Guys, why is Kikuchi so good?

[Forte224]

Like, geez. So I'm like so many others that grew up with the OG Funi dub+Faulconer Productions music, and hated anything else. Eventually got past nostalgia and liked Funi Kai way better than OG Funi and loved the Yamamoto score, even using the Yamamoto Revival Project to get the score back into episodes 53-98. Still couldn't really jive with Kikuchi.

Then decided I'd watch the show in its original Japanese form despite all the filler and whatnot, just to say I did it, and now absolutely prefer to watch it that way. So anyway, I got reminded of the awesome fight between Goku and Cell, and thought I'd watch it on English Kai with the Yamamoto score to see how it was...and...it just wasn't the same. I realized that, even though I now prefer the Japanese voices, the biggest thing that was missing was Kikuchi. I went and watched the same English Kai scene except without the Yamamoto score and with the badly placed Kikuchi replacement score. And like, man, even though it wasn't the best music placement compared to how it was in the original DBZ episode, the fight immediately was more exciting and enjoyable to me.

Like, what the hell is it with the Kikuchi score? I spent so much of my life as a Dragon Ball fan calling it bad, dated, and unfitting, and now here I am praising it above any other DB score. It's so great!

[Jinzoningen MULE]

It has astounding variety, range, very instrumental, well-paced. Even in Kai, it's largely well-placed. Lots of talented people working together. Just off the top of my head, it's pretty much what makes all good music work.

Strangely enough, though, I don't like listening to much of the Kikuchi Score unless I'm watching Dragon Ball.

[Forte224]

I've actually been listening to it in my free time. Love this one probably the most. It doesn't get overplayed so it always pumps me up when it plays in a fight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL0Pg9O ... qszIINf31O_

Arghhhhh somebody please get me the Dragon Boxes so I can watch the show as close to its original form as possible

[Jinzoningen MULE]

Arghhhhh somebody please get me the Dragon Boxes so I can watch the show as close to its original form as possible

As someone who used to own them, trust me, the DBoxes are overrated. The fact is, Dragon Ball isn't all that pretty of a show to begin with. Even though the boxes are far ahead of most other releases (Level Sets were close, rip ), they still don't look all that good. Especially not good enough to warrant even the original cost, much less hundreds of dollars.

Just thought I'd interject on that point. Carry on, I was never here.

[Forte224]

Arghhhhh somebody please get me the Dragon Boxes so I can watch the show as close to its original form as possible

As someone who used to own them, trust me, the DBoxes are overrated. The fact is, Dragon Ball isn't all that pretty of a show to begin with. Even though the boxes are far ahead of most other releases (Level Sets were close, rip ), they still don't look all that good. Especially not good enough to warrant even the original cost, much less hundreds of dollars.

Well, that's why I said as close to the original as possible. I've seen the Dragon Boxes. I know they're not perfect, but there aren't many practical ways to watch the show any closer to the original (I mean, the 4:3 alone is basically impossible to find anywhere else but the DVD singles and those aren't good quality really), and I'd be perfectly happy with the Dragon Box quality I've seen. But yeah, they're so pricey. If they did a re-issue of them I'd be all over it.

Carry on, I was never here.

Yes you were, there's two posts that prove it ^_^

[Cipher]

Kikuchi, in addition to being a huge veteran of the industry, is the only one of Dragon Ball's many composers to get that Dragon Ball's hodgepodge of media inspirations should be reflected in its score. It's hard to compete with tracks that are not only memorable on their own, but give the series a distinct aesthetic identity that matches its content. He also managed to give each era of the show a new thematic identity in its score, while very much keeping them feeling part of the same world.

Everyone else (save maaaaybe Tokunaga) has scored a generic TV action anime. Kikuchi scored a quirky kung-fu flick with a variety of other inspirations layered on top of that to match the direction of the series at various points.

[Saikyo no Senshi]

Kikuchi's score is what got me into the franchise. The man knows his job and he made great scenes great. I remember reading somewhere that he read the comic before composing. If it's true, it's clear that he has an understanding of what Dragon Ball is about. His pieces were all for the most part engaging and really made the show memorable. Every story arc had a new identity to it cause of his music as Cipher pointed out.

As someone who thinks Dragon Ball isn't that great of a show especially on a storytelling front, it's music and acting is the best thing in it and the Kikuchi score clearly is one of the prime reasons why I still enjoy the series.

EDIT: BTW, Miyashita Shigeru was responsible for the selection of the music placement in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. He did a wonderful job, so I think he deserves credit too.

[floofychan333]

One thing that attracted me to Dragon Ball was Kikuchi's music. He's one of my greatest idols.

To answer your question, Shunsuke Kikuchi was able to evoke every emotion with his BGMs, made use of a wide array of instruments, and was willing to experiment with syncopation and interesting rhythms.