Why you should thank TheCW, rethink 4kids, curse Saban and HATE LITTON.

[Cure Dragon 255]

By Cure Dragon 255.

Almost everyone here at ]Kanzenshuu have a certain Dragon Ball related thing that gets them going and going. ]Many of you have by now realized that mine is Kids TV and how Dragon Ball relates to that.

So lets talk about The CW.

"Boo!" I hear you say "They totally butchered the show!". And that may be true. But there were many perks that made it worth it.

This first section is about The CW in general.

1-Kids rediscovered Dragon Ball every Saturday Morning.

Over 1.1 million viewers watched Dragon Ball at one point in time on The CW, most of them children. It kept interest in the franchise alive and well. I know it seems dumb, but think about it. Dragon Ball is a very special property it has helped bring happiness to millions of children. I think that its important that children enjoy Dragon Ball.

2-Helped Keep an Instution Alive.

Quick show of hands! Who here watched Saturday Morning Cartoons? I bet many did! Mr Vegetto Ex himself watched the original Saturday Morning Run of Dragon Ball Z on Syndication. Saturday Mornings have been around since forever! And The CW kept up the fight until the bitter end. All thanks to Dragon Ball.

3-Kept anime alive on TV for kids..

Quick! Name one other channel which made a mission out of showing anime and action cartoons? And that isnt Toonami! I will give you one, Disney XD. Any more? No? Good.

4-Most importantly kept it affordable.

In this day and age, if you dont have cable or internet you are S C R E W E D! This wasnt always the case, when you were a kid and wanted to watch cartoons for free you had a buffet of choices on Saturday Morning. And the best choice as always was Dragon Ball on the various CW Blocks.

[TheGreatness25]

I honestly have nothing against this run of Dragon Ball. To me, as long as the uncut version existed and was available, that was good enough for me. I never watched Kai on Nicktoons or the CW, but to me, either people watching those versions were too casual and wouldn't care enough to seek out more information about the series (they're likely not in here discussing the series) or they'd be hooked and seek out more information, which would lead them to knowing about the uncut releases.

So again, the most important thing to me, is the availability of the uncut product. That's what redeemed the original Z dub for me, to be honest (of course, this didn't apply to the Ocean/Saban/Pioneer dub). For "season 3" and onward, yes, we got the replacement score that sounded like it was performed on a keyboard that was gifted to a child on their fifth birthday, and we got the poor performances, and we got the script changes, and we got the "Hercules," "Freeza's," and "Vegitos"; but then, we had a release that included the original, pure, uncut Japanese version. They weren't telling us that their dub was the one and only, way it was meant to be seen (that came later). They were presenting their version of the series as an alternative and gave us the original right there alongside it. And that made up for it, in my opinion. And despite my love for that original Ocean dub, I really hated that it was presented as the one and only way to see the series until 2005, which melted away the sour taste in my mouth of it. I mean... then, we waited until 2007 to get the Namek arc on DVD and it was washed out and had the image cut, but that's neither here nor there.

So just like with that Z dub, the censored and butchered up version of Kai was never presented as the definitive version of the series because the Blu-rays and DVDs existed without any of those flaws.

So, to the notion of the butchered Kai (like the original Z dub) misinforming fans, I say this: if the fan felt that the series appealed to them enough to be worth discussing and exploring deeper, they'd know immediately of all the issues with that version. If that fan comes onto a site like this one, there's no way that said fan isn't at least interested enough to explore the series beyond what aired on TV. With all of the knowledge and releases that we have access to, a fan who has been "misinformed" by that version and knows its faults, but still chooses to discuss the series based on the "incorrect" version of the series, is willfully misinformed. To the fan who actually likes that version, that's perfectly fine as long as they understand that the version they're a fan of, has limited their experience of the series.

To me, the mere act of censorship isn't an issue as long as it's acknowledged and you're given the option to experience the product without that censorship.

[Yuli Ban]

By 2010, it was a different situation from the 1990s. Dragon Ball Z was already well established by the time the Toonzai edit came around. It's like getting into Star Wars through Lucas's edits of the original trilogy in the '90s and '00s. Especially considering different versions are so readily available now. Censored dubs are good for a laugh and a look at the culture in which they were made, as well as admittedly cringing when you encounter someone who grew up with them and professes that they are superior to the original.

That said, the Toonzai version of the Kai dub aired a decade ago and apparently was pretty popular. I have yet to encounter a single person who professes any level of nostalgia for it. It reminds me of that time Sonic Underground aired on Disney XD back in 2012; does anyone even remember that? Does anyone care?

Edit: Yes!! I found the thread! Original reactions as it was airing!

[WittyUsername]

I remember watching it from time to time, purely to see the extent of the edits that were made. I remember being confused when I first heard “Spirit Blast.”

Anyway, one thing I’ll say about the Toonzai edits is that I’ve come to be a lot more understanding of the decision to make Mr. Popo blue. That was a mild controversy back in the day that TeamFourStar themselves poked fun at, and at the time, I myself was inclined to laugh at the change, especially with how sloppy it looked. With that said, in the years since then, I’ve realized that it was one of the more justifiable edits that were made to the show. Sure, they didn’t do a very good job of obscuring the fact that Mr. Popo has black skin in the original, but oh well.

[AlexSketchy04]

I remember watching it from time to time, purely to see the extent of the edits that were made. I remember being confused when I first heard “Spirit Blast.”

Anyway, one thing I’ll say about the Toonzai edits is that I’ve come to be a lot more understanding of the decision to make Mr. Popo blue. That was a mild controversy back in the day that TeamFourStar themselves poked fun at, and at the time, I myself was inclined to laugh at the change, especially with how sloppy it looked. With that said, in the years since then, I’ve realized that it was one of the more justifiable edits that were made to the show. Sure, they didn’t do a very good job of obscuring the fact that Mr. Popo has black skin in the original, but oh well.

The weird is that WB, didn't had much of a problem with Popo back in the 90's when they aired the Ocean Dub

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

I remember watching it from time to time, purely to see the extent of the edits that were made. I remember being confused when I first heard “Spirit Blast.”

Anyway, one thing I’ll say about the Toonzai edits is that I’ve come to be a lot more understanding of the decision to make Mr. Popo blue. That was a mild controversy back in the day that TeamFourStar themselves poked fun at, and at the time, I myself was inclined to laugh at the change, especially with how sloppy it looked. With that said, in the years since then, I’ve realized that it was one of the more justifiable edits that were made to the show. Sure, they didn’t do a very good job of obscuring the fact that Mr. Popo has black skin in the original, but oh well.

The weird is that WB, didn't had much of a problem with Popo back in the 90's when they aired the Ocean Dub

Yeah, the neon blue digital paint job looks sloppily done and quite awful but i do get the intent there. Still though, it was limited to the CW4Kids/Toonzai/Vortexx broadcast which far less people saw and Nicktoons didn't even bother with altering Mr. Popo from his original black color though i'd wager that's likely so because they don't have those kind of tools at their disposal to do that kind of thing as 4Kids does or did back in the day with their own anime dubs like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece (That dub had by far some of the most garbage paint editing ever) and so on. That, plus of course they had more stricter guidelines when airing the show compared to the former thus all the additional visual and dialog censorship beyond what Nicktoon's version already had.

[Cure Dragon 255]

I remember watching it from time to time, purely to see the extent of the edits that were made. I remember being confused when I first heard “Spirit Blast.”

Anyway, one thing I’ll say about the Toonzai edits is that I’ve come to be a lot more understanding of the decision to make Mr. Popo blue. That was a mild controversy back in the day that TeamFourStar themselves poked fun at, and at the time, I myself was inclined to laugh at the change, especially with how sloppy it looked. With that said, in the years since then, I’ve realized that it was one of the more justifiable edits that were made to the show. Sure, they didn’t do a very good job of obscuring the fact that Mr. Popo has black skin in the original, but oh well.

The weird is that WB, didn't had much of a problem with Popo back in the 90's when they aired the Ocean Dub

Yeah, the neon blue digital paint job looks sloppily done and quite awful but i do get the intent there. Still though, it was limited to the CW4Kids/Toonzai/Vortexx broadcast which far less people saw and Nicktoons didn't even bother with altering Mr. Popo from his original black color though i'd wager that's likely so because they don't have those kind of tools at their disposal to do that kind of thing as 4Kids does or did back in the day with their own anime dubs like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece (That dub had by far some of the most garbage paint editing ever) and so on. That, plus of course they had more stricter guidelines when airing the show compared to the former thus all the additional visual and dialog censorship beyond what Nicktoon's version already had.

Far less people in comparison to what? Nicktoons DBZKai was seen by 600K TOPS and TheCW DBZKai by OVER ONE MILLION PEOPLE. Sure I guess the syndicated run and the Kids WB run were seen by far more people, but this is the one issue I will pull my nerd glasses out.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

The weird is that WB, didn't had much of a problem with Popo back in the 90's when they aired the Ocean Dub

Yeah, the neon blue digital paint job looks sloppily done and quite awful but i do get the intent there. Still though, it was limited to the CW4Kids/Toonzai/Vortexx broadcast which far less people saw and Nicktoons didn't even bother with altering Mr. Popo from his original black color though i'd wager that's likely so because they don't have those kind of tools at their disposal to do that kind of thing as 4Kids does or did back in the day with their own anime dubs like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece (That dub had by far some of the most garbage paint editing ever) and so on. That, plus of course they had more stricter guidelines when airing the show compared to the former thus all the additional visual and dialog censorship beyond what Nicktoon's version already had.

Far less people in comparison to what? Nicktoons DBZKai was seen by 600K TOPS and TheCW DBZKai by OVER ONE MILLION PEOPLE. Sure I guess the syndicated run and the Kids WB run were seen by far more people, but this is the one issue I will pull my nerd glasses out.

Um ok, well then it seems i have it backwards and didn't think the Toonzai/Vortexx version actually had that extent of viewers. Looks like i stand corrected.

[ArmenianPepsi]

Yeah, the neon blue digital paint job looks sloppily done and quite awful but i do get the intent there. Still though, it was limited to the CW4Kids/Toonzai/Vortexx broadcast which far less people saw and Nicktoons didn't even bother with altering Mr. Popo from his original black color though i'd wager that's likely so because they don't have those kind of tools at their disposal to do that kind of thing as 4Kids does or did back in the day with their own anime dubs like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece (That dub had by far some of the most garbage paint editing ever) and so on. That, plus of course they had more stricter guidelines when airing the show compared to the former thus all the additional visual and dialog censorship beyond what Nicktoon's version already had.

Far less people in comparison to what? Nicktoons DBZKai was seen by 600K TOPS and TheCW DBZKai by OVER ONE MILLION PEOPLE. Sure I guess the syndicated run and the Kids WB run were seen by far more people, but this is the one issue I will pull my nerd glasses out.

Um ok, well then it seems i have it backwards and didn't think the Toonzai/Vortexx version actually had that extent of viewers. Looks like i stand corrected.

I wonder, did Kai run all the way to Episode 98 on CW/Toonzai? I know on Nicktoons they got the whole run. I just don't recall ever seeing any Toonzai clips of Cell Saga episodes floating around.

[Cure Dragon 255]

TheCW yes, Toonzai no. See, Saban bought the block and their block Vortexx aired the second half of Kai.

[AlexSketchy04]

The weird is that WB, didn't had much of a problem with Popo back in the 90's when they aired the Ocean Dub

Yeah, the neon blue digital paint job looks sloppily done and quite awful but i do get the intent there. Still though, it was limited to the CW4Kids/Toonzai/Vortexx broadcast which far less people saw and Nicktoons didn't even bother with altering Mr. Popo from his original black color though i'd wager that's likely so because they don't have those kind of tools at their disposal to do that kind of thing as 4Kids does or did back in the day with their own anime dubs like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece (That dub had by far some of the most garbage paint editing ever) and so on. That, plus of course they had more stricter guidelines when airing the show compared to the former thus all the additional visual and dialog censorship beyond what Nicktoon's version already had.

Far less people in comparison to what? Nicktoons DBZKai was seen by 600K TOPS and TheCW DBZKai by OVER ONE MILLION PEOPLE. Sure I guess the syndicated run and the Kids WB run were seen by far more people, but this is the one issue I will pull my nerd glasses out.

I don't question it too much because, well, it's S&P

[MasenkoHA]

The censorship was fucking ridiculous and made the 1996 dub look edgy by comparison. Even the 96 dub wasn’t afraid of halos and Vegeta and Nappa eating the cricket aliens they just massacred.


Sure it’s good that it aired on a major network but being glad it aired to a wider audience than what Nicktoons or Adult Swim could offer and being put off by the censorship that rendered the show incoherent aren’t mutually exclusive.

[ArmenianPepsi]

The censorship was fucking ridiculous and made the 1996 dub look edgy by comparison. Even the 96 dub wasn’t afraid of halos and Vegeta and Nappa eating the cricket aliens they just massacred.


Sure it’s good that it aired on a major network but being glad it aired to a wider audience than what Nicktoons or Adult Swim could offer and being put off by the censorship that rendered the show incoherent aren’t mutually exclusive.

My personal favorite edit in Toonzai Kai is how they handled Krillin's death.

"No no kids don't worry, Krillin isn't really dead, Frieza didn't just gruesomely explode him in front of everyone, he just made him poof away with magic. He was sent to another world."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrQwe7oiqAY

[OmegaRockman]

Far less people in comparison to what? Nicktoons DBZKai was seen by 600K TOPS and TheCW DBZKai by OVER ONE MILLION PEOPLE. Sure I guess the syndicated run and the Kids WB run were seen by far more people, but this is the one issue I will pull my nerd glasses out.

Um ok, well then it seems i have it backwards and didn't think the Toonzai/Vortexx version actually had that extent of viewers. Looks like i stand corrected.

I wonder, did Kai run all the way to Episode 98 on CW/Toonzai? I know on Nicktoons they got the whole run. I just don't recall ever seeing any Toonzai clips of Cell Saga episodes floating around.

It did, though Toonzai had rebranded to Vortexx by the time they finished. In fact, Vortexx Episode 98 is the only edited version of the episode I have on hand right now (I have edited Kai on a hard drive and burned to discs for babysitting/when I have kids someday).

[Dragon Ball Gus]

CD, um, the OP seems very incomplete. You forgot to mention the reason why we should curse Saban, rethink 4Kids and hate Litton. You just talked about TheCW.

[Cure Dragon 255]

You are very much right pal! I wanted to make an extremely extensive Kunzait-esque post on the topic but ran out of energy. I will complete it someday.