For dub fans, how much of a deal breaker is Nozawa's Goku?

[Kakacarrottop]

If Goku was played by a woman in english no one would care. But because they heard a grown man and THEN heard a woman voiceing Goku the found it hard to accept. Change is something people have trouble accepting, more so fanbases.

errm I'm pretty sure most English speaking people would find it bizarre a musclebound Superman lookalike was being voiced by an old woman. Even if the show was originally made in English and he had that voice as a kid it still wouldn't make things any less strange, since it would be very weird if an English speaking cartoon Boy character voiced by a woman still had that exact same voice in adulthood.

[Attitudefan]

I don't really think Linda Young is a bad actress, she just got given some awful material to work with. I thought she was pretty good as Genkai in Yu Yu Hakusho personally (much better scripting, and a voice more appropriate the role, plus she had a few more years of experience under her belt at that point).

I think Linda Young is a fine actress, but not in DBZ. Actually, I really like her portrayal of Freeza in DBZ Budokai 2 for the PS2. The material helps, but honestly, most of the actors sounded great in that game opposed to their redub or the original 1999 dub.

Schemmel is GRAVELLY in his new performance that it's gotten really annoying on top of his overly nasally voice for Goku. He's fine in other roles, but I just can't see him as my version for Goku. A guy like Kelamis or Richard Ian Cox for example would be much better suited to play the role for Goku and be a truer portrayal for the dubbed character since the best intention of a dub is to be near identical to the origianl so despite differing languages, the experience is relatively the same.

[Kid Buu]

Richard Ian Cox for example would be much better suited to play the role for Goku

Well, if that Ocean Kai ever comes out, maybe your dream will come true.

[Attitudefan]

Richard Ian Cox for example would be much better suited to play the role for Goku

Well, if that Ocean Kai ever comes out, maybe your dream will come true.

Here's hoping. But his voice is so much more youthful and full of energy. FUNimation's is just grunty and gravely. It's awful.

My main problem with the FUNi dub is not only how they handled mixing of the voices (no reverb effects to match the setting etc.) but also how everyone sounds overly macho. Again, the best example (or the worst in terms of FUNi) is Dead Zone's voice work. Funimation's in-house cast has very little range in voices. They are all deep, and all they do is grunt like they are constipated. Compare it to the original or Ocean/Pioneer/FUNi and there is so much more range.

Think about this: Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz in both English dubs. In FUNi's version, they all share the same pitch spectrum and all have a rasp to their voice. It is not so in the Japanese dub nor the Ocean dub.

[ABED]

I'm hard pressed to remember a time when I've heard much if any rasp or gravel from Schemmel's Goku. He has a lot of range. He can go deep (not Sabat deep, but definitely masculine) but also high. It's not a monotonous performance. He has different gears.

Nappa, and Raditz in the originals have very deep voices, and I don't think FUNi's Nappa has a lot of rasp.

The only problem I have with Nozawa is her performance in Kai. Her age is starting to show. It's to be expected as vocal cords change as you get older.

I'd totally watch Tim Curry play a kid in a movie, and be thoroughly entertained.

Damnit, now I want to see this movie. Hopefully it takes place in SPAAACE!

[Kakacarrottop]

A quick question on the subject of Nozawa, do you think when Nozawa retires/passes away they'll get another old woman/imitator to replace her for new DB related media in Japan?

[Mewzard]

I'm hard pressed to remember a time when I've heard much if any rasp or gravel from Schemmel's Goku. He has a lot of range. He can go deep (not Sabat deep, but definitely masculine) but also high. It's not a monotonous performance. He has different gears.

Nappa, and Raditz in the originals have very deep voices, and I don't think FUNi's Nappa has a lot of rasp.

The only problem I have with Nozawa is her performance in Kai. Her age is starting to show. It's to be expected as vocal cords change as you get older.

Schemmel did voice Black Doom in Shadow the Hedgehog...so he can go ridiculously deep (Dr. Claw deep):

http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/vid ... lack-Doom/

But yeah, I don't hear the gravel/rasp for the most part. Especially when he's goofy Goku. Maybe a little when he's mad, but that can happen with anyone's voice.

Yeah, Nozawa's doing the best she can, but age hits everyone eventually (Even Tohru Furuya's immortal voice box will probably wear out eventually).

Honestly, Richard Ian Cox seems like an odd Goku choice for me, from what I've experienced of his voice work (unless he goes somewhere unique with it). His voice tends to go more spiteful punk than what Goku is.

[Gyt Kaliba]

A quick question on the subject of Nozawa, do you think when Nozawa retires/passes away they'll get another old woman/imitator to replace her for new DB related media in Japan?

I've often wondered this same thing. I doubt they'll specifically look for a woman of any particular age (if anything, they'll probably want to go with someone fairly young so as to keep them in the role for years to come, but old enough to have the level of acting experience that would be expected of such a high-profile role), but I do think they'd probably go with a woman still. Just as it's so jarring for so many non-Japanese fans to hear a woman playing Goku, it'd probably be just as jarring - if not more so - for Japanese fans to suddenly hear a clearly male voice coming from the character's mouth. So chances are they'll probably still go for a woman, for familiarity and not wanting to alienate their native fanbase.

[Dogasu]

I wonder if the people who have a problem with a woman playing Goku also have a problem with Nancy Cartwright playing adult Bart Simpson in the episodes set in the future.

[Kakacarrottop]

I wonder if the people who have a problem with a woman playing Goku also have a problem with Nancy Cartwright playing adult Bart Simpson in the episodes set in the future.

If i recall correctly Nancy deepened her voice a bit though (although maybe she didn't since i haven't seen those episodes in years), anyway it was only for a few episodes not for a whole 300 episode series.

[Gyt Kaliba]

anyway it was only for a few episodes not for a whole 300 episode series.

I think that's the biggest deciding factor, yeah; that and there's very few people comparatively that take their Simpsons quite as seriously as their DBZ.

Though I'm sure if you looked hard enough, you'd find someone who has an issue with such a thing, yeah.

[Kakacarrottop]

anyway it was only for a few episodes not for a whole 300 episode series.

I think that's the biggest deciding factor, yeah; that and there's very few people comparatively that take their Simpsons quite as seriously as their DBZ.

Though I'm sure if you looked hard enough, you'd find someone who has an issue with such a thing, yeah.

Obviously you aren't familiar with the site "NoHomers".

[Dogasu]

If i recall correctly Nancy deepened her voice a bit though

So does Nozawa. Her kid Goku sounds very different from her adult Goku. Same with Gohan.

[Kid Buu]

Honestly, Richard Ian Cox seems like an odd Goku choice for me, from what I've experienced of his voice work (unless he goes somewhere unique with it). His voice tends to go more spiteful punk than what Goku is.

He doesn't seem to have much range from what I've seen. Granted, Ranma and Inuyasha are meant to sound similar, but he even sounded like that as Quicksilver in Xmen Evolution.

[Kamiccolo9]

Honestly, Richard Ian Cox seems like an odd Goku choice for me, from what I've experienced of his voice work (unless he goes somewhere unique with it). His voice tends to go more spiteful punk than what Goku is.

He doesn't seem to have much range from what I've seen. Granted, Ranma and Inuyasha are meant to sound similar, but he even sounded like that as Quicksilver in Xmen Evolution.

Quicksilver's an even bigger jerk than Inuyasha. There shouldn't be too much of a difference there, either.

[Zillamon51]

I'm an English / dub fan. The two biggest hurdles to me enjoying the Japanese version are Goku's high-pitched, shriek-y voice; and the subtitles being written in hillbilly dialect. I also prefer the English voices for being more stylized and distinct, "cartoony" for lack of a better word. In Japanese, Freeza, Cell, and even Buu just sound like regular dudes to me. It's an animated show filled with aliens, androids, demons, and monsters, and I think it needs variety in the voices.

[Ajay]

I'm an English / dub fan. The two biggest hurdles to me enjoying the Japanese version are Goku's high-pitched, shriek-y voice; and the subtitles being written in hillbilly dialect. I also prefer the English voices for being more stylized and distinct, "cartoony" for lack of a better word. In Japanese, Freeza, Cell, and even Buu just sound like regular dudes to me. It's an animated show filled with aliens, androids, demons, and monsters, and I think it needs variety in the voices.

I don't know of any 'regular dudes' who sound like Freeza, Cell or Boo. Those are literally as cartoony, stylised and distinct as they get and they could not sound more different. I do not understand in the slightest what you are hearing. I'd be worried if I came across folk in Japan who spoke like that on a day to day basis!

As for the subtitles...well, that's just the character of Goku. That's what sets him apart from being a regular dude and sounding like his friends. I don't really know how else to put it. If you don't like that...well, you don't like Goku.

[TheBlackPaladin]

I'm an English / dub fan. The two biggest hurdles to me enjoying the Japanese version are Goku's high-pitched, shriek-y voice; and the subtitles being written in hillbilly dialect. I also prefer the English voices for being more stylized and distinct, "cartoony" for lack of a better word. In Japanese, Freeza, Cell, and even Buu just sound like regular dudes to me. It's an animated show filled with aliens, androids, demons, and monsters, and I think it needs variety in the voices.

I don't know of any 'regular dudes' who sound like Freeza, Cell or Boo. Those are literally as cartoony, stylised and distinct as they get and they could not sound more different. I do not understand in the slightest what you are hearing. I'd be worried if I came across folk in Japan who spoke like that on a day to day basis!

As for the subtitles...well, that's just the character of Goku. That's what sets him apart from being a regular dude and sounding like his friends. I don't really know how else to put it. If you don't like that...well, you don't like Goku.

I agree for the most part. However, someone brought up that Goku may not really talk like a "hillbilly" in the English sense of the word. I can't say whether or not this is accurate since I don't speak enough Japanese to determine this, but I recall one thread in which someone who does speak Japanese said that "hillbilly" was not the best description of Goku's dialogue in Japanese. Feel free to look at that thread for further analysis, but essentially, the conclusion that I got from it was that it could be argued that Goku's dialogue is more "rough and unrefined" (for lack of a better term) dialogue than "hillbilly" dialogue. So to give him hillbilly-sounding subtitles was a choice on the part of subtitle writer Steve Simmons.

Now, of course, Steve Simmons is an excellent translator who definitely knows what he's doing, and that choice he made is one backed up by extensive knowledge of the Japanese language. I merely thought I'd point out that while his choice was a good one, it sounds like there's a bit of a debate among those who speak Japanese over whether or not that's the only choice Simmons could have gone with to still be true to the character. I've also researched other dubs besides the English one, and it seems like none of them really picked up on the "hillbilly" trait of the character. Even the Latino Spanish dub, often called the most loyally-translated dub that DBZ ever got, just gave Goku "generally stupid" dialogue rather than "hillbilly stupid" dialogue.

[Ajay]

I agree for the most part. However, someone brought up that Goku may not really talk like a "hillbilly" in the English sense of the word. I can't say whether or not this is accurate since I don't speak enough Japanese to determine this, but I recall one thread in which someone who does speak Japanese said that "hillbilly" was not the best description of Goku's dialogue in Japanese. Feel free to look at that thread for further analysis, but essentially, the conclusion that I got from it was that it could be argued that Goku's dialogue is more "rough and unrefined" (for lack of a better term) dialogue than "hillbilly" dialogue. So to give him hillbilly-sounding subtitles was a choice on the part of subtitle writer Steve Simmons.

Now, of course, Steve Simmons is an excellent translator who definitely knows what he's doing, and that choice he made is one backed up by extensive knowledge of the Japanese language. I merely thought I'd point out that while his choice was a good one, it sounds like there's a bit of a debate among those who speak Japanese over whether or not that's the only choice Simmons could have gone with to still be true to the character. I've also researched other dubs besides the English one, and it seems like none of them really picked up on the "hillbilly" trait of the character. Even the Latino Spanish dub, often called the most loyally-translated dub that DBZ ever got, just gave Goku "generally stupid" dialogue rather than "hillbilly stupid" dialogue.

I was actually reading something that SaiyaJedi had written about this on Reddit recently.

Well, Goku's speech is more "uneducated Kanto" than anything else. He monophthongizes vowel diphthongs, assimilates trailing "ru" (Kekkon sukka? instead of "kekkon suru ka"), calls himself ora (instead of "ore"), and uses yatsu to mean "thing", but overall he still hews pretty close to Standard Japanese. It's even more standard in the comic, where Toriyama never seems quite sure whether Goku is speaking something more "proper" or more "rural", while Masako Nozawa's portrayal tends to be more consistently "rural" overall (though she herself was born and raised in a working-class part of Tokyo).

I'm not really sure how else you would translate the subtlety of that into English. It's not like there's an 'ain't' in every single sentence, is there? I mean, I don't really notice it that much but that may be due to 'ain't' being a very standard thing in the UK. It's not really associated with country folk...it's just kinda...how some of us speak.

To me, I read Goku as speaking pretty normally just with some lazy letter dropping here and there. Most of what I get from the performance just comes from inferring based on what I hear from Nozawa.

[TheBlackPaladin]

I was actually reading something that SaiyaJedi had written about this on Reddit recently.

Well, Goku's speech is more "uneducated Kanto" than anything else. He monophthongizes vowel diphthongs, assimilates trailing "ru" (Kekkon sukka? instead of "kekkon suru ka"), calls himself ora (instead of "ore"), and uses yatsu to mean "thing", but overall he still hews pretty close to Standard Japanese. It's even more standard in the comic, where Toriyama never seems quite sure whether Goku is speaking something more "proper" or more "rural", while Masako Nozawa's portrayal tends to be more consistently "rural" overall (though she herself was born and raised in a working-class part of Tokyo).

I'm not really sure how else you would translate the subtlety of that into English. It's not like there's an 'ain't' in single sentence, is there? I mean, I don't really notice it that much but that may be due to 'ain't' being a very standard thing in the UK. It's not really associated with country folk...it's just kinda...how some of us speak.

To me, I read Goku as speaking pretty normally just with some lazy letter dropping here and there. Most of what I get from the performance just comes from inferring based on what I hear from Nozawa.

Hmm...I guess one really does learn something new every day! So it sounds like the decision to go into a more "rural" territory with Goku's speaking mannerisms was more so a decision on the part of Nozawa than Toriyama, who was never quite consistent on this when he wrote the manga.

Well, good for Nozawa to make that choice, and I mean that. An actor is always at their best when they've mapped out the logic for making the choices that they've made in their performances. Having said that, the (somewhat) slight discrepancy between how Toriyama wrote Goku and how Nozawa played Goku only makes me feel more lenient about translating the "hillbilly" element into a dub performance. For me, as long as a dub gets across that Goku is kind of a moron (fighting tactics aside), then they've done that subtlety justice.