Dragon Ball Z "Seasons" On Blu-ray: News & Discussion

[qjz123]

Sure. But does anybody happen to know what episode the Nappa shot is from? It's hard to tell from the context so it'd take me forever to find it

It's from episode 24 at about the 11:10 mark.

[Valentine]

I can hold out hope ocean kai is made but I doubt it. Anyway back on track I'm going to be positive and hope Toei does a proper bluray remaster for next years anniversary. It would be a good reason for them to bother too and this time unlike the Dragon Boxes that never came out in Australia, I will pre order each one so I don't miss out.

[supersaiyan3]

The other frames in that shot look the same, no missing lines.

[Daimo-Rukiri]

The large lines really make it look awful...
Oh and the horrid bleached skin.. yea not gonna lie but some look actually nice and others (like this) look like shit

For those that have seen it in motion, do you think this was a new transfer or used the Levels existing transfer and went from that?

[Hellspawn28]

They could look worst. At least Shout! don't own the rights to Dragon Ball .

[AgitoZ]

They could look worst. At least Shout! don't own the rights to Dragon Ball .

Shout's releases are generally higher quality than anything FUNi puts out. Whenever there's something wrong with the footage it's usually whoever gave them whichever master they were using, not from their own process unlike FUNimation.

[ect5150]

The other frames in that shot look the same, no missing lines.

Anyone up for ripping a full HD shot form the Levels set for comparison?

[Hellspawn28]

They could look worst. At least Shout! don't own the rights to Dragon Ball .

Shout's releases are generally higher quality than anything FUNi puts out. Whenever there's something wrong with the footage it's usually whoever gave them whichever master they were using, not from their own process unlike FUNimation.

Their video quality for Ultra Seven and Johhny Sokko look like shit. I remember hearing that their Bruce Lee boxset was just DVD up scales. Also their subbing for Ultra Q and the Gamera DVD sets were not very good as well.

[AgitoZ]

Their video quality for Ultra Seven and Johhny Sokko look like shit. I remember hearing that their Bruce Lee boxset was just DVD up scales.

Yeah, and none of that was their fault. It was all due to masters provided from rights holders, unlike FUNimation where they make their own masters look even worse.

The only thing Shout should get gripe for is how they responded to the Bruce Lee fiasco. While it was Fortune Star's fault for not giving them correct masters, the way they stuck to the blatantly false claims was all on their part and certainly affected some people's trust with them (even if it is smart, business wise).

[samuraix123]

Well that's a relief supersaiyan3. I'm not gonna say this set is looking better and better! But I will say it's looking like it's going to be an overall better release than the Orange Bricks. IMO

Edit - Wanted to add a bit more. Even though both releases are cropped 16x9 and both have over-saturated colors, I think the new Blu-ray sets(From what I've seen) Looks better. and if it doesn't have the problems where lines of animation are getting deleted then I'm sold on it.

[TheGmGoken]

Spoiler:

This looks like something that I'll watch on TV for a great Blue Ray experience. Something that I want a series that is in my top 30 to be watched in.

Spoiler:

This looks more cartoony and black lines to noticeable. Something I'll make amvs with since I like clips with colors. This quality seems great for trailers, editing(Amvs ect), and Posters. While the other picture is good for actually watching it.

Both have pros and cons.

[qjz123]

Spoiler:

This looks like something that I'll watch on TV for a great Blue Ray experience. Something that I want a series that is in my top 30 to be watched in.

Spoiler:

This looks more cartoony and black lines to noticeable. Something I'll make amvs with since I like clips with colors. This quality seems great for trailers, editing(Amvs ect), and Posters. While the other picture is good for actually watching it.

Both have pros and cons.

But there's no denying that this http://i.imgur.com/lneFsuD.png looks a thousand times better than this http://i.imgur.com/oipcLCG.png.

[TheGmGoken]

Spoiler:

This looks like something that I'll watch on TV for a great Blue Ray experience. Something that I want a series that is in my top 30 to be watched in.

Spoiler:

This looks more cartoony and black lines to noticeable. Something I'll make amvs with since I like clips with colors. This quality seems great for trailers, editing(Amvs ect), and Posters. While the other picture is good for actually watching it.

Both have pros and cons.

But there's no denying that this http://i.imgur.com/lneFsuD.png looks a thousand times better than this http://i.imgur.com/oipcLCG.png.

It's an unwritten Amv editor code is that when you edited DBZ. You don't edit Orange Bricks when TO MUCH detail is lost. Most find it to ugly to edited or if you like me and don't care that much find the lack of detail just to much.

[PhoenixEX]

Oh God that Orange Brick shot is so nauseating to look at, thank God those sets are being replaced by these superior sets. Alas, they are inferior to the Level Sets, but superior to those God awful orange bricks of shame.

[Metalwario64]

Alas, they are inferior to the Level Sets, but superior to those God awful orange bricks of shame.

Well... The first two at least.

[DemonRin]

My opinion on the aspect ratio is this:

DB/Z/GT Episodes & TV Specials - 4:3
DBKai & DB/Z Movies - 16:9

Kai is a failed rushed cash-cow of Dragon Ball Z but somehow that's acceptable in 16x9 AR but the actual DBZ isn't? What?

I know this is an old post and I'm basically a lurker at this point, but I see this argument come up often and I just have to say something.

The two circumstances couldn't be more different. Let me COUNT The reasons 16:9 was "Acceptable" in Kai:

1: Kai is Advertised as Changed. The word "Kai" means "Refreshed". It's almost like they called it "Dragon Ball Z: We Changed Stuff Edition". There was never any attempt to pass this off as a re-release of the original material as aired.
2: The cropping wasn't Toei's Idea, their intended version of Kai was in 4:3. They had to crop it because of Japanese TV Standards REQUIRING it.
3; Toei went back to the original masters to produce Kai and selectively re-framed every scene. Not only that, but there were instances in which Toei did NOT crop the show to produce the 16:9 AR, but instead redrew the frame. FUNimation's is a straight crop down the middle. No attempt to re-frame the shots to keep from losing important material was made.
4: In both Japan and America, home video releases exist of Kai in it's originally intended 4:3 AR. In Japan, all Blu-rays are 4:3, while in America, both DVD and Blu are both 4:3
5: The Cropped version of Kai did not supplant all other versions of DBZ. In Japan, you can still purchase 4:3 Dragon Ball Z on the Single DVDs. They have remained in-print and readily available. With the Dragon Boxes out of print, there is currently no complete, easily obtainable 4:3 release of Dragon Ball Z in the United States

As for the movies, while it is true they were animated in 4:3, there is some debate as to the "intended" aspect ratio. If you watch the 4:3 versions of the movies, you can, in fact, find plenty of moments where the animators flat out didn't finish drawing some of the art on the top and bottom because they knew it was going to be cropped. Couple this with the fact that Toei, the people who originally created it, have only ever really released the movies on Home Video in 16:9, you have a decent case for that being the "intended" AR.

[sangofe]

I wonder if the new Blu Ray set has previews?

[qjz123]

FUNimation's is a straight crop down the middle. No attempt to re-frame the shots to keep from losing important material was made.

That's not true I don't have a copy of the release yet but from this screenshot from bluray.com the image has clearly been reframed, its been moved down to avoid cutting off Gohan's arm.
Season 1 blu ray
http://imageshack.us/a/img32/9305/j2ye.jpg
Orange bricks
http://imageshack.us/a/img189/6875/hgmr.png

[UltimateHammerBro]

Well, you may or may not like the Blu-Rays, but one thing is certain: the remaster is 1000x better than the Orange Bricks.

[Metalwario64]

Well, you may or may not like the Blu-Rays, but one thing is certain: the remaster is 1000x better than the Orange Bricks.

I'm getting deja vu...

Alas, they are inferior to the Level Sets, but superior to those God awful orange bricks of shame.

Well... The first two at least.

Definitely doesn't compare to seasons 6 and up: