We are passing along a little bit of second-hand information, but we put decent-enough faith in it to warrant sharing it. Our buddy EvilGamerX gave us word that a “friend at Nicktoons” has shared that the American television debut of Dragon Ball (Z) Kai will begin 24 May 2010 and will air four days a week, though a time slot has not yet been finalized. Songs will also be in English, though it is unclear if that simply includes the opening and ending themes, or extends to the mid-episode insert songs (such as “Over the Star” and “Saiyan Blood”).

As we have known for a while, the first 13 episodes of the “refreshed” version of the Dragon Ball Z TV series will be released domestically on DVD and Blu-ray beginning 18 May 2010. A premier of the first four episodes with their new English dub are actually set to debut at Sakura-Con next Saturday at 8:30 pm during the convention.

We are still holding out until the physical product is in our hands, but it sounds like the domestic release of Kai will indeed be in a 4:3 aspect ratio in some capacity. The Amazon Blu-ray listing is for a 4:3 product, while the DVD listing is for a “widescreen” product, mirroring the Japanese release style. When asked on Twitter by various members of our community, @funimation has responded that the show will be 4:3, though this still does not provide a comprehensive explanation on the TV broadcast versus the DVD release versus the Blu-ray release. If Japan is teaching us anything, it is that their own products can be just as confusing as any American release!