Dragon Ball is in the midst of celebrating its 40th anniversary, and among remasters and new shows, some of the longtime cast members are giving interviews about the franchise. Voice actor Christopher Sabat, whom I've long associated with Vegeta since he took over the role as the English voice in 1999, recently spoke about his character, and I was shocked at how long it took him to feel like he truly represented the Prince of Saiyans.
Sabat replaced the original English voice actor for Vegeta, Brian Drummond, when Funimation took over the dub beginning with the Android Saga in 1999. Since then, he's voiced the character for the remainder of Dragon Ball Z's dubbed arcs, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super and the recently-released Dragon Ball Daima. Despite that, the voice actor said he never truly felt ownership of the character until being recognized by the Japanese staff at Toei and Shueisha when he went to the premiere of Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of The Gods:
I remember talking to someone in the production department, and they said, 'You are Vegeta in the United States. We love the work you did. To these people, you are Vegeta. Your voice is Vegeta's voice.' And that was the first time that I'd ever really been formally recognized at all.
To me, that sounds wild, but I guess in the context of being a Dragon Ball actor, it makes sense. Dragon Ball Z was made in Japan, and had finished its run long before he ever became involved in the dub. Still, one would think that going to all those conventions over the years had to drive home how many people saw him as Vegeta, right?
At the same time, I can understand how professional acknowledgement may hold more weight than a common fan's. Christopher Sabat was quick to say he never felt mistreated by anyone on the Dragon Ball team in Japan, but it was a special feeling to be considered "Vegeta" by them, knowing he wasn't the voice actor for their country:
I mean, everyone was cool to me. Everyone was fine. I mean, we had some meetings and things before then. I'd met some of the executives before. But this is the first time anyone ever made me feel like, 'Wow, you're really the guy.' And that's the first time I ever thought, 'Wow, maybe I'm not just the English-language option of a DVD.' Maybe it meant something more than that.
That had to be a pretty cool feeling, especially since Vegeta is only second to Goku in the list of popular Dragon Ball characters. I also think it's cool that Sabat never had a big head about it, because when it comes down to it, he's one of the heavy hitters of the anime voice acting industry. With as many iconic characters as he's voiced, I know I'd be walking with a little strut in my step if I were in his position.
The continuation of Dragon Ball Super should keep people remembering Christopher Sabat as Vegeta for a while, and creating fan art of Goku and Vegeta as superheroes as well. I am a bit sad that with all the live-action anime adaptations going around, we still have yet to get a proper Dragon Ball Z series. Perhaps that's for the best for now, because I can't even begin to imagine any of these characters having voices that are different from the dub cast.
I'm eager for the return of Dragon Ball Super, and hoping we get a trailer for its return by the end of the year. Until then, I'm still celebrating the anniversary just like many others around the world, and ready to see what other stuff comes out during this big year for the franchise.
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