Should the Saban dub get another release?

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

This is almost certainly not going to happen considering Crunchyroll/Funimation has only shown interest in milking their remastered English dub for the last decade, and even longer, for the most part.

The one notable exception to every DVD or Blu-Ray release since 2005 containing the inhouse dub was of course the one-off exception no one expected with the Rock the Dragon collection, which has since become a sought after collector's item, although if those first 53 episodes and the 3 movies containing the Ocean cast are re-released it could come down in price depending on how nice another set would be.

That dub would be a prime candidate for the SD on Blu-Ray format if Crunchyroll ever wanted to do anything ambitious, and it would be nice for the UK to finally have a release of this dub.

2026 would be a great time though as it will mark the 30th anniversary.

[MasenkoHA]

I say sub license to Shout Factory or Discotek since they seem way more interested in this niche fandom thing and do a Steelbook Release or something.

I’ve also been in favor of dumping it on a free streaming service like Tubi and just putting Dragon Ball Z (Rock the Dragon Edition) in the title with a synopsis explaining it’s the old edited version with the Ocean Group

[Yellow Flower King]

I guess YTV should air it one last time, especially since it is in Titanic like meteoric like final hour.

[Hellspawn28]

I say sub license to Shout Factory or Discotek since they seem way more interested in this niche fandom thing and do a Steelbook Release or something.

I’ve also been in favor of dumping it on a free streaming service like Tubi and just putting Dragon Ball Z (Rock the Dragon Edition) in the title with a synopsis explaining it’s the old edited version with the Ocean Group

Discotek said Dragon Ball and Pokemon are two franchises that they will never do in a live stream Q&A.

[M16U3L2015]

I say sub license to Shout Factory or Discotek since they seem way more interested in this niche fandom thing and do a Steelbook Release or something.

I’ve also been in favor of dumping it on a free streaming service like Tubi and just putting Dragon Ball Z (Rock the Dragon Edition) in the title with a synopsis explaining it’s the old edited version with the Ocean Group

Discotek said Dragon Ball and Pokemon are two franchises that they will never do in a live stream Q&A.

Did they give a reason why? I assume that apart from the price of the license, it would be difficult for a company like Discotek to work well with a company like Toei or The Pokemon Company.

[JulieYBM]

I feel like it would be a cold day in Hell before The Pokemon Company allowed anyone in the US to release Pokemon in the original Japanese language lol

I suspect Discotek wouldn't get Dragon Ball at all because there just isn't a reason for anyone to license it to them.

[Hellspawn28]

Did they give a reason why? I assume that apart from the price of the license, it would be difficult for a company like Discotek to work well with a company like Toei or The Pokemon Company.

Probably because it's too big of an IP for them. It's the biggest anime and manga franchise in the entire world.

[Metalwario64]

Ideally I'd love to see a release of the Saban era dub synced with FUNimation's raw film masters... but I just don't ever see that happening.

[Jord]

I rewatched it last year, and despite some dialogue changes/censorship, it was very enjoyable. I liked the music and the voice acting was great. Didn't think it would hold up after watching the Japanese version, but it did.

[Kunzait_83]

No. Not *everything* needs to be preserved. Its ok to let some things phase out of existence (or in this case, "into the next dimension" or whatnot).

[90sDBZ]

Yes 100%.

It's the version that first introduced Z to English speaking audiences, and was a massive success at the time. It absolutely should be preservered.

It may be heavily censored and largely inaccurate, but those early performances still hold up incredibly well. Ian Corlett was an awesome Goku right out the gate, and he was the OG Goku for a lot of people. Brian Drummond's Vegeta was also incredible, as was Scott McNeil's Piccolo.

The Ron Wasserman OST was also really fitting for those arcs, with its serious tone. And then there's Rock the Dragon itself, which to this day is still fondly remembered by fans despite it not being featured on any current releases.

As for how likely it is to happen, it's hard to say. The Rock the Dragon set was a pleasant surprise in 2013, so I'll never say never. Next year is the 30th Anniversary for the Saban dub, so I guess it isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility.

If it were up to me I'd also include the unaltered 1999-2003 inhouse dub, but that's sadly even more of a niche at this point.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I rewatched it last year, and despite some dialogue changes/censorship, it was very enjoyable. I liked the music and the voice acting was great. Didn't think it would hold up after watching the Japanese version, but it did.

It may be heavily censored and largely inaccurate, but those early performances still hold up incredibly well. Ian Corlett was an awesome Goku right out the gate, and he was the OG Goku for a lot of people. Brian Drummond's Vegeta was also incredible, as was Scott McNeil's Piccolo.

The Ron Wasserman OST was also really fitting for those arcs, with its serious tone. And then there's Rock the Dragon itself, which to this day is still fondly remembered by fans despite it not being featured on any current releases.

Exactly, the dub may not be a faithful representation of the Japanese version, but for what it is it's a very enjoyable product and was what got the vast majority of English-speaking fans who were born in the 80s or 90s into the show because it aired on numerous channels over the years and was even successful before it came to Cartoon Network.

No. Not *everything* needs to be preserved. Its ok to let some things phase out of existence (or in this case, "into the next dimension" or whatnot).

Couldn't disagree more, there are far too many lost Dragon Ball dubs out there, and I believe any dubs made should be available for fans to enjoy in whatever language it was in, as a lot of work was put into these productions.

Luckily the other Ocean dub of Dragon Ball Z (Westwood), which was at risk of becoming lost because it never had a home release has been recorded by fans and now synced to Dragon Box video, but for years the only way to rewatch it was with crappy VHS rips. It's still better than nothing, but I'm glad the Saban dub had various releases in North America, Oceania and the Netherlands so we could see it in decent quality since it was first released.

[Jord]

The weird thing is, that I celebrated in a way when we suddenly got Funimation during the Ginyu saga. We saw more blood so I was fooled into it being uncut and all. I have to say though, that the Funi guys did a fair enough job emulating the Saban voices, with the exception of Krillin who suddenly sounded like a munchkin.

[Tian]

I have to say though, that the Funi guys did a fair enough job emulating the Saban voices, with the exception of Krillin who suddenly sounded like a munchkin.

Curiously enough, there were two people who competed for the role of Krillin: Sonny Strait and some other guy who sounded like a match for Terry Klassen.

Strait ended up getting the role because he was considered a better "actor" (for FUNimation's 1999 standards) than the other guy.

[Jord]

I have to say though, that the Funi guys did a fair enough job emulating the Saban voices, with the exception of Krillin who suddenly sounded like a munchkin.

Curiously enough, there were two people who competed for the role of Krillin: Sonny Strait and some other guy who sounded like a match for Terry Klassen.

Strait ended up getting the role because he was considered a better "actor" (for FUNimation's 1999 standards) than the other guy.

Sometimes it takes time to get used to a new voice. I still prefer Klassen over Strait (who does a good job nowadays).

[LostTimeLord]

Given that the masters already exist, it does seem a shame that Crunchyroll wouldn't just repress the Rock the Dragon DVDs in cheaper packaging. It also feels like the 2019 Blu-rays would have been a good opportunity to include highlights or select episode, given that they had a category of extras called From the Vault; the closest they got was including The World of Dragon Ball Z. I was introduced through the subtitled version, but it was a fun curiosity to grab some of the old Pinoeer DVDs and see how heavily localised the syndicated version was (whereas I don't have any particular interest in watching the uncut dub).

...and does anyone else think that "Rock the Dragon Edition" sounds incorrect? Shouldn't it have been "Rock The Dragon Collection" or something? It's not really an edition of the series if it's only 1/4 of the episodes.

I’ve also been in favor of dumping it on a free streaming service like Tubi and just putting Dragon Ball Z (Rock the Dragon Edition) in the title with a synopsis explaining it’s the old edited version with the Ocean Group

It would be nice to see on Crunchyroll, but I don't think any of Dragon Ball's owners would want the older style of dubbing to be more accessible than the relatively modern in-house version, which would take FAST channels out of the equation. I also think that they'd label it with something more self-explanatory like "American Broadcast Version", but that's neither here or there.

[eledoremassis02]

I have to say though, that the Funi guys did a fair enough job emulating the Saban voices, with the exception of Krillin who suddenly sounded like a munchkin.

Curiously enough, there were two people who competed for the role of Krillin: Sonny Strait and some other guy who sounded like a match for Terry Klassen.

Strait ended up getting the role because he was considered a better "actor" (for FUNimation's 1999 standards) than the other guy.

is there any audio of the other guy anywhere, I'd be interesting to hear. It was really odd when the FUNi inhouse episodes started to air

[AlexSketchy04]

I have to say though, that the Funi guys did a fair enough job emulating the Saban voices, with the exception of Krillin who suddenly sounded like a munchkin.

Curiously enough, there were two people who competed for the role of Krillin: Sonny Strait and some other guy who sounded like a match for Terry Klassen.

Strait ended up getting the role because he was considered a better "actor" (for FUNimation's 1999 standards) than the other guy.

Kind of, Barry Watson hated Terry Klassen's take on Krillin, and Sonny only got the role because he proposed something different that Watson actually liked

To be honest, Strait is my favorite out of all the ones who debuted on the Z Dub in 1999, he was good from day one

[GhostEmperorX]

Discotek said Dragon Ball and Pokemon are two franchises that they will never do in a live stream Q&A.

Doesn't sound surprising, and tbh they're all the better for it.
Those two are overexposed at this point, and there's lots of other material that's far more deserving of their efforts.

[Kunzait_83]

Doesn't sound surprising, and tbh they're all the better for it.
Those two are overexposed at this point, and there's lots of other material that's far more deserving of their efforts.

Cosigning. Couldn't agree more. Discotek is - overall - by far the best game in town when it comes to anime licensing, they have been for long many years now, and its not even close.