AB Video to release original Dragon Ball on Blu-Ray

[PeteOfDawn]

Has there been any update in the AB Video Blu-ray release of Dragon Ball? It’s been almost two years since the first set sweeped the internet and now I’m getting kinda worried this is gonna be the next level sets.

I haven’t found anything about the set getting past episode 68 and AB Videos Twitter has been inactive since January.

I saw someone say that Toei banned this release for its use of the original broadcast audio. I’m not sure if that’s true or not but I would believe it.

[MasenkoHA]

Has there been any update in the AB Video Blu-ray release of Dragon Ball? It’s been almost two years since the first set sweeped the internet and now I’m getting kinda worried this is gonna be the next level sets.

I haven’t found anything about the set getting past episode 68 and AB Videos Twitter has been inactive since January.

I saw someone say that Toei banned this release for its use of the original broadcast audio. I’m not sure if that’s true or not but I would believe it.

I think if it's been two years since the first set, the safest bet was that it was canceled.

And yeah, Toei probably wasn't happy with AB Groupe using the broadcast audio without their permission.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

I think if it's been two years since the first set, the safest bet was that it was canceled.

The UK Blu-Rays of Inuyasha seasons 1 and 2 were released on November 29, 2021 and May 20, 2024 respectively, so it's not unheard of for there to be massive gaps between anime releases.

I understand the level set comparison and people feeling were getting deja vu but let's wait and see until its officially confirmed that this is cancelled.

[sangofe]

I think if it's been two years since the first set, the safest bet was that it was canceled.

The UK Blu-Rays of Inuyasha seasons 1 and 2 were released on November 29, 2021 and May 20, 2024 respectively, so it's not unheard of for there to be massive gaps between anime releases.

I understand the level set comparison and people feeling were getting deja vu but let's wait and see until its officially confirmed that this is cancelled.

It's not been cancelled. It's on hold. Ab's staff haven't given up.

[MasenkoHA]

I think if it's been two years since the first set, the safest bet was that it was canceled.

The UK Blu-Rays of Inuyasha seasons 1 and 2 were released on November 29, 2021 and May 20, 2024 respectively, so it's not unheard of for there to be massive gaps between anime releases.

I understand the level set comparison and people feeling were getting deja vu but let's wait and see until its officially confirmed that this is cancelled.

It's not been cancelled. It's on hold. Ab's staff haven't given up.

Yeah, but here's the thing Toei's issue appears to be the unauthorized use of the broadcast audio. AB Groupe getting the okay to use it for the remainder of the release is slim to none. Best case scenario AB Groupe gets to release the rest of the series with the standard mono track. Worst case (and what you're probably actually looking at) the entire thing has been canceled.

It's unfortunate that Toei can't just let their licensees use the broadcast audio, especially since they seem to have zero interest in r-releasing Dragon Ball, Z, and GT in higher quality than DVD and want to only release the modern stuff for blu-ray. But their whole thing seems to be "We're not going to use it so you all can't use it" and they probably weren't happy AB Groupe tried to anyways.

[Jord]

We don't know anything about TOEI's communication with AB regarding the broadcast audio, if I recall, so let's not speculate about it and pretend like they're facts.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Yeah, but here's the thing Toei's issue appears to be the unauthorized use of the broadcast audio.

That's all conjecture. If AB's Blu-Rays went out of print or new copies were made with the mono track I'd think that would be reason for concern, but there's been nothing to suggest TOEI have taken issue with the broadcast audio. For all we know they may not even be aware of it as they've never acknowledged it one way or the other.

Supposedly the problem was in relation to the box art, not the audio. As sangofe said on episode 90 of the French podcast Dragon Ball Cast the designer for box 2 said he had finished it, but then a comment made on this video suggests TOEI were taking issue with it, for whatever reason:

c’est la conception du coffret vol2 qui pose problème chez toei. Il semble que ce dernier est très tatillon et, pardon de l’expression, aime enculer des mouches.

Which directly translates as:

it's the conception of the vol2 box set that poses a problem for toei. It seems that the latter is very fussy and, pardon the expression, likes to fuck flies.

Also, as Cure Dragon 255 noted at the time TOEI Animation Europe lists AB Groupe as one of their business partners on their page about Dragon Ball. Scroll down to DVD and you will all see AB's name and logo proudly displayed. Not a sign of companies on bad terms, quite the contrary.

[Scsigs]

So, I'm going to posit that the main reason that AB hasn't released Volume 2 of their new DB sets is slow communication mixed with Toei not appreciating them using the broadcast audio recordings.

Let's look at AB's closest counterparts here in America in regards to the upscaled, color-corrected sets they're doing; Discotek. They've been doing AI upscaled remasters of the first 2 Digimon series & are about to release a triple pack of the first 3 Digimon movies uncut dubbed into English coupled with the US stitched together recut of them (they still need to release Adventure 02 in Japanese as well). Before they could release Adventure 02's English dub (& after they recut the Japanese masters to the English dub audio due to the old US masters being so degraded that the AI legit couldn't work with it), they showed a preview of the box art on a livestream & said they were still awaiting Toei's approval to use it to official announce it, which took a few months.
My assumption on this is mainly Toei having their people watch over the remasters of the episodes to make sure they meet a certain visual quality they find acceptable, especially if they're thinking of releasing the remaster in Japan at some point in the future.

In terms of the broadcast audio, either AB Groupe is trying to get Toei to relent & let them use it for the remaining episodes, OR, & more likely, Toei's being petty & not getting back to them because they feel disrespected for them using it without proper permission. Toei is very particular in regards to companies releasing their products (for the most part, as we know from the old dubs of Dragon Ball & the 4Kids dub of One Piece that they just really cared about getting the shows & movies to the US market, all logic & good dubbing be damned). When it comes to home releases, they're very restrictive on certain levels. You can't use art or photos that either Toei doesn't provide, approve of, or you don't commission from them. Shout! Factory had to reuse the pictures Saban provided them of the SPD versions of the Dekaranger suits from the Power Rangers SPD DVD cover for their DVD set of Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger because Toei apparently didn't provide them any of the Japanese suits like they did the other series beforehand, for instance, & FUNimation (now Crunchyroll) has had to commission Toei's artists to provide them new art for both Dragon Ball & One Piece for their home releases.
So, I think it's mainly Toei wanting the Japanese audio to be the same old shitty audio that they've been giving their licensors to use for decades. It's dumb, but I think this is more likely what's going on.

[sangofe]

I can't give sources, but, both an american and french source has confirmed this:

AB didn't get in trouble at all for using the broadcast audio. They were in the process of waiting for masters and then Toei decided nvm just use the SV upscale. AB gang were furious and refuse to release something that garbage. So they just waiting now until something happens that lets them get those masters

From what I understood AB is free to release whatever they want, but they want the prores dbox masters and Toei refuses to give them up. As a result AB has decided not to move forward until they can somehow acquire the masters, as they don’t want to continue using the DVD and absolutely won’t release the shitty upscale by SV

Nothing is officially announced and they likely wont say anything, It’s just on an indefinite hiatus until Toei stops hoarding their masters

They heard and are aware of the drawbacks with Box 1 and don’t want to continue that approach. The issue is they can’t do anything without the masters and Toei is holding them hostage.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Thanks for the update sangofe. Its great to know that AB care and don't want to rush out a product that would end up being a disappointment. I'm glad the crew in charge of this release are Dragon Ball fans themselves and can relate to the desire for something better as a lot of companies would not think like that and just bend over backwards to appease TOEI.

[omegalucas]

I can't give sources, but, both an american and french source has confirmed this:

AB didn't get in trouble at all for using the broadcast audio. They were in the process of waiting for masters and then Toei decided nvm just use the SV upscale. AB gang were furious and refuse to release something that garbage. So they just waiting now until something happens that lets them get those masters

From what I understood AB is free to release whatever they want, but they want the prores dbox masters and Toei refuses to give them up. As a result AB has decided not to move forward until they can somehow acquire the masters, as they don’t want to continue using the DVD and absolutely won’t release the shitty upscale by SV

Nothing is officially announced and they likely wont say anything, It’s just on an indefinite hiatus until Toei stops hoarding their masters

They heard and are aware of the drawbacks with Box 1 and don’t want to continue that approach. The issue is they can’t do anything without the masters and Toei is holding them hostage.

Alright, that gives me more hope than the whole broadcast audio shenanigans we thought was the reason. Hope they can get the masters

[PowerPhantom245]

I can't give sources, but, both an american and french source has confirmed this:

AB didn't get in trouble at all for using the broadcast audio. They were in the process of waiting for masters and then Toei decided nvm just use the SV upscale. AB gang were furious and refuse to release something that garbage. So they just waiting now until something happens that lets them get those masters

From what I understood AB is free to release whatever they want, but they want the prores dbox masters and Toei refuses to give them up. As a result AB has decided not to move forward until they can somehow acquire the masters, as they don’t want to continue using the DVD and absolutely won’t release the shitty upscale by SV

Nothing is officially announced and they likely wont say anything, It’s just on an indefinite hiatus until Toei stops hoarding their masters

They heard and are aware of the drawbacks with Box 1 and don’t want to continue that approach. The issue is they can’t do anything without the masters and Toei is holding them hostage.

So in other words, Toei is being Toei.
It's interesting that Toei has a vault full of FILMS of their shows, including Dragon Ball TV series (original, Z, and GT), yet they have absolutely no plan whatsoever of ever releasing it on higher quality format on Blu-ray.

Thank you for clarification BTW.

[Scsigs]

I can't give sources, but, both an american and french source has confirmed this:

AB didn't get in trouble at all for using the broadcast audio. They were in the process of waiting for masters and then Toei decided nvm just use the SV upscale. AB gang were furious and refuse to release something that garbage. So they just waiting now until something happens that lets them get those masters

From what I understood AB is free to release whatever they want, but they want the prores dbox masters and Toei refuses to give them up. As a result AB has decided not to move forward until they can somehow acquire the masters, as they don’t want to continue using the DVD and absolutely won’t release the shitty upscale by SV

Nothing is officially announced and they likely wont say anything, It’s just on an indefinite hiatus until Toei stops hoarding their masters

They heard and are aware of the drawbacks with Box 1 and don’t want to continue that approach. The issue is they can’t do anything without the masters and Toei is holding them hostage.

Ok, that seems in line with the fact that Media Blasters licensed those 3 90s Kamen Rider movies, then when Toei only gave them an SD source for Shin Kamen Rider Prologue, they sourced a rip of the Japanese Blu-Rays from somewhere else & Toei was ok with that.

[omegalucas]

The annoying thing is Toei was happy to give their prores masters for Selecta Vision to make their shoddy upscale, yet for when somebody shows up actually looking to do a decent one they refuse. It's infuriating.

[sangofe]

The annoying thing is Toei was happy to give their prores masters for Selecta Vision to make their shoddy upscale, yet for when somebody shows up actually looking to do a decent one they refuse. It's infuriating.

Yes, indeed it is. Hopefully they will give in with time. Or make a new scan from the films. Either way, props to AB for not releasing a subpar release, even if this situation saddens me.

[Scsigs]

Also, I guess the advent of FUNimation not getting permission from Toei to use the broadcast audio for the 2019 Z Blu-Rays is just bullshit. Good to know.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

Also, I guess the advent of FUNimation not getting permission from Toei to use the broadcast audio for the 2019 Z Blu-Rays is just bullshit. Good to know.

Chris Sabat said he would try get that audio on an official release. Apparently he was disheartened when the broadcast audio leaked on torrent sites, but he doesn't work for the home video department so his offer was probably rejected.

[PowerPhantom245]

I don't think Toei would EVER release broadcast audio for their potential/possible Blu-ray.
They just don't care.

[Caulifor]

Wait, what masters are we talking about here? I was under the impression Toei didn't have the masters anymore, just that aged-up DBox footage? Can't AB just use DBox and upscale it? Their first release was pretty good, despite the few, almost unnoticeable downsides. I'd take their release over any other every time.

[omegalucas]

Wait, what masters are we talking about here? I was under the impression Toei didn't have the masters anymore, just that aged-up DBox footage? Can't AB just use DBox and upscale it? Their first release was pretty good, despite the few, almost unnoticeable downsides. I'd take their release over any other every time.

The Prores masters are the source files used for the Dragon Box DVDs, before burning to the discs (which ends up adding compression/bitrate issues). It's essencially the best possible source outside of a scan and would reduce *some* of the issues of the first box.