Crunchyroll shared an interview with the director and voice actor Edward Garzabefore the premiere of the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, of which he was in charge of directing the dubbing into Latin Spanish, also continuing with his role as Krillin. Garza commented on the substitutions that had to be made due to the deaths of previous recurring members of the voice cast, as well as some decisions that were made as the franchise evolved. dragon ball. Regarding the substitutions, he commented: Well, we had 4 absences due to death: Joseph Lavat (storyteller), Louis Alfonso Mendoza (Gohan), Monica Villasenor (Android 18), Abel Rocha (Shen Long)… It is the law of life. Unfortunately we know how the cycle of life ends and dubbing actors are no exception, we are human beings who eventually leave, but the show must continue because the characters “are eternal”. And just as we had to replace the voices of these characters, God grant there is a long way to go, but we will all be replaced one day! It’s hard to do because people are used to a voice that they’ve heard for 20 or 30 years. The substitute had to be someone with a robust career (that wasn’t someone new), because those characters require someone with a trajectory behind, so that they capture the essence of the character and give the closest voice, but without falling into an imitation. Something that looked a lot like it, but wasn’t forced.The impersonator traces, the actor creates…and that’s what we needed for Gohan and the other substitute voices. That new voice must carry the same weight in front of the press with the other actors, many of whom have more than 30 years of experience. You listen to the work of my fellow actors and you can see that trajectory in the voice. It is not contempt for new people, but in a role like this we need them to give themselves a “who lives acting” (as we say in Mexico) with those who are going to share the scene.
On the new voice of Gohan, played by Louis Alfonso Mendoza until his murder in February 2020, now assigned to the actor Luis Manuel Avilarecognized for his participation in the series The P. Luche Familycommented:
I think the Gohan issue was magnified, but in reality it is often (sadly) faced with substituting an actor for an animated character. For example, Diana Pérez passed away and she was the star in The Handmaid’s Tale. I had to do the recasting and although the change was noticeable, no big fuss was made. But with Dragon Ball we have the eyes of the world on top. Come on, we would have done it with the same care and attention. When Pepe Lavat (the narrator’s voice for more than 30 years) died, we were in the middle of dubbing Dragon Ball Super, and we had to make the change, even substituting the voice with Rubén Moya from several episodes before!The client indicates if he wants re-casting or suggestion, and we do it as requested. With Gohan it was exactly the same treatment. The fans sometimes suggest very strange things, others very successful… but what they ask is not necessarily done because it is difficult. When Jesús Colin (the voice of Maestro Roshi) passed away, for example, some actors were suggested, but we were not looking for an imitator but someone “who spoke like an old man”, so we chose Miguel Ángel Sanromán instead of Héctor Lee, who imitated perfectly, but Toei said, “We’re going with the other option!” And well, I did add Luis Manuel Ávila at the request of the fans, because although I did not know his work, as he is an actor I began to analyze his work and he did have the color and the skills to have the role of Son Gohan. We met, I proposed it to him and he did his casting. He also commented on whether it is decided that Luis Manuel Avila continue playing the character in future projects in the franchise dragon ball:
That’s how I explained it to him: it’s not just a casting for a movie, because if you stay, it’s going to change your life. It wouldn’t necessarily be just a movie, but a character that would plunge you into the world of dubbing (in fact, I already summoned him for another project). Luis Manuel was delighted and accepted the challenge… to be Gohan! I do not consider Luis Manuel a Star Talent, because 1) the client was not the one who asked for it, 2) the Star Talent is usually people who have never done dubbing and are given special treatment, which did not happen with him (no salary level, special attention, etc.) and he understands that this will be the case from now on… hopefully, and even localizing video games! Finally, he pointed out that he has received some criticism about his dubbing direction, especially for the moments in which Goku “acts and talks like a fool”, but pointed out that this is how he has evolved. dragon ball To date: Something curious is that sometimes they blame me, saying that I am a bad director because, according to them, I ask (for example) Mario Castañeda “to speak like a child, to speak like a fool”, when the product is the one that has changed. You can see that in Dragon Ball Z for example, from the colors, the drawings, the fights, the blood… it was a melodrama and now in Dragon Ball Super it is a series for children! That’s why you see such colorful, friendly characters and even a more “childish” Goku. So the most retro fans want to continue hearing and seeing the Goku they saw when they were 10 years old…decades ago. Then nostalgia clings to the memory and they claim us, but rather… it’s because they’ve grown up!My advice is: enjoy it for what it is, the evolution of a project, but if you don’t like it, then don’t watch it anymore! But let it not be for clinging to nostalgia, that they despise something as beautiful as this new era of Dragon Ball. Don’t worry: enjoy it, sit back, buy yourself some popcorn, let yourself be sucked into the story! I guarantee you that you are going to enjoy it very much because we did it with all the affection, with all the respect and with all the love that the project deserves. Font: Crunchyroll