FUNimation is a Good Company!

Lately I have noticed something that has really just gotten me angered and I thought I should share it with everyone out there. What has gotten me so angry lately is the way FUNimation is still treated in spite of how much they have improved. This editorial will talk about FUNi's start at the Dragon Ball Z dub all the way to Blue Gender and Yu Yu Hakusho and how much FUNi has improved. So without further ado.....

When FUNimation dubbed the first two seasons to Dragon Ball Z, fans seemed to be generally happy. Sure, A LOT was cut of the episodes and many dialogue changes were made but fans liked the voices and the plot. So they didn't complain. Everyone seemed to be happy. This happiness soon ended though and this is where everyone started making fun of FUNimation.

When Season 3 to Dragon Ball Z was introduced fans were immediately whining and posting their complaints on what used to be "friendly" message boards. Fans did not like the new voices and many people decided to give up on FUNi. I must admit I was upset about Season 3 as well and I am pretty sure most people were and they had reason to. FUNimation was slowly improving though. Less censoring was done to the series and blood was actually shown. Translation was still not perfect though and FUNi had their own recorded music which was just as good as the first two seasons music if not worse. Fans were also not very thrilled with Freeza sounding like a girl and the homo-erotic references made by him. At this point fans either stopped watching the show and complained about FUNi or continued to watch in spite of everything hoping for the best. Well, the best did come, but not immediately.

When the Cell Saga was being dubbed for Dragon Ball Z I remember many fans rushing out to buy the "Mysterious Youth" and "Prelude to Terror" VHS and people were not very happy about them. Fans were quite shocked when most of Trunks' badass lines were changed and King Kold did not gain any respect at all (What's a Goku Ring a bell?). There was also some sexual innuendo made between Trunks and King Kold and I am positive a very different atmosphere was given out from the dub version than the Japanese version. Fans did seem to be happy about Mr. Johnson's portrayal as Trunks and the voices did seem to be getting better. Could FUNimation actually be doing something right?

As the Cell Saga continued more voices were introduced and fans seemed to like them except for a few exceptions (Android 19 and Android 16). Voices such as Cell and other characters had approval and the translation and music did seem to be getting better except for a FEW exceptions. When the Cell Saga neared its end many fans were pleased with the translation job (Hell, Kiezan was even uttered at one point!) but angered with Gohan's Super Saiya-jin 2 Transformation and with the name change of "Mr.Satan" to "Hercule". Many fans still insisted that FUNimation is the company of the damned and the employees are the Devil's Advocates.

Let me tell you something about FUNimation's employees. They are great people who truly care about their anime licenses and their fans. I am friends with a selected group of FUNimation's staff and they are some of the nicest people I have met in my life. They really put the fans first in spite of some of the awful things said to them which no one deserves to be called. At times thhey might seem a bit rude or aggravated but you must remember they are very busy people and they put up with a lot. Try putting yourselves in their shoes for a minute and see how you would feel if fans kept making fun of you time and time again even when you are trying your best and listening to the fans opinions. How do you all sleep at night, heh.

FUNimation's Buu Saga dub is EXCELLENT. The translation is near perfect and the voices are excellent (Dabura is ne to mention). FUNimation's own version of the music is there, but that is a small price to pay. I honestly think the Buu Saga dub is going to be great and I am looking forward to when it will be shown on TV. Then again though I suppose some people can argue about Paikuhan being changed to "Pikkon" and the infamous "Great Saiyaman rap scene" but when you really look at it these are little things that no one showed get TOO worked up about.

The DVDs also had a lot of flack from the fans and the first Ginyu set weren't the best. Carly has done a great job with them now though and the DVDs now are actually a good buy and with the DVDs containing the original Japanese version how can you go wrong?

FUNimation recently bought some new properties namely Dragon Ball, Blue Gender and Yu Yu Hakusho (the last 10 Lupin Movies are also in there). I am pretty sure NO fan can say that the Dragon Ball dub is not good and it is at least an improvement. The Dragon Ball dub has little censoring done which is excellent, especially for some of the content. The original music has been kept intact which is a god send and the translation and voices keep getting better (Yet again, there are a few exceptions). The Dragon Ball dub has already started to change a few people's minds about FUNimation and hopefully it will continue to do this.

Yu Yu Hakusho has not had much work done on it yet but the original music is being kept in and Chris is literally fighting to keep certain aspects of the show kept in because he wants it as close to the original as possible. Blue Gender also looks VERY promising and will also keep all the aspects of the Japanese version. Blue Gender is also a very adult series so it might change the minds of some Anti-FUNi people. Then again, it might not.

FUNi is doing more and more stuff to please fans by releasing more articulated toys (which really kick ass) and even having Celebrity Chats with some of their Voice Actors. FUNimation is always listening to people's ideas as well, so they must be caring about the fans. Why else would they do this?

By many of the things I have just listed I hope many people have realized that FUNi has improved drastically and are no longer the mediocre company that they once were. There are still a few people though that poke out every little last detail to make FUNimation look bad and in my opinion that is just a big waste of time. These people do make so good points at times though. Some people make fun of how some of the Voice Actor's looks and their ability (While they are in no position to do so) and call the VAs (Chris Sabat inparticular) terrible things. When I was at my anime convention in Toronto the things people yelled at Chris were terrible and then when they came up in line they were asking to take pictures with him! This is just hiprocity (being a hypocrite) and it really makes no sense. FUNimation has now become and will most likely remain a good dubbing company and if some people can't see that then they must REALLY not want to see the truth.

If the trends keep on continuing then FUNimation will be doing an excellent job in the years to come and hopefully all of this "FUNi-bashing" will be put to an end. I will once again state that I believe FUNi no longer deserves half the criticism they receive and everyone should just give them another chance (Even though you might have already). I promise you, you will not be disappointed.

I would just like to say that although some of you may not agree with my views, please do not dislike me for those reasons .I am really a good guy and I am sure some people could tell you that.

-Daniel Kurland