Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Discussion regarding any musical aspect of the franchise, from game soundtracks to BGM to remixes. Upcoming & classic CDs, reviews, where to find them, and more!

Moderators: General Help, Kanzenshuu Staff

User avatar
TheRed259
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1465
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:26 am

Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by TheRed259 » Fri Dec 28, 2018 11:49 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBlb-_3ex0M

It still sounds Japanese to me. And for the most part, if you don't have the lyrics you can't understand what the song says.

Let it Burn, Fight It Out and Never Give Up from DragonBall Z Kai: The Final Chapters are some other examples as well.

I think they should stop doing that. Nobody can understand what the singers want to say (for the most part) anyway.

ZodaEX
Beyond Newbie
Posts: 228
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2015 12:03 am

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by ZodaEX » Sat Dec 29, 2018 1:03 am

I don't think they should stop making English versions of the songs. I grew up and was born in America and only learned Spanish and never Japanese, so I really would much rather not have the lyrics in a language I can't understand. I like to sing along with me themes and not sound like a git to others who who understand how to pronounce Japanese works correctly.

User avatar
Robo4900
I Live Here
Posts: 4383
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2016 2:24 pm
Location: In another time and place...

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by Robo4900 » Tue Jan 01, 2019 6:31 pm

Yes, they should.

They should let whoever's dubbing the show make the English versions.
All of the Japanese artists doing an English version of a song I've heard have been pretty bad.
The point of Dragon Ball is to enjoy it. Never lose sight of that.

User avatar
Vegard Aune
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 995
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:38 pm
Location: Norway

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by Vegard Aune » Wed Jan 02, 2019 5:55 am

Unless the Japanese artists are actually fluent in English, and the people adapting the lyrics also know what they're doing... Yeah leave the song dubs to the dubbers. I can think of only two Japanese singers who manage to sing in English and not have it sound super awkward, that being Lia and Utada Hikaru... the latter who apparently grew up in the US so her near-impeccable English is understandable. This can not be said for any of the English songs done by the Japanese artists in Dragon Ball. I couldn't even tell that Fight It Out was English the first time I heard it.

User avatar
Puto
I Live Here
Posts: 2668
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:40 am
Location: Portugal, Oeiras

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by Puto » Thu Jan 03, 2019 3:14 am

Also Rie Fu.
Blue wrote:I love how Season 2 is so off color even the box managed to be so.

User avatar
JohnnyCashKami
Temporarily Banned
Posts: 1597
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:16 pm

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by JohnnyCashKami » Thu Jan 03, 2019 7:13 am

You mean Engrish. :P But yeah, they really should because if they dare to call that English then anyone can claim what they're saying is in Japanese.

SpiritBombTriumphant
Banned
Posts: 439
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2015 10:07 pm

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by SpiritBombTriumphant » Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:54 am

I think they should. So far FLOW with "Hero ~Song of Hope~", all of the singers who had a song in the franchise who've tried singing "Cha-La Head-Cha-La", Daichi Miura with "Blizzard," Czech Republic with "Forever Dreaming", and everyone else I can't think of right now (woke up 30 min ago) just suck at their English. It is bad enough that I think they should just let Funimation dub it or get an American to sing it. These songs are so terribly sung that you simply can't understand what they're saying.

WittyUsername
I Live Here
Posts: 4170
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2013 12:09 am
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by WittyUsername » Fri Jan 04, 2019 4:26 pm

Can’t they just use instrumental versions of the song for international audiences?

User avatar
JohnnyCashKami
Temporarily Banned
Posts: 1597
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:16 pm

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by JohnnyCashKami » Fri Jan 04, 2019 6:40 pm

WittyUsername wrote:Can’t they just use instrumental versions of the song for international audiences?
Dragon Ball openings have been more or less crappy ever since Kageyama left so I'd take instrumental openings over Engrish openings. Most of the time it sounds like they're saying something sexual or insulting but it's just the lyrics.

Kageyama isn't innocent of this because he also did some Engrish songs too, the RB2 OP's had some English lyrics and I remember vividly he said like "punching cow, fuzzy cow" although I'm definitely certain that's not what he meant. :P I don't even know how anyone punches a cow or where, weird thought, huh. :think:

User avatar
simtek34
OMG CRAZY REGEN
Posts: 938
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2016 3:40 pm
Location: Minnesota
Contact:

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by simtek34 » Mon Jan 07, 2019 11:06 pm

JohnnyCashKami wrote:Dragon Ball openings have been more or less crappy ever since Kageyama left so I'd take instrumental openings over Engrish openings. Most of the time it sounds like they're saying something sexual or insulting but it's just the lyrics.

Kageyama isn't innocent of this because he also did some Engrish songs too, the RB2 OP's had some English lyrics and I remember vividly he said like "punching cow, fuzzy cow" although I'm definitely certain that's not what he meant. :P I don't even know how anyone punches a cow or where, weird thought, huh. :think:
Right Here. He has done the following Dragon Ball songs in "Engrish":
Cha-La-Head-Cha-La
We Gotta Power
Boku-tachi wa Tenshi Datta
Super Survivor (From Sparking! Meteor/Budokai Tenkaichi 3)
Kiseki no Honō yo Moeagare!! (From Burst Limit)
Hikari no Sasu Mirai e! (From Infinite World)

No offense to Kageyama, but I feel like he is singing the English lyrics off of a sheet of Katakana. It's just not that good. Also, the translations are a bit iffy.

Newbie — 06/27/2016
Not-So-Newbie — ???
Beyond Newbie — ???
Beyond-The-Beyond-Newbie — 12/20/2016
Regular — 02/05/2017
OMG CRAZY REG — 06/14/2017

Xbox Live: PlushGerm24109
Everywhere else: simtek34

User avatar
MCDaveG
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 5533
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 5:54 pm
Location: Prague, Czechia
Contact:

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by MCDaveG » Thu Jan 10, 2019 1:12 pm

JohnnyCashKami wrote:
WittyUsername wrote:Can’t they just use instrumental versions of the song for international audiences?
Dragon Ball openings have been more or less crappy ever since Kageyama left so I'd take instrumental openings over Engrish openings. Most of the time it sounds like they're saying something sexual or insulting but it's just the lyrics.

Kageyama isn't innocent of this because he also did some Engrish songs too, the RB2 OP's had some English lyrics and I remember vividly he said like "punching cow, fuzzy cow" although I'm definitely certain that's not what he meant. :P I don't even know how anyone punches a cow or where, weird thought, huh. :think:
I think he sang ¨Take a chance, beating now!¨ ? :lol:
I don't like Japanese pop music at all, but, I like some openings, mainly from Kageyama and rock songs.
But those english versions are just embarrasing :(

I thought that Dragon Ball Kai International had great opening and thought it is in Japanese at first... Oh my god, it is soooo bad!
FighterZ: Funky_Strudel
PS4: Dynamixx88

User avatar
8000 Saiyan
I Live Here
Posts: 2841
Joined: Sun Oct 02, 2016 9:03 am

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by 8000 Saiyan » Tue Jan 22, 2019 3:33 pm

Honestly, yeah. Take a look at the English version of the first Attack on Titan song. It just sounds pretty cheesy compared to the Japanese version.

Wait...

Oh, we're talking about about Japanese singers doing English versions of the songs? Well, then I actually agree with that.
"It was deemed to be too awesome." - Scott McNeil on Dragon Ball Kai not being aired yet in Canada.

User avatar
funrush
I'm, pretty, cozy, here...
Posts: 1958
Joined: Sat Oct 02, 2010 2:54 pm
Location: United States

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by funrush » Tue Jan 22, 2019 5:35 pm

They should let the respective dubbing companies do it. Most of the English versions sung by the original singer are really difficult to understand. Their accents are too heavy. Compare the two ENG openings for Super to see what I mean. The second one sounds much better.

Funimation's always done a great job dubbing openings, so they should just do it.

User avatar
JohnnyCashKami
Temporarily Banned
Posts: 1597
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:16 pm

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by JohnnyCashKami » Wed Jan 23, 2019 1:20 pm

funrush wrote:They should let the respective dubbing companies do it. Most of the English versions sung by the original singer are really difficult to understand. Their accents are too heavy. Compare the two ENG openings for Super to see what I mean. The second one sounds much better.

Funimation's always done a great job dubbing openings, so they should just do it.
The international OP of Kai TFC sounds pretty catchy and it's supposedly in English, but it's hard to tell what he's saying. I honestly thought the song was in Japanese.

Jord
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1474
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2004 8:13 am

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by Jord » Fri Feb 01, 2019 4:50 am

I'm a huge Kageyama/JAM fan but the English versions of his song sound pretty awkward. When you need to look up the lyrics to an English version of a song I think it's better to not record it at all.
As someone else said, It really sounds like they recorded it off a sheet of Katakana.

User avatar
Thanos
I'm, pretty, cozy, here...
Posts: 1630
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:33 am

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by Thanos » Sun Feb 10, 2019 4:04 am

There isn't much point in translating them to begin with. Usually the lyrics are nonsensical or just downright bad. Just listen to the Tournament of Power arc opening's English adaptation. Absolutely dreadful. Does it really hurt non-Japanese speakers' ears to hear the original untranslated version?
Thanos before Thanos was cool.

User avatar
saiyanhajime
Not-So-Newbie
Posts: 81
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:39 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by saiyanhajime » Sun Feb 10, 2019 6:05 am

Blizzard is ...awful in English. And I agree, still sounds Japanese? Just, quiet and doesn't flow? Given it only plays in the credits and they clearly have no intention to try and release it as a stand alone song in the West, why bother?

I love some of the English translations, but it's a case by case basis. I think it is important for intro songs to be in the language the show airs in. Or be instrumentals! But intro songs with lyrics to learn to cartoons were such a big part of my childhood, I don't like the idea of kids being without them today.

User avatar
JohnnyCashKami
Temporarily Banned
Posts: 1597
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:16 pm

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by JohnnyCashKami » Sun Feb 10, 2019 4:04 pm

saiyanhajime wrote:Blizzard is ...awful in English. And I agree, still sounds Japanese? Just, quiet and doesn't flow? Given it only plays in the credits and they clearly have no intention to try and release it as a stand alone song in the West, why bother?
I just searched for it on YouTube, listened to it and was left wondering what I just heard. Apparently, the singer did a "pretty good" job according to YouTube commentators. They're very defensive and not worth arguing, meh.

There's a user who posted a comment saying "2:50. Illegal immigrants be like" and the replies were also weird. I don't get what they were talking about.

For example, I'm sort of a Kageyama fan but I'd not defend his English covers because they sound garbage to me.

User avatar
The Time Traveller
Patreon Supporter
Posts: 3456
Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 1:32 pm
Location: UK

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by The Time Traveller » Fri Feb 15, 2019 11:46 am

It's both strange and interesting that they'd even think we want an English verison of the song, even in the Japanese audio, but you're right that it doesn't even sound English.
The first lines of the lyrics are
Daichi Miura - Blizzard wrote:Monochromatic mother earth
Too dark to see the morning
A tension in the atmosphere
It’s cold and never thawing

Follow common sense
In the way that I’ve been told
But will it really make me happy?
Now I realize my breath has
started to freeze
And the line I underscored is the only line I recognized right away as English. Of course the chorus sounds English but this is how the song starts! It's cool he's singing in English but they could have left that dub only instead of putting it on the English speaking release of the Japanese audio.

User avatar
NewKakarot
Not-So-Newbie
Posts: 98
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2019 9:17 pm

Re: Should they stop making English version of the songs for the international audience?

Post by NewKakarot » Fri Feb 15, 2019 7:48 pm

I like having the English versions done by the original singers (though, yeah, Engrish is probably the better name lol). Sure, they're in really broken English, but that gives them some charm. Plus I also think that it allows them to keep the song's original tone, which isn't done well by different artists (and that's regardless of which language they're singing in). The only dubbed songs that I think come close to their original tones are the ones from the Latin America dub, and they're still not perfect imo (but I love them). But those are just my thoughts

Post Reply