Current Events > ''I don't like Goku's grandma voice in the Japanese version''

(+) Yeah! (+)

Which is fine, you're free to like what you want to like.

I'm just confused by this critique because it's relatively new to me. I've never seen so many people make this a deal breaker before. I assume people only use this critique against the Japanese version because they started DB at a much later time with the dub but they deny that as well, telling me they started DB long before it got super duper popular here in America. I dunno if they're lion or not because how could this all of a sudden be an issue? The sub version always had Goku sounding like that. In fact it's a bit of an Anime trope to have the main character sound like a child for all of his life. So even if you aren't new to Goku sounding like a kid, you can't possibly be new to the trope.

So lemme ask yall this. Has Goku sounding like a kid ALWAYS been an issue? Is it an issue with other Animes where the main character sounds like a kid as well?

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Masako is vastly superior to schemmel's garbage "acting"
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MarthGoomba posted...

Masako is vastly superior to schemmel's garbage "acting"

I agree but then again I can see that I have bias because I started on the Japanese version so obviously I would prefer it to the dub.

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It's weird how they completely change his personality for the dub.

Dub: I am Son Goku, bringer of justice end to all that is evil. It is my goal to be the strongest warrior in the universe.

Sub: haha me goku. I like eat and fight.

That being said I like japanese goku more.

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I have always preferred dubs because I have never liked the sound of Japanese in general.

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I want to watch all of DB, never have

Maybe still will on hulu. But would prefer dub as I don't like reading for tv lol. If I want to read I'd rather read a book

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I grew up with the English VA, but I was never a hardcore fan or anything. I prefer the Japanese Goku these days, but I generally prefer sub over dub anyway.

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I don't like Japanese adult Goku's voice (I do respect the actress)

Gohan and Krillin also have high voices despite being adult men and I just don't like it. Same with Naruto and Luffy. These are just opinions though. All these franchises still make their money with or without it.

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Lol Japanese Goku is complete trash

pretending sub goku is good is just weeb contrarianism

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Tactical_Spork posted...

pretending sub goku is good is just weeb contrarianism

Couldnt have said it better myself

Let's not oppress what we like on others please.

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DavidZ2844 posted...

Lol Japanese Goku is complete trash

Tactical_Spork posted...

pretending sub goku is good is just weeb contrarianism

its awful , I mean its your opinion but most , if not all will agree its bad

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Goku's Grandma voice is Goku. The American dub is not Goku. It is a different character which is not as good.

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OmegaPillow posted...

its awful , I mean its your opinion but most , if not all will agree its bad

Disagree. From my 20 years experience on this websight, I'd say people prefer what they simply started with first. If you started with the subs then you're gonna prefer and tolerate it and vice versa with the dub. I'm not sure why people are unwilling to admit this.

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LivingLegend posted...

Who thought it would be a good idea for an elderly woman with a squeaky mouse voice to voice the main character who is a man?

This isn't new and isn't exclusive to DBZ which is part of the point of this topic.

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IShall_Run_Amok posted...

Goku's Grandma voice is Goku. The American dub is not Goku. It is a different character which is not as good.

I get being loyal to the VA's but people grow up and their voices change. It's weird seeing a 40 year old dude sound like he did when he was 12.

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IShall_Run_Amok posted...

Goku's Grandma voice is Goku. The American dub is not Goku. It is a different character which is not as good.

Tactical_Spork posted...

weeb contrarianism

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I've heard the grandma Goku complaint for at least the past 10 years. I chalk it up to the sub being more readily available.

Anyway, I dislike grandma Goku but JP Frieza is fantastic and makes any episode 10x better. His haughty laugh and attitude is much better conveyed in the JP version.

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I started with the Japanese version on the international channel in the 90s and I have always vastly preferred his English voice while recognizing that the Japanese voice actress is a legend who does her job very well. It just doesn't fit a buff grown man. I also don't like how Krillin's JP voice makes him sound like a kid (again, while recognizing the talent of the voice actor).

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Veggeta X posted...

I assume people only use this critique against the Japanese version because they started DB at a much later time with the dub but they deny that as well, telling me they started DB long before it got super duper popular here in America.

What does starting later have to do with preference, and why would you assume they started later anyway? Average user is a millenial American, which means they caught DB on Toonami when they were ~10.

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EnvoyOfTheLight posted...

What does starting later have to do with preference, and why would you assume they started later anyway? Average user is a millenial American, which means they caught DB on Toonami when they were ~10.

Because if you started with on Toonami then you would simply prefer it over anything else.

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Masako worked for Kid Goku. Outside of that, no. The sub is barely watchable thanks to her.


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KStateKing17 posted...

I get being loyal to the VA's but people grow up and their voices change. It's weird seeing a 40 year old dude sound like he did when he was 12.

It would be weird if 40 year old Goku didn't sound like...well, Goku. It isn't done out of loyalty, it's done because the audience of the show recognizes that voice as the character in the cartoon. Nobody wanted to Goku to sound like a character who isn't Goku, so he remains Goku and whoever replaces Masako Nozawa will also, doubtlessly, sound like Goku.

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LivingLegend posted...

1. Yes, it is new to people who watched the show with English dub... The only way an American would have found the Japanese dub is... Hell.. I dont even know where an American would obtain Japanese dubs from... eBay?
2. Most Americans who watched DBZ arent even fans of anime... Most DBZ fans I know have never really watched any other anime except for ones that maybe aired on Toonami like Naruto.

Back in the day, you had one friend with major connections who imported this stuff and loaned VHS rips, or you were lucky enough to have one anime-loaded store nearby. I got lucky with having a local Dark Horse Comics.

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LivingLegend posted...

Yes, it is new to people who watched the show with English dub... The only way an American would have found the Japanese dub is... Hell.. I dont even know where an American would obtain Japanese dubs from... eBay?

As you can see, some people take offense being accused of being newer to DB so they're unwilling to admit it.

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The personality of the sub Goku is better but Goku is this tall hulk of a dude who sounds like a child. I want his voice to match.

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Veggeta X posted...

Because if you started with on Toonami then you would simply prefer it over anything else.

I get that, but what does "starting at a much later time" have to do with it? You were literally infant when DBZ made it stateside on DIC.

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InhumaneRaider posted...

Masako worked for Kid Goku. Outside of that, no. The sub is barely watchable thanks to her.

Have you always felt this way and other Animes where the main character sounds like a kid?

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Veggeta X posted...

Have you always felt this way and other Animes where the main character sounds like a kid?

Yes. A 20-40 years old man, shouldn't sound like a 10-year-old. Eren's from AOT in Sub is how you properly age a character.

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EnvoyOfTheLight posted...

I get that, but what does "starting at a much later time" have to do with it? You were literally infant when DBZ made it stateside on DIC.

Starting much later falls in line with liking or starting on Toonami or the dubbed version. You started the show only when it was available to you therefore you prefer that version and anything else sounds weird and not to your liking.

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Which one sounds more menacing for a 40-year old man?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWgkEXqUs7o

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InhumaneRaider posted...

Yes. A 20-40 years old man, shouldn't sound like a 10-year-old. Eren's from AOT in Sub is how you properly age a character.

What about Luffy and Naruto? Do you hate their Japanese voice all the same as Goku's?

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LivingLegend posted...

Compare your own voice to when you were 8 years old.

You sound completely fucking different unless you chopped your balls off before puberty.

Even womens voices change as they grow into adults.

I don't care. I have a feeling that 10 year old Japanese boys in the 80s and early 90s didn't care either.

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I4NRulez posted...

The personality of the sub Goku is better but Goku is this tall hulk of a dude who sounds like a child. I want his voice to match.

I think JP Goku's voice fits considering he's supposed to be a battle hungry dumb fuck with brain damage and not Superman like the dub turned him into.

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I just listened to it. Oof

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Veggeta X posted...

What about Luffy and Naruto? Do you hate their Japanese voice all the same as Goku's?

Naruto sounds nowhere near as young as he did, in both Shippuden and Boruto. I've never heard Luffy's voice as I don't watch One Piece.

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Veggeta X posted...

Starting much later falls in line with liking or starting on Toonami or the dubbed version. You started the show only when it was available to you therefore you prefer that version and anything else sounds weird and not to your liking.

I get your point, but the description of "much later" just doesn't make sense in relation to the point. It's not "later' when you could not have possibly come across an earlier version, due to not existing yet. I mean, DIC's version came out when you were in diapers - you came to the sub at a later date.

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Grew up on the dub, but the original is better. I get why they made the change, but it doesnt feel needed anymore.

Best Goku is dub Kai Goku. Schemmel no longer sounds like the talentless fuck he was in the 90s, and the script much more closely resembles the OG script, all with the benefit of not having some meathead thug sound like he simultaneously ate a tank of helium and smoked 100 cigarettes

EnvoyOfTheLight posted...

I get your point, but the description of "much later" just doesn't make sense in relation to the point. It's not "later' when you could not have possibly come across an earlier version, due to not existing yet. I mean, DIC's version came out when you were in diapers - you came to the sub at a later date.

Do you not see that you're the ONLY one understanding it this way? You always tell me I'm the one who can't properly say shit right but you really need to look in a mirror and maybe understand that it can possibly be YOU.

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InhumaneRaider posted...

Naruto sounds nowhere near as young as he did, in both Shippuden and Boruto

In this comparison, DB Kid Goku doesn't sound like DBZ Adult Goku either.

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Holy_Cloud105 posted...

I think JP Goku's voice fits considering he's supposed to be a battle hungry dumb fuck with brain damage and not Superman like the dub turned him into.

Furthermore, the actress gives him an accent and speaking patterns which identifies him as basically an unintentionally rude country bumpkin from a specific part of the country. He's a silly redneck regional man-boy, and that's the Goku that the audience he was intended for fell in love with.

The English dubs don't really bother trying to capture anything like that, because they aren't really interested in the innate humor of the character and, perhaps accurately, don't think that such a character would be popular with their intended audience.

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IShall_Run_Amok posted...

Furthermore, the actress gives him an accent and speaking patterns which identifies him as basically an unintentionally rude country bumpkin from a specific part of the country. He's a silly redneck regional man-boy, and that's the Goku that the audience he was intended for fell in love with.

The English dubs don't really bother trying to capture anything like that, because they aren't really interested in the innate humor of the character and, perhaps accurately, don't think that such a character would be popular with their intended audience.

The dub later tried peppering in some colloquialisms but it doesn't convey the same yokel-ness by any means

I did actually start the american dubbed version fairly late, and I am not tiger, leopard, cheetah, panther, etc. about it.
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Veggeta X posted...

Do you not see that you're the ONLY one understanding it this way? You always tell me I'm the one who can't properly say shit right but you really need to look in a mirror and maybe understand that it can possibly be YOU.

As always, I am open to being corrected. What about my observations are incorrect?

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