fadeddreams5 wrote:Yeah, I strongly dislike Goku's Japanese voice too. I've never understood the logic behind it. It's the only dub I know with his voice like that. Is it supposed to be funny irony in Japan (big muscular guy with squeaky voice) or something? I don't get it...>.>
It's a matter of consistency. In
Dragon Ball (and other animes, but not all), whichever voice actor voices a character first voices them for every stage of that character's life. Since Goku first appeared as a kid, they used a female voice actress, Masako Nozawa, who gave--and gives--a brilliant performance. When Goku became an adult, they kept the same actress. The same policy is also true in reverse...Trunks first appeared as a teenager, so he was given a teenage voice, provided by Takeshi Kusao. The Buu arc, which came later, had Trunks as a kid...Kusao played him there as well.
While I have come to like Masako Nozawa, I understand where you're coming from. I do think the English cast is a more realistic depiction of how voices change with age. However, there is something nice to having the same actor playing Goku in all incarnations. There's a loveable consistency to it. It definitely is something that grows on you, though. I like the Japanese and English voice for Goku for different reasons. I think they both nailed the character. Nozawa has the consistency factor working in her favor, and while her voice sounds odd coming from someone who looks very obviously like an adult male, Goku is an odd guy, so it fits his quirky nature. Schemmel, by contrast, sounds more like what an adult male would realistically sound like, and so there's a certain realism in his performance that makes accepting the character more easy.
Check out the episodes from start to finish in Japanese...I think you'll see why so many love Nozawa's portrayal!
