If You Could Ask FUNimation Anything? Interview in The Works

[DerekPadula]

If you could ask FUNimation anything, then what would it be?

I have an interview in the works with (possibly) three former producers and executives at FUNimation. They were employed there from 1998 to 2005 and were integral in the production and distribution of the Dragon Ball series in America. Decisions they made directly affected the show and how it was displayed on television and in the media.

My goal is to reveal their unique perspectives for a "History of American DBZ" report that I am working on, in tandem with The Dao of Dragon Ball. In the book I discuss a lot of the backstory behind American DBZ. For both the book and the standalone report I would like to interview the decision makers for first hand experiences, hardships, and stories of success. I figure there is an interesting story to tell.

So if there is something you would like to know about Dragon Ball that occurred in that period of time ('98 to '05), then please let me know. Now is your chance to ask them the hard hitting questions.

[B]

Why didn't Dragon Ball receive a music replacement? Such was done with Z and GT.

[Bardo117]

Why do you never include the Spanish dub in any of your releases?(Not including the Ultimate Uncut and Movie 5)

[Perfect]

Why'd you have so many DVD screw ups?
Why did you choose Dragon Ball (Kai), your most financially successful series to give new voice actors a chance? Instead of looking for suitable replacements that actually fit the roles (Though some are fantastic, Freeza)?

Edit: Sabat admitted to this, giving new actors that are trying to get into the game, a chance. Whereas they also used previous voice actors (From other FUNi shows) as well, who are still terrible.

[DerekPadula]

Anything in regards to Kai they probably won't know the answer to, since they stopped working there in 2005. So if I asked the question it would probably be a conjectural reply.

But I can still reword the questions to make them timeless. So feel free to post your questions here anyway.

[JulieYBM]

What were the trials and tribulations of the initial switch to Cartoon Network in 1998? What were your initial concerns when the order came for more episodes ('Season 'Three')? What was the extent of the role the Ocean Group's actors continued to play in the early developments of Seasons Three and Four? What role did FUNimation play in the production of an 'international English dub' of Dragon Ball Z?

Finally, why was it decided to produce the third Dragon Ball Z movie as three episodes of 'Season Two'? Additionally, how was it decided to work with Pioneer Entertainment for the home video dub of the first three films? How was the release order chosen (movie #1 first, #3 second, and #2 last)?

Moving on to the later years, what were your concerns in producting the 'redub' of the first sixty-seven episodes of Dragon Ball Z? Why were scripts largely recycled from the edited 'Ocean cast' episodes?

[B]

Why'd you have so many DVD screw ups?
Why did you choose Dragon Ball (Kai), your most financially successful series to give new voice actors a chance? Instead of looking for suitable replacements that actually fit the roles (Though some are fantastic, Freeza)?

I don't want to get into anything here, as this is not the thread, but nobody working on Kai's dub is "new" to acting(unlike when FUNimatino started!). You can find Colleen Clinkenbeard(Gohan) in work dating back to at least 2002, and that's just voice acting.

[Avenged]

Why didn't Bruce Faulconer return to score GT?

And following that...why was GT's music rap?

What was your initial involvement with the live action Dragon Ball film back in 2002?

[penguintruth]

Why did they feel the need to remove the heady shonen spirit of the program and replace it with the feel of a dumbed down 90s action film by joking it up and adding terrible guitar riff and techno music when other countries had made plenty of the show as intended?

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Yeah, I'd like to know why they changed the music. Most other foreign dubs kept Kikuchi's score.

[xzero]

Why did they feel the need to remove the heady shonen spirit of the program and replace it with the feel of a dumbed down 90s action film by joking it up and adding terrible guitar riff and techno music when other countries had made plenty of the show as intended?

You ever hear of marketing to a target audience?

My question would be this:

By 2000 or 2001, Steve Simmons was subtitling the DVDs, which provided a de facto accurate script for the show. Why not have him subtitle the episodes, then base the English scripts around that translation to provide for more accuracy?

[VegettoEX]

My question would be this:

By 2000 or 2001, Steve Simmons was subtitling the DVDs, which provided a de facto accurate script for the show. Why not have him subtitle the episodes, then base the English scripts around that translation to provide for more accuracy?

Fairly certain the dub episodes were much further along than what Steve was translating for the home release. Remember that, after season three, much of what came out was aired on Cartoon Network long before it hit home video, and ESPECIALLY long before the dual-language DVDs came out.

[TheBlackPaladin]

My Question: Shortly after Season 3, the original Ocean Productions cast of actors came back and began recording an alternate dub of DBZ that aired in Canada and the U.K. The script they used was almost identical to FUNimation's script, suggesting FUNimation was involved with this dub. To what extent was FUNimation involved with this "alternate" English dub of DBZ, and how did it come about?

I'd really like to know that. There's waaaaaaaaay too much conflicting information about the nature of the Westwood Media dub, so it'd be nice to hear an actual FUNimation employee set the record straight.

[Castor Troy]

From what I heard, FUNi used to get badly translated scripts of the episodes from TOEI themselves or their old translator who worked there and english wasn't her first language. They had to produce the show really fast, so having Daimao sub the show for the dvds was done much later.

[Innagadadavida]

From what I heard, FUNi used to get badly translated scripts of the episodes from TOEI themselves or their old translator who worked there and english wasn't her first language. They had to produce the show really fast, so having Daimao sub the show for the dvds was done much later.

This lines up with how we always hear the dub for the Majin Buu saga was much more faithful to the original than any other part of Z.

My Question: Shortly after Season 3, the original Ocean Productions cast of actors came back and began recording an alternate dub of DBZ that aired in Canada and the U.K. The script they used was almost identical to FUNimation's script, suggesting FUNimation was involved with this dub. To what extent was FUNimation involved with this "alternate" English dub of DBZ, and how did it come about?

I'd like to see this question expanded. I would like to know to what extent FUNimation has involvement in countries outside the U.S. in general. For example, with the recent Kai news (though I know you're not going to talk about this), the Mexican dub seems to be based on the edited English dub with the "Z Kai" moniker and everything. And we know several American releases had the Spanish dub included. How much control does Toei allow FUNimation?

[Chuquita]

I think I'd word my question something like:

"A while back, Funimation announced it would be working with Japanese studios to create original content. Have you ever thought of working with Toei to create your own new Dragon Ball special or short film using this process?"

[Innagadadavida]

I think I'd word my question something like:

"A while back, Funimation announced it would be working with Japanese studios to create original content. Have you ever thought of working with Toei to create your own new Dragon Ball special or short film using this process?"

I think that was after 2005, though... Right?

[DerekPadula]

From what I heard, FUNi used to get badly translated scripts of the episodes from TOEI themselves or their old translator who worked there and english wasn't her first language. They had to produce the show really fast, so having Daimao sub the show for the dvds was done much later.

Yeah, I read this on the dbzoa.net web archive from back in 2004. GreatSaiyaman777 seemed to have a lot of inside information. That's the only source I could find making this statement, so I don't know if it is definitive, but it does seem logical.

And in regards to the other questions. From the recent Dragon Ball Z Kai promotional interviews with Christopher Sabat and Sean Schemmel there seems to be a slight expression of disdain for the original production of Dragon Ball Z. They felt like they were being forced to act according to an agenda of appealing to little kids, when they knew the show was more mature that, although still fairly silly. They are much happier that they can make Kai more in line with the original Japanese.

This made me take a step back and realize that the high majority of what American DBZ represents was decided by producers and marketers, and the actors simply did what they were told. Seems like an obvious observation, but it's easy to forget this since the decision makers are all behind the scenes and the voice actors are the ones we interact with.

That, and the fact they never watched the original Japanese while developing the show due to time constraints meant they were essentially locked in a narrow frame of mind. The backlash from hardcore fans is what woke them up. But by then the machine was already in motion and it was difficult to steer it in a different direction. Or the actors didn't have enough influence to do so anyway. Now that Christopher Sabat is in control he has more influence on how the show is developed.

One of the most surprising things Chris and Sean said in those videos was that they were big fans of the silent moments in the new Kai soundtrack. They actually admitted that they did not like the way the sound and music were handled in the original Z dub. They feel that the silence in Kai really adds a lot of depth and emotion to the show, like a movie, rather than being barraged by constant sound. That made me facepalm and say, "Yeah, obviously!" But at least now they get it. Better late than never.

The questions you guys have asked so far are great. Any others?

[Chuquita]

I think I'd word my question something like:

"A while back, Funimation announced it would be working with Japanese studios to create original content. Have you ever thought of working with Toei to create your own new Dragon Ball special or short film using this process?"

I think that was after 2005, though... Right?

I read it on ANN a while ago.
*Looks it up*.

Here's the initial announcement that was made in November of 09: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... cing-anime

And here's this BioWare Dragon Age thing from June of this year that they're working on now as part of it: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... anime-film

[xzero]

My question would be this:

By 2000 or 2001, Steve Simmons was subtitling the DVDs, which provided a de facto accurate script for the show. Why not have him subtitle the episodes, then base the English scripts around that translation to provide for more accuracy?

Fairly certain the dub episodes were much further along than what Steve was translating for the home release. Remember that, after season three, much of what came out was aired on Cartoon Network long before it hit home video, and ESPECIALLY long before the dual-language DVDs came out.

Actually, that was only the case for several of the season 4 episodes (and the beginning of season 5 in 2002). I know the Trunks episodes were released on DVD right after they aired for the first time, so you're probably right that those episodes were dubbed long before Steve subbed them. The same would be true of the Androids, Cell sagas (particularly the Cell Games, which took a long hiatus as Funimation released the Buu DVDs), and the Great Saiyaman (the last saga released in singles format).

However, the World Tournament and Babidi episodes all came out on DVD first, ranging from 2 months to 2-4 weeks before those episodes aired on Cartoon Network. Additionally, episodes 238-291 all aired on Cartoon Network anywhere from 8 months to 6 days after the corresponding episodes were released on DVD. The only Buu episodes that ever aired first were 232-237, which were released on DVD 2 months later.

So I guess my point is that while the dubbing probably got priority, it's apparent that they had the materials to work from long before any of these episodes aired on Cartoon Network, so having Steve translate the scripts would have made sense, at least for those episodes.