Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

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Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by FPSSJ4_Goku » Mon May 10, 2021 1:05 pm

In my opinion, the top 10 dubs, from best to worst, are -


1. Original Japanese version
2. FUNimation Kai English dub
3. Latin American Spanish dub
4. FUNimation Z English dub
5. European Portuguese dub
6. AB Groupe English dub
7. Ocean dub
8. Bang Zoom! DBS English dub'
9. Arabic dub
10. Malaysian dub




I'll go into why I chose these in later posts. Starting with the Japanese version.

The voice acting is phenomenal. Masako Nozawa, Ryo Horikawa, Toshio Furukawa, Mayumi Tanaka, and the rest all did fantastic jobs at doing their voices. Then there's the music. The Kikuchi score features some of the best songs to ever come out of an anime soundtrack. The Tokunaga score for GT felt like a true successor to the Kikuchi soundtrack, especially the Vegeta vs Gohan theme. I haven't even gotten to the video game soundtracks! In the Japanese version of BT3, rather than recycling Yamamoto's music from the Budokai games, it features actual music from DBZ (and two other pieces from the Dragon Ball franchise and GT where appropriate) as composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi. And finally, it's the original version! This is where Dragon Ball came from, and I can see why a lot of people, like myself, like this version.
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by FPSSJ4_Goku » Mon May 10, 2021 1:13 pm

Tell me your top 10 of worst dubs!
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by SuperSaiyaManZ94 » Mon May 10, 2021 1:39 pm

My top ten dubs from best to worst:

1. Japanese

2. FUNi Kai

3. Latin American/Spanish

4. Brazilian Portuguese

5. French/AB

6. FUNi Z

7. European Portuguese

8. Polish/lector

9. Arabic

10. Malaysian/Speedy
Last edited by SuperSaiyaManZ94 on Mon May 10, 2021 1:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by sunsetshimmer » Mon May 10, 2021 1:51 pm

I assume both of you didn't hear polish "dub" of DB, DBZ and DBGT as i see no possibility of it not being included on such list lol. That was an abomination.
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by SuperSaiyaManZ94 » Mon May 10, 2021 1:56 pm

sunsetshimmer wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 1:51 pm I assume both of you didn't hear polish "dub" of DB, DBZ and DBGT as i see no possibility of it not being included on such list lol. That was an abomination.
I've seen some clips of it before, it's literally a voiceover guy speaking over the French dubs for all the characters in a monotone voice. :lol:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yklknySnrjg&t=37s

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CATKSgqbIz4&t=50s

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z6bc_x9UnUk
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by FPSSJ4_Goku » Mon May 10, 2021 2:16 pm

SuperSaiyaManZ94 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 1:56 pm
sunsetshimmer wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 1:51 pm I assume both of you didn't hear polish "dub" of DB, DBZ and DBGT as i see no possibility of it not being included on such list lol. That was an abomination.
I've seen some clips of it before, it's literally a voiceover guy speaking over the French dubs for all the characters in a monotone voice. :lol:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yklknySnrjg&t=37s

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CATKSgqbIz4&t=50s

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z6bc_x9UnUk
That sounds like a shittier version of how I created my old fan series Dragon Ball GB! I just did different voices for every character, and pitched them up or down depending on who it was.
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by SuperSaiyaManZ94 » Mon May 10, 2021 2:18 pm

FPSSJ4_Goku wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 2:16 pm
SuperSaiyaManZ94 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 1:56 pm
sunsetshimmer wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 1:51 pm I assume both of you didn't hear polish "dub" of DB, DBZ and DBGT as i see no possibility of it not being included on such list lol. That was an abomination.
I've seen some clips of it before, it's literally a voiceover guy speaking over the French dubs for all the characters in a monotone voice. :lol:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yklknySnrjg&t=37s

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CATKSgqbIz4&t=50s

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z6bc_x9UnUk
That sounds like a shittier version of how I created my old fan series Dragon Ball GB! I just did different voices for every character, and pitched them up or down depending on who it was.
LOL ikr, the lector reading is so flat and bland that it's hilarious. They didn't even try to make their voice sound any different from one character to the other.
Last edited by SuperSaiyaManZ94 on Mon May 10, 2021 3:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by FPSSJ4_Goku » Mon May 10, 2021 2:41 pm

Speaking of the Speedy dub, did you know it's actually illegitimate?

Yes, the Speedy dub is a bootleg dub. Even though it sounded ass, looked like shit, and had questionable voice acting, I'm surprised to find that it was illegitimate. Speedy has a retail shop that sells DVDs, Blu-Rays, and VCDs that were located throughout Malaysia and eventually closed in 2020 after three decades. So Rest In Infamy, Speedy Video Distributors Sdn. Bhd. (the latter two words, "Sendirian Berhad", meaning "Private Limited")
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by MasenkoHA » Mon May 10, 2021 2:46 pm

I’m confused. I think there’s more than 10 dubs of Dragon Ball. The topic title says 10 worst but the actual content mentions 10 best.

Which is it?

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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by kei17 » Mon May 10, 2021 3:00 pm

In terms of quality, the Serbian dub must be the absolute worst. There's nothing worth calling acting in that dub. You can even hear some noises like a cellphone's vibration in the background. When considering all the factors involved, I rank the Albanian dub as the worst because it was produced illegally and somehow actually broadcast on TV. It's crazy even if you take into consideration the fact that Albania is one of the most undeveloped countries in Europe and the presence of copyright laws is little to none.

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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by SuperSaiyaManZ94 » Mon May 10, 2021 3:30 pm

kei17 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 3:00 pm In terms of quality, the Serbian dub must be the absolute worst. There's nothing worth calling acting in that dub. You can even hear some noises like a cellphone's vibration in the background. When considering all the factors involved, I rank the Albanian dub as the worst because it was produced illegally and somehow actually broadcast on TV. It's crazy even if you take into consideration the fact that Albania is one of the most undeveloped countries in Europe and the presence of copyright laws is little to none.
The old Serbian dub is by far the worst, and it's like the actors didn't even try. Apparently the later dub they did is much better.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eKRyA4QO2eM
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by FPSSJ4_Goku » Mon May 10, 2021 6:38 pm

MasenkoHA wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 2:46 pm I’m confused. I think there’s more than 10 dubs of Dragon Ball. The topic title says 10 worst but the actual content mentions 10 best.

Which is it?
It's a place to talk about Dragon Ball's worst dubs!
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by SuperSaiyaManZ94 » Mon May 10, 2021 6:44 pm

FPSSJ4_Goku wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 6:38 pm
MasenkoHA wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 2:46 pm I’m confused. I think there’s more than 10 dubs of Dragon Ball. The topic title says 10 worst but the actual content mentions 10 best.

Which is it?
It's a place to talk about Dragon Ball's worst dubs!
I think the old Serbian and Speedy dubs are by far the worst of the lot.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p3M1b2ipJIo

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_pLD_wiImjM

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_tSSwG9Lv5A

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2pk3UFwumao

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AiCUeJ7d_MU

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HLq-ii8sQGI

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AINfBWYK6S4
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by FPSSJ4_Goku » Mon May 10, 2021 7:04 pm

SuperSaiyaManZ94 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 3:30 pm
kei17 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 3:00 pm In terms of quality, the Serbian dub must be the absolute worst. There's nothing worth calling acting in that dub. You can even hear some noises like a cellphone's vibration in the background. When considering all the factors involved, I rank the Albanian dub as the worst because it was produced illegally and somehow actually broadcast on TV. It's crazy even if you take into consideration the fact that Albania is one of the most undeveloped countries in Europe and the presence of copyright laws is little to none.
The old Serbian dub is by far the worst, and it's like the actors didn't even try. Apparently the later dub they did is much better.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eKRyA4QO2eM
What the actual fuck was that? I don't know if I'm supposed to laugh, be impressed, or cringe. I'm impressed at how bad it is, laughing at how disinterested Krillin's VA sounds, and cringing at how awkward the dub sounds. What an shit dub, 0/10. And I thought my voice acting was trash! (link below shows an episode of Dragon Ball GB. Don't let the art style fool you, just listen to the voices)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ULEPII ... sp=sharing

If you believe it sounds better than the Albanian and Serbian dub, remember that a 13 year old with no experience at all has better voice acting skills than a group of professional, experienced adult voice actors.
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by SuperSaiyaManZ94 » Mon May 10, 2021 7:32 pm

FPSSJ4_Goku wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 7:04 pm
SuperSaiyaManZ94 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 3:30 pm
kei17 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 3:00 pm In terms of quality, the Serbian dub must be the absolute worst. There's nothing worth calling acting in that dub. You can even hear some noises like a cellphone's vibration in the background. When considering all the factors involved, I rank the Albanian dub as the worst because it was produced illegally and somehow actually broadcast on TV. It's crazy even if you take into consideration the fact that Albania is one of the most undeveloped countries in Europe and the presence of copyright laws is little to none.
The old Serbian dub is by far the worst, and it's like the actors didn't even try. Apparently the later dub they did is much better.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eKRyA4QO2eM
What the actual fuck was that? I don't know if I'm supposed to laugh, be impressed, or cringe. I'm impressed at how bad it is, laughing at how disinterested Krillin's VA sounds, and cringing at how awkward the dub sounds. What an shit dub, 0/10. And I thought my voice acting was trash! (link below shows an episode of Dragon Ball GB. Don't let the art style fool you, just listen to the voices)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ULEPII ... sp=sharing

If you believe it sounds better than the Albanian and Serbian dub, remember that a 13 year old with no experience at all has better voice acting skills than a group of professional, experienced adult voice actors.
Ok, for a fanmade thing this isn't that bad. Both of those aforementioned dubs had such flat and lifeless acting that i just broke down laughing because it sounds so horrendous. In the case of Serbia especially so since they did a redub of Z in 2009/2010 and it seems that was a massive improvement in pretty much every way.

OMG Krillin's Serbian VA in the old dub sounded so unfitting, like he was voiced by an old man or something. :lol:
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by TheBlackPaladin » Tue May 11, 2021 3:20 am

While it is true that the vast majority of DBZ received a narrated "voice-over lector" in Poland, the last two movies actually did get what would more traditionally be thought of as a dub, with multiple voice actors who actually emoted, a script that synced to the lip movements, and an audio mix where none of the original performances were audible in the background. I haven't seen enough of it to say if it's good, though.

Apparently, between Poland's dubbing industry not being that big and dubbing being thought of in that country as more exclusively for children who haven't learned how to read subtitles yet, only so many movies get a "traditional" dub in Poland, and they're usually saved for bigger theatrical releases of child-centric movies like the latest Disney animated movie. The last two DBZ movies were released theatrically in Poland, though, hence the dubs for them.
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by 90sDBZ » Tue May 11, 2021 5:45 am

I'm not sure about a top 10, but the worst I've watched properly is easily the Big Green dub of the movies and specials. It's easy to see the funny side now, but back in the day it was the only way to watch the movies and specials in the UK.

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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by kei17 » Tue May 11, 2021 9:09 am

SuperSaiyaManZ94 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 7:32 pm Ok, for a fanmade thing this isn't that bad. Both of those aforementioned dubs had such flat and lifeless acting that i just broke down laughing because it sounds so horrendous. In the case of Serbia especially so since they did a redub of Z in 2009/2010 and it seems that was a massive improvement in pretty much every way.

According to some Serbian DB fans, the older dub had an (relatively) accurate script based on the original Japanese version. On the other hand, the script of the newer DBZ dub is mainly based on Funi's dub, so it is not superior in every aspect. I do not speak Serbian and I can't confirm this is entirely true, but I find this plausible because Vegeta says "девет хиљада" (nine thousand) on episode 28. Also the newer dub uses the German masters which are censored, while they probably imported the masters directly from Japan for the older dub.

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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by SuperSaiyaManZ94 » Tue May 11, 2021 9:27 am

kei17 wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 9:09 am
SuperSaiyaManZ94 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 7:32 pm Ok, for a fanmade thing this isn't that bad. Both of those aforementioned dubs had such flat and lifeless acting that i just broke down laughing because it sounds so horrendous. In the case of Serbia especially so since they did a redub of Z in 2009/2010 and it seems that was a massive improvement in pretty much every way.

According to some Serbian DB fans, the older dub had an (relatively) accurate script based on the original Japanese version. On the other hand, the script of the newer DBZ dub is mainly based on Funi's dub, so it is not superior in every aspect. I do not speak Serbian and I can't confirm this is entirely true, but I find this plausible because Vegeta says "девет хиљада" (nine thousand) on episode 28. Also the newer dub uses the German masters which are censored, while they probably imported the masters directly from Japan for the older dub.
Ah interesting info there, i am not that well versed on most of the foreign dubs so this is definitely interesting to hear.
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Re: Top 10 worst Dragon Ball dubs

Post by FPSSJ4_Goku » Tue May 11, 2021 9:57 am

While we're here, might as well talk about the Arabic dub. If anyone here knows SHINOBI-03, you'll know that he's from the UAEs and saw the dub growing up. Here is his post about all things related to the dub and what was changed: viewtopic.php?t=11772

and here is a sample of the Arabic dub of the Saiyan Saga (DBZ, not DBZ Kai): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmgbNDYAmu4


They dubbed Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Kai 1.0, and are now dubbing Super. The original DB dub started in 2003 and only dubbed 52 episodes. Next was Dragon Ball Z, and at first, they dubbed 54 episodes (coincidentally, just like the Korean and Ocean dub), but then in 2010 they went back and dubbed all the way up to episode 104, then stopped there and didn't continue. In 2015, on the 15th anniversary of Spacetoon, they launched Spacetoon Go, a mobile app that allowed you to watch Arabic-dubbed cartoons. They also dubbed DBZ Kai up until episode 54. And they kept getting reruns up until 2020 when they FINALLY started to dub Super. However, apparently, it kept getting delayed because of Covid, and somehow it got illegally aired on Algerian TV without Spacetoon's permission.

TL;DR, the dub is so bad, it's good. By which I mean "it's so bad that the theme song is the only thing that's good". seriously. look up DBZ Arabic opening or Dragon Ball Super Arabic opening on YouTube. that's the only good part.
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