Post
by Metalwario64 » Wed Jun 16, 2010 12:50 pm
My problem with Kelamis (and most other voices in the Ocean dub of Z, especially Saffron Henderson) is that he is too loud. He never really shows subtlety to his voice voice, and every line is delivered in an unrealistic, loud manner. Even when Goku is on the brink of death, Kelamis doesn't show that in his performance, unlike Nozawa, who actually delivers those lines much more subtly when necessary, as opposed to still being in "happy-go-lucky, innocent, childlike, hungry, Goku" mode.
I suppose vocal performances were debatable before Kai came along, but honestly, at this point, I feel as though FUNimation's cast has vastly surpassed the Ocean cast. Some voices aren't perfect, but typically, when a character is exhausted, they sound exhausted (when Vegeta recovered from the Spirit Bomb, I felt tired and sore!), when they are sad, they sound sound sad, and when they are angry, they sound genuinely angry. I feel as though the Ocean voices were always one dimensional, and never really put realistic emotion into their performances. It sounds like they deliver all of their lines the same way, and it really takes me out of the show.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with liking the Ocean Cast more, so don't think I'm saying "they suck and it's a fact and nobody can like them ever!!1". Even with that said though, I try to separate what I like and what I think is good. For example, I like the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, but I know that is is a cheaply animated, poorly written children show, but I understand and admit that. I don't try going on about how it is "good" and trying to make it out to be something better than it is.
I also don't feel Goku should be straight up hick, especially if its on the Grapes of Wrath level that most people seem to want it on (but that would probably work for Yajirobe). Kai's script does toss some "gonna's" and "hav'ta's" in there, which I feel is adequate enough, but that is admittedly personal preference.
I also don't get the "super hero" criticism in regards to Schemmel's Goku. When I think of "super hero Goku", I think of Big Green dub Goku, or Hebert's Saiyaman performance (which was intentional). Yes, Schemmel makes his voice deeper when Goku gets angry, but Nozawa does this as well. It seems that some people want him to sound happy-go-lucky, childlike and excited all the time, but don't children get angry? To me, Schemmel sounds genuine, when Goku gets angry, he sounds truly angry, and when Goku is beaten up to the brink of death, he sounds tired and in real pain. If he sounded happy and childish during every single line he delivered, then he would fall into the same trap that Kelamis' Goku did, and would result in a one-dimensional character voice with no real emotion.
In regard to Sabat still riding on the heels of McNeil... well I don't know what to say. McNeil always dragged out his lines, and tried to sound very "cool and suave" in his delivery. He always put on tons of rasp and tried to sound demonic, which always came across as a tad cartoon-y and unrealistic. Sabat's actual voice is much more natural and his line delivery is much more realistic, which is what I assumed most sub fans were looking for in dub voices.
To say that it better because it has more character would be no different than a dub fan arguing that King Kai's voice is good because it is more humorous.
Also, before anyone even thinks about playing the "you are a FUNimation fanboy who only likes their cast because you heard them first" card, let it be known that I was introduced to the Ocean dub of Dragon Ball Z back in 1998, so I watched the whole Saiyan and Namek-arc's dubbed by Ocean before FUNimation's cast even came along, and even sat through numerous reruns of those arcs, so nostalgia plays no role in my judgement. I certainly enjoyed the Ocean dub when I was a kid, but it really was because I was a kid and didn't know any better.
Just because you liked something as a kid doesn't make it good, but I'm not saying that you can't still like it either.
Last edited by
Metalwario64 on Wed Jun 16, 2010 1:13 pm, edited 4 times in total.
"Kenshi is sitting down right now drawing his mutated spaghetti monsters thinking he's the shit..."--Neptune Kai
"90% of you here don't even know what you're talking about (there are a few that do). But the things you say about these releases are nonsense and just plain dumb. Like you Metalwario64"--
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