Which dialogue changes do you think hurt the dub the most?

[TheGreatness25]

It's like the main stuff of the dub was left alone. When I read the manga, I'm like, "Damn, is this the right translation? All these lines are from the dub!" well a variation of them is anyway. I think it's the filler that they really messed around with, which is something I don't really mind because... most filler sucks anyway lol This is why I'm not impressed by the Kai dub. It's not much different than the way they dubbed Z, except they don't have a lot of filler to screw around with. Not sure if that was their intention, but that's how it is.

Yes, the Vegeta speech when dying was handled terribly.
The "ally to good" thing... yeah.
But I honestly don't remember anyone saying Dr. Gero was the leader of the Red Ribbon Army. I remember Trunks saying that if Commander Red was the heart, that Dr. Gero was the mind or something like that. Hold on, let me pop that episode into my PS3 (so the old singles DO come in handy! Sure, I can use the Dragon Box or Season Sets, but, damn it, the singles are important too!). Damn this thing looks grainy as hell... Jeez. So here's the speech:
Trunks: ""They're both androids created right here on Earth! Their creator is Gero. Doctor Gero, the mastermind responsible for the old Red Ribbon Army!
I don't agree with the placement of the exclamation marks since Trunks doesn't shout that out, but that's how the subtitles have it. Anyway, mastermind BEHIND the Red Ribbon Army... Hm.
Original version:
Trunks: "They are born of Earth. They are Artificial Humans, sometimes called Cyborgs. They were created by a maniacal scientist, formerly of the Red Ribbon Army, named Doctor Gero."

Yeah... I guess it could be looked at as him being responsible in part for the Red Ribbon Army based on the dub version. But hey, at least they didn't bend that entire thing too much out of shape.

[Ahiru77]

^ And if it were true, it would have been so awesome.

"What's the matter? Is your (little?) phone call over? Good thing they reached you before I disconnected your number."

Freeza is really class.

Goku's great I am, I am speech.

[Turtle Marked Stone]

Yeah... I guess it could be looked at as him being responsible in part for the Red Ribbon Army based on the dub version. But hey, at least they didn't bend that entire thing too much out of shape.

The weird implications come in during Roshi's explination to Marron about the Red Ribbon. It was during the Goku Vs. 19 fight but I don't know specific episode numbers.


Personally I feel the changes helped the dub more then hurt it. I'm pretty picky about translation work but if you make it your own thing and change personalities, dialogue and tone I consider it more of an adaptation by the company. I don't really expect anyone to agree with my definition of "adaptation" though. I especially don’t expect anyone to view this matter like I do in the slightest, so I guess that's just my own personal quirk. Without playing semantics I can try to answer what changed the dub the most though.

As Kaboom covered the personality shifts are a big part of it. Goku turned into a more moral guy. Even during the Cell Games and Boo arcs which followed the Japanese script a lot closer he still had a few elaborate speeches about justice, truth and whatnot. Vegeta tended to yell and be sarcastic about petty little things more so than his Japanese counterpart. A fantastic example of an episode filled with this kind of dialogue is when everyone is waiting for Freeza back on Earth before he touches down. Bulma is similarly changed to be more exaggeratedly prissy and easily set off. They tended to change a lot of Kuririn's dialouge to make him more of a punchline than he was before."Did anyone get the number of that truck!?" when being knocked around by Cell comes to mind. Piccolo makes a much bigger and more apparent shift to the good side much earlier on (so far as to start explaining to Gero that his life is miserable because he's evil) so on and so fourth. The changes range from huge to minor but they exist for the majority of characters.


The jokes and puns are another obvious one. They were more than plentiful in the Freeza arc and all through the Cell stuff we had many an electrical appliance quip along with the typical silly "gas powered toaster"esque stuff when the writers were feeling frisky.The Saiyan and Namek redubs tended to have edited a lot of that stuff out from their reused Saban era scripts so it's more in line with the more serious Boo episode scripts. Along with that we have the witty banter before battle. Funi tends to enjoy tossing that in regardless of what characters are speaking. It seems like the villains and heroes have planned out insults and sassy quick witted retorts, which again is a change on someone like Piccolo's personality who I can't see participating in something that childish most of the time.

Then there’s the huge changes like back stories and explanations being rewritten. The bigger ones are Vegeta being evil because of Freeza’s influence , Tao being part of the Red Ribbon Army ,Vegeta becoming Super Saiyan because of apathy instead of anger and preemptive mentions of Piccolo being an alien in Dragon Ball.

On a more knit picky note lines being completely rewritten period for no reason is bad form and totally unnecessary if you are trying to do a translation of the show.

Then there’s the whole voice, music and silence aspects which I feel changed the show in a huge way, however that’s all strictly 100% subjective so I won’t get into it.

[Adamant]

Personally I feel the changes helped the dub more then hurt it. I'm pretty picky about translation work but if you make it your own thing and change personalities, dialogue and tone I consider it more of an adaption by the company.

Thing is, they're not calling it an adaption. They're selling the series as "Dragonball", they're presenting it as being "Dragonball in English", they're spreading the word that this is what Dragonball is...
and, well, it's not. You can't just write it off as "this weird alternate adaptation of Dragonball" when the "adapters" are plastering "this is Dragonball!" all over their releases.

[Savage68]

Isn't the word "adap-ta-tion?"

[Turtle Marked Stone]

Thing is, they're not calling it an adaption. They're selling the series as "Dragonball", they're presenting it as being "Dragonball in English", they're spreading the word that this is what Dragonball is...
and, well, it's not. You can't just write it off as "this weird alternate adaptation of Dragonball" when the "adapters" are plastering "this is Dragonball!" all over their releases.

Which is why I don't blame people at all for seeing it as a bad translation. I just personally consider it as an adaptation. As I stated I wouldn't expect my thoughts on what the Funi dub is to be some sort of accepted truth. You're right they are marketing it as a translation I just don't see it that way when I watch the show. I figured I'd explain to everyone how I felt so they don't get the impression I despise the dub with every fiber of my being after such a long rant on why it's different.

Isn't the word "adap-ta-tion?"

Thanks for catching that, I'll go through and edit my post.

[Saiyajin no Tatsujin]

In my opinion, all of the added dialogue in the English dub really took away the seriousness and intesness felt in the original Japanese version, not only during battles but also during conversations between characters. We saw this happen mostly when a character's face couldn't be seen close up enough to see their lips moving, when they weren't even in the picture at all, and when a character was supposed to be thinking something to themselves. I'm sure the main purpose of this was to help better explain what was going on to young American kids. And that's fine (I guess). But, for me, it is those pauses of silence between characters, whether it be during an intense battle or a serious conversation, that really made the original Japanese version so great. And that is why I will always prefer the original over any other dub.

[TonyTheTiger]

Yeah, dialogue changes don't bother me nearly as much as dialogue additions.

The straight up worst thing the dub ever did (by a substantially large margin, imo) is Gohan's monologue. It completely shattered the impact of the scene.

Say what you will about lines that change character motivations or personalities, at least those changes allow the show's basic composition to remain intact.

I've said it before. I can tolerate a lot. Cat loves food? It's quirky! Freeza's homoeroticism? It's zany! Guess who joined the Super Saiyan club? It's goofy! I can put up with pretty much anything. I watch too many cartoons not to. But the one thing that really bugs me? FUNi's dub just doesn't know when to shut the fuck up!

[Saiyajin no Tatsujin]

FUNi's dub just doesn't know when to shut the fuck up!

Yeah...seriously!

[Castor Troy]

Yeah, dialogue changes don't bother me nearly as much as dialogue additions.

The straight up worst thing the dub ever did (by a substantially large margin, imo) is Gohan's monologue. It completely shattered the impact of the scene.

Say what you will about lines that change character motivations or personalities, at least those changes allow the show's basic composition to remain intact.

I've said it before. I can tolerate a lot. Cat loves food? It's quirky! Freeza's homoeroticism? It's zany! Guess who joined the Super Saiyan club? It's goofy! I can put up with pretty much anything. I watch too many cartoons not to. But the one thing that really bugs me? FUNi's dub just doesn't know when to shut the fuck up!

The only dub dialogue addition I welcomed was the one added during the "Saiyan Pride" flashback from the Majin Vegeta vs. Goku scene when Majin Vegeta pins Goku against the rocks. It sounds awesome with the JP Movie 9 music and was surprisingly well written and fit the scene.

[Fionordequester]

What about that one during Vegeta's flashback to his training to become a Super Saiyan, where he was apparently almost killed by a meteor? We never get an explanation for that in the Japanese version, but in the FUNI version, he mentions that even though destroying it would've normally been an easy task, he was so tired and drained from his training at that point that he only barely had the power remaining to destroy it.

[Saiyajin no Tatsujin]

I have to admit, there is some additional dialogue that was done very well. One example is the added dialogue during Majin Vegeta's speech while he was trying to get Goku to fight him. It was very powerful with so much emotion.

[Fionordequester]

Yeah...makes you wish ALL the added dialogue was like the two examples listed above this post, huh? If it seems like I'm trying awful hard to defend the dub, it's not that I'm not aware of its problems. I'm just trying to bring a more balanced opinion is all, since most of the other guys are pointing out the problems...

But, if you like, I could go through each and every single one of Frieza's bad lines of dialogue for a laugh. How bout it?

[Gaffer Tape]

But I honestly don't remember anyone saying Dr. Gero was the leader of the Red Ribbon Army. I remember Trunks saying that if Commander Red was the heart, that Dr. Gero was the mind or something like that.

As others have said, I think you're confusing what Trunks said with what Kamesennin said in his flashback he told to Marron. In it, I believe he referred to "General" Tao (Pai Pai) as the heart, and Dr. Gero as the brain, basically chalking up the leadership of the Red Ribbon Army to one guy who was a subcontracted employee, and another who hadn't been mentioned or even invented at the time of that arc. Commander Red is never mentioned, and Black isn't referred to by name (he's simply referred to as the "one man left").

But, yeah, I'd probably have to refer to this as the dialogue change that hurt the most. At least it hurt me the most. That's probably the most pissed off I've ever been while watching Dragon Ball, as I listened to FUNi incessantly monologue over something they had absolutely no knowledge about. I mean, geez, you're only dubbing this show. Obviously that doesn't mean you have to actually know anything about it, am I right?

[Pokewhiz7]

Having these balls makes me have something that resembles joy...I think...I want to caress them.
~Freeza, Ocean Dub

[kemuri07]

Personally I feel the changes helped the dub more then hurt it. I'm pretty picky about translation work but if you make it your own thing and change personalities, dialogue and tone I consider it more of an adaption by the company.

Thing is, they're not calling it an adaption. They're selling the series as "Dragonball", they're presenting it as being "Dragonball in English", they're spreading the word that this is what Dragonball is...
and, well, it's not. You can't just write it off as "this weird alternate adaptation of Dragonball" when the "adapters" are plastering "this is Dragonball!" all over their releases.

Unless Funi themselves have said in some kind of ad that the DB they're selling is 100% an official translation, as in all they did was translate word for word what was said in the japanese version, all American versions of the DB franchise are considered adaptations.

Besides, the writers have to "adapt" the story so it can make sense to an English speaking public.

[Adamant]

Unless Funi themselves have said in some kind of ad that the DB they're selling is 100% an official translation, as in all they did was translate word for word what was said in the japanese version, all American versions of the DB franchise are considered adaptations.

When they write "Dragonball" on the cover, you can't fault people for expecting Dragonball.

Besides, the writers have to "adapt" the story so it can make sense to an English speaking public.

If you're trying to pass off translation as "adaption", then yes, but that's clearly not the point anyone here were making.

[roidrage]

I can recall moments in Dragon Ball where scenes that originally had (dated and obviously 80s, but still pretty cool) insert songs drowned out by monologues from the narrator. Not that big a deal, but you have to know when to stop hammering the shit in. Yes, the Red Ribbon Army's evil. We're not stupid.

I was actually kind of sad to find out that Burdock's line about wishing he could've held Goku once wasn't in the sub. The English version of Burdock made him care more for Goku than he really did, so it's unfortunate to realize he thought of him as little more than a tool that could be used for vengeance.

On a side note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvN5hEXX0Cw
I laughed until I cried when I saw this yesterday. That's what it is, obviously, but when has anyone ever said that?

Oh, and let's not forget dialogue that doesn't even fit the speaking character's facial expression. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY3jXkqrJvg

[Castor Troy]

I think the worst change was the entire "We need a common enemy to keep us together" speech after Trunks left. It was one of the most consistent themes starting from when Goku and Kuririn met in the original DB and FUNi really botched it up.

[SolarBlade52]

In my humble and honest opinion, any dialogue by Season 3 dub Freeza.
Thank goodness for Kai. Chris Ayres rocks.