Dragonball Kai (FUNimation English) Dub: General Discussion

[Amigo Ten]

Swearing just doesn't feel like it belongs in the series though. It doesn't need it and to me it doesn't fit the tone of the series. Whenever I hear or see swearing in DB it just comes across as forced. "Bastard" is about as far as it can go before it just sounds unnatural. "Fuck" and "shit" and so forth actually detract from the enjoyment for me.

[bkev]

It may be because I grew up on the dub which avoided it, but any swearing in DB seems excessive - even by the villains. The story doesn't need it to get drama across. Not to say "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARN YOUUUUU" is appropriate when being blasted to bits, but certainly there's other things that could be done.

[penguintruth]

Nobody who's getting slammed into a mountain is going to yell "Darn it."

That's like being shot and saying, "Oh, gee."

At the same time, we don't need Anime Labs' "Candy-ass faggots."

[Xyex]

The only curses I'd not be put off seeing from the DBZ cast would be shit and damn, and only in heavy moderation. Everything else is out of place.

[penguintruth]

I agree. This is DBZ, not The Sopranos.

Maybe a "bastard" here and there.

[Amigo Ten]

Viz used bastard a few times if I remember. I don't mind it as much because I can't really think of another word to use instead.

[KaiserNeko]

Honestly, with as much drama and violence as there is in the show, some swearing would really help accentuate the severity of these situations. Not saying we need to bring in some of the "bombs", but Damn, Hell, Bastard, and "Piss me off" and whatnot are seemingly very appropriate.

Honestly, hearing Jeice yell out, "The crazy bastard killed Guldo!" was pretty damn entertaining. xD

[Xyex]

Viz used bastard a few times if I remember. I don't mind it as much because I can't really think of another word to use instead.

"Jerk" could work in a number of cases. There's also scumbag, trash, piece-of-crap, and several others. Or, if you want something a little harsher, there's ass.

Honestly, with as much drama and violence as there is in the show, some swearing would really help accentuate the severity of these situations. Not saying we need to bring in some of the "bombs", but Damn, Hell, Bastard, and "Piss me off" and whatnot are seemingly very appropriate.

Honestly, hearing Jeice yell out, "The crazy bastard killed Guldo!" was pretty damn entertaining. xD

I don't think it's needed to accentuate anything. When something's good enough you don't need that sort of thing, and Dragonball is definitely good enough. And "Piss me off" doesn't qualify as swearing in my book, nor does Hell.

[Onikage725]

I think mild cursing worked well in Yu Yu Hakusho's dub. It's darker in tone, sure. Still, I could just as easily see Vegeta, a genocidal maniac, tossing out a shit or damn here and there as I could see a street punk like Yusuke.

[Big Momma]

Nobody who's getting slammed into a mountain is going to yell "Darn it."

That's like being shot and saying, "Oh, gee."

At the same time, we don't need Anime Labs' "Candy-ass faggots."

I'm pretty sure I'd yell "ouch".

[jjgp1112]

I wouldn't be surprised if we got the occasional shit, either. I heard that Yu Yu Hakusho had at least one instance of someone saying it, as well as One Piece. And these days, most Cable networks let shit go uncensored after 9 pm. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is filled with s-bombs.

[Onikage725]

I'm pretty sure at least Yusuke said shit a couple of times. He said damn it fairly often, and used the phrase "piss me off" (as in "you are/this is really starting to piss me off").

[jjgp1112]

He's also let the occasional "asshole" out. He called that one teacher that was always trying to get him in trouble it, as well as Suzaku and Dr. Itagaki (that guy from the Dark Tournament who got those fighters' master sick and turned them into his zombies). I haven't seen anything past Funi's Yu Yu Hakusho Season 2 DVD, though, and I'm pretty sure he's said it then too. Oh yeah, and he's also called Genkai an old bitch a ton of times and called Hiei one in a clip from a later episode I saw on YouTube.

[Tsukento]

I don't think it's needed to accentuate anything. When something's good enough you don't need that sort of thing, and Dragonball is definitely good enough. And "Piss me off" doesn't qualify as swearing in my book, nor does Hell.

When someone's clearly pissed (i.e: Vegeta), you're gonna be hearing plenty of "Go to Hell!" and "Damn you!" or "Dammit!"

Kaiser pretty much nailed it on the head. Those are really the only swears we really heard Z (well, in the Japanese version anyways). While "Hell" is hardly a swear, it's still stupidly seen as some sort of taboo word on television in the US. Though the uncut dub seems to be fine with forgetting about HFIL, so it's all good.

My only issue would be going overboard on all of it. When FUNi redubbed Seasons 1 and 2, they threw in quite a hefty amount of swearing when there wasn't any being said originally. Reminded me of their YuYu Hakusho dub, and they're also kinda doing it with One Piece as well.

[bkev]

They even did this to the Tenchi spin-off Sasami Magical Girl or whatever it's called... am I the only one who thinks "whoring it up like a high-school girl" is language enough to alienate what could have been their target audience?

[Gaffer Tape]

Psst, bkev, it's Magical Girl Pretty Sammy!

And, geez, I can't believe this topic has been about nothing but arguing about the existance and level of swearing for two pages now! Yeesh!

[bkev]

No, no no no, it's not Pretty Sammy. It's Pretty Sammy's bastard child. FUNi has the rights to this one, Pretty Sammy's still in limbo.

[Gaffer Tape]

Oh, yeah, I think I've heard of this. Sorry. It's been a while since I've been actively engaged in Tenchi Muyo! I retract whatever I was talking about.

HOWEVER, I still content that spending two pages talking about cursing is ridiculous. Can we at least agree that Simmons's subtitles do it well?

[Super Sonic]

He's also let the occasional "asshole" out. He called that one teacher that was always trying to get him in trouble it, as well as Suzaku and Dr. Itagaki (that guy from the Dark Tournament who got those fighters' master sick and turned them into his zombies). I haven't seen anything past Funi's Yu Yu Hakusho Season 2 DVD, though, and I'm pretty sure he's said it then too. Oh yeah, and he's also called Genkai an old bitch a ton of times and called Hiei one in a clip from a later episode I saw on YouTube.

Sensui's crazy side called him a little bitch too. Heck, there's a scene with Genkai where in the original Japanese version of the anime and the manga in both languages presumably he refers to some things she puts on his wrists as heavy. But in the dub he thought she was trying to S&M him. But yeah, Yusuke's more of a foul mouthed punk in English than he is in Japanese. Grant the "asshole" occurences were like the only language changes on the AS version. (Back then you couldn't say that word outside South Park).

[JulieYBM]

I'd be perfectly fine if the language was handled exactly as it is in the subtitles, via Daimao.