FUNimation DBZ TV Blu-ray Official On-Going Thread

[fps_anth]

Nope, can't seem to find the logic in this one. Maybe... Kai isn't selling as well as Z did and they think releasing Z on blu ray will somehow sell better? As if the typical DB fan knows the difference. This is just fucking bizarre.

I don't think this has anything to do at all with if Kai is selling well or not. It's just typical product evolution. DBZ hasn't been released on Blu-ray before and of course it'll sell so, the logical thing to do is... put it out on blu-ray. I mean, will it sell better then the Orange Bricks did? Maybe not, but it'll definitely sell. Not bizarre at all. It was only a matter of time.

Then why the hell did FUNi buy Kai in the first place if they were going to pull this shit? Why not milk DBZ for everything it's worth before introducing the new hotness that is Kai? The order of events is just odd to me.

Then again... this is FUNimation we're talking about here. Shit doesn't have to make sense. meh.

[jjgp1112]

It's Dragon Ball Z and it prints money no matter what. No need to apply logic to a guaranteed money machine.

We oughta be bracing ourselves for Otakon 2013 when FUNimation announces the all-new remastered 3D sets, complete with 3D Glasses modeled to look like Master Roshi's shades for the DB sets and scouters for the Z sets.

[Captain Awesome]

I think the only way this could possibly be a worthwhile purchase is if FUNimation have received better film masters from Toei, if they're similar in quality to the masters we saw for the Spanish releases (which looked to be the prints the Dboxes were based off prior to the remastering), we might have something decent on our hands. Hell if FUNimation are clever they could always rip the JP Dbox audio and use that as their audio source since it was encoded at a reasonably high bitrate for a mono audio track.

I really want to see the series on Blu-ray, it's half the reason I even tolerate Kai; the increase in visual fidelity is negligible for a show with the age and budget of DBZ, but having rock solid encodes of the episodes is really all I want, however if these are the previous widescreen "unmasters" I'll be giving them a miss.

[Lance Freeman]

*headdesk, headdesk, headdesk, headdesk, headdesk* ... I'm fine... *headdesk*... WHY? This is franchise-icide on a level not seen since endless Star Wars releases. What is this, the THIRD simultaneous release they're working on?

[Pokewhiz7]

I suppose it had to happen eventually. After all, they did get a 1080p remaster, they're just not gonna not use it. Of course, I'm never gonna buy it, but some people might. It could be uncropped, 1080p, lossless Dub w/ Dub Music track, etc.

[penguintruth]

Does Greedo... er... Kiwi fire first in this release?

[Flamzeron]

Perhaps FUNimation will redub the series for the Blu-ray release? Most likely not, but one can dream.

[thedarkuniter]

I'm not supporting them on the Blu-ray release. I mean we got the singles, the Ultimate Uncuts, the Orange Bricks, the Dragon Boxes, Dragon Ball Z Kai, re-released Dragon Ball Z Kai with Kikuchi score and now this. Double dipping for Parts 1-4 of Kai is bad enough thanks to the score, but this is ridiculous. I'm perfectly happy with my Dragon Boxes.

[Akumaito Beam]

THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE SEEN!

Talk about deja vu.

[Super Sonic]

I saw a youtube vid where Justin Cook was talking about YYH's blu-ray and was wondering if something like that would happen for DBZ. Won't likely get for the same reasons I wasn't going to get YYH. No blu-ray player and I have everything already.

[Chuquita]

I have all the currently-released Funi DBoxes and I don't own a Blu-Ray player; so this doesn't really affect me. :3

I'm a little surprised they're releasing this so soon on the DBoxes' heels though; especially with Kai still in play.

[TonyTheTiger]

Fans think it's a dumb idea, but then fans are a small part of the market.

Orange Bricks sold batshit insanely well; these likely will also.

You don't avoid obvious money making ideas because a small part of the buying audience won't like it.

Not to mention, and let's be honest here -- how does this affect us? We have our release. Anyone who doesn't want this, it doesn't affect them one way or another.

You're probably right. But I think the general consumer will just be ludicrously confused. Even I sometimes have a hard enough time wrapping my head around all the different Dragon Ball products out there. A major no-no in marketing is never to compete with yourself. And now we're quite literally going into what I think is straight up the most confusing period in Dragon Ball history in North America. And I don't think that's hyperbole.

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say that this will most likely be essentially high definition transfers of the Orange Brick footage or a close approximation of it with perhaps the benefit of a 4:3 aspect ratio since that took a lot more flack than the DVNR. I'm going to guess that it'll look much better than the Orange Bricks (independent of the resolution) but will end up just being another source to screencap from and stick in those big "look at the comparison shots among releases" JPGs. At the very least, people who were looking for a consistent 4:3 release with Faulconer's score may be thrown a bone, but that's up in the air until we hear more.

We all knew DBZ on Blu-ray was inevitable but it really couldn't come at a more ridiculous time given that Kai is still supposed to be the hot shit.

[BluezaBladeNZ]

I already have the first five Dragon Boxes, so I'll pass on this, especially if it will contain the same cropped master used in the Orange Brick release.

[TonyTheTiger]

What I think is funny is that the Dragon Boxes are the least concern here. They always seemed to come off as separate and apart from FUNi's normal line. Even many big box stores don't carry them on the shelf anymore or not of any substantial quantity at least. I can accept that the Dragon Boxes can be removed from the equation as they don't necessarily compete with the other releases on the same level.

But, that being said, even if you do remove the Dragon Box release from the equation, you're still left with a DVD release with a whacked out aspect ratio, a DVD/Blu-ray release of a revamped version that's the current hot shit everybody's watching, a second DVD/Blu-ray release of the revamped version consolidating the earlier volumes but this time most likely featuring different background music for half the episodes, and, finally, a Blu-ray release of the original series that may or may not be identical to the previous DVD release with a higher resolution. Nevermind that every single release uses the same "the way it was meant to be seen" catchphrase with ultimately little in the way of genuine information regarding what each release actually is.

It's just bizarre. I've never seen anything like it. We're all used to multiple releases of the same basic content in TV shows and especially movies. But never like this. There may be a bunch of versions of Terminator 2 but they didn't all show up at the exact same time.

[Gaffer Tape]

Bleh. Sounds like nothing but disappointment. Hell, almost sounds like the press release is a copy/paste job of the press release from 4-5 years ago, but with Blu-ray subbed in for DVD. Too many red flags make it sound like just another orange brick release. And, yes, I do feel that is cause to throw up arms. Yes, we have the DBoxes, so it doesn't matter to us personally, but it's still the image of the franchise, still the mainstream perception, still how FUNimation treats its client base, and I feel those are all things that need to be rectified. Yes, the orange bricks have no bearing on my life, but that doesn't mean I still don't think they're a complete insult to DB fans, to fans of home video in general, and to business quality control, and deserve to be destroyed for all time. The Dragon Boxes were a significant step forward, but, to FUNimation, they treated it like a minor step to the side. It was a step forward, and FUNimation does not need to be making significant steps backwards after doing so. The orange bricks should be treated like the mistakes they were. The same kinds of treatment (and, seriously, Steve Franko again?!) should be steered clear of.

But, really, this is just disappointing because I'd much rather be hearing about DB and GT Dragon Boxes than this waste of time.

[kei17]

I'll support this release if this contains a music-only audio track.

[Echo64]

Great! Now I can choose to watch an episode on VHS, DVD single, orange brick, the Dragon Box, Z Kai, online streaming, and now on Blu-ray too!

[Hao_Kaiser]

This isn't something I'll buy, for sure, but the way the press release reads implies that this is a new remaster, which is nice. Hopefully it'll be 4:3. I have to assume that they learned their lesson from last time.

The only thing that bothers me is the silly, pretentious name for this release. It makes it sound like they're going to do something similar to that recent re-broadcast of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, where they edited in a bunch of random comic book effects and stuff. I can understand them wanting to make it stand out, but, geez. Level 1.1 sounds like a Final Fantasy XIII spin-off.

That and the (comparatively) low episode count. I know the Kai sets have a similar amount of episodes, but the last two releases of the series have been put out in decent chunks. I know they have to milk it, but anything less than 26 at a time seems stingy.

[ShadowDude112]

Just realized this comes out November 8th. If you order from Rightstuf, you'll be getting this in October. The same month when the Dragon Boxes end. It seems strange because, personally, I would like to see the Dragon Boxes on Blu-ray. I wouldn't get them, but at least this "new remaster" is an actual HD Remaster of better looking footage.

[Zestanor]

An analysis, with my hopeful and disappointing predictions. Buzzwords in red.
FLOWER MOUND, Texas, July 21, 2011 – FUNimation® Entertainment is announcing that it is bringing the first installment of the anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z to Blu-ray disc for the first time this fall.

So far so good.

Among the most prized in the FUNimation catalog, the studio has used the newest technology available to remaster in high-definition and digitally restore the 291 episode series.

I'm skeptical. For all we know, this sentence refers to the orange brick remaster.

FUNimation worked with Dallas-based ANDTRANSFER for the digital film transfer. FUNimation previously worked with the post-production house to remaster the series for the season set releases on DVD. The transfer was performed by nationally-recognized colorist Steve Franko and supervised by FUNimation, which then finished the rest of the restoration process.

This actually sounds like they rescanned the film. Oh, and here's what VPT says about Franko:
"A career colorist for 27 years, Steve Franko (a.k.a. Franko) is highly acclaimed for his keen eye and invaluable insights. A UNT graduate and Texas native, Steve was not only the first regional colorist, but in fact introduced telecine in the Southwestern United States. Steve has become unquestionably one of the most experienced and sought after colorists in the nation, making his client roster read as a who's who in the advertising industry." Here is a video of things he did.

Today's state-of-the-art systems offer tools that allow restoration teams to make a wide range of repairs and focus on more difficult tasks which, in the end, deliver a clean product that faithfully presents the original version and measures up to the high-quality standards of HDTV and Blu-ray.

Blah blah blah buzzword! Buzzword! Ring! Ring! Ring! These words mean nothing on their own.

Once again, the Dragon Ball Z series was digitally transferred from the original Japanese 16mm film frame by frame at 1080p. Developments in restoration software gives mastering artists more to work with when they apply tools to even out film grain and remove fading, film cuts and other visual anomalies. As a result, the viewer will see brighter, clearer colors, less variance in quality between scenes, and a sharper image.

Oh Mah Gahd Original 16mm film bros! Let's face it. They called it the original Japanese 16mm film back in 2007. Lie. Oh, and in this context, "frame by frame" means it was scanned one frame at a time. (As apposed to projecting the film onto a sheet and pointing a video camera at it.) And dang it, let that poor film grain alone! It never did anything to you! No, but seriously, 16mm is grainy, but sharp. "Evening out grain" means blurring it until you can't see the gosh darn picture no mo.

"Working with a very old and fragile source film presented a number of challenges for the restoration process," said Gen Fukunaga, CEO and president at FUNimation Entertainment. "Our purpose was to restore the series as accurately as possible, to what it must have been like to see it when it was originally mastered, and preserve the charm of the animation. After all, it is of a particular time and place."

Cool story.

After debuting in 1989, Dragon Ball Z has become an iconic anime series. The franchise has sold more than 25 million DVD and Blu-ray discs in its lifetime, becoming the best-selling anime series of all time.

Mkay.

Dragon Ball Z is the explosive sequel to Dragon Ball. The series follows the adventures of Goku and his son Gohan as they team up with their friends to battle evil forces throughout the universe to protect their beloved planet Earth. The first season covers the Vegeta Saga and chronicles the introduction of one of Dragon Ball Z's main characters, Vegeta.

Yuppers...

This restored edition also features the original U.S. voice actors as well as the original FUNimation soundtrack – all in lossless Dolby® TrueHD.

What's the difference? Do they mean the original edited dub voices are here?

Dragon Ball Z Level 1.1 includes the first 17 episodes on two discs with over 400 minutes of action and among the extras included on this release is a feature that looks at the restoration and remastering processes.

Dragon Ball Z Level 1.1 will be available at major retailers nationwide on November 8, 2011.

Okay then