Does a Lack of Regional Dubs Bother You?

[TheGreatness25]

Clearly, this isn't really aimed at the fans who refuse to watch any dub. My question is, does it bug you that there's really just one type of English (for example) dub despite there being several different regions that speak English but have a different accent than the U.S.?

For example, we have Great Britain, Australia, and Ireland. All of these areas speak English, but the U.S. accent is very different from these countries. Heck, there are different accents within each of these regions. As fans who might be from an English-speaking country outside of the U.S., does it bug you that you don't have that native-sounding dub and have to listen to the U.S. accented one? Even when Canada (I believe) and the U.K. received the second Westwood dub, I would still say that it pretty much had a North American accent. Do you fans from the other English-speaking countries feel kind of left out? I would imagine that someone probably would.

I'm sure there are many other languages that this applies to; I'm just going with what I know first-hand.

[successoroffate]

Thank god this didn't happen to us latinamericans. While each latin american country have their own spanish accent, the latinamerican dub is "arguably" so neutral that we just didn't care at all. The dub was that good and we didn't need one for each region.

However, we did get regionalized openings and endings for DBGT (Chilean and Mexican/Latinamerican) which I think they were both great.

[precita]

American dubs are fine for all the European countries that speak english. I mean us Americans are used to British actors in James Bond films, Harry Potter, various other movies, so what's the difference if they hear American actors?

[Kamiccolo9]

American dubs are fine for all the European countries that speak english. I mean us Americans are used to British actors in James Bond films, Harry Potter, various other movies, so what's the difference if they hear American actors?

Maybe because James Bond and Harry Potter star British characters and take place in Britain? Just a thought.

Like, what even is this.

[precita]

So you think we need a British Goku and a German sounding Piccolo? Not sure what you're getting at here.

[Kamiccolo9]

So you think we need a British Goku and a German sounding Piccolo? Not sure what you're getting at here.

"We" don't. Some British or German guy might. I try not to go out of my way to say other people don't deserve something I have.

[precita]

Well we have several UK members on these forums. What do they think, then?

[Kamiccolo9]

Well we have several UK members on these forums. What do they think, then?

Nitro and AttitudeFan (who I think is Canadian, but whatever) have both remarked on a desire for a non-American English dub.

[TheGreatness25]

Yeah, seriously. How can you, as an American, go on to speak for fans from other countries?

[Cure Dragon 255]

I was about to mention that Spain and Latin America do have different dubs... but on closer inspection, even Spain itself has dubs for its various different language regions!

[floofychan333]

Just the fact that Canada has to have its own homemade dub grinds my gears.

[Ajay]

Well we have several UK members on these forums. What do they think, then?

Nothing bothers me more than hearing English accents in anime that aren't set in worlds like Howl's Moving Castle. I just associate my accent with traditional fantasy settings.

I can't imagine anything worse than a Goku coming out with some awful West Country accent. Shove some regal stuff down Freeza and Vegeta's throats, sure, but otherwise leave my country out of it!

Maybe it's because I'm so used to hearing American voices out of cartoons.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

Yeah, seriously. How can you, as an American, go on to speak for fans from other countries?

I mean, it's not like these dubs actually sound all that American. I'm sure you haven't been through the states, but there are as many accents as there are counties in a state, and none of them as good as a trained VA from anywhere. If anything, an accent is largely a part of the industry you're working in. I cite most practiced Canadian Actors, for example, who's accents all but disappear when they're in a role that doesn't require it.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

In general I would say no, it isn't a big deal. Most English-speaking fans from outside the U.S I've spoken to have no problem with one uniform English dub, and most are content with one English voice cast for American cartoons and dubbed anime alike. Although there is something to be said about a product, which garners some intrigue.

Take The Simpsons for example, arguably the most beloved animated property worldwide, and it is the voices regardless of their origin that resonate with people. No one would want Homer with a British accent or Groundskeeper Willy with a Canadian accent. It just wouldn't feel natural. The same goes for Dragon Ball, the Funimation cast, and to a niche of fans the Ocean cast (although Sabat gets a lot of praise, many to this day still celebrate McNeil for being the best English Piccolo) is so well known as respected that it would be a disservice to change the tone of any character.

The only thing that bothers me is when a lot of effort is put in by the actors, ADR directors and producers to create a product that gets lost in time, or in some cases never even given the chance to be put out there. The Ocean Group for example produced a 98-episode Kai dub, which used seasoned, hardworking Vancouver actors (and some from Calgary as I do believe there is talent in some of the Blue Water actors, and even the ones who aren't as skilled I respect for their hard work). That dub has never seen the light of day to anyone that was not involved in its production. However the fact there is a 195 page thread, despite all that highlights the fact that for a section of the fanbase, while they may be a vocal minority, it does matter. In addition, there is also the Harmony Gold episodes of Dragon Ball, which, aside from a few clips here and there and movies 1 and 3 have also seemingly been lost to the ages, and although its fortunate some of the cast is being given another chance with the Bang Zoom dub of Super their older work still deserves to be heard.

It's not only about being paid, but the voice actors who have given this franchise their all over the years should have their work heard and preserved, this is especially important with a property as globally popular as Dragon Ball, and it's been said several times in The Harmony Gold & Broadcast Audio Discussion Thread that dubs of this series (especially those that have been a curiosity for many of us) should be kept wherever possible because they serve as examples for how Dragon Ball dubbing has evolved over the years.

Additionally there are actors that should be given credit for their efforts, and this can be increasingly difficult for those who will struggle to get samples of their work for presentation at cons due to the protectiveness of some studios. NitroEx has mentioned that some Ocean and Blue Water actors commented on the difficulty of doing this, in this case its the studios who are responsible for their work and whether or not it can be heard. Obviously it's not an obligation, but unless the dubs are preserved it is unfortunate for the fanbase and Dragon Ball historians who want these products maintained. I think along the same lines as the Star Wars fans (myself included) who to this day clamour for a high quality restoration of the unaltered theatrical cuts of the original trilogy.

I understand I may be going slightly off-topic, but those are my thoughts on the importance of alternate English dubs. In a nutshell it is not essential for dubs with non-American voices or accents to be a thing, but if they are made there is a place for them, and it is a favour to the fanbase if that is respected.

[UltimateHammerBro]

I was about to mention that Spain and Latin America do have different dubs... but on closer inspection, even Spain itself has dubs for its various different language regions!

Well, in this case, we're talking about actual different languages separate from Spanish. European Spanish dubs are made in what's roughly a Central-Western accent, which in the case of DB was different from most of the actors' natural accent.

**

This aside, I'd say that desiring or not desiring to have regional dubs depends on whether you have one or several standard varieties of your language when it comes to the media. Even though English has several (RP, General American, etc.) there seems to be such contact between them that people from England, Scotland or Australia can feel comfortable with the DBZ cast speaking in an American accent.
In other languages, the separation between different standard registers seems to be greater. Spain and Latin America have developed their own different standards, so have France and Quebec, and the difference between European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese is even bigger. This may lead to people finding it more natural to hear animated characters using their own standard register than the other one.

Just to name an example, many classic Disney films had two Mexican dubs: the older one was done before the two standard registers of Spanish were set in stone, and was released in every Spanish-speaking country, while the newer one, done after the split, was released in Latin America, but not Spain. I've watched both versions, and the first one sounded a lot more natural to my ears, while I found the second one too American-sounding (that is, too removed from the Standard European I'm used to), which kind of puts me off.

I feel more or less the same about DB. If the series was around 30 years older and had been dubbed to Spanish at that time, I'm sure one dub could've catered to the whole Spanish-speaking world without any issues.

[90sDBZ]

Well we have several UK members on these forums. What do they think, then?

I've honestly never been bothered by the American accents from the Funimation dub. In fact I've always liked the American accent. And it's not just Dragonball either. At least 90% of kids shows on UK TV featured American accents back when I was growing up in the 90s and early 2000s, and this still seems to be the case now. Cartoon Network UK used to show lots of shows like Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Lab, Cow and Chicken, and The Powerpuff Girls which all had mostly American accents. Even putting cartoons aside you still had the live action comedy stuff on Nickelodeon like Kenan and Kel, Saved by the Bell, Drake and Josh, and The Amanda show. And then there were other American anime dubs like Pokemon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Beyblade. Add to that the various DC and Marvel Animated shows like Batman, Superman, Justice League, Spiderman, Xmen, Fantastic Four, and Silver Surfer and there's no way any kid watching TV back then wouldn't at least be used to hearing the American accent.

[8000 Saiyan]

No, not really.

Well we have several UK members on these forums. What do they think, then?

I've honestly never been bothered by the American accents from the Funimation dub. In fact I've always liked the American accent. And it's not just Dragonball either. At least 90% of kids shows on UK TV featured American accents back when I was growing up in the 90s and early 2000s, and this still seems to be the case now. Cartoon Network UK used to show lots of shows like Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Lab, Cow and Chicken, and The Powerpuff Girls which all had mostly American accents. Even putting cartoons aside you still had the live action comedy stuff on Nickelodeon like Kenan and Kel, Saved by the Bell, Drake and Josh, and The Amanda show. And then there were other American anime dubs like Pokemon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Beyblade. Add to that the various DC and Marvel Animated shows like Batman, Superman, Justice League, Spiderman, Xmen, Fantastic Four, and Silver Surfer and there's no way any kid watching TV back then wouldn't at least be used to hearing the American accent.

Actually, the X-Men and SIlver Surfer shows had Canadian voice actors, although there were a few Americans in those casts.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Tyring to imagine Goku with a Scouse accent...

[huzaifa_ahmed]

The need to have regional/accented dubs in general (beyond, arguably, dubs for language itself) feels unnecessary. If you can understand the words being spoken, I feel there isnt any real need. That said, if it were the standard, I suppose I'd be curious as to why we don't have our own. In anime, it seems that regional dubs arent a standard. There are a few I can think of, but even, say, Pokemon, which is a huge deal, doesnt have regional (English) dubs.

Just that Canada has to have its own homemade dub grinds my gears.

Regional/government limitations can be irritating when you cant air a certain show for those reasons, that being said generally speaking Bandai/Geneon/Viz Ocean dubs>>FUNi in-house dubs. Bigger budget in a bigger talent pool helps a lot.

Nitro and AttitudeFan (who I think is Canadian, but whatever) have both remarked on a desire for a non-American English dub.

Correct me if I'm wrong, guys, but in Nitro & AttitudeFan's case, it was more about the Ocean dub, specifically, from the perspective of Kelamis & the Pioneer dub being more accurate than FUNi's, & for Nitro, more on childhood nostalgia. An Ocean Kai dub'd be really expensive, & an LA dub (like the new BZ dub!) is both very accurate & also relatively inexpensive (though less so than FUNi's). I dont think it's about the accents, in their case. Although I'm not them, & they'd explain it better.

I cite most practiced Canadian Actors, for example, who's accents all but disappear when they're in a role that doesn't require it.[/quote]

I'm assuming you're discussing Canadian actors in Hollywood live-action stuff, but..one thing I've noticed, from FUNi's local Texas dubs, is that their actors tend to not have as proficient accents as in, say, the Black Lagoon dub by Ocean, & my hunch is that it is at least in part due to ACTRA's union rate being about 3x as high (which, btw, is why no one ever uses them these days), & the folks involved being much more veteran talent (along the lines of those on JP DB, actually). Texas is a right-to-work state & they pay a lot less compared to Vancouver or especially LA. Vancouver's dubbing rate is also much higher than LA's, due to Canada's more reliance on imports.

A lot of what you said could be applied to dubs in general, just saying. "No one wants to hear anime with an American accent! It just wouldnt be natural." is a common complaint I've heard from sub fans. & while Ajay put it more respectfully, his point was basically the same. As for getting paid on already completed dubs...that doesnt happen. There are no residuals for dubs - when you buy/watch an anime localization, the only voice actors getting paid are the Japanese VAs. Dubs are post-production, so it doesnt matter how strong the audience attachment is to dub VAs, they dont get paid for that, beyond session fee, which for dubs is almost nothing. As for preservation, I agree with you, but it's not the same as SW, which is the original work.

[huzaifa_ahmed]

Actually, the X-Men and SIlver Surfer shows had Canadian voice actors, although there were a few Americans in those casts.

Tara Strong was in it (Canadian at the time), & also Richard Epcar who worked with Saban on PR/dubbing projects, was in it as well IIRC. Pretty cool actually.