dbz - english or japanese ver?

[DeMiSe]

Well, my mate's watching the English version, he said that it's better - better sound and they made the series more interesting.

So please vote and if you can describe your opinion and the differences between the 2 versions, because I don't know which one I should get.

 

[Ultimate 17]

I've heard from some that the Japanese version has more content than the American vers. FUNimation cuts some of the 'unneccessary' stuff out of the original. I don't think it affects understanding what is going on at all during each saga, but I would like to know WHAT is being cut. Perhaps gorely fights scenes or maybe they just cut out alot of the BS chit-chat to keep things moving with action.

In any case, I think they only thing Japanese episodes do better than American ones is show the emotions of the characters better. I've watched a subtitled episode once and they say a few swear words. Not needed of course, but it describes their emotions better.

 

[Evil_Trunks]

Personally, it's a hard decision. Almost with any other anime, I would immediately say the japanese version. But with DBZ, I started watching it with the Funi version and never really watched a lot of the japanese version.

But I'm sure if I were to watch all 291 ep of the japanese version I would like that better. Only because Funi cut out almost 20 episodes worth of material. But my vote goes to the english version.

And I don't want to see any DBZ flaming in here. We all know DBZ isn't the best anime out there, but this poll has nothing to do with how much you hate DBZ. So I suggest not even posting if it's going to just be a flame.

 

[Vegeta]

There are 2 versions of Dragonball Z dubbed in English.

FUNimation and Ocean Studios were the companies dubbing Dragonball Z, here in the United States. The series began with Ocean Studios, then a few members of the Ocean Studios Corporation left and formed FUNimation, or so I've read. FUNimation is a more dominant dubbing corporation, in my opinion. The voices, sounds, music, in all honestly, sound a whole lot better than Ocean Studios. I also read that FUNimation sent scripts to the Ocean Studios corporation, that is in Canada. Supposedly, FUNimation ended up getting more money than Ocean Studios, so FUNimation decided to help the Ocean Studios corporation, by feeding them papers.

There are a few reasons to which I believe FUNimation is a better dubbing corporation than Ocean Studios, 1) FUNimation made more money right off the bat after 2 months of selling their copies. 2) They gathered enough money to make a video game; Budokai. 3) So many fans lead them to think there should be a Dragonball Z Live Action movie created, which I believe is already being made.(But people lie! :] ) 4) It is already obvious that FUNimation is a more efficient company, they take time in their work.

FUNimation is great company, I really think they're good at dubbing, not only have they dubbed Dragonball Z, but they have dubbed many other animes. YuYu Hakusho, Lupin the 3rd, Dragonball--along with others.

The voices in Dragonball Z (FUNimation) are great, Christopher Sabat is one of FUNimation's voice actors. FUNimation made alot of money in their history of dubbing Dragonball Z.

However, I still think the Japanese version is great. Some of the voices are rather plain, but the dialogue is much better. The Japanese version also contains cursing, and more violence. (Not that, that's a good thing. o_o) But it's just better seeing the show fully uncut.

 

[Skiwan]

Japanese is the best, no question about it. The voices are much better acted, and fit the characters well, the english is awful, not saying whats really happening and bull**** that isnt needed. Certain things are different because the english version was changed for kids who cant understand whats happening, like the androids were actually kidnapped as children and gero experimented on them and turned them into 17 and 18, thats why they rebelled against them, as soon as they got the chance. There are hundreds of little changes the english version made, it even changed the target audience, which was stupid. There is less blabbing in the jap version, all the flash backs and crap are usually added by funi, lets put it like this, one episode, super buu has just absorbed vegito, in english dub, he goes into a city and eats some cakes, in jap version he goes and destroys a city..... its crap like that that makes me hate the english anime.... ALL the annoying parts in the english version arent in the japanese version, plus there is swearing in the jap version (more realistic if your getting all your ribs broken your not likely to to say "ow! darn it!") Plus things arent cut, like when people get their limbs cut off, or broken, or decapitated, some of the just regular fighting is cut as well, i remember seing one fight between buu and gohan in english, and in jap, and the jap was faster and more flowing....
Of course non of them compare to the manga, because of the top notch illustration that toriyama maintains, it all look stunning, and there is more information and no stupid babble that isnt needed..... So i say Jap all the way, unless you have a problem with sub titles. The english version has butchered dbz, and given it a bad reputation.

BTW, Budokai was developed from the japanese version not funianimation... i dont like funi because they are a big company that dont care about their fans and just want money, thats why they dont put as much effort into communicating the story in the correct way, because they know that most of the western world regards anime as cartoons, and therefore they changed the target audience from 14-20 to 6-15.

 

[Pain]

i dont know where people get off saying that japanese voice acting was better. i can understand saying that they dont have anything cut out and blah blah blah. but the voice acting for the japanese version... SUCKED. Goku sounds like a 3 year old boy. I cannot for the life of me understand why you would want a grown man, the most powerful man in the universe, to sound like an infant. Vegeta's japanese voice is hard to distinguish from a bass cord. its so freaking low for a man of his size its just unreal. Gohan has the same problem as Goku. Piccolo has the same problem as Vegeta. I believe the english voice actors fit extremly well. All of the main characters have voices that fit them well.

as for the cutting and all that... yea that sucks. but funimation doesnt want to get the pants sued off of them for showing gokus penis to a 6 year old boy. same story for limb dismemberment and cursing.

English is the superior.

 

[GMan]

Well Goku and all of his offspring were voiced by the same woman. Many of the characters were done by women. Why for Goku, though? Because he was supposed to be innocent and childish.

 

[Engar]

Very few people realise the extent of the cutting that English DBZ recieves. Here's an example..

During the Saiyan Saga, after Choutzu's sacrifice.

Japanese Version:

Tien stands, dazed, and thinks about Choutzu. It flashes between the fight with Krillen, Piccolo and Nappa to scenes of Tien and Choutzu sparring and talking. All the while theres an incredibly sad tune playing in the background. Finally, at the end of the flashbacks, Tien decides that he cant live without his lifelong friend. He powers up and releases his final attack in a last ditch effort to take Nappa with him..

English Version:

Tien: "All right! Looks like this 3-eyed cowboy is back in the saddle. And he's going for one.. last.. ride!"

Tien unleashes his final attack on Nappa and dies.

I dont think I have to point out how merciless a cut this is, we barely see anything of Tien in the series and you could get a completely different view of him from the English version.

 

[Vegeta]

Agreed. Back in the first season of the American version, there were atleast 2-3 scenes cut out per episode. Unecessary cutting of scenes and dialogue altering. They changed dialogue to fit a child's view.

Nappa destroyed some helicopters that were hovering above the battle field.

Tien: "It's ok, I see their parachutes!!"

Yes, you see parachutes attached to dead bodies.

They were killed in the explosion...

i dont like funi because they are a big company that dont care about their fans and just want money, thats why they dont put as much effort into communicating the story in the correct way, because they know that most of the western world regards anime as cartoons, and therefore they changed the target audience from 14-20 to 6-15.

True, but when the show was originally brought to America by Pioneer(Ocean Studios), it was ranging from 6-15 already, I honestly think it was Ocean that altered the show to fit a younger audience in the first place. Review the first season; Saiyan Saga. It will become pretty clear that the show is fit for children. FUNimation just took over on the Namek Saga, yet they're both the same company. They just choose to use different names and are located in 2 different states. Ocean Studios was also finished with the series 1 1/2 months before FUNimation finished. You're right, the show overall is basically a children's show. Ever since the anime was brought to America it has become very, very dull.

 

[KarrdeKNR]

Which is my problem with it all together I don't like DBZ, don't like the concept, haven't seen more than 1 episode. Something about Picolo wailing on an android or something. Anyway, I can't really comment on VAs or anything, but I can state a few things.

1. Cutting is unacceptable. Yeah, it's probably Ocean's fault, but it really screwed up Torimaya's vision. I always say if you can't dub it as is and still market it to your target group without pissing of parents, don't do it. It's all about selling out I suppose and destroying the creator's intent.

2. Bad dubbing: Americans seem obsessed with fitting mouth movements too well. For the most part, the Japanese don't worry about it so much. Hence, we get the weird broken speech.

3. Changing the music: While no crticism of Bruce Falconer et. al, they did a great job, I still thhink it's unacceptable to replace the music, even if it ends up with japanese lyrics in an english show. A lot of the music was written for the show specifically, and is designed to fit certain scenes or types of action. It should not be altered. No reason to do it. God, look what Tokyo Pop did to Initial D for example.

4. Changing names: While sometimes less important, this is a pet peeve of mine. I can't stand it. This falls under a few of the above categories. If you can't call him Mr. Satan, then why bother with the rest of the show? If a name's a big problem, chances are everything else will be too. They seriously need to leave those things alone.

Now, I don't want this to look like a tirade against dubbing. I love a good dub. Problem is that shows like Cowboy Bebop, Miyazaki movies, Last Exile, etc. are few and far between.

-Karrde-

 

[Skiwan]

i know what people mean about goku's voice in the jap version, but toriyama himself says that its exactly how he pictured goku sounding, and out of all the different voices in the english dubs, the one that fits him best is the higher pitched funi version. So it may be that people dont like the jap vesion just because it does go against the stereotypes that we have of all strong men being extremely manly growly voiced eg: wolverine. The japanese voices were a lot better acted imo, because it was animated for japanese language, and they hired highly regarded actors. Take a look at naruto, there wont be a better voice acter as naruto than the original japanese actor, this is because the animators animate the characters to suit their voice, like vegeta is a stern bold character so the animator will use expressions to suit his tone of voice. I believe that the japanese version gives so much more feeling and atmosphere to the show, where as when i watch an english dub it feels so awkwardly done, because they can express the situation in the correct way. I cannot stand some of the english episodes just because of such bad scripting, the japanese worked closely with the manga which means they had a good basis for their script, while the english dubs use scripts which are very loosely translated, so it is almost a 3rd translation, from manga to japanese to english, every time you translate something you inevitable loose some of the meaning and thats what happens when you watch an english dub. Some times instead of the story being the main focus of the script, in the english version they decide to tell you dozens of times the most obvious things that have just happend, this is to explain to children who dont know whats happening, you will know what i mean if you have a young brother/sister/niece/nephew, because when they watch things on TV and they often ask questions about why this and that is happening. These kind of edits make more serious anime watchers turn away from DBZ, because it is made more childish and drawn out, people dont see the character development or the atmostphere build up, which are vital things in a story.

 

[Judge]

I think the japanese one is better, simply because thats the original.

but to be honest, the music on the english DBZ ownz the japanese one. like when neo goes SSJ3, that song just ownz

so tough choice, but I went for japanese one.

 

[Phatslugga]

I've never watched the entire Japanese version (just a few episodes), but the english one was allright. Everyone can tell that it's been watered down for kids, but not that badly, the general Idea gets through. I thought it was great, certainly not the best, but most people won't even give it a chance becuase it was cut a bit. The Japanese version was probably better, but that doesn't make the english version a pile of crap.

I still like the english voice acting much more. I hate the way Goku and Vegeta both sound in the Japanese version, just my opinion. I think they sound great in the American Dub. The music was much better in the american version.

Also, Budokai was developed by the japanese version? Who exactly is the Japanese version. I was fairly sure that Funimation and Infogrames developed it. If it was developed by toriyama, it wouldn't have been so ridiculously childish, the storyline was INCINERATED, there is no other word.. it was just incinerated. The storyline in Budokai could be used as a childrens fairy tale that a teacher could put their children to sleep with right after snack time in kindergarten.

 

[Vegeta]

Also, Budokai was developed by the japanese version? Who exactly is the Japanese version. I was fairly sure that Funimation and Infogrames developed it. If it was developed by toriyama, it wouldn't have been so ridiculously childish, the storyline was INCINERATED, there is no other word.. it was just incinerated. The storyline in Budokai could be used as a childrens fairy tale that a teacher could put their children to sleep with right after snack time in kindergarten.

I'm pretty sure that the English made it too. I clearly remember reading that Toriyama gave us rights to create it.

 

[Ultimate 17]

Well, DBZ in the US was done for ONE REASON. $$$$$. They direct it towards little kids who watch it, then go out and buy the t-shirts, action figures, lunch boxes, etc. They probably expected some ridicule from the more mature viewing audiance, but I doubt the thought of changing what they had lasted for a second when they remembered "Oh we are making TONS of $ from an anime we didn't create and only modified it for our financial needs." If they were going to make it for the older audiance, they wouldn't see nearly a dime from merchandise sales (atleast i hope not-- none of you ages 13 and up should be owning dbz memorabilia-- how childish and a waste of $). Besides, its not like its FUN's fault for modifying the show... TV viewer ratings would NEVER allow some of the things that were in the original anime to be presented on national tv.

 

[Skiwan]

"Also, Budokai was developed by the japanese version? Who exactly is the Japanese version. I was fairly sure that Funimation and Infogrames developed it"
Erm, it came out in japan at least 6 months before europe (europe got a jap dub) and almost a year before the usa, it was developed in japan, by Ban Dai as well, ban dai did all previous dbz games, nowhere in the manual or on the box of my budokai is there anything to do with funi......

 

[Vegeta]

My manuel for Budokai 2 says "FUNimation Productions, Ltd.", along with an Atari emblem on the right side. I guess it's Atari. :S

 

[Skiwan]

i was talking about budokai 1 the uk version, but i got my budokai 2 out as well. it says nowhere funi, in the copyrights part it says the following:

(c) 1989 Bird studio/Shueinsha, Toei Animation
(c) Bandai 2003

Thats all the copyright info, Toei animation is the original animation company that made DBZ, it seems that the US version decided to put funi on it.

 

[Vegeta]

Heh, I guess so. That's weird, it only says FUNimation on the US version.

Mine doesn't say Toei Animation or Bandai anywhere. *shrug* The only thing FUNimation actually did was dub the game.

Hey, David, do you have the UK voices on your version of Budokai?

 

[Skiwan]

no its all funimation...... thats really weird, i dont get it.....