Why do people think DBKai will end with the Cell arc?

[Piccolo Daimao]

Why do people think that Dragon Ball Kai will end with the Cell arc? Because I just don't see it. Why wouldn't they go all the way until the end of the series and just stop in the middle? It would lose the companies profit and potentially confuse a lot of first-time viewers who may know that there's still more to watch.

[JulieYBM]

Why do people think that Dragon Ball Kai will end after the Cell Games? Because I just don't see it. Why wouldn't they go all the way until the end of the series and just stop in the middle? It would be stupid, lose the companies profit and potentially confuse a lot of first-time viewers who may know that there's still more to watch.

Haven't the usual theories been posted all over the board already?

•Low merchandise sells.
•Series director unsure they would be going beyond the Cell arc, unsure they could afford Mitsuya Yûji.
•Cast announcements for recasts aren't being made before characters appear.
•Promo art for the Artificial Humans arc took a while before coming out.
•The use of AKB48 to potentially help sales.
•No update from Happinet yet.
•Toriko was announced to take over the timeslot but no explanation has been given for what is going to happen to Kai.
•The initial promotional material only covered up through Freeza. With Midorikawa Hikaru casted as Tenshinhan it might be possible Toei didn't plan to cover even the Artificial Humans at first.

[Piccolo Daimao]

Why do people think that Dragon Ball Kai will end after the Cell Games? Because I just don't see it. Why wouldn't they go all the way until the end of the series and just stop in the middle? It would be stupid, lose the companies profit and potentially confuse a lot of first-time viewers who may know that there's still more to watch.

Haven't the usual theories been posted all over the board already?

•Low merchandise sells.
•Series director unsure they would be going beyond the Cell arc, unsure they could afford Mitsuya Yûji.
•Cast announcements for recasts aren't being made before characters appear.
•Promo art for the Artificial Humans arc took a while before coming out.
•The use of AKB48 to potentially help sales.
•No update from Happinet yet.
•Toriko was announced to take over the timeslot but no explanation has been given for what is going to happen to Kai.
•The initial promotional material only covered up through Freeza. With Midorikawa Hikaru casted as Tenshinhan it might be possible Toei didn't plan to cover even the Artificial Humans at first.

Hmm...that's interesting. I knew about the Toriko thing, but I still don't think Kai would be cancelled just because another show's taking its timeslot, since Kai can air at another time, replace another show's timeslot or be aired on a different channel.

But I think it would be a real smack in the face for DB fans to end at the Cell arc.

[Innagadadavida]

To be fair we no absolutely nothing of sales other than hearsay from someone loosely involved. There are no concrete numbers, so I hardly see how that can be used as a valid argument for cancellation. Timeslots change all the time.

[dragondyle]

I've always though the end of the Cell arc would have been a really good ending to the series. Goku is dead for good, leaving Gohan the main protecter and Earth is at peace. We didn't need the Buu arc.

[El Diabeetus]

I've always though the end of the Cell arc would have been a really good ending to the series. Goku is dead for good, leaving Gohan the main protecter and Earth is at peace. We didn't need the Buu arc.

That maybe; but, that goes against the point of Kai being a "Closer to the Toriyama manga cut", whether people like it or not, Buu's part of the manga.

I personally like the Buu arc. But that doesn't matter.

[dragondyle]

I've always though the end of the Cell arc would have been a really good ending to the series. Goku is dead for good, leaving Gohan the main protecter and Earth is at peace. We didn't need the Buu arc.

That maybe; but, that goes against the point of Kai being a "Closer to the Toriyama manga cut", whether people like it or not, Buu's part of the manga.

I personally like the Buu arc. But that doesn't matter.

Oh yeah definately. Kai needs Buu for it to be with what it's suppose to be. I was just putting my opinion in there Story wise, I don't think we needed it and it totally strayed away from the idea of Gohan being the main hero. But then Goku had to step in again.
Buu is iffy for me. It's nostalgic to me but there was a few things I didn't like. I'd actually love to see Buu saga in Kai to see how it is. Just hope they get that far :/

[El Diabeetus]

I've always though the end of the Cell arc would have been a really good ending to the series. Goku is dead for good, leaving Gohan the main protecter and Earth is at peace. We didn't need the Buu arc.

That maybe; but, that goes against the point of Kai being a "Closer to the Toriyama manga cut", whether people like it or not, Buu's part of the manga.

I personally like the Buu arc. But that doesn't matter.

Oh yeah definately. Kai needs Buu for it to be with what it's suppose to be. I was just putting my opinion in there Story wise, I don't think we needed it and it totally strayed away from the idea of Gohan being the main hero. But then Goku had to step in again.
Buu is iffy for me. It's nostalgic to me but there was a few things I didn't like. I'd actually love to see Buu saga in Kai to see how it is. Just hope they get that far :/

Oh yeah, I know what you're saying. Yeah, that sucks that Toriyama didn't get to use his original idea of Gohan being the hero; but, ah well.

I still think Kai will go on, just move to a different time slot if anything.

[dragondyle]

Oh yeah, I know what you're saying. Yeah, that sucks that Toriyama didn't get to use his original idea of Gohan being the hero; but, ah well.

I still think Kai will go on, just move to a different time slot if anything.

I know right? Dumb producers. I'd love to see Gohan be the hero for the rest of the series.

I'm kinda on the fence with it. Is there any more BIG support, funding, ect. going into Kai right now?

[TripleRach]

To be fair we no absolutely nothing of sales other than hearsay from someone loosely involved. There are no concrete numbers, so I hardly see how that can be used as a valid argument for cancellation. Timeslots change all the time.

I don't know about general merchandise sales in Japan, but there are numbers for the DVDs and Blu-rays. According to ANN, none of the DVDs have charted since #6 (the end of the Saiyan arc) in February. Most of the Blu-rays (except Boxes 3 and 4) made the top 20 their first week of release, but they aren't selling enough to chart multiple weeks.

As for time slots, they aren't that big of deal in US television, where shows do shuffle around all the time. But from what I've seen of Japanese television, shows don't change time slots nearly as often.

[Ussj Future Trunks]

Gohan would be a horrible hero. He never wanted to fight and when the time came, he still needed Goku to coach him through it. It felt unnatural anyway. It's not like Goku was an old man passing on the legacy, and stayed dead for a flimsy bullshit reason. Gohan was always gonna be a scholar IMO.

[JulieYBM]

I wrote the bullet about domestic sales based on both the lack of home video sales hittting the charts (or at least very high) and also this news post made by Kanzentai. Dragon Ball doesn't really seem to be screaming 'hot' anymore, even though it is paired up with One Piece like so. If a pairing with the largest franchise in Japan right now isn't working for Dragon Ball Kai it might be the executives idea to remove the waste and pair it with an up-and-coming star (Toriko).

[Ishtar318]

Even though Kai may not be doing incredibly well in Japan, it has been a huge success in the US. I'm sure the people at FUNimation would be very disappointed if they saw it get canceled after the Cell saga.

[JulieYBM]

Even though Kai may not be doing incredibly well in Japan, it has been a huge success in the US. I'm sure the people at FUNimation would be very disappointed if they saw it get canceled after the Cell saga.

Are there any figures other that can back that up? Assuming it rings true, nonetheless, I don't think FUNimation and their market is on Toei's mind when it comes to having to produce the show themselves. Even with licensing fees I doubt FUNimation is paying as much to produce their show as Toei is.

[B]

To be fair we no absolutely nothing of sales other than hearsay from someone loosely involved. There are no concrete numbers, so I hardly see how that can be used as a valid argument for cancellation. Timeslots change all the time.

I don't know about general merchandise sales in Japan, but there are numbers for the DVDs and Blu-rays. According to ANN, none of the DVDs have charted since #6 (the end of the Saiyan arc) in February. Most of the Blu-rays (except Boxes 3 and 4) made the top 20 their first week of release, but they aren't selling enough to chart multiple weeks.

Not sure if that's very indicative of anything. Newly-produced-with-ground-up-animation shounen shows don't do wonders on home releases(most likely because it's $40 dollars for four episodes and everyone's already bought the $6 manga).

[Super Sayian Prime]

To be fair we no absolutely nothing of sales other than hearsay from someone loosely involved. There are no concrete numbers, so I hardly see how that can be used as a valid argument for cancellation. Timeslots change all the time.

I assume you're ignoring all the quarterly reports from Namco Bandai which have stated for the past few quarters decreased Dragon Ball merchandise sales, and forecasting even less? They're a public company, and this knowledge isn't a secret. Kai's biggest strength has been in the ratings department. Which is fine in the US, but a lot of Japanese animation is solely created to push merchandise, be it manga (hello Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, One Piece, and yes even the original Dragon Ball), toys, or home video releases. If Kai's not pushing any of that, then Kai's kind of expendable.

I suspect that the timeslot change (since I do believe it's a timeslot change, and not an outright cancellation) is being used to see if One Piece was the reason for the strong ratings, while launching Toriko to the masses.

[TVfan721]

It's not surprising at all if Kai is not doing well. It's just another re-release, there's nothing new or original about it at all.

[AgitoZ]

It's not surprising at all if Kai is not doing well. It's just another re-release, there's nothing new or original about it at all.

Agreed, because DBZ was so original. It's not based on anything at all....oh wait.

[Piccolo Daimao]

It's not surprising at all if Kai is not doing well. It's just another re-release, there's nothing new or original about it at all.

Agreed, because DBZ was so original. It's not based on anything at all....oh wait.

You're missing his point. Dragon Ball Kai is essentially the same Dragon Ball Z show, just with touched-up animation, removed filler and minor differences like a few new voice actors and script. But it's still the same show, the same story and no new animation.

[AgitoZ]

You're missing his point. Dragon Ball Kai is essentially the same Dragon Ball Z show, just with touched-up animation, removed filler and minor differences like a few new voice actors and script. But it's still the same show, the same story and no new animation.

Too bad, I wasn't responding to his point. I was simply pointing something out. Kai is derivative of something that's derivative of another.