Is Sean Schemmel possibly tired of voicing Goku?

[ssj4]

On his latest reddit AMA, I noticed the following:

"Go get a job where someone constantly criticizes your work as if they know more or have a better understanding of than you, just because they are a fan.
It's not like I bust my ass as hard as possible to do as good a job as possible. Of course I don't expect constant praise or any praise. But once you get criticized for 18 years it really starts to wear on you."

"I am flattered that people want me to perform as Goku in public when they meet me. However, I do get irritated when it comes across as an instant command like "hey do the voice" makes me feel like a circus monkey. Not to mention that unlike Chris, I don't have any fun good lines like vegetables . I'm sad about super ending, but there will be more movies and video games. But I do look forward to the day where a big part of my life is not screaming lol."

And also considering the time he took a break from Twitter, could it be he's tired of being Goku?

[Dbzfan94]

No. Going by those comments, he's just sick of the fanbase and haters.

[mecha3000]

On his latest reddit AMA, I noticed the following:

"Go get a job where someone constantly criticizes your work as if they know more or have a better understanding of than you, just because they are a fan.
It's not like I bust my ass as hard as possible to do as good a job as possible. Of course I don't expect constant praise or any praise. But once you get criticized for 18 years it really starts to wear on you."

"I am flattered that people want me to perform as Goku in public when they meet me. However, I do get irritated when it comes across as an instant command like "hey do the voice" makes me feel like a circus monkey. Not to mention that unlike Chris, I don't have any fun good lines like vegetables . I'm sad about super ending, but there will be more movies and video games. But I do look forward to the day where a big part of my life is not screaming lol."

And also considering the time he took a break from Twitter, could it be he's tired of being Goku?

I think he's just burnt out from the fandom's response to him as Goku (mostly the purist types, many of which dwell on these forums). After so many years, it's almost like the George Lucas effect of getting tired of fans wearing you down until eventually, retirement. Honestly, I read that reddit argument between him and someone who I believe might be a part of Kanzenshuu (I won't write his name here). Honestly, I'm siding with Sean here. But then again, I'm a dub fan at heart. It's just annoying seeing dub actors in general get criticism for the SLIGHTEST changes from the original. The original's still there for anyone who wants it, so why get pissed off about the dub? YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY NOT WATCHING IT ANYWAY - and only give a crap when it does something you don't agree with. It's especially embarrassing if someone involved with Kanzenshuu criticized Sean this way with the whole MR HOPE OF THE UNIVERSE burn. Yeah, Sean didn't have absolute control of the lines back then, pal (although he did sometimes suggest them). Besides, Funimation was different back then. Let's move on.

However, I do agree Sean needs to take it easy sometimes when it comes to the fandom. The fact that they care so much about what he does and are big fans of his voice work as Goku should humble him, not annoy him. I guess that's what years in the voice acting biz does to you, though. At the end of the day, I do agree that one day - Sean should give up the Goku voice to someone else. But I believe that should be the case with all the actors. If DB ever gets a proper START TO FINISH reanimation, Funimation should overhaul all the actors and get some fresh talent to be a part of it. Hell, maybe even give Viz Media a chance, I don't know. The attack names and character names would be more accurate, as a result - but that's another topic for another day.

[Ozotto]

As long as he's getting paid, he's not too tired.

[precita]

I think fans need to stop acting like assholes, especially since a lot of people who insult him don't even watch the dub anyway so I don't see why they even care.

Sean Schemmel does overreact at times, but as said...he is getting paid.

[ssj4]

What are examples of him overreacting?

[Dbzfan94]

What are examples of him overreacting?

Before DBS got announced for the dub, he was getting like dozens of questions every day like when is it getting dubbed / are you dubing it / will be you goku in dbs etc. And getting that constantly day after day despite answering them must have made the poor man go insane lmao.

So he went like "fuck this I'm done" and left twitter for like 3 days

[precita]

Also look at his recent posts on reddit, I think some might have been deleted.

Some people were insulting him over his Goku Black voice in Fighter Z because of the British accent, and Sean told them off.

[GamerSkull]

Also look at his recent posts on reddit, I think some might have been deleted.

Some people were insulting him over his Goku Black voice in Fighter Z because of the British accent, and Sean told them off.

I get that he might have some input on the dialogue but does he actively make these decisions or is it the studio?

Moreover, I know of instances of Sabat changing dialogue and I believe he works on the script to some capacity. Does he get a lot of this too?

[Tian]

"I am flattered that people want me to perform as Goku in public when they meet me. However, I do get irritated when it comes across as an instant command like "hey do the voice" makes me feel like a circus monkey. Not to mention that unlike Chris, I don't have any fun good lines like vegetables . I'm sad about super ending, but there will be more movies and video games. But I do look forward to the day where a big part of my life is not screaming lol."

It seems he's tired of being only recognized as Goku.

This is not rare from voice actors. It also happened with Veronica Taylor and Eric Stuart, who were growing up tired of being recognized as only Ash and Brock instead of their other characters in other works.

[Kataphrut]

See, it's this type of thing that makes me hate celebrity culture. It's this need to constantly intrude and speculate upon a person's life just because they did a thing you like. It's why I don't get conventions; who wants to queue up for hours just to get a picture with some gurning actor or artist, or pack an ampitheatre with a bunch of nerds in funny costumes asking dumb questions? And while some celebrities are good at dealing with that, others aren't, and it hurts their reputation.

The impression I get from Sean and how he interacts with fans is that he's one of those types of people who aren't suited to being a celebrity (a niche celebrity yes, but he counts). It's the wrong fit for him and he takes things personally. Sabat's good at it. He can work a crowd, he interacts with fans on social media, he's always sharing goofs and gags. He might be tired of doing the show, but you'd never get the impression.

I don't think Sean's tired of the show or voicing Goku, but I think he shouldn't be doing fan interaction. He's better off just going into work and doing the job, that's what he's good at. Let Sabat and the other more personable actors field the questions and deal with the crowds.

[Son Perfect]

honestly, I feel Funimation is outdoing the Japanese in terms of dubbing Super... Nozawa doesn't have the same spark she has in DB(Z) and the other VA's like Horikawa and Nakao sound aged and less emotional imo
but the funimation cast only gets better from here
Sean's Goku and Chris' Vegeta has been getting better from the original toonami run with Kai and Super
funimation also is casting some real fan service players like Matt Mercer (McCree and a few more guys) and Brian Drummond (OG Vegeta)
so funi > toei :^)

[ssj4]

I was aware of the twitter incident, any others?

[Forte224]

Well, I'm sure he's a little tired of it, but nowhere near enough to stop doing it yet. He's probably tired of all the criticism, warranted as some of it may be (including his latest "Goku Black has an accent when he turns Rose" thing), as well as the fact that he's kind of a touchy guy anyway. He tends to get upset easier than most at criticism.

[TheShadowEmperor8055]

I heard they had to attach C4 to his lungs or so... (not sure of the veracity of that but...) that sounds like quite something >_<

[Android 21]

He’s expressed his dissatisfaction with Goku’s one-dimensional character on more than one occasion. I can’t really blame him. Goku has plenty of cool moments while fighting, but as a character, he’s pretty boring.

[Gligarman]

He’s expressed his dissatisfaction with Goku’s one-dimensional character on more than one occasion. I can’t really blame him. Goku has plenty of cool moments while fighting, but as a character, he’s pretty boring.

He’s an alien country bumpkin and martial arts master with an adrenaline addiction who defeated a demon and became pals with a god before he could legally drink.

[Android 21]

He’s expressed his dissatisfaction with Goku’s one-dimensional character on more than one occasion. I can’t really blame him. Goku has plenty of cool moments while fighting, but as a character, he’s pretty boring.

He’s an alien country bumpkin and martial arts master with an adrenaline addiction who defeated a demon and became pals with a god before he could legally drink.

I never said he wasn’t unique. But he lacks any depth whatsoever. His animal-like, simplistic consciousness prevents him from having any real character flaws, internal conflict, character development, or worthwhile input on anything. The closest he got to development was in the Cell Saga with his terrible plan for Gohan. But even then, Toriyama never follows through with it.

[SHINOBI-03]

"I am flattered that people want me to perform as Goku in public when they meet me. However, I do get irritated when it comes across as an instant command like "hey do the voice" makes me feel like a circus monkey.

This is something I tend to avoid when I meet celebrities at conventions. Asking them to read lines as character is not my thing and instead I ask real questions from their line of work.

[sangofe]

honestly, I feel Funimation is outdoing the Japanese in terms of dubbing Super... Nozawa doesn't have the same spark she has in DB(Z) and the other VA's like Horikawa and Nakao sound aged and less emotional imo
but the funimation cast only gets better from here
Sean's Goku and Chris' Vegeta has been getting better from the original toonami run with Kai and Super
funimation also is casting some real fan service players like Matt Mercer (McCree and a few more guys) and Brian Drummond (OG Vegeta)
so funi > toei :^)

Whaaaat? I don't agree with any of your comments about the Japanese version here. And from what I've read, the script changes FUNimation make to Dragon Ball Super are more than in DBZ Kai, unfortunately. Not still DBZ level, but still unesscary changes in there.