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By Kiadi
Editorials really seem like a popular thing around
the net these days, especially among DBZ fans. I’ve
read hundreds of them, criticizing and complimenting
left and right and always trying to explain why Dragon
Ball Z is such a great show. But most especially, they
try to explain why FUNimation is or isn’t doing
a great job dubbing it. I decided I’m going to
add my less-than-humble opinion to the debate. I’ve
been a hard-core fan of Dragon Ball Z for over three
years now, and an Anime fan for more than ten. I’ve
seen hundreds of episodes in Japanese and hundreds of
episodes of FUNimation’s Version. I own a couple
of Fan Subs, and I’m fortunate enough to have the
International Channel. I also own every video that FUNimation
has ever released regarding Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball
Z, and have often had to scrounge and save my money
in order to get them. Does this surprise you? I’ve
seen more episodes of the Japanese version than I can
count; yet, I still spend money on the FUNimation dub?
Why? Why would I bend over backward to get what many
consider to be an "inferior" version of DBZ?
Simple: I did not fall in love with DBZ because of the
Animation. I did not fall in love with DBZ because of
the Music. I did not fall in love with DBZ because of
the Censorship, Dialogue, or Voice Actors. I fell in
love with Dragon Ball Z because of the STORY! When I
saw my first episode of DBZ, I told my brother I didn’t
like it. "It’s just a bunch of guys with Galaxy
Destroying Power beating each other up." Those
were my exact words. However, as I continued to watch
the show, I became fascinated by the characters. I was
moved by the relationship between Gohan and Piccolo
and the character development taking place there. I
laughed at the jokes and humor displayed throughout
the story, and I found myself at the edge of my seat,
biting my nails when the battle for the Earth began.
And while watching it, I can assure you that I wasn’t
paying attention to the Music or the Voice Acting. I
could tell it was heavily Censored but I didn’t
care! The feel of the show is what made me an avid fan.
And it is these same feelings that I try to capture
when I write my fanfics, and I’ve often been complimented
for it. I then began watching the Majin Buu episodes,
which a friend of mine recorded while in Japan. The
episodes were in Japanese, with no subtitles, so I had
a hard time understanding what they were saying. I noticed
minor differences between the FUNimation version and
Toei’s original version, but the feelings, intensity,
and quality of the story WERE THE SAME! I love my Japanese
episodes, but I still consider myself to be a proud
dubby fan, always have and, most likely, always will.
(By the way, just for the record, a dubby is NOT simply
a "newbie" to Anime. They are the people who
prefer the dub to the subtitled anime, as opposed to
the subby who prefer subtitled anime to dubbed anime.
Believe me, I’ve been part of the "Subbies
vs. Dubbies" argument for longer than I’ve
been a DBZ fan.) Often times, people write articles
regarding FUNimation, writing editorials predicting
the company’s downfall, only to scratch their heads
in wonderment as DBZ’s popularity continues to
increase! That’s because the majority of the fans
feel as I do: The Voices, Music, and Editing do not
matter! They are not the elements that make Dragon Ball
such a great show! It is still Akira Toriyama’s
original characters and story, and that is all it needs
to be the most popular series in the world.
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kiadi@dbzmail.com Kiadi's Character Page
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