New Freeza Talkback

[TheBlackPaladin]

Seeing as Freeza is arguably the most significant recasting choice in the Dragon Ball Kai dub (and perhaps the most significant recast of *any* role within all of the English dubs of anything Dragonball-related), I thought it might be good to organize all of the feedback on the dub specifically regarding Freeza into one thread, rather than strictly relegating it to the "Dragon Ball Kai dub" feedback thread. A few reminders I think might be good to mention:

-The 19th episode of the dub of Dragon Ball Z Kai is set to air tomorrow, and will mark the debut of the "mystery voice actor." So...tomorrow, Thursday June 17th. I think that's 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
-Keep in mind, THIS IS THE EDITED VERSION. I'm not too familiar with the Japanese version of this episode, but if people start complaining that the dialogue has been toned down, keep in mind that could very well be a Nicktoons decision and not a FUNimation one. Heck, I thought I'd be waiting until the second box set to watch any more English Dragon Ball Kai, but Freeza's recasting is too significant a decision to wait until September for.
-One other thing I thought of just now. I'm sure somebody will, but would somebody mind uploading a YouTube clip of the new Freeza for other people who either don't get Nicktoons or don't get Kai in their country (yet)?
-Okay, just one last thing that came to me now, but that's it, I promise...okay, no I don't, but...anyway. It has come to my attention--thanks be to this forum--that apparently Freeza only has one line in this episode. That...sucks, to be quite frank, especially since it means we'll have to wait longer to hear full dialogue. I would only caution people to take that into account and hear full dialogue before making a concrete decision. I'm not saying anybody here at Daizex is guilty of this, but I see a lot of people who "hate" English dubs despite often watching less than one episode. So initial reactions are fine...but don't toss this new voice to the side based on one line.

Well folks...here we go. I love most of the English dub voices, but I'm not overwhelmingly fond of Freeza's voice...with all due respect to Linda Young, who I've heard is actually a very nice lady in real life. I'm trying very hard to keep my expectations low and not think that this will be "an English Ryusei Nakao," so that way I won't be disappointed...but this is pretty damn exciting.

PS: To the moderators...if you feel I have made a superfluous or unnecessary thread, obviously you don't need my blessing to delete it, but you have it anyway. Feel free to if you think it's unnecessary.

UPDATE (6/17/2010): Well, folks...it happened. Freeza has a new voice. It was actually leaked early to us on the third page of this thread via a YouTube clip. Chris Ayres is the new Freeza. This doesn't come as a huge surprise, as a lot of us at Daizenshuu EX guessed it might be him by way of some hint-dropping and logical deductions. As for me personally...I gotta be honest, I'm a tad disappointed. There are a few people who really like the new voice, and there is also a general feeling going around that it is a slight improvement over Linda Young's...but based on the one line we heard, it doesn't look like too many people are sold on it. I know I wasn't sold on it. This was hyped up to be "an English Ryusei Nakao." After I heard it, I was not disgusted, but I did have an overwhelming feeling of, "...That's it?" Especially because it almost sounds like they asked Ayres to imitate Young or perhaps Young's predecessor, Pauline Newstone (some people even noted that if that's what they were going for, there was no point in getting rid of Young at all). With all due respect, that's not an English Ryusei Nakao. This disappointment is similar to when your friends tell you that there's this movie coming out that's supposed to be the scariest movie of all time, and then you see it and it's like, "...Really?" Having said all that, I think it's important for people to keep in mind that we only heard one line. ONE line. There's still a chance that Ayres can flesh the character out a bit more and make it his own once he has full dialogue to work with. Some people have even theorized that Ayres might change his voice with each of Freeza's transformations. Like I noted in my own reaction post though, the fact that I even have to remind people of that at all is not a good sign.

FURTHER UPDATE (SAME DAY): ...Okay. Tell ya what. I'm beginning to think more and more that the reason I was put off was because I was expecting a replica of Nakao's voice. Thinking back on it, FUNimation never claimed it would be, other posters at Daizenshuu EX did. All FUNimation promised was that it would be "creepy." Upon listening to it several more times, it's growing on me *a little bit*. I don't mean to sound like my opinion is the definitive one, but I didn't want to close this post on a thought that's still being formed. Bottom line: we really will have to wait until next episode--or possibly even longer--and hear Ayres speak full dialogue for a better opinion.

ONE LAST UPDATE (6/22/10): As Mike pointed out in this thread, we here at Daizenshuu EX were made fun of a little bit from our reaction to one line. After hearing Monday night's episode, it's apparent that that was totally justified. No one can judge anything based on one line, and that was proven to be the case with the new Freeza. The reaction seems to have done a 180, and most are loving the new Freeza voice. There are, of course, some exceptions, as well as those who say they like the new voice but still like Nakao better. As for me, I'm really liking the new voice now. The voice is still a little similar in my mind to Pauline Newstone, but different enough to be discernible (and appreciated accordingly). Like I said though, there's two components to voice acting: the voice and the acting. Now that episode 20 has aired, we can get a better glimpse of the acting. My verdict: HOLY CRAP, what an improvement! Ayres' voice isn't quite as Nakao-esque as I would have liked but his delivery of the lines is virtually IDENTICAL to Ryusei Nakao's delivery. As I understand anime voice acting, the English voice actors are first played a preview of their Japanese counterpart's reading of a line so that they can get a feel for the emotional context...it's very apparent that Ayres was paying close attention to these previews. That smarmy, upper-class, repressed psycho feel is totally there. Also, a minor note, he sounds almost exactly like Nakao when he does his "Hmm hmm hmm" chuckle. A minor note, sure, but then again we're talking about a show where actors are judged partially on how intense their screams are, so I don't think that's totally out of line. Either way, I and many of the fans look forward to the rest of what Ayres will do with Freeza!

ONE LAST UPDATE, AND THIS TIME I MEAN IT (4/30/11): As of this writing, every episode of Kai with Freeza in it has aired, and so it only makes sense to add one last note to my original post that encapsulates how people generally feel about Chris Ayers' performance. The final verdict: INCREDIBLE. The praise for his performance is damn-near universal now. There will always be some holdouts, sure, but they are few and far between here. Many people have actually said that they think his performance as Freeza is the best English dub performance ever in the history of anything Dragonball-related, and one Anime News Network review even declared it to be one of the best English dub performances of the last decade...I must say, I'm inclined to agree. Combined with the usually exceptional writing of J. Michael Tatum, Ayres has truly given the English-speaking world the first true taste of the character as he was always meant to be!

[MR.Mark]

Damn you, when I saw this thread, I thought that maybe a sample of his voice got leaked early!

[Metalwario64]

Damn you, when I saw this thread, I thought that maybe a sample of his voice got leaked early!

Me too dangit! I'm on edge! Cannot. Wait. For. Tomorrow!

[ZeroMoon]

Can't wait!

[Blue]

Oh cool, I won't be in class when that episode airs. Now all I have to do is secure the TV and I'll be set.

So do you guys think it will be another feminine sounding voice? I'm guessing it's going to sound more like a nasal male one myself.
I just have hunch they won't be going for a "manly man" Freeza.

[MR.Mark]

Well, if they truly found a English equivalent to Ryusei Nakao, my guess is he'll sound feminine while still sounding male. Basically androgynous, but not to the point of making people think he's a girl.

[Ishtar318]

Judging from how Sean Schemmel described the voice, Freeza won't even sound human. Having a voice that sounds neither completely male nor female would work perfectly. Freeza's supposed to sound terrifying and creepy..

[.:PoetikaL:.]

Would someone post it on the YouTubes tomorrow when it airs. I'm gonna be at work, and I don't want to wait til 11 for the repeat to hear him.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Judging from how Sean Schemmel described the voice, Freeza won't even sound human. Having a voice that sounds neither completely male nor female would work perfectly. Freeza's supposed to sound terrifying and creepy..

Well, to a point. I actually think Mike described it best in his review of the second Dragon Box. He has this upper-class mode of speech about him and actually speaks like a trained, noble gentleman. His gentlemanly attitude is often completely undercut by the atrocities he's committing, though. Despite this, he's pretty good at hiding that he's a psycho...until his plans for immortality start going down the drain. THEN, not only is he a psycho, but it becomes plainly obvious that he is one. One could argue that we get "hints" of this psychotic rage before that, but it definitely starts coming out full force--I think--when Nail reveals that he's been distracting Freeza and that somebody else is about to use the dragon balls.

Although, now that I'm thinking about it, that's describing Nakao-san's acting more so than his voice...there are two components to voice acting after all: how appropriate the voice is for a character (the voice) and the range of emotions that the actor is able to convey effectively (the acting). Which are you guys more concerned about? For me, having a voice simmilar to Ryusei Nakao would be nice, but I'd much rather the acting be nailed and the voice be not-quite-on-par than the other way around.

[Goku100xKamehameha]

Is there a possibility that Linda Young voicing Freeza in TV version but new Dubber voicing Home Releases version?

[JulieYBM]

Is there a possibility that Linda Young voicing Freeza in TV version but new Dubber voicing Home Releases version?

No, not at all.

[Goku100xKamehameha]

Why?

[TheBlackPaladin]

Why?

Well, I guess we'll find out tomorrow, but I would be shocked if she did. After all, Chris Sabat said one of the biggest reasons they went with a new actor was because the scripts they were getting (which is to say the more faithfully-adapted English scripts) were so different than the scripts that Linda had previously been reading. The scripts were, in his words, "Way too fast for her to keep up with." So it would be rather over-the-top to create an entirely different script for Linda to read. Not to mention counter-productive, illogical, slightly more expensive, and confusing to potential DVD buyers.

So...I guess she could be voicing Freeza, yes, but I would put the chances at around 1-2%. And that's being generous.

[Goku100xKamehameha]

And what are you gonna do if she does the voice on TV version?

[MR.Mark]

And what are you gonna do if she does the voice on TV version?

I'm fairly certain that the "insiders" hinted that we'd hear the voice in the broadcast version.

[TheBlackPaladin]

And what are you gonna do if she does the voice on TV version?

Be disappointed for a while and wait for the next Blu-ray box set so I can hear the new one. Not a huge deal in the whole scheme of things. Even in the short scheme of things. I mean, later tomorrow night I'm going to the midnight premiere of Toy Story 3 anyway.

[SSJSteve]

And what are you gonna do if she does the voice on TV version?

I'm fairly certain that the "insiders" hinted that we'd hear the voice in the broadcast version.

Sean Schemmel and Chris Sabat also said that we'd hear a new voice for Freeza for the TV broadcast.

[Goku100xKamehameha]

tomorrow night I"m going to the midnight premiere of Toy Story 3 anyway.

It's tomorrow on your country? it's today on my country.

Be disappointed for a while and wait for the next Blu-ray box set so I can hear the new one.

I thought you gonna eat you shorts.

[MR.Mark]

having a voice simmilar to Ryusei Nakao would be nice, but I'd much rather the acting be nailed and the voice be not-quite-on-par than the other way around.

That's pretty much how I feel about Son Goku in English.

Judging from how Sean Schemmel described the voice, Freeza won't even sound human. Having a voice that sounds neither completely male nor female would work perfectly. Freeza's supposed to sound terrifying and creepy..

Valid point, which is why I brought up this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stJyfKn5cZk

[omegacwa]

Judging from how Sean Schemmel described the voice, Freeza won't even sound human. Having a voice that sounds neither completely male nor female would work perfectly. Freeza's supposed to sound terrifying and creepy..

Valid point, which is why I brought up this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stJyfKn5cZk

That sounds pretty similar to Tim Curry as the Devil in the movie Legend.