Original DragonBall dub now on in Canada

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Ok, this is what I understood....

 

DB had 13 episodes dubbed 8 years ago, heavily cut, bad music, etc., then they jumped right into Z.

 

Fast forward a few years later, DBZ is popular but running out of episodes to dub, so they start dubbing DB again. However, and this is what I understood, 1-13 were not touched due to copyright issues with Saban.

 

So, after I think about a year or two or somewhere in between of the new and (from what I hear, with original music and all) improved dub of DB airing in the US, it finally started in Canada tonight. But...

 

I have a hard time believing the episode that aired on YTV tonight was Funimation produced. It was the 1st episode, it had Goku introduce himself as Son Goku, it didn't use the usual VA's, and it included the 'panty shot' when Goku was looking for a tail on Bulma. It also has a really awful opening and theme song, but I'll look past that.

 

My questions... was this the 'Harmony Gold' dub I read about a few years back? Did this air in the US on Cartoon Network?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Goku's voice sounds like the Freeza voice from the change-over dub (right after Goku arrived on Namek).

 

I tried to watch it, but I couldn't. Bulma pissing stardust doesn't do it for me.

[JasonX 0]

Ok, this is what I understood....

 

DB had 13 episodes dubbed 8 years ago, heavily cut, bad music, etc., then they jumped right into Z.

 

Fast forward a few years later, DBZ is popular but running out of episodes to dub, so they start dubbing DB again. However, and this is what I understood, 1-13 were not touched due to copyright issues with Saban.

 

So, after I think about a year or two or somewhere in between of the new and (from what I hear, with original music and all) improved dub of DB airing in the US, it finally started in Canada tonight. But...

 

I have a hard time believing the episode that aired on YTV tonight was Funimation produced. It was the 1st episode, it had Goku introduce himself as Son Goku, it didn't use the usual VA's, and it included the 'panty shot' when Goku was looking for a tail on Bulma. It also has a really awful opening and theme song, but I'll look past that.

 

My questions... was this the 'Harmony Gold' dub I read about a few years back? Did this air in the US on Cartoon Network?

 

First off, it was Saban that was involved in the first dubbed version of DB not Harmony Gold.

 

And actually Funimation DID redub and recut the first 13 episodes when they brought Dragon Ball back onto tv about two years ago with their new cut/dub being more in line with the original version of the show and taking full advantage of Cartoon Network giving them leeway in terms of content.

 

The big problem though was that Pioneer owned the video and DVD rights to the first arc (episodes 1-13), which kept them from releasing the episodes uncut onto DVD/video. It was why they ended up starting the Dragon Ball video/DVD releases with episode 14 (the first episode of the World's Strongest Martial Arts Tournement episode) rather than at the beginning...

 

So it does indeed sound like that you watched the CN dub of Dragon Ball episode one...

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Ok, so just a few confirmation questions...

 

Does Bulma have a totally different VA for the new CN Dubs? And, did it have some really crappy cheesey opening (cheesier than the original FunI opening) that, I guess, was supposed to represent people in a movie theatre watching it (it was a bunch of neon coloured circles while "Dragon Ball" appeared on a white screen).

 

Oh, and about Harmony Gold... I know that Saban/FunI did the original 13 episodes, but, basedon what I read back on Chris Psaros' DBZ Uncensored site... I think, maybe it was Planet Namek... anyway, there was a story about a Harmony Gold dub of DB that was more faithful to the story that didn't end up airing. I wish I could remember more detials on why this was even made if it wasn't going to air, but I don't. Also suspicious was the lack of any company logo in or at the end of the credits.

 

Again, this could all be how it was on CN, I'm just confirming.

[Soja 0]

First off, it was Saban that was involved in the first dubbed version of DB not Harmony Gold.

 

Don't be so quick to correct something that isn't an error. During the '80s Harmony Gold dubbed several episodes and two of the DB movies, only to have them tank spectacularly. Still, they're the first American company to ever try, beating out FUNi by *several* years.

 

But this isn't the dub you're talking about, Doc. While the music is pretty much the same, the names of almost all the characters have been changed (Goku=Zero, Bulma=Lena, etc.). This version's also never been seen on CN. But if you're curious, you can hear clips from this lost dub and learn a bit more about it here.

 

FUNi acquired the rights to the show in '95 and Ocean Studios (the same folks who dubbed DBZ all the way to early-Freeza) recorded it in English. Things didn't pan out as planned this go-round ether, so after thirteen episodes and a movie they dumped it in favor of DBZ, which they thought might have more potential since it was heavier on action than comedy. Hell, Dragonball Z itself wasn't that big of a deal until Cartoon Network began airing it in reruns five years ago; Saban had abandoned it after its initial run.

 

It also has a really awful opening and theme song, but I'll look past that.

 

Does it talk about how you gotta get ahold of those Dragonballs, "those marvelous balls someone devised"? If it is you're watching the old FUNi dub from 1995, before the company revamped it a few years later.

 

You can pick this up on DVD too from Kidmark (you've probably seen it). Kidmark still has the eps under license from FUNi, which is why they were skipped on the DVD sets. Once that license runs out FUNi'll make them available as well.

Edited September 2, 2003 by Kagato Otaku

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Greetings from vacation!

 

Anyway, no, I am quite familiar with the 1995 FunI theme song, and this was not it. Something I didn't think about while watching this episode was the fact the credits listed Ocean Group as the VAs, but this obviously not the 1995 dub, and I was pretty sure FunI did all their recording in Texas now.

 

I've come to the conclusion, though it may be wrong, that, much the same way that after a certain episode of the dub (around the Cell Games) Canada starts getting the foreign market version of Z that Ocean dubs, we get a similar deal for DB. The only problem with that answer is the episode I watched (which is the only 'new' episode I've seen, as I've been in the US since Tuesday morning) used the word 'kill' a few times, while the Ocean Dub of DBZ that we got in Canada totally removed that dirty word and managed to make their dub script worse than FunI's (basically the same though.. Closed Captioning actually uses the FunI script, so you can see where "Kill" and such has been replaced if you're bored).