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

[JEFFMAN219]

It's a bit funny to think that Kai did a lot more for DBZ in English-speaking territories more than in its country of origin.

It spurred some good VA replacements that actually needed to happen, instead of being disappointing or just "guest star" publicity stunts. It allowed for a new and accurate dub where the voice actors were enthusiastic to finally do things right, as opposed to the waning performances of some of the Japanese cast who have been saying the "right" lines for decades. And in doing all of this, it brought in droves of new fans who have and will continue to experience "DBZ" for the first time in a way that actually does it justice.

And yet a near overwhelmingly large part of the fanbase demonizes it for those exact same reasons.

"No old Gohan and Freeza voice?! No Faulconer soundtrack?! Dragonball Z Kai is the devil!"

Stupidity. Pure and simple. Nostalgia Goggles have become Nostalgia Full Body Armor.

A lot of the youtube dbz fan base are all nostalgia tards who in my opinion are not real dbz fans.

[JEFFMAN219]

I have Season 1 sitting next to me, ready to open and I'm not sure if I should or return it. This is, of course, due to the generally negative attitude of many of the people on this forum.

Still, the only other Dragon Ball Z box set I own is Kai (also Blu ray) and it's really a toss-up. You guys seem to think this looks somewhat worse than Kai but at the same time due to this being my only collection I would like it to be complete end-to-end, filler filled Dragon Ball Z.

Is it really that bad?

Bro if you have Kai then return it because the original funimation dub is not as good as Kais dubbing and plus they cropped the new blu rays into 16:9 so you are losing footage.

[sumpter360]

I have Season 1 sitting next to me, ready to open and I'm not sure if I should or return it. This is, of course, due to the generally negative attitude of many of the people on this forum.

Still, the only other Dragon Ball Z box set I own is Kai (also Blu ray) and it's really a toss-up. You guys seem to think this looks somewhat worse than Kai but at the same time due to this being my only collection I would like it to be complete end-to-end, filler filled Dragon Ball Z.

Is it really that bad?

It seems like you really have to see it for yourself to make an individualized decision. Sure, you can look at screenshots, and the negative aspects (they certainly are there.) but some see them as too much to look past. Others, myself included, understand the downsides, but aren't really bothered by them. To me, the biggest offenses (if you can get past the 16:9 cropping) are the super zoomed ending theme (which I don't usually watch anyway) and the crushed blacks, which can occasionally take some detail away...

But if I were you, I'd open 'er on up and decide for yourself!

[qjz123]

I have Season 1 sitting next to me, ready to open and I'm not sure if I should or return it. This is, of course, due to the generally negative attitude of many of the people on this forum.

Still, the only other Dragon Ball Z box set I own is Kai (also Blu ray) and it's really a toss-up. You guys seem to think this looks somewhat worse than Kai but at the same time due to this being my only collection I would like it to be complete end-to-end, filler filled Dragon Ball Z.

Is it really that bad?

If you're a fan of the english dub then you should stick with Kai, Kai's dub is much more faithful than Funimation's original DBZ dub. However if you're a fan of the Japanese version this release does offer improved Japanese audio quality. Now as far as the video is concerned it definitely looks worse than Kai imo. So I would say that if you want to watch the show in Japanese go ahead and open the release and check it out for your self, if your interested in watching the english dub return it and just stick with Kai. The Buu saga of Kai should be coming out later this year!

[Jaruka]

It seems like you really have to see it for yourself to make an individualized decision. Sure, you can look at screenshots, and the negative aspects (they certainly are there.) but some see them as too much to look past. Others, myself included, understand the downsides, but aren't really bothered by them. To me, the biggest offenses (if you can get past the 16:9 cropping) are the super zoomed ending theme (which I don't usually watch anyway) and the crushed blacks, which can occasionally take some detail away...

But if I were you, I'd open 'er on up and decide for yourself!

Yeah, thanks, the main thing getting me is that Kai ends at Cell and I would sort of miss the silly filler episodes and the extra Sagas. I live in the UK anyway so the decision is basically this, Kai or the Orange Bricks

Bro if you have Kai then return it because the original funimation is not as good as Kais dubbing and plus they cropped the new blu rays into 16:9 so you are losing footage.

Very true, this is my main reason for wanting Kai instead, the footage also looks glorious in Blu Ray.

[Gaffer Tape]

Geez, I'd say if you're a fan of the Japanese version, avoid these like the plague. From what I've read, the audio improvement is a simple filter job and nothing terribly substantial. Certainly not enough to compensate for the plethora of video problems. Also, if you're a Japanese fan, you might be put off by the dub title cards and credits. I know I am.

[sangofe]

You really think they'd do DB, then GT and then Z? That sounds strange as Z was the clearest popular portion of the series, plus they started with that for the Dragonboxes. And in five years... Do you think that means they'd go directly to 4K?

Yeah, Z is the most popular portion, but my guess is that they don't want to saturate the market. With Kai, there's little point in releasing the "Z" era in HD again, especially when even new volumes of Kai are going to be released. The original DB or GT would be fresher and an upgrade in audio can be a major sales point when it comes to GT.

You think Toei would take your original records and replace the audio?

[kei17]

Yeah, Z is the most popular portion, but my guess is that they don't want to saturate the market. With Kai, there's little point in releasing the "Z" era in HD again, especially when even new volumes of Kai are going to be released. The original DB or GT would be fresher and an upgrade in audio can be a major sales point when it comes to GT.

You think Toei would take your original records and replace the audio?

I said "when it comes to GT" because Toei still have the original stereo audio of GT. As for the original DB, I doubt that they'll use VHS recordings.

[sangofe]

Yeah, Z is the most popular portion, but my guess is that they don't want to saturate the market. With Kai, there's little point in releasing the "Z" era in HD again, especially when even new volumes of Kai are going to be released. The original DB or GT would be fresher and an upgrade in audio can be a major sales point when it comes to GT.

You think Toei would take your original records and replace the audio?

I said "when it comes to GT" because Toei still have the original stereo audio of GT. As for the original DB, I doubt that they'll use VHS recordings.

Cool about GT, but really a shame about DB... I sure hope either Toei or FUNimation will end up using your audio source...

[DBZGTKOSDH]

If they still have the GT stereo audio, why didn't they use it in the DBoxes?

[Puto]

We don't know, but we do know they have it because it's used on current reruns.

[kei17]

If they still have the GT stereo audio, why didn't they use it in the DBoxes?

I don't know. Maybe they accidentally forgot what they had or the people involved with the product were all terribly ignorant. They even bothered to pay meaningless money for "remastering" the awfully muffled mono audio on film. It seems that they finally noticed it recently and started providing TV stations with the raw DBox transfers synced with the original audio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W-dIt67SmI

The GT DBox was such a rip-off product. Even a cheap Taiwanese DVD release has a better Japanese audio track.

[samuraix123]

I wish amazon would hurry up and ship my Blu-ray! I ordered it from the user Amazon.com LLC and it still says ''Preparing for shipment'' even though I'm not going to watch the entire thing. I just want to watch Goku vs Vegeta haha I've heard mixed reviews from everyone and now I get to see it for myself.

[Gdugz]

I'm on the third disc now and its okay. Its not the best and its not the worst. Would love to have picked up the dragon boxes, these will do for now.

[DBZfan5]

It seems that they finally noticed it recently and started providing TV stations with the raw DBox transfers synced with the original audio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W-dIt67SmI

That audio clip is great! Not to derail the thread but that was actually a major selling point for me with DBKai, the audio was a real treat to listen to. Regardless of some of the performances, it was just great to finally hear such a crystal clear Japanese audio track.

Back on topic though, I've noticed that the blu ray sets made it into both FYE and Best Buy. It's been a while since I've seen anything DB related on blu ray at either of these places, so it's kind of a bittersweet feeling because, if nothing else, at least these places are still willing to stock merchandise for the franchise. It doesn't appear to be at Target (yet) and I haven't checked Wal-mart. Only time will tell if such wide availability lasts though.

[samuraix123]

It seems that they finally noticed it recently and started providing TV stations with the raw DBox transfers synced with the original audio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W-dIt67SmI

That audio clip is great! Not to derail the thread but that was actually a major selling point for me with DBKai, the audio was a real treat to listen to. Regardless of some of the performances, it was just great to finally hear such a crystal clear Japanese audio track.

Back on topic though, I've noticed that the blu ray sets made it into both FYE and Best Buy. It's been a while since I've seen anything DB related on blu ray at either of these places, so it's kind of a bittersweet feeling because, if nothing else, at least these places are still willing to stock merchandise for the franchise. It doesn't appear to be at Target (yet) and I haven't checked Wal-mart. Only time will tell if such wide availability lasts though.

I haven't got a clue what's up with Walmart.com. They still don't have this up to buy on their site. This is the only time I ever remember them not carrying something Dragonball related. Heck, they even got the Dragon-boxes so I dunno.

[samuraix123]

Just a small update! Walmart is carrying Season 2 of the new Blu-ray for $16.96! I think that has to be a mistake? They still don't have season 1 up yet.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/34443615

Edit - They just added part 3 for pre-order as well for $16.96! http://www.walmart.com/ip/34443621

[Gyt Kaliba]

The price sounds awfully cheap, but them carrying season 2 but not season 1 is plausible enough. They've bounced around often enough on which seasons of the Digimon releases they carry at any given point in time.

[supersaiyan3]

Seriously, they're only $17?

Call me a sellout, but I might just get these. As much as I disliked the first one, I kinda want 2&3 to complete the cover art at least. I'm not completely opposed to the widescreen, but if they fix the filtering artifacts, I think it would be worthwhile to collect the series at this price.

[dbboxkaifan]

Season 1 dropped to $17.99 on Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Ball-Blu-r ... 59127011_3

With these prices it's kind of hard for people to miss out on this considering how cheap they are.

Hopefully the Season BDs will make customers move to Blu-ray for good and show a sign of FUNimation to discontinue the Season DVDs but I wouldn't bet on that.