Kaio's great DBZ sub/dub comparison! (Completed!)

Okay. So I've been thinking about doing this and I've finally found some time to actually do it. I'm going through the whole of DBZ again with Funi voices and English subtitles. I'll make comparisons from every single episode and thoroughly explain why the Japanese version is better than the dub. I'll mostly talk about changed lines, but sometimes I'll talk about changed music which kills a scene.

And I'll only talk about shitty lines. Not lines that don't really mean anything, like Chi-Chi's "Gohan, dinner's ready!" being changed to "Gohan, come home!".

Please comment.

DBZ episode 1

Japanese title: "Mini-Goku is an overprotected boy! I am Gohan."
English title: "The New Threat"

General stuff:

- The farmer’s accent is crap, but since it’s just a minor character and the subtitles suggest that Japanese farmer also had some sort of accent, I won’t talk about it.

- The opening credits. In the Japanese version we have Hironobu Kageyama singing a pretty good song, which is happy and cheerful. While in the Funi version we have either Rock the Dragon or Menza’s guitar shit. Rock the Dragon is a piece of shit song with the same lyrics (that mean jack!) repeated over and over again. Menza’s guitar riff is so boring that you just want to turn the TV off. Also, there's an English Cha-La-Head-Cha-La, sung by Kageyama himself. Funi could've at least done that version.

Name changes:

Son Goku and Son Gohan are changed to Goku and Gohan. Well, pretty much everyone knows about this already.

Changed lines:

*after Piccolo fires his attack at Raditz*

Japanese Raditz wrote:

That was a worthless technique, huh? Is merely kicking up dust all it can do?

English Raditz wrote:

Impressive! You’ve actually managed to singe some of my leg hairs!

Now I doubt there’s anyone who doesn’t know this line. I have to admit this is a pretty funny line and it doesn’t clash with with Raditz’s comment in the Japanese version (both are cocky remarks), so I’m not complaining. I just wanted to mention this little classic.

Japanese Raditz wrote:

Now it’s my turn. Let me show you a sample of my techniques.

English Raditz wrote:

It’s one of my favourite attacks. I call it a Double Sunday.

Funimation apparantly likes Budokai so much that one of its attacks get mentioned. Pretty stupid line, considering the change was rather pointless. It’s better than “Watch the Birdie” though, which was what Funi called the attack before the redub.

Japanese Raditz wrote:

*silence*

English Raditz wrote:

I can still remember when we burst send you to this planet. We had high hopes for you then, Kakarot.

Okay, besides being off-screen BS, the “we had high hopes for you” line makes no sense at all. Goku’s powerlevel was 2 and Bardock didn’t even want to acknowledge him as his son. He was a 3rd class saiyan and because of that sent to a pathetic planet.

Verdict:

This episode was dubbed pretty good for an English DBZ episode. Most lines were kept as is and some were even amusing. I give this episode a 9/10, because the off screen talk is thrown throughout the whole episode (that’s why I’m not even bothering mentioning all that) and because of the contradicting dubline at the end.

DBZ episode 2

Japanese title: “The Mightiest Warrior in All of History is Goku’s Older Brother!”
[u]English title: “Reunions”

General stuff:

Some tidbits weren’t mentioned in the dub, like Raditz’s comments about Goku looking just like his father and saying that Goku could’ve killed the people of Earth in about 2 years.

Changed lines:

Japanese wrote:

Bulma:Gohan-kun, how old might you be?
Gohan: I’m four years old.

English wrote:

Bulma: Hey, Gohan, how old are you?
Gohan: Umm... four and a half!

...And so the endless discussion about Gohan’s age during the Cell Games was sparked...

Japanese wrote:

Bulma: Say, Gohan-kun, what are you going to be when you grow up?
Gohan: A great scholar!

English wrote:

Bulma: So what do you want to be when you grow up.
Gohan: An orthopedist!

WTF.

Verdict:

Not much to say about this episode. I give this episode an 8/10 for starting the Gohan’s age arguement.

DBZ episode 3

Japanese title: “All Right! This is the strongest combo in the world!”
English title: "Unlikely Alliance"

General stuff:

- In the Japanese version it’s Goku who comes up with the plan to use the Dragin Radar to track Gohan, but in the dub it’s Bulma. Whatever.

- Goku and Piccolo’s powerlevels are read as 330 and 320, while they’re actually 334 and 322. The stupidest thing about this is that Raditz read Goku as 334 only 2 episodes ago! So why start rounding off the numbers now?

- When Goku and Piccolo arrive at the battlefield there’s about 20 seconds of Raditz talking off-screen, where he was quiet in the Japanese version. I thought I’d mention this, because this is the first time the off-screen talking continues for so long.

- Unweighted Piccolo is scouted at 400 when it should actually be 408. Goku isn’t scouted at all. His actual powerlevel is 416. Goku also doesn’t mention how much his weights weigh in the subs. That’s dub only.

Changed lines:

Japanese Raditz wrote:

I know... Why don’t I let you in on something good before you die? The two other saiyans besides me who are still alive have an even higher battle power than I do!

English Raditz wrote:

Well think about this while you’re at it: your situation is even more hopeless than you realise! If you think I’m strong now, wait until you catch my stride. Truth is, I’m just getting warmed up!

This is an incredibly stupid change! Not only is the fact that Vegeta and Nappa are more powerful than Radtiz kept a secret (which made this battle even more hopeless as it is), the shocked faces of Goku and Piccolo seem extremely over-exaggerated after dub Raditz’s revelation, while it seems normal in the Japanese version.

Verdict:

This episode was kind of acceptable until the very end with the changed line. That and the fact that all the powerlevels get unneccesarily changed make give this episode a 7/10.

DBZ episode 4

Japanese title: “Piccolo’s Trump Card! Gohan, the Crybaby-kun”
English title: “Piccolo’s Plan”

General stuff:

- This episode starts off great! 30 seconds of off-screen bullshit!

- More changed dialogue to continue the dubline that started in the last episode. Sigh.

- Again the rounding off of powerlevels. Japanese Goku’s Kamehameha was scouted to go from 924 to 925. Dub Goku’s Kamehameha went from 900 to 950. Piccolo’s SBC is changed to “over a 1000” instead of 1020. Interestingly enough, the SBC is later correctly scouted as 1330 in the dub.

Name Change:

Makankosappo is changed to Special Beam Cannon. I forgot what the original attack meant. Something like Demon Piercing Lightning Wave. Pretty funny stuff.

Changed lines:

Japanese Raditz wrote:

It looks like your deaths are finally drawing near, huh?

English Raditz wrote:

Excuse me, has anyone seen my arm? You can’t miss it, it’s green!

I love this dubline. I really do.

Japanese Raditz wrote:

Damnit! These guys can manupilate their powers at will!

English Raditz wrote:

All right then, green man! Let’s see what you got!

Poor Raditz. When he finally finds out what’s going on, Funi screws him over by changing his revelation into a taunt.

=(

And here it comes people! One of the most famous dublines ever!

Japanese Piccolo wrote:

H-he avoided it! W-what kind of bastard is he, with such speed?

English Piccolo wrote:

H-he dodged it! He’s faster than th-the speed of light!

Seriously, who believes that bullcrap?

Oh yeah, I forgot. Zymemaru.

Japanese Raditz wrote:

Rot in hell!

English Raditz wrote:

DOUBLE SUNDAY!!!

I wonder if Funi is excited for Infinite World...

*after Goku lets loose of Raditz’s tail*

Japanese Piccolo wrote:

You miserable idiot!

English Piccolo wrote:

Goku, you’ve always been way too trusting!

I love Japanese Piccolo’s remark for some reason. xD

Verdict:

This episode was pretty shit. It gets a bonus point for Raditz’s epic dubline though. Not that that really saved the episode though 6/10

Pretty awesome and interesting.

DBZ episode 5

Japanese title: “Goku Dies! There’s Only One Last Chance”
English title: “Gohan’s Rage”

General stuff

- Gohan’s original powerlevel of 1307 is changed to 1370 (and rising). Almost there Funi. Almost there. >_>

- Instead of explaining why he didn’t grab Raditz’s tail again, dub Goku lectures his brother (and the kiddos of course!) that it never pays to tell a lie.

- The PL of Piccolo’s 2nd SBC is 1485. It is changed to 1440 in the dub.

- It isn’t until Raditz’s final moments that he tells that the other 2 saiyans are stronger than him in the dub.

- Nappa and Vegeta don’t even mention the saiyan-human hybrid theory. Another time where pretty important information isn’t even mentioned.

Changed lines:

Japanese Goku wrote:

Kuririn...this dying stuff.... it’s pretty... n-nasty, ain’t it?

English Goku wrote:

Krillin... Please... take care of.... G-gohan for me...

I just love Goku’s reaction to dieing. xD

Verdict:

This episode was neither good, nor bad. So I’m just going to give it a 7/10.

Nice review!

BTW, in Episode 2, dub Gohan actually says "FIVE and a half"...

Kimarous wrote:

Nice review!

BTW, in Episode 2, dub Gohan actually says "FIVE and a half"...

That's the old dub. I'm using the redub from a few years back.

*Supports topic*

=)

cool i like it

DBZ episode 6

Japanese title: “Even Yama-sama is Surprised – The Fight Continues in the Next World”
English title: “No Time Like the Present”

General stuff

- All mentions of Heaven and Hell are erased from existence in the dub.

-

Goku wrote:

It’s not kung fu though. It’s the Kame-sennin style of martial arts.

This is the ONLY time a Japanese term is used in the ENTIRE dub.

- According to the dub Snakeway is about 10,000 miles, while it should be over 1 million kilometres (which is about 450,000 miles).

Changed lines:

Nothing of importance.

Verdict:

This episode was pretty good. No stupid dubline, and an actual Japanese name is mentioned. Too bad Heaven and Hell are erased from existence. I give this episode an 8.5/10.

DBZ episode 7

Japanese title: “Survival with Dinosaurs! Gohan’s Harsh Training”
English title: “Day 1”

General stuff:

- Japanese Popo talks like a stereotype black man (“Popo don’t understand.”). It’s pretty annoying. Glad Funi changed that.

- Kami’s speech about Piccolo losing his evilness is completely changed. Japanese Kami says that Goku and Raditz’s souls didn’t drift off into space and instead just went to the Afterlife, which means Piccolo is no longer the demon of old. Dub Kami says that Piccolo loses his evil because he helped Goku save the world. WE KNOW HE DID THAT FOR HIS SELFISH REASONS THOUGH, BECAUSE HE WANTED TO CONQUER EARTH HIMSELF. So Funi is stupid. The end.

Changed lines:

Again, nothing of importance.

Verdict:

This episode would’ve been perfect if it wasn’t for the bullshit covering up of why Piccolo truly loses his evil. Major loss of points for that. 7.5.

DBZ episode 8

Japanese title: “A Great Transformation on a Moonlit Night! The Secret of Gohan’s Power”
English title: “Gohan Goes Bananas!”

General stuff:

- The dub title of this episode is really stupid and corny. Yes, I'm nitpicking.

- When Krillin explains why he never returned from Chi-Chi’s I thought he said “I got laid”. When I listened again though he said “it got late.” I don’t know why I’m telling this.

- Krillin, when forgetting Yajirobe's name, calls him Armadillo. In the dub he calls him Itchyrobe. Probably some kind of Japanese pun.

Changed lines:

NOTHING TO SEE HERE.

AGAIN.

Verdict:

Ugh... I’m forced to give this episode a 10/10, since nothing is wrong with it.

DBZ episode 9

Japanese title: “Sorry Robot-san – The Desert of Vanishing Tears”
English title: “The Strangest Robot”

General stuff:

- In the Japanese version the robot had already been in the cave for 80 years, in the dub it’s 30.

Changed lines:

Faithful episodes ftl

Verdict:

9.8/10, just to be bitchy.

Trivia:

Since I don’t have anything to tell, I’ll bore you with random info.

This episode was Masako Nozawa’s most favourite episode of all to do.

R.I.P. Mr. Robot

this is great keep it up
i just hope you enjoy rewatching these episodes

DBZ episode 10

Japanese title: “Don’t cry Gohan! His First Fight”
English title: “A New Friend”

General stuff:

- Yamcha says he’ll bat a homerun for 20,000 Zeni in the dub. Originally it was 2 million Zeni.

- Remember the 2 commentators during the baseball game? They don’t exist in the original. Basically there’s 3 mintes of off-screen talk, but since it’s executed very well, I won’t take points off.

And that’s all. Again.

Verdict:

10/10. ;_;

DBZ episode 11

Japanese title: The Saiyans, Mightiest Warriors in the Universe, Awaken!”
English title: “Terror on Arlia”

General stuff:

- This episode is completely made up of off-screen BS and changed lines. Almost NONE of the Japanese dialogue is kept. I’m not even going to bother listing it all. Just know that the only people who actually have dialogue are Vegeta, the king and the guy in the basement. Nappa, Lemuria and the rest of the Arlians almost don’t talk at all.

- Nappa goes SSJ2 for the first time in this episode.

Name changes:

- Lemuria is changed to Linlia. What? You don’t know who that is? Good. Neither do I.

- Moai is just called the Arlian king.

Changed lines:

Dub wrote:

Goku: Does this road ever end?!
Narrator: We’ll find ou on the next exciting episode of Dragonball Z!

No, we don’t.

Also, the Tien/Chaozu/Lunch episode is exciting now? I DON’T THINK SO.

Verdict:

This episode is a piece of shit. 5/10. But I don’t care because this is the ARLIA EPISODE AND IT WAS SHIT TO BEGIN WITH ANYWAY.

DBZ episode 12

Japanese title: “Catnap on the Serpentine Road – Goku Takes a Tumble”
English title: “Global Training”

General stuff

- The ogre tells Goku in the dub that he’s run only a quarter of the road now. In the original he tells him he’s halfway through. This means dub Goku has run about 2500 miles, while original Goku has run 500,000 kilometres.

Changed lines:

Japanese Lunch wrote:

He’s really got himself a hard head.

Dub Lunch wrote:

Doesn’t he know it’s an offer he can’t refuse?!

Even the Dragonball world knows of the presence of Don Vito.

Verdict

This exciting episode gets a 9/10.

DBZ episode 13

Japanese title: “Hands Off! Yama-sama’s Secret Fruit”
English title: “Goz and Mez”

General stuff

- Let’s just start with a lesson. In this episode Goku is in HELL. The letters on the ogres’ shirts says HELL. HELL is where every evil soul goes to in the anime. Goku is not in HFIL. The ogres’ shirts do not say HFIL. The underworld in the DBZ anime is not called HFIL. HFIL is not an official term, even though Funi still mentions it in their translations of the games. But it is wrong. This is HELL, not HFIL. Kthnx.

- Even though it’s said right on their shirts, hell is never mentioned in the dub.

- The dub title for this episode is wrong. It should be called “Piccolo and Vegeta”. Because they SOUND EXACTLY LIKE THOSE TWO. Sabat and his giant ego need to GTFO.

- In the dub the fruit doesn’t make you hungry for 3 months. In the original it doesn’t make you hungry for 100 days AND your strength is boosted.

Changed lines:

Meh. Nothing really special.

Verdict

7/10. We want hell and we don’t want moar Chris Sabat!

DBZ episode 14

[u]Japanese title: “Such Swe~et Temptation! The Snake Princess-sama’s Hospitality”
English title: “Princess Snake”

General stuff:

- In the original it’s been nearly 500 years since Yemma visited Snake, in the dub it’s 1000 years.

- That woman that plays Russian Roulette doesn't actually mention she's playing Russian Roulette (she mentions it in the original), she just calls it a game of chance.

Changed lines:

Narrator wrote:

But the ogres made him an offer he can’t refuse!

Okay, this is just stupid. HOW MANY TIMES ARE THEY GOING TO SAY THIS!?

Verdict:

9/10.

Entertaining.

oshi-

Forgot to update about 5 eps here.