Sean Schemmel confirms Buu Saga dubbing in interview

[ABED]

The only thing that's changed about Piccolo's dub voice is it's a lot less gravelly and Sabat has improved with more experience. His delivery is far more natural than DBZ season 3.

[TheBlackPaladin]

The only thing that's changed about Piccolo's dub voice is it's a lot less gravelly and Sabat has improved with more experience. His delivery is far more natural than DBZ season 3.

Which I attribute to the fact that, according to him, he's no longer trying to sound like Scott McNeil.

I've always believed it's better to go your own direction with a character, even if you're taking over from someone else. 'Cause if you just do an impression of the previous voice, you'll only serve to remind people of the previous voice.

[90sDBZ]

I really don't think there's any need to recast Piccolo. Sabat has been spot on from what I've seen of Kai and Piccolo really didn't age much at all between the Cell and Buu sagas. Perhaps Sabat could change his delivery to reflect on Piccolo relaxing more during peaceful times but there are still lots of scenes that require intensity such as when he faces off against Supreme Kai and all his scenes with Super Buu.

[WesMan23]

Hoping for more information soon...

But yes, Sabat has improved drastically from "Oh, look, he's evil, green and strong! He has to sound like he smokes 1,000 cigarettes a day!" to the point where he has the character nailed down as he should be, a reformed villain, but very wise, who carries a certain opulence to him. The rougher voice fit the psychotic Piccolo-Daimao in DB, but in Z, he's not psychotic, so it just didn't work. In Kai, the smoother voice does work, far better.

[Kakarot88]

Holy Crap that's Sabat! He sounds so different to me, I had no idea. I really tried getting into Kai but just don't like the voice acting as much as Z and I thought it was because of all the new voice actors but even the old ones changed it up to a certain extent oh well.

[WesMan23]

Holy Crap that's Sabat! He sounds so different to me, I had no idea. I really tried getting into Kai but just don't like the voice acting as much as Z and I thought it was because of all the new voice actors but even the old ones changed it up to a certain extent oh well.

The changes do take getting used to if you're used to the voices of the original Z. You're welcome to your opinion that you enjoy the original FUNi dub better. However, the returning VAs really improved their acting. Doing the same role for over a decade usually guarantees improvement, and they really do much better now. Case in point, Sabat's Piccolo and Vegeta improving drastically, and Sean Schemmel actually saying "Son Goku", for the first time in the anime dub (quoted in my signature.) It shows that instead of just impersonating their predecessors, they are actually taking legitimate passion in the source material now, which really shows improvement.

Plus, new Freeza, showing that instead of having an androgynous, sexually confused chain-smoker grandma, they now have a seemingly well-mannered, very cultured businessman, which is exactly how he is supposed to be. Yes, there is still a degree of androgyny to his voice, but Freeza, is by nature, flamboyant to an extent. And he is truly terrifying when he makes his final transformation and "Only a Chilling Elegy" starts playing. The scene just had so much more impact in Kai, than it did in the Z dub.

Yeah, there are some parts of the original dub that were done well. (Goku's SSJ3 transformation, re-enactment of the Cell Games, Vegetto's mocking of Buu, etc.) However, I don't doubt that Kai will do them justice when it gets to that point. But in my opinion, Kai's voice acting is miles above the original dub for the most part, though you are certainly welcome to believe otherwise. That's the beauty of an opinion, can't bash you for it, just disagree in a civil manner.

[ABED]

Hoping for more information soon...

But yes, Sabat has improved drastically from "Oh, look, he's evil, green and strong! He has to sound like he smokes 1,000 cigarettes a day!" to the point where he has the character nailed down as he should be, a reformed villain, but very wise, who carries a certain opulence to him. The rougher voice fit the psychotic Piccolo-Daimao in DB, but in Z, he's not psychotic, so it just didn't work. In Kai, the smoother voice does work, far better.

When in doubt, blame the director. I don't know if it was Sabat's idea to make him sound gravelly but he was definitely told to sound like a previous actor for both Piccolo and Vegeta. His Vegeta has gotten FAR better over the years and one of the biggest reasons he sounded awful in the beginning is because he was told to immitate Drummond. Listen to a clip of Sabat from early season 3 - HOLY CRAP is it terrible.

I'm with Paladin on this issue, trying to make someone sound like someone else is a bad idea. Did FUNi really fool anyone? I wish they had used the interim period between season 2 and 3 of DBZ to go in a more accurate direction, even if the talent pool back then was green.

[dbzfan7]

Holy Crap that's Sabat! He sounds so different to me, I had no idea. I really tried getting into Kai but just don't like the voice acting as much as Z and I thought it was because of all the new voice actors but even the old ones changed it up to a certain extent oh well.

It takes time to adjust. But trust me that once you do, you will realize how god awful the old dub's voicing is. Its so bad that I can't watch anything Pre-Boo. Only the movies took a step up. Even Sean Schemmel can't stand his old voice work as he said in a 2011 interview(though he doesn't think it was as bad as he used to think).

[ABED]

Holy Crap that's Sabat! He sounds so different to me, I had no idea. I really tried getting into Kai but just don't like the voice acting as much as Z and I thought it was because of all the new voice actors but even the old ones changed it up to a certain extent oh well.

It takes time to adjust. But trust me that once you do, you will realize how god awful the old dub's voicing is. Its so bad that I can't watch anything Pre-Boo. Only the movies took a step up.

The later Cell arc is pretty good.

[KingofWisdom]

When in doubt, blame the director.

Wouldn't that be Sabat?

[Kakarot88]

I just view them as two entirely separate things. See for me the funi dub is enjoyable because...dare I say it...I really like the Bruce Faulconer techno music...I know shame shame I am not a "purist" BUT I do also enjoy the original version, I've watched the entire series through multiple times and have found that my favorite method is what I grew up with on Toonami but with the Japanese subtitles. I enjoy Kai but for me it feels less "Oh my gurr something herp derp bad is gurna happen argghhhhh" and I actually like that lol. Kai is more true to the Manga no doubt but it still feels slower than Z to me despite cutting out the filler. I love filler battles, and I really hope they don't cut out parts of the Majin Vegeta fight with Goku like they did with Goku versus Freeza...I was hoping by "cut out the filler" they meant cut out Bulma BS scenes and other cast from Dragon Ball who became obsolete but leave in ALL the battles (well maybe not Garlic Jr. but I don't mind that one either because of all the fighting!).

As far as voice acting goes I like the old Z and I like Kai, I just prefer Z and can see y'alls points. I just feel like although the more reserved Piccolo and Vegeta are more accurate, because I grew up with the insane Funi one liners of Vegeta and Piccolo's loooooong yells it leaves me longing for those no matter how inaccurate they may be.


Overall, I am of course really excited for the Boo arc. And will of course watch it regardless but I have my favorites. Overall the main thing is most people on here seem to despise Nadolny (spelling?) as Gohan but that is really the main reason I prefer Z, so "to each his own." Thanks for all the info and not raging at me, I've seen some people get pretty heated over this lol.

As a side note, I am not sure why so many people hate on the performance of the actors in season 2 of the orange brick sets, they redubbed a good portion of those scenes and in other seasons as well and it is noticible from episode to episode, but I never thought it was all that bad either way.

[B]

Sabat's performance as Piccolo when the show started was one of the worst things ever. His performance the last few years(games/Kai, I'll be conservative and say 2009) is standout. I don't even understand how the conversation even led to the idea of recasting him.

[Kakarot88]

Sabat's performance as Piccolo when the show started was one of the worst things ever. His performance the last few years(games/Kai, I'll be conservative and say 2009) is standout. I don't even understand how the conversation even led to the idea of recasting him.

Why was it one of the worst things ever? What about it other than sounding deeper and angrier offends your ears? Before the Saiyans inform the viewer that Namekians aren't even demons the guy before Sabat sounded pretty spot on for that sinister hiss he did http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCXyiBuj ... .be&t=7m5s... and Sabat got rid of the hiss and made it his own, while still beeing deep and distinct. It is one of the most distinct and recognizable voices there is, whenever there was an ad for Z with that voice over you knew Piccolo was telling you what's up...so what did Sabat change so drastically other than sounding less deep and mean that makes it so terrible by comparison to Kai? Kai he sounds different, yes but why according to you is his performance in Z "terrible"?

[dbzfan7]

Sabat's performance as Piccolo when the show started was one of the worst things ever. His performance the last few years(games/Kai, I'll be conservative and say 2009) is standout. I don't even understand how the conversation even led to the idea of recasting him.

Why was it one of the worst things ever? What about it other than sounding deeper and angrier offends your ears? Before the Saiyans inform the viewer that Namekians aren't even demons the guy before Sabat sounded pretty spot on for that sinister hiss he did http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCXyiBuj ... .be&t=7m5s... and Sabat got rid of the hiss and made it his own, while still beeing deep and distinct. It is one of the most distinct and recognizable voices there is, whenever there was an ad for Z with that voice over you knew Piccolo was telling you what's up...so what did Sabat change so drastically other than sounding less deep and mean that makes it so terrible by comparison to Kai? Kai he sounds different, yes but why according to you is his performance in Z "terrible"?

In Kai Piccolo sounds a lot more natural instead of extremely gravely and raspy and ear grading. unfortunately Trunks in Kai did the opposite and made his voice more gravely rather then natural.

I'm surprised you find Kai slow. I find Z unbearably slow and painful. A lot of the time I sit through and episode and nothing is accomplished.

[ABED]

When in doubt, blame the director.

Wouldn't that be Sabat?

You could argue that now, but even so, FUNi hired someone inexperienced who was doing as he was told. If I'm not mistaken, Barry Watson was the producer in charge of the creative end. I guess I just give Sabat benefit of the doubt.

As to someone's comment about the season 3 partial redub from the season sets - it's such a hatchet job. It's like watching the Star Wars Special editions. Fine the first time, but Han shoots first and 90s CGI sticks out like a sore thumb in a movie released 20 years prior.

[Storm]

I think Sabat's Vegeta (and to a lesser extent, Piccolo) is probably the greatest improved returning dub performance for Kai. He really channels Ryo Horikawa's condescending, haughty tone. His Piccolo improved too, of course, though my brain gets a little weirded out at times because I just hear Zoro.

[xXInfinite026Xx]

I realize that there hasn't been any further news related to the dub cast of the Kai Buu arc, but I think the recent conversations have been a little of topic to the thread (not trying to play mod, I'm just saying.) With that said, I checked out another very interesting video recently of Kyle Hebert and Kara Edwards talking about their involvement in DBZ at Wai Con in Australia. It was from 2 months ago, so it's much more recent, but still before Kyle's confirmation of his involvement with Buu arc Kai.

What makes this video interesting to me, is that it gives a possible glimpse into how Goten might sound in the new dub. As Kara explains, Chris Sabat directed her at the time to give Goten a very raspy voice (the norm with the way young boys were dubbed at the time) and explains how she would subtly change the voice to remove the rasp and sound more natural (as she demonstrates). To me, it's a much more natural take to her Goten and definitely gives me high hopes for her voice (and the dub in general).

[dbzfan7]

I realize that there hasn't been any further news related to the dub cast of the Kai Buu arc, but I think the recent conversations have been a little of topic to the thread (not trying to play mod, I'm just saying.) With that said, I checked out another very interesting video recently of Kyle Hebert and Kara Edwards talking about their involvement in DBZ at Wai Con in Australia. It was from 2 months ago, so it's much more recent, but still before Kyle's confirmation of his involvement with Buu arc Kai.

What makes this video interesting to me, is that it gives a possible glimpse into how Goten might sound in the new dub. As Kara explains, Chris Sabat directed her at the time to give Goten a very raspy voice (the norm with the way young boys were dubbed at the time) and explains how she would subtly change the voice to remove the rasp and sound more natural (as she demonstrates). To me, it's a much more natural take to her Goten and definitely gives me high hopes for her voice (and the dub in general).

Hopefully she does good with a less raspy voice. Really need to wait and see and let it sink in.

[WesMan23]

I've said this before, but I think that Kai was the perfect second chance for FUNi. Japan never needed Kai like the US did. They basically did it right the first time around, but we got stuck with a subpar dub that just didn't sit well with a lot of people. I ate it up when it was new, but I do see the flaws now. Kai was announced, FUNi got a license for it, and I think they realized, "this is our chance, guys. We screwed up the first time, let's make the fans happy this time and show how much passion we have for DBZ now." In a way, even though Kai was not an idea of FUNi, their version is akin to a love letter to the fans, saying, "we're sorry we sucked. We've improved so much now, please take us back." The strides they made in dubbing gives me a lot of faith that they do truly care about the source material now. Even though 95% of the voices are the same actors, the voices are still "different" so to speak, in that the delivery, the acting, and the script are so much better, which makes the package an excellent one. Yes, Kai cuts out a lot, but for the dub version, it is the definitive version to have if you want a good dub.

[dbzfan7]

I've said this before, but I think that Kai was the perfect second chance for FUNi. Japan never needed Kai like the US did. They basically did it right the first time around, but we got stuck with a subpar dub that just didn't sit well with a lot of people. I ate it up when it was new, but I do see the flaws now. Kai was announced, FUNi got a license for it, and I think they realized, "this is our chance, guys. We screwed up the first time, let's make the fans happy this time and show how much passion we have for DBZ now." In a way, even though Kai was not an idea of FUNi, their version is akin to a love letter to the fans, saying, "we're sorry we sucked. We've improved so much now, please take us back." The strides they made in dubbing gives me a lot of faith that they do truly care about the source material now. Even though 95% of the voices are the same actors, the voices are still "different" so to speak, in that the delivery, the acting, and the script are so much better, which makes the package an excellent one. Yes, Kai cuts out a lot, but for the dub version, it is the definitive version to have if you want a good dub.

This should be Funimations public service announcement for Kai.