Why is Kai disliked a lot/ not as popular?

[ABED]

There's no reason to think a longer lead time would've led to a much better product. Toriyama had an insane workload for a decade and produced incredible work for the bulk of it.

[Saiya6Cit]

I remember when I found out about DB Kai, I was at uni at digital systems workshop, someone said "You like dragon ball, right? Look, it is back!" I was so busy I just replied "I already watched dragon ball" and continued working with my protoboard. It was the year 2009 or 2010 and I have been really busy ever since. So there you go, some people is not the fact that we dislike it, it is just that we haven't gotten a chance to watch it...yet....

Did I watched the starwars trilogy or back to the future one several times instead of Kai? Yeah, because they were more appealing at the time.

However now things may be different, I am more into de DB fandom and being mexican I only have watched our version of DB, DBZ and DBGT (several times each) and I think Kai would be a nice introduction for the gringo (american) dub.

[Wrigglything]

We dodged a bullet.

Considering how crappy Super was, yeah, we did.

Well, yeah, mostly because of poor scheduling and poor character designs. Not very many people want to work with Yamamuro Tadayoshi these days and I doubt it would have been any different in 2009-2012 as it was later on in 2015-2018. It's a real shame because there's a lot of good to salvage there if the project had just been properly produced from the ground up but unfortunately the greed of capitalism and the hubris of executives knows no equal.

Man, with due respect to Yamumoro, I wish that when Super comes back, or at least a successor TV series, I would like either Chikashi Kubota or (preferably for me) Naohiro Shintani to be the character designer again. I doubt it would be that much harder for a weekly TV anime than Yamumoro's current style he's going for in SBDH, an online Web series released only in Japan and YouTube, where raw revenue is not nearly sufficient enough to make a profit for even TV animation (but I think most animation always make up their profits with merch anyway, so it's probably not unusual?).

But as for the reason why it isn't super popular despite being some fan's recommendation for newbies to experience, it probably didn't help that in NA, at least, Z is way easier to find and get a hold of. Of course, other regions do have Kai on streaming or on demand, making it easier to access. And I think just the fact that it uses the exact same footage as Z, plus some newly animated openings, eyecatches, endings and even retouched scenes (quality notwithstanding) makes the newbie a bit confused in what to watch. If not informed, they might even get the original since there are fewer episodes, and they want something they think is more substantive, even if it contains plenty of filler. Of course, here everyone knows how to navigate around the franchise like the back of their hand (or at least enough to get by), but most others probably won't even care and may not even be all that impressed even with the recommendations.

Its a shame, because I actually still recommend Kai for newbies, as I can watch this version fine if I just want a quick DBZ fix for an episode or two on streaming websites especially, and think that the idea of cutting down an infamously bloated show like Z is a great thing, especially when done through official means. Unfortunately, as implied by this thread, the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

[Soppa Saia People]

There's no reason to think a longer lead time would've led to a much better product. Toriyama had an insane workload for a decade and produced incredible work for the bulk of it.

True for the story, but given the fact that most anime tend to be made on around the same budget, time management and proper scheduling is easily the main thing that effects animation, and better handling of that would've led to better results. Especially given that Super, from what I've seen, had plenty of good moments animation wise despite those failings.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

To be fair, even uncut Kai has less blood in certain scenes, like the death of Goku and Raditz.

True, but the uncut Kai scene is more faithful to the manga as there was less blood in Toriyama's panel. The Z scene added blood that wasn't there originally. Whether or not this was necessary is of course up to the individual to decide but I think given the promise of a closer adaptation of the manga Kai had a reason omitting blood in scenes like that other than adhering to stricter Japanese broadcasting standards of the time.

[90sDBZ]

To be fair, even uncut Kai has less blood in certain scenes, like the death of Goku and Raditz.

True, but the uncut Kai scene is more faithful to the manga as there was less blood in Toriyama's panel. The Z scene added blood that wasn't there originally. Whether or not this was necessary is of course up to the individual to decide but I think given the promise of a closer adaptation of the manga Kai had a reason omitting blood in scenes like that other than adhering to stricter Japanese broadcasting standards of the time.

I guess that's one way of looking at it. Still from the perspective of fans going from the Z anime to Kai, the latter has less blood.

Has there ever been a reason officially given for the change? I could've sworn someone on here said it was due to stricter standards in Japan when Kai aired. It would make sense given the lack of blood in Super.

[SaiyanLives]

Hmm some nice comments,
I do like to give kai another chance
But my issue is I'm having trouble finding the blu rays I'm from EU maybe thats why?
I mean i can find a blu ray here and there but i cant seem to find the whole show, zavvi has it right now but its DVD i want blu ray...
Could watch it online but I'm against downloading torrrents/illigal stream sites thats another thing dbz/kai isnt available on any streaming platforms either for my country (netherlands,amsterdam)
My option is buying everything
So far i got the mangaUK dbz blu rays coming the same print as 30th anniversary so do i rly need kai?
Maybe better to get something like Super or regular DB or GT for my collection?
Al tho i do wanna see kai tho ughhh

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Has there ever been a reason officially given for the change? I could've sworn someone on here said it was due to stricter standards in Japan when Kai aired. It would make sense given the lack of blood in Super.

I believe that Japanese broadcasting has become more strict since the series first aired in the 80s and 90s yes. Original Dragon Ball, Z and GT also all aired Wednesdays at 7pm on Fuji TV, whereas Kai and Super were shown on Sundays at 9am on the same channel, so naturally there's less TOEI can get away with at that time.

[coola]

Has there ever been a reason officially given for the change? I could've sworn someone on here said it was due to stricter standards in Japan when Kai aired. It would make sense given the lack of blood in Super.

I believe that Japanese broadcasting has become more strict since the series first aired in the 80s and 90s yes. Original Dragon Ball, Z and GT also all aired Wednesdays at 7pm on Fuji TV, whereas Kai and Super were shown on Sundays at 9am on the same channel, so naturally there's less TOEI can get away with at that time.

Shame they didn't switch airtime then, Made In Abyss S2 from last season showed, you can get away with LOTS of things on TV, as long as it is showed at later hour

[MasenkoHA]

Its less likely an airtime thing and more likely a stricter standards on whats acceptable to show kids nowadays thing.

It's a kid show either way the time it airs on tv doesn't change that.

[90sDBZ]

While it's not impossible Toei wanted it closer to the manga, I think the change in Japanese TV standards is much more likely to be the cause of blood removal. If they really wanted to go the extra mile with manga accuracy they could've given Bulma purple hair, which would've been pretty easy to do.

There were even instances were the manga was more graphic than the anime, like Gohan killing the Cell Jrs.

[MasenkoHA]

While it's not impossible Toei wanted it closer to the manga, I think the change in Japanese TV standards is much more likely to be the cause of blood removal. If they really wanted to go the extra mile with manga accuracy they could've given Bulma purple hair, which would've been pretty easy to do.

There were even instances were the manga was more graphic than the anime, like Gohan killing the Cell Jrs.

I would bet the Raditz and Goku hole was because of a new standards and practices rather than being closer to the manga , especially with the way the rest of show was edited. The whole Kai excursion was pretty lazy and I doubt they would have put effort in where they didn't need to

[GreatSaiyaJeff]

I am mixed on Kai. On one hand, it was just recycled footage to tell the story in more of a tight focus. I almost prefered newer animation but as many pointed out, Super gives a reason it may not be great.

The one thing I think it did well with was the dub. While some parts I think are still mixed. I recommend it over the original to newer fans since it's less daunting and 120 episodes less.

[Yuli Ban]

because the animations wasn't re-animated in the style of openings and endings.

We dodged a bullet.

This, 100%

Imagine Dragon Ball Z, but animated in the plastic, stiff, bloodless , overly squash-and-stretch style of 2010s Yamamuro

Shudders.....

Now I'd be fine with it done in the style of the 2008 Jump Special, so long as they kept the spirit of the original intact.

[coola]

because the animations wasn't re-animated in the style of openings and endings.

We dodged a bullet.

This, 100%

Imagine Dragon Ball Z, but animated in the plastic, stiff, bloodless , overly squash-and-stretch style of 2010s Yamamuro

Shudders.....

Now I'd be fine with it done in the style of the 2008 Jump Special, so long as they kept the spirit of the original intact.

Ultimate Tenkaichi cutscenes gave us more taste, how it could look https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opSntTPboZU

[Civic]

I grew up with the original Funi dub and having watched both versions, I still prefer the original - I think it does most of the sagas better, except for the Frieza saga. Kai does Frieza much better. However if you were new to the franchise, I would probably suggest the Kai version.

I personally prefer the original over Kai because of the music (divisive I know), the filler (except the Frieza saga, holy shit the filler in that just kills it) and while they're less experienced, I feel the VAs have more emotion in them. I also prefer original Gohan's and Android 18's voices (I like both Freeza's, but have to give it to Kai as the better voice).