*sigh* Can someone just like...give me their Dragon Boxes?

[MetaMoss]

In my city there is a small comic shop that sells anime and a few years back I seen the whole Dragon box collection the yellow brick set for 500 flat and I was like FUCK I need money and have no job. now I have a job and money and that set is long gone... so I had to get the new blu ray set cropped :/ but still dig it. I am looking to getting this set as well, How much better is it besides the crop?

Please don't call them Yellow Bricks. That's just disrespectful.

Lighten up a bit. It's a DVD set.

Also, if I'm remembering a podcast episode from about a year and a half ago correctly, "brick" is the proper industry term for the type of case the Orange/Blue/Green Bricks came in, though I imagine the Dragon Boxes don't fall under that (perhaps the "books" with the DVDs could be considered bricks, but we'll need someone more in-the-know to enlighten us).

[Adamant]

though I imagine the Dragon Boxes don't fall under that (perhaps the "books" with the DVDs could be considered bricks, but we'll need someone more in-the-know to enlighten us).

Aren't they just called books?

[TheGreatness25]

An interesting question is this: If FUNimation were to offer Dragon Box quality footage for streaming (on their FUNimation app), would you guys sign up for it? I paid $50 for the full year. If you want to break it down, if each of the Dragon Box sets were $35, that would be $245 -- that's nearly five years of a FUNimatino app subscription. Plus, you'd get access to all of their other animes (right now, I'm enjoying revisiting Yu Yu Hakusho). Also, freaking $50 a year is kind of nothing; it's under $5 per month.

The reason why bring this up is because it is very unlikely that FUNimation will re-release the Dragon Boxes, but how hard is it for them to throw up the footage on their streaming app? If there's enough interest and enough to give them the impression that they'd get more subscribers out of it, they might put up the Dragon Box footage on the FUNimaton app. Right now, they have something worse than the orange bricks up on there.

[Ajay]

An interesting question is this: If FUNimation were to offer Dragon Box quality footage for streaming (on their FUNimation app), would you guys sign up for it?

The fact that I own them already aside, the answer would be probably not.

FUNimation aren't exactly known for having well-encoded streams. In fact, they're known for the opposite.

I do not trust them to provide streams that come even close to a DVD's quality.

If they can't do that, well your only benefit is the aspect ratio, in which case you might as well grab a shitty DBNL Dragon Box encode from a shady site. You still won't be getting the proper experience.

[TheGreatness25]

Well, my question was mainly posed to those that don't own the Dragon Box, as they're the ones that stand to benefit from that.

And you're right about that 100%, but it is possible, isn't it? Isn't it possible to put up a stream that would properly show off the Dragon Box footage?

Anyway, it was just an idea that came to me. I just feel like they have a much larger chance of putting the Dragon Box up for streaming than to do a full-blown DVD release. They already own the footage, so to put it up is nothing. DVDs have manufacturing cost and all that, which is probably what's keeping them from continuing that release.


I don't know if this has been attempted, but it is possible that they might respond to a petition of sorts from here. I only say that because they seem to be well aware of Kanzenshuu and if something like that were submitted under the Kanzenshuu umbrella, it might make some waves for them. Of course, this would all have to get the proper permission.

I'm just trying to help out those that don't have the Dragon Boxes. Personally, I have no stake in any of it and I've seen people who own the Dragon Boxes kind of give the "too bad" answer. It's a simple fact of life: if there's enough demand for a product that a company has, it would be possible for the demand to be met. Unless, of course, FUNimation is dumb and doesn't want to make money. But in reality, I think that they figured that there wasn't enough demand when push came to shove. Everyone was praising the Japanese Dragon Boxes and made a big deal about FUNimation finally getting them, but the sales were pretty lukewarm, I believe. Maybe FUNimation thinks that the "die-hard" fans who they were targeting with that release are not the majority, but rather a vocal minority, so it doesn't make sense for them. I know that a lot of people put off buying the Dragon Boxes for lower prices or for another time because it wasn't known that they'd be a "limited" release, but I think that made FUNimation think about it happening if they tried to release them again.


Anyway, put the footage on a DVD and put it into a binder (a la the Family Guy Party Pack), I still think people would buy them.

[Ajay]

Isn't it possible to put up a stream that would properly show off the Dragon Box footage?

Oh yeah, it's definitely possible.

The bitrate on the US sets was at about 5000kbps which is closing in on the high-end HD streams that Netflix offers. I just can't see FUNi offering quality like that for an SD stream.

[thejeremymenace]

It's better than not having it at all, but I think it would be a serious downgrade. A disc will have better quality than a stream (at least with current tech and average internet speeds), and it's especially unfortunate in this case where the main appeal of these sets is the great picture quality. Even the streaming versions of the OBs look extra hideous compared to their DVD counterparts.

DVD:

Stream:


Though, as Ajay said, it's certainly possible to have a high quality stream, but this is Funi.

[TheGreatness25]

I think if they felt that they'd get a significant amount of subscribers over it, they might do it. I mean, I can imagine it's no great cost to them. Though, I'm just tossing around an idea. I did notice that the quality is awful on the app. But even Hulu's version of the series looks like that, so where the hell did they get such a crappy master? Do they really mean to tell me that they made it better for the DVDs (tone down the brightness, etc.) or do they just purposely make it worse for the streaming so we'd buy the DVDs? Chicken or the egg lol

[thejeremymenace]

Even the digital versions on the PSN and XBL stores look like that. If I had to guess, they probably made the 'digital master' around the same time as the DVDs (2007-2009), and just haven't updated them since.

[TheGreatness25]

You know, looking at it now... Is it weird that the only difference I see is a very tiny bit of a higher brightness on the stream (I'm no video expert, don't tear me apart if I got something wrong lol)? I mean... turn the brightness down on your TV by one and it'll look the same, no?

[Ajay]

Nope, the detail is completely blown out. Look at the cloud detail in the original. You won't get that back by bringing the brightness back down.

[TheGreatness25]

Ah, you're absolutely right. Damn, FUNimation... I try to make a case for you and you shoot yourselves in the foot. Story of my life. *Shot of vodka* lol

Seriously, though, I think that convincing them to put up a stream of the Dragon Box footage -- which would still make the Orange Bricks look like child's play by comparison -- is much more likely than convincing them to do a full-out DVD re-release.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

I feel like the die-hard fan base is the one who really cares so much about it being as close to the original as possible. How many fans even watch it illegally? For a casual fan that liked DBZ as a kid, sure, why not pick up the $35 DVD as opposed to $70 (the Dragon Boxes' original price). I think that's why they keep selling so strongly. I'm pretty sure their train of thought is "The die-hard fans who give a shit would've already bought the Dragon Boxes."

I don't think that they'll ever put any work into the series because they've been to that well way too many times. The singles, the Season Sets, the Dragon Boxes, the Rock the Dragon set (not to mention the original Ocean dub singles), the Level Sets, the Season Set Blu-rays; I don't think they'll go back to that well again, especially since they have new material to exploit/explore. If they put out another Z set in a few years, I picture it being a repackaged Season Set release.

I think this misses the point. Most of us probably don't care about having a near-copy of the original broadcast look, I sure don't. We just want a release that looks decent. Even Green Bricks quality would be fine for most of us.

That's not too much to ask for, right? Especially since, after seeing the short-lived Level Sets, we know that Funimation has the potential to create a release even greater than the DBoxes.

[qjz123]

I feel like the die-hard fan base is the one who really cares so much about it being as close to the original as possible. How many fans even watch it illegally? For a casual fan that liked DBZ as a kid, sure, why not pick up the $35 DVD as opposed to $70 (the Dragon Boxes' original price). I think that's why they keep selling so strongly. I'm pretty sure their train of thought is "The die-hard fans who give a shit would've already bought the Dragon Boxes."

I don't think that they'll ever put any work into the series because they've been to that well way too many times. The singles, the Season Sets, the Dragon Boxes, the Rock the Dragon set (not to mention the original Ocean dub singles), the Level Sets, the Season Set Blu-rays; I don't think they'll go back to that well again, especially since they have new material to exploit/explore. If they put out another Z set in a few years, I picture it being a repackaged Season Set release.

I think this misses the point. Most of us probably don't care about having a near-copy of the original broadcast look, I sure don't. We just want a release that looks decent. Even Green Bricks quality would be fine for most of us.

That's not too much to ask for, right? Especially since, after seeing the short-lived Level Sets, we know that Funimation has the potential to create a release even greater than the DBoxes.

Well if it makes you feel any better its not like Japanese fans have a cheap way to properly own the original series either.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

I feel like the die-hard fan base is the one who really cares so much about it being as close to the original as possible. How many fans even watch it illegally? For a casual fan that liked DBZ as a kid, sure, why not pick up the $35 DVD as opposed to $70 (the Dragon Boxes' original price). I think that's why they keep selling so strongly. I'm pretty sure their train of thought is "The die-hard fans who give a shit would've already bought the Dragon Boxes."

I don't think that they'll ever put any work into the series because they've been to that well way too many times. The singles, the Season Sets, the Dragon Boxes, the Rock the Dragon set (not to mention the original Ocean dub singles), the Level Sets, the Season Set Blu-rays; I don't think they'll go back to that well again, especially since they have new material to exploit/explore. If they put out another Z set in a few years, I picture it being a repackaged Season Set release.

I think this misses the point. Most of us probably don't care about having a near-copy of the original broadcast look, I sure don't. We just want a release that looks decent. Even Green Bricks quality would be fine for most of us.

That's not too much to ask for, right? Especially since, after seeing the short-lived Level Sets, we know that Funimation has the potential to create a release even greater than the DBoxes.

Well if it makes you feel any better its not like Japanese fans have a cheap way to properly own the original series either.

The Japanese Dragon Box Collection can be acquired for much cheaper. Not to mention that their Boxes cover the entire series, not just episodic DBZ.

[qjz123]

I think this misses the point. Most of us probably don't care about having a near-copy of the original broadcast look, I sure don't. We just want a release that looks decent. Even Green Bricks quality would be fine for most of us.

That's not too much to ask for, right? Especially since, after seeing the short-lived Level Sets, we know that Funimation has the potential to create a release even greater than the DBoxes.

Well if it makes you feel any better its not like Japanese fans have a cheap way to properly own the original series either.

The Japanese Dragon Box Collection can be acquired for much cheaper. Not to mention that their Boxes cover the entire series, not just episodic DBZ.

Much cheaper than what? The Funimation dragon boxes? The Dragon Box in Japan was also a limited release after which TOEI started selling the individual discs as singles to those who couldn't get the Dragon boxes. Cheap is not the word I'd use to describe them or really any anime release in Japan for that matter. Those guys always have to pay an arm and a leg for everything.

Cheap is the Bluray season sets which can get you all of Z for under $250 or the Orange Bricks which will do the same for under $200.

My original point was that we aren't the only one's dealing with this lack of proper availability of the series. Even in Japan the series is hard/expensive to attain in it's proper form.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

Well if it makes you feel any better its not like Japanese fans have a cheap way to properly own the original series either.

The Japanese Dragon Box Collection can be acquired for much cheaper. Not to mention that their Boxes cover the entire series, not just episodic DBZ.

Much cheaper than what? The Funimation dragon boxes? The Dragon Box in Japan was also a limited release after which TOEI started selling the individual discs as singles to those who couldn't get the Dragon boxes. Cheap is not the word I'd use to describe them or really any anime release in Japan for that matter. Those guys always have to pay an arm and a leg for everything.

Cheap is the Bluray season sets which can get you all of Z for under $250 or the Orange Bricks which will do the same for under $200.

My original point was that we aren't the only one's dealing with this lack of proper availability of the series. Even in Japan the series is hard/expensive to attain in it's proper form.

Most countries have a decent release. Also, for some reason I had it in my head that the DBoxes were the only English release when I typed that, so sorry for my moment of retardation (although it's true that you can get the jp DBoxes for cheaper, just in case you're ever looking).

[qjz123]

The Japanese Dragon Box Collection can be acquired for much cheaper. Not to mention that their Boxes cover the entire series, not just episodic DBZ.

Much cheaper than what? The Funimation dragon boxes? The Dragon Box in Japan was also a limited release after which TOEI started selling the individual discs as singles to those who couldn't get the Dragon boxes. Cheap is not the word I'd use to describe them or really any anime release in Japan for that matter. Those guys always have to pay an arm and a leg for everything.

Cheap is the Bluray season sets which can get you all of Z for under $250 or the Orange Bricks which will do the same for under $200.

My original point was that we aren't the only one's dealing with this lack of proper availability of the series. Even in Japan the series is hard/expensive to attain in it's proper form.

Most countries have a decent release. Also, for some reason I had it in my head that the DBoxes were the only English release when I typed that, so sorry for my moment of retardation (although it's true that you can get the jp DBoxes for cheaper, just in case you're ever looking).

What decent releases? As far as I know most countries in Europe as well as Mexico simply get given Funimation's Orange brick/ Season Blu ray footage to re-release.

As far as readily available 4:3 options of Z there really aren't many if any. I don't know about the Japanese dragon box pricing, I was lucky enough to to get Funimation's release of it when they first came out. With that said even if you were to buy the Japanese Dragon Boxes at less that the $800 price point that the US versions seem to go for now, you'd then have to deal with adding subtitles which would make the original discs useless and that whole process would be a pain.

[Dbzfan94]

I really want the Dragon Boxes but don't want to spend a small fortune

[Jinzoningen MULE]

Much cheaper than what? The Funimation dragon boxes? The Dragon Box in Japan was also a limited release after which TOEI started selling the individual discs as singles to those who couldn't get the Dragon boxes. Cheap is not the word I'd use to describe them or really any anime release in Japan for that matter. Those guys always have to pay an arm and a leg for everything.

Cheap is the Bluray season sets which can get you all of Z for under $250 or the Orange Bricks which will do the same for under $200.

My original point was that we aren't the only one's dealing with this lack of proper availability of the series. Even in Japan the series is hard/expensive to attain in it's proper form.

Most countries have a decent release. Also, for some reason I had it in my head that the DBoxes were the only English release when I typed that, so sorry for my moment of retardation (although it's true that you can get the jp DBoxes for cheaper, just in case you're ever looking).

What decent releases? As far as I know most countries in Europe as well as Mexico simply get given Funimation's Orange brick/ Season Blu ray footage to re-release.

As far as readily available 4:3 options of Z there really aren't many if any. I don't know about the Japanese dragon box pricing, I was lucky enough to to get Funimation's release of it when they first came out. With that said even if you were to buy the Japanese Dragon Boxes at less that the $800 price point that the US versions seem to go for now, you'd then have to deal with adding subtitles which would make the original discs useless and that whole process would be a pain.

I don't know the releases by heart, but I've seen a Spanish and French version of DBZ online that looked decent and were in 4:3. Of course, they could have been edited, so don't take my word for it.

As for adding subtitles, it wouldn't be too hard to transplant the subtitles from torrents of the official release. I would switch the audio with Funimation's Blu-Rays anyway, the jp audio is a few notches above in quality. As far as the discs being useless, you're right. However, if you really want a physical copy, you could drop $100 USD for enough blank 8.5 GB DVD's. Not much considering you're still paying hundreds of dollars for the boxes. Not to mention that I have friends that would kill for something like that, it's practically the perfect English release. In the right hands, it would be a treasure. Although I do understand why someone wouldn't might not want to go through the trouble.

PS: You could also sell the original disks afterwards, which I would have no objection to since we're buying from fans, and none of that money goes to Toei anyway.