Favorite Goku Voice?

[goku the krump dancer]

Pleasantly surprised at the amount of appreciation for Schemmel and even Naldony (both of whom I like) was definitely expecting 2 pages full of "Nozawa is GAWD".

That said, I do like her and Sean evenly, I think Naldony captures kid Goku's innocent naivety really really well whereas Clickenbeard is a solid stand in. She's fine as kid Gohan and she does well enough for GT kid Goku listening to her in FighterZ but that version of Goku is a much more matured and seasoned fighter, so he sounds like a child but speaks like an adult, I'm not so sure she could properly capture kid Goku's aloof curiosity from the beginning of the series the same way I think Nozawa and Naldony can and how Schemmel has grown to be able to immolate for adult Goku as well.

[SupremeKai25]

I don't think anyone has mentioned Black yet so I'll do it. Nozawa slays as Goku Black, it's so eerie and ominous to hear an old woman voice coming out of Black, who is a genocidal God. It subverts expectations completely (because you'd expect a deep and imposing voice for such a villain), but in a good way, because it makes you feel uneasy, which is natural since it's a genocidal God. There's this complete contrast between the voice and the face/personality of the character that easily makes Black one of the most memorable villains in DB.

Although in general I prefer the Dub because I think that Goku's voice in the Sub is way too childish and naive, I get that Goku is Canonically childish and naive but still, I think it's overdone.

Although maybe that's just a problem with Super, I would have to rewatch DBZ in Japanese to refreshen my memory

[Soppa Saia People]

Naldony i've definitely softened on her goku voice, i don't think it's very well acted and sometimes it's a little much but i just really like scratchy ass voices like that their appealing lol.

[Demon Prince Piccolo]

Pleasantly surprised at the amount of appreciation for Schemmel and even Naldony (both of whom I like) was definitely expecting 2 pages full of "Nozawa is GAWD".

That said, I do like her and Sean evenly, I think Naldony captures kid Goku's innocent naivety really really well whereas Clickenbeard is a solid stand in. She's fine as kid Gohan and she does well enough for GT kid Goku listening to her in FighterZ but that version of Goku is a much more matured and seasoned fighter, so he sounds like a child but speaks like an adult, I'm not so sure she could properly capture kid Goku's aloof curiosity from the beginning of the series the same way I think Nozawa and Naldony can and how Schemmel has grown to be able to immolate for adult Goku as well.

I admit I am, too. Tbh, even with my list, the gaps between the actors (Nozawa to everyone else) is not even that wide for me. And it can change on any given day. They all bring something unique to Goku that I like, while being true to the heart of his character.

EDIT: You make an interesting point about Clinkenbeard. I've always been a fan of her Gohan because Gohan was a scholar, and I thought she managed to make him sound young, but he had a sophistication about him at the same time. Much like how (for me) Naldolny works as Kid Goku but not Gohan, I found Clinkenbeard as DB Kid Goku a bit jarring, as to me it sounded exactly the same as her Gohan and wrong for Goku. However, I like her as GT Goku in FighterZ, so as you said, she'd probably pull off GT Goku well in general, but for actual Kid Goku I'm not sure.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Anyway, how well do you think Ocean Kai's voice might've been?

Richard Cox was the rumored VA for Goku. Here's footage of Goku cut to match his lines in Inuyasha. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6fvjnHbanc Honestly...hard to say, but I think with a slight change hear and there he could've been a good fit.

We know for a fact Richard Ian Cox played Goku in the Ocean Kai dub. It's been confirmed by other actors, most notably Scott McNeil. I am expecting Cox's Goku will sound different from Inuyasha but we'll still be able to tell they're played by the same actor. Worth noting Cox did heavily imply his performance as Goku was inspired by Kelamis, so it will probably be more smooth-sounding than Inuyasha.

[ZeroIsOurHero]

I'm also glad this thread isn't just blind Nozawa worship. I get that she's the original voice, but that doesn't mean she's the only valid voice. And that's not even getting into the "is it a good idea for a 30 year old man to be voiced by a 60 year old woman" argument.

As for me personally, I'll go with the second most popular option by choosing Schemmel as my favorite. Like all the Funi voices, he kind of sucked at the beginning (his casual reaction to Vegeta being killed by Frieza is unintentionally hilarious), but he gradually improved until his voice from the Buu arc onwards sounds almost exactly like how I imagine Goku's voice when I read the manga. He does sound a bit obnoxious in Super, but given how much Super flanderizes Goku in general I don't blame him.

[Demon Prince Piccolo]

We know for a fact Richard Ian Cox played Goku in the Ocean Kai dub. It's been confirmed by other actors, most notably Scott McNeil. I am expecting Cox's Goku will sound different from Inuyasha but we'll still be able to tell they're played by the same actor. Worth noting Cox did heavily imply his performance as Goku was inspired by Kelamis, so it will probably be more smooth-sounding than Inuyasha.

Ah cool. I haven't followed the Ocean Kai saga extremely closely, so I was just being cautious with my wording lol. That's neat to hear as I hold Kelamis in high regard...which is funny because like with Nozawa, I used to find his voice incredibly annoying. Yet they're now both my Top 2.

[BeaBumby]

Anyway, how well do you think Ocean Kai's voice might've been?

Richard Cox was the rumored VA for Goku. Here's footage of Goku cut to match his lines in Inuyasha. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6fvjnHbanc Honestly...hard to say, but I think with a slight change hear and there he could've been a good fit.

We know for a fact Richard Ian Cox played Goku in the Ocean Kai dub. It's been confirmed by other actors, most notably Scott McNeil. I am expecting Cox's Goku will sound different from Inuyasha but we'll still be able to tell they're played by the same actor. Worth noting Cox did heavily imply his performance as Goku was inspired by Kelamis, so it will probably be more smooth-sounding than Inuyasha.

ooh I didn't know that! That's actually super promising to me since, as I've stated before, Kelamis is easily one of my favorite's

[WittyUsername]

Nozawa is the one Goku voice actor I can think who has truly managed to be seen as synonymous with the character. Of course, part of that might be because in terms of the Japanese version, she’s been the only voice of the character from the very beginning (unless you count whoever did the Japanese dub of DBE), but none of the English speaking voice actors necessarily “own” the role the way Nozawa does.

[Demon Prince Piccolo]

Nozawa is a given. But for English-speaking Goku, I really like Ian Corlett. I realize that he was a bit too superhero-ish, but I liked his voice a lot. He sounded carefree and goofy when he needed, and he sounded like a strong badass when needed as well. He just brought a lot of confidence to Goku. Again, while Goku isn't meant to be this superhero character, Funimation's Goku always has been (in Z, anyway), so if he's gotta be portrayed as such, that's my pick.
"Listen, this is my home and these are my friends, so it doesn't matter what you say I am! And you sure don't act like any brother I'd wanna have. My name is Goku and I leave here! Now leave us alone!" And from Tree of Might: "I won't let the Earth be destroyed!" and "You planted this tree on our land? Well it's gotta go!"--he just delivered those lines with so much umph like Goku knew who he was and that he was about to wreck someone. I like that a lot.

Peter Kelamis was great because if Nozawa spoke perfect English, she'd sound most like Kelamis. But his portrayal was plagued. I felt that he sounded kind of surfery early in and then his role was just poorly directed.

I did like Kirby Morrow. I felt like he was this interesting blend of Kelamis and Corlett. I feel like he's the most underrated English-speaking Goku.

Now, for Schemmel--he's a bit grating. Hearing him just kind of annoys me. But, I feel like with enough time and maybe imagination, I can see him channeling Nozawa.

Saffron Henderson is incredible. I like her a lot for both Goku and Gohan.

Stephanie Nadolny was a lot better as Goku than Gohan.

Colleen Clickenbears, though probably the shortest tenure as Goku, was alright. She's not my favorite because I find the voice a bit annoying, but she's not horrible.

The Blue Water kid Goku was very good too--probably more of a favorite than the other kid Gokus (except Henderson).

Blue Water adult Gokus weren't bad either, kind of like Morrow.

Overall, Goku had way more voice actors than probably anyone else, but everyone's been great in their own way.


For me, top 5 I guess would be:
Nozawa
Corlett
Kelamis
And a toss-up between Morrow and Schemmel.

I realize I've commented a lot on this thread already, but I just read through your post, and honestly it's like I'm looking at my own mind. I'm in pretty much complete agreement with you on all of these, I just have Kelamis placed slightly over Corlett, although I almost put Corlett higher. I've just recently been listening to more of Morrow's Goku and I think he was very solid.

[MyVisionity]

I wouldn't mind seeing a woman take on the role of Adult Goku someday. I think there are probably many out there who could pull it off.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

We know for a fact Richard Ian Cox played Goku in the Ocean Kai dub. It's been confirmed by other actors, most notably Scott McNeil. I am expecting Cox's Goku will sound different from Inuyasha but we'll still be able to tell they're played by the same actor. Worth noting Cox did heavily imply his performance as Goku was inspired by Kelamis, so it will probably be more smooth-sounding than Inuyasha.

Ah cool. I haven't followed the Ocean Kai saga extremely closely, so I was just being cautious with my wording lol. That's neat to hear as I hold Kelamis in high regard...which is funny because like with Nozawa, I used to find his voice incredibly annoying. Yet they're now both my Top 2.

To be honest I can't blame anyone for not following the Ocean Kai saga. It's obviously been a long road with many disappointments along the way. This is also, to my knowledge the only time Cox has ever referenced playing Goku, as any other time he's been asked he only dodged the subject. It's been theorized for playing the lead role Cox may have had stricter NDAs, but like everything else about this dub it wasn't meant to leak, but because certain people spoke it did. Hopefully that dub will still come one day. For all we know Cox could end up being the best English Goku ever. It's been said Ocean went out of their way to get the character right to a far greater extent than was necessary.

[dva_raza]

I'm also glad this thread isn't just blind Nozawa worship. I get that she's the original voice, but that doesn't mean she's the only valid voice. And that's not even getting into the "is it a good idea for a 30 year old man to be voiced by a 60 year old woman" argument.

As for me personally, I'll go with the second most popular option by choosing Schemmel as my favorite. Like all the Funi voices, he kind of sucked at the beginning (his casual reaction to Vegeta being killed by Frieza is unintentionally hilarious), but he gradually improved until his voice from the Buu arc onwards sounds almost exactly like how I imagine Goku's voice when I read the manga. He does sound a bit obnoxious in Super, but given how much Super flanderizes Goku in general I don't blame him.

I also want to add, I was surprised by his preformance as Black, like really surprised, especially his screaming lines, intense and pure bad ass. Forgot to mention that.

[PurestEvil]

I don't think anyone has mentioned Black yet so I'll do it. Nozawa slays as Goku Black, it's so eerie and ominous to hear an old woman voice coming out of Black, who is a genocidal God. It subverts expectations completely (because you'd expect a deep and imposing voice for such a villain), but in a good way, because it makes you feel uneasy, which is natural since it's a genocidal God. There's this complete contrast between the voice and the face/personality of the character that easily makes Black one of the most memorable villains in DB.

That is a very good point. Masako's voice as Black sounded so slithery and evil; her delivery was perfect for conveying the unrelenting arrogance and callousness of the character.

Although in general I prefer the Dub because I think that Goku's voice in the Sub is way too childish and naive, I get that Goku is Canonically childish and naive but still, I think it's overdone.

Although maybe that's just a problem with Super, I would have to rewatch DBZ in Japanese to refreshen my memory

To be honest, Goku in his "stupid" moments sounded rather irritable with both Masako's and Sean's performances. Whether it was because of the VAs themselves or the overall direction is out of my scope of knowledge.

[BeaBumby]

hmmmm
who do you think has/had the most potential for the role of Goku?

[VegettoEX]

Pleasantly surprised at the amount of appreciation for Schemmel and even Naldony (both of whom I like) was definitely expecting 2 pages full of "Nozawa is GAWD".

I'm also glad this thread isn't just blind Nozawa worship. I get that she's the original voice, but that doesn't mean she's the only valid voice. And that's not even getting into the "is it a good idea for a 30 year old man to be voiced by a 60 year old woman" argument.

I have no idea why anyone is surprised by this, considering this forum has long since been populated by an incredibly diverse population spanning every relevant continent and generational age group.

The Kanzenshuu main website's focus is and will always be the original Japanese version of the franchise, and that in turn allows us to attract the widest swath of fans possible.

(Anyway, uhh, my answer is Nozawa singular solo end of statement .)

[goku the krump dancer]

I mean, yeah but how often do you see people from Italy, Germany, Russia or Brazil come here and talk about their respective dubbed version of Goku or the show as a whole? Once in a bright blue moon.

[Majin Buu]

Pleasantly surprised at the amount of appreciation for Schemmel and even Naldony (both of whom I like) was definitely expecting 2 pages full of "Nozawa is GAWD".

Probably because most of the people that are sub only have little to nothing (good) to say about any of the dub Gokus and thus have little to contribute outside of praising Nozawa, a position which has already been thoroughly covered.

On that note, Nozawa all the way for me for the reasons everyone that's praised her have given. The various dub Gokus are largely irrelevant to me (except maybe Ian Corlett).

[Cure Dragon 255]

I actually am latin american and I love Nozawa DESPITE watching the show dubbed most of the time. I've defended Mario Castañeda but he's not my no 1 Goku... that would be Nozawa... or Laura Torres. Laura Torres is fucking amazing and her performance almost gives the impression Nozawa learned Flawless Latin American spanish and started dubbing away! I love Mario too, he was super mega respectful of Nozawa. Back when the adult Goku episodes were being dubbed he feared a backlash for replacing Laura, since the Japanese voice has always been Nozawa.

[PurestEvil]

I actually am latin american and I love Nozawa DESPITE watching the show dubbed most of the time. I've defended Mario Castañeda but he's not my no 1 Goku...that would be Nozawa [...] Back when the adult Goku episodes were being dubbed he feared a backlash for replacing Laura, since the Japanese voice has always been Nozawa.

If you wouldn't mind me asking, what are the attitudes of DB fans in your country to Mario Castañeda's performance vs Masak Nozawa's of Goku? Is Mario as well regarded as Sean Shimmel? How much do they like Masako's voice?