"Dragon Ball Super" Bang Zoom Dub Official Discussion Thread

[KaijiTang]

Hello everyone!

This is Kaiji Tang ( Vegeta's VA )!

I really want to thank everyone for the critique of our dub. Due to the strange, strange circumstances of this project, fan reaction is one of the only ways our cast will ever be able to hear any news of the show at all, seeing how it's only being released in Southeast Asia. It is my hope that not only will this show entertain a new generation of Dragon Ball fans over in the east, but can be a universally watched one too! So again, thank you for the in-depth conversations about both the show and the performances.

Taking Vegeta to a less growly, more personalized place is a change I very much look forward to implementing. From what I understand, there was an issue of continuity as a previous version of the show had aired already over there. It felt like we all had to start in some sort of ballpark, but as we grow into the roles and gather more experience in the booth I'm sure we'll begin to make it our own! Let me tell ya, we've had a heck of a time with this project, haha.

As we were recording around the time Vegeta goes to train with Whis when the episodes began airing, please expect Vegeta to begin to chill out under the space wizard's training.

Have a great one!

[Ajay]

Hello everyone!

Taking Vegeta to a less growly, more personalized place is a change I very much look forward to implementing. From what I understand, there was an issue of continuity as a previous version of the show had aired already over there. It felt like we all had to start in some sort of ballpark, but as we grow into the roles and gather more experience in the booth I'm sure we'll begin to make it our own!

Welcome to the forum!

I reached out to you on Twitter recently and thanked you for being so professional and welcoming of criticism after seeing your tweets, and I 100% mean that. It's very refreshing.

I'm glad to hear you'll be making Vegeta your own. It's actually reassuring hearing that bit about vocal continuity. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the history of Dragon Ball's dubs, so forgive me if this is old news to you, but the Funimation cast that so many know now once began as an imitation of the Canadian actors that first performed in the roles. It took them a while to come into their own, and they were certainly much better off once they were allowed to do what they wanted. I imagine you guys will follow similarly.

I'm very much looking forward to hearing how everyone develops, so best of luck to you all!

[TheBlackPaladin]

From what I understand, there was an issue of continuity as a previous version of the show had aired already over there. It felt like we all had to start in some sort of ballpark, but as we grow into the roles and gather more experience in the booth I'm sure we'll begin to make it our own!

Heh...you have no idea how much this predicament you've mentioned mimics the very same predicament that the current cast of the FUNimation/Dallas-based dub was in around 1999 when they had to take over from a cast based in Vancouver that had already dubbed a fair portion of the show. History has a way of repeating itself, I guess.

In any event, while I find that historical similarity amusing, I'm also completely sympathetic. I know that taking on these roles for you guys must be both exciting and nerve-wrecking considering how vocal the fanbase can be (in both positive and negative ways), and I also applaud you for interacting with the fanbase in an effort to study your performance. I look forward to seeing what you and the other cast members of the Bang-Zoom dub will do with this dub!

[VejituhTheWarriorGuy]

Hello everyone!

This is Kaiji Tang ( Vegeta's VA )!

I really want to thank everyone for the critique of our dub. Due to the strange, strange circumstances of this project, fan reaction is one of the only ways our cast will ever be able to hear any news of the show at all, seeing how it's only being released in Southeast Asia. It is my hope that not only will this show entertain a new generation of Dragon Ball fans over in the east, but can be a universally watched one too! So again, thank you for the in-depth conversations about both the show and the performances.

Taking Vegeta to a less growly, more personalized place is a change I very much look forward to implementing. From what I understand, there was an issue of continuity as a previous version of the show had aired already over there. It felt like we all had to start in some sort of ballpark, but as we grow into the roles and gather more experience in the booth I'm sure we'll begin to make it our own! Let me tell ya, we've had a heck of a time with this project, haha.

As we were recording around the time Vegeta goes to train with Whis when the episodes began airing, please expect Vegeta to begin to chill out under the space wizard's training.

Have a great one!

You're awesome Kaiji, you are so level headed and you know how to take criticism. I'm looking forward to seeing how your Vegeta improves. Also, I didn't even know you were Zoro in Death Battle, I guess that's the type of casting that would happen if there was ever a Toonami Asia dub of One Piece even though it will likely never happen

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Hello everyone!

This is Kaiji Tang ( Vegeta's VA )!

I really want to thank everyone for the critique of our dub. Due to the strange, strange circumstances of this project, fan reaction is one of the only ways our cast will ever be able to hear any news of the show at all, seeing how it's only being released in Southeast Asia. It is my hope that not only will this show entertain a new generation of Dragon Ball fans over in the east, but can be a universally watched one too! So again, thank you for the in-depth conversations about both the show and the performances.

Taking Vegeta to a less growly, more personalized place is a change I very much look forward to implementing. From what I understand, there was an issue of continuity as a previous version of the show had aired already over there. It felt like we all had to start in some sort of ballpark, but as we grow into the roles and gather more experience in the booth I'm sure we'll begin to make it our own! Let me tell ya, we've had a heck of a time with this project, haha.

As we were recording around the time Vegeta goes to train with Whis when the episodes began airing, please expect Vegeta to begin to chill out under the space wizard's training.

Have a great one!

Hey Kaiji nice too see you join in! The retellings are fluff anyway so it's actually not a bad thing to use that as experience in all honesty. Anyway I have a few questions regarding the dub the intial Toonami Asia press release seemed to imply they had only licensed 52 episodes is this correct? Secondly have you guys recording uncut dialogue too?

[Lord Beerus]

Hello everyone!

This is Kaiji Tang ( Vegeta's VA )!

I really want to thank everyone for the critique of our dub. Due to the strange, strange circumstances of this project, fan reaction is one of the only ways our cast will ever be able to hear any news of the show at all, seeing how it's only being released in Southeast Asia. It is my hope that not only will this show entertain a new generation of Dragon Ball fans over in the east, but can be a universally watched one too! So again, thank you for the in-depth conversations about both the show and the performances.

Taking Vegeta to a less growly, more personalized place is a change I very much look forward to implementing. From what I understand, there was an issue of continuity as a previous version of the show had aired already over there. It felt like we all had to start in some sort of ballpark, but as we grow into the roles and gather more experience in the booth I'm sure we'll begin to make it our own! Let me tell ya, we've had a heck of a time with this project, haha.

As we were recording around the time Vegeta goes to train with Whis when the episodes began airing, please expect Vegeta to begin to chill out under the space wizard's training.

Have a great one!

Wow. Kaiji Tang himself. Nice to see you've joined the forum. I'm very happy to know that you're taking Vegeta in a different direction with being less growly and more personalised.

Hope to hear from you more.

[ProjectAlpha22]

Hello everyone!

This is Kaiji Tang ( Vegeta's VA )!

I really want to thank everyone for the critique of our dub. Due to the strange, strange circumstances of this project, fan reaction is one of the only ways our cast will ever be able to hear any news of the show at all, seeing how it's only being released in Southeast Asia. It is my hope that not only will this show entertain a new generation of Dragon Ball fans over in the east, but can be a universally watched one too! So again, thank you for the in-depth conversations about both the show and the performances.

Taking Vegeta to a less growly, more personalized place is a change I very much look forward to implementing. From what I understand, there was an issue of continuity as a previous version of the show had aired already over there. It felt like we all had to start in some sort of ballpark, but as we grow into the roles and gather more experience in the booth I'm sure we'll begin to make it our own! Let me tell ya, we've had a heck of a time with this project, haha.

As we were recording around the time Vegeta goes to train with Whis when the episodes began airing, please expect Vegeta to begin to chill out under the space wizard's training.

Have a great one!

Wow, Mr. Tang, it's great to have you here! I'm glad you are enjoying your role as Vegeta, your humbleness and energy make you perfect for the role of the Sayain Prince in my opinion. I cannot wait to hear your improvements, and I thank you for being so professional about our critiques when we make them!

[KaijiTang]

Hey Kaiji nice too see you join in! The retellings are fluff anyway so it's actually not a bad thing to use that as experience in all honesty. Anyway I have a few questions regarding the dub the intial Toonami Asia press release seemed to imply they had only licensed 52 episodes is this correct? Secondly have you guys recording uncut dialogue too?

Those are great questions! Questions, unfortunately with our NDA, I am at the time not able to answer. I know, terribly useful information, haha. Apologies.

[huzaifa_ahmed]

Also...on the voice director, I have a pretty solid hunch that it's Wendee Lee.

* The director was mentioned as a she, & there are all male directors aside from Wendee at Bang Zoom. There are six dubbing directors at BZ; Lex Lang, Chris Cason, Richard Epcar, Tony Oliver, Alex Von David, & Wendee as the only woman. The last other female VD they had was Kristi Reed (Durarara & old Fate dubs, among others), but she levelled up, so to speak, now works at Cartoon Network, makes a ton of money. Credit to DisneyAnimeFan1995 from BTVA for pointing that out.

* Wendee Lee was also involved in the Harmony Gold dub, & the narrator of the HG dub was Kaio in this one.

* Lee worked a ton at Animaze when they were around, it makes sense that she'd be familiar with the Final Bout dub. Lex Lang went from Gohan to Goku here.

* She was literally Bulma, & now she's Bulma again. This cannot possibly be coincidence.

* Chi-Chi is Michelle Ruff, who is very close with Wendee Lee. They are close friends in the show. Lee is a smart casting director.

There are also aspects which are a bit of a stretch, & could possibly just be a coincidence of the general small pool for dub actors in general, due to low US dub/import rates & pay.

* Ray Chase (Piccolo & the reporter in the Satan/Boo scene), & Erica Mendez (Trunks), & Benjamin Diskin (not confirmed here, but he has discussed an awareness of the dub & not commented on it) were in Wendee Lee's most recent project - the dub for Tales of Berseria,. Kirbopher, who was also in this dub, mentioned on BTVA that the Berseria dub has been recording for quite some time (released a few days ago) meaning it was dubbed around the same time. Erica is also a lead character in Berseria.

Yeah, I definitely think Mai is Nadolny. The same exact inflections and line deliveries, and the scene where they were all crying was a dead giveaway.

With all due respect, that doesn't really make any sense. Nadolny was one of the randoms that FUNi was picking up off theater classes at the time, she didn't become a career VA. There are a few VAs from FUNi that went on to work in LA - Troy baker, Laura Bailey, travis Willingham, Kyle hebert, Vic Mignogna, Sean Schemmel, Kevin Connolly, Todd Haberkorn...plus Sabat, Palencia, Rial, McFarland, Caitlin Glass, Alexis Tipton have all done occasional work in LA - but Stephanie Nadolny is most definitely not one of them. On the other hand, Patrick Seitz who was in XV2's dub, could easily be in this, as could Matthew Mercer (not yet in DB but works with FUNi on occasion).

The first three of those guys, just so we're clear lol, are definitely not in this dub. I haven't been on this thread in awhile (still gotta formulate responses to some of these, although the Lex-bashing makes my brain hurt a little), just wanted to point all that out.

[Cure Dragon 255]

She is also on Lakewood Plaza Turbo and is quite good there.

[8000 Saiyan]

Welcome to the forum, Kaiji! I loved your work as Archer.

[VejituhTheWarriorGuy]

Also...on the voice director, I have a pretty solid hunch that it's Wendee Lee.

* The director was mentioned as a she, & there are all male directors aside from Wendee at Bang Zoom. There are six dubbing directors at BZ; Lex Lang, Chris Cason, Richard Epcar, Tony Oliver, Alex Von David, & Wendee as the only woman. The last other female VD they had was Kristi Reed (Durarara & old Fate dubs, among others), but she levelled up, so to speak, now works at Cartoon Network, makes a ton of money. Credit to DisneyAnimeFan1995 from BTVA for pointing that out.

* Wendee Lee was also involved in the Harmony Gold dub, & the narrator of the HG dub was Kaio in this one.

* Lee worked a ton at Animaze when they were around, it makes sense that she'd be familiar with the Final Bout dub. Lex Lang went from Gohan to Goku here.

* She was literally Bulma, & now she's Bulma again. This cannot possibly be coincidence.

* Chi-Chi is Michelle Ruff, who is very close with Wendee Lee. They are close friends in the show. Lee is a smart casting director.

There are also aspects which are a bit of a stretch, & could possibly just be a coincidence of the general small pool for dub actors in general, due to low US dub/import rates & pay.

* Ray Chase (Piccolo & the reporter in the Satan/Boo scene), & Erica Mendez (Trunks), & Benjamin Diskin (not confirmed here, but he has discussed an awareness of the dub & not commented on it) were in Wendee Lee's most recent project - the dub for Tales of Berseria,. Kirbopher, who was also in this dub, mentioned on BTVA that the Berseria dub has been recording for quite some time (released a few days ago) meaning it was dubbed around the same time. Erica is also a lead character in Berseria.

Yeah, I definitely think Mai is Nadolny. The same exact inflections and line deliveries, and the scene where they were all crying was a dead giveaway.

With all due respect, that doesn't really make any sense. Nadolny was one of the randoms that FUNi was picking up off theater classes at the time, she didn't become a career VA. There are a few VAs from FUNi that went on to work in LA - Troy baker, Laura Bailey, travis Willingham, Kyle hebert, Vic Mignogna, Sean Schemmel, Kevin Connolly, Todd Haberkorn...plus Sabat, Palencia, Rial, McFarland, Caitlin Glass, Alexis Tipton have all done occasional work in LA - but Stephanie Nadolny is most definitely not one of them. On the other hand, Patrick Seitz who was in XV2's dub, could easily be in this, as could Matthew Mercer (not yet in DB but works with FUNi on occasion).

The first three of those guys, just so we're clear lol, are definitely not in this dub. I haven't been on this thread in awhile (still gotta formulate responses to some of these, although the Lex-bashing makes my brain hurt a little), just wanted to point all that out.

All we were doing was giving our opinions on Lex's Goku voice and we all just don't think it's good at all and that's perfectly fine. The only one who was being disrespectful was Lex himself who insulted specific forum members and the whole forum in general with generlaizing and the misconception that we were viciously bashing his Goku voice when we weren't at all, we were just giving our honest thoughts on it. Lex acted like a child and continues to every time he posts on this forum and, with an actor as high of a caliber as him, that's not right. I could understand if it was like when Sabat deals with people being viciously rude to him on Twitter over Nadolny's recast but this was an entirely different case that Lex handled VERY poorly especially when you see Erika Harlacher and Kaiji Tang acting EXTREMELY repsectful and nice to the whole community on here and are taking the criticism and improving upon it. I, and many others, have lost respect for Lex after he pulled that stunt. You know it's really bad when even Mike has to tell Lex that what he was saying wasn't a proper way to have a conversation

[NitroEX]

You know it's really bad when even Mike has to tell Lex that what he was saying wasn't a proper way to have a conversation

So you think he was only referring to Lex and no on else's behaviour? Those must be some pretty strong blinders you've got on. You're literally one of the few people here who still insists on bringing this up every time, just drop the vendetta already.

Anyway, now that we know there was an effort to keep vocal consistency with the Funimation dub these casting and performance choices are starting to make a lot more sense. This also helps answer the question of why they didn't go with the established Dragon ball cast in Canada, (aside from having to pay them a union rate) because they don't sound like Funimation's actors.

I look forward to hearing how these performances evolve in later episodes, I just hope the script can improve as well.

[usotsuki]

Didn't Wendee Lee direct and script the dub of the Sakura Wars movie for Bang Zoom? I remember that being a pretty good but EXTREMELY literal dub. (To the point that a scene involving an English/Japanese language barrier made no sense.)

[ProjectAlpha22]

You know it's really bad when even Mike has to tell Lex that what he was saying wasn't a proper way to have a conversation

So you think he was only referring to Lex and no on else's behaviour? Those must be some pretty strong blinders you've got on. You're literally one of the few people here who still insists on bringing this up every time, just drop the vendetta already.

Anyway, now that we know there was an effort to keep vocal consistency with the Funimation dub these casting and performance choices are starting to make a lot more sense. This also helps answer the question of why they didn't go with the established Dragon ball cast in Canada, (aside from having to pay them a union rate) because they don't sound like Funimation's actors.

I look forward to hearing how these performances evolve in later episodes, I just hope the script can improve as well.

No, I don't think he was saying that AT ALL. What he was referring to was the time when Mike used one of his quotes specifically to show an example of how not to act. Also, I'd like to point out we keep bringing it up only because Lex keeps coming back and attempting to shit-talk us and throw us under the bus. Before my comment responding to him I spent a good 20 minutes on each comment trying to keep respect, but I feel Lex has been nothing but childish in his responses, using Name Calling as a reason I was being rude (I mean he called us all 15-25 year olds without evolved thinking).

[Ajay]

Let's not focus on the attitudes of other members, and instead focus on ourselves, ensuring what we're contributing is the best it can be. Be the example.

If you have any issues, you are free to make use of the report button, and we'll take action if necessary. Thanks!

[ProjectAlpha22]

Didn't Wendee Lee direct and script the dub of the Sakura Wars movie for Bang Zoom? I remember that being a pretty good but EXTREMELY literal dub. (To the point that a scene involving an English/Japanese language barrier made no sense.)

She did! She did! Buuuuut, she also made lines fit waaaaay better with the actors in my option than this dub.

[ProjectAlpha22]

Let's not focus on the attitudes of other members, and instead focus on ourselves, ensuring what we're contributing is the best it can be. Be the example.

If you have any issues, you are free to make use of the report button, and we'll take action if necessary. Thanks!

I understand. I apologize for my additude, it will not happen again sir.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Can you guys give a few examples of the literal script? Aside from a few moments to write Goku heroically the script doesn't seem too bad. (I have been just watching the dub in patches these last few episodes and not fully hence why I am asking).

[DrBriefsCat]

Perhaps the literalness is to make it easier for some audiences in Southeast Asia to understand the dialog better? Animax dubs, like their own Inu-Yasha one, were known for being more literal than the North American counterparts. I'd also assume if a regional Toonami Asia affiliate wanted to dub the show into another language, using a dub they already own would be more convenient.