A Z Kai dub review from a foreigner (me)

[MugiMikey]

Sabat is not a good voice actor...

Someone's only watched DBZ.

Show, and episode number? I didn't like his voice acting work too much in yu yu hakusho either, for instance.

His voice (and acting) for Zoro in One Piece is superb.

Zoro is a main character, so he shows up quite often.

[JulieYBM]

Looking over Timo's review...that's the first time I've ever heard anyone refer to Schemmel's Kaiô as 'drunk'. :p

Sabat is not a good voice actor...

Someone's only watched DBZ.

Show, and episode number? I didn't like his voice acting work too much in yu yu hakusho either, for instance.

The funny thing is, in every other anime he does (save maybe Fullmetal Alchemist) he just acts. No gimmicks, just acting. Here's some of his One Piece work.

[ohaimynameiserik]

Sabat is not a good voice actor...

Someone's only watched DBZ.

Show, and episode number? I didn't like his voice acting work too much in yu yu hakusho either, for instance.

DBZ Kai espisodes 1-13.

I thank you.

Anyway, I'm still waiting on an answer as to what makes a dub good if script accuracy and believable acting do not.

[VegettoEX]

Anyway, I'm still waiting on an answer as to what makes a dub good if script accuracy and believable acting do not.

You're still working under the assumption that everyone agrees with what your personal interpretation of proper casting and voice work is, and that somehow this particular product reflects or demonstrates the epitome of that.

[ohaimynameiserik]

Anyway, I'm still waiting on an answer as to what makes a dub good if script accuracy and believable acting do not.

You're still working under the assumption that everyone agrees with what your personal interpretation of proper casting and voice work is, and that somehow this particular product reflects or demonstrates the epitome of that.

No, actually.

I'm not speaking on proper casting at all. As a matter of fact, there are some voices I would have liked to have seen changed.

I'm saying the actors gave some really good performances, and that the script is accurate. Meaning, yes, from my point of view, giving the dub a C is a bit low.

I should not have to explain any of this. Now I know how penguintruth feels.

[linkdude20002001]

But still, a C is a bit low even though you disliked some of the voices.

Not if I find the voices of some major characters just embarrasing.

If you want, delete the "C" in your mind and replace it with a "6.5 (out of 10)".

I'd say a C is about right. It's not a fail of a dub like their dub of DBZ, but it's not like they tried very hard to give characters fitting voices. They only fixed two voices; that's nowhere near half of the inappropriate ones. Aside from that, they continued to use inaccurate names and pronunciations. Had they at least gotten the names and pronunciations right, I'd give their dub a B, but since it is neither of those, I'll just say thanks for at least doing better than they did for Dragon Ball. I'd give Dragon Ball a D by the way. The acting wasn't all that great and the dialogue was censored to the point of changing things, in addition to the continuing the trend of mispronunciations and name changes.

[VegettoEX]

No, actually.

I'm not speaking on proper casting at all. As a matter of fact, there are some voices I would have liked to have seen changed.

I'm saying the actors gave some really good performances, and that the script is accurate. Meaning, yes, from my point of view, giving the dub a C is a bit low.

I should not have to explain any of this. Now I know how penguintruth feels.

I still don't see what the problem is. If you really want to dig into the semantics of things, a "C" is literally defined as "average" in just about any grading scale.

Timo expressed that he took issue with some of the casting choices, some of the acting performances, some of the hold-overs from the edited/"reversioning" days (character names, attacks, etc.)...

All of that, when/if you "subtract it" from the rest of the material (which itself may or may not be "good", such as a fairly accurate script) adds up to being an "average" adaptation in his view.

So what are you actually arguing? Is it Timo's definition of "average", or is the underlying issue just that you think the actors are better than Timo happens to think? Sounds like the latter to me.

[Raki]

Not a bad review but I was hoping that Funimation got different VAs for Yamcha, Kami, and even Piccolo. Still doesn't make sense for Chris to be voicing all of of them considering the talent pool.

[Adamant]

Anyway, I'm still waiting on an answer as to what makes a dub good if script accuracy and believable acting do not.

A good dub has an accurate, well-written and well-adapted script, good casting, character accuracy, and well-directed, believable acting. Most of these points are somewhat up to personal opinions, which is why opinionated reviews exist in the first place, but you can't claim a dub is "great", "A-" or whatever if it just passes one or two of these points in your opinion.

And again, an accurate translation in itself is the bare minimum to expect. If the script is just some random shit the licensor wrote to go with the video, it's arguably not even a dub anymore, but a reinterpretation. I know the word "dubbing" technically just refers to adding voices to a video, but the common meaning of the word is to produce a foreign-voiced version of video, and that suggests that the end product is "technically the same, but in a different language".

[B]

Sabat is not a good voice actor...

Someone's only watched DBZ.

Show, and episode number? I didn't like his voice acting work too much in yu yu hakusho either, for instance.

Google "Chris Sabat," check his Wikipedia page, and basically look at anything that doesn't have Dragon Ball, YuYu Haksuho, or Fullmetal Alchemist on it.

[penguintruth]

I think Chris Sabat's best role is Alex Louis Armstrong in Fullmetal Alchemist, a dub I could otherwise take or leave. He's actually not that bad a VA overall, but his DBZ work isn't really that great.

[SylentEcho]

Look, forget about the other stuff Sabat's done. He may be good, but his Vegeta is just wrong. As the reviewer said, his gruff voice doesn't suit Vegeta's young face. He can sound like that in GT and that would be kind of bearable. Have you seen his interviews? He actually admits to thinking he's Vegeta sometimes and also acts like him at times. He thinks there's nobody better than him for that role. His Yamcha is alright, but his Kami and Piccolo are just terrible. Many a time the voices just overlap and Vegeta suddenly sounds a little like Piccolo.

He and a few other voice actors are the main reason I won't be buying any more volumes of the Kai dub.

[ohaimynameiserik]

No, actually.

I'm not speaking on proper casting at all. As a matter of fact, there are some voices I would have liked to have seen changed.

I'm saying the actors gave some really good performances, and that the script is accurate. Meaning, yes, from my point of view, giving the dub a C is a bit low.

I should not have to explain any of this. Now I know how penguintruth feels.

I still don't see what the problem is. If you really want to dig into the semantics of things, a "C" is literally defined as "average" in just about any grading scale.

Timo expressed that he took issue with some of the casting choices, some of the acting performances, some of the hold-overs from the edited/"reversioning" days (character names, attacks, etc.)...

All of that, when/if you "subtract it" from the rest of the material (which itself may or may not be "good", such as a fairly accurate script) adds up to being an "average" adaptation in his view.

So what are you actually arguing? Is it Timo's definition of "average", or is the underlying issue just that you think the actors are better than Timo happens to think? Sounds like the latter to me.

There is no problem.

I wouldn't give it a C, I think it deserves better and that the reasons to say the dub is not worthy of a higher grade are pretty weak.

That's it. That is all. The End. Jeez.

[linkdude20002001]

Look, forget about the other stuff Sabat's done. He may be good, but his Vegeta is just wrong. As the reviewer said, his gruff voice doesn't suit Vegeta's young face. He can sound like that in GT and that would be kind of bearable. Have you seen his interviews? He actually admits to thinking he's Vegeta sometimes and also acts like him at times. He thinks there's nobody better than him for that role. His Yamcha is alright, but his Kami and Piccolo are just terrible. Many a time the voices just overlap and Vegeta suddenly sounds a little like Piccolo.

I completely agree. Even my best friend, whom has never seen DBZ in Japanese, agrees that Sabat's Vegeta sounds way too old for the character. He actually said it before I ever did, even. I was just asking him which voice he liked better for Vegeta (Sabat or Drummond), and after showing him some clips, he said he liked Drummond because it fit the age slightly better.

And now that you mention his voices sounding too similar, I recall a moment in Kai where I thought Vegeta's laugh was Piccolo's. And God's voice is so fake. I'd rather have an actual old man voice coming from an old man.

[Daimo-Rukiri]

If Sabat would raise his tone a bit I think it'd be perfect, Drummond just didn't sound like Vegeta to me.. Not saying he was bad, far from it.. Just saying if Sabat worked at it he'd sound as close as you're going to get to Ryo.

[sangofe]

Zoro is a main character, so he shows up quite often.

I compared his Zoro to the Japanese one, and honestly, I don't think he sounds enough laid back and cool like Zoro should sound.

[KaiserNeko]

Zoro is a main character, so he shows up quite often.

I compared his Zoro to the Japanese one, and honestly, I don't think he sounds enough laid back and cool like Zoro should sound.

Doesn't mean that his acting for the role isn't good, though. You seem to think he's not a good actor, while you seemingly haven't heard a lot of his roles. You're also comparing to the Japanese actor which, while there's nothing wrong with that, doesn't really give you the most fair viewpoint on his ability to act.

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

I enjoyed the review and though I don't personally agree with the final grade, it's your decision and I respect that. However, from my experience with the new dub it seems Funimation is out doing Toei with Kai. I know I'm probably going to get blasted for saying this but, while I do enjoy the original Kai dub, I find Funimation's new work a lot more enjoyable. I am a fan of Funimation's work so what I just said probably wasn't a big surprise; I just feel like Funimation put forth a lot more effort into Kai than Toei did and it really shows.

[linkdude20002001]

Well, at least Toei didn't change character names, pick awful replacements, and remove the hick-ness of Gokuh, Chichi, and the Ox Demon-King. That's the reason that I too would give their dub of Kai a C. It's average, but had they fixed those problems, the dub would've gotten an A. Sadly, at it's currently level of quality, it stands at about the same level as their dub of Yu Yu Hakusho (which I like by the way).

A = Nothing annoying (FUNi One Piece, Death Note)
B = Contains ignorable annoyances (Inuyasha)
C = Contains bothersome annoyances (Kai, Yu Yu Hakusho)
D = Contains seriously annoying annoyances (DB)
F = So...! Annoying!! (DBZ, 4Kids One Piece)

[penguintruth]

Well, at least Toei didn't change character names, pick awful replacements, and remove the hick-ness of Gokuh, Chichi, and the Ox Demon-King. That's the reason that I too would give their dub of Kai a C. It's average, but had they fixed those problems, the dub would've gotten an A. Sadly, at it's currently level of quality, it stands at about the same level as their dub of Yu Yu Hakusho (which I like by the way).

A = Nothing annoying (FUNi One Piece, Death Note)
B = Contains ignorable annoyances (Inuyasha)
C = Contains bothersome annoyances (Kai, Yu Yu Hakusho)
D = Contains seriously annoying annoyances (DB)
F = So...! Annoying!! (DBZ, 4Kids One Piece)

I wouldn't put the Funimation dub of One Piece in the same league as Ocean's Death Note dub, but otherwise, that's about the same as my own standards, even down to several of the examples.