DBZ Kai Dub - Ideal Recasts?

[The Time Traveller]

They could do the right/ballsy thing and pick suitable actors this time. I'd love to see them match actors like have Colleen Clinkenbeard playing Kuririn and Yajirobe, people say they like Sonny Strait but he's a terrible Kuririn, I'd love him as someone like Muten Roshi... or... I can't think of anyone...

Schemmel is in dire need of replacement, he gets Goku so wrong it's unbareable, I can't look up any actors or actresses since I'm typing this on a DSi...

Vic Mignogna? I like his voice, he'd make a nice Goku!

[penguintruth]

Vic Mignogna? I like his voice, he'd make a nice Goku!

Great, from one voice I can't stand to another I can't stand.

Hasn't Vic already failed at one really popular main character? Ah, but I guess most people actually like his Edward.

[The Time Traveller]

Vic Mignogna? I like his voice, he'd make a nice Goku!

Great, from one voice I can't stand to another I can't stand.

Hasn't Vic already failed at one really popular main character? Ah, but I guess most people actually like his Edward.

I quite liked him in Macross though... I'm sure there's an older lady who could pull off Nozawa's vocal range other than Zoë Wannemaker.

[JulieYBM]

Imitations + terrible script + bad direction = bad (current FUNimation tradition for DB)
Great direction + great [re]casting + great writing = the usual FUNimation dub outside DB (or, "what people should want")


As for myself, I find when it comes to recasting certain roles (Vegeta, for instance) I would prefer to sit down with the actor as their director and speak with them about my vision of who these characters are based on the original script and performance) and than help craft a new performance from that with the actor.

[penguintruth]

I don't know, I still detect a few writing wrinkles with Funimation dubs. They like to insert their own "witty and clever" little quips which are mostly cringe-worthy, even in their most recent dubs. Their DBZ dub doesn't need that anymore. No more talking about split ends or whether cat loves food. It's not funny. Funimation needs to stop trying to be funny or witty. They fail hard at it.

Granted, they've improved dramatically, but they need to stop trying so hard to punch up scripts.

[Xyex]

It's not about gender, Xyex. It's about performance.

Except it is about gender because most of the arguments against her I see are "Freeza sounds like a girl" and not "Linda Young can't act" or anything similar. In fact, the post I quoted did the same, and even included "I would be fine with any male taking the role" which means it is specifically about gender.

I usually hold the reverse of your statement true, since generally dubbies who bash Nozawa for being a chick and having lots of roles are very willing to ignore Young's performance or Sabat's vocal load.

It's at least a 5 to 1 difference from what I've seen. For everyone who like FUNi Freeza but complains about Nozawa there's five that go the other way.

All the same, Linda Young's performance of Freeza was an attempt to resemble Pauline Newstone's Freeza.

And came out sounding a lot better than it, IMO.

It is off-putting for many to have Freeza the arrogant tyrant being played by someone best fit to play old women (Genkai and Baba most obviously). At least Nozawa originated the role of Goku. You can't really compare that to an imitation of an interpretation that was horribly off base for how the character should have been portrayed. And that's before you add the script. You have a woman's voice saying "whatever turns you on, big boy" and suddenly Freeza comes off as a whole lot gayer.

FUNi Freeza has never sounded like a woman to me. Ever. And as for being 'horribly off base' that's a very large matter of opinion. One that I don't share in the slightest.

And that's before you add the script. You have a woman's voice saying "whatever turns you on, big boy" and suddenly Freeza comes off as a whole lot gayer.

If that's where your mind goes that's your problem~

[jjgp1112]

Appearance is a HUGELY important factor when deciding a character's voice. The reason why nobody has a problem with Frieza being voiced by a woman is because he looks like one. But people hate how Goku's voiced by a girl in the Japanese version because he looks nothing like a girl.

Now, the performance itself, the nuances in the voice, and the way lines are delivered - THAT'S when you put the character above everything else.

[penguintruth]

Appearance is a HUGELY important factor when deciding a character's voice. The reason why nobody has a problem with Freeza being voiced by a woman is because he looks like one. But people hate how Goku's voiced by a girl in the Japanese version because he looks nothing like a girl.

Only because some dubbies don't realize that Goku is about personality over aesthetics.

Also, Freeza looks like a woman? What, based on the lips?

[Onikage725]

Except it is about gender because most of the arguments against her I see are "Freeza sounds like a girl" and not "Linda Young can't act" or anything similar. In fact, the post I quoted did the same, and even included "I would be fine with any male taking the role" which means it is specifically about gender.

I meant gender of performer, personally. Freeza shouldn't "sound like a" woman. I've heard women play men and sound male. I've seen males sound sinister while being polite and well spoken. There are better options.

It's at least a 5 to 1 difference from what I've seen. For everyone who like FUNi Freeza but complains about Nozawa there's five that go the other way.

Maybe I need to hang out in your circles. The ratio of dubbies to subbies doesn't support your math in the slightest. There are FAR more people who like DBZ in a general "it was a cool show I watched on TV" sort of way, who get put off hearing a high-pitched Japanese voice for the lead, than there are hardcore sub-watching anime fans. Are you seriously trying to imply that the average otaku outnumbers the mainstream viewer 5 to 1? That's ludicrous.

And came out sounding a lot better than it, IMO.

"That's a very large matter of opinion."

FUNi Freeza has never sounded like a woman to me. Ever. And as for being 'horribly off base' that's a very large matter of opinion. One that I don't share in the slightest.

She uses a very similar voice to the one she later uses to portray an old woman. And noone argues that her Genkai doesn't fit. I've never once seen anyone claim that. Compare that to the vicious Freeza-voice debates. Just because you don't acknowledge it doesn't mean it isn't so. And as for being off-base... yes it is. The opinionated part is whether or not the end result works for you. It does for you, and that's fine. But you brought up your annoyance with a differing viewpoint, which opens your own stance up to criticism. I call the castings off-base because the characterization and voices don't match the source material. The voice direction is very different and the script was re-written and injected with (arguably) lame humor as often as possible.

If that's where your mind goes that's your problem~

Oy... I'm not going to get into a debate on the ridiculousness of S3's script. "The proof is in the pudding" on that one.

The reason why nobody has a problem with Freeza being voiced by a woman is because he looks like one.

Er...no he doesn't. What criteria are you using? His second form is huge and muscled. His third looks very alien. Even in the last form he has a masculine form, though lean. And then he pumps up like a body builder on steroids. What part screamed woman to you. People really do like to neglect how much of this Freeza as a chick interpretation comes from the vocal performances and maybe some script choices. I've never seen this gender confusion about the character in sub circles.

[Metalwario64]

Goku is about personality over aesthetics.

Which is why he doesn't necessarily need a female to voice him when a male can capture his character perfectly with the proper scripts and speech patterns/mannerisms. I mean, I act "like a child" quite often because I am a very energetic person, but my actual voice doesn't sound like a child's; I am now an adult and my vocal chords have matured with age, and my voice is very deep as a result. I don't see why he has to have the voice of a child to go along with this, as it really seems to just be that way to drive the point home even further than necessary.

Heh, my post count is now 1337!

[B]

Goku is about personality over aesthetics.

Which is why he doesn't necessarily need a female to voice him when a male can capture his character perfectly with the proper scripts and speech patterns/mannerisms. I mean, I act "like a child" quite often because I am a very energetic person, but my actual voice doesn't sound like a child's; I am now an adult and my vocal chords have matured with age, and my voice is very deep as a result. I don't see why he has to have the voice of a child to go along with this, as it really seems to just be that way to drive the point home even further than necessary.

Heh, my post count is now 1337!

You should watch Kai; Goku's voice is deep as shit.

[Onikage725]

Well, did anyone say his voice "needed" to be a woman in english? There are cultural differences at play too. I think there's a difference between thinking Nozawa's voice works in the original and commenting on a dub actor. I haven't seen anyone recommend a female VA for english Goku.

[B]

Well, did anyone say his voice "needed" to be a woman in english? There are cultural differences at play too. I think there's a difference between thinking Nozawa's voice works in the original and commenting on a dub actor. I haven't seen anyone recommend a female VA for english Goku.

First page, Penguintruth.

[penguintruth]

Goku is about personality over aesthetics.

Which is why he doesn't necessarily need a female to voice him when a male can capture his character perfectly with the proper scripts and speech patterns/mannerisms.

Oh, I agree, the right male VA probably could (the Japanese just already had Nozawa on hand and she happened to fit). I don't think Sean Schemmel is that person.

By no means is it NECESSARY to have a female voice for Goku. I've never said that. But Funimation hasn't provided me with any decent alternative, outside of Kelamis at some points.

[DemonRin]

There's a big difference in Masako Nozawa's Son Goku and Linda Young's Freeza.

Both characters are famous for playing Male Roles in DBZ and playing old ladies in something else (Nozawa as Dr. Kureha in One Piece, Young as Genkai in YYH)

In DBZ, Nozawa starts out as Little Son in DB. If you watch Nozawa from Episode 1 of DB through to the Saiyan arc of DBZ, the progression of the voice makes sense, and the voice isn't offputting in the slightest. She sufficiently "Males-up" her voice there. Then, take Z-era Son and compare that version of Nozawa's voice to her Kureha, and there's a clear difference. Her Son is actually acted to sound like a Man, her Kureha is acted to sound like an old woman.

Meanwhile, Young sounds like an old lady as Genkai, and if you compare the voice to her Freeza, they're pretty much identical. She acts rather high and mighty as Freeza while she acts crass yet humble as Genkai, but it actually sounds like she's playing the same character, just with different inflections. Like one moment this Old Lady was conceited and arrogant, then someone knocked her off her high horse and she became the humble yet crass Genkai. That's the problem. Young doesn't actively try to sound like a man. Nozawa does.

Freeza needs a Male voice. When I say a "Male Voice" I don't necessarily mean it HAS to be a man, if a Woman can do a convincingly male voice, then more power to them, but Young either can't do that or hasn't actually tried. It would be safer and easier to just cast a man as Freeza.

[Onikage725]

What Demonrin said. Its been a hectic and sleep-deprived weekend, so I don't know if I was expressing myself well. But that's basically what I meant.

[Puto]

Kaiô. Kaiô NEEDS to be recast. Badly. More so than Freeza, even.

[Onikage725]

I've heard that Sean Schemmel isn't with FUNi anymore, aside from doing some work with Chris Sabat's OktraTron 5000 for the games. If that's the case, they'll need to recast him anyway.

[Timo]

There is no thing such as "Sean Schemmel isn't a part of FUNi anymore" whatever etc..

He is a free actor, a freelancer, like all voice actors. The only thing is, he lives in New York now. However, there should be no problem if FUNi want him to do Goku, because his amount of takes/lines should be enough. More takes = more money, so it would be pretty profitable for Sean Schemmel to fly to Texas for a couple of days.

[Kunzait_83]

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