Otherwise Great Scenes Totally Ruined for You By Something?

[Fionordequester]

By anything really. What I'm referring to are those moments where everything is really intense, the music is giving you chills, the animation is powerful and great, and the tension and pacing of the scene is really good. You are completely hooked, and can't WAIT to see...

...oh, wait, and then something just completely STUPID happens to completely ruin the moment. And this can be for anything Dragon Ball (dub, subbed, GT, Battle of Gods, whatever).

To start this thread off, I will nominate the Japanese version of the Super Saiyan Transformation theme. Basically, as a symptom of the whole "Sub vs. Dub" thing, there's an argument I hear a lot about which version of this scene was scored better. And what I'll hear a lot is that the Japanese version was way more dramatic, atmospheric, scary, and all of that good stuff. It got across this sense that Goku had just completely SNAPPED, and we were scared, and wondering what happened to him. It made us ask, "Was he going to be a bloodthirsty monster?". And it was because of this that it was better scored....

...and you know what? I'm not sure I actually disagree with that. Don't get me wrong, I love Team Faulconer's SSJ Theme to death, but for this specific moment...huh, maybe it WASN'T as good as the Japanese music. Because to be perfectly honest, I may have actually been getting chills from the scene. And then, Nozawa gives the scream, the scream that would cap off one of the most defining moments of the entire series...

AAAAH!

... ....

Yes my friends, for just a brief moment, the Japanese version temporarily turns into a badly dubbed Chinese film. And what I mean is that, this is how long it takes until sound FINALLY comes out of Goku's mouth...



That's right, there is literally at least a full second, if not two, where Goku's mouth is open wide, but there's no sound coming out, and when the scream finally DOES come out, the scream suffers tremendously for it. And to this day, I still wonder just how in the world that got past quality control.

So yeah, that's the story about how I almost got converted to the Japanese version of this scene. Does anyone have any stories they want to share?

[VegettoEX]

A lot of people give the Trunks TV special flack for cutting to an eyecatch right after Trunks' Super Saiyan transformation. I don't think it's a particularly big deal, and I don't think the "CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA" jingle right there is the mood-destroyer the way I think it's over-exaggerated to be.

In terms of similar things to what you've mentioned, Fionordequester, Vegeta's "don't misunderstand me" scene from DBZ Movie 6 always drives me a little bonkers with just how much flapping there is compared to when the dialog is and how much there is of it. I think I'm one of the most absolutely apologetic people when it comes to flaps matching dialog (in that I don't think it needs to, or even particularly SHOULD, be at Family Guy level), but that ONE SCENE takes me out of the moment every single time in that movie.

[ABED]

I like Upa/Bora's theme except for that damn boing sound. One of my favorite moments in all of Dragon Ball is the episode where Tao Pai Pai murders Bora and it ends with Goku mad and rushing into a hopeless fight, and the music is so good but that boing sticks out like a sore thumb and ruins the moment.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Three things come to mind, really.

1) The eyecatches. I honestly can't remember an eyecatch that I thought was remotely appropriate until Kai, when they finally did have appropriate visuals and appropriately exciting music. Well, OK, on occasion (for more comical moments/episodes) I didn't mind them, but overall I didn't particularly like them, either visually or musically, until Kai.

2) Next Episode Previews. I know they're vital for some people, but honestly, I avoid them at every opportunity. Not just for the "Dragon Ball" animes really, but for any show. I don't want to know what's going to happen in the next episode except for when I actually see the next episode. Every time it gets to the NEPs, my finger lunges for the "skip chapter" button on my remote.

3).................This might sound a little mean-spirited, but I actually don't mean this in a mean way, and I'll explain why. I simply cannot take the character of Nappa seriously anymore thanks to Team Four Star's portrayal of him. The most memorable version of Nappa, in my opinion, is Takahata101 and TFS's version of him. I don't mean that in a mean way, though--it's not their fault that they created a more memorable Nappa than Akira Toriyama did!

PS: Fionordequester, I was always a little puzzled by that delay in the SSJ scream as well. I remember watching that for the first time and thinking it was my computer. Then I watched it on the DVD and thought FUNimation laid the track down wrong. Then I cross-referenced it with other sources....nope. That was Toei's mistake. One that I'm glad they corrected in all subsequent appearances.

[Kamiccolo9]

Anytime a fight is interrupted for a scene with Chi-chi. The Saiyan and Freeza fights are the worst offenders of this, although the Cell fight has it's moments as well.

[DynasticHunter]

I think a lot of other people would agree with me that the Hope of the Universe speech is terrible. But for me I watched the Funi dub first and then read the manga, after re watching the scene I realized that this is something that Goku would never say. It was cheesy, and killed the mood for me. Also I watched the English Dub of GT and when Pan confronts Golden Great Ape Goku, the scene is suppose to be emotional and heart warming especially during the flashbacks but Pan's annoying voice actor completely killed it for me. Things like this is why I am re-watching Dragon Ball in English Subs.

[ABED]

I think a lot of other people would agree with me that the Hope of the Universe speech is terrible. But for me I watched the Funi dub first and then read the manga, after re watching the scene I realized that this is something that Goku would never say. It was cheesy, and killed the mood for me. Also I watched the English Dub of GT and when Pan confronts Golden Great Ape Goku, the scene is suppose to be emotional and heart warming especially during the flashbacks but Pan's annoying voice actor completely killed it for me. Things like this is why I am re-watching Dragon Ball in English Subs.

Is the dub actress really that much more annoying than her Japanese counterpart?

[TheMightyOzaru]

I think most of GT is pretty much something great ruined by the execution. It had tons of great ideas but utilized them terribly. I'm also not a fan of the hope of the universe speech. Save that stuff for Superman.

[DynasticHunter]

I think a lot of other people would agree with me that the Hope of the Universe speech is terrible. But for me I watched the Funi dub first and then read the manga, after re watching the scene I realized that this is something that Goku would never say. It was cheesy, and killed the mood for me. Also I watched the English Dub of GT and when Pan confronts Golden Great Ape Goku, the scene is suppose to be emotional and heart warming especially during the flashbacks but Pan's annoying voice actor completely killed it for me. Things like this is why I am re-watching Dragon Ball in English Subs.

Is the dub actress really that much more annoying than her Japanese counterpart?

Couldn't say I have not watched the Japanese version yet. Re-watching all of Dragon Ball in English Subs though.

[ABED]

I think most of GT is pretty much something great ruined by the execution. It had tons of great ideas but utilized them terribly. I'm also not a fan of the hope of the universe speech. Save that stuff for Superman.

I agree about GT, but I don't think even Superman would be that on the nose, at least not one written in the modern age.

[TheMightyOzaru]

I think most of GT is pretty much something great ruined by the execution. It had tons of great ideas but utilized them terribly. I'm also not a fan of the hope of the universe speech. Save that stuff for Superman.

I agree about GT, but I don't think even Superman would be that on the nose, at least not one written in the modern age.

I suppose that's true.

[Dalesy]

Just about nearly every emotional scene throughout the series is ruined for me in the English dub by bad voice acting, or over explanation.

For example:

GT ENDING SPOILERS

Spoiler:

When Vegeta delivers his "Planet Vegeta was destroyed by Freeza, and now the Earth?" speech to the families, Chris Sabat completely loses the sense of desperation that makes the scene great in Japanese. The same goes for when Trunks, Gohan, and Goten are saying goodbye and turning back to fight. The way the lines are altered makes it sound like they expect to live. Also, there's pretty much no emotion in their voices.

Another moment that's completely ruined for me is Gohan's SSJ2 transformation. The English dub insists on having him spell out every last bit of emotional turmoil he's going through, rather than putting it down for the audience to pick up. In the original, Gohan just gets pushed over the limit and snaps, but the dub makes it seem like he came to some conscious decision to power up, which makes no sense.

[theoriginalbilis]

I have to admit, once I read that the Japanese don't care about accurately matching of the lip-flaps so long as they get a good performance from the voice actor, I pretty much started noticing that many older anime have weird lip-synching. But it doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the material, it's just a fun oddity.

And the "HEAD-CHA-LA" eyecatch has never bothered me... shit is so cash.

[Vice]

I hate intros. To all anime. I mean I can watch them once just to see what they're like, but they're always too long and get completely unnecessary for every single episode.

Not sure if that counts.

[ABED]

I hate intros. To all anime. I mean I can watch them once just to see what they're like, but they're always too long and get completely unnecessary for every single episode.

Not sure if that counts.

Do you mean recaps or Intro songs?

[Quebaz]

While I do love the eyecatches,being not accustomed with them (due the fact that my dub doesn't have them at all), there are some scenes that it kills the mood a bit (and even then, I LOVE THAT JINGLE).
Other than that, SSJ3 transformation in Portuguese, as Goku doesn't scream but literaly moans.

[DBZ Mick]

Sometimes the switch between animation styles. Like when Trunks slices Freeza with his sword (although it never bothered me fully for some reason but it's very jarring) or for me when SSJ2 Vegeta is fighting Boo to give Goku time to recovery energy. You go from this drop dead gorgeous animation to a rather mediocre style...

The fight with Freeza being interrupted by constant cuts to Chichi wanting to go Namek or Kaio grumbling- They've touched what they shouldn't have touched or whatnot ad infinitum.

[TheMightyOzaru]

Oh yeah, I hate when they go from pretty decent animation to complete shit like so:


It's so irritating .

[Kamiccolo9]

Goku's face in this scene ruined the entire episode for me. I warn you, this picture is not for the faint-hearted.

Spoiler:

[ABED]

Cuts to Kaio wouldn't bother me if he added something like a good commentator does to a wrestling match. Sometimes he does but not all the time. I agree, he's rather repetitive. However, the cuts to Chichi are annoying, although an argument could be made that cutting to Bulma is even more annoying. If we are gonna cut to something funny, cut to Muten Roshi or Yajirobe.