Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

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

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by Super Sonic » Mon Apr 19, 2021 6:23 pm

It would also be not a big market I'd say. For example, a new Ghost in the Shell dub starring Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and Richard Epcar would be cool to see, but don't think there's a market for it so it ain't happening. Same thing with a new dub of "Castle of Cogliostro" starring tony Oliver, Richard Epcar, Lex Lang and Michelle Ruff.

User avatar
Ringworm128
Banned
Posts: 2976
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 3:27 am

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by Ringworm128 » Mon Apr 19, 2021 9:44 pm

Is it possible? Yes, 100%. Is it likely? Probably not. Unless Funimation somehow lost the rights or desperately needed something to entice fans for the next "the way it was meant to be seen" release, I just don't see this happening soon. But at the same time I wouldn't bet my left testicle on it not happening, if you know what I mean.

User avatar
Aim
Banned
Posts: 761
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:06 am
Contact:

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by Aim » Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:42 pm

MyVisionity wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:40 pm While I agree that Goku has a distinctive voice and would like to see English VAs try and carry over into Adult Goku, I disagree that Goku is "still a child" after he grows up. He doesn't change in many ways and has some childlike qualities about him, but he does mature in various aspects and becomes an adult.
Oh yeah for sure, what I mean is he retains that innocence, though I’m not sure if that’s innocence or him being asexual, which is a whole other conversation altogether.
jjgp1112 wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:27 pm I don't have a source...this is literally just my conjecture based on a pretty clear track record. Again, why do Krillin, Gohan, and Goten, characters who aren't kids at heart, have the same voice actress from when they were kids? Why does Kid Trunks, who is definitely not mature for his age, have the same voice actor as his adult self? Why does Bardock, a character who couldn't be the furthest thing from childish, have Nozawa's voice too?
Have you ever thought maybe because it fits? If they can do adult character voices fine I see no problem with it. I never actually noticed kid Trunks’ voice actor being the same as adult Trunks, do you just want characters to have different VA’s for the sake of it?
jjgp1112 wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:27 pm That "his inner child" stuff is just a cobbled up explanation that does not hold up to scrutiny.
True, that would be the case if they still sounded like they were 12, which they don’t. Your problem is that the VA’s didn’t change, which they didn’t have to, because they sound fine as adults. Everyone who’s seen the series doesn’t think any other way in regards to Goku’s voice, because most people don’t think “OH! He’s an adult, he needs to have a vibrant testosterone fueled voice”. This seems to be a problem specifically with those who grew up on the dub.
Android 50 wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 3:54 am yeeea you can't really pull off what japan did in english. a woman voicing what looks like adult goku in a english dub would just come off incredibly jarring.
It literally hasn’t been attempted. The voice would need to be close to Nozawa’s as a English version in order to successfully pull off.

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

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by WittyUsername » Tue Apr 20, 2021 10:50 pm

Aim wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:42 pm
MyVisionity wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:40 pm While I agree that Goku has a distinctive voice and would like to see English VAs try and carry over into Adult Goku, I disagree that Goku is "still a child" after he grows up. He doesn't change in many ways and has some childlike qualities about him, but he does mature in various aspects and becomes an adult.
Oh yeah for sure, what I mean is he retains that innocence, though I’m not sure if that’s innocence or him being asexual, which is a whole other conversation altogether.
jjgp1112 wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:27 pm I don't have a source...this is literally just my conjecture based on a pretty clear track record. Again, why do Krillin, Gohan, and Goten, characters who aren't kids at heart, have the same voice actress from when they were kids? Why does Kid Trunks, who is definitely not mature for his age, have the same voice actor as his adult self? Why does Bardock, a character who couldn't be the furthest thing from childish, have Nozawa's voice too?
Have you ever thought maybe because it fits? If they can do adult character voices fine I see no problem with it. I never actually noticed kid Trunks’ voice actor being the same as adult Trunks, do you just want characters to have different VA’s for the sake of it?
jjgp1112 wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:27 pm That "his inner child" stuff is just a cobbled up explanation that does not hold up to scrutiny.
True, that would be the case if they still sounded like they were 12, which they don’t. Your problem is that the VA’s didn’t change, which they didn’t have to, because they sound fine as adults. Everyone who’s seen the series doesn’t think any other way in regards to Goku’s voice, because most people don’t think “OH! He’s an adult, he needs to have a vibrant testosterone fueled voice”. This seems to be a problem specifically with those who grew up on the dub.
Android 50 wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 3:54 am yeeea you can't really pull off what japan did in english. a woman voicing what looks like adult goku in a english dub would just come off incredibly jarring.
It literally hasn’t been attempted. The voice would need to be close to Nozawa’s as a English version in order to successfully pull off.
No one is saying that Nozawa uses the exact same voice for Goku when he’s a child and when he’s an adult. However, I don’t understand how anyone can argue that Toei’s practice of keeping the same voice actors for these characters across all ages and relatives wasn’t done largely out of convenience. If Trunks had been introduced as a child, chances are that Toei would’ve gotten a woman to voice him.

There’s simply no reason the dub has to follow Toei’s practice. It’s a completely arbitrary decision.They shouldn’t need to go through the trouble of finding an English speaking voice actress who can sound close to Nozawa. Masako Nozawa is iconic as Goku for good reason, but her take doesn’t have to be the end all be all. Besides, she has a very unique voice that probably wouldn’t be easy to imitate. And again, apart from the AB Groupe dub, none of Goku’s dub voices even sound particularly “testosterone fueled.”

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

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by MasenkoHA » Tue Apr 20, 2021 11:33 pm

Aim wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:42 pm
Have you ever thought maybe because it fits? If they can do adult character voices fine I see no problem with it. I never actually noticed kid Trunks’ voice actor being the same as adult Trunks, do you just want characters to have different VA’s for the sake of it?
Nozawa’s voice really doesn’t fit Gohan as an adult or Bardock. Trunk’s voice actor really doesn’t fit an 8 year old
“OH! He’s an adult, he needs to have a vibrant testosterone fueled voice”. This seems to be a problem specifically with those who grew up on the dub.
Goku voiced by a male actor as an adult =/= needs a testosterone fueled voice
It literally hasn’t been attempted. The voice would need to be close to Nozawa’s as a English version in order to successfully pull off.
People argued Kelamis is a good English equivalent to Nozawa and we know he couldn’t pull off Goku as a child.
Last edited by MasenkoHA on Tue Apr 20, 2021 11:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
SuperSaiyaManZ94
I Live Here
Posts: 2712
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 9:01 pm
Location: Alabama, USA

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by SuperSaiyaManZ94 » Tue Apr 20, 2021 11:36 pm

MasenkoHA wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 11:33 pm
Aim wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:42 pm
Have you ever thought maybe because it fits? If they can do adult character voices fine I see no problem with it. I never actually noticed kid Trunks’ voice actor being the same as adult Trunks, do you just want characters to have different VA’s for the sake of it?
Nozawa’s voice really doesn’t voice Gohan as an adult or Bardock. Trunk’s voice actor really doesn’t fit an 8 year old
“OH! He’s an adult, he needs to have a vibrant testosterone fueled voice”. This seems to be a problem specifically with those who grew up on the dub.
Goku voiced by a male actor as an adult =/= needs a testosterone fueled voice
It literally hasn’t been attempted. The voice would need to be close to Nozawa’s as a English version in order to successfully pull off.
People argued Kelamis is a good English equivalent to Nozawa and we know he couldn’t pull off Goku as a child.
Yes, he was decent as adult Goku particularly in the uncut dubs of DBZ movies 1-3. Now those flashback clips to OG DB in the Westwood dub where he for some reason did kid Goku's voice OTOH....oof talk about unfitting because he just used his regular voice as is which was really jarring to say the least.
DB collection related goals as of now:

1.) Find decent priced copy of Dragon Box Z Vol. 4 (Done)

2.) Collect rest of manga

3.) Get rest of Daizenshuu (2-7)

User avatar
TheBlackPaladin
I Live Here
Posts: 3772
Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:05 pm

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by TheBlackPaladin » Wed Apr 21, 2021 12:48 am

Aim wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:42 pm True, that would be the case if they still sounded like they were 12, which they don’t. Your problem is that the VA’s didn’t change, which they didn’t have to, because they sound fine as adults.
Eh, to each their own. This is all subjective, but to me, they only sound "fine" in that they fit the character and their acting is great. A fair deal of them don't believably sound like they are their specified age/gender. Like I said, as much as I love their performances, even now I don't believe they sound realistic. I came to accept their voices based on the "it's a cartoon, they can have cartoony voices"-logic.
Aim wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:42 pmEveryone who’s seen the series doesn’t think any other way in regards to Goku’s voice, because most people don’t think “OH! He’s an adult, he needs to have a vibrant testosterone fueled voice”. This seems to be a problem specifically with those who grew up on the dub.
That's something that a lot of people seem to hear dub fans saying, when it is not in fact being said. In other words, I don't know a ton of people saying that Goku has to have a super-manly, macho, "testosterone-fueled" voice. Most of the people who take issue with Nozawa's voice as adult Goku take issue with it not because it isn't manly, but because it sounds too obviously like a woman. I would cite Peter Kelamis's voice as a great example of a voice that both fits the character and sounds believably like an adult male while at the same time not sounding "testosterone-fueled."

Heh, and having had this discussion multiple times, this is usually the part where I get to pointing out the fact that, for all the flack Sean Schemmel gets for sounding "too macho" among some sub fans, he's actually one of the higher-pitched voices for Goku that I've heard among the many dubs of DBZ. Not the highest-pitched, but one of the higher-pitched ones.
A "rather haggard" translation of a line from Future Gohan in DBZ, provided to FUNimation by Toei:
"To think of fighting that is this fun...so, it was pleasant fight, as many as, therefore is a feeling which is good the fight where."

pepd
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 385
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:52 pm

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by pepd » Wed Apr 21, 2021 1:21 am

WittyUsername wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 10:50 pm
There are good reasons they would want to resemble Nozawa: apart from being the original voice of the character and being iconic, Toriyama, the author, chose it and has commented that it matched his internal image of Gokuu’s voice and is the voice he pictures when writing.

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

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by WittyUsername » Wed Apr 21, 2021 10:57 am

pepd wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 1:21 am
WittyUsername wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 10:50 pm
There are good reasons they would want to resemble Nozawa: apart from being the original voice of the character and being iconic, Toriyama, the author, chose it and has commented that it matched his internal image of Gokuu’s voice and is the voice he pictures when writing.
I’m aware that Toriyama considers Nozawa a perfect fit for Goku. I never suggested that he was wrong, but that doesn’t mean the English dub has to follow that exact example. Dub voice actors should not have to be forced to imitate the Japanese voices. They should be allowed to give their own spin on the characters, while still remaining true to who they are.

dragonmagico
Beyond Newbie
Posts: 114
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2020 9:45 pm

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by dragonmagico » Wed Apr 21, 2021 11:26 am

TheBlackPaladin wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 12:48 am

Heh, and having had this discussion multiple times, this is usually the part where I get to pointing out the fact that, for all the flack Sean Schemmel gets for sounding "too macho" among some sub fans, he's actually one of the higher-pitched voices for Goku that I've heard among the many dubs of DBZ. Not the highest-pitched, but one of the higher-pitched ones.
Yeah his normal talking voice for goku is pretty high. Its his super serious fight voice(and ssj4 and goku black) voices that are lower. but yeah for a normal causal voice, he is fairly high pitched

User avatar
TheBlackPaladin
I Live Here
Posts: 3772
Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:05 pm

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by TheBlackPaladin » Wed Apr 21, 2021 3:07 pm

dragonmagico wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 11:26 am
TheBlackPaladin wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 12:48 am

Heh, and having had this discussion multiple times, this is usually the part where I get to pointing out the fact that, for all the flack Sean Schemmel gets for sounding "too macho" among some sub fans, he's actually one of the higher-pitched voices for Goku that I've heard among the many dubs of DBZ. Not the highest-pitched, but one of the higher-pitched ones.
Yeah his normal talking voice for goku is pretty high. Its his super serious fight voice(and ssj4 and goku black) voices that are lower. but yeah for a normal causal voice, he is fairly high pitched
Actually, while we're on the subject of dub fans supposedly wanting super-deep voices for Goku (which is never a sentiment I've heard).......it has been quite a number of years now since the "Big Green Dub" became common knowledge, but I remember when videos of it first started showing up on YouTube, a lot of people noted how very deep Goku's voice is there, and not in a positive way. Most found it comical, not commendable.

Quick aside: I'm not blaming any of the actors in that dub for how it turned out, as it has since been revealed that the actors were cast in a hurry and had to record in a hurry, and were directed by people who gave them zero information on their characters or the background of the story.
A "rather haggard" translation of a line from Future Gohan in DBZ, provided to FUNimation by Toei:
"To think of fighting that is this fun...so, it was pleasant fight, as many as, therefore is a feeling which is good the fight where."

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

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by WittyUsername » Wed Apr 21, 2021 3:55 pm

The idea that people want Goku to sound “manly” always seemed like a strawman. I do get that not everyone would be fond of Sean Schemmel’s performance, but some of his critics act like he gives Goku this deep and stoic Kenshiro-esque voice, when he really doesn’t at all. Sure, his voice gets lower when he plays Super Saiyan 4 Goku, but that’s an exception, and even then, it’s more raspy than deep. His regular Goku voice is hardly what I would call “macho.”

Dragon Ball Ireland
I Live Here
Posts: 3540
Joined: Thu May 21, 2015 9:09 am
Location: Sligo, Ireland

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:40 pm

Yeah, I never understood why people think Schemmel's performance is deep, especially compared to David Gasman's Goku in the Big Green dub, that's Dan Green Yami Yugi levels of deep right there.

Sure serious Schemmel is deeper, but that only makes up a small amount of Goku's screentime, and is not indicative of Goku's personality as a whole. Definitely doesn't make Goku sound like some buff super masculine man, more like a battle junky showing his cocky side, which is appropriate because Nozawa does something similar.
Do you have any info about international non-English broadcasts about the Dragon Ball anime or manga translations/editions? Please message me. Researching for a future book with Dragon Ball scholar Derek Padula :thumbup:

dragonmagico
Beyond Newbie
Posts: 114
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2020 9:45 pm

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by dragonmagico » Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:45 pm

TheBlackPaladin wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 3:07 pm
dragonmagico wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 11:26 am
TheBlackPaladin wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 12:48 am

Heh, and having had this discussion multiple times, this is usually the part where I get to pointing out the fact that, for all the flack Sean Schemmel gets for sounding "too macho" among some sub fans, he's actually one of the higher-pitched voices for Goku that I've heard among the many dubs of DBZ. Not the highest-pitched, but one of the higher-pitched ones.
Yeah his normal talking voice for goku is pretty high. Its his super serious fight voice(and ssj4 and goku black) voices that are lower. but yeah for a normal causal voice, he is fairly high pitched
Actually, while we're on the subject of dub fans supposedly wanting super-deep voices for Goku (which is never a sentiment I've heard).......it has been quite a number of years now since the "Big Green Dub" became common knowledge, but I remember when videos of it first started showing up on YouTube, a lot of people noted how very deep Goku's voice is there, and not in a positive way. Most found it comical, not commendable.

Quick aside: I'm not blaming any of the actors in that dub for how it turned out, as it has since been revealed that the actors were cast in a hurry and had to record in a hurry, and were directed by people who gave them zero information on their characters or the background of the story.
Yeah the idea of even dub fans, even toonami nostaligia dub fans, wanting a deep burrly manly goku is honestly new to me. And I've been in and out of the db fanbase since the ocean/saban syndicatoin days. Heck I remember when the saying was "dub fans want superman goku!", which may have some merit. The og funi dub did draw a lot of parallels, but then again even some of the japanese movies (especially 5) have a stereotypical super hero feel to goku.

but, as far as voices go? a gruff manly goku voice is a new "demand" to me. Heck sean's voice is less gruff and manly/stereotypically super hero than Ian James Corlett's.

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

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by MasenkoHA » Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:51 pm

I’m still at a loss at why the English dub is being singled out here.

This isn’t like changing the background music or skipping the original Dragon Ball after the first 13 episodes to get to Z faster or skipping the first arc of GT and creating a recap episode in its place. Something Funimation and Funimation alone did.


Pretty much every single dub gave Goku a more traditionally male voice than the Japanese version.

theoriginalbilis
I'm, pretty, cozy, here...
Posts: 1904
Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:33 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by theoriginalbilis » Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:54 pm

Not to beat a dead horse, but I think Schemmel's performance is perfectly fine these days. No real qualms.

As someone who has long-moved on from the dub and primarily engages with the manga these days and the Super simulcasts/simulpubs... I think Kai/Super/the new movies & games have pretty alright English dubs from what I've listened to. They're far from perfect, but I think Sean Schemmel and the gang are pretty solid and natural-sounding these days. The only voice holdover from the old Z-dub days that I still dislike is Fat Buu's. The main problem come from the scripts and any terminology they retain from the old Saban/syndication days. If the scripts are faithful, then that goes a long way into ensuring a quality dub.

As much as I'd love a redub of vanilla Z, I don't think it'll ever happen in our lifetimes, lol. Toei would have to step in some way, and I just don't see it happening. The only thing I want from a re-release of DB/Z media now is getting the "original broadcast audio" on an official release. Whatever with a new dub; I wouldn't really watch it. I'd actually rather watch the unreleased Ocean/Canadian dub of Kai if I'm gonna engage with any dubbed Dragon Ball media.
Nothing matters (in a cosmic sense.) Have a good time.

User avatar
TheBlackPaladin
I Live Here
Posts: 3772
Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 10:05 pm

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by TheBlackPaladin » Wed Apr 21, 2021 5:00 pm

MasenkoHA wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:51 pm I’m still at a loss at why the English dub is being singled out here.

This isn’t like changing the background music or skipping the original Dragon Ball after the first 13 episodes to get to Z faster or skipping the first arc of GT and creating a recap episode in its place. Something Funimation and Funimation alone did.


Pretty much every single dub gave Goku a more traditionally male voice than the Japanese version.
Very true. Even the Big Green Dub's voice actor (David Gasman) that I mentioned earlier was cast largely because that dub was based on the French dub, where Goku's voice actor (Patrick Borg) is also very deep-voiced. Granted, the French dub has its fair share of problems, so let's take the Latino Spanish dub, generally considered to be the most faithfully-adapted and well-acted dub that DBZ got...well, Mario Castañeda, who voices Goku there, also has a pretty deep voice.

Actually, I'm only aware of one instance of a DBZ dub where the voice actor for Goku made a deliberate attempt to sound like Nozawa, and even then, it was only for his physical efforts/fighting noises. That would be the Hebrew dub, and the results are....well, here's his Super Saiyan scream.
A "rather haggard" translation of a line from Future Gohan in DBZ, provided to FUNimation by Toei:
"To think of fighting that is this fun...so, it was pleasant fight, as many as, therefore is a feeling which is good the fight where."

pepd
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 385
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2020 6:52 pm

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by pepd » Wed Apr 21, 2021 5:45 pm

WittyUsername wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 10:57 am
pepd wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 1:21 am
WittyUsername wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 10:50 pm
There are good reasons they would want to resemble Nozawa: apart from being the original voice of the character and being iconic, Toriyama, the author, chose it and has commented that it matched his internal image of Gokuu’s voice and is the voice he pictures when writing.
I’m aware that Toriyama considers Nozawa a perfect fit for Goku. I never suggested that he was wrong, but that doesn’t mean the English dub has to follow that exact example. Dub voice actors should not have to be forced to imitate the Japanese voices. They should be allowed to give their own spin on the characters, while still remaining true to who they are.
They are allowed to do whatever they are legally allowed to do; but they are not creating a work from the start, they are adapting an existing one, and they should try to avoid unnecessary changes, specially in elements that are confirmed to have been consciously decided upon.

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

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by MasenkoHA » Wed Apr 21, 2021 5:57 pm

pepd wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 5:45 pm
WittyUsername wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 10:57 am
pepd wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 1:21 am

There are good reasons they would want to resemble Nozawa: apart from being the original voice of the character and being iconic, Toriyama, the author, chose it and has commented that it matched his internal image of Gokuu’s voice and is the voice he pictures when writing.
I’m aware that Toriyama considers Nozawa a perfect fit for Goku. I never suggested that he was wrong, but that doesn’t mean the English dub has to follow that exact example. Dub voice actors should not have to be forced to imitate the Japanese voices. They should be allowed to give their own spin on the characters, while still remaining true to who they are.
They are allowed to do whatever they are legally allowed to do; but they are not creating a work from the start, they are adapting an existing one, and they should try to avoid unnecessary changes, specially in elements that are confirmed to have been consciously decided upon.
Giving Goku a traditionally male voice as an adult is not an unnecessary change though. You can’t expect every single dub voice to sound exactly like their Japanese counterpart.

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

Re: Would a “true” faithful dub ever be possible?

Post by WittyUsername » Wed Apr 21, 2021 7:22 pm

pepd wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 5:45 pm
WittyUsername wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 10:57 am
pepd wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 1:21 am

There are good reasons they would want to resemble Nozawa: apart from being the original voice of the character and being iconic, Toriyama, the author, chose it and has commented that it matched his internal image of Gokuu’s voice and is the voice he pictures when writing.
I’m aware that Toriyama considers Nozawa a perfect fit for Goku. I never suggested that he was wrong, but that doesn’t mean the English dub has to follow that exact example. Dub voice actors should not have to be forced to imitate the Japanese voices. They should be allowed to give their own spin on the characters, while still remaining true to who they are.
They are allowed to do whatever they are legally allowed to do; but they are not creating a work from the start, they are adapting an existing one, and they should try to avoid unnecessary changes, specially in elements that are confirmed to have been consciously decided upon.
They should stay true to the original when it comes to the script, but whether or not the voices sound like the ones in the Japanese version has no bearing on that. Masako Nozawa has a pretty distinct voice, and I’d argue that if an English dub chose its Goku specifically based on who could sound the most like her, it would likely just result in an inferior imitation.

Post Reply