Funimation's 30th anniversary collectible home video release

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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by KBABZ » Tue Jul 14, 2020 12:09 pm

ArmenianPepsi wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 11:47 am Woah I actually never knew that. Neat to know. Would that be why some of the Namek episodes in Kai looks so sharp? :o

Also if you think that shot was in Kai, I can try to find it for comparison since I got those on hand.
Absolutely correct! In Kai the episodes are 34-38:

Ep 34: Surprise! Goku is Ginyu and Ginyu is Goku?!
Ep 35: Goku's Comeback! Call Forth Porunga!
Ep 36: Frieza Closes In! Mighty Porunga, Grand Our Wish!
Ep 37: A Nightmare Transformation! Frieza's Power Level - One Million!
Ep 38: Frieza Bares His Fangs! Gohan's Overwhelming Attack

I have these episodes in Kai so if you have the 30th set, that'd be cool! The Krillin shot is from the Goku/Ginyu switch fight at Frieza's spaceship in Episode 34, so you'll want to check Episodes 73, 74 and 75 in Z.

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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by ArmenianPepsi » Tue Jul 14, 2020 1:25 pm

KBABZ wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 12:09 pm
ArmenianPepsi wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 11:47 am Woah I actually never knew that. Neat to know. Would that be why some of the Namek episodes in Kai looks so sharp? :o

Also if you think that shot was in Kai, I can try to find it for comparison since I got those on hand.
Absolutely correct! In Kai the episodes are 34-38:

Ep 34: Surprise! Goku is Ginyu and Ginyu is Goku?!
Ep 35: Goku's Comeback! Call Forth Porunga!
Ep 36: Frieza Closes In! Mighty Porunga, Grand Our Wish!
Ep 37: A Nightmare Transformation! Frieza's Power Level - One Million!
Ep 38: Frieza Bares His Fangs! Gohan's Overwhelming Attack

I have these episodes in Kai so if you have the 30th set, that'd be cool! The Krillin shot is from the Goku/Ginyu switch fight at Frieza's spaceship in Episode 34, so you'll want to check Episodes 73, 74 and 75 in Z.
I'll see what I can do, I think I can get the shot for comparison :thumbup:
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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by Robo4900 » Tue Jul 14, 2020 3:16 pm

FWIW, Funimation's prints of Dragon Ball Z are all 16mm. Only Toei has those Namek episodes on 35mm.

That said, Funimation does have 35mm prints of all the movies.
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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by KBABZ » Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:09 pm

Robo4900 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 3:16 pm FWIW, Funimation's prints of Dragon Ball Z are all 16mm. Only Toei has those Namek episodes on 35mm.

That said, Funimation does have 35mm prints of all the movies.
That's actually kind of my point. It's to demonstrate that hey, this is what it's SUPPOSED to look like... but it's not because it's 16mm and there's only so much detail you can eke out from that, so a 4K transfer is fruitless.

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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by ect5150 » Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:18 pm

KBABZ wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:58 am Actually... side-bar: could someone with the 30th Black Brick set go in and take a screenshot of that shot of Krillin as it appears in that set, DNR and all? It'd be a FANTASTIC demonstration for what true HD Dragon Ball is supposed to look like when done correctly.

Not sure if I hit the same frame or not because of the background (and it's not full-quality, but it's what I had easy access to)



The more I look at things, the more I wonder if FUNI's DNR isn't just adaptive to their source and some of their source is junk (for example, I wonder if some of their episodes are slightly out of focus... which makes the DNR because that much worse).
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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by KBABZ » Tue Jul 14, 2020 5:09 pm

ect5150 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:18 pm
KBABZ wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:58 am Actually... side-bar: could someone with the 30th Black Brick set go in and take a screenshot of that shot of Krillin as it appears in that set, DNR and all? It'd be a FANTASTIC demonstration for what true HD Dragon Ball is supposed to look like when done correctly.

Not sure if I hit the same frame or not because of the background (and it's not full-quality, but it's what I had easy access to)



The more I look at things, the more I wonder if FUNI's DNR isn't just adaptive to their source and some of their source is junk (for example, I wonder if some of their episodes are slightly out of focus... which makes the DNR because that much worse).
So is that from the Black Brick set?

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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by ect5150 » Tue Jul 14, 2020 5:33 pm

KBABZ wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 5:09 pm
ect5150 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:18 pm
So is that from the Black Brick set?
The top one is. I must have grabbed the wrong frame or the other frame looks like it's from Kai and maybe they re-did the background?
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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by KBABZ » Tue Jul 14, 2020 5:39 pm

ect5150 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 5:33 pm
KBABZ wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 5:09 pm
ect5150 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:18 pm
So is that from the Black Brick set?
The top one is. I must have grabbed the wrong frame or the other frame looks like it's from Kai and maybe they re-did the background?
The bottom frame is from Kai because that's where I sourced it from. Maybe they re-used the animation again later in the episode?

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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by ArmenianPepsi » Tue Jul 14, 2020 6:28 pm

ect5150 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:18 pm
KBABZ wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:58 am Actually... side-bar: could someone with the 30th Black Brick set go in and take a screenshot of that shot of Krillin as it appears in that set, DNR and all? It'd be a FANTASTIC demonstration for what true HD Dragon Ball is supposed to look like when done correctly.

Not sure if I hit the same frame or not because of the background (and it's not full-quality, but it's what I had easy access to)



The more I look at things, the more I wonder if FUNI's DNR isn't just adaptive to their source and some of their source is junk (for example, I wonder if some of their episodes are slightly out of focus... which makes the DNR because that much worse).
Looks like I was beaten to the punch :lol:

And yeah, I wonder the same question too. Feel free to point out something I'm missing, but to my eye that shot of Krillin from the Black Bricks looks pretty good. Not too sure about the colors though, they look a little saturated.
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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by ArmenianPepsi » Tue Jul 14, 2020 6:31 pm

KBABZ wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 12:09 pm
ArmenianPepsi wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 11:47 am Woah I actually never knew that. Neat to know. Would that be why some of the Namek episodes in Kai looks so sharp? :o

Also if you think that shot was in Kai, I can try to find it for comparison since I got those on hand.
Absolutely correct! In Kai the episodes are 34-38:

Ep 34: Surprise! Goku is Ginyu and Ginyu is Goku?!
Ep 35: Goku's Comeback! Call Forth Porunga!
Ep 36: Frieza Closes In! Mighty Porunga, Grand Our Wish!
Ep 37: A Nightmare Transformation! Frieza's Power Level - One Million!
Ep 38: Frieza Bares His Fangs! Gohan's Overwhelming Attack

I have these episodes in Kai so if you have the 30th set, that'd be cool! The Krillin shot is from the Goku/Ginyu switch fight at Frieza's spaceship in Episode 34, so you'll want to check Episodes 73, 74 and 75 in Z.
Well now I know the answer. I was threw for a loop when watching through Kai, when suddenly for 4 episodes in a row things looked eerily sharp, then went back to Kai's usual presentation which I think is still solid enough. At first I was thinking "Wait what happened? Were there two different crews working on these random episodes for some reason?
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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by ect5150 » Tue Jul 14, 2020 7:14 pm

ArmenianPepsi wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 6:28 pm
ect5150 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:18 pm Feel free to point out something I'm missing, but to my eye that shot of Krillin from the Black Bricks looks pretty good. Not too sure about the colors though, they look a little saturated.
I think some of the BlackBrick episodes looks really nice. And some of them look like total shit. Not sure where to place blame... but FUNI is making active decisions that hurt image quality for certain (even if a few eps look fine).
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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by ArmenianPepsi » Wed Jul 15, 2020 12:33 am

ect5150 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 7:14 pm
ArmenianPepsi wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 6:28 pm
ect5150 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:18 pm Feel free to point out something I'm missing, but to my eye that shot of Krillin from the Black Bricks looks pretty good. Not too sure about the colors though, they look a little saturated.
I think some of the BlackBrick episodes looks really nice. And some of them look like total shit. Not sure where to place blame... but FUNI is making active decisions that hurt image quality for certain (even if a few eps look fine).
Oh really? I heard that things got progressively worse as you go through the series. I recall seeing a screenshot of a Cell Saga episode and it looks on par with the Orange Bricks with line clarity and DNR smudging.
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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by KBABZ » Wed Jul 15, 2020 12:49 am

ArmenianPepsi wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 6:28 pm Feel free to point out something I'm missing, but to my eye that shot of Krillin from the Black Bricks looks pretty good. Not too sure about the colors though, they look a little saturated.
The Black Brick shot does look pretty good, although there are some ringing artefacts (also known as sharpening halos) as a result of artificially sharpening the picture. The Kai shot is just as sharp and contains more detail in the linework but without the halos, meaning it's more authentic.

Colour grading has always been a very interesting and debatable topic when it comes to classic Dragon Ball because it's been very inconsistent over the years; my presiding memory of GT's broadcast was that everything was pink!. Perhaps the best example is the fight between Goku and Vegeta; the original background art has the sky in a greeny turquoise colour, but Kai opted to change it to a more natural blue sky that isn't what was originally painted. Kai overall goes for a very modern colour grade, which some don't prefer. The Blue Bricks meanwhile have a reputation for desaturating the greens compared to the arguably over-saturated Dragon Boxes, and the Level Sets hit a middle-ground due to hemming closer to the colours used in Funi's masters.

The Final Chapters is kinda infamous for it's incredibly poor in-house colour grade done by Toei that leaves a green/lime tinge all over the footage, which would show up again in the footage they supplied Funi for the Broly movie. I think this was the earliest point in my time in this community that fans stood up and said "Wait a minute, Toei doesn't give the proper care to the classic anime either!" (and if that wasn't it, the movie Blu-Rays were).
ArmenianPepsi wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 6:31 pm Well now I know the answer. I was threw for a loop when watching through Kai, when suddenly for 4 episodes in a row things looked eerily sharp, then went back to Kai's usual presentation which I think is still solid enough. At first I was thinking "Wait what happened? Were there two different crews working on these random episodes for some reason?
Yeah I was the same way! But hopefully this demonstrates that Blu-Ray is really the ceiling of detail you can expect from 16mm film, while 35mm for those four episodes and all of the movies can definitely benefit from a 4K release.
ect5150 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 7:14 pm I think some of the BlackBrick episodes looks really nice. And some of them look like total shit. Not sure where to place blame... but FUNI is making active decisions that hurt image quality for certain (even if a few eps look fine).
If I were to guess, it's the usual Funi "click to automate" approach to an anime almost 300 episodes long. That is a gargantuan task but nobody seems willing to sit down and do a proper master on each episode so that one of the most influential and popular anime in the world can be presented correctly. Instead we've had decades of faffing around with automated DNR and fake grain.

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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by ArmenianPepsi » Wed Jul 15, 2020 1:26 am

KBABZ wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2020 12:49 am
ArmenianPepsi wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 6:28 pm Feel free to point out something I'm missing, but to my eye that shot of Krillin from the Black Bricks looks pretty good. Not too sure about the colors though, they look a little saturated.
The Black Brick shot does look pretty good, although there are some ringing artefacts (also known as sharpening halos) as a result of artificially sharpening the picture. The Kai shot is just as sharp and contains more detail in the linework but without the halos, meaning it's more authentic.

The Final Chapters is kinda infamous for it's incredibly poor in-house colour grade done by Toei that leaves a green/lime tinge all over the footage, which would show up again in the footage they supplied Funi for the Broly movie. I think this was the earliest point in my time in this community that fans stood up and said "Wait a minute, Toei doesn't give the proper care to the classic anime either!" (and if that wasn't it, the movie Blu-Rays were).
Speaking of the movies, are the 2018 Toei remasters of them worthwhile? Are they comparable to their remasters of the DBZ Specials?
ect5150 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 7:14 pm I think some of the BlackBrick episodes looks really nice. And some of them look like total shit. Not sure where to place blame... but FUNI is making active decisions that hurt image quality for certain (even if a few eps look fine).
If I were to guess, it's the usual Funi "click to automate" approach to an anime almost 300 episodes long. That is a gargantuan task but nobody seems willing to sit down and do a proper master on each episode so that one of the most influential and popular anime in the world can be presented correctly. Instead we've had decades of faffing around with automated DNR and fake grain.
Seems like they always go one step forward, and two steps back at any point on DB home media. Still a shame that the DBoxes are still the only way to see DB , Z and GT in a consistent manor. Though things might change a little bit for the better if this AB blu ray of OG DB that might be coming is a true honest HD remaster.
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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by KBABZ » Wed Jul 15, 2020 2:16 am

ArmenianPepsi wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2020 1:26 am Speaking of the movies, are the 2018 Toei remasters of them worthwhile? Are they comparable to their remasters of the DBZ Specials?
An interesting question! The actual mastering is good but not great, but the main problem is that several spots where a character (usually Kid Trunks) flips somebody off have been censored to lower the middle finger so they're throwing a fist instead. When called out on it, Toei apologized... for not indicating the change on the box, and didn't change the censoring at all. Outside of that, they're a fine release.

But if you don't mind searching around for a bit, the movies actually got an earlier release on Amazon: there's less DNR on the picture and from what I'm aware they aren't as censored either. Both versions are cropped in 16:9, which as we all know is perfectly acceptable for the movies because the shots were composed to work in 16:9 when screening in cinemas for the festivals and also in 4:3 for home media and TV broadcast. Personally I prefer 4:3 because, well, it's more picture, but it's not like how Funimation and now Toei crop DBZ into 16:9 when it was never intended to be presented that way.
ect5150 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 7:14 pm Seems like they always go one step forward, and two steps back at any point on DB home media. Still a shame that the DBoxes are still the only way to see DB , Z and GT in a consistent manor. Though things might change a little bit for the better if this AB blu ray of OG DB that might be coming is a true honest HD remaster.
Yup, as someone who's preferred route through the classic material is DB > Kai, having the original Dragon Ball in Blu-Ray would be incredible, so long as the DNR isn't present or, better yet, not there at all.

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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by ArmenianPepsi » Wed Jul 15, 2020 4:43 am

KBABZ wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2020 2:16 am But if you don't mind searching around for a bit, the movies actually got an earlier release on Amazon: there's less DNR on the picture and from what I'm aware they aren't as censored either. Both versions are cropped in 16:9, which as we all know is perfectly acceptable for the movies because the shots were composed to work in 16:9 when screening in cinemas for the festivals and also in 4:3 for home media and TV broadcast. Personally I prefer 4:3 because, well, it's more picture, but it's not like how Funimation and now Toei crop DBZ into 16:9 when it was never intended to be presented that way.
Well you got me sold. I'll totally look into them sometime. How would one even get the 4x3 releases nowadays? Would tracking down the old Funi singles or other international releases of them be the only option? (To own them legitimately that is)
Yup, as someone who's preferred route through the classic material is DB > Kai, having the original Dragon Ball in Blu-Ray would be incredible, so long as the DNR isn't present or, better yet, not there at all.
At this point if they just slapped a bare bones, raw, unedited scan onto a Blu Ray disc, i'd still be happy :lol: :lol:
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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by KBABZ » Wed Jul 15, 2020 5:50 am

ArmenianPepsi wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2020 4:43 am Well you got me sold. I'll totally look into them sometime. How would one even get the 4x3 releases nowadays? Would tracking down the old Funi singles or other international releases of them be the only option? (To own them legitimately that is)
This is the part where I can't help you as much, because I haven't invested any time into procuring the various movies (and OVAs, since I always categorize the Bardock and Trunks specials as "movies" because they're longer and have higher production values than a regular episode).

You'll have a more consistent experience if you watch subbed at the very least, because the first three Dragon Ball movies go through three completely different voice actors for Goku and two for Bulma, not to mention the dub for movie 2 is one of the EARLIEST dubs Funimation ever did and it's god-awful.

Probably the best way to see them is via the Laser Discs if you want consistency, since all of those are in 4:3 as far as I know. Obviously you shouldn't watch them via physical media because, well, they're LASER DISCS.
ArmenianPepsi wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2020 4:43 am At this point if they just slapped a bare bones, raw, unedited scan onto a Blu Ray disc, i'd still be happy :lol: :lol:
Honestly I WOULD buy that! I love the idea of being able to see the rounded corners of the film cels! And if you go way, way, WAY back through this thread, when Funimation showed "this is what the picture looks like before we applied our filters onto it", everyone on the forum leapt up and said "THAT'S WHAT WE WANT!!!".

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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by Asmo » Wed Jul 15, 2020 7:10 am

KBABZ wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2020 5:50 am
ArmenianPepsi wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2020 4:43 am At this point if they just slapped a bare bones, raw, unedited scan onto a Blu Ray disc, i'd still be happy :lol: :lol:
Honestly I WOULD buy that! I love the idea of being able to see the rounded corners of the film cels! And if you go way, way, WAY back through this thread, when Funimation showed "this is what the picture looks like before we applied our filters onto it", everyone on the forum leapt up and said "THAT'S WHAT WE WANT!!!".
Oh definitely, those pictures still feel bittersweet for me. I'd totally love to see all of the available picture (in the intended ratio) of course.

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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by Robo4900 » Wed Jul 15, 2020 7:23 am

KBABZ wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2020 12:49 am
ect5150 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 7:14 pm I think some of the BlackBrick episodes looks really nice. And some of them look like total shit. Not sure where to place blame... but FUNI is making active decisions that hurt image quality for certain (even if a few eps look fine).
If I were to guess, it's the usual Funi "click to automate" approach to an anime almost 300 episodes long. That is a gargantuan task but nobody seems willing to sit down and do a proper master on each episode so that one of the most influential and popular anime in the world can be presented correctly. Instead we've had decades of faffing around with automated DNR and fake grain.
Except, they have done a proper master on each episode. The problem is, they apply this godawful DNR on the top of it, which ruins it. It sounds like they actually think it improves the picture, though, so it's unlikely they'll ever give us a release of the non-DNR'd versions that we actually want (which would look comparable to the Levels, it seems, judging by the "this is what the picture looked like before filtering" images mentioned in the posts above).
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Re: Funimations 30th anniversary collectible home video release

Post by Robo4900 » Wed Jul 15, 2020 1:26 pm

Sorry for the double post, but I realise "DNR" has become a bit of a catch-all term, and particularly for this image, fails to capture the problem, so I thought I should make a little post on this, just in case anyone's reading who's not completely in the know:

The main problem with Funi's sets was never the DNR alone. The DNR softens the image, reducing grain and blurring details away. As we all have come to know, this is unideal but acceptable; that's exactly how Kai presented its image, for its 16mm episodes.
The real problem is the sharpening that happens after the DNR. Most DNR filters tend to come right alongside a sharpening filter of some sort (so they often get conflated), as is the case with the Kai 35mm episodes, but it's done tastefully, and the result is a rather good image that -- thanks to the fine grain and high detail of 35mm film -- looks very faithful to the original animation cels in look.

The thing is, Funi apply a very heavy DNR because they want no trace of grain at all in their generational 16mm film prints, then they apply a sharpening filter turned WAY, WAY up. This makes edges (such as shaded portions, like on the edge of Kuririn's face) become very sharp, and go rather jagged in places. It also means details in this area tend to wobble a lot, due to how heavy the grain is in the film. Now, in a still image, an un-DNR'd picture from a generational 16mm print does look very fuzzy around any kind of detail, but in motion, the grain is dancing across the picture, making the detail underneath clear as day to anyone watching. Funi's DNR takes that away, and reduces those underlying details into a smeary, jagged mess.
Most critically, however, the DNR+sharpening, together, completely destroy the backgrounds; fluffy clouds above dusty mountains become a bunch of harsh blobs, scrubbed of all detail, subtlety, and texture of the original artwork. Almost anything that was drawn to be any less subtle than a couple of pixels' transition from extreme dark to extreme light is cranked way up to that level.
And then there's issues with how the sharpness varies throughout the picture; the sharpener randomly leaves some linework and such quite soft, meanwhile things around it are sharpened to a fine point, so you get a really inconsistent level of sharpness across the picture as a whole, which look pretty ugly.

Funi's poor filtering sadly is a multifaceted failure, so while it's easy to look at it and see that it's ugly and fails to render the original detail and look, it's often hard to pin down why, especially with a shot like that Kuririn shot where there aren't any background details to stand out as being destroyed, and the 35mm is very sharp, so it almost looks like the 30th anniversary shot is that same image with some kind of weird generational loss at first glance, particularly with a shrunk-down image (note that both the Kai and the 30th set shots used are scaled back to 720p, which does some good for a picture as poor as Funi's, and does a disservice to the incredible detail of the 35mm Kai episodes)... So, I thought I'd take this opportunity to, for anyone who hasn't thought about it much, explain exactly why it is that the Funi filtering is so ugly, and why even one of the 30th set's better-looking shots still looks pretty terrible in ways that are hard to exactly put your finger on.

The real kicker is that all of these problems go away if you just turn the intensity of the filtering down. The Dragon Boxes most definitely had both DNR and sharpening, but it was applied tastefully. Same for the TV special HD remasters we've seen floating around the past couple of years, same for the Blu-ray versions of Toei's HD remasters of the movies...
DNR isn't inherently something that makes an image irrecoverably bad, neither is sharpening. But put both of these filters on, put them on too high, and you get a very ugly picture that fails to resemble what it should look like. You get something akin to those shitty YouTube "REMASTERED!!" videos where they use some shitty upscaler, dial the contrast up, and apply liberal use of Warpsharp (and usually they crop it to widescreen too).

So, I hope one day Funi realises they can just turn their filtering down (and stop fucking up the colours!!) and we'll have something we'd all like to buy. But until then, we just have to recognise what's wrong, and never stop complaining about it. :lol:
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