Opinions on the original Funi Dragon Ball dub

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jjgp1112
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Re: Opinions on the original Funi Dragon Ball dub

Post by jjgp1112 » Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:27 pm

ABED wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 9:47 pm
jjgp1112 wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 9:25 pm
ABED wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 8:25 pm I don't see how from context how this wasn't a statement of its perceived quality. And I didn't say it was ONLY liked for one thing. So keep laughing at things that weren't said.
How could you have possibly inferred he was speaking about the quality from this:
If you want to keep it as anime vs anime I don’t think something like Perfect Blue or Akira would need English dubs now like they did in the 90s.
He's clearly just talking about popular anime.

On the other hand, it's pretty easy to infer what Soopa inferred from your post when you say it sucked, the story sucked, and it's well regarded for its animation. Essentially dismissing it's merits and the reception beyond animation quality.
You took that single sentence out of context

I said Akira is well regarded for its animation, and it's true. That's a statement of fact. I didn't say it was only thing.
Dragon Ball is at the end of the day a commercial product meant to sell toys and knick knacks to young boys and adult size t-shirts and shoes to its aging nostalgic audience. It wants to be as accessible as possible.

Something like Parasite really doesn’t need to compromise any artistic integrity because it isn’t merchandise driven.
How the hell do you not get that this is a discussion about quality?

Hell even within the same post you quoted, MasenkoHa wrote:
My argument that something that is meant to appeal to the widest possible audience would fare better with a dub including some kitschy live action Netflix drama series.
Artistic integrity, intention, and target audience have nothing to do with quality. It's subjective quality is utterly irrelevant to the discussion.

And yes: "It's well regarded because of it's animation, not it's insipid story that is clearly adapting WAY too much considering its runtime." Is a pretty damn decisive statement about its reception. You went out of your way to clarify that people don't like it for its story, when that's just not true. Regardless of whether you like the story, saying that its reception is not for the story, but for the animation is solipsistic hogwash.
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Re: Opinions on the original Funi Dragon Ball dub

Post by ABED » Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:40 pm

And I don't think the quality is at all relevant to whether something should be dubbed or not. Live action is a more important issue since live action performances is done through body language and the spoken word. The actors deliver lines in a specific manner. Having another actor speak over them always sounds awkward and is never as good. Animation is a medium where the performance delivered solely with an actor's voice.
I know I have been quite militant in this thread and I am sorry about that but ABED, if you think dubbing a live action movie "Gets you only half a movie" imagine being blind and not being able to watch it. AT ALL. I am sorry for being rude but this is a very important issue to me. I have a blind friend and he enjoys dubs a lot.
I'm not saying there shouldn't be a dub, but you are getting half a performance. Take for instance a dub of Friends. Chandler has a VERY distinct delivery. If you are listening to the French dub, you aren't getting Matthew Perry's performance in full.
Artistic integrity, intention, and target audience have nothing to do with quality. It's subjective quality is utterly irrelevant to the discussion.
Read the thread again. Words like kitchy should be the tip off that it was part of what was being discussed.
Last edited by ABED on Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Opinions on the original Funi Dragon Ball dub

Post by Cure Dragon 255 » Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:48 pm

...You win this one. LOL! I admit watching Friends dubbed is extremely pointless. And I am glad you dont think dubs shouldnt exist. Thank you ABED.

EDIT:Edited to better reflect my mood and intent. Sorrry ABED.
Last edited by Cure Dragon 255 on Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Marz wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:27 pm "Well, the chapter was good, the story was good and so were the fights. But a new transformation, in Dragon Ball? And one that's ugly? This is where we draw the line!!! Jump the Shark moment!!"

This forum is so over-dramatic that it's not even funny.
90sDBZ wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:44 pm19 years ago I was rushing home from school to watch DBZ on Cartoon Network, and today I've rushed home from work to watch DBS on Pop. I guess it's true the more things change the more they stay the same. :lol:

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Re: Opinions on the original Funi Dragon Ball dub

Post by ABED » Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:51 pm

Cure Dragon 255 wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:48 pm ...You win this one. I admit watching Friends dubbed is extremely pointless. And I am glad you dont think dubs shouldnt exist.
Never said that, please calm down. I literally wrote that is NOT what I'm saying.
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.
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Re: Opinions on the original Funi Dragon Ball dub

Post by Soppa Saia People » Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:05 pm

i mean also with akira, the voice acting in it and lip syncing isn't actually even all that common in anime. well it does have some decently big names for the adult characters, most of the teenagers were voiced by, well, teenagers (fuchizaki is so good in that movie), and the kids are voiced by kids, not to mention iirc tetsuo and kaneda both have pretty distinctive japanese teen way of speaking that isn't really carried over dubs, so that's a movie where it's better to watch in it's original language because it was a big budget, unique production for anime for the Artistc Vison or whatever. compared to most weekly anime, which yeah i exclusively watch in their original language, don't really have a unique production in that way to the point where it's effecting the integrity of it if you watch a dub (generally ofc).
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Re: Opinions on the original Funi Dragon Ball dub

Post by Cure Dragon 255 » Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:05 pm

I said that with the utmost calm. With a giggle in my lips. I wasnt being militant. Some shows are indeed kinda not worth watching dubbed. :thumbup: I genuinely do not understand where you picked up the hostility I supposedly meant. I am still calm. Sorry if this seemed like an attack. I like you a lot ABED. :mrgreen:
Marz wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:27 pm "Well, the chapter was good, the story was good and so were the fights. But a new transformation, in Dragon Ball? And one that's ugly? This is where we draw the line!!! Jump the Shark moment!!"

This forum is so over-dramatic that it's not even funny.
90sDBZ wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:44 pm19 years ago I was rushing home from school to watch DBZ on Cartoon Network, and today I've rushed home from work to watch DBS on Pop. I guess it's true the more things change the more they stay the same. :lol:

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Re: Opinions on the original Funi Dragon Ball dub

Post by ABED » Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:14 pm

Anyway, the DB dub was much better than the season 3 dub even if that is an admittedly low bar to clear. The quality of the scripts significantly hampered the performances. Some episodes are more accurate than others and as a result even the worst actors in the cast come off better. I'm sorry I can't cite specific examples, but about a decade ago, I rewatched the series dubbed but with the JPN translation to see how accurate the entire series was, and my recollection is the accuracy of the scripts affected the quality of the performance greatly. There are only a few actors from the dub who did well regardless and could even mitigate the awfulness of the lines they were paid to deliver (Armstrong being one of the few).

If Kai or the Pioneer movies was the baseline accuracy of the dub from the jump, I think even season 3 could''ve been way better, performance wise.
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Re: Opinions on the original Funi Dragon Ball dub

Post by KingVegetto » Fri Oct 08, 2021 3:37 pm

WittyUsername wrote: Sun Aug 15, 2021 9:43 pm A bit unrelated, but I’m starting to come to the conclusion that anime dubs and dubs in general might as well not exist. Parasite demonstrated that English speaking audiences are perfectly capable of watching something with subtitles, and dubs pretty much always have to bear the stigma of not living up to the original, so why bother?
Because there's a lot of Japanese specific puns that won't translate well to an English audience if you try to adapt them word for word. Also like others have said, dubs are proven to sell better(at least for the most part) and get more exposure for the show.
Kataphrut wrote: Fri Aug 06, 2021 11:29 pm I grew up with it back in the day, so I'm the prime target to be nostalgic for it. And yet whenever I hear it these days I'm like "this is awful." I got no nostalgia for it, the Kai dub is better in every way and I cannot go back.

Also, the Faulconer score is terrible. Every time I see someone uploading a DBS or modern movie scene with Faulconer music I cringe. I'll take even take the borked Kikuchi score from Kai over it.
I think it's really neat when fans do stuff like that. I fondly remember the Faulconer score and think it still holds up today, but I get why some can't stand it.

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Re: Opinions on the original Funi Dragon Ball dub

Post by BladeXRG » Fri Oct 08, 2021 9:56 pm

Better than the Z and GT dub of Funi, that's for sure. I wouldn't say it's "bad" but it's not good neither, but it has more bad things than good ones; you shouldn't watch it if it's your first time with Dragon Ball.

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Re: Opinions on the original Funi Dragon Ball dub

Post by Demon Prince Piccolo » Fri Oct 08, 2021 11:21 pm

Not particularly good, especially with dialogue changes, but better than the early Funimation in-house Z dub. The acting is decent for most of it. I haven't watched much of GT dubbed so I can't comment on if it's better than that one.
The story of DRAGON BALL starts from the moment Goku met Bulma. I don't really mind the Z, so long as it's understood that it's not the true beginning of the story.

I actually prefer the Goku vs Tenshinhan and Goku vs Piccolo Jr. rivalries to the Goku vs Vegeta rivalry.

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Re: Opinions on the original Funi Dragon Ball dub

Post by MasenkoHA » Fri Oct 08, 2021 11:41 pm

Demon Prince Piccolo wrote: Fri Oct 08, 2021 11:21 pm The acting is decent for most of it. I haven't watched much of GT dubbed so I can't comment on if it's better than that one.

The acting for GT was about on par with the original Dragon Ball and Buu saga for Z.

Script wise, I don’t believe the writing from the day to day scripts was necessarily any worse than average for Funi back then (FUNimation scripts always varied from dead on accurate, it’s kinda sorta similar, and what the hell are they even on about?) but the presentation for GT’s dub was horrid. At a time FUNimation was making baby steps in the right direction with the original Dragon Ball and Yuyu Hakusho, and even the Buu saga to a lesser extent, GT just took 10 steps back with the super serious narrator, and Batman Beyond knock off Menza score, and doubling down on Superman Goku.

The Dragon Ball dub does okay until around the Tien saga where it seemed to have an increase in the punch up humor and then the Piccolo sagas just makes so many damn errors and nonsense writing changes.


And even with the Tokunaga score being restored and English remakes of the Japanese
OP and ED replacing “Step into the Grand Tour” GT’s dub still feels off in a way I never got with Z dub w/The Japanese music
Last edited by MasenkoHA on Fri Oct 08, 2021 11:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Opinions on the original Funi Dragon Ball dub

Post by SuperSaiyaManZ94 » Fri Oct 08, 2021 11:43 pm

As i've mentioned before, not as good as their stuff of the last decade but even then a step up from Z especially the Freeza arc which was the FUNi cast at their most green and inexperienced. Good god, rewatching some of these made me realize just how night and day different they are in the span of 20+ years. It just feels worlds removed from when this crew first started.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t7wyidD6mUk

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tmMFp7Kr0Ng

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7NydttiYuvo&t=50s

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EdGa-2BSFiI
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1.) Find decent priced copy of Dragon Box Z Vol. 4 (Done)

2.) Collect rest of manga

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

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