I was wanting to make this thread for a while. The original intent was just to comment on this commentary by Chris Psaros on Goku Convincing Krillin to let Vegeta go:
I also read comments on other sites that said Toei tries to make the Dragon Team more of a close and loving family than they are in the actual manga. If there is substance in Dragon Ball... Was it meant to be there or it is more over reading of the material by sentimental fans?(3 min.) Well, this is it, the cut that never should have happened. I think of this scene as beginning the second Kuririn picks up Yajirobe's sword, and ending the second he drops it. Within that time, FUNimation uses only a minute and a half worth of footage of a scene that lasts almost 4 and a half minutes in the original.
This scene is, of course, the moment that Kuririn has Vegeta at swordpoint, and Goku is trying to convince him to show mercy.
It is so much better in the original.
In the English version, Kuririn walks over to Vegeta, holds the sword to his throat, then Goku contacts him and says no more than 5 SENTENCES, (show him that we're made of better stuff... I admire his super strength...) and Kuririn is suddenly convinced, drops the sword, Kaiou questions the wisdom of their decision, and that's it. It all seems very simple and straightforward.
This is not how the scene really goes at all, there is much more to it. Kuririn walks over to Vegeta and gets ready to bring the sword down, and while this is happening, Kaiou commends them all for their valiant courage, and then makes a subtle but suggestive remark about a "darkness that still must fall." Kuririn brings the sword down, and Goku stops him at the last second.
They argue at length about the wisdom of letting Vegeta go. Goku says that it would be a waste to kill him at this point, and it wouldn't solve anything. He says that Vegeta deserves mercy, that he's learned his lesson, and also that this is the strongest opponent that he has ever seen, and that he wants a rematch someday.
Kuririn seems to soften, but then he remembers his friends, all of whom died at the hands of the Saiya-jin, and once again turns the sword on Vegeta. Goku continues to plea with him, and Kuririn finally decides that he'll just have to trust Goku this time, and respect his wish. Kaiou lets out a deep sigh, but says nothing. (And by the way, he says SO much more with just this sigh than with the line of dialogue he is given in the English version.)
I can't tell you how much differently this scene feels in the original, how much more of an impression it makes, how much more emotion you feel for everyone involved. The added length has a lot to do with it, stretching it out makes it incredibly tense, and you can feel the agony and difficulty of the decision. It all just seems so easy in the dub.
The music is also a big factor here. The English version continues to go for that threatening, unemotional, low-key, hard edged sound, while the Japanese version uses a calm, gentle, violin-laden piece that expresses every emotion this scene is meant to convey: forgiveness, hope, nobility, honor, sacrifice, and loss.
This is not the kind of scene that you can just "cut for running time," this is the moment that the entire Saiya-jin saga is built around, and one of the most defining moments in all of Dragon Ball, when some of its most important themes are brought to the forefront.
FUNimation continues to be preoccupied with running time and making things "fit," rather than with preserving the ideas that Toriyama is trying to express with this series. And the cutting and rewriting of this scene leaves you wanting so much more. Why didn't Kuririn say anything about getting justice for his dead friends in the English version? Why do both he and Goku seem to have such an easy time making this incredibly difficult decision?
It's too bad that the first season had to end on such a low note, but it did, and in my opinion, FUNimation really needs to be more careful about how they handle critical scenes like this in the future.
