Dragonball Kai (FUNimation English) Dub: General Discussion

[Super Sonic]

Based on the past few reports, I'm starting to get a little excited. But I'd still have to hear it for myself.

If I had to make a bet, it would be that Gohan and Bulma's new VAs are probably going to be the best in the bunch.

Gohan's new va will take getting used to, but that's me. Did go to the showing, and had a good time there. Could've done without the loud laughing that was there a little.

[ThunderPX]

Based on the past few reports, I'm starting to get a little excited. But I'd still have to hear it for myself.

If I had to make a bet, it would be that Gohan and Bulma's new VAs are probably going to be the best in the bunch.

Gohan's new va will take getting used to, but that's me. Did go to the showing, and had a good time there. Could've done without the loud laughing that was there a little.

Uh... were those good or bad laughs?

[Super Sonic]

Just loud. And you could hear a few guys during the flashback mention that they think Grandpa Gohan threw baby Goku in the ravine deliberately.

[Gaffer Tape]

Haha, that's funny. And who's to say it's not true...?

[B]

Haha, that's funny. And who's to say it's not true...?

Quite; he was a little prick before.

[Gaffer Tape]

Muten Roshi: So, Gohan, tell me about this child of yours.
Gohan: Oh, um, well... he's quite happy and loving now.
Muten Roshi: Glad to hear it! But didn't you say last time that he was violent and vicious and wouldn't take to you at all? What changed?
Gohan: Um, uh, well... We were out taking a walk one day. He was kicking my shins, so I kicked him off a... Umm, actually, no, he was in a basket, and he reached for a bird and fell out. And he hit his head. Poor guy. But after that he was better. Much better!

[penguintruth]

Master Roshi is probably the one who suggested throwing him in the ravine.

"Just throw the brat down a mountain and come have a beer with me."

"I don't know. You also told Gyuumao to start grinding people's bones into paste."

"Well, it's worked out for him!"

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Yeah, Goku should definitely have deep, manly screams.

Oh wait, no he shouldn't.

Well, he shouldn't have high-pitched, girly screams either.

[Gaffer Tape]

Except that he totally does.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Except that he totally does.

In the Japanese dub that is, in most other dubs he has a deep, manly voice.

[JulieYBM]

Except that he totally does.

In the Japanese dub that is, in most other dubs he has a deep, manly voice.

The Japanese version is the actual show, not its dubs.

[Amigo Ten]

Except that he totally does.

I don't think so.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

The Japanese version is the actual show, not it's dubs.

Okay, yes what I meant to say is: In the Japanese version........

[Gaffer Tape]

Except that he totally does.

In the Japanese dub that is, in most other dubs he has a deep, manly voice.

The Japanese version is the actual show, not it's dubs.

See, here's the thing for me. Oh, first of all, I quoted this for truth. Yay! Okay, now back to what I was talking about. Since Dragon Ball (TV) is an adaptation of Dragon Ball (manga), the aspects not present in the original are truly up for debate. If you read the entire manga and then sampled a bit of both the Japanese TV version and the American TV version, came up to me and said, "You know, when I was reading, it came out in my head much more like the American version. Goku sounded like that, the music sounded like Faulconer's. To me, it just seems to fit better all around," I would say, "That's perfectly fine. More power to you." Because they're both adaptations, and subjective things are not inherently more correct than the other. Granted, that still wouldn't defend the inaccurate translations, objective things that are clearly wrong.

That said, if we are talking about Dragon Ball just as a TV series, the Japanese version is the show, not the American version or any other dub. The dubs are just adaptations. Nozawa Masako IS Son Goku in the TV version. Sean Schemmel is NOT Son Goku in the TV version. He is Son Goku in an English adaptation of the Dragon Ball TV series. So when I'm talking about the show and that Son Goku sounds like that, he does. And that's all there is to it. And that has no bearing on whether or not I like Schemmel as Goku (I actually think he's okay most of the time) or even PREFER Schemmel as Goku (not going that far), it's not a subjective argument. It's objective fact that in the Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Kai television series, Nozawa Masako is Son Goku.

[Mewzard]

Because he's being voiced by a girl. Caveman: Man scream like man, woman scream like woman.

Joking aside, both voices get the job done, just at a somewhat different pitch. Masako and Schemmel have different ranges, obviously.


penguintruth wrote:
That's part of the point. Goku IS awkward and off-putting. He has an off-beat charm. That's what seperates him from being just another shonen superhero, that he's so weird.

Scott McNeil sounds more like Furukawa's Piccolo than Chris Sabat's. More smug and self-confident sounding. Sabat's sounds like "generic demon guy voice".


<_< You got it backwards. Scott McNeil's Piccolo sounds like a demon role that doesn't actually work with later roles, with him both being revealed not to be a demon, and turning good. I thought the voice sounded cool, but like Drummond's Vegeta, it works best during the character's evil times.


penguintruth wrote:
No he doesn't. He sounds extremely forced, like the VA is trying to do a voice that's way different from his own and it's hurting him. The only thing Schemmel captures is how bad he is at voice acting.


Of all of the voices I remember off hand of Schemmel's work, his Goku is closest to his own. His light hearted moments are a somewhat higher pitched range, with an innocent tone, but, when doing Goku angry, you see the nice guy peel away to the trained warrior, ready to defeat a foe and save his friends, or have fun, in a semi-confident manner.

The only thing I think that really hurt him was some of the more rough screams, especially the SSJ3 scream. You could hear his voice being somewhat smoother, and rested. Which I felt went well with the changed look, like it was another trait. At least, it sounded cool to me, last I saw.

You don't have to like a voice actor, but that doesn't mean you have to insult him at what he does for a living, and for the fans who do watch dubs. When I don't like a voice, I don't say bad voice actor, I consider it's not to my preference, or that I had a different voice in my head.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

See, here's the thing for me. Oh, first of all, I quoted this for truth. Yay! Okay, now back to what I was talking about. Since Dragon Ball (TV) is an adaptation of Dragon Ball (manga), the aspects not present in the original are truly up for debate. If you read the entire manga and then sampled a bit of both the Japanese TV version and the American TV version, came up to me and said, "You know, when I was reading, it came out in my head much more like the American version. Goku sounded like that, the music sounded like Faulconer's. To me, it just seems to fit better all around," I would say, "That's perfectly fine. More power to you." Because they're both adaptations, and subjective things are not inherently more correct than the other. Granted, that still wouldn't defend the inaccurate translations, objective things that are clearly wrong.

That said, if we are talking about Dragon Ball just as a TV series, the Japanese version is the show, not the American version or any other dub. The dubs are just adaptations. Nozawa Masako IS Son Goku in the TV version. Sean Schemmel is NOT Son Goku in the TV version. He is Son Goku in an English adaptation of the Dragon Ball TV series. So when I'm talking about the show and that Son Goku sounds like that, he does. And that's all there is to it.

I didn't read the Manga first, I watched the Ocean dub, like many people on this forum. After that I thought that Goku was this badass, superhero-type guy. Which he is, even in the Japanese version, just not as much as in the dub. Then, I got internet access and watched DBZ online in Japanese and thought: "Man does Goku sound weird with his high-pitched voice", but I liked the way all the other characters sounded. I always pictured him with a deeper voice even when looking at pictures of him. This may be because I watched the dub first, but I dunno.

Note: I don't dislike Masako Nozawa as Goku, as Gaffer said, the voice just sometimes gets on my nerves.

[Amigo Ten]

Schemmel sounds odd to me since I started watching Kai. I've gotten used to Nozawa. Schemmel... I dunno, it's hard to explain. I suppose his voice just doesn't sound as genuine as Nozawa's, and I don't mean that in "Nozawa's the true Goku and that's the end of it" kind of way.

Nozawa's Goku voice just fits the character perfectly. That voice coming out of that face is just a perfect match. I think that must be it. None of the other voices have stuck with me like since I've been watching Kai (thinking about it now, I can't even remember what Piccolo's JP voice sounds like).

[Gaffer Tape]

I didn't read the Manga first, I watched the Ocean dub, like many people on this forum. After that I thought that Goku was this badass, superhero-type guy. Which he is, even in the Japanese version, just not as much as in the dub. Then, I got internet access and watched DBZ online in Japanese and thought: "Man does Goku sound weird with his high-pitched voice", but I liked the way all the other characters sounded. I always pictured him with a deeper voice even when looking at pictures of him. This may be because I watched the dub first, but I dunno.

Note: I don't dislike Masako Nozawa as Goku, as Gaffer said, the voice just sometimes gets on my nerves.

Just so you know, the Ocean Dub was my introduction to the series as well, so I'm not at all saying I don't understand your perspective. But again, the show is what it is, and a foreign language dub is simply not the show. I guess this ties back into that other thread where I stated I always watch foreign language media in its original language. I just don't like getting away from what the show actually is, and that includes the performances of the actors involved. In my perfect world, foreign language dubs wouldn't exist, people wouldn't complain, "Hurh, I has to read subtitles? I don't liek to read!" and everyone would watch the original version. But, despite what my hick-ish quote up there would have you believe, I do understand that some people would just prefer to watch things in their native language, and I can respect that, so my hope is just to have as accurate as possible dubs so everyone's on the same page.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Just so you know, the Ocean Dub was my introduction to the series as well, so I'm not at all saying I don't understand your perspective. But again, the show is what it is, and a foreign language dub is simply not the show. I guess this ties back into that other thread where I stated I always watch foreign language media in its original language. I just don't like getting away from what the show actually is, and that includes the performances of the actors involved. In my perfect world, foreign language dubs wouldn't exist, people wouldn't complain, "Hurh, I has to read subtitles? I don't liek to read!" and everyone would watch the original version. But, despite what my hick-ish quote up there would have you believe, I do understand that some people would just prefer to watch things in their native language, and I can respect that, so my hope is just to have as accurate as possible dubs so everyone's on the same page.

Yeah, I do like watching things in my native language, but where I draw the line is if the dub sucks like Z and I watch it subtitled. Everything else, (Dragon Ball, GT, Movies) I watch dubbed because I like those dubs.

[penguintruth]

I don't see (or rather, hear) how GT's dub was any better than Z's. It was pretty awful.

The original series dub was decent, but not great. I still had to endure Tiffany Vollmer's Bulma and Chris Sabat's Yamcha and Piccolo. I was never that into Stephanie Naldony's Goku, either. But at least the script was okay.

Funimation has done better with other shows. I'm hoping Kai's dub is better.