Serious Dragon Ball Questions For Fans About The Voice of Goku

[omegacwa]

In this day and age with the internet an exact sound alike can be found. It was much harder years ago because the talent pool was so much smaller. I personally believe with enough research a suitable replacement can be found.

I don't like Sean Schemmel as Goku. I thought he was ok at first but I've slowly grown to dislike his vocal tone and performance. For me Peter Kelamis in The World's Strongest is about as good of an English Goku voice as we've ever gotten.

Chris Sabat as Vegeta is fine. I've had my ups and downs with his performance.

I 100% prefer the Japanese cast.

In the US most of the actors are "doing a voice" instead of acting with their voice. I believe that it would have been better overall if when they initially cast the show they had chosen actors whose natural voice suited the characters, rather then "doing a voice" for the character.

[Kamiccolo9]

whatever the reason the Voice of goku you personally enjoyed the most regardless of whichever voice actor it may be. Was no longer voicing the role of goku anymore for the newest materials that are to come from now on, Like for the Return of the Super anime or any new movies

Conversely, I did not care for Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness (as an actor, I like him just fine) because whatever character he was playing was not Khan. It was Khan in name only and portrayed by an actor unsuitable to the role because the producers thought it was too racially insensitive to portray a middle eastern actor as the villain. The role was horribly miscast and suffered for it.

Ricardo Montalbán wasn't middle eastern.

[ABED]

For me Peter Kelamis in The World's Strongest is about as good of an English Goku voice as we've ever gotten.

If you don't care for good acting which that was not. He has a high pitched voice, that's it. That's all he has going for him as Goku. What's wrong with Schemmel's vocal tone?

In this day and age with the internet an exact sound alike can be found.

No it can't. It will never be exactly the same. It will be close but will create an uncanny valley effect. Sounding like another actor should not be the priority of another actor nor the casting director.

Also, I believe Khan is Indian, not middle eastern.

[omegacwa]

For me Peter Kelamis in The World's Strongest is about as good of an English Goku voice as we've ever gotten.

If you don't care for good acting which that was not. He has a high pitched voice, that's it. That's all he has going for him as Goku. What's wrong with Schemmel's vocal tone?

In this day and age with the internet an exact sound alike can be found.

No it can't. It will never be exactly the same. It will be close but will create an uncanny valley effect. Sounding like another actor should not be the priority of another actor nor the casting director.

I find Sean's voice to not fit Goku at all. It's too nasally and I personally don't find his acting to be good.

Honestly I haven't heard many people say Kelamis wasn't good (in the world's strongest specifically). I guess it comes down to personal preference.

and I fully agree with the fact that they shouldn't just go for a sound alike. That's exactly why we ended up with the in-house funimation cast as they were (which was for the most part awful at the start). When Funimation took over complete control they should have started from the ground up and redubbed the whole show with completely different voices.

I'm not saying they SHOULD use a sound alike. I'm saying in this day and age it is entirely possible to find a 95% match and that's probably what they WOULD do.

[ABED]

Honestly I haven't heard many people say Kelamis wasn't good (in the world's strongest specifically). I guess it comes down to personal preference.

And I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone loves Kelamis and his utterly terrible acting and vocal inflections. He's not just bad, he's fucking awful. Watch the scene where Goku opens the fridge on his space ship and accidentally takes out a beer then tell me that isn't some of the worst acting you've ever heard. Schemmel isn't Brando even by comparison, but he's not nearly as bad as Kelamis.

[omegacwa]

Honestly I haven't heard many people say Kelamis wasn't good (in the world's strongest specifically). I guess it comes down to personal preference.

And I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone loves Kelamis and his utterly terrible acting and vocal inflections. He's not just bad, he's fucking awful. Watch the scene where Goku opens the fridge on his space ship and accidentally takes out a beer then tell me that isn't some of the worst acting you've ever heard. Schemmel isn't Brando even by comparison, but he's not nearly as bad as Kelamis.

Well, I have heard people say he wasn't good in the series, but I was speaking specifically of the movies.

[ABED]

I think that's simply a matter of residual goodwill. He's noticeably better, but that goes for everyone. The better scripts lead to better performances.

Anyway, to answer the main questions - I'd probably still watch without Nozawa, but it would affect my enjoyment to hear someone else.

[MasenkoHA]

Was Kelamis’s Goku noticeably better in the movies compared to the series? Or did fans just really like how close his screams sounded to Nozawa?

[ABED]

Was Kelamis’s Goku noticeably better in the movies compared to the series? Or did fans just really like how close his screams sounded to Nozawa?

I do think he was a little better, but I also think much of what people like about him is his high pitched screams sound closer to Nozawa than any other English speaking Goku. They mistake that for good voice acting. I think it should be said that his screams don't actually sound like hers.

[omegacwa]

Was Kelamis’s Goku noticeably better in the movies compared to the series? Or did fans just really like how close his screams sounded to Nozawa?

I mean, that's definitely part of it, but I personally think it has to do with his happy-go-lucky performance that in some ways captures Goku's personality better than Schemmel. I also personally find his vocal tone more appealing, and yes, I understand that that is extremely subjective.

[Soppa Saia People]

Was Kelamis’s Goku noticeably better in the movies compared to the series? Or did fans just really like how close his screams sounded to Nozawa?

I do think he was a little better, but I also think much of what people like about him is his high pitched screams sound closer to Nozawa than any other English speaking Goku. They mistake that for good voice acting. I think it should be said that his screams don't actually sound like hers.

yeah i watched the pioneer dubs of world's strongest and tree of might this weekend, and well i get why people like him (and i do like him more than Schemmel), i don't really get why people always say he's the closest sounding English goku to Nozawa. i guess it's mainly because he had the highest voice of all of them ?

[ABED]

Yes, that's exactly why. It's not the performance. He has one of the most forced silly deliveries of any DB cast and even a nascent Schemmel was a step up.

[MyVisionity]

He has one of the most forced silly deliveries of any DB cast...

It's the delivery that makes Kelamis so great. The "silly" aspects only enhance his performance in my view. He infuses everything with a particular kind of energy that resembles Nozawa more than any of the others. He's just a natural. True, his acting might need work, but I think he had that "it" factor.

[MasenkoHA]

Kelamis sounds way more inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog than Nozawa.

[ABED]

He has one of the most forced silly deliveries of any DB cast...

It's the delivery that makes Kelamis so great. The "silly" aspects only enhance his performance in my view. He infuses everything with a particular kind of energy that resembles Nozawa more than any of the others. He's just a natural. True, his acting might need work, but I think he had that "it" factor.

That bar for great keeps getting lower and lower. The silliness isn't good or natural. He doesn't sound remotely like Nozawa, neither in delivery or spirit. His voice is high, that's it, and because of that, people have convinced themselves he sounds like her. There's nothing natural about his performance. What the hell are you guys hearing that I'm not? Watch the scene where he takes out the beer from the fridge and tell me with a straight face that sounds remotely natural or good. Both he and Nadolny have this weird up and down cadence to their delivery. It's such an odd choice.

[8000 Saiyan]

People just have different opinions than you, which is something you can't seem to fathom.

[MyVisionity]

Watch the scene where he takes out the beer from the fridge and tell me with a straight face that sounds remotely natural or good. Both he and Nadolny have this weird up and down cadence to their delivery. It's such an odd choice.

I don't notice anything wrong about the beer scene. It makes sense for him to be up and down in that context. As for sounding weird and odd, well I think that works for the character.

Also, I said that Kelamis was "a natural" in the role. Not that his performance or delivery was natural.

[ABED]

Watch the scene where he takes out the beer from the fridge and tell me with a straight face that sounds remotely natural or good. Both he and Nadolny have this weird up and down cadence to their delivery. It's such an odd choice.

I don't notice anything wrong about the beer scene. It makes sense for him to be up and down in that context. As for sounding weird and odd, well I think that works for the character.

Also, I said that Kelamis was "a natural" in the role. Not that his performance or delivery was natural.

How, just how, do you not see what the hell is wrong with that god awful delivery? No, it does not make sense ever. Is he delivering an advertisement for a sports drink? Even then it sounds god awful. God I wish we could speak so I could show you what's OBVIOUSLY wrong with "It's much better for me... AND TASTES GREAT!"

He's not natural for the role. His voice is high. That's it.

People just have different opinions than you, which is something you can't seem to fathom.

This isn't actually opinion - it's objectively god awful and forced. I get the idea of opinion, within certain contexts, but if someone was to tell me they thought Tommy Wiseau was a better actor than Al Pacino, or that BvS made sense, those are points that are objectively wrong.

[MyVisionity]

"It's much better for me... AND TASTES GREAT!"

He's putting emphasis on "better" because it's to contrast the sports drink from the beer. And who wouldn't be excited about a great-tasting drink? Especially someone like Goku? Why restrain your enthusiasm?

[ABED]

"It's much better for me... AND TASTES GREAT!"

He's putting emphasis on "better" because it's to contrast the sports drink from the beer. And who wouldn't be excited about a great-tasting drink? Especially someone like Goku? Why restrain your enthusiasm?

That's not enthusiasm, that's hacky over the top cartoonish voice acting. Why is he so enthusiastic? It's picking out a drink. It's over the top. He's practically at an 11 when the moment requires a 2. I really wish I could demonstrate why it's such a ridiculously bad performance. He's picking out a drink, not uncovering the Ark of the Covenant.