Is Colleen Really The Best English Kid Gohan Ever?

[Freeza Soldier #156]

Next, Stephanie Nadolny sounds more like a real little boy, too while Colleen Clinkenbeard just makes him whiny.

Colleen's Gohan is high pitched, as is Masako Nozawa's. High pitched =/= whiny. Biological fact: young children have higher pitched voices. Stephanie's Gohan was far too raspy to be believable. You can't honestly listen to Gohan at the start of the Z Saiyan arc and tell me that sounds like a genuine little boy. Not to mention, he sounds exactly the same there at four years old as he does in the Cell arc when he is 9. Throughout the course of Kai, you can hear Colleen allowing Gohan's voice to mature as he gets older. The pitch of the voice is definitely lower in the Cell arc than it was at the start, but it still has a higher pitch to it because he hasn't hit puberty yet. Despite what FUNi likes to call him, Cell arc Gohan is still a kid, not a teen. Preferring Stephanie over Colleen is fine, but this whole "Gohan sounds whiny" because he actually sounds like a small child is ridiculous.

[Valerius Dover]

^When has Funi called him a teen at the Cell Games? He's explicitly referred to as 11 years old multiple times by the narrator. The narrator goes on to call him a teenager at the beginning of the Buu arc, however, where he's 18.

I definitely think the raspy voice is a little odd for Gohan, as I feel it worked more for Goku when he was 12-15 years old. I myself had a somewhat raspy voice, up until the age of 10 when I sounded just like I do now.

[gohann]

Next, Stephanie Nadolny sounds more like a real little boy, too while Colleen Clinkenbeard just makes him whiny.

Colleen's Gohan is high pitched, as is Masako Nozawa's. High pitched =/= whiny. Biological fact: young children have higher pitched voices. Stephanie's Gohan was far too raspy to be believable. You can't honestly listen to Gohan at the start of the Z Saiyan arc and tell me that sounds like a genuine little boy. Not to mention, he sounds exactly the same there at four years old as he does in the Cell arc when he is 9. Throughout the course of Kai, you can hear Colleen allowing Gohan's voice to mature as he gets older. The pitch of the voice is definitely lower in the Cell arc than it was at the start, but it still has a higher pitch to it because he hasn't hit puberty yet. Despite what FUNi likes to call him, Cell arc Gohan is still a kid, not a teen.

I'm not saying high pitched is always whiny, Colleen Clinkenbeard just happens to fit both of the descriptions. Stephanie Nadolny sounded much the same, but she started to get less raspy later on, which to me gave a decent impression that he aged. While Kai Gohan might sound younger, Stephanie Nadolny sounds more boyish while still giving him an age-appropriate voice.

[Freeza Soldier #156]

Stephanie Nadolny sounded much the same, but she started to get less raspy later on, which to me gave a decent impression that he aged.

Young boys do not start with raspy voices. They have higher pitched voices that may become raspy as they move into and through puberty, but not the other way around.

When has Funi called him a teen at the Cell Games? He's explicitly referred to as 11 years old multiple times by the narrator. The narrator goes on to call him a teenager at the beginning of the Buu arc, however, where he's 18.

In every single video game and piece of promotional material for that part of the series. Google image search "Teen Gohan" and see what pops up. It's become that iteration's official English label.

[gohann]

I know some young boys with somewhat raspy voices. Not as raspy as Gohan's was in the FUNi dub, but it's still there. And even then, Stephanie Nadolny had a better voice for him, and her acting made up for it.

[El Diabeetus]

Even then Gohan is maybe 10 at the Cell Games. FUNimation messed with Gohan's age in the non-Kai dub.

[Valerius Dover]

Even then Gohan is maybe 10 at the Cell Games. FUNimation messed with Gohan's age in the non-Kai dub.

He was 4 when Raditz arrived, 5 during the whole Saiyan and Namek stuff, 7 during the Garlic Jr. stuff and the arrival of Trunks, 10 during the arrival of the Androids, and then turned 11 a few days after leaving the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, where he had spent a little less than a year.

[Freeza Soldier #156]

Even then Gohan is maybe 10 at the Cell Games. FUNimation messed with Gohan's age in the non-Kai dub.

He was 4 when Raditz arrived, 5 during the whole Saiyan and Namek stuff, 7 during the Garlic Jr. stuff and the arrival of Trunks, 10 during the arrival of the Androids, and then turned 11 a few days after leaving the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, where he had spent a little less than a year.

No. It is specifically stated that Gohan is 16 at the start of the Buu arc, which means he was 9 during the Cell Games. Only in the dub is he 11 at that time.

[Valerius Dover]

^Well, the dub's a different universe as far as I'm concerned anyway. I can say for sure that Gohan's age isn't mentioned in the Buu arc dub, at least not as far as I've gotten. But, 9 years old wouldn't really make sense at the Cell Games, even in the Japanese version. We know he was 4 when Raditz arrived....

[Freeza Soldier #156]

^Well, the dub's a different universe as far as I'm concerned anyway. I can say for sure that Gohan's age isn't mentioned in the Buu arc dub, at least not as far as I've gotten. But, 9 years old wouldn't really make sense at the Cell Games, even in the Japanese version. We know he was 4 when Raditz arrived....

Then he could have possibly have just turned 10 before the Games and the gap between Cell and Buu may not have been a full 7 years. Or, we know Gohan is 4 at the start of the series, but we don't know when he turned 4. It was stated that the Nappa and Vegeta arrived a bit earlier than a year (a month or so I believe) after Raditz. Gohan may still have been 4 when the battle began, but most likely he was 5. The conflict on Namek took less than a year so Gohan was 5 when that was over. Garlic Jr. never happened and a year later at 6, Goku came home and Trunks arrived. After 3 years of training, Gohan was 9 and spent less than a year in the Room of Spirit and Time. When he emerged he could have still been 9 and then the Cell Games happened. You also have to remember that Gohan's birthday party before the Cell Games was filler. It was never stated in the manga that Gohan had a birthday before the Games. So, him being 9 does make sense and seems to be confirmed by his age being specifically stated at the start of the Buu arc as 16.

[Valerius Dover]

Ok, the anime's a different timeline, too. This is getting pretty confusing.

Although, I'm pretty sure the gap between the Frieza and Cell arcs is 2 years. I even made a thread asking about this a while back. Also, I don't want this to get too off-topic.

I like Nadolny's Gohan, but not as much as her Goku. Not much more to it, there.

[Freeza Soldier #156]

Ok, the anime's a different timeline, too. This is getting pretty confusing.

Although, I'm pretty sure the gap between the Frieza and Cell arcs is 2 years. I even made a thread asking about this a while back. Also, I don't want this to get too off-topic.

I like Nadolny's Gohan, but not as much as her Goku. Not much more to it, there.

It is stated in the manga that "about a year passes" between Namek's explosion and Freeza's arrival on Earth.

[Valerius Dover]

It is stated in the manga that "about a year passes" between Namek's explosion and Freeza's arrival on Earth.

What about the years? Age 762 is when the Namek stuff happens, but Age 764 is when Trunks arrives. Then there's the Cell Games in 767 and Buu stuff in 774. Maybe we should make a new topic about this...

[Freeza Soldier #156]

It is stated in the manga that "about a year passes" between Namek's explosion and Freeza's arrival on Earth.

What about the years? Age 762 is when the Namek stuff happens, but Age 764 is when Trunks arrives. Then there's the Cell Games in 767 and Buu stuff in 774. Maybe we should make a new topic about this...

I'm not sure about timelines, but does it specify when in 762 that the Namek conflict happens? If it was towards the end, then the Namek stuff could have spilled over into 763 and then "about a year" later could be in 764.

[Valerius Dover]

^I don't know much in regards to timelines myself.

Here's the thread where I asked the question.http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtop ... =8&t=27542

[Freeza Soldier #156]

^I don't know much in regards to timelines myself.

Here's the thread where I asked the question.http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtop ... =8&t=27542

We are then given narration that says Trunks arrives about a year after the Namekians leave earth during that last Porunga summoning.

--December 24th, AGE 762 - Goku versus Freeza
--May 3rd, AGE 763 - Prounga revives Kuririn and Yamcha
--September 10th, AGE 763 - Porunga revives Tenshinhan and Chaozu, Namekians go to New Namek
--August, AGE 764 - Trunks versus Freeza

So pretty much what I said in my last post. Namek and the revivals spill over into AGE 763 and Trunks arrives about a year later in AGE 764.

[Valerius Dover]

I never really paid attention to the months here, I guess. Just the years. This makes sense. Guess the dub is just....different.

[Jackal puFF]

Honestly when I first heard her take on Gohan, I was like whoa.. What the hell happened to the other person. Gohan sounds way too much like a girl. I did get used to it though and really liked her voice for Gohan when he got older during the Cell arc. Maybe if she used that voice from the start and then made it even older, that would be cool.

[Blu-ray_Mistress]

I think that Colleen did a good young Gohan but I think when it got to Teen Gohan they should have used Stephanie Nadolny.

[BurakkuForesuto]

I wouldn't use the term "natural" because for one, voice acting isn't about being "realistic" per say, but more about being believable. Secondly, Dragon Ball. But honestly, Colleen isn't believable either. I don't like comparing pre-lay to ADR, but compare Colleen to let's say, Ryo-Ohki's(forgot her name) Jimmy Neutron. One doesn't try to sound "natural" but she is sure believable. The other one sounds like a woman doing a boy voice, which isn't believable at all. It's forced, it's whiny and it's not something you can take seriously at all. Funny, Nozawa wasn't natural as Gohan, but she was believable. She fit him like a glove, which is saying a lot, because her Adult Goku was not very good. Such a shame, because Gohan is one of my favorite characters. To see him consistently fail in English upsets me and I'm a fan of most dubs.