Favorite Ocean/Westwood Goku Actor

[Bansho64]

I don't really hear many people talk about the ocean actors. I'd really like to hear you guy's thoughts on which actor you think played Goku the best and why you think they did.

[eledoremassis02]

I don't really hear many people talk about the ocean actors. I'd really like to hear you guy's thoughts on which actor you think played Goku the best and why you think they did.

Kelamis would probably be my favorite and it was cool to see him voice Goku in the Android saga!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eyPAzyC0us

Morrow did a decent job I thought, I don't know why people dont like him
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opbcrdXitsQ

However, my favorite of later (newer) ocean actors was Brad Swaile's Gohan! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2hXYE5rpYI

[Bansho64]

I don't really hear many people talk about the ocean actors. I'd really like to hear you guy's thoughts on which actor you think played Goku the best and why you think they did.

Kelamis would probably be my favorite and it was cool to see him voice Goku in the Android saga!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eyPAzyC0us

Morrow did a decent job I thought, I don't know why people dont like him
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opbcrdXitsQ

However, my favorite of later (newer) ocean actors was Brad Swaile's Gohan! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2hXYE5rpYI

I'm with you on Kelamis but I'm not too big of a fan of Morrow. I'm actually surprised to find someone that likes him.

[DB1984]

Ian Corlett. Very easy and pleasing on the ears.

[NitroEX]

For me personally it's gotta be Kelamis with Corlett being a close second. Kelamis is admittedly an acquired taste, being higher pitched and all, but overall I think he's the best fit for an English Goku and one that's closest in spirit to Nozawa's performance.

Say what you will about his acting but the man has all the right tools to make a great English Goku, he not only had the screaming ability to match Nozawa but he also showed a greater understanding of the character than either of his successors at the time. His Goku sounded noticeably more childlike from the get go which was impressive given the era and what everybody else was doing with the character.

There isn't much to say about the other two, they're both great actors and for the most part gave good performances but, like with Kelamis, they were victims of circumstance. In Corlett's case I think he was in the best and worse position being the original. He benefited from being the definitive voice of the character and having no one (aside from Nozawa) to be compared to but he also lacked the knowledge or benefit of hindsight that his successors had. You could fault him for playing it safe and mostly clean cut but he likely didn't know any better. Due to the supposed pay disputes over screaming his run (understandably) didn't last very long which is a shame but on the bright side it helped get Kelamis in the role.

Morrow unsurprisingly gets the most flack for 1) being the third Canadian (who has zero nostalgia cred with the American fanbase) and fourth English Goku. I think he did a fairly good job with the character given the circumstances and served as a good replacement (albeit nothing like the original Japanese) but, much like with another actor who was cast by circumstance (Chris Sabat as Vegeta & Piccolo) he probably wouldn't be my first or ideal choice if casting for the role of Goku, especially knowing the character like I do now.

In spite of all the problems I can still happily enjoy all three Ocean Gokus and, to Corlett and Morrow's credit, they are in my opinion the most palatable voices of the bunch. For better or worse it's likely much easier for a general audience to become invested in the character with either of those voices as they're generally more immediately pleasing to the ear than Kelamis who (like me) I grew to appreciate over time.

[Ree]

I'm giving it to Kirby Morrow! This man KILLED Goku (in a good way)
he only has the most pleasant voice but he shows so much range too. his voice is smooth but he can also be intense in the moments that need it especially in ss3, like in the video eledoremassis02 linked (why did i read the comments....

[Bansho64]

I'm giving it to Kirby Morrow! This man KILLED Goku (in a good way)
he only has the most pleasant voice but he shows so much range too. his voice is smooth but he can also be intense in the moments that need it especially in ss3, like in the video eledoremassis02 linked (why did i read the comments....

Yeah when it comes to Dragon Ball youtube can be pretty brutal

[Ree]

Agree but i shouldn't expect any better from youtube..

[TheBlackPaladin]

From my point of view, when "Season 3" began (in other words, when FUNimation started doing the dub with an in-house cast), it seems that Schemmel played Goku in a very similar way to Kelamis. Both had a very "superhero"-like way of delivering their lines, and I think it just didn't sound that way to some people because Kelamis's voice is noticeably higher-pitched than Schemmel's. However, this style of delivery seemed to continue for both of them even into the Android/Cell arc.

Honestly, I think Goku has been pretty consistently well-cast on the voice acting front, but those on the producing/directing/writing front took a while to figure out who the character really is, and by extension, it took a little while for the actors to receive proper direction. I think, though, that with the right direction, any of Goku's English voice actors could have done a great job with him.

[eledoremassis02]

I don't really hear many people talk about the ocean actors. I'd really like to hear you guy's thoughts on which actor you think played Goku the best and why you think they did.

Kelamis would probably be my favorite and it was cool to see him voice Goku in the Android saga!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eyPAzyC0us

Morrow did a decent job I thought, I don't know why people dont like him
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opbcrdXitsQ

However, my favorite of later (newer) ocean actors was Brad Swaile's Gohan! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2hXYE5rpYI

I'm with you on Kelamis but I'm not too big of a fan of Morrow. I'm actually surprised to find someone that likes him.

He's alright but even at his worst I don't find him worse than any other well known VA for Goku. I think he gets a lot unfair hate though.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I've also always found Morrow to be quite underrated. I like the energetic feel of his Goku, it really fits the whole man child aspect. He would definitely be my second preference for an Ocean Goku, with Mr Corlett being a close first.

It's sad given the unlikelihood of the latter parts of the Ocean dub ever being released on DVD that the work of Kelamis and Morrow will never reach an audience much wider than those who saw them on TV.

[Bansho64]

From my point of view, when "Season 3" began (in other words, when FUNimation started doing the dub with an in-house cast), it seems that Schemmel played Goku in a very similar way to Kelamis. Both had a very "superhero"-like way of delivering their lines, and I think it just didn't sound that way to some people because Kelamis's voice is noticeably higher-pitched than Schemmel's. However, this style of delivery seemed to continue for both of them even into the Android/Cell arc.

Honestly, I think Goku has been pretty consistently well-cast on the voice acting front, but those on the producing/directing/writing front took a while to figure out who the character really is, and by extension, it took a little while for the actors to receive proper direction. I think, though, that with the right direction, any of Goku's English voice actors could have done a great job with him.

For me when I saw the Season 3 cast I actually fell in love with the voices and felt more comfortable with them than I did with some of the Ocean voices. I don't know what it was but they seemed a lot more natural.

[ABED]

Kelamis is too goofy and Morrow is bland and unmemorable. Out of the three that I know, Corlette is my preference. The only issue is with Goku's characterization, but given that, Corlette is easily the best. Schemmel is hands down my favorite dub actor for Goku, but he wasn't part of the Ocean cast. Even when he was green, his voice was a relief over Kelamis.

[Kakacarrottop]

Ian James Corlett, although i still prefer the other two Ocean guys over Schemmel. Here's something i wrote a while ago, to further reiterate my point:

1. Ian James Corlett - Like Sean Schemmel, but better in every aspect. Made Goku sound very calm, laid back and mature which imo is the right sort of voice for him.
2. Kirby Morrow - Sort of like a cross between Corlett and Kelamis, although at times his acting left a bit to be desired.
3. Peter Kelamis - Sounds too goofy for me. In lighthearted moments he sounded good, but in tense & dramatic moments it's hard to take him seriously as Goku.

[TheBlackPaladin]

1. Ian James Corlett - Like Sean Schemmel, but better in every aspect. Made Goku sound very calm, laid back and mature which imo is the right sort of voice for him.

Eh, it's not the right sort of voice for the Goku from the source material.

Now don't get me wrong, I think Corlett created a completely believable character, his acting was very convincing, and I don't begrudge anybody for liking his interpretation. To Corlett's credit, he didn't sound "cartoony" at all, and I've spoken before in other posts about how I thought he did a great job sounding very natural. So it's nothing he did wrong, especially considering that he was never given proper direction or faithfully-adapted scripts. Like I said, he created a completely believable character...

...But that character, thanks to the scripts and direction he was given, wasn't a faithful emulation of the character from the source material. Goku is not mature at all. He's a lovable but unrefined dumbass of a man-child with a passion for fighting. Even during his "calm" moments, he still has a fair deal of child-like spunk to him. If anything, the personality and voice that Corlett created for Goku would be more suitable for Gohan as a teenager/adult.

[90sDBZ]

1. Easily Ian Corlett. Such a natural sounding confident performance/voice, that easily transitions from lighthearted and innocent to serious. I loved the heroic feel he gave Goku too, like you feel he's a character you could trust. A close 2nd to Schemmel for me.

2. Peter Kelamis. Although he sounded awkward at times during non combat scenes, there is something about the quirkiness of his performance that I can't help but like. At least during the Saban/Pioneer dubs. In the Westwood dub he mostly sounded off to the point were it was distracting.

3. Kirby Morrow. I'll start by saying that even though I'm no fan of the Westwood dub on the whole, I don't think Morrow's performance was as bad as some people say. I actually felt he was an improvement over Westwood-era Kelamis. The main thing that he lacks is being able to make Goku sound angry, but overall I guess he was serviceable enough, and maybe I do have a little bit of nostalgia for him too. To his credit, he did stick with the role for the longest of the 3 Ocean actors, and even wanted to return for Ocean Kai.

[Man-Child]

Ian Corlett is still my favorite Ocean Goku. Out of the three, he definitely gave the best performances, and seemed to be the best voice actor overall. The writing let him down, but he did a fine job in spite of that. He could play Goku's lighthearted side legitimately, but also gave weight to any serious moments in the series. There was just something so likeable and almost believable about his deliveries.

Peter Kelamis didn't fare as well, but I still think he was decent. He had the right high voice and seemed to capture Goku's childlike personality better than the others. I just don't think his performances as a whole were that great. He had better scripts to work with in the movies, but his acting always seemed a little off back in the day. The way he delivered lines like "They've summoned the Dragon!" and "I see you've been working out a little, Piccolo." kinda make me cringe. He did improve, however. Honestly, the biggest shame about Kelamis is that he left the show shortly after he returned in the Westwood dub, where he seemed better than ever. Still, he really made Goku seem like the funny, childlike man he was supposed to be. The guy came from a comedic background, and it showed.

I don't have much of an opinion on Kirby Morrow. Finding whole episodes with his Goku are rare, and I've only seen a few. It wouldn't be fair to judge him on what little I've seen.

[Bansho64]

Ian Corlett is still my favorite Ocean Goku. Out of the three, he definitely gave the best performances, and seemed to be the best voice actor overall. The writing let him down, but he did a fine job in spite of that. He could play Goku's lighthearted side legitimately, but also gave weight to any serious moments in the series. There was just something so likeable and almost believable about his deliveries.

Peter Kelamis didn't fare as well, but I still think he was decent. He had the right high voice and seemed to capture Goku's childlike personality better than the others. I just don't think his performances as a whole were that great. He had better scripts to work with in the movies, but his acting always seemed a little off back in the day. The way he delivered lines like "They've summoned the Dragon!" and "I see you've been working out a little, Piccolo." kinda make me cringe. He did improve, however. Honestly, the biggest shame about Kelamis is that he left the show shortly after he returned in the Westwood dub, where he seemed better than ever. Still, he really made Goku seem like the funny, childlike man he was supposed to be. The guy came from a comedic background, and it showed.

I don't have much of an opinion on Kirby Morrow. Finding whole episodes with his Goku are rare, and I've only seen a few. It wouldn't be fair to judge him on what little I've seen.

It's kinda a shame none of them got to do the SS transformation on Namek. I'd like to see how they could handle the anger of Goku.

[Man-Child]

It's kinda a shame none of them got to do the SS transformation on Namek. I'd like to see how they could handle the anger of Goku.

I find it a pity how little of opportunities Ocean has had with the series as a whole. Still no uncut versions of the Saiyan and Freeza arcs. No completion of the Freeza arc. No home releases of the later Westwood dub. No broadcast airings of Kai.

It really is a damn shame.

[Bansho64]

It's kinda a shame none of them got to do the SS transformation on Namek. I'd like to see how they could handle the anger of Goku.

I find it a pity how little of opportunities Ocean has had with the series as a whole. Still no uncut versions of the Saiyan and Freeza arcs. No completion of the Freeza arc. No home releases of the later Westwood dub. No broadcast airings of Kai.

It really is a damn shame.

I'd personally like it if they could redo the whole thing. The actors really weren't able to live up to their full potential back then besides the 3 movies and even then those were a little flawed also. I bet their acting has gotten a lot better nowadays. They deserve another chance.