Analyzing Son Goku's Original and Made-Up Accent in Dragon Ball

[@hirobhya]

I want this old lady to live long, healthy, and happy.

[@Medachod]

Getting that wish for sure. She's been going real strong.

[@1346528000]

She also voices the entire Son family, Bardock, and Turles. And she speaks regular Japanese for everyone except Goku9. For Bardock it's normal Japanese, for Turles she speaks in a calm yet aggressive manner. And for Goku Black she speaks in a monotone.

[@ayakuweb]

Very true. I wanted to get more into Nozawa voicing the Son family, but I felt like my video would have deviated away from the main topic. But maybe I will talk about it in a future video.

[@KairuHakubi]

I was told her Gohan speaks very eloquently

[@metal87power]

Rural accent fits Goku perfectly. He is a country boy.

[@fightrudyfight5799]

I love that I share a birthday with her. She’s brought so much smiles and happiness with Goku’s voice.

[@ayakuweb]

That's awesome!

[@michaelwillerjr]

What’s so crazy is half of funimation VA’s are from Texas. There southern accent are heavy in their early recordings of DBZ

[@Thecolorgreen]

I always found that shift in pronouns for his original transformation interesting, too. I'm by no means a fluent speaker, so many of the other minutiae of Goku's speech during that battle were lost on me until just now. I've seen his speech patterns described as being "hick-like," stemming from his early childhood with Grandpa Gohan. I interpreted his "ora" as a reflection of how he's still child-like and innocent at heart, so the impoliteness of it doesn't really occur or matter to him. In turn, the change to "ore" against Freeza comes off like he's *deliberately* assertive and menacing.

[@vivienjoly7617]

Excellent video, i didn't know goku had an accent, i'm sure nozawa did this because Goku lived in the moutains with his grandpa, a quite rural place to live

[@ayakuweb]

Speaking of Nozawa, I wanted to talk about her background and how she grew up in Gunma Prefectute, a very mountainous area, like Goku... but I forgot

[@SonGojit456]

@@ayakuweb Really?

[@unromanoarecareanaveragero8275]

I love Sean Schemmel’s performace, but Nozawa is next level. Thanks for this analysis.

[@ayakuweb]

Thanks for watching and for your comment!

[@robertlafrance9974]

Same

[@RubensBarrichello.]

She can't compete with Sean's screams but yeah her 'voice' acting is phenomenal

[@telephantasm4070]

You love his stupid voice cracks?

[@MrKillRoy14]

@@telephantasm4070 Both voice actors/actresses are amazing and do an amazing job. If you don't speak Japanese then you may not appreciate Nozawa to their fullest and vice versa with English and Sean Schemmel. The pointlessness of asking who is better is such a silly question. They literally don't speak the same language or have the same nuances to their voices.

[@PosthumanHeresy]

5:15 Tbf, I wouldn't say Goku Black sounding like SSJ4 is really an issue. SSJ4 originally brought back the hyperlethal mindset.

[@edit4310]

its wrong anyway, sean is far more elegant with goku black, and takes notes from early sabbat, adopting a pseudo british accent. interesting ayaku missed that

[@ayakuweb]

@@edit4310 Thanks for watching. I will rewatch the series. English isnt my first language (I still attend conversation classes) so sometimes I cant catch all the nuances of the voice. But I hope you learned about the Japanese nuances!

[@Taima]

@@ayakuweb I also came here to comment about what you said regarding his performance. I found it amusingly ironic that you were aware of subtleties of Nozawa but not Schemmel, but not being a native English speaker is a good reason why, just as the majority of English speakers don't know anything about Nozawa's delivery. But yeah, Schemmel definitely is not the same with ssj4 and Black. Yes, black takes on a lower, more sinister tone, but much of that mid range of Goku can be present when he's talking at a normal volume (as opposed to quietly to himself/under his breath). SSJ4 Goku is much rougher and even deeper. If you check out Sparking Zero, it seems like he goes even deeper with ssj4 than I remember. One of my favorite things about Sean's performance besides his raw ability was how he took it upon himself to introduce some variance in his voice with certain forms, specifically ssj3, ssj4 and SSB. They're all similar in that they're lower and rougher, yet different. Schemmel joked about how he felt like he backed himself into a corner with the game because of how he wanted to make sure he delivered different forms differently but thanks to Daman Mills (Frieza since Ayres passed away) who also directed for the game, he was able to keep track of the lines and deliver basically all of them like he wanted to. Hilariously, there's one kamehameha, his instant transmission ability in the game where he says "kamehameha!" in the most high pitched, jovial base Goku tone, but that's just one glaring stand out.

[@CapNemoSan]

Hi! I absolutely loved this video. I'm one of the many Mexican Dragon Ball fans. And when the Dragon Ball Super manga was first published, it was only available to us in English. So I decided to give it a go and it really caught my attention how Goku, at least in the Viz Media adaptation, speaks using a lot of contractions and slang (he's not the only one tho, I believe Master Roshi does that as well). That's something that is not present in the Mexican/Latin-Spanish dub. So I've wondered if Goku also has an accent in Japanese ever since (I'd heard DB in Japanese before, but not knowing the language, I never noticed the difference). And here I am. I don't think I would've ever understood Goku's speech pattern as well as I did if it wasn't for this video. And even less so its importance within the story itself and even to the Japanese people. Goku's voice actor in Spanish changed for the 23rd Martial Arts Tournament and no one batted an eye (the original voice actress has stuck around voicing Gohan and currently Goten). But it was always so weird to me how Goku's Japanese voice always remained the same. Now I understand why. Great work! Looking forward to devouring the rest of your channel's content!

[@ayakuweb]

Thank you so much for watching! I have yet to finish reading the Viz media translations but so far I like what I've read so far.

[@SomeoneElse-]

Very interesting stuff. I did know about the peculiarities, but I didn't knew Nozawa created them. I always assumed she was going for some rural dialectic or something. Picking up on the "ai" sound being changed to "ee" was a satisfying discovery for me, figured it out through "dee-jobu" lmao. I even learned some new words through "Goku-go" - when Goku is farming radishes with Chichi, he says "ora tachi tsukutta dee-kon da" (radishes we made/planted/grew), it made me laugh and think "then I guess radish in Japanese must be dai-kon". It really annoys me that a big portion of the fanbase disregards and even disrespects Goku's Japanese voice, because it makes the character so much richer imo. Nozawa is probably my favourite voice actor too.

[@Val-gv3vu]

Thank you so much for this!!!!This is a topic that I have been obsessed with for a while now and I've been wanting to see someone make an in-depth analysis of it.I yelled in excitement when I saw the thumbnail.

[@ayakuweb]

Thanks for watching! I might do another video where I go in depth with his accent. Or where I examine five or more examples of some of his famous lines in Japanese

[@Val-gv3vu]

@@ayakuwebYeah do that!!! His line ［おす！オラ悟空！］has alot of meaning behind it

[@mechajay3358]

1:53 Goku and Star Platinum: "ORA!"🤝

[@JodaroKujo]

Hell yeah

[@shawnsouth327]

Goku’s manner of speaking does change in the English dub when he first becomes a super Saiyan but it’s his entire word choice then pronouns

[@shirosatsuma4946]

So this is no different from sean giving black a british accent when he transforms 😂

[@ayakuweb]

I did not know this lol Ive only heard some of his Goku Black portrayal here and there but Im guessing Sean Schemmel did a British voice for a few episodes only?

[@shirosatsuma4946]

@@ayakuweb and video games

[@WolfXGamerful]

@@ayakuweb The initial idea was that base Goku Black would speak in a gruff, raspy voice with a hint of superiority and poshness. Then, when he transforms into Rosé, the British accent takes over and makes him sound like a Goku that cares way too much about the million dollar diamond ring he's about to get dirty when he starts fighting. I assume it was to represent Goku's nature waning as Black got stronger. So in other words Rosé sounds like him clearing his throat in the dub. I recommend listening to him in FighterZ.

[@Switchell2]

@@ayakuweb the first time Sean voiced Black was in Xenoverse 2 (I think) where he was given literally no voice direction or told anything about Black. He just kinda had to assume what Black was like based on the dialogue he was given. He only learned what Black's personality was like *after* Xenoverse 2 came out, so he kept the gruff voice for base form Black to stay consistent with the games, but changed to the "more refined" voice for Rosé to better reflect what Zamasu is actually like. I noticed the gruff voice is much less pronounced in Sparking Zero, so not sure if that's him trying to course correct, or if it's another case of poor voice direction for the games lol.

[@awsomeboy360]

That is interesting. I wonder how many non Japanese speakers notice Goku's Japanese country accent? I guess it's a stylistic choice that Nozawa took for the character, fitting quite well in the process. Though, admittedly, it would be weird if Goku had a country accent for the English dub. Perhaps a slight one if they wanted to capture the Nozawa appoarch? Mmm

[@ayakuweb]

If I wanted to capture Nozawa's portrayl for an English dub, Id probably combine multiple English accents heard from around the world. Not just the usual Southern Drawl

[@awsomeboy360]

@@ayakuweb At that point it wouldn't make any sense. The southern accent merely is there to indicate his country-like, simplistiic diction for the Japanese. Similiarly a good localization would make his speaking style match that in terms of showing that he is from the country, naive, and not at all city-like via his diction, etc. "Combined English accents heard from around the world" is quite ambiguous since that can mean anything.

[@RUNNEbytheinternet]

@@awsomeboy360 Goku is self taught in his diction.

[@awsomeboy360]

@@RUNNEbytheinternet He probably got some help by Chi-Chi in his adult years.

[@ssjsal2159]

@@awsomeboy360it’s said that chichi also has a thick accent. Even more so than goku

[@olliehearton]

I've seen English speaking fans debate how to bring Goku's style of speech into English. An interesting idea that stuck out to me was having the actor drop any uses of the g sound from ing suffixes, using ain't instead of aren't, and just having Goku talk in a less refined manner of speech for a lack of better terminology.

[@FrancisTheBerd]

Just make him appalachian

[@fangiscool1]

Really difficult to translate to English. He talks like someone ill-refined and who doesn't give af brought to a fictional, exaggerated level. A rural American accent isn't really a great match, but maybe the closest america has. I don't think america has anything close to the way he speaks. Dropping g and saying ain't is southern, not ill-refined necessarily. Japan has dialects, not accents, so the whole idea of translating to an accent is inherently flawed.

[@FrancisTheBerd]

@fangiscool1 The US has got dialects aswell

[@BionAvastar3000]

@@fangiscool1 It would be more like Goku speaking Cajun

[@fangiscool1]

@FrancisTheBerd correct, but the dialects (generally) come with accents. Japanese all pronounce sounds the same. It's only the words said that change

[@weirdface1846]

she is goku, nobody can replace her

[@Mat7920H]

No other language has captured a unique dialect parallel to that of Goku in the Japanese dub. I've seen the Cantonese dub as well, but just like in the English version, he speaks in a standard dialect.

[@Miraihi]

It's possible, but no one is going to give the translation stream enough time and budget to make something this fancy. And you need a similarly creative and skilled voice actor. Anyway, my point is that no one really ever tried.

[@CropDudia480p]

loved this video. i wish dub watchers understood how important Nozawa and Goku's way of speaking is to his character

[@stickinthemudd4533]

I love this, pleaseee make more videos on subjects like this and your shin kamen rider video, its so interesting!!

[@ayakuweb]

Thanks so much for watching! I really appreciate hearing comments this like.

[@kaminari-Ife]

I gotta say that I never really thought of Goku Black sounding like Super Saiyan 4, he sounds more refined and proper if anything

[@YoungBank83]

Yeah super saiyan

[@Supremepie]

Enjoy the video? I freaking love it! Lol. I always knew Japanese dub of Goku had a thick accent. I just assumed it was a country accent, but I never knew that it went this deep. Really appreciate the analysis.

[@LochNessHamster]

I think it's a little unfair to say that Schemmel's Goku Black is just his SSJ4 voice. It's definitely similar, but Sean puts a lot of smarmy, regal sounding contempt in his deliveries, which suits the character. I actually didn't realize it was him voicing Black until like halfway through the first episode that he's in.

[@SkunkFarmer420]

Fantastic video my friend!

[@MechanizationStudio]

Well, chichi also has strong accent, is that also a madeup accent? I remember I really liked the pronoun of the main character of shadow skill, she says atai instead of the more popular watashi or atashi and I thought it was very cool.

[@ayakuweb]

Thank you for your comment. Chichi uses "nashite" and "nda" in her sentences and of course, the "-sa" (as opposed to "-san) honorific. I guess it's very Tohoku-like

[@MechanizationStudio]

@@ayakuweb Aaah, alisa from tekken7 also says nashite in her win pose

[@LinkinMark1994]

that sounds pretty cute

[@SolidShepard]

Id argue sean actually does a good job of demonstrating changes in demeanor. His gokus voice gets calmer, slower, deeper, and more deliberate with each transformation, and as you mentioned with goku black as well. Id also argue the whole accent change thing is what he was going for with Rose having a british like accent. Seans goku in general also has a vastly different voice between easygoing goku and serious goku. Normally his gokus voice is very flamboyant and rounded. His serious voice is lower and more sharp. Note, im not saying hes better than nozawa or even as good as her. Im merely stating that for a dub VA, he does an amazing job.

[@ayakuweb]

Thank you for your comment. And I agree. I haven't fully watched any of the Dragon Ball series in English, but I can see why a lot of people enjoy Sean Schemmel's portrayal of Goku. I grew up with Nozawa so of course I'm biased and will watch the Japanese dub, but I have nothing against the English dub.

[@SolidShepard]

@@ayakuweb you should give it a watch, if nothing else for complete understandings sake. I myself have seen dbz, dbs, and dbgt all in both funi dub and jp sub. I also watched the ocean dub from saiyan saga to right before goku gets healed against frieza. Id suggest saying away from ocean if you are a jp first fan, as it is where the "goku being japanese superman" stuff comes from. I've also read the entire series manga.

[@windandfireproductions5358]

​@SolidShepard the goku "being japanese superman" is in the funimation dubs too

[@SolidShepard]

@windandfireproductions5358 yes it is, but it's not nearly as aggregious as the ocean dub. And tbf to the funi dub, they had no help from Toei with their original dub, and changed it in future iterations. I personally do prefer watching the original however, because I do like the more heroic goku and prefer the falconer score. But I would never suggest it to others as it's not really accurate to toriyamas original vision.

[@JodaroKujo]

Goku: ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA…ILL BE THE ONE FRIEZA TO BE THE JUDGE

[@AarturoSc]

Even listening to her (Adult) Gohan voice and Goku voice mixed up without seeing who’s talking at any given time I can tell them apart. Her Gohan is very proper, very polite and with a little hint of innocence, while her Goku is very careless and very “rural” sounding. Kinda like Chichi and how she sounds like a country bumpkin.

[@KairuHakubi]

fascinating stuff. I am JUST knowledegable enough about this to be able to pick out kansai-ben when I hear it. the subtleties, no way.

[@lovesgibson]

She really is the greatest. Sad for people who’ve only ever watched the English dub

[@AarturoSc]

That’s why people think Goku is this Superman-like character rather than his own.

[@minicle426]

You mean, people who don't live in Japan or pirate torrents on the Internet? Because options are rather limited. Especially back in the 90s.

[@lovesgibson]

@@minicle426 no… I mean nowadays. Crunchyroll. It’s easier than every to watch dragonball/z in all original Japanese version.

[@mathematics557]

Such a beautiful spirit she has, may god cherish her many blessings 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾💙💙💙

[@YUENDAI]

Note that the only other character that use "ORA" is Chichi. Now, there is something in the manga that can't be transcribed in the anime : the use of Katakana. For exemple there are some names that usually use kanji that have a meaning (like Kami-sama means God. In the manga, other characters use the kanjis for such names, but Goku use Katakana because for him, it's more a name than a title (this happens when he first meet him, and not during the 23rd tournament).

[@notafraidofchange]

Why katakana instead of hiragana? I thought the former was for foreign loan words, whereas the latter for native words.

[@YUENDAI]

@ yes it’s for foreign words... and foreign names. Here Toriyama choose to use katakana when Goku talks about kamisama because to him it’s a name. Later on he uses kanjis.

[@MisterPeckingOrder]

I always thought Goku’s cadence and delivery stood out whenever I caught the original production. Very interesting

[@CJ-BZ]

That accent, enunciation and dialect also helps differentiate between Nozawa’s Goku and Gohan. Gohan uses japanese “polite speech” and honorifics while Goku just talks like bumpkin unless forced otherwise 😂

[@minicle426]

Her Goku Black voice is the same one she used for Dukemon in Digimon Tamers.

[@HeyItsMeGoku-wh4fn]

The English Dub watchers will never gonna understand this lol that's why they are hella confused about Goku's character lol

[@Jockandballin]

Can you imagine goku having a Cajun accent

[@hypo-critical7527]

Goku wants to kill Freeza properly

[@Cħairier]

0:05 WHAT DID HE SAY

[@SonGojit456]

In Tamil He sounds like a Dude from Kodambakkam.

[@JKSmith-qs2ii]

Love her as Goku, only true Goku in my eyes.

[@rod9527]

Chichi also has a country like accent, theyre truly bumpkins ❤️

[@brometheus4509]

It's just so funny to imagine how Goku probably sounds to Japanese people how Boomhauer sounds to us.

[@tengoodquestions]

definitely learned some new bits

[@Switchell2]

So what you're saying is JP Goku's voice is the equivalent of how Megamind pronounces things like Metrocity?

[@Basil_o_brouzos]

What's funny is that actually happened to a real language (where the ai became ee). In ancient greek the words that contained (αι) like παις would have been pronounced like pais. But in modern greek the same word παιδι is pronounced peedi

[@soulbade-x9709]

To be fair, Masako Nozawa also uses a similar tone when she voices Ssj4 Goku and Goku Black.

[@smilingsaru5927]

I just subbed, your channel is amazing! One thing, i kept pausing to keep up with the information you were giving, maybe try to give us viewers a few seconds more in your edits to grasp it. You are obviously well versed in japanese but i would have liked to hear the verses one more time before moving on to the next scene.

[@ayakuweb]

@@smilingsaru5927 Thanks for watching! I'll keep that in mind next time

[@joelanderson4899]

@@ayakuweb To offer an alternate data point, I enjoyed the video's brevity. I would rather the pace be brisk. I didn't have to pause to keep up with the information

[@ayakuweb]

@@joelanderson4899 Thanks for your comment! I'm glad you enjoyed it despite myself sounding hasty to explain things.

[@therealsheldonjplankton]

Is Sean Schemmel even trying when he tried to voice Black?

[@raphaelpaulo75]

Does anybody now the name of the song that starts at 0:45?

[@justkon1789]

I’ve been meaning to figure out why Goku says Ora in the Japanese manga

[@bubby-fi9mc]

5:16 I personally don’t even agree with this comparison other than the fact the voices sound gruffer. Black sounds a lot longer and elegant than SSJ4, which is more forceful and pointed in his speech.

[@randyb.9143]

Honestly felt like a better comparison would've been Sean's half of Vegito. I mean I draw that comparison based on the lines I've heard in DBFZ at least.

[@fatpurp4041]

I’d love to see a dub where goku speaks in a southern accent or something

[@lavender317]

It really would make a whole lot more sense if Goku had a country accent in English and used a lot of slang and contractions to get across a more unique manner of speaking Also Black really needed that British accent

[@phaidreo]

5:20 he did great video!!

[@1346528000]

Ohh 1000 likes congrats XD.

[@daisukegori2112]

Ware wa is like the royal we.

[@tuber420]

When Nozawa dies, it's gonna be a terrible day

[@TheDeathmail]

So it's not just hick talk, but a unique mixed accent....

[@Shroobi]

Goku Black does sound different from Super Saiyan 4, he sounds a bit British for some reason

[@bowlofcereal4701]

As a Tennesseean, I am disapoointed to see this accent did not carry over to the US dub.

[@sir.vintago]

Look into ssj4; Very honed....

[@StEvUgnIn]

Very interesting.

[@painebatke9144]

Ora Gokū.

[@omenxxg]

Goku Black in English does not sound like Super Saiyan 4 to me 🤣

[@tkl7443]

It's close enough to me. Both low voiced and menacing. While there are some minor differences, the approach is the same. SSJ4 does sound a bit scruffier sometimes, but both voices are low enough and are within the same range.

[@WolfXGamerful]

@@tkl7443 Yeah I agree. If I had to make a scale from deepest to highest in pitch, it's like SSJ4 Goku -> Black -> SSJ3 Goku -> Nail -> SSJB Goku -> SSJ Goku -> Serious Goku -> Normal Z Goku -> Teen Goku (23rd tournament) -> Failed Gogeta/King Kai His initial voice for Black was probably _the_ gruffest voice he's done for DB. He changed it pretty quickly tho.

[@evelynlamoy8483]

Petition to get DBZ re-released with a country bumpkin accent no matter what country it's dubbed into.

[@nospeedboundaries]

Is the Voice when ginyu takes over Goku’s body different in japanese?

[@ayakuweb]

@@nospeedboundaries Yeah Goku and Ginyu's respective voices carried over to each other's body when they switched.

[@ChibiSteak]

5:29 fin.

[@pasalasaga]

How would it sound in english?

[@EIDiabeetus]

Have adapted it into English when tackling it myself. With AI did a test to hear what it'd straight up sound like in English. I normally make his grammar less eloquent and try to have him mispronounce the words he does in Japanese. If you're curious what it might sound like if 1:1: kzbin.infoG8kWG9L0sOE?si=veXO-ED0H0BiiQlB

[@joelanderson4899]

interesting

[@rafaelvillamor9702]

What????? Goku's voice in Jap is a Lady? OMG

[@ayakuweb]

Yep, a lot of voice actresses in Japan voice mail characters. Likd Junko Takeuchi as Naruto or Megumi Ogata as Kurama from Yu Yu Hakusho

[@dwainsimmons3447]

Yes

[@BeatEngine-qr7if]

Goku’d Japanese accent is as made up as Vegeta’s English one

[@saadsami8860]

Goku vers is canon

[@SolidShepard]

What exactly is normal sounding american English?

[@acegameravery9488]

Normal english is the way you usually see people speak.

[@TK-is7re]

"ja nai" does not have the same meaning as "ja ne"..the "ne" implies a request or a command whereas "nai" is more of a negative statement ? and also wouldn't that be a made up "dialect" rather than an accent ? Sincerely asking!

[@kilan4978]

this plus other nuances are why I could never watch the Dragon Ball Dub, no hate to the english voices or those who prefer it, but things are lost in translation that can never be experienced unless by the original media

[@awsomeboy360]

TO be fair the English dub cannot capture that nuance the same way (nor do the vast majority of sub watchers even know that Goku even has an acccent unless you're people watching this video or really interesting in the technicalities) and has its own form of nuances as well. At the end of the day, you want the actors to do their own interpretation instead of following the Japanese completely. Even Nozawa, she could of easily done something more like the manga in neutral Japanese accent but made Goku more of her own unique thing. In essense there's multiple ways to make Goku feel like Goku as long as it retains the core aspect of him. That accent happens to be one of them. I'm sure Nozawa would agree as she dislikes how some Japanese voice actors copy each other at times.

[@ayakuweb]

I'm glad the English dub exists for accessibility reasons. It did help introduce the English speaking world to Dragon Ball, and because of that, the series continues to strive.

[@ayakuweb]

I agree. Akira Toriyama picked Masako Nozawa as Goku, and I'm sure it's because of her portrayal of Goku, that the character himself sticks out more than other Shonen heroes.

[@awsomeboy360]

@urbanyouths Nah, there's no point since Goku can sound naive in different ways without an accent. Sean already did it in Super. The accent is a stylilistic thing, it's not entirely required. And Goku is already established as a character without it in English. You can make him sound naive, etc in plenty of ways. And No, Goku talking like Cartman would be kinda dumb.

[@awsomeboy360]

@urbanyouths I've read the manga multiple times, watched the anime multiple times. Goku is a naive character in many ways. Goku having an accent isn't even in the manga like the video pointed out. It's not necessary in English and no English fans who are fans of the dub would want it lol. in fact, most would hate it.

[@Henyo5566]

Semantics. Calling japanese the original language dub isn't wrong.

[@AarturoSc]

Yeah, it’s just the original language or the original audio, since it isn’t “dubbing over another language”.

[@JelloFluoride]

Ooff Super has horrible dialogue

[@daisukegori2112]

Scean's voice has a slight southern draw. It's more noticable in the first recordings. Even Chichi has an accent saying words like "Impordent".

[@talcumx2124]

So he doesn't pronounce the whole word. So goku would have a hood accent, not hillbilly. Goku is black... Confirmed!!!

[@poly_g6068]

I mean... the Eng dub of Goku also changes Goku's speech to be more proper and less childish when he turns super saiyan, so it's not just completely ignored.

[@HeyItsMeGoku-wh4fn]

"and less childish" yeah and the main reason why English Dub watchers are confused as hell when it comes to Goku's character lol.

[@joelanderson4899]

I don't think the original Z dub really communicated that, it was only a thing from Kai onwards (Goku was a lot more goofy in Kai)

[@AarturoSc]

Adult Goku in the American dub is just completely out of character. He talks like this heroic dude that fights for justice and truth rather than a careless guy that just really enjoys fighting.

[@evil_resident9]

Never liked Goku's japanese voice. It's hard to take the protagonist seriously when he looks like a grown man but sounds like a funny grandma lol. I actually have the same problem with english dub Frieza, his male voice actors even manage to make him sound more feminine than linda young. Lol

[@AarturoSc]

Because he didn’t started as a grown man. He started as a child and you get an understanding of his voice and speech nuances. I never liked Goku’s American dub because it sounds completely out of character when he’s an adult.

[@evil_resident9]

@AarturoSc well men don't continue to sound the same as when they were kids when they become adults, you know, the fact that goku's entire family sound exactly the same both as kids and adults in japanese makes it even more ridiculous imo

[@AarturoSc]

@ To you, but to anyone used to the language and the characters there’s things you pick up on quite easily. Goku sounds different from his child self (specially at the start of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai arc). Kid Goku sounds very childish and carefree, while as an adult he sounds more determined and aloof, but also very carefree (in particular with North Kaio/Kaiosama). Her Gohan voice also varies from kid to adult in pitch and is WAY more polite and correct in his way of speaking, using a really educated speech. Her Goten is basically her kid Gohan again but really really innocent sounding and with more cutesy words and mannerisms similar to an actual Japanese child, a thing neither Goku nor Gohan as kids really did. She does a phenomenal job at making the characters feel like their own.

[@theopulentone1650]

Goku is not a human. How his voice should sound is not up to what you believe an average human male should sound. Nozowa does not sound like a 'funny grandma' when voicing Goku. Give her some respect, she's actually a very talented VA and has manipulated her voice to sound not female. Frieza's English VA is fine. Freeza is supposed to sound posh and slightly femmine, even Nakao has feminine speech patterns in his Japanese. He uses sai at the end of his sentences. It makes him sound femmine and overly polite, not to mention his 'noble woman' laugh and mannerisms. Shame on you to have Freeza as your avatar when you obviously know nothing about him.

[@evil_resident9]

@theopulentone1650 in my language Frieza sounds like a man and in the manga where my pics is from, obviously we can think he has whatever voice we like, it's just the japanese and English anime that decided to make him sound like that, though Nakao sounds nowhere as feminine as his english voices, he sounds more aristocratic and composed as opposed to the girl like voice all the english voice actors give him, but on the other hand the japanese dub has goku sounding like an old lady so... No doubt she is a great and respectful voice actor she is just a miscast on goku imo, and I dont buy the goku isn't a human explaination since saiyan can even make children with human they are very similar to them so goku should sound like a man and not the funny way he sounds in japanese.

[@AriGatoVT]

The Japanese is not a dub

[@joelanderson4899]

it kind of is, the animation is finished before the actors dub over the lip-flaps, unlike in western animation where the characters are animated to the pre-recorded dialogue

[@AarturoSc]

It’s not, it’s just original audio. Audio replacement is “dub”.

[@maximos6188]

this is super interesting but despite seeing the effort the va does to play the character i just can't hear goku with a grandma voice..

[@MrJotaerre64]

most overrated voice actor, manly screams instead sound like creaking doors