Actual Celebrities doing dubbing on Dragon Ball (Star Talents)

[Cure Dragon 255]

I want to make this thread because Its a very interesting topic and I always wanted to discuss it. This will be the only "Second thread", I will be doing just one thread per month, because my memory is lazy and I always wanted to discuss it.

I think this is a topic where Latin America feels quite differently from the rest of the world. In Latin America, they are utterly loathed because dubbing is a respected practice and most actors who dont have dubbing training sound weak and awful, they stand out like a sore thumb.

But in USA the reverse applies, most voice actors who do dubbing fall short in comparison of actual celebrities, who ironically have much better acting.


Miyazaki famously uses celebrities for the voice acting in his movies even in dubs. And they all sound terrific, Robert Pattinson sounds amazing as the Heron on The Boy And The Heron.

[MasenkoHA]

Weirdly, while dubbing in the US seems to have much better luck with celebrity voice actors, regular non-dubbing voice acting has a much bigger problem with hiring celebrities who clearly have no business voice acting. Ever since Shrek major animation studios like Illumination, Disney, Blue Sky, and Dreamworks have been overtly dependent on hiring celebrities to do voice work who couldn't voice act if their lives depended on it. It's bad enough that, anecdotally, most people were pleasantly surprised how good Robert Pattison was as the Heron, since celebrity voice acting is usually associated with "Not even trying, I'm just here because my name sells tickets"

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I don't have a problem with it as long as they are cast well and not just cast for the sake of getting people to watch.

In English Dragon Ball, I think the biggest names we've had have been Peter Mayhew in Funimation's dub of A Heroes Legacy or Charles Martinet in Dragon Ball Super : Super Hero.

[MasenkoHA]

I don't have a problem with it as long as they are cast well and not just cast for the sake of getting people to watch.

In English Dragon Ball, I think the biggest names we've had have been Peter Mayhew in Funimation's dub of A Heroes Legacy or Charles Martinet in Dragon Ball Super : Super Hero.

James Marsters was probably the actual biggest name actor for Funimation's dub. Most people wouldn't know who Mayhew or Martinet were if you didn't clarify "Guy who voiced Chewbacca" and "voice of Mario and Luigi in the video games"

[Adamant]

Weirdly, while dubbing in the US seems to have much better luck with celebrity voice actors, regular non-dubbing voice acting has a much bigger problem with hiring celebrities who clearly have no business voice acting.

To be fair, American anime dubs tend to exclusively hire non-celebrities that clearly have no business voice acting.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

James Marsters was probably the actual biggest name actor for Funimation's dub. Most people wouldn't know who Mayhew or Martinet were if you didn't clarify "Guy who voiced Chewbacca" and "voice of Mario and Luigi in the video games"

By the same token if Dragonball Evolution hadn't been a thing I wouldn't know who James Marsters was unless someone clarified "Guy who plays Spike".

[MasenkoHA]

James Marsters was probably the actual biggest name actor for Funimation's dub. Most people wouldn't know who Mayhew or Martinet were if you didn't clarify "Guy who voiced Chewbacca" and "voice of Mario and Luigi in the video games"

By the same token if Dragonball Evolution hadn't been a thing I wouldn't know who James Marsters was unless someone clarified "Guy who plays Spike".

Sure, he's by no means an A-list celebrity, he's a B-lister at best (probably more of a C-lister) but by virtue of being an on screen actor whose gotten steady work since the 90s (including one of the biggest shows of the late 90s/turn of the millennium) he is the biggest name actor that Funimation has ever gotten. Definitely not a household name like Denzel Washington or Chris Evans or Scarlet Johansson or Will Smith but absolutely someone far more likely to be recognized by name than pretty much anyone else that has recorded for Funimation. He is definitely not what I would consider a "celebrity voice actor" like Chris Pratt or Miley Cyrus though

[coola]

If i remember correctly, one of very minor characters in one of recent movies was voiced by famous Japanese sportswoman and result was...not best, to put it lightly.

[Hellspawn28]

If they want another celebrity for a character, I would want Tony Todd as Moro. His voice would be perfect for the character.

[MasenkoHA]

If they want another celebrity for a character, I would want Tony Todd as Moro. His voice would be perfect for the character.

Even without knowing much about Moro, other than the fact that he's like Dragon Ball's fourth go round at a Satan archetype villain, I'd be 100 percent behind this.

Hell get Tony Todd for any villain in Daima that needs a deep baritone.

[Cure Dragon 255]

Today I learned that Bryan Cranston acted on several anime dubs. I knew about Gatchaman Fighter but not the Little Women anime.

[Hellspawn28]

Maybe Matthew Lillard could voice a DB character. He seems to know what DB is and did a Kamehameha with Shaggy's voice at a con before.

[Tian]

They may not be top celebrities but man, I think it would be awesome if they managed to invite Dan Southworth and Reuben Langdon to voice characters in DB someday.

[MasenkoHA]

Today I learned that Bryan Cranston acted on several anime dubs. I knew about Gatchaman Fighter but not the Little Women anime.

Not surprising he apparently voiced a monster or two in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and most of the voice actors Saban did a lot of dubbing for projects in California like Barbara Goodson and Wendee Lee

[Hellspawn28]

They may not be top celebrities but man, I think it would be awesome if they managed to invite Dan Southworth and Reuben Langdon to voice characters in DB someday.

Reuben Langdon's career is over because he is a total nutjob by posting fake news about Vaccines and believes that the MeToo moment is created by both women and men to get easy money by ruining someone's career (He thinks people like Vic Mignogna and
Harvey Weinstein are innocent people that got their career ruin by leftist ). He is also openly racist by saying the Black Lives Matter movement is obnoxious and too violent. Not to mention, he defends 1/6. Reuben even said that he will probably never voice Dante and Ken ever again from Capcom. So I doubt CR will hire him to voice someone in Dragon Ball.

[Tian]

Reuben Langdon's career is over because he is a total nutjob by posting fake news about Vaccines and believes that the MeToo moment is created by both women and men to get easy money by ruining someone's career (He thinks people like Vic Mignogna and
Harvey Weinstein are innocent people that got their career ruin by leftist ). He is also openly racist by saying the Black Lives Matter movement is obnoxious and too violent. Not to mention, he defends 1/6. Reuben even said that he will probably never voice Dante and Ken ever again from Capcom. So I doubt CR will hire him to voice someone in Dragon Ball.

Oh, I guess I should rule him out. Man, I really had no idea the guy was that controversial. The latest thing I've heard about him was when he was shot in Guatemala. So all of that, are news to me.

[Jord]

I really don't understand how people easily torpedo their careers using social media. No matter what you believe, you should be able to know that those statements are at the very least controversial. Not to mention, using politics is a good way to alienate half of your potential audience in the US.

One of the reasons I'm glad DB stays away from it.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I really don't understand how people easily torpedo their careers using social media. No matter what you believe, you should be able to know that those statements are at the very least controversial. Not to mention, using politics is a good way to alienate half of your potential audience in the US.

One of the reasons I'm glad DB stays away from it.

Some people are naturally confident and can express controversial ideas in a manner that people can fall for. This is how conspiracy theorists flourish. As you say its a lot easier for them nowadays with the likes of TikTok and young kids with their smartphones and iPads being easier to reach than ever and more responsibility for the parents.

I don't think Dragon Ball is the kind of story that needs politics, but I'm glad that it deals with some issues better nowadays (implied gay characters like Whis aren't treated as General Blue was in the 80s for example) although I hope we won't see anything like how Roshi behaved around Yurin at Tenshinhan's dojo again.

[Saiya6Cit]

I can provide the Latin american perspective, here it goes my two cents:

1)Dragon Ball mexican dub made in the 90s and also the hollywood movies from back then had superb voice acting performances, basically because they had to have a career in acting or at least radio to get there because there were very few people who could afford to buy the technology necessary for dubbing a show. Also it was harder to get people who would be able to translate stuff, it was a non-globalized non-internet era. But ever since the 2000s the quality had decreased cosiderably.

Before they used to get all together and record the dialogues, now they send the script to the persons email, they record it in their own time and send the files. They never watch the series, they don't know what it is about and in many cases I believe the job requirement is to know English, they send it in English and the actors have to translate it as they go, therefore you get to hear mistakes when it comes to gender, instead of "her" they say "his" in Spanish (it is only an example) "Max estaba equivocado" but in the show Max is female. They should have said "Max estaba equivocada" No one is working on a script. There is no production work, It is poorly done. The actors demonstrate no emotions...

2)Some people critize the job and decisions of Eduardo Garza (Krillin's voice) others blame Mario castañeda (gokus voice) or even Pepe toño macias (James from team rocket and deadpool among many others) but when I was young and into comic conventions I got to meet several voice actors. They told me the industry simply changed.

[DB1984]

Reuben Langdon's career is over because he is a total nutjob by posting fake news about Vaccines and believes that the MeToo moment is created by both women and men to get easy money by ruining someone's career (He thinks people like Vic Mignogna and
Harvey Weinstein are innocent people that got their career ruin by leftist ). He is also openly racist by saying the Black Lives Matter movement is obnoxious and too violent. Not to mention, he defends 1/6. Reuben even said that he will probably never voice Dante and Ken ever again from Capcom. So I doubt CR will hire him to voice someone in Dragon Ball.

Duly noted.

So according to you, Bill Gates is a kind, good-hearted person who cares about you very much, and the fact that he never finished College, has no medical degree, but yet is allowed to give medical advice, isn't that big of a deal. And forcing people to get the COVID Vaccine should never have been mandated. It should have been a choice, and only a choice.

And Mia Farrow, one of the people who helped launch the #MeToo Movement, should one of the very last people to claim to have a moral compass. Considering her brother went to jail for molesting two defenseless little boys. She and her journalist son have hardly brought this up, acting like it's not that big of a deal. Those two helped cause nothing but misery by making "Innocent Until Proven Guilty" go the way of the Dinosaurs, in favor of "Believe All Women".

Sorry for getting a little triggered here and letting off some steam here. I try not to get involved with controversial subjects here but, I couldn't hold back my opinion on this. And those statements about Bill Gates and College and Medical Degrees aren't conspiracy theories; they're real facts.

End of rant.