Was Stephanie Nadolny Really That Bad As Gohan?

[thatdbzguy]

I know most people here don't think too highly of Stephanie's voice work, particularly for Gohan. Now of course, I won't deny that she was pretty terrible when she first started out, like the rest of the cast of the old Funi dub, but what about her voice work for seasons 1 & 2 of the remastered sets?

In my opinion, I think she did a fine job there. Was her voice still a bit too deep for a 5-year-old? Probably, but not so much to the point where I couldn't go with it, and at least it wasn't grating to listen to like Colleen's, IMO. As far as her actual acting goes, she definitely shows improvement, and I feel that she was able to really bring out Gohan's character more than ever. Was her acting as good as Colleen's? Probably not, but I don't think that it was terrible by any means.

And what about the video games? Like with the remastered sets of seasons 1 & 2, I felt like she did a good job with Gohan for the same reasons stated before.

So is she really that bad?

[Kid Buu]

I don't have a problem with her or her Gohan at all.

[Gyt Kaliba]

I realize I'm in the minority on this one, but I can deal with her Gohan about 80% of the time. The only times I find it truly terrible are for Gohan when he's like 5 at the start of the series, and then back when they first started (though there it was more to do with her not having become as good of an actress yet than it did with her voice). Everything else, particularly her Cell Games work, I actually like pretty well. I can see why so many others don't, but for me it's enjoyable - but I admit I have some nostalgic bias there too.

And though slightly off topic, she's still my favorite English voice for young Goku.

[helsinkirocks]

I think her voice work captures the character of "Gohan" better than anyone, even Nozawa.

She's grating, annoying, whiny, and in general pretty sub-par- all qualities that make up the core of Gohan's character.

[thatdbzguy]

She's grating, annoying, whiny,

I personally think Colleen has Nadolny beat in those particular areas.

[RocktheDragon]

Nostalgia probably makes a huge difference for me too but I absolutely admire Stephanie Nadolny as Gohan. Especially during the Cell games and Androids arc, there is just way too many fond memories for anything to ever corrupt my opinion about her voice work.

Her voice was never an issue for me and is still probably my favorite English voice for any character in DBZ.

[GS7X7]

Her Gohan was fairly good but her Goku was great!

[penguintruth]

That excessively husky voice, those constant whimpering noises she makes, the lack of genuine emotional dimension... and THAT LAUGH. I still wake up in a cold sweat some nights with that echoing in my skull. It is the sound of souls disintegrating in a blasphemous ancient fire breathed by an unforgiving Old One.

No, sir, I didn't like it.

[Codarik]

The only time she was "bad" was at the beginning of Z, she made Gohan sound a lot older. Other than that she was just fine. Her Goku was great though.

[rs_chaosmaster]

She wasn't a bad Gohan but i would rather have Colleen as gohan and her as kid goku think of it logically it is extremely unlikely that gohan and goku as a kid would both sound exactly the same. So I prefer having two different VA's for the two roles!!!

[Gyt Kaliba]

That excessively husky voice, those constant whimpering noises she makes, the lack of genuine emotional dimension... and THAT LAUGH. I still wake up in a cold sweat some nights with that echoing in my skull. It is the sound of souls disintegrating in a blasphemous ancient fire breathed by an unforgiving Old One.

Funny, replace 'husky' with 'screechy', and ignore the fact that she actually is a great actress despite how shrill she can be at times...and that's pretty much how I feel about Monica Rial at times.

HAYOO.

[DarkPrince_92]

I like her as Kid Goku, not too much as Gohan. Goku's goofy as a kid, and she got it. Gohan is too serious as a kid, I think Coleen is better suited for him.

[OmegaRockman]

I always thought she was good as Gohan, but I definitely prefer Clinkenbeard. I'm kind of a fanboy of hers, though, so it's not suprising. However, Nozawa blows them both away in my opinion. I do think that Nadolny was extremely unfitting for those early episodes when Gohan's four. Acting ability aside, she made Gohan sound too old. Other than that and Season 3, though, I thought she was fine.

[ConfusedPhantom]

I didn't care for her Gohan, but I don't mind her Goku, honestly.

[TheGreatness25]

She was okay. The early Gohan work was weak, but so was a lot of FUNimation. She got much better over time. She brought a cuteness to Goku somehow... Yeah, somehow she did.

What I don't get is that everyone is sooo happy with Colleen Clickenbeard's Gohan and yet...honestly, I don't see it as a huge difference from Nadolny's Gohan. Really, there is nothing "better" about Clickenbeard's performance. Now Saffron Henderson did an incredible job. I am not one of those people that claims the Ocean dub was much better, but Henderson's Gohan, McNeil's Piccolo and Corlette's Goku were awesome to me. I like Corlette the best, followed up by Schemmel (later work). I know Kelamis is the one that came closest to sounding like the Japanese version, but I never really cared for his performance.

Anyway, the train is falling off the rails here. I never minded Nadolny's work. And I feel that it was extremely useless to recast her. It's not like it's so much better now. It kind of sucks that everything was pretty much dubbed by the same voice actors and then boom, a huge character was changed just for the sake of being changed. I didn't like that, but oh well. I'm not an exec at FUNimation.

[Kid Buu]

It kind of sucks that everything was pretty much dubbed by the same voice actors and then boom, a huge character was changed just for the sake of being changed. I didn't like that, but oh well. I'm not an exec at FUNimation.

I agree with this. If it was up to me, I would have just made an entire new cast from scratch.

[penguintruth]

If I recall, Stephanie Nadolny wasn't available because she doesn't voice act anymore.

As for why Clinkenbeard's better, it's pretty clear. Her Gohan voice evolves and she's just got plain better acting chops. It's easier to believe the genuineness of Gohan's emotions with her behind the mic.

It was lucky Clinkenbeard came into the role. Nadolny was driving me crazy with those stupid sounds she would make and that empty delivery.

I like Corlette the best, followed up by Schemmel (later work). I know Kelamis is the one that came closest to sounding like the Japanese version, but I never really cared for his performance.

Corlett left zero impression on me. He was just a generic action cartoon lead voice, kind of bland, not offensive, but just kind of there. I have to keep finding videos of his performance to even remember him.

[Kendamu]

It was a voice that I got used to hearing, but I didn't particularly love it or anything. People tend to talk about their nostalgia for the FUNi cast and whatnot but my nostalgia goes back a tiny bit further. At the time that DBZ was getting popular in the US, "my" Gohan was Saffron Henderson. So, Stephanie Nadolny was pretty much a cheap imitation of a voice I already loved.

Colleen Clinkenbeard, on the other hand, is a wonderful Gohan that reminds me of Henderson's take while not being a copy of it. When Kai came about, I never thought to myself, "They better replace Stephanie Nadolny," but the fact that they did was for the better when it comes to my preferences.

[DBZ Mick]

I kinda liked her Goku in GT but I just think her voice was all wrong for Gohan. It just didn't sound like a kid at all.

[Blade]

Nadolny isn't bad as Gohan or Goku - just a little limited. Her performances only ever seem to cover a certain stretch of ground, and consequently can be pretty one dimensional.

I think most people's problems with her have more to do with the actual textual qualities of her voice, and whilst she's not a total ringer for Nozawa as far as Western counterparts go - if you scrub out the Southern drawl I don't think she's light years away.

I'd rather Nadolny than Clickenbeard, who I find to be equally as one dimensional but more grating on the ear.