DBZ Abridged dub is now my favorite

[Bacon Skittles]

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[fadeddreams5]

I completely disagree as far as voices go. I think a lot of them are exceptional, and every single one does their part well (not a fan of Goku's TFS voice, but the acting compensates); it's hands down the best voice acting I've seen in a fan-based parody series on Youtube, but I can't compare it to the Funi cast either.

[Gian2408]

Honestly, yeah, TFS is awesome. The dub itself is not fantastic in the early seasons, but the script is phenomenal. The way they have taken the characters in the TFS dub almost creates a new story on it's own, and in the recent episodes they have really fit in to their characters well. Some people dislike MasakoX from TFS as their Goku, but honestly he does a great job and he works for THAT Goku in THAT dub, not necessarily the Gokus in other dubs.

DBZA is not "dub" of Dragon Ball Z. They have said before that they want to avoid making the show a fan dub of DBZ. The characters from TFS are different from the characters from the regular DBZ, and should not be compared. However, the casting/voicing from TFS is better than the early Funimation days!

[TheBlackPaladin]

Well don't get me wrong, DBZ Abridged is extremely enjoyable, I absolutely love it, and there are some incredibly talented people working on it. For that matter, they've also become great actors as time has gone on. They were hilarious from the first episode, but while they started out as simply hilarious people talking into microphones, they have since evolved into hilarious actors, with incredibly admirable grasps on the even the smallest nuances of voice acting. Some of them are pursuing professional voice acting careers, and they deserve every bit of success that comes their way. I sometimes caution people to stay away from voice acting because of how tough the business can be, but in their cases, I think it'd be such a pity if they didn't pursue it professionally.

With all that said, DBZ Abridged is not a dub. It's a parody. A very well-written, well-directed, well-edited, well-cast, and well-acted parody....but a parody, nevertheless. Just like the original thirteen movies were fun what-if tales taking place in the Dragon Ball universe, DBZA is a fun what-if tale taking place in an alternate, more comedy-oriented universe that just happens to highly resemble the Dragon Ball universe. So I can't really compare DBZA side-by-side with either the original version or any of the international dubs of the actual show from which DBZA was born. As far as I'm concerned, it's its own thing, that just happens to resemble this other show that I really like. DBZA is a very enjoyable show, but not one that I could point other fans to as an accurate representation of Toriyama's story.

Unless of course Toriyama and Toei decide to make a new movie called Battle of Muffin Buttons. Then, I'll be a tad suspicious.

[Chuquita]

I really enjoy how vibrant the acting in DBZA is. It's a combination of the voices and the voice directing for me.
Lani's Vegeta and Krillin are a joy to listen to. MasakoX's Gokû is so sweet he's my current favorite English Gokû.

We get a Universe 6 version of Gokû in that arc of Super we can definitely have Battle of Muffin Buttons. :3

[MajinMan]

It's good for what it is, but it's not an official dub by any means. The Kai dub is much better anyway.

[ABED]

It's not an English dub of DBZ! It's a parody.

MasakoX's Gokû is so sweet he's my current favorite English Gokû.

Except he's not, he's Parody Goku.

I still don't know why people think the acting is great on this show. It's like when people claim D'Onofrio's acting was great as the Kingpin. That put on voice hurt him tremendously and anything he said just didn't come off as real, not in the least.

[The Patrolman]

The only thing thing DBZA does better is that it has better Gohan voice. Something Kai could've done but no they had to settle with Colleen Shittenbeard.(No Offense to her but BY GOD I HATE HER GOHAN VOICE SO MUCH)

[Chuquita]

It's not an English dub of DBZ! It's a parody.

MasakoX's Gokû is so sweet he's my current favorite English Gokû.

Except he's not, he's Parody Goku.

I still don't know why people think the acting is great on this show. It's like when people claim D'Onofrio's acting was great as the Kingpin. That put on voice hurt him tremendously and anything he said just didn't come off as real, not in the least.

I will rephrase what I typed more accurately since it looks like I was misunderstood:

The voice MasakoX uses for Gokû is currently my favorite voice in English for Gokû regardless of DBZA being an unofficial product.

As for acting, that's all up to each person's personal opinion. Results may vary.

[ABED]

The voice MasakoX uses for Gokû is currently my favorite voice in English for Gokû regardless of DBZA being an unofficial product.

But he's not playing Goku, he's playing Parody Goku. It's like if I made a list of the greatest actors who have played Batman, I'm not going to include gag Batmans such as one's you'd find on SNL.

[Chuquita]

The voice MasakoX uses for Gokû is currently my favorite voice in English for Gokû regardless of DBZA being an unofficial product.

But he's not playing Goku, he's playing Parody Goku. It's like if I made a list of the greatest actors who have played Batman, I'm not going to include gag Batmans such as one's you'd find on SNL.

I'm probably not going to get through in what I mean to say, but I'll try one last time. ^^;

I like the way MasakoX's character voice sounds for Gokû in English. That's all I got on this. I'm not trying to convince you of anything, I'm just trying to say I like something. It's like saying I like apples, or I like warm weather. I don't know how else to say what I've already said a couple times. ^^;

[B]

Scott Frerichs is the best English Trunks, Future or Kid. Beyond that, I only have a passing indifference to DBZA. It's a little funny to see the two extremes; the casual fan who exclaims it's best way to digest DB, and the people who get angry at that statement.

[Zephyr]

It's not an English dub of DBZ! It's a parody.

Is the pedantry really necessary? I think it's pretty clear that all Bacon Skittles is saying is that the voice cast and performances of the Abridged series is his preferred execution of the characters and the story. I'm not in complete disagreement with him, either. The delivery of a lot of their characters feels a lot more natural to me than what the dub has given us (especially the old dub, which itself is a borderline officially licensed and sold parody, without actually coming out and saying it).

Except he's not, he's Parody Goku.

That's like saying that Sean Schemmel isn't the voice of Goku, he's the voice of English Goku. While correct, that wasn't a point of contention anywhere in the vicinity of the thread.

It's like if I made a list of the greatest actors who have played Batman, I'm not going to include gag Batmans such as one's you'd find on SNL.

If someone found the performance of said gag Batman to be of an incredibly high quality, on par with, if not surpassing, several beloved official actors in the role, why couldn't they include him?

It's abundantly clear that nobody in this thread is claiming these to be legitimate, official depictions of the characters, and that in spite of this fact, they prefer them to the existing roster of official alternatives.

There's literally nothing wrong with that viewpoint, and nobody is saying that you have to agree.

[Metalwario64]

Something Kai could've done but no they had to settle with Colleen Shittenbeard.(No Offense to her but BY GOD I HATE HER GOHAN VOICE SO MUCH)

Are you serious? You mean no offense, but you call her an offensive (and extremely childish) name?

As for the topic, I think Abridged is just okay. I know I'm in the minority, but I never found it terribly funny. I don't at all dislike it, but in my eyes, preferring Abridged over the actual series would be like preferring Ricky 1 over Rocky.

As a parody, it's even less the same show as Z than FUNimation's original dubs. It's not a bad thing by any means, since it's intentionally so, whereas FUNimation should have left the series alone, but I definitely don't consider it a "dub" in the least, and I frequently see people cite it as such, when it's just not so. I'm not at all saying nobody is allowed to like it, just that equating it to a dub is just factually incorrect.

[TheBlackPaladin]

It's not an English dub of DBZ! It's a parody.

Is the pedantry really necessary? I think it's pretty clear that all Bacon Skittles is saying is that the voice cast and performances of the Abridged series is his preferred execution of the characters and the story.

I do agree that pedantry can be annoying, but I don't think this is pedantry. Because when people say, "preferred execution of the characters and story"...we're simply reacting by saying that, while it is perfectly OK to enjoy DBZA (like I do!), the characters and stories don't represent the creator's original vision, that's all.

[fadeddreams5]

It's not an English dub of DBZ! It's a parody.

Is the pedantry really necessary? I think it's pretty clear that all Bacon Skittles is saying is that the voice cast and performances of the Abridged series is his preferred execution of the characters and the story.

I do agree that pedantry can be annoying, but I don't think this is pedantry. Because when people say, "preferred execution of the characters and story"...we're simply reacting by saying that, while it is perfectly OK to enjoy DBZA (like I do!), the characters and stories don't represent the creator's original vision, that's all.

Isn't that technically true of the original DBZ dub (e.g. Frieza)? lol.

[Zephyr]

Is the pedantry really necessary? I think it's pretty clear that all Bacon Skittles is saying is that the voice cast and performances of the Abridged series is his preferred execution of the characters and the story.

I do agree that pedantry can be annoying, but I don't think this is pedantry. Because when people say, "preferred execution of the characters and story"...we're simply reacting by saying that, while it is perfectly OK to enjoy DBZA (like I do!), the characters and stories don't represent the creator's original vision, that's all.

Isn't that technically true of the original DBZ dub (e.g. Freeza)? lol.

Yes, this precisely.

Yes, the OP was not using the term "dub" in the most strict, technically correct manner. Does that really matter? Is anyone actually somehow legitimately confused as to what he's trying to say? Is the existence of "the voice work that is placed atop the animation" as a common connotation of the word "dub" something people aren't familiar with? People use that connotation when referring to the original Japanese version of the anime as the "Japanese dub" all the time.

Running into the thread to shout:

It's not an English dub of DBZ! It's a parody.

...does fuck all for the conversation, because anyone who watches the Abridged series gets that fact drilled into their skull every single episode.

It comes off as smart ass-ish to the highest degree. It comes off as trying to move the conversation five paces behind the starting point, out of spite for the subject matter.

Apologies for any crassness or abrasiveness. Perhaps I should have posted this in the "Irate fanboy" thread.

[ABED]

It's not an English dub of DBZ! It's a parody.

Is the pedantry really necessary? I think it's pretty clear that all Bacon Skittles is saying is that the voice cast and performances of the Abridged series is his preferred execution of the characters and the story. I'm not in complete disagreement with him, either. The delivery of a lot of their characters feels a lot more natural to me than what the dub has given us (especially the old dub, which itself is a borderline officially licensed and sold parody, without actually coming out and saying it).

Except he's not, he's Parody Goku.

That's like saying that Sean Schemmel isn't the voice of Goku, he's the voice of English Goku. While correct, that wasn't a point of contention anywhere in the vicinity of the thread.

It's like if I made a list of the greatest actors who have played Batman, I'm not going to include gag Batmans such as one's you'd find on SNL.

If someone found the performance of said gag Batman to be of an incredibly high quality, on par with, if not surpassing, several beloved official actors in the role, why couldn't they include him?

Yes, because apparently people keep putting what is clearly a parody in the same category as official dubs. I've seen numerous lists where people were saying their favorite voices are Nozawa, Schemmel, Kelamis, and MasakoX. One of these things is not like the other.

Whether TFS sounds better than the old dub is irrelevant, they aren't playing the same characters, not telling the same story.

But the guy isn't playing Batman, he's playing a parody. If you like TFS, fine, but it's not a dub, it's a fan created parody.

[TheBlackPaladin]

I do agree that pedantry can be annoying, but I don't think this is pedantry. Because when people say, "preferred execution of the characters and story"...we're simply reacting by saying that, while it is perfectly OK to enjoy DBZA (like I do!), the characters and stories don't represent the creator's original vision, that's all.

Isn't that technically true of the original DBZ dub (e.g. Freeza)? lol.

Oh, most definitely, and it's for that reason that I wouldn't point to the original DBZ dub as a particularly accurate representation of Toriyama and Toei's creative vision either. However, the original DBZ dub is still closer to the creator's original vision than DBZA, because the DBZ dub is an actual dub of the actual show. While the dialogue was altered (and too much, in both my opinion and the opinions of many others), there are still the same number of episodes, it's still the same story, it's still the same music (starting with the first orange brick DVD box set release), it's still the same sound effects, and it is a genuine attempt--albeit a generally sub-par one--at adapting the original vision into English.

DBZA is not even making that attempt, because that's not what a parody is. Heck, they acknowledge that themselves. Let's not forget that the opening of each episode begins with the words, "The following is a non-profit, fan-based parody." Nowhere in Toriyama's original story does Goku ever bring up a muffin button, you know? As Gian2408 related, TFS has stated that they do not want to do a fan dub of DBZ. I personally don't believe it's pedantic to refer to DBZA as what TFS themselves call it. DBZA is to be regarded as a very fun side-project that simply borrows elements from DBZ, and calling it a dub gives it more of an "official" position than should be given to it.

Also, for whatever it's worth--since tone doesn't always translate well over the internet--let me be clear that I'm by no means upset or angry at somebody for using the term "dub" to describe DBZA. I was just casually noting my reasoning for why I wouldn't do the same.

[ABED]

I do agree that pedantry can be annoying, but I don't think this is pedantry. Because when people say, "preferred execution of the characters and story"...we're simply reacting by saying that, while it is perfectly OK to enjoy DBZA (like I do!), the characters and stories don't represent the creator's original vision, that's all.

Isn't that technically true of the original DBZ dub (e.g. Freeza)? lol.

Oh, most definitely, and it's for that reason that I wouldn't point to the original DBZ dub as a particularly accurate representation of Toriyama and Toei's creative vision either. However, the original DBZ dub is still closer to the creator's original vision than DBZA, because the DBZ dub is an actual dub of the actual show. While the dialogue was altered (and too much, in both my opinion and the opinions of many others), there are still the same number of episodes, it's still the same story, it's still the same music (starting with the first orange brick DVD box set release), it's still the same sound effects, and it is a genuine attempt--albeit a generally sub-par one--at adapting the original vision into English.

DBZA is not even making that attempt, because that's not what a parody is. Heck, they acknowledge that themselves. Let's not forget that the opening of each episode begins with the words, "The following is a non-profit, fan-based parody." Nowhere in Toriyama's original story does Goku ever bring up a muffin button, you know? As Gian2408 related, TFS has stated that they do not want to do a fan-dub of DBZ. DBZA is to be regarded as a very fun side-project that simply borrows elements from DBZ, and calling it a dub gives it more of an "official" position than should be given to it.

Or what he said. Damn you, sir.