An inquiry about the different blu-ray versions

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Chillin'LikeAKrillin
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An inquiry about the different blu-ray versions

Post by Chillin'LikeAKrillin » Fri Mar 01, 2019 5:58 pm

Hi there folks, I'm new here. I actually made my account just so I could ask this of you all.

I understand that Kai started off being produced with new music from now-exposed-plagiarist Kenji Yamamoto, then was redone with a less-than-stellar reworking of the original Shunsuke Kikuchi score. With this in mind, I have two questions:

1) How many blu-ray seasons of Kai were originally released with the Yamamoto score and later redone? Was it the first two sets? The first three? The first four?

2) How can you tell which copies of said blu-ray seasons contain the original Yamamoto score and which ones contain the Kikuchi score? How can I be sure I’m buying copies with the original Yamamoto score? Is there a different barcode number or SKU? Different packaging? Anything at all to let me know before I buy a copy if it's the Yamamoto version or the Kikuchi version?

The reason I ask is because I want to buy all of Kai on blu-ray, but I’m not interested in the releases with the Yamamoto score removed and the Kikuchi score re-implemented. I want to experience Kai as it was originally created, with the Yamamoto score intact as much as possible.

Can anyone help me out? I’d greatly appreciate it.

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Re: An inquiry about the different blu-ray versions

Post by Robo4900 » Fri Mar 01, 2019 7:36 pm

If you live in the UK, season 1 and the first two discs of season 2 will contain Yamamoto.

If you live anywhere else in the English-speaking world, all of the "Season" DVDs/BDs will contain Kikuchi, meanwhile the "Part" DVDs/BDs will contain some Yamamoto; Parts 1-4 will contain Yamamoto, though some printings of Part 4 in fact did not.

Just for convenience of figuring out which parts of the series I'm talking about, each part set is equivalent in terms of which episodes it contains to half a season set. So, season 1 is all the episodes from parts 1 and 2, season 2 is all the episodes from parts 3 and 4, etc.

Problem is, there are 4 seasons/8 parts in all, so at best you're going to get half the series, then suddenly switch over (first Kikuchi episode is episode 53, which is right in the middle of the climax of the Goku vs Freeza fight). And the part sets that contain Yamamoto's score go for very high prices these days, due to the demand for the Yamamoto score, so you'd be paying quite a lot of money for a little less than half the series in this form, at most.

So... If you must go for Yamamoto, buy parts 1-4, and make sure the part 4 you're getting is indeed the Yamamoto version. Maybe import seasons 1 and 2 from the UK if that works out cheaper, but your Blu-Ray player might complain about the region code, and you'll still need to get ahold of a Yamamoto copy of part 4. And because the UK is still printing season 1 and the first half of season 2 with the Yamamoto score on it, part 4 with Yamamoto is the rarest, most overpriced of the parts you'll have to seek out.

I must stress that I do recommend against this, as the soundtrack switch at episode 53 will be somewhat jarring, the money you'll be paying will be ridiculous, and much as the Kikuchi score is lambasted, it's really not that bad, it's more a case of "They turned a masterpiece into some decently catchy background noise" than it actually being outright bad. And given the alternative... Well...

As I say, think this through carefully before making your decision; and remember that it is utterly impossible to get more than the first 52 episodes (out of 98) with Yamamoto on home video (if you import from Japan, you can probably get about 15-30 more episodes, but then you have no subs or dub, and IIRC the Japanese releases with Yamamoto are also out of print anyway). Make sure you're completely confident in your choice, whichever way you decide to go; you don't want to be regretting spending ridiculous money on half a score you don't end up caring that much about, but similarly you don't want to be regretting missing out on this in a few years when prices are even more ridicuous.
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Chillin'LikeAKrillin
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Re: An inquiry about the different blu-ray versions

Post by Chillin'LikeAKrillin » Sat Mar 02, 2019 2:18 am

Thank you so much for that detailed reply. However, I'm surprised to see you say that the Yamamoto score stops during the Frieza fight, because this video here...

https://youtu.be/80EfQwNWr7Q?t=1269

...says that Yamamoto was doing the score all the way up through episode 95, just before the end of the Cell saga. Were all of those Yamamoto-scored episodes after Frieza not given a US blu-ray release, or do we have conflicting information here?
Last edited by Chillin'LikeAKrillin on Sat Mar 02, 2019 2:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: An inquiry about the different blu-ray versions

Post by Danfun64 » Sat Mar 02, 2019 2:35 am

This chart should clear things up, though it doesn't cover the Nicktoons broadcasts, which IIRC had Yamamoto up to Ep 63.

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Re: An inquiry about the different blu-ray versions

Post by Chillin'LikeAKrillin » Sat Mar 02, 2019 2:41 am

Yeesh, what a bummer! We Westerners sure got the shaft there. Ah well, can't be helped. Thank you both very much for your quick replies and helpful information. This thread has served its purpose.

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Re: An inquiry about the different blu-ray versions

Post by JohnnyCashKami » Sat Mar 02, 2019 10:38 am

Robo4900 wrote:If you live in the UK, season 1 and the first two discs of season 2 will contain Yamamoto.
Until episode 39.

Nowadays it's impossible to get the Yamamoto score higher than episode 76 on the Japanese Blu-rays, so, what we're left with is using 'backup' sources. I honestly love watching Kai in Japanese with the Yamamoto score but oh God, I can't stand the Kikuchi score. Maybe for dubs but that's about it.

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Re: An inquiry about the different blu-ray versions

Post by SuperSaiyaManZ94 » Sun Mar 10, 2019 9:15 am

If i recall correctly the edited Nicktoons broadcast lasted at least a few more episodes with Yamamoto's score than the DVD/BD releases did, and that most likely has to do with the fact that the airing was a ways ahead of the home release at that point. The music scandal came in between Part 4 and 5's release so FUNi had to alter all releases past that point as when the changeover happened on Toei's end, and it leads me to believe that they were planning to release it the same as with the previous volumes before everything hit the fan. I believe it ran with Yamamoto until about the 60 something episode mark before they went back and changed to the Kikuchi replacement score from then on, and with the later re releases in the Season style for both formats.

Simply put, the TV airing got further with the previous score because it had more time on the home releases.
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Re: An inquiry about the different blu-ray versions

Post by JohnnyCashKami » Thu Mar 14, 2019 11:56 pm

Chillin'LikeAKrillin wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2019 2:18 am Thank you so much for that detailed reply. However, I'm surprised to see you say that the Yamamoto score stops during the Frieza fight, because this video here...

https://youtu.be/80EfQwNWr7Q?t=1269

...says that Yamamoto was doing the score all the way up through episode 95, just before the end of the Cell saga. Were all of those Yamamoto-scored episodes after Frieza not given a US blu-ray release, or do we have conflicting information here?
The Yamamoto score on Nicktoons lasted until episode 63, on home media (Blu-ray/DVD) till 52 and that's it. The Japanese Blu-ray lasted till episode 76.

Fans are forced to watch the show "by other means" as the Yamamoto score is available until episode 95 as it was captured by Japanese fans on Japanese TV.

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Re: An inquiry about the different blu-ray versions

Post by Tylerman29 » Tue Mar 26, 2019 11:46 am

Did funi ever fix the audio mix issues for the blu rays? I'd totally rebuy them if I knew the new discs were fixed.
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