Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" Dub Turns 14; Still Unreleased

[WittyUsername]

At this point, getting leaked online might be the only hope of this ever seeing the light of day.

[Robo4900]

FWIW, I've heard that Funimation deliberately made efforts to prevent Ocean's Kai dub from releasing. They may have pulled strings behind the scenes to have Kix UK air their dub instead of Ocean's.
It's hearsay, so take it with a grain of salt, but it makes a lot of sense.

This combined with Funimation's other revisionist history attitudes towards the old dubs (no Pioneer dubs included on any of the uncut movie DVDs/Blu-rays since they did the in-house redubs in 2005, no pre-"Remastered" version of the in-house dub since the "Remastered" version happened in 2008) suggests to me that they would never in a million years consider releasing the Ocean dub of Kai themselves. Frankly, it's a miracle they even did the kinda-shitty Rock The Dragon DVD set.

The way I see it, there are two possibilities of us seeing Ocean Kai:
1. A Canadian broadcaster or streaming service picks it up. Ocean's head said recently when asked that they're still, to this day, shopping Ocean Kai around and negotiating with networks and such to try to get it released. Hope is not lost, not even close. It's just a matter of finding a Canadian broadcaster that's willing to air anime.
2. MangaUK do a DVD release. Funimation don't care what MangaUK do, and MangaUK have shown interest in catering to the fans of the Canadian dubs before, so I think they could very well do it. (Hell, apparently at one stage they intended to use the Canadian dubs on the Orange Brick DVDs. Of course, it didn't work out, because the Westwood dubs aren't uncut)

As for it leaking: Never, ever gonna happen. Ocean keep a good eye on their tapes.

[NitroEX]

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Funimation or Toei did suppress the Ocean Kai dub for the UK. It matches what Subzero Ice said years ago that "Toei Animation ONLY gave them the option of the Funimation dub of Kai". This was despite Kirby Morrow describing their version of Kai as being "for release in Canada and Europe". Kirby could have been mistaken or assumed it would be the same situation as before but the timeline of production did seem to indicate they were well into recording and could have at least gotten CSC media the first batch of episodes in late 2012/early 2013, particularly since they managed a similarly rushed schedule of delivery with Cartoon Network and YTV for DBZ. 2012 was also curiously the year when Toei granted MangaUK the DBZ rights and started moving the orange bricks onto the UK market, maybe that was just coincidence, but Toei did seem to have a heavier interest than normal in cultivating a Dragon Ball audience in the UK during that year.

It's just a shame they didn't try and shop it to SEA TV markets before they aired the Funi dub, then it could've at least wound up broadcasting in Asia like PPGZ did and maybe warrant a continuation by the time Super came around. Oh well.

Anyway, hopefully it finds its way onto a Canadian TV network someday (provided Toei doesn't intervene this time), however, I personally have zero faith in MangaUK as an option. Jerome Mazandarani has since deleted his Twitter but I do recall asking him about Kai years ago and his response was a very dismissive "no". His interest was only peaked after learning about the RTD boxset but I wouldn't extrapolate that to mean he has any interest in another version of Kai. Their company only does Funimation style releases of Dragon Ball content and if Funi won't make the first move on an Ocean release (which they won't - RTD doesn't count) then Manga definitely won't take the risk or make that kind of investment themselves.

Also, at this point, Kai as a product is old news to them. Plus it's nearly 2021 and they still haven't imported the RTD for the UK, which is exactly what I expected. We can blame that on Toei or Funi but at the end of the day, if they can't even get an existing Funimation DVD box set out the door they obviously have no hope in getting a version of Kai that's never had a home release to begin with.

[90sDBZ]

Kix using the Funimation dub was most likely just to maintain cast consistency with Manga UK's Orange Bricks and nothing more.

Jerome from Manga UK was actually keen on releasing Kai from the beginning. As Manga already had a history of using Madman's releases, and Ocean's dub was edited only, Manga UK's home release was always going to be the Funimation dub. It only made sense to have the TV airing line up with that.

Has anyone considered the possibility of Ocean Kai airing in the Netherlands? That was actually the first place to get the Westwood dub, even before the UK.

[eledoremassis02]

I think we have a better chance of the pioneer dub of the first 3 z movies getting on as an alternate dub on a relese (which I think is really low) then Funi releasing ocean kai.

Come to think of it, they appently dropped the original japanese mix in the Akira 4k set to put in the original english dub.. so I have the feeling their not very font of putting their older work (with z) on any relese.

Rock the dragon (I feel) only came out cause they were riding the meme sadly.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Plus it's nearly 2021 and they still haven't imported the RTD for the UK, which is exactly what I expected. We can blame that on Toei or Funi but at the end of the day, if they can't even get an existing Funimation DVD box set out the door they obviously have no hope in getting a version of Kai that's never had a home release to begin with.

Regarding RTD, I did message Jerome on Facebook a while back if there was any updates and he said it was lost among "a myriad of other business concerns and release requests" and that they hadn't sorted it. In retrospect this makes some sense when you look at their release schedule for Dragon Ball since:

2017-2018 : Super and Double Features
2018 : Kai The Final Chapters
2019 : Super and Funi 30th anniversary edition
2020 : Super Collector's Edition and Z Blu-Rays

Now they will be busy releasing 7 of the 9 Z Blu-Rays early next year, but now the question is what will they release late 2021? Surely they will want to keep the money train going. I'm not saying RTD will still happen, after all last time I messaged Jerome he backtracked saying they weren't releasing it, but if Funi or Madman doesn't license the TOEI movie remasters and Selecta Vision OG DB Blu-Rays by late next year it would be a good time for Manga to release RTD.

Has anyone considered the possibility of Ocean Kai airing in the Netherlands? That was actually the first place to get the Westwood dub, even before the UK.

Not sure about broadcast, but there was a listing on the Netherlands for Z, apparently with the edited episode counts and from what Super Saiyan Prime has told us Netflix has a history of streaming alternate dubs of other series, so maybe if Westwood pops up there we could get Ocean Kai. Time will tell, I guess.

I think we have a better chance of the pioneer dub of the first 3 z movies getting on as an alternate dub on a relese (which I think is really low) then Funi releasing ocean kai.

I think maybe if Funimation licenses the TOEI remasters they could include the Pioneer tracks as an incentive for people to buy the movies again. After all most people are satisfied with the Double Features. Still wouldn't count on it, but it's not impossible.

[2quid]

FWIW, I've heard that Funimation deliberately made efforts to prevent Ocean's Kai dub from releasing. They may have pulled strings behind the scenes to have Kix UK air their dub instead of Ocean's.

Is that hearsay? I'm sure there were emails circulating on this very thread from 5-6 years back that basically confirm this to be the case, if not Funimation then certainly Toei, after all, we all know Kix initially was going for the Ocean dub before Funi came into the room - that much at least is true.

It's always struck me as weird:
- Ocean dubs Pretty Cure (a Toei property) and Kai circa 2009
- Popgirl (another CSC Media channel) airs the full 52 episode Pretty Cure in Sept 2010 to good ratings
- CSC Media generally having good relations with Toei (Digimon airing on Kix, Anime Central etc) for years
- Boxing Day 2012 comes around, and it's Funi Kai airing on Kix

What an interesting history the CSC channels had, I really do think they could be thriving currently if it weren't for Sony's buyout. While it's true Linear tv is dying Pop's currents average viewership is much higher today than ten years ago

[eledoremassis02]

FWIW, I've heard that Funimation deliberately made efforts to prevent Ocean's Kai dub from releasing. They may have pulled strings behind the scenes to have Kix UK air their dub instead of Ocean's.

Is that hearsay? I'm sure there were emails circulating on this very thread from 5-6 years back that basically confirm this to be the case, if not Funimation then certainly Toei, after all, we all know Kix initially was going for the Ocean dub before Funi came into the room - that much at least is true.

It's always struck me as weird:
- Ocean dubs Pretty Cure (a Toei property) and Kai circa 2009
- Popgirl (another CSC Media channel) airs the full 52 episode Pretty Cure in Sept 2010 to good ratings
- CSC Media generally having good relations with Toei (Digimon airing on Kix, Anime Central etc) for years
- Boxing Day 2012 comes around, and it's Funi Kai airing on Kix

What an interesting history the CSC channels had, I really do think they could be thriving currently if it weren't for Sony's buyout. While it's true Linear tv is dying Pop's currents average viewership is much higher today than ten years ago

I do feel it's their loss (if) they have the power to block this dubs release. Kai's a thing of the past now, and it seems like the only way they'd ok a release if it becomes a meme. They seems be sour about alternative dubs to their properties...

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

FWIW, I've heard that Funimation deliberately made efforts to prevent Ocean's Kai dub from releasing. They may have pulled strings behind the scenes to have Kix UK air their dub instead of Ocean's.

Is that hearsay? I'm sure there were emails circulating on this very thread from 5-6 years back that basically confirm this to be the case, if not Funimation then certainly Toei, after all, we all know Kix initially was going for the Ocean dub before Funi came into the room - that much at least is true.

It's always struck me as weird:
- Ocean dubs Pretty Cure (a Toei property) and Kai circa 2009
- Popgirl (another CSC Media channel) airs the full 52 episode Pretty Cure in Sept 2010 to good ratings
- CSC Media generally having good relations with Toei (Digimon airing on Kix, Anime Central etc) for years
- Boxing Day 2012 comes around, and it's Funi Kai airing on Kix

What an interesting history the CSC channels had, I really do think they could be thriving currently if it weren't for Sony's buyout. While it's true Linear tv is dying Pop's currents average viewership is much higher today than ten years ago

I do feel it's their loss (if) they have the power to block this dubs release. Kai's a thing of the past now, and it seems like the only way they'd ok a release if it becomes a meme. They seems be sour about alternative dubs to their properties...

Don't think TOEI is sour about alternate dubs in general, they did let Bang Zoom dub Super. Ocean Kai sadly just seems to have had bad luck consistently since it's inception.

[eledoremassis02]

Is that hearsay? I'm sure there were emails circulating on this very thread from 5-6 years back that basically confirm this to be the case, if not Funimation then certainly Toei, after all, we all know Kix initially was going for the Ocean dub before Funi came into the room - that much at least is true.

It's always struck me as weird:
- Ocean dubs Pretty Cure (a Toei property) and Kai circa 2009
- Popgirl (another CSC Media channel) airs the full 52 episode Pretty Cure in Sept 2010 to good ratings
- CSC Media generally having good relations with Toei (Digimon airing on Kix, Anime Central etc) for years
- Boxing Day 2012 comes around, and it's Funi Kai airing on Kix

What an interesting history the CSC channels had, I really do think they could be thriving currently if it weren't for Sony's buyout. While it's true Linear tv is dying Pop's currents average viewership is much higher today than ten years ago

I do feel it's their loss (if) they have the power to block this dubs release. Kai's a thing of the past now, and it seems like the only way they'd ok a release if it becomes a meme. They seems be sour about alternative dubs to their properties...

Don't think TOEI is sour about alternate dubs in general, they did let Bang Zoom dub Super. Ocean Kai sadly just seems to have had bad luck consistently since it's inception.

Oh! I meant Funimation

[Kingbrockstar1995]

i give up, it has been 10 years. it'll never be seen

[Scsigs]

Honestly, the best bet of seeing this dub get out of whatever vault Ocean has is if one of their audio engineers leaks it online. The chances of that are slim to none, but I don't see it being officially released unless FUNi does another "lost media" type of release like the Rock the Dragon set.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

If it was any other studio maybe there'd be a chance of Kai leaking. With Ocean, the chances are incredibly slim.

I like 90sDBZ's idea of it airing in the Netherlands. I'm not familiar with TV there but should be worth looking into.

[MasenkoHA]

The chances of that are slim to none, but I don't see it being officially released unless FUNi does another "lost media" type of release like the Rock the Dragon set.

There was nothing “lost” about Rock the Dragon.

Funimation would never release it because they can’t bank on “nostalgia”

[Kakkaroto735]

The chances of that are slim to none, but I don't see it being officially released unless FUNi does another "lost media" type of release like the Rock the Dragon set.

There was nothing “lost” about Rock the Dragon.

Funimation would never release it because they can’t bank on “nostalgia”

The average casual fan doesn't give a damn about Rock the Dragon, Ocean Dub or anything else. Funimation seems to care about that type of fan the most. Their collectors set is literally aimed at the casual fans. They know what the hardcore fans want. Nothing we say matters because they only care about Mr. $25 Blu-Ray and Funimation won't aim to get their hands on the ocean dub. Also, Funimation just wants to rewrite history when it comes to Dragon Ball. As someone who first saw the series with Kai and later watched Z, I always thought that Z just looked like shit, even though it was because every single release was ass.

[Arian]

I probably shouldn't announce this so callously and on a grand stage such as this but to hell with it:

Through a friend, I managed to obtain the email address of one Adam Mimnagh, the founder and president of Toon-A-Vision. I took the opportunity to pitch the concept of him airing the program on his network, and you can basically guess which dub I put heavy emphasis on. And let me tell you why.

The friend I'm speaking of requested that a program be placed back on the air, back in rotation. And not only did he get a personal response from Mr. Mimnagh, but the request was honoured! Now, I do realize that putting a program he already had the license to back on the schedule is not the same as a new program pitch, but it still is something, and I provided plenty of statistics and logic to rationalize why pursuing Ocean Kai would not only make us happy, but would be good for him and his network.

I shot it off yesterday afternoon. Fingers crossed I get some sort of response today, but I'm aware it can happen or not at any given time.

Gotta keep the faith, people.

[Kingbrockstar1995]

even if they can license it, some providers don't carry the channel so some fan won't be able to watch the dub.

[Arian]

even if they can license it, some providers don't carry the channel so some fan won't be able to watch the dub.

That's still a step above Corus' time-honoured track record of nothing. And on top of that, independent networks have to crawl before they walk. Meaning that sometimes they need something to lift them from the slump of being rather unknown like a household name to kickstart their success. Dragon Ball Kai can very well be that. After that, you'll probably see Toon-A-Vision on your cable provider, when they see the numbers reflect their claims of grandeur.

[2quid]

even if they can license it, some providers don't carry the channel so some fan won't be able to watch the dub.

Believe me, once it's on TV fans being unable to watch it will become a non issue

[TheBlackPaladin]

even if they can license it, some providers don't carry the channel so some fan won't be able to watch the dub.

Believe me, once it's on TV fans being unable to watch it will become a non issue

Exactly. The Westwood dub of DBZ never aired in the US, but puh-lenty of US fans have seen it. Trust me, if the Ocean dub of Kai should ever, by some stroke of luck, end up on TV in any form....there will be fans out there doing God's work and preserving it. And thankfully, the tools with which they'll be able to do so today are far more advanced than the poorly-aged VHS tapings that serve as all that remains of the Westwood dub.