Dragonball Kai (FUNimation English) Dub: General Discussion

[Blue]

Wow B that was some Redlettermedia quality dissection there. Major kudos on that one.

[bkev]

Did someone say pizza rolls? Seriously though, I gotta agree with Blue - how in depth!

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

That's what I'm saying. The acting, the voices...everything sounds just as fine as it was in the UUC episodes (well, except for Raditz - he sounds worse). It's still good, it's just not mind-blowing because it's been this good before, albeit with a worse script.

I actually went back and rewatched a couple of UUC episodes and I have to agree with you, the voices sound similar to how they do in Kai. I watched the episodes after the battle with Vegeta so I didn't hear him or Piccolo speak but Goku, Krillin and Kame Sen'nin sound extremely similar to how they do in Kai.

[B]

And while that post was mainly for Vegeta, here's a little nugget from Nappa.

Kai, zooming out from Nappa's scouter: Raditz... got himself killed.
Z, zooming out from Nappa's scouter: Raditz stinks.

Thanks to the ultimate delivery of Phil Parsons, one of these is unintentionally funny. Can you guess which?

[The Time Traveller]

Wow, that narrator nailed it, he's perfect for it! He'd be great as Kaio, if Schemmel is willing to lose that part at least...

But Vegeta still sounded way off, still too deep, the change in dialogue helps though.

[.:PoetikaL:.]

My ears must be bad or something, but did Gohan say he was five, or the original four... because it sounded like he said five.

Overall... I'm at a loss for words with the dub. I'm pretty much satisfied, and FUNimation has once again got a hold of my money.

[ohaimynameiserik]

My ears must be bad or something, but did Gohan say he was five, or the original four... because it sounded like he said five.

Overall... I'm at a loss for words with the dub. I'm pretty much satisfied, and FUNimation has once again got a hold of my money.

He says

"I'm four, Miss!"

[.:PoetikaL:.]

My ears must be bad or something, but did Gohan say he was five, or the original four... because it sounded like he said five.

Overall... I'm at a loss for words with the dub. I'm pretty much satisfied, and FUNimation has once again got a hold of my money.

He says

"I'm four, Miss!"

Thanks a lot for correcting me.

I'm sold now.

[Gaffer Tape]

It seems FUNimation has been gradually de-aging him. In the original dub, he was five and a half. I believe he refers to himself as four and a half in the second dub. And how he's finally four. A few dubs from now, he'll be a fetus!

[Chuquita]

Nappa sounded a bit like Takahata101 to me in this clip. I know it's not him, but maybe it's because I haven't heard Funi's dub Nappa in a while.

I agree. But then again, his Nappa was an imitation of the dub, wasn't it?

Curious to hear what the dubbed ED sounds like, and to know who they picked to sing it.

Here ya go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MycrEWvkNfk

I forget which dub Nappa he's said to have based his on. It could easily be this one though by the way Kai's Nappa sounds. The voice is so similar I was almost half-expecting an Abridged!Nappa quip out of him.

Thank you! I don't recognize the singer, but the song sounds good. :3

[Greenman]

Goddamn is Colleen Clinkenbeard so much better as Gohan. No more horrible rasp! Monica Rial on the other hand... I'm not digging her Bulma so far. Yes, she's better than Vollmer, but that's not saying much.

[Gozar]

It seems FUNimation has been gradually de-aging him. In the original dub, he was five and a half. I believe he refers to himself as four and a half in the second dub. And how he's finally four. A few dubs from now, he'll be a fetus!

Guess what my new Sig is, LMAO!!!

[Gaffer Tape]

Haha, yay! I'm honored!!!

[G1Ravage]

Wow.

Wow.

WOW.

The acting and script were top notch through the first three episodes. The dialog is rolling off their tongues almost exactly as it does in the manga. "Kuririn...dying sucks, doesn't it?" Piccolo in particular has this...way about him, which is really bringing me back to how Scott McNeil used to deliver his lines. Almost this sort of poetic aura about it. Gohan FINALLY sounds like a four-year-old.

[DemonRin]

Wow, watching the clips now.

It's amazing how much script writing can change the experience. Just knowing everything that's being said is actually CORRECT makes the experience 10x Better! Hearing Raditz state the distances and not hearing "Double Sunday" was really nice! Also, I haven't sifted through the pages to find out, but did anyone else notice that Raditz calls it "Power Level" and Son and Piccolo are calling it "Energy"?
I hope that stays constant, I'm fine with translating Ki, as long as They use a different phrase for it than the people with scouters do. (because that's what happens in Japanese)

Also, Monica Rial and Colleen Clinkenbeard are REALLY good as Bulma and Gohan, wow they sound so much better! Gohan finally SOUNDS like an actual 4 year old!

And Schemell sounds great too! He's acting him like he did in the end of DB, only... more... Nozawa-like, if that makes sense... he sounds right finally...

Kuririn and Kamesen'nin sound good, but I never had a problem with their voices. Raditz is pretty passable, but... well, let's just say Justin Cook is no Shigeru Chiba...

I haven't heard a "Son Goku" yet, and that makes me nervous, but otherwise it's actually looking really GOOD! I'm actually kinda excited to watch the dub when I get the blu-ray!

.......... And was I the only one who thought to Myself "Krillin Owned Count: 01" when Raditz tail-smacked him in that clip?...

[Kendamu]

Also, I haven't sifted through the pages to find out, but did anyone else notice that Raditz calls it "Power Level" and Son and Piccolo are calling it "Energy"?
I hope that stays constant, I'm fine with translating Ki, as long as They use a different phrase for it than the people with scouters do. (because that's what happens in Japanese)

That's how I feel about it. Sure, if they left it as ki like the games (or even chi like the VIZ manga) I would be extremely happy, but I at least wanted guys with Scouters to say something like "Power Level" or "Battle Power" while guys without Scouters used a word like "energy," "presense," "life force," or something like that. It's one of those things I love about the Japanese version and the VIZ manga that shows the difference in how Earthlings and people from space perceive power.

[LilKokuLink]

I finally got round to watching these and I must say that I'm quite genuinely embarassed at how I've been watching the dub only for the past 10 years. It must have been nostalgia that was robbing me blind because I've never actually realised how bad the original dub was in comparison to what I've seen so far.

The quiet scenes with no background music was phenomenal, it seemed so strange to me because it's not what I'm used to at all. It still hasn't struck me properly about how different this was. Straight after watching these, I decided to watch a few scenes from the original dub, but no more do I feel that same quality of enticement as I normally would; this comes off as me truly knowing there is a version much better out there and available for me to watch very soon.

I don't think I will switch to the Japanese version however, probably because I've got too much to leave behind from the dub. The original DragonBall and GT aren't as bad was what Z was for me, I'm still able to enjoy those but I think I can't with Z anymore. It seems like Kai has taken it's toll on me and I'm going to be handing out my money for it (although it just so happens my dad is going to be selling our blu-ray player soon to buy a blu-ray recorder - hopefully it will be multi-region >.>).

As for the voices, Bulma just hands down reminds me of abridged all the time. Although, everytime I see the Raditz episodes it reminds me of abridged anyway. Personally, I had no problem with any voices in the dub during my time watching it, however I can see definite improvements in relation to character. I can understand feelings about Nadolny's Gohan and I second that the new Gohan is not an improvement in voice acting but a better voice for the role.

Pretty much everything I want to say has already been said, about Piccolo's minor voice change but still being able to deliver a more natural feel about him. All in all, I may perceive the new dub differently when I can truly see it properly, but as it stands now all I can say is: WOW! Please don't wake me up.

[.:PoetikaL:.]

MasakoX managed to do his rendition of the opening. Here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ_8oPz7tic

Sounds great the way he sung it. There were a few spots where it felt a bit off, but still, he sounded great!

[Chuquita]

MasakoX's version sounds awesome! X3 And distinctly different from the way Mr. Schemmel sings the OP.

I'll have to wait until a higher quality (non-shaky-cam-rip) version of the official opening shows up to decide which version I like better.

[jjgp1112]

Aw, FUNi took the clips down. Oh well. Watching the dub is what supporting the official releases is for.