"Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters" FUNimation English Dub Official Announcement and Discussion Thread

[SpiritBombTriumphant]

If you watch Japanese... well ok i might see how you could have that opinion. If you watch english.... dude the script and voice acting is LIGHT YEARS ahead of what it was in the original anime. Original english Z compared to Kai is absolutely atrocious. Honestly even without comparing it to anything its not particularly good. Now its fantastic and i absolutely cant wait to see how well they update their performances for this final arc of the story. As for everything else. Slow pacing? I dont understand where you are coming from on that stance? It still has over 20 episodes of material shaved off the original. TV Broadcasting schedule has no relevance to the quality of the material. The remastering while yes I understand how it could have been handled better I dont believe its fair to compare what we have seen from what I assume to be standard definition tv broadcast quality versus a Funimation Blu Ray copy. On that note we'll just have to wait and see how its handled. As for the music..... well yeah I half way agree with you. Some of it really isnt the best by any stretch. Though that being said there are genuinely some tracks that i really do actually like quite a bit. But yeah end of the day, if its for english dub fans, without question Kai is bound to be the better product. I literally cant watch the original anymore. Its just embarrassing. Those lines and acting man...... ughhhh

I agree that Kai 1.0's voice acting is infinitely beyond Z's, but I bought the season sets for Z because I still like the show for the fighting and the music (Faulconer's score). A lot of people I know still like Z. I don't get why people would avoid it simply for voice acting. I watch both versions (Z and Kai) and enjoy them both because each of them have their own strengths and faults. But you still didn't answer my question of why they haven't started airing the Buu saga of Kai in the U.S. and why people think it's going straight to video. I don't care if they do unless they fix Toei's half-assed job of "remastering" for the Buu saga because the quality is seriously atrocious. It honestly looks worse to me than the orange brick's version does...

[ShaneisMC]

If you watch Japanese... well ok i might see how you could have that opinion. If you watch english.... dude the script and voice acting is LIGHT YEARS ahead of what it was in the original anime. Original english Z compared to Kai is absolutely atrocious. Honestly even without comparing it to anything its not particularly good. Now its fantastic and i absolutely cant wait to see how well they update their performances for this final arc of the story. As for everything else. Slow pacing? I dont understand where you are coming from on that stance? It still has over 20 episodes of material shaved off the original. TV Broadcasting schedule has no relevance to the quality of the material. The remastering while yes I understand how it could have been handled better I dont believe its fair to compare what we have seen from what I assume to be standard definition tv broadcast quality versus a Funimation Blu Ray copy. On that note we'll just have to wait and see how its handled. As for the music..... well yeah I half way agree with you. Some of it really isnt the best by any stretch. Though that being said there are genuinely some tracks that i really do actually like quite a bit. But yeah end of the day, if its for english dub fans, without question Kai is bound to be the better product. I literally cant watch the original anymore. Its just embarrassing. Those lines and acting man...... ughhhh

I agree that Kai 1.0's voice acting is infinitely beyond Z's, but I bought the season sets for Z because I still like the show for the fighting and the music (Faulconer's score). A lot of people I know still like Z. I don't get why people would avoid it simply for voice acting. I watch both versions (Z and Kai) and enjoy them both because each of them have their own strengths and faults. But you still didn't answer my question of why they haven't started airing the Buu saga of Kai in the U.S. and why people think it's going straight to video. I don't care if they do unless they fix Toei's half-assed job of "remastering" for the Buu saga because the quality is seriously atrocious. It honestly looks worse to me than the orange brick's version does...

I know. I personally own all of the original season sets and all of Kai in Parts. That being said though, aside from some Faulconer music which i could just listen to own its own or youtube or something i never see a point of going back to the original. As for why it hasn't started airing, I have no idea. I mean cartoon network is doing there thing but theres no way they're gonna wait till 2017 or however long it takes them to catch up to that point at the rate they're going. I could easily see them go straight to home release. I'm pretty sure they have with other shows. As for the quality of the picture for Kai 2.0, the cropping is certainly better in Kai than the bricks. As for the green tint that everyone complains about, yeah I agree it occasionally does detract from the quality most certainly. However again like I said, its not fair to compare what I assume to be standard definition tv broadcast quality versus an international Blu Ray copy. I dont necessarily expect there to be a vast improvement in the color issue, but I definitely expect it will look better than whatever rips we are having to watch online for the time being.

[Freeza Soldier #156]

FUNi put out their June 2015 releases list and, of course, no Kai. Not that I was really expecting anything.

[ShaneisMC]

Jesus man. Welp, my guess is Somewhere in that August to November window. Kinda getting a little pissed off at this point.

[DBZ_Lee]

I honestly don't understand why they haven't released it, or at least announced it. I get the fact they wanted to announce "F" first, but it's disappointing we're still waiting for Kai, when France and Korea are already airing it.

[ShaneisMC]

I could see them announcing it shortly after F's run in theaters and we get both this fall. I could also unfortunately for whatever stupid reason see them waiting until AFTER all of F's stuff is released and then they announce it after drawing all attention to the movie instead of just giving us both at the same time. Cause OMG that might be "risky" and we not even get it until early next year. I would be so beyond pissed that we didnt get our stuff quickly just because they wanted to drag out the train for as long as possible.

[Metalwario64]

I still fear that they'll wait until the Buu-arc starts airing on Toonami... in 2 years or so...

[DBZ_Lee]

I really hope they start releasing it before the end of the year...

[Baggie_Saiyan]

FUNi have started releasing spring 2014 shows now, so any month now I guess. I reckon probably August.

[rs_chaosmaster]

I really thought they would have released this by May of this year at the latest but for some reason they want us to wait even longer between series releases than Japan did. I mean it has already been airing in Japan for over a year. They probably only have 20 episodes left at most so Funimation might as well wait until it is done airing in Japan now!! At least we have resurrection of F to hold us over.

[ShaneisMC]

I really thought they would have released this by May of this year at the latest but for some reason they want us to wait even longer between series releases than Japan did. I mean it has already been airing in Japan for over a year. They probably only have 20 episodes left at most so Funimation might as well wait until it is done airing in Japan now!! At least we have resurrection of F to hold us over.

I think its essentially 100% confirmed they're down to 16 episodes left for the japanese broadcast. I think expected to end in like July.

[SpiritBombTriumphant]

As for the green tint that everyone complains about, yeah I agree it occasionally does detract from the quality most certainly. However again like I said, its not fair to compare what I assume to be standard definition tv broadcast quality versus an international Blu Ray copy. I dont necessarily expect there to be a vast improvement in the color issue, but I definitely expect it will look better than whatever rips we are having to watch online for the time being.

I'm not even talking about the green tint or anything. I mean that the quality of Kai 2.0 simply looks like shit and I can't fathom how or why. And I still have my downloaded episodes of Kai 1.0 from the original Japanese broadcasts... They look a million times better than Kai 2.0 does. Here's a comparison. Sorry if the pictures are bad but I couldn't think of anything else to screenshot.

Kai 1.0 - Original Japanese Broadcast - Episode 97

Spoiler:

Kai 2.0 - Original Japanese Broadcast - Episode 99

Spoiler:

Kai 1.0 - Original Japanese Broadcast - Episode 97

Spoiler:

Kai 2.0 - Original Japanese Broadcast - Episode 99

Spoiler:

Kai 2.0 - Original Japanese Broadcast - Episode 142

Spoiler:

Kai 2.0 - Original Japanese Broadcast - Episode 142

Spoiler:

I do not know what it is but something just seems.... off to me with Kai 2.0. It looks cheaper/lower quality/faded/old or something whereas Kai 1.0 looks beautifully remastered with a good amount of money put into it (which I know it had). I've seen the Blu-ray release for the final season of Z and it looks much better than anything in Kai 2.0. =/

[sintzu]

Kai 1.0 - Original Japanese Broadcast - Episode 97

Spoiler:

Kai 2.0 - Original Japanese Broadcast - Episode 99

Spoiler:

Kai 1.0 - Original Japanese Broadcast - Episode 97

Spoiler:

Kai 2.0 - Original Japanese Broadcast - Episode 99

Spoiler:

I've seen the Blu-ray release for the final season of Z and it looks much better than anything in Kai 2.0. =/

It looks pretty much the same other then the brighter colors.

The picture in Kai 2.0 looks smother then the Z blu-ray's.

[DBZ_Lee]

FUNimation have announced their August release schedule, and still no sign of Kai. I hope we get an announcement in June, for a September release, and hopefully they can get two parts out before the end of the year.

I know I am clutching at the thinnest of straws here, but the Goku on this Boxart from the French release is the exact same one FUNi recently displayed at an event back in March when they announced "F".

Kazé set: (Goku on the left)


FUNimation Promotional material: (Goku matches, and Supreme world of the Kais)



I'm thinking this art may have been made by TOEI or something, again, I'm clutching at straws here.

[Puto]

I'm not even talking about the green tint or anything. I mean that the quality of Kai 2.0 simply looks like shit and I can't fathom how or why. And I still have my downloaded episodes of Kai 1.0 from the original Japanese broadcasts... They look a million times better than Kai 2.0 does. Here's a comparison. Sorry if the pictures are bad but I couldn't think of anything else to screenshot.

For what it's worth, your 'Kai 1.0' episodes are absurdly overfiltered encodes (you can tell because the Fuji TV clock looks weird).

[dbboxkaifan]

For what it's worth, your 'Kai 1.0' episodes are absurdly overfiltered encodes (you can tell because the Fuji TV clock looks weird).

Yeah, and with the actual Blu-rays of Kai 2.0 out there there's no reason to keep using raw HDTV caps.

[ShaneisMC]

FUNimation have announced their August release schedule, and still no sign of Kai. I hope we get an announcement in June, for a September release, and hopefully they can get two parts out before the end of the year.

I know I am clutching at the thinnest of straws here, but the Goku on this Boxart from the French release is the exact same one FUNi recently displayed at an event back in March when they announced "F".

Kazé set: (Goku on the left)


FUNimation Promotional material: (Goku matches, and Supreme world of the Kais)



I'm thinking this art may have been made by TOEI or something, again, I'm clutching at straws here.

Kami........ Fucking...... Dammit........ You have got to be shitting me at this point. Like come on what gives? If we don't get a September release my hopes will substantially plunge for 2015 release which really, really depresses me.

[Darkblade1995]

^Same here. Funimation is really dropping the ball here. But I think they will announce it this July. I believe there is a anime convention in July, and I think and hope they will announce it then. If so, they will probably release it around Oktober/November. I hope they continue with the season sets instead of parts. We've waited long enough and to wait 3 months for like 12/13 episodes is a bit too much me. Especially since we already know the story. Please Funimation, just start with season 5, each season 23 episodes.

[DBZ_Lee]

I really have no idea why they are keeping us waiting. It seems obvious that they are holding back for some reason, but it's getting a bit ridiculous now.

At this rate, France will have released the entire Series before we get even a single part, if they don't get at least the first one out for September, we'll be lucky to see two parts before the end of the year.

I know they are dubbing "F", and it will be out in theatres in time for Summer, but this has been in production for a long while now, and may even be finished.

Though since the very beginning, the English dub for the Buu Arc of Kai has been a drama in itself. Christopher Sabat mentioning that FUNi had licensed another "66 episodes" at Oz Con back in early 2013.
Sean Schemmel and Kyle Hebert both announce they are reprising their roles as Goku and Gohan respectively, then a matter of days later, Sean states it "wasn't quite official" and Kyle's tweet was completely removed.

With regards to Part or Season releases, I doubt FUNi care they've kept us waiting, and will simply look to make as much money as possible from the series.
Preferably, as I own the first 98 in Seasons, I'd rather they go straight for that format, but because it's been so long, I'll end up getting whatever they release first.

There is the "Anime Expo" that takes place in July, 2-5, which is the week after Kai finishes in Japan, so if they are waiting for it to finish airing, they may decide to go ahead, and announce it there.
Also, it falls on the same weekend Super is rumoured to Premiere.

[LettuceJUMP]

Yes I tend to agree. With the Japan Kai ending in the coming weeks, and Super on the way in Japan, this would be the time to announce Kai by Funi. If it does not happen in July for this fall, don't expect it till possibly late winter/early spring 2016. I really do not understand why Funi is waiting for the Japanese run to end, because in Kai 1.0 that was not the case. Frustrating to be a dub fan, as always.