Call me a purist, or a weeaboo, or whatever the hell you want, but I can’t watch DBZ in English.  I just can’t.  The voices don’t sit well with me.  The translations don’t go over well…and the Americans have a history of fuckin’ shit up when they don’t need to.

Exhibit A: Gohan’s transformation into Super Saiyajin Level 2.

Android 16 begs Gohan to protect nature.  After he says this, Cell (Voiced by Norio Wakamoto) curbstomps him and tells him that he’s said his last words.  Gohan, filled with rage, surpasses his own limitations and goes into SSJ2  for the first time.  The timing of everything in that scene was absolutely perfect.  Gohan was speechless up until the curbstomp, and even into his transformation he still didn’t say a word.  The placement of Hironobu Kageyama’s “Unmei no Hi” (Day of Fate) was timed perfectly.  The result?  One of the most moving scenes in any animation series.

In the American version, Gohan says a few more lines (THAT WERE UNNECESSARY), Android 16’s voice carries far less emotion, and there’s NO UNMEI NO HI.  WHAT THE HELL.  They replaced with more of their generic rock music.

For a guy that’s grown up on the Japanese DBZ, I could never bring myself to watch the English version.  I still can’t.  The English dub does have some moments, but for every good moment, I would always find something that I just didn’t like.