Why Funimation's First DBZ Dub is Over 9000 (2024)

There is an art to creating an excellent dub and not all dubs are created equal. There are many anime fans out there who outright refuse to watch dubs. While it can seem a little elitist, it is also understandable considering how many bad dubs there are floating about. There is a lot of back and forth about the topic of dubbing, but it cannot be said that the art of creating a good dub has improved by quite a lot in the last thirty years. The early days of small dubbing companies working in a basement in Texas are gone and becoming a dub voice actor is a lot more of an on-demand career than it once was.

Dragon Ball Z was one of the dubs that paved the way for the stark increase in quality when it comes to the dubbing industry. As Funimation's first dubbing job, it was a hefty lift. It would have been a big task for a larger company, but Funimation managed to turn it into something that has stuck with multiple generations of English-speaking audiences. Funimation did make a few different changes to the overall story, however, for better or for worse — but it is these choices that had a major impact on the franchise going forward.

How Did Funimation Get Into Dubbing Anyway, And Why Were There Changes At All?

Funimation has a pretty interesting origin story as it relates to the Dragon Ball franchise. In the '90s, Toei Animation was starting to shop around for a way to get a foothold for the series in America. Nagafumi Hori, a producer for Toei, approached his America-based nephew, Gen Fukunaga, with an opportunity. If Fukunaga could start a company for distribution and raise the funds, Hori would license the Dragon Ball rights to him for American distribution. Fukunaga met with co-worker Daniel Cocanougher to get his investment and that was how Funimation Productions was born in 1994. At first, they collaborated with other dubbing companies like Ocean Studios and Saban Entertainment before going their own way as a result of the show not gaining traction at first. After a few aborted attempts, Cartoon Network picked up Dragon Ball Z for the Toonami programming block. This rocketed the company to success as an American anime distributor. Of course, success does not come without sacrifice or change and there were a lot of changes made to make the franchise ready for distribution in 1990s America.

Obviously, there is a major difference between dubs from the '90s and the dubs of today. When anime was starting to pick up steam in the United States, there was a lot of debate over how to bring it over. A lot of anime has content that, in America, would not be considered appropriate for the same demographic that shōnen is targeted at in Japan. There are mentions of death (sidestepped by saying things like "sent to the next dimension"), shots of blood and light gore, and even some minor sexual situations that would have been far more PG-13 in the '90s than there are now. Most of this wouldn't phase most people now, but the '90s was a different time. That was the era of the 4Kids dub, the awkward phrasing and much lighter content being part and parcel of the industry at the time. This also affected things like localization, with the "donuts" of Pokémon being a great example of how utterly strange that got in places. The theme song was also replaced, giving the world "Rock The Dragon" and getting that earworm stuck in people's minds for generations to come.

Dragon Ball Z had a lot of changes in its initial dubs and the Funimation dub is no exception. One of the biggest changes came in the episodes themselves. Several of the earlier episodes were actually hacked to pieces and stitched back together to expedite storytelling. The first sixty-seven episodes of the series were condensed into fifty-three, which ripped apart Gohan's early training arc and left a lot of information on the cutting room floor. Fukunaga is often criticized for his role in the editing, but it was the initial distributor, Saban Entertainment, who pushed for those changes, or they would not air the series. There was also added information, such as Vegeta claiming that Goku's father was "an average warrior, but a brilliant scientist!" This would be proven patently false later on, but it was a detail that does not exist in the original Japanese. There were a lot of things changed, like names and attack titles. All of this was ultimately done in the name of localization and ended up sticking heavily.

What Was the Funimation DBZ Dub's Impact on American Audiences?

Dragon Ball Z is, in many ways, a tale of two interpretations. There is the original Japanese story and then there is the lens through which Funimation funneled it to initial American audiences. Granted, some of these things have been changed with the existence of Dragon Ball Z: Kai, but a lot of things did not change that much. For example, Piccolo's Makankosappo is still the Special Beam Cannon in the current dubs. A lot of this is because of the sheer impact of the first dub that Funimation ever made. The "Over 9000" meme still exists for a good reason, and it is all because of the Funimation dub.

There are a lot of pieces from this dub that people still quote, and that the American fanbase still refers to. The Destructo Disk and Mr. Satan initially referred to as Hercule are great examples. In a lot of ways, the Funimation team took something truly beloved and made something all their own as well. This is due in no small part to the fact that the team at Funimation genuinely loved the series and were doing their absolute best to work within the confines they had to deal with due to the era. While some can point to the changes and turn their noses up at the idea of the dub's canon status, not many changes feel intrusive and that comes from a love and understanding of the series. This is the series that allowed Funimation to dub Yu Yu Hakusho and several other amazing series. Dragon Ball Z opened the door for the boom that anime saw in the '00s and made it much easier for future dubs to stay true to their originals — although not always. The creativity that came with this dub gave a little permission for things to get more tongue-in-cheek in places, and that is one of the best impacts of the franchise.

Dragon Ball Z is an international success in part due to this dub. Chris Sabbat and Sean Schemmel are pillars of anime dubbing history, and Justin Cook is incredibly respected for his work on and in the series as well. The franchise is beloved worldwide with the ending of Dragon Ball Super being broadcast in stadiums in Latin America. Goku has a balloon in the Thanksgiving Day Parade and multiple rap songs reference the show. Even different athletes point to the characters as inspiration in the NBA and NFL. It was also one of the first introductions that younger audiences had to serialized storytelling in America, as most cartoons were entirely episodic. It is almost impossible to point to all the different ways in which the franchise has impacted the world, and so much of that impact comes from the weird little changes that the Funimation dub made.

Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball tells the tale of a young warrior by the name of Son Goku, a young peculiar boy with a tail who embarks on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when, once all 7 are gathered, grant any wish of choice.

Created by

Akira Toriyama

First Film

Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies

Latest Film

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

First TV Show

Dragon Ball

Latest TV Show

Dragon Ball DAIMA

Upcoming TV Shows

First Episode Air Date

April 26, 1989

Cast

Sean Schemmel , Laura Bailey , Brian Drummond , Christopher Sabat , Scott McNeil

Current Series

Dragon Ball Super

Summary

Dragon Ball is the labor of writer/illustrator Akira Toriyama, beginning with Dragon Ball back in 1984. The series originally started as a serialized manga back in Weekly Shonen Jump for nearly a decade until it expanded into the anime franchises it is most known for today. Dragon Ball was later adapted into two animes, with one being Dragon Ball Z, the most universally known series in the entire Dragon Ball canon. The franchise has continued to expand lore via films, video games, and additional sequel TV series, such as the more recent Dragon Ball Super and Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Dragon Ball centers mostly around Son Goku, a being known as a Saiyan, and his friends as they face off against intergalactic threats and seek out the titular dragon balls. When all seven of these balls are collected, they can be used to summon a legendary dragon that can grant the wishes of whoever so gathers them. The Dragon Ball franchise continues to be one of the most well-known and beloved animes of all time, with over forty different countries airing it, and has had a tremendous impact on Western culture as a whole.