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How
AP Spanish Made Me See the Light
by "Dark
Paladin"
Originally
Posted: 20 March 2000
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Before
I begin let me just note that I have been watching Dragon
Ball Z ever since I first saw it listed in the TV section
of Newsday several years ago. I still remember all of those
mornings where I would wake up at insanely early hours just
to watch the purity that was DBZ. Through the years I watched
each episode until the day where DBZ just disappeared. Poof!
In an instant DBZ disappeared as quickly as it came. I mournfully
wailed about its loss and the fact that I was too naive
to even think about doing something as brilliant as taping
even one episode. All of those wonderful, cherished memories
were gone forever. Then I learned everything about DBZ from
the internet and learned how my entertainment as a child
was nothing more than a sickening, horrible lie (being melodramatic
has its moments)!
*Sniff* Sorry about everything that I mentioned. It's just
that I get nostalgic for memories like those. The real point
of this essay is how everything came into place. An acquaintance
at school informed me one day about Dragon Ball Z on Telemundo,
a Spanish channel that is on cable on Long Island and in
other areas, I would assume. The next morning I decided
to see if he was right. Lo and behold there it was, Dragon
Ball Z! Only much different than the DBZ I knew! It was
nothing like it was before years ago, it bore no resemblance
to the DBZ that returned to TV on Cartoon Network and it
was nothing like I had ever seen before! The opening of
Cha-La Head-Cha La, albeit in Spanish, made my ears practically
dance off the side of my head! Even today it's one of my
favorite openings out of all of the anime I have seen. The
first episode I watched was no different either. I had the
same exact reaction throughout the entire episode. Goku
just returned to the magnificent battle between the Z Warriors
and Nappa and Vegeta. I recognized the "new" footage throughout
and then finally saw, with my own eyes, the glory that made
DBZ so powerful. That was the moment when Goku surveyed
the battlegrounds and saw the remains of his friends with
the slow yet touching music that whispered in the background.
At that moment I not only was at the edge of my seat on
the couch, I fell over and smacked my head on the floor!
Ever
since that moment in that one episode I realized everything
that I had been missing. The beautiful and appropriate (FUNimation,
please take note of that specific word) music helped to
establish the tone. The dialogue was, from what I understood,
intact. There weren't any quips of dialogue that would make
anyone with a sense of humor gag themselves into a fit.
I cannot comment much on the dialogue because even though
it was much more mature than anything in any of FUNimation's
slashings of DBZ I don't know the level of dialogue from
the original. I have to say that for the most part, even
though I really understood about 80% of the dialogue, that
what I heard was about as close, if not an exact copy, of
what the original Japanese dialogue was. All of this led
up to the one thing that just hit me hard, the one quality
that I was hoping to hear throughout the hours and hours
of awaiting to see this phenomenon: excellent voice acting.
Each character was distinct and perfect for his or her roles,
they had emotion and depth. Many characters brought to us
in FUNimation's version are just offending! They try but
somewhere something goes horribly wrong and we end up with
another "Frieza". I started to cry when I heard everyone
start talking in the Spanish version...I broke down right
then and there and sobbed. All of those amazing factors
combined created not only a work of art but brought the
entire mood of Dragon Ball Z to the public, at least in
some form.
I'm
drowning in a sea of happiness over here! If you have any
knowledge of Spanish and have the ability to at least comprehend
some of a conversation in Spanish I implore you to find
out if any channels where you are have Dragon Ball Z in
Spanish! Don't go to your TV, turn on Cartoon Network, and
fiddle around with the SAP option on your TV. Go out there
and find what I am talking about. I have always been an
avid fan of DBZ but this is where I should give something
back to all of you people who do not know about this already.
Do anything in your power to watch Spanish DBZ! Even if
you don't know Spanish and you love DBZ, tune in! It will
be the best thing you will ever do, I swear to that. There
are tons of things that you are missing. If you want to
see all of the fights uncensored, go right ahead. You don't
need the dialogue for that. If you are knowledgeable about
Spanish and actually understand the language fairly well
you will uncover the beautiful moments of Dragon Ball Z
where you will break out the Kleenex until the episode is
over! There are options out there for everyone who is a
fan of Dragon Ball Z. If you cannot afford fan subs or the
original tapes then try this. FUNimation may be forced or
feels the need to edit DBZ for the majority but us otaku
of DBZ have so many incredible options open for us that
we cannot ignore. By chance, because I decided to go to
the library during school rather than getting lunch, I learned
once again why Dragon Ball Z has such an incredible following.
For the love of Kaio-sama, don't miss out on this.
~Additional
Essay Goodness!~
I
have just come back from a college audition recently and,
after a long day of playing the clarinet and finally hitting
the bed of the hotel room I was staying in, I turn on the
TV. You know how TVs in hotels are. You can either get the
almighty wealth of programming that is cable TV or you get
your basic channels and something else thrown in so you
don't call the front desk and curse the manager out. ^_~
So I'm on the verge of watching The Drew Carey Show because
I was so exhausted that I couldn't hit the next button on
the remote. After two minutes into the show (it was the
beginning, mind you), I finally decide to test my luck with
the International Channel. I knew what "special anime" it
had but I had no idea when it was on. My face turned from
sleepiness to pure elation when I instantly recognized Cell!
There it was, DBZ in Japanese! Right there in front of me
was none other than the pure, unadulterated anime known
as Dragon Ball Z. My knowledge of Japanese, I should mention
right now, is so basic you would wonder why I even bothered
to watch it at all. But I sat there, on the edge of the
bed, experiencing a perplexed and wondrous feeling of emotions
all at once. My eyes were literally fixated to the screen
and I nearly bit my dad's head off when he started cracking
jokes about DBZ. I was poised, ready to absorb everything
I experienced while on the verge of cursing out my father!
What
do I have to say about this experience as well? Never have
I been so moved by anything. There is a purity to seeing
Dragon Ball Z in Japanese. Truly, there is! I understood,
at times, only part of what everyone was saying. I recognized
the Androids (particularly 18!), Cell, Tenshinhan, and everyone
else immediately. I have listened to countless clips over
the internet, I've even downloaded all of the small movie
files I could find that showcased the best moments from
all of Dragon Ball Z. Still, nothing prepared me for this!
I recognized each voice, salivated at the sight of Cell
in action, and nearly fainted by the voice actors. You know
you are listening to incredible voice actors when, in a
language you barely understand and yet appreciate more than
anything else, they can deliver lines that are over your
head but you can still identify the emotion and depth behind
every single word. I could literally feel the tension, arrogance,
and sheer horror of the characters! I had an understanding
of all of the events even during a period where I didn't
understand a single word for ten minutes straight! ~That~,
my dear readers, is how voice acting should be done. The
music goes without saying as well. All of the old music
is there, right where it is supposed to be! The one thing
that I hated about the entire ordeal was that that single
episode was the only episode of Dragon Ball Z I will see
in Japanese for a very long time. Why, you may ask? Let's
just say I mourn my cable company for never thinking to
add a certain International Channel to their line of cable
channels. Oh, cruel and fickle fate! Still, I am glad for
the opportunity to not only see the power of Dragon Ball
Z in a language I comprehend very well, but to see it in
its purest, most quintessential form.
Contact: darkpaladinssu@hotmail.com
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