Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" Dub Turns 14; Still Unreleased

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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by dbboxkaifan » Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:00 pm

DBZ Kai or DB Kai?

Assuming McNeil I think that's the name of the actor, said "DBZ Kai" so they'll have FUNi's DBZ Kai logo version.

Later this year they'll hopefully air the first episode. Ocean Goku's pretty good, Végéta too, etc.
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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by Pokewhiz7 » Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:03 pm

I assume Z Kai, because as far as I know every country besides Japan uses Z Kai.

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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by RazorX » Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:07 pm

Attitudefan wrote:Stop making me excited!
Got myself excited as well, and then remembered that in the Ocean dub of the Android saga, there was a flashback covering scenes from the Saiyan-Freeza saga and there we got a taste of McNeil's Piccolo fighting Newstone's 2nd form Frieza. And of course McNeil had the opportunity to dub Piccolo's 'YES YES YES' scene (after fusing with Nail) without inner monologue going over Piccolo's dialogue.

Awesome stuff.
TheBlackPaladin wrote:That's pretty much what we got with FUNimation's dub of Kai, as far as I'm concerned. Not that I'd object to hearing yet another highly competent dub with yet another cast of talented actors!
I would classify Funimation's Kai dub of the Frieza saga as 'competant' but not 'highly competant' because there are still issues with regard to certain voices (King Kai, Yamcha, Ox King etc) and acting for some characters.

But if you've seen my posts before, you'll know I'm very critical of Funimation's dubs of the DB series prior to Kai, so for me to call a Funi dubbed saga competent is a big compliment. But Funimation deserve it, they actually worked and tried to give us a decent dub of the Frieza saga in Kai, and it shows. The Funi Kai Namek/Freeza saga also features a number of recasts which helped make the saga competently dubbed. Unfortunaly, Funimation's quality dropped after the Frieza saga. Funimation's worst dubbed saga in DBZ is their best dubbed saga in Kai; the irony of that is amusing.
NitroEX wrote: I wonder if Scott McNiel played the farmer again.
Quite possibly. Ocean seem to be happy to give Scott most, if not all of his roles back.

Amusing thought; perhaps Ocean held auditions for Piccolo, that is amusing because I don't see anyone, even among Ocean's highly talented pool of voice actors, being able to compete successfully against McNeil for Piccolo.

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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by KingofWisdom » Tue Feb 14, 2012 10:58 pm

TheBlackPaladin wrote:I will say, though, I theorized a while back that perhaps one of the reasons it's taking as long as it is...is because they're waiting to release it until the whole dang show is dubbed, rather than go through the hectic recording schedule that Nicktoons demanded from FUNimation. I'm more inclined to believe this if they've gotten all the way up to the Ginyu Force saga (at least).

Still, no way to know for sure. However, it would be cool if they got the whole thing dubbed, that way they'd be able to release five episodes a week if they wanted.
And if that's true, it's very reassuring, since even if we have to wait a long time, the dub will be that much better.
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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by Hades » Wed Feb 15, 2012 4:41 am

What I would be really excited to hear is Lee Tockar's Freeza, and how he's going to handle it.
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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by Aoi » Wed Feb 15, 2012 11:31 am

I would probably faint if Shunki Levy got to re-score Kai. I know they are definitely re-score the series, but since they're even keeping the cast details under wraps, it's unlikely we'll find out who's composing the music.

But anyways, Levy's music was always fantastic for me : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcWmiPJy ... re=related

Johnson's score (Seasons 1 and 2 of the Remastered series) also captures the epic scope of the show; however I do feel that Levy's was the only one to also captured the playfulness/innocence of Dragon Ball as well. This is why it's such a wonderful score for me.

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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by TheBlackPaladin » Wed Feb 15, 2012 11:51 am

Aoi wrote:I know they are definitely re-score the series, but since they're even keeping the cast details under wraps, it's unlikely we'll find out who's composing the music.
Well, that's still not confirmed. Were it not for Sean Schemmel bringing it up, there's been nothing to suggest they will re-score Kai. I'm still not sure about that rumor.
A "rather haggard" translation of a line from Future Gohan in DBZ, provided to FUNimation by Toei:
"To think of fighting that is this fun...so, it was pleasant fight, as many as, therefore is a feeling which is good the fight where."

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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by dbboxkaifan » Wed Feb 15, 2012 12:22 pm

Aoi wrote:I would probably faint if Shunki Levy got to re-score Kai.
Shuki Levy hasn't composed any new anime since 2002, know which was the last anime he composed alongside Kussa Mahehi for? Mon Colle Knights.

So, you see, chances for them to compose new music for DBZ(K) are extremely slim.
Aoi wrote:I know they are definitely re-score the series, but since they're even keeping the cast details under wraps, it's unlikely we'll find out who's composing the music.
Not really, no. There's no proof about that so just consider another rumour.
Aoi wrote:Johnson's score (Seasons 1 and 2 of the Remastered series) also captures the epic scope of the show; however I do feel that Levy's was the only one to also captured the playfulness/innocence of Dragon Ball as well. This is why it's such a wonderful score for me.
I agree, Nathan's DBZ music is great.
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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by Innagadadavida » Wed Feb 15, 2012 7:38 pm

Aoi wrote:I would probably faint if Shunki Levy got to re-score Kai. I know they are definitely re-score the series, but since they're even keeping the cast details under wraps, it's unlikely we'll find out who's composing the music.
Thing about art is, much like people themselves, its constantly changing. As an artist, Shunki Levy probably isn't the same person he was when he originally scored the series in '96. People change, their taste change, their influences change... The score Kai would receive from him would probably be entirely different than what he would have put out originally. Unless he was trying to emulate himself from a decade ago, which is a potential recipe for mediocrity.

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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by TheBlackPaladin » Wed Feb 15, 2012 9:21 pm

Innagadadavida wrote:
Aoi wrote:I would probably faint if Shunki Levy got to re-score Kai. I know they are definitely re-score the series, but since they're even keeping the cast details under wraps, it's unlikely we'll find out who's composing the music.
Thing about art is, much like people themselves, its constantly changing. As an artist, Shunki Levy probably isn't the same person he was when he originally scored the series in '96. People change, their taste change, their influences change... The score Kai would receive from him would probably be entirely different than what he would have put out originally. Unless he was trying to emulate himself from a decade ago, which is a potential recipe for mediocrity.
True as that is, my biggest issue with Levy has always been how interchangeable his score is...for almost every show he has scored. It's so identifiably Levy. He scored Power Rangers, DBZ, VR Troopers, and other Saban shows...and you can tell. Very easily. My biggest complaint was that he never really did anything that new. If he did return (which I'm 99% sure he won't), I would expect the "typical Levy score," that we've seen before.
A "rather haggard" translation of a line from Future Gohan in DBZ, provided to FUNimation by Toei:
"To think of fighting that is this fun...so, it was pleasant fight, as many as, therefore is a feeling which is good the fight where."

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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by elcrunkus » Thu Feb 16, 2012 5:30 am

TheBlackPaladin wrote:
Innagadadavida wrote:
Aoi wrote:I would probably faint if Shunki Levy got to re-score Kai. I know they are definitely re-score the series, but since they're even keeping the cast details under wraps, it's unlikely we'll find out who's composing the music.
Thing about art is, much like people themselves, its constantly changing. As an artist, Shunki Levy probably isn't the same person he was when he originally scored the series in '96. People change, their taste change, their influences change... The score Kai would receive from him would probably be entirely different than what he would have put out originally. Unless he was trying to emulate himself from a decade ago, which is a potential recipe for mediocrity.
True as that is, my biggest issue with Levy has always been how interchangeable his score is...for almost every show he has scored. It's so identifiably Levy. He scored Power Rangers, DBZ, VR Troopers, and other Saban shows...and you can tell. Very easily. My biggest complaint was that he never really did anything that new. If he did return (which I'm 99% sure he won't), I would expect the "typical Levy score," that we've seen before.

No, his scores after dbz and even in the 80s were vastly different.

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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by Hades » Thu Feb 16, 2012 6:14 am

TheBlackPaladin wrote:
Innagadadavida wrote:
Aoi wrote:I would probably faint if Shunki Levy got to re-score Kai. I know they are definitely re-score the series, but since they're even keeping the cast details under wraps, it's unlikely we'll find out who's composing the music.
Thing about art is, much like people themselves, its constantly changing. As an artist, Shunki Levy probably isn't the same person he was when he originally scored the series in '96. People change, their taste change, their influences change... The score Kai would receive from him would probably be entirely different than what he would have put out originally. Unless he was trying to emulate himself from a decade ago, which is a potential recipe for mediocrity.
True as that is, my biggest issue with Levy has always been how interchangeable his score is...for almost every show he has scored. It's so identifiably Levy. He scored Power Rangers, DBZ, VR Troopers, and other Saban shows...and you can tell. Very easily. My biggest complaint was that he never really did anything that new. If he did return (which I'm 99% sure he won't), I would expect the "typical Levy score," that we've seen before.
Can you explain how a composer is easily identifiable in their work?
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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by VegettoEX » Thu Feb 16, 2012 10:26 am

Hades wrote:Can you explain how a composer is easily identifiable in their work?
Scott could probably jump in for a more authoritative explanation from a musical background, but even to someone who's only got a moderate background in music, it's pretty easy to tell.

It starts with things like the equipment being used. The synths that Levy was using at the time were the same from show to show (same person with same equipment), so that's your first hint in the audio. Then you got into things like whether the composer has a type of riff or chord progression they like to use often; if you hear it in a few shows, that's another hint.

It's a bad example since I can't remember what show it was -- it might have just been X-Men -- but there's a certain measure or two played that sounds eerily similar to an instrumental version of "Rock the Dragon". It sounds the same in terms of instruments being used to play it, same type of musical progression... if that ain't a "style", I don't know what is :).
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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by elcrunkus » Thu Feb 16, 2012 10:43 am

VegettoEX wrote:
Hades wrote:Can you explain how a composer is easily identifiable in their work?
Scott could probably jump in for a more authoritative explanation from a musical background, but even to someone who's only got a moderate background in music, it's pretty easy to tell.

It starts with things like the equipment being used. The synths that Levy was using at the time were the same from show to show (same person with same equipment), so that's your first hint in the audio. Then you got into things like whether the composer has a type of riff or chord progression they like to use often; if you hear it in a few shows, that's another hint.

It's a bad example since I can't remember what show it was -- it might have just been X-Men -- but there's a certain measure or two played that sounds eerily similar to an instrumental version of "Rock the Dragon". It sounds the same in terms of instruments being used to play it, same type of musical progression... if that ain't a "style", I don't know what is :).
A lot of 90s music sounds similar.

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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by TheBlackPaladin » Thu Feb 16, 2012 12:33 pm

Having said all that...I don't have a huge problem with music that is semi-repetitive. I've said before in other music-related discussions that I think it's important to have some songs here and there that repeat themselves so that the viewers/listeners can develop a familiarity with the pieces and associate an emotional identity with them, ultimately leading to a more engaging experience. For example, the Superman theme composed by John Williams. It was played so often throughout the first few movies, that I learned to develop a sense of excitement, and a sort of uplifting hope, whenever I heard it. Now I get excited whenever I hear even the first few notes of it, because I know what's coming and I'm excited for it. Very similar deal with "Chala Head Chala," actually.

Luki crossed the line a little bit too much for me, though. As Mike pointed out perfectly, he kept using the same synthesizers, some similar riffs and chord progressions, and even from show to show it sounded like he was re-using a few of his compositions with some slight modifications. That was too repetitive for me. To top it off...I certainly don't mean to offend any fans of Luki's work, but I honestly just didn't think it was that good. Overly repetitive music that I didn't feel was very good (in my opinion of course) is not something that I'd readily welcome the return of.
A "rather haggard" translation of a line from Future Gohan in DBZ, provided to FUNimation by Toei:
"To think of fighting that is this fun...so, it was pleasant fight, as many as, therefore is a feeling which is good the fight where."

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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by dbboxkaifan » Thu Feb 16, 2012 4:25 pm

elcrunkus wrote:A lot of 90s music sounds similar.
That may be because a lot was sampled and from those who became famous many may sound similar to you.

"Take On Me" is a good example. It's from the 80's not 90's, though.
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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by Super Sayian Prime » Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:02 pm

Over/Under on this dub surfacing before the world ends on December 21? :lol:
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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by TheBlackPaladin » Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:22 am

Super Saiyan Prime wrote:Over/Under on this dub surfacing before the world ends on December 21? :lol:
Well, slightly off-topic, but I saw a fun little factoid being passed around Facebook that the Mayan calendar, which is the basis of the December 21st doomsday prophecy, did not take leap years into account, and so if they were correct, the world technically should have ended a few months ago. So don't worry, we'll get an Ocean dub of Kai before the world ends! :lol:
A "rather haggard" translation of a line from Future Gohan in DBZ, provided to FUNimation by Toei:
"To think of fighting that is this fun...so, it was pleasant fight, as many as, therefore is a feeling which is good the fight where."

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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by SSJSteve » Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:45 am

I always get excited when I see this thread pop up every now and again! :lol:

Hope we get some news soon.

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Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.

Post by dbboxkaifan » Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:23 am

SSJSteve wrote:I always get excited when I see this thread pop up every now and again! :lol:

Hope we get some news soon.
We've been expecting news since 2010-2011 and still nothing.
FUNimation 2015 Releases I want:
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