'Dragon Ball Super' Star Sean Schemmel On How He Keeps Goku Authentic

One of the major arguments between anime fans early on was the preference of subtitled shows or English dubbed ones, and Funimation's take on the Dragon Ball series is always one of the major examples of great dub work. This is especially thanks to Sean Schemmel's work as Goku.

Comicbook.com recently got the chance to speak with Sean Schemmel at Anime Expo 2018, and he talked about all the work he puts in to keep his Goku as authentic to the character as possible.

Breaking down the way some companies dub their series, Schemmel described that Funimation used to follow a similar, Westernizing model of dubbing as other studios did, "Funimation in the early days, in my opinion, was ... this is just my opinion ... was trying to follow what I call the Pokemon formula." Explaining this "Pokemon Formula," Schemmel states that it's the philosophy to "take a Japanese anime and you make it as American as possible and you change everything, even the script to where audiences will really, really like it."

But times have changed, and Schemmel and Funimation have made great strides since then, "I'm so thrilled that we did Kai very close, if not identical to the Japanese script. I asked to see the Japanese script for every one of my voiceover sessions." To keep Goku as authentic as possible, Schemmel stuck close to every detail, "the writers were great at Funimation but every once in a while they'd lose their way and they're writing so much that I'll see a line that's more Vegeta's style for Goku because Goku is not a super Saiyan pride warrior. He's not a Saiyan pride warrior."

As for what he believes makes for an authentic Goku, Schemmel described Goku as a "master of knowing nothing" and that it's important for him "for Goku to remain pure of heart, not like Vegeta." Schemmel wasn't always comfortable with Goku's more "messianic" writing early on either because it didn't feel like Goku, "the early days of Funimation...they were writing Goku like a more messianic character, and I was really uncomfortable with the I am the hope of the universe speech. I didn't even get to see the Japanese on that...Anytime Goku speaks in an egoic manner, cocky's one thing. Egoic, I'm not cool with."

But at the end of the day, Schemmel is trying his best to keep his portrayal of Goku as authentic to the original core of the character as possible. Schemmel's dedication truly shines here, and he has nothing but great things to say about Funimation's current process on the series, "Now what we're doing now at Funimation is spectacular. What we're doing on Super, they've given me enough carte blanche to make me happy and I'm really trying hard to preserve the spirit of the character as Akira Toriyama intended with the thing I was handed in 1999 that I didn't have control over."

Hopefully fans will be easier on some of the flaws early on given how strong the product is currently, and even more so knowing Schemmel is working hard on his end to deliver the best Goku possible.

Dragon Ball Super is currently airing 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, now titled Dragon Ball Super: Broly, is set to release this December in Japan, and has released its first trailer. The film will focus on the Saiyans, the "origins of Goku's power," and has been confirmed to feature a rebooted take on the famous raging Saiyan Broly. The series will get a major makeover when its first film drops, and fans can thank Naohiro Shintani for that.

The beloved animator was brought in by Toei Animation to oversee the movie, and was approved by series creator Akira Toriyama. He'll be contributing to the film's script and character designs. Fans will get their first look at the new film during the Dragon Ball North America Tour and San Diego Comic-Con, as well.