Sub Fans: What's Wrong with Your Version?

[Puto]

I thought of something wrong with the Japanese version.

Spoiler titles and spoiler previews. I guess most of the folks watching when it first ran in Japan probably also read the manga, but not everyone.

Oh, character X is going to die in the next episode? THANKS A LOT.

Oh yeah... THIS. Dear god, the episode titles. The fact that the episode titles tend to more often than not describe the END of the episode rather than the beginning does NOT help, either. We have titles like...

"Ferocity of the Saiyans! God and Piccolo Both Die"
"Suprise Attack!! The Elder's Target Was the Scouters!" <- great, just spoil the Elder's plan right in the episode title, why don't you.
"Such Regret...!! Vegeta, Pride of the Saiyans, Dies"
"Gokû's Declaration of Victory!! As Freeza Destroys Himself..."
"Freeza Defeated!! A Single Blast Packed with a Totality of Rage"
"Freeza Halved by a Single Stroke!! Another Super Saiyan" <- gee, you think that's not specific enough?!

Ugh.

[Soul]

Lets not forget: "Yamucha Dies! The Terror of the Saibaimen"
Gaffer said it best in his YT Review.

[TripleRach]

There are a few things I dislike about the original Japanese production, like some of the bad animators, the fact that the theme animations didn't update more often, and a lot of the anime-original story material. But those kinds of things generally apply to every "version" of the series, so I'm not going to get into that.

As far as problems unique to the Japanese audio go... A lot of people have mentioned they don't like Jouji Yanami's Babidi voice, and I'd have to agree. It just feels off. Also, I love Daisuke Gouri dearly, but did he really need to voice both Cymbal AND Drum? Most of the other casting decisions I dislike are related to replacements. I don't like Mayumi Tanaka's Baba, and all of Kouhei Miyauchi's replacements for Kamesennin have been disappointing (though Masaharu Satou is definitely the best of them).

"Dragon Ball Densetsu" was used far too often as an insert song, and then again as a movie ending. It's kind of overkill. And sometimes the BGM in Z bugs me. For instance, there were a few pieces that were used way too often in the Gokuu vs Freeza fight, but then the Garlic Jr arc gets a lot of new-ish, unique stuff. Totally unfair.

[Puto]

Oh, one thing. Though DBGT's BGM has some awesome songs, there are quite a few songs that I don't really like... notably most of the ones from DB Movie 4.

[Raki]

I don't get some of you. "Cha-La Head Cha-La" is what DBZ is all about, that heady shonen spirit of adventure and action while coming of age. It's essentially a song about Gohan.

I couldn't have explained my hatred of it any better.

The intro would have been fine for the Gohan training episodes but it should have been changed when people started dying left and right.

[gallagtor]

I'm fine with all the voice actors, but I guess hearing Gohan's "Waaaaah! Otosan!" over and over can be a little grating.

[GizmoKSX]

The overuse of the same batch of BGM pieces gets on my nerves. I don't mind any of the pieces themselves, but they really start getting hammered in throughout the series, especially with all the filler episodes. In terms of quality, the mix isn't very good either. Listening to music releases, the dub track w/Japanese BGM, or even just the intro and credits on the Dragon Box, the music was recorded competently enough, but was somehow degraded when mixing in the SFX and voiceovers.

The spoilerific episode titles and next-episode previews are ridiculous. I wonder if a newcomer could get a good grasp on the series by just watching a marathon of recaps and previews.

[Puto]

The Japanese audio sounds like crap because it was stored on film which really isn't suitable for storing audio. The original high quality recordings were only used in the original airing and then thrown away... this was apparently standard practice at Toei until 1995 or so.

[TonyTheTiger]

The Japanese audio sounds like crap because it was stored on film which really isn't suitable for storing audio. The original high quality recordings were only used in the original airing and then thrown away... this was apparently standard practice at Toei until 1995 or so.

Which is idiotic. Right here on these boards we heard the recordings of the first airings. And a 20 year old VHS of all things sounded better than the Dragon Box. That's genuinely a shame. I can only wish that somewhere somebody hardcore enough recorded the entire original run and one day we can get a full audio rip. Of course I'm living in la la land but it just frustrates me that Toei could be that boneheaded.

[GizmoKSX]

The Japanese audio sounds like crap because it was stored on film which really isn't suitable for storing audio. The original high quality recordings were only used in the original airing and then thrown away... this was apparently standard practice at Toei until 1995 or so.

Wow. I considered the possibility of badly-stored, degraded tapes. I thought, "Nah, that's unlikely; must have been a shoddy mix." But that those tapes were destroyed and we're getting aged film audio, that's ridiculous. Any idea if the voice tapes were preserved? If so, there's at least a chance of getting remixed audio someday with the SFX and music freshly added back in. If Toei ever decides to put out a Blu-ray Dragon Box, it would be an incentive for fans to buy the product again.

[Gaffer Tape]

Hmm, so that's it. What a shame.

Oh, and I thought of another minor gripe. In the beginning of Z, after about the 15th consecutive preview ended with Gohan asking, "Father, I can be a great scholar, right?" I admit I was about ready to tear my hair out.

[Daimo-Rukiri]

The Japanese audio sounds like crap because it was stored on film which really isn't suitable for storing audio. The original high quality recordings were only used in the original airing and then thrown away... this was apparently standard practice at Toei until 1995 or so.

Which is idiotic. Right here on these boards we heard the recordings of the first airings. And a 20 year old VHS of all things sounded better than the Dragon Box. That's genuinely a shame. I can only wish that somewhere somebody hardcore enough recorded the entire original run and one day we can get a full audio rip. Of course I'm living in la la land but it just frustrates me that Toei could be that boneheaded.

I have a lot of the cell fight on VHS, if you want a "high" quality Japanese audio you may have to get it from the french or spanish dvds.

[Kendamu]

Listen guys, I really don't want to turn this into a "Masako Nozawa's Adult Gokū" thread. I knew people were going to react the way they did, but this thread was asking what our personal problems with the original version are, and I think I answered that question as truthfully as I could. I know Dragon Ball (no, I'm not going to italicize it) is set in a fantasy world, but that doesn't mean the characters can't sound age appropriate. So many other Anime have more ridiculous plots than Dragon Ball, but the characters there still sound all natural.

I wasn't meaning to really get all over your case. I just think it's funny that nobody ever mentions Gohan or Kuririn when they talk about Goku's voice.

Plus, Adult Krillin's charging-up scream doesn't make me want to rip out every single vital organ in my body.

I guess you just missed out on the "iconic" part of it. It'd be like changing Bart Simpson's voice actress in the few appearances of a grown-up Bart.

[AgitoZ]

@Piccolo Daimaoh: I assume you like the dub? I guess I"ll use that as my argument.

You say Nozawa's Goku sounds unrealistic but how is Schemel's performance any more realistic? His voice is still goofy, when screaming Goku's voice does not sound like something I would hear from a person on a street. I will admit both voices are unrealistic but to me Nozawa sounds more realistic and doesn't make me want to stick scissors in my ears.

Now that I'm done with my rant I guess I'll pop my two cents in to the topic. I guess the biggest flaw I can think of is the titles. Most of the time the spoil the entire episode or important events, i.e. Yamcha's death, SSJ, etc. I will give the American titles props that they actually keep you on your toes.

[AnimeMaakuo]

If someone like Schemel said "Super Dragon Fist" in public, i'd laugh my ass off.

[Adamant]

I will give the American titles props that they actually keep you on your toes.

"Who will be Freeza's next victim? Find out in the next episode, Dende's Demise!"
"Is this the end of Goku!? Find out in the next episode, Goku's Alive!"

etc, etc.

[Chibi Mystic Gohan]

I know Dragon Ball (no, I'm not going to italicize it) is set in a fantasy world, but that doesn't mean the characters can't sound age appropriate. So many other Anime have more ridiculous plots than Dragon Ball, but the characters there still sound all natural.

See, I don't understand this. Muscle size and age really don't have anything to do with how deep your voice is. I'm 21, and fairly big, but I still sound like I did when I was when I was young; my voice just never changed that much. Obviously I don't sound like Masako Nozawa, but Goku's a cartoon character, so...

But yeah, as people bring up time and time again, there are people in their 40s and 50s like Mike Tyson and Michael Jackson with extremely high-pitched voices, so Goku's voice is plausible. Plus, even in GT, when Goku's about 50, he's physically seven years younger (time spent dead). And Saiyans retain their youth much longer than Earthlings (as Vegeta explains to Bulma when she wonders why she's an old hag while he's still young and fit), so Goku and Vegeta seem to be physically in their 20s at the end of the series. That explains why Goku's voice never changed much.

(Though, it does change slightly as he gets older. Compare Nozawa's Goku at various ages. In fact, someone ought to make a YouTube video doing just that...)

[AgitoZ]

I will give the American titles props that they actually keep you on your toes.

"Who will be Freeza's next victim? Find out in the next episode, Dende's Demise!"
"Is this the end of Goku!? Find out in the next episode, Goku's Alive!"

etc, etc.

Crap I should have of said most of the time. But their titles are less spoilerific than the Japanese. Yet all Japanese titles aren't all in heavy amounts of spoilers

[Rocketman]

I wasn't meaning to really get all over your case. I just think it's funny that nobody ever mentions Gohan or Kuririn when they talk about Goku's voice.

Krillin is short and has no nose, while Gohan is supposed to be a grating, annoying little shit.

But yeah, in GT when Vegeta blasts away Gohan and Goten and we get a double dose of BWAAHHKKKKKKHHH...ugh.

[jjgp1112]

I wasn't meaning to really get all over your case. I just think it's funny that nobody ever mentions Gohan or Kuririn when they talk about Goku's voice.

Krillin is short and has no nose, while Gohan is supposed to be a grating, annoying little shit.

But yeah, in GT when Vegeta blasts away Gohan and Goten and we get a double dose of BWAAHHKKKKKKHHH...ugh.

Did you ever watch that horrific clip of Goku's Kaio-ken against Captain Ginyu like I recommended in the chat?