Current state of the Toonami Asia English dub?

[wjbraden]

@ssprime

I'm thinking this dub will probably air on Cartoon Network Africa as well, since Toei announced that it will be coming to that network soon.

But wow, this surely is an interesting development. I had begun to think that Toonami Asia had delayed DBS from their original summer air date because they were waiting for the Funimation dub to finish the first season. I thought this even moreso when Funimation announced that they officially had the license last week.

Even so, I assumed that if Toonami Asia was going to air a separate dub, it was going to be from the likes of Odex or some other studio based in Hong Kong or Singapore. The fact that it's Bang Zoom doing this dub, is extremely surprising and confusing.

While having English dubs produced in the US exclusively for foreign markets is not unprecedented, I don't think there have ever been two separate dubs being produced by two separate companies within the US in tandem with each other.

Perhaps Toei realized that most of the Odex/ Hong Kong English dubs are usually sub-par in quality and wanted to have a more experienced team like Bang Zoom work on their jewel-in-the-crown property, similarly to the Ocean dubs of Season 4+ of DBZ they commissioned?

Speaking of which, I wonder why Toei didn't commission this alternate dub from Ocean. Maybe they are on bad terms now, since they couldn't get their Kai dub on the air? So many questions and so much rambling from me... haha. It appears the confusing history of the English dubs of Dragon Ball continue.

Who knows, at this rate, maybe there will be an Ocean dub of Super someday.... Then we can have 3 English dubs made in North America alone!

[Hellspawn28]

If Bang Zoom is dubbing Super for the Asia market, I guess this is the first time we had CA voice actors in something DB related since Final Bout. Maybe get Steve Blum for Goku for the Toonami Asia dub !

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Well, I guess we will be getting two English Dragon Ball dubs so. If that video is anything to go by its looking like the cast will be doing their best to imitate the Funimation cast, this Buu sounds note-for-note like Josh Martin. Still I'm excited to know that we'll be getting established talent after all. Suppose this is just another sign that nothing's impossible with Dragon Ball.

Can someone explain the logic behind this?

Why can't Toonami Asia air the FUNi dub? If it was a matter of producing an edited dub, FUNi has proven to still be capable of editing their uncut content (Z Kai on Nicktoons and Toonzai/Vortexx). How can a different US dubbing studio be allowed to produce this at the same time as FUNi? At least when Ocean was dubbing DBZ, it was to meet Canadian broadcasting standards. Why even bother when it's clear Bang Zoom is going to basically imitate the FUNi actors and actresses? It's stupid and I wouldn't be surprised if FUNi knew nothing about this until today.

What confuses me the most is that TOEI wouldn't let Mexico dub Super until they finished all of Kai, but for some reason Bang Zoom gets a free pass, unless Bang Zoom have a Kai dub that we're unaware of but I don't see how that's likely.

Actually, the reason(s) for the Ocean DBZ dubs was not because of Canadian broadcasting standards, the Saban episodes were produced by Funimation and aired in pretty much every English-speaking country and the Westwood portion, as far as know was made because of Cartoon Network UK, YTV, whatever Dutch station aired DBZ, and some other companies relationship with Funimation at the time (footage was not arriving on time, that sort of thing).

[TekTheNinja]

I'm getting Ocean Dub of Kai vibes, only this we know is a thing coming out for sure.

I still want that to be released. Maybe even just leaked onto the internet or something. I'd LOVE to see it.

So I'm LOVING Satan's voice, but Buu's is annoying. It feels like Funimation's but without the charm.

[Puto]

The wait is over and Dragon Ball is finally back!

The series debut of ‘Dragon Ball Super’ in Asia – and the international English-language premiere – is set for Saturday, January 21, 2017.
But Goku fans around Asia who can’t wait that long can also get a sneak peek on Saturday, December 17 at 10:35am, to watch the full first episode – only on Toonami Asia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znYqJim6Gwc

Region-locked. Can anybody reupload that?

[Super Sayian Prime]

I'm thinking this dub will probably air on Cartoon Network Africa as well, since Toei announced that it will be coming to that network soon.

Interesting to note that the Youtube video is available to be streamed in Australia and New Zealand.

Speaking of which, I wonder why Toei didn't commission this alternate dub from Ocean. Maybe they are on bad terms now, since they couldn't get their Kai dub on the air? So many questions and so much rambling from me... haha. It appears the confusing history of the English dubs of Dragon Ball continue.

I am disappointed that we're getting an alternate dub recorded in North America and it's not from Ocean. At least I could shrug off a local production as something cheap, but even a non-union LA dub isn't cheap. How else will I get to hear Brian Drummond attempt to sing as Vegeta?

As for Ocean and Toei's relationship, well, they hired them to do World Trigger. That dub still hasn't surfaced.

The wait is over and Dragon Ball is finally back!

The series debut of ‘Dragon Ball Super’ in Asia – and the international English-language premiere – is set for Saturday, January 21, 2017.
But Goku fans around Asia who can’t wait that long can also get a sneak peek on Saturday, December 17 at 10:35am, to watch the full first episode – only on Toonami Asia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znYqJim6Gwc

Region-locked. Can anybody reupload that?

https://vid.me/1eUt

If Bang Zoom is dubbing Super for the Asia market, I guess this is the first time we had CA voice actors in something DB related since Final Bout. Maybe get Steve Blum for Goku for the Toonami Asia dub !

IIRC the Evolution PSP game had its VO recorded in LA.

[Ashura]

Actually, the reason(s) for the Ocean DBZ dubs was not because of Canadian broadcasting standards, the Saban episodes were produced by Funimation and aired in pretty much every English-speaking country and the Westwood portion, as far as know was made because of Cartoon Network UK, YTV, whatever Dutch station aired DBZ, and some other companies relationship with Funimation at the time (footage was not arriving on time, that sort of thing).

I maintain that, likely, AB Groupe (Group? whatever) produced the Canadian version of DBZ such that it didn't have to pay Funimation the licensing fees for the music score they had Faulconer, et al, create. If you look at Saban's old productions, such as Digimon, one of the ways they made a lot of their money was by licensing worldwide distribution of anime (or at least quite a bit of the world), replacing all of the music, and then sub-licensing their version out to be dubbed in other countries. One of the rules of sub-licensing their stuff was that you had to use their music. In fact, when Disney was reversioning Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers a few years back, they weren't allowed to touch the music at all. Because Saban still got a kickback. (Saban's music catalogue has since been sold off to someone else, however, though it seems Saban still retains some legacy rights.)

Funimation realized this is what Saban was doing to DBZ, and essentially did the same thing in-house for "season 3" on Toonami. This was a huge source of revenue for them in the early days, and, in fact, there's an interview floating around somewhere with Gen gloating about it back in the day. (As he should - it was a shrewd business move and probably stoked the coffers for a lot of things after.)

Initially, they aired the Funimation dub in Canada, and as such, Funimation got a kickback of that. My hunch is that AB Groupe realized that there would be more profit for them if they dubbed it themselves and licensed their own music - which is where all that Keenlyside needle-drop stuff came from.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Speaking of which, I wonder why Toei didn't commission this alternate dub from Ocean. Maybe they are on bad terms now, since they couldn't get their Kai dub on the air? So many questions and so much rambling from me... haha. It appears the confusing history of the English dubs of Dragon Ball continue.

I am disappointed that we're getting an alternate dub recorded in North America and it's not from Ocean. At least I could shrug off a local production as something cheap, but even a non-union LA dub isn't cheap. How else will I get to hear Brian Drummond attempt to sing as Vegeta?

As for Ocean and Toei's relationship, well, they hired them to do World Trigger. That dub still hasn't surfaced.

Actually, does anyone know if Bang Zoom's anime dubs are Union or non-Union dubs? If they are Union there is a slim chance they could hire some of the Ocean cast for roles where appropriate. I wouldn't count on it, but to be able to hear Brian Drummond or Scott McNeil again, even Richard Ian Cox to get an idea of what Ocean Kai Goku sounds like would be a dream.

Actually, the reason(s) for the Ocean DBZ dubs was not because of Canadian broadcasting standards, the Saban episodes were produced by Funimation and aired in pretty much every English-speaking country and the Westwood portion, as far as know was made because of Cartoon Network UK, YTV, whatever Dutch station aired DBZ, and some other companies relationship with Funimation at the time (footage was not arriving on time, that sort of thing).

I maintain that, likely, AB Groupe (Group? whatever) produced the Canadian version of DBZ such that it didn't have to pay Funimation the licensing fees for the music score they had Faulconer, et al, create. If you look at Saban's old productions, such as Digimon, one of the ways they made a lot of their money was by licensing worldwide distribution of anime (or at least quite a bit of the world), replacing all of the music, and then sub-licensing their version out to be dubbed in other countries. One of the rules of sub-licensing their stuff was that you had to use their music. In fact, when Disney was reversioning Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers a few years back, they weren't allowed to touch the music at all. Because Saban still got a kickback. (Saban's music catalogue has since been sold off to someone else, however, though it seems Saban still retains some legacy rights.)

Funimation realized this is what Saban was doing to DBZ, and essentially did the same thing in-house for "season 3" on Toonami. This was a huge source of revenue for them in the early days, and, in fact, there's an interview floating around somewhere with Gen gloating about it back in the day. (As he should - it was a shrewd business move and probably stoked the coffers for a lot of things after.)

Initially, they aired the Funimation dub in Canada, and as such, Funimation got a kickback of that. My hunch is that AB Groupe realized that there would be more profit for them if they dubbed it themselves and licensed their own music - which is where all that Keenlyside needle-drop stuff came from.

I'm not familiar with Digimon or Power Rangers, but that makes sense as it's pretty well documented by now that the Faulconer score lacked silence for business reasons, even Bruce Faulconer admitted that in his interview with Blackenfist. I'm aware the Westwood dub aired in Canada later than the UK, Ireland and Netherlands, I've always presumed the fact AB is a European company made it easier to distribute there hence Canada coming late. Thankfully music isn't going to be an issue this time around as the vast majority of dubs made use the original score.

I wonder if part of the reason why this dub was produced is because Funimation was still dubbing The Final Chapters at the time and TOEI felt the need to have a substitute for countries that were in immediate need of an English version.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

I'm getting Ocean Dub of Kai vibes, only this we know is a thing coming out for sure.

I still want that to be released. Maybe even just leaked onto the internet or something. I'd LOVE to see it.

So I'm LOVING Satan's voice, but Buu's is annoying. It feels like Funimation's but without the charm.

Yeah definitely the vibe I'm getting it's gonna be like when FUNi in house took over ocean for the first time except with better voice acting at least in the case of Satan.

[DBZ_Lee]

I'm getting Ocean Dub of Kai vibes, only this we know is a thing coming out for sure.

I still want that to be released. Maybe even just leaked onto the internet or something. I'd LOVE to see it.

So I'm LOVING Satan's voice, but Buu's is annoying. It feels like Funimation's but without the charm.

Yeah definitely the vibe I'm getting it's gonna be like when FUNi in house took over ocean for the first time except with better voice acting at least in the case of Satan.

They aren't even pretending to put their own spin on the characters, they're trying to sound exactly like Chris & Josh, but don't quite have the finesse.

[VejituhTheWarriorGuy]

I still want that to be released. Maybe even just leaked onto the internet or something. I'd LOVE to see it.

So I'm LOVING Satan's voice, but Buu's is annoying. It feels like Funimation's but without the charm.

Yeah definitely the vibe I'm getting it's gonna be like when FUNi in house took over ocean for the first time except with better voice acting at least in the case of Satan.

They aren't even pretending to put their own spin on the characters, they're trying to sound exactly like Chris & Josh, but don't quite have the finesse.

Exactly, they seem more like knock offs. I mean, they're well acted knock offs but the FUNi dub cast is better at acting in my opinion and they have that sort of flair and finesse to their voices

[Nightmare Wheel]

Actually, does anyone know if Bang Zoom's anime dubs are Union or non-Union dubs?

They've done plenty of both. Don't expect cast mixing with Canadian actors though, I've never heard of such a thing happening, not with Bang Zoom anyway.

[DB_Fan1991]

I love Jameison Price, but he shouldn't have copied Chris Rager. The same could be said for Spike Spencer copying Josh Martin's Boo. I'll still watch it if I can for curiosity, but I am more excited for FUNi's dub.

[Theophrastus]

Jamieson Price's "Hercule" sounds similar enough to Unsho Ishizuka that I could believe that it's an earnest attempt to portray the character and not just an imitation of Chris Rager's take.

Whoever's doing Buu is definitely taking more cues from Josh Martin than they are from Kozo Shioya, though.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Actually, does anyone know if Bang Zoom's anime dubs are Union or non-Union dubs? If they are Union there is a slim chance they could hire some of the Ocean cast for roles where appropriate. I wouldn't count on it, but to be able to hear Brian Drummond or Scott McNeil again, even Richard Ian Cox to get an idea of what Ocean Kai Goku sounds like would be a dream.

They do both actually, even recently.

Doraemon and the Durarara!! shows were union dubs, but Hunter X Hunter and the new Gundam dub were non-union. Bang-Zoom doesn't have a signed agreement with the union, but non-union companies can still do union projects if they hire a third party company (called a "signatory," if we want to get technical) that has signed an agreement with the union, and that third party company basically supervises from afar, making sure all union rules are followed and all union rates paid. A lot of companies hire third-party signatories, since that allows them do union or non-union projects on a case-by-case basis...it's a little more expensive since they have to pay the third-party signatory, but between how many anime dubs are non-union and how big a union town LA is, many LA-based dubbing companies consider this a worthwhile expense since it affords them some options.

My guess is that the Dragon Ball Super dub is probably a non-union dub, because union dubs that get a TV deal have to pay residuals, which can really get expensive for the dubbing company over time. The residuals are based partially on how many episodes the actors appear in...so most super-long shows are non-union for that reason (not that there haven't been exceptions, like the Veronica Taylor-era Pokemon dub and the Naruto dubs). Having said that, to address your last point, a Canadian friend of mine said that ACTRA (the Canadian union) isn't quite as strict about working non-union out of the country, so while it's still highly unlikely, members of the original Ocean cast could theoretically appear. Scott McNeil had a part in a FUNimation dub of a One Piece movie, and that dub was non-union.

[gokaiblue]

It seems like this won't be your typical Asia exclusive dub. The fact that there are region exclusive dubs now confuses me, especially in this case when Z is already airing with the FUNimation dub on the channel. Maybe it's because they didn't want to wait for FUNimation?

What might make this more interesting is that some FUNimation VAs moved to LA, so we might see some of them in this dub (or in both dubs? who knows).

[TheBlackPaladin]

It seems like this won't be your typical Asia exclusive dub. The fact that there are region exclusive dubs now confuses me, especially in this case when Z is already airing with the FUNimation dub on the channel. Maybe it's because they didn't want to wait for FUNimation?

Probably a legal situation is my guess. I wouldn't know myself, but from what Greg Ayers has said, licensing an anime is apparently a legal nightmare.

What might make this more interesting is that some FUNimation VAs moved to LA, so we might see some of them in this dub (or in both dubs? who knows).

I thought of that too. Most notably, Sean Schemmel lives in LA now. It must be weird for him to have to fly to Texas now!

[sangofe]

Can someone explain the logic behind this?

Why can't Toonami Asia air the FUNi dub? If it was a matter of producing an edited dub, FUNi has proven to still be capable of editing their uncut content (Z Kai on Nicktoons and Toonzai/Vortexx). How can a different US dubbing studio be allowed to produce this at the same time as FUNi? At least when Ocean was dubbing DBZ, it was to meet Canadian broadcasting standards. Why even bother when it's clear Bang Zoom is going to basically imitate the FUNi actors and actresses? It's stupid and I wouldn't be surprised if FUNi knew nothing about this until today.

I've been not agreeing with you a lot of times on this forum but this time I absolutely agree; why would they imitate FUNimation's voice actors if they produce a new dub, instead of going their own way? So pointless.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Can someone explain the logic behind this?

Why can't Toonami Asia air the FUNi dub? If it was a matter of producing an edited dub, FUNi has proven to still be capable of editing their uncut content (Z Kai on Nicktoons and Toonzai/Vortexx). How can a different US dubbing studio be allowed to produce this at the same time as FUNi? At least when Ocean was dubbing DBZ, it was to meet Canadian broadcasting standards. Why even bother when it's clear Bang Zoom is going to basically imitate the FUNi actors and actresses? It's stupid and I wouldn't be surprised if FUNi knew nothing about this until today.

The situation definitely is weird, but I'm certain FUNimation knew about the other dub already. They may not have necessarily known it was Bang-Zoom doing the other dub, but they definitely knew that another dub was being made. Where a dub can air is something that's outlined in a licensing contract, so there's no way Toei wouldn't have disclosed to them during the licensing negotiations that SEA and India were already covered.

Let's not forget, the first person involved in an official capacity to reveal the existence of the Ocean dub of Kai was Sean Schemmel, who said at the time that it was supposed to be "strictly internal FUNimation info."

[NitroEX]

Wow, what a shocker! I had totally lost all hope for this dub after Funimation announced theirs but after seeing the preview and with the confirmation of Bang Zoom actors I'm now totally on board and looking forward to it. The logistics of this don't make much sense to me but in a world without Ocean Kai I'll take what I can get in terms of alternate dubs.

Right now my initial thoughts are that I'm not a fan of Majin Buu's voice as it's basically just a copy of Funimation's depiction (which I've always hated). Hercule on the other hand is actually a refreshing change though, it's deep like Funimation's version but, unlike that one, this guy maintains a neutral accent and manages to not sound like a hick. Anyway, I'm really eager to hear what their versions of Vegeta, Goku and Piccolo sound like.

So I'm LOVING Satan's voice, but Buu's is annoying. It feels like Funimation's but without the charm.

Both are just as ear piercingly high pitched and bad as eachother in my opinion. Even though it wasn't at all faithful to the Japanese version, Scott McNeil's (fat) Buu was the only one I found tolerable. That was at least funny to listen to.