FUNimation Announces "Kai" License ("DBZ Kai")

[RoarkVegeta]

I think this announcement is a bit too soon. After releasing 2 DragonBoxes, they're basically doing the "Buy this! It's gorgeous!" and "Buy this version! It's faster!". I mean, I like Kai, but I wanna watch DBZ as a whole first.

[Kendamu]

I think this announcement is a bit too soon. After releasing 2 DragonBoxes, they're basically doing the "Buy this! It's gorgeous!" and "Buy this version! It's faster!". I mean, I like Kai, but I wanna watch DBZ as a whole first.

No worries. Kai isn't going anywhere. It'll still be available (and possibly cheaper!) after you finish collecting the Dragonbox!

[Commander_Red]

If they change up the voices, generally go out of their way to make it fresh and well done, then I'd consider buying it. Otherwise it's the same old thing I've seen many times over just with some of the cobwebs wiped away.

[Scarz]

THIS IS SO COOL! Yes, I just now heard about this, as usually Scarz is late to the party. I look forward to new English dub and perhaps DBZ Kai will be aired on Cartoon Network, that's if they still show cartoons anymore. I hate to drop a huge fangirl bomb right now but the thought of hearing Chris Sabat and that dude who played Goku's voice for the majority of the series (which his name escapes me at the moment) voices again makes feel all kinds of dirty tingly feelings.

And another thing, this exactly why I don't by DVD boxes of Dragonball Z. It seems like every goddamn month there's a new "Z BOX: THE ULTIMATE EDITION!" with "special" features that I've already seen hundred times over online. I can safely buy a G-Gundam DVD set without having to worry about another, slightly better, set coming out in less than a couple years. Why is Toei and Funi so obsessed bending with bending over out wallets and having their way with them? Thank god for illegal anime downloads!

(The statement made by this member does not in anyway represent Daizex.com feelings towards illegal downloading. We encourage everyone to support the original release in any shape or form that is of course, legal. Thank you.)

[TripleRach]

I think this announcement is a bit too soon. After releasing 2 DragonBoxes, they're basically doing the "Buy this! It's gorgeous!" and "Buy this version! It's faster!". I mean, I like Kai, but I wanna watch DBZ as a whole first.

No worries. Kai isn't going anywhere. It'll still be available (and possibly cheaper!) after you finish collecting the Dragonbox!

That's pretty much how I feel about it. Z Dragon Boxes take priority, and Kai can wait until Z is done, or at least a really irresistible sale.

[Kaboom]

Plus, remember that they already have finished releasing DBZ with the Season Sets. The Dragon Boxes now are merely a special, extra, 'collector's edition' release of the series.

[Snail]

Perhaps they'll try to maximize sales by dishing out 2 for 1 deals exclusive to Kai sets/singles with the remaining Dragonboxes.

[SSVegetto]

I laughed reading this thread. Some very funny interesting opinions.

First of all the name change. The name change actually sounds more accurate and I think Toei should have named it that way in the first place since it only covers the Z portion of the anime. And I don't know why someone would think this name was changed only because they think fans are too dumb to figure out what it is. People aren't that dumb and need more credit then that. Just because fans don't participate in this forum or know every little detail that goes in the anime world in Japan doesn't mean they are dumb. You type "Dragonball Kai" into Google you are going to find out what it is 2 minutes later. I thought it was comical that someone actually dared to imply that's why they changed the name. "Because people in the states are morons" I find that statement offensive. Even more offensive when it comes to the fact Funimation is dealing with a cartoon show, not something that important. And that would even qualify us as dumb.

But anyways, a even more accurate name would be DBZ Kai Censored. Seems a lot of people let the censorship thing slide for some odd reason. That is very disappointing. Since apparently we thought they would let up on the censorship and they went back at it at DB Kai Ep 42. So right off the bat people are going to be marking this down for censorship on Amazon reviews. No reason to watch it when they got a more uncut version available. People will feel ripped off. I want more people to hate Kai for these obvious reasons! Hate it already! Just kidding, Well, I can't change an opinion. I'm just surprised about this that people dont think its a big deal.

About Kai being dubbed in English. I don't even think Funimation should waste their time dubbing it. Just release it Japanese. I mean from what I gathered from the opinions here. People aren't going to be pleased either way. No matter how accurate they do it. People here will still complain about the littlest thing (excluding the fact that the English dub has a portion of inaccurate lines). Such as, how they say Goku's name. Exact Pronunciations. Basically every little detail they heard in Japanese audio can't be 100% nailed by an American Voice actor. To me that is just not possible. But yet we hear people complaining about it. It's nausiating. It makes me wonder if these people watch English dubs in the first place with an open mind . Or if they just have an Japanese anime obsession.


Yet, the biggest legit complaint in the beginning was to have an accurate dub. But yet I hear people bickering about these other little things. I know for one, I enjoyed watching the English dub and the Japanese dub. With practically the same meaning. I don't think a few inaccurate lines changes my enjoyment of the show either way. Even the character's personality. If I called up my friend right now on the phone and if I had to ask him what was Goku's personality. He sure wouldn't say Goku is a white knight. And he hasn't seen the Japanese dub. The English dub haters made that up from a few inaccurate lines. Goku's personality is not defined by his dialogue alone, but by his actions also. And even if Funimation where to make more lines in the script accurate(apparently they are). I still think most people here would not be satisfied anyways. So I think they should at least stick with the original voices they did with DBZ. Either way it doesn't matter to me. I can't get over the censorship issues Kai has. I can't enjoy it knowing I can watch DBZ with full uncut content. I don't think Kai is going to do well in the States.


And to say one thing it's not really an insult for me to say some people here have an obsession over Japanese anime , the language, the culture, etc. Maybe its not even a obsession , maybe you just enjoy it actually. But the problem is some people expect a dub to have every correct Japanese pronounced word to exact science by an American voice actor , that's what bothers me. A some-what inaccurate script I can understand people complaining about. But the pronunciations is nit picking. Which leads me to conclude some people will not be satisfied with the English dub no matter what. Just because it's not Japanese.

[B]

There's nothing hard about pronouncing the, very little, amount of words they got wrong. Not counting name changes:

-Goku (GoKU, not GOku.)
-Saiyan (SIGHEN, not SAYEN.)
-Kaiouken (They got this right in a couple of games! Proof you are wrong, my friend!)
-Kamehameha (They get it right in the video games. Of course, probably because they're fighting and have to fire attacks and call them really fast. Still, regardless of speech speed, they've said it right.)
-Son (Can you say bone? Thrown? Scone? Hell, that last one is "Son" with a "C" in it. it can be pronounced in English.)
-Dr. Gero (GARE-O, not Jhe-ro.)

Someone can feel free to add onto that if I'm missing something. And, the whole Japanese thing? What? It doesn't matter where the show originated from, the terms should be pronounced like they were in the original. Of course, you're not reading this. You read half of it, and thought "sUb snob 0taKu dub haytuuuuurrr."

[VegettoEX]

About Kai being dubbed in English. I don't even think Funimation should waste their time dubbing it. Just release it Japanese. I mean from what I gathered from the opinions here. People aren't going to be pleased either way.

What planet are you living on? The vast majority of FUNimation's audience has no idea what Daizenshuu EX is, is completely apathetic about how the show is presented to them (including all name changes, pronunciations, etc.), and will happily sit back and watch whatever's given to them.

That isn't a slight against them in the least -- it's the honest truth. To most of FUNimation's audience, DBZ is just a "show" that they watch, and they can't care less about all the little details. Except watching it in English, of course, because they can't fathom why or how a show like this would be in Japanese.

I mean, shit... look at the majority of comments online in English about Kai (YouTube, FUNimation, various other anime boards). These are the fans in-between "caring" and "apathetic", and all they do is ask when it's coming out in English, sometimes not even knowing what the product is in the first place. They just want it "in English" so they can watch it.

Shouldn't waste their time? Nonsense. The dub should be FUNimtion's highest priority.

[Super Ghost Kamikaze]

I stopped caring about Kai a few episodes in, but this is still pretty surprising news. I do wish they'd gone through the Dragon Boxes first, and I hope this doesn't negatively impact that release in the least. That's probably just paranoia on my part, but I just want to get the Dragon Boxes and be done.

Kai is an "interesting" element, I guess. Too many of the cuts and changes remind me of the old dub though, and I have the same reaction to them. As long as I get my Dragon Boxes, though, I can gladly ignore the thing while checking in every once and awhile to see how they handle key things(Freeza "five minute" fight, any specials/movies, etc).

And now it'll be in the US. Great. Now I can continue being apathetic about it for awhile and snag anything interesting when it gets the cheap US DVD pricing treatment. So overall this should be good.

The dub? They of course should do one, and get network airing if possible. It's smart from a business perspective. I honestly don't care what they do with it, but I expect a lot of the same/similar voices with a far more accurate script. Something in line with their current anime releases. They may change key voices that are always considered annoying, or side characters that very few people remember, but I imagine that in the voice department the Kai dub will sound more or less the same, with different(and LESS!) words.

I won't watch more than a bit of it, though. It's not because the dub will inherently be bad, though I do suspect it will have glaring flaws carried over from the old dub, it's just that I watch foreign films and shows in their original language with subtitles. Always. For a generally more accurate script, and a sense of authenticity and atmosphere that you don't get with a dub.

[SSVegetto]

@B

Dude, Saiyan, the pronunciations are nearly identical(one little different syllable doesn't make it awful). And about Goku, umm, you confused me on this one. They both are like the same thing. Perhaps its an adaption so people in English an say it. When have they ever gotten that wrong? This just seems like nit picking. Actually, I can understand about complete name changes such as Kienzan being "disc". But what you are saying you don't like how they pronounced Kamehameha right. They didn't change the name of the move. You should just be happy with that. I mean you must have done like a comparison on the exact syllables or something. Because I never noticed their being that much of a difference.
I hear other English Dubs such is Naruto and Naruto Shippuuden and they don't always pronounce their names, moves, etc 100% identical to the Japanese ones. I didn't care it was still cool.

"The terms should be pronounced like the original?"

Again, why do you expect it to be 100% perfect? I haven't seen one English dub that is 100% dead on with the Japanese dub. That's impossible. It's just nit picking at its finest. Good grief. It's very hard to please a fan like you. Lighten up?

What planet are you living on? The vast majority of FUNimation's audience has no idea what Daizenshuu EX is, is completely apathetic about how the show is presented to them (including all name changes, pronunciations, etc.), and will happily sit back and watch whatever's given to them.

People on Daizenshuu Ex can be like that too. They could lighten up a little bit and not so be uptight about every little thing. Why not lighten up a little bit and understand that the little things doesn't ruin the action of the show or the presentation. Some people here probably have the whole Japanese script remembered by now. So even if you do watch the English dub. You could be apathetic and understanding of it. I mean just a little bit.

I do understand the bigger things like the script changes sort of ruin the show (not for me though). But the small stuff. I just wish people would lighten up a little bit. I do understand that originality of the show. Things need to be accurate as possible. That is why there is Japanese audio. It's a great thing. As long as you have the Japanese audio under your foot. Why should the English dub bother anyone? If anything it's a breather from reading subtitles.

If the vast majority of Funimation's audience does not nit pick. Then I guess they should do the dub. It's just kind of annoying that there is still some people here that will never be pleased and won't have an open mind in the first place for English dubs. So I don't even know why their spouting out stuff like they want one, when we know they actually don't. It can't be 100% identical to the Japanese audio. So it's like just lighten up already.

[JulieYBM]

Mispronouncing Japanese words annoys me to no end. If fans can bothered to learn these things why can't the 'professional actors' who have been doing it for a decade? They're actors, for goodness sake, it's their job to do their best work, isn't it?

[B]

@B

Dude, Saiyan, the pronunciations are nearly identical(one little different syllable doesn't make it awful). And about Goku, umm, you confused me on this one. They both are like the same thing. Perhaps its an adaption so people in English an say it. When have they ever gotten that wrong? This just seems like nit picking. Actually, I can understand about complete name changes such as Kienzan being "disc". But what you are saying you don't like how they pronounced Kamehameha right. They didn't change the name of the move. You should just be happy with that. I mean you must have done like a comparison on the exact syllables or something. Because I never noticed their being that much of a difference.
I hear other English Dubs such is Naruto and Naruto Shippuuden and they don't always pronounce their names, moves, etc 100% identical to the Japanese ones. I didn't care it was still cool.

"The terms should be pronounced like the original?"

Again, why do you expect it to be 100% perfect? I haven't seen one English dub that is 100% dead on with the Japanese dub. That's impossible. It's just nit picking at its finest. Good grief. It's very hard to please a fan like you. Lighten up?

I never said those things were dealbreakers that would decide if the dub was good or not; I just debunked your claim that it couldn't be done because of some cultural barrier. It can be done. There are English dubs that have done it. There are dubs from FUNimation that have done it.

And, really, if the pronunciation of the main character's name or an attack that is used as often as Jayden James aren't even remotely important to you... I don't know what to say to that. Whatever FUNimation threw at you, you took it, no questions asked. If Vegeta was pronounced "Veh-jet-uh" in Kai's dub, would that be any better or worse than how Goku's name is pronounced?

[SSVegetto]

Mispronouncing Japanese words annoys me to no end. If fans can bothered to learn these things why can't the 'professional actors' who have been doing it for a decade? They're actors, for goodness sake, it's their job to do their best work, isn't it?

I still can't pronounce half of the names in Naruto (In fact my friend pronounces Itachi (Itchy -kind of funny). I think we are too spoiled here in the United States. I wish you could be more appreciative that we get a English dub in the first place. And also with the fact, the voices are really good and talented. The most important part. But yet you complain about them pronouncing Japanese words.

And another thing, sometimes they have English Lyrics for their intros. Where we have Japanese singers singing English. You want to tell me that they pronounce our words correctly 100% of the time? Hell, I give them credit for a such a good job on it. But it's not perfect.

Come on man, have some consideration, that it may be hard to pronounce a foreign language. Quit being such a baby. You think you would be more appreciative.

[B]

Well, that's you. I can correctly pronounce everyone's name in Naruto. And DBZ. And every series I've ever watched.

In regard to the DB examples, again, they're not hard. This is a piece of entertainment that some of us will make considerations to purchase. With our money. We have every right to be critical of a problem where we don't see an actual reason for the problem being there.

We'll stop being "babies" when you stop being such a sheep.

[Mewzard]

Seems the fan claws are out, and the hissing has started.

Personally speaking, I'm looking forward to Kai's release by Funi mainly for the improved dub. In Japanese, I would prefer to stick to the original, as the script won't change too much, I like the old music, and some of these edits are iffy to me. But, the prospect of a more accurate dub? That's an incentive to me, as I like the dub, despite it's flaws. That said, I would prefer a more accurate dub. I am a very aware dub fan.

While I've seen more of the series in English than in Japanese, I also enjoyed what I did watch in Japanese. I also own and have read the entire DB manga, or DB/DBZ, as Viz separates it. I've played many games, had many discussions with friends, and even frequent the site and podcast (should frequent the board more though) as a fan who wants to always hear the latest news with what is, if not my favorite series, than at least easily in my top five.

With them going for Kai the way they are, and their changed dubbing techniques since the old days, I expect original music right off the bat (vocal stuff in episode likely dubbed, with a possibility of opening/ending dubbing), no edits, decently accurate dubbing (as long as they don't go the Crayon Shin-Chan route of trying to adult-ify it, but that was more trying to sell a kid's show *with risque scenes* to Adult Swim), and a good quality release at a reasonable price. That's what I've come to expect from Funi in recent years.

A new dub won't hurt the sub fans (maybe taking a chance, and giving this new Dub a shot, and possibly liking it), and it can help move some dub fans who don't know the difference to see something closer to the original (and hopefully enjoying it). With the continued release of the original, everyone gets options to suit them and make them happy, so nobody should be mad.

Also, several of the pronunciations could be corrected, as they were in the games. All we need to wait for is to see what Funi will do.

[The Time Traveller]

If they dub it right, I'd be willing to watch the whole thing dubbed, that's pretty much what I've done with One Piece, that's all I have to say...

[Kaboom]

Come on man, have some consideration, that it may be hard to pronounce a foreign language. Quit being such a baby. You think you would be more appreciative.

That's not really called for. And everyone else, please don't make a flame-session out of it, either.

And what YBM is saying makes sense. Why shouldn't at least some effort be taken so that things like the characters' names be pronounced right, or at least as close as possible? It really isn't hard to just do simple things, like put emphasis on the 'ku' instead of the 'go' for Goku's name. Especially because the voice actors in question pronounce the names for characters with names far more "foreign" than the ones in DragonBall all the time.

[Hujio]

The only pronunciations that really bother me are "Saiyan", "Kaio-ken", "Kamehameha", and "Gero". If they could fix those, that'd be great. Will they? I'm not too optimistic they will. I just cringe every time someone says them wrong, especially the first two. Unfortunately, FUNimation has them so ingrained into the fandom that I'll be hearing them until I die. Sometimes I wish they hadn't acquired the license for DragonBall until after they had become a competent company and anime had had more of a foothold in North America. If that were the case, a lot of these things may have been avoided. But as I've told myself many times with respect to FUNimation's handling of DragonBall, "Goodbye hope, hello wallet!" I give them credit for the Dragon Boxes, but I'm very curious to see what they do with DBZK, or whatever it's called.