Now, as first posts go, I understand this topic might seem more than a little out there and strange but, considering that this concept's never really been discussed before, I think that it might be at least a somewhat interesting thing to bring to the table.
Essentially, what I'm wondering (assuming that is the title didn't give me away
) is what would happen if the Funimation English Dub of Dragon Ball/Z/GT/Kai was in fact the bona fide original with plenty of emphasis then on Z in particular? The reason I'm asking is because one of the primary criticisms I see against their English Dubs is that they changed so many things when they simply did not have the right to. Additionally, the reason I'm using their version of the series as an example is because of how often I see it cited as a bad adaptation on this very forum. Now don't get me wrong - in no way, shape or form am I defending their English Dubs and, exempting Kai, I more or less fully agree with some of the vitriol that their versions receive. There was a time however when this was not true and this is perhaps a secondary reason of mine for starting this topic. When I was a kid, the English versions of Dragon Ball Z were arguably my favourite things in all the world. I had no real idea about the series origins and that it came from Japan and, not to sound culturally insensitive then, but even if I had been made aware at some point I'm not entirely sure that I would have cared.
In fact, it wasn't until the introduction of Kai way back in 2009 and thanks to this very website/forum in fact that I learnt there was a whole lot more to the series than I'd first imagined. Although I'd been briefly introduced to the original version back when I played the first Budokai game, I saw the inclusion of the Japanese cast as more of a quirk than a perk to be brutally honest. Furthermore, I also fell in love with the manga back in 2005 but even then I did not have the means to research the series further due to a lack of regular internet access at the time. And whilst I still haven't seen/read all of the original series - far from it in fact - I nevertheless have a rising respect for that version (and not just because it's the one that came first). Once more exempting Kai, the same can't be said for Funimation English Dubs.
When I was first exposed to the Japanese version though it certainly took me quite a while to fully adjust. This was mainly in regards to the characterization - I had long since believed that Goku for instance was the 'Light in the Darkness' and the answer to all living things that cried out for peace so then to see him almost 'downgraded' in a certain sense was to be blunt a large culture shock. I also remember finding it somewhat hard to accept that Freeza hadn't moulded Vegeta into a killer and that he was more or less set on this path from the start. This was not only because I'd grown up with these versions but also because I didn't really consider that the way these characters had been represented was ultimately wrong. Obviously I was only fourteen at the time and you can pin it down to immaturity all you want but frankly I didn't see why Goku couldn't make these big dramatic speeches just because he'd grown up in the woods. Although Goku was very much a hick in what volumes of the manga I'd read, this only seemed perfectly natural to me because in the volumes I had read he was a kid. I guess I just assumed that Goku would have to grow up for the most part like everyone else even though in retrospect the progression from the latter to the former doesn't make much sense.
So my question to you then is how you would view the Japanese version had it actually been the other way round and they changed the characterization/plot for a number of reasons? What if Goku was in fact the hope of the universe? What if Yamcha was originally intended to be a surfer dude? What if Freeza was actually meant to be voiced by a woman? How would you feel if the Japanese version had changed all that because to be fair - and no disrespect to those who watch the English Dubs - the acting and writing for the most part is noticeably better.
I suppose to branch out the discussion even then are there any particular characterizations in the English Dub that you wish would have stuck? Although I might not have liked the idea at first, I for one am glad that Goku is not someone who would spare Vegeta out of the kindness of his heart for many reasons with the key one being that it's nowhere near as compelling as his actual motives. Do you also think the series would have caught on around the rest of the world like it did in America with this as a template? Would this forum even exist seeing as how it was made out of love for the original version?
What do you think?
