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Poll

Dragon Ball šŸ‰Series Subbed VS Dubbed

  • English Dub 293
  • Japanese Sub 282
  • 2026-04-16
  • —2026-04-19
  • 575 votes
{'title': 'Dragon Ball šŸ‰Series Subbed VS Dubbed', 'choices': [{'text': 'English Dub', 'votes': 293}, {'text': 'Japanese Sub', 'votes': 282}], 'closes_at': datetime.datetime(2026, 4, 19, 6, 59, tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc), 'created_at': datetime.datetime(2026, 4, 16, 0, 49, 12, tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc), 'description': None, 'allow_multiple': False, 'total_votes': 575}

Content

Interest check.

We are siding towards the English dubbed unless there is a strong preference.What should the watch order be? Dragonball -> Dragonball Z? KAI? SUPER? GT?

Poll ends Saturday April 18, 2026 at 11:59pm PDT

Comments

Venti Childe

My native language is not english so I rather let people decide cause I feel like some people feel nostalgia when watching dub

Jin Jusuke

Japanese dub. There are too many name changes and script changes with the English dub. Iā€˜ll lose interest if you watch the English dub.

lejj

I think GT is in another timeline, no?

Zelecta

DB - DBGT -

Gin

Definitely the dub, the voices are infinitely better and fit the characters more

J D. Legend

Japanese dub, me personally i don't like watching anime english dub its so awkward

Wanbli Wakua

Db-DBZ-GT-DBS Poll for Dub vSub before each series. Kai just DBZ but censored

Soulrebel0902

To be honest with this anime Dub is actually pretty good. Either or doesn’t matter, though I feel like the Japanese va have more emotion.

Milon McGuffin

DB - DBZ - DB SUPER - DB DAIMA. GT isn't canon and Kai is just remastered DBZ

Kai-lo

English dub for sure Dragon ball-> Dragon Ball Z-> GT=Super GT isn't cannon anymore but it's still cool to watch. If you want to just follow the current story then go for Super, preferably the remake that's coming out this Fall.

Danilo Martinez

Japanese dub all the way the enlgish dub changes character dialogue heavily from the original

TW

English dub, NOT kai. While kai is good, the voice acting is forced and just isnt good. Some screams are great, the but the over all dialogue is just bum.

Meliodas Sama

THIS IS DRAGON BALL THE GRANDFATHER OF THE BIG 3 TO SHOW RESPECT IT HAS TO BE SUBBED

sobTHEgg

If we’re talking dbz im partial to whichever version has ā€œBruce Faulconerā€ music…quotes because recently I learned he was credited without actually contributing very much…s/o to Mike Smith, Julius Dobos and Scott Morgan

Jin Jusuke

The hell?! Kai has a better Eng dub, and that’s coming from me, who prefers JP dub all the way. Chris Ayres was a much better Freeza than Linda Young. Heck, at least Kai doesnā€˜t make up Freezaā€˜s supposed native tongue like the original Funimation dub did.

Ichigoat

Dragon ball is probably like the only anime where the English dub is superior to the Japanese.

Star

I say English dub all the way thru until db super. They're some parts throughout the series that Japanese dub sounds better than English dub and English dub would sound better than Japanese dub. Also watch Dbz kai version instead of funimation because the dialogue is a bit better in kai version. Kai is censored as well. Regardless of how you watch the series, I believe yall are gonna to enjoy one of top anime series of all time. I grew up watching this series since they were on VCR tapes so im so excited to see yall watch my favorite anime!

Piotr Hozakowski (phappy)

Japanese dub because it's not censored like English. Furthermore, not all of your viewers are from English-speaking countries. It annoys me that on youtube I can only watch with eng dub. Luffy, Ace, Buggy (JAP)- all these VAs are originally in DB.

Vaghun E

English dub Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragon ball Super, Dragonball GT, Dragonball Daima DBZ KAI has better English dub But DBZ is the original with better music. GT is not necessarily apart of the rest but like a what if the future was this after DBZ. A fun watch also. Daima is technically before super and after DBZ but kinda doesn’t line up. But a fun watch.

GodUsopp

The dub is leagues better its the only anime where the dub is the best, I would say Dragon ball into Dragon ball z kai into Dragon ball super movies into the dragon ball super series. But I know im probably on a island about kai> Z because i grew up with kai and its just quicker and better paced, Dragon ball z is like regular one piece and dragon ball z kai is like the one piece remake thats gonna be closer to the manga

Alec

For the people saying there are name changes or script changes... Maybe this could be pointed out in the comments when necessary but it seems like y'all only got this one main issue with it whereas for those like me who don't like the Japanese dub it's gonna be a continuous every single episode thing. I normally watch all anime with the Japanese dub but Dragon Ball and the English version is iconic and good in my opinion because there's so much soul and aggression in a lot of the fights. It makes the fights feel more hype to me when the voice acting intensity is there.

peter

agreed, its tooo iconic. I can deal with people going sub on naruto even tho i grew up with english dub naruto. But Sean schimmels goku is what made anime popular in the west

peter

I also like kai better than Z but we will reach that bridge when we get there

peter

I think the Z vs Kai debate can be saved for another day, You should cross that bridge once you finish dragon ball

Jay

dub and its not even all that close, people asking for sub are either lying or cosplaying as sub purist, no shot people actually like the sub over the dub for freaking DRAGON BALL Z

n Ferrante

You dont ned to Watch Kai its only Dragon Ball Z in a Bit better visuals

n Ferrante

You should Watch in this Order , Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball GT, Dragonball Super

Shahrul Nizam

Vote for English Dub guys! Please Kakarot and Vegeta's eng va sounds way better!!!!

Dragoux

I like sub more, but the dub is alright. I'm someone who watches anime in sub but I never really dislike any dub. A lot of people are partial to the dub because they grew up with it, so a lot of them will claim it's way better or the only way to watch it. That's just not true at all lol. The sub is closer to "canon" I guess, it's been a long time since I've watched both. There's some strange script rewrites and music choices here and there, but I don't really care either way.

Robbie Medica

No it's Dragon Ball Z with better voice acting (except Gohan) and without the absolutely terrible mistranslations that are completely out of character and contradict the power scaling. But Z has music that hits harder.

Jonny

Definitely watch it English dubbed. And yes Dragonball first then Z then GT then Super.

Robbie Medica

It's funny I prefer the sub for OG Dragon Ball and for Super, but I prefer the dub for Z. But obviously they should stick to one

Casshern Sins

To watch Dragon Ball in order, begin with the original Dragon Ball (1986), followed by Dragon Ball Z (or Kai for less filler). Next, watch Dragon Ball Super, then the Broly and Super Hero movies. Dragon Ball GT is considered a non-canon side story and can be watched after Z or at the end. You guys can look it up if you still not sure to watch the Dragon Ball in order.

Robenson BADETTE

People who said dub is because they grew up with it that's all, because if you want the original dialogues it's sub 100% and if you do dub keep the original OST's because the american ones are horrible

Robenson BADETTE

I don't care, Masako Nozawa as Goku can't be touch by an English dub

Robenson BADETTE

The dub is trash, they changed a lot of the actual dialogues but people wouldn't know that since they've watch it only in Dub lol

Gin

I didnt ask you and her voice is annoying

ML

I was for dub until I remember what they did to Ultimate Battle in Super.

Bikrant

If you care about having the authentic story/atmosphere the watch in Japanese.

MARS

Dragon Ball - Dragon Ball Z Kai - Dragon Ball Super dragon ball z kai is remastered version of Z , better to watch Z Kai instead of Z. no need to watch Dragon ball gt , cause that is non-canon series . no need to waste time on that

Michael

Who in the fuck picked dub? Don’t ever watch anime again please

Michael

You were definitely born yesterday lmao

Volt

If you end up watching dub watch kai instead of Z, the dub for the original Z is pretty bad, Im not sure you'd even be able to take it seriously. The dub for og dragon ball is mid but watchable , its also unserious but to a lesser extent. Heavily recommend the sub tho for character and lore accuracy to the manga and it's just way better and DB -> Z -> Super

GodUsopp

i think kai vs Z is gonna take another poll once they finish the og dragon ball, I grew up with kai and went back and watched the original Z and Kai is leaps and bounds better

Merfhew

Come on, people... šŸ˜” If you're truly a Dragonball fan, you can share how much you loved the sub and/or dub without trashing the show. DB was an important part of many people's childhoods, so I get the passion and voice preference, but let's be respectful.

Volt

Uh script changes are a very big deal, I also grew up with dub but regardless of how good some actors are it's objectively a bad dub since it changes the characters. I love all the dub actors but the characters are more important which is why I recommend the sub

Volt

Noticing that those who recommend dub never talk about story or characters just voices they like and nostalgia

Ryan

Idk man Sean Schemmel has passed out multiple times doing his screams lmao

GodUsopp

well i grew up with kai so i was never affected by dub character changes, which is why im a fan of kai over the original dbz, dub is still clear

GodUsopp

i mean im still watching either way and i am exicited they are watching the goat franchise. But my enjoyment goes to 1000 with the dub

PLAGUE

either is fine. just dont watch the english dub of DBZ Kai. I can’t stand Gohan’s voice in it

BP

Japanese dub. The ONLY reason people say watch the English dub us because they don't like Goku's Japanese voice. I love his Japanese voice and the music is also classic. IMPORTANT: The original DBZ English dub is loaded with translations issues and just flat out completely different lines at times. Despite how people feel the Japanese sub is the most ACCURATE version. The English dub has improved greatly over time but it is NOT better. It's just that for many, they were introduced to the series through the English dub.

BP

Well that's just a silly thing to say. People were watching Dragonball through VHS fansubs in Japanese way before it was widely known in English.

Ubergamer

If you'd watch the english dub, i reccomend watching DBZ Kai after DB since the english dub wasn't very accurate to the manga in the OG DBZ I grew up watching it but i can't ignore that fact And then of course Super

Camska

Dub is trash and changed dialogs and deleted the original soundtrack Dub is a BIG no for me, it's insulting

Whoopsie

Exactly this.

Whoopsie

Dragon Ball, Z or Kai I think those 2 need to be a poll when you get to that point. GT then Super.

mortred9999

English dub is a disaster. In japan dub some of the voice actor/actress appear in other anime and its have its own voice character that have great impact to the anime.

Michael H

Go with whichever version you want. Both sub and dub have their pros and cons. The sub has a more accurate portrayal of the characters while the dub (DBZ) has a more epic and atmospheric vibe due to the unorthodox music implementation. Kai is a more accurate version of the DBZ dub without the atmospheric soundtrack and some filler episodes. If you decide to go with sub or Kai, understand that there are some very specific scenes in DBZ that should ABSOLUTELY be viewed in dub (non-negotiable) šŸ˜‰

Marou

Correct me if I am wrong about everything I am about to say but the chronological order to watch the canon series would be DB -> DB Z -> DB Daima -> DB Super. As for GT, it actually comes right after DB Z but it is not a canon series, so I am not sure what other people think about that. And about Kai: it is mainly a cleaner version of Z with better pacing, almost no fillers and better video quality, so for me watching Z and Kai would be watching the same series twice.

Marou

Ohh and again, this is the chronological order of the story. In reality, Daima was released years after DB Super haha

Teej Meister

I just think Frieza seems a bit more ruthless with subs, but the dub is still solid. Otherwise I'm 50/50.

Tonic

Please watch the English dub. It would be refreshing for once and the voice actors are not as bad as people make it seem. Please take in mind that you will not be confused at all the way people are describing. They’re just constantly using any excuse to avoid watching English dub. You have a heavy fan base that caters to Japanese dub so they are going to be very biased in the comments. English dub is great. Dragon ball, Dragon ball z, dragon ball GT, dragon ball super.

Michael H

Fair enough. I personally prefer the Faulconer score even though Bruce only produced a small number of the songs in it. The decision to have wall-to-wall music was just the cherry on top that added something extra for me 😊

MVP GREEN

Dragon Ball -> Dragon Ball Z Kai

MVP GREEN

How did Kai dub change the dialog?

No

the ppl arguing over dub vs sub are fucking dorks. watch it how yall want to watch it!

Superman

they are talking about dbz , kai dub is much better, so if the english dub wins. I expect all these people who wanted sub and are saying its innacurate, to come back and rightfully vote for kai over dbz

MegaMan

i think they have a very biased sub audience , im suprised its this close because dbz dub vs sub is like a 80-20 thing in the dbz north american audience, most people prefer dub. Like if a youtube is watching dragon ball and i click and its sub i probably wont watch. these guys are different because a big fan of them

Original

Dont watch Dragon Ball Z Kai the music and voices are ass watch the OG trust

rryutie

Holy crap how is it even this close? Guys the main protagonist sounds like a freakin grandma in the sub. Also, I didnt know u guys are planning to react to ALL of the dragonball franchise, that's gonna be a loooooot. Completely candidly, I didn't vote for it, but i'll give my two cents. The order you guys want to do is for sure dragonball -> DBZ KAI: removes filler BUT the soundtrack is not anywhere even close to being as good. And the DBZ soundtrack (the bruce falconer version) is worth watching that version specifically for. People who want the dragonball reacts dont care about the episode to episode fluff, they care about the epic scenes that come up and that soundtrack ELEVATES those scenes to a whole new level. So IMO, f*ck kai. Try to find the falconer version of DBZ. OR OR OR... BIG OR. Watch the Kai version BUT for the episodes that are arc climax's with the big fights, switch to the bruce falconer version for those. I think that's also a solid idea. I didn't watch Super, so I have 0 input on it besides this small snarky remark, that I see it as the boruto equivalent to naruto shippuden. But I did watch GT and I did enjoy it. The best comparison I can give is to one piece's G8 arc (episodes 196 - 206) Where the whole thing is filler but it's worth watching cause it's good/enjoyable. Without any spoilers, the premise of GT is just following a brand new character's journey, and honestly it has its moments. BUT, a lot of people dislike GT, you're probably going to have to separately poll whether to watch it or not after you finish DBZ. And that poll is probably going to fail (not gonna be in favor of watching it - cause fans will want to see you hurry up to react to DB:super).

rryutie

Bro. the thing is though, it's dragonball. It's not watched for its story. The whole anime is just fighting. fight scenes. epic fight scenes. etc. And the only thing that matters is elevating those scenes = good soundtracks = bruce falconer version.

rryutie

Putting aside the faithfulness to the manga argument, what bruce falconer did for the series is legendary. The original soundtrack is completely average so I don't understand how that's even being brought up as a reason for feeling insulted. It's like if mozart reworked the soundtrack for lord of the rings and managed to elevate it even more, like are we really gonna be pressed about it lol...

Camska

"The original soundtrack is completely average" Saying that of the legendary Shunsuke Kikuchi's is a huge spat in the face of every true Dragon Ball fans. I know you american have nostalgie of your tuning car music, but font ever compare it to the TRUE dragon ball music

Jay

Thats mostly the nostalgia talking, the sub is better and less corny.

Kyle

Could probably skip Dragon ball tbh. Would take to long. Z to SUPER

GodUsopp

what? thats like skipping naruto and going to shippuden

Kyle

In my opinion, definitely not the same comparison. Lots of of people watch Z before the original Dragon Ball. Not needed to make the Z story makes sense and they do a small recap as well

Boris .

What he commited is an insult to human cognition.

GodUsopp

yeah but that was on accident as kids, if you know dragon ball exist you should watch it first

Animavers

Would skip Z, kai is a much better version think of it like Z but without a character just running for an entire episode

Animavers

DUB all the way btw, goku's voice in jap is so .. unsettling

Animavers

actually daima is a different time line, it cannot be the same time as super

vikky

No need to watch GT, it isn't really canon.

Merfhew

You can advocate for dubbed without putting down Masako Nozawa's performance. She's done an amazing job as Goku, as has Sean Schemmel.

n Ferrante

Please vote for japanese

Marou

Ahhh okay I watched it but didn't know that, although that would make more sense as I was also confused on how some of the stuff introduced in Daima would fit in with the lore provided in Super. Thanks!

Aizen’s Chair

Tbh I’d say watch dbz in English dub and super in sub. I watched super in sub because it was first airing and did not have dub available yet. And to me super in sub gives you that traditional dragon ball feel while also feeling like a Japanese subbed experience. Early dragon ball should be experienced in English because of how dedicated and passionate English voice actors were in voicing these iconic characters. It does not hit the same post mid 2000s. But that’s my opinion

Aizen’s Chair

Dragon ball is the series I’d say you must experience in English dub. Super like I said I don’t mind either or

Christian Mendoza

I watch all my anime in jap. But dragon ball is so much better in English dub. Can't stand hearing the Japanese VA for goku/kakarot specially in super.

Whoopsie

both sub and dub are peak and i am happy they are going to watch either one

TW

ENG DUB NOT THE KAI version. That is the best OG way to watch DBZ. Its what we all grew up with.

Vinay N

Yuck japanese version sucks. Please vote for English dub and not Kai version

donald nachman

Dragonball -> Dragonball Z -> Super -> Daima

GodUsopp

i think we will have the kai vs z debate when they finish dragon ball, I think kai is objectively better and more accurate to the manga, most people who vote for the sub are doing it because the dbz dub makes changes , Kai is more faithful to the manga, and its not terribly paced

Ken Takahashi

plz do japanese the english dub changes so many things with the story and dialogue and even the iconic soundtrack. There's so many legendary Japanese voice actors on here that starred in a lot of the animes you guys have been watching!! I highly recommend the original Japanese sub and watch it like this Dragon Ball- Dragon Ball Z- Super- Daima. Don't do Kai and GT you could honestly watch after Z or Super if u want to.

Ken Takahashi

dude not everyone is an American

Ken Takahashi

bro no it doesn't i hate the characterization the dub did to goku's whole character

Ken Takahashi

who's we? not everyone is an american

Vinay N

In India we had only z version and not Kai . So basically US and Indian people grew up the z version with best english dub and soundtrack

GodUsopp

not to sound snobbish but dbz in america in the 90s is what allowed anime to take off, it gave the anime industry a gateway to the american consumer which gave them more money to produce legendary shows

jay

People are overexagerrating how much the english dub changes, I grew up with the sub and went and watched the english dub and ended up liking it more. The story is EXACTLY, the same, dont listen to them. Youll get more views on youtube if its in the englissh dub

Ken Lang

Goku's chipmunk high screeching voice that doesn't match his body is terrible and for that sole reason dub is better. Also a lot American fans grew up loving DBZ watching it air on Toonami in early 2000s in eng dub. But when you watch dub make sure to find the U.S broadcast version which replaces the original japanese OST with Bruce Falconer's produced OST which is way better because the original Japanese OST sounds like a 50s black n white comedy show lol And make sure it's not the Kai version either, that is heavily censored and lines altered...All that to say english dub is better, everybody knows it.

Brad Craig

Might wanna rush over to their youtube post. The sub votes is overtaking the dub votes there. This goes for other dub voters too. HEAD OVER TO YOUTUBE!!

TW

the OG dbz is why we all loved it in the first place.

Brad Craig

The votes for sub are beating the votes for the dub out on YouTube by a decent amount. I get the feeling that the dub is gonna either lose at the last minute here due to how close the votes are here on Patreon.

Brandon Holmes

I like both but not a fan of goku voice in Sub. Sorry She a great VA but just her voice to me doesn't fit Goku at all compare to the dub.

GodUsopp

yeah they have a sub biased audience, gokus voice in sub is genuiely awful

Jared

well then those youtuber voters should pay for their patreon and come vote , the sub sucks. No one wants to hear big muscle fighting bros sounding like old women

Brad Craig

The voice doesn't fit imo. She do the voices for his two sons and father if I'm not mistaken.

Jay

Ok here are my thoughts since its very close, If your worried about views on youtube. Your likely to get waay more with dub since its the objectively more popular version of dragon ball z. Alot of the complaints people have about "oh the dub makes changes" are exaggerations but even for the parts they are right about, That is solved by watching dragon ball z kai, Which is the original dialogue with great english voice acting and much better paced with no filler or padding. I personally cant stand gokus sub voice acting, bless her heart shes a legend personally picked by akira toriayam himself but I cant stand listening to my favorite character ever sounding like a 80 year old woman . The dragon ball z english dub is so popular that all those voice actors became mainstays in the anime voice acting industry and you cant picture anyone else but the dbz characters when you hear them , Like zoros one piece englsih dub voice actor sounds EXACTLY like a certain dragon ball character, its why i cant listen to the one piece english dub

Dragon Puncher

Dragon Ball is pretty much the only anime that should be watched in the English dub. You should also do Kai when you get to it. Objectively the better version, people just have nostalgia for the original.

TW

dont watch kai, the animation is good, but the audio is AWFUL, it completely changes the original dub which was peak

BP

Considering she's been Goku's voice for 40 years and she still sounds the same (except for battle sounds, she's definitely not as good as she was before, but she's almost 90 ), it would be accurate to say he would sound like a 50-year-old woman. But even then, that's not correct; he sounds like a kid. But that's Goku's whole personality. He's still very simple and childlike, which is why the Japanese voice has always suited him better. Although Sean Schemmel has improved a lot over the years. And damn near ALL transformation sequences and beam battle screams and sounds are better in the Japanese version. It's funny, it's only Goku's voice that people have an issue with. Nobody ever says anything about the other characters. I'm pretty sure nobody has any problems with Freeza's Japanese voice, considering who voices him (Mayuri's VA) or Cell's (Norio Wakamoto)

BP

I'd argue the opposite, because most of you were introduced to Dragon Ball Z through the English dub, and you have nostalgia for that version.

Dragon Puncher

As you can see I'm advocating for Kai in English dub. So not the version most people have nostalgia for. It is simply the best version IMO. Goku's voice in Japanese is iconic, but it isn't good. And the dub is simply more fun. I would still pick Kai in Japanese over the regular DBZ in English though.

JamesHardens

smells like absolute dub victory to me

JamesHardens

considering hes the main character and has the most dialogue I would say thats pretty important, if the main character sounds like nails on a chalkboard its not fun

GodUsopp

i lowkey would agree my list would be English Dub kai > Japanese dub Kai> English dub dbz original > Japnese Dub original dbz> Ocean dub

BP

Since when is nearly 50/50 an absolute victory?

BP

Seriously. I've been advocating for the Japanese version strongly while praising that Sean Schemmel has improved greatly over the years as Goku, it's just that Masako's performance is better and fits who Goku is. It's like the music, I think the Japanese is better, but I still like the Faulconer score. But there is a disrespectful arrogance with a subset of the English dub fans. They go out of their way to insult Nozawa's performance. You can prefer his English voice but to insult a woman with a 70-year voice acting career who is also one of Japan's most prolific and respected voice actors is just arrogant and rude. To say her voice doesn't match Goku is like saying Mel Blanc's (Buggs Bunny's founding voice) doesn't match Buggs Bunny. It's the original voice. It's the voice that those involved in creating the character decided was the one that fits the character the best. Same with Nozawa.

BP

I'm not sure how they're going to do it, but from a business perspective, going with the YouTube results would make more sense. YouTube acts as a funnel for Patreon, but also, they get paid on YT based on views, on Patreon, they're getting paid regardless, because it's a subscription, and I doubt many people are gonna stop their subscription if they watch Dragonball in Japanese. However, it would hinder them on YouTube because people just won't watch.

Merfhew

@James - You should see the YouTube poll.

JamesHardens

ok and? They should of paid to support their patreon and come make their opinions heard

GodUsopp

to be fair anyone can use their 8 different youtube accounts to vote in a poll, the supporters who are willing to pay money, made their voices heard

Soldhart

If you care about the story, then the sub. The english dub makes it a point of sanitizing the characters to the point they are unrecognizable.

GodUsopp

not true if they watch kai

BP

Except they don't get paid on Patreon based on views. On YouTube, they do. And how do they get people on their Patreon? Through YouTube, it's the top of the sales funnel, so to speak. And are a bunch of people going to cancel their memberships if they watch DB in Japanese? Probably not. That would actually be pretty petty of the members, but YouTube is about views, and the fewer views they get over there, the fewer chances they get to advertise their Patreon. In some ways, the YouTube audience is just as important as Patreon. YouTube watchers still pay; they pay with their time, which equals revenue for them. And if this poll were a blowout, that would be different, but when it's basically half the audience dub and half the audience sub here, but sub overwhelmingly on YT, I wouldn't be surprised if they go with the sub. Especially because the YT audience has more distractions for their time.

GodUsopp

well i disagree, i think theyd get more views with dub on youtube than sub firstly, also the youtube one is much easier to rig with multiple accounts, They already said they were leaning dub and the dub poll one on patreon

JamesHardens

again should of paid to support them and voted for the sub if they wanted sub, dub won

Chris C

Son 😭😹