Initial Reaction to Nozawa as Goku

[DBZAOTA482]

It weirded the fuck outta me hearing such a voice from a buffed dude like Goku but now I like it a lot. Even more than Sean Schemmel's Goku but not as much as Ian James Corlett's Goku.

[TheBlackPaladin]

I don't get it. I just don't get it.

I don't ever remember having a reaction. I just watched the show, and the characters were the characters. Full stop. The end.

Well, I would think it depends on which dub you grew up watching on or are most familiar with. I would assume most people who grew up with the English dub would find it surprising that Goku was voiced by a woman for the first time, but a person who watched the JPN dub wouldn't think anything of it.

I would amend that to say any dub (not just the English dub, considering that every international dub to my knowledge recast Goku with an adult male voice actor when he became an adult), but otherwise yes, I completely agree. I'm sure if I had started with Dragon Ball (rather than DBZ), and started it in Japan, then when Goku became an adult, it's quite possible that Nozawa's voice wouldn't have taken me any time to adjust to at all. I'm sure it's quite possible that I would have just said, "Well, that's just how he sounds."

[TheUltimateVegito]

Unless I perhaps saw a clip online or something

Hmm Now I think of it, I did see a couple of Japanese DBZ clips online back in the day... Most of them from Google Videos if my memory serves correct.

[dodge2461]

I remember first hearing her as Goku on the episode right after Goku had become a SSJ. At first I thought, "It sounds like Goku's voiced by a woman.... It can't be, right?" After looking it up on the internet, I though, " Hmmm..... Okay, then". It was the screams that really made me love the voice.

[TheUltimateVegito]

Goku is a very strange, quirky guy. So in a way, Nozawa's voice fits adult Goku in the sense that it sounds very, very, very quirky and strange. The voice doesn't sound like it would come out of that body, which in this case serves to enhance Goku's more quirky nature. Sort of like...it fits because it doesn't fit. Combine that with spectacular acting on Nozawa's part that totally nailed all of the aspects of the character, and I totally get why Toriyama picked her. I don't want to think about who will replace her when the time comes, they'll have huge shoes to fill.

But that begs the question of why she voiced Gohan, Bardock and Goten in their respective adult forms. I can understand her voicing Gohan and Goten as kids and I feel like she did a superb job in that regard (It took me quite a while to realize she voiced Kid Goten!) But when it comes down to their adult forms, it just doesn't feel right to me. I'm aware Nozawa changed her tone for the characters but honestly, the difference between them is not distinguishable enough. For example, Bardock sounds exactly like SSJ4 Goku and I can hardly tell the difference between Nozawa's take on adolescent Gohan and adult Goku.

If it's a family thing then shouldn't she have voiced Radtiz? If it's because he's evil then isn't Bardock technically evil too? It kinda ruins their characterization and the uniqueness of Goku's personality since these characters have the same voice as a man who only has a particular voice because of his character. The only other adult character I'd say Nozawa voice fits for is Tullece, since he's basically evil Goku.

[dbboxkaifan]

If it's a family thing, then shouldn't she have voiced Radtiz? If it's because he's evil then isn't Bardock technically evil too? It kinda ruins their characterization and the uniqueness of Goku's personality since these characters have the same voice as a man who only has a particular voice because of his character. The only other adult character I'd say Nozawa voice fits for is Tullece, since he's basically evil Goku.

Raditz was still new to the series before we knew that he was part of Son's family so they were right to have someone voice Raditz than Nozawa. That would've spoiled it straight away had Raditz been voiced by Nozawa.

[Gaffer Tape]

I don't get it. I just don't get it.

I don't ever remember having a reaction. I just watched the show, and the characters were the characters. Full stop. The end.

As Patrick said, that makes perfect sense for you because (if I remember right) you got into the franchise before any major American dubs were out. You "just watched the show" because all you had was the show.

Actually, I'm pretty sure Mike was first exposed to the show through the dub.

Anyway, as for me, it's really weird. I remember exactly the first time I ever heard Goku's Japanese voice. It was 98-99, and I found a clip online of the Goku vs. Vegeta fight in the Boo arc. It was mostly just fighting, but there was one brief exchange of dialogue between the two. Vegeta sounded much lower and booming than I had heard him in English, while Goku sounded much more high pitched and shrill than I was used to.

I say it's weird because while I vividly remember the experience, I have no memory of my reaction. And I also can't recall the context. That is to say, I can't recall if I already was aware that Goku was voiced by a woman or had been led to any opinions of it by websites I followed. I think I hadn't. I do remember relatively soon after having to defend her voice from my friends as I was getting into the Japanese version. I'm sure I didn't have any prolonged negative reaction, but I just don't know what my initial reaction was at all. I guess it couldn't have been too serious.

[Ajay]

Actually, I'm pretty sure Mike was first exposed to the show through the dub.

Are you sure? Fairly sure I heard Mike talking numerous times about how shocked he was when the dub first aired.

[VegettoEX]

My first exposure to animated/voiced Dragon Ball was the second episode of FUNimation's English dub of Dragon Ball Z in 1996 during its original broadcast. The first Goku I ever heard was Ian Corlett.

[Ajay]

Ah, I see. Wonder what I was thinking of then.

[ABED]

Goku is a very strange, quirky guy. So in a way, Nozawa's voice fits adult Goku in the sense that it sounds very, very, very quirky and strange. The voice doesn't sound like it would come out of that body, which in this case serves to enhance Goku's more quirky nature. Sort of like...it fits because it doesn't fit. Combine that with spectacular acting on Nozawa's part that totally nailed all of the aspects of the character, and I totally get why Toriyama picked her. I don't want to think about who will replace her when the time comes, they'll have huge shoes to fill.

But that begs the question of why she voiced Gohan, Bardock and Goten in their respective adult forms. I can understand her voicing Gohan and Goten as kids and I feel like she did a superb job in that regard (It took me quite a while to realize she voiced Kid Goten!) But when it comes down to their adult forms, it just doesn't feel right to me. I'm aware Nozawa changed her tone for the characters but honestly, the difference between them is not distinguishable enough. For example, Bardock sounds exactly like SSJ4 Goku and I can hardly tell the difference between Nozawa's take on adolescent Gohan and adult Goku.

If it's a family thing, then shouldn't she have voiced Radtiz? If it's because he's evil then isn't Bardock technically evil too? It kinda ruins their characterization and the uniqueness of Goku's personality since these characters have the same voice as a man who only has a particular voice because of his character. The only other adult character I'd say Nozawa voice fits for is Tullece, since he's basically evil Goku.

The difference between adult Gohan and Goku is subtle, but after a while you can distinguish them by sound alone. Goku's voice is slightly deeper.

[TheUltimateVegito]

The difference between adult Gohan and Goku is subtle, but after a while you can distinguish them by sound alone. Goku's voice is slightly deeper.

See, there's the problem. Slight differences. Imagine if Schemmel used his SSJ3/4 voice for Goku and his base Goku voice for Gohan? It's practically the same thing.

[Big Momma]

They had the Japanese track on it and I had always wanted to hear it. The voices themselves didn't really affect me that much at the time. I was more interested in the more accurate script and the music than I was the voices

This is what I was like, too, pretty much. I wasn't focused on the voice as much as I was how different the script was from the English version. I though Goku was a little odd at first, but I don't remember dwelling too much on it.

[VegettoEX]

See, there's the problem. Slight differences. Imagine if Schemmel used his SSJ3/4 voice for Goku and his base Goku voice for Gohan? It's practically the same thing.

Nozawa's adult Goku does not sound like her adult Gohan nor does her adult SSJ3/SSJ4 Goku sound like her adult Gohan.

If Schemmel is a talented voice actor that can pull off doing teenage and adult Gohan's voice, I'd love to hear that interpretation, too. I personally think he should have played Tullece in DBZ Movie 3 when they redubbed it since that's half the point of the character.

[MagicBox]

Actually, I'm pretty sure Mike was first exposed to the show through the dub.

My first exposure to animated/voiced Dragon Ball was the second episode of FUNimation's English dub of Dragon Ball Z in 1996 during its original broadcast. The first Goku I ever heard was Ian Corlett.

Ah, my apologies. You'd think I would remember this having just listened to some early podcast episodes. Thanks, guys.

[JEFFMAN219]

My initial reaction was wtf kind of a voice is this. Even though I still don't like her adult Goku I got use to it after watching a couple of episodes of DBZ in Japanese.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Goku is a very strange, quirky guy. So in a way, Nozawa's voice fits adult Goku in the sense that it sounds very, very, very quirky and strange. The voice doesn't sound like it would come out of that body, which in this case serves to enhance Goku's more quirky nature. Sort of like...it fits because it doesn't fit. Combine that with spectacular acting on Nozawa's part that totally nailed all of the aspects of the character, and I totally get why Toriyama picked her. I don't want to think about who will replace her when the time comes, they'll have huge shoes to fill.

But that begs the question of why she voiced Gohan, Bardock and Goten in their respective adult forms. I can understand her voicing Gohan and Goten as kids and I feel like she did a superb job in that regard (It took me quite a while to realize she voiced Kid Goten!) But when it comes down to their adult forms, it just doesn't feel right to me. I'm aware Nozawa changed her tone for the characters but honestly, the difference between them is not distinguishable enough. For example, Bardock sounds exactly like SSJ4 Goku and I can hardly tell the difference between Nozawa's take on adolescent Gohan and adult Goku.

If it's a family thing then shouldn't she have voiced Radtiz? If it's because he's evil then isn't Bardock technically evil too? It kinda ruins their characterization and the uniqueness of Goku's personality since these characters have the same voice as a man who only has a particular voice because of his character. The only other adult character I'd say Nozawa voice fits for is Tullece, since he's basically evil Goku.

I would agree with this to an extent. Since Bardock is (technically) evil, I would have liked to have seen Toei cast Shigeru Chiba (the Japanese voice of Raditz) as Bardock, if only to see what it would sound like. It would (theoretically) sound more evil and menacing, while still keeping in line with the idea of the Son family having similar voices.

And yes, I would agree that, while Nozawa does a fine job acting....pretty much every part she's in...I think her performance as Goku would have been more special, more memorable, and more quirky if she only voiced Goku as both a child and an adult (with the exception of Tullece, since the purpose he serves in the story is essentially to be an evil clone of Goku). It makes sense for Goku to have a quirky voice into adulthood, but I'm not completely convinced--speaking just in terms of the voice, not in terms of acting--that it works for her other characters when they become adults. Or, for that matter, I'm not completely convinced it worked for the other Japanese voice actors who played their same characters at different ages than when they first played them.

I personally think he should have played Tullece in DBZ Movie 3 when they redubbed it since that's half the point of the character.

Yeah, that would be both interesting and appropriate!

[Gaffer Tape]

The thing is, I might be inclined to agree she didn't need to voice so many characters, but I think it's more of a reality of Toei not being able to plan these things out and not knowing where the series would go, what characters would show up, and how long they'd be around. Because while all of those choices together might seem a little much, each individual one, I feel, makes perfect sense.

Nozawa was a perfect casting choice for Goku. And since their choice was to maintain character consistency, obviously, they were going to keep her when the character happened to grow up. Nearly every other character in the series is the same way, regardless of whether Nozawa is the voice. So while it's nice that that "quirkiness" fits Goku, I certainly don't think that's the reasoning behind it. It's because she is Goku, so there was no reason to change.

Gohan was introduced as a miniature Goku and was largely taking over the role of child protagonist from him. So it made sense to cast Nozawa as him. Plus, I think there was the cuteness factor of having the adult Nozawa talking to the child Nozawa. And just like with the rest of the cast, Gohan would obviously keep his voice throughout his tenure. But they had no way of knowing this 4-year-old would ever hit puberty. After all, Toriyama chose the letter Z because he thought the series would soon be ending.

Tullece: an evil Goku clone. Another obvious choice to cast Nozawa.

Bardock: another evil Goku clone. But just as importantly, it was a show that was almost completely devoid of Dragon Ball main characters. I think casting Nozawa as the protagonist was just as much trying to ground it in familiarity than anything else.

Goten was even more of a miniature Goku than Gohan was. And, in a lot of ways, he seemed to initially be even more of a Goku replacement. I think at this point, Toei might have been wise to consider going in a new direction, but that's more of a reaction to everything that had everything that had already come before in terms of casting. The idea of Goten by itself, ignoring the fact that Nozawa had, voice-wise, been around the block on this series, makes perfect sense to cast Nozawa.

So all of these are perfectly logical. It's just that all of them together can seem a bit hard to swallow. We have the benefit of looking at it in hindsight and seeing the whole picture of the series, so it's easy to say, "Oh, well, it doesn't make sense that she voices everyone in Goku's family but Raditz." It wasn't possible for them to have that perspective then.

[Fionordequester]

Nozawa was a perfect casting choice for Goku. And since their choice was to maintain character consistency, obviously, they were going to keep her when the character happened to grow up

Eh...that's a bit skeevy to me. Unless the actor is talented enough that they can actually drastically alter their pitch, I don't think characters should be voiced by the same person from childhood to adulthood. At least, not if they're male (female however, is probably fine, since females have a much easier time of doing child voices).

[Gaffer Tape]

Nozawa was a perfect casting choice for Goku. And since their choice was to maintain character consistency, obviously, they were going to keep her when the character happened to grow up

Eh...that's a bit skeevy to me. Unless the actor is talented enough that they can actually drastically alter their pitch, I don't think characters should be voiced by the same person from childhood to adulthood. At least, not if they're male (female however, is probably fine, since females have a much easier time of doing child voices).

Then how do you feel about Tanaka's Kuririn? There's not a drastic difference in pitch, and the character is male, yet I never see anyone complaining about him. What's skeevy about it? Obviously it worked for them, since they did it for Goku, Kuririn, Chichi, Dende (mostly), Vegeta, Trunks, and many others. In fact, the only example I can think of where they didn't is Upa.

And again, that's your opinion, but it's not an absolute. There are two ways to handle the aging of a character, and both have their advantages and drawbacks. Neither one has a clear advantage over the other. Either you recast to sound more realistic but suddenly have a totally different character (which also isn't realistic) because of a new actor's take on it, and forcing the audience to accept a brand new interpretation of a character they already knew, or you keep the same actor, sacrifice a bit of realism in pitch, but maintain the same character.