Viz' DBZ Manga volumes

Sabre · Post by **Sabre** » Mon May 10, 2004 3:08 pm

Hi. I have been collecting Viz' Dragonball Manga books and have enjoyed them so far, as I had little knowledge of the series, and had only seen dubs of the early episodes.

However, I am very reluctant to continue buying them into Z (I'm waiting for Volume 16 before I start buying Z, if I do) as i have fears they have been severely Dub-ised and censored. I used to love the dub(s) (I Live in the UK) three years ago, but now I do have bitter memories. To cut things short, i sought the manga to have as 'pure' a version of the story as possible without influence from the poorer sections filler/bad dubbing and TV censors. However I'm not convinced about the Z manga volumes as I hear it is censored, and also do they use dub names like "Androids" etc.

Could you provide me with some feedback, many thanks.

PsyLiam · Post by **PsyLiam** » Mon May 10, 2004 4:17 pm

"Androids" isn't so much them using a dub name, as it is a compromise between the Japanese and English languages. Although "Artificial Humans" is the translation of JinzoI'm-not-even-attempting-the-rest-of-the-word-cause-I'll-spell-it-wrong, it isn't perfect. It has meaning in Japanese that simply don't translate directly into an equivelent English word. Took strictly, "artificial" means "not real", so "artificial humans" would mean that none of the Androids are actually human, which isn't true in #17 and #18's cases. It's pretty much the same problem "Androids" has.

So VIZ went with Androids, since it's already been used by FUNi (which may have influenced them), but also because it's a word everyone knows and is vague enough (just about) to cover everyone. They couldn't use something like "cyborg" because that doesn't apply to #16 and #19, for instance. So, they mainly use "android", and note in a few places that #17 and #18 are actually cyborgs.

As for "etc", I'm not sure what you mean. What other dub names do you think they use?

And finally, regarding censorship, yes it is slightly censored. Roshi's comment in the first chapter about wanting a feel of Bulma was changed to him wanting a kiss. There are also a couple of instances where middle-finger gestures have been drawn over. And, most recently, #16's "Hell's Flash" has been changed to "Inferno Blast", or something like that.

Apart from that though, they are uncensored. In fact, the censoring of #16's attack is itself confusing, since language has been uncensored from the beginning (ie, damns, hells and bastards are all intact). Viz haven't responded as to why they have censored that. All over censorship has involved anything sexual, and there's almost none of that in Z. (Actually, thinking about it, the middle finger makes no sense really, if they're keeping in "bastard". Oh well.)

So, there you have it. DB is almost completely accurate to the original (with the exception of chapter titles, which have been changed to more English puns). DBZ is almost completely accurate to the original, apart from 4 or 5 sexual comments, two instances of people giving the middle finger, and #16 and Piccolo's attack names. That's it. Buy it.

(And writing " Viz' " is plainly wrong. Stop doing it now, or I will be forced to glare at you from the corner.)

Alias · Post by **Alias** » Mon May 10, 2004 5:35 pm

Er, they're not as accurate as most think. For instance, they changed Vegeta's "Haaa!" as he jumps over the Genki Dama in the Saiyan Saga to "It's hopeless!" (?). Piccolo, when he first talks with Gohan and later after he leaves the apples, refers to him as "Shitbrat" (how could they edit out such an endearing name?) There's lots of changes to dialogue, additions of lines instead of battle cries/screams of agony, and a bit of softening to the bluntness in some of the lines. There's also the leaving out or mistranslation of name suffixes. I think they should have left those the way they were.

Overall, it's still a decent translation. There's no other alternatives to their's, so you're kind've stuck with it if you want the manga in english.

PsyLiam · Post by **PsyLiam** » Mon May 10, 2004 5:54 pm

Alias wrote:There's also the leaving out or mistranslation of name suffixes. I think they should have left those the way they were.

Well, that's more personal opinion. If you're translating something into another language, how much do you translate? Do you make it completely "English", do you leave in certain Japanese aspects, and if so, where do you draw the line?

What ones have they mistranslated? The only real casualty I can see is that Bulma now calls Goku, "Son", and just calling someone by their surname in English is usually a bit harsh.

Ben Plante · Post by **Ben Plante** » Mon May 10, 2004 7:23 pm

On a similar note, anyone have the GN handy when the Ginyus land on Namek and announce themselves? Reacoom? Butta? Jheese? Ghurd? Seems like they cared less about translation there and more about really just bending over backwards to match the names with the dairy puns.

In fact, Daimao did the same when they showed up on Kaio-sei. Who thieved from who?

Alias · Post by **Alias** » Mon May 10, 2004 7:29 pm

It is personal opinion to a large extant. I know that most (normal) people don't want to figure out the nuances of -sama vs -san and -kun vs -chan. However, Viz is/was (I haven't read the recent issues) very inconsistent with their choices. Sometimes they would add -sama or some other honorific, sometimes they'd remove it. Suffixes don't have exact english equivalents. If you just take the common translations (Lord, Mr, Master, etc...) you end up with an inaccurate final product (why would a person refer to a close friend as Mr. or Miss? It sounds strange.) You also lose some of the characters' emotions since what they use determines how they view one person or another. I need to check back at home for actual examples in the manga, since I haven't read them lately. -_-

PsyLiam · Post by **PsyLiam** » Mon May 10, 2004 7:55 pm

One that comes to mind is Vegeta, just after Freeza turns up:

"So much for 'my dear' and 'MISTER Vegeta'".

That always struck me as them trying to translate something involving name suffixes, and not being able to do it 100% accurately.

You can argue that some nuiances of the characters are lost when they remove the name. But the relationship should still come through in dialogue. It's not like the suffixes are the only way of telling how a person feels about another. Keeping them adds a little extra thing, but also makes it more confusing generally, since people speaking English (sort of) suddenly start spouting Japanese.

Of course, you could make similar arguments regarding the attack names. In the end though, I just think it's a very small thing to base whether you're going to buy the issue or not from.

Ben Plante wrote:On a similar note, anyone have the GN handy when the Ginyus land on Namek and announce themselves? Reacoom? Butta? Jheese? Ghurd? Seems like they cared less about translation there and more about really just bending over backwards to match the names with the dairy puns.

But that comes through with all the names. Bardock was called "Burdock" on Daimao's subs, IIRC. That's another case of making the pun clear.

Several of the characters names can be translated several ways, so what do you go for? Anally accurate (Bejita), or ones that make the pun obvious (Vegeta)? And, it should be noted, everyone is inconsistent on this. At least, I've never seen anyone write out Goku's Saiyan name as "Cacarrot".

Ben Plante · Post by **Ben Plante** » Mon May 10, 2004 8:03 pm

Oh, I definitely prefer the pun-accurate Vegeta over the snobbish Bejiita or any of its forms. I tend to use... Japanglish I guess. Most OUs become Os when I spell them, Double Us (Like Gokuu) become Goku when I spell it... I just prefer that.

The reason I mentioned the Ginyu names was simply to make the point that sometimes puns are put ahead of translation, and that's just fine with me. I wasn't complaining.

PsyLiam · Post by **PsyLiam** » Mon May 10, 2004 8:11 pm

What were the FUNi names again? And what are "super-accurate-to-the-max" translation versions of them? And what are the puns, for that matter? I can figure out that Burta/Butta is Butter, but Jheice/Jheese? Is that suppossed to be "cheese"? Was the FUNi pronounciation completely off? Why is every sentence in this post a question?

Oh, and the Viz names are Ginyu, Butta, Reacoom, Jheese, and Gurd.

Super Sonic · Post by **Super Sonic** » Mon May 10, 2004 10:02 pm

PsyLiam wrote:What were the FUNi names again? And what are "super-accurate-to-the-max" translation versions of them? And what are the puns, for that matter? I can figure out that Burta/Butta is Butter, but Jheice/Jheese? Is that suppossed to be "cheese"? Was the FUNi pronounciation completely off? Why is every sentence in this post a question?

Oh, and the Viz names are Ginyu, Butta, Reacoom, Jheese, and Gurd.

The dub names are Ginyu, Burter, Recoome, Jeice, and Guldo. Seems they were more concerned with making them sound like they had plain names, rather than pun names. By the way, how the hell do you pronounce "Jheese" anyways?

Jerseymilk · Post by **Jerseymilk** » Tue May 11, 2004 3:07 am

I've always spelled it Jees for some reason, but anyway it does indeed stand for "cheese". Ginyu's name is a pun on the Japanese word for "milk", Rikkum's a play on the Japanese word for "cream" I believe, and Gurudo's is a pun on the Japanese word for "yogurt".

PsyLiam · Post by **PsyLiam** » Tue May 11, 2004 8:04 am

I do like how all of Ginyu's attacks in Budokai are dairy-based puns. Shows that someone was paying attention.

So, how do they pronounce Jheice in Japanese? I can't remember myself.

Jerseymilk · Post by **Jerseymilk** » Tue May 11, 2004 8:49 am

It's pronounced "Jeez", which makes it a lot easier to get the pun on "cheese".

Kanzenshuu

Viz' DBZ Manga volumes

Viz' DBZ Manga volumes

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