Will Toei/Pony Canyon do a Blu-ray release?

[DBZimran]

Recently I was listening to the DBZ Level 1.1 review on the podcast. Mike mentioned that Funimation may have released the Blu-ray sets in a way to one up everyone else. To kind of say "We did it first". So now that it has been almost 6 years since the first American Blu-ray release of Dragon Ball Z, is a Japanese release even on the cards at this point. I know some fans are taking it into their own hands and colour correcting the dragonbox, but will we actually get a properly done release by Toei.
They did release Sailor Moon on Blu-ray, some other anime like Yu Yu Hakusho, Cowboy Bebop, Bleach and Katekyo Hitman Reborn have been released on Blu-ray. Bleach and Reborn have only recently gotten Blu-ray releases, however they did wrap up in the early 2010s, and are by two different animation companies. So when will Dragon Ball finally get its Japanese Blu-ray release?

[sintzu]

I think Kai is as close as we'll get to a Japanese Blu-Ray release.

It could happen of course like anything but don't you think it would've by now if they were going to ?

[Robo4900]

As far as I'm concerned, Toei doing a Blu-Ray is inevitable. In Japan, there's only one official release of the three original anime shows, which is the Dragon Boxes. Those are actually pretty expensive now, and are looking very dated(The 480p resolution aside, the lack of CC, a few episodes being screwed up(A couple are interlaced, one in OG Dragon Ball is improperly framed), and the randomly crushed whites or blacks depending on the episode, etc. are all pretty big problems). Plus, with HDTV broadcasting being basically standard now, particularly in Japan, I'm certain we'll get a Blu-Ray at some point.
So, it's a question of when.

In theory, it's possible they might do the original series first, and try one last ditch effort to push Kai in Japan, or they might just do all three series plus the movies together, and release them over a few years, just like the Dragon Boxes, but in HD.

The big thing to worry about is whether it'll be in 4:3. It'd be good if they do it Level-style by keeping all the grain, and making the image as clear and detailed as possible, with colours as true to the original film as they can get, but realistically, this is Toei, so it'll probably look like Boo Kai but without the green tint. But let's be real -- even if that happens, if it's done in 4:3, it'd still end up a better release than the Dragon Boxes.

But yes, Toei will almost certainly do a Blu-Ray someday. Probably after Super's wrapped up.
No idea if Pony Canyon would be involved. Ideally, they'd have Q-TEC do it.

[Lookerman]

No idea if Pony Canyon would be involved. Ideally, they'd have Q-TEC do it.

Would they though? Toei did do The Final Chapters in-house and I don't know if they've ever used Q-Tec outside of enlisting their animation subsidiary Graphinica on any other projects.

[Robo4900]

Would they though? Toei did do The Final Chapters in-house and I don't know if they've ever used Q-Tec outside of enlisting their animation subsidiary Graphinica on any other projects.

Q-TEC handled the transfer and remastering of Kai's footage, so it wouldn't be unprecedented to use them. Plus, they did a really good job with Kai 1.0, aside from some of the more iffy redraws(And, as a side-note, I highly doubt they'll do any redraws for this theoretical Blu-Ray. One big positive of this is that they wouldn't need to make the footage so blurry).
Anyway, the only reason Toei did Boo Kai in-house was because they basically just wanted to do it as cheaply as possible to give Funimation some more Kai to dub. A new Blu-Ray of the old shows would have a lot more care put into it than that.

[Lookerman]

Would they though? Toei did do The Final Chapters in-house and I don't know if they've ever used Q-Tec outside of enlisting their animation subsidiary Graphinica on any other projects.

Q-TEC handled the transfer and remastering of Kai's footage, so it wouldn't be unprecedented to use them. Plus, they did a really good job with Kai 1.0, aside from some of the more iffy redraws(And, as a side-note, I highly doubt they'll do any redraws for this theoretical Blu-Ray. One big positive of this is that they wouldn't need to make the footage so blurry).
Anyway, the only reason Toei did Boo Kai in-house was because they basically just wanted to do it as cheaply as possible to give Funimation some more Kai to dub. A new Blu-Ray of the old shows would have a lot more care put into it than that.

Was Q-Tec responsible for the redraws in Kai 1.0? I always thought that was probably Toei's Filipino studio's handiwork.

[superrayman3]

Was Q-Tec responsible for the redraws in Kai 1.0? I always thought that was probably Toei's Filipino studio's handiwork.

It was, all Q-Tec handled was the transfer, noise reduction, color correction, and film cleanup, the redrawn scenes were handled by Toei Animation's Filipino branch TAP.

[TheGreatness25]

Kai was their Blu-ray DBZ release, in my opinion. The Dragon Boxes might be expensive, but how are the singles over there? Let's not forget that they have singles there that use Dragon Box footage. The question they have to ask themselves is if the singles and Dragon Boxes sold well enough to warrant an investment in yet another release. I have no doubt that eventually, they'll release something related to the original Dragon Ball and DBZ series. I'm talking like a special anniversary or collector's set or something. All of the classics get them (at least in the U.S., I don't know about Japan). But the question is whether they'd invest in actually working with that release or just slapping what they already have onto a Blu-ray. I'd guess that it would be the latter. Again, it would be great advertising: It's a classic series so it's going to look like it.

[AnimeMaakuo]

Kai was their Blu-ray DBZ release, in my opinion. The Dragon Boxes might be expensive, but how are the singles over there? Let's not forget that they have singles there that use Dragon Box footage. The question they have to ask themselves is if the singles and Dragon Boxes sold well enough to warrant an investment in yet another release. I have no doubt that eventually, they'll release something related to the original Dragon Ball and DBZ series. I'm talking like a special anniversary or collector's set or something. All of the classics get them (at least in the U.S., I don't know about Japan). But the question is whether they'd invest in actually working with that release or just slapping what they already have onto a Blu-ray. I'd guess that it would be the latter. Again, it would be great advertising: It's a classic series so it's going to look like it.

Something like this is possible, but not likely. I asked Toei last year whether or not they had any plans for releasing the series on Blu-Ray, and the answer was "no".

You'd be better off finding someone who can properly remaster DBZ using Dragon Box footage, which won't be an easy feat.

[TheGreatness25]

Something like this is possible, but not likely. I asked Toei last year whether or not they had any plans for releasing the series on Blu-Ray, and the answer was "no".

You'd be better off finding someone who can properly remaster DBZ using Dragon Box footage, which won't be an easy feat.

Yeah, I definitely don't think that they currently plan on doing DB/Z on Blu-ray. But that doesn't mean that they won't do it in the future as a special release mostly to promote something. You know, they released the Batman movies on DVD and then Blu-ray as just a nod to them being classics (namely Batman and Batman Returns).

Once upon a time, I contacted Funimation and asked them if they planed on releasing the Cell Games arc in one set and they also said "no," but then they did three times over (orange bricks, Dragon Boxes, and Blu-rays). So "no" today doesn't mean "no" tomorrow. I feel like with such a popular franchise, it would almost be dumb not to re-release it. However, I don't think that they'd put any money into remastering it.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I agree that it's inevitable, its just a matter of when and how good the remastering process will be as there's no guarantee for either.

As for Kai being TOEI's HD DBZ, the show failed in Japan, if TOEI go back to DBZ for a domestic release they will want to use the version that has done well for them not just the international market.

And DBZ will probably be the first to release since its the most popular. Ball and GT will be exciting too as it will open the door for international distributors to release their own Blu-Rays for them.

Whenever this happens I will be very curious about the cover art and packaging. I wonder if they would make them consistent with the Super releases or go for something else.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

Dragon Ball Kai is Toei's HD release of Z. That's the most popular part of the series, and won't be updated anytime soon. DB could be re-released in the future, I guess, but I don't see anyone complaining about the current release in Japan or the West, so I don't think so.

[sintzu]

Toei will almost certainly do a Blu-Ray someday. Probably after Super's wrapped up.

When is that going to be ? Super will probably last another 100 episodes and that's not counting whatever new show they'll start afterwards.

[Danfun64]

In Japan, there's only one official release of the three original anime shows, which is the Dragon Boxes. Those are actually pretty expensive now, and are looking very dated(The 480p resolution aside, the lack of CC, a few episodes being screwed up(A couple are interlaced, one in OG Dragon Ball is improperly framed), and the randomly crushed whites or blacks depending on the episode, etc. are all pretty big problems)

I'm curious as to which episodes have improper framing as well as the aformentioned "randomly crushed whites or blacks", and if other sources did those better (Either Uncut NTSC VHS or R1 Blue Bricks for DB, either R1 Ultimate Uncut or R1 Level Sets as well as Uncut NTSC VHS for DBZ, Double Features Blu-rays for some of the DBZ movies (even in the case of the cropped Specials there are some cases where the Double Features show more dark detail), Zima Blu-Rays (or in the case of DB Movie 2 the R1 DVD) for the DB movies, etc)

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Dragon Ball Kai is Toei's HD release of Z. That's the most popular part of the series, and won't be updated anytime soon. DB could be re-released in the future, I guess, but I don't see anyone complaining about the current release in Japan or the West, so I don't think so.

It was OG DB's 30th anniversary last year and Toei didn't release anything it would have been the ideal opportunity to but all efforts were probably with Super and understandably so.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Dragon Ball Kai is Toei's HD release of Z. That's the most popular part of the series, and won't be updated anytime soon. DB could be re-released in the future, I guess, but I don't see anyone complaining about the current release in Japan or the West, so I don't think so.

It was OG DB's 30th anniversary last year and Toei didn't release anything it would have been the ideal opportunity to but all efforts were probably with Super and understandably so.

If I had to guess I'd say TOEI will release DBZ in 2019 to celebrate its 30th anniversary and if it sells well they do Ball and GT for those that need to complete their collection.

The only problem with them waiting for Super and any potential sequels to end is that they wouldn't be striking while the iron's hot as the series will most likely continue until it starts losing money for TOEI, which could be a while with how things are going now.

[sintzu]

If I had to guess I'd say TOEI will release DBZ in 2019 to celebrate its 30th anniversary and if it sells well they do Ball and GT for those that need to complete their collection.

That's when I think Super will be ending and by that time they'll be starting a new show (maybe even a new movie) and with how bad Kai did I just don't see them doing that. Why bother going back to something old (when you did it once and it failed) when you have new content coming out and everyone's going crazy over it ?

The only thing I can see them doing is maybe lowring the prices of the DBOX singles and making them widely available.

[Robo4900]

Kai was their Blu-ray DBZ release, in my opinion.

That was the plan, but Kai was a catastrophic failure in Japan. That's why they cancelled it after the Cell arc, and did all that idiocy about delaying Boo Kai for a billion years.
The reason Kai failed was presumably because people in Japan prefer Z as it is. So it stands to reason a proper Blu-Ray release that represents Z as it is was what they wanted for DBZ in HD in the first place.

The Dragon Boxes might be expensive, but how are the singles over there? Let's not forget that they have singles there that use Dragon Box footage.

That was what I meant in the first place. Perhaps I should have been clearer, but since the singles are just individual discs of the DBoxes repackaged into small DVD cases, I consider them to be a part of the Dragon Box release. And yes, the singles are very expensive.

The question they have to ask themselves is if the singles and Dragon Boxes sold well enough to warrant an investment in yet another release. I have no doubt that eventually, they'll release something related to the original Dragon Ball and DBZ series. I'm talking like a special anniversary or collector's set or something. All of the classics get them (at least in the U.S., I don't know about Japan). But the question is whether they'd invest in actually working with that release or just slapping what they already have onto a Blu-ray. I'd guess that it would be the latter. Again, it would be great advertising: It's a classic series so it's going to look like it.

Given enough time, they'll definitely do it. Dragon Ball is a huge franchise, it's foolish to think they wouldn't want to do a proper HD version someday. They have all the original film masters for it, so it's an ideal scenario. It'd be expensive, but if they just churn out what's already on the DBoxes but on Blu-Ray, no one will buy it, because they can just buy the DBox singles, and it'll be cheaper. Plus, a lot of the money they'd make back from doing a HD version would probably be from TV airings, and if all they do is repackage it, or do an upscale, the TV stations would stick to their existing masters, and since no one would buy the BD, it'd be a total waste of Toei's time and money.

I'm curious as to which episodes have improper framing as well as the aformentioned "randomly crushed whites or blacks", and if other sources did those better (Either Uncut NTSC VHS or R1 Blue Bricks for DB, either R1 Ultimate Uncut or R1 Level Sets as well as Uncut NTSC VHS for DBZ, Double Features Blu-rays for some of the DBZ movies (even in the case of the cropped Specials there are some cases where the Double Features show more dark detail), Zima Blu-Rays (or in the case of DB Movie 2 the R1 DVD) for the DB movies, etc)

The improper framing is an issue that cropped up in the OG Dragon Ball box at one point. Although as a side-note, the DBoxes are actually fairly zoomed-in compared to how much image there is on the film, so you could say the framing isn't great in general. It isn't a huge problem, but as Funimation's Levels proved, you can show quite a bit more image than the DBoxes show, which is a big thing to do in HD, since the less area of the film you capture, the less effective resolution you're working with, and the more intense the grain will be.
As for the crushing, most episodes have crushed blacks, some have crushed whites. I'd guess the contrast on the telecine machines was improperly set up. I don't really have the time to put together a proper comparison right now, but if you compare the Z DBoxes to Kai, you'll see Kai generally has much better visibility in dark areas. Raditz's hair is a prime example of this.
As for other non-DBox releases, you can find crushed blacks on them in general, with releases of the early episodes of Z being the easiest comparison. None of GT's releases factor into this, as all of Funimation's GT releases are based off the Dragon Box masters.

[Danfun64]

Stuff like this makes me wonder about areas where the Dragon Box is problematic (especially with OG DB apparently) that other releases don't have said issues with. Also a couple of related questions. First of all, Do the original Digibeta masters of DBGT (the ones with the scrolling credits in Ep 64) show more picture than the Dragon Box masters? Second, if one was to discount the R1 DB singles due to horrendous macroblocking and the R4 DB singles due to field blending which is said to be difficult, if not impossible, to reverse, which would you say has better detail? The uncut NTSC VHS tapes of DB or the Blue Bricks? Sure the tapes have lower resolution, but can the amount of detail squeezed out of a high end VHS player combined with a Superresolution-like restoration method give more detail than the DVNR applied Blue Bricks?

[AnimeMaakuo]

Given enough time, they'll definitely do it. Dragon Ball is a huge franchise, it's foolish to think they wouldn't want to do a proper HD version someday.

There's no way of knowing what will happen.