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

[Metalwario64]

I think Drummond's voice wasn't fitting for Vegeta, but Sabat's Vegeta kinda sucked throughout the Z dub. It wasn't until the "Kid Buu" episodes that he finally started showing signs of improvement in his Vegeta. When it came to Vegeta's rage moments, I noticed he was trying to hard to sound like an "unleashed animal", which I once saw referred to as "Tasmanian Vegeta" which isn't far too off the mark.

So I'd say I think Drummond was better through most of the Z but I think Kai Sabat is the best between the two. He finally minimized the rasp, and his delivery sounded more natural and realistic. Plus he can finally yell in more than a single monotone pitch.

[WittyUsername]

Tasmanian Vegeta? I have literally never heard that one before. Anyway, Brian Drummond was terrible as Vegeta in my opinion. He made Vegeta sound like some sniveling, imp like villain, which does not fit the character in the slightest.

[Metalwario64]

Tasmanian Vegeta? I have literally never heard that one before.

Hm. I thought I saw a couple of people call it that, but I did some searching, and apparently it was only two people, and I guess I just stuck with it.

[penguintruth]

What I enjoyed about Drummond's Vegeta, even though it was really on the nose "villain-ish", was that he had this kind of sharpened delivery with certain words, giving the impression that he was actually stabbing you with his speech. It sounded like he was really fond of the sound of his own voice. He made him sound so extremely arrogant.

That, and the way he would "wound up" his screams and then let them go. There was sort of a build up.

[90sDBZ]

Compare Brian Drummond's speech to ascend vs FUNimation's attempt. I mean, it's just night and day with Drummond being the better acted of the two. Vegeta's pride just seeps through Drummond's voice acting.

Plus, I still think the DBZ movies dubbed by the Ocean group are still more faithful than Kai is—this includes the voice actors in their respective roles, where say Goku is more faithful with Peter Kelmais behind the character than Schemmel is—when compared to the original Japanese version.

Drummond's Vegeta is only one decent performance out of all the bad ones from the Westwood dub though. And even then he often sounds underwhelming when he's not evil. Even during the Majin Vegeta episodes his evil performance still paled in comparison to his Saiyan and Namek saga performance.

As for Kelamis he certainly had some awesome moments early on but was just awful in the Westwood dub. Even in those movies some of his lines sounded unnatural.

[Attitudefan]

Tasmanian Vegeta? I have literally never heard that one before. Anyway, Brian Drummond was terrible as Vegeta in my opinion. He made Vegeta sound like some sniveling, imp like villain, which does not fit the character in the slightest.

Except that changed considerably when he returned in the role in the Android arc. It sounded a bit more natural.

[Patrick]

I always felt that Drummond was better portraying Vegeta as a villain (Saiyan and Namek Saga), but he just didn't sound as good when Vegeta turns into an "ally" in the Cyborg and Buu arc. His voice is good for the villain Vegeta, but I like Sabat better after that.

That said, Ryō Horikawa is still the best Vegeta.

EDIT: 50th post!

[TheAldella]

I always felt that Drummond was better portraying Vegeta as a villain (Saiyan and Namek Saga), but he just didn't sound as good when Vegeta turns into an "ally" in the Cyborg and Buu arc. His voice is good for the villain Vegeta, but I like Sabat better after that.

That said, Ryō Horikawa is still the best Vegeta.

EDIT: 50th post!

Well, there's also the problems that come with doing doing the Westwood dub to consider. I feel like if Drummond had a nice director and more time, he could pull it off.

[UltimateHammerBro]

I always felt that Drummond was better portraying Vegeta as a villain (Saiyan and Namek Saga), but he just didn't sound as good when Vegeta turns into an "ally" in the Cyborg and Buu arc. His voice is good for the villain Vegeta, but I like Sabat better after that.
That said, Ryō Horikawa is still the best Vegeta.
EDIT: 50th post!

Well, there's also the problems that come with doing doing the Westwood dub to consider. I feel like if Drummond had a nice director and more time, he could pull it off.

I agree. It's not like Japanese Vegeta had a change in his voice when he turned "good". I don't think that villain Vegeta and ally Vegeta's voices should differ much, if anything.
In fact, I like the idea of ally Vegeta sounding exactly like villain Vegeta. It makes it more evident that he hasn't really become a good guy.

[NitroEX]

Tasmanian Vegeta? I have literally never heard that one before.

It's not a common thing online but it comes from this glorious performance;

http://youtu.be/-9nybl-OnPc?t=54s
http://youtu.be/-9nybl-OnPc?t=2m34s

At those points he literally sounds like he's imitating the cartoon Tazmanian devil.

I always felt that Drummond was better portraying Vegeta as a villain (Saiyan and Namek Saga), but he just didn't sound as good when Vegeta turns into an "ally" in the Cyborg and Buu arc. His voice is good for the villain Vegeta, but I like Sabat better after that.
That said, Ryō Horikawa is still the best Vegeta.
EDIT: 50th post!

Well, there's also the problems that come with doing doing the Westwood dub to consider. I feel like if Drummond had a nice director and more time, he could pull it off.

I agree. It's not like Japanese Vegeta had a change in his voice when he turned "good". I don't think that villain Vegeta and ally Vegeta's voices should differ much, if anything.
In fact, I like the idea of ally Vegeta sounding exactly like villain Vegeta. It makes it more evident that he hasn't really become a good guy.

That argument never made any sense to me especially when you consider Vegeta was far from considering himself an ally or "good guy" in the Android/Cell arcs. He detested the other Z fighters and still expressed the desire to get stronger so he could kill Goku. Nevermind the fact that changing voices when you turn good is kind of a silly thing in and of itself. The villain aspect of the voice was toned down significantly when you compare the Buu arcs to the original Saiyan performance but I guess that's part of the reason people hate it, because it's not what they remember. Oh well.

[Metalwario64]

It's not a common thing online but it comes from this glorious performance;

http://youtu.be/-9nybl-OnPc?t=54s
http://youtu.be/-9nybl-OnPc?t=2m34s

At those points he literally sounds like he's imitating the cartoon Tazmanian devil.

Haha. That's what was on my mind.

He definitely tones that way down throughout the Cell-arc, but even then you can still hear faint traces of it sometimes when he yells.

[90sDBZ]

I don't think the problem with Drummond is his Vegeta needing to sound evil so much. It's more to do with him sounding completely insane. Basically like a ticking time bomb. In the Japanese and Funimation versions Vegeta started off evil but not nearly as insane as Drummond makes him sound. Like how in the Ocean dub he laughs like a maniac after being hit by Goku's Kamehameha instead of shouting in anger. For the early episodes this exaggeration of his character worked and I really enjoyed it. The trouble was that once Vegeta calmed down and started living on earth it'd be hard to imagine that maniac from the early episodes doing that. When Drummond returned in the Android saga his Vegeta didn't sound nearly as crazy. It actually felt sort of inconsistent with his early portrayal but I guess at that point it had to be. The thing is that without the whole maniac angle going for him Drummond's Vegeta doesn't have that much of an appeal. Okay he still has his screams but that's it.

[Attitudefan]

I don't think the problem with Drummond is his Vegeta needing to sound evil so much. It's more to do with him sounding completely insane. Basically like a ticking time bomb. In the Japanese and Funimation versions Vegeta started off evil but not nearly as insane as Drummond makes him sound. Like how in the Ocean dub he laughs like a maniac after being hit by Goku's Kamehameha instead of shouting in anger. For the early episodes this exaggeration of his character worked and I really enjoyed it. The trouble was that once Vegeta calmed down and started living on earth it'd be hard to imagine that maniac from the early episodes doing that. When Drummond returned in the Android saga his Vegeta didn't sound nearly as crazy. It actually felt sort of inconsistent with his early portrayal but I guess at that point it had to be. The thing is that without the whole maniac angle going for him Drummond's Vegeta doesn't have that much of an appeal. Okay he still has his screams but that's it.

Except he kind of is a crazy maniac especially when he starts to lose at fighting Goku. Just look how he is drawn. He just loses it. And Vegeta is like that, he is calm but when he gets made he loses it completely.

And Drummond was very calm as Vegeta in the episodes before he fights Son. Watch the Arlia filler up until his battle with Goku. Drummond potrays him pretty level headed up until a point. Seriously, take any screenshot or panel from the manga where Vegeta is yelling; Vegeta looks psycho.

[SingleFringe&Sparks]

I honestly don't get why the Ocean Dub team is so popular around here, compared to the regular Funimation team.

I was looking up Ocean Dub clips the other night on YouTube, as I don't have a very good knowledge of their dub other than the original series of Dragon Ball Z. Their dubbing is laughably bad.. aside from their script being almost word for word of the Funimation script, they sound like they are straight out of a generic action cartoon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyILqP80gEA

Some of their voices are better than Funimation's current ones even today:
- Uub (For god damn sure)
- Recoome
- Jeice
- Burter
- Pan's
- Videl (debatable)
- Super Buu's
- Hurcle's (debatable)
- Cyborg 18
- Raditz (For sure)
- Nappa (For sure)
- Kid Gohan (debatable)
- Dr. Wheelo
- Turles

[TheGmGoken]

I honestly don't get why the Ocean Dub team is so popular around here, compared to the regular Funimation team.

I was looking up Ocean Dub clips the other night on YouTube, as I don't have a very good knowledge of their dub other than the original series of Dragon Ball Z. Their dubbing is laughably bad.. aside from their script being almost word for word of the Funimation script, they sound like they are straight out of a generic action cartoon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyILqP80gEA

Some of their voices are better than Funimation's current ones even today:
- Uub (For god damn sure)
- Recoome
- Jeice
- Burter
- Pan's
- Videl (debatable)
- Super Buu's
- Hurcle's (debatable)
- Cyborg 18
- Raditz (For sure)
- Nappa (For sure)
- Kid Gohan (debatable)
- Dr. Wheelo
- Tullece

Opinion. They are ALL debatable. I disagree with ALL of those except for Raditz.

[ShadowDude112]

The fact that the Buu Saga for Kai got an official announcement before this did speaks volumes about Ocean Kai. Either it's not coming or people realized how worthless doing this is.

[WittyUsername]

To this day I still find the Ocean voice cast to be overrated. Plus, the fact that Ocean studios is involved with shows like My Little Pony makes it really hard for me to take these people seriously.

[TheGmGoken]

To this day I still find the Ocean voice cast to be overrated. Plus, the fact that Ocean studios is involved with shows like My Little Pony makes it really hard for me to take these people seriously.

Nothing wrong with dubbing other shows that isn't everyone cup of tea. Though I agree Ocean dub is overrated. All of their voices are shit imho besides Raditz. I'm VERY disappointed in Goten's ocean voice. If we can even call it one

[NitroEX]

To this day I still find the Ocean voice cast to be overrated. Plus, the fact that Ocean studios is involved with shows like My Little Pony makes it really hard for me to take these people seriously.

Wow, this is one of the most ridiculous criticisms of a dubbing group I've ever seen. I guess we shouldn't take VAs like John DiMaggio seriously anymore because he's done stuff for Powerpuff Girls, Scooby Doo and Adventure Time, screw all that stuff he did for Gears of War and Batman. I guess the message is unless you act in nothing but anime you aren't good enough of an actor despite it taking more acting skill and range to be able to pull off such a diverse pool of characters.

One of my favourite VAs from the Ocean side was Don Brown, especially for his King Kai and Mr. Satan. I think he's a better actor in comedy roles like those in large part because of his experience with goofy characters in kids cartoons. You can just hear that he knows what he's doing in those roles.

Opinion. They are ALL debatable. I disagree with ALL of those except for Raditz.

Though I agree Ocean dub is overrated. All of their voices are shit imho besides Raditz. I'm VERY disappointed in Goten's ocean voice. If we can even call it one

You seem bias and a little hypocritical. You jump down anyone's throat when they praise an Ocean performance and claim it's all opinion and debatable yet you don't seem to have any strong reasons why the Funi versions are better. I mean what does that last part even mean? It's not a real voice? Ocean Goten is perfectly fine and Jillian Michaels does a much better job at it than her Gohan performance. At least her Goten sounds more like a real 8(?) year old kid whereas the Funi version, much like Funi (Z) Gohan sounds all croaky and too raspy to be believable. When I hear Funi Goten I hear someone doing a cartoon frog voice voice, that's my opinion.

[WittyUsername]

To this day I still find the Ocean voice cast to be overrated. Plus, the fact that Ocean studios is involved with shows like My Little Pony makes it really hard for me to take these people seriously.

Wow, this is one of the most ridiculous criticisms of a dubbing group I've ever seen. I guess we shouldn't take VAs like John DiMaggio seriously anymore because he's done stuff for Powerpuff Girls, Scooby Doo and Adventure Time, screw all that stuff he did for Gears of War and Batman. I guess the message is unless you act in nothing but anime you aren't good enough of an actor despite it taking more acting skill and range to be able to pull off such a diverse pool of characters.

One of my favourite VAs from the Ocean side was Don Brown, especially for his King Kai and Mr. Satan. I think he's a better actor in comedy roles like those in large part because of his experience with goofy characters in kids cartoons. You can just hear that he knows what he's doing in those roles.

Opinion. They are ALL debatable. I disagree with ALL of those except for Raditz.

Though I agree Ocean dub is overrated. All of their voices are shit imho besides Raditz. I'm VERY disappointed in Goten's ocean voice. If we can even call it one

You seem bias and a little hypocritical. You jump down anyone's throat when they praise an Ocean performance and claim it's all opinion and debatable yet you don't seem to have any strong reasons why the Funi versions are better. I mean what does that last part even mean? It's not a real voice? Ocean Goten is perfectly fine and Jillian Michaels does a much better job at it than her Gohan performance. At least her Goten sounds more like a real 8(?) year old kid whereas the Funi version, much like Funi (Z) Gohan sounds all croaky and too raspy to be believable. When I hear Funi Goten I hear someone doing a cartoon frog voice voice, that's my opinion.

It wasn't a criticism. Being involved with Mlp has nothing to do with my dislike for the Ocean group. I genuinely find them to be overrated.