Was Kai made for US viewers in mind?
Moderators: General Help, Kanzenshuu Staff
Was Kai made for US viewers in mind?
Dragon Ball Kai was much more popular outside of Japan, to the point Buu Saga aired in Japan only because Toriko was such a flop, but, when i look at it, it seems ike it was made with US viewers in mind right from beginning, soundtrack was similar to Faulconer, and thanks to music placement, there was very rare moments of silence.
My Twitter: @kamil198811
Bulma fan
Thanks to Discotek:
Magic Knight Rayearth get DVD release in 2015 and Blu-Ray release on 2016
Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas get DVD release in 2015
Bulma fan
Thanks to Discotek:
Magic Knight Rayearth get DVD release in 2015 and Blu-Ray release on 2016
Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas get DVD release in 2015
- VegettoEX
- Kanzenshuu Co-Owner & Administrator
- Posts: 17547
- Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2004 3:10 pm
- Location: New Jersey
- Contact:
Re: Was Kai made for US viewers in mind?
Not initially, no. Kazuhiko Torishima has gone on record saying the reason they came up with Kai was to get something "new" on the air when it became apparent they weren't going to get enough support for actual "new" material back then in 2009. Were they thinking internationally? Sure, but likely no more or less than they were with anything else Dragon Ball at the time before or after.
The only real example of "specifically thinking about the western world" was the Boo arc, which we ALSO have direct comments on stating it initially wasn't even going to air in Japan in the first place. And THAT was a result of the initial run of Kai being so successful internationally.
The only real example of "specifically thinking about the western world" was the Boo arc, which we ALSO have direct comments on stating it initially wasn't even going to air in Japan in the first place. And THAT was a result of the initial run of Kai being so successful internationally.
:: [| Mike "VegettoEX" LaBrie |] ::
:: [| Kanzenshuu - Co-Founder/Administrator, Podcast Host, News Manager (note: our "job" titles are arbitrary and meaningless) |] ::
:: [| Website: January 1998 |] :: [| Podcast: November 2005 |] :: [| Fusion: April 2012 |] :: [| Wiki: 20XX |] ::
:: [| Kanzenshuu - Co-Founder/Administrator, Podcast Host, News Manager (note: our "job" titles are arbitrary and meaningless) |] ::
:: [| Website: January 1998 |] :: [| Podcast: November 2005 |] :: [| Fusion: April 2012 |] :: [| Wiki: 20XX |] ::
- mute_proxy
- Advanced Regular
- Posts: 1378
- Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2017 11:09 am
Re: Was Kai made for US viewers in mind?
No, not everything on this earth revolves around America.
-
- I Live Here
- Posts: 3580
- Joined: Thu May 21, 2015 9:09 am
- Location: Sligo, Ireland
Re: Was Kai made for US viewers in mind?
Excluding The Final Chapters, no. The international market was a consideration for sure but that was an after-effect of the franchise being so successful globally. Kai was created to bring Dragon Ball into the 21st century, and naturally because Japan is its country of origin and where it all started back in 1984 that's the reasonable place to start.
Do you have any info about international non-English broadcasts about the Dragon Ball anime or manga translations/editions? Please message me. Researching for a future book with Dragon Ball scholar Derek Padula
- Cure Dragon 255
- Born 'n Bred Here
- Posts: 5121
- Joined: Thu May 03, 2012 5:23 pm
Re: Was Kai made for US viewers in mind?
I love you.mute_proxy wrote:No, not everything on this earth revolves around America.
Spoiler:
- dragondyle
- OMG CRAZY REGEN
- Posts: 936
- Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:37 am
- Location: Arizona
- Contact:
Re: Was Kai made for US viewers in mind?
I don't think Kai was made for US viewers, per say. However, Kai really revitalized Dragon Ball in the states much more than how Toei wanted it to be in Japan. A new generation of kids in US were introduced to Dragon Ball in this way. The US really benefitted from Kai in terms of home video as it gave Funimation the prime opportunity to give fans a relatively accurate dub, correct opening and closing animations and credits, and NEPs, all of which Z never really had here.
You must have faith in who you are.
-
- Banned
- Posts: 439
- Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2015 10:07 pm
Re: Was Kai made for US viewers in mind?
I think a part of the reason Kai did so well is that a lot of American cartoons just suck nowadays. I always hear people my age say how bad the cartoons get, and how we had the golden age of television. We had Dexter's Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls (to each his own), Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sonic X, Megaman NT Warrior, Ed Edd n Eddy, and tons more. The new generation of kids have... Spongebob? Which came out over a decade ago and is still airing, so it's not like we can say it's "theirs." Having Kai come out means that kids of this generation get to see an awesome show and get a great introduction to anime as well. Honestly, Ben10, that Yokai Watch thing (I don't know what it is), and every one of these other shows can suck it. I've heard Steven Universe is good along with Total Drama Island and Adventure time, but that's it.dragondyle wrote:I don't think Kai was made for US viewers, per say. However, Kai really revitalized Dragon Ball in the states much more than how Toei wanted it to be in Japan. A new generation of kids in US were introduced to Dragon Ball in this way. The US really benefitted from Kai in terms of home video as it gave Funimation the prime opportunity to give fans a relatively accurate dub, correct opening and closing animations and credits, and NEPs, all of which Z never really had here.
Maybe everyone I talk with is just doing their "Uuuuurgh, you kids these days and your shows! Back in *my* day we had quality!" Perhaps we're just old. But perhaps at least some of the new cartoons just plain suck. This is also why Kai wasn't as well received in Japan. Japan has constant new anime coming out and some of it is good. They have other shows to fall back on. But the days of 90s Cartoon Network, Kids WB!, Nickelodeon not sucking, and decent Disney channel shows are gone. Remember that we're starting to see the emergence of legacy-quels for some shows: Girl Meets World, Samurai Jack (finally ended after 13 years), Fuller House, Raven's Home, and a long rumored sequel to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (never confirmed anywhere). There are other reasons that these are being made (smaller marketing, huge audience of old and new fans, etc.), but I think it partially has to do with the networks saying, "Well everyone tried making something good but failed. Let's just do some sequels to these old classics and wrap it up."
- LuckyCat
- Advanced Regular
- Posts: 1217
- Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2014 6:28 pm
- Location: The Sacred Land
- Contact:
Re: Was Kai made for US viewers in mind?
Wow, I mean I've heard that Yamamoto's tracks sound similar to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Journey, James Horner, Danny Elfman, and others but never Faulcouner. The only similarity I can think of is they both used a lot of computer-synthesized music, which is pretty common even for modern pop music these days.coola wrote: soundtrack was similar to Faulconer
That's because they cut the silent moments down a ton to help the pacing. It's interesting to look at comparisons of JP DBZ and Kai, to see how much silence changes the mood. Sometimes though, the silences were overbearing and unnecessarily long in the Japanese version (likely a technique to keep episodes lower budget and/or stall for the manga to catch up).coola wrote:there was very rare moments of silence.
- Hellspawn28
- Patreon Supporter
- Posts: 15200
- Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 9:50 pm
- Location: Maryland, USA
Re: Was Kai made for US viewers in mind?
No since Dragon Ball is a Japanese franchise and anime is always made for the Japanese market expect for a few titles.
She/Her
PS5 username: Guyver_Spawn_27
LB Profile: https://letterboxd.com/Hellspawn28/
PS5 username: Guyver_Spawn_27
LB Profile: https://letterboxd.com/Hellspawn28/