Did FUNimation overstep their bounds?

[DBZGTKOSDH]

I'm not saying that they didn't do a good job with the Dragon Boxes, but I hate when a company releases something, but leave it incomplete. For DB, GT and Movies, they need Dragon Boxes, because the Season Sets lack the original Next-Episode-Previews, they have English title cards, and they lack some Openings and Endings. The quality is also different, the Dragon Boxes are better.

I wouldn't go as far to say I hate Funimation, in fact, I'm graceful that Funimation is releasing the Dragon Ball franchise in the first place. Without them or any anime company for that matter, non of us would be discussing about our favorite show ( mines is actually Fist of the North Star).

Yeah, it's thanks to them this awesome site exists, but still back in the old days, they have shown a lot of disrespect to the franchise. I wouldn't say that I hate them, but I don't like them.

[Gonstead]

Sure, you may not like Funimation for what they did with the Dragon Ball franchise but you can't hate the entire company for only a single product.

[Pokewhiz7]

And they skipped the original series because it was too violent!

I always thought it was because that series was done by Toei who did not own the license anymore. Not to mention it wasn't the hot new thing and had a popular card game going with it.

Correct. There's a lot of people online talking about how "dark" and "violent" the Toei series was without having seen it, but... it wasn't. It really wasn't. If anything, it was "lighter" than the Duel Monsters anime, far more dumbed down, and incredibly inaccurate to the manga.

Oh really? Regardless, it's part of the story, it shouldn't be skipped.

[dbboxkaifan]

I'm portuguese. Our dub was in no way a "proper" or an "accurate" dub of the series. But the person who voiced Goku was the same from Episode 1 of DB to 64 of GT, and while it got to the "manly" voice later on, it was a natural transition. Just saying.

I remember watching Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and its films/specials.

Portugal's Dragon Ball was a joke, I really hate to admit because it could've been a lot better if the person in charge had a clue on how to make a quality dub.

Still, the best of the set that gained a decent dub was Dragon Ball GT, the GT Portuguese Opening is awesome (check it out guys, even if you don't understand a word, I bet you'll like it) and Goku saying Majin Boo for the first time, because during DBZ they'd call him "Boo Boo" for whatever reason.

Say, Rukura, do you know why they called Majin Boo as "Boo Boo"?

In the end, all of us enjoy and its universal no matter what dub, we're getting the same experience, dialogue aside.

That isn't quite true, since FUNimation almost turned Dragon Ball Z into their very own American show, despite the animation being Japanese.

The music was custom by them (more exact by Faulconer), the script was innacurate, the voices were mediocre and annoying at times. Another example is, Gohan turning SSJ2 and having his speech, where the original didn't, he was just thinking in his head and then let it all out!

Oh and another really cheesy example, Goku's speech "I am the Hope... Ally to good, nightmare to you". Goku you are a Super Saiyan, not an American Hero, stop pretending, because it's irritating. --"

If there's one thing I liked about FUNimation's DBZ Dub, it was Majin Boo's arc, it seems like they got better during Boo's saga. Oh and yeah, Cell's arc too I suppose, Gohan SSJ2 without the US music does sound really good.

I feel Akira Toriyama could have done a much more painful ending for Cell than getting blown away by a Father/Son Kamehame-Ha!.

But now this is all history, and needs to be forgotten for good, FUNimation redeemed themselves by creating an exceptionally superb dub for Dragon Ball Kai, and this is where FUNimation needs to focus their DBZ (Kai) dub now, 'cos it's the good dub not the amateur one.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

because during DBZ they'd call him "Boo Boo" for whatever reason.

He was called Boo Boo in the Greek dub too. They seem to change the names just because. Like with Kaio, who is King Kai in the FUNi dub, and Vegetto, who is Vegetagoku(!?) in the Greek dub.

[Gaffer Tape]

Except that it means quite a lot. Are you really going to try and tell me that attitudes towards anime hasn't changed since 1996? We currently live in an era where Anime is extremely easy to obtain (both to purchase and for free); but, in 1996? Anime wasn't really a known quantity to the mass public, and the anime that were shown on American television (Sailormoon, Samurai Pizza Cats, Voltron) were heavily Americanized. By the time DBZ was released, most people's knowledge of anime only came from Pokemon (another heavily modified anime). It was only really until DBZ's initial success, as well as the rise of Adult Swim, that people started to realize that anime wasn't simply for kids, and was capable of more adult-oriented material.

Except we are talking about little kids who are not thinking about a country of origin. Kids whose counterparts had access to the same DBZ footage in 1996 and did not run them off because it was SOOOO Japanesey, and it is exactly the same now. But Kai does not work as an example for you? Then how about the Pioneer-released movies? Original music, accurate translation to the point that attack names were being pronounced differently than anyone had heard in the dub to that point, and Nozawa singing on American television for crying out loud! It basically WAS Kai... but back in the 90s. And guess what? It worked back then too. I think that is all the proof you need right there that it would have worked... because it did.

And I like The Big Bang Theory, thank you very much...

[Rukura]

I'm portuguese. Our dub was in no way a "proper" or an "accurate" dub of the series. But the person who voiced Goku was the same from Episode 1 of DB to 64 of GT, and while it got to the "manly" voice later on, it was a natural transition. Just saying.

I remember watching Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and its films/specials.

Portugal's Dragon Ball was a joke, I really hate to admit because it could've been a lot better if the person in charge had a clue on how to make a quality dub.

Still, the best of the set that gained a decent dub was Dragon Ball GT, the GT Portuguese Opening is awesome (check it out guys, even if you don't understand a word, I bet you'll like it) and Goku saying Majin Boo for the first time, because during DBZ they'd call him "Boo Boo" for whatever reason.

Say, Rukura, do you know why they called Majin Boo as "Boo Boo"?

Our version was always a translation of the original censored french version (perhaps even the spanish translation of the french?). From what I can tell, performances aside, GT seemed far more accurate than anything they had previously (the openings and ending are a strong indication, third and fourth endings were aired raw)

They worked with what they had...that was already bad to begin with lol

[samuraix123]

I don't understand why people hate the Funimation Dub so much! Also is it just me or is Dragonball the only Anime that get's this many debates started (Sub vs Dub) I can understand that some people hate the fact that he was *Americanized*(Even though I don't understand how he is *Americanized*) And some say he's not a super hero?
What the hell is he?
He saves the innocent, He has super hero powers, He keeps returning to defeat the bad guy's and calls it day. sound's to me like he's hero.

[TheBlackPaladin]

How does that make any difference? In an American cartoon, when a child protagonist grows up (either naturally or due to some circumstances concerning the episode), they always have a significantly deeper voice.

Nozawa's adult Goku is a natural outgrowth of her child Goku.

It depends on what you mean by "natural." In the context of the "Dragon Ball" universe? Sure. In the context of something we might expect in real life? Nope.

[penguintruth]

I mean that Nozawa's Adult Goku doesn't sound exactly like her Child Goku. It's a bit more mature-sounding.

And there are plenty of real life people with weird voices. I think Goku's Japanese voice is part of his off-beat charm. And Nozawa is so great in her delivery, it seems so right for him.

[samuraix123]

I love Goku's Japanese voice My friends say it hurts their ears but I like it.

[Cipher]

I'm going to go ahead and say only with GT.

The Z dub was a product of its time. By the time they got to GT, they knew what they were doing and the industry had long before accepted a stance of minimal alterations (outside of 4Kids properties). Yet not only did they force a different aesthetic on it, they forced one even more over-the-top and at conflict with its source material than Z's. At least about half the scripts were entirely accurate.

Z's, I can understand. But GT's Americanization is just ... offensive.

Of course they've made steps to redeem themselves with the latest batch of releases.

[penguintruth]

The Z dub was a product of its time.

I don't buy that. There were way better dubs than DBZ's at the time it was produced. California studios were churning them out.

[Cipher]

I don't buy that. There were way better dubs than DBZ's at the time it was produced. California studios were churning them out.

How many were getting mega-popular though?

While I'm personally of the belief that the series would have become popular on its own merits, I don't blame them for taking a safe approach. There's also the fact that the first 52 episodes had to be edited so heavily they required a separate score/aesthetic, and once that had taken off, why mess with it? And whatever niche parts of the industry were doing, it still wasn't standard. So, yeah. Product of its time.

[Saiga]

I'm going to say no, but I like FUNimation's dub after all. I prefer it to the Japanese version for (most of) the voices.

And I'll agree with Rocketman that Nozawa sounds godawful as Adult Goku.

[AgitoZ]

To answer the question of the topic, yes, they did. Other than that I don't really know quite what's the point of the thread anymore so I'll just post my thoughts on something.

I don't see how Schemmel's voice is all that more natural. I don't mean Goku's regular speech, in fact that's probably what I believe he has down perfectly, the happy go-lucky Goku.

But, when he starts fighting or charging up, any ounce of believability left just flies out the window.

[OutlawTorn]

2) "Over 9000" (It's actually over 8000 and I don't know how people find it funny)

Well, why are any memes funny? Homour is subjective, what is funny for some won't be funny for others. However, other than it being what was originally said, I don't see why it should be an issue whether it's eight or nine thousand. Forgive me for asking, but what's the significance of 8000 which makes it superior to 9000?

As for why it's funny, if I had to guess I'd say it is really Brian Drummond's performance which has apparently immortalized the line.

5) "The Dragon Boxes don't have the US music" (It's not for the US Broadcast DBZ fans but for the ones that love the original Japanese Dragon Ball Z)

Well, technically it is for "HARDCORE FANS" with a heavy emphasis on the original unaltered version, which leads to...

6) "I'm a hardcore DBZ fan" (More like: US DBZ Hardcore"

So? Hardcore is hardcore regardless of whether it is for the Japanese version, the Big Green dub, the Spanish dub or any other version people are passionate about. To dismiss someone as being "hardcore" based on the version they enjoy comes across as elitist snobbery. I agree that there are people on YouTube whose comments don't reflect well on the masses, but everybody is entitled to their preferences without being looked down upon by others.

7) "The English dub is the best" (Again, I wonder how FUNimation fanboys keep forgetting that outside America other countries exist, and each one had their own dub, or so)

Exposure, probably. If someone is unaware that a product exists, they cannot be expected to take it into consideration when voicing their opinions, though I wouldn't say the FUNimation bias is limited to the United States, considering other English-speaking markets received their dub at some point.

It is also possible that people who make such comments are of the xenophobic variety, you know the ones who, for some reason, feel the need to say stuff like "Canada exists because we let them exist" or insult the British as if it is a requirement for patriotism. Though it's not related to DBZ, I have heard a bit of a podcast celebrating Independence Day with such comments, which makes no sense whatsoever.

But... to add something to the actual topic at hand, I think Samurai Pizza Cats is a prime example of an anime whose English localization bears little to no resemblance to the original product.

[KiddoCabbusses]

I don't buy that. There were way better dubs than DBZ's at the time it was produced. California studios were churning them out.

How many were getting mega-popular though?

I'm gonna assume he's referring to Bang Zoom here, since they tend to be known for great anime dubbing.

However, I can't recall a single one of their dubs that made it on TV, cable or syndicated, before Dragon Ball Z did (although mind, I didn't catch the Sci-fi Channel every day.). Even stuff that was sort of big among the hardcore anime fans at the time, like the controversial Mezzo Forte, was mostly circulated on VHS tapes.

[penguintruth]

Animaze dubbed Cowboy Bebop, The Big O, and Outlaw Star, all of which aired on Cartoon Network. All excellent dubs.

Also airing with DBZ: Ronin Warriors, Blue Submarine No. 6, Gundam Wing, and Tenchi Muyo. All having dubs better than DBZ's.

[KiddoCabbusses]

Animaze dubbed Cowboy Bebop, The Big O, and Outlaw Star, all of which aired on Cartoon Network. All excellent dubs.

Also airing with DBZ: Ronin Warriors, Blue Submarine No. 6, Gundam Wing, and Tenchi Muyo. All having dubs better than DBZ's.

Of all the ones you mentioned, the only one that actually is close to what was specified (ran on TV -before- Dragon Ball Z) was Ronin Warriors (which was syndicated around the same year as classic Dragon Ball), and quite frankly, the quality of that show's dub is only up to par with "Uncut" FUNimation script-wise, and it's voice acting leaves a bit to be desired. Every single other example down there (Except MAYBE Cowboy Bebop since that was used on Adult Swim rather than Toonami) quite literally rode on Dragon Ball Z's success on Toonami.

With this in mind, there is a possible point to be made that the quality of TV anime dubs may not have increased were it not for Dragon Ball Z's success bringing in the Toonami wave.