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

[GokuDaimao]

I find it hard to believe Turner would force Corus to buy billboards and promote a competitor's offering. Correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC Adult Swim Canada never ran ads for the Adult Swim App that was made exclusively for Canada by Turner.

You never know. Time Warner could have paid for the billboards themselves. Anything to have whatever their planning be promoted properly. It has to be something revolutionary if it's being paid attention to this much, which I don't see Corus putting that much effort into, because they're both lazy and they learned that it's not a fruitful endeavour for them to put everything on [adult swim] when the majority of Canadians in the key demographic watch Teletoon at Night.

As for Pokemon, I'm aware that it was a stunt broadcast to tie-in with Pokemon Day. However, given YTV actually promoted that, I suspect it may have been a trial run. Teletoon airing the series doesn't mean it can't show up on other Corus channels. YTV has second window runs for Bakugan, Ninjago and Transformers Cyberverse (well, had, in that specific case) with new episodes airing first on Teletoon.

That could very well be the case, but I just don't see them putting action shows back on YTV. If they did, where will they put their worthless pap that they so desperately want to air but no one wants to see?

Bringing the topic back to Kai and Wow! World, I'm not too worried. Especially after reading Dragon Ball Ireland's exchange with the people at Wow! Unlimited. For all we know, Bell could be putting a last minute gag order on the whole thing. Either that, or they want it to be a pure, unadulterated surprise when they launch. Either way, it's not the time to be concerned. Not just yet.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Bringing the topic back to Kai and Wow! World, I'm not too worried. Especially after reading Dragon Ball Ireland's exchange with the people at Wow! Unlimited. For all we know, Bell could be putting a last minute gag order on the whole thing. Either that, or they want it to be a pure, unadulterated surprise when they launch. Either way, it's not the time to be concerned. Not just yet.

The problem is without a built-in audience a gag/April Fool's prank isn't going to have any payback. We need to know what to expect, but so far we have nothing concrete about the channel to base our feelings one way or another on. Wow need to be building anticipation for the channel so anyone following the news about it can get excited, spread the word, etc. In the case of the Ocean dub of Kai, it would go a long way if Bell Media could put out a press release saying they had acquired Kai and its debut on Wow! World will feature "the return of the Canadian cast", so all the actors could finally talk about doing this dub and be able to promote it as one of their upcoming projects (I know this is technically an old dub now, but it will still be fresh to the audience) and all of us who were worried this dub could have been written as a tax loss can finally relax knowing with certainty that we will be seeing it. Even if they made a prank towards the end of the month that Wow will be airing the Funimation dub only for "never-before-seen Canadian version" or a brief TV spot to debut on other Bell channels on April 1st. This silence won't help anything.

[GokuDaimao]

Even if they made a prank towards the end of the month that Wow will be airing the Funimation dub only for "never-before-seen Canadian version" or a brief TV spot to debut on other Bell channels on April 1st. This silence won't help anything.

Oh, I agree with everything you said. I just tried to see it from their perspective.

[Godgoku95]

if Wow can't get kai, there may still b hope, Adult Swim Canada will be relaunching as a 24/7 channel on April 1, with newly acquired Adult Swim programming and content aired on the channel

[SX10]

if Wow can't get kai, there may still b hope, Adult Swim Canada will be relaunching as a 24/7 channel on April 1, with newly acquired Adult Swim programming and content aired on the channel

SWEET! The more options the better.

[Super Sayian Prime]

if Wow can't get kai, there may still b hope, Adult Swim Canada will be relaunching as a 24/7 channel on April 1, with newly acquired Adult Swim programming and content aired on the channel

The company operating that channel has had the opportunity to buy the show for nearly a decade ...

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

if Wow can't get kai, there may still b hope, Adult Swim Canada will be relaunching as a 24/7 channel on April 1, with newly acquired Adult Swim programming and content aired on the channel

I honestly think if any channel has a shot at airing Kai it is Wow. We know from Lisa, Marni and my correspondence with the company that negotiations about it have in fact been ongoing, that is more than we can say for any other channels, which all we've heard about has been "Nope, not interested".

I do think if any probems arise, and for whatever reason Kai can't air on Wow we should contact other companies that may still be able to release it and the other Canadian dubs. I have written to Mediawan at press@mediawan.eu asking is there any possibility AB Groupe (who as we know they now own) would ever consider releasing the English dubs for Dragon Ball they once produced, as there are many people interested in owning them perhaps in association with Manga UK so they can distribute to regions that aired those dubs (and obviously have a DVD author on hand because Manga UK don't have their own), and whether or not they have any info on a Canadian dub of Dragon Ball Kai (because we still don't know whether or not they had any hand in creating it). If they respond and express any interest in releasing the older dubs and confirm they produced the Ocean Kai dub I will suggest they consider putting it on home video as a last resort if it doesn't air on Wow.

Worth a shot anyway, I'm sure none of us could have anticipated the response SX10 got from TOEI, so all we can do is try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[sangofe]

if Wow can't get kai, there may still b hope, Adult Swim Canada will be relaunching as a 24/7 channel on April 1, with newly acquired Adult Swim programming and content aired on the channel

I honestly think if any channel has a shot at airing Kai it is Wow. We know from Lisa, Marni and my correspondence with the company that negotiations about it have in fact been ongoing, that is more than we can say for any other channels, which all we've heard about has been "Nope, not interested".

I do think if any probems arise, and for whatever reason Kai can't air on Wow we should contact other companies that may still be able to release it and the other Canadian dubs. I have written to Mediawan at press@mediawan.eu asking is there any possibility AB Groupe (who as we know they now own) would ever consider releasing the English dubs for Dragon Ball they once produced, as there are many people interested in owning them perhaps in association with Manga UK so they can distribute to regions that aired those dubs (and obviously have a DVD author on hand because Manga UK don't have their own), and whether or not they have any info on a Canadian dub of Dragon Ball Kai (because we still don't know whether or not they had any hand in creating it). If they respond and express any interest in releasing the older dubs and confirm they produced the Ocean Kai dub I will suggest they consider putting it on home video as a last resort if it doesn't air on Wow.

Worth a shot anyway, I'm sure none of us could have anticipated the response SX10 got from TOEI, so all we can do is try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Pardon me, but I can't find his response from Toei. What was it?

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

if Wow can't get kai, there may still b hope, Adult Swim Canada will be relaunching as a 24/7 channel on April 1, with newly acquired Adult Swim programming and content aired on the channel

I honestly think if any channel has a shot at airing Kai it is Wow. We know from Lisa, Marni and my correspondence with the company that negotiations about it have in fact been ongoing, that is more than we can say for any other channels, which all we've heard about has been "Nope, not interested".

I do think if any probems arise, and for whatever reason Kai can't air on Wow we should contact other companies that may still be able to release it and the other Canadian dubs. I have written to Mediawan at press@mediawan.eu asking is there any possibility AB Groupe (who as we know they now own) would ever consider releasing the English dubs for Dragon Ball they once produced, as there are many people interested in owning them perhaps in association with Manga UK so they can distribute to regions that aired those dubs (and obviously have a DVD author on hand because Manga UK don't have their own), and whether or not they have any info on a Canadian dub of Dragon Ball Kai (because we still don't know whether or not they had any hand in creating it). If they respond and express any interest in releasing the older dubs and confirm they produced the Ocean Kai dub I will suggest they consider putting it on home video as a last resort if it doesn't air on Wow.

Worth a shot anyway, I'm sure none of us could have anticipated the response SX10 got from TOEI, so all we can do is try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Pardon me, but I can't find his response from Toei. What was it?

Sure thing.

A reply from Lisa Yamatoya:

" Hello Sam

Thank you for reaching out to Toei Animation. I realize we do have the Canadian dub with Ocean Studio for DBZ-Kai #1-#98. I also am aware of your channel from Ocean Studio that I believe Ken was discussing the potential license to your network.

Currently, we have no linear deal in Canada. We are really happy to discuss the possibility to air in Canada. What term are you thinking of?

I am heading out to San Diego from tomorrow until Sunday, so my response may delay but should we schedule a call next week?

Best,

Lisa"

The highlighted parts confirm three things:

1. TOEI still have a copy of this dub
2. Ken Morrison is open to Wow airing Kai
3. TOEI are willing to license the Ocean dub out to Wow

The last point is dependant on whether or not Marni is sure they don't want Funimation's dub, as these later emails from Lisa which SX10 was cc'ed in demonstrate Lisa was trying to persuade Marni:

Hello, Marni

I believe you are already in touch with Ken Morrison from Ocean studio. What they have is Dragon Ball Z kai #1- through #98 with Canadian dub. The series is up to #167 but the rest is all Funimation dub, so I am sure you are not interested. Also, Ocean version is not HD, that is my only concern. We tested to make it HD, so you may want to check the quality standard is met with your network. We do have in Funimation version which is dubbed in USA, but we can offer you up to #167 to complete the series.

All we can do is hope Marni was reminded of the fact Ocean's version has never been seen and that airing Funimation's dub would just be redundant at this stage. I'd also hope the SD or HD question isn't an issue either, surely if Wow only wanted HD content they would have made HD out as a selling point to their channel by now.

[C. Smith]

https://imissbionix.wordpress.com/2019/ ... ogramming/

Bad news, guys. The launch date has been delayed to June 1.

[SX10]

https://imissbionix.wordpress.com/2019/ ... ogramming/

Bad news, guys. The launch date has been delayed to June 1.

I can live with this, I think the lack of news tipped us off to something like this, and it gives them more time to solidify negotiations and I suppose should the deal fall through, Teletoon's night time programming could be a good platform?

[Super Sayian Prime]

Could be as late as September.

[TheBlackPaladin]

https://imissbionix.wordpress.com/2019/ ... ogramming/

Bad news, guys. The launch date has been delayed to June 1.

I can live with that, too. When I first read the words, "Bad news, guys," my heart sank for a millisecond because I thought it was going to be something along the lines of, "Wow just aired a trailer, and it's the FUNimation dub." Don't scare us like that!

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

https://imissbionix.wordpress.com/2019/ ... ogramming/

Bad news, guys. The launch date has been delayed to June 1.

Can't say I'm surprised, but as with anything better late than never. I just hope Kai will be announced as soon as legally possible, moreover for Bell to specify it is the Canadian version we're getting as I just want some reassurance we can look forward to seeing it whenever the channel launches.

September would be fine, just don't want it to be much further, I don't want the 2010s to end without any new Ocean dubbed Dragon Ball, it's been too long, but maybe, just maybe we're almost there. I just want to know for sure

[MasenkoHA]

All this anticipation the Ocean Kai dub better not suck

[TheBlackPaladin]

All this anticipation the Ocean Kai dub better not suck

This has been one of my fears: the long delay has resulted in heightened expectations for many people. While I would very much like to see this dub, I've kept my expectations in check, and while I'm sure it's possible that this dub is great, I nevertheless do not at all anticipate that this will be on my personal "Top 10 Dubs Of All Time"-list.

Who knows, though...maybe it really is that good.

[MasenkoHA]

All this anticipation the Ocean Kai dub better not suck

This has been one of my fears: the long delay has resulted in heightened expectations for many people. While I would very much like to see this dub, I've kept my expectations in check, and while I'm sure it's possible that this dub is great, I nevertheless do not at all anticipate that this will be on my personal "Top 10 Dubs Of All Time"-list.

Who knows, though...maybe it really is that good.

The fact that Henderson, Mcneil, and Drummond are involved gives me hope that the dub is passable at worst.

[Robo4900]

All this anticipation the Ocean Kai dub better not suck

This has been one of my fears: the long delay has resulted in heightened expectations for many people. While I would very much like to see this dub, I've kept my expectations in check, and while I'm sure it's possible that this dub is great, I nevertheless do not at all anticipate that this will be on my personal "Top 10 Dubs Of All Time"-list.

Who knows, though...maybe it really is that good.

The fact that Henderson, Mcneil, and Drummond are involved gives me hope that the dub is passable at worst.

At worst, it'll be well-performed with decent enough scripts despite some inaccuracies (comparable to Funi's), but the censorship will be rather bothersome, and the score will be forgettable and dull.

Realistically, I imagine what we'll get is the dub will be solid; the censorship will be mildly bothersome, but the performances, generally faithful scripts, and solid scoring will indeed make it a solid dub overall, and while Funi's will remain the recommended default dubbed version, if only because it's uncut and Funi have dubs of basically everything else, Ocean's will remain a solid viewing option enjoyed by many, and be a perfect option for parents who think it's too intense uncut to show to their kids.

[JohnnyCashKami]

I'm so anxious to finally watch the Ocean Kai dub that being patient is key. This has been going on for so long so if it premieres this year, awesome!

All this anticipation the Ocean Kai dub better not suck

This dub at this point is mostly for fans and collectors, and maybe some casuals. FUNimation fans will likely hate on it and call it a "horrible English dub" even though it isn't. The DB YouTuber Totally Not Mark did a video about how supposedly bad the Bang Zoom dub of Super is, but anyone who actually gave the Bang Zoom! dub a fair chance knows that's a pack of lies.

Some Dragon Ball YouTubers seem to rely on lies, clickbait thumbnails and gang up on others.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I mean, the fact that whoever created this dub cared so much about pronunciations and getting Goku right goes to show that they didn't want to create a dub for the sake of creating a dub. The fact they went for a replacement score and a cheesy theme song even before the Yamamoto scandal came to light does throw up some flags, but the fact a clip of a possible updated theme was found gives me hope that they decided not to go too far on the cheese factor. I will be happy if everything about this dub other than the music is on par with the Pioneer trilogy or just a bit better than the Saban dub. Honestly though I have a lot of nostalgia for the Ocean cast because I grew up with them, I'm going to watch this dub again and again one way or the other.