Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Discussion regarding the entirety of the franchise in a general (meta) sense, including such aspects as: production, trends, merchandise, fan culture, and more.

Moderators: General Help, Kanzenshuu Staff

User avatar
ABED
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 20276
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:23 am
Location: Skippack, PA
Contact:

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by ABED » Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:02 pm

That's the opposite of arbitrary if the assumption is everyone cast before Kai is terrible
The biggest truths aren't original. The truth is ketchup. It's Jim Belushi. Its job isn't to blow our minds. It's to be within reach.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take - Wayne Gretzky" - Michael Scott
Happiness is climate, not weather.

WittyUsername
I Live Here
Posts: 4170
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2013 12:09 am
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by WittyUsername » Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:09 pm

ABED wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:02 pm That's the opposite of arbitrary if the assumption is everyone cast before Kai is terrible
I’d find it difficult to believe that someone could legitimately consider every single one of the actors who were around before Kai to be bad, while the ones cast after that are all or mostly good enough to keep.

User avatar
ABED
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 20276
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:23 am
Location: Skippack, PA
Contact:

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by ABED » Thu Oct 08, 2020 7:29 am

WittyUsername wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:09 pm
ABED wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:02 pm That's the opposite of arbitrary if the assumption is everyone cast before Kai is terrible
I’d find it difficult to believe that someone could legitimately consider every single one of the actors who were around before Kai to be bad, while the ones cast after that are all or mostly good enough to keep.
I don't think it's that hard. Kai wouldn't be the dividing line for me but the first crop of in house VA's was awful.
The biggest truths aren't original. The truth is ketchup. It's Jim Belushi. Its job isn't to blow our minds. It's to be within reach.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take - Wayne Gretzky" - Michael Scott
Happiness is climate, not weather.

Brodes
Beyond Newbie
Posts: 216
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2013 4:41 am
Location: Australia
Contact:

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by Brodes » Thu Oct 08, 2020 7:53 am

WittyUsername wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:09 pm
ABED wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:02 pm That's the opposite of arbitrary if the assumption is everyone cast before Kai is terrible
I’d find it difficult to believe that someone could legitimately consider every single one of the actors who were around before Kai to be bad, while the ones cast after that are all or mostly good enough to keep.
Well, they are mostly terrible. There are a couple that do a decent enough job, but it's just easier to recast anyway in this entirely hypothetical situation. 95% of the VAs are terrible. I legitimately do not enjoy listening to them. Hell, if it somehow makes you feel better, I'll amend it to recast all of the new cast members from Kai, too. (But besides the hangers on Kai was much better cast, so this seems like a really odd sticking point.)

precita
Banned
Posts: 6037
Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2015 3:10 pm

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by precita » Thu Oct 08, 2020 11:04 am

I think the problem is some of the old VA's can't do their voices anymore. Chi Chi's dub voice from the Boo arc of Kai and in Super sounds so strained now, probably because she's now an old lady in real life, and it doesn't suit her. Granted Chi Chi's dub voice never really suited her to begin with, she should have had an Asian/Chinese sounding accent in the dub, but it is what it is.

Also is it just me or Chris Sabat's Vegeta starting to sound off as well? He sometimes sounds British, and other times too hoarse. Must be all the chain smoking cigarrette's he does in real life.

User avatar
MasenkoHA
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 6201
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2017 9:38 pm

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by MasenkoHA » Thu Oct 08, 2020 11:30 am

precita wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 11:04 am she should have had an Asian/Chinese sounding accent in the dub, but it is what it is.
Why? Pretty much all the characters are Asian why would she be the only one with an accent? If we can suspend our disbelief that these Japanese/Chinese characters are speaking English we can accept they sound slightly Texan.
Also given Funimation’s track record of accents I’d rather not. They gave Murasaki a racist af white guy doing a Japanese accent.

User avatar
Robo4900
I Live Here
Posts: 4383
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2016 2:24 pm
Location: In another time and place...

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by Robo4900 » Thu Oct 08, 2020 12:18 pm

Arguably, both Goku and Chichi should have Texan-sounding accents to give some kind of equivalent to the original Japanese accents. (It's not exact, but it's close enough)

Anyway... If Funi ran a Kickstarter to potentially redub the original run, I would be a little cautious. If they were going to use the Kai cast, with a few new recastings of some main roles and a load of minor character recastings, with scripts that are fairly faithful to the original scripts, but with some deviations (basically making this a dub done exactly how they've done Kai and Super), then to be honest, I wouldn't be all that interested.
I would certainly hope it would succeed, and I would be glad for the countless fans who would enjoy this new round of dubbing, and particularly to the new fans who would be able to watch the original run with a proper, faithful dub, but I just wouldn't be interested in watching it. Sorry. The Funi cast (particularly Goku, Kaio, and Piccolo) are inherently still rooted in sounding like the Ocean castings that I prefer, so it's hard for me to enjoy the current cast. Even many new castings still sound like they're trying to keep consitency with the old stuff (the Kai recasting of Burter, for instance, actually sounds like just a better Don Brown soundalike than whoever voiced him in Z).

If the approach was, instead, to be open to having an entirely new cast, and they had sufficient budget and logistics stuff to cast actors from both the Texas/LA pool they currently use, and the Vancouver Ocean uses, so they could get the best of both worlds from the Funi and Ocean casts, and the approach to the scripting was quite faithful, then I would be on-board.
But realistically, even if an Ocean/Funi collaboration was possible, it's unlikely they would want to alienate the current wave of dub fans, so probably at the very least, Goku and Vegeta would remain their long-standing Funi castings. Still, if they were willing/able to get Scott McNeil as Piccolo, and be open to recasting basically anyone/everyone else, bringing in a cast roughly evenly composed of people from both pools, especially if Saffron Henderson was going to return as Gohan and/or Goku, I'd be 110% in.
(But, even if it was possible to deal with the logistics of union Vancouver actors working alongside non-union Texas and LA actors, the powers-that-be at Funimation would prefer to bury Ocean's involvement in Dragon Ball, it seems, so this is purely a fun hypothetical. There's zero chance of this happening)

If this was all happening several decades from now, in a situation where the old Funi castings just can't keep up with the screaming and such, and so a new cast was to be brought in, and Funi wanted to take this chance to go back and do proper, faithful dubs of the original run that also give the new castings a good grounding in the show, then I would be quite interested, but only if the new castings were encouraged to try their own takes on the characters, not just imitate whoever came before. (Though if the new cast were basically just brought in to sound like the old cast, I doubt they would go back and redub the old stuff anyway)

--

All this said, I don't think Funimation would do something like this with Kickstarter.
For starters, I think Funimation are a lot more flush with cash than you would imagine, and something like this would sell really well, so they could just decide to do this, I think.

I think the third scenario I presented is the only case where this would actually happen, but realistically, I don't think Funi themselves would ever go back and redub the old stuff. If, for some reason, Funimation as a company collapsed or was shut down, and the western Dragon Ball rights had to go to someone else, then probably those rights would go to someone like Netflix, who would likely want to redub things. A lot of fans would get angry about it at first, but an actually-faithful dub existing would go down well with hardcore fans, and there would hopefully be a general, reasonable vibe of "All y'all who love the original cast can just buy the millions of old DVD/Blu-ray releases Funimation were constantly putting out over the years."

But, I'm not sure Funimation are likely to collapse any time soon, so... I think, again, the most likely scenario for any redubbing would be Funi deciding to do it after a mass cast replacement is necessitated by a bunch of the current cast needing to go into retirement or something. This would be a very, very long time from now, though, and I don't know if Funimation would really do it. For one thing, certain things from Dragon Ball already don't hold up well today. Several decades from now, I think attitudes regarding Roshi's conduct and Mr. Popo will be harsher, which could present a roadblock to something like this.
The point of Dragon Ball is to enjoy it. Never lose sight of that.

WittyUsername
I Live Here
Posts: 4170
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2013 12:09 am
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by WittyUsername » Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:48 pm

ABED wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 7:29 am
WittyUsername wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:09 pm
ABED wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:02 pm That's the opposite of arbitrary if the assumption is everyone cast before Kai is terrible
I’d find it difficult to believe that someone could legitimately consider every single one of the actors who were around before Kai to be bad, while the ones cast after that are all or mostly good enough to keep.
I don't think it's that hard. Kai wouldn't be the dividing line for me but the first crop of in house VA's was awful.
But most of the ones who are still around have improved significantly.
Well, they are mostly terrible. There are a couple that do a decent enough job, but it's just easier to recast anyway in this entirely hypothetical situation. 95% of the VAs are terrible. I legitimately do not enjoy listening to them. Hell, if it somehow makes you feel better, I'll amend it to recast all of the new cast members from Kai, too. (But besides the hangers on Kai was much better cast, so this seems like a really odd sticking point.)
I just don’t see how people like Colleen Clinkenbeard and Monica Rial can be seen as being in a league of their own when compared to the likes of Sean Schemmel and Chris Sabat. Anime dubs in general aren’t known for having Oscar caliber acting. If you believe that they should just drop every single one of their actors, then fair enough, although unless you expect FUNimation to hire more union actors like James Marsters, the recasts probably wouldn’t be much better.

precita
Banned
Posts: 6037
Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2015 3:10 pm

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by precita » Thu Oct 08, 2020 2:11 pm

The VA's as of Kai and Super are all pretty fine. I'd only really suggest a recast of Chi Chi at this point because her VA is getting too old to play the role and she sounds way too strained.

I wasn't keen on kid Gohan's new VA at first but it grew on me over the course of the series. Everyone else like Freeza and Bulma are an improvement over the original.

Oh I forgot Jeice, somehow his voice in Kai is even WORSE than DBZ. I don't know how that happened. His voice went from some weird Australian knock off to an...even worse and more high pitched Australian knock off. Goddamn, I don't know what happened there. It's like FUNI thought they could do better and keep the accent but somehow managed to make it even worse.

WittyUsername
I Live Here
Posts: 4170
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2013 12:09 am
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by WittyUsername » Thu Oct 08, 2020 2:51 pm

precita wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 2:11 pm The VA's as of Kai and Super are all pretty fine. I'd only really suggest a recast of Chi Chi at this point because her VA is getting too old to play the role and she sounds way too strained.

I wasn't keen on kid Gohan's new VA at first but it grew on me over the course of the series. Everyone else like Freeza and Bulma are an improvement over the original.

Oh I forgot Jeice, somehow his voice in Kai is even WORSE than DBZ. I don't know how that happened. His voice went from some weird Australian knock off to an...even worse and more high pitched Australian knock off. Goddamn, I don't know what happened there. It's like FUNI thought they could do better and keep the accent but somehow managed to make it even worse.
Jason Liebrecht’s Jeice sounds more Scottish to me. It’s also interesting to note that for the past several games, Jeice has been voiced by Chris Sabat again.

User avatar
Super Sonic
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 5171
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2004 4:45 pm

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by Super Sonic » Thu Oct 08, 2020 7:59 pm

precita wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 2:11 pm The VA's as of Kai and Super are all pretty fine. I'd only really suggest a recast of Chi Chi at this point because her VA is getting too old to play the role and she sounds way too strained.
51isn't that old. Grant I just turned 38, so don't see it as being that old.
Robo4900 wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 12:18 pm Arguably, both Goku and Chichi should have Texan-sounding accents to give some kind of equivalent to the original Japanese accents. (It's not exact, but it's close enough)
Interestingly enough, Ms. Cranz does have a pretty Southern accent in real life. She just doesn't use it for her characters.

Like other guys said, don't see it happening in real life. Besides money reasons, folks might not be interested, kinda like how when ADV did that redub of Macross years ago. Heard it was ok and Japanese Minmei being English Minmei was cool, but it didn't sell well. Older anime tends to not sell well outside Voltron and Robotech. Speaking of which, would anyone want a new dub of Go-Lion? That's how I see this, as not really happening.
WittyUsername wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:09 pm
ABED wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 10:02 pm That's the opposite of arbitrary if the assumption is everyone cast before Kai is terrible
I’d find it difficult to believe that someone could legitimately consider every single one of the actors who were around before Kai to be bad, while the ones cast after that are all or mostly good enough to keep.
Given that Little Trunks is famous for video games aside from the recent crazies sending her threats and is Marvel's go to for voicing Black Widow, must be doing something good and not bad.

User avatar
ABED
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 20276
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:23 am
Location: Skippack, PA
Contact:

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by ABED » Thu Oct 08, 2020 9:44 pm

Super Sonic wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 7:59 pm Given that Little Trunks is famous for video games aside from the recent crazies sending her threats and is Marvel's go to for voicing Black Widow, must be doing something good and not bad.
I don't think they're bad but I do think it's more than fair if someone believed that to be the case. And saying "someone else thinks they're good" is not an argument. Plenty of bad actors work consistently. It's all opinion. Clearly plenty of people think Jack Black has talent. I don't agree with them but doesn't mean it's not a matter of opinion.
The biggest truths aren't original. The truth is ketchup. It's Jim Belushi. Its job isn't to blow our minds. It's to be within reach.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take - Wayne Gretzky" - Michael Scott
Happiness is climate, not weather.

User avatar
NitroEX
I'm, pretty, cozy, here...
Posts: 1690
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 10:21 am
Location: Not America

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by NitroEX » Sat Oct 10, 2020 9:06 am

In an ideal world I would gladly contribute to a faithful redub of the series (DB & Z and maybe a few movies too) provided it was helmed by knowledgable and passionate fans of the material who also happen to be talented professionals that know what they're doing. Unfortunately, we live in a world where few, if any companies could provide this type of service, least of all Funimation - their internal politics would almost certainly ensure the status quo is maintained and we only receive more of the same in terms of script and acting, and I personally have no interest in funding more of what we already have (DB, Z, GT, movies, Kai, Super + countless videogames worth).

Even with a new company handling it, the risk of half-assing the dub would be too great, and there's a good chance we'd likely just end up with another repeat of the Bang Zoom situation (largely voice matching the pre-established Funi cast out of laziness or ignorance, and not providing a true alternative) or simply being cheap about it like Funi themselves are always guilty of doing.

Casting non-union actors is fine and reasonable for the bulk of the cast but absolutely should not be a limiting factor for every role, especially for main characters. If the auditions show (and yes, everyone should be reauditioned) that a veteran/more expensive actor is the right choice for a major role then prioritize them and find compromises elsewhere, but the main cast should always be comprised of strong actors, not people grandfathered in who may or may not have had any business dubbing such an iconic series in the first place. I would also hope that in our modern age, we could select actors from multiple different locations rather than simply being limited to Texas and LA. I would love to hear actors from New York, Canada and maybe even the UK to collaborate alongside those other talent pools for a dream dub of DB & Z.

Will any of this actually happen? Of course not. DB and Z have already been milked dry of their profitability and any potential for a redub has long been squandered on countless re-releases of Funi's painfully mediocre uncut dub, so we're stuck with that, and no amount of fans could self fund a production as large as this. Still, I maintain that a hypothetical Funi redub using their same cast but with slightly better scripts and slightly better acting is not worth anyone's investment and would just be yet another squandered opportunity. Either promise us a brand spanking new definitive dub to end all DB dubs or don't fund anything.

User avatar
coola
I Live Here
Posts: 3360
Joined: Tue May 15, 2007 7:33 am
Location: Poland

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by coola » Sat Oct 10, 2020 10:17 am

No, because i disagree with Funimation political agenda, that they like to shove into their releases, that's why i ve stopped supporting them.
My Twitter: @kamil198811
Bulma fan
Thanks to Discotek:
Magic Knight Rayearth get DVD release in 2015 and Blu-Ray release on 2016
Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas get DVD release in 2015

WittyUsername
I Live Here
Posts: 4170
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2013 12:09 am
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by WittyUsername » Sat Oct 10, 2020 5:07 pm

coola wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 10:17 am No, because i disagree with Funimation political agenda, that they like to shove into their releases, that's why i ve stopped supporting them.
Have they been known to insert political agendas into Dragon Ball? I guess there was the whole “intolerance is bad” PSA that they randomly included for their dub of Movie 13, but that was 2006.

User avatar
Planetnamek
Banned
Posts: 936
Joined: Sun Feb 09, 2020 3:54 pm

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by Planetnamek » Sat Oct 10, 2020 6:02 pm

WittyUsername wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 5:07 pm
coola wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 10:17 am No, because i disagree with Funimation political agenda, that they like to shove into their releases, that's why i ve stopped supporting them.
Have they been known to insert political agendas into Dragon Ball? I guess there was the whole “intolerance is bad” PSA that they randomly included for their dub of Movie 13, but that was 2006.
Funimation's releases don't have any "political agenda", that's utter nonsense, don't know what on earth that guy is going on about.
"Why run away from something you're not afraid of?" - Goku

User avatar
coola
I Live Here
Posts: 3360
Joined: Tue May 15, 2007 7:33 am
Location: Poland

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by coola » Sat Oct 10, 2020 6:06 pm

WittyUsername wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 5:07 pm
coola wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 10:17 am No, because i disagree with Funimation political agenda, that they like to shove into their releases, that's why i ve stopped supporting them.
Have they been known to insert political agendas into Dragon Ball? I guess there was the whole “intolerance is bad” PSA that they randomly included for their dub of Movie 13, but that was 2006.
With Dragon Ball, it's more about subpar releases on DVD/BD.

With other anime, we had Ishuzoku Reviewers controversy (Thank god Rightstuf picked licence) and SJW pandering or installing their political agendas into dubs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7tS0ziL7rg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IfOUQlQz-Y
My Twitter: @kamil198811
Bulma fan
Thanks to Discotek:
Magic Knight Rayearth get DVD release in 2015 and Blu-Ray release on 2016
Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas get DVD release in 2015

User avatar
MasenkoHA
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 6201
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2017 9:38 pm

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by MasenkoHA » Sat Oct 10, 2020 6:18 pm

coola wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 6:06 pm
WittyUsername wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 5:07 pm
coola wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 10:17 am No, because i disagree with Funimation political agenda, that they like to shove into their releases, that's why i ve stopped supporting them.
Have they been known to insert political agendas into Dragon Ball? I guess there was the whole “intolerance is bad” PSA that they randomly included for their dub of Movie 13, but that was 2006.
With Dragon Ball, it's more about subpar releases on DVD/BD.

With other anime, we had Ishuzoku Reviewers controversy (Thank god Rightstuf picked licence) and SJW pandering or installing their political agendas into dubs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7tS0ziL7rg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IfOUQlQz-Y
Yeah I tapped out of the first video as soon as the author tried to insinuate gamergate had any legitimacy outside of turbonerd misogyny.

MyVisionity
Banned
Posts: 1834
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2004 11:51 pm
Location: US

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by MyVisionity » Sat Oct 10, 2020 8:46 pm

ABED wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 9:44 pm Plenty of bad actors work consistently. It's all opinion. Clearly plenty of people think Jack Black has talent. I don't agree with them but doesn't mean it's not a matter of opinion.
Bad actors work consistently for a variety of reasons that don't involve acting talent. I don't think it's clear that plenty of people think Jack Black is talented, just that plenty of people like Jack Black.

Not everything is either 100% fact or 100% opinion. People may disagree on good or bad acting but that doesn't mean it's just their personal opinions. With enough knowledge of the technical components of acting, along with having experience with the world of acting, a person could potentially form an objective argument regarding one's acting talent.

User avatar
ABED
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 20276
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:23 am
Location: Skippack, PA
Contact:

Re: Would you pay Funimation via Kickstarter for a redub of the full Dragon Ball media

Post by ABED » Sat Oct 10, 2020 9:46 pm

MyVisionity wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 8:46 pm
ABED wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 9:44 pm Plenty of bad actors work consistently. It's all opinion. Clearly plenty of people think Jack Black has talent. I don't agree with them but doesn't mean it's not a matter of opinion.
Bad actors work consistently for a variety of reasons that don't involve acting talent. I don't think it's clear that plenty of people think Jack Black is talented, just that plenty of people like Jack Black.

Not everything is either 100% fact or 100% opinion. People may disagree on good or bad acting but that doesn't mean it's just their personal opinions. With enough knowledge of the technical components of acting, along with having experience with the world of acting, a person could potentially form an objective argument regarding one's acting talent.
There are no objective opinions when it comes to art. I don't know why this is a seemingly controversial statement around here.

People like Jack Black because they think he's talented. If they just liked him as a person, I doubt he would work for decades.
The biggest truths aren't original. The truth is ketchup. It's Jim Belushi. Its job isn't to blow our minds. It's to be within reach.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take - Wayne Gretzky" - Michael Scott
Happiness is climate, not weather.

Post Reply