"Son Gokuu" in DBZ Kai

[TheBlackPaladin]

I know a lot of people, especially on Daizex, don't care for Schemmel's Kaio-sama, but I truly, honestly don't mind it at all. Which is not to say that the concerns of those who don't like his voice are without merit. Like Mike pointed out in his review of the first Kai volume, the main concerns seem to be...

1) Kaio-sama is a god, and Schemmel's take on Kaio-sama doesn't really give off a powerful sense of divinity.
2) His voice is silly to the point where people can't take him seriously during many scenes, especially the more dramatic scenes.

Well, with regard to concern number 1, Joji Yanami certainly does have more power in his voice, and it sounds more natural, and it's deeper. In many ways, it's exactly what you would expect from a god. Sean Schemmel's Kaio-sama doesn't really sound at all like what you would think a god would sound like...and honestly, that's why I like it! To me, it has a sort of Yoda parallel to it. The whole point of Yoda's character (ya know, before he was ruined in the prequel trilogy) was that one could never judge a book by its cover. We're led to believe when we first see him that he's just this annoying little alien who couldn't possibly be a Jedi master, but we quickly see that in spite of his weak appearance and funny voice, there's a deep and powerful understanding of the higher nature of the Force that just wasn't apparent from his surface appearance. Similarly, on the surface, Kaio-sama has a really weird, blue, catfish-looking appearance, and an odd obsession with puns (of all things!) that you wouldn't at all associate with someone who has a higher knowledge of martial arts. So, when he starts revealing all of his higher knowledge to Goku, his voice and his knowledge make a very interesting and often very funny contrast that I usually find entertaining.

As far as the second concern goes, I actually agree with this one a little bit. There were definitely some dramatic scenes that were not meant to be lightened in intensity by a comedic voice, which Sean Schemmel's voice for Kaio-sama unwittingly did in a few places. The worst scene in this regard was when Freeza was really starting to kill Vegeta, and Kaio-sama was reflecting on how Vegeta had lost the will to fight. It sounded a tad too silly given the gravity of the situation. Which is why, when I said I didn't mind Schemmel's Kaio-sama, I meant just that, I didn't mind it. It would have been interesting to see what a different voice actor could have done. Maybe Doc Morgan (the narrator) could have played him to act as a parallel between the English and Japanese versions. Still, I guess I'm one of the few on Daizex that can honestly say I don't have any huge problem with Schemmel's Kaio-sama voice.

[AgitoZ]

Sean Schemmel's Kaio-sama doesn't really sound at all like what you would think a god would sound like...and honestly, that's why I like it! To me, it has a sort of Yoda parallel to it. The whole point of Yoda's character (ya know, before he was ruined in the prequel trilogy) was that one could never judge a book by its cover. We're led to believe when we first see him that he's just this annoying little alien who couldn't possibly be a Jedi master, but we quickly see that in spite of his weak appearance and funny voice, there's a deep and powerful understanding of the higher nature of the Force that just wasn't apparent from his surface appearance. Similarly, on the surface, Kaio-sama has a really weird, blue, catfish-looking appearance, and an odd obsession with puns (of all things!) that you wouldn't at all associate with someone who has a higher knowledge of martial arts. So, when he starts revealing all of his higher knowledge to Goku, his voice and his knowledge make a very interesting and often very funny contrast that I usually find entertaining.

But we don't need that. Goku already proved he didn't judge a book by it's cover when he started imitating Bubbles. Hell, that entire scene was funnier than anything involving Schemmel's awful voice. Not to mention, like you stated, we already had the contrast between his jokes and his wisdom. We didn't need a crappy voice along with it.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Sean Schemmel's Kaio-sama doesn't really sound at all like what you would think a god would sound like...and honestly, that's why I like it! To me, it has a sort of Yoda parallel to it. The whole point of Yoda's character (ya know, before he was ruined in the prequel trilogy) was that one could never judge a book by its cover. We're led to believe when we first see him that he's just this annoying little alien who couldn't possibly be a Jedi master, but we quickly see that in spite of his weak appearance and funny voice, there's a deep and powerful understanding of the higher nature of the Force that just wasn't apparent from his surface appearance. Similarly, on the surface, Kaio-sama has a really weird, blue, catfish-looking appearance, and an odd obsession with puns (of all things!) that you wouldn't at all associate with someone who has a higher knowledge of martial arts. So, when he starts revealing all of his higher knowledge to Goku, his voice and his knowledge make a very interesting and often very funny contrast that I usually find entertaining.

But we don't need that. Goku already proved he didn't judge a book by it's cover when he started imitating Bubbles. Hell, that entire scene was funnier than anything involving Schemmel's awful voice. Not to mention, like you stated, we already had the contrast between his jokes and his wisdom. We didn't need a crappy voice along with it.

Well, I was equating Kaio-sama with Yoda, but I wasn't equating Goku with Luke. I wasn't suggesting that Goku was judging a book by its cover, but I was suggesting that perhaps the audience would. I can tell you with no hesitation that when I first saw the episode in which he met Kaio-sama, I looked at him as a kid and said out loud, "....That's it?" So I judged a book by its cover. And certainly, we already had the contrast between his jokes and his wisdom, but I felt the voice reinforced that contrast and made him a more memorable character. So really, as weird as it may sound, I completely agree with everything that people say about Sean's Kaio-sama voice, it's just that I happen to like that voice for the same reason that others dislike it. I simply didn't think it was crappy. I thought it was funny, memorable, and effective...precisely because it didn't fit.

[matt0044]

I guess they kept it to hopelessly please the old Z dub fans. Again, why do that when they're going to be at your throats for changing Gohan's voice alone and other stuff?

You know, FUNimation really should've made a documentary sort of video to explain Kai's dub, the Japanese version and everything else.

On a side note: This site blows my mind as to how there are many more fans of the Japanese version than I was led to believe. All I can say it that I feel at home perfectly and I really wish there were many more English Kai fans sticking up for the great dub on Youtube.

[TheBlackPaladin]

On a side note: This site blows my mind as to how there are many more fans of the Japanese version than I was led to believe. All I can say it that I feel at home perfectly and I really wish there were many more English Kai fans sticking up for the great dub on Youtube.

There are fans of everything, 'ya just gotta know where to look. While I believe, and always have believed, that an anime will never be popular in a particular geographic region unless that particular geographic region's dub is popular, there are legions of subbies for any given anime if you look at it globally. Daizex has said that they focus on the Japanese version because it's...

A) The original version.
B) The only version that can be enjoyed globally.
C) The only version that is enjoyed globally.

Which are all great points. I held off on joining this site for a while because I felt I would be unwelcome as someone who preferred the English voices (despite, oddly enough, preferring the Japanese version in literally every other aspect), but this really is a great site because it welcomes all viewpoints so long as they can be expressed intelligently. That and, to be honest, I think this site's forum posters softened up a bit on the English dub in light of how wonderfully Kai's English dub turned out.

As for people clinging to the old dub...yeah, it's unfortunate. I would respectfully submit that Kai was not marketed properly by FUNimation. Granted, for business reasons they can't just come out and say that their old dub was bad, especially since DBZ, with a heavy marketing focus on that old dub, continues to be their highest-selling product. However, they dropped the ball in one major way: NEVER, in one single advertisement for Kai, do you see the word "uncut" appear anywhere. This has led to a very common misconception among YouTubers that the versions seen on Nicktoons and Toonzai are, in fact, the actual versions.

[matt0044]

As for people clinging to the old dub...yeah, it's unfortunate. I would respectfully submit that Kai was not marketed properly by FUNimation. Granted, for business reasons they can't just come out and say that their old dub was bad, especially since DBZ, with a heavy marketing focus on that old dub, continues to be their highest-selling product. However, they dropped the ball in one major way: NEVER, in one single advertisement for Kai, do you see the word "uncut" appear anywhere. This has led to a very common misconception among YouTubers that the versions seen on Nicktoons and Toonzai are, in fact, the actual versions.

Really? I saw a Kai DVD set that said Uncut. Are you sure?

[Rocketman]

They should've used "Goku Son" just to troll everybody.

[dbboxkaifan]

However, they dropped the ball in one major way: NEVER, in one single advertisement for Kai, do you see the word "uncut" appear anywhere. This has led to a very common misconception among YouTubers that the versions seen on Nicktoons and Toonzai are, in fact, the actual versions.

Rear cover:


They basically have all the same text, except for the character, arc, whatever.

So you see, they do use the word "uncut" and "unedited", makes me question, have you never seen a DBZ Kai Blu-ray or DVD cover?

[BlazingFiddlesticks]

Don't hate Sean's Kaio either.

Really? I saw a Kai DVD set that said Uncut. Are you sure?

The problem is that looking at the Disc Box isn't the first part of someone's finding out about something as marketing-heavy as Dragon Ball.

It may not be too far off to assume that they see an edited dub on TV with a new script and simply chastise it for being different, not even entertaining the idea of an uncut DVD or remembering the low points of the original dub. I do know a guy frustrated with Kai just cause its different, though I don't know what specifically eats at him about it; could find out.

Who was it here who had the story of showing friends the two Freeza dubs side by side and getting a "Oh..." response?

[TheBlackPaladin]

However, they dropped the ball in one major way: NEVER, in one single advertisement for Kai, do you see the word "uncut" appear anywhere. This has led to a very common misconception among YouTubers that the versions seen on Nicktoons and Toonzai are, in fact, the actual versions.

Rear cover:


They basically have all the same text, except for the character, arc, whatever.

So you see, they do use the word "uncut" and "unedited", makes me question, have you never seen a DBZ Kai Blu-ray or DVD cover?

I am aware of that, but as I'm sure you will agree, that's not an advertisement. That's a DVD cover. I actually told FUNimation--politely--in an email that I felt they weren't advertising the word "uncut" properly enough, and they pointed out what you just did. That is, in my opinion of course, not going to cut it. First off, because the word "uncut" appears only on a small, detachable sticker. Secondly, because almost no anime is sold in stores anymore, people are unlikely to buy their DVDs and Blu-Rays from a store. Almost everything is ordered online nowadays, especially anime, and it's unlikely that in a quick glance, people are going to get a glimpse of that teeny-tiny "uncut" word. And the back cover...well, that's even worse than the sticker, for the same reasons. Almost nobody is going to see that or, for that matter, bother to look at it. In today's world, you need to get your info across quickly and obviously if you want to market successfully. Of all the places to leave out the word "uncut," they left it out of their commercials for Kai, which are the advertisements that most people are going to be seeing? The misconceptions have likely been intensified by the fact that none of FUNimation's advertisements for Kai have the word "uncut" in them, but all of their advertisements for DBZ do.

Having said that, if I did miss an advertisement with the word "uncut" in it, I'd be happy to be proven wrong. Somebody should feel free to point it out.

Who was it here who had the story of showing friends the two Freeza dubs side by side and getting a "Oh..." response?

I have tons of stories like that. I cannot even begin to count the number of people I've talked to who, when I told them there was an uncut dub of Kai, their response was, "Wha--really? Are you sure?" One person even thought I was making it up and responded, "Well, I have not seen this 'uncut Kai' that you speak of." The only possible explanation that I can think of is perhaps that, if FUNimation paraded the word "uncut" around too much, it would confuse the casual fan who would readily point out that the filler has been removed, and say something to the effect of, "If it's uncut, how come the filler's gone?" Then again, if that were the case, why did FUNimation bother to put the word "uncut" in teeny-tiny font on all of their DVD covers?

[Goten Forever]

Most dubfans I've seen from YouTube only know Mr. Satan as the H-word.

The first time I saw the name Mr Satan was when I was playing Final Bout.
At that time I thought that GT Goku was Goten (or pretended he was) so I was pretty confused.

[Goten Forever]

But yeah, Sean Schemmel chose to say Son Goku a few times (not on the script) and they used that one.

I think that the fans that would complain about it should go f*** themselves.

Or, less strongly, live with it.

[dbboxkaifan]

But yeah, Sean Schemmel chose to say Son Goku a few times (not on the script) and they used that one.

I think that the fans that would complain about it should go f*** themselves.

Or, less strongly, live with it.

Some think the original (Japanese) script had "ally to good, nightmare to you", lol, this is quite disappointing.

And then on a DBZanto I said "doesn't Infinite World have Son Goku's I Am Speech" and then some guy replied "this isn't DBZ Kai" meaning he thought the "I am the Super Saiyan, Son Goku" is only from Kai.

Jeez, FUNimation, look what you've done!

[KingofWisdom]

I do like the "I am the Super Saiyan! Son Goku!" line now since I know Schemmel is the reason it exists. When you realize he was able to get something like that into the dub, it's a fairly decent sign that they don't want to completely rape DBZ anymore. But, if you didn't know that, you'd just think someone like Chris Sabat threw it in for no reason, despite not doing it for any other part. That's why the line made me face-palm at first.

[dbboxkaifan]

I tried to swap Son Goku to Goku Son on Schemmel's Kai Speech but it got messed up, anyone wanna give it a try too?

"I am the Super Saiyan, Goku Son!!".

[Daimo-Rukiri]

I don't mind Sean's Kaio-Sama in Kai, it just doesn't bother me.

[Gonstead]

I don't mind Sean's Kaio-Sama in Kai, it just doesn't bother me.

Ditto to this but I can admit he can get annoying at times.

[Attitudefan]

I think the contrast lies more to the fact that, he's this really odd looking fellow, who is supposed to be a god and loves puns but has this deep powerful voice a serious god would have. That's just my take on it.