Kai Episode 1 (05 April 2009)

[bkev]

I know I am like, way behind, but I have to say I really like the new opening and endings. But if I have to complain about something, it would be that the new animation makes the old animation look incredibly shitty.

I'm gonna go with vice-versa... have you SEEN those shots posted a couple pages back? Some of that makes Retard-Gohan from Tree of Might (TV cut) look like high-quality animation!

[Saiyan]

I know I am like, way behind, but I have to say I really like the new opening and endings. But if I have to complain about something, it would be that the new animation makes the old animation look incredibly shitty.

I'm gonna go with vice-versa... have you SEEN those shots posted a couple pages back? Some of that makes Retard-Gohan from Tree of Might (TV cut) look like high-quality animation!

Yeah, but most of those shots are quick instances that you really wouldn't see unless you cut it up frame by frame. The only glaring thing was that last shot of the cast in the opening, which had Piccolo's eyes messed up, but that's happened before in some of the One Piece intros, so it's nothing new.

[Smooth Criminal]

Don't be surprised if you see more censorship in upcoming episodes. This includes, but is not limited to, bare male asses, middle fingers, and a certain scene featuring a female in a bubble bath. Not like I'm particularly keen on seeing Goku or Gohan's ass, but I am against censorship of ANY kind. Years after FUNi finally got the message and learned not to fuck with stuff that didn't need to be fucked with, Toei ends up being guilty of the same thing (though obviously to a less extreme degree).

Is Kai still the Godsend that so many of you consider it to be?

So now they've raped the classic voice acting, trashed the original aspect ratio (all that 'selective framing' bullshit aside, just look at any side by side comparison between Kai and the original -- it's clear that the show looks better in a 4:3 frame), and have made numerous unnecessary alterations while at the same time contributing NEW errors. Anyone else getting a distinct Star Wars Special Edition vibe here? I'm not happy.

Say what you will, I am of the belief that the purple Piccolo blood was a censorship decision, not a continuity decision. If attention to detail was THAT important to them, why is Raditz's tail white as in the picture indicated above?

[bkev]

That's not his tail, it's his armor. I think his tail is the thing wrapped around his leg,but you know? I'm probably wrong.

[Haseowolf]

That's not his tail, it's his armor. I think his tail is the thing wrapped around his leg,but you know? I'm probably wrong.

Yeah, its just his band thing he wears around his left leg. It's always been there. Sorry, just had to confirm. No hard feelings?

I think this is a great way for us to re-enjoy the show and at a quicker pace. We can only hope the errors made in the first episode taught lessons to Toei as they went on with this.

[SSJ Helldog]

Don't be surprised if you see more censorship in upcoming episodes. This includes, but is not limited to, bare male asses, middle fingers, and a certain scene featuring a female in a bubble bath. Not like I'm particularly keen on seeing Goku or Gohan's ass, but I am against censorship of ANY kind. Years after FUNi finally got the message and learned not to fuck with stuff that didn't need to be fucked with, Toei ends up being guilty of the same thing (though obviously to a less extreme degree).

Is Kai still the Godsend that so many of you consider it to be?

So now they've raped the classic voice acting, trashed the original aspect ratio (all that 'selective framing' bullshit aside, just look at any side by side comparison between Kai and the original -- it's clear that the show looks better in a 4:3 frame), and have made numerous unnecessary alterations while at the same time contributing NEW errors. Anyone else getting a distinct Star Wars Special Edition vibe here? I'm not happy.

Say what you will, I am of the belief that the purple Piccolo blood was a censorship decision, not a continuity decision. If attention to detail was THAT important to them, why is Raditz's tail white as in the picture indicated above?

I'm curious if the censorship reflects a social change in Japan since DBZ started, or if they were asked to take out those bits by Funimation. Having the show already be acceptable by US (and other regions') broadcast standards lowers the workload for any company that wishes to dub and air it.

[omegacwa]

I just looked through the old pages and I agree that some of the in between frames are quite, well, terrible, but the close ups look really good except for the end of Dragon Soul, which is kind of inexcusable. I'm mostly impressed by the smoothness and vibrant feel of the new animation.

I do think I like Care Break more than Dragon Soul though.

[bkev]

That's not his tail, it's his armor. I think his tail is the thing wrapped around his leg,but you know? I'm probably wrong.

Not at all dude. It's always good to be corrected when you're wrong about something.

[Saiyan]

Say what you will, I am of the belief that the purple Piccolo blood was a censorship decision, not a continuity decision. If attention to detail was THAT important to them, why is Raditz's tail white as in the picture indicated above?

I don't think that's the case with this one. Luffy's fight with Rob Lucci in One Piece was pretty darn bloody, so I don't think that's the case with that one. If they wanted to censor out the blood, they could have just taken it out instead, a la Funimation. I don't think they would just change his blood purple just to make it easier on people. What would they do when Goku and Raditz bleed..make their blood purple too? You could say they could remove the blood, but then why wouldn't they do it for Piccolo's blood too?

Them messing up Raditz's tail was simply because it was one frame of animation. If you watched the scene, you wouldn't notice it unless you're REALLY looking at his armor, at that moment. He immediately gets hit by Piccolo's blast, as soon as you see that shot of him.

[ect5150]

Is Kai still the Godsend that so many of you consider it to be?

Nope. I think it looks like upscaled DVD footage. Although the open is sharp and nice. But I agree with a previous poster. With all of this work... I'd just assume they reanimated everything from scratch. Oh well...

[Herms]

and a certain scene featuring a female in a bubble bath.

What scene would that be? If you're thinking of the scene with Bulma taking a bath on Planet Namek, then that's filler and would probably be taken out completly anyway. If you're thinking of Bulma's shower scene in early DB, then we don't even know if they'll be going back and Kai'ing the original series.

[Zenkai Power]

That's not his tail, it's his armor. I think his tail is the thing wrapped around his leg,but you know? I'm probably wrong.

No it's his tail. I think they mistook it for part of the armor or forgot to color it in. Ya know when they color this stuff in when animating something brand new they get a sheet that tells them what's what with the colors so they don't accidentally mistake the tail for armor and things like that. *shrug*

[JulieYBM]

Don't be surprised if you see more censorship in upcoming episodes. This includes, but is not limited to, bare male asses, middle fingers, and a certain scene featuring a female in a bubble bath. Not like I'm particularly keen on seeing Goku or Gohan's ass, but I am against censorship of ANY kind. Years after FUNi finally got the message and learned not to fuck with stuff that didn't need to be fucked with, Toei ends up being guilty of the same thing (though obviously to a less extreme degree).

Is Kai still the Godsend that so many of you consider it to be?

So now they've raped the classic voice acting, trashed the original aspect ratio (all that 'selective framing' bullshit aside, just look at any side by side comparison between Kai and the original -- it's clear that the show looks better in a 4:3 frame), and have made numerous unnecessary alterations while at the same time contributing NEW errors. Anyone else getting a distinct Star Wars Special Edition vibe here? I'm not happy.

Say what you will, I am of the belief that the purple Piccolo blood was a censorship decision, not a continuity decision. If attention to detail was THAT important to them, why is Raditz's tail white as in the picture indicated above?

I think that is a gross overreaction. The original Z is still available and considering the circumstances of the recording (older actors, dead actors, not to mention years inbetween regular recording, as opposed to with DBZ), the acting is somewhat sound. It'll take time for them to settle in to their roles again.

[Kaboom]

I think that is a gross overreaction.

... and I think that is a gross understatement.

Yes, Kai is a "godsend" as far as I'm concerned. It looks better than ever via a REAL remastering process, but its greatest achievement is that it's rid itself of Z's biggest flaw: bad pacing.

And good lord, the "rape" hyperbole has now officially made its debut even in reference to Kai, of all things?! That's... disgusting. Though I now feel a bit better for liking Evolution. If even DBK is falling under "they raped the series" territory now... shoot, why bother caring at all what anything thinks about what I like at this point?

DragonBall Kai rocks! DragonBall Evolution rocks! Burst Limit rocks! FUNimation's remastered sets rock! Everything's hunky-dory!

[SSj_Rambo]

There was a small update over at Fuji TV's Dragonball Kai site:

悟飯を連れ、亀仙人の住むカメハウスを訪問した悟空。再会を喜びあう面々の前に、異星人が現れた！　彼は悟空の兄・ラディッツだと名乗り、悟空に仲間になるよう強要する。

ラディッツの攻撃に、悟空は全く太刀打ちできない！　息子の悟飯を連れ去られ、なす術もない悟空に対し、打倒悟空・世界征服を企むピッコロがなぜか一時的な協力を申し出る。

Looks like episode 2 will at least include Goku and Piccolo going off to save Gohan.

Also, I'm pretty sure that this is new over at Toei's Dragonball Kai site:

The text there is "ホームページリニューアルオープン！", in case anyone wants to take a crack at it. And has anyone (I'm assuming they'd have to be in Japan) been able to play the video offered on the homepage lately? Has it updated?

[Smooth Criminal]

@ SSJ Kaboom:

Whatever. I feel like you're just jumping on the bandwagon for the sake of it. It has been pointed out that there was some IMPORTANT stuff cut out from the first episode already that throws the pace off.

In particular, I'm thinking of Raditz' arrival on earth and his ramblings about Kakkarot's mission, in addition to extended dialogue during his encounter with Piccolo, which are more in line with the manga! These are instances pertinent to the plot, yet they're cut in favor of some rushed Bardock scenes that are completely drained of any suspense or drama out of context (if you've never seen the special or know its background).

My thing is, the show is readily available on dvd, in its ENTIRETY-- clearly the superior viewing format judging from how they've handled the first episode. Filler scenes or episodes that just seem to drag on and on? SKIP THEM! That's what DVD remotes are for! As we already know, filler in DB is rarely ever referenced again, meaning it is ideal to just skim over all the crap and get to the canon material. Kai, however, seems to be cutting both. Where is the advantage there?

I'll watch a few more episodes before I make my decision, but I thought this was being marketed as being "more in line with Akira Toriyama's original vision." Did his vision include censorship? Did his vision include cutting out things which were in the manga? Something's not right here.

[Kendamu]

Uggg, picture quality is terrible. Insanely soft, almost blurry. Detail levels look pretty much identical the orange brick DVDs.

Also, where is the grain? Grain from 16mm film becomes very visible in HD. Lots of film shaking too.

I agree on the shaking, but I can't find a single version that completely eliminates it.

These are still better than the Bricks by a long shot so far, though.

Maybe they are better, matter of opinion, but def. NOT by a long shot...

The image is even more blured then the Remastered ones... and it's the same crop crap, you guys whined about 2 years non stop. No significant extra footage on the sides. It's almost the same, just cleaned up and new colors, but if Funimation did what they did with they have, they def. did a good job if you ask me.

I didn't whine about cropping. I whined about the lies in regards to cropping. I prefer it to be not cropped. Had FUNimation just said, "Yeah, we cropped it. I hope you still give it a shot," back then instead of coming up with that image comparison page that was full of lies and telling me that it was the way it was meant to be seen, I wouldn't have been angry. I would've said, "Okay. It's cropped. But I'll still take a look." In the end, the same thing would've happened: Season 2 still would've looked horrible and I would've not collected them. The only difference is that I wouldn't have been lied to.

As for all this stuff about "rape" and whatnot I've been reading: get a life! I can find the following in a few quick quick eBay, Google, YouTube, or Fooooo searches for a way to view the story of Dragonball Z:

- Bootlegs of the original
- Bootlegs of the 4:3 dub
- Torrents of the Bricks
- Rapidshares and Megauploads of the Bricks
- Torrents of the original (4:3 Japanese version)
- Torrents of the 4:3 dub
- Rapidshares and Megauploads of the 4:3 dub
- Streams of the original
- Streams of the 4:3 dub
- Streams of the Bricks
- The Bricks (currently on sale at Amazon)
- The Dragonbox singles
- The European Dragonboxes
- FUNimation 4:3 singles (dub and the majority of the original)
- Torrents of Kai
- Streams of Kai
- Rapidshares and Megauploads of Kai

Rather than exploring any of the first fourteen options from the above list in your desperate quest for "artistic integrity" and continuing on your happy little way, you wanna make the last three options sound like the end of the world for you.

Wouldn't you much rather be having fun? Sure, you gotta vent a little and you wanna share your opinion of Kai, but don't take it too seriously. That's how threads get closed.

My thing is, the show is readily available on dvd, in its ENTIRETY...

That's my thing, too. That's why I think people should just chill and watch the version they prefer.

[Saiyan]

I don't have my manga on me, so I can't really tell what lines have exactly been cut out, but I think the reason why Toei cut out some of Raditz's lines was because if he said them, they would appear to be redundant, as Goku's history as a Saiyan has already been revealed in the montage. Or maybe they're saving all of the talk about his mission and all of that for episode 2, holding it off in sake of suspense.

We don't really know what's going on, so I don't think we are in the position to make extreme judgements like that.

All of this is still 'in line of Toriyama's vision', but it doesn't have to be exact to the very pin point. While I think it's a bit rushed, most of the series will benefit by having bullshit cut out, making it more 'in line of Toriyama's vision.'

I mean, what's wrong with enjoying it for what it is?

[SHINOBI-03]

This might be a stupid question... but does it fit to call Dragon Ball Kai "Dragon Ball Z: Director's Cut" with cutting the filler and all that?

I don't think that's the case with this one. Luffy's fight with Rob Lucci in One Piece was pretty darn bloody, so I don't think that's the case with that one. If they wanted to censor out the blood, they could have just taken it out instead, a la Funimation. I don't think they would just change his blood purple just to make it easier on people. What would they do when Goku and Raditz bleed..make their blood purple too? You could say they could remove the blood, but then why wouldn't they do it for Piccolo's blood too?

Relax. I't TOEI, NOT Pieerot that takes smoking out (Naruto) and changes blood to a black ketchup (BLEACH) and a decade of filler (both)

What scene would that be? If you're thinking of the scene with Bulma taking a bath on Planet Namek, then that's filler and would probably be taken out completly anyway. If you're thinking of Bulma's shower scene in early DB, then we don't even know if they'll be going back and Kai'ing the original series.

They kept bathing scenes in One Piece, what stoping them?

[Bussani]

This might be a stupid question... but does it fit to call Dragon Ball Kai "Dragon Ball Z: Director's Cut" with cutting the filler and all that?

A director's cut is a cut to more closely match the 'director's' vision... Since this matches the manga more closely, I suppose it is sort of comparable to a director's cut.

What scene would that be? If you're thinking of the scene with Bulma taking a bath on Planet Namek, then that's filler and would probably be taken out completly anyway. If you're thinking of Bulma's shower scene in early DB, then we don't even know if they'll be going back and Kai'ing the original series.

They kept bathing scenes in One Piece, what stoping them?

He's saying that the bathing scene on Namek is filler, and would probably be removed since they're removing filler, not because it's a bathing scene. And since they're only doing Z and not the original, as far as we know, the bathing scene from Dragon Ball shouldn't be an issue either way.