How accurately do FUNimation's dubs portray Dragon Ball?

[thaman91]

A few years ago, I thought I knew everything about DBZ. I had seen the dub so many times that I would be able to recite most of the lines word for word on any given episode. But after stumbling upon Kanzenshuu, I realized that the show I loved and grew up with was actually a poorly handled adaptation of the original Japanese version. It kind of bugged me that I had become a superfan of something that didn't matter in the long run and something that I couldn't credibly use in discussions about the show.

To attempt to rectify this situation, I watched the dub of DBZ Kai because the consensus seemed to be that it was a faithful adaptation of the original (and I don't want to actually watch the original because I don't like reading subtitles lol). And I really liked it! Now that's not to say that I no longer like the original dub; I still enjoy that a great deal as well.

But I guess what I'm really wondering is this: to what extent do the various FUNimation dubs capture the essence of what Dragon Ball really is? Since I haven't actually seen the original Japanese versions, I obviously can't answer this question myself. But I would like to know from fans who have seen both versions in their entirety. (I have listed what I think are appropriate divisions in the various FUNimation dubs)

1.) the seasons 1 & 2 dubs of DBZ with the Ocean voice cast
2.) the "season 3" dub of DBZ (from Ginyu to Garlic Jr.)
3.) the Cell arc dub of DBZ
4.) the Buu arc dub of DBZ
5.) the Dragon Ball dub
6.) the Dragon Ball GT dub (I haven't actually watched this all the way through)
7.) the Dragon Ball Z Kai dub: this one most interests me. Was the Goku I saw the same as the one you did? Did my Freeza act the same way yours did? Hopefully, the response I get is that this almost perfectly captures the essence of Dragon Ball.

[Herms]

Funi definitely got more faithful with their dub of the Boo arc in DBZ, and their DB dub is overall much better than how they handled DBZ (though still with lots of liberties). I hear their GT dub is in the same vein (apart from stuff like renaming all the dragons), but I've never seen it. In my opinion their dub of BoG was their best yet, both faithful-ness wise and overall quality. Dub!Goku in BoG felt the most like the original version there than in anything else of Funi's I've seen, with kid Goku in their DB dub coming in second.

If you don't like watching stuff subtitled, I'd definitely recommend reading the manga. The Viz manga has its share of problems, but overall it's probably more faithful than even the Kai dub, and in my opinion the manga version of the story is better than the anime.

[fadeddreams5]

If it makes Funi dub fans feel better....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozM3Chgvq-o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uInzbCBRvnw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-OhIgJAGOE

[Singh is King]

A few years ago, I thought I knew everything about DBZ. I had seen the dub so many times that I would be able to recite most of the lines word for word on any given episode. But after stumbling upon Kanzenshuu, I realized that the show I loved and grew up with was actually a poorly handled adaptation of the original Japanese version. It kind of bugged me that I had become a superfan of something that didn't matter in the long run and something that I couldn't credibly use in discussions about the show.

To attempt to rectify this situation, I watched the dub of DBZ Kai because the consensus seemed to be that it was a faithful adaptation of the original (and I don't want to actually watch the original because I watch the show as I'm eating/unwinding from constant studying and so having to read subtitles would be a chore). And I really liked it! Now that's not to say that I no longer like the original dub; I still enjoy that a great deal as well.

But I guess what I'm really wondering is this: to what extent do the various FUNimation dubs capture the essence of what Dragon Ball really is? Since I haven't actually seen the original Japanese versions, I obviously can't answer this question myself. But I would like to know from fans who have seen both versions in their entirety. (I have listed what I think are appropriate divisions in the various FUNimation dubs)

1.) the seasons 1 & 2 dubs of DBZ with the Ocean voice cast
2.) the "season 3" dub of DBZ (from Ginyu to Garlic Jr.)
3.) the Cell arc dub of DBZ
4.) the Buu arc dub of DBZ
5.) the Dragon Ball dub
6.) the Dragon Ball GT dub (I haven't actually watched this all the way through)
7.) the Dragon Ball Z Kai dub: this one most interests me. Was the Goku I saw the same as the one you did? Did my Freeza act the same way yours did? Hopefully, the response I get is that this almost perfectly captures the essence of Dragon Ball.

I'd rank them this way in that regard from most faithful to least faithful in terms of the English dubbing, IMO:

BoG > DBZ Kai > Dragonball > Dragonball Z Buu = Dragon Ball GT = Seasons 1-2 > Dragonball Z Cell > Season 3

That's not necessarily how I personally rank the dubbing quality in my eyes, but just in terms of faithfulness to the Japanese Version.

Spoiler:

Best acting ever below, BTW:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XSeBLPU_s4

[SSJ Electric Fury]

I hear their GT dub is in the same vein (apart from stuff like renaming all the dragons), but I've never seen it.

The Super 17 Saga specifically has some dubious uses of creative license, and contains at least one positively indefensible one: https://youtu.be/Oarf_Ml49w4?t=50s.

Another example of faulty dubbing in this storyline, though not in the 'positively indefensible' category, is the point about No. 17 deliberately holding back against 18 in their first bout seemingly going over FUNimation's head.

[TheGreatness25]

You know to be honest, from my experience, it wasn't THAT unfaithful. Back in the old days (not this forum, other places), people made t seem like FUNimation crippled the whole show and made it completely different. "Oh, that's not the Spirit Bomb, that's the Genki Dama! Oh that's not Goku, that's Son Gokou. Oh that's not Saiyan, it's Super Saiya-jin! That's not Android 18, that's Juuhachigou!" Well, "Spirit Bomb" is probably not THAT far off (doesn't it mean energy/spirit ball or something?) and "Goku" is a pretty appropriate spelling, and Saiyan is a proper translation ("jin" refers to a race and in English, we just cap it off with an "n" like we say "Russian" or "Australian" and it means people of Russia and people of Australia, whereas Saiya-jin means people of Saiya, which can properly be translated to Saiyan), and "Juu hachi gou" translates to 18.

Here's the deal. When you cut through all the corniness, cut through the "cat loves food" and "mondo cool" and all that stuff, the story i kept the same. Now the lines might be different, but the message remains the same. It's very rare for them to get something wrong. If the dub has Goku say, "Man, this is the toughest fight I've had since Frieza!" the original is something like, "Wow, I haven't put this much effort in defeating someone sine Freeza!" The same message, different more "westernized" I guess, words. The message remains the same when it comes to the characters talking about where they rank in power, attack names are pretty spot on for the most part, and all the little facts are there (Saiyans don't grow their hair, etc.). I've noticed that it could be at different times. Like they'll say something important followed by some generic dialog and in the dub they'd do the generic dialog and then say the important thing. I think that the dub is pretty accurate in spirit, but not a literal word to word reading. If you put the scripts side by side and go word for word, they couldn't be more different. But if you think about the message behind the dub script, it has a very close message to the original. At least that's my opinion. But yeah, it was OBVIOUSLY worked on to sound more "cool," which ironically made it corny and silly beyond belief sometimes. And this is coming from someone that has extremely fond memories of the dub. But now I watch it sometimes and just can't help but cringe. But hey, it is what it is.

Don't feel too bad for liking the dub. It doesn't make you any less of a fan, despite how others might make you feel (again, this does not refer to people on here, who are the logical DB fans). Any sort of involvement with the series makes you a fan. Saying that it's meaningless to know the dub is not really true. You can argue the dub. You might be surprised to know just how accurate it really is. Besides, the proof is all in the action. They can't tell you that Gohan is weaker than Goku during the Cell Games (not that they did, but even if they did) because it's all in the action.

[ZazamPow]

A few years ago, I thought I knew everything about DBZ. I had seen the dub so many times that I would be able to recite most of the lines word for word on any given episode. But after stumbling upon Kanzenshuu, I realized that the show I loved and grew up with was actually a poorly handled adaptation of the original Japanese version. It kind of bugged me that I had become a superfan of something that didn't matter in the long run and something that I couldn't credibly use in discussions about the show.

Sigh, isn't this pretty much the story of us all? I know how you feel man.

I can't comment on the thread since I am very much in the same boat as you, but I am currently watching Kai on Toonami, and one day I'll watch the original Japanese. There was a point where I felt like an expert on Dragon Ball and that there wasn't anything left for me to learn, but since registering on Kanzenshuu, I feel like I find out new things almost every day.

[theoriginalbilis]

TheGreatness25, I'll agree with you that FUNi's original dub kept the main story beats intact, but there's still plenty of major differences/divergences:

1) Tone: The tone of the Z dub is much different because of the constant added dialogue, and the complete replacing of the score.
2) Characters: No matter how dub fans will try to justify it, there's no mistaking how different Goku and Freeza were portrayed in English from 1997-2004 compared to their Kai dub, much less to the original Japanese version.

Sometimes it's HOW something is said that is impactful, not just WHAT is being said.

Regarding the other shows, the Dragon Ball dub is overall much more faithful in spirit than Z or GT's dub. There's still lots of dialogue rewrites, some faithful and in-character and others... not so much. I remember the "Piccolo Jr." saga was especially egregious with changes, with lines that contradicted established character personalities and plot points later in DBZ. Examples: Krillin's condemnation of marriage, Goku's spouting romantic dialogue to Chichi, Kami knowing that he's an alien even before it's revealed to him in the Saiyan arc. Also, Roshi's perverted nature is far more toned-down.

GT was honestly all over the place in terms of accuracy. Some episodes had faithful scripts, some felt like they were written by someone who has never watched the show. Example: Dende (the healer) telling Mr. Popo to "grab the first-aid kit", Goku as a kid wondering if he'll have to "go back to school." Those were both in Ep. 1, kiddies. Oh yeah, and Goku's dialogue towards his enemies was more superhero-ey than ever.

Kai and BoG are as close to perfect as we'll ever get in regards to a FUNimation-rpduced dub. Outside of a few unnecessary lines and keeping some of the old edited dub terms, it's pretty stellar work. Chris Ayres' Freeza, Monica Rial's Bulma, Colleen Clinkenbeard's Gohan, and Schemmel's vastly improved Goku make the dub worth a watch, even for Japanese version diehards like myself. Almost everyone else is voiced by the original VAs, but now with more experience and an much more faithful script to work with.

[Herms]

Here's the deal. When you cut through all the corniness, cut through the "cat loves food" and "mondo cool" and all that stuff, the story i kept the same. Now the lines might be different, but the message remains the same. It's very rare for them to get something wrong. If the dub has Goku say, "Man, this is the toughest fight I've had since Freeza!" the original is something like, "Wow, I haven't put this much effort in defeating someone sine Freeza!" The same message, different more "westernized" I guess, words.]

I'd say that's an accurate assessment of Funi's Kai dub and probably the Boo-era DBZ dub as well, but not anything earlier. There's too many instances were a character says X in Japanese and ABCDEFG in the old Funi dub. Heck, there many, many instances of characters saying nothing at all in Japanese, but the Funi dub adding in dialogue where there was none before. Sure, if you summarize the plot of the Namek arc in 40 words or less it'll probably apply to the Japanese and old Funi dub versions equally well, but once you get beyond that level of generality, differences pop up. I mean, the Funi dub has characters called the "Arcosians". These characters don't exist in the Japanese version, at all. It's not that they have a different name or anything, they just flat out are never mentioned.

So yeah, people who think "Saiyan" isn't a good adaptation of "Saiya-jin" into English are uninformed, and anyone who insists on calling No.18 "Juuhachigou" isn't worth talking too. But there are still big differences between the original Japanese version of the series and what Funi was doing with it back in the day.

[theoriginalbilis]

I'd say that's an accurate assessment of Funi's Kai dub and probably the Boo-era DBZ dub as well, but not anything earlier. There's too many instances were a character says X in Japanese and ABCDEFG in the old Funi dub. Heck, there many, many instances of characters saying nothing at all in Japanese, but the Funi dub adding in dialogue where there was none before. But there are still big differences between the original Japanese version of the series and what Funi was doing with it back in the day.

One of the most radically divergent dubs they've ever done was for the Bardock Special (Father of Goku). Do yourself a favor and watch the dub with the Japanese subtitles turned on. The dialogue entirely changes the intent of certain scenes and interactions, as far as completely altering Bardock's character arc from the beginning to the end.

[ZazamPow]

Monica Rial's Bulma,

Pff, Tiffany Vollmer all day {talk_to_the_hand}

[ZazamPow]

I'd say that's an accurate assessment of Funi's Kai dub and probably the Boo-era DBZ dub as well, but not anything earlier. There's too many instances were a character says X in Japanese and ABCDEFG in the old Funi dub. Heck, there many, many instances of characters saying nothing at all in Japanese, but the Funi dub adding in dialogue where there was none before. But there are still big differences between the original Japanese version of the series and what Funi was doing with it back in the day.

One of the most radically divergent dubs they've ever done was for the Bardock Special (Father of Goku). Do yourself a favor and watch the dub with the Japanese subtitles turned on. The dialogue entirely changes the intent of certain scenes and interactions, as far as completely altering Bardock's character arc from the beginning to the end.

I always remember the Bardock special as having some of the absolute worst voice acting I have ever experienced. I mean, that dub was nearly heading into Resident Evil 1 territory of unintentional hilarity. The fact that on top of that it also has one of the most radically different scripts of any Dragon Ball media makes it something to be admired, that's for sure

[Kakacarrottop]

Accurate tier:
- Kai dub
- FUNi/Pioneer/Ocean collaboration on M1-M3
- BOG dub

Middle of the road accuracy tier:
- DB dub
- Redub of 1-67 and M1-M3
- M4-M13 dubs

Inaccurate tier:
- FUNi/Saban/Ocean collaboration on 1-67
- FUNi/BLT/Ocean collaboration on DB 1-13 and M1
- 68-291 DBZ dub
- GT dub

[ABED]

Accurate tier:- Kai dub
- FUNi/Pioneer/Ocean collaboration on M1-M3
<br abp="699">- BOG dub
<br abp="700">
<br abp="701">Middle of the road accuracy tier:
<br abp="702">- DB dub
<br abp="703">- Redub of 1-67 and M1-M3
<br abp="704">- M4-M13 dubs<br abp="705">
<br abp="706">Inaccurate tier:
<br abp="707">- FUNi/Saban/Ocean collaboration on 1-67
<br abp="708">- FUNi/BLT/Ocean collaboration on DB 1-13 and M1
<br abp="709">- 68-291 DBZ dub
<br abp="710">- GT dub

I would put movie 8 into the top tier. Watch the dub and put the subtitles on. It's very accurate, and it also fixes the part in the original where Roshi says "Kuririn is the best in all of Japan"

Pff, Tiffany Vollmer all day {talk_to_the_hand}

Vollmer's voice doesn't fit Bulma, it's not appealing, and she's a bad actress to boot.

Can someone please explain why every time I quote someone I get <br abp="704">

[thaman91]

Don't feel too bad for liking the dub. It doesn't make you any less of a fan, despite how others might make you feel (again, this does not refer to people on here, who are the logical DB fans). Any sort of involvement with the series makes you a fan. Saying that it's meaningless to know the dub is not really true. You can argue the dub. You might be surprised to know just how accurate it really is. Besides, the proof is all in the action. They can't tell you that Gohan is weaker than Goku during the Cell Games (not that they did, but even if they did) because it's all in the action.

I don't feel bad for liking the dub. I still happily enjoy it to this day. But the superfan in me wants to be able to discuss things on a deeper level. And I agree with you that the overall story and message of the dub is still the same. However, the devil is in the details. For example, if we were having a conversation about Goku's character and all I had seen was the original dub, I would think that Goku let Vegeta go on Earth to show mercy instead of the actual reason, which is that Vegeta would be an exciting challenge to fight again. In general, I think the dub really toned down Goku's Saiyan characteristics. And if I were only a scholar of the dub, I would miss the true nature of Goku's character. I would also completely miss the aristocratic nature of Freeza's character. That's not to say that I disliked how he was portrayed in the original dub, nor did I misinterpret his actions (he still killed Vegeta, he still killed Krillin, etc.) but it was the nuances that I missed, like his tone when speaking.

If I were talking with my friends about Vegeta's Great Ape transformation as an original dub fan only, I would probably note the irony of Goku being beaten by something his own genius scientist father created. Or I might mention how Toriyama was trying to retcon the past by saying Vegeta is the one that killed Grandpa Gohan. Do you see what I mean? Both my in universe and meta discussions about the show would be flawed because I'm using a flawed source material as my evidence.

If you don't like watching stuff subtitled, I'd definitely recommend reading the manga. The Viz manga has its share of problems, but overall it's probably more faithful than even the Kai dub, and in my opinion the manga version of the story is better than the anime.

I've heard the Viz manga changes a lot of things. But I guess it's just names of things? So the overall tone, story, and characterizations are faithful?

Vollmer's voice doesn't fit Bulma, it's not appealing, and she's a bad actress to boot.

You know, even having watched Kai, I still like Vollmer's Bulma voice. I understand the argument that she has a "valley girl" way of talking. But I never really got the sense while watching the original dub that Bulma was stupid or an idiot in any way. It wasn't lost on me that she was a really smart girl. Actually, I thought part of the charm of her dub character was the contrast between how she talked and how intelligent she actually was; it was irony because I wouldn't expect someone who talked like that to be so smart.

[DBZAOTA482]

Accurate tier:
- Kai dub
- FUNi/Pioneer/Ocean collaboration on M1-M3
- BOG dub

Middle of the road accuracy tier:
- DB dub
- Redub of 1-67 and M1-M3
- M4-M13 dubs

Inaccurate tier:
- FUNi/Saban/Ocean collaboration on 1-67
- FUNi/BLT/Ocean collaboration on DB 1-13 and M1
- 68-291 DBZ dub
- GT dub

That's pretty much it though I'd put the GT dub at middle of the road instead of inaccurate.

Monica Rial's Bulma,

Pff, Tiffany Vollmer all day {talk_to_the_hand}

[Tatakae!!Ramenman]

This is why I'm glad that I read the manga so much before seeing a significant amount of the anime. The manga is probably the best thing for basing your understanding of the series on, because it's all canon. The only bad thing I've heard about Viz's translation is that they left out that ozaruu increases your strength by 10 times.

[Lord Beerus]

Accurate tier:
- Kai dub
- FUNi/Pioneer/Ocean collaboration on M1-M3
- BOG dub

Middle of the road accuracy tier:
- DB dub
- Redub of 1-67 and M1-M3
- M4-M13 dubs

Inaccurate tier:
- FUNi/Saban/Ocean collaboration on 1-67
- FUNi/BLT/Ocean collaboration on DB 1-13 and M1
- 68-291 DBZ dub
- GT dub

Yeah, that's how I'd rank them.

[Vegitofaxx]

Best for me is BOG, and hopefully Resurrection F will be even better

[Herms]

I've heard the Viz manga changes a lot of things. But I guess it's just names of things? So the overall tone, story, and characterizations are faithful?

Yeah, they change a few things, but overall it's much more faithful than most of the Funi dub (overall it's probably about the same level of faithfulness as the BoG dub). I think it preserves the tone and characterization of the original very well. By far the biggest nuisance is that they censor stuff like middle fingers and boobs and whatnot; the level of censorship varies depending on the exact edition, but there's no edition that's 100% uncensored all the way through. As far as names go, they wimp out and go with "Her'cule", but other than that they're pretty good. Even the names they change are typically changed in order to convey the same meaning for an English audience (which of course is supposed to be the entire idea behind localization, but with Funi a lot of the name changes were done for strange or nonsensical reasons). So for instance, the Saibaimen are called the "Cultivars", because saibai is simply the Japanese for "cultivation". "Cultivated Men" would be more literal, but it's the same underlying idea, and how many people who only watch the dub understand what "Saibamen" is supposed to mean? (And don't ask me why Funi leaves off the last "i" in Saibai)

In that same vein, Pui-Pui is changed to "Pocus" because the name Pui-Pui is a reference to a Japanese generic magic word that's equivalent to saying "hocus-pocus" in English. Majin Boo becomes "Djinn Boo" because majin is a Japanese word for a magical creature, commonly translated as "genie" or "djinn" in English. But this decision of Viz proved controversial, mainly because a lot of English DB fans were simply used to "Majin" being left untranslated like it was in the Funi dub, and didn't understand what the word meant. Likewise, Vegetto got changed to "Vegerot" in order to try and maintain the idea that his name is a combination of "Vegeta" and "Kakarot". The problem is that "Vegeta+Kakarot=Vegetto" is something that makes sense in the Japanese katakana alphabet but not the English alphabet, so Viz went with "Vegerot" as a solution. Fans used to Vegetto/Vegito didn't like it (and even having had all these years to get used to it, I personally still think "Vegerot" sounds dumb), but arguably it gets the point of the original name across better in English than a simple direct romanization does. At any rate, Viz certainly wasn't just changing the name for the sake of it.

Viz!Piccolo's pseudo-medieval speaking style still bugs the crap out of me, though.