Funimation's 30th anniversary collectible home video release

[Char Aznable]

On a slightly related note, shouldn't we be saying "Black Brick", not "Black Bricks"? It's just one big black box. The other 2 black squares shown on the site are the figure box and the art book.

I ultimately canceled

Does this mean your cancel request was actually acknowledged and went through? I know people have been having issues with it.

I emailed them late last night, so no I unfortunately don't have any confirmation yet. Other concerns came up besides my waning interest in this so I really can't have $350 charged to me in May regardless, I really need it canceled and am prepared to raise hell over it.

If they refuse, I will never buy another product from them ever again, because that's outrageous.

...at least I wish I could say that. Unfortunately, they hold too much of a monopoly over everything that I like.

[superfan2024]

Visuals:
- Color corrected Dragon Box (could be upscaled to HD but I don't care either way)

Audio (3 Versions/Options):
- Japanese broadcast audio (obviously with subtitles)
- English dub audio with Kikuchi OST
- English dub audio with American OST (Johnson/Faulconer)

Is it possible for Funi to do this?

[AnimeMaakuo]

I’m sorry I’m part of the problem. I preordered. Desperate for 4x3 and I only own Kai. Want to own a version of the show fully and I hate cropped. Wish it was Level sets. This is better than nothing. We may never get dragon box quality in HD or a true level set remaster.

I don't think anyone should beat you up over pre-ordering. It is understandable that people missed out on the Dragonboxes and don't have a good version of DBZ. Knowing Funimations track record there may not be another 4:3 release after this ...

Careful, some people will apparently call you a 'fake fan.'

I agree, if this is all you have, get this. I ultimately canceled because I held out hope it was going to be different from the trailer, but the footage from the trailer that looks kind of like Level footage is also the same zoomed DNR presentation, just hidden slightly better. I ultimately decided there's no point in owning the series twice over (and I own Kai on Blu-ray so I kind of already do own it twice over) when the video will be objectively inferior despite being on a Blu-ray instead of a DVD.

Good for you! Treat yourself to a nice restaurant, order a lobster or steak, pat yourself on the back, and then get a good nights sleep.

[lansing]

Visuals:
- Color corrected Dragon Box (could be upscaled to HD but I don't care either way)

Audio (3 Versions/Options):
- Japanese broadcast audio (obviously with subtitles)
- English dub audio with Kikuchi OST
- English dub audio with American OST (Johnson/Faulconer)

Is it possible for Funi to do this?

No, the dragon box belongs to Toei, Funimation has no right to alter anything on the product. Just like you can't change the melody of a covered song that you have brought.

[rs_chaosmaster]

This project has been handled so poorly. That the only fans that should buy it are the ones that fall into these categories:
A) Willing to take the gamble win or lose
B) Are satisfied with something other than just wanting a great film remaster of DBZ meaning the packaging or extras.

I will be the one to point this out for people claiming that is the remaster so many important details that are normally revealed for every release have not been revealed here. This is indeed the ultimate gamble.

I pose a question for everyone on here though would you be more upset if you buy this and it ends up being a pretty poor product? Or more upset if they reveal the remaster is not what is on the trailer and it looks like the level sets or color corrected Dragon Box and you miss out on getting it?

No matter which way you look at it Funimation needs to get their damn act together!!!

[superfan2024]

Visuals:
- Color corrected Dragon Box (could be upscaled to HD but I don't care either way)

Audio (3 Versions/Options):
- Japanese broadcast audio (obviously with subtitles)
- English dub audio with Kikuchi OST
- English dub audio with American OST (Johnson/Faulconer)

Is it possible for Funi to do this?

No, the dragon box belongs to Toei, Funimation has no right to alter anything on the product. Just like you can't change the melody of a covered song that you have brought.

Can't Toei send them a color-correct/remaster? Toei already remastered the Bardock special in good quality, so what's going on?

[JohnnyCashKami]

I simply merged the two screenshots (16:9 AR + 4:3 AR) from the Frame Comparison website and yikes... FUNimation is really taking the piss out of hardcore fans.



This is why buying the Season Sets over the Black Brick(s) doesn't really matter, you're not getting an improvement.

[ect5150]

Yikes! That really does hammer home the issue in my opinion.

[Char Aznable]

I don't think anyone should beat you up over pre-ordering. It is understandable that people missed out on the Dragonboxes and don't have a good version of DBZ. Knowing Funimations track record there may not be another 4:3 release after this ...

Careful, some people will apparently call you a 'fake fan.'

I agree, if this is all you have, get this. I ultimately canceled because I held out hope it was going to be different from the trailer, but the footage from the trailer that looks kind of like Level footage is also the same zoomed DNR presentation, just hidden slightly better. I ultimately decided there's no point in owning the series twice over (and I own Kai on Blu-ray so I kind of already do own it twice over) when the video will be objectively inferior despite being on a Blu-ray instead of a DVD.

Good for you! Treat yourself to a nice restaurant, order a lobster or steak, pat yourself on the back, and then get a good nights sleep.

FUNi still needs to acknowledge that I want to cancel my order, the only way to do it apparently is to send an email to them. I emailed them late last night.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Yikes! That really does hammer home the issue in my opinion.

Welp that's for sure a definite not buy for me, and once again FUNimation screws up on yet another golden chance at creating a set to give the fans who were clamoring for the proper aspect ratio to fill the lack of availability of one. So i am no question gong to be sticking with my Dragon Boxes for what seems like the near future and perhaps beyond that because they are the one release that is for the most part correct even with their flaws, it's just sad and quite frankly pathetic that FUNi can never get it right pretty much all of the time in terms of home releases.

[lansing]

Is it possible for Funi to do this?

No, the dragon box belongs to Toei, Funimation has no right to alter anything on the product. Just like you can't change the melody of a covered song that you have brought.

Can't Toei send them a color-correct/remaster? Toei already remastered the Bardock special in good quality, so what's going on?

I doubted there was any, Toei would had promoted it earlier in the year if they do, like the movie collection.

[eledoremassis02]

Another example. Below in the spoiler tags is an animation cel from the Blue Rope episode. On it I've drawn in a box representing the full frame which we see in the Dragon Box. Inside is a red box representing the overscan, which has been traced straight over one from the animation layout page scans.

Spoiler:

I think we'll have to agree to disagree (and agree) Every release is zoomed in somewhat, so picture information is lost regardless. But it's if that information that's seen was at least in the "safe area" that the 16x9 remaster disregard.

The plus of this release is that it's at least a center zoom where it appears most other releases ten to favor a right zoom. And on this plus, you can guestimate how other shots could look zoomed in wise






But in the end, we're just fighting amongst ourselves cause *those who aren't going to purchase this set* FUNimation can't get their act together.

[JohnnyCashKami]

We're not supposed to see the picture on the left and right sides but had FUNimation not DNR'd it to death, fans could have salvaged that and combined it with the Dragon Box Z or Level episodes to get somewhat of an 'ultimate' edition with as much picture as possible. The 30th Edition is a con as it stands.

Sigh. This whole drama sucks.

[Big Boss]

I know I'm late to the party here, but...

Seldom am I at a loss for words, but Jesus what an absolute mess. These look like literal dogshit, and I fucking REFUSE to believe that "only 3000 preorders guise!!!!11!!!" is anything but a very, very shallow and poorly veiled attempt to make these seem more "prestigious" than they really are. Make no mistake, every corner was cut (pun intended ), every expense was spared, and all care and attentive detail the series deserves is absent in favor of what will (sadly) be a nice little cheap revenue maker for Funi/Toei. And yes, Toei are equally as culpable for greenlighting this if the old rumor about them collaborating on this is true.

...And If this release is censored, may God have mercy on both of them (any confirmation on this?). The Blu-Rays of the movies released last year should have been a huge red flag, in retrospect. Not just because of the shameful censoring, but the handling of the colours and DNR.

How sad that a series as iconic as Dragon Ball will most likely never get a quality release on HD media. Honestly, if this was just another random throwaway release of the series like the original BDs were, I doubt I'd be as pissed off as I am right now. But the gall of Funimation to masquerade these as some highly prestigious, limited release edition is more than just insulting, it's outright fucking OFFENSIVE at this point. In the 12 years since the Orange Bricks were released, we have had 5 (?), either full of partial, releases of DBZ. Two of which were in any way competent, and one of them wasn't even their own product. And the other? Cancelled. Why don't they just revive the Level Sets project? Certainly any reservations about cost of restoration, which I believe was the reason for their cancellation, would be negated by doing this whole limited pre-order shtick with those?

I need to stop typing or I'm going to give myself an aneurysm.

[eledoremassis02]

Can anyone post these shots for the level sets. I wasnt to see how zoomed in those were and see, if FUNi zoomed to hide tapemarks on this new release, if they perhaps zoomed too far

[superfan2024]

No, the dragon box belongs to Toei, Funimation has no right to alter anything on the product. Just like you can't change the melody of a covered song that you have brought.

Can't Toei send them a color-correct/remaster? Toei already remastered the Bardock special in good quality, so what's going on?

I doubted there was any, Toei would had promoted it earlier in the year if they do, like the movie collection.

I'm just so confused as to why Toei can't pull their 16mm tapes out the vault, remaster them, then give them to Funi...

Toei has used the 16mm masters for the Dragon Boxes AND Kai, so what the heck is going on???

[JohnnyCashKami]

I know I'm late to the party here, but...

Seldom am I at a loss for words, but Jesus what an absolute mess. These look like literal dogshit, and I fucking REFUSE to believe that "only 3000 preorders guise!!!!11!!!" is anything but a very, very shallow and poorly veiled attempt to make these seem more "prestigious" than they really are. Make no mistake, every corner was cut (pun intended ), every expense was spared, and all care and attentive detail the series deserves is absent in favor of what will (sadly) be a nice little cheap revenue maker for Funi/Toei. And yes, Toei are equally as culpable for greenlighting this if the old rumor about them collaborating on this is true.

...And If this release is censored, may God have mercy on both of them (any confirmation on this?). The Blu-Rays of the movies released last year should have been a huge red flag, in retrospect. Not just because of the shameful censoring, but the handling of the colours and DNR.

How sad that a series as iconic as Dragon Ball will most likely never get a quality release on HD media. Honestly, if this was just another random throwaway release of the series like the original BDs were, I doubt I'd be as pissed off as I am right now. But the gall of Funimation to masquerade these as some highly prestigious, limited release edition is more than just insulting, it's outright fucking OFFENSIVE at this point. In the 12 years since the Orange Bricks were released, we have had 5 (?), either full of partial, releases of DBZ. Two of which were in any way competent, and one of them wasn't even their own product. And the other? Cancelled. Why don't they just revive the Level Sets project? Certainly any reservations about cost of restoration, which I believe was the reason for their cancellation, would be negated by doing this whole limited pre-order shtick with those?

I need to stop typing or I'm going to give myself an aneurysm.

Well, FUNimation gave Dragon Ball movies 1-4 a Level remaster so it gave us a glimpse at what Dragon Ball could look like in high definition. I'm glad FUNimation did it because to this day no other distributor has.

Selecta Visión is reportedly remastering Dragon Ball in HD with the original Japanese masters so I'm sorta excited to see what turns out of that.

Now, the closest to a true HD remaster of Z are the Level episodes (001-039), Kai episodes 01-98 and Kai: TFC episodes 01-69.

Dragon Ball GT? Stick to the Dragon Box GT.

[Big Boss]

I know I'm late to the party here, but...

Seldom am I at a loss for words, but Jesus what an absolute mess. These look like literal dogshit, and I fucking REFUSE to believe that "only 3000 preorders guise!!!!11!!!" is anything but a very, very shallow and poorly veiled attempt to make these seem more "prestigious" than they really are. Make no mistake, every corner was cut (pun intended ), every expense was spared, and all care and attentive detail the series deserves is absent in favor of what will (sadly) be a nice little cheap revenue maker for Funi/Toei. And yes, Toei are equally as culpable for greenlighting this if the old rumor about them collaborating on this is true.

...And If this release is censored, may God have mercy on both of them (any confirmation on this?). The Blu-Rays of the movies released last year should have been a huge red flag, in retrospect. Not just because of the shameful censoring, but the handling of the colours and DNR.

How sad that a series as iconic as Dragon Ball will most likely never get a quality release on HD media. Honestly, if this was just another random throwaway release of the series like the original BDs were, I doubt I'd be as pissed off as I am right now. But the gall of Funimation to masquerade these as some highly prestigious, limited release edition is more than just insulting, it's outright fucking OFFENSIVE at this point. In the 12 years since the Orange Bricks were released, we have had 5 (?), either full of partial, releases of DBZ. Two of which were in any way competent, and one of them wasn't even their own product. And the other? Cancelled. Why don't they just revive the Level Sets project? Certainly any reservations about cost of restoration, which I believe was the reason for their cancellation, would be negated by doing this whole limited pre-order shtick with those?

I need to stop typing or I'm going to give myself an aneurysm.

Well, FUNimation gave Dragon Ball movies 1-4 a Level remaster so it gave us a glimpse at what Dragon Ball could look like in high definition. I'm glad FUNimation did it because to this day no other distributor has.

Selecta Visión is reportedly remastering Dragon Ball in HD with the original Japanese masters so I'm sorta excited to see what turns out of that.

Now, the closest to a true HD remaster of Z are the Level episodes (001-039), Kai episodes 01-98 and Kai: TFC episodes 01-69.

Dragon Ball GT? Stick to the Dragon Box GT.

I've heard about the Selecta Vision remaster. I remain cautiously optimistic about it, definitely keeping my fingers crossed that they can pull it off.

Now that I've calmed down a bit, is it possible the footage isn't the real footage of what will be released? Against my better judgement, I'm going to give Funimation the benefit of the doubt for a second. If they "require" 3k preorders as they claim, then surely that means they haven't worked on any of the footage yet? Is it possible that they simply used the 16:9 BD footage and cropped it to 4:3 as a placeholder for demonstration purposes?

We all know the answer to this will be 'no', but just throwing it out there.

[KBABZ]

Yikes! That really does hammer home the issue in my opinion.

You'll have to explain this one to me. How is this image any different from the last one with the coloured boxes removed?

I think we'll have to agree to disagree (and agree) Every release is zoomed in somewhat, so picture information is lost regardless. But it's if that information that's seen was at least in the "safe area" that the 16x9 remaster disregard.

Could you reword that? Your sentence makes no sense to me.

[JohnnyCashKami]

Amount of / on FUNimation's DBZ 30th Anniversary Blu-ray release:

Likes: 1.8k
Dislikes: 1k

The funding process currently:

2605 / 3000

Only 395 orders left for FUNimation to call it a success.

EDIT: If the trailer wasn't locked to US but open worldwide I'd say they would've gotten far more dislikes than likes.