoning in to sound goofy. Latino Goku is not overly macho, Brazilian goku isn't overly macho, ocean dub goku isn't overly macho and same for most but sean is just too raspy and whiny that it gives the "overacted" vibe more than anything else.

[ABED]

I've heard latino Goku and it's just not a good fit. His performance sounds like those dubs you hear when you switch language tracks on a DVD - not convincing or fitting. Where is this rasp you're hearing?

[Ripper 30]

I've heard latino Goku and it's just not a good fit. His performance sounds like those dubs you hear when you switch language tracks on a DVD - not convincing or fitting.

I can see where you're coming from but i was talking in terms of macho spirit and manliness.

Sean's Goku sounds like a Macho deep voiced manly hero who ALSO is goofy. When it's mostly other way round. In US Fandom whenever people talk about DBZ Goku , "manliness" is what comes to their mind unlike the Japanese fans or Manga fans where "Pure Hearted" Comes to our mind unlike Western fans who think screaming is all Goku is about.