Dragon Ball and the UK.

[LostTimeLord]

It's not noticeable as much without the traditional high street, but I think the market's still there for those that buy online, at least I hope, as I like physical media.

I was moreso talking about DB's presence in supermarkets. Tesco and Sainsbury's have both dropped physical media since the pandemic happened. But if discs do die out, anime will be one of the last things to go.

[Kid Buu]

The highstreets here really aren't what they used to be, with many businesses having gone under. Aside from HMV we don't really have a chain dedicated to selling brand new DVDs/Blu-rays, aside from supermarkets like Tesco and Asda that only have a small display for them.

That's probably a thing of the past now, what with the pandemic and decline of physical media.

Justin Sevakis of Discotek actually said in an interview recently that Rightstuff saw a spike in Blu-Ray sales during the pandemic to the point they were struggling to keep up with demand. Granted that's a US retailer and distributor, but the UK is the second largest market for physical media, so I'd imagine sales can't be that far behind. It's not noticeable as much without the traditional high street, but I think the market's still there for those that buy online, at least I hope, as I like physical media.

Luckily I don't think anime has suffered as much as other content because its fans have always had that collector's mindset. With Manga UK now Funimation my hope is that they will have more money as it will be more a case of them adding to profits made in the US than wondering if a title will break even or not. MVM just seem to pick up whatever cheap and they're still going even though I'm rarely familiar with the stuff they put out. Then Anime Limited go for the collectors first and foremost, but it seemingly works out for them, as they keep releasing new collectors editions and even standards later on, which is nice as it shows they can cater for all budgets and still be viable.

Yeah, if anything the lockdown probably increased how much media people were watching at home.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

It's not noticeable as much without the traditional high street, but I think the market's still there for those that buy online, at least I hope, as I like physical media.

I was moreso talking about DB's presence in supermarkets. Tesco and Sainsbury's have both dropped physical media since the pandemic happened. But if discs do die out, anime will be one of the last things to go.

Yeah, that's fair. It will be interesting to see how much (if at all) of a supermarket presence Super Hero will have. I know Sainsbury's have dropped discs, but I'd hope another chain like Morrison's could do an exclusive, as they stocked the Broly trilogy. Though I think Super Hero will be less profitable than the last two movies in general because it's looking to be less spectacle-focused so Funimation UK might not want to risk it.

[90sDBZ]

I was moreso talking about DB's presence in supermarkets. Tesco and Sainsbury's have both dropped physical media since the pandemic happened. But if discs do die out, anime will be one of the last things to go.

Tesco actually still do physical media, at least in the branches near me.

[Cure Dragon 255]

I am so glad you guys have made my thread thrive. I thought it was gonna be ignored. THANK YOU.

[LostTimeLord]

Tesco actually still do physical media, at least in the branches near me.

They recently announced that they'd phase out CDs/DVDs/Blu-rays by the end of this month (Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... -streaming).

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Tesco actually still do physical media, at least in the branches near me.

They recently announced that they'd phase out CDs/DVDs/Blu-rays by the end of this month (Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... -streaming).

That's a shame, but understandable considering Tesco is more mass market. They stock a lot of physical media in the stores I've been to, but they sell far more DVDs than Blu-Rays although they don't sell anime. Good to know Asda and Morrisons haven't given up yet. I've seen one or two Dragon Ball mugs in Tesco though, so that's something, even though its not anime-related, still nice to see some representation for the brand at least.

[Kid Buu]

Closest one to me is Aldis and I never see DVDs/Blurays there.

[90sDBZ]

Tesco actually still do physical media, at least in the branches near me.

They recently announced that they'd phase out CDs/DVDs/Blu-rays by the end of this month (Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... -streaming).

Damn that's a shame. The article also mentions places that closed a few years back. I long for the days of Woolworths, Blockbuster, and Virgin Megastore. It's the same on the videogame side. We used to have Gamestation and Gamezone in addition to all those other places. Now we only have GAME and CeX (which is 2nd hand only). I really hope HMV manage to stick around for the forseeable future.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I long for the days of Woolworths, Blockbuster, and Virgin Megastore.

Me too, going to physical media stores were a huge part of my upbringing. I have so many memories of getting lost in them, seeing a movie that looks interesting, reading the summary at the back of the case, seeing what actors were cast in it. Browsing Netflix or Disney+ doesn't feel the same, and doesn't feel like an experience, which being in a huge HMV did. I'm not against streaming services, they're good for saving money rather than renting movies all the time before deciding if you want to buy them, but they will never be able to fully replace my desire for physical copies. It's the same for me with music. It always felt like an adventure going around the city, looking in all the different record stores for that album by my favourite artist. I'll always cherish memories like that.

Getting back to Dragon Ball, has anyone ever visited the old ukdb.net? Sadly I wasn't aware of it when it was active, but I know this was a UK Dragon Ball site developed by huge fans of the series from England and Holland during the time of the original broadcast. The owners of that site unearthed a lot of the information about the Westwood dub, including the fact it was Westwood Media, not AB Groupe that produced it (sadly because of the site being closed, this info fell into obscurity for many fans, including myself) and a lot of the cast (which is great because they were never credited in the ED).

Looking back on the wayback machine, some of the interviews can still be found, although I know there are more out there, including one with Don Brown.

Here are some of the interviews that were archived, courtesy of Duncan Roberts (Michael Dobson, Dale Wilson, Robert O'Smith and Peter Kelamis) and Jay R (other Peter Kelamis interview):

Interview with Michael Dobson (February 2003)

Spoiler:

"Michael Dobson: He's From England!"
Duncan Roberts meets Michael Dobson

Duncan: State your name, rank, and number.

Michael Richard Dobson. The Elder Brother. 01.

Duncan: Out of the many characters you've played in DBZ. How many do you remember
have been killed?

Michael: To be honest all I can remember is when Nappa got his butt kicked. As for the others.......I'm not sure. Is there a prize?

Duncan: Nappa was a fairly odd kind of guy. While the scripts strayed from the original (which I could care less about, the product that was produced was not the Japanese original, it had its own style) did you have any trouble with trying to be tough and serious, then the idiotic guy with worms, and then screaming your head off in a haemmorhoids induced rage pretty much all at the same time?

Michael: Nappa literally shredded my voice, we had fighting scenes that went on for minutes and he was always tearing it up big time. As you appropriately described as Haemmorhoid inducing. Although I managed to avoid blowing an "O" ring, my voice was trashed for about three months after the conclusion of the seasons run.

Duncan: What was it like to be killed by Brian Drummond? As opposed to one of your
brothers?

Michael: Refreshing!

Duncan: Is the phrase "Can die at will" on your resume?

Michael: It's actually a running joke, Toshi from VIZ Video, had considered creating an award for me. "Most deaths in an Anime series"

Duncan: Dragonball Z is a child's cartoon with a fairly rough exterior, how difficult is it trying to give a performance that doesn't sound ridiculously cartoony for an otherwise ridiculously cartoony show?

Michael: To those who watch the series and love it, you respect that and do the best job you can. I think all of us who do this for a living , have very active imaginations and it is always fun to move into the realm of fantasy and just enjoy. Oh and the getting paid for it bit, really helps too!

Duncan: Do you, in fact, smell like toenails?

Michael: Only on Tuesdays that fall on an odd number, between the hours of 3 and 4am. It's good to get that sort of thing out of the way, before you go public.

Duncan: Did you ever hear your Texan counterpart? Even if you didn't, if you've heard Piccolo it's the same voice. How did it feel? Also, the latest DBZ game has Nappa in it, the "internationally distributed" version had Japanese voiceovers, whereas the internationally distributed version of the show has the Canadian cast. Do you know whether Westwood tried to get anything into this?

Michael: Ahhhhhh Biz stuff. Literally we get booked on shows, we do our homework and show up for the day. We are not involved in any other way. It's always sad to have a show cancel or move, but hey that's all part of the Biz.

Duncan: Are there any characters you auditioned for that you didn't get?

Michael: Always! When we audition for a series, you take a shot at as many characters as you can till they boot you out of the studio. Obviously we can't play all the parts, but ya can't blame us for trying!

Duncan: Was it a directorial decision to make the Supreme Kai flat and mysterious,
what did you feel it added to the character?

Michael: Yes it was the direction that was given to me. It was actally a nice break as I was also playing that crazy announcer on the show. Which the crew nicknamed "Crazy Mike" talk about major amperage draw! I needed a character like Supreme Kai to wind down. He was kind of like my cocktail at the end of the record.

Duncan: As Nappa, you killed McNeil's Piccolo in the first season. As Majin Buu, he just about kicked the hell out of your Supreme Kai. Is the death/kill/fight thing a running joke? If not, why not?

Michael: Scotty and I have been best friends for many years now. And yes you are right it is a running joke, as to who is kicking who's but. It will always be, "Sorry man, my guy kicked your ass today, but I think your o.k."

Duncan: Roughly two thirds of the Universe's inhabitants were either you, Paul, or
Ted Cole in Gundam Wing. Were the extras just given to whoever was there at
the time? If so, did you sleep at the studio?

Michael: Yes the incidental roles are usually devided up amongst the principal cast. And with regard to sleep, Ocean Studios does have this amazingly comfortable couch in the studio....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Duncan: How did it feel to have no particular major role in Gundam Wing, but about
every single other character instead?

Michael: Funny you should ask. As I read this I was trying to remember the name of my main character on Gundam Wing, so I called my good friend and Talent Co-ordinator on Gundam Wing "Rob Bakewell" and he immediately replied "General Revil" and went on to say he was responsible for counting every line on the show, so there was no way he could possibly forget even if he tried. I had fun on Gundam Wing and it was great to change it up with multiple characters.

Duncan: Did you audition for any other characters in Gundam Wing?

Michael: Yes.

Duncan: Are you aware that if you got residuals from Escaflowne, Fox would be
bankrupt due to the amount of times Fox Kids has replayed it in England?

Michael: No...but it's very cool to here that it's getting lot's of air time.

Duncan: Starscream. It's pretty obvious you're not trying to do a voice match for
the original series' voice. What's it like having to follow some rough
guidelines for the character voice, and inject some of your own flair into it at the same time?

Michael: Here's an inside scoop, your right I did not try to voice match. In fact it was all an accident. I don't beleive I even auditioned originally for Starscream. I was playing around with some cool vocal sounds for Cyclonus and layed them down for my audition. I got a call back for Starscream as they were interested in the voice you now hear for Starscream. So the director Terry Klassen had me tweak the voice a bit and there ya go, I was Starscream. I love playing this character, since we are 100 Million years before the original series we could take some creative leaps with the character. Hopefully fans like what I am doing with him in ARMADA.

Duncan: Is it possible to count the amount of times you've been asked how to become
a voice actor?

Michael: No.

Duncan: Howe do i become voice actor??/

AAAAARRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Duncan: Have you had any problems with people like me stalking you?

Michael: No Duncan.......if that is your real name!

Duncan: How did you first get involved with DBZ? And did you realise the massive
time commitment you'd have over the next number of years?

Michael: I auditioned and got the role of Nappa. But I had no idea how many episodes there were. I was told that in Japan, when they create a series the do not write it to conclusion. Depending on it's popularity and story ideas, they will keep writing and inventing new scenarios for their heroes. So a show can go on for 100's of episodes until they have exhausted all possible story lines.

Duncan: What are your personal feelings about the excessive screaming in the show?
Have you had to develop different screams for different characters?

Michael: It is very hard on your voice. You try the best you can to control the thrashing your throat takes. Your voice does get tougher and can recover faster over time. Now it doesn't bother my voice that much and I think with time you also learn how to gauge yourself, to prevent blowing out your voice. Depending on the character of the voice your doing governs the type of scream. But to be honest they all start to sound the same really.

Duncan: You have a habit of playing numerous characters in shows, while in DBZ
they're pretty well defined, but in shows like Gundam Wing, did you find
they occasionally bled into one another?

Michael: Yes. You try to keep them separate, but when they are very similar in character and age, it becomes tough. You can cheat occasionally by creating an accent, but usually directors like to stay away from them.

Duncan: Did your stay in England help your voice in any way?

Michael: Growing up England helped a lot. With so many accents and dialects around you, you couldn't help telling a story without doing one or the other. My brothers and I used to sit around a tape recorder when we were kids and make up storylines and act them out on the tape. We had no idea people got paid for doing that....who knew?

Duncan: Is there any competition for characters between you and your brothers?

Michael: Always, because there are many voices that we can sound identical to one another. But the cool thing is our take on the characters will not always be the same. Also each of us individually have our own vocal quality and range, that can make us very different from one another. In some cases it has come in useful, because we will cover for one another occasionally on a show.

Duncan: You're in a unique position with two brothers doing the same job in the same place as you, do you think this has helped spread your name? Also, what's it like trying to work with them as professionals rather than joking with them as brothers?

Michael: I am very blessed, both of my brothers are very cool guys. We are the best of friends and have a blast together. Most people want to know what it is like on Christmas Day sitting around the table with all of us together. Paul and I worked on the "AAAARGH! It's The Mr. Hell Show!" I think that was a show where we were encouraged to let loose and so we did. But with Anime ADR, we are solo in the studio. All the characters are recorded separately. But hey we all make up for it at the wrap parties!

Duncan: While in the first two seasons, you had overlay and reverb to fall back on if you couldn't quite scream for the length of time required by the animation, has it been any harder with this "redub", or have you had less challenging scenes?

Michael: WE DID!?.. Reverb...they had reverb!? ........ You should ask my brother Brian about his Majin Buu character, oooouuch!

Duncan: Don't you feel just ever so slightly cheated when doing ADR and getting paid
less? Especially with DBZ, where the mouthflaps are odd, and the performance
levels are very high.

Michael: Yes we all do, because it a lot harder to do than Prelay.

Duncan: Have you ever been filled with murderous rage when reading the comments of Japanese DBZ zealots stating that you're completely inferior to your Japanese counterpart because you don't worship Japan and everything inherent within their culture, and you don't sound exactly like the Japanese actor, and you don't deliver lines in the same manner, and you don't speak Japanese, and you don't believe they control the weather, and you don't pen stories about their obvious super powers?

Michael: These people should remember that we are hired by the producers in Japan. It's impossible to please everyone. Although I wouldn't mind getting in on the weather control and Super Powers thing!

Duncan: Do you think it's slightly paradoxical that Transformers: Armada usesAmerican animation tools? Do you feel the "Golden era of random Japanese cartoons" is over?

Michael: No....I say that from first hand knowledge. I believe that I can say quite confidently that the creators of Japan Anime have no interest in becoming the next Disney. CGI technology is viewed in the world of Japan Anime as a cheat. They would much rather take the time to classically animate the sequence. There is still no comparison between "Classical & Computer Generated Image animation, the classical is beautiful and has soul.
In Japan it really is more about the art form and story lines than sitting down with focus groups figuring out the next blockbuster action figure.

Duncan: What is your opinion on internet illiteracy?

Michael: Waht waz thu Q?

Duncan: Who has Brian Dobson played in DBZ?

Michael: Majin Buu and he is still paying the medical bills!

Duncan: Thanks again.

Michael: Thank you, and my sincere thanks to all of you who enjoy our work. "LONG LIVE ANIME"...Cheers!

Interview with Dale Wilson (December 2002)

Spoiler:

"How do you plead?" "Not ENGLISH!"
Duncan Roberts meets Dale Wilson

Duncan: First of all, state your name, rank, and number.

Dale: I think you already have this.

Duncan: Ok, everybody, this is Dale Wilson, the voice of Cell, Olibu, Yemma, and most importantly a random extra in a "HFIL" scene. Say hello.

Duncan: You probably get asked this a lot, but what was your first "big break" into
the animation world?

Dale: "Barbie and the Rockers" followed by GI Joe sometime in the 80's and the rest is history

Duncan: One thing that puzzles all of us, as far as we're aware, the DBZ casting is done in closed auditions, how did you get the part of Cell, was it through an agent? How do the auditions work?

Dale: Well the auditions aren't exactly "closed". The production company sends out a casting call to agents who are asked to submit their choices of actors for various roles. The in-house casting person then may or may not call in any of these people... those that are called in then just do their thing and go home and wait by the phone.

Duncan: Have you auditioned for any other major characters?

Dale: Major characters in DBZ do you mean? No.

Duncan: We're aware that the DBZ dub has gone through a good number of directors, how many have you worked with?

Dale: 2 or 3, my memory is going south.

Duncan: Who's decision was it to "gargle" when Cell was screaming? Yours or the director's? And did this put a lot of extra pressure on you when recording the final episode due to the elevated performance levels and prolonged screaming?

Dale: I enjoy putting everything I can into the part... the "gargling" was mine. Truth be known... the actor usually does his thing and then the director will offer their input... by and large the actors are hired because they can do what the producers like. The directors make sure that this is consistent and fits the scene's requirements... sometimes discussion ensues.

Duncan: Do you know if there are any plans to dub any of the episodes previous to when you joined the cast? Or even Dragonball GT (which has a small part for Cell)?

Dale: No I don't know, but I can hope.

Duncan: Who made the decision to approach all forms of Cell differently?

Dale: It just seemed a reasonable interpretation given the changes he went through.

Duncan: Have you heard your Japanese counterpart Norio Wakamoto, and if so, did his performance have any impact on how you approached the role?

Dale: NO and NO....the japanese voices are quite different from ours. (DBZOA WILL BE FURIOUS!11 OGM -Duncan)

Duncan: Did you get to meet Hitchcock when you worked on "Hitchcock presents"?

Dale: I think he was already in the big studio in the sky at that time.

Duncan: There were certain attacks that Cell constantly performed, the name seemed to change quite a bit, was the name changed simply to fit the mouth-flaps? Or was there some other reason?

Dale: Don't quite know what you mean by "attacks".

Duncan: "Special Beam Cannon"/"Special Beam of Terror"/"Fire Beam Cannon" and such.

Dale: As far as the "Beam Cannons"... I think we just played it by ear and whatever came out of my mouth at the time. I can tell you sometimes those scripts got really wet!

Duncan: How do you feel Cell compares alongside the many other characters you have played in other shows?

Dale: He yells a lot more.

Duncan: It has been supposed that the dub you work on was created for TV stations to buy the series at a cheaper price (FUNimation charged Cartoon Network a whopping $10,000,000 for their season five) is there anything to suggest this is true, or was it simply because FUNimation took a long time to dub the episodes, and you've worked through the series at a faster pace?

Dale: I haven't a clue.

Duncan: When the first two seasons of Dragonball Z were being dubbed by Ocean studios, you were incorrectly credited for playing "Ox King", who was done by Dave Ward, did you audition for any characters for this dub?

Dale: I've gotta be honest... I can't remember!

Duncan: At points in the series, the animation is exceptionally poor, especially the episode in which Cell becomes "Perfect", do you feel it affected your performance in any way with less visual pyrotechnics to work off of?

Dale: Nope.

Duncan: ADR work is quite stressful due to the fact that you have to bend over backwards for the animation, did you feel that "Dragonball Z" was harder to work on due to the incredible amounts of grunting, screaming, and sweating half naked green cartoon men? Brian Drummond found it very "different" in the beginning of DBZ because the animation is so different to American series, did you feel you had to push yourself for your delivery to match up with the wide open mouths a lot?

Dale: It's most disconcerting to have to do some awkward thing at the end of a sentence because the characters mouth happened to be open... but that's life.

Also, we get paid by the line now so every grunt, scream and such is paid individually. It's a heck of a lot easier to match screams than dialogue... so gimme the screams anytime... you can roar through... as opposed to hitting some line thats all broken up and not in an English style pacing and having to do take after take.

Rather than being stressful, I would call dubbing frustrating and downright annoying sometimes because you really have to sacrifice performance for the damn lip flaps and the locked in pacing thereof. I have heard, and don't quote me on this, that the mouth flaps weren't even necessarily done for the Japanese language, although they seem to fit better.

Duncan: Do you know who the mixers or recording engineers are?

Dale: Most definitely. We are seperated only by a big glass window.

Duncan: Keith Goddard? Could you give us some names to fill gaps in the cast list?

Dale: No, not Keith. Gimme your gaps.

Duncan: The only gap we have is that nobody knows who did Trunks, and it's quite infuriating. Oh, is Sam Vincent involved, or are my ears playing tricks on me?

Dale: Trunks is played by Allistair Able... Sam was on the show but at one point he left to go to Los Angeles and got dropped. (UPDATE: Don Brown saw him "the other day". -Duncan)

Duncan: Do you get to see the final product? If not, do you ever try and catch the show on YTV?

Dale: We can see the final product at the studio, but we can't see it on TV here because ours is only showing there.

Duncan: Actually, YTV started showing your dub for the last episode or so of the Cell saga, and we started getting FUNimation's dub a few weeks ago, so nobody really gets to hear you Yemma.

Dale: This is all very confusing, switching dubs... AAAARRRRGH!

Duncan: YTV get new episodes on the 6th of January, may be worth watching if for nothing other than the utterly mindless violence. And Drummond.

Dale: Violence is good. Violence sells, and it's easier to get than sex!

Duncan: How do you feel about ADR work compared to prelay, apart from the obvious pay differences, but for a show like DBZ where the focus is mainly on yelling, grunting, screaming, and generally being much more lively than usual? Do you feel more compelled to do your best and do it in one take as you're being paid per line?

Dale: Prelay is infinitely more fun because you're in the studio with all your mates, and we're always fooling around. Sure, we "try" to get ADR lines right the first time, but it usually doesn't happen because we haven't seen the flaps... the grunting... the screaming, and so forth. Prelay goes a lot faster for the most part.

Duncan: Do you get any residuals from ADR? And if so, did it annoy you that YTV only switched to the Canadian dub for the last episode or two of the Cell saga?

Dale: NO RESIDUALS... DAMME! As for the rest, well that's show biz, as we say.

Duncan: I hear you've worked in Toronto, I also hear it can be pretty cold down there, do you have some sort of miracle cold cure, or do you just not work when the elements are against you?

Dale: I HAVE THE STRENGTH OF TEN FOR MY HEART IS PURE.

Duncan: Win.

Duncan: Today I saw some of the earlier Cell episodes, the dialogue is... Not too great at points, were there any lines you felt you simply had to change, or did you enjoy being the "Pantomine Villain", so to speak?

Dale: We don't usually have the luxury of being allowed to change the lines. We're constrained by time and the fact that the damn flaps are what they are. Mostly we try and not worry too much about the dialogue as such... it is after all just a cartoon.

Duncan: The speed at which the series was dubbed is really quite incredible, was this just down to most of the cast being accustomed with the series, or were you all scheduled in for longer sessions?

Dale: A combination of talented technical people... Experienced actors, and yes, sometimes long days.

Duncan: You are linked to Dameon Clarke in a strange sort of way, do you find this as much of an incredible coincidence as I do? Or does stuff like this happen all the time and we simply don't know about it?

Dale: No, this is just a very funny coincidence! Also, since they were always a couple of eps ahead of us, Dameon would call me and give me a "heads up" on the fact that a voice/character change was coming up, so I'd have a chance to dig into my rich trove of voices and find something before I went in.

Duncan: Haha, wow. Did you know that you were often ahead at points after Cell? Did you ever get to hear Dameon's... Computer "Enhanced" second form Cell? Did he do any voice work while in Canada?

Dale: No I didn't, and no he didn't.

Duncan: I understand your latest prelay work was on a Stargate Cartoon, who do you play, and are there any other familiar voices we'll be hearing on this show? (NOT STARGATE FAN)

Dale: I play the Major on "Stargate Infinity". Jim Byrnes is in the cast as a villain from time to time... Mark Hildreth is therem and Brian Drummond from time to time.

Duncan: Jim Byrnes is also a singer, right? Oh, and does Drummond scream less? If not, is he quite an intimidating man?

Dale: That's right, blues singer, great voice. Brian is a very quiet, unassuming father of three... I believe.

Duncan: Shame Aidan's big break had to be "Ecks vs Sever".

Duncan: Ever been recognised on the street? Or do the crazy stalker types keep their distance?

Dale: It's not likely I'd be recognized on the street since I don't go around dressed up like Cell. But yes, I do get recognized because of my extensive work in TV commercials.

Duncan: Do you have a favourite voice actor?

Dale: Scotty McNeil... Ian Corlett... Kathleen Barr... Jim Byrnes... ME... Colin Murdoch.

Duncan: My list is pretty much the same. Kathleen has great comedic timing, but less prolific roles than she really deserves. As for Corlett, I'm just sad he gave up ADR.

Dale: Kathleen does a TON of prelay work, and consistently beats out everyone who goes up against her.

Duncan: Well, we get a lot of shows anywhere up to two years later than the US and Canada, last I saw of her was on Animaniacs I believe, either way, she was great.

Duncan: What was the last audition you did?

Dale: A part for a new show called "Yackity Yack", which is going to be quite funny... I didn't get the part, they "went younger", as they say... Poop.

Duncan: "WILL YOU CHALLENGE THE ENEMY AGAIN?"

Duncan: Did you have any special warm-ups for Cell? Especially in his first form when he lingered on "S" sounds a lot.

Dale: Nope. We just wanted him to be "snaky", and that seemed a reasonable way to go.

Duncan: Hah, Drummond did that in season 1, I knew a group of people who thought he had a speech impediment. Then came season 2.

Duncan: Yemma is a much less serious character than Cell, do you approach him in a comedic manner, or simply light hearted?

Dale: Just kind of lighter, I guess... Big and rolly polly.

Duncan: Do you have a demo tape, or are you one of the guys who's been around since the animation industry came to town and you don't need one?

Dale: I have a demo, but it's not really got any of my usual voices on it.

Duncan: If you had to dub it all again, is there anything you'd do differently with any of your characters?

Dale: Hard to say since I haven't really had the oppurtunity to see/hear what I did... Possibly.

Duncan: How long was a typical recording session? Were there any times you simply had to take a long break because of the strain?

Dale: Typically we go from one to four or five hours... depending. No strain though, I've been doing this for a looooooong time, and I guess my voice can handle it. It's really great fun screaming at the top of your lungs, especially after coming to the studio in rush hour traffic...

Duncan: Jack Nicholson holds the key to your traffic problems.

Duncan: Do you have a favourite director?

Dale: Sue Blue, and Paul Quinn.

Duncan: Oh my... Sue Blu directed DBZ at one point? Or was I just not being specific with my question?

Dale: No, you weren't being specific I guess... To be truthful, the directors for DBZ are not the same as prelay directors, they are mostly relatively inexperienced newcomers, and haven't done prelay.

Duncan: Was there any particular scene in the series you particularly disliked for any reason?

Dale: Nope.

Duncan: On the flip side, any scene you particularly enjoyed?

Dale: Nope, not really.

Duncan: Did you do any research for the character? Or do you find that a random scientific monstrosity is fairly self-explanatory?

Dale: I'll go for the self-explanatory.

Duncan: Cartoons aren't usually very "deep", did you feel DBZ was a particularly shallow show, or did you enjoy its bluntness and straightforward approach?

Dale: It's an amazingly shallow show without a single morally redeeming virtue.

Duncan: Haha, some of the seven-year-old DBZ zealots wouldn't like you for that.

Dale: Yeah, but 7-year-olds don't have any morally redeeming attributes except innocence.

Duncan: Did the recording sessions become easier as Perfect Cell slipped into a more natural voice?

Dale: Yes indeed.

Duncan: Did the way the show would spend episodes upon episodes doing nothing in particular become annoying, or was it nice to know that the plot hadn't progressed, but you were still getting paid?

Dale: To be honest, it didn't really matter.

Duncan: Is there any line that sticks in your head from your time performing the role of Cell?

Dale: Yes... That awful Kamehameha powerup line... Which I could never quite make it fit... just goofy timing.

Duncan: THANKS, JAPAN!

Duncan: Any parting comment for the fans?

Dale: Yes, thanks for your enthusiastic support.

Duncan: Once again, thank you very, very much.

Dale: You're very, very welcome.

Well, some very interesting comments there. Seems that from what Dale and Don have said, DBZ is just waiting to be mixed, and come the beginning of next year, the last batch of episodes air.

While it's taken a good number of years for us to find out who's who, this interview put some ghosts to bed, and now comes the tantalising period where we try and get every last scrap of information about the actors and the dub. Unfortunately, I'll never get to sleep on Drummond's couch, but at least we know who Trunks is.

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed... Something. Yeah.

-- Duncan

Interview with Peter Kelamis (October 2001)

Spoiler:

Interview with Peter Kelamis
Conducted by JR, October 2001

This is the first interview I have ever done. I'd contacted Peter Kelamis a few weeks ago, and it had been arranged pretty fast.
The reason of interviewing him, was because a lot of us felt that his last interview could have been a lot better. It was not really about DBZ, and it was pretty short.

We at UKDragonball are planning to interview more VA's, and Peter might be our chance to get in contact with them.
To the people who have no clue who this Peter Kelamis is, let me explain.

Peter took over the role of Son Gokuu in the FUNimation dub at episode 38. Ian Corlett had left the show and Kelamis was the VA who took over.
Many people did not even recognized the fact that Gokuu was being done by a different man, Kelamis did sound kind of similar to Corlett, but there was a clear difference in the two voices.

After a few episodes Kelamis seemed to get used to his role, and many fans noticed that he sounded similar to the original Japanese VA. He sounded innocent and happy. A good example is this line against recoome: "I saw an opening that seemed to scream out, attack! so I did, HA!"

When FUNimation changed the cast, Kelamis was replaced as well. Sean Schemmel was the new Gokuu va, who tried to imitate Corlett's toughness instead of Kelamis' charm and innocence. We were disappointed.......

There was however great news for the Ocean fans! Around February, the Ocean group returned to DBZ in Holland. So did Kelamis, who left the show for good at the end of the season.

This is our interview with him. The man who was capable of doing the right job on English Gokuu, well in my opinion that is.



Here it is:


1.
JR: What do you think of Son Gokuu, what kind of person is he?

Peter : Committed, fierce, a loving father, and in need of a really good haircut.

2.
JR: How did you created the voice? Did you try to imitate Corlett or did you want to take your own shot at it?

Peter: I actually auditioned for the part and Ian's voice was the voice they were attempting to match. I guess I was the closest.

3.
JR: What do you think of the Japanese VA who does Son Gokuu? she is a woman. what is your opinion on that?

Peter: She does an excellent job. It is not what we are used to here though. I suppose it's a cultural thing. What we, as North Americans, (or Europeans), may find wierd sounding, may be completely normal in Asia. I'm sure they are equally confused by Baywatch.

4.
JR: Could Son Gokuu be done by a woman in the American version?

Peter: As many talented female voice actors as there are out there, I would say no. But who knows, I'm sure there is a female out there with a voice that could work out. I just know that I could never be a Powerpuff Girl.

5.
JR: Son Gokuu has been done by four English voice actors now. While Ian Corlett and Sean Schemmel made Son Gokuu sound like "The good guy", in other words the hero, you and Kirby Morrow sound more natural, I mean to say you sound more like real persons. Was that a desicion of the director, or was that your own idea?

Peter: A little bit of both. There were many directors who called the shots over the span, and movements, of the show. You perform the way you are directed to perform, but something of yourself sneaks through no matter what you do. Each voice version has it's good and bad merits.

6.
JR: When did you first hear about the new dub. How did they contacted you? Were you happy getting the role back?

Peter: It was fun. They called me and at first I wasn't available. When I became open again, my agent called them back and let them know and they seemed excited to have me back. After having to leave the voice again, Kirby, who is a friend of mine, took over and he is doing an excellent job.

7.
JR: What do you think of Funimation's decision of changing the crew?

Peter: I actually don't know anything about that decision.

8.
JR: Who is actually the voice director of the dub?

Peter: Barry, one of the producers of the show was in charge when I first did the voice, and then Karl at Ocean directed me.

9.
JR: Which studio is doing the redub? We heard it is not the Ocean studios, but another Vancouver studio. Is that true?

Peter: Where I was doing the re-dub, it was (We Know, but you don't need to -Me). I believe they are still doing it there but I am not 100% on that.


10.
JR: Have you ever heard FUNimation's dub? If so, what do you think of it?

Peter: To tell you the truth I haven't heard a lot of theirs. The show airs at different times here and I end up catching a mix of versions on any given night and time. When I did come across it, I thought it was very well done.

11.
JR: Did you ever work with other va's at the same time?

Peter: Never. That's just the way dubbing works.

12.
JR: DBZ has been dubbed by 2 companies now. Both companies use 30 % correct dialogue and another music score. While your version uses some of the music from the anime Megaman, FUNimation hired Bruce Falcouner. Neither company used the original score, because it was old, and kids would not like it. In other countries DBZ does have it's original score. What is your opinion on that? Do you think it is better to write a new score, or keep the original?

Peter: I guess it comes down to how much of a purist you are. I prefer the newer score but am aware that there are many who don't. It's an apple and oranges type of thing. It just makes for two different versions of a good thing.

13.
JR: What kind of characters do you like to play? Can you play a bad guy for example?

Peter: I love playing characters where I get to use accents and wild characters. One recent experience was I got to work opposite Tim Curry in "Barbie In The Nutcracker" playing the annoying character of Pimm. I threw an English accent on it and had a blast. I just got back from the Premiere Video Awards in Los Angeles where I was nominated for "Best Animated Performance" for that role. I lost out to Scott Wolf, but it was an honor. Also in the series, "Fat Dog Mendoza", I play Doc Rectangle, and am the main villain in the show. Again, a lot of fun to play.

14.
JR: Do you have a warm-up before the dubbing? or do you just start?

Peter: Usually a coffee. I don't have any freaky voice exercises. Some people do, and all the power to you. I just kinda "go for it".

15.
JR: How do you record screams? It must be hard to record a scream the right way.

Peter: Any actor who played Goku will tell you, that was the worst part of doing the part. If you had a screaming scene that you had to do over and over, you really felt it. Many episodes contained almost complete fight scenes throughout. They were tough on the voice box.

16.
JR: What is your favourite DBZ episode that you dubbed/watched?

Peter: The one where Goku slept throughout the whole episode.........I recorded that after a "fight scene" episode.

17.
JR: Who is in fact your favourite person in DBZ?

Peter: Goku.............is there any one else on the show?

18.
JR: Who is your favourite VA in the dub of dbz?

Peter: Too many of close friends still voice the show, so picking one is impossible without pissing someone off. THEY ARE ALL AWESOME!

19.
JR: Who is your favourite actor of all times?

Peter: I don't know if I could pick one, but there are a few that amaze you every time they perform.....Jack Nicholson, Gary Oldman, Sena Penn, Jim Carrey......I could go on for a while....

20.
JR: Why don't you put dbz material from yourself on your site? It would show more aspects of your talent.

Peter: Actually the site hasn't been up for very long and I am still adding and revising it, but I will do that in the future. Thanks for the suggestion.


------

At first I like to say I am amazed how fast this interview was done. Thank you Peter!

Now to the interview itself, I did not expected him to answer all questions but luckily he did. I think his description of Son Gokuu is pretty accurate. However it is surprising he doesn't call him innocent or naive at all. It may explain the change is his voice in his last episodes. It sounded a bit more tough and committed.

We now know that it is in fact not done by Ocean studios, but with Ocean directors it seems. He did mention an Ocean director after all.


I would like to thank Peter Kelamis again, and say sorry to the guys who wanted to add questions to this interview. I said I would take any suggestion, but I did the interview before the suggestions were coming in.

Peter Kelamis, the man who did an excellent job!

Interview with Robert O Smith (2001)

Spoiler:

Interview with Robert O Smith
Conducted by Duncan Roberts

First off i would like to say Robert O Smith or RoBo is an extremely cool guy and I thank him publicly for taking the time to talk with me. anyone who seeks more information should check www.robertosmith.com

However he has me puzzled, it seems that Lee Tokar (Tockar?) did do a character NAMED Guru but not the Saichourou we all know and... Just know.

-----------------------

Duncan: As I understand you were the voice of Guru in the Ocean dub of Dragonball Z prior to 1999.

Robert O Smith: My Guru--was not the main character named Guru --But a wheezing -dying blob of a guy--who sounded much like an ill Alfred Hitchcock--we did 3 or four episodes--also I was Domo in the DragonBall pilot episode---I was great but got kille d off---- so-no mo' do-mo fo' Ro Bo..

...Then when dragZ started I won 7 parts!!! and due to a wonky day --and an arduous hard drive from a radio job out in the fraser valley--I with the help of an overzealous director..lost all the parts by "ticking off" the head guy..so My dragonball stuff was..ill fated--til later when that director was outta the scene --no it wasn't Terry K.--I get along with him!!!

(and the director of which I speak--I respect as an actor and a person---but he is huge bad luck for me...so picky he makes actors look bad to producers ---not just me )

Anyway I have I guess really been in 4 or 5 dragonball things --so maybe the guru you're thinking of is Lee Tokar?? --If my Guru (listed as guru on my contract) is the one you mean--then fire away--questions that is...


Duncan: Ok, well my second question is who was the director, was it Daisuke Nishio? Or Barry Watson?

Robert O Smith: Well I've always gotten along with Barry--but he didn't direct at the time--and No -it wasn't Daisuke either--at we did that ill fated session @ Dick an' Rogers--and I shouldn't tell you the name of the guy who I'd never like to 'directed' by again--because as I said earlier he is a good person and actor --but his brand of directing drives me nuts--but anyway I must be the Guru you want then cuz he fits your description

I have heard Lee Tockar (is it Tockar or Tokar?) and I suppose he captured a godzilla sized geriatric quite well, and I'm guessing that you did too

Lee's last name is pronounced TO-KAR so I spell it that way..and maybe his Guru was a different one --cuz when I was approached to play the' wheezer'--the producer chose a fresh voice from me--not a voice match---- At ocean we are separate sessions--so I just go to picture--only in prelay animation is there a cast assembled--ADR you just do your OWN parts---I work on the last episodes of Ranma 1/2 there on thurs

Duncan: Now as you may well know FUNimation took over the dubbing by themselves, while this angered many fans they have improved quite a lot. But all the
FUNimation employee's are rather close and know each other quite well, is
this the case with the Ocean group or are you stored in airtight containers
to keep your voices "fresh" so to speak?


Robert O Smith: At ocean we are separate sessions--so I just go to picture--only in prelay animation is there a cast assembled--ADR you just do your OWN parts---I work on the last episodes of Ranma 1/2 there on thurs. I've heard bad stuff about the new Texan DBZ voices---but of course that's just people probably telling us what they think we WANT to hear.


Duncan: I'm sure that you know about the new Dragonball Z re-dub that Ocean have been working on, have you any parts planned in this?

Robert O Smith: I know Doc Harris says he's narrating the new DBallZ show but --so far I'm not in the mix --if Ocean regains/retains the "Ball"

Duncan: The FUNimation actors have had a lot of bad publicity, especially Chris Sabat. A lot of it is unfair but they're really cool guys, but a lot easier to track down than Ocean

Robert O Smith: Some of the Ocean guys have websites (some of them) or agents and ADR although it's the way to appear on the hottest toons --is not lucrative to do it -- so some of the anime voice over people I know... Have 'day jobs' and maybe are not publicized as well as prelay animationvoices...We love working in anime but if you tried to make a living without --COMMERCIALS-- Prelay animation work, or on camera work --being a cast member of any anime series would hardly pay the bills... even if you were the STAR.... Wait.... No,if you were the star and had a HUGE amount of lines - you MIGHT be able to make a LOT of money... For maybe 3 months. Then you'd need the other 'acting' jobs to cover rent or rent-taxes, girlfriend, Car, food ETC.

So no matter how much we love something ...It's gotta help keep us ahead of our bills.... Maybe some (a few) are hard to track because they AREN'T beingpublicized in a big way yet. Some agents think of ADR as 'Chump Change' ... And don't get behind the actors whose only success to now has been being in some. not necessarily Dragonball Anime! Just a guess...


Duncan: Do the Ocean group members have a lot of personal contact? Or is it strictly business when it does happen?

Robert O Smith: Yes I see a lot of them doing the Buddy-Buddy in the hallways. It's VERY friendly. And some work on other shows together. So they get to know each other well ...Like Ian Corlett and Terry Klassen have been writing partners and are good working pals... And very entertaining and funny to be around.


Duncan: So Mr. Smith how long have you been acting?

Robert O Smith: Since GI Joe in the late 80's. But I'd been a stand-up comedian way before
that. And that's acting background...


Duncan: And the question that everyone asks is, how did you get into voice acting?

Robert O Smith: I was a DJ for years. With the idea of someday working up to L.A Radio... And getting cartoons... I got sidetracked by stand-up, Novelty records, my OWN comedy bits on radio, and was kinda off the 'Acting-Voicing' track. Then radio starting pissing me off, and animation with BLT Productions started auditioning people here and I won a part... That I got paid for but never think got made. But after that GI Joe and T-REX - and of course Ranma 1/2 got
me going. Then Project A-KO, lotsa RANDOM anime, and pocket Dragons Billy the cat. Some guest Sabrina's. Nilus the Sandman and monster mash were some of the parts that made methink I could actually say "I'M ACTING HERE, I'M ACTING!!!"


Duncan: If you have ever seen the FUnimation episodes how did you feel about your
interpretation of the character of Guru no matter how small a part it was?


Robert O Smith: No I've never seen the FUNimation versions, and my dying wheezing blob of a Guru looked and sounded GREAT when I saw it played back (Sometimes when you see a product played back... It's not like it's you anymore, it's coming from the screen - so it's just.. it --NO EGO IN SAYING-- "Damn that is O.K!! Oh opps that's me isn't it?) kind of Jabba the Hut meets Alfred Hitchcock...


Duncan: Thanks again

Robert O Smith: You're welcome. One thing I've noticed, Voice Actors of toons... All seem to be really good Cartoonists themselves Klassen, Tokar, Myself. Hell everybody. we started out as kids loving Cartoons. Now we "is" one!!!

I would again like to thank Robert O Smith for this interview, may you voice many dying green fat people again!

Interview with Peter Kelamis (August 2001)

Spoiler:

Interview with Peter Kelamis
Conducted by Duncan Roberts

OK firstly I'd like to say a big thank you firstly to Peter Kelamis for letting me interview him, and secondly to Jon Allen for finding a space in his heart for a poor child like me.

www.peterkelamis.com- For all your Peter Kelamis needs!

Anyhow on with the "Interview" for this interview I shall use my real name, as Strider-Hiryu annoys me and detratcs from the fact it was ME who interviewed Mr Kelamis, also I can brag to my friends

My name in lights, or at least fairly snazzy pixels...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Duncan Roberts: Firstly, how old are you and how did you get into voice acting, if you don't mind me asking?

Peter Kelamis: I am 33 and got into it while doing stand-up comedy and imitating famous people during my act, one thing led to another and I started booking radio commercials, that led to Animation work.

Duncan Roberts: Many people have noticed that in the new Dragonball Z Re-dub you're no longer playing Goku, though Kirby Morrow is.
Before the end of the season your voice had improved a great amount. While Kirby's IS getting better he doesn't seem to be trying to match your voice. Was it your own decision to no longer voice the dim-witted protagonist?

Peter Kelamis: I left the role when the show wasn't able to continue recording with me being in Los Angeles half the time as well as being busy with other work.

As far as "dubbing" goes, it is the least paying of animation work. Their budgets usually don't allow the actor to "phone patch" in their work. You are either able to physically make it to the gig or not.
If you tend to be a busy actor, unfortunately "dubbing" falls farther down the list than say on-screen work or "Pre-lay" recordings.

The part was fun to do and the people involved were great to work with, but I moved on. Kirby is a friend of mine and the show is lucky to have someone as good as him available to do the role.

Duncan Roberts: As I understand no Canadian stations air the dub that Ocean produces on Dragonball Z. Have you had a chance to see the finished product, and if so what did you think of it? (Yes YTV is faster than me

Peter Kelamis: To tell you the truth, I haven't. I still come across older episodes on other channels though.

Duncan Roberts: I'm assuming that you understand exactly how zealotous Dragonball fans are, now seeing as you were in the most popular dub with the fans, I suppose you don't get the kind of hate-mail FUNimation employee's do. Most of the things the "fans" say are completely undeserved, do you have anything to say on this matter?

Peter Kelamis: When I took over the role from Ian Corlett, I was surprised by the backlash against my performance. I didn't know much about Dragonball before getting the gig. I performed the character how I was asked to perform it.

I read a lot of crappy stuff aimed at me by a lot of people. Some of the comments were constructive, others (75% - Duncan) were malicious and written by morons.
I got my fair share of hatemail, and some praise as well. Thank you to the latter. But, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Duncan Roberts: Most people who stalk (it's all in good fun... Except that one time... - Duncan) Voice Actors, such as I do aspire to be Voice Actors these days. Do you have any advice for people hoping to break into the world of Voice overs?

Peter Kelamis : It's like asking a successful person in any field, how they did it. Everyone has a different path of how they got there. As far as voice stuff goes, you will need an agent and a good demo tape. The better the tape, the more opportunity the agent has to have you seen for a part. The rest is up to you. Perform well and they will come. I will add that you will have to locate yourself in a city big enough that produces Animation work. If you are serious about an entertainment carreer, you need to go to where the entertainment is being made. (Bye bye England - Duncan)

Duncan Roberts: How did you feel about voicing Son Goku again, did you want to do the part or do you tire of him?

Peter Kelamis: I would love to do the part if it were a pre-lay situation. That is where the voice is recorded before the cartoon is animated. This is how all newer cartoons are done.

Dubbing, which requires not only nailing a performance level, but matching the mouth flaps of a Japanese mouth talking, can drive you crazy sometimes.

Not to mention the screaming involved in the Dragonball series. After 8 hours of yelling, you are quite sore.
(I feel for him, I really do - Duncan)

Duncan Roberts: How close are the Ocean group, as FUNimation are quite a friendly group of people?

Peter Kelamis: All the people involved in the making of show, I have found to be great. But as I said before, budget, as opposed to personalities, tend to dictate how a show will ultimately get recorded.

Duncan Roberts: You seem to be in almost everything I watch on TV, while I was channel hopping I think I noticed you in Andromeda, has your rise through the ranks of showbusiness been slow, or has it been faster than a judge in a Bill Gates case?

Peter Kelamis: I have been at this for some time. But I have been fortunate that I have on-screen acting, stand-up comedy, improv as well as animation work to fall back on. There is usually something keeping me busy.

I am also producing a television show right now and am waiting for the final word so
we can begin production. My fingers are crossed (Due to hand cramp... Another bad joke -Duncan).

I also just completed a film with Angelina Jolie called, "Life Or Something Like It" (Lucky deleted expletive -Duncan) a few weeks ago, among other things. Further details are on my website.

Duncan Roberts: Was that you I heard in Action Man (With Mark Hildreth)?

Peter Kelamis : Absolutely, I am Rikki in Action Man, Rolf on Ed, Edd, Eddy as well as Loadman, Mr.Greeley and Herbert on What About Mimi.

I also have previous work I've done still on air as repeats.

Duncan Roberts: I think the ultimate question I must ask is, Have you changed your views on Boxers or Briefs?

Peter Kelamis : Always go with the boxers, there's nothing like the feeling on a warm day as the wind blows up your shorts as you stand on your balcony facing the neighbors, first thing in the morning with nothing else on but............oops, sorry, went on a rant.

Duncan Roberts: I'm sorry I couldn't ask more questions, but I'm not really the most imaginative person

Peter Kelamis: I think the questions were great, talk to you soon. E-mail me when they get posted.

Thanks
Peter Kelamis

--------------------

Well there you have it ladies and gentlefolk, Peter Kelamis interviewed. I personally think I could have asked better questions, I should of really asked for some on the forum.

In hindsight this interview went a lot better than the one I did with Robert O Smith (Which I shall hopefully post elsewhere)
Peter Kelamis is a great, lucky, rich guy and I wish him all the best.

Jon Allen is better at writing things at the end of an interview so well... I'm not Jon, thank you and good-day/night whatever.

Here's some takeaways from these interviews.

• The Vancouver cast's recording sessions lasted 1-4 or 5 hours
• Directors for the Z dub were mostly inexperienced and hadn't done prelay (we've known the Westwood dub had multiple directors, but a lot of them being new makes sense because we know it was a low budget production)
• By the time of the Westwood dub actors were paid by the line, so every grunt and scream was paid individually (that's good, today it would be criminal to not pay such stressful vocal work, but at the time we must remember the performances demanded by a show like Dragon Ball Z were newfound territory, at least in English-speaking countries)
• According to Dale Wilson screams were easier to match than dialogue, which is broken up and not paced like an English line
• The cast get to see the final product at the studio (this is interesting, as Brian Drummond said in his interview with Geekdom he only got to see his own lines in Kai, suggesting Airwaves Sound where the Westwood dub was recorded may have been more lenient than Ocean)
• Peter Kelamis received backlash, which he described as "malicious" when he took over from Ian James Corlett, much to his surprise (in retrospect it makes sense considering how passionate this fanbase is, and how attached they can get to their favourite roles)
• Escaflowne received a lot of airtime on Fox Kids in the UK, so much so that Fox would be bankrupt if they had to pay Michael Dobson residuals (probably a joke on Duncan Roberts' part)
• Michael Dobson grew up in England, hearing many accents and dialects. Himself and his brothers use to sit around a tape recorder, making up storylines and acting them out, having no idea they could be paid for it (funnily enough Chris Sabat had a similar story, kinda cool these people did this for fun, only to be pleasantly surprised it could be a source of income for them)

[Xell]

Z must’ve done well on Cartoon Network UK since I recall there was that one time they had those full weekend marathons. Literally a whole day of the Saiyan saga, Namek saga etc.

God help anyone who hated DBZ and wanted to watch their favourite shows on Cartoon Network. It suited me fine.
However, I do remember they once had a weeklong marathon of Scooby Doo.. Which I hate.

[90sDBZ]

Z must’ve done well on Cartoon Network UK since I recall there was that one time they had those full weekend marathons. Literally a whole day of the Saiyan saga, Namek saga etc.

God help anyone who hated DBZ and wanted to watch their favourite shows on Cartoon Network. It suited me fine.
However, I do remember they once had a weeklong marathon of Scooby Doo.. Which I hate.

Z did so well that it continued getting marathons for 2 years after the final episode first aired. They kept making new promos for it too. There was one really dramatic one CNX made for the Frieza saga in 2003, even though though GT was airing at that point. It was constantly on the air from March 2000 until Summer 2005.

Both OG DB and GT didn't get anywhere near Z's treatment. I don't remember them getting any marathons, and they got nowhere near the amount of reruns as Z. OG DB aired it's final episode in November 2004, and by Spring 2005 it was taken off Toonami UK completely. I think GT did slightly better, as they brought it back for one last full run in 2005.

[Kid Buu]

Z must’ve done well on Cartoon Network UK since I recall there was that one time they had those full weekend marathons. Literally a whole day of the Saiyan saga, Namek saga etc.

God help anyone who hated DBZ and wanted to watch their favourite shows on Cartoon Network. It suited me fine.
However, I do remember they once had a weeklong marathon of Scooby Doo.. Which I hate.

Yes. I loved those Saturday marathons. Brings be back.

Remember watching DBZ at 5pm and then the rerun at 9pm too.

[Super Sonic]

If you don't mind my asking, what are you UK guys' thoughts on DB sister shows or other anime that take place in the UK like Black Butler, Emma, etc?

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

If you don't mind my asking, what are you UK guys' thoughts on DB sister shows or other anime that take place in the UK like Black Butler, Emma, etc?

Only anime I've seen that's set in the UK to my knowledge is Steamboy, but thought it was perfectly fine, and a well made kids movie.

Magus Bride and Hellsing are set in the UK too I believe, though I haven't seen either.

[2quid]

I long for the days of Woolworths, Blockbuster, and Virgin Megastore.

Getting back to Dragon Ball, has anyone ever visited the old ukdb.net? Sadly I wasn't aware of it when it was active, but I know this was a UK Dragon Ball site developed by huge fans of the series from England and Holland during the time of the original broadcast. The owners of that site unearthed a lot of the information about the Westwood dub, including the fact it was Westwood Media, not AB Groupe that produced it (sadly because of the site being closed, this info fell into obscurity for many fans, including myself) and a lot of the cast (which is great because they were never credited in the ED).

Think it was our own DBZImran who owned that site, I used to go there but only so I could ask him for the Ultimate Muscle rips he had

And yeah, to whoever it was that was looking at CN UK's ratings, it's seriously in the gutter, there's nothing on that channel to really make it appeal to kids at all, it's like you're paying a sky subscription just to watch an on air youtube stream. It used to be that kids would beg parents for the subscription channels (CN/Disney/Nick) because of how strong their lineup was, I would say well into the 2010s, latest by about 2014 if I'm being generous. Youtube offered a very different experience to TV even up til then, and Netflix just wasn't super popular either.

When it comes to trying to compete with streaming giants, CN, with all its experience and money, didn't even try. And I don't know about you guys but I've noticed a substantial change in the schedule for Pop Max (what Kix became) since the new company took over. It's starting to resemble Kix again ever so slightly, just recently during the February half term they aired back-to-back Pokemon films and episodes, which was quite nice to see. It's also nice to see DB doing well on Pop even though it must be on a third run by now, but seeing as it's paired on the schedule with new Ladybug, Pokemon and Bakugan episodes I'd say it's a strong lineup.

I would hazard to say I'm probably about 5-10 years younger than most of you, but I'm just about old enough to remember Toonami's best days and I'm firmly in the category of people who grew up with Kix, in fact I waited for that channel to launch! It's tough to be an anime fan in the UK when it comes to legal ways to watch things, but it wasn't always like that. Toonami shutting down was pretty bad as ever since there's never been a proper way to watch One Piece here properly, but Jetix took it's place pretty seamlessly and had quite a bit of anime and action cartoons. I think when Jetix shut down is really when the decline began to set properly, otherwise pre 2009 you had every kids channel in the UK competing for any anime they could get their hands on.

Just off the top of my head, Nick had Yugioh and held on to that til about 2012, CITV bought Digimon, the other Yugioh shows, the Transformers anime, Bakugan, a whole lot more than that too, and Jetix had Shaman King and Naruto, even Pop and all it's channels must have had about 6-8 anime shows between them all, and of course there was CN, but it felt like none of them had any interest in those shows anymore and Kix almost single-handedly carried anime on UK tv for almost a decade, they showed a LOT more once they obtained DBKai.

I don't think anime is unpopular in the UK, especially if you grew up during the early 2000's where every second programme was an anime programme, I just think it never had the time to properly flourish, and I think the evidence for this lies in the 2010's (when I was a teen). There was a kinda renaissance then, where Scuzz (a music channel), Sony Movie Channel and Viceland all aired anime at late night times. If you take a look at BARB, those shows were so highly rated, also coincidentally, that was the one and only time the Animax branding was used in the UK on TV.

Viceland especially, had so much success with airing anime, then they tapered off showing them, and I don't know why. I think the channel itself has shut down. I can't exactly work out what the common factor is, because every channel that has aired an anime show has seen that show top the ratings, but then they decide to drop the show. Maybe they think they have loyal viewers now and can make those viewers watch their original programming? I don't know.

[NitroEX]

[*] Directors for the Z dub were mostly inexperienced and hadn't done prelay (we've known the Westwood dub had multiple directors, but a lot of them being new makes sense because we know it was a low budget production)

Eh, I doubt it would have been drastically lower than the other anime shows they dubbed at that time. And the Funimation dub was far from high budget either with Sabat playing both director and a good portion of the cast. By the sounds of it, the Vancouver actors were compensated for yells by the time of the Westwood dub which wasn't the case during the Saban days. It's really no wonder Ian left when he did.

The library music may be a budget thing but it could also have been a result of time constraints and the awkward starting point. They certainly didn't cheap out on the sound design.

But anyway, at the very least it's nice to have some details about the directors. A shame we'll never know who they were exactly.

[*] Escaflowne received a lot of airtime on Fox Kids in the UK, so much so that Fox would be bankrupt if they had to pay Michael Dobson residuals (probably a joke on Duncan Roberts' part)

Does anyone else remember this being the case? Because I watched a LOT of Fox Kids back then (enough to remember the Brush Lee & Jackie Chain shorts during ad breaks) yet I have zero recollection of Escaflowne ever being shown in the UK lineup... Which is a shame, I would have loved it back then. I ate up virtually every anime they showed minus Shaman King and Shinzo. Maybe it was shown earlier during the year 2000 or something? That was the only period I really missed out on.

[Kid Buu]

(enough to remember the Brush Lee & Jackie Chain shorts during ad breaks)

Wow, thought I was the only one who remembered those. Alongside those zillion different Michael Owen ads.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Eh, I doubt it would have been drastically lower than the other anime shows they dubbed at that time. And the Funimation dub was far from high budget either with Sabat playing both director and a good portion of the cast. By the sounds of it, the Vancouver actors were compensated for yells by the time of the Westwood dub which wasn't the case during the Saban days. It's really no wonder Ian left when he did.

Both dubs were low budget, which is understandable given they were competing for airtime. I too give Westwood the edge because it had more experienced actors, who did their best with the direction they had (we also know Karl Willems directed some episodes, so I have no doubt the direction wasn't all done by amateurs) and in my opinion better music.

Ocean can't be held completely responsible for the Westwood dubs budget however, as Funimation were inadvertently largely accountable for its creation themselves as they were the ones who seemingly afforded Ocean a lot of the benefits they had, like using their video masters until the last 3 episodes (which were then provided by AB Groupe) and near identical scripts.

Ocean's video editors also likely received payment from Funimation for editing their dub for Canadian broadcast, which would have helped funding the sound design, etc. As a young company Funimation likely had the best of intentions signing contracts to get their dub on TV in Canada but they were also naive to the fact a company they made deals with would not be beholden to their cast or anything else about their own dub (nor should they be as Ocean were a more established company in the industry).

We also have reason to believe Ocean were not to blame for the Westwood dub being rushed, as David Gasman was quoted as saying AB were in a rush to get the Big Green dubs (which they also didn't produce) done and that was for home video initially, so I can only imagine what kind of pressure they were capable of putting Ocean under for a dub that's initial audience was meant to be TV (and to this day has unfortunately been the only legal audience).

Because I watched a LOT of Fox Kids back then (enough to remember the Brush Lee & Jackie Chain shorts during ad breaks) yet I have zero recollection of Escaflowne ever being shown in the UK lineup... Which is a shame, I would have loved it back then. I ate up virtually every anime they showed minus Shaman King and Shinzo. Maybe it was shown earlier during the year 2000 or something? That was the only period I really missed out on.

Yeah I didn't watch much Fox Kids but was also surprised to read this, as I would have thought I'd have heard of Escaflowne through checking schedules and that, although we didn't have Sky in 2000 so that year may be a possibility.

[NitroEX]

As a young company Funimation likely had the best of intentions signing contracts to get their dub on TV in Canada but they were also naive to the fact a company they made deals with would not be beholden to their cast or anything else about their own dub (nor should they be as Ocean were a more established company in the industry).

We could just as easily say the Ocean cast was the Funimation cast. Funi just abandoned them which was never part of the plan. In their haste to get out and do things cheaper in Texas, I can totally believe they'd make the mistake of not ensuring the Canadian broadcast was obligated to use their new in-house cast, especially since no such cast existed at the time the Ocean deal was signed.

I do agree that they were probably naive to the deals going on with AB but it wouldn't have been allowed to happen if it wasn't above board. As Ian Corlett once mentioned, they had the rights to produce a Canadian version and I guess there was nothing stopping them from selling it to overseas markets. As long as they weren't selling physical copies of it in North America Funimation probably didn't care. I doubt anyone back then could forsee fans preserving all the episodes and sharing them online.

We also have reason to believe Ocean were not to blame for the Westwood dub being rushed, as David Gasman was quoted as saying AB were in a rush to get the Big Green dubs (which they also didn't produce) done and that was for home video initially, so I can only imagine what kind of pressure they were capable of putting Ocean under for a dub that's initial audience was meant to be TV (and to this day has unfortunately been the only legal audience).

I think it's safe to say AB did produce the Big Green dubs. They were recorded in France after all, and only released in AB's territories. They only released them through third-party distributors though, which explains why Bridge Entertainment and Warner Vision were involved.

The rushed schedule was partly AB & CN but also just a natural consequence of a competing dub being out there. If they didn't produce the new in-demand episodes within a certain time frame the distributor was free to buy the competition (assuming Funi wasn't charging an outrageous fee) or try and produce their own (Big Green).