Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by NitroEX » Sat Oct 16, 2021 5:34 pm

Movie 2 is their worst. It's a crappy fandub essentially. I don't know why they thought that was good enough to release for public consumption.
Because they were broke, basically. The Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z license had yet to turn a profit according to Chris Sabat and Dale Kelly. Funi wanted or needed quicker profit so they cut production costs and moved everything in-house despite not being prepared to record the series or movies themselves. As others have mentioned, the DB Movie 2 dub appears to have been a test run for season 3.

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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by SuperSaiyaManZ94 » Sat Oct 16, 2021 5:49 pm

I agree, and the fact they continued releasing it just blows me away. Sleeping Princess was pretty much was a dry run for the in house Z dub less than a year later and everything about it sounds to such levels of bargain bin that i am legit shocked they never bothered redubbing it, not to mention the inconsistency due to the fact that it was done so early on that Goku and Bulma's casting were not even the ones which came to be in the OG DB dub. The garbage audio sucks too, because FUNi at that point didn't have even good quality audio recording equipment. Cheap as could possibly be, and 20+ years later it sounds worse than even just a few years after the dub was done.

One thing's for sure, it's a dumpster fire mess in every regard on par with if not worse than DBZ Season 3 was and still is.
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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by ABED » Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:04 pm

I get why they moved it in-house, but I mean that movie. Why did they release that movie? It was the first thing they dubbed but as I recall, not the first thing they released on home video. As bad as those early episodes were, they weren't as bad as movie 2. Even the recording quality sounded awful.

There is another version of the Buffy pilot but Joss was so embarrassed by it, it was never released.
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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by MasenkoHA » Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:13 pm

ABED wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:04 pm I get why they moved it in-house, but I mean that movie. Why did they release that movie? It was the first thing they dubbed but as I recall, not the first thing they released on home video. As bad as those early episodes were, they weren't as bad as movie 2. Even the recording quality sounded awful.
It was the first thing FUNimation released themselves in Dec 1998 https://www.kanzenshuu.com/1998/11/06/f ... all-movie/

They wouldn’t start releasing season 3 until around April 1999.


I have no idea why they released it though. Did that thing really sell well enough to convince Funimation to go ahead with the recasting?

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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by ABED » Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:18 pm

MasenkoHA wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:13 pm
ABED wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:04 pm I get why they moved it in-house, but I mean that movie. Why did they release that movie? It was the first thing they dubbed but as I recall, not the first thing they released on home video. As bad as those early episodes were, they weren't as bad as movie 2. Even the recording quality sounded awful.
It was the first thing FUNimation released themselves in Dec 1998 https://www.kanzenshuu.com/1998/11/06/f ... all-movie/

They wouldn’t start releasing season 3 until around April 1999.


I have no idea why they released it though. Did that thing really sell well enough to convince Funimation to go ahead with the recasting?
Thanks, my mistake.
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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by Super Sonic » Sat Oct 16, 2021 8:02 pm

ZeroIsOurHero wrote: Fri Oct 15, 2021 7:57 am
ABED wrote: Fri Oct 15, 2021 5:20 am The job of a dub isn't to sound like the original.

The so much of the way people are judging the dub actors is by how closely they resemble the OG actors and that';s not fair. That's not their job. Their job is to play the character because that's what acting is. Mimicry is hollow. Ayres isn't great as Freeza because his performance sounds somewhat like Nakao. It's great because it fits the character.
Agree with you 100%. Way too many people hate certain dub performances purely because “they don’t sound like the original performances,” when they’re not really supposed to. Giving an original take on the character is fine, as long as it makes sense. In fact, I’d say that original takes are recommended: the Funi VAs for Z got a lot better when they stopped trying to imitate the Ocean VAs.
Something similar would be how Kazuki Yao's Franky sounds high pitched while Patrick Seitz's Franky has a baritone voice. Both are well liked. Also could kei17 or someone confirm whether Convoy and Japanese Megatron sound similar to Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, or different?
Soppa Saia People wrote: Fri Oct 15, 2021 6:34 pm sabat's a bad actor so it doesn't really matter
People get better and awesome over time. Also the man is very popular. He was a guest at my local comicon 2 years ago and his line for autographs was huge.

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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by MyVisionity » Sat Oct 16, 2021 9:09 pm

Movie 2 was the first thing they ever dubbed, so maybe it has some kind of sentimental value for them that kept it on the shelves.

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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by WittyUsername » Sat Oct 16, 2021 10:45 pm

I imagine that FUNimation didn’t bother redubbing DB Movie 2 because they simply didn’t consider it worth the trouble. They redubbed the first three DBZ movies because they wanted all of their Dragon Ball releases to have their in-house voice cast, and despite the poor quality of the dub for Sleeping Princess, it was done in-house, and it does have actors who still continued to work with FUNimation on Dragon Ball after the fact.

Plus, the OG Dragon Ball movies aren’t especially popular with Western audiences when compared to the Z movies.

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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by SuperSaiyaManZ94 » Sat Oct 16, 2021 11:26 pm

WittyUsername wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 10:45 pm I imagine that FUNimation didn’t bother redubbing DB Movie 2 because they simply didn’t consider it worth the trouble. They redubbed the first three DBZ movies because they wanted all of their Dragon Ball releases to have their in-house voice cast, and despite the poor quality of the dub for Sleeping Princess, it was done in-house, and it does have actors who still continued to work with FUNimation on Dragon Ball after the fact.

Plus, the OG Dragon Ball movies aren’t especially popular with Western audiences when compared to the Z movies.
For the most part yes, though the big exceptions are with Kid Goku who was initially voiced by Ceyli Delgadillo (also young Dende in Z before Laura Bailey replaced her after departing) in this and Mystical Adventure while Bulma was done by Leslie Alexander for Sleeping Princess only before Tiffany Vollmer started playing her in the former as well after already assuming the role in the Z a short while later and Stephanie Nadolny didn't start doing Goku until the OG DB dub in 2001. It thus doesn't line up consistency wise with said dub as a result, because Alexander's and Delgadillo's takes are much different voice wise from Vollmer and Nadolny's takes which is obvious. The latter in particular had a whispery kid voice that sounded alright as Dende but didn't work as much with Goku, thing is she made him too quiet sounding which doesn't feel as fitting for the character at that age.

I know they probably didn't consider it worthwhile in terms of redubbing, but if they had thought of doing so back in the day it could've at least been not as atrocious as the one back in 1998 was.
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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by 8000 Saiyan » Sun Oct 17, 2021 6:35 am

The GT dub was pretty bad, but I do remember Sabat doing rather well in Piccolo's sacrifice to destroy the Ultimate Dragon Balls.
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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by Yuli Ban » Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:49 pm

Let's listen to the FUNi and Ocean actors as they were originally cast, way back in the 90s as it would've been presented on TV:

Episodes 1-54 (clips, not full streaming!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm53xcjSGGo
55-61 + Bardock (the start of season 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ2Dv1NNFmQ
62-64: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBn-SyZFykk

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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by PurestEvil » Mon Oct 18, 2021 6:55 pm

Yuli Ban wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:49 pm Let's listen to the FUNi and Ocean actors as they were originally cast, way back in the 90s as it would've been presented on TV:

Episodes 1-54 (clips, not full streaming!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm53xcjSGGo
55-61 + Bardock (the start of season 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ2Dv1NNFmQ
62-64: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBn-SyZFykk

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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by Demon Prince Piccolo » Wed Oct 20, 2021 1:34 am

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In all seriousness, this goes to show just how good the Ocean actors were. The dialogue was every bit as awful, but they made it feel like a legit product. The season 3 dub had the same awful dialogue plus atrocious acting/production.
The story of DRAGON BALL starts from the moment Goku met Bulma. I don't really mind the Z, so long as it's understood that it's not the true beginning of the story.

I actually prefer the Goku vs Tenshinhan and Goku vs Piccolo Jr. rivalries to the Goku vs Vegeta rivalry.

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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by JEFFMAN219 » Wed Oct 20, 2021 12:12 pm

BootyCheeksJohnson wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:44 pm It's a popular talking point on this forum to point out how controversial the 1999 Funimation in house English dub of Dragon Ball Z is amongst Kanzenshuu regulars.
However that got me thinking, to you dub aficionados out there, has Funimation produced a dub that is equal to or worse than their dub of Dragon Ball Z? Or, on the other end of the spectrum, are there good dubs that they have produced that make you wish Dragon Ball got a similar treatment?
I'd say the original 1999 dub of the Ginyu and Freeza saga was Funimation's worse dub of the series because the voice actors did not have any experience back then. They eventually got better as the series progressed on.

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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by JEFFMAN219 » Wed Oct 20, 2021 12:17 pm

Yuli Ban wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:49 pm Let's listen to the FUNi and Ocean actors as they were originally cast, way back in the 90s as it would've been presented on TV:

Episodes 1-54 (clips, not full streaming!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm53xcjSGGo
55-61 + Bardock (the start of season 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ2Dv1NNFmQ
62-64: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBn-SyZFykk

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Oh man watching that second clip brought me back to when I was a kid lol. I still have my Caption Ginyu Assault VHS tape too from back then haha.

But ya as a 29 year old I truly see how bad that dub really was. Thank goodness for Kai.

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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by ZeroIsOurHero » Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:56 pm

I have to admit, some of those one-liners in the Saban dub are actually pretty funny. I remember reading the "cowardice, bad haircuts, and military insurrection" quote before, and I thought it was a quote from Abridged. It's really crappy as a serious dub, though.

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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by ABED » Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:42 pm

Most of it is the bad performances but I do think the scripts for season 3 are noticeably worse.
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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by Yuli Ban » Wed Oct 20, 2021 8:38 pm

JEFFMAN219 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 12:17 pm
Yuli Ban wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:49 pm Let's listen to the FUNi and Ocean actors as they were originally cast, way back in the 90s as it would've been presented on TV:

Episodes 1-54 (clips, not full streaming!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm53xcjSGGo
55-61 + Bardock (the start of season 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ2Dv1NNFmQ
62-64: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBn-SyZFykk

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Oh man watching that second clip brought me back to when I was a kid lol. I still have my Caption Ginyu Assault VHS tape too from back then haha.
It's perfect

The explosively bad voice acting, some of the shittiest tracks Faulconer ever made, the hammy narrator, Sabat trying to be Drummond, Grandma Freeza, the massive attempts at """comedy,""" the dire sound quality, the VHS grain, all wrapped up with that beautiful bow that is the Cartoon Network logo nestled comfortably at the bottom right.

That's the Dragon Ball Z I grew up with.
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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by KingVegetto » Wed Oct 20, 2021 9:52 pm

Yuli Ban wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 8:38 pm
JEFFMAN219 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 12:17 pm
Yuli Ban wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:49 pm Let's listen to the FUNi and Ocean actors as they were originally cast, way back in the 90s as it would've been presented on TV:

Episodes 1-54 (clips, not full streaming!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm53xcjSGGo
55-61 + Bardock (the start of season 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ2Dv1NNFmQ
62-64: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBn-SyZFykk

GOOD LORD
Oh man watching that second clip brought me back to when I was a kid lol. I still have my Caption Ginyu Assault VHS tape too from back then haha.
It's perfect

The explosively bad voice acting, some of the shittiest tracks Faulconer ever made, the hammy narrator, Sabat trying to be Drummond, Grandma Freeza, the massive attempts at """comedy,""" the dire sound quality, the VHS grain, all wrapped up with that beautiful bow that is the Cartoon Network logo nestled comfortably at the bottom right.

That's the Dragon Ball Z I grew up with.
I like the soundtrack and I do have fond memories of watching the Freeza arc as a kid, but rewatching it is an adult I can definitely see how green and rough the voice-acting was at the beginning. It's taken some getting used to that's for sure, fortunately by the Androids arc the actors seem to have mostly gotten it together.

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Re: Is Dragon Ball Z Funimation's Worst English Dub?

Post by MasenkoHA » Wed Oct 20, 2021 11:08 pm

KingVegetto wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 9:52 pm
Yuli Ban wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 8:38 pm
JEFFMAN219 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 12:17 pm

Oh man watching that second clip brought me back to when I was a kid lol. I still have my Caption Ginyu Assault VHS tape too from back then haha.
It's perfect

The explosively bad voice acting, some of the shittiest tracks Faulconer ever made, the hammy narrator, Sabat trying to be Drummond, Grandma Freeza, the massive attempts at """comedy,""" the dire sound quality, the VHS grain, all wrapped up with that beautiful bow that is the Cartoon Network logo nestled comfortably at the bottom right.

That's the Dragon Ball Z I grew up with.
I like the soundtrack and I do have fond memories of watching the Freeza arc as a kid, but rewatching it is an adult I can definitely see how green and rough the voice-acting was at the beginning. It's taken some getting used to that's for sure, fortunately by the Androids arc the actors seem to have mostly gotten it together.
Schemmel got it together. Sabat’s Vegeta and Piccolo were still ear rape in the Android/Cell saga. Nadolny’s chainsmoker Gohan speaks for itself in the worst way.

About the only improved performances were the new additions like Clarke’s Cell and Huber and Mccoy’s 17 and 18

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