Why Watch In English/Japanese...?

[SSJ2bardock]

The script is ridiculously inaccurate, names and terminology are changed, the original music is replaced(unless you purchase those faulty season sets) and the voices and acting are terrible in my opinion. It's just a matter of preference, the English dub and original Japanese adaption are almost like two completely different shows. I like the Japanese version better, as it is what I think Dragon Ball is.

Things like that should be expected when changing the language, although some stuff is pretty bad, but I think the voice actors are good and I can't imagine somebody other than Sean Schemmel voicing Goku. Plus if some names and terminology had stayed the same it would be harder for US fans to get into something most of them can't understand.

It was expected in the 1990's, but now anymore. A good dub is one that has an accurate script, maitains accuracy to the original plot and characters, uses the original music and has good voices/acting. There are plenty of those kind of dubs today, in fact, most dubs are of this quality now. And no, it would not be difficult for American fans to follow. Translating the attack names is fine, but rewriting them is unecessisary and there's nothing complicated about a character name that an American fan can't follow. Whether or not the voices are good is a matter of opinion. It's just a matter of preference.

The show was in its prime in the 1990's and your description of a "good dub" is a matter of opinoin as well. Most of the later movies and episodes are done pretty well.

[Velasa]

Actually, the audience in Japan was also mainly children in Japan, but the Japanese creators had more faith in their children's ability to comprehend depth than FUNi had in us. And that's a lot of why I still dislike them so heavily..

[SSJ2bardock]

Actually, the audience in Japan was also mainly children in Japan, but the Japanese creators had more faith in their children's ability to comprehend depth than FUNi had in us. And that's a lot of why I still dislike them so heavily..

That's a deeper problem with most cartoons in the US, everything is so censored. Besides, it's easier to comprehend something when it is in your own language.

[Kid Trunks]

Actually, the audience in Japan was also mainly children in Japan, but the Japanese creators had more faith in their children's ability to comprehend depth than FUNi had in us. And that's a lot of why I still dislike them so heavily..

But its also a lot to do with the fact that it wasn't believed that US kids would be enticed by the "Asian-ness" of Japanese TV shows (and to be fair, it probably wouldn't have appealed to most kids). For example, Power Rangers had the Asian actors cut out of the show, and the scenes redone with Americans.

[SSJ2bardock]

Actually, the audience in Japan was also mainly children in Japan, but the Japanese creators had more faith in their children's ability to comprehend depth than FUNi had in us. And that's a lot of why I still dislike them so heavily..

But its also a lot to do with the fact that it wasn't believed that US kids would be enticed by the "Asian-ness" of Japanese TV shows (and to be fair, it probably wouldn't have appealed to most kids). For example, Power Rangers had the Asian actors cut out of the show, and the scenes redone with Americans.

Exactly, at this point in time anime was not a huge success in the US like it is now and DBZ was in a way pioneering the anime industry in America. They had to make the show more appealing because it had already failed once before when it was brought to the US.

[Velasa]

Besides, it's easier to comprehend something when it is in your own language.

Thus the dubbing. But my argument just cycles back to what I've already said by that point.

But its also a lot to do with the fact that it wasn't believed that US kids would be enticed by the "Asian-ness" of Japanese TV shows

Augh, I remember all of that BS. The constant denial that this was a foreign program, the kind of things that would be cut to make it seem more American, not even letting the characters acknowledge they live in another country that isn't America. This didn't so much happen in DB, but it was painfully evident in other shows. (Sailor Moon has some particularly disgusting examples)

I have a very long screaming rant about the state of animation in this country, but I won't go into it because it's... long. And makes me extremely angry. Put simply, when you take this amazing medium that can do so much and you relegate it to exactly one audience between the ages of two and ten for no better reason than prejudices against the medium, it makes me crazy.

[SSJ2bardock]

Besides, it's easier to comprehend something when it is in your own language.

Thus the dubbing. But my argument just cycles back to what I've already said by that point.

But its also a lot to do with the fact that it wasn't believed that US kids would be enticed by the "Asian-ness" of Japanese TV shows

Augh, I remember all of that BS. The constant denial that this was a foreign program, the kind of things that would be cut to make it seem more American, not even letting the characters acknowledge they live in another country that isn't America. This didn't so much happen in DB, but it was painfully evident in other shows. (Sailor Moon has some particularly disgusting examples)

I have a very long screaming rant about the state of animation in this country, but I won't go into it because it's... long. And makes me extremely angry. Put simply, when you take this amazing medium that can do so much and you relegate it to exactly one audience between the ages of two and ten for no better reason than prejudices against the medium, it makes me crazy.

I'm not trying to make anybody angry, I'm just putting out some valid points to back up Funimation.

[Castor Troy]

I feel like it's 1998 again.

People like what they like. End of story.

[SSJ2bardock]

I feel like it's 1998 again.

People like what they like. End of story.

Excellent point, it all comes down to your personal preference. But it's still fun to argue about it.

[Super Sonic]

Actually, the audience in Japan was also mainly children in Japan, but the Japanese creators had more faith in their children's ability to comprehend depth than FUNi had in us. And that's a lot of why I still dislike them so heavily..

But its also a lot to do with the fact that it wasn't believed that US kids would be enticed by the "Asian-ness" of Japanese TV shows (and to be fair, it probably wouldn't have appealed to most kids). For example, Power Rangers had the Asian actors cut out of the show, and the scenes redone with Americans.

That was a different take as it was an adaptation, and not a straight dub.

[SSJ2bardock]

Wow, now we're putting DBZ and power rangers in the same topic haha.

[Kendamu]

Also, why do people prefer the Japanese version. Other than the fact that I don't speak Japanese, I don't like Goku being voiced by an actor with a feminine voice.

1) I speak Japanese.

2) I like Goku's voice. I like almost everyone else's voices as well.

3) I like the music.

4) I like the script and terminology better.

5) The combination of the above four create an atmosphere that feels like a lighthearted martial arts adventure with a touch of toilet humor and magic. The FUNimation version creates an atmosphere of a hardcore "I-take-myself-too-seriously" martial arts brawl-fest with a touch of frog-throat and corny humor. I prefer the former.

However, if you like the FUNimation version, that's cool by me. I mean, despite all the censorship, I have a soft spot in my heart for FUNimation's first attempts at seasons 1 and 2 that used the Ocean cast. So, go ahead and enjoy your version. It's cool.

Just let me enjoy my version without interrogation.

No, no I'm not saying I hate the Japanese version, I just don't like Goku's voice. I actually really like Piccolo and Vegeta's Japanese actors.

Don't worry. I was just answering your question.

[SSJ2bardock]

Yeah, it's cool.

[Adamant]

Other than the Freeza Saga, I thought Funimation did a pretty good job. Also, why do people prefer the Japanese version. Other than the fact that I don't speak Japanese, I don't like Goku being voiced by an actor with a feminine voice.

Turning the question around a bit... Why would people WANT to watch the FUni dub (or any of the other English dubs, for that matter)? Other than the fact that the characters speak your own language, the script, voices and music are so different from the way they're supposed to be, it's not really DragonBall anymore.

So think about it... do you dislike DragonBall so much that you need someone to alter almost every single aspect of it to make it enjoyable to you?


Ah yeah, and to counter the "it had to be edited for the sake of the new audience" point... DragonBall has been more or less faithfully translated into dozens of languages all over the world. What's wrong with American children if they need the series so drastically changed to find it enjoyable?

[Super Sonic]

That leads to 2 questions I've had that I hope don't come across as rude:

1) How do you guys from non-English speaking countries have access to English DBZ?

2) Why would you care about the English version? Figured the general consensus was watch in Japanese or native tongue, and not caring about third languages.

[Kid Trunks]

Actually, the audience in Japan was also mainly children in Japan, but the Japanese creators had more faith in their children's ability to comprehend depth than FUNi had in us. And that's a lot of why I still dislike them so heavily..

But its also a lot to do with the fact that it wasn't believed that US kids would be enticed by the "Asian-ness" of Japanese TV shows (and to be fair, it probably wouldn't have appealed to most kids). For example, Power Rangers had the Asian actors cut out of the show, and the scenes redone with Americans.

That was a different take as it was an adaptation, and not a straight dub.

Adaptation or dub, whatever (I say that with all respect ofcourse), my point is that the changes were made to tone down the "Asian-ness".

[Adamant]

1) How do you guys from non-English speaking countries have access to English DBZ?

It's on the FUNi DVDs we import to watch the original version with subtitles in a language we understand, if there's no such DVD releases in our own country/they are too expensive/they have really bad translations.

2) Why would you care about the English version? Figured the general consensus was watch in Japanese or native tongue, and not caring about third languages.

When it comes to Dragonball, yeah, there's not a whole lot to care about, other than the FUNi dub generally polluting the official video games we get.

Most other series, however, are licensed for international distribution by American companies, which means our dubs are dubs of the American dub, not of the original, in which case the American dub needs to be faithful to the original for our dub to be so as well. Case in point being the Swedish Yu-Gi-Oh dub, which, being based off the 4Kids dub, probably ended up confusing a whole lot of kids who were familiar with the much more faithful manga translation (same with the cards when they were released over there, I guess. "Who is "Joey", why does he have his own deck, and why is there a picture of Jounouchi on it?").

[Kid Trunks]

Other than the Freeza Saga, I thought Funimation did a pretty good job. Also, why do people prefer the Japanese version. Other than the fact that I don't speak Japanese, I don't like Goku being voiced by an actor with a feminine voice.

Turning the question around a bit... Why would people WANT to watch the FUni dub (or any of the other English dubs, for that matter)? Other than the fact that the characters speak your own language, the script, voices and music are so different from the way they're supposed to be, it's not really DragonBall anymore.

So think about it... do you dislike DragonBall so much that you need someone to alter almost every single aspect of it to make it enjoyable to you?

I 'm going to take a geuss here and say that he doesn't hate the Japanese version. Its pretty much a case of what version you were exposed to first; the English version or the Japanese version.

Ah yeah, and to counter the "it had to be edited for the sake of the new audience" point... DragonBall has been more or less faithfully translated into dozens of languages all over the world. What's wrong with American children if they need the series so drastically changed to find it enjoyable?

Its not that theres anything wrong with American kids. Its probably just as simple as the American distributors believing the Asian style to be uncool.

[DemonKingPiccolo]

The most annoying thing is the twisting of facts in order to project that All-American action movie bad-ass persona on the screen. I've always hated this, in most action movies, they say the cheesiest lines in order to come off as cool. Of course, screwing with the facts actually divides the fandom, and to use an example to demonstrate the impact of the messed up dub on the fandom, this is actually where that stupid "Over 9000" fanboyism comes in.

That damn annoying "off-screen chit chat" between characters or "off-screen lines" where there's no vocalization in the original. FUNI extends this to a point where it gets ridiculous. I can understand a few off-screen lines, but this happens in almost every scene; and not only is it annoying, a lot of the time the things that they say either aren't even needed, don't make a lick of sense, or even contradict the story later on.

They screwed up big time with one episode in the Android arc. They made Gohan say something off-screen when a shot of Piccolo appears, and Gohan wasn't even at Piccolo's location until about ten minutes later in the episode.

The character voices are too rough, I hate the VA for Gohan and Goku as kids; however, I seem to be the only one who hates the VA. I could never see rough kid voices developing into softer voices when they become adults. It's just never made sense to me. Trunks and Vegeta seemed to be the only people where I could see their child voices developing into the voices that they had when they were adults. There are several good choice VAs for the FUNI dub, I just don't think that the ones who do the major characters were very good choices.

Another thing is that I think that Bruce Falconer's music is overrated. Yes, there are some good pieces, but they are too Americanized, and too serious for the anime.

[NeptuneKai]

Anything I say will be full of nerd rage so I'll just say I hate the voice actors/voice acting. Anything I say can not sum up my feelings of the dub better then this comparison of two scenes.

Japanese:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkksoQ435Iw

English:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZUX5hzb ... re=related

The funny thing is I see more hate towards such dubs as 4kids take on OP but it is worlds more accurate then anything Funi ever cranked out in their scripts if you look past a pun or two. Although this isn't an OP fourm and I won't debate that here.