Do you think Nozawa Goku voice is too feminine?

[penguintruth]

An 80 year old woman does not sound feminine.

As for grating, well yeah. Goku is a mouthbreathing hillbilly. He's essentially Cletus the Slackjawed Yokel. He's supposed to be a bit grating. His friends are just used to him.

His family probably has a chromosome or two missing.

[JEFFMAN219]

Yes I think her voice for Goku especially when he's an adult sounds a little too feminine.

[TheOverlyMadHatter]

I agree on the "high-pitched" aspect, as opposed it sounding too feminine. There isn't anything all that girly about it save for that aforementioned attribute. When I hear a voice-clip, I hear Goku, not a woman. I just can't see that voice on a female character.

And no. I love it on him. It's iconic, and at this point, there's really no putting apart the character and seiyuu. Perhaps having the series readily available to watch in Japanese early in my fandom contributes to that, but I have a hard time imagining Goku, child or adult, being voiced by anyone other than Masako Nozawa.

[Ajay]

A somewhat off-topic but relevant post:

I just showed my flatmate (who's not into the franchise much at all besides growing up on the Ocean dub with me) the show in Japanese. It was very interesting to see his reaction to Nozawa's Goku. At first he said 'Wow, that doesn't seem to fit Goku's character at all, he sounds so womanly compared to his appearance' and didn't seem particularly into it. After a few more clips and comparisons later, he was actually really into it and seemed to agree that Nozawa really does capture the character of Goku and perform much better than any of the English VAs managed to do (this is excluding Kai as he felt they were mostly equal there).

It certainly made me think about what exactly causes this knee jerk reaction towards Nozawa's voice and I guess it really is just a case of not being used to it and not giving it a real chance. It seemed like, as he was so used to the quite masculine Ocean/Schemmel voices, the switch to Nozawa was extremely fierce and resulted in that 'ahh, it's too feminine and 'not Goku', but watching it some more and going from clip to clip, he seemed to settle on the thought that it's really not that girly at all. It's just very different and quite childlike.

I was surprised at his reaction to Nozawa's post-SSJ1 transformation speech though. I showed him it initially and he wasn't digging it - we moved to Z/Kai in English and then we moved back to Nozawa in Z and his reaction was 'Wow, that's really fierce'. He was really impressed and actually said that if he were to revisit the series, he'd likely watch it in Japanese. It was nice to see him acknowledge her range from the happy, childish Goku to the, at times, quite fierce and scary Goku.

So yeah, I think that may have changed my mind a little. I'm not sure it really is all that feminine, it's just unique and possesses a whole range of emotions that can certainly change the perception of it depending on the circumstance.

[jjgp1112]

I've given Nozawa's voice more than enough chances to grow on me. I still hate it.

[TheBlackPaladin]

It certainly made me think about what exactly causes this knee jerk reaction towards Nozawa's voice and I guess it really is just a case of not being used to it and not giving it a real chance.

I'd like to preface this by saying that, when referring to "Nozawa's voice," I'm referring to the one she uses for adult Goku, not kid Goku. I should also note that I'm referring to just the voice itself, not her acting (which I think is spectacular).

I feel that the reason for your flatmate's knee-jerk reaction (which is a common one among fans) is because the voice doesn't fit his appearance. He's a grown man, and he looks very much like a grown man. I think the reason some fans of the Japanese version are bewildered by the more common knee-jerk reaction (that your flatmate demonstrated) is because they have simply gotten used to it. I do not know of one grown man that sounds like Nozawa's Goku (and again, literally every international dub cast an adult male as Goku, so there seems to be a common belief that Nozawa's voice is a rather odd voice for someone who, visually, appears to be a full-grown man).

Having said that, it's for that exact reason that I've come to like Nozawa's voice for Goku. Goku is a very weird guy, so it's only fitting that he have a very weird voice. Kind of like...it fits because it doesn't fit. Pretty much every male voice actor that I've heard on Goku (including foreign dubs) sounds more natural in that they sound more like a voice that you would expect out of someone who looks like Goku. However, the downside to that is that they lose some of that weirdness that makes Nozawa's performance so memorable.

[Luso Saiyan]

Do you think Nozawa Goku voice is too feminine?

Yes, I do. It may have worked for young Goku, but I don't think it fits the character as an adult.

[TheGmGoken]

I do not know of one grown man that sounds like Nozawa's Goku

I know quite a few to be honest. Some with even higher high pitch voices.

and again, literally every international dub cast an adult male as Goku

Well...not literally. I recall one dub used a Teenager. So...he's not really an adult.

[penguintruth]

If you legitimately believe Nozawa doesn't fit the character, you probably need to watch a different show.

I mean, come on. The little nuances in her delivery are just brilliant. It's one of the best performances I've ever heard in anime.

[TheMightyOzaru]

Nozawa fits Goku's character, and that's a fact. Whether you like the pitch of her voice is entirely up to you, but don't think for one second Nozawa doesn't fit Goku .

[Tanooki Kuribo]

Do you think Nozawa Goku voice is too feminine?

Yes, I do. It may have worked for young Goku, but I don't think it fits the character as an adult.

But, she does two different voices, a child Goku and an adult Goku.

[Ajay]

I'm inclined to agree.

[TheBlackPaladin]

I mean, come on. The little nuances in her delivery are just brilliant. It's one of the best performances I've ever heard in anime.

I agree. That's what I've been saying, her delivery is wonderful. I've been making an effort to differentiate the voice and the acting, though, because the acting is not what "doesn't fit," in my opinion, the delivery and her acting are excellent. That's not what I was talking about. I was talking strictly about the voice itself. The voice itself is very, very, very weird...and doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard out of a grown man. It sounds very weird.

Which, as I mentioned, works very well for Goku! He is a very weird guy, after all. So, in his particular case, it works to give that character a weird voice. Even better that it's utilized by a very talented actress.

Well...not literally. I recall one dub used a Teenager. So...he's not really an adult.

You don't say? Which dub was that? I've always loved learning about the dubs, so I'd be interested to hear a clip.

[OutlawTorn]

I don't really have much problem with Nozawa's regular speaking voice for Goku, rather it's the screams and grunts or whatever which are like nails on a chalkboard to my ears. I won't say Nozawa is the only one guilty of this but the focus tends to be put on her due to the overall worship rushing to her defense at even the slightest criticism, however.

It would be like if the entire English cast had used what I call Sabat's "Tazmanian Devil" power up yell he did for Vegeta at one point in the broadcast version of the dub during the Cell saga. It would have made the show unwatchable.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

If you legitimately believe Nozawa doesn't fit the character, you probably need to watch a different show.

The argument isn't that Nozawa's voice doesn't fit the character's personality, but that it doesn't fit the character physically. With choosing a voice, personality is important, but you have to find a balance between personality and physics, or else it's going to sound comical (of course, that's sometimes the intention). I'm just playing devil's advocate here BTW. As I said before, I'm willing to suspend my disbelief about Nozawa's voice because of the kind of show DBZ is, but some people aren't, and they're entitled to do that.

I mean, come on. The little nuances in her delivery are just brilliant. It's one of the best performances I've ever heard in anime.

Again, the argument isn't about Nozawa's acting, which I think is quite good.

[JEFFMAN219]

I've given Nozawa's voice more than enough chances to grow on me. I still hate it.

Ya man same here her voice just sounds horrible.

[Zephyr]

If you legitimately believe Nozawa doesn't fit the character, you probably need to watch a different show.

The argument isn't that Nozawa's voice doesn't fit the character's personality, but that it doesn't fit the character physically.

Am I correct in assuming that the argument here would be that a grown man should realistically have a more masculine voice?

[TheBlackPaladin]

If you legitimately believe Nozawa doesn't fit the character, you probably need to watch a different show.

The argument isn't that Nozawa's voice doesn't fit the character's personality, but that it doesn't fit the character physically.

Am I correct in assuming that the argument here would be that a grown man should realistically have a more masculine voice?

Pretty much, yes. Or, at the very least, that the reason for the initial reaction to Nozawa's voice for adult Goku that AjayLikesGaming described is because he does not have a more realistically adult male voice.

I hesitate to use the word "masculine," because it seems that people interpret that to mean "macho" or "badass." Which is not what I (or others) mean. We mean merely that it would require less of a suspension of disbelief if the voice of this adult male character was more identifiably adult male in sound. For example, without saying who my favorite Goku is, I would put forth Peter Kelamis as an example of someone who has an identifiably male voice, but one that isn't particularly "macho" or "badass." He sounds like an adult male. A very excited and childish adult male, but an adult male.

[Zephyr]

Am I correct in assuming that the argument here would be that a grown man should realistically have a more masculine voice?

Pretty much, yes.

I would then be inclined to point out that it's not outside of the realms of reality for a male to lack such a voice. Throwing the old Mike Tyson example out there.

Is it rare and unlikely for a male to have a higher, not easily-identified-as-male voice? Yes, but it's not physically impossible, so that complaint by itself doesn't really hold in this situation.

Even if that weren't the case, Goku being an extraterrestrial should likely exclude him from this hypothetical law of homo sapien vocal timbre.


And for what it's worth, as was demonstrated earlier, there is a natural deepening of Nozawa's Goku voice from childhood to adulthood, though that may not mean much in this context if the adult Goku voice is indeed not on its own identifiably male.

[TheBlackPaladin]

I would then be inclined to point out that it's not outside of the realms of reality for a male to lack such a voice. Throwing the old Mike Tyson example out there.

Is it rare and unlikely for a male to have a higher, not easily-identified-as-male voice? Yes, but it's not physically impossible, so that complaint by itself doesn't really hold in this situation.

Even if that weren't the case, Goku being an extraterrestrial should likely exclude him from this hypothetical law of homo sapien vocal timbre.


And for what it's worth, as was demonstrated earlier, there is a natural deepening of Nozawa's Goku voice from childhood to adulthood, though that may not mean much in this context if the adult Goku voice is indeed not on its own identifiably male.

I wouldn't call it a complaint. Not from me, anyway. I'm merely attempting to articulate why many people have a certain knee-jerk reaction upon hearing Nozawa's voice for adult Goku the first time. I personally have come to accept it and even like it for how odd her voice for the character is, and I think the oddness enhances her performance. It is, however, odd to hear coming from an adult male character. Even Mike Tyson's voice is an identifiably male one. Drawing from personal experience, I've never met anybody (and only very, very, very rarely heard of anybody) who thought, upon hearing Nozawa's voice for adult Goku for the first time, that the voice actor was a male. The initial reaction has (almost) always been, "Why did they get a girl to voice him?"

Essentially, when you have what many (not all, but many) people can readily identify as a female voice contrasted against such a readily identifiable adult male appearance, it breaks the fourth wall a bit, requiring a suspense of disbelief that is not as necessary when you have an actual adult male providing the voice for said character.