US Broadcast of Dragon Ball Z Kai Speculation

[Innagadadavida]

So with the announcement that FUNimation has acquired and has been producing their own Dragon Ball Z Kai dub, what do you think the chances that it will be broadcasted on one of the major US TV stations are?

Anime on TV in America is rare these days. Syfy has a few animes (good ones at that), and Adult Swim throws the otakus a bone in the wee hours of the morning. But ever since the fall of the mighty Toonami, we've seen a hell of a lot less story driven animation and characters talking with their eyes closed. But Dragon Ball Z is a different story. Like Pokemon, the series is almost synonymous with the term Anime in the collective consciousness of the American public. And unlike other Japanese cartoons, it's in the collective consciousness of the American public. Dragon Ball Z had huge ratings back in it's heyday; it's no exaggeration to say that Cartoon Network owes a lot to Dragon Ball Z.

There's also a few current and upcoming cartoons on both Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network that brings new hope for some action packed programming. Cartoon Network has been reairing a lot of old shows and seem to be in desperate need for new (ironically I do mean new) programming. They have Star Wars: Clone Wars, Ben 10, Bakugan, and The Secret Saturdays which all appeal to the 10-15 male demographic. CN also has a few action shows coming up in the near future, along with Adventure Time (which is completely irrelevant but I wanted to mention it because I'm so looking forward to that cartoon). So they're not against showing this type of programming. Dragon Ball Z Kai fits the bill and it has proven itself in the past with Dragon Ball Z. And though we don't have a programming block specifically for anime, Cartoon Network presents Pokemon and Bakugan just like it is original programming.

Nickelodeon is also a strong contender, though much less than CN. After the success of Avatar: The Last Airbender (which there is no doubt was heavily influenced by Dragon Ball), and the Iron Man, Wolverine, and TMNT cartoons, we can see that Nickelodeon is also open to young male demographic programming.

So what are your thoughts on the issue? Do you think a broadcast of the show is a good idea? Could it breathe new life into the franchise? Could we see another boom in the popularity of our favorite 80s beat-em-up cartoon? Which channel would be the best one to show it on?

[B]

I was under the impression FUNimation can't bother themselves anymore to put things on TV because of edits they'd have to make. But, if there's any show they'd make an exception for, it's this one.

[Puto]

Isn't there a FUNimation channel?

[bkev]

Please not the FUNi channel... please...

I predict for Kai's TV airing, should one occur:
-4:3 masters on standard def broadcast? Please?
-Occasional extra paint edits, however not much
-A new theme song, or one cut for time a-la Bleach's endings on Adult Swim.
-Disney XD? They showed interest in Naruto, perhaps if CN doesn't snatch Kai they'll take it.

[Innagadadavida]

That's true! I forgot about Disney XD. They are showing the new Naruto so they may be open to more Shonen anime.

[Blue]

I think Disney XD picking up Dragonball Kai is likely. They really seem to love picking up new action cartoons. Last time I had watched that channel there was actually a fairly decent anime line up too. So yeah if anyone is picking up Dragonball Kai it would be them. I would love to see it back on T.V. I'd be really interested to see any new censors or dialogue changes.

[fps_anth]

Kai would be perfect for Disney XD. I mean, all the censoring is there, so I don't see the problem in that sense. Also, if Naruto could get on there, I can't see why Dragon Ball couldn't.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Kai would be perfect for Disney XD. I mean, all the censoring is there, so I don't see the problem in that sense. Also, if Naruto could get on there, I can't see why Dragon Ball couldn't.

No way!! Cartoon Network should definately broadcast Dragon Ball Kai and after all, Cartoon Network is the home of Dragon Ball.

[B]

Kai would be perfect for Disney XD. I mean, all the censoring is there, so I don't see the problem in that sense. Also, if Naruto could get on there, I can't see why Dragon Ball couldn't.

No way!! Cartoon Network should definately broadcast Dragon Ball Kai and after all, Cartoon Network is the home of Dragon Ball.

Welcome to 2006.

[Chuquita]

I don't know; I can't imagine Kai airing on any TV stations in the US. I could see maybe some official online broadcast; like on Funi's YouTube or their Hulu accounts, but TV? Is there even a market there anymore for anime on TV that aren't Bakugan or Naruto? And even so the latter's definitely no longer in its heyday and the former is fully owned by CN (didn't Bakugan flop in Japan, but make loads of money here so CN had new episodes and such commissioned just for them?) if I understand so they don't have to split any profit. Hell, Cartoon Network dropped Naruto. What would ever give the impression they'd be willing to take Kai?


I'm under the impression that the networks you'd typically go to no longer have much if any interest in imported shows.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

Kai would be perfect for Disney XD. I mean, all the censoring is there, so I don't see the problem in that sense. Also, if Naruto could get on there, I can't see why Dragon Ball couldn't.

No way!! Cartoon Network should definately broadcast Dragon Ball Kai and after all, Cartoon Network is the home of Dragon Ball.

Welcome to 2006.

Okay yeah, it hasn't aired for 4 years, I meant to say was the home of Dragon Ball.

[Kendamu]

I'd like if the Kai episodes showed up on the PlayStation store under the FUNimation category. That way I could have Kai on the go on my PSP.

[Onikage725]

I'd like if the Kai episodes showed up on the PlayStation store under the FUNimation category. That way I could have Kai on the go on my PSP.

That's already possib...wait, am I allowed to discuss that?

Do i have to delete my Kai folder now? Damnit I thought I'd have at least another year.

[Budogenkai]

I think Dragonball Kai on cable television would do very well for FUNimation, a lot of people would definetly want to re-watch it due to its popularity on Toonami.

[penguintruth]

It's so hard to imagine a Dragon Ball-related show airing on anything besides Cartoon Network. I know that I watched DBZ on UPN or WB in the afternoons when it was first syndicated, and on the International Channel, but it was on CN for so long, it's weird thinking about it airing elsewhere.

If they had it on Funimation Channel On Demand, it would be nice if they had both the subtitled and dubbed episodes available.

[Kendamu]

The thread opened with something along the lines of, "Draognball is synonymous with anime," or something like that. In America, I think Dragonball, amongst the general people who were kids when it was on TV, think it synonymous with action cartoons in general. Even English-speaking anime fans generally put Dragonball in it's own category separate from their pretentious teen angst drama animation!

So, really, if any anime has a chance of making it onto TV it'd be Dragonball Kai. Plenty of nostalgia, no filler, it already has a lot of the big edits done for it, no "anime" stigma, and if you aired it around the same time of night as Ultimate Uncut DBZ was, they wouldn't have to further edit blood or implications of death.

I don't realistically think it'll end up on TV, though.

[Daimo-Rukiri]

Kai would be perfect for Disney XD. I mean, all the censoring is there, so I don't see the problem in that sense. Also, if Naruto could get on there, I can't see why Dragon Ball couldn't.

I've watched both eps on Disney XD and the uncut eps and I can tell you so much editing was done it just was not the same, even though Kai started out with edits it's at a minimal state which just wouldn't fall under disney's standards.

DBK will most likely go under online programming like HULU like InuYasha the Final act is currently.

[.:PoetikaL:.]

To be quite honest, I don't really care if Kai were to be broadcast on a network or not. Places like FUNimation and Hulu are more than enough for me to watch anime and other programming I enjoy. As long as it's available for stream (on official sites), I'm satisfied. Other than that, it doesn't matter to me if it gets back on Disney XD, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, etc.

[Super Sayian Prime]

Funimation Channel here we come!

[Greenman]

Funimation Channel here we come!

Which is almost like not airing it on TV at all.