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In the year or so that I have seen Dragonball Z, I have seen and heard many opinions of the show and of how FUNimation has butchered it -- according to most people. In this years time I have had time to think of the things I like and dislike about the American version. Upon pondering this question, I found that there is a happy (well maybe not happy) medium. I found that there were far too many stupid and ridiculous errors in the show. Well here is my take on the subject.....
First, I'd like to address the voice issues. I'll admit that Freeza's voice SUCKS!!! I mean what the hell is that?!? How could FUNimation allow the all-powerful Freeza's voice to be that tainted??!! Well anyhoo, another that bothers me -- Vegeta. I personally like Vegeta's voice. It sounds corny sometimes...but rarely. What bothers me is that so many people HATE his voice. To me, he is a sinister SOB. His lines are pretty nifty and funny at times. The VA seems to bring out that cocky, arrogant, Saiyan attitude (sorry about American spelling...I'm lazy). That is how I know Vegeta. The Japanese voice just does not do it for me anymore. He is probably my favorite voice next to Ian as Goku. Speaking of Goku, I was shocked and horrified when Ian Corlett's crisp voice turned into the surfer voice of Peter Kelamis. I mean I was thinking that maybe something was wrong with my television....I guess not though. Well it sucked I can tell you that much. Another thing....why do many of the lesser characters have better voices than the main characters? The world may never know. Take Zarbon's voice for instance.....Is his voice not da bomb or what? It has that Australian flair to it. He is the man. Another cool sub character is Jees. That Scottish voice is funny and cool. It reminds me of Braveheart. Those voices are so much better than say Gohan and or Krillin. Why is that??? Well enough of that.
Next the censoring issue. I do have a little sympathy (but not much) toward the censoring. But, being an avid critic, I think that the censoring was way too heavy. It is so heavy that it takes away from the natural flow of the show. I, and probably everyone else in the world, would like nothing better than to watch the series in its entirety. But, thanks to Saban, that is not going to happen. Well maybe the third season will be better because Saban won't be at the reigns of FUNimation anymore (thank God!).Now to the real points. A lot of the censoring in the series is pointless. They'll censor some one being hit in the face then turn right around and show an equally or more violent blow to the body. I don't understand. And true to what has been said on Dragonball Z Uncensored, many of the lines and ideas of the series have been mistranslated - terribly. Some of the lines are just.....UUUgghhhhhh YUCK! Then again, some lines work well at certain times with certain characters. Take for example the "Next Dimension" phrase. Granted the first time I heard this I was like.....what?? Why can't they just say DIE? I heard it coming from Krillin (I think?). It was the gayest line I had heard yet. Then, later I heard it from Vegeta.....it has a different feel altogether. The VA for Vegeta had turned the line into something that is a little on the ominous side. Still, other than the few instances where Vegeta says it, I would rather have DIE instead. Other lines are just plain stupid and insult the intelligence of viewers. I am shocked that such things where allowed to be run. Now on the other hand I can see why some of the more violent scenes where edited and censored. I would not exactly want a 5-6 year old to turn on Cartoon Network to watch Scooby - Doo only to see Radditz's chest with a huge hole in it and blood covering the ground instead. So I do see the point. But, I still think that the censoring was way too heavy. You see more violence on the Animaniacs, Simpsons, and South Park than you do in American DBZ. So, with all these other violent shows and violent movies and video games, Why not let DBZ be shown the way it was supposed to?
Finally, I recently became the proud owner of movies 2 and 3. I was thinking to myself that they would probably suck just like the TV movies and the series. Boy,... was I shocked! The movies are uncut! When I first bought them, I had looked at the labels and saw : UNCUT UNCENSORED. Well being a pessimist, I did not believe it. BIG MISTAKE. I was impressed by the sound, colors, and uncut material. I loved them. The only complaints that I had were Peter Kelamis as Goku and the fact Tales really had no background. Still, though, I like the Japanese versions better. What I really want is for FUNimation and Pioneer to re-release the first two seasons onto tape...UNCUT UNCENSORED. I'm sure that is a long shot. Well I'm just waiting for the Third season to come (like the other million or so others). That is all for now!
- Vincent Watkins |
   
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