Funimation's 30th anniversary collectible home video release

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

I’m right there with you . I’ll be 40 years old around the time of Dragon Ball Zs 40th anniversary, and to be completely honest, the interest in watching the series has faded significantly due to the mistreatment it’s gotten since I can remember. I have been, and will always be a fan of hand-drawn animation from the 1990s and early 2000s. The new era of animation makes anime characters look like shiny, squeaky clean, plastic wax dolls (especially the girls with unrealistic sized boobs). It’s just not what it used to be.

But it never ceases to amaze me to see these kiddos spend $350 on dog shit, but hey whatever makes you feel “exclusive”. You are making history by allowing FUNimation to beat us over the head with a stick. It is people like you who ruin the chance of ever owning something truly astounding. I’ve collected a lot of 1990s anime and have tried to find the best overall version of each show, but there comes a point where you have to wake up and say “enough is enough”. Dragon Ball Z is fucked. We will never get a true remaster, only censorship and mutilation.

It just wasn’t in the cards.

Which is really quite sad when you think about it, and ultimately i made the decision to search out and gradually buy the Dragon Boxes on eBay because that's the best available release there is of DBZ at this point, and will most likely remain so for the foreseeable future. Given how often FUNi has dropped the ball with the releases they've produced themselves, i'm glad at least they got that one right for the most part even with the little flaws. It really sucks that we don't have an average Joe 4:3 release readily available for purchase without the crap faux widescreen and DNR smeared/oversaturated colors.

I'm so glad i went with that option, because i have the one release that at least for the most part keeps the show as is the way it was intended to be seen.

We did however luck out on very nice movie masters on Japan's Amazon and Netflix, which are superior to Toei's HD release. They require minor color tweaks, better audio sync, etc., and they look stunning! Oh, and who could forget about the Bardock special on that Animax TV airing?! Wow! Luckily, those can be preserved, however it seems the series not so much.

Yep, and judging from some screenshots that i have seen of these releases they look pretty nice overall. I'll definitely have to check them out sometime.

[Forte224]

Will this charge me right away?

No. If you used a credit card it's just a reserve, and will be charged if/when it reaches 3000 reserves. If you used a debit card, it will show up as a purchase on your account but it's simply that funds will be withheld until the set is officially purchased (once again, after 3000 reserves).

So when we hit 3000 reservations my money will be put back into my account? I went to reserve it and found I had been fully charged right away and I asked FUNimation on Twitter and they said:

"Exactly as Justin said. This is a pre-authorization hold. It will fall off in a few days. (How quickly it will fall off is dependent on your bank.)"

You say it will fall off when 3,000 reservations are hit, FUNimation says it will fall off in a few days depending on my bank. Which is it?

The funds being withheld will drop off in a few days. Once 3000 reserves are hit, you'll be charged in full. So, I suppose, if 3000 reserves are hit before the withheld funds drop off, then you'll just be charged right away anyway. When all is said and done, you will have spent $349.99+tax+shipping either way.

[Dbzfan94]

I swear the people who buy this knowing it’s shitty have Stockholm Syndrome in regards to Dragon Ball home releases

[AnimeMaakuo]

No. If you used a credit card it's just a reserve, and will be charged if/when it reaches 3000 reserves. If you used a debit card, it will show up as a purchase on your account but it's simply that funds will be withheld until the set is officially purchased (once again, after 3000 reserves).

So when we hit 3000 reservations my money will be put back into my account? I went to reserve it and found I had been fully charged right away and I asked FUNimation on Twitter and they said:

"Exactly as Justin said. This is a pre-authorization hold. It will fall off in a few days. (How quickly it will fall off is dependent on your bank.)"

You say it will fall off when 3,000 reservations are hit, FUNimation says it will fall off in a few days depending on my bank. Which is it?

The funds being withheld will drop off in a few days. Once 3000 reserves are hit, you'll be charged in full. So, I suppose, if 3000 reserves are hit before the withheld funds drop off, then you'll just be charged right away anyway. When all is said and done, you will have spent $349.99+tax+shipping either way.

Just tell your card provider that it was a false charge and they should reverse it.

[clutchins]

I swear the people who buy this knowing it’s shitty have Stockholm Syndrome in regards to Dragon Ball home releases

I just want to bang my head against my keyboard

[ABED]

the announcement quoted Duke Nukem's "I'm here to kick ass and chew bubblegum and I'm all out of bubblegum."

Just have to say, this isn't Duke Nukem. It's Rowdy Roddy Piper from John Carpenter's They Live.

[Gabool The Wild]

Wow, just like a lot of other members, I was watching this pretty closely and really hoping for a true, final, quality release. Instead, we get this? Well, I guess this is the final nail in the coffin. I’m so glad I picked up the Dragon Boxes when I did. So now that there’s pretty much no hope for a legit home video release, anybody still holding out for Viz to do a new translation of the manga someday?

[ABED]

How does the zoom in on these compare with the DB and GT season sets?

[rs_chaosmaster]

We have the non inferior release called the Dragon Boxes and I own those and realize they are the best at this point. I also own all the Japanese ones so why you think I only buy shit is beyond me. I am a huge collector and this is a collectors item.

That's the thing though. You're falling for their marketing ploy that makes you THINK it's a collector's item.

Here's what your hard earned $350 gets you:
-video that is zoomed in more than any other 4:3 release, masters come from shitty Season BDs
-"exclusive" figure that is an ugly all-gray version of something you can already buy
-artbook, a.k.a. reprints of covers from BDs that hardcore fans hate
-ugly Black Brick box, no color like the Dragon Boxes or even Rock the Dragon which were both limited releases
-a piece of fucking paper

There is not value here that isn't completely artificial, corporate bullshit.

Look at the packaging look at the discs look at what the set comes with it is a collectors item packaging that rivals Aniplex releases. There is no ploy here it is a collectors edition not just the shitty discs

[HakkaiBills93]

Wow, just like a lot of other members, I was watching this pretty closely and really hoping for a true, final, quality release. Instead, we get this? Well, I guess this is the final nail in the coffin. I’m so glad I picked up the Dragon Boxes when I did. So now that there’s pretty much no hope for a legit home video release, anybody still holding out for Viz to do a new translation of the manga someday?

more than 2200 people have preorder this trash so yes thanks to those fake fans , we'll never get any true remaster, when those greatest idiots will understand that as long as they will buy shit, we'll get shit!
it's so hard to understand or they are brainless?

enjoy your shit, Funimation is litteraly are fucking you very hardly
pitiful trash guys

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

How does the zoom in on these compare with the DB and GT season sets?

I know a few pages back there was a comparison from i believe it was PremiumSalt between the zooming of the Blue Bricks, and the footage shown in the 30th anniversary trailer so they did indeed look different to my eyes.

Found it, it's this one here.

[rs_chaosmaster]

Wow, just like a lot of other members, I was watching this pretty closely and really hoping for a true, final, quality release. Instead, we get this? Well, I guess this is the final nail in the coffin. I’m so glad I picked up the Dragon Boxes when I did. So now that there’s pretty much no hope for a legit home video release, anybody still holding out for Viz to do a new translation of the manga someday?

more than 2200 people have preorder this trash so yes thanks to those fake fans , we'll never get any true remaster, when those greatest idiots will understand that as long as they will buy shit, we'll get shit!
it's so hard to understand or they are brainless?

enjoy your shit, Funimation is litteraly are fucking you very hardly
pitiful trash guys

Possibly but if it gets revealed the film footage is different you will be the one likely fucked as this will sell out in about an hour . However just make sure you keep updated then if it revealed it isn’t a shitty film master pounce. That’s your other option .

[Forte224]

How does the zoom in on these compare with the DB and GT season sets?

GT Green Bricks had no zoom. But from what I've seen, the zoom on the DB Blue Bricks is comparable, and probably done for similar reasons like hiding tape marks and whatnot. (This is just one example from each, and are "worst case". Not all zoomed in shots are as bad as these with the Blue Bricks and what we've seen from the 30th Anniversary. Though I feel both make the framing feel off)

[PremiumSalt]

Wow, just like a lot of other members, I was watching this pretty closely and really hoping for a true, final, quality release. Instead, we get this? Well, I guess this is the final nail in the coffin. I’m so glad I picked up the Dragon Boxes when I did. So now that there’s pretty much no hope for a legit home video release, anybody still holding out for Viz to do a new translation of the manga someday?

more than 2200 people have preorder this trash so yes thanks to those fake fans , we'll never get any true remaster, when those greatest idiots will understand that as long as they will buy shit, we'll get shit!
it's so hard to understand or they are brainless?

enjoy your shit, Funimation is litteraly are fucking you very hardly
pitiful trash guys

Ok this is going too far. Just because someone is willing to accept this release doesn't make them a "fake fan", it just means they have different priorities than you and me. I'm just as frustrated by this release as you are, and I'm also frustrated that it's reaching it's goal, but c'mon, this is a bit much.

[Metalwario64]

The cropping, colors and very soft details make this footage look like FUNimation's old digibeta masters without the edge enhancement. Certainly not good for a Blu-ray release.

I swear the people who buy this knowing it’s shitty have Stockholm Syndrome in regards to Dragon Ball home releases

Yeah, I first noticed that when people were defending them after some were skeptical of the whole thing before the 4:3 reveal and later when the reservation number was increased, and it's kind of crazy that it's coming from here of all places. My how times have changed...

[sintzu]

more than 2200 people have preorder this trash so yes thanks to those fake fans , we'll never get any true remaster.

Ok this is going too far. Just because someone is willing to accept this release doesn't make them a "fake fan", it just means they have different priorities than you and me.

I've never liked the "fake fans" term some people use. Everyone, like you said, has different priorities and looks for different things in what they like. Kai is one of if not the most flawed product to come out of this franchise but because I prioritize pacing and dub quality over anything else it's my go to version of Z.

I do think it's very unfortunate that people who value the original version of the show (without changes) can't get what they want as Funimation should've released it by now.

[Scsigs]

So I'm kind of way overdue on this due to how fast the posts are piling up in this thread, but I would just like to point out to anyone who is comparing the framing here to the Dragon Boxes that... the Dragon Boxes were given a shot-for-shot reframing based off the original negatives. That framing was not the same as what was originally seen on TV. More often than not, the image was extended on all four sides. A more fair comparison would be to compare the framing to the UUE or something...
Admittedly even with that I think the Black Bricks would lose out by a not-insignificant margin, but it would be a more apt comparison.

Most of the comparisons I’ve seen have been to the Level BDs which seems like a pretty fair comparison to me as both utilize the same source.

Do we know they do?

If these are, in fact, the uncropped versions of the episodes that went on the season BRs, yes. It's been said that they use the same film source.

[90sDBZ]

The Rock the Dragon set has a bit of zooming too if I remember right. Is this comparable to that in terms of zooming? I remember the sides of Raditz' shoulder guards being cut off in one scene.

[VDenter]

The level of vitriol shown here has gotten past the point of being disturbing, in my mind. I'm in no way saying that you shouldn't be mad about this, because I'm pissed myself. But, shouldn't Dragon Ball be something you're enjoying? If this home release of a show you love is bringing you that much pain, perhaps it's time to take a break or something. This could be a whole derailing rabbit hole, so I'll leave it at that.

I wanna chime in on this and expand on this statement.

I spent years endlessly railing against FUNimation and their practices (sometimes incorrectly, since I was a kid learning about some of the points of contention and their specifics through self study as I went along). At first it was fun, just pointing out the half-assed nature of it all. Then I started to get annoyed at the division in the community that (in my opinion) was underlined by ignorance of the show's original format and all that. It became less of a "Hey guys, I found this out about the shitty compression used on the DVDs" and more of a "For fuck's sake, the remasters look like shit on top of being cropped. Stop supporting them and making them think this is okay." I didn't necessarily feel superior for what I knew, I just boggled at the concept of people buying the sets or supporting them as being good quality. I figured that ignorance was the issue and I spent years arguing to varying degrees, trying to accent things with my goofy sense of humor when I wasn't just being an outright prick, trying to fight the good fight.

It got old. I got burnt out on the franchise in general and probably took a good 3-4 years away from it. I also withdrew from the community because it was to the point where all I really did was log in, counter someone's argument about something, then log out. I remember when DBZ Uncensored shut down, the announcement quoted Duke Nukem's "I'm here to kick ass and chew bubblegum and I'm all out of bubblegum." And in retrospect I totally got it. I realized that I was beating a dead horse because, really, the English DB fandom has been fundamentally divided since the English version came along. Every time FUNimation has done something they've further segmented the fanbase. And really, I can't blame the individuals because depending on when you started watching the show your version could be one of the so versions and that's just what you associate with your nostalgia about the show. It just sucks that this community is one of the best I've seen (and I mean of any fandoms I've been part of, whether they're for music or cars or other shows), but that division still exists and seems to increase over time.

In any case, before I ramble everyone to death, my point is the whole thing soured my perspective on the series in general for a bit. Hell the only good thing was that my posts and persistence led to making some good friends such as Mike, Heath, Meri, Lemmy and ConanTheSSJ among others. So yeah, I totally agree that one should be very careful on the amount of negativity they start associating with something they enjoy. You might find yourself hating the things you love in the end. *cue "The More You Know" rainbow*

...oh, but on topic...yeah. I just found out about this yesterday and rolled my eyes. Today I watched a good video on the whole thing AnimeAjay put together and it's pretty much what I expected. FUNi did this recently with Cowboy Bebop, they advertised 3 sets and let people vote with pre-orders. One set won, it took about...4-6 months I think to arrive, and it was pretty lackluster. It was basically the same discs from before, or so I've heard, and the packaging seemed to have some corners cut. I remember I was bummed for a sec because I'm a consumer whore and love Bebop but missed the pre-order window, but when the set came out I eagerly took to Reddit and the like to see how they looked and...immediately felt better. And that was the same advertising. Ultimate Collector's Edition, Anniversary, blah blah blah. I'd love to see FUNi do an amazing set that would become the holy grail that everyone loved (within reason, yes some people won't ever be happy), but I'd also love for David Lee Roth to sound like he did in the early 80's. Both are equally about as likely to happen.

I don't think any amount of crap Funimation tries to shove down the consumers throat is going to make me hate DB. It will just make me hate Funimation and by extension be disappointed with anyone choosing to support them again and again, despite them clearly not being interested in making anything other than crap. My feelings on Funimation are completely divorced from my feelings on DB as a whole.

Pretty much everything negative that i associate with DB more or less, can be traced back to Funimation and i'm just tired of them having anything to do with DB. They have for DECADES shown that they don't give a crap about this franchise and they don't care bout providing a quality product to the fans, they don't care about addressing the complaints. So i really have no reason to ever support them.

[HakkaiBills93]

more than 2200 people have preorder this trash so yes thanks to those fake fans , we'll never get any true remaster.

Ok this is going too far. Just because someone is willing to accept this release doesn't make them a "fake fan", it just means they have different priorities than you and me.

I've never liked the "fake fans" term some people use. Everyone, like you said, has different priorities and looks for different things in what they like. Kai is one of if not the most flawed product to come out of this franchise but because I prioritize pacing and dub quality over anything else it's my go to version of Z.

I do think it's very unfortunate that people who value the original version of the show (without changes) can't get what they want as Funimation should've released it by now.

you dislike it BUT it's true, a true fan want the best and do everything to get the best, if you support a company that lie, fool (by illegal way) and show a total disrespect towards the licence and people that love this licence, then you can't be called "fan" you finance this disaster. so not only you aren't a true fan but you are a big idiot in addition to that cause by buying this insult towards dragon ball z, you prevent any true release beeing done