Dragonball Kai (FUNimation English) Dub: General Discussion

[xzero]

I just have to say that I just watched the ringtone clip on youtube that was posted a page or two ago and it was legitimately the first time I ever laughed at (with) anything Dragonball. That was the last thing I expected to hear, and everything from the concept to the delivery was hilarious.

[penguintruth]

The voice doesn't have to sound exactly like Mosako Nozawa to be "correct." Getting the personality right is more important than imitating the original voice. Which, by the way, ISN'T the factually correct voice, since the manga is the true original and doesn't have any actual voices.

Except that this isn't the manga, this is the TV show, and that was the intended direction for the voice in the TV show.

Sean Schemmel has gotten better at capturing Goku's personality, but he's still not that great at it, and in the clip I commented on, he doesn't even sound like what he sounded like in previous clips, so even the usual voice aside, it was an example of inconsistency.

If Goku's in a situation where he's just talking, than by all means he should be allowed to talk in a normal male speaking voice rather than saying every single line with his, "HAI GAIZ I'm GOKU!!!!11!!" voice.

It's all about making a character into your OWN role, rather than imitating someone else's performance.

He can make the character his all he wants, but his Goku isn't Goku, isn't the direction the voice should take. I don't know what character he's voicing, but it isn't Goku.

I'm not looking for an imitation, but you still have to be able to capture the character in your voice, and he doesn't.

[jjgp1112]

Can you care to explain what he gets wrong about his character? Because I really don't see it and you seem to be the only one who thinks this.

And please, don't say what you said on the Funi forums about how anyone who likes Schemmel's performance obviously knows nothing about Goku's character.

[penguintruth]

Can you care to explain what he gets wrong about his character? Because I really don't see it and you seem to be the only one who thinks this.

Me and the host of other people who dislike his Goku who post here.

He seems to just not have the kind of voice that fits with the character and his airy, breezy personality. He seems to capture the part of Goku that goes with him being enraged at injustices, but there's none of that sense of wonder in him, that sort of naivete, and whenever he tries to do that, it comes off as forced and unnatural for his voice. He just doesn't have the chops as an actor, either, to play the role. There's something about the way Masako Nozawa perfectly captures every mood, every little eccentricity of Goku's personality, from his childish selfishness to his "aw shucks" charm to his sometimes rage at evil, and Schemmel only gets a little bit of one or two of these parts of Goku. He's not very flexible at all and his Goku doesn't make me smile the way Nozawa's does.

But more to the point, even excusing Nozawa from the equation, he just doesn't have Goku's charisma. He sounds kind of forced fed the role, like he's not even that interested in portraying the character as he really is, despite what Mr. Schemmel might say. It comes across as not being very genuine, not because he's not Japanese, not because he isn't Nozawa, but because he just sounds FAKE.

Whatever character he's voicing may be a good character for some other show, but it's not Goku.

[Gozar]

he doesn't even sound like what he sounded like in previous clips, so even the usual voice aside, it was an example of inconsistency.

You have got to be joking. People's voices have range. We don't all sound exactly the same no matter what we're saying. Nozawa even switches between the happy go lucky voice and a deeper more serious voice. You're being way to bias. In the end, the Manga will always be the true universe and true version of DragonBall. People can envision whatever they want coming out of the characters mouths since it was a Manga first.

[jjgp1112]

See, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree:

He seems to just not have the kind of voice that fits with the character and his airy, breezy personality. He seems to capture the part of Goku that goes with him being enraged at injustices, but there's none of that sense of wonder in him, that sort of naivete, and whenever he tries to do that, it comes off as forced and unnatural for his voice. He just doesn't have the chops as an actor, either, to play the role.

See, that's what baffles me. Sure, say what you will about his Frieza saga voice or his Cell saga voice when he was using TOO MUCH of his natural voice to the point where it was just Sean Schemmel talking, but I really can't see how you can listen to any of Sean Schemmel's work as Goku since 2003 and not think, "Wow, this Goku guy is one happy motherfucker." He always had a playfulness to his voice, and during scenes where he would get frustrated (during casual scenes, not during serious fights) like when Chi-Chi is bitching at him he sounds like a big man child - like a kid not getting his way or something. It's the nuances that Schemmel puts in the performance that seperates him from every other Goku voice out there. Even during fight scenes, when he gets cocky and talks in a more confident voice, he sounds very...different, and I don't get that forced feeling at all. I dunno, maybe it's because I've seen so much footage of Sean Schemmel doing live performances of Goku, but he sounds like every "Overenthusiastic man" that I've seen in real life, and it just sounds like Schemmel turning the volume up.

There's something about the way Masako Nozawa perfectly captures every mood, every little eccentricity of Goku's personality, from his childish selfishness to his "aw shucks" charm to his sometimes rage at evil, and Schemmel only gets a little bit of one or two of these parts of Goku. He's not very flexible at all and his Goku doesn't make me smile the way Nozawa's does.

[/quote][/quote]See, I dislike Nozawa's voice for one reason: In getting the perfect voice for a character, you should find a voice that fits both the personality AND the appearance. The problem is that even though Nozawa does sound light-hearted and cheery, I always feel kinda uncomfortable watching the Japanese version because adult Goku sounds like a 12 year old boy. I'm sorry, but I just CANNOT accept that. It just doesn't feel right coming out of an adult male's voice. Sean Schemmel's voice is perfect because he captures Goku's personality just as well as, or maybe even better than Nozawa with the addition of actually sounding like a grown up man, which makes things more believable. And he's able to tone it down during scenes when Goku isn't 100% happy and is instead just casually talking, and thus doesn't sound like he took a bunch of ecstasy during casual conversation.

[penguintruth]

First, I really disagree that Schemmel captures his personality well at all. And second, the character of Goku is a complete overwhelming of physical attributes by raw personality. This is why Nozawa is the perfect voice for Son Goku, even as an adult.

And Gozar, of course I'm being biased. All opinions are biased. That's what makes them opinions, they're full of bias.

[JulieYBM]

It's pretty apparent the people who made the show feel otherwise, that personality takes priority over all. Remaining faithful to the original, I believe, means remaining faithful to the ideology that went behind the casting of these characters.

[Kaboom]

And second, the character of Goku is a complete overwhelming of physical attributes by raw personality. This is why Nozawa is the perfect voice for Son Goku, even as an adult.

This is a good point. Goku's voice demonstrates that even in spite of his appearance and power, he's still so kindhearted and innocent at his core. Which is why the pitch and tone of his voice tends to change a bit when he's a Super Saiyan or Tullece or otherwise "not himself." It's not just a matter of "this is how someone who looks like this would sound." There's a certain amount of, dare I say, symbolism behind it.

But insofar as we could expect an English voice actor to portray the character, Schemmel does pretty okay.

[jjgp1112]

It's pretty apparent the people who made the show feel otherwise, that personality takes priority over all. Remaining faithful to the original, I believe, means remaining faithful to the ideology that went behind the casting of these characters.

See, I don't see why with something as subjective as casting, they should be expected to only adhere strictly to how the original did it. Voice actors and directors should be allowed to go in whatever direction they want as long as it remains true to the character. Let's not forget that the original Dragon Ball story, not just anime, was a comic with no voices. So that automatically validates the voice directors to choose what they think is best. After all, whether it be anime, dub, sub, manga, or whatever, it's still Dragon Ball at the end of the day.

Look at the James Bond movies for example. Sure, the actors know exactly what to go for as far as James Bond's character, but it's not like the director just told the actors, "make your performance as close to Sean Connery's as possible."

[penguintruth]

It's pretty apparent the people who made the show feel otherwise, that personality takes priority over all. Remaining faithful to the original, I believe, means remaining faithful to the ideology that went behind the casting of these characters.

And that's probably why I really object to Schemmel's Goku, and to several other casting decisions in the dub (so as not to seem like I'm singling him out), that I didn't think they really remained faithful to the idealogy that went into the casting of the characters in the original version.

Peter Kelamis' Goku is not Masako Nozawa, but I always enjoyed it more than Sean Schemmel's because it captured a lot of what makes Goku a charming character. Granted, not as well as it could have, but still fairly well (until the Westwood produced dub, where he sounded a bit off). This is why I like MasakoX's portrayal in DBZ Abridged. He sounds like the perfect English voice representation of what Goku is, not because he's doing a Nozawa impression (because he isn't), but because he truly captures Goku.

I don't want to keep griping on the same character and voice actor, though. I'm sure I'll have plenty objections to Linda Young's Freeza and other character portrayals later on.

[dan2026]

First, I really disagree that Schemmel captures his personality well at all. And second, the character of Goku is a complete overwhelming of physical attributes by raw personality. This is why Nozawa is the perfect voice for Son Goku, even as an adult.

Exactly.
In essence Son Goku is still the same naive mountain boy from long ago.
Willing to see the best in everyone, even when they don't deserve it.

That's why the first Super Saiyan transformation is so jarring.
Suddenly Goku is 'all business' and you can really tell in Nozawa's performance even now.

[jjgp1112]

I don't see how someone could say Sean Schemmel's performance was forced and then say Peter Kelamis in the firts 3 movies was actually better. Every time I watch the Ocean dub of those movies, I'm just waiting for Goku to bust out the cheesy Saturday morning cartoon speech about friendship and giving it 110% and trying your very best. I still assert that had Schemmel been imitating Corlett in Season 3, he would've wound up sounding way better. After all, he had no experience and was having to imitate and already incredibly forced performance, so there was nowhere to go but down.

[Mewzard]

And that's where I get confused. I hear many instances of Schemmel's Goku that sounds more innocent, light, and carefree. Personally, I feel he did that part best among the various English Goku. And, in attempting to really make things work towards accuracy, the clips I've seen (need money to order set...@_@) sound like he's speaking at an even lighter, more carefree manner than before. The only way he could sound more care free and whimsical was if he was voiced by an eight year old or Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder version, of course). <_<

[penguintruth]

I don't see how someone could say Sean Schemmel's performance was forced and then say Peter Kelamis in the firts 3 movies was actually better. Every time I watch the Ocean dub of those movies, I'm just waiting for Goku to bust out the cheesy Saturday morning cartoon speech about friendship and giving it 110% and trying your very best. I still assert that had Schemmel been imitating Corlett in Season 3, he would've wound up sounding way better. After all, he had no experience and was having to imitate and already incredibly forced performance, so there was nowhere to go but down.

I disagree. I think Kelamis had more of Goku's spirit than Corlett. Corlett came off as a little too stiff, and it seemed like he wasn't sure of the character himself, probably because of the bad scripts. I guess he was okay for the dub's version of Goku, but Kelamis did a fine Goku in the movies that was a lot like the original interpretation.

[jjgp1112]

I always thought Corlett had a great voice when speaking as Goku, but he sounded like he wasn't even trying during fighting scenes.

[Chaotic Strike]

I don't see how someone could say Sean Schemmel's performance was forced and then say Peter Kelamis in the firts 3 movies was actually better. Every time I watch the Ocean dub of those movies, I'm just waiting for Goku to bust out the cheesy Saturday morning cartoon speech about friendship and giving it 110% and trying your very best. I still assert that had Schemmel been imitating Corlett in Season 3, he would've wound up sounding way better. After all, he had no experience and was having to imitate and already incredibly forced performance, so there was nowhere to go but down.

I disagree. I think Kelamis had more of Goku's spirit than Corlett. Corlett came off as a little too stiff, and it seemed like he wasn't sure of the character himself, probably because of the bad scripts. I guess he was okay for the dub's version of Goku, but Kelamis did a fine Goku in the movies that was a lot like the original interpretation.

Honestly, I can't tell the difference between Kelamis and Ian. They sound so similar I was constantly getting them mixed up.

[Gozar]

And Gozar, of course I'm being biased. All opinions are biased. That's what makes them opinions, they're full of bias.

But your bias is making you hypocritical. You're criticizing Schemmel for something that Nozawa herself does.

[penguintruth]

And Gozar, of course I'm being biased. All opinions are biased. That's what makes them opinions, they're full of bias.

But your bias is making you hypocritical. You're criticizing Schemmel for something that Nozawa herself does.

We're talking about two different characters, though, and what fits for one doesn't necessarily fit another. And it's not limited to Schemmel. I didn't like the Ocean Kaio-sama, either.

[Gozar]

And Gozar, of course I'm being biased. All opinions are biased. That's what makes them opinions, they're full of bias.

But your bias is making you hypocritical. You're criticizing Schemmel for something that Nozawa herself does.

We're talking about two different characters, though, and what fits for one doesn't necessarily fit another. And it's not limited to Schemmel. I didn't like the Ocean Kaio-sama, either.

So your basically saying that Schemmel should have no range to his Goku voice? That would just make things worse and ruin his performance. Everyone has range to their voice. We don't all sound exactly the same 24/7.