Dragonbox VS Orange Brick Sets....a few questions

[jjgp1112]

You mention Kaboom's post (a moderator, no less), and yet you don't actually acknowledge the fact that your specific viewpoint -- which you partially acknowledge is irrelevant -- is not particularly helpful to what's being asked by the original poster.

... so why bother continuing to post it again in this thread?

We understand you like the dub. No, really. We do. However, your personal enjoyment (or anyone's personal enjoyment) of an adaptation isn't what's in question here. Like Questrider said (and Kaboom reiterated to you), he does care about accuracy.

If you don't, then your viewpoint and suggestion does not matter all that much. It's too bad that you can't accept it, but that's how the cookie crumbles. Learn to bow out gracefully when what you have to say isn't even a part of the conversation, or find something relevant to toss in. Instead of just accepting it, you respond with a tirade and play the victim.

Remind me again why I haven't banned you for this the last two times you've done so...?

I feel like I'm talking to a freaking brick wall here. Again, I'M APATHETIC ABOUT THE ACCURACY. BUT, what I HAVE done is watch the show with the subtitles, viewed how accurate it is, and then determined that it wasn't that inaccurate. And yet, because whether or not it was accurate didn't affect my actual enjoyment, all of a sudden everything I've observed is irrelevant? That's utterly ridiculous. Again, that just strikes me as not wanting to hear something different for once. For Christ's sake, all I said was that whether or not it was inaccurate didn't affect me liking it, but that it isn't that inaccurate in the first place.

Ugh, I'm getting genuinely frustrated posting in this thread...

[VegettoEX]

Your self-admitted apathy is blinding you. It may be a quasi-argumentum ad populum, but if the vast majority of folks seem to agree that it's not particularly accurate (at least on a grander, all-encompassing scale, rather than "Oh hey, this episode here"), shouldn't that tell you something?

[jjgp1112]

Your self-admitted apathy is blinding you. It may be a quasi-argumentum ad populum, but if the vast majority of folks seem to agree that it's not particularly accurate (at least on a grander, all-encompassing scale, rather than "Oh hey, this episode here"), shouldn't that tell you something?

How so? I'm not even talking about enjoyment anymore. Usually, when I watch the show with the subs on, I watch it, and if what they're saying in the subs is particularly lengthy in comparison to what's going on, I'll just pause so I can read the full thing. I've thoroughly read the subtitles to the point where I've almost memorized both the Japanese and dub scripts of nearly every episode, and yet I still don't see what the big deal is. With Yu-Gi-Oh, the accuracy again doesn't affect my enjoyment, yet I actually think that the dub is extremely inaccurate.

I think some of you guys just need to learn how to separate certain things from each other.

[VegettoEX]

Stop tossing out examples of other shows. They are irrelevant to the conversation. You're completely unable to hone in on what's being discussed, and over-state things to the point of losing focus on what's actually in question.

You think that the dialogue changes between FUNimation's English dub and the original Japanese script are not significant. OK. That's your statement. Got it. (For the record, no-one is asking you about your enjoyment of those changes, and you say as much, so why do you keep bringing it up?)

As near as I can tell, every other response thus far disagrees with you. Continuously responding with variations on your same point over and over with emotional responses are not giving them any more weight than the first time you stated them.

If you want to embellish on something, Questrider asked for subjectivity about the music -- you gave your two cents already, though, so I can't figure out why you keep going on and on in this thread.

Unless you (or any other poster) have something new to bring to the table, it seems like the questions have been answered, right? I think everyone's happy to add something new or answer any other questions, though!

[jjgp1112]

Stop tossing out examples of other shows. They are irrelevant to the conversation. You're completely unable to hone in on what's being discussed, and over-state things to the point of losing focus on what's actually in question.

I only brought it up because you're saying that my apathy is clouding my judgement, yet clearly, if it doesn't cloud my judgement for other shows, then what makes DBZ any different?

[VegettoEX]

I only brought it up because you're saying that my apathy is clouding my judgement, yet clearly, if it doesn't cloud my judgement for other shows, then what makes DBZ any different?

The examples you tossed out were solely for you to talk about how you can still enjoy a "reversioning" that is not accurate. No-one was asking about enjoyment of these "reversionings", never mind of other shows.

You clearly don't know when to stop. Please be done, unless you actually bring something new to the table or care to answer an entirely separate question.

One thing that I will toss out there is that is it rubbish that the orange bricks are significantly less expensive than the Dragon Box sets. Thanks to a nice forum post, we've seen that Amazon is now selling each Dragon Box for $26.99. This is in comparison with the first orange brick which is $20.49.

$26.99 for 42 episodes is roughly 64 cents per episode, whereas $20.49 for 39 episodes is roughly 53 cents per episode. There is hardly a "significant" difference there -- we're talking pennies on the dollar. Fans on a budget never had a better time to pick up the best presentation of the series that North America has ever received.

[jjgp1112]

I only brought it up because you're saying that my apathy is clouding my judgement, yet clearly, if it doesn't cloud my judgement for other shows, then what makes DBZ any different?

The examples you tossed out were solely for you to talk about how you can still enjoy a "reversioning" that is not accurate. No-one was asking about enjoyment of these "reversionings", never mind of other shows.

Did I not say or imply in almost every time I brought up another show that my enjoyment of the reversioning doesn't cloud my judgment of whether it is inaccurate or not, then that means that I should be able to pass a judgment on Z as well?

I keep arguing because I feel like words are being put in my mouth. As if everything that you say I'm doing is just being fabricated. And it's very annoying. How can you tell the person who said something what they were actually trying to say?

[pjay]

I only brought it up because you're saying that my apathy is clouding my judgement, yet clearly, if it doesn't cloud my judgement for other shows, then what makes DBZ any different?

The examples you tossed out were solely for you to talk about how you can still enjoy a "reversioning" that is not accurate. No-one was asking about enjoyment of these "reversionings", never mind of other shows.

You clearly don't know when to stop. Please be done, unless you actually bring something new to the table or care to answer an entirely separate question.

One thing that I will toss out there is that is it rubbish that the orange bricks are significantly less expensive than the Dragon Box sets. Thanks to a nice forum post, we've seen that Amazon is now selling each Dragon Box for $26.99. This is in comparison with the first orange brick which is $20.49.

$26.99 for 42 episodes is roughly 64 cents per episode, whereas $20.49 for 39 episodes is roughly 53 cents per episode. There is hardly a "significant" difference there -- we're talking pennies on the dollar. Fans on a budget never had a better time to pick up the best presentation of the series that North America has ever received.

Boy, fans in Japan must be pissed that we (in the US) are getting 42 episodes of the Dragon Box for close to the price of a single DBZ R2 DVD which usually contains 6 episodes.

[Questrider]

These will probably be the last few questions I have on the topic…but don’t hold me to that.

But first, thanks to all for your comments. Lots of good stuff there.

The questions are simple enough:

As stated earlier, I own the 9 bricks. Picture quality and size of picture aside, is the Japanese version on the bricks identical to the Dragonboxes in terms of the dialogue? Is it exactly the same? Or did the original Japanese cast record something brand new?

Additionally, if I watch my brick collection in Japanese with the subs on, will this be an accurate translation or are the Dragonboxes superior is this regard as well?

[Greenman]

As stated earlier, I own the 9 bricks. Picture quality and size of picture aside, is the Japanese version on the bricks identical to the Dragonboxes in terms of the dialogue? Is it exactly the same? Or did the original Japanese cast record something brand new?

Additionally, if I watch my brick collection in Japanese with the subs on, will this be an accurate translation or are the Dragonboxes superior is this regard as well?

The Japanese audio quality of the US Dragon Boxes are a bit better than the bricks, but the dialogue is exactly the same. The subtitles on the Dragon Boxes are from the same accurate translation by Steve Simmons as the season sets.

[Kaboom]

Boy, fans in Japan must be pissed that we (in the US) are getting 42 episodes of the Dragon Box for close to the price of a single DBZ R2 DVD which usually contains 6 episodes.

With subtitles and a "bonus" parody-dub audio track, no less!

Did I not say or imply in almost every time I brought up another show that my enjoyment of the reversioning doesn't cloud my judgment of whether it is inaccurate or not, then that means that I should be able to pass a judgment on Z as well?

I keep arguing because I feel like words are being put in my mouth. As if everything that you say I'm doing is just being fabricated. And it's very annoying. How can you tell the person who said something what they were actually trying to say?

So right now you're yet again playing the overly defensive victim AND continuing to steer a thread off-course that you no longer had anything possibly useful to contribute to in the first place. Again, I don't know what you're trying to argue about (save for the possibility of just enjoying it), but really. You're drastically sending Questrider's thread spiraling off into bad territory.

So here, let's drop it and try to get back into GOOD territory.

As stated earlier, I own the 9 bricks. Picture quality and size of picture aside, is the Japanese version on the bricks identical to the Dragonboxes in terms of the dialogue? Is it exactly the same? Or did the original Japanese cast record something brand new?

No, the Japanese dialogue is the same as it's ever been since, as far as I know, day one. There's no difference in the Japanese track between FUNimation's Season Sets and Dragon Boxes, aside from the quality of the audio itself. The subtitles are unchanged as well.

Additionally, if I watch my brick collection in Japanese with the subs on, will this be an accurate translation or are the Dragonboxes superior is this regard as well?

Nope, both sets' subtitles are exactly the same. As noted earlier in the thread, they're translated and written by Steve Simmons (a.k.a. Daimao on these forums) and are of excellent quality and clarity.

One thing to note is that the Dragon Boxes include one extra little dialogue-filled tidbit that's NOT on the Season Sets, and those are the Next-Episode Previews. Since these haven't been on any prior release with an English dub, they are only in Japanese, and have newly-done subtitles by Mr. Simmons.

So technically the Dragon Boxes DO have some extra Japanese content not in other FUNi releases, though they're not actually part of the story or anything.

[Questrider]

@Kaboom, everyone else-
Thanks for the much needed info. I appreciate you guys giving it to me straight and I feel a lot more informed about what the "box" ACTUALLY contains.

Unfortunately, I'm not sold on buying up the Dragonboxes.
At least not yet.

Basically, the ONLY thing I gain by purchasing the boxes is improving the picture quality and size, right? That's what I'm getting from all of this. For some of you, I'm sure those improvement/upgrades are enough?? Good enough reasons to buy?

Just to be sure, let's take a small poll:

How many of you OWN the bricks and are STILL buying the Dragonboxes?
If you are buying these up, it's all about the picture and sound, right?
Any other reasons?

[TonyTheTiger]

That's the thing. Outside of somebody being utterly in love with the FUNimation score, there are absolutely 0 reasons for not choosing the Dragon Boxes. Even ignoring the difference in quality of the respective remastering jobs, you really are getting more. More picture (the tops and bottoms that were hacked off), more footage (the NEPs), and the Dragon Books. The price difference ends up swinging in favor of the Dragon Boxes since the extra 11 cents per episode is going to all that stuff, which if you do the math the books alone carry that cost. I can very much respect that somebody who bought the orange bricks is now wondering "really, should I?" but as somebody who considers the cropping by itself a deal breaker, I can't in good conscience recommend them to anybody, and held the same view long before the Dragon Boxes were announced. For me it's not so much what the Dragon Boxes do right. It's what the orange bricks do wrong.

[jjgp1112]

@Kaboom, everyone else-
Thanks for the much needed info. I appreciate you guys giving it to me straight and I feel a lot more informed about what the "box" ACTUALLY contains.

Unfortunately, I'm not sold on buying up the Dragonboxes.
At least not yet.

Basically, the ONLY thing I gain buy purchasing the boxes is improving the picture quality and size. That's what I'm getting from all of this. For some of you, I'm sure those improvement/upgrades are enough??

To a lot of you, I'm sure that's a big enough reason to go ahead and buy.
But just to be sure, let's take a small poll:

How many of you own the bricks and are STILL buying the Dragonboxes?

I own all 9 sets and I actually did buy the first 3 DBoxes, but I've slowly realized that at the end of the day, I'm still watching the same show no matter how the colors look or whether or not there are useless next episode previews, so I doubt I'll get anything past Season 4. Add to the fact that it only has the Godforsaken Japanese music and that's enough for me to not want to spend any more money. Lord knows I've already spent enough on the show, and now I'm buying the same thing that i spent the last two years buying again? No thanks.

[Kaboom]

How many of you OWN the bricks and are STILL buying the Dragonboxes?
If you are buying these up, it's all about the picture and sound, right?
Any other reasons?

I am. Actually, I'm selling off my Season Sets through various means as I replace them with the Dragon Boxes for those same episodes. I just ordered Dragon Box 3 today, which means I'll be able to sell off Season Set 3 (and also maybe 4) once it arrives.

And yes, I'm buying them up for the picture and sound. The picture isn't AS much of an issue with the later season sets, but on just about all of them the Japanese audio quality is just terrible. Either way, it's easy to see that both aspects are extremely sub-par on the Season Sets. The Dragon Boxes, however, both look AND sound the best for the version of the show I care about watching. And if I ever want to switch over to the dub for whatever reason, it's there as an extra.

Overall it's because the Dragon Boxes focus on the Japanese version, which is what's worth the attention.

[Questrider]

That's the thing. Outside of somebody being utterly in love with the FUNimation score, there are absolutely 0 reasons for not choosing the Dragon Boxes. Even ignoring the difference in quality of the respective remastering jobs, you really are getting more. More picture (the tops and bottoms that were hacked off), more footage (the NEPs), and the Dragon Books. The price difference ends up swinging in favor of the Dragon Boxes since the extra 11 cents per episode is going to all that stuff, which if you do the math the books alone carry that cost. I can very much respect that somebody who bought the orange bricks is now wondering "really, should I?" but as somebody who considers the cropping by itself a deal breaker, I can't in good conscience recommend them to anybody, and held the same view long before the Dragon Boxes were announced. For me it's not so much what the Dragon Boxes do right. It's what the orange bricks do wrong.

Man, I can't lie to guys. LOVE the Falconer score. LOVE IT.
Falconer's score is a good part of what sucked me in and HELD my attention. There's several times in the Android/Cell saga alone that really blew my mind. From the soft chill sounds to the pumping rock and roll, I found myself "feeling" the mood of each scene and I just don't feel that way about the Japanese music. (Although I was always a fan of the Japanese episode intros)

I know I will never like the Japanese music as much. It's not even a debate in my mind. It's just not. I've always been a sucker for Falconer's score. (Hate me if you will, lol)

What IS debatable is the picture that I would gain from buying the "box".

I'm inclined to agree with jjgp1112 that at the end of the day, it's still the same show but it doesn't prevent me from wanting to watch DBZ, as it was originally intended, at least ONCE. The only question for me is, can I live with the fact that I'm not getting the full picture with my bricks? Or do I cave and buy these up simply because I'm just that big of a fan?

Ugh. I guess only time will tell...

[Questrider]

@Kaboom-
You make a really good point. Really good.

I take it you won't miss Falconer's score?

[TonyTheTiger]

If you really like Faulconer's score then you just have to ask yourself if it's worth losing 20% of the picture for and worth the various DVNR problems that pop up from time to time. If the answer is yes then stick with what you've got. If you want a better presentation, however, and losing Faulconer is an acceptable trade off for that, then get the Dragon Boxes. I'm focusing on Faulconer's music because I see it as the only conceivable reason somebody would choose the orange bricks over the Dragon Boxes. For every single other aspect the Dragon Box does at least as good as the orange bricks or infinitely better.

[Big Momma]

Is it safe to say that, in regards of the original Japanese version, the only difference between the Box and the Sets is the footage?

[Gaffer Tape]

Well, and the credits and previews.