Dragonball Kai (FUNimation English) Dub: General Discussion

[penguintruth]

Well, the surfer affect it's not as strong as it was in season 3, but it's definitely still there, and at times it pokes its head out stronger than ever. Either way, it's not a great voice for the character.

[DB_Fan1991]

From Dragon Ball: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58hTWzpoifM

Definitely still surferish in there.

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether you're serious or not.

So, I'm not the only one who doesn't hear anything "surferish" about the voice?

No you're not the only one. I don't notice a surfer "accent" at all in Sabat's Yamcha in that clip.

[Blue]

I'm not hearing it at all either.

[Gaffer Tape]

Sorry, penguintruth. I've also always been of the mind that the "surfer" voice was gone by season four.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Woah what? I absolutely don't hear that. He dropped the surfer accent as soon as the Android arc rolled around.

He doesn't sound like a surfer in this clip for instance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujlm-8FYf8Q#t=6m5s

From Dragon Ball: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58hTWzpoifM

Definitely still surferish in there.

I'm not hearing it either. Do you even know what a surfer voice sounds like?

[penguintruth]

You've got to be kidding me.

Here's another example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bf12qnMBfI

Like I said, it's not as bad as it was when it started out, but it's definitely identifiable as the drawn out relaxation of words that is the "surfer" or "stoner" affect. It's not pronounced, as Sabat's trying to sharpen it a bit, but it's still there, and a pretty awful voice for Yamcha.

Next you'll be telling me that Tiffany Vollmer's Bulma wasn't "valley girl".

[jjgp1112]

You've got to be kidding me.

Here's another example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bf12qnMBfI

Like I said, it's not as bad as it was when it started out, but it's definitely identifiable as the drawn out relaxation of words that is the "surfer" or "stoner" affect. It's not pronounced, as Sabat's trying to sharpen it a bit, but it's still there, and a pretty awful voice for Yamcha.

Uh, yeah, I still don't hear it. It's actually even less apparent in this clip.

And while Tiffany Vollmer's voice does sort of have the inflection of Valleyspeak, which is really only apparent in the earliest parts of Season 3, she definitely doesn't, like, tooooooooootally talk like this.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Again, that's not a surfer accent. Someone that speaks like a surfer really overdelivers and exaggerates lines and uses a lot of words like "bro" and "dude", something that Chris hasn't done since he first started out as Yamcha.

[Metalwario64]

Next you'll be telling me that Tiffany Vollmer's Bulma wasn't "valley girl".

She was in "Season Three", but not so much afterward. Her voice sounded a bit scratchy and whiny and I do think she sounded too old to voice Bulma throughout most of the series (until around the Cell-arc, or Buu-arc I'd say), but she dropped the "OMG Leik so totally gurlfreeyund!" thing after "Season Three".

I'm not trying to accuse you of anything, but it's possible that you are hearing these things because you want to.

[Gaffer Tape]

Eh, in that 10th anniversary movie clip, I could kind of hear what he was talking about on a very occasional and random word, that sort of roundness of vowels that edges towards surfer. It's still pretty much entirely not there, but there's just the tiniest traces of it.

[penguintruth]

Christ, no wonder some of you guys like the DBZ dub.

Metalwario64, if you can't hear it in her voice here then I have no hope for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9j0lCVfKhQ

It's completely bubbly and annoying.

[jjgp1112]

Christ, no wonder some of you guys like the DBZ dub.

Metalwario64, if you can't hear it in her voice here then I have no hope for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9j0lCVfKhQ

It's completely bubbly and annoying.

Yes, her voice kinda sounds like it, but her speaking manner and delivery is the exact opposite. She just sounds like your typical girl.

I think it's safe to say that it's just you. You're only hearing what you want to hear.

[penguintruth]

Christ, no wonder some of you guys like the DBZ dub.

Metalwario64, if you can't hear it in her voice here then I have no hope for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9j0lCVfKhQ

It's completely bubbly and annoying.

Yes, her voice kinda sounds like it, but her speaking manner and delivery is the exact opposite. She just sounds like your typical girl.

Your typical girl sounds brain dead?

[Metalwario64]

Metalwario64, if you can't hear it in her voice here then I have no hope for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9j0lCVfKhQ

She sounds whiny and scratchy when she yells, but when she is talking, she definitely isn't "valley girl". I've heard valley girl accents, and even had to watch a video that covered in detail many accents in my "Futuristic Literature" class in my senior year of high school (which was where I first heard of the term).

Perhaps it is possible to draw loose comparisons based on her "yells", but even then it's more of a whiny squeal (but I'm not arguing that it isn't annoying...) than a "valley girl OMG yuu go gurl totally sisturrr" accent, but otherwise it's really not there during her normal dialogue.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Christ, no wonder some of you guys like the DBZ dub.

Metalwario64, if you can't hear it in her voice here then I have no hope for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9j0lCVfKhQ

It's completely bubbly and annoying.

Yep, her voice does sound a bit like a Valley Girl's in that clip.


But to be fair, her voice has become less like one since this was dubbed in 2001.

[jjgp1112]

Christ, no wonder some of you guys like the DBZ dub.

Metalwario64, if you can't hear it in her voice here then I have no hope for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9j0lCVfKhQ

It's completely bubbly and annoying.

Yes, her voice kinda sounds like it, but her speaking manner and delivery is the exact opposite. She just sounds like your typical girl.

Your typical girl sounds brain dead?

Do you know what a Valley Girl sounds like?

THIS is how a Valley Girl sounds like. They emphasize a bunch of syllables, drag out certain words, and speak with an upwards inflection all the time. Tiffany Vollmer does none of that. Tiffany Vollmer just sounds like a shrill bitch, which is what Bulma is 75% of the time.

[penguintruth]

THIS is how a Valley Girl sounds like. They emphasize a bunch of syllables, drag out certain words, and speak with an upwards inflection all the time. Tiffany Vollmer does none of that. Tiffany Vollmer just sounds like a shrill bitch, which is what Bulma is 75% of the time.

That's a person doing an impression. I've lived in a town with bubbly girls who sound almost exactly the way Vollmer's Bulma sounds for almost my entire life. It's more than just the "like y'know" stuff, it's a certain tone of voice and carrying of attitude in that voice, an excess of raising one's pitch and the drawing out of certain words, much in the way you describe.

I wouldn't describe Bulma as "a shrill bitch", except the exaggerated Funimation version of her. The woman's a genius. A little irritable, but not as flakey as Vollmer's voice portrays.

[Gaffer Tape]

Eh, while I'm with you to a certain extent on the voices, Bulma is indeed a shrill bitch, no matter which version.

[jjgp1112]

And again: Tiffany Vollmer never talked like that outside of Season 3, where they actually occasionally gave her certain mannerisms. However, after all of the substantial dub watching that I've done in the last 3 years, I can safely say that I don't hear a trace of "Valley Girl" from Bulma's voice. She doesn't talk in that bubbly high-pitched voice or drag out vowels, etc.

Hell, in this clip Monica Rial sounds slightly more bubbly than Tiffany Vollmer ever did.

[Mewzard]

I agree, manga, anime (dub or sub), Bulma's a whiny bitch. A genius whiny bitch, but nonetheless. Easily angered, half the time striking out at friends for minor things or accidents, that's who she is.

Though, I do like the work her new VA has done to keep some of her old voice's touches, while toning it down a bit.