Dragonball Kai (FUNimation English) Dub: General Discussion

[UristtheGreat]

It'd be a bit offputting and ridiculous to be hearing "Shit!" in the dub, I don't mind ass, hell, damn, bastard, etc. But I dunno, shit just sounds out of place in Dragonball Z.

[DemonRin]

It'd be a bit offputting and ridiculous to be hearing "Shit!" in the dub, I don't mind ass, hell, damn, bastard, etc. But I dunno, shit just sounds out of place in Dragonball Z.

I've always wondered why this is. Why do people treat "Shit" like it has more weight to it than most other curse words?!

I've always seen "Damn", "Bitch", and "Bastard" to be on the same level as "Shit".

[Big Momma]

It'd be a bit offputting and ridiculous to be hearing "Shit!" in the dub, I don't mind ass, hell, damn, bastard, etc. But I dunno, shit just sounds out of place in Dragonball Z.

I've always wondered why this is. Why do people treat "Shit" like it has more weight to it than most other curse words?!

I've always seen "Damn", "Bitch", and "Bastard" to be on the same level as "Shit".

I think it's because "D*mn, B*tch, and B*stard" all have literal meanings that aren't...hmmm...dirty.

"Sh*t" is another word for excrement, which isn't something you openly talk about anyway. And "F*ck" is another word for sex, something that's also kind of taboo.

[Li'l Lemmy]

"Sh*t" is another word for excrement, which isn't something you openly talk about anyway. And "F*ck" is another word for sex, something that's also kind of taboo.

Eat shit! Don't you censor me, ya fuckin' bastard. I'm'ma gonna fuck my bitch now, so damn you to hell and HAVE A GOOD ONE. ^_^


~Da Lemmy

[theoriginalbilis]

I'm more or less expecting the Kai dub to be around at TV-PG to TV-14 level, so at most we'll hear mild cursing. Hell, Damn, maybe bastard, etc... I'd honestly be surprised if the dialogue was any harsher than that. Though I'd welcome it...

I'm also basically expecting them to use current dub names (Tien, Spirit Bomb, Destructo Disc), but just have a much more accurate script with more polished performances. But if they actually started to use the original terminology for things (like the attacks) for example, I'd be ecstatic for sure!

I'm betting there won't be any English versions of the songs, since it's dubbed by Okratron and not by FUNimation's in-house studios directly. If we do, great, but the songs are fine on their own.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

"Sh*t" is another word for excrement, which isn't something you openly talk about anyway. And "F*ck" is another word for sex, something that's also kind of taboo.

Eat shit! Don't you censor me, ya fuckin' bastard. I'm'ma gonna fuck my bitch now, so damn you to hell and HAVE A GOOD ONE. ^_^


~Da Lemmy

Ok Yo! Don't be hatin' me Dragon Ball you feelin' me on dat Li'l Lemmy. Word!


~Da Piccolo

[Innagadadavida]

They bought the orange brick sets. And as much as they griped, many of them are buying the Dragon Boxes, even though they lack the dub soundtrack.

If Funimation replaced most or all the cast, they'd still buy Kai, because its DBZ. Funimation should take advantage of their dominance and do some real changes.

They bought the Orange Brick sets because it was a cheap and easy way to get the whole series. A lot of people aren't buying the Dragon Boxes. Did you see the top sellers at Amazon and Walmart? They're all still season sets. Don't throw this shit around like it's fact because you have no idea what you're talking about. Why don't you back up your statements with some solid numbers before you make claims like "dub fans will buy anything?" You're essentially treating them like their idiots whose opinion doesn't matter... Their opinion does matter, and it has a hell of a lot more influence than yours or mine. If FUNimation abandons their core fanbase then it will be detrimental to the success of the series. And we need that success more than your idea of a perfect dub. Because with that comes more home releases, merch, and games that we can all enjoy.

[penguintruth]

DBZ is license to print money. If they release it, people will buy it. Especially if it's the hot new version with a brand new dub.

[Onikage725]

I'll say this much to back up penguintruth- a new dub wouldn't be detrimental to the series. They re-recorded the japanese version, and replaced most of the secondary cast in the Freeza Saga, yet that's still making bank for Toei (and coming to the English-speaking territories now too). I'm a big Eva fan, and a number of the voices in the new movies were changed when FUNi took over the series. Shinji and Misato are the same, but most everyone else is different. I hear that at it's premiere, it recieved a standing ovation for the performances (including Brina Palencia playing Rei- a major character) and voice direction. Many felt the acting felt more natural than in the TV series, and this was viewed as a positive. This is what fans expect from modern dubs, and this is what FUNimation delivers these days. I'm not saying they should alienate their core fanbase (hell, ads for the japanese-fan-centric DBoxes having dub Piccolo referencing "the balls are inert" prove they try not to), but them making necessary cast changes and stepping up the script and direction isn't going to shove fans away. Casual fans won't care. In fact, some who "outgrew" the show may find the more mature and professional take refreshing. People who stayed from the show because of the plot inconsistencies, goofy script, and ham-fisted performances may now actually take it seriously.

It'd be a bit offputting and ridiculous to be hearing "Shit!" in the dub, I don't mind ass, hell, damn, bastard, etc. But I dunno, shit just sounds out of place in Dragonball Z.

I hate to tell you, but I was just watching Kai and heard a "kuso!" This isn't a word alien to Dragon Ball. Unless I'm grossly mistaken, the word means feces, and is generally translated, when used in the context of an annoyed or surprised exclamation, as "shit." Sometimes "damn," if the translator feels some localization should be employed for the situation (times when a native english-speaker may say "damn" or "damn it" instead of "shit"). All the same, it is a part of Dragon Ball, and not that strange to hear.

[Cold Skin]

I think the cursing should be there, but depending on the character.

Like the re-translation of the French manga, it should be chosen that someone like Vegeta will curse, whereas someone like Goku won't.

In the French manga, it is explained that in Japanese, Goku's natural "totally pure heart", "infinite kindness" is made clear by the way he speaks with vocabulary most likely belonging to children speach. However, this is obviously considered unsuitable for our market, as someone adult speaking like a child wouldn't seem nice, but somewhat dumb.

It is explained that our equivalent to show that someone wouldn't ever want to harm anybody in anyway, someone who is like "an angel", is through constantly polite language in our culture. Therefore, Goku never swears in all of the manga, until he's older where he can be seen swearing one time (as a Super Saiyan 3 against Majin Boo, saying "Shit!" when his blast destroys part of the Earth's population, which may or may not be a mistake, we'll find out if it's kept in the Kanzenban or corrected). Otherwise, him and his family say "damn" at most, which belongs to polite speach (in France anyway). When turning Super Saiyan, it is explained in Japanese, his childish vocabulary suddenly switches to more mature speach, which translates in our own culture as a sudden, much more familiar language, still polite though, but with brutal way to say things like any adult will likely do in any series/movies here (I'm not sure as I don't master the familiar side of the English language, so that example might seem clumsy and exagerrated, but this would correspond to something like "you gonna get it, scumbag! This is how you get your kicks, liquidating innocent dudes?"). In the original re-translation, young Goku went "That guy's a dumbass!" after Blue crashes against a rock, but even that was corrected in the Kanzenban to "That guy's a fool!"

In a nutshell, it was chosen Goku and his sons never use slang, I think I remember other members like Krilin and Piccolo might sometimes let a "shit/fuck" slip, and obviously characters like Nappa and Vegeta will often go with what I guess would correspond to "you sick bastard", "fuck, FUCK, FUUUUCK!!!", "Asshole!!" or (if such sentence can naturally exist and make sense) "you got it coming to your ass!"

So, I don't say the configuration should be like that, but I think it's realistic giving curse to characters who have a temper corresponding to curse. Vegeta can quickly get on his nerves, so it would fit to make him curse, however I can't imagine Goku or Gohan and their good-hearted temper cursing too easily. "Kuso" can be interpreted as all levels to convey the same idea, from the polite "damn" to the extreme "fuck", I think it's all up to the translators to define what level of familiarity belongs to what temper.

[jjgp1112]

Well in the past few years, shit has become a lot less taboo. You still won't hear it on network TV, but as I said, most cable networks let that go uncensored these days after a certain time.

[Kaboom]

DragonBall doesn't need loads of swearing to be "good."

FUNimation should use what's appropriate, when it's appropriate, and not overdo it.

[Blue]

DragonBall doesn't need loads of swearing to be "good."

FUNimation should use what's appropriate, when it's appropriate, and not overdo it.

However it does need tons of blood and little boy penis to be good.

[LilKokuLink]

Having tons of swearing where characters are smashed into mountains I believe would demoralize the show. It's not just about how pissed off and in pain a character is but whether that character would actually swear is the question.
I can't imagine a character like Goku to swear a lot - I mean he screams in pain quite a lot in the dub instead which seems more realistic to me.

EDIT: I'm not saying that the Japanese isn't realistic.

[Budogenkai]

My opinion on the whole subject of adding swearing or not to the new dub is that the FUNi dub of One Piece adds swearing, but they don't add a lot, just enough to give the feeling of an actual situation (If your about to get hit by a sword or stretching arm I don't think your going to worry about using swears). So, if FUNi can find a way to use minimal swearing but use it in good context, then yes, they should be able to swear.

And about Goku, he grew up on Earth, and he has probably been around many people who probably have sweared, he should be able to swear too.

[MetalMadness]

Actually, for those of you who say you cant hear "shit" in the english dub, Dameon Clarke (Cell) originally said "Oh Shit!" when Vegeta used his Final Flash

heres a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIxkXPaV4Ns

forward to about 4:15


seems much better than "whats this"

[LilKokuLink]

Actually, for those of you who say you cant hear "shit" in the english dub, Dameon Clarke (Cell) originally said "Oh Shit!" when Vegeta used his Final Flash

heres a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIxkXPaV4Ns

forward to about 4:15


seems much better than "whats this"

I've seen that video for a while now, but I don't seem to understand where the "Oh Shit!" comes from because it's not on the season sets... o.0

[Blue]

Actually, for those of you who say you cant hear "shit" in the english dub, Dameon Clarke (Cell) originally said "Oh Shit!" when Vegeta used his Final Flash

heres a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIxkXPaV4Ns

forward to about 4:15


seems much better than "whats this"

I've seen that video for a while now, but I don't seem to understand where the "Oh Shit!" comes from because it's not on the season sets... o.0

Maybe it was a line in the original broadcast version? Dende had something similar where he originally stated "Don't piss off the God of love!"

[Amigo Ten]

Eh, sounds out of place and a bit odd to me.

[LilKokuLink]

It can't be the original broadcast version because that's the one I was watching, this video has Faulconer in the background so it's not the new 5.1 surround mix and clearly it's not Japanese. I remember it clearly because I watched this very video and then that got me anticipating "Oh Shit!" which never came.
As Amigo Ten said it does sound a bit out of place, it could just be someone cleverly mixed it in. I think the same guy that uploaded that video has another Final Flash remastered video uploaded where it just says "What's This?!".

EDIT: That video says "Version edit" in the title.