DB Movie One Comes Back To DVD, Says Otaku USA, Rightstuf

[jjgp1112]

I've never understood why anyone would want a girl playing a character like Adult Goku in English.

[penguintruth]

I've never understood why anyone would want a girl playing a character like Adult Goku in English.

It worked perfectly in Japanese, for Goku, Monkey D. Luffy (though technically in his late teens), and Himura Kenshin. And in English a female plays Luffy. Same voice as the new Gohan. Maybe she could age him up and play his adult voice.

[jjgp1112]

Goku isn't exactly the same as Monkey D. Luffy. I can't find the post, but Kunzait_83 explained it pretty well. Basically, Luffy is like Goku on Cocaine.

[penguintruth]

They're pretty similar, though. Both manchildren almost entirely devoid of knowledge of social norms and often tuned out to the concerns of others outside of their own dreams, except for rare moments of insight. Luffy does tend to lean towards the silly, though, and is probably even more obstinate.

This is based on only the handful of One Piece episodes I've seen, though. I'm hardly an expert on Luffy.

[B]

I would argue Luffy is more level-headed than Goku.

[Big Momma]

Isn't Luffy in his teens? I'm pretty sure Goku is well into/over his 30s.

[JulieYBM]

Isn't Luffy in his teens? I'm pretty sure Goku is well into/over his 30s.

He's seventeen (seemingly close to eighteen, judging by Oda's recent comments) and even has a six-pack. I agree, however, that Luffy is more level headed than Gokû. His friends and family are by far his most precious treasures and the only reason for his ever increasing strength (aside from his natural-born instincts) is so that Water Seven would never happen again. Luffy's a big kid on a great adventure, but he carries the wisdom of a romantic man of the sea.

Of course, writing that sort of thing has always been Oda's strength, as opposed to Toriyama's.

In short, Luffy should be voiced by a man before Gokû, and after 450 episodes--timeskip be damned--Luffy should and will never be recast with a man.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Luffy is a skinny teenager, Goku is a buff man in his thirties.

[JulieYBM]

Yeah, and fat people should sound like fat people!!


Wait...that's terribly insulting!!

Luffy is a skinny teenager, Goku is a buff man in his thirties.

Luffy actually gets pretty muscular, depending upon how he works his body. Then there's Gear Third, of course.

Not that, of course, the nineteen year old Gokû who fought Piccolo Junior wasn't buff and still voiced by a women. Outward appearence means nothing in Shônen, until those who actually make the show decide it does. Personality always comes first.

[jjgp1112]

Wait, making a fat guy sound like how a fat guy sounds is somehow insulting the audience? Really? Some people really need to get a better idea of what insulting is.

[JulieYBM]

Wait, making a fat guy sound like how a fat guy sounds is somehow insulting the audience? Really? Some people really need to get a better idea of what insulting is.

I'm saying it's terribly insulting type-casting.


Heck, how can anyone even cast based upon that? What's there to actually go off of?


What the heck does any of this actually have to do with the release of this film?

[Onikage725]

What does one's size have to do with voice? Have you ever heard Mike Tyson talk? People just love their stereotypes, I guess. I think the divide on "how Goku should sound" has a lot to do with general introduction to the character. If you tend to watch DB in order, when he was a child before becoming a "manchild" as some say, there was nothing off-putting about his fairly average "hero kid in a shounen anime" voice. When he grew up, he maintained a similar, but deeper voice. It flows a lot more naturally than his (or Gohan's) kid/post-puberty vocal shifts, as neither Schemmel nor Hebert sound ANYTHING like Nadolny in the slightest. People's voices usually sound the same after puberty, just deeper.

But then, usually when watching anime, the adult martial arts hero guy tends to have a serious, deeper tone. So if you identify the series primarily with how it was presented to the english-speaking market, with Z at the forefrunt, you may see less of a Naruto or Luffy-ish character and more of a Kenshiro-ish character.

[TonyTheTiger]

It flows a lot more naturally than his (or Gohan's) kid/post-puberty vocal shifts, as neither Schemmel nor Hebert sound ANYTHING like Nadolny in the slightest. People's voices usually sound the same after puberty, just deeper.

While that's true, it never holds up in fiction and is well within the zone of suspension of disbelief. The vast majority of the time a "kid version" of a character will have a completely different actor/actress. Nozawa continuing to voice Goku as an adult is far more an anomaly than the norm. That just doesn't happen very often and it probably wasn't a brain dead easy choice for the producers at the time. It's actually pretty surprising that it worked out. Imagine a 9 year old Clark Kent and how he'd sound. Now imagine Superman with the same voice. It would probably be pretty "lolwtf." Goku keeping a child-like innocence combined with Nozawa's genuinely unique voice help matters but I know lots of people would at least raise an eyebrow if, say, Christine Cavanaugh or Kath Soucie, two very talented actresses who've voiced young boys before, continue to play the same character well into adulthood.

There was actually a Rugrats episode that played on just this thing for laughs. Tommy and the gang imagined being adults and while they had adult bodies they still sounded exactly like their child selves.

I don't have any personal problems with adult Goku's voice...just that I respect that a woman voicing him can be off putting to some.

[TripleRach]

While that's true, it never holds up in fiction and is well within the zone of suspension of disbelief. The vast majority of the time a "kid version" of a character will have a completely different actor/actress. Nozawa continuing to voice Goku as an adult is far more an anomaly than the norm. That just doesn't happen very often and it probably wasn't a brain dead easy choice for the producers at the time. It's actually pretty surprising that it worked out. Imagine a 9 year old Clark Kent and how he'd sound. Now imagine Superman with the same voice. It would probably be pretty "lolwtf." Goku keeping a child-like innocence combined with Nozawa's genuinely unique voice help matters but I know lots of people would at least raise an eyebrow if, say, Christine Cavanaugh or Kath Soucie, two very talented actresses who've voiced young boys before, continue to play the same character well into adulthood.

There was actually a Rugrats episode that played on just this thing for laughs. Tommy and the gang imagined being adults and while they had adult bodies they still sounded exactly like their child selves.

I don't have any personal problems with adult Goku's voice...just that I respect that a woman voicing him can be off putting to some.

How often is there a lengthy animated series in which a character spends a great deal of time as a child, and then spends a great deal of time as an adult? I personally don't know of a single one other than Dragon Ball. But I do know that before I got into DB, there were some episodes of the Simpsons where Bart was shown as an adult. He was still voiced by Nancy Cartwright, and it felt perfectly logical and natural. I never thought "He's an adult, so he should sound more manly." There were similar instances in shows like Rugrats (as you mentioned) and Dexter's Laboratory, and I never thought anything of those, either.

If there was a Superman series where he spent a considerable amount of time as a 9 year old voiced by a woman, and then suddenly grew up and kept the same voice, I don't think it would bother most of the regular viewers at all. It might even be more jarring to suddenly hear a new actor instead of the one they knew.

I think it's more about keeping the same voice everyone knows and loves than anything. If Toei hadn't started animating the series until after Gokuu was an adult, I think they might have cast a man, too. And then they might have even had the same man go back and voice his younger self later, like what happened with Trunks.

EDIT: I almost forgot what thread we're in. Maybe we should take this somewhere else.

[Onikage725]

While that's true, it never holds up in fiction and is well within the zone of suspension of disbelief. The vast majority of the time a "kid version" of a character will have a completely different actor/actress. Nozawa continuing to voice Goku as an adult is far more an anomaly than the norm. That just doesn't happen very often and it probably wasn't a brain dead easy choice for the producers at the time. It's actually pretty surprising that it worked out. Imagine a 9 year old Clark Kent and how he'd sound. Now imagine Superman with the same voice. It would probably be pretty "lolwtf." Goku keeping a child-like innocence combined with Nozawa's genuinely unique voice help matters but I know lots of people would at least raise an eyebrow if, say, Christine Cavanaugh or Kath Soucie, two very talented actresses who've voiced young boys before, continue to play the same character well into adulthood.

I think this is my first time talking with you. So, first off, hello!

Now, that's why I suggested that the reason there is a divide has much to do with one's perception of the character. I.E do you follow Dragon Ball as one long story? Or do you prefer Z, and see Dragon Ball as a prequel? I think those questions would play a lot into how one perceives Goku, especially if you're watching in English.

Now, I know the Japanese example of Goku (and Kuririn, I believe) may not be the norm but it isn't a lone case. Off the top of my head, Sora of Kingdom Hearts retained his VA from KH 1 to 2. His voice deepened, and the game happened to have a one year time skip, so it flowed well. They could have tried to retain Sora's youthfulness with a new prepubescent actor, or hired a different young adult actor to play up the new age. But they didn't, it worked well, and provided consistency. One could also name live action shows where a young actor or actress grows up on the show. One could probably name as many where there is a time skip and a recast, I know. Still, it does happen. The Harry Potter films are a good example. Numerous long-running sitcoms throughout the years, and various soap operas. It seems to be working out that way with Naruto, as well.

Going back to your Superman example, I think there is a difference if we are flashing back from an established adult character. Hence my "DBZ fan who sees DB as a prequel" theory. Yea, if I'm watching Superman: The Animated Series, it would be weird if Tim Daly was doing the teen Clark scenes. They used a guy, Jason Marsden, who was an adult but some twenty or so years younger than Tim. But we know Clark as Superman. The teen years are either a brief introduction, or a side story/flashback. When you follow a series that starts out in the youthful years, spends a lot of time in that era, and progresses the characters... well, then it is more common to see actors retain their roles and mature the characters along with the story.

[TonyTheTiger]

How often is there a lengthy animated series in which a character spends a great deal of time as a child, and then spends a great deal of time as an adult? I personally don't know of a single one other than Dragon Ball. But I do know that before I got into DB, there were some episodes of the Simpsons where Bart was shown as an adult. He was still voiced by Nancy Cartwright, and it felt perfectly logical and natural. I never thought "He's an adult, so he should sound more manly." There were similar instances in shows like Rugrats (as you mentioned) and Dexter's Laboratory, and I never thought anything of those, either.

If there was a Superman series where he spent a considerable amount of time as a 9 year old voiced by a woman, and then suddenly grew up and kept the same voice, I don't think it would bother most of the regular viewers at all. It might even be more jarring to suddenly hear a new actor instead of the one they knew.

I think it's more about keeping the same voice everyone knows and loves than anything. If Toei hadn't started animating the series until after Gokuu was an adult, I think they might have cast a man, too. And then they might have even had the same man go back and voice his younger self later, like what happened with Trunks.

EDIT: I almost forgot what thread we're in. Maybe we should take this somewhere else.

You're right that DragonBall is a pretty unique situation. Though those other examples like Rugrats and The Simpsons seemed like they were playing the gag more for laughs than anything. Much like how Dan Castellanetta still voices a child Homer even though his voice is much too deep for a prepubescent boy. I think the Superman situation would be much more jarring if the change were permanent. In the Superman animated series Tim Daly was the adult Superman but for his younger self the much more boyish sounding Jason Marsden played the part. And that was for a teenage Clark Kent, not even a prepubescent one.

I think this is my first time talking with you. So, first off, hello!

Now, that's why I suggested that the reason there is a divide has much to do with one's perception of the character. I.E do you follow Dragon Ball as one long story? Or do you prefer Z, and see Dragon Ball as a prequel? I think those questions would play a lot into how one perceives Goku, especially if you're watching in English.

Now, I know the Japanese example of Goku (and Kuririn, I believe) may not be the norm but it isn't a lone case. Off the top of my head, Sora of Kingdom Hearts retained his VA from KH 1 to 2. His voice deepened, and the game happened to have a one year time skip, so it flowed well. They could have tried to retain Sora's youthfulness with a new prepubescent actor, or hired a different young adult actor to play up the new age. But they didn't, it worked well, and provided consistency. One could also name live action shows where a young actor or actress grows up on the show. One could probably name as many where there is a time skip and a recast, I know. Still, it does happen. The Harry Potter films are a good example. Numerous long-running sitcoms throughout the years, and various soap operas. It seems to be working out that way with Naruto, as well.

Going back to your Superman example, I think there is a difference if we are flashing back from an established adult character. Hence my "DBZ fan who sees DB as a prequel" theory. Yea, if I'm watching Superman: The Animated Series, it would be weird if Tim Daly was doing the teen Clark scenes. They used a guy, Jason Marsden, who was an adult but some twenty or so years younger than Tim. But we know Clark as Superman. The teen years are either a brief introduction, or a side story/flashback. When you follow a series that starts out in the youthful years, spends a lot of time in that era, and progresses the characters... well, then it is more common to see actors retain their roles and mature the characters along with the story.

Yeah, I just signed up here after lurking for a long time.

I remember back when I was really little and saw an old live action version of Peter Pan and the one thing I found really awkward was that Peter Pan was played by a woman but evidently the producers weren't bothered by it. I think live action has caused us to be more accepting of extreme changes in characters as they age. Bruce Willis didn't play his younger self in Disney's "The Kid." On the other hand, Nozawa is both adult Goku and kid Gohan. Animation obviously gives lots more leeway but we've been conditioned to accept that in live action fiction it's ok if the parent and child look nothing alike and can't possibly be related in real life just as much as we've been conditioned to accept that the shift from child to adult can be far more dramatic than it tends to be in real life. And since animation is sort of the "other" from traditional live action, it adopted a lot of the same principles.

I don't think it's quite the same thing as casting a prepubescent boy in a role and allowing the character to grow up along with the actor. Recasting Corey Matthews in Boy Meets World just because Ben Savage's voice cracked would have been stupid. You just write the show in a way that lets it evolve, allowing him to continue to age. It's different with Goku because a young boy wasn't playing him. Nozawa never went through puberty (during the course of the show, that is). If a 10 or 11 year old boy were playing Goku from the start and just happened to age along with the character, people wouldn't have anything to say about that.

I also think the fact that Goku's voice is pretty unique to begin with is what gives people pause. How often do you see complaints about Krillin being voiced by a girl? It's a much more "normal" sounding voice than Nozawa's Goku.

[jjgp1112]

Some of the examples you guys are using aren't good. For the Simpsons and other shows like that, it seemed like more for the sake of a gag. They knew they would never have adult Bart be a regular character so they just had his current voice actor play him. And live action shows are worse examples because they all cast actual kids to play kids. The Boy Meets World cast, for example, started with them all in 6th grade and everyone aged as the cast aged.

EDIT: Should've read over the thread. Tony The Tiger basically said what I was gonna say and even used Boy Meets World as an example

[SHINOBI-03]

Guys? Why are you talking about voice actress' and ages when this thread is about Dragon Ball Movie 1 DVD release announcement?!

[OutlawTorn]

It flows a lot more naturally than his (or Gohan's) kid/post-puberty vocal shifts, as neither Schemmel nor Hebert sound ANYTHING like Nadolny in the slightest.

That would be a perfectly valid point except Nadolny didn't do any voice work as Goku (her voicing of Gohan doesn't count when it comes to Goku's voice) until after Sean Schemmel had been voicing adult Goku.

People's voices usually sound the same after puberty, just deeper.

Listen to Jim Ross' WCW commentary and then his most recent WWE commentary. There is a distinct difference and that's just with calling the action. The characters in Dragon Ball/Z/GT are usually screaming like crazy so it's only natural that their voices would deepen significantly over time.

The fact that male voices have a habit of deepening from childhood into adulthood is one of the reasons women are chosen to voice young boys in animation, particularly long-running animation where the characters don't tend to age.

[jjgp1112]

It flows a lot more naturally than his (or Gohan's) kid/post-puberty vocal shifts, as neither Schemmel nor Hebert sound ANYTHING like Nadolny in the slightest.

That would be a perfectly valid point except Nadolny didn't do any voice work as Goku (her voicing of Gohan doesn't count when it comes to Goku's voice) until after Sean Schemmel had been voicing adult Goku.

People's voices usually sound the same after puberty, just deeper.

Listen to Jim Ross' WCW commentary and then his most recent WWE commentary. There is a distinct difference and that's just with calling the action. The characters in Dragon Ball/Z/GT are usually screaming like crazy so it's only natural that their voices would deepen significantly over time.

The fact that male voices have a habit of deepening from childhood into adulthood is one of the reasons women are chosen to voice young boys in animation, particularly long-running animation where the characters don't tend to age.

It's actually very surprising, as Jim Ross was already in his 40s when he was in WCW, yet his voice was almost a whole pitch higher than his voice from when he was in WWF/E.