Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" Dub Turns 14; Still Unreleased

[8000 Saiyan]

TBH, I can't really see anyone else being as good as Sadiq is as Chichi. She's just perfect. Sweet and motherly, but stern and demanding... But never unreasonable, she always sounded legitimately like a concerned mother who's worried for the life of her son... Just, perfect casting IMO.
So, I really hope Sadiq is back.

I've always been more partial to Lisa Ann Beley's take.

[Robo4900]

I've always been more partial to Lisa Ann Beley's take.

Fair enough. She was good, but I always preferred the much warmer take Sadiq gave. Plus, the voice she uses for Chichi is just really nice to listen to.

I think if Scott McNeil and Brian Drummond of all people are so open to talk about it then it should be fine. They've been in the industry long enough to know how things work, so based on how they are about it I'd say either no NDA was signed or it's expired by now.

No, there were almost certainly NDAs. Drummond, McNeil, and co. make no secret of the fact Ocean are constantly having the actors sign NDAs about everything. Apparently Ocean are very secretive. Drummond is always very careful talking about Kai, and I think he only started talking about it after his agent said he's allowed to talk about it. McNeil just doesn't really care about NDAs.

[8000 Saiyan]

Fair enough. She was good, but I always preferred the much warmer take Sadiq gave. Plus, the voice she uses for Chichi is just really nice to listen to.

So is Beley's voice for the character.

[Robo4900]

Fair enough. She was good, but I always preferred the much warmer take Sadiq gave. Plus, the voice she uses for Chichi is just really nice to listen to.

So is Beley's voice for the character.

Haha, fair enough...

I mean, to be fair, much as I think Sadiq is the best English Chichi, Beley would be a good choice too. However, if Sadiq wasn't chosen for the role, and her Blue Water counterpart wasn't cast either, I'm not sure Beley would be necessarily reached out to specifically; Sadiq was in every single episode of Z that Chichi was in which Ocean dubbed, and she was in both the Saban and Pioneer versions of Tree Of Might, while Beley was only in the two Pioneer movie dubs Sadiq wasn't in. I think if they didn't cast Sadiq or whoever voiced Chichi in the Blue Water dubs, they would have sought out a new casting.

[8000 Saiyan]

Fair enough. She was good, but I always preferred the much warmer take Sadiq gave. Plus, the voice she uses for Chichi is just really nice to listen to.

So is Beley's voice for the character.

Haha, fair enough...

I mean, to be fair, much as I think Sadiq is the best English Chichi, Beley would be a good choice too. However, if Sadiq wasn't chosen for the role, and her Blue Water counterpart wasn't cast either, I'm not sure Beley would be necessarily reached out to specifically; Sadiq was in every single episode of Z that Chichi was in which Ocean dubbed, and she was in both the Saban and Pioneer versions of Tree Of Might, while Beley was only in the two Pioneer movie dubs Sadiq wasn't in. I think if they didn't cast Sadiq or whoever voiced Chichi in the Blue Water dubs, they would have sought out a new casting.

Well, of course not, but considering Beley is still working in the business, she might have been cast.

Also, Ocean might wanna recast Goten if they get to dubbing The Final Chapters. Jillian Michaels seems to have moved to Los Angeles or something, so they had to recast her role in LEGO Ninjago with Samuel Vincent. Pity, I found her voice more suiting than Kara Edwards' who was just annoying with her rasp at least in Z.

[Robo4900]

Well, of course not, but considering Beley is still working in the business, she might have been cast.

Also, Ocean might wanna recast Goten if they get to dubbing The Final Chapters. Jillian Michaels seems to have moved to Los Angeles or something, so they had to recast her role in LEGO Ninjago with Samuel Vincent. Pity, I found her voice more suiting than Kara Edwards' who was just annoying with her rasp at least in Z.

Fair.

Shame about Michaels, though; I always loved her as Goten. Thought she was a perfect casting tbh, despite her not quite being right for Gohan.

[8000 Saiyan]

Well, of course not, but considering Beley is still working in the business, she might have been cast.

Also, Ocean might wanna recast Goten if they get to dubbing The Final Chapters. Jillian Michaels seems to have moved to Los Angeles or something, so they had to recast her role in LEGO Ninjago with Samuel Vincent. Pity, I found her voice more suiting than Kara Edwards' who was just annoying with her rasp at least in Z.

Fair.

Shame about Michaels, though; I always loved her as Goten. Thought she was a perfect casting tbh, despite her not quite being right for Gohan.

Yeah, she just needed better direction.

It's an out of the box casting choice, but I'd like to see Jocelyne Loewen playing Goten. While she always does little girl voices, I'd like to see her attempt doing a little boy voice. Goten is supposed to sound like an innocent little kid, and I feel that his other English voices aren't satisfying.

I'm not sure if Cole Howard will make a good Android 17. I'd rather wish they had brought Ted Cole back.

[Robo4900]

Yeah, she just needed better direction.

I don't even think that was a problem. I just thought she was really great as Goten overall. I think to make her Gohan work, she'd have needed to try a different take on the character from what she was doing in the 20 episodes of Z she filled in the role for.

It's an out of the box casting choice, but I'd like to see Jocelyne Loewen playing Goten. While she always does little girl voices, I'd like to see her attempt doing a little boy voice. Goten is supposed to sound like an innocent little kid, and I feel that his other English voices aren't satisfying.

Well, this is exactly why I think Jillian Michaels' Goten was so great; she made him sound like a hyperactive, innocent ball of energy. Exactly what a kid like Goten would be like at that age, and IMO very fitting to the character, and I thought she ended up bouncing off Brad Swaile's Gohan really well.

I'm not sure if Cole Howard will make a good Android 17. I'd rather wish they had brought Ted Cole back.

Hmm... I wonder if Ted Cole wasn't able to come back for this dub..?
That would be a shame, because I always loved his Yamcha...

Still, if he was auditioned, but they decided to go another way with #17, given what we know about this dub so far, I think I trust the producers and director to have made the right call on this. I look forward to seeing how Cole Howard turns out as #17.

[8000 Saiyan]

Hmm... I wonder if Ted Cole wasn't able to come back for this dub..?
That would be a shame, because I always loved his Yamcha...

Still, if he was auditioned, but they decided to go another way with #17, given what we know about this dub so far, I think I trust the producers and director to have made the right call on this. I look forward to seeing how Cole Howard turns out as #17.

From what I've heard of Cole Howard, he has a rather youthful voice and I'm not sure if that'll fit 17 that well.

[Robo4900]

Hmm... I wonder if Ted Cole wasn't able to come back for this dub..?
That would be a shame, because I always loved his Yamcha...

Still, if he was auditioned, but they decided to go another way with #17, given what we know about this dub so far, I think I trust the producers and director to have made the right call on this. I look forward to seeing how Cole Howard turns out as #17.

From what I've heard of Cole Howard, he has a rather youthful voice and I'm not sure if that'll fit 17 that well.

I disagree; #17 and #18 are essentially kids(In terms of their attitudes and personalities when they're first activated) who've just had their leesh taken off, and wish to indulge themselves in whatever the hell they want. That ends up meaning fulfilling their programmed goal of killing Son Goku, and then just destroying stuff. They don't particularly care either way, they just want to have fun. So, a youthful take on that sounds about right; #17 in particular was something of a naive individual, #18 was definitely the more mature of the two, though that's not saying all that much... Really, #18's real maturity came from the events of the arc, and the time between Cell and Boo. #17 meanwhile, the last we see of him is pretty much when he's eaten by Cell, so he doesn't really mature like #18 does.

Of course, there's no reason Cole Howard can't be playing this one outside his normal wheelhouse, if the more youthful take isn't something that'll work.

[SX10]

I have to agree with Robo on this one. Younger actors for these characters is a great move and aren't #17 & #18 in their late teens? They must have used the same approach when casting #18.

Ted Cole is awesome, he has a great voice, so long as he is at least Yamcha I'll be alright.

[8000 Saiyan]

It'd be funny if Saffron Henderson voiced Android 18 in this dub along with Kid Gohan, it'd be just like Colleen Clinkenbeard voicing both in the Funimation Kai dub.

good question for McNeil. I loved his work in the Saban/ Pioneer days, but felt his work as Piccolo during the cell arc lacked that nuance, to me it was similar to his Wolverine. It sounds more distinctive in the footage we have of him from cons, would love to ask him if I could meet him. Imagine he would have the best info to give on this dub.

It was similar to his Wolverine. And to be honest, that might have to do more with voice direction than Scott. Honestly, I don't think he sounded evil, more like a badass. It's funny that people love his Wolverine, but they are critical of his Piccolo for sounding too evil. What exactly makes Wolverine different from Piccolo? Both are good guys, so...

Ted Cole is awesome, he has a great voice, so long as he is at least Yamcha I'll be alright.

Yeah, I also would love for Ted to reprise Yamcha. Sabat's rendition is just... ugh, plays the loser aspect of the character way too much.

[8000 Saiyan]

It'd be funny if Saffron Henderson voiced Android 18 in this dub along with Kid Gohan, it'd be just like Colleen Clinkenbeard voicing both in the Funimation Kai dub.

good question for McNeil. I loved his work in the Saban/ Pioneer days, but felt his work as Piccolo during the cell arc lacked that nuance, to me it was similar to his Wolverine. It sounds more distinctive in the footage we have of him from cons, would love to ask him if I could meet him. Imagine he would have the best info to give on this dub.

It was similar to his Wolverine. And to be honest, that might have to do more with voice direction than Scott. Honestly, I don't think he sounded evil, more like a badass. It's funny that people love his Wolverine, but they are critical of his Piccolo for sounding too evil. What exactly makes Wolverine different from Piccolo? Both are good guys, so...

Ted Cole is awesome, he has a great voice, so long as he is at least Yamcha I'll be alright.

Yeah, I also would love for Ted to reprise Yamcha. Sabat's rendition is just... ugh, plays the loser aspect of the character way too much.

[TheGreatness25]

Psh, He can sound like Wolverine all he wants, I loved NcNeil's Piccolo.

But, he didn't get to play Wolverine properly.

https://youtu.be/vd_krcLRUx0?t=46s

[songohan619]

...wait is this dub finally being released now?

[Arian]

...wait is this dub finally being released now?

People are working on it, it seems likely enough that it's worth talking about.

[Robo4900]

...wait is this dub finally being released now?

The head of programming for Wow TV is currently negotiating to get it airing on Canadian TV. There is no reason for this to not go ahead.

It'd be funny if Saffron Henderson voiced Android 18 in this dub along with Kid Gohan, it'd be just like Colleen Clinkenbeard voicing both in the Funimation Kai dub.

That'd be funny, but I'm not sure Henderson would be the best one for the job.

good question for McNeil. I loved his work in the Saban/ Pioneer days, but felt his work as Piccolo during the cell arc lacked that nuance, to me it was similar to his Wolverine. It sounds more distinctive in the footage we have of him from cons, would love to ask him if I could meet him. Imagine he would have the best info to give on this dub.

It was similar to his Wolverine. And to be honest, that might have to do more with voice direction than Scott. Honestly, I don't think he sounded evil, more like a badass. It's funny that people love his Wolverine, but they are critical of his Piccolo for sounding too evil. What exactly makes Wolverine different from Piccolo? Both are good guys, so...

I've always found this really funny, because essentially the voice of Piccolo has something of an evolution over the Saban days, and reaches its kind of final form in the Pioneer dub, and that's basically the voice he uses in Westwood. I see a lot of people kind of criticise his Westwood voice for sounding off, but that's pretty much exactly how he sounded in the Westwood dub... I think a lot of the issues people have with Westwood Piccolo are down to the direction, the music, and the generally negative attitude towards the Westwood dub that kind of gets pushed on everyone online.

Honestly, I always much preferred the Pioneer/Westwood more evolved Piccolo voice; had a lot more texture to it, and he sounded a lot more expressive. But really, I think my ultimate thing about McNeil as Piccolo is that he's such a great actor, and he was such a perfect casting as Piccolo, I think whatever he's doing this time around for the role will be excellent.

Ted Cole is awesome, he has a great voice, so long as he is at least Yamcha I'll be alright.

Yeah, I also would love for Ted to reprise Yamcha. Sabat's rendition is just... ugh, plays the loser aspect of the character way too much.

Ted Cole was a great cast as Yamucha, and I do hope he's back.

Psh, He can sound like Wolverine all he wants, I loved NcNeil's Piccolo.

But, he didn't get to play Wolverine properly.

https://youtu.be/vd_krcLRUx0?t=46s

I love that joke so much. He brings it up at a lot of panels he does on YouTube, and I die laughing at it every goddamn time.

Anyone who hasn't seen a Scott McNeil panel on YouTube before; do yourself a favour and look it up now, he's utterly hilarious.

[8000 Saiyan]

I think Saffron could pull 18 off if she did something like this.
https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/tv ... umi-Akiba/

[SX10]

Speculative & loooong post here! Maybe it has been said before in not so many words, BUT I have seen some confusion over this:

MAYBE I can shed some light on exactly why Ocean have been so secretive all these years about the dub & why Kirby Morrow was so heavily reprimanded for openly talking about it despite not signing an NDA (though I am aware TheBlackPaladin has made some enlightening NDA posts). If this is a "no duh!" post please don't bash me, I'm only trying to get the story straight in my head

This was never really about making the dub a big surprise, nor have Ocean taken unnecessary measures to keep it under wraps, as some have said previously.

My work place offers us a chance to brush up on aspects of the business through online courses every now and then. Personally, I don't really know anything about stocks and such, yet today we covered "Insider Trading" and I attempted to note and study it. I imagine North American laws regarding this are similar to Europe's.

Kai is just a product. Knowledge of this dub's existence/ production could possibly count as "material" non-public information. Material information being any info which could have an impact on the market (in this case I am guessing animation/ anime; dubbing work etc. etc.) regarding the purchasing, selling or holding of stock/ assets.

So I assume, the word getting out about it could catch unwanted attention, could create a chance for someone to gain or avoid losses off of insider knowledge etc. and it's all very illegal. The company (companies?) in question would face a heafty fine for this stuff at the very least as is it classed as criminal activity.

Making bank illegally with this information effects the company outsourcing to Ocean directly, although Ocean would have equal responsibility in safeguarding non-public information. Its not secrecy for the sake of it, it is effectively there to make the market place fair, I suppose.

It may not have been released yet, but there are still regulations, protocol & reputations at stake. So no wonder they guarded it so closely. Leaks could lead to serious trouble & worst case scenario, put them out of business.

Kirby Morrow may not have signed an NDA, but I assume being affiliated with Ocean (especially having auditioned for the show) would have been enough for him to receive a fine & possibly cost him some work.

Non-public info can be disclosed 48 hours or so after an official publication about the project is made. Public filings technically count as publication & it brings to mind the late CRTC listing for Ocean Kai (perhaps there is a more obvious example?).

That could explain why they have been a bit more relaxed recently; allowing certain actors to admit they were in the show. Other cast members may have sterner NDAs, like Richard Ian Cox (he is playing the lead after all).

In short, a release was always on the cards. They never wrote it off; it wasn't a mistake; it wasn't made at the behest of some selfish wealthy individual; Toei weren't not interested in it because of the Funimation dub. No one was "against" it.

Ocean's dub was commissioned & made after all. It is as simple as appeasing regulators & finding a place to air it. They just needed the right circumstances to get it out & didn't anticipate the go-to channels would be as apprehensive as they currently are.

Something must have changed regarding rights and licensing in the Ocean dub's absence and Funimation must have secured the broadcasting rights for the UK. Even if they don't have those rights for "Z", "Kai" is a new product.

Clearly, as Kirbopher stated, Ocean nearly missed the boat, 'cause I think broadcasting Ocean Kai would be less attractive if too much time were to pass.

So WOW's appearance and interest is kind of perfect & it should go through.

Ultimately, that's the best I could do to make sense of this whole thing. As for WHY they created the Ocean Dub? That's another story.

Hope this clears it up & is somewhere near the truth. Like I say, if it was obvious all along, please don't bash me for this, I spent hours on it!

[linkdude20002001]

Psh, He can sound like Wolverine all he wants, I loved NcNeil's Piccolo.

Exactly. Plus Piccolo is a reincarnation of the Demon King. No need for his voice to suddenly change after meeting Gohan.