Top 5 Favorite Voices in the Series

[DB_Fan1991]

Here's mine:

Japanese:

1. Ryusei Nakao-This man is so awesome as Frieza, Coola and Tambourine. His evil laughs are insane
2. Mayumi Tanaka-She is a very good choice for Kuririn. She is able to pull off his emotions perfectly
3. Toshio Furukawa-He is so demonic, yet kind hearted as Piccolo and pulls off a great gay sounding General Blue
4. Joji Yanami-This man is a great Narrator. He sets the mood for each episode plus he is great as Kaio-Sama & Babidi
5. Norio Wakamoto-He really is a perfect Cell. He makes Cell sound badass

English:

1. Sean Schemmel-He is so great as Goku. He captures his emotions perfectly he has improved as him since 1999
2. Stephanie Nadolny-She is great as Kid Goku and Kid Gohan. She portrays their emotions with perfection
3. Sonny Strait-His Krillin is fantastic, so is his Bardock. He makes their voices sound so different, but it's cool
4. Kyle Hebert-He is great as Narrator, Ox King, Pikkon & Gohan. He is so perfect as them that it makes me happy to hear these characters
5. Christopher R. Sabat-Now I know he does a lot of roles on the show, but I don't care he makes each character sound different that you can't tell it's him.

What's your top 5 Japanese and English voices and oh yeah no flaming because of other people's opinions.

[Kienzan88gt]

Top Favorite Voices in the Series (Only Japanese):

1. Masako Nozawa
2. Mayumi Tanaka
3. Ryusei Nakao
4. Ryou Horikawa
5. Hiromi Tsuru

[DB_Fan]

I can't decide from these 10, on the Japanese version:

1. Kouhei Miyauchi (the original Kame-sennin)
2. Masako Nozawa (Son Goku, Gohan, Goten, Bardock)
3. Hiromi Tsuru (Bulma, Bra)
4. Toru Furuya (Yamcha)
5. Mami Koyama (Lunch, Arale)
6. Mayumi Tanaka (Krillin, Yajirobe)
7. Naoki Tatsuta (Oolong, Bubbles, Haiya Dragon, Yamu)
8. Joji Yanami (Narrator, Babidi, Dr. Brief, Kaio-sama)
9. Ryuusei Nakao (Freeza, Coola, Tambourine)
10. Toshio Furukawa (Piccolo, Blue)

As for the English version, I like:

1. Kara Edwards (Videl, and mainly because of Goten)
2. Justin Cook (Raditz)
3. Duncan Brennan (Babidi)
4. Chuck Huber (#17)
5. Brina Palencia (Arale in Sparking Meteor)

[Captain Awesome]

My favourites:

1. Masako Nozawa
2. Mayumi Tankaka
3. Ryusei Nakao
4. Ryo Horikawa
5. Norio Wakamoto

I can't stand the dub, but if I had to pick someone Daemon Clarke did a great job on first form and perfect form Cell, though the scripting and direction kind of flushed that down the toilet though.

[Kid Trunks]

I'm a dub fan. But I've been getting more and more interested in the Japanese version these days. So, for a change of pace on my part:

1. Ryo Horikawa
2. Takeshi Kusao
3. Masako Nozawa
4. Hiromi Tsuru

[MagicBox]

Well, I learned something new today. I had no idea Ryusei Nakao was Tambourine. I haven't gotten around to seeing the anime version of that arc. I thought the man made his DragonBall debut with Freeza. Cool fun fact.

I'll do my English ones later. Looking for voices that I actually think are fitting and then choosing five from those requires more thought than I'm willing to put out at the moment.

With the Japanese cast, it's pretty much a matter of comparing unblemished apples. Nonetheless, here's my top five.

5.) Daisuke Gouri as anybody - A DragonBall veteran, his voice is instantly recognizable. He's got great range too. From his numerous villian roles to the goofy Mr. Satan, he's always enjoyable.

4.) Masako Nozawa as Goku - It's a match made in heaven, this one, and I really can't name another actor that could get the character down this well. It's just perfect, and as much as I like her as adult Goku, I think her performance really shines when Goku's a child. You really want to just pull the kid out of the television and hug him, as creepy as it sounds.

3.) Joji Yanami as the narrator - Whenever I hear the narrator, I think of DragonBall as a very long bedtime story that a grandfather is telling his grandchildren. I like that idea; that's how I like thinking of DragonBall. The voice is so comforting and calm; it sets a perfect tone of what kind fo a story DragonBall's suposed to be. His Kaio-sama's great as well, though I have mixed feelings about his Babidi.

2.) Ryusei Nakao as Freeza - Rarely are villians cast this well, whether it's animation or live-action, and that's a shame. Since I'm sure you all know why this performance is so good, I'm just going to move on with this list, fully aware that my words cannot do justice to this wonderful man.

1.) Mayumi Tanaka as Kuririn/Yajirobe - This amazing actress is my favorite Japanese voice artist of all time, and for good reason. Her voice is instantly lovable and inviting. The second I heard Japanese Kuririn, I fell in love with the character. To this day, I never get tired of hearing her act. Whether it's as Luffy, Koenma, or whatever, this fantastic actress is a pleasure to listen to.

[Gogeta 00]

I have just recently started to started to watch the Japanese version after almost 12 years (aside from a terrible fansub) and I prefer the ocean dub for the acting. So I will list my top 5 Japanese, ocean and funimation voices.

Japanese:
-Ryo Horikawa
-Masako Nozawa
-Shigeru Chiba
-Ryusei Nakao
-Mayumi Tanaka

Ocean:
-Ian Corlett
-Scott Mcneil
-Brian Drummond
-Jason Gray-Stanford (Raditz)
-Micheal Dobson

Funimation:
-Dameon Clarke
-Sean Schemmel
-Phil Parsons
-John Bergmeir
-Kara Edwards

[LeprikanGT]

Chris Sabat - that should cover most of my favorite chars

[SSJ2bardock]

The guy who did #17's voice, 'cus dub #17 is pure ownage, Chuck Huber me thinks.

And whoever did Freeza's Japanese voice.

[Gogeta 00]

The guy who did #17's voice, 'cus dub #17 is pure ownage, Chuck Huber me thinks.

And whoever did Freeza's Japanese voice.

Chuck Huber does #17 as well as Pilaf and Garlic Jr and Ryusei Nakao does freeza's voice in Japanese. And I would have to agree, Chuck Huber did a good job on 17's voice.

[JulieYBM]

Japanese:

5. Mayumi Tanaka: both a great Kuririn as well as Yajirobe. She's also wins as Luffy.
4. Ryusei Nakao: Awesome acting with incredible manliness.
3. Norio Wakamoto: Boy can he roar. Incredible acting, too!
2. Ryô Horikawa: Also a product of awesome acting. He can be both angry Vegeta and calm, collected Vegeta.
1. Masako Nozawa: Must I even say?

[Casual Matt]

I can not believe nobody has mentioned Hirotaka Suzuoki yet.

Come on, his Tenshinhan voice was brilliantly badass. He freakin' made that character for me.

Case in point.

Okay, that scene isn't packed with dialogue, but Suzuoki's delivery is spot on, and that's one of my favorite scenes in anything ever, anyway.

[Captain Awesome]

He does do a great job, but I just don't find his voice quite as memorable as the other Seiyuu so he didn't break my top five.

Also, dear god that fansub footage looks terrible.

[VegettoEX]

Case in point.

HOLY SHIT OLD NIPPON GOLDEN NETWORK SUBS I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER CAPTURING.

[Scarz]

Who ever did the voice for Hercule (Mr. Satan) for the English dubs. Every time I watch an old episode and hear him speak, I can't help but crack up.

[Super 17]

Case in point.

HOLY SHIT OLD NIPPON GOLDEN NETWORK SUBS I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER CAPTURING.

Holy shit how old is that? Like in the late 90's, early 2000's? Anyways to follow the subject I like whoever does Vegeta, Cell, Android 17, Tenshinhan and Yamcha. I know Toru Furuya does Yamcha, and I forgot the others, but I do know there names just not the top of my head right now.

[Casual Matt]

He does do a great job, but I just don't find his voice quite as memorable as the other Seiyuu so he didn't break my top five.

I dunno, for some reason I found him one of the most memorable. Probably because I'm such a fan of the character and that voice for him specifically.

Also, dear god that fansub footage looks terrible.

Best I could find at short notice.

[Suupaa Gohan 2]

Japanese:

5-Nakao Ryusei (Freeza)
Like many other fans in my generation, I first got into the series during the early days of the FUNi dub and only later got into the Japanese version. I had adjusted to both Ocean's and FUNi's VA's for Freeza, and as most of us know, he was cast with a female voice and made to have a very ambiguous sexuality. When I first got into the Japanese version the contrast of these voices was very shocking to me, and I came to take the character far more seriously in Japanese - he was the evil tyrant the Manga intended, this way, not the gender-bending freakshow the dubs had made a mockery of.

4-Tsuru Hiromi (Bulma)
Annoying when necessary, insightful and intelligent when required...the essence of Bulma, really. I always liked that you could go from wanting to punch her in the face one minute for being such a narcissistic ditz to actually admiring her intelligence and the maturity she gained by mid-DBZ.

3-Kusao Takeshi (Trunks)
Ahem...nostalgia from the days when I was an uber Trunks fangirl. >.>; His voice was always OMG LIEK SUPER HAWT!!11ONE1! But from a more serious standpoint, Chibi Trunks is one of the only young boys I have ever heard to be voiced by a male in a Japanese Anime, and I was always impressed that he pulled the role off well - as in, he doesn't sound 30 years old, like so many male-cast boys do in American dubs/cartoons.

2-Nozawa Masako (Gokou/Gohan/Goten/Bardock/Tullece)
Some people can't stand hearing the muscular badass hero of the series with the voice of a 12-year old girl, but to me, she's the only one who brings out the true spirit of Gokou - not as a super legendary ultimate strongest in the universe fighter, but as a kid who really never grew up. I'm also one of the few people who actually thinks she did a distinctive job voicing the three Sons distinctively; they don't all sound exactly the same.

1-Horikawa Ryo (Vegeta)
I just always thought he was perfect for the role. I can't imagine anyone else as Vegeta; even as I read the Manga, I know they couldn't have cast him better.

English:

5-Laura Bailey (Chibi Trunks - FUNimation)
By the time FUNi got to the Buu Saga, I had already abandoned the dub and been a fan of the Japanese for about a year and a half, so I never really saw more than few episodes of the dubbed Buu Saga. What I did see was mostly in the early portions, with the Budoukai and the initial clash with Babidi before Buu's release. I love Laura Bailey in general - her voice is so versitile, from going able to do the seductive Lust in FullMetal Alchemist to the perverted kindergartener Shin in Shin Chan. From what I heard, she did a great job as Chibi Trunks.

4-Saffron Henderson (Gohan - Ocean Dub)
Not the best Gohan, but in my opinion much better than Stephanie Nadolny. I don't really think I would have liked her portraying Gohan into the Cell storyline, but for the younger days, I always liked her in the role. One thing I always loved, in particular, was 'Mr. Piccolo'...honorifics may not always work in translation, but I liked how this little habit of Gohan's got brought to the dub, and was sad to see it go when FUNi took over. It's one of the most memorable things to me about Henderson's Gohan.

3-Tie:

Chris Rager (Mr. Satan - FUNimation Dub)
I know a lot of fans of the Japanese version who aren't particularly fond of Satan's English presentation...but I think people automatically reject the character simply due to the name change. When you get right down to it, Rager's performance is dead-on for the character - he's a loud, obnoxious, in-your-face liar and a coward to boot. I think he captured the role perfectly.

Dameon Clarke (Cell - FUNimation Dub)
I haven't heard a ton of him as Cell, because I didn't see a whole lot of the Cell Saga dubbed by the time he was perfect, but I think Dameon Clarke did a fantastic Cell. There are even a couple lines I recall feeling he pulled off better than the Japanese version, which is rare coming from me. I don't think they could have cast a better guy for the role.

2-Ian Corlett (Gokou - Ocean Dub (1st VA))
Best dubbed Gokou in my opinion. Obviously, casting a female for the role in an English dub would be out of the question...it'd sound ridiculous to a western audience. However, I always thought Corlett did a great job of capturing the same spirit of Gokou during the serious times as well as the happy/goofy times. Schemmel was always too full of himself and 'in your face, I'm Gokou, I'm a big muscular awesome badass' with the role, and it always made me miss Corlett's interpretation. He was by far the best English-speaking Gokou fans could ask for.

1-Scott McNeil (Piccolo - Ocean Dub)
Call me crazy, but Scott McNeil was the best Piccolo ever. Ever. Better than Furukawa Toshio. Something about his Piccolo just always felt so... appropriate to me. I remember when I first got into the series, and Movie #1 really sold me on his role as Piccolo. I think if he had stayed on as Piccolo for the entire FUNimation dub, then in spite of all its other glaring problems, I would have been able to tolerate it.

[Super Ghost Kamikaze]

...I don't remember voice actors, for the most part. =(

But, I will drop my favorite voices in the whole series, and I'm sure someone will take it upon themselves to inform me of the names. Which I'd appreciate.

The list will count down to my favorite voice in the whole series, and I am referring to the Japanese voices.

1. Goten- Aw, so touching. I smile whenever he talks.

2. Chibi Trunks- He's like a mini-Vegeta more than like a mini-Trunks. His distinct attitude is carried PERFECTLY in his voice, and I think it's awesome.

3.Goku-His voice is just amazing, I must say. The whole time his voice expresses everything from surprise, to childish innocence, to terrible rage. That voice can go through the whole range of emotions within a minute, and I love that.

4. Gotenks- That combo-voice thing is cool and the combination of Goten's and Trunk's unique personalities works FLAWLESSLY.

5. Anoyoichi Budokai Announcer - Okay, I can't help it. Whenever Mushroom-head talks, I'm brimming. It's just the most fun voice in the whole series, I can't even place why. But he doesn't even have to say anything particularly funny for me to really just laugh my ass off. Best voice in the series? Yes!

Honorable mention: Dub Tenkaichi Budokai announcer- He obviously doesn't qualify for the above list, but he has an incredible voice and it's probably my favorite voice in the whole dub.

[Vekurotto]

5. Ryusei Nakao (Freeza)
This man made me love Freeza whereas when I was watching the dub I just hated him. The regal side of Freeza and the, "I'm from the streets Motherfucker!" side of Freeza is something I haven't seen done in other dubs since it's usually ignored completely. But the fact that this is transpired so well in the original show just made me love this guy.

4. Scott McNeil (Piccolo)
Though a little raspy I found his voice to be very realistic and calm, unlike another guy that I won't mention his name that voices Piccolo and 13 other characters. I find that he did the role very well and I prefer him soon after Furukawa performance.

3. Joji Yanami (Narrator and Kaioh)
See I loved this guy. He made Dragon Ball feel like a storybook adventure everytime his mouth opened to read lines. Very reminiscent of when your Grandpa would tell you a tale he knew from yore. And his Kaioh was as if he was a wise sage. I always had to listen to him everytime and he would not disappoint.

2. Akira Kamiya (Garlic Jr.)
Do I need to say more, this is friggin Kenshiro and Roy Fokker? Outside of roles that he does on other series this man made Garlic Jr. a legendary villain.

1. Masako Nozawa (Every voice she did particularity 16 year old Gohan and Tullece)
As if this wasn't obvious but from goofy Goku, smart and polite Gohan, cute Goten, Bastard father Bardock and Villain Tullece I don't see how I can't give it to her. She's played all of her characters in a way that I haven't seen matched in any other dub I've ever heard. I'm probably in the minority with this but I like her Gohan more than her Goku. Something I just can't place but I just loved the way she portrayed him as an cute little kid and an awkward teenager when he got older. There that I can't place but there was a very "real" feeling about her Gohan's performance. And her Tullece is just plain scary. It's her only villain role in the series and the fact that she played him so well just shows how far her range really is.