Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" Dub Turns 16; Still Unreleased

[TheBlackPaladin]

Whilst Funimation got the license for US and Canada, these guys got the license for the English speaking countries in Europe primarily Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands. Unfortunately even with these countries combined the market when compared with North America is small. That's why you don't see many dubs specifically made for the UK.

Much to our shock and dismay (in that we've been waiting so long to see the Ocean dub), the UK began airing the FUNimation dub of Kai not too long ago. Conversely, Kai has not seen any kind of TV time over in Canada. I don't know about Ireland, though. Or the Netherlands, for that matter.

[Solidus]

Much to our shock and dismay (in that we've been waiting so long to see the Ocean dub), the UK began airing the FUNimation dub of Kai not too long ago. Conversely, Kai has not seen any kind of TV time over in Canada. I don't know about Ireland, though. Or the Netherlands, for that matter.

Yes I am aware that Kix is airing the Funi dub. 'You know who' referred to it as the UK dub so the producers would need to have the UK license if they are producing it for that market. Kix airs in Ireland, I don't know what the case is with the Netherlands. The UK airing the Funi dub is nothing new because Cartoon Network UK aired the Funi version of the Fusion saga for the first few episodes despite the Westwood dub being used prior. Of course it did return to use the Westwood dub after that for the remaining episodes and reruns. My point was that you'd need to have the license for the show in a certain region before you can start dubbing it and in this case that seems to be the UK.

[90sDBZ]

Much to our shock and dismay (in that we've been waiting so long to see the Ocean dub), the UK began airing the FUNimation dub of Kai not too long ago. Conversely, Kai has not seen any kind of TV time over in Canada. I don't know about Ireland, though. Or the Netherlands, for that matter.

Yes I am aware that Kix is airing the Funi dub. 'You know who' referred to it as the UK dub so the producers would need to have the UK license if they are producing it for that market. Kix airs in Ireland, I don't know what the case is with the Netherlands. The UK airing the Funi dub is nothing new because Cartoon Network UK aired the Funi version of the Fusion saga for the first few episodes despite the Westwood dub being used prior. Of course it did return to use the Westwood dub after that for the remaining episodes and reruns. My point was that you'd need to have the license for the show in a certain region before you can start dubbing it and in this case that seems to be the UK.

Actually it wasn't just a few episodes but the entire Fusion saga that aired in the UK in Funi dub. And it wasn't on Cartoon Network but on CNX. They had 2 full runs of the saga and were half-way through the 3rd run before going back to Ocean's dub(and breaking my heart). In addition to that they also had the Ginyu, Frieza, Garlic Jr and Trunks sagas in Funi dub for all of DBZ's time on UK TV including the original airings in 2000 and all the re-runs throughout the years until 2005 when it got taken off the air.

Anyway I'm pretty sure that Kix will never air the Ocean dub (and am personally hoping they never do but that's beside the point). Even if "you know who" referred to it as "the UK dub" it doesn't make that official. Maybe he just assumed it was for the UK seeing as how the Westwood dub was primarily for the UK. Or perhaps there's a UK DVD release planned. Either way we pretty much know for certain that by the time Kix announced they were airing Kai Ocean had already far passed episode 53.

I think that maybe Kix looked at both dubs and ultimately decided to go with Funi's dub. Why else would they wait 2 years to air Kai after looking at a screener? I think they were waiting to see what Ocean had to offer and then decided that Funi's dub would do better. And there could have been some influence from Toei who would have been keen to help boost sales of the Orange Bricks which were already doing very well at the time. Airing a different dub on TV would be effectively sabotaging the sales of the Orange Bricks and when all is said and done, despite being somewhat curious about Ocean's dub I'm glad Kix went with Funi. Risking ending up with another Westwood disaster on TV as the only source of Dragonball just wouldn't be worth it imo. Especially when we have a great dub from Funi available already.

[TheBlackPaladin]

In addition to that they also had the Ginyu, Freeza, Garlic Jr and Trunks sagas in Funi dub for all of DBZ's time on UK TV including the original airings in 2000 and all the re-runs throughout the years until 2005 when it got taken off the air.

Well, to be fair, an Ocean dub of those sagas (except perhaps the last one or two of the Trunks saga) was never produced. Which is another reason I'm looking forward to the Ocean dub of Kai. The original English dub cast is finally gonna get a shot at dubbing parts of DBZ that they never dubbed before. I'm particularly excited to hear Drummond and McNeil when their characters start fighting Freeza.

[Solidus]

Anyway I'm pretty sure that Kix will never air the Ocean dub (and am personally hoping they never do but that's beside the point). Even if "you know who" referred to it as "the UK dub" it doesn't make that official. Maybe he just assumed it was for the UK seeing as how the Westwood dub was primarily for the UK. Or perhaps there's a UK DVD release planned. Either way we pretty much know for certain that by the time Kix announced they were airing Kai Ocean had already far passed episode 53.

I also doubt Kix! will air the Ocean dub. CSC Media have a history dealing with Toei and it would be make more sense for them to get the rest of Funi's dub instead of waiting for a long time for dub that hasn't even been announced yet. I hope that the Ocean dub is made for DVD only just so that it isn't plagued with edits and cuts like a TV version would. At this point it's looking more like DVD only, with the producers taking their time they probably didn't want a TV station barking down their backs.

I'm particularly excited to hear Drummond and McNeil when their characters start fighting Freeza.

This is one of the things I am looking forward to the most. Especially now that Freeza is Lee Tockar. It would also be the first time their will be a consistent Son Goku in an Ocean dub.

[Super Sayian Prime]

I think that maybe Kix looked at both dubs and ultimately decided to go with Funi's dub. Why else would they wait 2 years to air Kai after looking at a screener? I think they were waiting to see what Ocean had to offer and then decided that Funi's dub would do better. And there could have been some influence from Toei who would have been keen to help boost sales of the Orange Bricks which were already doing very well at the time. Airing a different dub on TV would be effectively sabotaging the sales of the Orange Bricks and when all is said and done, despite being somewhat curious about Ocean's dub I'm glad Kix went with Funi. Risking ending up with another Westwood disaster on TV as the only source of Dragonball just wouldn't be worth it imo. Especially when we have a great dub from Funi available already.

You're acting as though Kai and the Orange Bricks aren't two separate dubs.

[Ringworm128]

I haven't lost any faith in this possibly being a good dub because of BW VA's getting involved, as long as the director is good this dub should be fine.

If you have a problem with anything that an actor is doing in a dub, it is not with the actor. Everyone is quick to rip up an actor but you know what, 99 times out of 100 it's usually the director's fault. Blame the director. I say this as a director not as a voice actor."

I decided to make a list of voices I want/don't want to be replaced.

Who Should Stay:

Scott McNeil as Piccolo and Jheese.

Brian Drummond as Vegeta.

Terry Classen as Babidi.

Jason Grey Stanford as Raditz and Kiwi.

Paul Dobson as Zarbon.

Brad Swaile as Older Gohan.

Michael Dobson as Nappa and Kaioshin.

Cathy Weseluck as Kid Trunks.

Ted Cole as Android 17.

Dale Wilson as Cell. I feel like I should put him in the "don't want" list but I can't help but think he has it in him to do a great Cell.

Brian Dobson as Super Buu.

Richard Newman as Ginyu.

Enuka Okuma as Andriod 18.


Who should go or really should change their takes on the character(s):

Alistair Abell as Trunks.

Ted Cole as Pui Pui.

Scott McNeil as Andriod 16.

Michael Dobson as Nail.

Brian Dobson as Dr Gero

Terry Classen as The Turtle Hermit.

[90sDBZ]

I think that maybe Kix looked at both dubs and ultimately decided to go with Funi's dub. Why else would they wait 2 years to air Kai after looking at a screener? I think they were waiting to see what Ocean had to offer and then decided that Funi's dub would do better. And there could have been some influence from Toei who would have been keen to help boost sales of the Orange Bricks which were already doing very well at the time. Airing a different dub on TV would be effectively sabotaging the sales of the Orange Bricks and when all is said and done, despite being somewhat curious about Ocean's dub I'm glad Kix went with Funi. Risking ending up with another Westwood disaster on TV as the only source of Dragonball just wouldn't be worth it imo. Especially when we have a great dub from Funi available already.

You're acting as though Kai and the Orange Bricks aren't two separate dubs.

Well maybe I used a poor choice of words. I meant that using 2 completely different voice casts would sabotage the sales of the Bricks. And even though Kai had several characters re-cast it still has the majority of the core characters with the same voices.

[Super Sayian Prime]

I think that maybe Kix looked at both dubs and ultimately decided to go with Funi's dub. Why else would they wait 2 years to air Kai after looking at a screener? I think they were waiting to see what Ocean had to offer and then decided that Funi's dub would do better. And there could have been some influence from Toei who would have been keen to help boost sales of the Orange Bricks which were already doing very well at the time. Airing a different dub on TV would be effectively sabotaging the sales of the Orange Bricks and when all is said and done, despite being somewhat curious about Ocean's dub I'm glad Kix went with Funi. Risking ending up with another Westwood disaster on TV as the only source of Dragonball just wouldn't be worth it imo. Especially when we have a great dub from Funi available already.

You're acting as though Kai and the Orange Bricks aren't two separate dubs.

Well maybe I used a poor choice of words. I meant that using 2 completely different voice casts would sabotage the sales of the Bricks. And even though Kai had several characters re-cast it still has the majority of the core characters with the same voices.

Do you want to know what happened in Canada? The Westwood and Blue Water dubs aired on TV. Do you know what was available on VHS/DVD at the same time as those dubs were being broadcast? Funimation's Texas dub. Given pretty much every major retailer in this country sells Funimation's Dragon Ball home releases, I'm willing to wager that didn't impact sales at all. You know why? It's because people want Dragon Ball, and I don't think the majority cares if it was dubbed in Texas, or in British Columbia. If the populace had such a concern for quality, the Orange Bricks would've been discontinued after the first volume due to the heinous "restoration" job Funimation did. Instead, they're being sold in a bunch of countries, and are one of the two complete home releases of Z in North America.

[90sDBZ]

Yes Canada did get the Ocean dub on TV but they also had Funimation's dub all the way from the Captain Ginyu saga to half way through the Cell games saga so they were very familiar with both dubs just like the UK. If a company were to release a dub on DVD that was entirely different to what airs on TV then that very well could have a negative affect on the sales.

[TheWhiz]

I haven't lost any faith in this possibly being a good dub because of BW VA's getting involved, as long as the director is good this dub should be fine.

If you have a problem with anything that an actor is doing in a dub, it is not with the actor. Everyone is quick to rip up an actor but you know what, 99 times out of 100 it's usually the director's fault. Blame the director. I say this as a director not as a voice actor."

I decided to make a list of voices I want/don't want to be replaced.

Who Should Stay:

Scott McNeil as Piccolo and Jheese.

Brian Drummond as Vegeta.

Terry Classen as Babidi.

Jason Grey Stanford as Raditz and Kiwi.

Paul Dobson as Zarbon.

Brad Swaile as Older Gohan.

Michael Dobson as Nappa and Kaioshin.

Cathy Weseluck as Kid Trunks.

Ted Cole as Android 17.

Dale Wilson as Cell. I feel like I should put him in the "don't want" list but I can't help but think he has it in him to do a great Cell.

Brian Dobson as Super Buu.

Richard Newman as Ginyu.

Enuka Okuma as Andriod 18.


Who should go or really should change their takes on the character(s):

Alistair Abell as Trunks.

Ted Cole as Pui Pui.

Scott McNeil as Andriod 16.

Michael Dobson as Nail.

Brian Dobson as Dr Gero

Terry Classen as The Turtle Hermit.

You really want Terry Klassen to voice Babidi again?

[Ringworm128]

Yes. The only real problem with his Babidi is that it sounds a lot like his Krillin voice, and even then that's hardly a complaint since there are plenty of voices in the Japanese dub and Funimation dub that get praised despite sounding alike. Speaking of Klassen, if he returned to voice Krillin I hope he took a page from Sonny Straits book and toned down his Krillin slightly.

[Gonstead]

If Klassen really had to come back, I'd take him as either Krillin or Guldo over Roshi and Babidi any day.

[90sDBZ]

I say if Klassen has to be involved then have him as Krillin and Krillin only. I remember watching an episode of the Kid Buu saga in Ocean dub with Krillin and West Kai together in the same scene and one of them refers to King Kai and says "he's looking". I honestly didn't know which of them it was that said it until I later saw the Funi dub and found out it was Krillin. And his Roshi was just cringeworthy. In the Saban dub he wasn't so bad as Krillin becasue he actually tried to sound serious but in the Westwood dub he just got so annoying which that goofy voice in every scene. He really needs to tone it way down.

[CaBrPi]

I don't even like Terry Klassen as Kuririn. I dunno exactly what it is, but it just sounds to me like he's trying to hard, and comes across as more of a caricature than a character.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Well, the thing about the returning actors is, we're all speculating based on past performances. For all we know, time and experience may end up allowing for a returning actor to put on a better performance than they did before. Sadly, the reverse is also a possibility...it could be that they're so bored about returning to an old role that they actually sound worse.

[penguintruth]

I don't even like Terry Klassen as Kuririn. I dunno exactly what it is, but it just sounds to me like he's trying to hard, and comes across as more of a caricature than a character.

Klassen and Strait's Kuririn are pretty much the same. Neither are spectacular, but neither are terrible either. Klassen's is more nasally, and he sounds a bit like Milhouse from The Simpsons, but less scratchy. It makes Kuririn sound like this really gooberish, but likable loser. Strait's is more growly, and his delivery is pretty awful at times, even if his voice has a more adult quality to it than Klassen's, but he's improved over time. I just get the feeling that he's this guy who isn't so cool but is trying hard to be, even though he knows it isn't working.

I certainly put more stock in Strait's Kuririn than his Lupin III (ugh, and he's returning as him) or even his Maes Hughes, but I wouldn't say he's better or worse than Klassen.

Klassen's Roshi, however, is just horrendous. But I've never really liked any of the English dub Roshis.

[90sDBZ]

I don't even like Terry Klassen as Kuririn. I dunno exactly what it is, but it just sounds to me like he's trying to hard, and comes across as more of a caricature than a character.

Klassen and Strait's Kuririn are pretty much the same. Neither are spectacular, but neither are terrible either. Klassen's is more nasally, and he sounds a bit like Milhouse from The Simpsons, but less scratchy. It makes Kuririn sound like this really gooberish, but likable loser. Strait's is more growly, and his delivery is pretty awful at times, even if his voice has a more adult quality to it than Klassen's, but he's improved over time. I just get the feeling that he's this guy who isn't so cool but is trying hard to be, even though he knows it isn't working.

I certainly put more stock in Strait's Kuririn than his Lupin III (ugh, and he's returning as him) or even his Maes Hughes, but I wouldn't say he's better or worse than Klassen.

Klassen's Roshi, however, is just horrendous. But I've never really liked any of the English dub Roshis.

Well I think Strait's Krillin is much better. Like you said he often comes across as someone trying to sound cooler than they are but the way I see it that suits Krillin perfectly. I mean just look at Krillin in some of the movies. He's always trying to act tough but gets owned and it even gets turned into a running gag. In movie 2 he tried to be all tough flying up to hit Wheelo after Gohan and Piccolo had done so but got a slap across the face for his troubles. Strait captures the character perfectly imo.

Klassen on the other hand sounds like he's trying to sound intentionally whinny. Krillin isn't a guy who tries to sound whinny but who wants to be tough like Goku. Being short bothers him so it makes more sense for him to try and make up for that by sounding tough rather than to go out of his way to sound annoying.

[TheWhiz]

If Klassen really had to come back, I'd take him as either Krillin or Guldo over Roshi and Babidi any day.

I agree. His Roshi was horrible.

[Solidus]

Fan Expo Vancouver is on this weekend. Brian Drummond, Brendan Hunter, Brad Swaile and Cathy Weseluck as well as Sonny Strait will be guests there doing autographs and Q & A's. Hopefully someone asks them about Kai. Going by the schedule they'll be there on both days, bar Strait.
Anyone planning on going?