 At the time
of the Middle Tennessee anime Convention, the 6 p.m. weeknight showing
of Dragon Ball Z on the Cartoon Network was the highest rated show on that
network (according to figures from Nielsen Media Research). DBZ also had
more viewers than any other weeknight series on cable and was consistently
in the top fifteen of all cable programming. To take advantage of that
popularity, Sonny Strait, the second voice of Krillin, hit the road in
a customized Hummer to promote the Dragon Ball Z collectable card game.
Fans who attended Strait's panel at Nashville got starter card sets and
Dragon Ball T-shirts, but the best thing given out at the discussion was
a chance to hear Strait talk about the crazy parts of being the voice of
a sometimes-clueless martial artist. "I got into the booth and they give
be a script and they tell me i'm about to be turned to stone for two months,"
said Strait. |
 Of course,
Strait is the "second" Krillin because he took over the role from the original
actor once Funimation decided to move the dubbing from British Columbia
to Texas. He got the part because he sounded like the original Krillin,
but he portrayal of the part has changed from the first actor's version.
"At first, people weren't used to it. They said `that's not like Krillin.'
But they like it now, I think." One point where the dub of DBZ differs
from the original is that the English-language actors don't aim to match
the Japanese performers, he said. And a reason for that is that lines need
to be rewritten to match the onscreen lip flaps, so often words must be
added to the first script translation. Fans wanted to know some Krillin
trivia: he's bald and has the dots on his forehead because he's a shaolin
monk, and he doesn't have a nose to make him look cuter...or so Strait
said. |
 Strait said
his favorite episode of DBZ was "...early on when I got blown up by Freeza.
It was the first time I could cut loose with this blood curdling scream."
And for a show where the characters fight as often as they talk, "You really
have to get into the fight noises." Strait remembered a recording session
where Krillin was firing a series of super-fast punches. To produce the
sound, Strait threw his own punches in the recording booth, and the director
liked the result. "I realized I could do whatever I wanted," said Strait. |
