How should characters sound

[jcogginsa]

What do you think are the character traits that a voice actor most needs to pull off for any particular character? Basically, if you were casting what would you look for.

Note, answers like "Sounds like Nozawa" or "Sounds like Nakao" are not valid. If there's someone who you feel nails a character 100 Percent, think about what makes that performance good and post that. Though you should leave out things like nostalgia, as that's not replicable.

This isn't limited to the Japanese cast either. These kind of traits could also be used as a guide for the dubs casting as well.

[Kakacarrottop]

Piccolo - Smooth, stern
Goku - Slightly Canadian and laid back (yes i subscribe to the English take on the character)
Tullece - Like Goku but more raspy
Recoome - NOT like Chris Sabat
Garlic jr (pre transforming) - High pitched and fast
Buutenks/Buuhan and Perfect Cell - Articulate
Broly - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a0XDNeYkR4

[SonEric84]

I think Ian Corlett is my favorite Goku, even as a fan of the original Japanese. I think what makes him a good fit for me is that though his voice is more "adult" sounding, it still manages to hold a youthful quality that makes it perfect for Goku's child-like naivety and sense of adventure.

[jcogginsa]

Recoome - NOT like Chris Sabat

This is not a valid answer. Describe how Recoome should sound, not how he shouldn't.

[sayian_nation_]

They definitely shouldn't sound like the Ocean dub Canadian cast. Purchased the Rock the Dragon set and popped in one of the dvd's, they all sounded horrible I prefer Funi's dub the most.

[ZazamPow]

This is a good topic.

Goku - Innocence. That's what comes to mind when I think of Goku, but it's a lot harder to nail that than you might think. That's the reason even a dub guy like me can admit Nozawa is the best Goku, while her actual voice isn't very fitting for a buff monsterman like Goku, she puts such a lightness and simplicity into his voice that it just tells you everything you need to know about his personality. Goku needs to sound innocent, but with a childlike mischievous/competitive tone at points.

Piccolo - Now that I've praised the Japanese cast, let me take a point away. Piccolo can't just sound like "a guy" like he does in Japan, he needs an actual voice. He's the king of demons, or at the very least a distant alien. His voice needs to remind you of that. Rough and DEEP.

Vegeta - His voice needs to convey with every sentence just how high of an opinion he has of himself. That's most important, not exactly mustache twirling arrogance, but complete confidence.

[ABED]

They definitely shouldn't sound like the Ocean dub Canadian cast. Purchased the Rock the Dragon set and popped in one of the dvd's, they all sounded horrible I prefer Funi's dub the most.

I disagree a lot. So many of them are so good. The voice for Piccolo, Ox-King, Ginyu, Gohan, Kuririn, Chichi, Puar, Oolong, Bulma, Yamcha, Chaozu, Kami, Popo, Nappa, and even King Kai are all well acted, distinct and fit the characters.

[RandomGuy96]

Piccolo: Rough, gruff, stern.

Vegeta: Smarmy, sneering, raspy. Typical arrogant warrior type, despite his unimposing appearance. Capable of convincingly cackling.

Raditz: Deep, manly voice. Though only if Goku, Gohan, Bardock, Tullece, Goten, Vegetto, and Gogeta are all voiced by some old woman. Because Raditz having that voice, that hair, and that stature means he absolutely has no resemblance to any other member of his family, who all look and sound exactly alike. Otherwise he can sound like whatever.

Freeza: Really smug and prissy, somewhat high pitched. Should probably have a British accent. You should want to punch him in the mouth every time he talks.

Perfect Cell: Like Freeza, except more masculine.

Gohan: As an adult, just like any regular guy, to emphasize his relatively regular nature compared to everyone else.

Super Buu: Deep, growly, and psychotic. Should sound something like a typical lower class lout or thug. Partly because it fits his appearance and simple manner of speech, and partly because it contrasts his nature as an actually fairly cunning plotter. Should also have a good evil laugh.

Goku: Like a grown man.

Cooler: Would it be cheating to just say "like General-Ivan"?

[fadeddreams5]

Beerus - like Dr. Rabbit.

Broly - like Scar from FMA:B in his base, and Michael Jackson in his LSSJ form.

[Super Sonic]

Broly - like Scar from FMA:B in his base, and Michael Jackson in his LSSJ form.

Find this kinda funny as he was voiced by Edward Elric.

Who is Dr. Rabbit and General Ivan?

[fadeddreams5]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltRSQ9Lx9iQ

[Kakacarrottop]

They definitely shouldn't sound like the Ocean dub Canadian cast. Purchased the Rock the Dragon set and popped in one of the dvd's, they all sounded horrible I prefer Funi's dub the most.

Enjoy FUNimation's cheap amateur imitations of the 'horrible' Ocean dub Canadian cast

[Gaffer Tape]

I see this specific criticism come up a surprisingly often amount, including in this thread (obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be addressing it), but I just can't understand how anybody sees Furukawa Toshio's Piccolo voice as "just some regular guy." I mean, it's menacing, it's growling, it's ridiculously deep. Not that a comparison to other work really means anything, but you do know this is the same guy who voiced General Blue, right? You know what he sounds like, right? That's much closer to Furukawa's normal register. And Piccolo is, like, an octave away from that. Hell, the only criticism I have of Furukawa's Piccolo is that it's so deep it's actually too deep for him to do sometimes. On occasion, you can actually hear his voice breaking because it's just so unnaturally low.

[SonEric84]

They definitely shouldn't sound like the Ocean dub Canadian cast. Purchased the Rock the Dragon set and popped in one of the dvd's, they all sounded horrible I prefer Funi's dub the most.

I disagree a lot. So many of them are so good. The voice for Piccolo, Ox-King, Ginyu, Gohan, Kuririn, Chichi, Puar, Oolong, Bulma, Yamcha, Chaozu, Kami, Popo, Nappa, and even King Kai are all well acted, distinct and fit the characters.

Agreed. I enjoyed all those voices quite a bit. If they had a better script to work with, that dub would have been near perfect in my view.

[ZazamPow]

I see this specific criticism come up a surprisingly often amount, including in this thread (obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be addressing it), but I just can't understand how anybody sees Furukawa Toshio's Piccolo voice as "just some regular guy." I mean, it's menacing, it's growling, it's ridiculously deep. Not that a comparison to other work really means anything, but you do know this is the same guy who voiced General Blue, right? You know what he sounds like, right? That's much closer to Furukawa's normal register. And Piccolo is, like, an octave away from that. Hell, the only criticism I have of Furukawa's Piccolo is that it's so deep it's actually too deep for him to do sometimes. On occasion, you can actually hear his voice breaking because it's just so unnaturally low.

Well, I guess we just disagree then. This isn't really an objective thing so I can't really debate you on this. Although considering you're the guy who just found a way to prove that Star Trek III: The Search for Spock was directly inspired by a random episode of The Facts of Life, you'll probably find a way to convince me of this as well.

[NitroEX]

Goku:

Spoiler:

- Should sound naive and innocent like a child while still having the voice of a grown man, basically sound like a happy man child.
- He should be able to sound like a reassuring father to Gohan.
- Have a heroic quality to his voice.
- When in situations of danger he should be able to have a commanding tone.
- His yells and Kiai should be a homage to martial artists in the same vein as Bruce Lee (but not quite as over the top) and his power up screams should be wild and full of energy like how an enraged monkey or chimpanzee would sound (but obviously closer to a human's voice).

Vegeta:

Spoiler:

-Medium to high pitched voice to match his short height.
- When talking his should be well spoken (since he is a prince) and have a smug quality to his voice that is almost nonchalant.
- He should always give off a sense of superiority to whoever he's talking to (since in his mind he is).
- When fighting weaker enemies he should have a sadistic and, at times, scary quality to his voice as if he's a predator playing with his food.
- Obviously he should also be able to sound crazy when Vegeta loses his cool and breaks out into a tantrum.
- Must be able to scream NOT moan incessantly
- Must NOT have a faux British accent
- There should be a roughness to his voice but nothing too gravelly and he definitely shouldn't have a deeper voice than Nappa, Vegeta is NOT a brute.

Piccolo:

Spoiler:

- Should sound a little reserved yet wise and calm when talking. Something akin to Clint Eastwood is perfect for this character in my opinion.
- There should be demonic qualities to his performance such as having intimidating growls of anger and bone chilling screams when fighting or powering up.
- Due to growing up around humans he should adopt an accent close to the other characters but he should sound smart and not slur words.
- The voice should be deep but not forced, this approach makes him sound like a brutish ogre which he is not.

Krillin:

Spoiler:

- Despite being a grown man he should sound high pitched and have an innocent quality to his voice due to his short stature.
- He should be able to deliver his lines in a comedic way as Krillin is mostly used as comic relief.
- Krillin should NOT sound "badass" as this is not what his role is intended for.
- There shouldn't be any rasp in his voice whatsoever, his voice should be nice and smooth (...like his head ).

I might do more later but this is enough for now.

[sayian_nation_]

They definitely shouldn't sound like the Ocean dub Canadian cast. Purchased the Rock the Dragon set and popped in one of the dvd's, they all sounded horrible I prefer Funi's dub the most.

Enjoy FUNimation's cheap amateur imitations of the 'horrible' Ocean dub Canadian cast

ohh I do enjoy it. If Ocean dubs "I'll teach you a lesson ya big bully" and "radical!" count as superb script writing, I want what you're smoking You enjoy listening to it then to each his own, I couldn't deal with Gokus and most of the cast's voice, funi is just my preference get over it.

[gohann]

Goku: Kid at heart
Piccolo: Deep but not growly
Vegeta: Haughty
Gohan (Kid): Calm, bashful, collected kid
Gohan (Older): Goofy teen/young adult
Krillin: Guy down on his luck
Recoome: Playful
Nappa: Tough as nails
King Kai: Goofy, yet wise
Frieza: Sadistic
Tien: Battle-hardened

[ConfusedPhantom]

Goku - Naive, energetic, warm, actor should have a good sense of comical timing and fire/passion. It's ok to be heroic and even commanding when it counts, but not to the point where its starting to sound like he's from Superfriends or something. He's just a guy that really likes to fight. -shrug- But, that's just me.
Vegeta - Smooth, regal, confident.
Piccolo - Stern, intelligent. Can go demonic or smooth, if the actor pleases, as long as they don't overdo the gruffness and make him sound like an ogre or something.
Freeza - Smug, Has a measured aristocratic tone, can alter their voice throughout each form, can turn from calm and businessmen-like to a raging madman at a flip of a coin

Might do more, I dunno.

[Singh is King]

Goku- Childlike, goofy, and naive, but should also have a warm tone to his lines: should sound like an adult man who is a kid at heart, so like a man child.
Vegeta- Swarmy, better-than-you, haughty, and really smug: should have a medium to slightly deep voice, but nothing high pitched or too low pitched, either.
Piccolo- Really smooth deep voice with sharp delivery of his lines.
Kid Gohan- High pitched, but not too feminine at the same time, yet also not too gruff: like a regular young boy would sound.
Kid Goku- Wild child, really goofy, naive, and silly at the same time: slight rasp to his voice but not much, but higher pitched as well.