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|title=<center>Dragon Ball Z Kai (Ocean dub)</center>
|title=<center>Dragon Ball Z Kai (Ocean dub)</center>
|image=Dragon_Ball_Z_Kai_titlescreen.jpg
|image=Dragon_Ball_Z_Kai_titlescreen.jpg
|imagecaption=title screen for the series.
|imagecaption=Title screen for the series.
|status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
|status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
}}
}}
'''''Dragon Ball Z Kai''''' is a re-edited cut of the ''Dragon Ball Z'' anime that originally aired for 98 episodes between 2009 and 2011 in Japan. It features remastered visuals, a redone soundtrack and the removal of "filler" episodes that were part of the original anime. Like earlier ''Dragon Ball'' series, the Fort Worth, Texas-based anime distributor Funimation Entertainment licensed the series and produced an English dub that was released in 2010 through 2013.


A separate English track, aimed specifically at Canadian and European television markets, was created by the Vancouver, British Columbia-based Ocean Productions between 2010 and 2014.<ref group=Notes>Ocean Productions has also officially been referred to as The Ocean Group, Ocean Studios, Ocean Media, and Ocean Entertainment.</ref> The company had previously worked with Funimation, Saban, and Pioneer on creating a partial English dub of the ''Dragon Ball Z'' TV series and its movies in the mid-1990s. In the early 2000s, European ''Dragon Ball'' distributor AB Groupe was believed to have paid Ocean to continue production on ''Z'', as well to create new dubs for ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Dragon Ball GT'' through its Calgary, Alberta-based sister company, Blue Water Studios. These were aired in Canada, the United Kingdom, and other select European markets in the same time period.


'''''Dragon Ball Z Kai''''' is a re-edited cut of ''Dragon Ball Z'' that aired from 2009 to 2011, featuring remastered visuals, a redone soundtrack and the removal of "filler" episodes that were part of the original anime. Various sources reported that the Canadian dubbing studio Ocean Productions had recorded an English dub of the show for the Canadian and European English speaking market.
To date, no footage from Ocean's version of ''Dragon Ball Z Kai'' has ever been released. The production itself has yet to be officially announced and it is not known which company commissioned it, or whom its intended broadcast partners would have been.
 
It is still unknown which company commissioned this dub to be produced by Ocean Media, as well as which country and television channel it will (or would've been) broadcast on.


==History==
==History==
Though the dub was never officially announced, various actors involved in it have confirmed its existence along with individuals outside of it's production. The dub was first mentioned by an anonymous user named 'Subzero Ice' in a now deleted Facebook conversation. The conversation was with Funimation voice actor, Sean Schemmel who revealed that he knew of the dub's existence.
Though the dub has never been officially announced, various leaks through actors, crew members, government agencies and individuals outside of its production, have confirmed its existence. The dub was initially mentioned by an anonymous user named 'Subzero Ice' in a now-deleted Facebook conversation that took place in late April 2010. The conversation was with Funimation voice actor Sean Schemmel who revealed that he knew of the dub's existence:


In Episode 26 of the webcast ''Voice Print with Trevor Devall'', actor Kirby Marrow was interviewed, this interview marked the first time in which a Canadian actor spoke of the production. <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIkDTE-yvsk</ref> The dub was mentioned again in Episode 28 by actor Paul Dobson, who stated Ocean Productions was responsible for it.
''Here is why the Ocean group dub will suck. And it has nothing to do with the actors as I have enormous respect for all of them. As far as I know, the Ocean group dub is going to have this really shitty music (some of which I have heard) and a whole host of added sound effects such as "doinks" and "boinks" and even in one scene, where Bulma simply turns her head in a conversation you hear a "whoosh" sound ala a bad martial arts movie. We are giving you the purest DBZ experience possible, and if you don't like that, then you don't like DBZ.''<ref name=Schemmel>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=13178 Schemmel: "The Ocean Group is doing their own dub"] Retrieved 30 May '17</ref>  


<small>Note: Mentions of Dragon Ball Z Kai have allegedly been removed from episode 26 of "Voice Print with Trevor Devall".</small><ref>http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&p=973662&hilit=The+audio+of+Kirby+Morrow+confirming#p973662</ref>
[[File:Nicktons DBZ Kai Ocean Credit.png|thumb|Ocean credited in the Nicktoons version of Funimation's ''Dragon Ball Z Kai'' dub.]]


In 2013, Scott McNeil stated during a Q&A session at a convention that the Ocean Dub of ''Kai'' had "finished" and that they had not started recording for the ''Final Chapters'' portion of the show. <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgXNS9Z678g</ref> . In 2016, Brian Drummond wrote on Twitter that recording had been completed but he had no idea what happened to the dub, saying he had not seen it<ref>https://twitter.com/BrianDrummondVO/status/698305226390917120</ref>.
When Funimation's English dub premiered on the U.S. Nicktoons network in late May 2010, it was noted that Ocean Productions, some of their headlining employees, and the affiliated Advantage Video company, were credited with video editing. At the time, this revelation led some fans to believe Schemmel's earlier comments were simply misinformed.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=13178&start=240#p359723 Ocean Dub Possibility Discussion] Retrieved 30 May '17</ref>


Despite being allegedly completed, no recording of the dub has resurfaced to the public.
Schemmel's information proved correct on September 8, 2010, as episode 26 of the podcast ''Voice Print with Trevor Devall'' went live. In it, actor Kirby Morrow was interviewed and admitted to having auditioned for the part of Goku in a Canadian dub of ''Dragon Ball Z Kai''. <ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/2010/09/10/dragon-ball-kai-alternate-english-dub-revealed/ “Dragon Ball Kai” Alternate English Dub Revealed?] Retrieved 30 May '17</ref><ref name="Morrow">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIkDTE-yvsk Kirby Morrow talks about ocean dub kai] Retrieved 30 May '17</ref> Morrow had previously played Goku in the final batch of episodes in the Canadian ''Z'' dub. The podcast episode was later re-uploaded to remove the references to the series.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=973662#p973662 Re: Ocean Studios' Dragon Ball Kai dub seems to be coming] Retrieved 30 May '17</ref> The dub was mentioned again in Episode 28 by actor Paul Dobson, who stated Ocean Productions was responsible for it.<ref name="Dobson">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKRgKyP7TbU my fan mail gets on the Trevor Devall show] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref>


==Casting==
The province of British Columbia listed the show in their production database for 2010 and 2011.<ref>[https://www.creativebc.com/industry-sectors/motion-picture/production-credits/films.php?year=2010&content=intl Production Credits - Creative BC] Retrieved 20 May '18</ref><ref>[https://www.creativebc.com/industry-sectors/motion-picture/production-credits/films.php?year=2011&content=intl Production Credits - Creative BC] Retrieved 20 May '18</ref> The entry suggests it was produced for Toei Animation, though it's not known if that refers to the dub or the show in general.
In an episode of ''Voice Print with Trevor Devall'' where the dub was announced, Kirby Morrow stated that actors who had participated in the Westwood Media dub of ''Dragon Ball Z'' had been asked to re-audition their part, and that he had been rejected for the role of Goku. Paul Dobson stated in Episode 28 of the same show that the producers considered keeping some roles the same and recasting others, although he did not elaborate on the extent of the changes or which actors were involved.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKRgKyP7TbU</ref>  


Unlike previous Canadian Dragon Ball English dubs, which have historically been recorded in either Vancouver, BC with Ocean Productions<ref>http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/company.php?ann-edition=uk&id=38</ref> or alternatively, utilizing their sister studio; Blue Water Studios<ref>http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/company.php?id=644</ref> in Calgary, AB, this dub of Kai utilizes both talent pools at once, a common trait of the more recent anime dubs from Ocean.
During June 2012, actor Brenden Hunter indicated his involvement with the show on Facebook.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=561487#p561487 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> He had played Tien and Oob in the Blue Water dubs of ''Dragon Ball'' and ''GT''. His comment was the first indication this production would use talent from both Vancouver, British Columbia and Calgary, Alberta - the cities that individually played host to the earlier Canadian ''Dragon Ball'' dubs.


The following actors have confirmed their involvement in the unaired dub:
In 2013, actor Scott McNeil stated during a Q&A session at a convention that the dub of ''Kai'' had "finished" and that they had not started recording for the  ''Final Chapters'' portion of the show.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgXNS9Z678g Scott McNeil confirms no Buu arc so far in Ocean Kai] Retrieved 30 May '17</ref>


In late February 2014, a member of the Kanzenshuu forums asked Peter Berring, the composer who worked on the first ''Dragon Ball'' for Funimation in 1995, if he knew the singer of the show's opening theme.<ref group=Notes>Funimation's original dub for ''Dragon Ball'' was produced in Vancouver, British Columbia but wasn't produced by Ocean Productions.</ref> There it was revealed that David Steele, a prolific session musician in Vancouver, was the performer behind it. The Kanzenshuu member discovered that Steele had uploaded a sample of a theme song for ''Dragon Ball Z Kai'' onto his website.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&start=2400#p756212 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref><ref>[http://www.e-session-singer.com/cartoons/ Cartoons - e-session-singer] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref><ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/2014/02/09/opening-alternate-ocean-english-dub-dragon-ball-kai/ Opening to Alternate/Ocean English Dub of “Dragon Ball Kai”?] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> Steele later responded to emails about the ''Kai'' track, saying it was produced sometime in 2009 and that he was not sure if it was the final version.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=757376#p757376 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref><ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/2014/02/09/opening-alternate-ocean-english-dub-dragon-ball-kai/#comment-2427 Opening to Alternate/Ocean English Dub of “Dragon Ball Kai”? Comment 2427] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref>


'''Ocean/Vancouver, BC'''
On April 1, 2014, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved 98 episodes of the series as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_content Canadian content], indicating post-production had finished.<ref>[https://services.crtc.gc.ca/pub/CanrecList/eng/CanadianProgramList?F=2014-04-01&T=2014-04-01&C=07E  List of CRTC Canadian Program Recognition Numbers] Retrieved 30 May '17</ref>  
*Scott McNeil
[[File:ScottMcNeil.jpg|thumb|Scott McNeil; The original English voice of Piccolo]]
*Brian Drummond
*Saffron Henderson <ref>https://twitter.com/SafHen/status/575006852930347008</ref>
*Richard Ian Cox (as Goku) <ref>http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&p=825538&hilit=richard+ian#p825538</ref> (Richard [https://youtu.be/c2-n7l_v8nc?t=46m22s has later denied this], likely because he does not want break NDA)
*Lee Tockar (as Frieza) <ref>https://twitter.com/leetockar/status/529493816236331008</ref>
*Michael Dobson <ref>https://twitter.com/michaeldobson07/status/653120864351752192</ref>
*Trevor Devall <ref>https://youtu.be/_snEpBIjhx0?t=23m26s</ref> (Character unknown)
*Cole Howard (Android 17)<ref>https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_iuLJ8wn8Sw/VVYnOtNQhQI/AAAAAAAAAfs/PiGgTqyhvwQ/w530-h386-p/11251773_963354097017884_227143352556700662_n.jpg</ref>


In May 2014, reaffirming Schemel's earlier comments, a member of the Kanzenshuu forums spotted a listing for ''Dragon Ball Z Kai'' on the website for AniTunes, a Canadian music production firm run by Tom Keenlyside and John Mitchell.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=791390#p791390 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> The listing claims the company scored 105 episodes of the show for Cartoon Network U.S. It's believed the specifics of that are incorrect, as the first block of ''Kai'' consists of 98 episodes and their work on the series has never aired in the U.S.<ref>[http://anitunes.ca/credits.htm Anitunes.com] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref><ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dragon_Ball_Z_Kai_episodes List of Dragon Ball Z Kai episodes] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> The two musicians had previously created music for the AB Groupe ''Z'' production.


'''Blue Water/Calgary, AB'''
In 2016, voice actor Brian Drummond wrote on Twitter that recording had been completed but he had no idea what happened to the dub, saying he had not seen it.<ref>[https://twitter.com/BrianDrummondVO/status/698305226390917120 Brian Drummond on Twitter: "Beats me...Maybe we made it solely for some crazy rich #DBZ superfan's private collection. I haven't even seen it !"] Retrieved 30 May '17</ref>


*Brendan Hunter (Tien) <ref>https://youtu.be/5CRPKL2mnSo?t=1m10s</ref>
Sometime in early 2018, Chinook Animation, Ocean's Calgary casting agency, started listing the series on their website.<ref>[http://www.chinookanimation.com/productions.html Chinook Animation, Voices For The World!] Retrieved 20 May '18</ref> This was the first time ''Dragon Ball Kai'' had been publicly acknowledged by any branch of the company.
*James Beach (Character unknown) <ref>http://dbzf.co.uk/topic/8549313/1/#new</ref>


==Staff==
In July 2018, Toei Animation USA confirmed that they are in possession of the dub and that they're willing to license it out to interested broadcasters.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&start=5700#p1520760 Re: Ocean Studios' Dragon Ball Kai dub seems to be coming] Retrieved 05 Oct '18</ref> Wow! Unlimited Media, a newly minted Canadian broadcasting company, has expressed interest in acquiring the dub and running it on their upcoming television channel.
It is unknown who created the following web page or where they sourced their info from, however, the page does list a few staff members who have previously worked on other Ocean and Blue Water productions. The staff listed are as follows:


==Crew==
===Staff===
The following information assumes the credits from the Nicktoons cut of Funimation's dub also applies to Ocean's dub of ''Dragon Ball Z Kai''.


'''Executive Producer:''' Ken Morrison
'''Executive Producer:''' Ken Morrison
Line 57: Line 50:
'''Supervising Producer:''' Diana Gage
'''Supervising Producer:''' Diana Gage


'''Music:'''
Tom Keenlyside, John Mitchell


'''Video Post-Production:'''
'''Video Post-Production:'''
Ryan Smith
Ryan Smith, Sam Mynott, Sean McConkey
Sam Mynott
Sean McConkey


'''Video Post-Production Company:''' Advantage Video, Inc.
'''Video Post-Production Company:''' Advantage Video, Inc.


===Cast===
In the episode of ''Voice Print with Trevor Devall'' where the dub was announced, Kirby Morrow stated that actors who had participated in the AB Groupe dub of ''Dragon Ball Z'' had been asked to re-audition their part, and that he had been rejected for the role of Goku.<ref name="Morrow"></ref> Paul Dobson stated in Episode 28 of the same show that the producers considered keeping some roles the same and recasting others, although he did not elaborate on the extent of the changes or which actors were involved.<ref name="Dobson"></ref>


http://www.crystalacids.com/database/title/1436/dragon-ball-z-kai-toei/
Unlike previous Canadian Dragon Ball English dubs, which were historically recorded in either Vancouver, British Columbia with Ocean Productions<ref>[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/company.php?ann-edition=uk&id=38 The Ocean Group - Anime News Network: UK] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> or alternatively, utilizing their sister studio; Blue Water Studios<ref>[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/company.php?id=644 Blue Water Studios - Anime News Network] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> in Calgary, Alberta, this dub of Kai utilizes both talent pools at once, a common trait of the more recent anime dubs from Ocean.
==Replacement music==
'''AniTunes''', a Canadian music production company for TV shows, has been confirmed to be the company that produced replacement music for this particular version of Kai. The company is attached to Tom Keenlyside and John Mitchell, two musicians who also worked on much of the music found in the Westwood Media dub of Dragon Ball Z.<ref>http://anitunes.ca/credits.htm</ref>


On the credits section of their website, a credit for Kai can be viewed, it reads as follows:
The following actors have confirmed their involvement in the unaired dub:
'''Dragonball Z Kai 105 x 1/2 hr for Cartoon Network (US)'''


It is not yet known if the Cartoon Network US connection is a mistake or if it is indeed correct and the dub was produced for them. The episode number is also suspect as the first version of Kai only contains 98 episodes.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dragon_Ball_Z_Kai_episodes</ref>
'''Ocean - Vancouver'''
*Scott McNeil (as Piccolo, Jeice, Dr. Briefs)<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&p=517492#p517492 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming] Retrieved 03 Jun '17</ref>
[[File:ScottMcNeil.jpg|thumb|Scott McNeil; The original English voice of Piccolo]]
*Brian Drummond  (as Vegeta)
*Saffron Henderson (as Gohan) <ref>[https://twitter.com/SafHen/status/575006852930347008 Saffron Henderson on Twitter: "@garrettk18 Awwww... I heart Gohan! Years ago I got married in the US & lived in CA.  Temporarily replaced but got to do lots more."] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref>
*Richard Ian Cox (as Goku) <ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=825538#p825538 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> (Richard [https://youtu.be/c2-n7l_v8nc?t=46m22s has later denied this], likely because he does not want break NDA)
*Lee Tockar (as Frieza) <ref>[https://twitter.com/leetockar/status/529493816236331008 Lee Tockar on Twitter: "After nearly 2 years I'm finally able 2 announce that I M playing Frieza in the new Ocean group version of Dragon Ball Kai coming out soon!!"] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref>
*Michael Dobson (as Nappa) <ref>[https://twitter.com/michaeldobson07/status/653120864351752192 Michael Dobson on Twitter: "Will do for sure! I'll do some digging and see if I can get some clues...thanks again my friend for the kind words."] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref>
*Trevor Devall <ref>[https://youtu.be/_snEpBIjhx0?t=23m26s INTERVIEW: Trevor Devall] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> (Character unknown)
*Cole Howard (as Android 17)<ref>https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_iuLJ8wn8Sw/VVYnOtNQhQI/AAAAAAAAAfs/PiGgTqyhvwQ/w530-h386-p/11251773_963354097017884_227143352556700662_n.jpg</ref>


'''Blue Water - Calgary'''


'''Theme Song'''
*Brendan Hunter (Tien) <ref>[https://youtu.be/5CRPKL2mnSo?t=1m10s Andrea Libman and Brendan Hunter panel part 1 of 5] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref>
 
*James Beach (Character unknown) <ref>[http://dbzf.co.uk/topic/8549313/1/#new Would anyone have Kai Episode 21 dubbed from Canada?] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref>
Peter Berring (the composer of Funimation's original English dub of Dragon Ball, aka the BLT dub) was questioned by a fan wanting to know who sang the theme song for Kai, Dave Steel was the name given.<ref>http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&start=2400#p756212</ref> David Steele is a prolific commercial singer in Vancouver.
*Steve Olson (Incidentals) <ref>[https://twitter.com/radiosteveo/status/1112704115103023104 Hi, my schedule at the time was limited. For Kai, I only did some incidental voices.] Retrieved 7 Apr '19.</ref>
 
The following website contains a sample of a theme song for Dragon Ball Z Kai, however, it is not known if this song remained the final version of the theme or not.
 
http://www.e-session-singer.com/cartoons/


==Rumours==
==Rumours==
===Subzero Ice===
Despite their link to the production being unknown, for a long time anonymous user ''Subzero Ice'' was a consistent source of information regarding this dub. Not only was he technically the first to talk about it in a (now deleted) Facebook chat with Sean Schemmel<ref name=Schemmel></ref>, effectively revealing the dub's existence, but he had also publicly expressed eagerness to see Scott McNeil reprise Piccolo in ''Kai'' on McNeil's Facebook page long before he had announced it himself at a convention panel<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21949 Some facts and information on the Ocean dub of Kai] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref>.


'''Sean Schemmel'''
Along with having insider knowledge of the Ocean dub, Subzero Ice also seemed to have insider connections with CSC Media, a British broadcasting company, as he correctly pointed out that Toei Animation's announcement of ''Kai's'' U.K. airdate was incorrect.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=21874&p=595240#p595240 Re: DBZKai comes to the UK] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> However, he did not predict that the Funimation dub would be aired instead of the Ocean Dub.


As the voice of Goku in all of Funimation's current English dubbed Dragon Ball media, Sean Schemmel would not logistically have been involved in the production of Ocean's dub of Kai, nor would he have been legally allowed to. That being said, he did evidently seem to know some things about the production which he publicly revealed in an online post.  
Below are some pieces of information Subzero Ice revealed before his interactions with the fan community ceased:
*He claimed it started production in 2010 (pre-production stages, setting overall strategy, direction for the dub, etc)
*There were some recastings and some actors returned.
*Scott McNeil was one of the first to reprise his past role(s).
*A new Goku was cast (now believed to be Richard Ian Cox). According to him; "they took more trouble to cast [Goku] than they needed to, however they were hoping to get the essence of the character as it is in the Japanese version."
*Peter Kelamis was not asked to re-audition for the role of Goku.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&p=596295#p596295 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> (Presumably, Ian James Corlett wasn't asked to either)
*Maggie Blue O'Hara will not be coming back to reprise Bulma.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&p=595241#p595241 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref>
*While there are some Calgary (Blue Water) actors on the cast, the bulk of it should be the Vancouver cast (Ocean).
*The dub has words which are pronounced closer to how they'd be said in the U.K. rather than the U.S.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&p=596732#p596732 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.]</ref> (Scott McNeil himself has confirmed that "Namek" will be pronounced closer to Naw-Mek)<ref>[https://youtu.be/T5SG5Spo4OY?t=7m39s Shadocon 2012 - Voice Actor Alliance Part 2 (Scott McNeil and Sean Schemmel)] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref>


According to him:
*When CSC Media's Kix channel broadcast the Funimation dub of ''Kai'' in 2012, Subzero Ice had this to say:


"''Here is why the Ocean group dub will suck. And it has nothing to do with the actors as I have enormous respect for all of them. As far as I know, the Ocean group dub is going to have this really shitty music (some of which I have heard) and a whole host of added sound effects such as "doinks" and "boinks" and even in one scene, where Bulma ... See Moresimply turns her head in a conversation you hear a "whoosh" sound ala a bad martial arts movie. We are giving you the purest DBZ experience possible, and if you don't like that, then you don't like DBZ.''"<ref>http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13178</ref>
"''CSC Media (owners of Channel Kix; the current broadcasters of ''Dragon Ball Kai'' in the UK) were NOT given the option to purchase the Ocean dub of ''Kai''. Toei Animation ONLY gave them the option of the Funimation dub of ''Kai''. CSC Media are aware of the existence of the Ocean dub.''"<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=829625#p829625 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref>


*At one point this user also mentioned allegedly speaking to the Head of Programming at Turner Broadcasting (presumably the U.K. or European branch), mentioning: "''At the time, he said that they were not looking to get Kai but if they did, it would be the Ocean dub.''"<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=21874&p=606315#p606315 Re: DBZKai comes to the UK] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref>


'''Subzero Ice'''
===Kirbopher===
 
New York voice actor and internet personality Christopher "Kirbopher" Niosi has teased details about this dub throughout the years, including the reveal of Richard Ian Cox as Goku.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=593188#p593188 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> He has also claimed to have met the "new" voice of Zarbon in the Canadian dub, which would suggest that Paul Dobson did not reprise the role. Likewise, Dale Wilson has also been mentioned as an actor unlikely to reprise Cell as he had supposedly claimed not to have done any recording for the dub.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&p=825733#p825733 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> As he often interviews other voice actors on his YouTube channel, it's speculated that he could have received information about this dub through members of the voice cast.
Despite being an unconfirmed source, for a long time anonymous user ''Subzero Ice'' was a consistent source of information regarding this dub. Not only was he technically the first to talk about it in a (now deleted) facebook chat with Sean Schemmel<ref>http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13178</ref>, effectively revealing the dub's existence, but he had also publicly expressed eagerness to see Scott McNeil reprise Piccolo in Kai on McNeil's facebook page long before he had announced it himself at a convention panel<ref>http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21949</ref>.
 
Along with having insider knowledge of the Ocean dub, Subzero Ice also seemed to have insider connections with CSC Media as he correctly pointed out that Toei Animation's announcement of Kai's UK airdate was incorrect.<ref>http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=21874&p=595240#p595240</ref> However, he did not predict that the Funimation dub would be aired instead of the Ocean dub.
 
Below are some pieces of information Subzero Ice revealed before his interactions with the fan community ceased:
*He claimed it started production in 2010 (pre-production stages, setting overall strategy, direction for the dub, etc)
*There were some recastings and some actors returned
*Scott McNeil was one of the first to reprise his role(s).
*A new Goku was cast (now believed to be Richard Ian Cox). According to him; "they took more trouble to cast [Goku] than they needed to, however they were hoping to get the essence of the character as it is in the Japanese version."
*Peter Kelamis was not asked to audition.<ref>http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&p=596295#p596295</ref> (Presumably, Ian James Corlett wasn't asked to either)
*Maggie Blue O'Hara will not be coming back to reprise Bulma.<ref>http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&p=595241#p595241</ref>
*They have some Calgary (Blue Water) actors on the cast, but the bulk of it should be the Vancouver cast (Ocean).
*The dub has words which are pronounced closer to how they'd be said in the UK rather than the US.<ref>http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&p=596732#p596732</ref> (Scott McNeil himself has confirmed that "Namek" will be pronounced closer to Naw-Mek)<ref>https://youtu.be/T5SG5Spo4OY?t=7m39s</ref>
 
*When CSC Media's Kix channel broadcast the Funimation dub of Kai in 2012, Subzero Ice had this to say:


"''CSC Media (owners of Channel Kix; the current broadcasters of Dragon Ball Kai in the UK) were NOT given the option to purchase the Ocean dub of Kai. Toei Animation ONLY gave them the option of the Funimation dub of Kai. CSC Media are aware of the existence of the Ocean dub.''"<ref>http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14416&start=2760</ref>
On October 9, 2016, Kirbopher posted on the Kanzenshuu forums that he learned the dub would not be released, stating that; "''it was created for a very specific purpose and that purpose has more or less passed.''"<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1163935#p1163935 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming...] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> He would later follow that by saying ''"I'm inclined to agree with the last couple folks I talked to, who seemed pretty sure it's staying in a vault never to be aired anywhere, and certainly not to be given a physical release."''<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1165439#p1165439 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming...] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref> This sparked a [https://www.facebook.com/kaiforcanada Facebook page] and a [https://www.change.org/p/michelle-mcteague-put-dragon-ball-kai-on-the-air-in-canada fan petition] to get the show on the air in Canada - the home country of the dub's production, as well as one of the few English-speaking countries to have not aired any version of ''Dragon Ball Z Kai'' on television. This was buoyed by another alleged leaker claiming the show was pitched to a Canadian channel but was turned down multiple times.<ref>[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1165743#p1165743 Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming...] Retrieved 31 May '17</ref><ref group=Notes>While the leaker never mentions the channel by name, all prior Canadian ''Dragon Ball'' broadcasts were on YTV, so it can be speculated they were pitched this dub. As the channel has shifted focus away from action-based programming, fan efforts temporarily moved to its sister channel Teletoon and later, to the far more receptive new Canadian broadcaster Wow! Unlimited Media.</ref>


*At one point this user also mentioned allegedly speaking to the Head of Programming at Turner Broadcasting (presumably the UK or European branch), mentioning: "''At the time, he said that they were not looking to get Kai but if they did, it would be the Ocean dub.''"<ref>http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=21874&p=606315#p606315</ref>
==Notes==
<references group="Notes"/>


==References==
==References==
<references/>
{{reflist|2}}


[[Category:Lost audio]]
[[Category:Lost audio]]
[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Completely lost media]]

Revision as of 15:50, 7 May 2020

Dragon Ball Z Kai titlescreen.jpg

Title screen for the series.

Status: Lost

Dragon Ball Z Kai is a re-edited cut of the Dragon Ball Z anime that originally aired for 98 episodes between 2009 and 2011 in Japan. It features remastered visuals, a redone soundtrack and the removal of "filler" episodes that were part of the original anime. Like earlier Dragon Ball series, the Fort Worth, Texas-based anime distributor Funimation Entertainment licensed the series and produced an English dub that was released in 2010 through 2013.

A separate English track, aimed specifically at Canadian and European television markets, was created by the Vancouver, British Columbia-based Ocean Productions between 2010 and 2014.[Notes 1] The company had previously worked with Funimation, Saban, and Pioneer on creating a partial English dub of the Dragon Ball Z TV series and its movies in the mid-1990s. In the early 2000s, European Dragon Ball distributor AB Groupe was believed to have paid Ocean to continue production on Z, as well to create new dubs for Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT through its Calgary, Alberta-based sister company, Blue Water Studios. These were aired in Canada, the United Kingdom, and other select European markets in the same time period.

To date, no footage from Ocean's version of Dragon Ball Z Kai has ever been released. The production itself has yet to be officially announced and it is not known which company commissioned it, or whom its intended broadcast partners would have been.

History

Though the dub has never been officially announced, various leaks through actors, crew members, government agencies and individuals outside of its production, have confirmed its existence. The dub was initially mentioned by an anonymous user named 'Subzero Ice' in a now-deleted Facebook conversation that took place in late April 2010. The conversation was with Funimation voice actor Sean Schemmel who revealed that he knew of the dub's existence:

Here is why the Ocean group dub will suck. And it has nothing to do with the actors as I have enormous respect for all of them. As far as I know, the Ocean group dub is going to have this really shitty music (some of which I have heard) and a whole host of added sound effects such as "doinks" and "boinks" and even in one scene, where Bulma simply turns her head in a conversation you hear a "whoosh" sound ala a bad martial arts movie. We are giving you the purest DBZ experience possible, and if you don't like that, then you don't like DBZ.[1]

Ocean credited in the Nicktoons version of Funimation's Dragon Ball Z Kai dub.

When Funimation's English dub premiered on the U.S. Nicktoons network in late May 2010, it was noted that Ocean Productions, some of their headlining employees, and the affiliated Advantage Video company, were credited with video editing. At the time, this revelation led some fans to believe Schemmel's earlier comments were simply misinformed.[2]

Schemmel's information proved correct on September 8, 2010, as episode 26 of the podcast Voice Print with Trevor Devall went live. In it, actor Kirby Morrow was interviewed and admitted to having auditioned for the part of Goku in a Canadian dub of Dragon Ball Z Kai. [3][4] Morrow had previously played Goku in the final batch of episodes in the Canadian Z dub. The podcast episode was later re-uploaded to remove the references to the series.[5] The dub was mentioned again in Episode 28 by actor Paul Dobson, who stated Ocean Productions was responsible for it.[6]

The province of British Columbia listed the show in their production database for 2010 and 2011.[7][8] The entry suggests it was produced for Toei Animation, though it's not known if that refers to the dub or the show in general.

During June 2012, actor Brenden Hunter indicated his involvement with the show on Facebook.[9] He had played Tien and Oob in the Blue Water dubs of Dragon Ball and GT. His comment was the first indication this production would use talent from both Vancouver, British Columbia and Calgary, Alberta - the cities that individually played host to the earlier Canadian Dragon Ball dubs.

In 2013, actor Scott McNeil stated during a Q&A session at a convention that the dub of Kai had "finished" and that they had not started recording for the Final Chapters portion of the show.[10]

In late February 2014, a member of the Kanzenshuu forums asked Peter Berring, the composer who worked on the first Dragon Ball for Funimation in 1995, if he knew the singer of the show's opening theme.[Notes 2] There it was revealed that David Steele, a prolific session musician in Vancouver, was the performer behind it. The Kanzenshuu member discovered that Steele had uploaded a sample of a theme song for Dragon Ball Z Kai onto his website.[11][12][13] Steele later responded to emails about the Kai track, saying it was produced sometime in 2009 and that he was not sure if it was the final version.[14][15]

On April 1, 2014, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved 98 episodes of the series as Canadian content, indicating post-production had finished.[16]

In May 2014, reaffirming Schemel's earlier comments, a member of the Kanzenshuu forums spotted a listing for Dragon Ball Z Kai on the website for AniTunes, a Canadian music production firm run by Tom Keenlyside and John Mitchell.[17] The listing claims the company scored 105 episodes of the show for Cartoon Network U.S. It's believed the specifics of that are incorrect, as the first block of Kai consists of 98 episodes and their work on the series has never aired in the U.S.[18][19] The two musicians had previously created music for the AB Groupe Z production.

In 2016, voice actor Brian Drummond wrote on Twitter that recording had been completed but he had no idea what happened to the dub, saying he had not seen it.[20]

Sometime in early 2018, Chinook Animation, Ocean's Calgary casting agency, started listing the series on their website.[21] This was the first time Dragon Ball Kai had been publicly acknowledged by any branch of the company.

In July 2018, Toei Animation USA confirmed that they are in possession of the dub and that they're willing to license it out to interested broadcasters.[22] Wow! Unlimited Media, a newly minted Canadian broadcasting company, has expressed interest in acquiring the dub and running it on their upcoming television channel.

Crew

Staff

The following information assumes the credits from the Nicktoons cut of Funimation's dub also applies to Ocean's dub of Dragon Ball Z Kai.

Executive Producer: Ken Morrison

Producer: Dennis Hrehoriac

Supervising Producer: Diana Gage

Music: Tom Keenlyside, John Mitchell

Video Post-Production: Ryan Smith, Sam Mynott, Sean McConkey

Video Post-Production Company: Advantage Video, Inc.

Cast

In the episode of Voice Print with Trevor Devall where the dub was announced, Kirby Morrow stated that actors who had participated in the AB Groupe dub of Dragon Ball Z had been asked to re-audition their part, and that he had been rejected for the role of Goku.[4] Paul Dobson stated in Episode 28 of the same show that the producers considered keeping some roles the same and recasting others, although he did not elaborate on the extent of the changes or which actors were involved.[6]

Unlike previous Canadian Dragon Ball English dubs, which were historically recorded in either Vancouver, British Columbia with Ocean Productions[23] or alternatively, utilizing their sister studio; Blue Water Studios[24] in Calgary, Alberta, this dub of Kai utilizes both talent pools at once, a common trait of the more recent anime dubs from Ocean.

The following actors have confirmed their involvement in the unaired dub:

Ocean - Vancouver

  • Scott McNeil (as Piccolo, Jeice, Dr. Briefs)[25]
Scott McNeil; The original English voice of Piccolo
  • Brian Drummond (as Vegeta)
  • Saffron Henderson (as Gohan) [26]
  • Richard Ian Cox (as Goku) [27] (Richard has later denied this, likely because he does not want break NDA)
  • Lee Tockar (as Frieza) [28]
  • Michael Dobson (as Nappa) [29]
  • Trevor Devall [30] (Character unknown)
  • Cole Howard (as Android 17)[31]

Blue Water - Calgary

  • Brendan Hunter (Tien) [32]
  • James Beach (Character unknown) [33]
  • Steve Olson (Incidentals) [34]

Rumours

Subzero Ice

Despite their link to the production being unknown, for a long time anonymous user Subzero Ice was a consistent source of information regarding this dub. Not only was he technically the first to talk about it in a (now deleted) Facebook chat with Sean Schemmel[1], effectively revealing the dub's existence, but he had also publicly expressed eagerness to see Scott McNeil reprise Piccolo in Kai on McNeil's Facebook page long before he had announced it himself at a convention panel[35].

Along with having insider knowledge of the Ocean dub, Subzero Ice also seemed to have insider connections with CSC Media, a British broadcasting company, as he correctly pointed out that Toei Animation's announcement of Kai's U.K. airdate was incorrect.[36] However, he did not predict that the Funimation dub would be aired instead of the Ocean Dub.

Below are some pieces of information Subzero Ice revealed before his interactions with the fan community ceased:

  • He claimed it started production in 2010 (pre-production stages, setting overall strategy, direction for the dub, etc)
  • There were some recastings and some actors returned.
  • Scott McNeil was one of the first to reprise his past role(s).
  • A new Goku was cast (now believed to be Richard Ian Cox). According to him; "they took more trouble to cast [Goku] than they needed to, however they were hoping to get the essence of the character as it is in the Japanese version."
  • Peter Kelamis was not asked to re-audition for the role of Goku.[37] (Presumably, Ian James Corlett wasn't asked to either)
  • Maggie Blue O'Hara will not be coming back to reprise Bulma.[38]
  • While there are some Calgary (Blue Water) actors on the cast, the bulk of it should be the Vancouver cast (Ocean).
  • The dub has words which are pronounced closer to how they'd be said in the U.K. rather than the U.S.[39] (Scott McNeil himself has confirmed that "Namek" will be pronounced closer to Naw-Mek)[40]
  • When CSC Media's Kix channel broadcast the Funimation dub of Kai in 2012, Subzero Ice had this to say:

"CSC Media (owners of Channel Kix; the current broadcasters of Dragon Ball Kai in the UK) were NOT given the option to purchase the Ocean dub of Kai. Toei Animation ONLY gave them the option of the Funimation dub of Kai. CSC Media are aware of the existence of the Ocean dub."[41]

  • At one point this user also mentioned allegedly speaking to the Head of Programming at Turner Broadcasting (presumably the U.K. or European branch), mentioning: "At the time, he said that they were not looking to get Kai but if they did, it would be the Ocean dub."[42]

Kirbopher

New York voice actor and internet personality Christopher "Kirbopher" Niosi has teased details about this dub throughout the years, including the reveal of Richard Ian Cox as Goku.[43] He has also claimed to have met the "new" voice of Zarbon in the Canadian dub, which would suggest that Paul Dobson did not reprise the role. Likewise, Dale Wilson has also been mentioned as an actor unlikely to reprise Cell as he had supposedly claimed not to have done any recording for the dub.[44] As he often interviews other voice actors on his YouTube channel, it's speculated that he could have received information about this dub through members of the voice cast.

On October 9, 2016, Kirbopher posted on the Kanzenshuu forums that he learned the dub would not be released, stating that; "it was created for a very specific purpose and that purpose has more or less passed."[45] He would later follow that by saying "I'm inclined to agree with the last couple folks I talked to, who seemed pretty sure it's staying in a vault never to be aired anywhere, and certainly not to be given a physical release."[46] This sparked a Facebook page and a fan petition to get the show on the air in Canada - the home country of the dub's production, as well as one of the few English-speaking countries to have not aired any version of Dragon Ball Z Kai on television. This was buoyed by another alleged leaker claiming the show was pitched to a Canadian channel but was turned down multiple times.[47][Notes 3]

Notes

  1. Ocean Productions has also officially been referred to as The Ocean Group, Ocean Studios, Ocean Media, and Ocean Entertainment.
  2. Funimation's original dub for Dragon Ball was produced in Vancouver, British Columbia but wasn't produced by Ocean Productions.
  3. While the leaker never mentions the channel by name, all prior Canadian Dragon Ball broadcasts were on YTV, so it can be speculated they were pitched this dub. As the channel has shifted focus away from action-based programming, fan efforts temporarily moved to its sister channel Teletoon and later, to the far more receptive new Canadian broadcaster Wow! Unlimited Media.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Schemmel: "The Ocean Group is doing their own dub" Retrieved 30 May '17
  2. Ocean Dub Possibility Discussion Retrieved 30 May '17
  3. “Dragon Ball Kai” Alternate English Dub Revealed? Retrieved 30 May '17
  4. 4.0 4.1 Kirby Morrow talks about ocean dub kai Retrieved 30 May '17
  5. Re: Ocean Studios' Dragon Ball Kai dub seems to be coming Retrieved 30 May '17
  6. 6.0 6.1 my fan mail gets on the Trevor Devall show Retrieved 31 May '17
  7. Production Credits - Creative BC Retrieved 20 May '18
  8. Production Credits - Creative BC Retrieved 20 May '18
  9. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming. Retrieved 31 May '17
  10. Scott McNeil confirms no Buu arc so far in Ocean Kai Retrieved 30 May '17
  11. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming. Retrieved 31 May '17
  12. Cartoons - e-session-singer Retrieved 31 May '17
  13. Opening to Alternate/Ocean English Dub of “Dragon Ball Kai”? Retrieved 31 May '17
  14. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming. Retrieved 31 May '17
  15. Opening to Alternate/Ocean English Dub of “Dragon Ball Kai”? Comment 2427 Retrieved 31 May '17
  16. List of CRTC Canadian Program Recognition Numbers Retrieved 30 May '17
  17. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming. Retrieved 31 May '17
  18. Anitunes.com Retrieved 31 May '17
  19. List of Dragon Ball Z Kai episodes Retrieved 31 May '17
  20. Brian Drummond on Twitter: "Beats me...Maybe we made it solely for some crazy rich #DBZ superfan's private collection. I haven't even seen it !" Retrieved 30 May '17
  21. Chinook Animation, Voices For The World! Retrieved 20 May '18
  22. Re: Ocean Studios' Dragon Ball Kai dub seems to be coming Retrieved 05 Oct '18
  23. The Ocean Group - Anime News Network: UK Retrieved 31 May '17
  24. Blue Water Studios - Anime News Network Retrieved 31 May '17
  25. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming Retrieved 03 Jun '17
  26. Saffron Henderson on Twitter: "@garrettk18 Awwww... I heart Gohan! Years ago I got married in the US & lived in CA. Temporarily replaced but got to do lots more." Retrieved 31 May '17
  27. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming. Retrieved 31 May '17
  28. Lee Tockar on Twitter: "After nearly 2 years I'm finally able 2 announce that I M playing Frieza in the new Ocean group version of Dragon Ball Kai coming out soon!!" Retrieved 31 May '17
  29. Michael Dobson on Twitter: "Will do for sure! I'll do some digging and see if I can get some clues...thanks again my friend for the kind words." Retrieved 31 May '17
  30. INTERVIEW: Trevor Devall Retrieved 31 May '17
  31. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_iuLJ8wn8Sw/VVYnOtNQhQI/AAAAAAAAAfs/PiGgTqyhvwQ/w530-h386-p/11251773_963354097017884_227143352556700662_n.jpg
  32. Andrea Libman and Brendan Hunter panel part 1 of 5 Retrieved 31 May '17
  33. Would anyone have Kai Episode 21 dubbed from Canada? Retrieved 31 May '17
  34. Hi, my schedule at the time was limited. For Kai, I only did some incidental voices. Retrieved 7 Apr '19.
  35. Some facts and information on the Ocean dub of Kai Retrieved 31 May '17
  36. Re: DBZKai comes to the UK Retrieved 31 May '17
  37. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming. Retrieved 31 May '17
  38. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming. Retrieved 31 May '17
  39. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming.
  40. Shadocon 2012 - Voice Actor Alliance Part 2 (Scott McNeil and Sean Schemmel) Retrieved 31 May '17
  41. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming. Retrieved 31 May '17
  42. Re: DBZKai comes to the UK Retrieved 31 May '17
  43. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming. Retrieved 31 May '17
  44. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming. Retrieved 31 May '17
  45. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming... Retrieved 31 May '17
  46. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming... Retrieved 31 May '17
  47. Re: Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" dub seems to be coming... Retrieved 31 May '17