The Definitive "Dragon Ball Z" Collection

[Patient-mental]

Hmm, after reading through this and considering a summary of what would be best for everyone it would have to be a digital download of every episode in 4k or higher resolution in 4:3 16:9 etc, with a choice of the audio tracks you want included in the download. As extras there would have to be a continuous release of downloadable content regarding existing and future media type releases of the franchise.

OR,

You could just settle for the Dragon Box.

[GotenDaisuki]

OR,

You could just settle for the Dragon Box.

Well said.

[AnimeMaakuo]

.

[GotenDaisuki]

The JP Dragon Box sound quality > FUNimation's Dragon Box sound quality.

Yes, I think the Japanese Dragon Box has 2-channel mono and FUNimation's only has 1-channel mono. I may be totally wrong about this, though.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

The JP Dragon Box sound quality > FUNimation's Dragon Box sound quality.

Yes, I think the Japanese Dragon Box has 2-channel mono and FUNimation's only has 1-channel mono. I may be totally wrong about this, though.

That's true, but it doesn't effect the actual quality of the audio.

[BluezaBladeNZ]

There's barely any difference from what I've heard but it does get distracting how FUNimation's is very quiet compared to the Japanese boxes.

[SolarBlade52]

This is my Definitive Z Collection as of now:

FUNI/Pioneer Dubs for Movies 1,2, and 3
FUNI's Dragon Box Z Sets (The Japanese version)
Dragon Ball Z Kai (The accurate English dub)

If FUNI ever acquires the Dragon Boxes for Dragon Ball, GT, and the Movies, then I will definitely collect them. Then my Definitive Dragon Ball Collection will be complete. Right now, I will not buy any Dragon Ball, GT, or Movie products. Movies 1, 2, and 3 are exceptions because I bought them in 2001.

[Great Saiyaman I]

There's barely any difference from what I've heard but it does get distracting how FUNimation's is very quiet compared to the Japanese boxes.

You could turn up the volume.

[AnimeMaakuo]

.

[BluezaBladeNZ]

I actually think the sound quality is better in the JP boxes, not just necessarily the loudness of itself.. Can this be confirmed, correct me if I'm wrong though.. >;0

I do have some R2 episodes and from what I've heard, they're almost identical, apart from one being stereo, one being mono and the volume difference.

[Rocketman]

Z Kai, whenever it gets collected fully.

[jda95]

Well, it's pretty obvious that anime-wise, the Dragon Boxes always will win with their far superior picture. Despite claims that the colors appear different from the intended picture, after years of watching them I can't imagine the series any differently.
Audio-wise, from what I heard, the sound quality on the American Dragon Boxes is lower because they included more episodes per disc than the Japanese release (6 compared to 7). Don't quote me on that though, I'm not an audiophile.

[SuperSaiyan3Goku]

Okay the definitive Dragon Ball Collection.

Above all else, buy the Dragon Box Z sets. It's absolutely bea-ut-iful. The added subtitles and translated Dragon Book is a major plus. Thanks, FUNimation!

Also, the Dragon Ball Z Kai sets. Great picture quality compared to Japan's DVDs (Urgh Widescreen Urgh) and an awesome "re-dub" of Dragon Ball Z. Without all the crappy filler. YAY!

[GotenDaisuki]

Taken from one of my other posts:

I am going to break down what is good and bad about both sets. (Kai/Dragon Box)

Let's start with Kai. See, back when FUNimation was redubbing Dragon Ball Z for the Season Sets (and later, Dragon Boxes), the cast was not ready for this kind of anime. They couldn't portray the characters' personalities very well, and the actors weren't experienced in voice acting (you could call them "newbies" at voice acting). But when Kai was licensed and dubbed by FUNimation, the actors became more experienced beforehand and became "ready" for the anime this time around, and their work is fantastic, just another reason to support Kai. However, the sets being released for Kai are overpriced and small (13 episodes on 2 discs for at least 40 USD as a retail price). Also, it is uncut, so video and audio content is not touched from the Japanese version (which is available on these sets). For these uncut sets, they redubbed the series as it should have been in the first pace (swearing, very accurate scripts to the Japanese version). I've been thinking about this, and it might give some people problems. An example: A little kid (a fan of the Kai series on TV) sees a Kai DVD, and persuades his/her parents to buy it for him/her. When he/she watches it with his/her parents, the swearing pops up and the parents see it as an "adult show" and a bad influence on their child. (Of course, the kid didn't even know about the swearing either.) That could be a problem for the child's love for the anime, and the parents would obviously interfere. They're still great sets, a little expensive for not even 6 hours of content, and the only extras are the textless opening/ending themes. Wait until they finish dubbing the series and buy 26-episode sets, if they ever release those when they finish. The audio quality (on the dub, anyway) is amazing, especially on the Blu-ray releases. The music, in my opinion, is much better than Dragon Ball Z's original score, I prefer this soundtrack much more. The video quality on the Blu-ray sets are pretty good, not to be compared with Dragon Box quality, which I will get to.

Note that the Dragon Box sets are aimed at fans of the Japanese version. It's actually nice for us "hardcore fans" to be the center of attention for a home release of a Dragon Ball anime. Plus, dub fans of the original series can also enjoy the pristine quality of these sets (more money for FUNimation). The Dragon Boxes are marvelous releases, and you can just skip all the filler if you want. They were remastered frame-by-frame by Toei themselves using the original 16mm masters, including the original animation cels. So, FUNimation had nothing to do with this remastering process. However, like I said, the voice actors for the dub were not ready at the time, and there are many script changes and makes the anime look childish (if the parents would watch this dub with their child, they would accept it, which is a big problem when the child discovers the Japanese version). Anyway, the audio quality is remastered to a certain extent, but, since the anime was originally recorded in Mono, the audio will always have that "aged" feeling to it, no matter how great the video quality is. Speaking of the video quality, it is amazing. There's just enough film grain on the screen to make the quality stand out and look beautiful. There are some traces of the "old feeling", which is good. Like I said before, I prefer Kai's music over Dragon Ball Z's Japanese score, but the music is OK and the quality is good. Actually, American Dragon Box sets are somewhat brighter than their Japanese counterparts, mainly because NTSC standards on American TV sets are a bit different from Japanese TV sets. Most people say the Dragon Box sets are the definitive Dragon Ball Z collection, and they may very well be. Unfortunately, FUNimation hasn't put any extras in their Dragon Box releases, while the Japanese boxes have whole discs worth of extras (called the Dragon Box SPECIAL DISC). I have heard that the Dragon Boxes look better on a TV set that doesn't have an HD output enabled. I don't know if this is true (I watch my DVDs on a TV with an HDMI output, and the Dragon Box sets still looks gorgeous).

I didn't add the fact that FUNimation's Dragon Box sets are much quieter compared to the Japanese release, it isn't that big of a deal anyway, nor the 2-channel/1-channel Mono difference.

[Sir Infamous]

I bought the entire series in the orange colored DBZ remastered DVDs.

I have two problems with them.

1. The video is cropped to a widescreen 16:9 format from the original 16:12 format, which means the top and bottom of the picture is cut off. I would not mind this IF they allowed us to watch in fullscreen aka the regular 16:12 format as well, but it does not give you that option.

2. Audio wise you can watch three versions. English dub with Japanese music, English dub with Faulconer music, original Japanese dub with English subtitles. I realize now I prefer the Japanese version, but THE SOUND QUALITY SUCKS in the Japanese version, it's in very LOW QUALITY MONO.


Does the Dragon box fix these problems? Do they add new problems?

[BluezaBladeNZ]

I bought the entire series in the orange colored DBZ remastered DVDs.

I have two problems with them.

1. The video is cropped to a widescreen 16:9 format from the original 16:12 format, which means the top and bottom of the picture is cut off. I would not mind this IF they allowed us to watch in fullscreen aka the regular 16:12 format as well, but it does not give you that option.

2. Audio wise you can watch three versions. English dub with Japanese music, English dub with BF IS AN A-HOLE music, original Japanese dub with English subtitles. I realize now I prefer the Japanese version, but THE SOUND QUALITY SUCKS in the Japanese version, it's in very LOW QUALITY MONO.


Does the Dragon box fix these problems? Do they add new problems?

The video on the Dragon Box is uncropped fullscreen with unsaturated colours and better levels with grain intact. t's also had a frame-by-frame restoration so nearly all film damage has been removed.

The japanese track is still mono on the Dragon Box but it's far better compared to the Orange Bricks, the only downside or problem would be the removal of the broadcast score for people who prefer it (Not me thankfully), but since these sets were more aimed towards fans of the japanese version, this removal is pretty much irrevelant.

[Gotham22]

Fullscreen,
Next episode previews in English/Japanese
All the openings/endings (English and Japanese)
Full Japanese audio track 5.1, full English audio track 5.1, English track with Japanese music 5.1
Super Dragonbook - Everything on all 3 series and movies/specials (characters, techniques, etc.
Episode listing/discription booklets.

Dragon Ball
Disc 1 - Episodes 1-7
Disc 2 - Episodes 8-14
Disc 3 - Episodes 15-21
Disc 4 - Episodes 22-28
Disc 5 - Episodes 29-35
Disc 6 - Episodes 36-42
Disc 7 - Episodes 43-49
Disc 8 - Episodes 50-56
Disc 9 - Episodes 57-63
Disc 10 - Episodes 64-70
Disc 11 - Episodes 71-77
Disc 12 - Episodes 78-84
Disc 13 - Episodes 85-91
Disc 14 - Episodes 92-98
Disc 15 - Episodes 99-105
Disc 16 - Episodes 106-112
Disc 17 - Episodes 113-119
Disc 18 - Episodes 120-126
Disc 19 - Episodes 127-133
Disc 20 - Episodes 134-140
Disc 21 - Episodes 141-147
Disc 22 - Episodes 148-153

Dragon Ball Z
Disc 1 - Episodes 1-7
Disc 2 - Episodes 8-14
Disc 3 - Episodes 15-21
Disc 4 - Episodes 22-28
Disc 5 - Episodes 29-35
Disc 6 - Episodes 36-42
Disc 7 - Episodes 43-49
Disc 8 - Episodes 50-56
Disc 9 - Episodes 57-63
Disc 10 - Episodes 64-70
Disc 11 - Episodes 71-77
Disc 12 - Episodes 78-84
Disc 13 - Episodes 85-91
Disc 14 - Episodes 92-98
Disc 15 - Episodes 99-105
Disc 16 - Episodes 106-112
Disc 17 - Episodes 113-119
Disc 18 - Episodes 120-126
Disc 19 - Episodes 127-133
Disc 20 - Episodes 134-140
Disc 21 - Episodes 141-147
Disc 22 - Episodes 148-153
Disc 23 - Episodes 154-160
Disc 24 - Episodes 161-167
Disc 25 - Episodes 168-174
Disc 26 - Episodes 175-181
Disc 27 - Episodes 182-188
Disc 28 - Episodes 189-195
Disc 29 - Episodes 196-202
Disc 30 - Episodes 203-209
Disc 31 - Episodes 210-216
Disc 32 - Episodes 217-223
Disc 33 - Episodes 224-230
Disc 34 - Episodes 231-237
Disc 35 - Episodes 238-244
Disc 36 - Episodes 245-251
Disc 37 - Episodes 252-258
Disc 38 - Episodes 259-265
Disc 39 - Episodes 266-272
Disc 40 - Episodes 273-279
Disc 41 - Episodes 280-285
Disc 42 - Episodes 286-291

Dragon Ball GT
Disc 1 - Episodes 1-7
Disc 2 - Episodes 8-14
Disc 3 - Episodes 15-21
Disc 4 - Episodes 22-28
Disc 5 - Episodes 29-35
Disc 6 - Episodes 36-42
Disc 7 - Episodes 43-48
Disc 8 - Episodes 49-54
Disc 9 - Episodes 55-59
Disc 10 - Episodes 60-64


Dragon Ball/Z/GT Movies/Specials
Disc 1 - Movies 1-4
Disc 2 - Movies 1-3
Disc 3 - Movies 4-6
Disc 4 - Movies 7-9
Disc 5 - Movies 10-13
Disc 6 - Movie 1
Disc 7 - Specials 1-3
Disc 8 - OVA
Disc 9 - Extras