Original Japanese or American version?

Post by **VegettoEX** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 7:56 pm

From what little I've heard... the Ocean Group has just been totally rushed and horribly directed for the AB dub. I know they're more talented than that.

"A lot" is two words. Contractions like "I've" (combining "I" and "have") get the appropriate apostophe that I've included. Please read this post. Thank you.

Dai · Post by **Dai** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:16 am

Overall I would say I prefer FUNi's way of acting over the Ocean Group's, but I simply prefer the Ocean Group's voices a lot. Kaioshin might not have the best voice for acting, but frankly FUNi's version just sounded horribly.

Same for Dabura and *shivers* Buu. For some reason Ocean simply picks out better voices. With a couple of exceptions, of course.

Mattias · Post by **Mattias** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 11:17 am

The recent Ocean DBZ dub isn't as good as it could have been. Personally, there's too much of Terry Klassen in it for me to handle.

tarsonis · Post by **tarsonis** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 12:29 pm

Dai wrote:Overall I would say I prefer FUNi's way of acting over the Ocean Group's, but I simply prefer the Ocean Group's voices a lot. Kaioshin might not have the best voice for acting, but frankly FUNi's version just sounded horribly.

Same for Dabura and *shivers* Buu. For some reason Ocean simply picks out better voices. With a couple of exceptions, of course.

The only voice I think we can safely say we will not miss from the Ocean days is Freeza..I know they more or less kept the same voice (but different actress) when Funimation took over, but it did improve slightly.

Chuquita · Post by **Chuquita** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 12:02 am

I like both the original japanese version, and Funi's dub, I just like certain characters with one or the other's voice. For instance I prefer Gogeta's japanese voice and Piccolo's Funi one.
Goku and Vegeta's dub and sub voices both fit them but it depends on what situation they're in.

number18 · Post by **number18** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:23 am

Hmmm... Well, I started off with the syndicated 6am dub version, and quickly went on to getting my grubby little hands on as many crappy bootleg subs as I could.

I don't much care for Funi's Goku. I guess it's too...masculine. But that's not quite it. I liked the Ocean dub a lot, and I never thought they were bad, even when I started getting heavy into the dub. This might just be because it was the very first thing I heard. I liked Piccolo and Vegeta's voice a lot. Bulma's was pretty fun too. I really thought everyone was pretty decent.

When the Funi dub took over, I HATED Piccolo's voice for how gruff and throaty it got. Before, he had a deep, commanding voice, and it seemed as though it'd been replaced with just a horrible immitation of that. I also couldn't stand Vegeta's new voice at first, but it grew on me in time. I didn't like the super enunciation of everything, but my boyfriend pointed out to me one day that he liked the way Vegeta sounded more regal than the others, talking the way he did. And I thought to myself...you know, that does make a bit of sense. I likes it!! But man, I still didn't like Piccolo's voice. I'd say I just got used to it.

HATED! #19 and #16's voices. Ohhhhhh man! I mean, I understand that in their own right, they sound cool. 19 had an interesting English voice, but compared to the Japanese version it seemed like SUCH a stark contrast. I loved the way #19 laughed, that haughty little ooooho ho ho. And then it got lost and turned into some weird, tinny doll voice (complete with circus music to compliment).

It made me quite sad. 16's voice wasn't that awful, but to me it sounded too much like somebody trying to do a voice. It sounded goofy, fake.

As for my Japanese favorites, Vegeta is definitely one of them. His voice is low and proud and has that smug, smirking cadence in it all the time. That's a horrible explanation, but those who have heard him surely know what I'm talking about. ;-;

As for others... there is Krillin. Oh how I love Krillin's wailing, whiny Japanese voice. <333 And then there is Piccolo. Another one with the low Japanese voice...rumbling, strong.. It doesn't need to be gruff and throaty to portray the strength behind it, and I appreciate American voice actors who can do this (i.e. the guy behind Yugi/Yami Yugi's voice and MOST notably, Marc Diraison, who voiced Guts and now Zoro on One Piece).

Concerning #18... I always liked her Japanese voice. It wasn't high pitched, overly whiny, pouty, cutesy - none of that. It was a normal, feminine voice. It was cute, playful, a little whiny... but I really couldn''t pick up the subtler tones of it. I have been told she sounds sort of like a snotty teenager/valley girl type, but I really can't tell since I'm not THAT familiar with Japanese. When I heard the English dub #18, I was pleased. While I did wish Meredith McCoy would turn down the snob factor a little bit, it was good, and I felt like 18 come across in a similar way in Japanese.

As for music, I really never liked Bruce Faulconer's composing. It seemed too over the top and often time unappropriate for the scene. The Japanese score is amazing, and it really does present Dragonball in an entirely different way. I wish they NEVER made the movies with those ridiculous hard rock soundtracks (the Trunks special was officially ruined by it). And can any of us imagine the first Dragonball series without the original score?

Anyway, as it's plain to see, I love the Japanese version, but have love in my heart for the Funi dub.
(God, I make long posts. )

Rocketman · Post by **Rocketman** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:52 am

As for the music, I've never really noticed. In the US dub, save for that music played when Goku went Super Saiyan for the first time.

The Japanese music has nevger caught on with me either, it's always sounded to....I guess, classical in tone. Nothing wrong with classical music, but I never seemed to fit for me. Dunno, maybe I didn't watch enough.

And the voices still bug in the Japanese version. I read people claiming the VAs so more talented or enunciate clearer or have a certain twang or something to their voice. I've tried to hear that, but it just sounds like babble to me.

Except Goku, who sounds like he's been kicked in the crotch...

Pedro The Hutt · Post by **Pedro The Hutt** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 4:51 am

Well, you should note that in Japan, voice actors usually stick with their character during the entire series. Thus Son Goku had the same voice actress who also voiced him when he was a wee chibi.

And fine with me really, he's always been known for his "childlike innocence".

SpaceKappa · Post by **SpaceKappa** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 12:29 pm

Exactly. That's why no English voice actor will ever be able to portray Goku correctly. He is the ultimate symbol of purity, in a sense, and his voice is perfect for him. Masako Nozawa = awesome.

Kabijin · Post by **Kabijin** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 3:19 pm

Sometimes being kicked in the crotch can sound good...

under the right situations.

Super Sonic · Post by **Super Sonic** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 7:43 pm

Pedro The Hutt wrote:Well, you should note that in Japan, voice actors usually stick with their character during the entire series. Thus Son Goku had the same voice actress who also voiced him when he was a wee chibi.

And fine with me really, he's always been known for his "childlike innocence".

So I take it you would have preferred that Stephanie Nadolny do his and older Gohan's voices?

LaRésistance · Post by **LaRésistance** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 9:58 pm

I first saw the show in its French version (with the worst theme song in the history of television). Then I learned about the Japanese versions and got introduced to the American version around 2000. The French voices aren't that bad but there are a lot of errors (they had to improvise some scenes) and some of the actors were doing too many characters without even changing their voice.

The Japanese actors are good but I don't like the fact that Goku, Gohan, Goten and Bardock all have the same voice which doesn't change, even once they've become adults. Other than that I don't really have something bad to say about the Japanese voices.

As for the Funimation version, I am one of the few French fans who like the American voices (not all of them but you get the point). I think that both Piccolo and Vegeta sound good in English, the way they talk fit their attitudes. Same thing for Goku. As for Gohan and Goten, they may smoke a little too much for their age...

Rocketman · Post by **Rocketman** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 11:19 pm

LaRésistance wrote: The Japanese actors are good but I don't like the fact that Goku, Gohan, Gotten and Bardock all have the same voice which doesn't change, even once they've become adults. Other than that I don't really have something bad to say about the Japanese voices.

Wait, wait, wait...so, Bardock, a full-blooded Saiyan warrior who's never been 'innocent' in even the broadest sense, has the same "ouch-my-balls!" voice that Goku does? What the hell?

Deus ex Machina · Post by **Deus ex Machina** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 11:55 pm

Rocketman wrote:Wait, wait, wait...so, Bardock, a full-blooded Saiyan warrior who's never been 'innocent' in even the broadest sense, has the same "ouch-my-balls!" voice that Goku does? What the hell?

Well...er, yes. But he still comes off as tough.

Rocketman · Post by **Rocketman** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 12:40 am

Deus ex Machina wrote:
Rocketman wrote:Wait, wait, wait...so, Bardock, a full-blooded Saiyan warrior who's never been 'innocent' in even the broadest sense, has the same "ouch-my-balls!" voice that Goku does? What the hell?
Well...er, yes. But he still comes off as tough.

Riiiight...

Jerseymilk · Post by **Jerseymilk** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 1:05 am

Actually he does. It's amazing the range that Masako Nozawa has. All three of the voices for Goku, Gohan, and Goten are different, simply from her using various inflections, tone, and choice of words used. Like making Gohan sound more polite and educated than Goku's "country bumpkin" type speech. She does it also with Bardock and Turles, making them gruffer and more brutish sounding.

Mayumi Tanaka, the VA for Kuririn and Yajirobe, also showed a lot of talent in making the voices very different from each other. She gave Yajirobe a Kansai dialect.

And Rocketman, from what I can tell, you haven't seen the Bardock Special in Japanese, so you don't really have a right to disagree with Deus's comment. We'll except it from you after you've watched it and seen for yourself.

Kabijin · Post by **Kabijin** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 4:33 am

Since we're on the discussion of voiceacting and dubwork... I've always wondered about something. Does anyone know if the same actor/actress who did Goku's voice in all the DBZ episodes and movies also does the same as ADULT / SSJ4 Goku in DBGT?

I have never seen Japanese DBGT episodes, but in the Chinese version the ADULT and SSJ4 Goku are different sounding than the DBZ Goku one. I guess they hired a new voiceactor. I've seen the American version and the voice who portrays Goku is still same in GT. Anyone know if it's the same or different for the Japanese version?

B-kun · Post by **B-kun** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 4:56 am

Yeah, Nozawa-san has ALWAYS voiced Goku.

SSJ4-Bejita · Post by **SSJ4-Bejita** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 2:02 pm

The first glimpse I got of DB was the German dub of the original DB Anime. I was appalled at first by the horrible, horrible theme song. I think it was actually just a translated version of the French song.
Sometimes after that, I had nothing better to do than watch another episode of DB - and that episode happened to be the one where Piccolo is hit by his own homing Ki blast in the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai and then proceeds to rip his own arm off. I was hooked after that - a cartoon that shows blood, even limbs being lost? I had to watch that (yes, I know I'm shallow and bloodthirsty... btw, who of you loves Evil Dead as much as I do?).
So I did. Soon I discovered that DB wasn't only action-filled and violent, but also cute and genuinely funny. I also discovered that the Anime, despite its charms, moved at a pace that was far to slow for my tastes - or rather, I couldn't wait to know what happened next, yet they showed so little per episode ^^.
Then, I found out about the existence of the Manga. After practically devouring all 42 of them over the course of almost two years (it took me so long because they were simply too expensive for a boy of 14 years ^^), I grew bored with watching rerun after rerun of the original DB, when finally the German DBZ aired (all 291 episodes, with no season breaks or nonsense like that ^^).
At first, I was thrilled - they had kept the original music and even used a German version of Cha-la Head Cha-la, and the amount of editing done was also bearable. Shortly after that, I lost all hope when my ears were assaulted by incredibly stupid lines and a Vegeta voiced by the same actor who had also voiced the German dub Steve Urcle.
Fortunately, they dispensed with much, if not all of the stupid dialogue, and Vegeta's VA was also replaced.

My first encounter with the Japanese version of DBZ were some episodes I had downloaded off of Kazaa (this was before the German dub aired). I immediately fell in love with it ('specially the incredibly chilling voice of Ryusei Nakao... even though the work of the rest of the cast is superb as well. Lately, I've grown particularly fond of Mayumi Tanaka's Kuririn. Gotta love that little guy ^^). I still have yet to watch the whole thing, even though I've seen all of the movies and the whole Freeza-Saga in Japanese.

Since then, I have watched many great Animes in their full, subtitled glory (sorry, I had to say that ^^), such as Trigun, Final Fantasy Unlimited, Rurouni Kenshin + OVAs, Hellsing and many more ^^.

Kabijin · Post by **Kabijin** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 4:55 pm

Oh I see.. Cool. I wish the Chinese version retained the same voices.

Kanzenshuu

Original Japanese or American version?

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