FUNimation Announces "Kai" License ("DBZ Kai")

[ka1oken]

Wow FUNimation is already taking Kai vids down on Youtube.

Quite a bit of the accounts that had them are suspended now, so if you don't want to risk your Youtube account it might be smart to take down any Kai video.

[LeprikanGT]

I really hope it airs in the US, I didnt like watching it online as I dont speak Japanese but I'm going to buy Kai either way, just not sure which format.


Do we have any idea what the total episode count will be? ...using the average rate so far.

[Hujio]

I went and looked at the Daizex shots of kai, and both seem to have a part of the screen cut, so I don't know which I will get; but more info is to come so surely that will clear things up more by then.

Well, technically only one of them is cropped. When they made the series widescreen, they extended it horizontally so that they wouldn't have to crop as much material off of the top and bottom. FUNimation sort of did the same thing for their Orange Brick season sets. The 4:3 BD is exactly the same as Z, and if anything has some additional footage all around.

Now if you compare the 4:3 and 16:9 releases, then yes, both will look cropped to some degree.

[UristtheGreat]

IF they do bring Schemmel back, they better fucking tell him about Goku's personality instead of giving him the script and saying "Here, read this shit and act like you enjoy it!".

[Kendamu]

I went and looked at the Daizex shots of kai, and both seem to have a part of the screen cut, so I don't know which I will get; but more info is to come so surely that will clear things up more by then.

Well, technically only one of them is cropped. When they made the series widescreen, they extended it horizontally so that they wouldn't have to crop as much material off of the top and bottom. FUNimation sort of did the same thing for their Orange Brick season sets. The 4:3 BD is exactly the same as Z, and if anything has some additional footage all around.

Now if you compare the 4:3 and 16:9 releases, then yes, both will look cropped to some degree.

Are there any comparisons laying around comparing 4:3 Kai BD to 4:3 DBox DVD?

[Hujio]

Are there any comparisons laying around comparing 4:3 Kai BD to 4:3 DBox DVD?

I did have one somewhere around here, but I can't seem to find it at the moment... I'll get back to you on that.

[LeprikanGT]

I guess neither of them show 'the whole picture'.

Like I've seen the shots of the Funi singles/orange bricks/Dbox footage; and the Dbox footage shows more than both of those, so I wanted to see which release will show as much of the picture is shown AND which one has the 'crisper' picture.

[penguintruth]

IF they do bring Schemmel back, they better fucking tell him about Goku's personality instead of giving him the script and saying "Here, read this shit and act like you enjoy it!".

Maybe we'll get lucky and the script will take care of that for us.

He'll still sound like a generic superhero character, since it's Sean Schemmel, who has a completely wrong voice for the role, but maybe he'll at least say things that Goku would say.

[Hujio]

I guess neither of them show 'the whole picture'.

Well, the only thing that shows "the whole picture" is the 16mm master films, but we don't have those. Every release, no matter what it is, is zoomed in from "the whole picture". Kai shows just as much of the picture as the Z Dragon Boxes do, only Kai is in HD while Z is in SD. So I guess in all technicalities, Kai is the larger image.

[Kendamu]

I'm no Schemmel fan, but to call him "generic Superhero" is a little too harsh. He sounds nothing like Tim Daly's Superman.

Speaking of such, I think Kevin Conroy could make a good Piccolo.

[DemonRin]

Schemell wasn't all "Superhero-ey" in the end of DB when he played Teenaged Son. His performance seemed fine there. If he plays Kai Son like he played DB Son, I don't see there being a problem. Its just all about who directs him and if they tell him "Don't be a white knight superhero, be a naive hick who just wants to fight"

[Fishman]

Asking for Schemmel to be removed as Goku is like asking for Nozawa to be removed as every male Goku-Related character that isn't Raditz.

It's not going to happen, and while I think Raditz probably should have sounded similar to her at least for consistency's sake (seriously, wasn't totally-unrelated Tullece done by Nozawa too?), it's not something that should ever happen.

[Captain Awesome]

Schemell wasn't all "Superhero-ey" in the end of DB when he played Teenaged Son. His performance seemed fine there. If he plays Kai Son like he played DB Son, I don't see there being a problem.

After hearing all the praise concerning his performance during the 23rd Budokai arc, I actually went back and spot checked a lot of scenes, while I agree he dialled down the ham for the part, his delivery and tone sounded just as stilted and robotic as it always did. I guess what frustrates me is that after seeing FUNimation do such a great job dubbing One Piece, we can't have that for Kai, not with the cast from Z anyway, there are too many miscast characters and too many individuals who aren't even remotely capable of playing their characters in a convincing fashion.

[xzero]

Schemell wasn't all "Superhero-ey" in the end of DB when he played Teenaged Son. His performance seemed fine there. If he plays Kai Son like he played DB Son, I don't see there being a problem.

After hearing all the praise concerning his performance during the 23rd Budokai arc, I actually went back and spot checked a lot of scenes, while I agree he dialled down the ham for the part, his delivery and tone sounded just as stilted and robotic as it always did.

I'm sorry, but I disagree. I recognize that the voices are different from the Japanese ones, and that the characterization is different as a result (and Schemmel really needs to tone down Kaio), but I simply don't think there's anything wrong with Schemmel's performance from the 23rd Budokai arc. His acting was incredibly stilted and robotic in the Ginyu and Freeza episodes to be sure, but by Buu and definitely by GT and Dragon Ball, he had the role down much better. Now GT is difficult as a point of comparison because Schemmel basically only did the SSJ4 Goku, which is different from Z Goku, but for Dragon Ball, he really got the fun-loving, innocent spirit of the character. Notably, his performances were much better when he had a better script to work off of.

For Kai, we need someone like Sabat doing the directing. I know some people here don't like his voices for the characters (his Piccolo used to be different, but now Piccolo and Vegeta kind of blend together, so I'm willing to concede that point), but in general, I think Sabat and a few others at Funimation are the best choices for the show. Sabat really, really knows what he's doing, and I think he genuinely wants to deliver a good product at this point. Whatever everyone may think of his vocal delivery for some of the characters, I have little worry that Sabat is committed to making Kai a respectable dub just like every other Funimation product has received in the past six or seven years. And to tie this back to Schemmel, both know the characters at this point, and if Sabat (or whoever they have direct Kai) gives good direction, I think Schemmel can deliver. And I'm sure this hasn't convinced penguintruth or Captain Awesome of Sean's ability. To you two (and the other people who don't like Schemmel as Goku), I simply say that many dub fans like him, and if you don't, switch the language track and watch the subtitled version. Hopefully the script will be basically the same anyway, so we'll all be happy!

[penguintruth]

I'm no Schemmel fan, but to call him "generic Superhero" is a little too harsh. He sounds nothing like Tim Daly's Superman.

No, Tim Daly's Superman has much more character. In fact, every voice in a DCAU cartoon is better than the DBZ's dub voices. But that should go without saying, because DCAU's voice work is better than most anime dub's.

Sean Schemmel has always been a horrible Son Goku, and he hasn't improved in the slightest. He was just as painful to hear in the last arc of Dragon Ball as he was in the beginning of his run in DBZ. He sounds like every Saturday Morning cartoon male lead from the 80s and early 90s.

But, that's at least better than Sabat's Piccolo, probably the worst performance in the entire dub.

[Greenman]

But, that's at least better than Sabat's Piccolo, probably the worst performance in the entire dub.

I don't know... his Vegeta comes pretty close. And his Yamcha. And don't forget Zarbon.

And I'm weird I guess but Schemmel is one of the only VAs I'd be 'OK' with them keeping.

[penguintruth]

But, that's at least better than Sabat's Piccolo, probably the worst performance in the entire dub.

I don't know... his Vegeta comes pretty close. And his Yamcha. And don't forget Zarbon.

I think his Vegeta is at least servicable.

[UristtheGreat]

Does anyone else get the feeling that FUNimation is gonna screw this up somehow?

[Hujio]

Does anyone else get the feeling that FUNimation is gonna screw this up somehow?

I think we should try to be as optimistic as possible for now, but I know what you're saying. Anytime they announce something DragonBall-related, I always get that feeling.

[UristtheGreat]

I feel like I'm gonna be all excited, turn it on and then get Raditz talking about his leg hair and Piccolo being a pacifist.