Miss Portugal '97

[Puto]

They might've CAST based on the Japanese audio, but they absolutely and without a doubt translated from the French dub's script. This shouldn't even be a question, the script is, added jokes aside, a direct translation of the French dub's!

[omegalucas]

I believe they dubbed to (as in listened) the Japanese audio but used the French script as a basis.

[sangofe]

They might've CAST based on the Japanese audio, but they absolutely and without a doubt translated from the French dub's script. This shouldn't even be a question, the script is, added jokes aside, a direct translation of the French dub's!

I have doubts that it's always a direct translation.

[kei17]

Sorry for being a little off-topic, but does anyone know why DBZ episode 143 is messed up like hell in the Portuguese dub? Every moment with characters' lines is patched up with random sounds from other scenes. It's most likely that they didn't have access to the M&E mix, but I wonder why it happened only on one particular episode.

[jrdemr]

Back then, everyone (and I mean everyone) loved the dub. It was really poorly done and I always knew it was, but it didn't matter all that much to me, because it allowed me to enjoy and understand the series in my home language. After I dived into the anime world, I couldn't stand it anymore, but still, it was the Portuguese dub that even made me (and many other Portuguese like me) like Dragon Ball in the first place, so that's gotta count for something.

A lot of people in here grew so attached to the dub that even after diving deep into the anime world, they still can't get themselves to like the Japanese version. The most common complaint being "Goku sounds like a woman".

But honestly, I'm going to have to agree with kei17 and Big Momma regarding faithfulness to the script. It's okay to change a few unimportant lines here and there for humorous effect, but way too many were just butchered.

Puto also mentioned something noteworthy - names. Way too many in-universe names were either changed or just plain omitted. Only the names of the major characters survived (though we still got "Coraçãozinho de Satã", "Kika" "Hércules", "Bubu" and plenty of "Son Gonku"s - Jesus, I hate that last one with a passion). It's mostly because the Portuguese dub was translated off of the French dub, but still, nothing prevented them from doing a little research. Apart from "Son Gonku" (urgh), Kakarot was also turned into "Cachalote" (sperm whale), and probably just because the dubbers couldn't be bothered pronouncing such a strange name. This right here shows lack of professionalism.

Not to mention we also inherited the French edition's visual edits/censorship.

Still, despite all of my qualms and the fact that I can't stand it anymore... the Portuguese dub will still hold a place in my heart for introducing me to Dragon Ball. And like FortuneSSJ, I'd also very much like to see BoG dubbed in Portuguese by the same team - if only for nostalgia's sake, I'd probably spend the entire movie cringing.

Also like FortuneSSJ said, the dubbers might have had their problems, but given that there were only 7 of them, the fact that they could do so many different voices is pretty amazing - though sometimes they had to use voice filters to make the different characters' voices more unique, some of which made the lines really hard to understand - namely in the case of Piccolo and God.

(Though I disagree about Goku's family all sounding the same in the Japanese version. They are more similar, but still very much discernible. You could show me audio clips and I'd be able to tell who that was, no problem.)

[UltimateHammerBro]

nothing prevented them from doing a little research.

When did DB start airing in Portugal? Research may be something easy to do nowadays, but at a time where the Internet was either nonexistent or had just begun...

[Luso Saiyan]

Research may be something easy to do nowadays, but at a time where the Internet was either nonexistent or had just begun...

Not just that, but they didn't receive the whole series at once. Only an handful of episodes each time.

[Puto]

It started in 1996.

[jrdemr]

When did DB start airing in Portugal? Research may be something easy to do nowadays, but at a time where the Internet was either nonexistent or had just begun...

Not just that, but they didn't receive the whole series at once. Only an handful of episodes each time.

It started in 1996.

I know back in 1996 the Internet wasn't what it is now, but still, people had phones and fax machines. And if they could get in contact with the right people to get the show to make its way to Portugal, they could do the same to try and be a little more precise.

[rereboy]

They received the show with an official translation. Of course they followed it.

[UltimateHammerBro]

I'm just going to make a little supposition. If a translator receives a script from a distributor, they don't normally question it and look for different sources to check if it's accurate, even less if there's no easy way to contact the people who could help you, and they speak in a language you don't. They would try to do their best with the materials they've been given.

I once heard this from the lips of voice actors, when they were asked about translation mistakes (I suppose that, since VAs are the only somewhat known people behing a dub, they're the ones who get all the blame). They said that it wasn't their job, but the translator's. When they were further asked whether they should have questioned the quality of the script they received (in a rather rude way, to be fair), they said something along the lines of "in this job, everyone has to do its own part well, and trust that the others do the same".

I think that it can be applied to translators pretty well. If you receive, let's say, an English script translated directly from the Japanese version, and you can't speak Japanese, you should assume that whoever did the Japanese-to-English translation did a good job.

[rereboy]

I'm just going to make a little supposition. If a translator receives a script from a distributor, they don't normally question it and look for different sources to check if it's accurate, even less if there's no easy way to contact the people who could help you, and they speak in a language you don't. They would try to do their best with the materials they've been given.

I once heard this from the lips of voice actors, when they were asked about translation mistakes (I suppose that, since VAs are the only somewhat known people behing a dub, they're the ones who get all the blame). They said that it wasn't their job, but the translator's. When they were further asked whether they should have questioned the quality of the script they received (in a rather rude way, to be fair), they said something along the lines of "in this job, everyone has to do its own part well, and trust that the others do the same".

I think that it can be applied to translators pretty well. If you receive, let's say, an English script translated directly from the Japanese version, and you can't speak Japanese, you should assume that whoever did the Japanese-to-English translation did a good job.

I think this should be obvious. They received an official translation. They, of course, followed it (with the occasional added joke in the PT dub).

[jrdemr]

I'm just going to make a little supposition. If a translator receives a script from a distributor, they don't normally question it and look for different sources to check if it's accurate, even less if there's no easy way to contact the people who could help you, and they speak in a language you don't. They would try to do their best with the materials they've been given.

I suppose that makes sense. Then the problem is that they went the easy way and translated off of a dub instead of just going to the source. But that's the way the dubbing business works here in Portugal: let others have all the hard work and we'll just translate off of them afterwards.

Still, that doesn't excuse them from the PT dub-only mistakes, like "Son Gonku" and "Cachalote".

[Eire]

IIRC the latter was taken form French dub.
I wonder how you imagine "going to source" wihout Internet. Sure, you can use fax, but how you know who to call? And who is going to pay for this? In 90s fax form Poland to France was a pain for small company, so I can image that contacting Japanese world be even worse.

Blaming translators and vas for the script is hilarious. The arę given part by producer and nobody pay them for looking what was the first.
Re-selling rights and second hand translations were normal business pracitice back then. It's good that's mosty gone, but if someone is to blame there are producers. Ale honestly I can't even badmounth them- they were buisnessman, not fans.


Ps. Something is missing in my posts... Got it!
At least you have dub!
Now wo much better

[TheBlackPaladin]

I don't know when the Portugal dub aired, but depending on the time era we're talking about, contacting the original Japanese studio was, as others have mentioned, very difficult to do without the internet. Combine that with the speed at which episodes need to be dubbed so they'd be ready to air on TV, and a lot of the producers for older dubs just didn't have the time to ask all the questions that came up.

[jrdemr]

I suppose it doesn't make much sense for them to distrust their source, especially when they're pressed for time and results. This is what happens when you throw accusations based purely on fan perspective and don't stop to think about their actual work conditions. I guess I should cut them some slack.

And "Cachalote" was also because of the French dub? Seriously? Either way, someone's to blame for this piss-poor adaptation.


Going back to the topic's original discussion...

What's there to get? Yakon is incredibly ugly. So, calling him, jokingly, a model, let alone Miss Portugal of that year, is funny.

The reason is probably simpler than that. Since Yakon has very skinny limbs, he is in that way not unlike a supermodel.

[rereboy]

The reason is probably simpler than that. Since Yakon has very skinny limbs, he is in that way not unlike a supermodel.

I think that's really stretching it. His limbs are really unlike anything human. I don't think they ever thought along those lines.

[Quebaz]

Sorry for being a little off-topic, but does anyone know why DBZ episode 143 is messed up like hell in the Portuguese dub? Every moment with characters' lines is patched up with random sounds from other scenes. It's most likely that they didn't have access to the M&E mix, but I wonder why it happened only on one particular episode.

While I don't know the issues about this particular episode, some later episodes in the Buu Arc use a different video source (possibly the Japanese one since they have the Episode Titles), so maybe It's a similar thing here? Movie 6's BGM and SFX are all messed up as well despite it being fine and all the other ones.

I believe they dubbed to (as in listened) the Japanese audio but used the French script as a basis.

Given the fact thay not all actors dubbed in the same studio, that might have been the case for some yeah. This video shows that Mochique (Super and Kid Buu's voice) is listening to the French audio.

[Kakacarrottop]

This apparently is Miss Portugal '97 (Lara Antunes) for anyone who's curious

[sangofe]

Yuck, that nose.