From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Discussion specifically regarding the "Dragon Ball Super" TV series premiering July 2015 in Japan, including individual threads for each episode.

Moderators: General Help, Kanzenshuu Staff

User avatar
shadd21
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 443
Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2014 10:52 am

From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by shadd21 » Sun Mar 03, 2019 6:11 pm

With last night’s airing of episode 100 on Toonami, the majority of DBS has now been translated to English by Funimation. That said, how would you rate the Dub of series so far?

User avatar
uncutpokemon
Not-So-Newbie
Posts: 84
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2017 2:25 pm

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by uncutpokemon » Sun Mar 03, 2019 6:32 pm

Not quite as good as Kai, but still great no less. 8-9/10 on rating.

User avatar
Lord Beerus
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 21389
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 5:20 pm
Location: A temple on a giant tree
Contact:

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by Lord Beerus » Mon Mar 04, 2019 7:23 am

8.5

FUNimation are quite guilty of taking liberties when it come to translating and adapting the script -- just as they did with Kai -- the most egregious examples so far being Episode 71 (Time to make the donuts) and Episode 100 (the Legendary Super Saiyan), but the scripts have been mostly accurate and performances so far have been solid.

User avatar
CJStriker_CBR
I'm, pretty, cozy, here...
Posts: 1622
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 7:22 pm

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by CJStriker_CBR » Mon Mar 04, 2019 8:35 am

9.5 of 10 Right Now for Me!

It is not only the Job IMO of an English dubing company to not only be faithful as possible to the source, but also to enhance what was originally done both in their dialogue choices and who they choose at the voice actors for each character.

What Funimation has done Key far better in this department is that they have carefully chosen their voice actors for each new character so Wisely and So Perfectly that they are like the MCU of Dub companies right now in actor choosing for roles!

They have chosen voices for not only the big name characters in the ToP but also nearly all the other fighters in the ToP no matter where they rank on importance of story or level, Funimation has chosen great actors and actresses for each role that enhances each characters presence, persona and effect they have on the ToP that feels Far beyond its original airing in Japan and that is rare for me to say!

The ToP arc by Funimation feels Far More Epic and the Voices portray the characters far more powerfully then I could have hoped for making this truly feel like a ToP with each character being a force unto themselves!

The only Part was making Sure that Funimation got the Perfectly Right Voice actors for characters like Kale, Caulifla and Brianne/Ribrianne for me and so far:

*Dawn Bennett as Kale! :angel:
*Elizabeth Maxwell as Caulifla! 8)
*Veronica Taylor as Brianne/Ribrianne!
:angel:

These Ladies Each have been not just perfect, but GODDESSES in How Amazing they have voice each lady and how they have not only kept close to the original persona's of each lady, but Enhanced them in their own unique ways that enhances each ladies persona that works for them Perfectly. Most anyone that is a fan of these Ladies have allot to be Happy and Proud about! :thumbup: :clap:

This is my View so far of Funimations ToP, up to episode 100.

What will determine IMO a Final Call on how it does will by how they Handle episodes 102, 103, 108, 109, The Kale, Caulifla, Kefla and Goku Fight episodes, 117 and Especially 118!

How not only the voice actresses do but what chooses of dialogue Funimation gives to the main cast in these episode will determine for me personally if the Funimation Dub did its job as well at they have done up to episode 100! :thumbup:

Only nitpicks keep me from so far giving it a perfect 10, but they are minor.
--- ADMIN NOTE: THIS SIGNATURE IS FAR TOO LONG. PLEASE REDUCE IN SIZE. ---
Let it Bloom. Let it Ring. The Song of Love & Victory!”:clap:
Brianne De Chateau/Ribrianne!
My #1 in DB!
:thumbup:

I’m a Veteran Poster of Comic Book Resources since 2012! 8)
http://community.comicbookresources.com ... -CJStriker

User avatar
Kamiccolo9
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 10352
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 9:32 pm
Location: Regensburg, Germany

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by Kamiccolo9 » Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:30 pm

4.

The genuinely good new actors are dragged down by the subpar old cast, especially Schemmel, who has yet to deliver a single authintic bit of acting since he stumbled into the job.

If you exclude the pre-2016 or so cast, I give the acting an 8 or so. I'm no authority on the dialogue, so that's not factored here.
Champion of the 1st Kanzenshuu Short Story Tenkaichi Budokai
Kamiccolo9's Kompendium of Short Stories
Cipher wrote:If Vegeta does not kill Gohan, I will stop illegally streaming the series.
Malik_DBNA wrote:
Scarz wrote:Malik, stop. People are asking me for lewd art of possessed Bra (with Vegeta).
"Achievement Unlocked: Rule 34"

User avatar
Ajay
Moderator
Posts: 6195
Joined: Sun May 26, 2013 6:15 pm
Location: Surrey, UK
Contact:

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by Ajay » Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:50 pm

About a 5 or 6.

By and large, the performances are fine, particularly the newcomers to the series. At this point, Funimation has a great pool of actors, and the old guard have long since learned to act.

Unfortunately, the decisions they keep making with the script are just such overt pandering to the old Toonami audience that we've taken a pretty large step back from Kai. By their own self-admission, their mentality is "Everyone watched it subbed, so we're just doing our thing". They defend that approach by saying they're not changing the story, but the results aren't too far removed the atmosphere of the Z dub. Those little changes and additions all add up to a vastly difference experience. That's not what dubbing is supposed to be.

I just can't in good conscience give a dub that spits out memes, uses text-to-speech, and attempts (and fails) to explain ambiguities anything higher than a 6.

At least the movies are still being treated exceptionally well! Broly's dub was fucking fantastic, the odd little thing aside. I think that's why it bugs me... they show me time and time again they can do better, and then they just don't (and it's intentional!). But hey, I shouldn't be surprised, people still eat up the old shit, so of course this is still going down well.
Follow me on Twitter for countless shitposts.

Deadtuber.

User avatar
PremiumSalt
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 466
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2017 9:58 pm

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by PremiumSalt » Mon Mar 04, 2019 1:22 pm

I'd give it an 8/10. For comparison, I'd give their Kai dub a 9/10, their OG DB dub a 6.5/10, and their Z dub a 2/10.

Acting wise, I'd say that not only is it up to par with Kai, it might even be slightly better. The thing that drags it down though is the changes that FUNi keeps throwing in, although frankly I don't think they're nearly as big a deal as some seem to think they are, and that comparing them to the ones they used to make back in the Z days is a bit absurd. They aren't rewriting entire scenes or completely altering characterizations, they're just throwing some jokes in here and there. Annoying? Yes. Terrible to the point that it makes the Super dub a bad dub? Not really.
Dragon Ball Arc Rankings: 1. Piccolo Daimaō 2. Saiyan 3. 22nd Budōkai 4. 23rd Budōkai 5. Hunt For the Dragon Balls 6. Zamasu 7. Moro 8. Tournament of Power 9. 21st Budōkai 10. Broly 11. Battle of Gods 12. Boo 13. U6 Tournament 14. Freeza 15. Red Ribbon Army 16. Artificial Humans/Cell 17.Golden Freeza
Kunzait_83 wrote:No matter what twisted pretzel logic you contort yourself into to try and convince yourself otherwise, Raditz landing on Earth is the middle of the fucking story. Zero context, zero setup. Its in NO way meant to be seen as a "beginning point" for ANYTHING other than the next story arc. It flows precisely and fluidly from where things left off in the aftermath of the 23rd Budokai and mostly hits the ground running from there without really stopping to look back. You're plopping someone into the middle of a book starting at chapter 195 out of 519 for absolutely no good goddamn reason, with very minimal opportunity to look back at much needed context and character/story growth.

User avatar
OmegaRockman
Patreon Supporter
Posts: 801
Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2011 4:16 pm

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by OmegaRockman » Mon Mar 04, 2019 8:25 pm

If Kai is a 9, I'd say that Super is probably a 7.5 for me. The script is mostly accurate, but throwing in the additional meme lines brings things down a bit. It still mostly retains the spirit of the original, but they still throw in those lines a little too often for my taste. I also wasn't the biggest fan of them trying to overexplain the time travel stuff in the Future Trunks arc - from what I vaguely recall (forgive me, it's been a while), they just made things more convoluted.

Plus, it seems that some of the returning cast aren't performing quite as well as they could be - Schemmel and Sabat feel pretty strained in the serious/action scenes (they're still great in the chill scenes!), and Vale's Trunks really suffers from the raspiness. Schemmel and Sabat were great in Broly, though, so maybe it's the broadcast crunch getting to them. The new cast members are doing extremely well, though, so no big concerns there. The only genuinely bad decision they've made with the new characters is text-to-speech Magetta, which is relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I'm also not big on the overly-filtered SSJ Blue screams. It just feels like too much. Just throw some basic reverb on it and call it a day.

Overall, I find the Super dub perfectly solid work, but it's a definite step back from Kai. I think anyone who watches the Super dub is getting a faithful representation of the show for the most part and I'll definitely recommend it, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little disappointed. Thankfully the Broly dub was much closer to what I've come to expect from current Funi.
The self-proclaimed World's Biggest Dragon Ball Kai Fan™

My YouTube

superfan2024
Regular
Posts: 678
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2017 8:57 pm

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by superfan2024 » Mon Mar 04, 2019 8:32 pm

It's alright. They just need to stop with all these meta jokes, try to eliminate these weird translations/inconsistencies that creep into the dub, and they need to stop overusing that voice-scream filter.

Kataphrut
I'm, pretty, cozy, here...
Posts: 1704
Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2017 8:12 pm

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by Kataphrut » Mon Mar 04, 2019 8:38 pm

I'd give it an 8. Solid acting from the old cast and new, and a good script mired by some occasional weird translation decisions. I don't think the much-ballyhooed "creative liberties" are anywhere near as egregious as they're made out to be. "Time to make the donuts" was a line crossed, that's about it.

It's a perfectly acceptable and enjoyable way to experience the series.

User avatar
Amir
Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
Posts: 433
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2015 9:17 am

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by Amir » Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:26 am

8
My only problems are the terrible effects they use for screams and the fact they change way too much sometimes. Story itself is not damaged thankfully.

User avatar
Baggie_Saiyan
Namekian Warrior
Posts: 10283
Joined: Sat Mar 30, 2013 5:22 pm
Location: Atlantis.

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by Baggie_Saiyan » Tue Mar 05, 2019 12:03 pm

I'll give it an 8 aswell.

Performances are great. But my main issues are that weird filter for screams (they have overused it a lot) and the inconsistent terminology, like going from "Senzu Bean" to "Senzu" and then back to "Senzu Bean", I don't have too much problems with terms as long as they are being consistently used.

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

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by SpiritBombTriumphant » Wed Mar 06, 2019 10:48 am

Ajay wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:50 pm About a 5 or 6.

Unfortunately, the decisions they keep making with the script are just such overt pandering to the old Toonami audience that we've taken a pretty large step back from Kai. By their own self-admission, their mentality is "Everyone watched it subbed, so we're just doing our thing". They defend that approach by saying they're not changing the story, but the results aren't too far removed the atmosphere of the Z dub. Those little changes and additions all add up to a vastly difference experience. That's not what dubbing is supposed to be.

I just can't in good conscience give a dub that spits out memes, uses text-to-speech, and attempts (and fails) to explain ambiguities anything higher than a 6.
100% this. Chris Sabat once said on Twitter that he wanted Funimation to be seen as a translation company. I thought that along with the work on Kai they did showed they were ready to do just that. But now they take liberties with the script including changing lines for no reason (e.x. Caulifla's reaction to Jiren in 96 or 97), including meme references, old dub references (Dr. Mashirito's ghost saying "HFIL" instead of "Reject" like in the Jap. version), and generally trying to make it funnier. They aren't doing a faithful adaption of the script, but trying to make it their own. This is the #1 reason I haven't bought any of Super on BD, and probably never will. I don't want to support their crap changes, and this is the only way to do it. Even though I won't change anything, I'm not supporting it.
CJStriker_CBR wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 8:35 amIt is not only the Job IMO of an English dubing company to not only be faithful as possible to the source, but also to enhance what was originally done both in their dialogue choices and who they choose at the voice actors for each character.
Yeah, you can't have both. It's either be faithful as possible to the source, or "enhance" what was originally done.

User avatar
ZombieVito
Born 'n Bred Here
Posts: 5900
Joined: Wed Mar 13, 2013 12:18 pm

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by ZombieVito » Wed Mar 06, 2019 6:27 pm

1.

The script changes and the awful depiction of some characters (Magetta being the biggest offender) makes this dub not worth it.

User avatar
MajinMan
Advanced Regular
Posts: 1236
Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2014 3:42 am
Location: Los Angeles

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by MajinMan » Thu Mar 14, 2019 6:02 am

I agree with the people that say the old actors are greatly outclassed by the newer ones. I personally can’t stand hearing Sabat’s Vegeta anymore. Personally, I’d give it like a 0 because I don’t care enough about the dub anymore to even consider watching it. But from what I’ve heard around the internet and from the few scenes and episodes I have happened to watch, it’s more like a 5 or 6 at best, and that’s me being generous.

Dragon Ball will never have a great dub with the way it’s beind handled currently, with all the name changes, attack name changes, and awkward pandering to the old school Toonami fans. Hey, when you remove the main fucking character’s last name from the dub and never try to fix it (other than that one outlier example in Kai), despite everyone knowing his name in 2019, you don’t deserve any praise.
Heroes come and go, but legends are forever.

60.

Rest in peace.

User avatar
RandomGuy96
Kicks it Old-School
Posts: 8862
Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2013 3:57 pm
Location: San Diego, California, USA

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by RandomGuy96 » Fri Mar 15, 2019 7:21 pm

5-ish? Though I haven't really been watching it actively. Most of the newcomers are quite good and comprise a big chunk of the cast at this point; and while I don't like most of them I don't hate the old cast as much as some do (except Schemmel, who makes any Goku scene unbearable). The dialogue, from what I can tell of the subbed episodes I've seen, is reasonably accurate, but the constant usage of meta-jokes and memes is just painful. It immediately takes any viewer out of the experience and comes across as a desperate attempt at relevance.
The Monkey King wrote:
RandomGuy96 wrote:
dbgtFO wrote: Please elaborate as I do not know what you mean by "pushing Vegeta's destruction"
He's probably referring to the Bardock special. Zarbon was the one who first recommended destroying Planet Vegeta because the saiyans were rapidly growing in strength.
It was actually Beerus disguised as Zarbon #StayWoke
Herms wrote:The fact that the ridiculous power inflation is presented so earnestly makes me just roll my eyes and snicker. Like with Freeza, where he starts off over 10 times stronger than all his henchmen except Ginyu (because...well, just because), then we find out he can transform and get even more powerful, and then he reveals he can transform two more times, before finally coming out with the fact that he hasn't even been using anywhere near 50% of his power. Oh, and he can survive in the vacuum of space. All this stuff is just presented as the way Freeza is, without even an attempt at rationalizing it, yet the tone dictates we're supposed to take all this silly grasping at straws as thrilling danger. So I guess I don't really take the power inflation in the Boo arc seriously, but I don't take the power inflation in earlier arcs seriously either, so there's no net loss of seriousness. I think a silly story presented as serious is harder to accept than a silly story presented as silly.

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

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by 8000 Saiyan » Mon Mar 18, 2019 9:42 am

I haven't really watched the dub aside from a few clips, but considering Funimation has gone back to the way they used to write the scripts, by having some characters saying out of character stuff like Vegeta calling Bulma babe, Goku telling Goten that he's training in order to keep them safe or Gohan saying: "Gee dad, no pressure huh?", it looks I've done the right thing on not bothering with it, but then again, I don't really care for the dub.

The voice acting seems to be fine for the most part. I particularly like from what I've heard of Ray Hurd's Toppo and Elizabeth Maxwell's Caulifla. Getting Brian Drummond and Veronica Taylor was also a nice surprise. Aside from maybe Belmod, I don't think I've seen a clip where the voice acting was unbearable or excruciating, although Sean Schemmel was doing some weird, absurd noises after Zamasu told him that he killed Chi-Chi and Goten and Vale to this day still has that forced rasp for Trunks and I'm pretty sure McFarland will screw up that emotional Roshi scene with his annoying old man voice. I haven't heard most of James Marsters' Zamasu, but I'd believe those who say that he outperforms everyone in the dub.

The way they seem to be pandering to the Toonami crowd that grew up with the old Z dub just goes to show that after all these years, they can't be trusted to produce an accurate dub, with the exception of Kai.

So I guess I'm on the same realm as Ajay on this one.
"It was deemed to be too awesome." - Scott McNeil on Dragon Ball Kai not being aired yet in Canada.

Dragon Ball Ireland
I Live Here
Posts: 3540
Joined: Thu May 21, 2015 9:09 am
Location: Sligo, Ireland

Re: From 1-10, How would you rate the Funimation Dub so far?

Post by Dragon Ball Ireland » Wed Mar 20, 2019 9:37 am

I would probably give it an 8. Apart from "time for me to make the donuts" the script changes are no where near as bad as some people make them out to be, but they do knock the dub down by a bit on accuracy. I've had very few issues with the voice acting though, I salute Chris Sabat for giving Brian Drummond a role, and James Marsters and Veronica Taylor were wonderful new additions to the cast, and I'm looking forward to us getting a lot more in future (hopefully).
Do you have any info about international non-English broadcasts about the Dragon Ball anime or manga translations/editions? Please message me. Researching for a future book with Dragon Ball scholar Derek Padula :thumbup:

Post Reply