Dragonball Kai (FUNimation English) Dub: General Discussion

[NeoKING]

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.

Sean Schemmel does more of a "Superman"-performance of Goku, even when he's not being all just. Makes me think that Goku is an average American family guy that was raised just like everyone else.

Peter Kelamis just has that naiveté tone in his voice that actually fits with Goku's character. I agree, he does sound cheesy at times, but I can listen to Kelamis and just hear the "hick" in his voice. If you want an example, listen to whenever he does a Kamehameha in any of the first three Pioneer movies. He does this "voice-crack/break" thing when he gets to the final "-ha" part that actually makes me think Goku is a country bumpkin. That's what I thought when I first watched the movies on Toonami and hadn't ever heard Goku's Japanese voice. It just fits much more naturally if you ask me.

[jjgp1112]

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.

That's exactly what I've been trying to say. He shouldn't be expected to constantly talk in the same voice he talks in when he's happy and excited. He would just look like an idiot.

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.

Sean Schemmel does more of a "Superman"-performance of Goku, even when he's not being all just. Makes me think that Goku is an average American family guy that was raised just like everyone else.

Peter Kelamis just has that naiveté tone in his voice that actually fits with Goku's character. I agree, he does sound cheesy at times, but I can listen to Kelamis and just hear the "hick" in his voice. If you want an example, listen to whenever he does a Kamehameha in any of the first three Pioneer movies. He does this "voice-crack/break" thing when he gets to the final "-ha" part that actually makes me think Goku is a country bumpkin. That's what I thought when I first watched the movies on Toonami and hadn't ever heard Goku's Japanese voice. It just fits much more naturally if you ask me.

The whole "Superman voice" thing has got to be the most annoying token criticism out there. None of Goku's voices, even the ones I dislike, besides the Big Green voice sound even remotely like any Superman voice.

[penguintruth]

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.

If you're talking about the particular scene I pointed out, the clip of Goku breaking free from the hands dragging him to Hell, I didn't even think Schemmel was as good as he could be in that scene, because his reaction should have been a little more light and less serious-sounding. Yes, he nearly got dragged down to Hell, but Goku's reaction to that is pretty much, "Hm, guess that's the way to Hell" and it's funny because he's underreacting to nearly going to Hell forever. Like it's not really even registering to him how serious it is to go to Hell.

And jjgp1112, we call it the "Superman voice" because it sounds like a traditional "heroic character" voice. To be honest, though, Tim Daly and George Newbern are a lot more talented than Schemmel and their Superman voices are a lot better than his Goku voice.

In fact, DCAU tends to have a higher quality of voice acting than anime dubs in general, because a lot of the voices are by seasoned Hollywood actors.

[NeoKING]

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.

If you're talking about the particular scene I pointed out, the clip of Goku breaking free from the hands dragging him to Hell, I didn't even think Schemmel was as good as he could be in that scene, because his reaction should have been a little more light and less serious-sounding. Yes, he nearly got dragged down to Hell, but Goku's reaction to that is pretty much, "Hm, guess that's the way to Hell" and it's funny because he's underreacting to nearly going to Hell forever. Like it's not really even registering to him how serious it is to go to Hell.

Like I said before, that was an ad-lib, and in most ad-libs voice actors tend to let their natural voices slide in; as if they forget that they're supposed to be acting. In other words, his delivery on the "Note to self: Don't go to Hell" like is supposed to be that way.

[Gaffer Tape]

While I don't really have a strong opinion one way or another about this particular line, I do want to object to the logic that ad-libs get some kind of free pass in terms of staying in character. Just because an actor makes up a line, it doesn't mean he has the right to drop character. If he doesn't have the chops to stay in character while doing ad-libs, he shouldn't be doing ad-libs.

Granted, I think this is a moot point because I don't think dubbed animes have much in the way of ad-libs because they're so obsessed with getting the lip-flaps to match up. Not exactly a breeding ground for improvisation.

[Gozar]

If you're talking about the particular scene I pointed out, the clip of Goku breaking free from the hands dragging him to Hell, I didn't even think Schemmel was as good as he could be in that scene, because his reaction should have been a little more light and less serious-sounding. Yes, he nearly got dragged down to Hell, but Goku's reaction to that is pretty much, "Hm, guess that's the way to Hell" and it's funny because he's underreacting to nearly going to Hell forever. Like it's not really even registering to him how serious it is to go to Hell.

Are you talking about the "Do not go to hell" line? Or the grunting while he was breaking free of the hands?

[penguintruth]

Are you talking about the "Do not go to hell" line? Or the grunting while he was breaking free of the hands?

I'm talking about the line. Even I'm not so critical as to scrutinize grunts.

Not usually, anyway.

[Gozar]

Are you talking about the "Do not go to hell" line? Or the grunting while he was breaking free of the hands?

I'm talking about the line. Even I'm not so critical as to scrutinize grunts.

Not usually, anyway.

R-Really? I don't think he sounded serious at all in his delivery. I thought he was pretty light about it. That's what made it funny.

[NeoKING]

While I don't really have a strong opinion one way or another about this particular line, I do want to object to the logic that ad-libs get some kind of free pass in terms of staying in character. Just because an actor makes up a line, it doesn't mean he has the right to drop character. If he doesn't have the chops to stay in character while doing ad-libs, he shouldn't be doing ad-libs.

Justin Cook's Yusuke Urameshi would like to have a word. His ad-libs(and the FUNI script) made Yusuke more of a foulmouthed thug than he was in the original Japanese version. Technically, he "dropped" the character by making him out to be something he originally wasn't, but it still worked favorably. Woolseyism at it's best.

But why is this line an issue to anyone anyway? I mean, the Hell we see here isn't even like the other forms of "Hell" we see later on in the series. It was just a minor line, not like it contradicted the overall plot or anything(and no, do not bring up GT or the Pikhan filler or the movies because KAI isn't canon to either).

[Innagadadavida]

Are you talking about the "Do not go to hell" line? Or the grunting while he was breaking free of the hands?

I'm talking about the line. Even I'm not so critical as to scrutinize grunts.

Not usually, anyway.

Seems totally appropriate and in-character for Goku not to take something like that seriously. Although something tells me that if Schemmel had delivered that line with a serious tone you'd babble on about how he's not in character.

[Mewzard]

Only the most light hearted, care free people would even be that light about almost going to Hell. He's not even that serious in tone, like a kid who makes a jump over some obstacle with his bike and is all "Whew, that was close, almost crashed." in a barely serious way, then does so again, unphased until he does bust his ass.

[penguintruth]

Are you talking about the "Do not go to hell" line? Or the grunting while he was breaking free of the hands?

I'm talking about the line. Even I'm not so critical as to scrutinize grunts.

Not usually, anyway.

Seems totally appropriate and in-character for Goku not to take something like that seriously. Although something tells me that if Schemmel had delivered that line with a serious tone you'd babble on about how he's not in character.

Uh, my point was that he sounded like he was taking it too seriously for Goku. I was bothered by the ad-lib in general, but still sounded like Schemmel went a little too deep for that line.

I was only commenting on a single clip, though, since I felt like in other clips Schemmel was doing a much better job, so it was weird to me he wasn't doing as good in this one.

[Gaffer Tape]

Justin Cook's Yusuke Urameshi would like to have a word. His ad-libs(and the FUNI script) made Yusuke more of a foulmouthed thug than he was in the original Japanese version. Technically, he "dropped" the character by making him out to be something he originally wasn't, but it still worked favorably. Woolseyism at it's best.

Um, I don't think you get what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about possibly skirting outside the established boundaries of the character. "Breaking character" is an actual acting term that basically means an actor has stopped living his character and is basically just saying words. In this case, he'd no longer be Goku (any interpretation of Goku) but just Sean Schemmel talking. I'm not saying this is what that is because I have no idea. But it's quite possible to make up lines of dialogue while still being completely in one's character. It is something that takes a certain amount of skill to pull off. But breaking character is not something any actor should ever do.

[Big Momma]

We don't all sound exactly the same 24/7.

I don't really have a problem with Schemmel's Goku. America and Japan have different ways of doing things. Sure, in Japan, a characters voice usually is more matched with the personality than the appearance. But, here in America, I can pretty confidently say one of(if not the) most important things we care about is appearance. Therefore, the dub Goku voice is set to look more like what he physically looks like.

That...and I can't imagine an English Goku with a voice like Nozawa's...


...and now that I think of it...I can't imagine a Japanese Goku with a voice like Schemmel's, haha.

[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.

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.

They're dubbing a cartoon adaption of the comic, not the comic itself. This isn't a dramatic reading of comic scripts, this is an adaption into animation that has its own characteristics. To adhere to the original's idealogy better captures a part of what made that character loved in the first place. This is why Toei/Oda demanded FUNimation cast a female in the role of Luffy. He is eternally a boy, despite his age or appearence. That's the magic of Shônen comics and animation, boys are forever boys. With Gokû, using the one actor throughout the entire character's run allows for the role to be that much more personal and consistent.


Of course, stunningly, MasakoX has proven himself to be the only man I have ever heard to bring Gokû's youth and warmth to life (espicially when talking 'bout muffins in TFS #14). In a parody, no less.

[jjgp1112]

How did Goku even sound out of character. All he was doing was...talking. Some of you guys are just being over-analytical about the whole thing.

And just look at his face for God's sake. Do you really expect him to deliver that line like, "OH GOSH I BETTER MAKE SURE I STAY OUTTA HELL LOL OH MAN I'M HUNGRY GAIZ!" He looks weary of what would have happened if he fell.

And dammit, if one more person overrates MasakoX, I'll fuckin', I'll fuckin...

[Big Momma]

How did Goku even sound out of character. All he was doing was...talking. Some of you guys are just being over-analytical about the whole thing.

And just look at his face for God's sake. Do you really expect him to deliver that line like, "OH GOSH I BETTER MAKE SURE I STAY OUTTA HELL LOL OH MAN I'M HUNGRY GAIZ!" He looks weary of what would have happened if he fell.

And dammit, if one more person overrates MasakoX, I'll fuckin', I'll fuckin...

I love Masoko's Goku. He's not overrated at all, he's really good. Heck, only hear the same 3-5 people praise him.

[JulieYBM]

And dammit, if one more person overrates MasakoX, I'll fuckin', I'll fuckin...

'Overrates'? How about you right a concise reason why you think MasakoX is not a good performer of the Gokû role so discussion can be had?

[xzero]

Can I just ask a question that's bothering me about many of the people on this forum? Why must you look for things to criticize in the Kai dub? Everyone here gets that people like penguintruth do not like Schemmel's Goku performance, though in fairness, no one should really care. Realistically, Kai is supposed to be a huge improvement over the original dub. It is. If you don't like how Funimation has handled the series, you won't like any version of it, so you'll look for something to criticize.


And before anyone comments on this, go back and read through some of the previous pages. This is not applicable to everyone, but for people who've watched the DVDs, the comments tend to minimally note that the dub script and acting is a lot better, but then downplay that by pointing out that OMG Sonny Strait mispronounced Kienzan or oh crap! they call it "Tri Beam." If you're so fixated on things like that, the dub clearly isn't for you, and no dub probably ever will be because you'll never get 100% accuracy. So buy the Dragon Box sets, watch the Japanese version, and stop bitching about it. Let everyone else who likes the dub appreciate the obvious effort Funmiation finally put into dubbing a DBZ-related non-video game property.

[jjgp1112]

I think MasakoX's voice is good...for a parody. But to me, ssaying that he is the best English Goku ever is going way too far.