Guldo's "Death" in the Funimation Ocean dub.

[Bansho64]

I think even Drummon did poorly in the Westwood version. I guess it's because there was always a sense of them speeding through the lines. I have a similar problem with Funimation's redubbing of the first two "seasons" and from Kai in some respects. I think that the pacing of the original Saban-Ocean era was great. Being unbiased, I'd say that when the Ocean cast is on their game, they make Funimation look like the popcorn poppers at the county fair.

Agreed on all counts. Especially on the last part. The Ocean guys are amazing when given good direction and translations.

[8000 Saiyan]

I think even Drummon did poorly in the Westwood version. I guess it's because there was always a sense of them speeding through the lines. I have a similar problem with Funimation's redubbing of the first two "seasons" and from Kai in some respects. I think that the pacing of the original Saban-Ocean era was great. Being unbiased, I'd say that when the Ocean cast is on their game, they make Funimation look like the popcorn poppers at the county fair.

Agreed on all counts. Especially on the last part. The Ocean guys are amazing when given good direction and translations.

One thing people shouldn't do is underestimating someone's talent, especially the talent of Ocean's voice actors.

[NitroEX]

I would always see "Funimation vs Ocean dub" threads pop up and every time I heard the Westwood dub, I'd cringe. The Westwood dub is a simple curiosity for me. And yet, I went back and watched the original Ocean dub of the "Saiyan Conflict" and "Namek Saga." Their performances are so good. For whatever reason, with the Westwood dub, timing, directing, the music, something messed that up.

Not trying to start a dub war or anything but I'm willing to bet that what you're describing is mostly just a result of having grown up with one and not the other. Obviously everybody's tastes differ to some degree and you will always get exceptions to the rule (who are often the most vocal) but generally speaking I think it's safe to say that most people who discovered the Westwood dub in their late teen/adult years are naturally just going to be far more critical of it. That's not to say that there weren't any bad performances in the Westwood dub, because there were, but clearly there were also plenty of bad performances in the Saban and in-house dubs yet... those are hardly ever mentioned.

SInce I did grow up with a fair share of all three Z dubs (Saban, in-house and Westwood) I personally have never felt a huge disparity in acting between the three. The Saban dub and the in-house Funi dub both have very poorly acted moments in them just like the Westwood dub occasionally does but the people who only grew up with the first two versions tend to gloss over their problems and only focus on what they felt was wrong with the Westwood dub, it's clear to me that they're not really being as objective as they think they are.

I'm not saying I'm 100% free from this type of bias as I do have my own personal favourite actors as well as interpretations of the characters (Drummond's Vegeta and Scott McNeil's Piccolo come to mind) as well as the differences in styles of acting between each production, BUT since I did grow up watching all of the Westwood dub at a young age along with the Saban and Funimation in-house (although the in-house episodes were consumed a little more sporadically) I do have an easier time seeing the redeeming qualities of the Westwood dub than those who discovered it when they were essentially jaded anime dub critics who were already used to one, maybe two (or if you're counting the Japanese, three) versions of the same thing.

At the end of the day they were just children's dubs made with less than ideal circumstances but I do think it's worth noting that when you dig up old forum posts or website/blog posts from around the time the Westwood dub was on television, there was actually very little criticism being thrown at it, people generally seemed to just enjoy it for what it was (which was an early 2000s anime dub for kids). The only real mockery I could dig up from that era was mostly aimed at the Big Green dub broadcasts... and rightfully so. The wave of hatred for the Westwood dub didn't come until years later with the rise of Youtube and an audience who had never been exposed to it before.

But if you put Funimation side by side with Ocean for the first "two seasons" of Dragon Ball Z, there is no comparison. The Ocean cast has such great acting and the voices sound natural, not cartoony and forced like with Funimation. Even Funimaton's Goku sounds forced, which is crazy because that basically is Sean Schemmel's voice. It's like nobody would ever sound like that, it sounds like someone making a cartoon voice. On the other hand, you've got the Ocean dub which is very, very well made. That sounds like a top-notch dub. Even though it was obviously short-lived, Ian James Corlett is the English-speaking Goku for me. Scott McNeil's Piccolo makes Chris Sabat's Piccolo look goofy. Every voice was just dead-on. Brian Drummond was perfect as Vegeta -- though I will admit that it's hard for me to picture him as a more mature Vegeta from the later arcs.

I think nostalgia also somewhat applies here but at the same time it's harder to defend the redub of seasons 1 and 2 because the in-house cast were already experienced with their roles at the time whilst the Ocean cast were just getting started there. I suppose you could just put the blame on the in-house cast being far less experienced actors overall (although Drummond was also a newbie to dubbing when he started Vegeta, he just had more of an acting background and arguably more talent to bring to the role when he started).

Also, I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think Drummond in the later arcs works fine (imo). The arguments in favour of him sounding "too evil" or villainous have have very little legitimacy when you start to break it down. At the end of the day Vegeta was always an evil bastard, this only changed after his sacrifice to Majin Buu. There, rant over.

[TheGreatness25]

It's not a nostalgia thing, really. I really enjoy the Ocean version of the first two "seasons." I think that the performances sound very natural. Funimation's voices always sound forced and cartoony; that's what I'm basing it on. With the Ocean dub, I feel like if I close my eyes, a real person could be speaking. With Funimation, I can tell that it's someone making a voice. That's really what I'm going by. It doesn't help that Sabat's Piccolo, Vegeta, and Yamucha start blending together at some point. I am not fond of Schemmel's later Goku (with the higher pitched voice). Kuririn's voice gets a lot better as time goes on, I'll give Sonny Strait that much. I liked Nadolny as kid Goku but not Gohan and Colleen Clickenbeard does nothing for me.

[8000 Saiyan]

I would always see "Funimation vs Ocean dub" threads pop up and every time I heard the Westwood dub, I'd cringe. The Westwood dub is a simple curiosity for me. And yet, I went back and watched the original Ocean dub of the "Saiyan Conflict" and "Namek Saga." Their performances are so good. For whatever reason, with the Westwood dub, timing, directing, the music, something messed that up.

Not trying to start a dub war or anything but I'm willing to bet that what you're describing is mostly just a result of having grown up with one and not the other. Obviously everybody's tastes differ to some degree and you will always get exceptions to the rule (who are often the most vocal) but generally speaking I think it's safe to say that most people who discovered the Westwood dub in their late teen/adult years are naturally just going to be far more critical of it. That's not to say that there weren't any bad performances in the Westwood dub, because there were, but clearly there were also plenty of bad performances in the Saban and in-house dubs yet... those are hardly ever mentioned.

SInce I did grow up with a fair share of all three Z dubs (Saban, in-house and Westwood) I personally have never felt a huge disparity in acting between the three. The Saban dub and the in-house Funi dub both have very poorly acted moments in them just like the Westwood dub occasionally does but the people who only grew up with the first two versions tend to gloss over their problems and only focus on what they felt was wrong with the Westwood dub, it's clear to me that they're not really being as objective as they think they are.

I'm not saying I'm 100% free from this type of bias as I do have my own personal favourite actors as well as interpretations of the characters (Drummond's Vegeta and Scott McNeil's Piccolo come to mind) as well as the differences in styles of acting between each production, BUT since I did grow up watching all of the Westwood dub at a young age along with the Saban and Funimation in-house (although the in-house episodes were consumed a little more sporadically) I do have an easier time seeing the redeeming qualities of the Westwood dub than those who discovered it when they were essentially jaded anime dub critics who were already used to one, maybe two (or if you're counting the Japanese, three) versions of the same thing.

At the end of the day they were just children's dubs made with less than ideal circumstances but I do think it's worth noting that when you dig up old forum posts or website/blog posts from around the time the Westwood dub was on television, there was actually very little criticism being thrown at it, people generally seemed to just enjoy it for what it was (which was an early 2000s anime dub for kids). The only real mockery I could dig up from that era was mostly aimed at the Big Green dub broadcasts... and rightfully so. The wave of hatred for the Westwood dub didn't come until years later with the rise of Youtube and an audience who had never been exposed to it before.

But if you put Funimation side by side with Ocean for the first "two seasons" of Dragon Ball Z, there is no comparison. The Ocean cast has such great acting and the voices sound natural, not cartoony and forced like with Funimation. Even Funimaton's Goku sounds forced, which is crazy because that basically is Sean Schemmel's voice. It's like nobody would ever sound like that, it sounds like someone making a cartoon voice. On the other hand, you've got the Ocean dub which is very, very well made. That sounds like a top-notch dub. Even though it was obviously short-lived, Ian James Corlett is the English-speaking Goku for me. Scott McNeil's Piccolo makes Chris Sabat's Piccolo look goofy. Every voice was just dead-on. Brian Drummond was perfect as Vegeta -- though I will admit that it's hard for me to picture him as a more mature Vegeta from the later arcs.

I think nostalgia also somewhat applies here but at the same time it's harder to defend the redub of seasons 1 and 2 because the in-house cast were already experienced with their roles at the time whilst the Ocean cast were just getting started there. I suppose you could just put the blame on the in-house cast being far less experienced actors overall (although Drummond was also a newbie to dubbing when he started Vegeta, he just had more of an acting background and arguably more talent to bring to the role when he started).

Also, I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think Drummond in the later arcs works fine (imo). The arguments in favour of him sounding "too evil" or villainous have have very little legitimacy when you start to break it down. At the end of the day Vegeta was always an evil bastard, this only changed after his sacrifice to Majin Buu. There, rant over.

Did you like McNeil's Majin Buu voice? To me, he was intolerable, along with Funi and Blue Water Buu.

[ShadowBardock89]

I think this thread should be closed since its gone off-topic and the purpose of it has been answered.

[Cure Dragon 255]

I agree.I thank everyone for your interest!

[Super Sayian Prime]

Quick and dirty VLC capture:

https://youtu.be/bPoY0fOEbk0

When Guldo gets hit he falls face forward. When Vegeta "sends him to the next dimension" Guldo's on his back.

Late 90s video editor, you're sloppy!