Dragon Ball Z "Seasons" On Blu-ray: News & Discussion

[Metalwario64]

Ranma confirmed to be hi-def in 4:3, the original aspect ratio. #nocropping

Is VIZ having a go at FUNimation? What year is this?

I was thinking it was a bit of a stab at FUNimation, because they aren't doing the remaster, it's already been done in Japan.

[lost in thought]

@AjayLikesGaming:
"You can't put that blame solely on the consumer. [...]"
That's kind of the thing, though, we can actually place the blame on consumers because we aren't actually talking about the average consumer. Funimation wouldn't waste money investing on a high quality remaster for an audience which doesn't give a shit about the quality of the product so long as it's high content at a low price. No, the Levels sets were made for the sake of the core fanbase and demonstrated that Funimation is willing to take those losses to still try and cater directly toward us, even if their profit margin is going to be considerably lower than they could make with a more cheaply made and broadly targeted product. And yet, this production was cancelled almost immediately because the consumers which had mattered turned around and complained about it and just didn't buy it. So, yeah, it's the consumers fault alright.

"If the fanbase wants to make it abundantly clear now that their price and season designations will guarantee a sale should they keep the original aspect ratio then I see no issue there."
It's simple, because core fans pissed away their right to demand a better release when they pillaged what is very likely the best quality release we'll ever get. And yet, despite this, it hasn't dulled their determination to play the victim and act like Funimation is doing a disservice to fans by not catering to them, and really just demonstrating what a sad fanbase this is becoming. It also shows how little we actually deserve to be catered to.

"[...] reinforce the point that more episodes for less will guarantee sales as long as the product is worth our time."
That just says it all, really.

[superrayman3]

Ranma confirmed to be hi-def in 4:3, the original aspect ratio. #nocropping

Is VIZ having a go at FUNimation? What year is this?

I was thinking it was a bit of a stab at FUNimation, because they aren't doing the remaster, it's already been done in Japan.

True but what I think VIZ is trying to do here is make it a point to the fans that they could have cropped the Ranma series if they really wanted to but the decided against it, which if you actually think about it is VIZ literally taking a swing at FUNimation's decision to crop DBZ.

[Kendamu]

One thing that's being forgot is the bad timing of the original release of these Blu-rays. Part of the reason hard-core fans didn't buy into them is because they had just literally gotten done collecting the Dragon Box. Had FUNimation waited maybe a year or two before releasing the Levels maybe there wouldn't be such a problem and they wouldn't have been canceled in the first place.

It isn't exactly right to completely blame the hard-core fans or the company responsible for distributing this material. Both played a very significant role in how the buying or not buying went down with the previous Blu-ray sets.

[KingofWisdom]

Fans would likely be less skeptical now about the remastering too, since we've seen the kind of product FUNimation can put out when they're serious. I think what happened was that we didn't realize how great the Level sets looked until they had already been cancelled. It was what, a couple months into the release when it was cancelled? I concur that they came out at a bad time as well. DBZ Kai was coming out at the same time and I couldn't be bothered to get those Level sets. The hardcore fans also tend to be the "wait and see" type of people, especially when it comes to the Dragon Ball releases which have been very hit-or-miss lately.

[Kendamu]

Fans would likely be less skeptical now about the remastering too, since we've seen the kind of product FUNimation can put out when they're serious. I think what happened was that we didn't realize how great the Level sets looked until they had already been cancelled.

I knew how awesome they looked. However, I followed the advice of waiting until the Levels were repackaged as Seasons because FUNimation always does that. Also, Dragon Box.

[MarcFBR]

True but what I think VIZ is trying to do here is make it a point to the fans that they could have cropped the Ranma series if they really wanted to but the decided against it, which if you actually think about it is VIZ literally taking a swing at FUNimation's decision to crop DBZ.

Viz doesn't have film masters to scan and crop. They have 1080p digital masters. They couldn't crop it if they wanted to without upscaling what they end up with.

Let's see how Viz does this time, as they used to mix up the episode order for Ranma quite a bit.

[KingofWisdom]

Basically, we'd be more likely to buy a 4:3 Blu-Ray release after seeing what happened to the Level sets. Regardless of how unlikely it might be that we'll get it. Looking back on it, FUNimation did tell ANN that "sales were not a factor" in its decision to discontinue production on the Dragon Ball Z Blu-Rays. If that's the case, we'd probably be lucky to see a non-cropped release from FUNimation at all, since it's the remastering itself that costs too much.

[MarcFBR]

Basically, we'd be more likely to buy a 4:3 Blu-Ray release after seeing what happened to the Level sets. Regardless of how unlikely it might be that we'll get it. Looking back on it, FUNimation did tell ANN that "sales were not a factor" in its decision to discontinue production on the Dragon Ball Z Blu-Rays. If that's the case, we'd probably be lucky to see a non-cropped release from FUNimation at all, since it's the remastering itself that costs too much.

'Sales were not a factor' is only true from a technical standpoint that they might have matched or done better than other anime titles on Blu-ray, but they certainly weren't high enough to keep it going.

If sales were ten times what they were, they probably would have kept going. Saying sales weren't a factor is more a way to save face.

[KingofWisdom]

Well, the only way that'd happen is if the casual DBZ fans were in on it.

[Metalwario64]

So, what happens if these fail because most of the people who bought the orange bricks are happy enough with those or something? Would that be the end of HD Dragon Ball in North America?

[Kendamu]

They won't fail. The aspect ratio hasn't even been finalized and it was sitting in the Top 25 on Amazon just the other day. It's fallen past 60 since then, but it'll likely rise again once a trailer hits and more people get pumped about it.

[Fennekin]

Ranma confirmed to be hi-def in 4:3, the original aspect ratio. #nocropping

Is VIZ having a go at FUNimation? What year is this?

If VIZ, a completely different dubbing company, knows about the huge aspect ratio confuffle, then FUNimation definitely knows too!

[KingofWisdom]

People will buy the Blu-Rays because it's the new shiny thing with prices closer to the orange bricks. It's also possible that people want it cropped to fill their screen.

[Luso Saiyan]

It's also possible that people want it cropped to fill their screen.

Nothing like a sticker advising to use the zoom option of your TV.

[Martinrock]

I strongly encourage you to read the interview with Rick Villa, former FUNimation National Sales Manager in charge of selling Dragon Ball.
There you will have a better understanding of the choice of Funimation towards Dragon Ball.

http://thedaoofdragonball.com/blog/inte ... interview/

http://thedaoofdragonball.com/blog/inte ... k-villa-2/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dragon-B ... 4187007713
http://www.funimation.com/forum/showthr ... -blu-rays/
http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Ball-Blu-r ... 00F9IB1M4/

[coola]

Sorry for little off-topic, but, it was Funimation fault for screwing Level set release, during that time, we had new version released not too long after previous one ended, we had Orange Bricks, Dragon Box, Z Kai, instead of just wait at least a year, they had to release it right after Dragon Box ended, and Z Kai didn`t finish yet, even casual viewer would be like "But i already finished collecting DBZ, why should i care for another release?"

[SupremeSSJ]

One thing that's being forgot is the bad timing of the original release of these Blu-rays. Part of the reason hard-core fans didn't buy into them is because they had just literally gotten done collecting the Dragon Box. Had FUNimation waited maybe a year or two before releasing the Levels maybe there wouldn't be such a problem and they wouldn't have been canceled in the first place.

It isn't exactly right to completely blame the hard-core fans or the company responsible for distributing this material. Both played a very significant role in how the buying or not buying went down with the previous Blu-ray sets.

Exactly

[Daimo-Rukiri]

One thing that's being forgot is the bad timing of the original release of these Blu-rays. Part of the reason hard-core fans didn't buy into them is because they had just literally gotten done collecting the Dragon Box. Had FUNimation waited maybe a year or two before releasing the Levels maybe there wouldn't be such a problem and they wouldn't have been canceled in the first place.

It isn't exactly right to completely blame the hard-core fans or the company responsible for distributing this material. Both played a very significant role in how the buying or not buying went down with the previous Blu-ray sets.

I have to agree with this, the levels literally just came out a month or 2 after the dragon boxes. POOR timing, I don't think it had anything to do with cost effectiveness but just poor timing and poor timing != less sales.

It would not surprise me at all if the 16x9 was just to gain sales and funimation coming out just a few days ago saying "yea, sorry... we don't quite know what aspect ratio these will be released in" So why would they say a few months ago, hey everyone 16x9 dbz for all but 2 months later say, yup we don't know yet.

They're more likely representatives but c'mon representatives should still know!

[theoriginalbilis]

This whole aspect ratio issue is getting to the point where if FUNimation really wants to save some money, just slap your raw, untouched, 4:3 stuff onto a Blu-Ray disc and call it a day. It won't look amazing, but it'll satisfy people who want the intact 4:3 ratio, and the super-casual consumer who buys it because "OOOOH DBZ H-DEE BLOO-RAYE!"