Funimation's 30th anniversary collectible home video release

[kemuri07]

ooh boy that's a nasty stench of elitism.

Stop it.

[clutchins]

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

There is no such thing as a "true fan" compared to a "fake fan". Casual fans might be filthy casuals but they enjoy the show just as much as we do. The truth is that not everyone will know or care about the same nitty gritty details as hardcore fans do.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman

[TheDecentSaiyaman]

Admittedly, I'm a bit ignorant to a lot of the technical aspects of animation/remasters but I'm curious if there's any legitimate reason Funimation keeps doing these cropped remasters? Is there some argument to be made for them? From the general consensus I'm reading, the answer seems to be no. But then...why does this exist in the format that it does? Honestly curious because when I see these comparison photos of the new remaster versus past versions/the original, it seems pretty blatantly bad and unnecessary. Curious to understand the thought process behind this.

[Char Aznable]

Admittedly, I'm a bit ignorant to a lot of the technical aspects of animation/remasters but I'm curious if there's any legitimate reason Funimation keeps doing these cropped remasters? Is there some argument to be made for them? From the general consensus I'm reading, the answer seems to be no. But then...why does this exist in the format that it does? Honestly curious because when I see these comparison photos of the new remaster versus past versions/the original, it seems pretty blatantly bad and unnecessary. Curious to understand the thought process behind this.

Essentially it’s the lazy way to deal with possible damage around the edges of the film. Rather than clean it up, just crop it out a bit.

[jelleline89]

2349/3000

Reservations do appear to have slowed down, but I think that's more in-part to it being Sunday than the bad press this has been receiving. Nevertheless, 651 reservations is still quite realistic. I'm hoping by Monday or when the 3,000 goal is met, FUNimation will give us more details on this.

[VegettoEX]

Admittedly, I'm a bit ignorant to a lot of the technical aspects of animation/remasters but I'm curious if there's any legitimate reason Funimation keeps doing these cropped remasters? Is there some argument to be made for them? From the general consensus I'm reading, the answer seems to be no. But then...why does this exist in the format that it does? Honestly curious because when I see these comparison photos of the new remaster versus past versions/the original, it seems pretty blatantly bad and unnecessary. Curious to understand the thought process behind this.

"Why doesn't it fill my TV?!"

We had the same issue in the 80s and 90s with the reverse: widescreen theatrical films that were "pan-and-scanned" (cropped horizontally and occasionally with artificial camera movement to keep up with the action) because people didn't like how it didn't "fill their TV".

People don't understand, they don't care to understand, they're wowed by bright colors, and very few directors/producers/companies/etc. insist that the originally-intended vision be stuck to.

(The one I always remember from working at Blockbuster back in high school was the Russell Crowe / Al Pacino film The Insider. There was ONLY a widescreen VHS release, and people constantly returned their rentals either irate that it didn't fill their TV or confused thinking it was defective.)

[B]

Funimation's US DBOX release is honestly great and as much as many will get upset when I say this, it was on the market long enough to get picked up by the fans like us. I remember when it was announced back at Otakon 2009 and we all followed the release closely back then. It was of course going to be a limited release as they eventually did sell their stock, but outside of volume 2, I had regularly seen each volume in my local Best Buys, Targets, etc. for years.

The problem with this is there was no inference that the FUNi DBOX would be limited. They just started disappearing, and when fans brought it to FUNimation's attention, they made the announcement that they would be a limited run. Nothing "of course" about it. And, on top of that, FUNi once tweeted out a pic of their own reps scalping the DBOX at a convention. So... they didn't completely sell their stock. They, for whatever reason, held onto what should be the standard, widely available release, and put it in a vault. It makes me shake to think there's a section of FUNimation HQ where DBOX sets are just... sitting there.

For a limited set that was continuously released up through 2012 with the final volume, and then that being widely available for a couple of years or so after, it had a great run. I don't think anyone expected them to be around for forever. The Japanese ones sure weren't and we are the minority in what we want, especially now with streaming being widely prevalent.

Even if the actual two-box set known as the DRAGONBOX was a limited collector's item, the actual footage wasn't. It currently exists in the form of single discs; if I want episode #136 of DBZ, I can find it, remastered for DVD and in 4:3, on Volume 23. FUNimation does not give fans in North America that option.

[Kinokima]

Everyone does not have the DBZ Boxes. I am an old fan of the series (I even own some of the old DVD singles and a couple VHS) but unfortunately for me I left the fandom for awhile and moved on and wasnt really paying attention when the DBZ Boxes were released. It was Super that got me back into the fandom.

Yes I guess technically it is my fault that I didn’t buy it back then. But I didn’t know I would want it back then.

But you would think with a series as popular as Dragon Ball is right now we can have a proper release of the series. And those are still DVDS so it’s the best release we got but not the best the release can be and the best release we got is OOP.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Q: Are you not able to reveal more details of the 30th anniversary because the remaster is not complete?

A: “Please check out our trailer and understand our mixing board is doing their very best for those who want the hardcore experience. Also, there might be a special prize given to fans who pre-ordered the 30th anniversary edition before the deadline. They will be selected randomly.”

Let me guess, a signed poster? Pttf, give me a break! They are trying so hard to get people to buy this. If only they reduced the price and ditched a figure and maybe the art book, they could’ve focused on a better box and remaster.

The figure isn't the issue. Not only did Bandai re use digital assets for it but it'll likely cost them the usual 800yen for one.

Where did you find this answer?

800yen is how much gamestations in Japan pay for 1 figure when you break down the cost of a case & how many figures in that case. Grandista figures cost 25,600yen for a case of 32. And the figure isn't even new for this set other than Bandai changing a few things. I assume when all said and done Toei/FUNi probably didn't pay too much for the figure.

Art book looks like it wouldn't cost much either, bland asf cover and recycled art assets. I don't know how much hardback books cost to manufacture but I can't imagine it'll be that hefty.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Everyone does not have the DBZ Boxes. I am an old fan of the series (I even own some of the old DVD singles and a couple VHS) but unfortunately for me I left the fandom for awhile and moved on and wasnt really paying attention when the DBZ Boxes were released. It was Super that got me back into the fandom.

Yes I guess technically it is my fault that I didn’t buy it back then. But I didn’t know I would want it back then.

But you would think with a series as popular as Dragon Ball is right now we can have a proper release of the series. And those are still DVDS so it’s the best release we got but not the best the release can be and the best release we got is OOP.

I was just starting to get into the franchise again back in 2009/2010 as they were being released, so i'd heard about them somewhere but wasn't really in a position where i could actually buy them at that point. So fast forward a few years well after they were done and out of print i wanted to start getting the series, but the only readily availabie options were the Orange Bricks and Season BD's both of which are cropped, saturated and DNR'd to hell garbage releases. So, with the exception of Dragon Box 1 which i got for a dirt cheap $20 at a local DVD store it's been me mostly diligently scouring eBay for deals. I've managed to get most of them for fairly reasonable prices under $100. At this point i now have all but volumes 4 and 7 which i'm still searching for, though i may eventually start gradually save up money and set it aside for a complete set sometime down the road to finally complete the collection at long last.

It sucks that this release apparently isn't going to be what we thought it was, but still i already have for the most part my definitive release of DBZ even if it's not in high definition.

[Char Aznable]

After reading the Kanzenshuu article, I’m going to likely hold out until Monday when it likely hits 3,000 and see if there’s any more information. At this point I’m doubting that the footage shown in the trailer won’t be what is on the set, so I’ll likely pull the plug on my order after that.

But this ‘true fan’ nonsense and calling people stupid names for holding some fleeting interest in this set is truly uncalled for. I don’t care how mad you are, fact of the matter is this was always going to hit 3,000 orders and come out anyway no matter what. If it somehow didn’t, then enjoy your 16:9 show for the rest of time. It’s lose-lose anyway.

[ect5150]

After reading the Kanzenshuu article, I’m going to likely hold out until Monday when it likely hits 3,000 and see if there’s any more information.

Is there any new information on the set since the initial announcement? This thread has just ballooned - there's like 10 new pages of posts everytime I log in. I'm looking for good info, not people bitching and complaining (which I can understand - but people shouldn't be surprised at this point... we know who to blame).

So, any proper info?

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

After reading the Kanzenshuu article, I’m going to likely hold out until Monday when it likely hits 3,000 and see if there’s any more information. At this point I’m doubting that the footage shown in the trailer won’t be what is on the set, so I’ll likely pull the plug on my order after that.

But this ‘true fan’ nonsense and calling people stupid names for holding some fleeting interest in this set is truly uncalled for. I don’t care how mad you are, fact of the matter is this was always going to hit 3,000 orders and come out anyway no matter what. If it somehow didn’t, then enjoy your 16:9 show for the rest of time. It’s lose-lose anyway.

As i've said in the post above yours it sucks that this collector's release apparently isn't what we were hoping for, but then again i still have my Dragon Boxes at the end of the day so it's not a huge blow to me personally.

[rs_chaosmaster]

I’m going to say it will take at least until Wednesday to get this project funded. It has slown down a lot. Now they are updating it like every 2-3 hours and it’s going up by like 25-50.

[Forte224]

After reading the Kanzenshuu article, I’m going to likely hold out until Monday when it likely hits 3,000 and see if there’s any more information.

Is there any new information on the set since the initial announcement? This thread has just ballooned - there's like 10 new pages of posts everytime I log in. I'm looking for good info, not people bitching and complaining (which I can understand - but people shouldn't be surprised at this point... we know who to blame).

So, any proper info?

Only that the figure will be in color. That's it.

[Tylerman29]

After reading the Kanzenshuu article, I’m going to likely hold out until Monday when it likely hits 3,000 and see if there’s any more information. At this point I’m doubting that the footage shown in the trailer won’t be what is on the set, so I’ll likely pull the plug on my order after that.

But this ‘true fan’ nonsense and calling people stupid names for holding some fleeting interest in this set is truly uncalled for. I don’t care how mad you are, fact of the matter is this was always going to hit 3,000 orders and come out anyway no matter what. If it somehow didn’t, then enjoy your 16:9 show for the rest of time. It’s lose-lose anyway.

Yeah like not buying this set was going to make funi do another release..they would just stick with their existing blu rays and we would never get a 4:3 release. So its sorta better than nothing..

[Forte224]

Admittedly, I'm a bit ignorant to a lot of the technical aspects of animation/remasters but I'm curious if there's any legitimate reason Funimation keeps doing these cropped remasters? Is there some argument to be made for them? From the general consensus I'm reading, the answer seems to be no. But then...why does this exist in the format that it does? Honestly curious because when I see these comparison photos of the new remaster versus past versions/the original, it seems pretty blatantly bad and unnecessary. Curious to understand the thought process behind this.

"Why doesn't it fill my TV?!"

We had the same issue in the 80s and 90s with the reverse: widescreen theatrical films that were "pan-and-scanned" (cropped horizontally and occasionally with artificial camera movement to keep up with the action) because people didn't like how it didn't "fill their TV".

People don't understand, they don't care to understand, they're wowed by bright colors, and very few directors/producers/companies/etc. insist that the originally-intended vision be stuck to.

(The one I always remember from working at Blockbuster back in high school was the Russell Crowe / Al Pacino film The Insider. There was ONLY a widescreen VHS release, and people constantly returned their rentals either irate that it didn't fill their TV or confused thinking it was defective.)

Except this new remaster has nothing to do with filling the TV, because it doesn't fill the TV. It's in true 4:3 aspect ratio, but the picture itself is zoomed to likely avoid tape marks and what not. The real issue we should be pointing to hear is that FUNimation is too lazy or too cheap or whatever to do a proper remaster so the zooming isn't necessary, the grain isn't gone, and the colors don't look like garbage.

[rs_chaosmaster]

But that isn’t the biggest issue I’m sure people would be way more satisfied if it was slightly zoomed but had the colors like the Level Sets. This should be the route that they go if they really can’t afford to fix all the damaged frames.

[eledoremassis02]

I tried to access the 30th anni. Site and it says page not availble. Anyone else having that issue?

[KBABZ]

I’m sorry but I am also 30 I plan on watching and supporting Dragonball for many years to come. It still excites me as much as it did when I was an 8 year old. You are never too old for anime .

I think his point was that if he has to wait ten years for DBZ to get a respectible home media release, he'll be 40 years old. To put it another way, by that point DBZ will have been available on DVD for 30 years and STILL wouldn't have gotten an acceptable release by that point.

Admittedly, I'm a bit ignorant to a lot of the technical aspects of animation/remasters but I'm curious if there's any legitimate reason Funimation keeps doing these cropped remasters? Is there some argument to be made for them? From the general consensus I'm reading, the answer seems to be no. But then...why does this exist in the format that it does? Honestly curious because when I see these comparison photos of the new remaster versus past versions/the original, it seems pretty blatantly bad and unnecessary. Curious to understand the thought process behind this.

Aside from what VegettoEX mentioned, the other aspect is that from a film perspective, DBZ looks old because it is old. There are ways to handle that, the problem is that Funimation's film mastering department seem to think that removing ALL the grain so that it looks like Super through a Photoshop filter is the way to go in fixing it because the grain looks pronounced in still screenshots (when in motion you struggle to notice). As for why they insist on screwing with the colours, I have no idea and they have no excuse.

---

Also, it just occurred to me that I have no idea what tape marks are.