The Funimation dub of Dragon Ball is absolutely marvellous!

[MajinMan]

The biggest problem I have with Nadolny's performances as kid Goku and Gohan is the grunting noises they make. They CONSTANTLY go "uah uh uh ah uah uh uh" when they're running or doing something. Other than that I don't really have anything against her performances (except the smoker Gohan voice from the Cell Games).

[Herms]

I do think at the time it was a big step up compared to Funi's previous efforts with the series. I've watched it a lot more than Funi's dubs of the other series, and overall enjoyed it. Having the proper score helps immensely. And it's also got probably my favorite dub narrator. But compare it to Funi's dubs for Kai, BoG, and RF, or their dub of One Piece, or pretty much anything else they've done in the last decade or so, and the difference is clear. There's still plenty of questionable casting/acting (others have already mentioned the accents), and massive liberties with the script beyond anything in the BoG/RF dubs. There's also a curious "prequel" syndrome at times, since they dubbed this after most of Z and sometimes seem to have trouble remembering what has or hasn't been introduced yet. So as mentioned already, kid Goku drops the term "power level" as if it were the Saiyan arc, King Piccolo brags about having fought "all over the universe", and Kami/Shen/"Hero" casually mentions to Yamcha that he's an alien. The introduction of Kami himself makes hardly any sense unless you're already familiar with the character from DBZ.

[precita]

The biggest problem I have with Nadolny's performances as kid Goku and Gohan is the grunting noises they make. They CONSTANTLY go "uah uh uh ah uah uh uh" when they're running or doing something. Other than that I don't really have anything against her performances (except the smoker Gohan voice from the Cell Games).

That's pretty common with kid characters in anime. They always make extra grunts or noises while moving.

[Kuririn Fan]

Script issues aside (of which there are far more than most people seem to think), .

Aaah, yes, i remember when i was like this and trying to justify not checking out the original version, thinking they're the same show and only difference is japanese jokes lost in translation and "cursing". What a strange times those were.

[ABED]

The acting is a combination of bad performances and miscast roles. Goku, Bulma, Kame Sennin, Yamcha, Colonel Silver, General White, and Commander Red all need serious work; those are all major characters.

Yamcha wasn't miscast at all. Once he dropped the surfer gimmick in Z, he was considerably better. Considering how cartoonish DB is, I have little problem with the fake accents anymore than I do with Apu's accent in The Simpsons.

and GT, and the Buu arc of Z

GT was actually pretty good, especially without the dub music and the Buu arc is a mixed bag. It has some scripts that are quite close. And no one is glossing over DB's issues. I don't think it a fair assessment to say that if Z is an F that DB is a D-. It's much better than that. That doesn't mean it's in anyway great, but it's a significant improvement.

[FoolsGil]

I love the entire dubbed series, but Dragonball is the best, it's just too funny.

[Duo]

The FUNImation dub of DB is at such a level that I can watch it in English if I have to, but if I don't meet with such a circumstance, I will absolutely go with the original language track every time. The work done on Kai/BoG/'F' blows it completely out of the water.

[doomydoomydoom]

if you're watching the show chronologically(admittedly, who is?)

Proud post-Toonami "DB first" fan checking in. (Have probably pointed this out 10 billion times, but oh well, what's another one) That's hilarious that they had him say "power level", desperately trying to tie it immediately to Z so that the kiddies wouldn't tune out (and maybe they were right).

I think the DB dub is given a little too much credit as well, though as many have said it was a step in the right direction (I know fans were shouting from the mountaintops when they heard Kikuchi was not going to be removed). But again FUNi's "reversioning" instincts won out from what I saw and others confirm here. The last time I tried the dub was during a scene where Dragon Ball Densetsu plays; switched to English, didn't hear it, switched back to Japanese and never looked back. Was sad to see that that was uniform across DB and Z's "Japanese-scored" dub. Whatever the rights/money issues were.

[Puto]

Actually, there was a period of episodes where they kept all the insert songs. And then they went back to removing them again.

[gohann]

It seems I'm the only one to agree with the OP, the scripts may not have been always accurate but they were good. The voicework was at its best here, too. I even prefer it to Kai + BoG + RoF + inevitable Super.

[floofychan333]

I personally prefer DB to DBZ. I've already finished DB, and I have a strong emotional attachment to it. It was wonderfully animated, well dubbed, and I loved the music. I'm currently watching DBZ and enjoying it, but I don't enjoy it as much as the original DB because it lacks the sense of adventure, humour, and fun.
Note: I'm not a DBZ basher, only somebody who wonders why DBZ is so much more popular than DB.

[Hyena_Yamcha]

I personally prefer DB to DBZ. I've already finished DB, and I have a strong emotional attachment to it. It was wonderfully animated, well dubbed, and I loved the music. I'm currently watching DBZ and enjoying it, but I don't enjoy it as much as the original DB because it lacks the sense of adventure, humour, and fun.
Note: I'm not a DBZ basher, only somebody who wonders why DBZ is so much more popular than DB.

Yeah , I totally agree with what you said

[SingleFringe&Sparks]

I disagree. I didn't find the voice acting performance that much better than how bad it was in their Remastered dub. Voices were pretty gruff and emotions were still stiffly forced in delivery. Then there is the fact that the characters with their Z counterpart voices made them sound way too old for their ages. Or how they tried making Adult Goku sound goofy but it was one of Sean's weaker emotions for Goku that couldn't be anymore forced. While he goes in and out between being naive and oblivious to romantic and courteous at times just never meshed well. By no means was it a good dub for me.