Likes About Funimation Cast

[Super Sonic]

Thought I'd ask what are things people like about the Funimation cast members?For myself, I like how over the course of time, they for the most part made the characters' their own and grew into their roles. While there were hiccups, especially with the beginning of season 3 being the rush-job make-it or break-it as it was, but over time they did get better. Also the ones that I've met were pretty friendly. So thought I'd ask you guys your thoughts if any. (And as I know someone's gonna say it, please state reasons other than them being hot. This isn't that kind of thread).

[WittyUsername]

Do you mean what do people like about them in terms of their performances, or how they are as people?

[Ajay]

Chris Sabat is arguably the only person who genuinely understands the show. Schemmel doesn't, Herbert does to an extent, but Sabat is above and beyond.

I cannot begin to thank him enough for the audio direction he took in Kai. His work helped unite one of the most divided fandoms I've ever been apart of. I couldn't haved imagined a time when purists would go "you know what, yeah, if you wanna watch that dub, that's cool! it's actually pretty good". It's been a real joy to see people uniting over a product like that.

He also comes across like a real genuine guy in all the interviews I've seen. He seems very up front about his mistakes in the past and is very vocal about keeping the show in line with its Japanese origins. He may not be the single driving force behind the show's turn around, but he's certainly the one getting these great performances out of people!

[DarkPrince_92]

Chris Sabat is arguably the only person who genuinely understands the show. Schemmel doesn't, Herbert does to an extent, but Sabat is above and beyond.

I cannot begin to thank him enough for the audio direction he took in Kai. His work helped unite one of the most divided fandoms I've ever been apart of. I couldn't haved imagined a time when purists would go "you know what, yeah, if you wanna watch that dub, that's cool! it's actually pretty good". It's been a real joy to see people uniting over a product like that.

He also comes across like a real genuine guy in all the interviews I've seen. He seems very up front about his mistakes in the past and is very vocal about keeping the show in line with its Japanese origins. He may not be the single driving force behind the show's turn around, but he's certainly the one getting these great performances out of people!

Agreed. Sabat is the best thing for DBZ in America right now. I'm not sure how much he knew back then, but he really got it down now.

[Lord Beerus]

Chris Sabat is arguably the only person who genuinely understands the show. Schemmel doesn't, Herbert does to an extent, but Sabat is above and beyond.

I cannot begin to thank him enough for the audio direction he took in Kai. His work helped unite one of the most divided fandoms I've ever been apart of. I couldn't haved imagined a time when purists would go "you know what, yeah, if you wanna watch that dub, that's cool! it's actually pretty good". It's been a real joy to see people uniting over a product like that.

He also comes across like a real genuine guy in all the interviews I've seen. He seems very up front about his mistakes in the past and is very vocal about keeping the show in line with its Japanese origins. He may not be the single driving force behind the show's turn around, but he's certainly the one getting these great performances out of people!

Hear, hear!

Chris Sabat is the only English VA that seems like a real fan of Dragon Ball. He gets a crap-load of credit for how awesome the dub of Kai turned out to be. And he's also a really cool guy to talk to.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Schemmel doesn't...

That's a perfectly fine opinion to have, but I'm a little surprised by it. I think Schemmel gets it by now. He didn't when he started--I don't think anybody, no matter what level of the dub food chain we're talking about, did--but I think he gets it by now. Now he plays Goku like the man-child that the character is. Otherwise, I agree with everything you said.

Anyway, to address the main topic, I love the FUNimation cast's performances, for the most part. I don't like all of the performances, and I'll be sticking to my usual policy of keeping silent on which ones I don't like, but there aren't that many. While we're on that subject, though, it ties into what I like about the FUNimation cast...the reason I don't talk about which performances I don't like is because that would be kind of a dick move (pardon the language) on my part considering that I am a professional voice actor myself, and I was inspired to become one because I wanted to bring excitement to TV viewers in the same way that the FUNimation cast brought to me as a kid, and brought to me again as an adult in the form of Kai and BoG. So, inspiring me to pick the career that I now make a living off of...we can start with that!

To be clear, I''m not anybody you guys would know...most of my work is commercials, promos, and non-broadcast narration. Anything character-based can be difficult to break into, for a number of reasons. With that said, I did do my first anime recording session not too long ago (although not for anything Dragon Ball-related)! And I gotta tell 'ya...here's another thing I like about the FUNimation cast: they manage to give the great performances that they give while under the restriction of having to match the lip movements of their characters. I read and watched plenty of interviews over the years with voice actors talking about how hard that is to do, and I never doubted them. Even so, I can confirm now, they weren't kidding. It's very, very tough to do. I'm not saying that the difficulty of matching lip movements should somehow change your mind about the performances...if people don't like them, then people don't like them, and that's fine (even I don't like some of them, as I previously mentioned, and even with that added constraint, that doesn't change just how dreadful many of the performances in "Season 3" sounded). However, having gone through the challenges that a dubbing actor has to go through, I reached a new level of respect for them.

Beyond that? It was cool to see them evolve in their understanding of their characters. Sure, I would have preferred that they started off at the Kai dub's level of quality from the start, but I think many of you will agree with me that the dub's shortcomings and its gradual improvement has provided just as many interesting and spirited discussions as the story of Dragon Ball itself has. It's almost like the behind-the-scenes situation with the dub was its own, reality TV story arc. Just like how it's fascinating to watch characters grow and develop in a story, it has been fun to see how this real-life story arc of the dub played out...it's a story of people who started off new and inexperienced, and who grew to be very talented actors. The same can be said of the writers and directors. For that matter, the same can be said of the casting. I won't say which roles I thought were good choices to re-cast, but suffice to say, some roles now have actors who are much, much, much better choices from the get-go, and that indicates an understanding from the casting point of view.

So this arc started off with a dire--and at times, funny--beginning, even more challenges, some signs of hope, some new players entering the fray, an inspiring montage of improvement, and a great feel-good ending about people who rose to a challenge and conquered it in the end. Which, if you think about it, is the arc formula for many arcs of Dragon Ball, so it's rather fitting.

Perhaps the greatest thing I can say about the FUNimation cast is that, now, I don't have to worry about whether the new stuff will turn out all right. I used to have to worry, but now? The epic story that is Dragon Ball is in good hands, and it's nice to know that Toriyama's story will be handled expertly and with care on both the Japanese and English sides of things.

[WittyUsername]

Chris Sabat is arguably the only person who genuinely understands the show. Schemmel doesn't, Herbert does to an extent, but Sabat is above and beyond.

I cannot begin to thank him enough for the audio direction he took in Kai. His work helped unite one of the most divided fandoms I've ever been apart of. I couldn't haved imagined a time when purists would go "you know what, yeah, if you wanna watch that dub, that's cool! it's actually pretty good". It's been a real joy to see people uniting over a product like that.

He also comes across like a real genuine guy in all the interviews I've seen. He seems very up front about his mistakes in the past and is very vocal about keeping the show in line with its Japanese origins. He may not be the single driving force behind the show's turn around, but he's certainly the one getting these great performances out of people!

Hear, hear!

Chris Sabat is the only English VA that seems like a fanof Dragon Ball. He gets a crap-load of credit for how awesome the dub of Kai turned out to be. And he's also a really cool guy to talk to.

I wouldn't say Sabat's the only one that seems like a fan. Plenty of the cast members like Kyle Hebert, Justin Cook, and yes, even Sean Schemmel seem like fans as well. Schemmel even mentioned that the only reason he reprised his role as Goku for Kai was because he was promised that the scripts would be more accurate for that dub.

[Mewzard]

Yeah, I don't get the digs at Schemmel. He was the one who wanted to correct the pronunciation of Kaio-Ken, and he added the Son Goku part of "I am the Super Saiyan, Son Goku!" in the hopes they would use that take (as it wasn't scripted).

I like how far they've come as actors (and how far the scripts and voice direction has come). When I first heard them voice the roles, I had some issues, but moved on. Eventually, I was going more and more towards the Japanese side though in my disappointment over the accuracy of the dub and the rough voice acting at parts.

But then Kai happened. Just as the Japanese version had surpassed the old dub for me, Kai's dub took over the original Z as my current favorite way to view the series. Probably most strongly for Chris Ayres' nigh perfect performance as Freeza, and Sean Schemmel as Goku. By the point of Kai and into BoG, he's my favorite Goku, with Nozawa at a close second.

The cut down on filler was also nice, but that's not about the cast.

[Ajay]

That's a perfectly fine opinion to have, but I'm a little surprised by it. I think Schemmel gets it by now. He didn't when he started--I don't think anybody, no matter what level of the dub food chain we're talking about, did--but I think he gets it by now. Now he plays Goku like the man-child that the character is. Otherwise, I agree with everything you said.

I recall some instances of Schemmel talking about Goku as though he were still the 'hope of the universe', during the build up to the dub premiere of Battle of Gods. In particular, I remember him saying, "Goku's an annoying boyscout, kinda like Superman...I guess that's why there's so many comparisons". There's been some interviews where similar things have been said and it kinda throws me off. Maybe it's him not articulating well? I don't know.

I don't doubt that he's into making scripts accurate nowadays, and I know he has real admiration for Nozawa, but I'm still not convinced it's his understanding of the character that's really making his latest performances come across as well as they seem to. Don't get me wrong, he can definitely act, but I think a lot of the things we love are a result of Sabat's direction and some of the better script adaptations rather than anything else.

By all self-admission, I don't like Schemmel at all as a person. I think he's unprofessional and an exceptional douche, but I separate my feelings towards him when I judge his performances and understanding of Goku. I just don't buy it.

By all means, if you have enough clips to prove otherwise, I'll happily change my mind. I'll be the first to admit that my knowledge of dub-related things isn't all that great.

[thaman91]

By all self-admission, I don't like Schemmel at all as a person. I think he's unprofessional and an exceptional douche, but I separate my feelings towards him when I judge his performances and understanding of Goku. I just don't buy it.

Really? What's so douchey and unprofessional about him?

I do agree with you though that his good performance is more due to the script and direction rather than his understanding of the character.

[Kakacarrottop]

Chris Sabat is the only English VA that seems like a real fan of Dragon Ball. He gets a crap-load of credit for how awesome the dub of Kai turned out to be. And he's also a really cool guy to talk to.

Chris Sabat is arguably the only person who genuinely understands the show. Schemmel doesn't

I agree it's good he's a big fan himself, but that doesn't change the fact he's always sucked as Piccolo and Recoome. Also Schemmel may not be as big a fan as Sabat, but for what it's worth he actually has an account here and said anyone who doesn't like the Kai dub "doesn't like dragon ball".

[Super Sonic]

Know most folks like his Piccolo, though do recall a panel he had he said if he had to give up Piccolo or Vegeta, he'd give up Piccolo as he loves being Vegeta. Who would you cast as Piccolo Kakacarrottop?

[WittyUsername]

That's a perfectly fine opinion to have, but I'm a little surprised by it. I think Schemmel gets it by now. He didn't when he started--I don't think anybody, no matter what level of the dub food chain we're talking about, did--but I think he gets it by now. Now he plays Goku like the man-child that the character is. Otherwise, I agree with everything you said.

I recall some instances of Schemmel talking about Goku as though he were still the 'hope of the universe', during the build up to the dub premiere of Battle of Gods. In particular, I remember him saying, "Goku's an annoying boyscout, kinda like Superman...I guess that's why there's so many comparisons". There's been some interviews where similar things have been said and it kinda throws me off. Maybe it's him not articulating well? I don't know.

I don't doubt that he's into making scripts accurate nowadays, and I know he has real admiration for Nozawa, but I'm still not convinced it's his understanding of the character that's really making his latest performances come across as well as they seem to. Don't get me wrong, he can definitely act, but I think a lot of the things we love are a result of Sabat's direction and some of the better script adaptations rather than anything else.

By all self-admission, I don't like Schemmel at all as a person. I think he's unprofessional and an exceptional douche, but I separate my feelings towards him when I judge his performances and understanding of Goku. I just don't buy it.

By all means, if you have enough clips to prove otherwise, I'll happily change my mind. I'll be the first to admit that my knowledge of dub-related things isn't all that great.

I think Schemmel is well aware that Goku is not a superhero to the same degree as Superman, he's been voicing the character for over 15 years by this point, and he's obviously aware of the inaccuracies of the old dub. As I mentioned earlier, Schemmel mentioned that the only reason he returned for Kai was because he was promised that the dub would be more accurate.

I guess I might as well ask while I'm at it, why do you view Schemmel as a douche?

[Kid Buu]

Really? What's so douchey and unprofessional about him?

He seems to be snarky towards other Goku dub actors on twitter. I remember him getting mad at Kirby Morrow for saying he was the voice of Goku on twitter, which technically isn't wrong. Here's an example I found him with him in convo with other Goku actors, and you can see it doesn't end so well.

Also recently there was a thing recently on Sonny Strait's FB page where Sonny was mentioning directing a simuldub for FUNi and Schemmel was like 'Cool, maybe you can cast me unlike some other people at FUNi'

[Kakacarrottop]

Know most folks like his Piccolo, though do recall a panel he had he said if he had to give up Piccolo or Vegeta, he'd give up Piccolo as he loves being Vegeta. Who would you cast as Piccolo Kakacarrottop?

This guy of coarse

why do you view Schemmel as a douche?

"Here is why the Ocean group dub will suck. As far as I know, the Ocean group dub is going to have this really shitty music (some of which I have heard) and a whole host of added sound effects such as "doinks" and "boinks" and even in one scene, where Bulma ... turns her head in a conversation you hear a "whoosh" sound ala a bad martial arts movie. We are giving you the purest DBZ experience possible." - Sean Schemmel

That comment alone is enough to qualify him as a douche

[Mewzard]

"Here is why the Ocean group dub will suck. As far as I know, the Ocean group dub is going to have this really shitty music (some of which I have heard) and a whole host of added sound effects such as "doinks" and "boinks" and even in one scene, where Bulma ... turns her head in a conversation you hear a "whoosh" sound ala a bad martial arts movie. We are giving you the purest DBZ experience possible." - Sean Schemmel

That comment alone is enough to qualify him as a douche

But going back to replacement music (especially if bad) and adding ridiculous cartoon sound effects would really suck. It'd hurt the end result.

Then again, with how long this dub's supposedly been in production, who knows what's even up at this point.

Of course, he could just be joking about some stuff. Humor doesn't always translate well in text without proper tone and context (some stuff better than others).

[Duo]

I like Kyle Hebert quite a bit. He's a great guy and always seemed to bring his best to the table. I really enjoy how he has handled the character of Gohan. He also signed a DS of mine a few years back, so that was a pretty damn good time.

[cpuguy18]

Chris Ayres as frieza is amazing.

[fadeddreams5]

"Here is why the Ocean group dub will suck. As far as I know, the Ocean group dub is going to have this really shitty music (some of which I have heard) and a whole host of added sound effects such as "doinks" and "boinks" and even in one scene, where Bulma ... turns her head in a conversation you hear a "whoosh" sound ala a bad martial arts movie. We are giving you the purest DBZ experience possible." - Sean Schemmel

That comment alone is enough to qualify him as a douche

Being purposely inappropriate and keeping it real makes him a douche? I think it's funny.

Would he be less of a douche if he phrased it the following way? "Here is why I believe the Ocean dub will not live up to its expectations. First of all, its music is quite unrefined. Secondly, its sound effects, which comprise of perplexing "doinks" and "boinks," feel a tad dated and unbefitting. I believe, in comparison, our dub is the superior product, with all respect to Ocean, who also work hard to give DBZ fans what they desire!"

[Gonstead]

Chris Sabat is arguably the only person who genuinely understands the show. Schemmel doesn't, Herbert does to an extent, but Sabat is above and beyond.

I cannot begin to thank him enough for the audio direction he took in Kai. His work helped unite one of the most divided fandoms I've ever been apart of. I couldn't haved imagined a time when purists would go "you know what, yeah, if you wanna watch that dub, that's cool! it's actually pretty good". It's been a real joy to see people uniting over a product like that.

He also comes across like a real genuine guy in all the interviews I've seen. He seems very up front about his mistakes in the past and is very vocal about keeping the show in line with its Japanese origins. He may not be the single driving force behind the show's turn around, but he's certainly the one getting these great performances out of people!

Don't forget Justin Cook, who fought for Funimation to actually dub Kai when originally they were simply going to reuse audio from the Z dub and splice it into Kai.

I'll also chime in for Kyle Hebert. He gets really involved with the fans and just comes across as a really nice and warm individual. He's kinda like that one Uncle or Grandpa relative who likes to spoil the kids in the family.

Sabat? Yeah, agree with everything you said. Also love how he gets involved with fan projects as well.