FUNimation Dragon Ball English Dub (1995)
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| Dragon Ball | |||
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Title Screen  Production Credits  "Dragon Ball" Series Title | |||
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| Original Run | September 1995 – December 1995 | ||
| Broadcast | Local syndication affiliates | ||
| Production |
FUNimation BLT Productions Dick & Roger's Sound Studio SeaGull Entertainment, Inc. | ||
| Episodes | 13 + 1 (List of Episodes) | ||
| Main Staff | |||
| Music |
Peter Berring (music) Brian Griffith (lyrics) | ||
FUNimation's first stab at an English dub of the Dragon Ball television series debuted in September 1995 spanning 13 edited, English-dub-only episodes airing over the course of a single syndicated television broadcast season on local network affiliates. This was accompanied by a widely-distributed home video release of the franchise's first theatrical film — released under the title "Curse of the Blood Rubies" — the following year, alongside VHS releases of the same 13 television episodes as-is from their television broadcast.
This era is often referred to as the "BLT dub" or "Ocean dub" or "Kidmark dub", confusing various partners of the time and obfuscating the ultimate ownership and production by FUNimation themselves.
Plot
TBD
History
Early FUNimation & Initial Production Work
Alongside the company's founding in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, Cindy Brennan Fukunaga, and Daniel Cocanougher, FUNimation obtained the license to distribute the Dragon Ball franchise in North America by way of a family connection[1]: Gen Fukunaga's uncle, Nagafumi Hori, a producer at Toei[2].
FUNimation produced an English dub of the first theatrical Dragon Ball film under the title "Curse of the Blood Rubie" [sic] that same year in 1994.[3] Though this version did not see wide release[note 1], it set the basis for their future production of the franchise, including the usage of the Vancouver cast and Peter Berring for the replacement musical score.
Continuing onward from their 1994 test production, FUNimation teamed with other established players in the field for a debut fall 1995 season of thirteen television series episodes, including:
- a writing team under Cliff MacGillivray
- direction by Michael Donovan
- voice casting headed by Gary Chalk
- music by Griffiths, Gibson, & Ramsay Productions (later "GGRP Sound")
- post-production by BLT Productions
- final mixing by Dick and Roger's Sound Studio
Fall 1995 Syndication Broadcast
Broadcast began in September 1995 with syndication handled by SeaGull Entertainment, Inc. Due to the logistics of syndicated broadcast distribution and established programming blocks, local affiliates airing Dragon Ball ranged from (TBD: look up networks), with the show typically airing (TBD: look up timeslots). The series ran through to completion by that December, and continued airing in repeats into the new calendar year.
FUNimation planned for at least another 13 episodes (taking them to the end of the 21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai) for the fall 1996-1997 season[4][5]; plans shifted along the way due to a "combination of factors"[6], and the company instead pivoted to work on the Dragon Ball Z television series for a debut broadcast in fall 1996. The single season of Dragon Ball continued to rebroadcast in repeats into fall 1996 as different local network affiliates acquired different aspects of FUNimation's product base.
Home Video Releases
FUNimation produced a home video release in conjunction with Kidmark (an imprint of Trimark), releasing the 13 episodes over six VHS volumes, along with an additional VHS release of the full "Curse of the Blood Rubies" film, itself now adjusted from its original 1994 version (losing many of the Harmony Gold naming holdovers in the process). The VHS volumes slowly released over the span of September 1996 to July 1998.
A complete VHS box set (containing all six TV series volumes and the film) titled "The Saga of Goku" was released in 1998, followed by a corresponding two-disc DVD box set 24 October 2000.
Re-dubs
Due to the Kidmark sub-license (and similar to a situation FUNimation had with Pioneer and their first two syndication broadcast seasons of Dragon Ball Z), an uncut, redubbed, bilingual version of those 13 Dragon Ball episodes and first film could not be produced and released in North America directly by FUNimation themselves. Despite this limitation, FUNimation produced a redub of the first 13 episodes, which began airing on Cartoon Network's "Toonami" block as part of a full 28-episode "debut season". Though initially announced to begin on June 25[7], the episodes ultimately debuted on August 20, 2001[8][9]. This included a full redub of the initial 13 episodes, now with the local Texas cast instead of the original Canadian cast, and with the original musical score by Shunsuke Kikuchi. It was these re-dubbed episodes that aired and repeated on Cartoon Network in the meantime over the subsequent span of years. FUNimation continued onward from here, completing the rest of the full 153-episode television series in this format.
Due to the technicalities of FUNimation's sub-license with Kidmark being strictly for the North American audience, FUNimation's Australian partner Madman Entertainment released their own "The Saga of Goku" DVD box set 10 March 2004. This set, while mirrored the style of FUNimation's two-disc DVD sets of the era, contained the uncut version of the re-dubbed first 13 episodes, as well as the original edited version of "Curse of the Blood Rubies" (as no other version yet existed).
The Kidmark sub-license — later absorbed into the larger Lionsgate Films ownership — appears to have expired sometime around 2009[note 2], which provided FUNimation with the opportunity to begin re-releasing the Dragon Ball television series on home video, including their own in-house re-dub of the first thirteen episodes[10], beginning with a "Season One" five-disc DVD box set 15 September 2009.
This was followed by a re-release of the first Dragon Ball theatrical film — still under the title Curse of the Blood Rubies — but now featuring a new, uncut, English dub alongside the original Japanese version of the film for the first time in North America.[11]
Main Staff
- Produced By: FUNimation Productions Inc.
- Executive Producers: Gen Fukunaga, Cindy Brennan Fukunaga
- Producers: Daniel Cocanougher, Barry Watson
- Story Editors: Cliff MacGillivray, Christopher Neel
- Writers: Christopher Neel, Terry Klassen, Barry Watson, Ian Corlett
- Audio: Dick & Rogers Sound Studio, Vancouver, B.C.
- Voice Director: Michael Donovan, Doug Parker
- Voices: Ted Cole, Jim Conrad, Don Brown, Ian Corlett, Michael Donovan, Saffron Henderson, Lalania Lindbjerg, Kathy Morse, Doug Parker, Teryl Rothery, Andrea Libman, Alec Willows, Dave "Squatch" Ward, etc.
- English Reversioning: Josanne B. Lovick Productions Inc.
- Post Production: Gastown Post, FUNimation Productions Inc.
- Music: Peter Berring, Griffiths, Gibson, & Ramsay Productions
- Title Design: Barry Backus
- Version Editors: Byron Watson, Patrick Carroll, Daniel Cocanougher
- Animation Design: Brian Farmer
- Animation Paint Editing: Brian Farmer, Byron Watson
Products
Television Episodes
Theatrical Film Adaptations
Home Video
Introduction. VHS. Later "Saga of Goku" sets on both VHS and DVD.
Theme Songs
Opening Theme
- "Main Title" (a.k.a. "Get That Dragon Ball!") (Episodes 1-13)
Ending Theme
- "End Title"
Notes
- ↑ The VHS produced here was likely sent out to distributors and other potential partners in order to gauge and build interest in FUNimation's forthcoming production of the Dragon Ball series.
- ↑ We at Kanzenshuu (then still Daizenshuu EX) coincidentally contacted Lionsgate in April 2009 to inquire about the status of their sub-license for home video distribution of the original Dragon Ball series. We were referred to their legal department, who declined to share any information, stating such things were, "...confidential and cannot be used for a website." Oh well. We found out anyway.
- ↑ Though "Kamehameha" is misspelled in the episode's actual title card, it is spelled correctly on the home video releases' listed titles and episode descriptions.
- ↑ Though "Rabbit's" is not given the proper possessive form in the episode's actual title card, it is spelled correctly on the home video releases' listed titles and episode descriptions.
References
- ↑ "Mr. Gen Fukunaga - Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering - Purdue University". Purdue University. Retrieved: 10 March 2022.
- ↑ "Dragon Ball Z Blu-ray Live Interview w/ Gen Fukunaga, Matt O'Hara, & Chris Sabat" (06 October 2011). YouTube. Retrieved: 10 March 2022.
- ↑ "A Different Missing Link: From Zero to Goku (Again)" (28 May 2020). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 10 March 2022.
- ↑ "Spotlight – Dragon Ball Overview". Protoculture Addicts, November/December 1995: Issue 37. America: (TBD). (pp. 18-19)
Kanzenshuu Press Archive: Protoculture Addicts "Dragon Ball Synopses" - ↑ "Spotlight – Dragon Ball Synopses". Protoculture Addicts, November/December 1995: Issue 37. America: (TBD). (pp. 22-24)
Kanzenshuu Press Archive: Protoculture Addicts "Dragon Ball Synopses" - ↑ "Take Ten With FUNimation". Animerica, November 1996: Volume 4, Issue 11. America: (Viz). (pp. 7, 18)
Kanzenshuu Press Archive: Animerica "Take Ten With FUNimation" - ↑ "Cartoon Network Schedules New Dragonball" (02 May 2001). Anime News Network. Retrieved: 20 July 2021.
- ↑ "Cartoon Network Schedules New Dragonball" (07 August 2001). Anime Nation. Retrieved: 20 July 2021.
- ↑ "New Dub vs. Old Dub: The Comparison! (episode 1)" (20 August 2001). alt.fan.dragonball. Retrieved: 20 July 2021.
- ↑ "FUNimation To Release New DB Set With Episodes 1-13?" (11 June 2009). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 10 March 2022.
- ↑ "First Dragon Ball Movie Finally Seeing Uncut English Release?" (14 April 2010). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 10 March 2022.
External Links
- TBD
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