Sean Schemmel Strikes!: How I Pissed Off Goku
Submitted by Penguin Truth on April 30, 2010 - 4:21pm
"Bitch, please."
"Bitch, please."
So, we all know that I'm not a huge fan of Sean Schemmel, the voice of Goku in Funimation's English dub of Dragon Ball Z. I've said it enough. I just don't think he's that great in the role. In fact, I've said he's pretty fucking terrible. Granted, he's better than the AB Groupe and Creative Product Corp's dub Gokus, but certainly not as good as Peter Kelamis was in the role for Ocean. It's not a controversial opinion. Many people share my opinion. Anyway, apparently this has caught Mr. Schemmel's attention recently.
On the Sean Schemmel Fanclub (ahahahaha) page on Facebook, Schemmel said this:
In all my ranting about "constructive criticism" vs. "mindless bashing" and all the arguing and debating about new vs. old dub, I'd like to point out Subzero Ice as an excellent debater in all this. He has strong opinions about the dubs, but argues with me in an intellectual, and well thought out manner. He is still ...critical of some of my work, but doesn't bash me mindlessly. Our debates in particular are what I think are a good and healthy way to discuss our opinions and differences. I contrast his behavior to the aforementioned bashing I've received by penguintruth at DaishEx...So I think Subzero Ice's example of how to express your strong opinions about DBZ is a good one.
And then he said this:
Just to be clear, my feelings aren't really hurt, I just think there are some arrogant pricks out there, who think they know it all, but don't have the balls to discuss critiquing in a mature manner. yeah I used the word prick, and that's not so mature, but I'm a little pissed at the arrogant asses that seem to want to bash my work without any ... See Moreexplanation. If you don't like my work, say something like "I don't care for Sean's Goku, because etc.. etc.. and list your reasons" saying things like "aside from voice acting we discover one more thing Sean Schemmel is fucking terrible at" makes you a dick. And yes, I'm calling you a dick. Let's talk. Have a nice day.
Mr. Schemmel sent forward this message to me:
Dear penguintruth,
Now, while I am open to ... See Moreconstructive criticism, or even harsh criticism, I take issue with comments regarding my talent without explanation or reason. See, ultimately, I don't really know if I'm that talented, but what I do know, is that a lot of people who do a lot of hiring of voice talent in the industry seem to think I am because I have been hired by these people over and over to voice act, sing, direct, adapt, and even compose music. I am a classically trained musician and used to direct choir as well as sing in choir, so when you make comments like "if only they got somebody with actual singing talent to sing it" and "so aside from voice acting, we discover something else Sean Schemmel is fucking terrible at", I have to wonder if you have something personal against me, as most of the industry, and many, many people who make creative decisions every day professionally continue to hire me on a regular basis. If you were a real critic, you'd go into some reason or explanation as to why you think I'm "so fucking terrible" and the like. I don't mind criticism, as I believe in subjectivity, but your comments seem mindless and biased, and I'd like to arrange to contact you in person on the phone so I might drive my point home further. Please, if you want to bash me, feel free to do so at sschemmel@yahoo.com. Or if you live in the New York area, we could meet, and discuss my "lack of talent" in person. Or do you have the balls to do that?
In all Sincerity,
Sean Schemmel
And all through this, all I could hear in my head was that silly speech in the DBZ dub where Goku says, "ALLY TO GOOD! NIGHTMARE TO YOU!" But unlike Freeza, I don't really give a shit.
Mr. Schemmel is welcomed to defend himself in the face of my harsh criticism. Voice actors are people, too, and have feelings and professional pride. However, to accuse me of not going into specifics as to why I dislike his Goku is patently ignorant. If you're a reader of my blog, you know I go into specifics about all sorts of trivial crap about anime, voice acting included, and DBZ dubs specifically. Hell, I did an article about it. I did two, if you include my recasting article. And the two articles about Funimation's Kai announcements. I even posted some of the leaked clips of the Kai dub with very positive comments below the embedded videos, if you recall. I'm one thorough anime geek. I don't half-ass what I'm passionate about. Unlike Sean Schemmel.
I find it a little worrying that a professional voice actor, one who has a fucking Facebook fanclub filled with ass-kissers, should be concerned about and address specifically a single detractor in a sea of positive comments. Does this man have no professionalism? He's coming off as a whiny little baby about something that should mean absolutely nothing to him.
I'm not a troll, though, Mr. Schemmel. A troll is a person who goes out of their way to provoke for the simple pleasure of provoking. I may be an asshole, but I'm not a troll. I'm too lazy to put any effort into pissing people off. I just naturally piss people off. Ask anyone who knows me.
However, dear reader(s) (yeah, right), I am a fair man. I am a merciful man. I am a pillar of the douchebag-cartoon-voice-criticism community, you see. I will not pursue this any farther than Mr. Schemmel is willing to take it. I will not attack him on a personal level. I do not know Mr. Schemmel. Maybe he rescues kittens from sewer drains and cures cancer with his farts. Maybe he carves up Russian tourists with rusty meat hooks and wears their skin as a cap. Who knows? I don't care. I'm talking about his lack of voice acting talent.
I have no intention of meeting him, and find his intention to meet me to see if I have the guts to criticize him to his face a thinly veiled personal threat, but I will not take it to heart. We all say stupid things when we're angry. I'm not too cowardly to express my opinions in person, but I don't want you jumping me with a sock full of quarters, either. I will find it difficult to counter a Kamehame-curbstomp.
No, I am not a fan of Sean Schemmel's Goku. For me, it's Masako Nozawa, then in English, Peter Kelamis. Or MasakoX from DBZ Abridged, probably even better than Kelamis. But I'm one person. Challenge my point of view, I'll get back to you. Really.
I mean, I have more free time than Mr. Schemmel. Hm, then again, maybe I don't. He seems to have quite a bit, at least.
I'd run to Broly for cover, but I say negative things about Vic Mignogna, too.
- PenguinTruth
Holy Shit
Wow, his email just give me massive douche chills.
"See, ultimately, I don't really know if I'm that talented, but what I do know, is that a lot of people who do a lot of hiring of voice talent in the industry seem to think I am because I have been hired by these people over and over to voice act, sing, direct, adapt, and even compose music."
Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
How pathetic do you have to be in order to make such a comment? If you honestly don't know how talented you are... you're probably in the wrong line of work. Although my employer may have picked me up for my dashingly good looks and sense of humor, it was probably because of my skill, and I know that. Try and have an ounce of self confidence why don't you?
Let me tell you this, anyone who challenges you a fight over the internet is a bumbling mess of immaturity. I know, I've been there, I was a terrible person once. You really must have gotten under his skin for a well known industry 'celebrity' to contact you in such a way.
Protip - Anyone who goes to the trouble to say, "my feeling aren't really hurt," followed by name calling, really had his feeling hurt. Way to go Mike, you prick.
This reminds me of the
This reminds me of the Wendee Lee incident.
Only that situation was even funnier, because I'm a HUGE fan of hers.
Ineptitude!
Imagine what would happen if a properly famous actor, like Tom Cruise, would respond to criticism with such ineptitude.
Tom Cruise would probably
Tom Cruise would probably sue. He does that.
What happened with Wendee
What happened with Wendee Lee?
Lol, well, here's a short
Lol, well, here's a short version:
I frequent the ANN forums, and during a Talkback thread about the lastest Haruhi DVD release, I was talking about while Wendee Lee was a lot better than I expected in the role of Haruhi, I didn't think she could sing as well as Aya Hirano when it came to the episode where Haruhi sings.
A month or so passes, and I get an e-mail (on my birthday, actually). I open it, it says it's from Wendee Lee, informing me that she's been trained in singing as well as acting, and has been since she was a child. I checked the e-mail address to Wendee Lee's website, and it was the same. So she was commenting on some offhanded comment I made at least a month earlier on a thread that was probably on page four of the Talkback forum at ANN. It was weird.
But, as I've said, I am a HUGE Wendee Lee fan. It's just sort of funny that the one time I get the attention of a voice actress I adore, it's because of something (vaguely) negative I said, not for all the positive things I said about her in the past.
In this Sean Schemmel thing, it actually makes a little more sense, because I was sort of being a dick. But Mr. Schemmel only ever read my quick jabs at him and not more more detailed criticisms, and misunderstood.
As a fellow Wendee Lee fan,
As a fellow Wendee Lee fan, I too was surprised she could sing well.
From what I read, Sean does come off as a douce so your comments towards him weren't completely in the wrong.
Funny you mention Vic Mignogna. From what I could tell from the epic 2008 Cosfu thread, he's a walking D-Bag/Arsehole.
To whom it may concern
In regards to any so called " succsess" at pissing Sean off; I think you are an idiot. The day you are able to do anything Sean does; if not better, then maybe your opinion would matter. But until that day comes everyone should shut the fuck up and keep your "professional" opinions to yourself. K. Thanks.
Penguin of Truth.. I didn't
Penguin of Truth.. I didn't know you have a blog :O
And a good one, too :-)
I must say, English dub in Anime shows is mostly bad anyway (at least in my opinion).. so.. you know, not that new to me. I don't get why is it such a problem to make a good English dub in Anime that isn't a movie? Why is it only felt professional when it's a movie? :/
Hey now!
Hey now! It's my blog, technically. Mike just does all the work and draws all the visitors. ;)
There are some really good dubs out there, even Funi's isn't all that bad. There are just some poor VAs out there who take characters in the wrong direction.
Technically it's your SITE,
Technically it's your SITE, but it's my BLOG. :p
(You need to post more stuff, by the way!)
Yeah, there are some good English dubs. DBZ isn't one of them, though. But hey, maybe DB(Z) Kai will be.
Eh, I'm a terrible writer.
Eh, I'm a terrible writer. My Gunpla Guide is pretty popular though.
Your writing isn't that bad.
Your writing isn't that bad.
I mean, it's not to my genius level, of course, but whose is?
Mike Pissed off Sabat You
Mike Pissed off Sabat
You Pissed off Sean
I pissed of Scott Morgan.
We're going to have a massive dub cast revolt on our hands soon.
The thing is you'd never hear something like this out of Masako Nozawa. I think it's a little thing called professionalism or something.
Well, we don't know
Well, we don't know everything that goes on in Japan, lol.
Sorry for the double comment
Sorry for the double comment but did Sean really just go
"YO PUSSY SAY THAT TO MY FACE AND NOT ON THE INTERNET AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS!"
Is he freaking 12? Sean needs to take a break from the internet if he's getting riled up over one dude on a message board saying he sucks.
I've interacted with 2 people who worked on the dub. Both of them were smug douche bags who refused to hear anything negative about their work. What is UP with these people?
I was surprised he would go
I was surprised he would go that far, too. I wonder if he thinks he's really Goku.
He could probably kick my ass, but that's not a huge accomplishment, and not any way to solve this dispute.
To be fair, Scott Morgan was
To be fair, Scott Morgan was just criticizing Nathan Johnson's work pretty fairly, and then you got all butthurt and decided to say, "Some people say the same thing about your music." Don't try to take the moral highground.
I never claimed moral high
I never claimed moral high ground. You may want to pay attention.
I wasn't talking to you.
I wasn't talking to you.
Oh, well then... *I* need to
Oh, well then... *I* need to pay closer attention, lol.
There were other instances
There were other instances of me talking to him.
Also go back to bed Scott.
Actually, I'm jjgp1112, but
Actually, I'm jjgp1112, but continue deriving comfort from the thought that maybe, just maybe, someone involved with something you dislike is an asshole.
Hey, jjgp1112, you could
Hey, jjgp1112, you could always sign up.
I'm pretty sure he is a
I'm pretty sure he is a giant smug douche seeing as how I've talked to him many times through PMs you silly goose.
Also it looks like Sean is being a complete cock again so have fun with that.
Will you get the dubs dick
Will you get the dubs dick out of your mouth already?
Sean Schemmel is the best
You are so funny man. Give me a break. He is the voice of the original DBZ. To his many fans, he is the best voice. But you certainly have a huge ego when it comes to your critique. Look, you can have your own opinion when it comes to blogging. But the way you go about it as an "ASS-HOLE" as you said your self is really disrespectful. And I totally agreed that Sean Schemmel overreacted, but you're no better. It must have been something you said that offended him. I too would personally would've love to read the emails you sent him that may have sparked his emotional outrage. You both acted like children. Grow up!
Besides, your post seems to portray you as Mr. Know it all.
Sean Schemmel is "the voice
Sean Schemmel is "the voice of the original DBZ"? I was unaware that DBZ was first produced in the late nineties and originally recorded with his voice.
I could have sworn that Masako Nozawa, Ryo Horikawa, Toshio Furukawa, Tohru Furuya, and Mayumi Tanaka were the voices of the original DBZ, and Sean Schemmel et al were rejects they pulled off the streets of Ft Worth, Texas for an afternoon to voice their watered down HARDCORE ACSHOOON version of the show.
Come to think of it, Schemmel isn't even the original English dub voice. There was Ian Corlett and Peter Kelamis before him, and they both did a better job.
It's better to be an intelligent asshole than a positive moron.
But, he's a decent Ian
But, he's a decent Ian Corlett sound-alike sometimes, isn't he?
I guess.
I guess. But I always thought Ian Corlett was a little too stiff as Goku.
Y'know, it seems like at
Y'know, it seems like at this point, you're just purposely trying to get people riled up, despite what you may claim. Your sense of self-worth must be inflated by the fact that you got a voice actor angry with you. Honestly, the least you can do is show respect. Every post I've seen you make, you act like you're above dubbies and that your opinion is fact, and that anyone who likes the dub doesn't know anything about Dragon ball Z has no standards. In short, grow up, and get off your high horse. The world doesn't revolve around your opinion.
And falldog, you're basically a breathing stereotype of elitist sub fans, judging from what I've seen of this blog.
Judging from what I've seen
Judging from what I've seen of you on this list, you like to give fellatio to horse cock.
See how easy it is to spout off stupid assumptions from a point of utter ignorance?
Derpderp, this happened a
Derpderp, this happened a month ago. We're all over it.
And protip: Everybody thinks their opinion is fact. We all just pretend we don't think that way to get along with other people. Why do you think people tend to gravitate towards people of the same thought process? Because they want to feel like their perspective is justified.
Get off your own high horse.
Sean's Goku
I could almost swear that I don't remember Goku sounding that horribly bad. Then again, I was nine when I watched the entire 'Z' series for the first time, and seeing as how it was my first anime, I was too amazed to notice anything.
Oh, how I pity my childhood of listening to that voice for hours at a time.
Sean came after me, too!
Hey, can I link to this and possible quote small portions of it for an upcoming thing I'm writing about how Sean Schemmel attacked me for quoting him?
Sure, go ahead. I'm sort of
Sure, go ahead.
I'm sort of over all this by now, though. I still think he's not that great of a Goku and he was a little oversensitive, but I'm not as annoyed anymore, because I sort of get how agonizingly relentless I can be.
Peter Kelamis...the voice of
Peter Kelamis...the voice of Rolf from Ed, Edd, & Eddy? He was by far the worst Goku, dude couldn't act worth anything...
Incorrect: http://www.youtube
Incorrect:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIvJJcd4Hyk
Much better than Schemmel, and closer to Nozawa.
Schemmel doesn't understand
Schemmel doesn't understand the character at all. He once said in a interview something along the lines of "Goku's voiced by a woman in Japanese. He should be voiced by a man! When you see this big muscle bound guy, do you honestly imagine a chick voicing a badass?!"
No Sean, I imagine Goku because unlike you, Nozawa actually understands who the character is, unlike you.
Typical dub fan response of judgeing by appearance.
The thing is, with Kai at
The thing is, with Kai at least, Schemmel's Goku voice is a good voice. Except not for the character he's playing. He's at least finally sounding natural, but he's not naturally suited for the role of Goku.
So maybe I'm a little harsher than I need to be on Schemmel himself. Maybe it's more Sabat's fault for casting him in the role to begin with.
Schemmel, Pelincia and Daizenshuu EX
True, true, I'm not denouncing his Kai role. It actually sounds as you said more "natural."
I was mostly talking about his Z performance.
It's just I wish they had picked someone who actually fits Goku.
I would have loved to have heard Brina Pelincia as Son... But a last, we know the dub fans would not be happy with that. *Sigh*
P.S.- Penguin, after months of lurking I have decided to join the Daizex fourms. I wasn't planning on joining, (I've joined WAY too many DB forums that were dull and barren in the past) but changed my mind after I saw the awesome discussions. Kunzait_83 and Gaffer Tape's posts in particular are a joy to read.
Anyway, you should see me there later this day as soon as one of the Admins activates my account.
My Brina Pelincia idea from
My Brina Pelincia idea from way back in my recasting article was a bit much, I now feel. It was a tad extreme. There could be a male VA out there perfect for Goku. It's just not Schemmel.
Really? I honestly thought
Really?
I honestly thought you were on to something. Brina Pelincia, from what I've heard of her has quite the range. I really think she could have pulled it off. Plus it would give the dub fans who insist Goku be voiced by a man a lesson in typecasting.
But your probably right; there's most likely a good male voice for Goku out there, but sadly FUNimation never bothered finding him...
On a non-Goku voice related topic, Penguin how long did it take for one of the Admins over at Daizex to activated your account? I created mine last night and I've waited patiently all day, but still no second e-mail.:(
Thanks!
Sometimes it takes a while.
Sometimes it takes a while. Sean Schemmel himself trying signing up and it took days.
Oh well, it's good to know
Oh well, it's good to know it will be activated eventually.:D
Didn't Schemmel only post once or twice there and never returned?
Weird...
Well, I'm glad that he
Well, I'm glad that he discovered he had more to do than argue with me on a message board.
I have time to argue on a message board because I have nothing better to do. A professional VA should have, you know, things to do.
:lol: Very true. At least
:lol: Very true.
At least Mignogna gets his fangirls to fight for him. (Oh wait...)
Someone else with a blog got the wrath of Schemmel and since then, Schemmel has removed comments from his Facebook fanclub.
I guess he realized what a douce he was being.
On something that I would like to point out. He said he keeps getting hired by the same people over and over. To which I say; Who? 4Kids?!
Looking at there track record and what they consider "Good quality", that's not something to be particularly proud about.
Just saying.
That other guy that miffed
That other guy that miffed Schemmel, Kendamu, is also a frequenter of the DaizenshuuEX forums and has been on the (AWESOME) podcast for that site. His was an even lesser offense of simply quoting Schemmel.
The guy is a little oversensitive.
Sean Schemmel is da shit
Sean Schemmel is da shit (not that im jock ridin or anything)
To each his own.
To each his own.
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