New Freeza Talkback

[Gaffer Tape]

@Daxdiv Out of curiosity, I decided to check out the DaizEX message boards to check out the poster's opinion on Freeza's new voice. POPCORN TIME!

@SketchDub Heh heh the Daizex reaction was priceless. So many "done!"s. Judging a voice from a few lines of dialogue is pretty short-sighted.

@funimation Remember back when people communicated face to face? We were more polite then.

Ya' know how there's a perceived image of boards like GameFAQs?

Maybe next time a little less spectacle and embarrassing-caricatures of ourselves, please, everyone. Just a tiny request.

Well, if it makes you feel any better, apparently Daxdiv was only looking for a single person's reaction, so that could have been anybody! You know... because of the apostrophe s indicating the possessive form of the singular word "poster" followed by the singular word "opinion." A little ill-grammar humor?

I'll be quiet now...

[Chrono Trigger]

Again, you and a whole bunch of other people are basing your opinions around 8 words in a tone that barely even scratches the surface of Freeza's mood swings.

All I said was that I didn't like the tone of the voice. I pictured/hoped for a different take on it. Is it ok that I got that much out of it from 8 words? Did I say that was gonna be my opinion on it forever and ever?

Oh, please...I hate it when people say that. That's just so close-minded. I'm not too big on the new voice either FROM WHAT I HEARD, but what I heard was eight words. That's not enough to judge anything. Enough for initial reactions, most definitely, but final judgments? No way.

Again good fellow I never said it was a final judgement. Just my initial thoughts on a voice. My comments were made out of disappointment. I just got my hopes up. I'm sorry if that's too closed minded.

[Suupaa Gohan 2]

Wow...after reading a few pages of this thread I'm a little disappointed in everyone's reactions. No one is giving this a fair chance after one line, and the people throwing in the towel on the Kai dub as a whole because of this are just pathetic. After all, a lot of you probably started watching and enjoying this dub before the new Freeza was even announced...especially since Linda was in the first episode. The new Freeza thing just sweetened the deal, IMO, and even if I end up hating it, I wasn't expecting a recast in the first place, so I can't say it'll ruin the dub experience for me. As I see it, the dub has been pretty much the best we can get for a DB adaptation by FUNi, and I'm enjoying it so far, so Freeza's voice won't make or break it for me. It's a little sad to see how many people are treating this as the sole reason to have been watching so far, considering most of us probably assumed Linda would be returning from the get-go and were prepared for that.

In any case, my initial reaction was *sigh* because it does sound a bit too much like Ocean's dub Freeza...however, it kinda reminds me of LK's DBZAbridged voice, and I can tell that this is a man. I don't really care if he sounds gender-ambiguous - he should, and it bugs me when people don't agree with that. Freeza's main trait, yes, is his faux-polite attitude, but anyone who knows anything about the Japanese language is judging Nakao's Freeza by more than the voice - his speech is feminine. Deep voice, with feminine speech? I'd call that gender-ambiguous, it's just not all in the voice. You can't really do that in English, so giving him a more gender-ambiguous voice has to fill the void. It's a man doing a feminine voice...and I'm kinda hoping the similarity to Linda will wear off as a means of easing people in (for instance, the first few episodes it sounded to me like Monica was trying to imitate Volmer's Bulma, but she's since gradually shifted to a more original performance - I'm not going to jump on this and assume Ayers is going to imitate Young the entire way through). This is what an English Freeza needs to sound like, with a gender-ambiguous voice. With an accurate script, this is fine, because sounding like a woman doesn't mean we're going to have him saying things like 'come on big boy' or whatever the Hell else 'gay Freeza' used to say.

Any Naruto fans in the audience? You may be familiar with the fact that Orochimaru was given a similar treatment in the dub. Steve Blum, who pretty much everyone knows and most people love, was cast as Orochimaru with a raspy, feminine quality, rather than the deep voice he has in the Japanese version. Why? Because Orochimaru also spoke with a feminine style that can't be translated into English, so that aspect of the character was transferred into the voice. I'm expecting the same out of this Freeza, so I'm not disappointed yet. There is an obvious similarity, but there was also a similarity between Rial and Volmer in the beginning, if you ask me. Ayers will grow into the role. The line still impressed me more than anything out of Young or Newstone, which screamed 'cartoon alien with lipstick' to me. This sounds legitimately creepy, and though feminine, you can still tell it's a man, and there's no more 'grandma' feel to it. And more importantly than anything, it's just one line. If my opinion changes down the line when we hear more then we'll see, but right now I'm going to be open-minded and leaning toward a more positive outlook on this voice. I have a feeling I'm going to be pleased.

And even if I hate it - it's certainly no reason to give up on the dub, which is in almost all other aspects very impressive and enjoyable thus far. If I were to 'quit the dub' so to speak over one voice, I would have turned off my TV the moment I heard Schemmel was still voicing Kaioh, and never looked back.

Edit: OMG, 300 posts!! And it only took me, what, 6 years? <.< >.>

[omegacwa]

Overall I think the new Freeza voice has potential. After listening to the clip a few times it definitely doesn't sound like Linda Young, although at first I thought it did. I think that's because it isn't a huge deviation from the "old woman" type voice.

I agree that it actually does sound closer to Pauline Newstone. But it really does have its own unique sound. Trust me, you've got to listen to it a few times to really get a feel for it. Also listening to few direct comparisons doesn't hurt, just look up some clips on YouTube.

As I said, shows potential, let's just see if Ayres can take the ball and run with it.

[Mewzard]

It's a voice that I think could grow to be a good one. But, it's only one line, so we are jumping the gun a touch. Plus, like this quote says, it's more about the acting quality:

Seán Schemmel
Give it some time. You will be blown away. It's not just about the voice, it's about the acting. Haven't you all realized that Bulma's voice sounds nearly the same but it's a different actress? What's the difference? The acting.

Admittedly, the people who had heard the voice and were trying to tease us hyped it up like mad. But, maybe the good stuff does come later. We'll just have to see.

[TheBlackPaladin]

@Daxdiv Out of curiosity, I decided to check out the DaizEX message boards to check out the poster's opinion on Freeza's new voice. POPCORN TIME!

@SketchDub Heh heh the Daizex reaction was priceless. So many "done!"s. Judging a voice from a few lines of dialogue is pretty short-sighted.

@funimation Remember back when people communicated face to face? We were more polite then.

Ya' know how there's a perceived image of boards like GameFAQs?

Maybe next time a little less spectacle and embarrassing-caricatures of ourselves, please, everyone. Just a tiny request.

Man...cruel reminder that people actually look at the message boards. It's easy to forget that anybody can wander in and read them, it's not like we're a private club whose words won't be put on public view.

[ZeroMoon]

Actually, I like it. Wanna hear more!

[B]

@funimation Remember back when people communicated face to face? We were more polite then.

Oh, please tell me this wasn't about our reactions. They pull a move like "New Freeza!", even though you can hear Young's laugh in episode 1, and one of their blog updates claimed she would return; and they didn't expect people would be unsatisfied with a voice imitation? The only reason anyone would actually care about a voice change is if it's actually going to sound different.

Communicating "face to face" my ass. That's the opposite of what this Freeza debacle is. It's all smoke-and-mirrors-tell-some-of-it-but-not-all marketing.

[Kendamu]

Wow...after reading a few pages of this thread I'm a little disappointed in everyone's reactions. No one is giving this a fair chance after one line...

It's not the acting or accuracy of the lines I'm worried about. As I've said multiple times already, I'm suer those will be just fine. However, I saw the Freeza voice change coming from miles away. I knew about it months ago. Judging by what happened with Gohan's voice, I figured a big change was in store for Freeza. A completely new direction totally separated from previous takes on his voice in the US and Canada.

I think I have the right to be a bit disappointed when I was expecting one thing and got another. And, you know what? I can actually judge it based on one line. That raspy alien Grandma Solid Snake voice that I heard yesterday will likely be what I hear on Monday... unless he coughs, clears his throat, and suddenly has a noble, but not too manly voice like DBZ Abridged.

If he has the right characteristics and the lines are translated properly, it can be made to work to a tolerable level. I don't like Schemmel's Kaiou, but it's tolerable to me. If he goes on about "big boys" and "Boy Scouts" and "caressing balls" then I'm not gonna be too happy with old Grandma Snake.

So... first impression? Not too happy, but only because I was expecting something else entirely. I'm still eagerly awaiting Monday before I decide if it works.

[jjgp1112]

@funimation Remember back when people communicated face to face? We were more polite then.

Oh, please tell me this wasn't about our reactions. They pull a move like "New Freeza!", even though you can hear Young's laugh in episode 1, and one of their blog updates claimed she would return; and they didn't expect people would be unsatisfied with a voice imitation? The only reason anyone would actually care about a voice change is if it's actually going to sound different.

Communicating "face to face" my ass. That's the opposite of what this Freeza debacle is. It's all smoke-and-mirrors-tell-some-of-it-but-not-all marketing.

I'm assuming you didn't read tweets of people badmouthing Funimation in butthurt fury.

[B]

Well, no, I didn't, as EX posted it along with two other deriding-Daizex tweets, as if they went hand-in-hand.

[Chuquita]

That tweet of Funi's was awful rude.

When you're a professional company you're supposed to hold a sense of gravitas, ya know. At least in the public eye. Make your company look like the bigger person.

Guh; if that was directed towards us it makes it almost as disappointing to me as when Mr. Schemmel signed up to argue with people. @_@

[penguintruth]

Mr. Schemmel signed up to argue with people. @_@

With me. He signed up to argue with me. With a single person.

Still makes me chortle.

[mystic trunks]

Mr. Schemmel signed up to argue with people. @_@

With me. He signed up to argue with me. With a single person.

Still makes me chortle.

Probably because you are his biggest detractor. I mean, you do seem to have a personal vendetta with the guy.

[JulieYBM]

I would not associate FUNimation's comment specifically with us. Sure, we (spare one or two individuals?) have no kind words for this choice. But I'd say there's just as much animosity on Twitter.

[Blue]

Mr. Schemmel signed up to argue with people. @_@

With me. He signed up to argue with me. With a single person.

Still makes me chortle.

Probably because you are his biggest detractor. I mean, you do seem to have a personal vendetta with the guy.

Ha ha now I can only hear Sean in Professor Farnsworth's voice grumbling "PEEENGUIN"!

[Innagadadavida]

That tweet of Funi's was awful rude.

Wait... What was so rude about their tweet? They stated a fact.

[TonyTheTiger]

I actually think that FUNi's and Schemmel's personal involvement to that extent is a nice quality about them. Not saying that it's ok to be rude or anything (nor am I saying either was rude) but I'd take actual honesty and scuffling with the fanbase over the typical legalese PR nonsense you normally get from people "in the business." I expect professionals and professional companies to do work of a professional caliber, meeting certain quality standards. But I'd rather them ditch the feigned professional attitude at the door. Say what you mean and mean what you say. I'm kinda glad that FUNi isn't a bunch of suits. You know what you get when a bunch of suits make decisions? Foamy water.

[ohaimynameiserik]

Made up my mind. I love the new voice.

[RazorX]

Wow, the new Freeza voice turned out to be a, somewhat pleasant surprise, so far. Those of you who participated in the old Freeza recast topic may remember me defending Linda Young's Freeza and expressing disappointment at the way her character recast was handled. That was because I looked at the reality of the situation. Funimation has deadlines to adhere to in terms of getting episodes ready for DVD/Blu ray production and even more pressingly, to pass onto Nicktoons who have a schedule to keep to. They decided to recast Freeza half way through production when they didn't have anywhere near as much time as the other recasts. So they may have rushed the auditions and picked any random person they felt sounded a bit more masculine because I got the impression they were going to change direction.

But this, this sounds a lot like Pauline Newstone. Now I'd say that Pauline Newstone was an even better Freeza than Linda Young, because Pauline made Freeza sold colder, more sinister and creepier than Linda did. So the resemblance to Pauline Newstone is a good thing. As I've mentioned before, it's too late to be experimenting on directions with a character who holds as much importance as Freeza this late in the franchise. I don't think Funimation can find anyone who can do an acceptable imitation of Mr Nakao so Funimation decided to be cautious and go in a similar direction to the original Ocean dub Freeza. I put more importance on acting ability rather than "Who can sound closest to Ryūsei Nakao in tone."

When you look at it, it seems that both Linda Young and Chris Ayres are imitations of Pauline Newstone. But from the little we've heard so far, Chris Ayres appears to do a closer, and perhaps better, imitation.

When I first heard Funimation's new Freeza I thought that they actually brought Pauline Newstone in. Ever since the announcement of the Freeza recast, this is the first time I'm feeling more positive about it than negative. But I need a lot more than a line and a laugh to form a solid judgement.

I anticipated disappointment if people expected an English Ryusei Nakao which is why I didn't expect that and I had low expectations for the voice. The result was, I was pleasently surprised and I avoided ALL fan reaction until I heard the voice for myself so I could form my initial opinions on it.

If someone hadn't told me what I was watching, I would have assumed this WAS the Ocean cast with Kai music placed over it (it doesn't help that Doc Morgan sounded just like Doc Harris in that scene). It sounds JUST LIKE Pauline Newstone!

It does help that Doc Morgan sounds just like Doc Harris. After all these years, Funimation has finally got themselves a decent in house narrator. If that means finding someone who sounds just like Doc Harris, then all the better.

But, I understand your other point. If you ignore everything on the episode and start watching from the end, where Freeza's minion is bringing out the Dragon Ball, it sounds like it could've come from the Ocean dub. If someone from Funimation leaked that scene to the internet weeks earlier and claimed it's from Ocean's dub of Kai, that would've been believable, because Chris Ayres and Doc Morgan sound so close to Pauline Newstone and Doc Harris there. (We may have been like Pauline and Doc have reprised their roles )

Now I'm wondering who will voice Freeza in the potential Ocean dub. Pauline Newstone reprised her role in the latter Ocean dub of DBZ.

No, but his Ocean voice was

Ocean's Zarbon was British. Ocean's Jeice was Australian.