DBZ is an amazing action anime and is one of my all time favorite Anime series. Though as awesome as this show is it has its fair share of problems. It's really long. This anime goes on for 291 episodes. On top of that it's a sequel to the 153 episode, Dragon Ball. To fully understand Dragon Ball Z you have to watch all of those episodes. So if you're a casual anime fan then this show is not for you. There are also numerous filler episodes that were meant to keep the manga ahead during its original airing in Japan, and long drawn out battles. In the end, this anime makes me glad to be an anime fan. If I never saw this show I would not like anime as much as I do now. The episodes never get old, the characters "grow" on you, and there is huge character development for every character.
Here's what I think of the Japanese version and Funimation's dub.
Japanese: No complaints. I like this show way better in Japanese than English. All of the voices are better. People actually sound like normal people. And all of the voice actors here can actually act. (Rant) Everybody that complains about Goku's voice in Japanese is very, in a word, ignorant. One, he does not sound like a 4 year old girl. He is played by a woman but her voice is very deep for a female. Like it or not, she sounds like an alto/soprano sounding male in Dragonball and in real life. Two, Akira Toriyama handpicked her to play Goku in Dragonball, the series that half of Funimation's dub fanbase have never seen because it "doesn't have enough action", or is too "kiddy". Then she stayed around for DBZ to continue playing Goku because there was no need to replace her. Three, she does a much better job of capturing Goku than Sean Schemmel or any other language dub actor for Goku has ever done.(/Rant) The music here is better than the dub's music. Why was it changed in the first place? I don't know, but it's apparent that Funimation can't handle silence, tension, and good music in their dub of this series. The music here gives this show more of a, "martial arts adventure", feel more than the dub which gives a, "TV show to sell merchandise", vibe. All I can say about the Japanese version is the one to watch and is way more legitimate than the dub. 8/10
Funimation: I simply do not, and will never, like this dub. I have heard DBZ English fandubs of this show that are better, and almost every language in the world has a better dub than Funimation. One, the music's replaced. Every fan of this dub wants to believe that the music from the original, that was made before half of them were born, sucks. People, THIS REPLACEMENT MUSIC SUCKS. There's nothing good about it. I can't begin to tell you how many people think this tacky, talentless music is good but apparently there are people, excuse me, blind sheep(that's better), who like it. Standalone, the music feels cheaply made and sounds like it was created with the talent of an average 3 year old. During the TV show, it conveys no emotions whatsoever. Funny thing, out of the entire 222 episodes that Funimation dubbed of this show with that music, the fans that like it can only find less than 10 moments where it was actually good. Now if this music is so good, then why are the fans of this music only able to name less than 10 moments lasting less than 3 minutes in defense of it? Overall this music sucks, it just sucks. All of the dubbed voices are either meh, bad, or horrifying. The only good voice in this entire show is Perfect Cell. He is on par with the original Japanese actor. But, Vegeta, Bulma, Yamcha, Goku, Piccolo, Every Kai, Freeza, King Cold, Cell's first 2 forms, Recomme, Jeice, Oolong, Fat Majin Buu, Krillin, #13, #16, and #19, are some of the worst voices I've ever heard in any anime that I have ever watched. What's funny here, is that the same people who would complain about Goku's Japanese voice being voiced by a woman always overlook the fact that Freeza sounds like a woman in the dub. Well, Freeza sounds more like an 80 year old woman in the dub, but then again that's ignorance and it can't be helped. The dubbed voices make all the male characters sound like 1980's pro-wrestlers or some other bad male stereotype and the female characters sound like valley girls, hookers, or some other bad stereotype of women. In the end, nobody sounds like a normal human being. The closest attempt to a normal sounding voice in this dub is from a character named Trunks, for everybody else, they sound ridiculous. The acting is just forced, there are no good performances whatsoever. And all subtly is gone so everything's "in your face". The script is 70% rewritten from the original dialogue. Every word is changed. Important information to the plot is taken out and terrible jokes are added. When there's no dialogue in the original, there's dialogue in the dub. Everything is seems to be tailored for kids between the ages of 4-7, even in the uncut dubs, which are advertised 13+. And character personalities are altered. This dub the same class as a 4kids' dub but uncut. Because you have, bad and terrible voices(yep.), a terribly rewritten script(yep.), and replaced music that has no redeeming qualities or value(yep.). This dub is painful and I don't recommend it at all. If you want to see what a real dub of this show should have been like, watch DBZ Movies 1-3 dubbed by the Ocean group. The Funimation dub is just terrible. Here's a fact. Wonder why people down this show? It's because of the crappy Funi dub. 3/10.
Here's what I think of the Japanese version and Funimation's dub.
Japanese: No complaints. I like this show way better in Japanese than English. All of the voices are better. People actually sound like normal people. And all of the voice actors here can actually act. (Rant) Everybody that complains about Goku's voice in Japanese is very, in a word, ignorant. One, he does not sound like a 4 year old girl. He is played by a woman but her voice is very deep for a female. Like it or not, she sounds like an alto/soprano sounding male in Dragonball and in real life. Two, Akira Toriyama handpicked her to play Goku in Dragonball, the series that half of Funimation's dub fanbase have never seen because it "doesn't have enough action", or is too "kiddy". Then she stayed around for DBZ to continue playing Goku because there was no need to replace her. Three, she does a much better job of capturing Goku than Sean Schemmel or any other language dub actor for Goku has ever done.(/Rant) The music here is better than the dub's music. Why was it changed in the first place? I don't know, but it's apparent that Funimation can't handle silence, tension, and good music in their dub of this series. The music here gives this show more of a, "martial arts adventure", feel more than the dub which gives a, "TV show to sell merchandise", vibe. All I can say about the Japanese version is the one to watch and is way more legitimate than the dub. 8/10
Funimation: I simply do not, and will never, like this dub. I have heard DBZ English fandubs of this show that are better, and almost every language in the world has a better dub than Funimation. One, the music's replaced. Every fan of this dub wants to believe that the music from the original, that was made before half of them were born, sucks. People, THIS REPLACEMENT MUSIC SUCKS. There's nothing good about it. I can't begin to tell you how many people think this tacky, talentless music is good but apparently there are people, excuse me, blind sheep(that's better), who like it. Standalone, the music feels cheaply made and sounds like it was created with the talent of an average 3 year old. During the TV show, it conveys no emotions whatsoever. Funny thing, out of the entire 222 episodes that Funimation dubbed of this show with that music, the fans that like it can only find less than 10 moments where it was actually good. Now if this music is so good, then why are the fans of this music only able to name less than 10 moments lasting less than 3 minutes in defense of it? Overall this music sucks, it just sucks. All of the dubbed voices are either meh, bad, or horrifying. The only good voice in this entire show is Perfect Cell. He is on par with the original Japanese actor. But, Vegeta, Bulma, Yamcha, Goku, Piccolo, Every Kai, Freeza, King Cold, Cell's first 2 forms, Recomme, Jeice, Oolong, Fat Majin Buu, Krillin, #13, #16, and #19, are some of the worst voices I've ever heard in any anime that I have ever watched. What's funny here, is that the same people who would complain about Goku's Japanese voice being voiced by a woman always overlook the fact that Freeza sounds like a woman in the dub. Well, Freeza sounds more like an 80 year old woman in the dub, but then again that's ignorance and it can't be helped. The dubbed voices make all the male characters sound like 1980's pro-wrestlers or some other bad male stereotype and the female characters sound like valley girls, hookers, or some other bad stereotype of women. In the end, nobody sounds like a normal human being. The closest attempt to a normal sounding voice in this dub is from a character named Trunks, for everybody else, they sound ridiculous. The acting is just forced, there are no good performances whatsoever. And all subtly is gone so everything's "in your face". The script is 70% rewritten from the original dialogue. Every word is changed. Important information to the plot is taken out and terrible jokes are added. When there's no dialogue in the original, there's dialogue in the dub. Everything is seems to be tailored for kids between the ages of 4-7, even in the uncut dubs, which are advertised 13+. And character personalities are altered. This dub the same class as a 4kids' dub but uncut. Because you have, bad and terrible voices(yep.), a terribly rewritten script(yep.), and replaced music that has no redeeming qualities or value(yep.). This dub is painful and I don't recommend it at all. If you want to see what a real dub of this show should have been like, watch DBZ Movies 1-3 dubbed by the Ocean group. The Funimation dub is just terrible. Here's a fact. Wonder why people down this show? It's because of the crappy Funi dub. 3/10.