Dragonball Kai (FUNimation English) Dub: General Discussion

[Metalwario64]

At the end of the video clip with the English intro, you get a short clip of the narrator reading the episode title.

I actually think he sounds fine. A bit stiff in terms of delivery, but he seems appropriate vocally. He's no Brice Armstrong though... Speaking of which, in FMA Brotherhood's dub Brice Armstrong didn't return for Marcoh, who he previously voiced. I had also read on the Anime on DVD boards that he had retired! It was posted by Kirbopher, so I assume it's legit. If it's the case, then we know that Ginyu will be recasted.

It would be funny if Kyle Hebert voiced him, to keep the whole "Kamina voices Ginyu!" thing going. Though, it would be upsetting if Brice Armstrong has truly retired... I liked his Ginyu voice (in fact, I don't know of any role of his that let me down!).

[JulieYBM]

That totally sucks. Armstrong was one of the best older men in the FUNimation pool.

[penguintruth]

Brice Armstrong retired?! He was one of the few voices in the DBZ dub I liked! And one of the few voices in FMA's dub I liked! No wonder Marcoh's voice sounds less cool in the Brotherhood dub. And now he won't be returning as Captain Ginyu?

FUCK.

[Kirbopher]

Without giving anything away I shouldn't, there are certain characters in Sabat's long list that he flat-out REALLY likes doing, of which he may or may not give to other people.

[penguintruth]

I don't care if doing them makes him climax, he's terrible at most of them, and should put making a good product before his own needs.

[Gozar]

-The answer to the Over 8000/9000 question is a funny one, but Sabat wanted that to be a secret so I'll keep a lid on it. Let's just say "everybody wins".

Oh dear god...It better not be 8500. That would make everyone upset.

I wana know why "Over 8000" vs. "Over 9000" is such a big deal?...

My problem is that 9000 causes a contradiction. With Vegeta's Battle Power on earth being 18,000. Goku at "Over 9000" with a Kaio-Ken x2 would make him even or superior to Vegeta. Which was clearly not the case.

And finally...BRICE RETIRED!?!?! That sucks. I can't believe he's not Marcoh anymore...And he's my favorite Captain Ginyu of all time. He just gives such a cool voice to such a cool character

[Gaffer Tape]

I am a bit disappointed that Brice Armstrong retired. He was a great narrator for DB, and his Ginyu was leagues above Dale Kelley. However, my favorite English Ginyu continues to be Ocean's Richard Newman.

[JulieYBM]

Yeah, it really sucks he has retired. He always had that 'good ol' boy' Texas cowboy feel to him that really set him a part from the other members in the FUNi pool. Not to mention he was one of their few old men they could use...for old men characters.

[penguintruth]

More than that, he was one of the few Funimation VAs with character and presence their voice. He actually acted, instead of just voicing. It's a lot more than you can say for half of Funimation's "talent" pool.

[DemonRin]

I wana know why "Over 8000" vs. "Over 9000" is such a big deal?...

My problem is that 9000 causes a contradiction. With Vegeta's Battle Power on earth being 18,000. Goku at "Over 9000" with a Kaio-Ken x2 would make him even or superior to Vegeta. Which was clearly not the case.

First off, that's rather unneeded since Battle Powers stop being important REALLY goddamn quick. (Even though that doesn't stop this fanbase from fighting over "Power Levels")

Second, in either circumstance he doesn't give a concrete reading, just "It's Over ____"
9001 is "Over 8000" just the same as it's "Over 9000".

Third and finally, there is a LONG List of other things that they could screw up... I still don't understand why this one thing is important to people.

This thing is the VERY LEAST of my concerns.

[penguintruth]

The fact is, it's clearly not the line being spoken. It's blatently wrong. If it translates to "Over 8,000!" then that's what it should be. Leaving that there for the sake of a tired internet meme would be a sign that they aren't taking this seriously.

No, it's not the biggest issue, but if they're going to be brazenly innaccurate, it is worth mentioning.

[ohaimynameiserik]

I hope we get some more videos posted up tomorrow by people who didn't bring laptops with em.

Also, about the whole 9,000 thing,

he'll probably say 8,000.

Then something along the lines of "maybe even over 9!!"

OR

couldn't he potentially say that it's nearly 10,000?
Huh? Huh?!

[Kendamu]

I think that whether it's 8000 or 9000 the reason people wanna see it correct is because they're tired of the meme.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

I think that whether it's 8000 or 9000 the reason people wanna see it correct is because they're tired of the meme.

You pretty much hit the nail on the head. I personally, want it as "over 9000".

[Amigo Ten]

Something like that, yeah. It's what he's yelling anyway, just in Japanese.

Yeah, but that just sounds silly and overdone. It'd be like Stonce Cold hitting the Stone Cold Stunner and then Jim Ross yelling, "SITTING THREE-QUARTERS FACELOCK CHINBREAKER! SITTING THREE-QUARTERS FACELOCK CHINBREAKER! SITTING THREE-QUARTERS FACELOCK CHINBREAKER!"

Well, no, because it actually has an English name. If he was just shouting "SITTING THREE-QUARTERS FACELOCK CHINBREAKER", but in Japanese, then it would be the same.

The way I see it, the Japanese audience isn't simply hearing a string of syllables that have no meaning to them, or that are part of another language, so why should we get that?

[ohaimynameiserik]

Something like that, yeah. It's what he's yelling anyway, just in Japanese.

Yeah, but that just sounds silly and overdone. It'd be like Stonce Cold hitting the Stone Cold Stunner and then Jim Ross yelling, "SITTING THREE-QUARTERS FACELOCK CHINBREAKER! SITTING THREE-QUARTERS FACELOCK CHINBREAKER! SITTING THREE-QUARTERS FACELOCK CHINBREAKER!"

Well, no, because it actually has an English name. If he was just shouting "SITTING THREE-QUARTERS FACELOCK CHINBREAKER", but in Japanese, then it would be the same.

The way I see it, the Japanese audience isn't simply hearing a string of syllables that have no meaning to them, or that are part of another language, so why should we get that?

Because a lot of people (including me) would bitch if they did that.

It's a makankosappo.

The end.

[Amigo Ten]

Why bitch about a dub doing it's job?

[Kaboom]

There are three main possible options.

1) Stick with the original English dub-names for attacks. Obviously this should not be done, because most of them are either bad translations or just sound dumb. The only ones who would prefer this for Kai would probably be some small and bitchy group of dubbies.

2) Leave them in Japanese. It's a Japanese show originally based on a Chinese fairy tail and contains plenty of decidedly Eastern influence. Certain techniques would be long or awkward to translate anyway. Besides, this is how most fans of the original version know the attacks.

3) Come up with new English names. It'd be accurate and probably (hopefully) carefully done this time around. But all audiences would have a generally hard time adjusting to it.



All in all, I think I'd prefer option 2 as well.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Yeah, they'll probably just leave the attack names untranslated. I mean, can you imagine Goku or Krillin shouting out "Sun Fist" or Piccolo shouting out "Demonic Spiralling Light Ray of Death".

[Amigo Ten]

Yeah, I can imagine that. I just don't see what's so special about attack names that people don't want them translated. Piccolo is yelling "Demon Light Piercing Death Gun!" (or some approximation). It's not gobbledygook, it's Japanese. The characters speak Japanese and give their attacks Japanese names. What's so bad about an English dub using English names, or a French dub using French names, etc? As far as I can see it only keeps it more in line with the original dub.

I suppose you'd have to change the techniques that have English names already to another language though, but I'd be fine with that too.