Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" Dub Turns 15; Still Unreleased

[NitroEX]

If I had to guess, especially based on them picking Cole for #17, then it was probably Matthew Erickson reprising from the GT Blue Water cast.

I asked him about it a few years ago and he said it wasn't him. Also, Cole isn't a Calgary actor, he's part of the Vancouver cast.

[TheGreatness25]

I still get excited every time there's activity in this thread just hoping that somewhere, something was said. But alas...

[8000 Saiyan]

I recall that in an interview that Lee Tockar did, he said Kirby Morrow was in the dub too. Maybe Trunks?

[NitroEX]

I recall that in an interview that Lee Tockar did, Kirby Morrow was in the dub too. Maybe Trunks?

Doubtful, that casting really wouldn't have made sense. I could see him playing Bardock though.

[Kirbopher]

To clarify, when I referenced Cole, I was more so talking about the age range in terms of the casting choice, not whether they were recorded in Calgary or Vancouver. Although that said, knowing some of the ones that reprised from the Blue Water cast is part of what makes me think it might have been Matthew. Did Matthew himself confirm that he wasn't back for Trunks?

Also I did hear that little snippet from that interview with Lee Tockar. I actually think that that was more of just an offhanded reference to Kirby having previously been in Dragon Ball Z since his unfortunate passing was fresh on his mind. It's possible Kirby could have been in the show as somebody, just like Brian Dobson did some incidental stuff, but I don't know for sure.

(some of these interviews I've been hearing bits of with some of the ocean cast still seem to point to them thinking that the episodes aired and are accessible somewhere, still not understanding that they haven't seen the light of day)

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

(some of these interviews I've been hearing bits of with some of the ocean cast still seem to point to them thinking that the episodes aired and are accessible somewhere, still not understanding that they haven't seen the light of day)

Considering it's just a job for a lot of the actors and many of them aren't necessarily invested in the series as we are that's not surprising. I think it's reasonable for anyone to assume this dub should have been released by now, Ocean did spend a lot of money on it. It's just unfortunate that it hasn't, and the actors, when they're told it's never seen the light of day are understandably disappointed. I think we can be grateful there are people like Brian Drummond who has said whenever he's at Ocean he does try to ask around, because he gets how frustrating its been for longtime fans, even if he doesn't have any power to make it happen.

I guess all we can do is hope one day things change, I highly encourage everyone who wants to see it to email Toon-A-Vision, they've heard our voices before and the company has talked to Ken Morrison, all they need now is to be reminded of how much we want to see this dub.

[NitroEX]

Did Matthew himself confirm that he wasn't back for Trunks?

Yes. I asked him on facebook back in 2017 because I was curious about the same thing. I didn't share his response at the time but since that theory came up I thought I'd dispel it. His exact words were:

No it's not top secret. As far as I know it won't be me. I'd love to do it but I think they've already cast it.

Also I did hear that little snippet from that interview with Lee Tockar. I actually think that that was more of just an offhanded reference to Kirby having previously been in Dragon Ball Z since his unfortunate passing was fresh on his mind. It's possible Kirby could have been in the show as somebody, just like Brian Dobson did some incidental stuff, but I don't know for sure.

I think Kirby's involvement is more than likely due to the fact that he's on record having auditioned for Goku and thus would have tried out other parts too knowing his previous role wasn't secure this time around.

Sure, it's possible they avoided casting him in any roles as his voice was recognisable as the lead from DBZ, and the worry may have been that it'd cause some confusion in the markets Kai was intended to be broadcast in, but since Lee mentioned him when talking about Kai I think it strengthens the theory that Kirby was involved.

It would make a lot of sense if they threw him a bone and cast him as Bardock as a nod to his previous work, it wouldn't be disimilar to Thundercats 2011 casting Larry Kenney (the previous Lion-O voice) as King Claudus (Lion-O's father).

A more boring possibility is that they gave him incidental roles, which would be a shame considering his passing.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

So, as I alluded to earlier I did reach out to the Irish broadcasting giant RTÉ in relation to Kai airing on the channel, but for some renewed hope in case anyone missed it I'm quoting the full email I got back now, excluding my name and the name of the individual who responded to me.

As the channel RTÉ2 has previously aired Pokemon and all the Yu-Gi-Oh series up to Zexal they are no stranger to anime, so could be a good fit for Dragon Ball Kai.

I did specify the "Ocean Studios version" in my initial email and reminded this person in my response, along with their contact details and the suggestion they ask for Ken Morrison.

At the very least this email tells me they are at least not against airing it, so perhaps the more fans they hear from the more likely they will be to think its a worthwhile investment.

Hi,

Many thanks for getting in touch with RTÉ and for your suggestion that we consider acquiring Dragon Ball Z Kai. We'll certainly take a look at the show and will ascertain who has the rights, as very often content is not available to RTÉ as it has been licensed by a competitor, which is often a UK or Global player.

Kind regards

The channel can be reached at info@rte.ie. If Ocean Kai does air in Ireland I will be sure to record it for preservation sake.

Anyway, let's get this ball rolling again, if it doesn't work out Toon-A-Vision is still a possibility, but nothing ventured, nothing gained so it's worth a shot.

[SX10]

22nd September to 22nd October 2022 - I am convinced.

[sangofe]

22nd September to 22nd October 2022 - I am convinced.

Care to explain this post?

[BeaBumby]

I say we never give up! Keep on pushin! One day we WILL view this enigmatic dub, and on that day we shall prosper!

[Tian]

22nd September to 22nd October 2022 - I am convinced.

Hmm... does that period of time have to do with certain Canadian channel mentioned here that couldn't be launched? Or it's something else?

[DiloVortexx]

man, the hype of looking through this thread to see more news about this dub possibly being released... its overwhelming! i just wanna hear brian drummond vegeta doing entirely retakes on classic scenes with.. potentially a quite accurate script depending on how it actually went..

also that dated post... seems like we have something to look out for? my curiosity is peaked

[Venny]

22nd September to 22nd October 2022 - I am convinced.

Why would you think that?

[johnny1132]

22nd September to 22nd October 2022 - I am convinced.

Don't fall for this. This guy believes in a bunch of weird spiritual mumbo jumbo and is using an app to predict when Ocean Kai will be released believing it's telling the truth

I've never seen coping this hard in my entire life

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I think we should avoid calling out others and let them explain themselves. Thank you.

[Inkei9001]

22nd September to 22nd October 2022 - I am convinced.

Don't fall for this. This guy believes in a bunch of weird spiritual mumbo jumbo and is using an app to predict when Ocean Kai will be released believing it's telling the truth

I've never seen coping this hard in my entire life

Why is SX10, or anyone else really, so obsessed with finding this ocean studios kai? Like i get not liking FUNimation's/crunchyroll's kai, but then instead of pining for another edited cartoony bs thing i watch japanese kai. I dont ask a satanic weegee thing to give me a cartoon.

[Venny]

I've never seen coping this hard in my entire life

Why is SX10, or anyone else really, so obsessed with finding this ocean studios kai? Like i get not liking FUNimation's/crunchyroll's kai, but then instead of pining for another edited cartoony bs thing i watch japanese kai. I dont ask a satanic weegee thing to give me a cartoon.

I never quite understood this weird obsession with trying to haggle Toei or FUNimation into releasing a dub that they see no real profit or incentive to release. They already have a dub that most fans like. If fans wanna try capturing video tapes or TV recordings to preserve dubs I'm all for it, but to pressure Toei or FUNimation to release it seems redundant and the amount of people who even know about it or want it released are so little that it's kinda silly to believe it will ever be released.

[Inkei9001]

Plus most the people that actually buy dragon ball stuff are FUNination Stans who wouldn't but anything else

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I've never seen coping this hard in my entire life

Why is SX10, or anyone else really, so obsessed with finding this ocean studios kai? Like i get not liking FUNimation's/crunchyroll's kai, but then instead of pining for another edited cartoony bs thing i watch japanese kai. I dont ask a satanic weegee thing to give me a cartoon.

I never quite understood this weird obsession with trying to haggle Toei or FUNimation into releasing a dub that they see no real profit or incentive to release. They already have a dub that most fans like. If fans wanna try capturing video tapes or TV recordings to preserve dubs I'm all for it, but to pressure Toei or FUNimation to release it seems redundant and the amount of people who even know about it or want it released are so little that it's kinda silly to believe it will ever be released.

Actually TOEI did express interest when SX10 reached out to them, only for them to mistakenly believe that he worked for Wow Unlimited and was pitching it for their proposed channel.

Lisa Yamatoya wrote:

Thank you for reaching out to Toei Animation. I realize we do have the Canadian dub with Ocean Studio for DBZ-Kai #1-#98. I also am aware of your channel from Ocean Studio that I believe Ken was discussing the potential license to your network.

Currently, we have no linear deal in Canada. We are really happy to discuss the possibility to air in Canada. What term are you thinking of?

So TOEI are open to this dub being released, all it takes is enough fans to make their voices heard and they will be convinced it would be a worthwhile investment. Funimation (now Crunchyroll) can and have pulled strings to prevent it being releases before, and that's why we should avoid going through them, as they would likely only want to promote their own dub.

It's never too late, and I'm always going to be advocating for this dub to be released, as the Ocean cast most likely put far too much work into this product only for it to all go to waste.