There will always be an eternal struggle in the anime world that boils down to three words: “Dub Versus Sub.” More often than not, an anime adaptation that originates in Japan will eventually receive an English Dub, with the Dragon Ball franchise routinely being pointed at as one of the best examples. With both the Japanese and English casts working with their anime characters for decades, now feels like the appropriate time to see where the West did it better when it came to the adventures of Son Goku and his fellow Z-Fighters.
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7.) Goku Goes Super Saiyan 3 For The First Time
Sean Schemmel has always had some tough competition when it came to bringing Son Goku to life, as Japan’s Masako Nozawa first began her career with the Dragon Ball character in 1986. When Goku first unveils the Super Saiyan 3 level, he spends what seems like minutes showing Majin Buu and Babidi the results of his training in the afterlife. While Nozawa’s performance is nothing to sneeze at, Schemmel literally recounts stories of how he would pass out in the recording booth when it came to some of the series’ fights. It is easy to believe that this was the case for this Super Saiyan 3 transformation, as Sean perfectly depicts the rage-fueled transformation come to life.
6.) “I Will Not Let You Destroy My World!”
Delivering this meaty line during Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods was no easy feat, but Schemmel nailed it in such a way that it has become one of the most legendary lines of the franchise to date. During Goku’s fight against Beerus, the God of Destruction, he lets out the roar of “I will not let you destroy my world!” turning the last word into a battle cry as he once again called upon the power of his Super Saiyan transformation. Much like the Super Saiyan 3 transformation mentioned earlier, Sean’s devotion to the character and his willingness to sacrifice his vocal cords have made him a force to be reckoned with in the anime world.
5.) Vegeta’s Pride
Much like Sean Schemmel’s “competition” against Masako Nozawa, English voice actor Chris Sabat had strong competition with Vegeta’s original voice actor, Ryo Horikawa. While Horikawa would routinely come out on top when squaring off with Sabat, the Saiyan Prince’s speech while he was “Majin Vegeta” is a slight win for Chris. You can feel the combination of hate and sadness bubbling up to the surface of Sabat’s performance, especially when it comes to recalling how the planet Earth had “corrupted him” with a family and a sense of love. This was a difficult call to make as both voice actors give it their all, but we’d have to give a slight edge to Chris Sabat when the dust settles.
4.) Mr. Satan Pleads With Earth
It’s a difficult challenge to make Mr. Satan, aka Hercule, into a serious character when the story demands it. Routinely portrayed as someone close to a parody, the Majin Buu Saga puts Hercule in a spot where he must become the Earth’s saviour and do something that neither Goku nor Vegeta could do. Voice actor Chris Rager does a good job of mixing quite a few emotions via Mr. Satan’s desperate plea, going from sadness to hilarity to downright frustration. Rager captures all the emotions here and helps elevate Satan to a brand new level.
3.) Vegeta Fights Recoome
Here’s the part of the list where we throw our readers’ a big curveball. While Chris Sabat does a fine job of demonstrating the anger that the Prince of all Saiyans has when fighting against Recoome of the Ginyu Force, the clear winner is Brian Drummond. Before Funimation took the reins of the series, Dragon Ball Z was dubbed by “The Ocean Group”, and Drummond was the man who brought Vegeta to life. Much like Sean Schemmel’s take on the Super Saiyan 3 transformation, Drummond’s screams during Vegeta’s powering up against, and subsequent fight with, Recoome seemed as though it blew the walls off the recording studio. While the Ocean Dub might have been cursed with some major censorship in the early days of the series, this didn’t impede Brian Drummond’s performance.
2.) Trunks During The Cell Saga
While Trunks’ original Japanese voice actor Takeishi Kusao was nothing to sneeze at, Eric Vale’s performance as Vegeta’s son from the future took things to another level. Throughout Trunks’ introduction in Dragon Ball Z, Vale did an amazing job of mixing anger, sadness, and general disbelief while living in the past. Some highlights include Trunks attempting to destroy Androids 17 and 18 once they are awoken and Vegeta’s son attempting to stop his father from destroying the Earth during his doomed fight against Cell.
1.) Dameon Clarke’s Cell
Of all the villains that were a part of Dragon Ball’s English dub, Dameon Clarke brought such an amazing energy and aristocratic performance to Cell that it’s an easy choice to place him above his Japanese competition. Clarke’s take on Cell works on quite a few levels, whether the antagonist is simply holding a conversation or screaming out as he unleashes an energy blast. Alongside the now legendary “Cell theme” that was created in the Funimation production, Dameon’s take on the Dr. Gero creation is impossible to ignore, and it makes it all the more tragic that the recent Cell Max never uttered a single word.
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