What dub do new English Speaking fans go with more? DBZ or DBZKai

[Cure Dragon 255]

Forget Syndication, Toonami, forget Nicktoons, forget Toonzai, forget Vortexx.

When new fans (It can be both young and old, but people who dont know the series beforehand) want to watch DBZ dubbed, what dub do they go with? Feel free to share your take here. And DO share if you know what a new fan did. Did they buy DBZ Kai or Z DVD's? What do they watch on Streaming.

I know I am infamous at this point for the TV Deals thing but I see that there is a divide between young fans introduced with Z Kai and old introduced with Z. But they all have the common point of joining the fandom when there was a new TV Broadcast, like the Syndication Run, Toonami Run, Nicktoons Run and The CW Run. But what happens when there is no broadcast. What do new fans that DONT resort to the sub do?

I really miss dva_raza (Seriosly, why is he still temp banned?) because while he was an Spanish Speaking Z Kai fan he ALSO watched the Faulconer Dub and loved it, I know he's Latino but he's the closest to someone i know who went with Z.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I'd guess it would be Dragon Ball Kai because the current generation raised on TikTok, Youtube shorts and "influencers" love their instant gratification.

Sadly I don't know any stories of someone who did get into the series recently, young or old.

Dragon Ball Z is a tough sell between having 124 more episodes, not having the flexibility of Kai, which can be sold as two separate shows (1.0 and The Final Chapters) meaning smaller batches for channels to buy at once and shoddy home releases. I also don't think it has aired in English anywhere in about 14 years other than Toonami Asia between 2013 and 2016 but no one seems to remember anything about that channel. I think the series recently becoming available on Crunchyroll may have been the first time it was widely available aside from DVDs and Blu-Rays.

[Cure Dragon 255]

I'd guess it would be Dragon Ball Kai because the current generation raised on TikTok, Youtube shorts and "influencers" love their instant gratification.

Sadly I don't know any stories of someone who did get into the series recently, young or old.

Dragon Ball Z is a tough sell between having 124 more episodes, not having the flexibility of Kai, which can be sold as two separate shows (1.0 and The Final Chapters) meaning smaller batches for channels to buy at once and shoddy home releases. I also don't think it has aired in English anywhere in about 14 years other than Toonami Asia between 2013 and 2016 but no one seems to remember anything about that channel. I think the series recently becoming available on Crunchyroll may have been the first time it was widely available aside from DVDs and Blu-Rays.

Hey, that's a way too bleak way to look at things. Also I said to ignore broadcasts. If a new fan wants to experience the show with no broadcast, what do they go with?

I think that people would go with Z Kai because without nostalgia, the Z dub is just really too try hard and edgy. Even without Z Kai's "Lets be a bit more faithful this time" and even without knowing Z is not that faitful, I think it holds better as a show someone would want to watch.

[MasenkoHA]

If R/DBZ and R/Dragon Ball are anything to go by the overwhelming majority of them seem to watch Kai.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Sorry, didn't mean to be such a downer.

If a new fan wants to experience the show with no broadcast, what do they go with?

I'd probably still say Kai. Don't think even the more iconic branding would convince them to go for Z over Kai, besides internationally its labelled as "Dragon Ball Z Kai" anyway.

I think that people would go with Z Kai because without nostalgia, the Z dub is just really too try hard and edgy. Even without Z Kai's "Lets be a bit more faithful this time" and even without knowing Z is not that faitful, I think it holds better as a show someone would want to watch.

I thought that the old Z dub with its edgy, hardcore tone and Funimation's added humour might be jarring for new fans, but people who watched the more faithful Kai dub on Nicktoons seemed to have no problem transitioning to the old GT dub with the Z dub's inaccurate feel turned up to 11, so who knows.

Not knocking on Dragon Ball Z anyway but new fans would have to be given a very good reason to watch it over Kai. Maybe if they only watch anime subbed the Japanese cast at their prime would be a selling point although that's still a long shot as the acting quality in Z isn't leagues better than their Kai dub. For the Funimation dub however the reverse is far more noticeable.

[Cure Dragon 255]

Sorry, didn't mean to be such a downer.

If a new fan wants to experience the show with no broadcast, what do they go with?

I'd probably still say Kai. Don't think even the more iconic branding would convince them to go for Z over Kai, besides internationally its labelled as "Dragon Ball Z Kai" anyway.

I think that people would go with Z Kai because without nostalgia, the Z dub is just really too try hard and edgy. Even without Z Kai's "Lets be a bit more faithful this time" and even without knowing Z is not that faitful, I think it holds better as a show someone would want to watch.

I thought that the old Z dub with its edgy, hardcore tone and Funimation's added humour might be jarring for new fans, but people who watched the more faithful Kai dub on Nicktoons seemed to have no problem transitioning to the old GT dub with the Z dub's inaccurate feel turned up to 11, so who knows.

Not knocking on Dragon Ball Z anyway but new fans would have to be given a very good reason to watch it over Kai. Maybe if they only watch anime subbed the Japanese cast at their prime would be a selling point although that's still a long shot as the acting quality in Z isn't leagues better than their Kai dub. For the Funimation dub however the reverse is far more noticeable.

Actually, they did, Dragon Ball GT flopped so hard that it destroyed any good will the Dragon Ball franchise had on Nicktoons and along with it any other anime. Nicktoons started to hate anime because GT was such a failure.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Actually, they did, Dragon Ball GT flopped so hard that it destroyed any good will the Dragon Ball franchise had on Nicktoons and along with it any other anime. Nicktoons started to hate anime because GT was such a failure.

Oh yeah, I remember you saying that. I was thinking more along the lines I've never heard the Nicktoons Kai generation complain online about how different the GT dub was so maybe they just didn't care and tuned out because of bad reviews or got dissuaded by the "its not canon" crowd.

Damn I wish Funimation used the Nicktoons broadcast as an excuse to redub GT, even if for Nicktoons it was just cheaper to grab those TV masters from a decade before. I've tried several times to give their original GT dub a chance but it just grates on me every time and I've seen it all with both Menza and Tokunaga.

I'd also guess some of the Z movies didn't do great either as almost all traces of Lord Slug's airing on Nicktoons seems to have vanished from the net.

[Cure Dragon 255]

Actually, they did, Dragon Ball GT flopped so hard that it destroyed any good will the Dragon Ball franchise had on Nicktoons and along with it any other anime. Nicktoons started to hate anime because GT was such a failure.

Oh yeah, I remember you saying that. I was thinking more along the lines I've never heard the Nicktoons Kai generation complain online about how different the GT dub was so maybe they just didn't care and tuned out because of bad reviews or got dissuaded by the "its not canon" crowd.

Damn I wish Funimation used the Nicktoons broadcast as an excuse to redub GT, even if for Nicktoons it was just cheaper to grab those TV masters from a decade before. I've tried several times to give their original GT dub a chance but it just grates on me every time and I've seen it all with both Menza and Tokunaga.

I'd also guess some of the Z movies didn't do great either as almost all traces of Lord Slug's airing on Nicktoons seems to have vanished from the net.

I think they got a review better than ANY online hate: The ratings SUCKED. Spongebob gets MAJOR hate online but it still puts people in seats to watch it so on it goes.

To be honest, NO other anime did as good as DBZKai and they were all Macekres, as in shoddily dubbed shows. Even shows that were legit big hits like Digimon Adventure and OG Yu Gi Oh had terrible viewership.

EDIT: And the movies did OK, They did 550k. Its not DBZKai's 600-700k but good still.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Even shows that were legit big hits like Digimon Adventure and OG Yu Gi Oh had terrible viewership.

Do you mean original Yu-Gi-Oh on the UK Nickelodeon? I don't recall it airing on any of Nick's channels in the US, I always thought it did well here though. On the US side I can't imagine it did well on Toonzai either because Synchros and then XYZs were the new hotness at the time so it seemed odd to air them again in the early 2010s.

[Cure Dragon 255]

Even shows that were legit big hits like Digimon Adventure and OG Yu Gi Oh had terrible viewership.

Do you mean original Yu-Gi-Oh on the UK Nickelodeon? I don't recall it airing on any of Nick's channels in the US, I always thought it did well here though. On the US side I can't imagine it did well on Toonzai either because Synchros and then XYZs were the new hotness at the time so it seemed odd to air them again in the early 2010s.

They did air on Nicktoons USA, it probably passed you by since those are not Dragon Ball Shows. I can even show you the promos.

Yu Gi Oh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl4Y82jl1XE

Digimon Adventure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UObugs4vU0

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

They did air on Nicktoons USA, it probably passed you by since those are not Dragon Ball Shows. I can even show you the promos.

Yu Gi Oh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl4Y82jl1XE

Ah fair enough, that passed me by so.

I do have fond memories of the UK Nickelodeon broadcasts. They used to air Yu-Gi-Oh on weekends, catching up with Sky One (who I'm pretty sure premiered it first but only premiered new episodes on Sundays) a few times if I recall correctly, until our own RTÉ2 left both in its dust . Second best part of my childhood next to Dragon Ball

[90sDBZ]

I'm sort of on the fence about this. I think it largely depends on where they heard about it, or who recommend it.

Kai is obviously way more beginner friendly, but there's also an unfair stigma attached to it that has never fully gone away. Many people still associate it with the Toonzai broadcast, i.e; overly censored, blue Popo, etc.. Lots of people don't even realise there's an uncensored version.

And there's the fact that Z's English dub is way more popular and iconic than Kai's. Odds are the average English speaking fan still recommends Z to people over Kai. Z is also the show that became a pop culture icon in the first place (not counting OG DB as we're discussing English speaking territories only), while Kai came out many years after the fact. I feel like many will still gravitate towards Z, simply because it's the original.

The Orange Bricks in particular sold amazingly well everywhere they released, while Kai's home releases struggled in comparison. Even years later we're still getting re-releases/re-packagings of Z, while Kai only had its initial DVD/Blu-ray release.

As far as streaming goes, the UK has only recently got the pre-Super shows on Crunchyroll. The US had Z on Crunchyroll much sooner, but for the longest time Kai was abscent.

I'd be interested in seeing whether Z or Kai performs better on Crunchyroll UK, as both have been made available at roughly the same time along with OG DB and GT.

For me personally, watching Z's dub without the Faulconer score would defeat the purpose, so if Crunchyroll were my only option I'd more likely choose Kai. The Faulconer score isn't available on Crunchyroll afterall. On the other hand, newer fans are less likely to even be aware of its existence, so would likely still choose Z purely on the strength of it being the more iconic show.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

For me personally, watching Z's dub without the Faulconer score would defeat the purpose, so if Crunchyroll were my only option I'd more likely choose Kai. The Faulconer score isn't available on Crunchyroll afterall. On the other hand, newer fans are less likely to even be aware of its existence, so would likely still choose Z purely on the strength of it being the more iconic show.

That's a good point. Z's dub for all its flaws is made with the Faulconer Productions score in mind. I've always found something to be off with the Kikuchi score, although that may be because I first seen it with during the UK broadcasts of the Freeza, Garlic Junior and Fusion saga episodes with the replacement score and am conditioned to associate the two. It is possible a new viewer without that context may just not question the Kikuchi scores presented in Z. It's sad the Faulconer score isn't an option on the screaming services, although I guess you can't blame Crunchyroll for not wanting to constantly pay Bruce Faulconer royalties. Dragon Ball Z on Hulu a few years back only had the Kikuchi score anyway.

[TheGreatness25]

I think based on availability, it would have to be the Z dub. DBZ as a brand is much bigger and more widely available versus Kai, which is only on Hulu at the moment. I mean, I guess DBZ is only on Crunchyroll now versus several years ago where it was also on Hulu, but up until several months ago, Kai wasn't on any platform.

Also, I feel like if a new fan were to try to explore DB clips on YouTube, most of the dub clips are from Z.

[MasenkoHA]

Kai is obviously way more beginner friendly, but there's also an unfair stigma attached to it that has never fully gone away. Many people still associate it with the Toonzai broadcast, i.e; overly censored, blue Popo, etc.. Lots of people don't even realise there's an uncensored version.

I dunno, I haven't heard anyone believe the Toonzai edit was the default in like 10 years. It definitely was a problem early on in Kai's run but with Toonami running unaltered Kai for a a good decade it seems everyone is up to speed that Kai was not made with Blue Popo and sparkle splosions in mind.

If anything, things seemed to have swung the opposite direction. A lot of Kai converts who haven't watched Z in a long time seem unaware even uncensored Kai has been censored from Z's original Japanese broadcast in regards to nudity, the middle finger, flashing lights, and some violence.

[Hellspawn28]

I would imagine Kai because that was seems to be Gen Z's gateway to the franchise. It has been on Nick Toons and Toonami. Not to mention, many people are like "It has no "filler", so you can watch it faster" and "The dub is much better than the old one".

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I dunno, I haven't heard anyone believe the Toonzai edit was the default in like 10 years. It definitely was a problem early on in Kai's run but with Toonami running unaltered Kai for a a good decade it seems everyone is up to speed that Kai was not made with Blue Popo and sparkle splosions in mind.

If anything, things seemed to have swung the opposite direction. A lot of Kai converts who haven't watched Z in a long time seem unaware even uncensored Kai has been censored from Z's original Japanese broadcast in regards to nudity, the middle finger, flashing lights, and some violence.

TheBlackPaladin noticed something interesting and pointed it out in many of the threads in the Kai forum about this specific question.

None of Funimation's commercials for the Kai home releases advertised it as being uncut. Conversely for Dragon Ball Z "uncut" was mentioned in every commercial for it. Kai merely got a sticker saying its uncut, which is lazy by comparison.

Admittedly though it was a tricky position because of the fact Kai by design is a "cut" product (as-in trimming down a 291 episode show down to 167), so Funimation may have been concerned about creating confusion by labelling it anything that would sound contradictory.

Probably another reason Funimation should have stopped focusing on Dragon Ball Z for a few years after releasing all the Dragon Boxes. As great as the level sets are they were a bad idea for the time because Kai was the new hotness and Funimation was trying to figure out how to market it right.

90sDBZ suggested once that when Manga UK's Dragon Ball Z Blu-Rays were coming out Kai going out of print could have been to prevent internal competition between similar products. Their Kai DVDs and Blu-Rays have since gone back in print so that seems plausible now looking back.

Granted Funimation probably wouldn't have put Dragon Ball Z out of print for that reason out of fear of hurting sales but it's an interesting smart business choice if companies make it nonetheless.

[Cure Dragon 255]

I feel so sad reading that, it must have taken until Toonami got the show for people to realize it could EVEN BE uncut. To be fair, that didnt stop DBZKai from being popular, the Nicktoons airings were popular and the dub and editing there were decent.

EDIT: The Late Christopher Ayers had to tell fans that Toonzai was not the real version and they could find the real version on home video. It's sad when A VOICE ACTOR does better marketing than a company.

[BootyCheeksJohnson]

Probably Kai. Speaking only for myself my brothers and I got into the series when the Kai dub started airing on TV in 2010. And, most people I knew at school who liked Dragon Ball had been introduced to the show through Kai. Also the acting in the Kai dub was actually good. You don't need a degree in acting to know that the original in-house dub was bad.