How watchable is Kai with the Kikuchi score?

[Pokewhiz7]

I've been holding off on buying Kai for a long time, for many reasons that constantly caused it to disappoint me. However, I have been wanting to check it out sometime. (Mostly for the new dub and to be able to watch the Freeza saga again.) This will determine whether or not I buy it. How watchable is it with the Kikuchi replacement score? I've heard it's repetitive and uses poor song selections.

[penguintruth]

It's hit or miss. Sometimes they do a great job, other times the placement is too repetitive.

[BluezaBladeNZ]

I can't really say much for this as I've only watched 6-7 episodes with it. I was disappointed after watching the first disc of Collection 5 so I just decided to rebuild the Yamamoto score myself. From what I heard there were repetitive themes at times on that disc, but that's just my opinion.

[Codarik]

If you're a big fan of M1307 then you'll love it cause it just about plays in every episode. Seriously, it's the most overused track. Overall it's not that bad, just more repetitive than Yamamoto's score. So it is watchable.

[AoiKageNoChikara]

For me..... It's just unbearable..... The only problem with Yamamoto was The mediocre Sound director... Geez Now we are stuck with a freaking limited version of the kikuchi score, not that I don't enjoy kikuchi, but the selection in Kai is sickening. Geez This would have never Happened if they picked Either the PTETSS Composer or One of my personal Favorites. Kaoru Wada. I give it. Yamamoto is a copycat. but most of his "Arrangements" are better than the originals. And his music was overall Awesome.

[TheBlackPaladin]

If you just want to watch the Freeza saga, there are still Blu-Rays and DVDs out there (Parts 2-4) that still have the Yamamoto score (Part 1 also has the Yamamoto score, but it doesn't contain any episodes from the Freeza saga). Part 5, which contains the last few episodes of the Freeza saga, is the point at which FUNimation began switching to the Kikuchi score. Having said that, the Kikuchi-Kai mix is...well, like everyone else said, really hit or miss.

[Pokewhiz7]

If you just want to watch the Freeza saga, there are still Blu-Rays and DVDs out there (Parts 2-4) that still have the Yamamoto score (Part 1 also has the Yamamoto score, but it doesn't contain any episodes from the Freeza saga). Part 5, which contains the last few episodes of the Freeza saga, is the point at which FUNimation began switching to the Kikuchi score. Having said that, the Kikuchi-Kai mix is...well, like everyone else said, really hit or miss.

Well, I planned on using all of Kai for rewatch purposes, it was just that the Freeza saga was especially bad, even compared to the other ones.

[TheBlackPaladin]

If you just want to watch the Freeza saga, there are still Blu-Rays and DVDs out there (Parts 2-4) that still have the Yamamoto score (Part 1 also has the Yamamoto score, but it doesn't contain any episodes from the Freeza saga). Part 5, which contains the last few episodes of the Freeza saga, is the point at which FUNimation began switching to the Kikuchi score. Having said that, the Kikuchi-Kai mix is...well, like everyone else said, really hit or miss.

Well, I planned on using all of Kai for rewatch purposes, it was just that the Freeza saga was especially bad, even compared to the other ones.

I must agree. "Season 3" (hereafter referred to as, "The Dark Age") was not a good time for DBZ. Especially not for the dub. I would argue that, appropriately enough, the worst-dubbed saga in the DBZ dub is the best-dubbed saga in the Kai dub.

[Pokewhiz7]

If you just want to watch the Freeza saga, there are still Blu-Rays and DVDs out there (Parts 2-4) that still have the Yamamoto score (Part 1 also has the Yamamoto score, but it doesn't contain any episodes from the Freeza saga). Part 5, which contains the last few episodes of the Freeza saga, is the point at which FUNimation began switching to the Kikuchi score. Having said that, the Kikuchi-Kai mix is...well, like everyone else said, really hit or miss.

Well, I planned on using all of Kai for rewatch purposes, it was just that the Freeza saga was especially bad, even compared to the other ones.

I must agree. "Season 3" (hereafter referred to as, "The Dark Age") was not a good time for DBZ. Especially not for the dub. I would argue that, appropriately enough, the worst-dubbed saga in the DBZ dub is the best-dubbed saga in the Kai dub.

I don't just mean the dub, I mean in general, the filler is Goddamn unbearable a second time.

[Jackal puFF]

I hate hate hate that song right after Trunks slices Frieza's goons in Kai. It's just awful..But there are some scenes that are good though like Vegeta's Big Bang on #19.

[thedarkuniter]

I say Kai is watchable with or without Kikuchi's score or Yamamoto's score, I personally can go either way. As for selection for the Kikuchi's score, it wasn't the Kai-Kikuchi mix is the only mix that was repetitive, some tracks are repetitive during the Saiyan and Freeza sagas. I'm just happy that I don't have to sit through tons of filler ever again thanks to Kai.

[SolarBlade52]

I think that Kai with Kikuchi would have been watchable if Toei had enough money to use all of the released DBZ tracks. But because they don't have a budget for Kai anymore, they are only allowed to use stereo pieces for M700's and music from Movies 6-9 (which are all mixed in stereo). That loses a lot of musical variety. Hearing music from the Cell and Boo arcs in the Saiyan and Freeza arcs feel kinda off to me. It just doesn't seem "arc-appropriate." the Saiyan arc uses music from Movie 1 and the Freeza arc uses music from Movies 2-4. I personally like the music from Movies 8 and 9, but hearing them in all three arcs before Boo feel a bit too early and out of place to me. Movie 8 Music isn't used until Episode 191 (several episodes away until the end of the Cell arc) and Movie 9 Music starts at episode 200 (the start of the Boo arc.).

To me, I'm mixed about this. On one hand, I'm watching a proper dub with Kikuchi's original music, but on the other hand, the music selection is extremely limited. It doesn't help the fact that we have a music director who isn't doing a very good job at choosing the right pieces.

[TheBlackPaladin]

I don't just mean the dub, I mean in general, the filler is Goddamn unbearable a second time.

Ah, okay. I guess I just subconsciously registered what you said as wanting to watch the dub because I normally steer people who prefer the original Japanese version away from Kai, and towards DBZ. While I don't prefer the Japanese version, I've watched a ton of it, and can't help but feel that the performances of the Japanese voice actors were so much better in DBZ. In Kai, they seem to have this "been there, done that" feeling in their delivery, whereas the English cast sounds legitimately excited to get a second shot at correcting the mistakes they made in the DBZ dub.

[ohaimynameiserik]

It sounds about like this.

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/461882

[SylentEcho]

It's actually better with the Kikuchi score. The Yamamoto score got a bit too repetitive.

Get the Yamamoto score till the Freeza arc and the ones with the Kikuchi score for later. That way it adds a bit of freshness to the Artificial Humans/Cell arc.

[CaBrPi]

It's actually better with the Kikuchi score. The Yamamoto score got a bit too repetitive.

I'm not sure what version you're watching, but I seem to remember the Kikuchi score being even more repetitive than the Yamamoto one. Sure, the Yamamoto score had a few that played over and over and over again, but the Kikuchi score abuses certain themes even more... Not to mention barely any of it was composed for the episodes it's heard in, anyway.

[Rocketman]

Completely unwatchable. My eyes bled at seeing that horrible music.

[Gonstead]

Completely unwatchable. My eyes bled at seeing that horrible music.

Don't you mean "Ears"?

[thedarkuniter]

Here's one example of the Kikuchi placement being superior than the original selection: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFznmhzm ... ideo_title

[NeoKING]

Eh, a little watchable but the Yamamoto score was so much more exciting and fitting to me.