DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
Moderators: General Help, Kanzenshuu Staff
- GamerSkull
- Regular
- Posts: 520
- Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:45 pm
- Location: United States
DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
I hope nobody has made this topic before but I contemplating whether the Kai blu-rays are worth it.
How do the blu-ray collections for Dragon Ball Z Kai stack up to the regular DBZ blu-rays from FUNi (which I own despite the numerous flaws in them) ?
How do the blu-ray collections for Dragon Ball Z Kai stack up to the regular DBZ blu-rays from FUNi (which I own despite the numerous flaws in them) ?
"Roga Fu-Fu Ken!"
- KBABZ
- Born 'n Bred Here
- Posts: 5180
- Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:38 pm
- Location: The tallest tower in West City
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
From what I can find, pretty favourably! Ignoring the widescreen thing, the image appears to be cleaner and more defined, and there's no over-exposed lemon-lime filter over the footage, which results in much better flesh tones at the expense of the white balance. And from personal experience with Kai, looking at even the Blu-Ray footage looks worse and more Orange Brick than Dragon Box.
-
- Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
- Posts: 436
- Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 5:38 pm
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
Q-TEC put a lot of effort into the Dragon Ball Kai remaster and it looks great on Blu-ray as well as on DVD but the FUNimation Orange Bricks (DVD/BD) are quite ass-y. Blurry, crushed blacks, waterpaint-like, "artistic" and "modern". If the FUNi Orange Bricks DVDs/BDs all looked as good as Season 9 DVD but in fullscreen the English community wouldn't be too fussed with the Dragon Box Z being out of print.
The 9th Season looks terrific, imo!
The 9th Season looks terrific, imo!
Account no longer in use since 03/31/2018.
- KBABZ
- Born 'n Bred Here
- Posts: 5180
- Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:38 pm
- Location: The tallest tower in West City
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
Oh, as well, there's a section of Kai from the Ginyu encounter up until about second form Frieza where in the original production they used movie-quality film, and those episodes in the Kai transfer look fantastic:
---
Spoiler:
Poor Mr. Popo.SuperCyan2 wrote:crushed blacks
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
Oh, is that the reason why that section of Kai looks so great? I simply adore the look those episodes have, I wish the whole of DBZ could have been remastered this way.
- KBABZ
- Born 'n Bred Here
- Posts: 5180
- Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:38 pm
- Location: The tallest tower in West City
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
Agreed, it looks amazing!TheQuazz wrote:Oh, is that the reason why that section of Kai looks so great? I simply adore the look those episodes have, I wish the whole of DBZ could have been remastered this way.
The reason why those episodes look so good is because they're using movie film, where the panels for each frame on the film is much larger than the film used elsewhere in the series. By being physically larger, this allows for more detail to be printed on the panels, and that's what makes it pop when shown on modern displays compared to when it first aired in 1991. It's also why what we see in Kai/the Level sets is probably as good as we'll ever see Classic-era Dragon Ball anime, with the exception of the movie-quality film reel content that will benefit from a 4K master.
- KinguKurimuzon
- Beyond Newbie
- Posts: 130
- Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2016 4:01 pm
- Location: The End of Time
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
Really? What'd they do different from the other 8?SuperCyan2 wrote:The 9th Season looks terrific, imo!
Why'd they call them Season Sets anyway? DBZ was just one continuous season, wasn't it?
"Are you trying to impress me with your transformation sequence?" - Mashymre Cello
- KBABZ
- Born 'n Bred Here
- Posts: 5180
- Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:38 pm
- Location: The tallest tower in West City
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
It's an American thing mostly, plus Seasons feels more "complete" from a marketing standpoint than "Part X". The arcs themselves also don't really divide evenly so Seasons is a much more convenient way to say "5 episodes x 5 discs = 1 Season!"KinguKurimuzon wrote:Why'd they call them Season Sets anyway? DBZ was just one continuous season, wasn't it?SuperCyan2 wrote:The 9th Season looks terrific, imo!
- Luso Saiyan
- Advanced Regular
- Posts: 1479
- Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2013 10:33 am
- Location: Portugal
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
I'd say that in terms of quality, and aside from the Level sets (which have sadly been cancelled), the Kai Blu-rays are the best releases of the series on home video.
-
- Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
- Posts: 436
- Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 5:38 pm
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
The quality of the Orange Bricks is so inconsistent that it's hard to say what they did different but we at least know they used an automated machine to 'remaster' it so that explains it why some look better and some (or a lot) look worse.KinguKurimuzon wrote:Really? What'd they do different from the other 8?
I tried to watch Season 9 on FUNimation Now but that's for paid members only although you can watch the first episodes.
KinguKurimuzon wrote:Why'd they call them Season Sets anyway?[/size ]
It's a US thing where 'seasons' are used just for about anything these days, it's an easy way to identify when a show reaches a new chapter in its story and so on and so forth.
KinguKurimuzon wrote:DBZ was just one continuous season, wasn't it?
It was. It officially lasted 291 episodes overall but it did have its arcs/sagas of Saiyan arc, Namek arc, Freeza arc, Artificial Human arc, Cell arc and Majin Boo arc.
Account no longer in use since 03/31/2018.
- KBABZ
- Born 'n Bred Here
- Posts: 5180
- Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:38 pm
- Location: The tallest tower in West City
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
Correct, the same automated remastering program was used for Dragon Ball and then GT. In Dragon Ball it looks pretty good, outside of a loss of colours like green. However by the time it got to GT the process was basically perfected and the footage looks comparable to Dragon Box GT with the noise removed. It's just unfortunate that Funimation didn't decide to re-run the automation for the Blu-Ray release of Z, otherwise it'd be much more presentable and forgivable for the widescreen thing.SuperCyan2 wrote:The quality of the Orange Bricks is so inconsistent that it's hard to say what they did different but we at least know they used an automated machine to 'remaster' it so that explains it why some look better and some (or a lot) look worse.KinguKurimuzon wrote:Really? What'd they do different from the other 8?
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
The reason the Blue Bricks (DB) and Green Bricks (GT) appear the way they do is because they were originally sourced from SD Digibetas. Also, the reason the Green Bricks look like the Dragon Box footage is because Funi's original video source of GT is the Dragon Box footage without any cleanup. Outside of the OP and ED, the colors are pretty much identical, and had Funi's old DVDs not had their infamous compression/macroblocking issues then there would have been no need for a US GT Dragon Box, as the singles didn't go through the DVNR process. As for original DB, the footage is a different source...inferior in some ways, superior in others.
Ever since the Orange Bricks, Funi received a bunch of film reels which they scanned to HD. I wouldn't be surprised if the Digibetas of Z Funi used before the Orange Bricks (again using a master made before the Dragon Boxes) were less grainy than the film Funi got, if the Level Sets were any indication.
Ever since the Orange Bricks, Funi received a bunch of film reels which they scanned to HD. I wouldn't be surprised if the Digibetas of Z Funi used before the Orange Bricks (again using a master made before the Dragon Boxes) were less grainy than the film Funi got, if the Level Sets were any indication.
Robo4900 wrote:Mouse is BRILLIANT SCIENTIST dumb.
CAT LOVES FOOD dumb.
Jack is just kinda dumb.Spoiler:
-
- Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
- Posts: 436
- Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 5:38 pm
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
It's a shame on the Green Bricks they got rid of the original GT logo and the NEPs, FUNi could have offered the GT original logo for the Japanese version and at least keep the NEPs as extras. FUNimation did dub the GT NEPs in English but with Mark Menza's music, unfortunately.
Account no longer in use since 03/31/2018.
- GamerSkull
- Regular
- Posts: 520
- Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:45 pm
- Location: United States
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
I'll have to buy the Kai blu-rays at some point. I have the blu-rays for regular DBZ but I want to be able to watch the series' dub (but actually done well).
It's good to here the quality is better.
It's good to here the quality is better.
"Roga Fu-Fu Ken!"
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
Go for it. In my opinion it's one of the best English dubs I've heard.GamerSkull wrote:I'll have to buy the Kai blu-rays at some point. I have the blu-rays for regular DBZ but I want to be able to watch the series' dub (but actually done well).
It's good to here the quality is better.
-
- Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
- Posts: 436
- Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 5:38 pm
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
Besides the Ocean Dub (the Westwood Dub was shit), yeah, the FUNimation Kai dub is really good too. I can't wait for the Ocean Dub Kai to premier.Forte224 wrote:Go for it. In my opinion it's one of the best English dubs I've heard.
Account no longer in use since 03/31/2018.
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
I can't either, because (no disrespect) I don't get the love for the Ocean dub and I want to figure it out, haha. I can understand Piccolo, but otherwise Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, etc. just don't make sense to me why they're so loved. And they were the original Dragon Ball voices I ever heard!SuperCyan2 wrote:Besides the Ocean Dub (the Westwood Dub was shit), yeah, the FUNimation Kai dub is really good too. I can't wait for the Ocean Dub Kai to premier.Forte224 wrote:Go for it. In my opinion it's one of the best English dubs I've heard.
I particularly can't see any of the Goku VAs bringing the childish tone to Goku, except maybe Kelamis. Whereas I feel Schemmel has done a decent job of bringing that across recently, though he does rely on the word "dude" too much to do so. Anyway, I can definitely agree the Ocean dub we heard in the uncut movies is far and away better than Funi, up until Kai.
- GamerSkull
- Regular
- Posts: 520
- Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:45 pm
- Location: United States
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
I haven't actually heard the Ocean Dub. Perhaps I should check it out.Forte224 wrote:I can't either, because (no disrespect) I don't get the love for the Ocean dub and I want to figure it out, haha. I can understand Piccolo, but otherwise Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, etc. just don't make sense to me why they're so loved. And they were the original Dragon Ball voices I ever heard!SuperCyan2 wrote:Besides the Ocean Dub (the Westwood Dub was shit), yeah, the FUNimation Kai dub is really good too. I can't wait for the Ocean Dub Kai to premier.Forte224 wrote:Go for it. In my opinion it's one of the best English dubs I've heard.
I particularly can't see any of the Goku VAs bringing the childish tone to Goku, except maybe Kelamis. Whereas I feel Schemmel has done a decent job of bringing that across recently, though he does rely on the word "dude" too much to do so. Anyway, I can definitely agree the Ocean dub we heard in the uncut movies is far and away better than Funi, up until Kai.
"Roga Fu-Fu Ken!"
-
- Beyond-the-Beyond Newbie
- Posts: 436
- Joined: Sun Feb 04, 2018 5:38 pm
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
Check out the Pioneer DVDs of Movies 1-3 and then the 1-53 episodes if you have time. Ocean Dub did an amazing job on the first three movies and it's a shame they weren't given the rest to dub.GamerSkull wrote:I haven't actually heard the Ocean Dub. Perhaps I should check it out.
How I'd love to watch 4-13 movies by Ocean Dub. Especially the 13th which is easily the best of all, imo.
Account no longer in use since 03/31/2018.
Re: DBZ Kai Blu-Ray vs. DBZ Blu-Ray (FUNi)
Just a reminder that the dub of Tree of Might is completely different on the Pioneer DVD compared to the Rock the Dragon DVD set. Both are done by Ocean, but the former is uncut and is a lot closer to the original Japanese. While the latter has the same level of accuracy as the other Saban Ocean episodes (meaning a lot lower than the Pioneer dub), the acting is arguably slightly more enthusiastic due to being done before the Pioneer dub. (Dead Zone and World's Strongest have the same faithful dub on both, with the main difference being that the RTD DVD set uses censored masters)
Edit: Also a note that, while the Funi/Ocean/Saban dub of Tree of Might is less faithful to the original Japanese than Funi/Ocean/Pioneer is, the "Ultimate Uncut" dub of Tree of Might is even less faithful than Saban's dub is.
Edit: Also a note that, while the Funi/Ocean/Saban dub of Tree of Might is less faithful to the original Japanese than Funi/Ocean/Pioneer is, the "Ultimate Uncut" dub of Tree of Might is even less faithful than Saban's dub is.
Robo4900 wrote:Mouse is BRILLIANT SCIENTIST dumb.
CAT LOVES FOOD dumb.
Jack is just kinda dumb.Spoiler: