How does DBZ Kai English Dub stack up?

[Ussj Future Trunks]

Firstly
1. Against Ocean dub
2. Against old Funi work.
3. Against other similar dubs (One Piece, Naruto etc)
4. Japanese dub of Kai

Personally I like it better than Ocean and Old Funi put together. Possibly equal to Japanese.

[TheBlackPaladin]

1. Against the Ocean Dub. MUCH BETTER...if we're talking about the TV series dub. If we're talking about the Pioneer/Ocean dub of the movies, then I'd say it's only *slightly* better.
2. Against old Funi work. Do you mean the old FUNimation dub of DBZ? INFINITELY BETTER. No question about it.
3. Against other similar dubs (One Piece, Naruto etc). That's gonna be difficult for me to answer because it really depends on what you define as "similar" (I'm also assuming you're referring to the FUNimation dub of One Piece). I would say it's on par with those dubs. Both of which are very respectful towards the original versions.
4. Against the Japanese dub of Kai. Slightly better. Some of the Japanese voice actors seem to be half-assing their performances this time around, unlike their performances in the original Z version. Not to say they're bad, 'cause they're not, it's just that they don't seem as into it as they used to be. I sense this vibe coming from them along the lines of, "Okay, yeah...cool, we've done this already...yay..." It's the exact opposite case with the English dub, where the actors are actually legitimately excited to get another shot at dubbing DBZ correctly...and you can feel it in their delivery.

[penguintruth]

It's much better than every previous English dub of anything DB-related, with the possible exception of the Ocean dubs for DBZ movies 1-3, and even then probably on par. The casting, the scripts, the acting, the attitude and attention to the production of the English dub overall, it's great for a DB-related dub.

How does it hold up to other anime dubs? It's decent, bordering on excellent. Very competent, but doesn't blow me away, except with Freeza. It's very much like watching the Japanese version, just in English.

Now, is it perfect? No. I still prefer the Japanese version when it comes down to it. There's nary a Japanese voice or peformance out of place and Nozawa is still the superior Goku. But the English dub for Kai is the English dub this material should have had all along.

[Kaboom]

1. Against Ocean dub
2. Against old Funi work.

Fantastically superior than both for a wide variety of reasons.

3. Against other similar dubs (One Piece, Naruto etc)

I haven't seen any of the Naruto dub in years. But Kai's FUNi dub is on-par with One Piece and their other recent, exemplary work.

4. Japanese dub of Kai

I'd say it's on-par with the Japanese Kai dub, possibly even superior in certain cases. FUNimation's cast and staff have such enthusiasm and renewed interest in the story this time around, while at times the Japanese cast and staff seem "tired" of the series at this point. The difference in level of effort shows.

[penguintruth]

Besides Horikawa's Vegeta, I don't hear any tiredness in any of the others in the Japanese cast. Not past the first few episodes, anyway. Nozawa is still hitting it out of the park.

[Mewzard]

Besides Horikawa's Vegeta, I don't hear any tiredness in any of the others in the Japanese cast. Not past the first few episodes, anyway. Nozawa is still hitting it out of the park.

I haven't watched much of Kai in Japanese, but I do recall Bulma sounding tired very early on, almost disinterested. Specifically when she was supposed to be shouting, but was speaking rather calm and low.

[Savage68]

Nozawa's grainy Kaio-ken x3 in Episode 14, anyone...?

[DB_Fan1991]

Firstly
1. Against Ocean dub
2. Against old Funi work.
3. Against other similar dubs (One Piece, Naruto etc)
4. Japanese dub of Kai

1 & 2: Much better than before
3: I've only seen FUNi's dub of One Piece, but I'd say it's on par with that.
4: 1,000 times better.

[MR.Mark]

Nozawa's grainy Kaio-ken x3 in Episode 14, anyone...?

Indeed, and her "Pi-Pi-Piccolo saaaaaaaaaaaan!" was one of the many examples of what I feel is age affecting her performance.

[penguintruth]

Nozawa's still bringing just as much endearing charm to the role of Goku as ever. Just listen to the scene when Bulma asks Goku what he thinks about stopping Dr. Gero before he can create the Artificial Humans. Her delivery is just perfect. Or when Goku explains to Chi-Chi that he has to go after he recovers. Or the bit where he talks to Cell after retrieving Tenshinhan.

So what if some of them sound a little tired now and then? They still bring out way more of their characters.

Just because some of Funimation's cast has improved, doesn't make them as good as the Japanese cast. Don't get so worked up over them doing their jobs competently for once.

[Turtle Marked Stone]

1. Against Ocean dub
2. Against old Funi work.

Blows them out of the park. Much better acting and script writing. Little to no made up bullshit and even the broadcast censored material is done more competently then anything cranked out in these two categories. No doubt about it, I know people here like the old dubs so I'm not going to sit here and bash them but well, if you're looking for accuracy I think it's pretty safe to say objectively Kai is the place to go. If you're looking for good acting, not-so-objectively Kai is still the place to go.

3. Against other similar dubs (One Piece, Naruto etc)
4. Japanese dub of Kai

Poorly, you need not look any further then dub attack names and miscasts like Sean as Goku and especially Kaio, mentally handicapped Recoome so on and so fourth. I understand the logic behind “the dub fans are used to this so we can’t change it” but that doesn’t stop it from bringing the whole project down. I feel it’s a lot like the One Piece manga where dub terminology is still being awkwardly tossed around despite having a much better script in general. It’s not a huge deal and it’s still watchable but in the age of Funimation One Piece and VIZ Naruto where there isn’t things like “Hey let’s make Chouji sound like Fat Albert, mixed with Droopy Dog!” or “Hey let’s change Luffy’s Gum Gum Cannon to Gum Gum Special Beam Spiral!” those little faux pas tend to be an elephant in the room.

[MR.Mark]

Some fans just are realistic and have middle ground, un-biased opinions. Nozawa is definitely still giving her all in Kai, which can't be said for the entire Japanese cast, but let's be realistic here. No actor is flawless, I feel Nozawa started really strong in the beginning of Kai. I actually feel a lot of her performance during the Raditz fight was fantastic and surpassed Z.

However, throughout Freeza and into the Cell stuff, her straining is becoming more apparent. She'll always be Son Goku, but If fans are gonna go through dub performances of Goku with a fine tooth comb, it's only fair to point out her faults. Which to be fair, is strongly due to her age, so I can't be to hard on her, but it is what it is. Sean's screams simply have more power to them than Nozawa as of late, and admitting that takes nothing away from her legacy as the character nor threaten my "true fan" status.

[penguintruth]

If I based my preference for Goku on how well the VA screamed, I always would have liked Sean Schemmel.

There's more to Goku than screaming. Schemmel can scream fine, but he sounds fake when he tries to sound like the off-beat manchild Goku is. It's so corny and unnatural. Nozawa's Goku always makes me smile with her warm sincerity and delivery, whereas Schemmel's usually makes me roll my eyes.

[MR.Mark]

Nowhere in my post did I say I like Sean just because he was a better screamer. I was just giving an example of things a certain actor is doing better when you were suggesting another actor was perfect and could do no wrong.

I like Nozawa more than Sean for christ sake, you act like your Nozawa's bodyguard, sheesh relax! Sean and Nozawa both sound corny and unnatural, I'd say it's part of the character, I think you just notice it more with Sean because it's in your native language.

But yeah, Nozawa does certain (most) things better, Sean does some things (a lot) better, it's not the end of the world to realize that.

[penguintruth]

It's got little to do with how amazing Nozawa is. She is amazing, but I'm sure there are plenty of English VAs who could do just as good. Sean Schemmel is not one of those people.

I understand that Schemmel is doing a lot better lately, I appreciate it, but he's just no Goku. If he can be half the Goku Nozawa is, I'll be fine with it, but to say he's doing better than Nozawa in Kai seems innaccurate to me.

[MR.Mark]

Your opinion is (way) noted, but to me and many others, he's a perfectly acceptable English Goku.

Indeed Sean is doing better in some ways than Nozawa in Kai, another example, the Iconic Kame-Hame-Ha.

Sadly, Nozawa can't do the full bodied HA! anymore due to her age, instead being:

"kame-hame-yurrrahhhhhh!"

But this is not a Nozawa vs. Sean topic, so moving right along.

[penguintruth]

All right, then, let's move on. Sabat's a better Piccolo than before, but does he stack up to Toshio Furukawa? Hardly. Furukawa has a unique, strong sound and delivery that both stands out and fits in. Sabat's made progress, but his Piccolo is no Furukawa's.

His Vegeta? Fine, I'll admit Horikawa is showing his age. A lot. He smokes, clearly. But when has Sabat's Vegeta surpassed his? Can you point to the scene?

And listen to all the characters who still have mediocre sounds in the dub. Chi-Chi, Gyuumao, Kaio, and to a lesser extent, Roshi. Do you hear Joji Yanami faltering?

[Tanooki Kuribo]

1. Against Ocean dub - Well, that original 1997 version will always be special to me. Hey, I know it sounds corney but hey, I have some really fond memories attached to that version and that time frame in DragonBall history. I will never get rid of those DVD no matter how perfect of a release FUNimation puts out. But to answer the question, the Kai dub is so much more accurate. It's been the closest thing to a perfect dub for the series as a whole we've gotten so far. So even though I love the 1997 version, I would say the Kai dub is so much better.

2. Against old Funi work - The old FUNimation dub of DragonBall Z was pretty horrible. Well, to me anyway. While it was a commercial success, I really would prefer to watch the Japanese version because the English version was so bad. But everything else they dubbed seemed to be pretty good. So, I would say DBZK feels like a dub that FUNimation did and pretended it wasn't DragonBall related... it's a good thing.

3. Against other similar dubs (One Piece, Naruto etc) - I'd say, somewhat on par...?

4. Japanese dub of Kai - I don't really watch the Japanese version of Kai. I watch the English version. I do the opposite with DBZ, I'd watch the Japanese version but rarely the English version. Honestly with DBZK I could go either way, watch it in English or Japanese and feel like I wasn't missing anything, story wise.

[MR.Mark]

There's quite a few recasts in the Kai dub that I like equally with the Japanese cast such as:

Freeza: Just as great in English as in Japanese

Gohan: Just as good, and at times even better than Nozawa

Bulma: like em both equally, though Rial wins a little more in Kai due to not phoning in any lines.

[penguintruth]

There's quite a few recasts in the Kai dub that I like equally with the Japanese cast such as:

Freeza: Just as great in English as in Japanese

Gohan: Just as good, and at times even better than Nozawa

Bulma: like em both equally, though Rial wins a little more in Kai due to not phoning in any lines.

Well, I agree with you on these, at least. I certainly think Rial is doing just as good as Tsuru. But to me, these are isolated examples.