Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

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Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by Aoi » Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:09 pm

How about some ideas on the good things Dragon Ball Kai has done for the franchise. My opinion is that a lot of people are missing the big picture and long term effects of having a series such as this one come out.

1. Dragon Ball "Z" for a new generation- In my opinion, save for a few rough patches at the start of the Saiyan saga and at the end of the Frieza saga, Dragon Ball Z is a universal classic and can be enjoyed by many generations at any time. However, a lot of people have been put off by the fact that "Z" alone has 291 episodes.
I can't begin to tell you how great this has been for these types of fans. All I hear all of the time from One Piece/Naturo/Bleach fans is : "Man, I wish our shows could have gotten that treatment". It's such a privilege to have such a beloved show get this type of makeover. Not only did it release the franchise back into the mainstream consciousness , but it's all but insured it's long term durability.

2. Finally a mature English dub- I loved the Ocean dub, and I really enjoyed the FUNI dub from the Cell Games onwards. However, even watching them now as an adult I tend to cringe sometimes. I feel as though my feelings of nostalgia is what causes it to be acceptable.

Having this great of a dub for DB Kai is really a dream come true for many English fans. I can watch the show without being taken out of any scene or "moment" now. It's by far the most polished English dub ever made. In a way, it makes the old dub (except for the Buu dub, since Kai doesn't have one) in a way obsolete unless Gohan's old voice was too for you to disregard.

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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by penguintruth » Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:18 pm

Well, for one, it reawakened the DB/Z fan in me. I might not even have registered at this forum if it wasn't for Kai.
Kentai wrote:Son Gokuu is a fascinating character anyway, because he is - at face value, anyway - an idiot savant. The victim of violent head trauma as an infant [...] he's a simple bumpkin with a fair share of brain damage who's natural talents to work out what's wrong compensate for his broad lack of common sense. But he's also a fighter, through and through [...] he fight until he has, in no uncertain terms, beaten his enemy on terms they can both acknowledge. He doesn't want to kill anyone, or even prove that he can win... he just wants to know he can. He's an ineffably charming bastard who's manly leanings were really incendental, and yes, the fact that he was voiced by a squeaky woman made the combination perhaps all the more charming.


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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by DBZGTKOSDH » Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:30 pm

If Kai never existed, I would probably still be watching the FUNi dub, without giving a try to the Japanese version. Thank you Dragon Ball Kai! :D
James Teal (Animerica 1996) wrote:When you think about it, there are a number of similarities between the Chinese-inspired Son Goku and that most American of superhero icons, Superman. Both are aliens sent to Earth shortly after birth to escape the destruction of their homeworlds; both possess super-strength, flight, super-speed, heightened senses and the ability to cast energy blasts. But the crucial difference between them lies not only in how they view the world, but in how the world views them.

Superman is, and always has been, a symbol for truth, justice, and upstanding moral fortitude–a role model and leader as much as a fighter. The more down-to-earth Goku has no illusions about being responsible for maintaining social order, or for setting some kind of moral example for the entire world. Goku is simply a martial artist who’s devoted his life toward perfecting his fighting skills and other abilities. Though never shy about risking his life to save either one person or the entire world, he just doesn’t believe that the balance of the world rests in any way on his shoulders, and he has no need to shape any part of it in his image. Goku is an idealist, and believes that there is some good in everyone, but he is unconcerned with the big picture of the world…unless it has to do with some kind of fight. Politics, society, law and order don’t have much bearing on his life, but he’s a man who knows right from wrong.

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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by Aoi » Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:47 pm

penguintruth wrote:Well, for one, it reawakened the DB/Z fan in me. I might not even have registered at this forum if it wasn't for Kai.
Yes. This was huge for me. Kai made me realize that no matter what music is played (Kikuchi, Falconer, Yamamoto), no matter what actors voice what character, there is something at the core of the Dragon Ball story that is just wonderful.

I loved the musical changes, I loved the updated voice actors. For me, it didn't replace "Z" (as many critics feared it was trying to do), but it completely revived my passion for this series. For this reason alone, I really love Kai and am thankful that it was made.

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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by UnbiasedDBZfan » Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:10 pm

DBZGTKOSDH wrote:If Kai never existed, I would probably still be watching the FUNi dub, without giving a try to the Japanese version. Thank you Dragon Ball Kai! :D
If you're from Greece, then why are you watching a random English dub?
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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by DBZGTKOSDH » Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:28 pm

UnbiasedDBZfan wrote:
DBZGTKOSDH wrote:If Kai never existed, I would probably still be watching the FUNi dub, without giving a try to the Japanese version. Thank you Dragon Ball Kai! :D
If you're from Greece, then why are you watching a random English dub?
Have you ever heard the voices of the Greek dub? You don't even want to. Not to mention the script, it's a mess. Freeza (or Freezer as he is called) is a woman, Vegetto's name is Vegetagoku, Gotenks' name is Songotrunks, Vegeta, Piccolo, and almost every villain talks like a robot... It's terrible. I grew up with it and enjoyed it as a little kid, but now... I only view it as a parody. But when I get a chance to watch the Greek dub, it brings me both nostalgia & laughs. And besides, I re-discovered Dragon Ball from YouTube, and Youtube is full of English dub. I re-watched Dragon Ball Z in English with original score, because of nostalgia, but I watched GT with the FUNi score (yes, I didn't buy them, watched them online through Season Sets ripps).
James Teal (Animerica 1996) wrote:When you think about it, there are a number of similarities between the Chinese-inspired Son Goku and that most American of superhero icons, Superman. Both are aliens sent to Earth shortly after birth to escape the destruction of their homeworlds; both possess super-strength, flight, super-speed, heightened senses and the ability to cast energy blasts. But the crucial difference between them lies not only in how they view the world, but in how the world views them.

Superman is, and always has been, a symbol for truth, justice, and upstanding moral fortitude–a role model and leader as much as a fighter. The more down-to-earth Goku has no illusions about being responsible for maintaining social order, or for setting some kind of moral example for the entire world. Goku is simply a martial artist who’s devoted his life toward perfecting his fighting skills and other abilities. Though never shy about risking his life to save either one person or the entire world, he just doesn’t believe that the balance of the world rests in any way on his shoulders, and he has no need to shape any part of it in his image. Goku is an idealist, and believes that there is some good in everyone, but he is unconcerned with the big picture of the world…unless it has to do with some kind of fight. Politics, society, law and order don’t have much bearing on his life, but he’s a man who knows right from wrong.

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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by UnbiasedDBZfan » Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:41 pm

DBZGTKOSDH wrote:
UnbiasedDBZfan wrote:
DBZGTKOSDH wrote:If Kai never existed, I would probably still be watching the FUNi dub, without giving a try to the Japanese version. Thank you Dragon Ball Kai! :D
If you're from Greece, then why are you watching a random English dub?
Have you ever heard the voices of the Greek dub? You don't even want to. Not to mention the script, it's a mess. Freeza (or Freezer as he is called) is a woman, Vegetto's name is Vegetagoku, Gotenks' name is Songotrunks, Vegeta, Piccolo, and almost every villain talks like a robot... It's terrible. I grew up with it and enjoyed it as a little kid, but now... I only view it as a parody. But when I get a chance to watch the Greek dub, it brings me both nostalgia & laughs. And besides, I re-discovered Dragon Ball from YouTube, and Youtube is full of English dub. I re-watched Dragon Ball Z in English with original score, because of nostalgia, but I watched GT with the FUNi score (yes, I didn't buy them, watched them online through Season Sets ripps).
I'd take Greek Vegeta and Greek Tenshinhan over Chris Sabat and John Burgmeier anyday. At least the Greek Vegeta and Tenshinhan would have some voice quality. I bet Greek Kai would be cool as well.
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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by DragonBoxZTheMovies » Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:47 pm

UnbiasedDBZfan wrote:I'd take Greek Vegeta and Greek Tenshinhan over Chris Sabat and John Burgmeier anyday. At least the Greek Vegeta and Tenshinhan would have some voice quality. I bet Greek Kai would be cool as well.
For anyone that's interested, here are a couple of clips from the Greek dub. Judge for yourselves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu_8F2eMDEA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dZ_CnO58yE

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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by UnbiasedDBZfan » Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:57 pm

DragonBoxZTheMovies wrote:
UnbiasedDBZfan wrote:I'd take Greek Vegeta and Greek Tenshinhan over Chris Sabat and John Burgmeier anyday. At least the Greek Vegeta and Tenshinhan would have some voice quality. I bet Greek Kai would be cool as well.
For anyone that's interested, here are a couple of clips from the Greek dub. Judge for yourselves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu_8F2eMDEA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dZ_CnO58yE
Greek Gohan is better then Stephanie Nadonly, that's for sure. Also King Kai is decent as well. Greek Freeza is a lot more evil then Canadian and American Freezas and the Greek Goku's grunting is no worse the Sean Schemmel's. I suppose Kai did, do a lot good. It took 10+ years to surpass the Greeks at dubbing the Freeza arc well. At least the Greek Freeza arc sounds semi acceptable. When I watch the Funi Freeza arc, I try not to burst out in laughing of how bad the voice acting is. That's the only reason in my book the Funi Z dub gets a C.
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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by Kaboom » Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:37 am

Two words: "Chris Ayres."

Sure, that may only really affect one particular character from one particular dub casting and isn't really a big deal on a larger, entire franchise-wide scale. But it counts.
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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by dbboxkaifan » Tue Jan 31, 2012 10:26 am

DBZGTKOSDH wrote:Have you ever heard the voices of the Greek dub? You don't even want to. Not to mention the script, it's a mess. Freeza (or Freezer as he is called) is a woman, Vegetto's name is Vegetagoku, Gotenks' name is Songotrunks, Vegeta, Piccolo, and almost every villain talks like a robot... It's terrible. I grew up with it and enjoyed it as a little kid, but now... I only view it as a parody. But when I get a chance to watch the Greek dub, it brings me both nostalgia & laughs.
I remember watching clips of Greek DBZ Dub, Vegeta and Nappa sounded like robots, though with the right tools that could be removed, and Cell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-0soTKgReo < Greek Gohan SSJ2 scream's not bad, I sort of like it.
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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by dbboxkaifan » Wed Feb 01, 2012 5:37 pm

English Dragon Ball Z Kai

The awesome:
- Voice acting improved a whole better than it was before
- The replacement English VA's for Gohan and Lord Freeza, were absolutely fantastic and completely fitting!
- English Dragon Ball fans tend to listen to DBZ with the US Music (Shuki Levy / Faulconer Team), now they're stuck officially with the original Dragon Ball Z soundtrack in Kai, which I love, regardless of how limited it may be. :P
- They've cut down and removed pointless boring filler.
- FUNimation VA's shown they were trying to imitate the Japanese VA's, something nice and surprisingly awesome!
- The script on Kai is much better than it was back then on DBZ, thank god I didn't watch the Eng Dub DBZ but only seen various and various clips, the good ones actually. Heh.

The bad:
- Imperial System don't like it at all, then again it's the system they use in US (and it's for the audience in US). :?

Japanese: Z > Kai
English: Kai > Z
FUNimation 2015 Releases I want:
- Kai 2.0 on Blu-ray

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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by Hades » Thu Feb 02, 2012 4:35 am

For the English speaking world, Kai has shown them how far Funimation have come since 1999, especially in voice acting and directing, as well as general attitude towards anime. But the only thing holding it back is the lack of a Buu Saga.
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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by UnbiasedDBZfan » Thu Feb 02, 2012 2:04 pm

The real test is can Canada do any better? As many of you know, I prefer the Ocean voices 55% of the time above Funimation's in house group. I generally believe if Ocean pull this right then they can beat Funimation very easily. Then DB will be revived in Canada!

Regardless of script I think Ocean pre 1998 had the best voices of any English dub, just sayin'.
Has anyone seen my arm? You can't miss it, it's GREEEEENNNN!! HAHAHHAHAHA!! Funi dub Raditz
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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by Son Gohan Daimao » Thu Feb 02, 2012 6:10 pm

UnbiasedDBZfan wrote:The real test is can Canada do any better? As many of you know, I prefer the Ocean voices 55% of the time above Funimation's in house group. I generally believe if Ocean pull this right then they can beat Funimation very easily. Then DB will be revived in Canada!

Regardless of script I think Ocean pre 1998 had the best voices of any English dub, just sayin'.
I'm not so sure. Correct me if I'm wrong but it doesn't look like Ocean Productions (and its actors) are all that enthusiastic about it. But all we can do now is wait and see.

Anyway, back on topic. I think even the Japanese version of Kai did good things for the franchise. Not only did it reignite interest in the franchise, it also gave us a taste of DBZ with most of the non-manga material omitted.

The English version was wonderful. To me, it seemed like a very fair compromise. While retaining a lot of the voice actors that old fans grew accustomed to, they also made great changes to not only make it a more faithful adaptation of the anime, but to also showcase how much FUNimation has grown since the original dub.

So Kai did good things for the franchise, more so in the US, but nonetheless it did good things in Japan as well.

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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by Jackal puFF » Sun Feb 05, 2012 5:29 am

My nephew watches Kai a lot, which means a lot of other kids watch it too. They'll be talking about dragon ball years from now!

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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by Samwize78 » Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:33 am

If Kai were never around I wouldn't have gotten back into the Z portion of the series. And now that I have I am eternally grateful. But not only did it get me back into Z, but FUNimation's dub of Kaias well.

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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by Eire » Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:35 am

Personally I wonder about "new blood", it seems that Kai was primary watched by those already familiar with series as a TV comfort food. Anybody on Daizex can say that he was fascinated primary by Kai?

Don't get me wrong I don't want rants about quality of Kai, but for younger fans Dragon Ball is usually told to be classic with the worse meaning of that word- something that's good to know, but not necessarily exciting now.
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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by ET93 » Mon Feb 27, 2012 3:53 pm

Pretty much everything that's been mentioned already. In a nutshell though;
More accurate dub.
More accurate VA
Cut down and removed pointless filler
(A subjective positive, I personally find Kai a tad too pacy in places)

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Re: Good things Kai has done for the franchise?

Post by DBZAOTA482 » Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:55 pm

-An English dub that is actually...good.
-Oldschool fans have rejoiced.
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DBZGTKOSDH wrote:... Haven't we already gotten these in GT? Goku dies, the DBs go away, and the Namekian DBs most likely won't be used again because of the Evil Dragons.
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