Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" Dub Turns 16; Still Unreleased

[Attitudefan]

A more regal Vegeta? Damn, the excitement!

Next time your conversation goes in the Dragon Ball direction you should try to find out where the series is actually airing

Well, he never said he will be 'regal' but he said it's not going to be the exact same as before, 'if' he returns. He is still kind of evasive of who he is playing. But he did Vegeta in the gym and damn was it awesome to hear it live. He doesn't know when it is coming out as the producers, he said, only know that.

[TheBlackPaladin]

A lot of times, actors aren't privy to production information. They only know about what they've been exposed to firsthand, more often than not.

Although...I am really, really, really curious as to who these producers are for the Ocean dub of Kai.

[Ringworm128]

If this is only airing in one country then maybe it might get a home video release just so it can pull in a few extra dollars.

[Smochi]

I'm still looking foward to Freeza's new voice and how it will match up to Chris Ayers.

Ditto! Has Lee Tockar released anything yet?

[KingofWisdom]

With that reference to Kappei Yamaguchi in regards to Goku's actor, if it's who I think it is, I can definitely say it's not something I'd expect. Partly because I imagine him being a better match for Krillin.

[Ringworm128]

If they keep Dragon Soul I wonder who will sing it.

[penguintruth]

Obviously Terry Klassen will sing it.

Can't you just imagine him belting that out?

[Gonstead]

Obviously Terry Klassen will sing it.

Can't you just imagine him belting that out?

I'd rather have one done by Brian Drummond in Vegeta's voice... shouting every word.

[Ringworm128]

On the subject are there any Ocean voice actors that have done singing in the past?

[TheBlackPaladin]

On the subject are there any Ocean voice actors that have done singing in the past?

Brad Swaile has, but not in the context of an anime. Same for Alessandro Juliani.

I'm sure Vancouver has plenty of singers. I've heard it referred to as the "Hollywood of Canada."

[B]

Obviously Terry Klassen will sing it.

Can't you just imagine him belting that out?

MONDO MONDO WE'RE IN LUCK BROS
MONDO MONDO PARADICE
THAT SPIRIT BOMB'S COMIN' OUR WAY
MONDOOOOO COOOOOOL

[penguintruth]

I said singing it, not writing it.

Also, you forgot "THIS IS NUTS!"

[Ringworm128]

On the subject are there any Ocean voice actors that have done singing in the past?

Brad Swaile has, but not in the context of an anime. Same for Alessandro Juliani.

I'm sure Vancouver has plenty of singers. I've heard it referred to as the "Hollywood of Canada."

Out of the two I would prefer Juliani to sing Dragon Soul.

[Lord Eeyore Haw-Haw]

On the subject are there any Ocean voice actors that have done singing in the past?

Brad Swaile has, but not in the context of an anime. Same for Alessandro Juliani.

I'm sure Vancouver has plenty of singers. I've heard it referred to as the "Hollywood of Canada."

As it happens, Brad Swaile sung at Amecon 2012, in cosplay, as part of the Omake. An Elvis take on singing the ending song to the first Gundam series. Was fun to watch, from the second-most front row.

[Ringworm128]

If they do sing Dragon Soul there is a chance they could just hire a singer who has nothing to do with Ocean.

[Gonstead]

Or they'll simply just use Takayoshi Tanimoto's original Dragon Soul and call it a day.

Worst case scenario they create their own intro with their own music and lyrics.

[Ringworm128]

I'd be fine with that as long as it was a good intro.

[TVfan721]

I can't really go through 92 pages of stuff so can someone explain briefly what is going on? This dub is STILL being made? If so, when is it going to come out?

[TheBlackPaladin]

I can't really go through 92 pages of stuff so can someone explain briefly what is going on? This dub is STILL being made? If so, when is it going to come out?

Well, it's a long story. I'll condense the main points as best I can. Please bare in mind that, unless indicated in quotation marks, none of what I'm saying is a direct quote, and merely a summary to the best of my recollection.

-Before the FUNimation dub of Kai had even been released, a fan named Subzero Ice commented on Sean Schemmel's Facebook page saying he though the Ocean dub of Kai--something that had at this point not even been announced--would be good. Schemmel responded and said that he doubted that, not because of the actors, but because of some production descisons. Schemmel went on to say that the music would be replaced, and that he had heard some of it already, and that it was terrible. He also said that goofy and unnecessary sound effects were being added in, like an instance in which Bulma is going to turn her head and their will be an unnecessarily over-the-top "whoosh" sound added in. He then questioned how Subzero Ice knew about the Ocean dub of Kai because it was supposed to be strictly internal FUNimation info.

-A short time after, Kirby Morrow, the third and final voice for Goku in the Westwood dub (aka the "Post-Saban Ocean Dub") of DBZ, said on some kind of podcast/radio show that while an English dub of Kai was already being produced in Texas, there was another one being made in Canada. He said that he auditioned for Goku and that he did not get the role because the producers thought he sounded "too cool" for Goku.

-Some time later, Lee Tockar revealed via Twitter that he would be playing Freeza for the Ocean dub of Kai. However, he has not spoken of this since then. Methinks he accidentally broke an NDA.

-Then....a lotta nothing, to the point where many fans were beginning to wonder if this dub was even being made. However, Scott McNeil, the Ocean voice for Piccolo (among other characters) said at a con that he was working on "Dragon Ball Kai." When asked who he was playing, he said that he was playing the same characters that he did before. Interestingly, he prefaced his announcement with, "Screw the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)." That's a VERY risky thing for an actor to do.

-Even more time passed, and then fellow Kanzenshuuer Attitudefan, who also lives in the Vancouver area, ran into Brian Drummond, the Ocean voice for Vegeta, at a local gym, where Drummond is apparently a regular. Among several other topics, he asked Drummond if he was returning as Vegeta for Kai. Drummond then gave an evasive, awkward, and uneasy answer that didn't really confirm or deny anything. This has been interpreted by pretty much everyone here as a concerted effort not to break an NDA.

-Attitudefan later said that, "You didn't hear this from me," but that the Ocean dub of Kai was indeed happening.

-Fellow Kanzenshuuer Kirbopher, who was among the first to learn about the casting of Chris Ayers as Freeza in the FUNimation dub of Kai, came forward and said that the Ocean dub of Kai was definitely happening. He also mentioned several other smaller facts. Among them:
a) Kirby Morrow got into HUGE trouble for revealing what he did. Which might explain Drummond's evasive answer to Attitudefan.
b) He knew who the new voice actor for Goku was. He was described to Kirbopher as a surprising choice that many fans will find odd at first, but that he was the "perfect man for the job."
c) The new producers for this dub, whoever they are, are apparently taking a lot of time to get certain things right, even going so far as to pronounce "Namek" as "Nah-mek," which is closer to the Japanese pronunciation.

-Subzero Ice returned to Kanzenshuu and said that the Ocean dub of Kai was going to be great, although he would not reveal his sources.

-Kanzenshuuer and director/writer/editor/actor of Team Four Star's "DBZ Abridged," KaiserNeko, posted that he knew who the new voice actor for Goku was, but wasn't going to say. I'm not sure how he would know this, but my guess is that he could have learned it from a voice actor that he met at a con (and it is worth noting that both he and Scott McNeil were guests for Youmacon 2012). Kaiser only dropped a vague hint as to who the new voice actor was...which was to say that it was pretty ironic that Kappei Yamaguchi dubbed Justin Chatwin as Goku for the Japanese dub of "Dragon Ball Evolution." No definitive conclusions have been drawn from this, but we've generally interpreted this to mean that the new voice actor for Goku is somebody who played a role in English that was originated in Japanese by Kappei Yamaguchi. For this reason, the current two prime suspects for the new voice of Goku are Allesandro Juliani and Richard Ian Cox. Still nothing confirmed, though.

-The European branch of Toei announced that the English dub of Kai would begin airing on UK television soon. It was unclear which dub they meant, but many assumed that it would be the Ocean dub of Kai since the UK got the Ocean/Westwood dub of DBZ. However, a recently-released promo shows clips that are clearly from the FUNimation version, strongly suggesting--but not necessarily confirming--that the UK will be getting the FUNimation dub. We'll find out for sure when it debuts on the 26th, but hopes are not high.

Other than that, it's unknown if this dub is still in production, how long till it'll be released, or when it'll be released. We continue to watch and wait. I started a bet a while back as to how many pages this thread would reach before the Ocean dub aired, and my guess was 124 pages. Anybody else feel free to drop in.

[KingofWisdom]

Someone from Kix responded to a fellow Kanzenshuuer via e-mail that they are indeed airing the FUNimation dub of Kai.