Funimation's 30th anniversary collectible home video release

[Matches Malone]

I don't know. The fact Funimation has released Z so many times and only OG Dragon Ball twice, the last of which being a full decade ago speaks volumes as to how much more the former sells in comparison to the latter. I want OG Dragon Ball on Blu-Ray as much as the next person but I do feel were a vocal minority.

All Funimation would have to do is license Select Vision's Blu-Ray release and put the dub track and subtitles on it. I know they don't think it'll sell as much as Z to remaster/ upscale it (which is good because I don't want them to touch the footage) but surely it'll sell enough to justify a simple licensing of it. DB not getting a home release in such a long time will probably help sell it due to the market not being over saturated with it like Z is.

[Scsigs]

All Funimation would have to do is license Select Vision's Blu-Ray release and put the dub track and subtitles on it. I know they don't think it'll sell as much as Z to remaster/ upscale it (which is good because I don't want them to touch the footage) but surely it'll sell enough to justify a simple licensing of it. DB not getting a home release in such a long time will probably help sell it due to the market not being over saturated with it like Z is.

I'd honestly rather have just an upscale of the Dragon Box footage than Selecta Vision's terrible remaster, honestly.

[KBABZ]

I don't know. The fact Funimation has released Z so many times and only OG Dragon Ball twice, the last of which being a full decade ago speaks volumes as to how much more the former sells in comparison to the latter. I want OG Dragon Ball on Blu-Ray as much as the next person but I do feel were a vocal minority.

All Funimation would have to do is license Select Vision's Blu-Ray release and put the dub track and subtitles on it. I know they don't think it'll sell as much as Z to remaster/ upscale it (which is good because I don't want them to touch the footage) but surely it'll sell enough to justify a simple licensing of it. DB not getting a home release in such a long time will probably help sell it due to the market not being over saturated with it like Z is.

As much as I don't like Selecta Vision's presentation for that release, just HAVING Dragon Ball on Blu-Ray would help drive more attention to it. Plus the Tankobon-style packaging is incredible.

[Robo4900]

I can see one more if we're lucky. A set for a 200+ episode box set in the Crunchyroll age is a very hard sell to both customers and the people who have to make it.

Crunchyroll may be an issue, but not as big of an issue as trying to sell something that you've already released countless times. At this point they probably have a better chance at selling a Blu-Ray version of the original DB instead of pushing Z for the 10th time.

I don't know. The fact Funimation has released Z so many times and only OG Dragon Ball twice, the last of which being a full decade ago speaks volumes as to how much more the former sells in comparison to the latter. I want OG Dragon Ball on Blu-Ray as much as the next person but I do feel were a vocal minority.

I don't think OG DB is the unpopular red-headed black sheep a lot of people assume it to be in terms of commercial viability, but whatever the case, Funi screwed the pooch on OG DB way back in '95, and never put any effort from then on into pushing it, and at this point, they just put all their eggs in the Z basket. There's not even really an attempt to market anything else as even existing unless it's the hot new thing that's just come out/is just about to come out.

But again, Funi don't really care what people actually want. They know that if they continually re-release Z in marginally-less-shitty-but-still-pretty-shitty ways, they can guarantee huge returns on next to zero investment. So, chances are they're just not going to bother with doing anything further for OG DB or GT; those shows had their DVD releases, the only reason we've continually got Z releases is because Funi can keep putting out cheap, shitty releases with huge profit margins, and continue to milk it perpetually.
Ultimately, if you actually care for OG DB or GT, you should be happy Funi haven't re-re-re-released them. Does a show really need more than a couple of DVD releases? No, it really shouldn't. GT & DB's original DVD singles were good, the "Season" sets were worse but cheap. Let's be glad they didn't do more, and run them into the ground with shitty re-re-re-releases like they've done with Z.

All Funimation would have to do is license Select Vision's Blu-Ray release and put the dub track and subtitles on it. I know they don't think it'll sell as much as Z to remaster/ upscale it (which is good because I don't want them to touch the footage) but surely it'll sell enough to justify a simple licensing of it. DB not getting a home release in such a long time will probably help sell it due to the market not being over saturated with it like Z is.

Bad idea. It would most certainly cost more than licensing the DBox masters, and be worse than if they just pressed the DBox masters and/or did their own upscale, most likely. SelectaVision's Blu-rays are a really shitty upscale.

[KBABZ]

you should be happy Funi haven't re-re-re-released them. Does a show really need more than a couple of DVD releases?

I disagree in the sense that DB hasn't been released on Blu-Ray in some fashion. By focusing so much on Z (with the addition of Kai), Funi have really de-emphasized the importance of the original anime as far as its relationship to Z, not to mention pre-Crunchyroll accessibility.

[Robo4900]

I disagree in the sense that DB hasn't been released on Blu-Ray in some fashion.

If it was from Funi, then it'd be an utterly shitty Blu-ray, worth no one's time or money.

By focusing so much on Z (with the addition of Kai), Funi have really de-emphasized the importance of the original anime as far as its relationship to Z, not to mention pre-Crunchyroll accessibility.

Yeah. But I don't think a shitty Blu-ray upscale would fix that. Particularly since they would undoubtedly fail to market it properly.

[TheGreatness25]

I've been checking out these sets' "Special Features" ... Ugh. So, I'm half way through the set and the first disc with special features simply had the textless opening and closing. Then, it's just recycled bonus features from the last Blu-ray release. So, you have the 16:9 image that doesn't even look like it does on this set with them talking about how great it is to have DBZ on Blu-ray for the first time. Then, for "Season 4," they have the 2005 Goku vs. Vegeta feature that they did for the Ultimate Uncut DVDs and the little recap that they did for the "Android Saga" DVDs.

I just can't believe it. 30th anniversary, huh? This set was so half-assedly half-assed. It's amazing.

[Scsigs]

I've been checking out these sets' "Special Features" ... Ugh. So, I'm half way through the set and the first disc with special features simply had the textless opening and closing. Then, it's just recycled bonus features from the last Blu-ray release. So, you have the 16:9 image that doesn't even look like it does on this set with them talking about how great it is to have DBZ on Blu-ray for the first time. Then, for "Season 4," they have the 2005 Goku vs. Vegeta feature that they did for the Ultimate Uncut DVDs and the little recap that they did for the "Android Saga" DVDs.

I just can't believe it. 30th anniversary, huh? This set was so half-assedly half-assed. It's amazing.

Yeah. To not put a lot of effort into a release to just put episodes out in a full release to make money is one thing, but to raise over $1,000,000 (Yes, they did $350x4,700, not sure exactly the number, but i DO know it was a few hundred over 4,500 preorders, is at least $1,645,000) meant just for hardcore collectors & fans, yet have the discs contain an obviously half-assed remaster with reused special features from previous releases, packaging that is actually BAD for the customer (some people actually had some discs arrive scratched to hell & back) is just astounding. Just think, in this, the year of our Lord & Saviour Mr. Popo, 2020, we have received a full remaster of Star Trek TNG in full 1080p HD from the original film stock & redone visual effects with some CGI to replace what couldn't be completely recomposited from missing film elements for the space shots, making the series look exceptionally sharp for future viewers for years to come that also respected the original aspect ratio (mostly because they had equipment & crews on the sides that were chopped off that couldn't be left out) that cost around $2,000,000 (that WASN'T crowd-funded) to do over a 3 year period with new special features on top of the recycled ones from the DVDs, yet DBZ, a just as beloved by its community as TNG is by the Star Trek community can't even remotely get similar treatment (which, they have over 100 episodes done already from the levels, so it'd cost them a LOT less to clean up the rest of the film stock they have the same way). What a goddamn joke.

Do they not realize that, if they have 1080p remasters for the episodes, not only can they make their money back very quickly from the investment (hell, with crowd-funding, they had more than enough money to farm out the remastering, or pay the right people to do it in-house), as well as license out their masters to other countries to make money from those too? And they can continue to reuse those masters till the end of time if they do. You take care of something early with an initial investment so you can make your money back over time. It's only good business.

[90sDBZ]

I've been checking out these sets' "Special Features" ... Ugh. So, I'm half way through the set and the first disc with special features simply had the textless opening and closing. Then, it's just recycled bonus features from the last Blu-ray release. So, you have the 16:9 image that doesn't even look like it does on this set with them talking about how great it is to have DBZ on Blu-ray for the first time. Then, for "Season 4," they have the 2005 Goku vs. Vegeta feature that they did for the Ultimate Uncut DVDs and the little recap that they did for the "Android Saga" DVDs.

I just can't believe it. 30th anniversary, huh? This set was so half-assedly half-assed. It's amazing.

Are you referring to "The world of Dragon Ball" from the old Trunks Saga singles? If so that's bizarre, as it includes footage from the BLT dub, the Saban dub, and the unaltered Funimation dub. The episodes themselves contain the remastered Funi dub, which makes it pretty strange.

[TheGreatness25]

Spoiler:

I've been checking out these sets' "Special Features" ... Ugh. So, I'm half way through the set and the first disc with special features simply had the textless opening and closing. Then, it's just recycled bonus features from the last Blu-ray release. So, you have the 16:9 image that doesn't even look like it does on this set with them talking about how great it is to have DBZ on Blu-ray for the first time. Then, for "Season 4," they have the 2005 Goku vs. Vegeta feature that they did for the Ultimate Uncut DVDs and the little recap that they did for the "Android Saga" DVDs.

I just can't believe it. 30th anniversary, huh? This set was so half-assedly half-assed. It's amazing.

Are you referring to "The world of Dragon Ball" from the old Trunks Saga singles? If so that's bizarre, as it includes footage from the BLT dub, the Saban dub, and the unaltered Funimation dub. The episodes themselves contain the remastered Funi dub, which makes it pretty strange.
[/quote]

Yes. I guess they ran out of things to put as "special features."

I have another gripe -- what is this dimwitted idea of putting the textless opening and closing on every last disc of the "season?" This wasn't a split release -- everyone who bought this has the entire thing. So yeah, while the opening changes a few times, does it really need to be on every fourth disc?

My next gripe about the "special features" -- did they really need to be on every fourth disc? Couldn't they have their own? I mean, I know that the interviews from 2005 - 2013 or whatever, textless openings and closings, and Justin Cook and Sonny Strait going through old photos is super riveting, but I don't think that it should've been on every fourth disc. Then again, that's a justification for having just two-to-four episodes on those discs.

Like, look... I understand the decision to make a less-than-perfect video remaster -- maybe they legitimately thought this was a great remaster that the fans would like, and it backfired. And I understand them thinking that the packaging was cool and unique, even though it's pretty awful to have to pinch the discs and pull them out of their tight paper sleeves. But for the life of me, I can't fathom them thinking that slapping recycled features from prior releases, was worthy of a 30th anniversary set that people paid $350 for.

See, I went into this optimistically -- and think that while the video quality isn't ideal, I think it looks good enough. That's the standard that I have for Funimation's treatment of this series -- "good enough." If their work lands somewhere in the ball park and checks off 2/3 of the boxes, then that's "good enough." Their treatment of this set as a whole isn't good enough. The video quality is, but everything else surrounding this thing wasn't. BUT, if this means that this set will become the new standard way to watch DBZ instead of the 16:9, screw it, I'll take it.

[Zestanor]

If so that's bizarre, as it includes footage from the BLT dub, the Saban dub, and the unaltered Funimation dub.

It also includes clips of the original in-house DB movie 2 dub (predates season 3). They were really scraping the bottom of the barrel for og DB content, but all they had was thirteen BLT episodes and movie 2.

[Robo4900]

which, they have over 100 episodes done already from the levels

Any work they didn't finish for the Levels, they finished up in the lead-up to the release of the Season BDs. Naturally, the cropping, degraining, etc. is filtering that comes after the cleanup, and the cleanup work as we remember from the Levels was continued for the Season BDs, as we see from the fact they most definitely painted out tape marks, film damage, etc. in Boo arc episodes (and they even touched up their earlier work; see the tape mark in the gorgeous raw transfer; this was removed for the Levels, but if you look, they buggered it up slightly in this frame, and duplicated some of the rocks -- some half-ghosted out -- in their cleanup; this was fixed for the Season BD/30th anniversary cleanup. Note that this error lasts precisely one frame, and yet they saw fit to repair it. Clearly, the post-Level cleanup work was not half-assed).

The truth is that Funi could have released the show with the same presentation as the Levels at the same pricepoint and episode count as the Season BDs, but they have consistently decided not to do this, instead they presented the Levels in about the most annoying, awkward, unappealing buying format they could have possibly done, and then the Season BDs and 30th Anniversary sets, despite using the same gorgeous raws and undergoing the same rigorous cleanup process, they applied shitty DNR+sharpening+overcontrasting crap on top, ruining it all.

A proper release isn't something that would cost them anything for restoration; they could have done it back in 2013-2015, or for the 30th sets, but they chose to not give us what we want.
As for why they chose to give us what we've repeatedly shown and told them we don't want, while dangling what we do want in our faces and refusing to give it to us, your guess is as good as mine.

[Metalwario64]

To me, it seems that it's to keep pumping out releases by withholding the best possible release. Just keep making ones "just better enough" to milk it for as long as possible.

[Scsigs]

Spoiler:

Any work they didn't finish for the Levels, they finished up in the lead-up to the release of the Season BDs. Naturally, the cropping, degraining, etc. is filtering that comes after the cleanup, and the cleanup work as we remember from the Levels was continued for the Season BDs, as we see from the fact they most definitely painted out tape marks, film damage, etc. in Boo arc episodes (and they even touched up their earlier work; see the tape mark in the gorgeous raw transfer; this was removed for the Levels, but if you look, they buggered it up slightly in this frame, and duplicated some of the rocks -- some half-ghosted out -- in their cleanup; this was fixed for the Season BD/30th anniversary cleanup. Note that this error lasts precisely one frame, and yet they saw fit to repair it. Clearly, the post-Level cleanup work was not half-assed).

The truth is that Funi could have released the show with the same presentation as the Levels at the same price point and episode count as the Season BDs, but they have consistently decided not to do this, instead they presented the Levels in about the most annoying, awkward, unappealing buying format they could have possibly done, and then the Season BDs and 30th Anniversary sets, despite using the same gorgeous raws and undergoing the same rigorous cleanup process, they applied shitty DNR+sharpening+overcontrasting crap on top, ruining it all.

A proper release isn't something that would cost them anything for restoration; they could have done it back in 2013-2015, or for the 30th sets, but they chose to not give us what we want.
As for why they chose to give us what we've repeatedly shown and told them we don't want, while dangling what we do want in our faces and refusing to give it to us, your guess is as good as mine.

Very true. They clearly have good masters ready to use, they just keep confusing customers with buzzwords & misleading trailers, as well as their awful mentality caused by their clear misunderstanding of both what people want & what they should release, as shown by that awful blogpost from last April. If this were any other company, they'd just fucking release the actually good masters already & be done with it. Dragon Ball ALWAYS gets them a lot of money annually, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to continue doing this shit, especially since they know people . have previous releases already that they're satisfied with. The only new people would be people who've never seen DBZ before or the people that know none of their releases outside of the Dragon Boxes & Levels weren't worth getting. The only way to reach those stragglers alone are to have the good masters out there.

[eledoremassis02]

I was going thu the special features and while most of them use the Season bluray footage the one with 18's voice actress actually uses Dragon Box and the quality (and encoding) is so much better than FUNi's Dragon Box DVD. I'll drop these two shots here if people want to compare them to the Japanese DVDs. But this has got me down for a DBOX SDbluray (more episodes per disc than a DVD)

[Metalwario64]

I was going thu the special features and while most of them use the Season bluray footage the one with 18's voice actress actually uses Dragon Box and the quality (and encoding) is so much better than FUNi's Dragon Box DVD. I'll drop these two shots here if people want to compare them to the Japanese DVDs. But this has got me down for a DBOX SDbluray (more episodes per disc than a DVD)

Probably the Japanese footage, which had a higher bitrate and sharper footage.

[Zestanor]

Probably the Japanese footage, which had a higher bitrate and sharper footage.

DBoxes 1-5 were softer than the Japanese DVDs, which was bonkers. Did we ever figure out why? Presumably it was Funimation’s fault, since the problem abruptly stopped with Box 6 and 7.

[eledoremassis02]

Spoiler:

I was going thu the special features and while most of them use the Season bluray footage the one with 18's voice actress actually uses Dragon Box and the quality (and encoding) is so much better than FUNi's Dragon Box DVD. I'll drop these two shots here if people want to compare them to the Japanese DVDs. But this has got me down for a DBOX SDbluray (more episodes per disc than a DVD)

Probably the Japanese footage, which had a higher bitrate and sharper footage.

Yea, I was assuning this is close to what FUNis raw files looked like before going on DVD.

[Metalwario64]

God... All Toei needs to do is take those masters, do some color correction and release them on Blu-ray (SD, no smeary upscaling, and more episodes per disc), and have FUNimation license those. Having the Dragon Boxes with proper colors and incredible compression would be super easy to do, and would look good enough.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

God... All Toei needs to do is take those masters, do some color correction and release them on Blu-ray (SD, no smeary upscaling, and more episodes per disc), and have FUNimation license those. Having the Dragon Boxes with proper colors and incredible compression would be super easy to do, and would look good enough.

An SD Blu-ray of that would look really great, certainly a better option than their own garbage attempts at making HD releases.