Are There Any Updates On The Harmony Gold Dub Of Dragon Ball?

[Tom_Servo]

Felt compelled to share the first episode of the Harmony Gold dub that an anonymous source shared with me a few hours ago! All this hard work is paying off

[link removed as I forgot the rule for a second. check internet archive]

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Felt compelled to share the first episode of the Harmony Gold dub that an anonymous source shared with me a few hours ago! All this hard work is paying off

[link removed as I forgot the rule for a second. check internet archive]

That was such an interesting watch for sure, after only knowing FUNi's version for so long it was quite an experience to see this relatively obscure dub for one of the episodes after previously seeing the already available movies 1 and 3.

[MasenkoHA]

Felt compelled to share the first episode of the Harmony Gold dub that an anonymous source shared with me a few hours ago! All this hard work is paying off

[link removed as I forgot the rule for a second. check internet archive]

Well that was...interesting. Thank you.

Well Funimation definitely had the scripts since quite a few lines were similar to their dubs (more so the 1995 dub) and the episode titles remained the same and calling the dragon ball radar a “bleeper” which is something the 1995 dub did but dropped when they moved to DBZ in 1996

They really don’t get Goku’s character a lot of those comments like him hoping the tail makes him good looking and being aware that the pterodactyl is nefarious. The 2001 dub actually got Goku’s character the best and even they sometimes went for snarky kidvid protagonist comments that Goku shouldn’t be saying.

Mai’s voice is so unfitting.

[Robo4900]

This seems to be the most accurately-scripted dub of them all. And judging from certain parts of the script, as well as the title ("Secret Of The Dragonballs"), I think it's safe to say Funimation based their 1995 (and indirectly their subsequent 2001) scripts off this dub.

• Clyde Mandelin subtitles:
  Long ago, in an era completely unknown to all... On a certain mountain thousands of miles from civilisation, there lived a lone boy hwo communed with nature.

• Harmony Gold dub (1989):
  Our adventure begins in an uncharted land that time has forgotten -- a land of both yesterday and tomorrow -- a peaceful and bountiful land which no one has ever seen or heard. And somewhere, deep within this remote region, miles from any known city, there lives an intrepid, young warrior, an innocent boy, whose only guardian is mother nature.

• Funimation/BLT/Dick & Rogers dub (1995):
  Far across the sea, in a remote and enchanted land, there lived in harmony among the dangers and beauties of the region an old master who found a very special boy abandoned in the wild, who he raised as his own grandson. The old master marvelled as the power of light grew strongly within this young boy. Now, the boy known as Goku is on his own, and has become the sole guardian of his grandfather's most mystical possession; his Dragon Ball.

• Funimation in-house dub (2001):
  Far away, in an enchanted land that seemed untouched by the steady march of time, there lived an old master named Gohan, who found a baby boy abandoned in the wilderness of the region. The old master raised the boy as his own child, and marvelled as the youngster grew, and became uncommonly strong. Now the boy, known as Goku, is on his own, and has become the sole guardian of his grandfather's most mystical possession; his Dragon Ball.

• Westwood/Ocean/Blue Water dub (2003):
  Far, far away, in a land untouched by the steady march of time, an old sage, Gohan found a baby boy abandoned in the forest. Realising this was no ordinary child, Gohan took the boy in and raised him as his own; with time, the old master marvelled as the boy grew an unusual skill and strength. And so, he passed on his most mystical possession; the Dragon Ball.

In the same way that the BLT dub does, but that the original Japanese, as well as Funi's in-house dub and Blue Water did not, there is additional narration after the title card. But unlike BLT, it's spoken by the narrator, rather than Grandpa Gohan. In BLT, it was his grandpa wishing him well in life, in Harmony Gold, it's the narrator saying just how special and significant Goku is.

• Harmony Gold dub (1989):
  Beyond the mountains of the interior lies a peaceful valley of flowers and streams. It is here that our young hero makes his home, blissfully unaware of how important a role he is destined to play in the story which is about to unfold; the legend of young Zero, and the seven Dragon Balls.

• Funimation/BLT/Dick & Rogers dub (1995):
  Grandson; even though this old body may pass away, my spirit will live on with you. So, enjoy the mountains as always. Miss me not. Play just as if I am still waiting for you up on the hillside... Because I still am.

Just like BLT, Funimation, and Blue Water, the narrator speaks again when we're introduced to Bulma, and specifically says "Goku's life was about to enter a radical new phase -- totally radical."

The acting is ace, from what I can tell. Name changes aside, this is a pretty solid piece of dubbing work. I'd have enjoyed this as a kid. Though there are some very Big Green-y moments.
Pilaf is a really odd casting, but he's a laugh. His name in this dub is Occuli.
Mai is also an odd casting. Sounds way older than she's generally been cast in the past.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

[

Spoiler:

quote=Robo4900 post_id=1638886 time=1582293397 user_id=118876]
This seems to be the most accurately-scripted dub of them all. And judging from certain parts of the script, as well as the title ("Secret Of The Dragon Balls"), I think it's safe to say Funimation based their 1995 (and subsequent 2001) scripts off this dub.

• Clyde Mandelin subtitles:
  Long ago, in an era completely unknown to all... On a certain mountain thousands of miles from civilisation, there lived a lone boy hwo communed with nature.

• Harmony Gold dub (1989):
  Our adventure begins in an uncharted land that time has forgotten -- a land of both yesterday and tomorrow -- a peaceful and bountiful land which no one has ever seen or heard. And somewhere, deep within this remote region, miles from any known city, there lives an intrepid, young warrior, an innocent boy, whose only guardian is mother nature.

• Funimation/BLT/Dick & Rogers dub (1995):
  Far across the sea, in a remote and enchanted land, there lived in harmony among the dangers and beauties of the region an old master who found a very special boy abandoned in the wild, who he raised as his own grandson. The old master marvelled as the power of light grew strongly within this young boy. Now, the boy known as Goku is on his own, and has become the sole guardian of his grandfather's most mystical possession; his Dragon Ball.

• Funimation in-house dub (2001):
  Far away, in an enchanted land that seemed untouched by the steady march of time, there lived an old master named Gohan, who found a baby boy abandoned in the wilderness of the region. The old master raised the boy as his own child, and marvelled as the youngster grew, and became uncommonly strong. Now the boy, known as Goku, is on his own, and has become the sole guardian of his grandfather's most mystical possession; his Dragon Ball.

• Westwood/Ocean/Blue Water dub (2003):
  Far, far away, in a land untouched by the steady march of time, an old sage, Gohan found a baby boy abandoned in the forest. Realising this was no ordinary child, Gohan took the boy in and raised him as his own; with time, the old master marvelled as the boy grew an unusual skill and strength. And so, he passed on his most mystical possession; the Dragon Ball.

In the same way that the BLT dub does, but that the original Japanese, as well as Funi's in-house dub and Blue Water did not, there is additional narration after the title card. But unlike BLT, it's spoken by the narrator, rather than Grandpa Gohan. In BLT, it was his grandpa wishing him well in life, in Harmony Gold, it's the narrator saying just how special and significant Goku is.

• Harmony Gold dub (1989):
  Beyond the mountains of the interior lies a peaceful valley of flowers and streams. It is here that our young hero makes his home, blissfully unaware of how important a role he is destined to play in the story which is about to unfold; the legend of young Zero, and the seven Dragon Balls.

• Funimation/BLT/Dick & Rogers dub (1995):
  Grandson; even though this old body may pass away, my spirit will live on with you. So, enjoy the mountains as always. Miss me not. Play just as if I am still waiting for you up on the hillside... Because I still am.

Just like BLT, Funimation, and Blue Water, the narrator speaks again when we're introduced to Bulma, and specifically says "Goku's life was about to enter a radical new phase -- totally radical."

The acting is ace, from what I can tell. Name changes aside, this is a really good piece of dubbing work.
[/quote]

It's quite interesting to see just how much FUNi sourced from this dub in both of their own, and if i'm not mistaken wasn't there apparently an early version of the BLT movie 1 dub where some of Harmony Gold's name changes were kept (Zero.etc) before they changed it later?

[MasenkoHA]

This seems to be the most accurately-scripted dub of them all. And judging from certain parts of the script, as well as the title ("Secret Of The Dragon Balls"), I think it's safe to say Funimation based their 1995 (and subsequent 2001) scripts off this dub.

How? It’s just as inaccurate as the later Funimation scripts if not more so. The 2001 script was probably the closest of those three and even then it’s pretty off and mostly follows the 1995 script with minor adjustments.

[Robo4900]

It's quite nteresting to see just how much FUNi took from this dub in both of their versions, and if i'm not mistaken wasn't there apparently an early version of the BLT movie 1 dub where some of Harmony Gold's name changes were kept (Zero.etc) before they changed it later?

You are correct.

Tanooki Joe got ahold of a copy of it a while ago, and shared some clips on his Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TanookiKuribo/statu ... 0187828224
https://twitter.com/TanookiKuribo/statu ... 2940187648

How? It’s just as inaccurate as the later Funimation scripts if not more so. The 2001 script was probably the closest of those three and even then it’s pretty off and mostly follows the 1995 script with minor adjustments.

What are you even talking about?

It certainly pads out the dialogue, but it's far closer to what was originally said. The 2001 script was pretty consistently either the same or worse than the 1995 script. Aside from one or two removals of censorship, they added their own adaptations/deviations that made it worse, and rephrased it in ways that didn't affect accuracy. My friend Danfun64 and I extensively studied the scripts of the 2001, 1995, and Blue Water dubs and came to this conclusion.

Additions like added narration segments do certainly detract from HG's dub, but it seems all the subsequent dubs borrowed from this too, and only lost more as they continually re-adapted the same old scripts.
But in general, HG's dub is fairly accurate...

Long ago, in an era completely unknown to all... = Our adventure begins in an uncharted land that time has forgotten -- a land of both yesterday and tomorrow -- a peaceful and bountiful land which no one has ever seen or heard.
On a certain mountain thousands of miles from civilisation, there lived a lone boy = And somewhere, deep within this remote region, miles from any known city, there lives an intrepid, young warrior, an innocent boy,
who communed with nature = whose only guardian is mother nature

Meanwhile, Funi added lots of guff about Gohan, how he found Goku, etc. in the 1995 dub, which persisted through the other two that were derived from it.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Spoiler:

It's quite nteresting to see just how much FUNi took from this dub in both of their versions, and if i'm not mistaken wasn't there apparently an early version of the BLT movie 1 dub where some of Harmony Gold's name changes were kept (Zero.etc) before they changed it later?

You are correct.

Tanooki Joe got ahold of a copy of it a while ago, and shared some clips on his Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TanookiKuribo/statu ... 0187828224
https://twitter.com/TanookiKuribo/statu ... 2940187648

How? It’s just as inaccurate as the later Funimation scripts if not more so. The 2001 script was probably the closest of those three and even then it’s pretty off and mostly follows the 1995 script with minor adjustments.

What are you even talking about?

It certainly pads out the dialogue, but it's far closer to what was originally said. The 2001 script was pretty consistently either the same or worse than the 1995 script.

Additions like added narration segments do certainly detract from HG's dub, but it seems all the subsequent dubs borrowed from this too, and only lost more as they continually re-adapted the same old scripts.

Hmm that was interesting, i was surprised to see that they were actually going to use those altered names before eventually changing them back to the original ones. Though of course there were some that Harmony Gold themselves originated such as Master Roshi, Flying Nimbus instead of Kinto Un and Power Pole rather that Nyoibo and those have consistently been used by FUNi in all of their dubs of the original series and movies ever since.

[MasenkoHA]

[
What are you even talking about?

True my favorite part of the Japanese version is when he asked Bulma if guys had tails and talked about himself being good looked and call Bulma cute and knew the Pterodactyl was bad from the start and explained what Goku meant. Or when Bulma thought Goku was going to make her cook the fish.

The 2001 script was pretty consistently either the same or worse than the 1995 script. Aside from one or two removals of censorship, they added their own adaptations/deviations that made it worse, and rephrased it in ways that didn't affect accuracy. My friend Danfun64 and I extensively studied the scripts of the 2001, 1995, and Blue Water dubs and came to this conclusion.

The 2001 dub basically took from the 1995 dub and made some adjustments that weren’t any closer but it also removed inaccuracies from that dub like Bulma knowing about Pilaf and Grandpa Gohan’s voice beyond the grave and of course was uncut and put the Kikuchi music back in (which obviously Harmony Gold left in) don’t get me wrong it’s still way off and sticks far closer to the 1995 script than the Japanese script but it’s the most “accurate and faithful” just not by much.

[Robo4900]

Spoiler:

It's quite nteresting to see just how much FUNi took from this dub in both of their versions, and if i'm not mistaken wasn't there apparently an early version of the BLT movie 1 dub where some of Harmony Gold's name changes were kept (Zero.etc) before they changed it later?

You are correct.

Tanooki Joe got ahold of a copy of it a while ago, and shared some clips on his Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TanookiKuribo/statu ... 0187828224
https://twitter.com/TanookiKuribo/statu ... 2940187648

How? It’s just as inaccurate as the later Funimation scripts if not more so. The 2001 script was probably the closest of those three and even then it’s pretty off and mostly follows the 1995 script with minor adjustments.

What are you even talking about?

It certainly pads out the dialogue, but it's far closer to what was originally said. The 2001 script was pretty consistently either the same or worse than the 1995 script.

Additions like added narration segments do certainly detract from HG's dub, but it seems all the subsequent dubs borrowed from this too, and only lost more as they continually re-adapted the same old scripts.

Hmm that was interesting, i was surprised to see that they were actually going to use those altered names before eventually changing them back to the original ones. Though of course there were some that Harmony Gold themselves originated such as Master Roshi, Flying Nimbus instead of Kinto Un and Power Pole rather that Nyoibo and those have consistently been used by FUNi ever since.

Yeah.

Funny how stuff like Master Roshi or Power Pole were invented way back in 1989, and then because of the way each dub grandfathered in stuff from its predecessors, they've stuck with us, even though the reasons they were added don't really make sense anymore.

The 2001 dub basically took from the 1995 dub and made some adjustments that weren’t any closer but it also removed inaccuracies from that dub like Bulma knowing about Pilaf and Grandpa Gohan’s voice beyond the grave and of course was uncut and put the Kikuchi music back in (which obviously Harmony Gold left in) don’t get me wrong it’s still way off and sticks far closer to the 1995 script than the Japanese script but it’s the most “accurate and faithful” just not by much.

Sure, but the 2003 Blue Water dub made numerous corrections compared to the 2001 dub that make it more accurate than that (and they fixed up some names like Power Pole > Nyoi'Bo), and none of the deviations grandfathered in from the 1995 dub were present in the 1989 dub (as I pointed out in my last post, the 1995 dub added a ton of guff about Gohan, how he found Goku, etc., which persisted in subsequent dubs, but wasn't present in 1989's dub).

Unless you count the names for more than any of the dialogue, the Harmony Gold dub is the most accurate so far. Just inspect the script.

True my favorite part of the Japanese version is when he asked Bulma if guys had tails and talked about himself being good looked and call Bulma cute and knew the Pterodactyl was bad from the start and explained what Goku meant. Or when Bulma thought Goku was going to make her cook the fish.

Fair criticisms.

I guess it's yet another give-and-take. Some things this dub got right that others got wrong, some stuff it got wrong that others got right. We can't win, it seems.

[10gigtriforce]

aw dang it i missed the link for the first episode :/ now I'm really curious to see how accurate it was.


didnt know so many names that are still used today started with them

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

aw dang it i missed the link for the first episode :/ now I'm really curious to see how accurate it was.


didnt know so many names that are still used today started with them

Though of course the crazier/sillier sounding ones like Bongo (which is funny enough also the name of Gurumes' big guy henchman in movie 1) Mao Mao and especially Whiskers the Wonder Cat ended up getting dropped later on.

[MasenkoHA]

I guess it's yet another give-and-take. Some things this dub got right that others got wrong, some stuff it got wrong that others got right. We can't win, it seems.

This is why we need a complete redub of OG Dragon Ball preferably with a different company since Funimation can’t be trusted to not just recycled their old scripts with minor adjustments.

[Robo4900]

I guess it's yet another give-and-take. Some things this dub got right that others got wrong, some stuff it got wrong that others got right. We can't win, it seems.

This is why we need a complete redub of OG Dragon Ball preferably with a different company since Funimation can’t be trusted to not just recycled their old scripts with minor adjustments.

Agreed.

Though speaking of Funimation... It's interesting how a few of these castings sound so similar to Funi's castings (both from 1995 and 2001), and with the script and episode name similarities... I wonder if Funi have copies of this dub in their vaults somewhere... (Probably not tbh)

Either way, I'm really excited! I hope we see all five soon! (or more? We never really determined in any concrete way how many episodes were dubbed, we only guessed based on somewhat tenuous indications givien by the Zero Y El Dragon Magico dub).

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

I guess it's yet another give-and-take. Some things this dub got right that others got wrong, some stuff it got wrong that others got right. We can't win, it seems.

This is why we need a complete redub of OG Dragon Ball preferably with a different company since Funimation can’t be trusted to not just recycled their old scripts with minor adjustments.

If the Ultimate Uncut redub of Z episodes 1-67 isn't proof enough, because they mostly just reused the Saban era scripts and only made alterations where needed to remove censorship lines or the most blatantly wrong info (Bardock is a brilliant scientist, Vegeta killed Grandpa Gohan not Goku) and bits which had been previously cut out before whereas otherwise the vast majority of the dialogue was the same as back in 1996. I really don't have faith that FUNi would do much all that better if they were to eventually re dub the original series which i'm not expecting to happen at this point.

[10gigtriforce]

aw dang it i missed the link for the first episode :/ now I'm really curious to see how accurate it was.


didnt know so many names that are still used today started with them

Though of course the crazier/sillier sounding ones like Bongo (which is funny enough also the name of Gurumes' big guy henchman in movie 1) Mao Mao and especially Whiskers the Wonder Cat ended up getting dropped later on.

I'm a bit disappointed whiskers was dropped entirely, coulda been something someone called korin to patronize him

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

aw dang it i missed the link for the first episode :/ now I'm really curious to see how accurate it was.


didnt know so many names that are still used today started with them

Though of course the crazier/sillier sounding ones like Bongo (which is funny enough also the name of Gurumes' big guy henchman in movie 1) Mao Mao and especially Whiskers the Wonder Cat ended up getting dropped later on.

I'm a bit disappointed whiskers was dropped entirely, coulda been something someone called korin to patronize him

Yeah as in a nickname or something, given the bit in the HG dub where he says he goes by many names and that one is his favorite.

[10gigtriforce]

Though of course the crazier/sillier sounding ones like Bongo (which is funny enough also the name of Gurumes' big guy henchman in movie 1) Mao Mao and especially Whiskers the Wonder Cat ended up getting dropped later on.

I'm a bit disappointed whiskers was dropped entirely, coulda been something someone called korin to patronize him

Yeah as in a nickname or something, given the bit in the HG dub where he says he goes by many names and that one is his favorite.

Yup thats right along the lines as what I was thinking. It does kinda make sense someone older than roshi would have a few different names.

[Planetnamek]

Whoever they got to do the narrator is pretty good I must say. Weird to hear Goku being called Zero though, wonder what the deal was with that? Nice to hear that he sounds like an actual kid.

I really like Wendie Lee as Bulma, I can see why Bang Zoom brought her back for their short-lived dub of Super.

[MasenkoHA]

Speaking of Funimation... It's interesting how a few of these castings sound so similar to Funi's castings (both from 1995 and 2001)

The only thing I noticed is how the acting got progressively worse for Goku

First you got Barbara Goodson who actually sounds very similar to Masako Nozawa just filtered through that 80’s American kid cartoon style of acting and delivery.

Then you got Saffron Henderson who doesn’t sound like Nozawa and is a bit too restrained for my taste but she can act at least. It’s basically a proto version of her superior Gohan performance.

Then finally Nadolny who just can’t act.

And Bulma I guess Lalaina sounds somewhat Wendee Lee-ish but other than that Sleeping Princess Funi dub voice Vollmer has always been the worst english Bulma by a significant margin.


,

and with the script and episode name similarities... I wonder if Funi have copies of this dub in their vaults somewhere... (Probably not tbh)

Either way, I'm really excited! I hope we see all five soon! (or more? We never really determined in any concrete way how many episodes were dubbed, we only guessed based on somewhat tenuous indications givien by the Zero Y El Dragon Magico dub).

It wouldn’t surprise me if Funimation had the masters to the 5 episodes Harmony Gold dubbed they definitely had the scripts.

Didn’t Harmony Gold have 61 episodes written that Zero Y El Dragon Magico used for their dub?