Interview: Sean Schemmel, Kyle Hebert, Chris Sabat on Dragon Ball Super

ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke to Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero stars Sean Schemmel, Kyle Hebert, and Chris Sabat about Gohan’s journey and the lack of Goku and Vegeta in the film. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero comes to theaters across North America on August 19.

“The Red Ribbon Army was once destroyed by Son Goku,” reads the film’s synopsis. “Individuals who carry on its spirit have created the ultimate androids — Gamma 1 and Gamma 2. However, these two androids call themselves superheroes and start attacking Piccolo and Gohan.”

Tyler Treese: Kyle, this film is the moment that so many Gohan fans have been waiting for, and I feel like it wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying if it wasn’t for all the previous setbacks. How fulfilling was it getting to go all out and show Gohan at his peak?

Kyle Hebert: I think you nailed it in just the setup of that question. Having obstacles makes the victory all the sweeter. I’ve been waiting literally decades since I recorded the Majin Buu Saga and as much fun and thrill as I’ve had playing the character through all these different iterations — as a father, as a fake superhero, as all those sorts of things — to get to have this opportunity to make Gohan great again, that’s icing on the cake right there. It’s been a long time coming. The fans have told me that. I felt it was too, and I felt it was a matter of time. I didn’t know when it was going to happen, but what an absolute treat. What a delight, man.

Chris, a lot of fans view Piccolo as Gohan’s real father figure, and this movie really focuses on the bond between them. How do you view that? Some see it as a sensei-student relationship, but I can’t think of any sensei that pick up their students’ children from preschool.

Chris Sabat: I think you nailed it right there. It’s very, very clear that Piccolo means a lot to Gohan’s entire family. And we know Piccolo well enough to know that he wouldn’t be doing the things he does for Gohan and Videl and Pan if he didn’t feel the same way. It’s clear he loves their family. He knows them so well. The sort of things that he gets away with in this film are the things you can’t do to somebody unless you are very, very sure that you have a very close relationship with them. Piccolo’s methods have always been a little bit questionable, even back in the day when Gohan was training in the woods. This one was also almost crossing a line. They love to do these things that could go terribly wrong.

But yeah, it’s a beautiful moment for Piccolo. I love that Piccolo is forced to have to carry this movie in a way that he’s never had to before. It’s clear he goes through his entire Rolodex of things to help him before he realizes [that] this is all on him and this is all on Gohan. And I love the moments where Piccolo will turn to the camera, like literally turn to the audience, and go “yes! Gohan’s back!” And I think everyone feels it at that moment too.

It’s a bit strange to see Goku not purely in the spotlight. He still has a lot of great moments, but he’s off training while his whole family is saving the world. What is it like just not being like the main character this time around?

Sean Schemmel: It’s a very, very comfortable sense of relief and pride. When I’m playing Goku, I don’t think from the perspective of, “I’m the leading carrying this show.” To me, it’s an ensemble cast. However, when you’re suddenly not the lead and not having to carry a lot of the scenes, you realize that you were, and then you start looking at the other people who are taking those parts and those roles, in terms of being the focus — Gohan, Piccolo, etc. — and then you’re hoping … you’re wanting them to “please don’t fuck this up because I’ve done it before.” And then they went ahead and just killed it. I’ve told several other news outlets, I think this might be the best dub we’ve ever done.

And so the new cast members are killing it, Chris and Kyle are just killing it. I can be very judgmental of art and nobody let me down. Actually, Kyle blew my mind. So did Chris, and that’s hard to do because I’ve known these guys 20 years. So I’m very familiar with a lot of their work. So for them to make my eyebrows raised in this performance was very gratifying for me and surprising. Not that I didn’t think they’d do great, but to take it to that level and make me go, “oh shit, yeah! You’re filling that void fantastically of Goku and Vegeta not being the focus,” which is really thrilling for me. So I’m excited that I have enough of a part in the film that I get to be a part of it, but really, I’m just eating popcorn watching everything, you know what I mean? In reality and in the fantasy. So it was extremely exciting to see that. It makes me very happy and proud.

Kyle, Gohan’s daughter, Pan, plays such a big role here, The film proves any thoughts of him being a family man as a detriment just aren’t true, as he’s made more powerful because of the connection he has with his friends and family. Can you just speak to that element?

Kyle Hebert: Family, I think, is at the core of what’s going on with all these characters that are so well-represented and built-up over the course of the years and the entire arc of the entire franchise. To see that acknowledged and taken to the next level … it’s important. It’s a natural progression and it’s great to see.

Chris, Vegeta’s seen meditating, which I never thought he’d be doing, but he is very into figuring out how to be more efficient in battle. What did you like most about Vegeta’s scenes in the film, because they’re pretty sparse, but they’re very distinct and huge for the character?

Chris Sabat: 100%. I should just steal all your questions as my answers, because you always do such a good job of explaining it. It is remarkable to me that Vegeta has become such a thoughtful fighter. This movie is definitely an example of what his progress is. For the longest time, we always thought “Goku is literally training to be the angel,” and Goku trained to be the destroyer. With this much peace and this much meditation in his mind, it’s really impressive to see what his next step is going to be. Akira Toriyama has done a wonderful job of making these characters evolve so much. I mentioned earlier, I love how annoyed Goku gets at Vegeta for actually focusing for once.

And it does remind me of Sean. Sometimes he was like, “Chris, come on, man! Let’s go do something weird. Yeah, yeah. Let’s go do something weird. What are you doing? Just chill. Why are you working right now?” It’s remarkable where these characters are going. While Vegeta may not have as much screen time as some of the other characters, he and Goku clearly steal the end of that film in the most hysterical way.

Sean, it’s very on-brand for Goku to bring Broly and all of his pals onto Beerus’ planet. Can you speak to his willingness to forgive and see the best in people?

Sean Schemmel: Well, you say forgive and see the best in people, but really what it is — that’s a fair assessment, but really what it is, is Goku is like Quagmire, but instead of for ladies, it’s for fighting. So he’s bringing the ladies, as it were, Broly, to the planet because he wants more good fighting. So I don’t know if it’s about forgiveness and openness as much as it is “that guy’s strong. I want to fight him. Let’s bring him!” And he doesn’t give a shit about … like he brought Cell to King Kai’s planet and they blew up King Kai. So Goku’s … I hate to use this phrase or this word, but I don’t know. We’ll say absent minded versus selfish, you know what I mean? The endgame for Goku is, “am I fighting someone strong today?” That’s the endgame for Goku. So while I appreciate you casting positive forgiveness and stuff on to Goku, I have a hard time believing that that’s true.