Gen Fukunaga, CEO FUNimation Inc.:
For the purposes of merchandising, Nielsen ratings, and advertisements, we're targeting mainly 6-to-11 year old boys. But we also found, during our broadcast of the first Dragon Ball, that it was doing quite well with men, too, all the way up into their mid-20s. The story itself is actually for a higher age group than the basic audience target; in actuality, the characters are fairly deep. It's comparacble to a number of comic books these days that are read by a higher age group than kids. We intend to leave in that depth of story and character that was present in the Japanese original.

Gen Fukunaga, on TOEI allowing them to produce a subtitled version:
No, they were very adamant on that. BUT they did allow us to take the first 3 movies and produce those in English and Japanese. These will probably be released in the late fall of 97' on home video.

Gen Fukunaga, on the fact that a subtitled version will never be available:
Yes, I understand. That's why here at Funimation we are trying to produce a US version of DBZ completely unedited with the original music, only in English...our goal is to put this directly on home video. Censors won't allow us to put this on the US TV.

Gen Fukunaga, on editing:
Whenever you produce children's shows, you have to allow censors to dictate what exactly gets on the air. We try to keep to the scripts as closely as possible but the censors ultimately dictate what gets on. That's why we want to make an unadulterated [(unedited)] version for true fans.

Gen Fukunaga, more editing:
Aside from the censors, the other reason is cost. You see in Japan, it costs $150,000 to air an episode. Here in the US it costs between $300 - 350,000 per episode. I'm sure you can do the math. In order to make it more cost effective we had to cut out a lot of stuff. I think we did a good job though. We made 26 episodes out of the original 36 episodes.

Gen Fukunaga, on viewer response to the dub:
In general, the overwhelming response to our dub and new music has been positive by the audience which views Cartoon Network.

Gen Fukunaga, on why DBZ's music was replaced:
The replacing of the music, was a FUNimation decision. With our own soundtrack, we could charge royalties for every second it's heard.

Mr. E. of Planet Namek, on the results of a Planet Namek poll:
The results of our last poll showed that the average DB fan dislikes FUNimation's choice of music.

Gen Fukunaga, on why DB's music was kept and on what plans would be for GT's music:
It was a combination of factors including fan input, schedule and rights issues. The main driving factor is to make a show which the most number of people will enjoy. As for GT, the music decision is unknown.

Gen Fukunaga, on possible changes in the voices:
Well, not yet. Not in the '97 air schedule anyway. Possibly when Vegita, Kuririn and Gohan go to Namek then we can change Vegita's voice.

Gen Fukunaga, on the new voice actors for season 3:
At least, from an acting point of view, we're quite happy with their performances thus far. I don't think the VAs have caused an issue for us, with the fans that is, yet.

Gen Fukunaga (1999), on on whether or not DBZ would ever experience time slot changes:
No, not a chance. Bandai would not support us if we did that and we need them. You see, to be successful in marketing a cartoon with toys you must appeal to the age range of 2-11 year olds. It's that simple. We have to leave the show on Saturday morning (5:30), but remember we do plan on releasing an unadulterated English version on home video.

Gen Fukunaga, on script changes:
I don't know if there's a real strategy, per se, other than that we tell our writers to stick to the original story by Akira Toriyama, I mean, you can't deviate from that. Besides that, though, we just want it to get "hipped up" a little bit, you know, keep it from getting stale. But that's just sort of a subjective creativity thing that we leave up to our writers. We pretty much cut them loose on that sort of thing.

Mr. E. of Planet Namek, on a conversation he had with Gen Fukunaga:
On a darker note, it seems Gen wasn't fully aware of some of the things that went on. For one, he didn't know about Tenshinhan's VA changing for a couple episodes, 2) He was surprised(and a little mortified) to find out that they still were mispronouncing attacks(ie, Kaiou-Ken), and he didn't even know about that one Freeza line, "All right big guy, whatever turns you on". He was none too pleased to hear about it.

Gen Fukunaga, on why characters never truly go away:
It looks like they die, but they are really passing on to a new dimension, and they can be summoned back at a higher power.

Gen Fukunaga, on an estimate of just how much money Funimation possesses (June 2000):
We have way more cash flow than we know what to do with.

Gen Fukunaga, on what makes him cry:
Lower profits (just kidding).

Jimmy Fowler, talking to Gen Fukunaga and Barry Watson about DBZ's violence:
Watson and Fukunaga defensively use the word "action" rather than violence, and both contend Dragonball Z is a "moral" show with a nerdy hero who says such things as "That's not playing fair."

Gen Fukunaga, on putting the Japanese episodes on DVD:
Well, I mean, the niche breaks into many, smaller niches. The niche that wants the pure, unaltered show is so small that there would be virtually no market for completely Japanese tapes. There's no way that retailers on a mass basis would take something like that. So, we had to come up with a sort of happy medium where we at least get the visuals in there, but we just leave the music from the cut alone. Plans at least for now, but not solidified, are that the DVD version will have a pure Japanese, subtitled version.

Steven J. Simmons, translator for the Japanese episodes and movies, on the Japanese tapes Funimation gives him to work with:
The only thing I know is what gets included on the master timecoded copies. I do not know why there is no "preview" soundtrack included on those. I wish it weren't so. I also wish the eyecatches were included. I was told it's being done for continuity's sake.

Steven J. Simmons, on a Funimation plot change:
Bulma and her father are qualified technical geniuses. It was well within their capability to take the Namekian vocabulary Popo provided and rig a translator. Which is what they indeed did. But instead, they re-wrote it so that Bulma had to speak Namekian the whole way. To me, that's a pointless change.

Kaio of Planet Namek, talking to Steven J. Simmons about the original music:
I think almost all people who have seen the original version would prefer that music. The original music is really excellent.

From the Official US Dragonball Z Website:
What accounts for the success of FUNimation? It begins with the careful selection of properties on which to work. FUNimation is always looking for the property that is unique or particularly appealing, and applying the best strategies to maximize the property’s potential. With FUNimation’s breath of expertise, talent and experience, FUNimation has the ability to properly nurture a property by gaining synergy across all of its divisions.

Why DBZ is censored, from the Official US Dragonball Z Website:
There just would not be any Dragon Ball Z in North America without our censoring it because the Japanese company who owns it would never have allowed it into North America without having it broadcast on TV and broadcasters would never take it without censoring.

Chris Psaros, on what 100% uncensored DBZ as shown on the International Channel in America is rated:
IC DOES use the TV ratings system for their programs. Wanna know what DBZ is? TVPG some weeks, but most of the time, it's Y7. Kind of gets you thinking, doesn't it?

Barry Watson, on scripts:
We get translated scripts from Japan, from the original Dragon Ball show, but a lot of the time it's very difficult--the English is sketchy at best, the character names will be very inconsistent, things of that nature. So our writers will go through and write a legitimate English script that's recordable...We also have a punch-up writer, who basically writes humor, to beef up the comedy.

Barry Watson, on viewer response:
We've gotten a lot of feedback, and for the most part, it's been very positive, which we're glad to see. I think a lot of people appreciate the fact that we are trying to keep as much as we can, and trying to keep the spirit of the original animation, within TV's boundaries. I think most people have noticed that.

Barry Watson, on why HELL was changed to HFIL (Home For Infinite Losers):
The show has its own mythology that's very hierarchical. You bring that to America, and you start a whole other debate. There are many religious factions in this country that I'm not interested in angering. A kid's show is no place to start a theological discussion about heaven and hell.

Cindy Fukunaga (Exec Producer, married to Gen), on the show:
Basically, Toei, which is the shows' anime producer, together with Shueisha, its manga publisher, and Akira Toriyama, the creator, all really wanted to make sure that they found a company who would treat the property properly. Because it is their flagship property, after all, and it's dear to their hearts, in more ways than one. They wanted to make sure it was treated properly in the U.S. We try really, really hard. Obviously we have to censor it somewhat for the U.S. market, in order to meet broadcast standards, but we're very careful to try and keep the stuff that really made the series great. So we stay true to the characters and the storylines, because they're fabulous.

Cindy Fukunaga, on the new music (1996):
No, we composed a new theme. It was done in Los Angeles. It's a very distinctive sound, and I'm told it's of the sort that's very popular among American children right now.

Composer Bruce Faulconer, on the music:
They wanted music that would better communicate to a Western audience the drama of this saga.

Bruce Faulconer, on what music best represents each character: Goku is like this rock guy. Trunks is from the future so he's techno. Cell starts off being this little thing almost like a slug and he grows, absorbs people and gets stronger - his music started out imperfect like grunge sounds and later he became perfect and his music got cleaner.

Akira Toriyama, on what songs he thinks would best fit the image of Goku: Hmmm..., I'm not sure. In any case, I think the song would probably be bright, with a good tempo; the tempo would be upbeat, yet have a carefree air to it.

DBZ dub head script writer John Burgmeir, on why Funimation hired him: She (Burgmeir's mom) got a job being the voice of Frieza and suggested that I audition for a part. I never got a part, but I kept coming back. Since I was a familiar face I got a job pressing buttons.

Reporter, on John Burgmeir's basic job: Burgmeier and several other writers Americanize the scripts through the dialogue.

John Burgmeir, on the pre-Steven J. Simmons translations Funimation used: "The series' storyline is already set up, but the finer touches of the characters are often lost in translation," says Burgmeier, who majored in English at UNT. "The translations are really rudimentary."

John Burgmeir, on re-writing the early Cell saga Trunks episodes: "I was really geared up for Trunks because we knew he would be incredibly popular," Burgmeier says. "But after I read the script I thought, 'I can't have my mom reading these corny lines,' so I reworked those episodes from front to back."

Examples of some of the changes Bugmeir made: Original Trunks- "I'm here to kill you." Burgmeir Trunks- "So you must be Freeza."

Original King Cold- "Don't kill me! Please! I'll give you a whole planet! No, a whole star system!" Burgmeir King Cold- "King Cold: Wait you can't nooo. Please. I'm defenseless, please. I'm not bad, my son was evil but not I. I.. want nothing but peace. I meant you no harm, I swear it!! I· No!"

Original Gohan and Piccolo- "Piccolo there is something I have wanted to ask you." "What?" "Why didn't you go with Dende and the other nameks last year when they moved to a new planet?" " It wasn't that difficult a decision. I didn't want to live a life without excitement." "Do you still train hard daily?" "Yes." Burgmeir Gohan and Piccolo- "Uh, hey Piccolo, do you mind if I ask you about something?" "What's that?" "Well uh.. when Dende and the other nameks left to re-settle on that new planet you could have gone with them I was wondering why you chose to stay here with us, they're your people." "I might join them some day. But for now, I feel like my mission is here on earth. Sometimes connections between people run deeper than where they're from or what color skin they have."

Funimation's reaction to these and many, many other changes: Due to the success of those episodes, Burgmeier was promoted to script supervisor.

Takao Koyama (script writer for the original Japanese DBZ anime), on converting Akria Toriyama's manga into an anime: Akira Toriyama created the series and we have to go along with his story lines, so I can't rewrite the script all over again.

Mr. E, asking Chris Sabat why Yamcha was given a surfer dude accent:
One of the things I asked was why he gave Yamcha the surfer accent. He said that when he was going to read for Yamcha, that the director and script sheet said that Yamcha was for the most part the jock and gung ho guy, and that he got a surfer accent.

Voice Director Chris Sabat, on how much of Dragon Ball he has seen (this was said sometime after the end of the 2001 DBZ dub season):
"I have only seen half of DB."

Reporter Jimmy Fowler, asking Chris Sabat about the lack of silence in Funimation's dub:
Sabat insists that silence has more significance to Japanese audiences than to American ones. To U.S. viewers of the Cartoon Network and syndicated Saturday-morning TV, it simply means a sudden break in the action. But he notes that FUNimation is about to expand into the anime-snob market by releasing the unedited Japanese series with English subtitles on DVD.

Chris Sabat, on censorship:
Hey, if it was up to me, I'd run it with all the cigarettes, beer, cleavage, and coughed-up blood the Japanese have. But we're trying to bring the product to the American eye, and that means there are things the FCC doesn't want us to show. People in America come from crazy, diverse backgrounds, so there's less agreement about content here the way the Japanese are able to agree as a culture.

Reporter Jimmy Fowler, on FCC guidelines:
Contrary to popular belief, the FCC offers few hard, clear don'ts in the guidelines it issues for American television. The feds have determined, somewhat vaguely, that there are different standards for broadcast (the free programming that includes CBS, ABC, NBC, et al.) and cable, which is invited into the home of the viewer via monthly fees. There are also different standards for children's and adult's programming, mostly having to do with the time period in which the program is aired. But they pretty much leave it up to the programmers to keep their noses clean.

Jason Demarco, Sr., writer/producer for Toonami, on what material Cartoon Network deems inappropriate:
Eventually, our Standards and Practices Department became involved, and provided us with a list of objectionable actions, words and general guidelines for a TV-Y7 FV program (most of Toonami's programming receives this rating). Some of these guidelines are flexible, some are not. In general, Cartoon Network's guidelines are a bit less "uptight" than other networks (if you can believe that). The main thing to keep in mind is that we are trying to appeal to as broad an audience as possible - we need to attract advertisers and sponsors. If any group finds some of the content offensive, that needs to be taken under consideration.... I can tell you that we are not allowed to show: Alcohol consumption (directly), Gambling (directly), abuse of minors, blood from any major wound, language (obviously, this includes "kill" and references to God, as well as the whole spectrum of "swear" words), and- here's where it gets tricky- "situations considered too brutal or intense for younger viewers".

Jason Demarco, on how CN handles homosexual characters:
There is not a specific editing policy on gay characters. Overt sexuality or implied sexuality of any kind are not allowed.

Jason Demarco, on how CN handles anything religious:
Any direct references to religion, especially juxtaposed with violence, sexuality or hypocrisy, is not allowed.... As a network, CN cannot appear to have a comment on any particular religion or be seen to "endorse" or "degrade" any one style of worship. People in America generally don't want that kind of thing in their cartoons, however you and I may feel about it.

Jason Demarco, on Funimation's censorship of Season 3:
When it comes to edits not performed by CN, it's basically out of our hands. At the beginning of DBZ we let them know that they could loosen up the standards just a bit from what Funimation had done with the first season, and it wouldn't be a problem.

Jason Demarco, on why guns were changed to "blasters" in an Outlaw Star episode:
There is a sensitivity to the display of guns in a show viewed by children. The only other option was to cut the scene out completely. That happens to be my favorite episode, so I bent over backwards to keep it in. "Blasters" are considered to be more of a fantasy type of weapon, like in Star Wars. Guns are something that any child could watch our show and go and get. God forbid anything like that happened, it would be the end of Toonami. Again, not our decision, but I'm sure you can see why we had to change it. The meaning of the scene was not lessened, in my opinion, by changing the revolvers to "blasters." Blunted a bit, maybe, but them's the breaks.

Jason Demarco, on DBZ and Batman/Superman being allowed to use the word "kill":
"Kill" is a word that is supposed to be forbidden entirely, though it shows up in DBZ and the Batman/Superman series. For whatever reason, they are allowed to use it and we aren't. Cut us some slack, man!

Jason Demarco, on how CN's editing policies have changed over the years:
They have actually become more stringent. It seems that there has been a tightening of standards in the last two years (due largely to complaints from parents).

Monica Antonelli, on whether or not she was in any way familiar with the Japanese version of the show (2000):
No. I am sorry to say, I am not. I would love to see the Japanese version though. Any idea where I can get some of those tapes?

Monica Antonelli, on what she thinks about DBZ's censorship:
How do I feel about censorship? (LOL.) You should read the editorial I sent to VegettoEX. I DON'T like censorship. In case your readers didn't know, I am the librarian that is mentioned in the Observer article. Being a librarian is my day job. And as a librarian I fight against censorship all of the time. Librarians do not like censorship, period.
That being said, I also understand that FUNimation has to make certain changes, based on regulations. I also know that people at FUNimation give 110% of themselves to produce a quality program. And to those viewers who don't like the way the show is being done, I encourage you to buy the uncensored version or the subtitled version. Better yet, ask your library to buy it for you.

Kyle Hebert, joking about why Funi makes him sound like a Monster Truck Announcer:
"I have to sound like a monster truck announcer. They asked me why and I said `because the other guy did.'"

Various voice actors, on how they create the screams:
Fans wanted to know how the actors produced those wild fighting screams, and the actors admitted those noises aren't always their voices; often several yells are electronically linked together to make them more impressive.

Sean Schemmel, North American voice actor for Son Goku, on Goku's Character:
Gokuu's really a guy who could really stand to use some lithium. He's really the most Hypermanic, and it's weird how he can go from being such a happy guy to being so serious and focused, and back again 2 or three times. In psychological circles that's what'd be considered as "Bi-Polar". (laughing) I wouldn't say that Gokuu's actually Bi-Polar, he just kinda seems that way...

Sean Schemmel, on Goku:
I'm really glad that it's showing in the writing that between Gokuu's training and everything else that he's really transcending a lot of personal demons that he's had to fight in order to become the level that he's become.

Sean Schemmel, on the show:
The writers on the show did such a fantastic job, and I'm really eager to get it on DVD so that I can watch the original Japanese version.>

Sean Schemmel, on Goku's Japanese VA:
I love Japanese people, but they're trying to speak to their culture. For crying out loud, Gokuu's voice is done by a woman in the Japanese version. Do you picture a muscle bound, monkey-like fighting badass as having a high pitched womanly voice? I mean, I don't really think so. By that I mean that it's ridiculous to American culture. Now to the Japanese culture, they totally love it.

Sean Schemmel, on Goku during the Cell Saga:
He's not going to be able to even match Cell, unless he allows a little bit of his dark side through. Gokuu has to dig down deep into himself, and he's not gonna be naively boyscoutly to beat Cell. He's gonna have to pull out all the stops. Instead of giving Cell so many chances as he's done with others. He's been dead or near dead a number of times, and he's not messing around anymore. I think Gokuu might be afraid of his ultimate power. He unleashes half when he demonstrates to Korin, and when he finally lets go he's really gonna rip someone a new one, and he'll talk with a level of disgust, a level of distaste, it's like if you're in a fight, and even if you know you're right, and fighting is wrong, you still have a sort of evil side to you. Gokuu's a very good person, but he's willing to do what it takes to protect everyone from Cell. He needs to be a little bit like Cell, and he's learned his lesson from Freeza. There's not gonna be anymore of the "Ally to good, nightmare to you" business. Gokuu's fight is now more strategic than raw power. Gokuu's a real badass, and he's now become Shaft. :)

Masako Nozawa, Goku's Japanese VA, on Goku:
I think Gokou is extremely pure, in the world of Dragon Ball, as he gets older. I just want him to keep his pure feelings and heart.

Sean Schemmel, on removing the Japanese elements from the show:
The diehard fans would get it because they've seen the original Japanese, but the product we're producing is for America, and several other countries, not just the hardcore fans. It's got to appeal to an American or viewer for it to be successful.

Sean Schemmel, on DBZ's Japanese cultural elements:
But as far as if I watch it, and they start going on about the sins of their fathers, that I know American audiences don't really care about or can't relate to. It's mainly the Japanese cultural things that would not work in our society that shouldn't be worried about as much, because we're not here to educate on their culture, we're here to bring them a cool anime.

Sean Schemmel, on the English cast performing more like the Japanese cast:
I generally don't listen to suggestions about trying to be more like the Japanese actors, because I've said that I find, especially for Gokuu, that that's ridiculous.

Sean Schemmel, on the Japanese theme song "Head-Cha-La":
"Head-Cha-La," for another example and I've told you this Jon, even though it's very catchy, it's absolutely ridiculous for the American culture.

Sonny Strait, North American VA for Krillin, on FUNimation's new music score:
I think the main thing about them not using the original music, and I could be wrong, is because of the dated factor of it...But uh, there's definitely an appeal to it, but I don't think that it's as wide a range of appeal as what they want. I mean, people like you, and others that are die-hard anime fans are definitely gonna want as much of the original as possible, but I think the general population is more entertained by screaming guitars and such.

Sonny Strait:
When you try to appeal to the general population, you need to appeal to a different level, and it's not exactly an intellectual one ^_^.

Sonny Strait, on watching the original Bardock Special before recording:
I'd asked for the original Japanese version, but at the time all we had was the Spanish version, and we watched that, which still had the original Japanese music in it, which I thought was really cool.

Comments from Akira Toriyama taken from "Toriyama Akira Super Interview (Daizenshuu 3, only available in Japanese)" which can be found translated at Buu's Dragon Ball Pages.

Comments from Gen and Cindy Fukunaga taken from "Take Ten With FUNimation", Animerica Magazine, Vol.4 No.11. Interview can be found at DBZ Uncensored.

Comments from Gen Fukunaga taken from Ed Gorgen's "The Saiya-jin's Pride Page" website (retired; interview can be found at DBZUncensored) , "Interview with Gen Fukunaga" which can be found at pojo.com and from "30-Something Questions With Gen Fukunaga" which can be found at The Vault (retired, now archived).

Comments from Mr. E taken from the news section of Planet Namek (retired, now archived).

Comments from Steven J. Simmons and Kaio taken from "Interview with Steven J. Simmons" which can be found at Planet Namek (retired, now archived).

Comments from Barry Watson taken from "Dragonball Z...How It Gets on TV", Animerica Magazine, Vol.6 No.3, which can be found at DBZ Uncensored.

Excerpts used from FUNimation's Official Dragonball Z Website.

Comments from John Burgmeir taken from "Not a mama's boy", which can be found at The North Texan Online.

Comments from Chris sabat taken from Chris Sabat's chat transcript which can be found at somerandomramek.

Comments from Barry Watson, Chris Sabat, Gen Fukunaga and Jimmy Fowler taken from the Dallas Observer article "International Incident." (Note- the article is currently down but can be found at The Dragon Ball Z Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Nexus)

Comments from Mr. Jason Demarco taken from "Cartoon Network Editing Interview" which can be found at at Anime News Network.com.

Comments from Takao Koyama taken from New York Convention Weekend - Takao Koyama.

Comments from Bruce Faulconer taken from Project: A-Kon- Bruce Faulconer.

Comments from Monika Antonelli taken from "Funimation voice actress interview" which can be found at Dragon Ball Blast.

Comments from Kyle Hebert taken from Project: A-Kon - Dragon Ball Actors.

Comments from voice actors on the screaming taken from Project: A-Kon - Dragon Ball Actors.

The above 4 interviews can be found at fansview.

Sean Schemmel quotes taken from "The Sean Schemmel Experience", which can be found at DaizenshuuEX.

Masako Nozawa quote taken from "Dragon Ball GT Perfect File 2."  The interview can be found at The Ultimate DBZ Information Site.

Sonny Strait quotes taken from "Settin it Strait With Sonny", which can be found at DaizenshuuEX.