'Dragon Ball Super' Star Comments On Its Hakai Debacle

Funimation shocked fans with the Dragon Ball Super's English dub when it was revealed that Beerus' destruction technique known as "Hakai" in Japan was going to be referred as "Hakai" in the English dub as well.

Fans have been divisive over the use of "Hakai" rather than a complete translation of the technique, and that debate even as Beerus' dub voice actor Jason Douglas weighing in on the situation as well.

Thanks Chris. #HAKAI is an iconic line for the character, and we didn’t want to lose the force and weight it carries in formal use. Plus it just sounds freakin’ cool. https://t.co/ElFUW3RNKV

— Jason Douglas (@MrJasonDouglas) April 16, 2018

Responding to a fan on Twitter, Douglas explains that "[Hakai] is an iconic line for the character, and we didn't want to lose the force and weight it carries in formal use. Plus it just sounds freakin' cool." This sentiment mirrors what many supporters of "Hakai's" use have been arguing, and it does represent what the Dragon Ball English dub has always been about.

Treating "Hakai" like a technique rather than translate it as "Destruction" seen in the English subtitled release of the series makes it align more with Dragon Ball's other devastating techniques like the Kamehameha Wave, Kaio-ken, and Masenko.

While the English dub of the series have translated other techniques like the Special Beam Cannon, Tri-Beam, and many more, Douglas is correct in his assumption that "Hakai" just sounds cooler and even is more befitting of a God of Destruction focused technique.

Leaving "Hakai" untranslated gives the technique an air of mystery that goes along with the impressive visual of watching it erase someone from existence. This technique will appear far more in the later episodes of the series, so if some fans do not like the use of the untranslated word they will unfortunately be hearing it a lot more in the future.

Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on Funimation, VRV, and Crunchyroll.

If you want to catch up with the English dub, the first 52 episodes of Dragon Ball Super are now available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and available to purchase on Amazon Video as well. The 52 episodes span the full range of what has aired in the North America and covers the "Battle of Gods" arc, "Revival of F" arc, the "Universe 6" arc, and bringing the series right up to the current TV airings of the "Future Trunks" arc.

The first Dragon Ball Super film is set to release this December in Japan, and it has just released its first trailer. The film will focus on the Saiyans, the "origins of Goku's power," and potentially the story of the very first Super Saiyan. Not only does it aim to be the best film in the series, original creator Akira Toriyama will be contributing to the film's script and character designs.