Dragonball Kai (FUNimation English) Dub: General Discussion

[Mewzard]

Has anyone heard about how he was doing since then? I've yet to really hear anything about it.

And, on the matter of on topic, now that we've seen bits of several episodes, and some edits: Is the dub looking hopeful to any of you as a whole, just uncut, etc?

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Has anyone heard about how he was doing since then? I've yet to really hear anything about it.

And, on the matter of on topic, now that we've seen bits of several episodes, and some edits: Is the dub looking hopeful to any of you as a whole, just uncut, etc?

Hell yeah! I even prefer the dub over the Japanese version.

[B]

I'm not sure about preferring it to the Japanese version, but it looks like I certainly won't be embarrassed by it. I may even watch it as often as I do the Japanese version.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

The reason why I prefer it to the original is because it has an accurate script, awesome voices and is in my native language.

[Chrono Trigger]

Is the dub looking hopeful to any of you as a whole, just uncut, etc?

I've never really had a problem with the dub voices (at least not all of them) so just the fact the script is accurate now is a huge selling point to me. I can watch the show now and know that everyone is saying exactly what they are supposed to be saying and nobody is speaking out of character or mangling the story. So far this dub seems acceptable at the very least.

[Shiyonasan]

I just watched those clips of Kai on the Nicktoons website and I must say, I really like Gohan's new voice. Also, it looks like Roshi is drinking foamy milk, if such a thing even exists.

[ohaimynameiserik]

Has anyone heard about how he was doing since then? I've yet to really hear anything about it.

And, on the matter of on topic, now that we've seen bits of several episodes, and some edits: Is the dub looking hopeful to any of you as a whole, just uncut, etc?

Hell yeah! I even prefer the dub over the Japanese version.

I think when it comes to Z, Japanese.

But Kai, English dub.

Japanese Kai is the same thing, but actors are a lot older, and while they're good, they can't really live up to their previous performances. (Save Ryo Horikawa's Vegeta death scene, he did much better here.)

Whereas Kai in English is having me so excited to get an accurate dub with better acting and correct terminology. So I'm much more interested in that.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

I think when it comes to Z, Japanese.

But Kai, English dub.

My thoughts exactly.

[Dr. Casey]

Japanese Kai is the same thing, but actors are a lot older, and while they're good, they can't really live up to their previous performances. (Save Ryo Horikawa's Vegeta death scene, he did much better here.)

The average age for Dragon Ball's Japanese cast is somewhere in the 50s. I haven't watched any Dragon Ball Kai so I can't compare the performances, but if the voice actors are doing worse this time around I doubt it's got much of anything to do with age considering that they're young enough that nothing except perhaps the screaming should be hampered (And even that's iffy; Roshi's voice actor was one of Dragon Ball's best for battle scenes, and he was 56 whenever the show started, a pretty average age for Kai-era actors). I'd think that any decline would mostly be attributed to the fact that this is the second time they're doing the exact same thing. Helping to create a brand new story for the very first time (In animated form, anyway) and retracing the exact same steps that you already took fourteen to twenty years before are two very different things. Personally, I'd be very surprised if Kai was exactly on par with Z here, considering that the latter sounds like a far more soulless, unrewarding experience to me.

Unless you think the voice acting in the 2008 Special was similarly lacking, anyway, in which case disregard anything I just said.

[Kirbopher]

Oh shit I forgot that I had found out about this, yeah Chris Rager's totally fine now. I'm assuming he'll be back for Enma/Yemma.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Oh shit I forgot that I had found out about this, yeah Chris Rager's totally fine now. I'm assuming he'll be back for Enma/Yemma.

What a relief, I couldn't imagine Mr. Satan done by anyone else.

[Kendamu]

Japanese Kai is the same thing, but actors are a lot older, and while they're good, they can't really live up to their previous performances. (Save Ryo Horikawa's Vegeta death scene, he did much better here.)

The average age for Dragon Ball's Japanese cast is somewhere in the 50s. I haven't watched any Dragon Ball Kai so I can't compare the performances, but if the voice actors are doing worse this time around I doubt it's got much of anything to do with age considering that they're young enough that nothing except perhaps the screaming should be hampered (And even that's iffy; Roshi's voice actor was one of Dragon Ball's best for battle scenes, and he was 56 whenever the show started, a pretty average age for Kai-era actors). I'd think that any decline would mostly be attributed to the fact that this is the second time they're doing the exact same thing. Helping to create a brand new story for the very first time (In animated form, anyway) and retracing the exact same steps that you already took fourteen to twenty years before are two very different things. Personally, I'd be very surprised if Kai was exactly on par with Z here, considering that the latter sounds like a far more soulless, unrewarding experience to me.

Unless you think the voice acting in the 2008 Special was similarly lacking, anyway, in which case disregard anything I just said.

Sounds like you already have an opinion of Kai's voice action before even going into it. I'm not saying that you will think it's the best thing ever, but it's definitely far from soulless and Nozawa, who is in her 70s, still sounds great.

[DbzFanboy]

I have a feeling if Dragon Ball Z Kai doesn't sell through the roof, Funimation will be pulling the plug on the whole thing. I can tell the reason for the 13 episodes is to not spend so much if it's a possible financial loss. Funimation has been more conscious about taking losses which is why several of their latest releases are all part ones. I'm actually hoping that the Nicktoons dub becomes very successful.

[Mountain]

Considering their ages, I think the Japanese voices for Kai are great. It's the English cast that I can't get into...

[Kendamu]

I have a feeling if Dragon Ball Z Kai doesn't sell through the roof, Funimation will be pulling the plug on the whole thing. I can tell the reason for the 13 episodes is to not spend so much if it's a possible financial loss. Funimation has been more conscious about taking losses which is why several of their latest releases are all part ones. I'm actually hoping that the Nicktoons dub becomes very successful.

I don't see it that way.

13 episodes makes us have to buy the next set to complete a story arc. Besides that, the show only has a little over 50 episodes out right now. If they release too many episodes at once then we'll have to wait a lot longer between releases and people will start getting impatient. Also, if Kai were such a big risk they wouldn't be dubbing it. They'd just cut-and-paste the old dub on to save money. Lastly, if it were such a risk I doubt Nicktoons would waste their time with it.

[Puto]

FUNimation always releases their new series in 13-episode sets. Look at One Piece, for example.

And no, Kai being based on Z doesn't change the fact that from their point of view, DBK is a "new" show.

[B]

Nozawa(as Goku) and Furukawa are probably giving their best performances ever in Kai, but that's just me.

[Dr. Casey]

Sounds like you already have an opinion of Kai's voice action before even going into it.

"The average age for Dragon Ball's Japanese cast is somewhere in the 50s. I haven't watched any Dragon Ball Kai so I can't compare the performances, but if the voice actors are doing worse this time around..."

Speaking purely in hypotheticals and directly saying that I don't have an opinion because I haven't seen the show doesn't exactly suggest forming opinions in advance.

I'm not saying that you will think it's the best thing ever, but it's definitely far from soulless and Nozawa, who is in her 70s, still sounds great.

You misread that last part. I said that voicing the exact same script for a second time sounds like a more empty experience than doing so the first time; there's a lot of fundamental difference between the two that I'm too lazy at the moment to get into. Whether that has any bearing on their performance, I don't know. They might do ten times better in Kai than they ever did in Z for all I know.

[Commander_Red]

The reason why I prefer it to the original is because it has an accurate script, awesome voices and is in my native language.

You speak native Texan?!

[Undercooked Sausage]

The voice acting in Kai may be coming off as soulless because they are essentially just copy/pasting the script from twenty years ago since there's was always accurate. Look at Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. It was revoiced by the same people and used the exact same script, but most people feel that the acting in the original was in general, much better.

There is a certain quality in acting you're going to lose if the only reference you have for your work is something you did when you were younger, and when you already more-or-less nailed it back then, you really have nowhere to go but down.

The japanese seiyuu in Z never phoned it in, which is why the Kai voice cast is really only equalling or sometimes falling behind it. Horikawa has also taken a far less subtle direction with his screams, which I'm personally not a fan of, and with the improved fidelity of the audio. There are times when you can tell that these guys don't have the same youthful quality to their voices.

The english dub, on the other hand, is going to be a lot better than the old dub because the actors in this case were not only phoning it in most of the time, but just didn't have much acting experience to go on, going even further, they are using much better scripts(allegedly) which will give them more opportunity to shine. I may end up watching Z subbed and Kai dubbed when I'm older.