Difference between unedited Dragonbox 2 and the edited DBZ?

[Armymanis]

Is there any real difference between the Dragonbox 2, 3, and 4 uncut episodes from the Frieza saga to the Cell Saga? I am just wondering if I will miss anything if I start watching my edited versions of DBZ episodes from the end of the Dragonbox 1 saga. I do not have enough money to get the rest of the Dragonbox sets yet, so I am wondering if there are any scenes added from the edited version in the Frieza Saga to Cell Saga or if it is about the same.

I noticed a ton of newly added scenes in Dragonbox one that I just previously finished watching. I would like to watch DBZ in order. Should I wait to continue the franchise until I have more money? Will it make a difference to my experience if I have already seen the edited DBZ? I also noticed the dialogue in the uncut DBZ was way different from the edited DBZ.

[xzero]

Edited DBZ? Yes, there are lots of differences. The biggest difference is the inclusion of an episode that was originally edited down. The dub title is "Gohan Attacks," and it's the episode where Freeza gores Krillin and Gohan kicks his ass. Essentially, that episode and the two bookending it were compressed into two episodes for the edited version. Other than that, some of the dialogue is different among the versions, though if you're watching the dub, it's largely the same. And, of course, the music's different. Season 2 is drastically different, as the DragonBox version of it is the closest DBZ ever came to a truly accurate dub prior to Kai.

If I'm answering your question correctly, the thing you need to know is that when Funimation took complete control over the series from dub episode 54 onward, they pretty much stopped chopping episodes down like the earlier episodes had done. The dub was poor and the music was altered, but except for much more reasonable edits for television, the show largely remained the same as far as scenes and episodes were concerned from Ginyu on through to the end.

[DemonRin]

At some point, I believe around the Cyborg or Cell arc, (I think the Freeza arc includes the last of the spliced together episodes) you're going to see a drop in the amount of actual new SCENES added to the proceedings, however there is a LOT in the realm of edited content you're going to see differently.

For example: Cyborg 20 sticks his hand clean through Yamucha's chest. That was modified to be less gruesome in the Edited version. (IIRC)
While I'm at it, All blood and gruesome scenes were edited out or toned way down.
Some other violence is toned down as well.
VERY Mild swear words will OCCASIONALLY pop up in the uncut dub too. Like, when Majin Vegeta knocks out Son, he says "We'll settle our fight after I've dealt with Boo. If you run out of your time on Earth before I get back, then I'll see you in Hell."
Also, "Hercule"'s name was restored to it's proper "Mr. Satan" in the uncut dub (though I think they do Shoehorn in a "Hercule Satan".

Essentially, you aren't going to see any MAJOR DRASTIC differences in scenes, but overall things will look and feel pretty different due to the removing of the censorship.

[Eddie]

The edited tapes will have all of the cigarettes removed.

[Hoppey]

I'm pretty sure the edited episodes of the Garlic Jr. saga also have scenes of Marron's cleavage censored, too.

[Akira]

Aside from the episode worth of content from the Freeza saga, there won't be any MAJOR scenes removed from the edited versions you have. Don't let that dissuade you from getting all the Dragonboxes when you can afford it though. There are a number of minor scenes that were edited somewhat from the original intent, having a few brief seconds removed here and there as censorship measures. Here are a few of them that I can remember off the top of my head, but bear in mind there are probably many more I have forgotten due to it being close to eight years since I watched the edited versions of the series.

-When the side characters are looking for the Dragonballs in the Buu saga, Roshi puts his face in #18's chest and gropes her some, then gets slammed into the side of the plane. They show some of this in the edited version, but most of it is removed.

-Various similar scenes elsewhere in the series where Roshi grabs, gropes, oogles, or otherwise openly implies that he'd like to do something naughty to Bulma, Maron, Chi-chi, #18 or random background characters. Just a few seconds of footage here and there, but most of it is removed from the edited version.

-Various extreme violent acts are edited down to show the character (Usually a villain) start the motion for a brutal attack, then cuts directly to a scene of the character receiving the blow (generally a young Gohan, but sometimes other characters) flying away hurt. Almost every time you see this, the actual footage of the blow was edited out. The one and only exception to this I am aware of is in the very first major fight of the series when Piccolo finishes off Raditz when he is dying and laughing about two more stronger saiyans coming in a year. They show Piccolo begin the finishing blow, then cut to a scene of Raditz completely dead. This was not edited out, the scene always worked that way. You already know that because you have the first Dragonbox.

-Almost all of the blood is edited out completely, or changed to a dark brown "dirty" color. This includes a lot of hits where blood comes out of character's mouths that is changed to sweat, and many times when blood is on their faces it is edited out or changed colors to look less intense. Bear in mind, even if you get all the Dragonboxes, that the blood in the series tones down over time even in the original uncensored version. For reference, the two bloodiest fights in the entire series are the final tournament battle in Dragonball between Goku and Piccolo, and various parts of the Freeza fight on Namek where he gores, maims, impales or beats the characters to bloody pulps. There are a few other bloody scenes and fights in the series, but those two fights are the most violent IMO. (If you are just a fan of Z, and haven't seen DB, you should grab the last "Season 5" set of that which just came out at the very least. It leads directly into Z and gives a lot of direct background on characters and motivations that makes the enjoyment of early Z make more sense.) The last bloody scenes are mostly in the Androids/Cell saga, with very little bloody scenes in the Buu Saga.

-One other bit that came to mind is when Future Trunks first appears and kills Freeza. In the edited version, he is shown slicing him up, then blasting him to dust very quickly. In the original uncut version, there is a brief moment between those two actions where Freeza's sliced up body parts are floating in mid-air briefly before Trunks vaporizes them. I think they edit out the blood when Trunks blows a hole through King Cold's chest too in that episode.

-I think Majin Buu's Genocide attack has some edited scenes where his attacks directly kill a bunch of people that isn't shown in the edited version.

-Any scene involving Cigarettes, alcohol or firearms is almost always edited in some form or another. Many random background characters are seen smoking, and a few times Master Roshi is shown smoking, as is Dr. Briefs in almost every scene he is in. Even Bulma is seen smoking later on in the series. Alcohol is often edited to some other random colored beverage, or the labels edited to say Root beer or juice or something else. For reference, Goku always turns down these vices in the few scenes involving him and the potential for him to engage in these activities. So that is not an edit for him to do that in the edited version, if any of those scenes survived censorship. (Only one I remember is on the way to Namek, he drinks a sports drink instead of a beer. I think that one scene may have been in the edited version) Regarding firearms, Raditz did in fact flick the Farmer's bullet back at him and kill him, an old man pulls one on #17 in the future and #17 tries to kill him for it. #17 actually pulls his gun out his holster somewhere in the series (I forget where), Bulma and Chi-chi both use guns in a few scenes that were edited out, and handguns are seen a few other places where they are edited out.

There is more than I forget, probably a lot more actually, but at least this gives you an idea of what sorts of things will be missing if you don't complete your Dragonbox collection. Nothing as major as the edits made to the first season, but still enough stuff here and there that makes the experience entirely different, toned down, and tame from the original intent. If I remember anything else I'll return to this topic if you request more info on this.