Possibility of a remastered Dragon Ball?

[simtek34]

I've seen lots of "Remastered" versions of anime that have aired on Japanese TV. Such as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Remastered and One Piece Special Edition. I would really want DB in HD, but after seeing these series, I would hope there is no cropping involved. Those remasteres use the OB dead-center crop. not even RP&S! Since these have new credits, how work Toei work with (supposedly) no creditless masterss for OP 2 and ED 1,3, and 4? It would be easy for ED 1 since almost all of the scenes (Except for 2) were reused in ED 2, which we know has a creditless master. And plus, the only 2 scenes not reused, the credit were on solid color so they could freeze the frame before it comes, or just wipe it. I don't know about you guys, but I just really want HD DB from the OG film.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

C'mon Toei!!

[Kojiro Sasaki]

I've seen lots of "Remastered" versions of anime that have aired on Japanese TV. Such as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Remastered and One Piece Special Edition. I would really want DB in HD, but after seeing these series, I would hope there is no cropping involved. Those remasteres use the OB dead-center crop. not even RP&S! Since these have new credits, how work Toei work with (supposedly) no creditless masterss for OP 2 and ED 1,3, and 4? It would be easy for ED 1 since almost all of the scenes (Except for 2) were reused in ED 2, which we know has a creditless master. And plus, the only 2 scenes not reused, the credit were on solid color so they could freeze the frame before it comes, or just wipe it. I don't know about you guys, but I just really want HD DB from the OG film.

(...)

C'mon Toei!!

Serious efforts are now taking place to make it happen! Keep your fingers crossed!

[spoiler][/spoiler]

It's hard to explain why, but I like the classic logo more



But if you want to know my honest opinion: It's 99,9% impossible. I consider two main reasons:
1. It simply makes no sense. It's too expensive, too complicated and there is no market for it.
2. 98% of people who are vocal about it are not willing to do anything to make it happen.

Sad but true...

[sintzu]

As much as I'd love to see a less filler, new dubbed remaster, there's simply not a market for it.

For the longest time the companies involved with it have treated it like a prequel about Goku's unimportant adventures as a kid and that's how a lot of the fans look at it so the chances of it being financially successful are very slim.

To the companies involved and a good amount of fans, Z is the main story and everything else is secondary.

Serious efforts are now taking place to make it happen! Keep your fingers crossed!

A new fan project or something official ? regardless, I hope we'll get a Kai version someday but I doubt it will.

[simtek34]

As much as I'd love to see a less filler, new dubbed remaster, there's simply not a market for it.

I meant just remastered. Not like any new dub or getting "Kai"-ified. (As much as I would want to see it happen)

[sintzu]

I meant just remastered. Not like any new dub or getting "Kai"-ified.

I'd be happy with that, I think the dub is alright and it's just 133 episodes if you skip the filler ones but it'll still cost.

Funimation would have to pay Toei for the digital or film masters, they'd have to remaster it themselves (we all know how that turns out) and then split what little profits they'll make with whoever will sell it for them like amazon.

We'll get this before a Kai version but even this doesn't have that high of a chance of happening simply because of how small a market the original DB has thanks to it being pushed to the side for decades by everyone.

I've seen fans here and other sites say they haven't seen it and don't want to see it, some go as far as to say they didn't even know it existed. that should give you an idea at how bad of a job the companies have done with it.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

It definitely could happen, but it would have to be Toei's initiative, and they're not likely to touch it. Especially since they're putting out new material. Funimation would be far more likely to undertake an HD restoration of Dragon Ball, but they don't have the proper source. Even if they did, it would take them at least 3 tries before they actually finished a release, and it would likely be the Orange Bricks all over again.

98% of people who are vocal about it are not willing to do anything to make it happen.

That's understandable, as far as I'm concerned. I mean, HD is nice and all, but I think I speak for the 99% when I say that we're satisfied with our current home releases of the first 153 episodes.

[Kojiro Sasaki]

That's understandable, as far as I'm concerned. I mean, HD is nice and all, but I think I speak for the 99% when I say that we're satisfied with our current home releases of the first 153 episodes.

What I wanted to say is that 98% of people who aren't satisfied with current releases and want a new HD release aren't willing to do anything about it. They do not write emails, they do not write letters, they do not write petitions, they do not advocate for it, they do not convince others that they should support this idea, they do not organize any action, etc.

There are VERY FEW people who are doing something, but at least they are clever, well informed, talented and extremely motivated

A new fan project or something official ? regardless, I hope we'll get a Kai version someday but I doubt it will.

Fan project, of course. We managed to establish some contacts and now we are working on extremely detailed presentation to convince our contact that our idea makes sense. It's practically impossible, but to hell with it. We are fanatically determined to do the best job a fan can do and that's our main purpose.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Wasn't DB anime 30th anniversary last year? That would have been a perfect time to release a HD remastered version of OG DB but as Toei probably didn't want to compete with themselves, we saw the damage that happened when FUNi did that ie Level Sets being cancelled.

[sintzu]

They do not write emails, they do not write letters, they do not write petitions, they do not advocate for it, they do not convince others that they should support this idea, they do not organize any action, etc.

That's because there aren't many fans who care about DB like that.

[floofychan333]

Redubbed and cleaned up Dragon Ball would be great but I'd hate to see it reanimated. That era was when the art style and colours were at their best.

[Kojiro Sasaki]

Redubbed and cleaned up Dragon Ball would be great but I'd hate to see it reanimated. That era was when the art style and colours were at their best.

Why redubbed? Voice acting was also at its best in those times! Do you really want Dragon Ball without Kōhei Miyauchi's Kame Sennin, Daisuke Gōri's Gyūmaō, Kenji Utsumi's Shenlong and Tenkaichi Budōkai Announcer, Takeshi Aono's Kami and Piccolo Daimaō, Ichirō Nagai's Tsuru Sennin and Karin, Junpei Takiguchi's Uranai Baba, Hirotaka Suzuoki's Tenshinhan, Toku Nishio's Mr. Popo and all others I didn't mention?

[simtek34]

Serious efforts are now taking place to make it happen! Keep your fingers crossed!

There are VERY FEW people who are doing something, but at least they are clever, well informed, talented and extremely motivated

I don't get what you keep saying. Care to explain?

[sangofe]

That's understandable, as far as I'm concerned. I mean, HD is nice and all, but I think I speak for the 99% when I say that we're satisfied with our current home releases of the first 153 episodes.

What I wanted to say is that 98% of people who aren't satisfied with current releases and want a new HD release aren't willing to do anything about it. They do not write emails, they do not write letters, they do not write petitions, they do not advocate for it, they do not convince others that they should support this idea, they do not organize any action, etc.

There are VERY FEW people who are doing something, but at least they are clever, well informed, talented and extremely motivated

A new fan project or something official ? regardless, I hope we'll get a Kai version someday but I doubt it will.

Fan project, of course. We managed to establish some contacts and now we are working on extremely detailed presentation to convince our contact that our idea makes sense. It's practically impossible, but to hell with it. We are fanatically determined to do the best job a fan can do and that's our main purpose.

Film reel, or upscale?

[Robo4900]

I've seen lots of "Remastered" versions of anime that have aired on Japanese TV. Such as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Remastered and One Piece Special Edition.

Neither of those are true remasters, they're just cropped upscales. Hell, you can even see the dot crawl. Honestly, the original standard-def versions look better.

Film reel, or upscale?

Well, I imagine there'd be no point if it's just an upscale. If it truly is a "Remaster" it'd have to be from film.
On the other hand, I'd be quite surprised if someone out there has a complete 16mm Dragon Ball collection, given how many reels that'd be.
I'm curious to hear the answer to this question.

[Kojiro Sasaki]

Serious efforts are now taking place to make it happen! Keep your fingers crossed!

There are VERY FEW people who are doing something, but at least they are clever, well informed, talented and extremely motivated

I don't get what you keep saying. Care to explain?

Those two quotations taken out of context are definitely hard to understand, but I think that the entire posts actually explain what I am saying and I thinkt that it's quite simple: There is a fan project going on, which purpose is to convince Toei that they should release Dragon Ball on Blu-ray. We managed to achieve more than we expected and we are excited about this.

The lack of activity of the fanbase does not help us... But as we say in Poland: “Co zrobisz? Nic nie zrobisz.” (What can you do? There's nothing you can do., more literal: What will you do? Nothing will you do)

Film reel, or upscale?

I'm not sure what you mean, but... Are you nuts? Do you think that Toei gave us 153 DB episode reels and 153 DB NEP reels?
Upscale is not what I mean by HD: It makes no sense and I wouldn't want such material* to be put on official Blu-ray release. I would prefer sticking with Dragon Boxes.

(* - the only good thing about it would be that it could be color-corrected)

[floofychan333]

Redubbed and cleaned up Dragon Ball would be great but I'd hate to see it reanimated. That era was when the art style and colours were at their best.

Why redubbed? Voice acting was also at its best in those times! Do you really want Dragon Ball without Kōhei Miyauchi's Kame Sennin, Daisuke Gōri's Gyūmaō, Kenji Utsumi's Shenlong and Tenkaichi Budōkai Announcer, Takeshi Aono's Kami and Piccolo Daimaō, Ichirō Nagai's Tsuru Sennin and Karin, Junpei Takiguchi's Uranai Baba, Hirotaka Suzuoki's Tenshinhan, Toku Nishio's Mr. Popo and all others I didn't mention?

I meant for English. The dub was great but could be better if dubbed today.

[sangofe]

Serious efforts are now taking place to make it happen! Keep your fingers crossed!

There are VERY FEW people who are doing something, but at least they are clever, well informed, talented and extremely motivated

I don't get what you keep saying. Care to explain?

Those two quotations taken out of context are definitely hard to understand, but I think that the entire posts actually explain what I am saying and I thinkt that it's quite simple: There is a fan project going on, which purpose is to convince Toei that they should release Dragon Ball on Blu-ray. We managed to achieve more than we expected and we are excited about this.

The lack of activity of the fanbase does not help us... But as we say in Poland: “Co zrobisz? Nic nie zrobisz.” (What can you do? There's nothing you can do., more literal: What will you do? Nothing will you do)

Film reel, or upscale?

I'm not sure what you mean, but... Are you nuts? Do you think that Toei gave us 153 DB episode reels and 153 DB NEP reels?
Upscale is not what I mean by HD: It makes no sense and I wouldn't want such material* to be put on official Blu-ray release. I would prefer sticking with Dragon Boxes.

(* - the only good thing about it would be that it could be color-corrected)

I've read about fans having film reels. Pm me about this "project" then. Or write more details. You're insanely vague.

[Robo4900]

Those two quotations taken out of context are definitely hard to understand, but I think that the entire posts actually explain what I am saying and I thinkt that it's quite simple: There is a fan project going on, which purpose is to convince Toei that they should release Dragon Ball on Blu-ray. We managed to achieve more than we expected and we are excited about this.

So you're in contact with some people at Toei, and you're trying to convince them that now is the right time to move Dragon Ball over to HD? That's a pretty cool thing. If they did it uncropped, and with good colour correction(Like Kai 1.0), that could be a really cool thing, and could bring a lot more people on board with the original series internationally, while re-invigorating the viewing figures for the reruns of the old series in Japan. Seems like a great idea to me, and I hope they go along with it.
Question: You say you've achieved more than you've expected... So the guys at Toei are listening, and actually considering doing this?
Any chance you could elaborate a little?

I'm not sure what you mean, but... Are you nuts? Do you think that Toei gave us 153 DB episode reels and 153 DB NEP reels?

The Japanese TV stations who've aired Dragon Ball in the past transferred their broadcast film to standard def recordings(Often tape) a while ago, and sold off all their DB, Z, and GT film to private collectors. It's not unreasonable to assume that, with a large enough base of contacts, you could gather together the entire 508-episode Dragon Ball, Z, and GT run, and get your own transfer done.
For its price, and the complexity of doing this for 508 reels of film, as an amateur, it'd be a brave idea, but props to you if it worked. 'Course that's not what you're doing, thankfully.

[Kojiro Sasaki]

I've read about fans having film reels. Pm me about this "project" then. Or write more details. You're insanely vague.

Of course fans have film reels. You can easily find some pictures in the internet. kei17 himself posted pictures of his reels on Kanzenshuu.
I am “vague” because I don't want to babble over and over about the same thing to make people more annoyed than they already are. That became boring. The ones from this forum, who were interested (almost none) already contacted me.

The OP asked about “Possibility of a remastered Dragon Ball” so I decided to inform him that something is going on. That's all I wanted to say, because nothing more is certain at this point in time.

So you're in contact with some people at Toei, and you're trying to convince them that now is the right time to move Dragon Ball over to HD? That's a pretty cool thing. If they did it uncropped, and with good colour correction(Like Kai 1.0), that could be a really cool thing, and could bring a lot more people on board with the original series internationally, while re-invigorating the viewing figures for the reruns of the old series in Japan. Seems like a great idea to me, and I hope they go along with it.
Question: You say you've achieved more than you've expected... So the guys at Toei are listening, and actually considering doing this?
Any chance you could elaborate a little?

At the moment, we are working on extremely detailed presentation: Descriptions of all the quality issues of the existing releases, audio/video samples, original broadcast audio, how it makes sense to do it in HD, stuff like what fans expect etc.
One guy is writing super-touching story about how important Dragon Ball is to millions of fans and how it established the anime market all around the world. As to the broadcast audio, we imply how important it is to archive the sound in best possible quality because of how great the original voice performances were and that many legendary voice actors cannot perform for us, because they aren't with us anymore. We have a big database of screenshots of various comments and reviews from the internet, where fans criticise current releases and write what they would like to buy. And of course we also describe color issues and the quality of classic cel animation shot on film, which should be preserved with best possible fidelity for the future generations. Tons of great stuff - I could write about this forever.

The only thing that stands in our way is what I keep talking about since I joined this forum - lack of the activity of the fanbase. They will NEVER release a product without being SURE that it will sell. So if somebody is truly and honestly interested in new release, they should spread the message all over the world. Advocate for it everywhere. Convince people to undertake an action. Message Toei. How do you think our project started? By spamming all around the internet! Contacting people! Taking a serious effort and not surrendering no matter what since years!

If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything!

The Japanese TV stations who've aired Dragon Ball in the past transferred their broadcast film to standard def recordings(Often tape) a while ago, and sold off all their DB, Z, and GT film to private collectors. It's not unreasonable to assume that, with a large enough base of contacts, you could gather together the entire 508-episode Dragon Ball, Z, and GT run, and get your own transfer done.
For its price, and the complexity of doing this for 508 reels of film, as an amateur, it'd be a brave idea, but props to you if it worked. 'Course that's not what you're doing, thankfully.

Do you remember what you said about the logistics of delivering the original broadcast audio to Toei? With that in mind, how would you describe the logistics of gathering all the film reels, delivering them to Europe and doing professional HD transfer / color-correction / restoration by a small group of fans on their own? (not mentioning gathering all the broadcast audio and editing new audio tracks)

(510* reels, not 508. You forgot about the Z specials...again... )
(* - if my knowledge is correct, NEPs were on separate reels, which makes it double** )
(** - not counting movies, trailers, advertisements, various other materials and specials )

By the way, I said that:

There is a fan project going on, which purpose is to convince Toei that they should release Dragon Ball on Blu-ray.

It states clearly that we want Toei to do that. We need all the material to be sourced from the best possible source and all the restoration job to be done professionally.

[simtek34]

As he said in the DBZ Seasons Blu-ray topic...

To all the people who are interested in this project: Read this topic: Possibility of a remastered Dragon Ball?
Start sending your thoughts to following addresses:

Columbia: https://form.columbia.jp/company/ir/ (messages about soundtrack release)

Toei Animation:
1) Eng: https://reg18.smp.ne.jp/regist/is?SMPFO ... 5a5b4831f0
2) Jpn: https://reg18.smp.ne.jp/regist/is?SMPFO ... 0f658aabed

Nippon Columbia
日本
〒105-8482
東京都港区虎ノ門4-1-40
江戸見坂森ビル

Edomisaka Mori Bldg., 4-1-40 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8482, Japan

Toei Animation
日本
〒164-000
東京都中野区中野二丁目10番5号
中野セントラルパーク イースト5階

5F Nakano Central Park East, 4-10-1 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0001, Japan

Toei Audio Visual Art Center
日本
〒178-0063
東京都練馬区東大泉2丁目11番32号
東映アニメーション別館 1F

Toei Animation Annex 1F, 2-11-32
東映アニメーション別館 1F

Toei Animation Annex 1F, 2-11-32 Higashiōizumi, Nerima-ku, Tokyo 178-0063, Japan

Tell them what you want: 1080p resolution, original AR, original colors, no grain removal, original cel animation quality, no useless filtering, honest reproduction of the original film, original broadcast audio etc. Private action is the only thing you can do now. "The Group” is already at the finish of preparing the materials we want to hand to our contact in Toei, so we don't need any help with this at the moment.

Now... continue the discussion!