So Linda Young could handle the game scripts but not Kai?

[Ringworm128]

As we all know the reason Chris Ayers became the new Freeza for DB material dubbed by Funimation was because Linda Young couldn't keep up her Freeza voice with the new scripts, but what about the video games? They used scripts that seemed pretty faithful to the sub version and Linda Young could handle those just fine. So why not just use scripts similar to the video games?

[matt0044]

As we all know the reason Chris Ayers became the new Freeza for DB material dubbed by Funimation was because Linda Young couldn't keep up her Freeza voice with the new scripts, but what about the video games? They used scripts that seemed pretty faithful to the sub version and Linda Young could handle those just fine. So why not just use scripts similar to the video games?

Weren't they done before Kai?

[TheBlackPaladin]

As we all know the reason Chris Ayers became the new Freeza for DB material dubbed by Funimation was because Linda Young couldn't keep up her Freeza voice with the new scripts, but what about the video games? They used scripts that seemed pretty faithful to the sub version and Linda Young could handle those just fine. So why not just use scripts similar to the video games?

Mouth flaps.

It's not uncommon in anime that a completely literal translation won't work in a dub because the dialogue either takes a lot longer or a lot shorter to say in English. So, often the dialogue is rephrased in order to more naturally fit the mouth flaps of the characters. With videogames, they can be afford to be a tad more "literal" in the translations of their scripts because there aren't as many mouth flaps to worry about. There definitely are some scenes in videogames where they still need to worry about mouth flaps, but not as many. Presumably what Chris Sabat meant when he said, "she couldn't keep up," was that she couldn't say her lines fast enough to properly sync up with the lip flaps.

Considering how J Michael Tatum wrote the scripts, that wouldn't surprise me. I would argue that, even though the dialogue in the videogames prior to Kai was relatively loyal, Tatum took it to the next level. When adapting dialogue for Freeza, he wrote very sophisticated, heavy dialogue with a strong "upper class" feel to it (which was freakin' perfect for Freeza). If you'll notice, the scripts that Freeza had in the Z dub were significantly slower-paced and with much simpler, "to-the-point" dialogue. When they completely changed Freeza's style of talking--to the correct style--the change was presumably a tad too much for Young to handle. Chris Ayers, on the other hand, has a long history of Shakespearean acting both as an actor and as a director, so he LOVES that kind of dialogue.

[ABED]

They record voices for video games AFTER the game has been completed? That just seems like a bad decision to me. Write the script, record the lines, and animate around the lines.

As for Kai, Freeza is much more verbose in Kai as opposed to Z. I think the scripts could've been just as accurate but not as wordy, but I dig Tatum's scripts. It's another way to go, but perfectly in keeping with the character.

[B]

They record voices for video games AFTER the game has been completed? That just seems like a bad decision to me. Write the script, record the lines, and animate around the lines.

Well, you don't really have that option when you're dubbing. I don't even think the games are animated around the Japanese voices.

[TheBlackPaladin]

They record voices for video games AFTER the game has been completed? That just seems like a bad decision to me. Write the script, record the lines, and animate around the lines.

Well, you don't really have that option when you're dubbing. I don't even think the games are animated around the Japanese voices.

Although, while we're kinda on the subject, I remember from watching a video of one of Ayers's panels at a con that, when they cast him as Freeza, they actually had him record Freeza's dialogue in a video game first (which one exactly escapes my memory). He said that he used that as an opportunity to play around with what kind of voices would work best for Freeza in his various forms. So, that way, when it came time for him to record his first bit of actual dialogue for Kai, he already had a bit of practice as Freeza under his belt. Smart move/great timing, in my opinion.

[VegettoEX]

Yeah, pretty sure Tenkaichi Tag Team on the PSP was the first real appearance of extended dialog from him.

[DemonRin]

There's also her age.

I haven't been able to find her birthdate, but I do know she is John Burgmeier's mom. Meaning she is the mother of someone who is 38 years old right now. There's a good chance she's getting up there in years and just can't read the lines as quickly as she used to.

That coupled with the aforementioned updated script was probably the biggest factor.

[Tanooki Kuribo]

As we all know the reason Chris Ayers became the new Freeza for DB material dubbed by Funimation was because Linda Young couldn't keep up her Freeza voice with the new scripts, but what about the video games? They used scripts that seemed pretty faithful to the sub version and Linda Young could handle those just fine. So why not just use scripts similar to the video games?

This was just a nice way to say Linda Young was a horrible Freeza. They're not gonna just flat out say it.

[Ringworm128]

If that was the case then why did they even consider her for Kai in the first place?

[penguintruth]

Read between the lines, guys.

Same with Bulma. I'm pretty sure Tiffany Vollmer could have been reached to reprise her role, it's not like she's doing anything else with her life (and doing makeup for straight-to-bargain-bin schlock doesn't count). They looked for an excuse to replace her and did. Not a pretty practice, but I'm not complaining, since she was horrendous.

[matt0044]

If that was the case then why did they even consider her for Kai in the first place?

Outright rejecting her before giving her a chance wouldn't have been nice.

[ABED]

Read between the lines, guys.

Same with Bulma. I'm pretty sure Tiffany Vollmer could have been reached to reprise her role, it's not like she's doing anything else with her life (and doing makeup for straight-to-bargain-bin schlock doesn't count). They looked for an excuse to replace her and did. Not a pretty practice, but I'm not complaining, since she was horrendous.

I agree that she wasn't good as Bulma but why would you look down on someone for honest work?

[TheBlackPaladin]

If that was the case then why did they even consider her for Kai in the first place?

While it's theoretically possible that they were looking for an opportunity to replace her, this does not seem likely.

If they were looking to recast her from the beginning due to a performance that they didn't find satisfactory, they would not have brought her in to record the laugh she did in episode 1. Furthermore, if Chris Sabat said she "couldn't keep up" with the dialogue, that presumably means that she actually was brought in to record Freeza's dialogue for a session or two, and that somewhere on a hard drive at Okatron, there exist audio files of her various takes. In any event, they paid her for those sessions...they would not have wasted money if they knew that they were paying for a performance that would never be used.

If that was the case then why did they even consider her for Kai in the first place?

Outright rejecting her before giving her a chance wouldn't have been nice.

On the other hand, Stephanie Nadolny wasn't even contacted about the Kai dub, and only learned about it when fans started asking her.

[Nikkolas]

[
On the other hand, Stephanie Nadolny wasn't even contacted about the Kai dub, and only learned about it when fans started asking her.

Which is a real dick move, no matter what some think of her voice-acting..

[matt0044]

On the other hand, Stephanie Nadolny wasn't even contacted about the Kai dub, and only learned about it when fans started asking her.

Young was still with FUNi though.

[penguintruth]

Read between the lines, guys.

Same with Bulma. I'm pretty sure Tiffany Vollmer could have been reached to reprise her role, it's not like she's doing anything else with her life (and doing makeup for straight-to-bargain-bin schlock doesn't count). They looked for an excuse to replace her and did. Not a pretty practice, but I'm not complaining, since she was horrendous.

I agree that she wasn't good as Bulma but why would you look down on someone for honest work?

My point is, it's not as though she was busy doing anything else of note.

I'm glad they ditched a bunch of their awful VAs. They should have done more of it. Unfortunately, many of them still work for Funimation.

[ABED]

Not doing something of note isn't the same as "not doing something with her life".

I can't think of anyone in the Kai cast who was a bad actor. Sure, there are voices that aren't very good but the actors are talented.

Sean Schemmel isn't appropriate for Kaio-sama, but he's talented overall.

[KingofWisdom]

But why would they keep Young on board and find an excuse to ditch her later on? Would they really bring back an actress that they feel isn't compatible with a role simply because they felt obligated? I honestly think you're giving the people on the production side of the dub too much credit, penguintruth. For example, Bill Townsley is still with FUNi (returned as Kui) and he used to voice Guldo/Ghurd but they had no problems bringing in Greg Ayres to replace him. FUNimation didn't hesitate to recast three of the four returning lead characters in Trigun: Badlands Rumble either (a bit off-topic, and I know the actors in my example don't live in Texas, but my point is that they've gotten away with it before and could get away with it again).

[DemonRin]

I really think there's SOME truth to the "She couldn't keep up" stuff. I think the proof of that is them bringing her back to do the first episode and then switching her out. They didn't do that with Stephanie Nadolny or Tiffany Vollmer. We know this for a fact because Nadolny at least was never even told about the Kai dub period and only found out she'd been recast from fans after the fact.

So, if they just wanted to replace Linda Young, why didn't they just do it the way they did for those two?

I honestly think they may have recorded some more dialog with Young but probably scrapped it because they realized it didn't sound right and/or didn't fit with the rest of the tone and pacing of Kai. I would wholeheartedly agree with this, her voice doesn't belong coming out of Freeza's mouth.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the woman, or her acting ability. I've said before my undying love of her performance as Genkai in Yu Yu Hakusho... I just REALLY Don't think she made a good Freeza. I think it was a horrendous casing choice made necessary by a previous horrendous casting choice (Pauline Newstone) that really needed to be fixed with this new dub.