Funimation's 30th anniversary collectible home video release

[AnimeMaakuo]

I was told there will be no censoring like we saw with the middle finger, although when I talked to him he seemed unsure. Maybe I was over analyzing each word. Like I said, take it with a grain of salt regardless of his position at FUNi.

Sure thing, I can imagine it'd be something that might change as they work on the set, for various reasons. For example, the ESRB forced Toys for Bob to censor several examples of real-world guns in the Spyro trilogy remake if they wanted their version to keep the original rating. Considering how flagrantly expensive the set will be though, I can see Funi not changing anything, as this isn't really the set you'd buy for the younger end of the original target audience.

This is my thinking too!

[superrayman3]

I believe FUNi is using the same masters as the ones provided in the level sets, however he will get back with me to confirm. As long as it is remastered properly, shown in 4:3, then I’m OK! But, if for some reason they pull a Toei and forget to include 4:3, it will go into the trash.

Personally for a project like this, I hope it's a scan of the original 16mm negatives done by Toei, if my understanding is correct this release is supposed to be a domestic release in addition to being to some extent an international one made to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the DBZ series, if that's indeed the case, then why the hell would Toei want to cheap out like that and either use 3rd gen film masters themselves to commemorate this milestone occasion (or even allow a company like FUNi to use such masters for that matter) as opposed to using the original 16mm film negatives? To me the idea of them (or FUNi) using 3rd gen prints for something like this just makes no logical sense whatsoever, just my .02.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

I believe FUNi is using the same masters as the ones provided in the level sets, however he will get back with me to confirm. As long as it is remastered properly, shown in 4:3, then I’m OK! But, if for some reason they pull a Toei and forget to include 4:3, it will go into the trash.

Personally for a project like this, I hope it's a scan of the original 16mm negatives done by Toei, if my understanding is correct this release is supposed to be a domestic release in addition to being to some extent an international one made to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the DBZ series, if that's indeed the case, then why the hell would Toei cheap out like that and use 3rd gen film masters to commemorate this milestone occasion as opposed to using the original 16mm film negatives? To me the idea of them using 3rd gen prints for something like this makes no logical sense whatsoever, just my .02.

I mean really, i can't see Toei using anything else but their good quality complete first or even second generation 16mm masters for this release since they're the ones who have them in the first place.

[DBZ_Lee]

I need a price, and if it's going to retail. Fingers crossed they give more info soon.

[rs_chaosmaster]

Let’s move on.

Spoiler:

You've made me excited for the release at least! I had a query earlier regarding the censorship: is it completely uncensored from the original broadcast, or is it that the footage provided hasn't been additionally censored? If the source footage is from Toei, then that could possible mean the censored middle fingers would apply in the latter scenario, which would be an important factor for some of the other users here.

I believe FUNi is using the same masters as the ones provided in the level sets, however he will get back with me to confirm. As long as it is remastered properly, shown in 4:3, then I’m OK! But, if for some reason they pull a Toei and forget to include 4:3, it will go into the trash.

Hey man do you have an idea is Toei/Funimation contemplating about the design being similar to the dragon boxes, rock the dragon edition, or something like Escaflowne where everything was seperate just came in one box?

[Scsigs]

Let's not jump to conclusion based upon hearsay from forum members since my uncle who works at Nintendo confirmed Goku for Smash last year and he hasn't shown up yet >_>

Ok, Kiren from Team Four Star.

[Gligarman]

I just don't see this living up to the hype. Believe it or not I really hope I'm wrong because fans who missed out on the Dragon Boxes deserve to opportunity to own an unedited version of the series.

[linkdude20002001]

Personally for a project like this, I hope it's a scan of the original 16mm negatives done by Toei, if my understanding is correct this release is supposed to be a domestic release in addition to being to some extent an international one made to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the DBZ series, if that's indeed the case, then why the hell would Toei want to cheap out like that and either use 3rd gen film masters themselves to commemorate this milestone occasion (or even allow a company like FUNi to use such masters for that matter) as opposed to using the original 16mm film negatives? To me the idea of them (or FUNi) using 3rd gen prints for something like this just makes no logical sense whatsoever, just my .02.

Yeah, I hope it’s not just Funimation playing around with their third generation film again. If it looks like the Levels sets, I’m not interested. I thought they lookt terrible. Better than the Orange Bricks, but basically just an HD version of their singles. If it’s not a remaster from Toei, then I’ll stick with my Dragon Box Z sets...

[KBABZ]

Dragon Box Z sets...

Eeee! Someone actually called it by the proper name!

[Kuwabara]

We've been so concerned with the aspect ratio and audio, but is there any chance the Toonami promos might finally be included on an official release as extras? I mention this because the initial License Global coverage of Funimation and Toei's collaboration features Dragon Ball characters dressed as Tom... Could mean nothing, but it's certainly interesting. Seems like a nightmare since WarnerMedia probably owns the promos and multiple series beyond Dragon Ball, Z, and GT are involved, but I'd love to see them!

[IAmTheMilkMan]

Yeah, I hope it’s not just Funimation playing around with their third generation film again. If it looks like the Levels sets, I’m not interested. I thought they lookt terrible. Better than the Orange Bricks, but basically just an HD version of their singles. If it’s not a remaster from Toei, then I’ll stick with my Dragon Box Z sets...

And here I've been thinking that I must be the only one who doesn't care for the Level sets. They're better than the orange bricks and season BDs, sure, but that's not exactly a difficult or impressive feat given how awful those particular releases are.

I much prefer Kai's remastering. It, too, has its own set of flaws, but at least the darker colors haven't been crushed into oblivion. Even Kai's Boo arc remastering looks better to me than the Level sets; all they need to do is fix the green tint and restore the 4:3 ratio to make it a very solid remaster.

Ideally, I would like the series to look as good as the recently remastered Bardock special from Toei, because WOW. Otherwise, a Kai style remaster is good enough for me. I'll be pretty disappointed if it's the same stuff from the Level sets.

[KBABZ]

Ideally, I would like the series to look as good as the recently remastered Bardock special from Toei, because WOW. Otherwise, a Kai style remaster is good enough for me. I'll be pretty disappointed if it's the same stuff from the Level sets.

This is so weird to me because up until this point I've heard NO criticism for how the Levels looked. This is like when I got the Dragon Box for the first series and THEN everyone said it was crap.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Ideally, I would like the series to look as good as the recently remastered Bardock special from Toei, because WOW. Otherwise, a Kai style remaster is good enough for me. I'll be pretty disappointed if it's the same stuff from the Level sets.

This is so weird to me because up until this point I've heard NO criticism for how the Levels looked. This is like when I got the Dragon Box for the first series and THEN everyone said it was crap.

It's surprising to me too, as i thought the reaction to the Level sets were overall largely positive in terms of the video quality. Quite honestly i find it strange that people are saying it looks bad because overall they actually look pretty decent for being sourced from those third gen film masters, the same ones that FUNi had put through the DNR smear fest and fake widescreen chopping which was the Orange Bricks just a few short years earlier.

Same with the DB Dragon Box, now by today's video standards it may seem less than perfect quality wise but those people should keep in mind that it's a standard definition 480p transfer remastered from 16mm film that was done way back in 2004, and of which looked pretty awesome as the best available quality for the time. That was still a good couple of years removed yet before the dawn of the current HD era with the introduction of Blu-ray and the short lived HD-DVD format.

[linkdude20002001]

I think people SOME complaind about the Levels sets back when they came out, but gave up cuz it wasn’t worth it complaining about. They were happy it would replace the Orange Bricks, but were quite content with their Dragon Box Z sets. At least, that’s how it was for me.

As for the Dragon Boxes, they’re still the best-looking release we’ve got. People bring up the flaws it has, but noöne HATES it, right?

Eeee! Someone actually called it by the proper name!

Haha. You’re welcome. XD

[KBABZ]

As for the Dragon Boxes, they’re still the best-looking release we’ve got. People bring up the flaws it has, but noöne HATES it, right?

It was so weird considering that up until that point all I'd heard about was how stratospherically legendary they were compared to previous and later US releases. Then I buy one and all of a sudden the picture quality is too fuzzy, too bright and is overall considered not good enough!

[linkdude20002001]

It’s certainly not as brite as Kai, and even that I don’t mind. But I’d say the Dragon Box sets got the brightness down fine enuf. It’s blurry becuz it’s 480p, so it’s just an inevitability that I accept. My only complaints are: blues are too green, yellows are too faded, and the next episode previews are in the wrong spot. The Levels sets are dark and gross looking, and the blacks are crusht as hell. Even if the blues are better, I’d rather not have detail lost under all the black. That’s a far more pressing matter in my book.

[Vegard Aune]

It’s certainly not as brite as Kai, and even that I don’t mind. But I’d say the Dragon Box sets got the brightness down fine enuf. It’s blurry becuz it’s 480p, so it’s just an inevitability that I accept. My only complaints are: blues are too green, yellows are too faded, and the next episode previews are in the wrong spot. The Levels sets are dark and gross looking, and the blacks are crusht as hell. Even if the blues are better, I’d rather not have detail lost under all the black. That’s a far more pressing matter in my book.

Really, the DBoxes' color issues vary from episode to episode. Sometimes they look pretty pristine, others there's a noticeable tint, and some parts (many episodes of the Demon King Piccolo and Majin Boo arcs in particular) are just way overblown to the point where a lot of white detail is just flat-out gone.

...But they're still the best release we have, color problems and low quality audio (which we can only really fault them for with GT, where the higher quality source recordings plainly still exist) aside. If we're lucky and FUNi doesn't pull any more bullshit, this new release might be able to top them.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

It’s certainly not as brite as Kai, and even that I don’t mind. But I’d say the Dragon Box sets got the brightness down fine enuf. It’s blurry becuz it’s 480p, so it’s just an inevitability that I accept. My only complaints are: blues are too green, yellows are too faded, and the next episode previews are in the wrong spot. The Levels sets are dark and gross looking, and the blacks are crusht as hell. Even if the blues are better, I’d rather not have detail lost under all the black. That’s a far more pressing matter in my book.

Really, the DBoxes' color issues vary from episode to episode. Sometimes they look pretty pristine, others there's a noticeable tint, and some parts (many episodes of the Demon King Piccolo and Majin Boo arcs in particular) are just way overblown to the point where a lot of white detail is just flat-out gone.

...But they're still the best release we have, color problems and low quality audio (which we can only really fault them for with GT, where the higher quality source recordings plainly still exist) aside. If we're lucky and FUNi doesn't pull any more bullshit, this new release might be able to top them.

Yeah, because even with their shortcomings they are still the best available (U.S. and Japan) releases at this point but if FUNi indeed doesn't screw with this new release then we may just have ourselves an HD equivalent that addresses those things and provides the definitive presentation of the series.

[Kuwabara]

The Levels look excellent besides the crushed blacks and very minor macroblocking, but the former could be solved with a better source to work from and the latter could be fixed with better encoding. Hopefully that kind of approach is taken and improved upon.

[Robo4900]

Guys, remember that the Level crushing was because of the film prints from the early run. Not only did the crushing become far less pronounced as the set went on as far as it did, but because it was an artefact of the film itself, remember that this is really what the original airing prints would have looked like.
So, while the negatives at Toei would provide a better overall picture, there is something to be said for the Levels as they were presenting a look closer to how the show would have looked if you'd watched one of the TV prints when they were fresh.

Personally, I love the look of the Levels; it's a proper reproduction of what the original film looked like, the picture is sharp as a tack, every detail clear and evident (unlike Kai, which was so soft and blurry, it would often had less detail than the Dragon Boxes), and the gritty texture of the cels, the film, etc. comes through magnificently. It feels like you're watching a show perfectly preserved and rendered from its origins in the late '80s/early '90s, which is how a restoration of this material should feel, especially for a show with a somewhat gritty, grindhouse look to it like Dragon Ball does.
You're not watching some scrubbed, disgusting, soft, faux-digital-looking mess like the HD remaster of Buffy or some of the worse-looking Disney animated classic remasters, you're watching this '80s/'90s show, as it should be seen; with all the grit of the original production on full display, not disguising it behind a shiny sheen that attempts to make it fit in with the overly-clean look of the modern run. Warts and all.

I would prefer to see it remastered from Toei's negatives, particularly since that would allow those 35mm Namek arc episodes to shine in the detail and clarity one would expect from that (Funi only has 16mm of the run of Z), but if they are using the Level masters, that will be more than acceptable.