FUNimation DBZ TV Blu-ray Official On-Going Thread

[ect5150]

No I think Kai is worse some of the filler is good in my opinion. But it depends on person I grew up with DBZ and don't really like kai but it personal preference.

I grew up with Z too, but I don't think I could watch through 20 episodes of Goku and Freeza fighting with nothing much happening.
There is only so many times a can look at pans of the Namek landscape before I loose my mind.

There is no going home again for me.

With Kai, I could actually stomach the dub. But when the music changed back due to the legal issues I just couldn't. And I think the original performance in Z was better in the sub than the Kai sub version. I'm stuck going back to Z either way - or just watching the first chunk of episodes with the new music.

[kemuri07]

Is anyone else going to find it extremely difficult to watch 'Z' again after watching 'Kai'?

I'm not saying Kai was a perfect production, but the amount of filler, padding, time-wasting, etc, post Saiyan-saga makes Z a chore at best for me to watch.

Does anyone else feel this way?

I'm going through that right now. Watching my Dragon Box vol. 1 is an absolute grind.

[thedarkuniter]

Is anyone else going to find it extremely difficult to watch 'Z' again after watching 'Kai'?

I'm not saying Kai was a perfect production, but the amount of filler, padding, time-wasting, etc, post Saiyan-saga makes Z a chore at best for me to watch.

Does anyone else feel this way?

I'm going through that right now. Watching my Dragon Box vol. 1 is an absolute grind.

I agree as well. For the Saiyan and Namek arcs, I have a really hard time watching the Z version nowadays, especially during the Freeza fight. For the Cell and Majin Boo saga though, I have no problems with the Z pacing.

[Choujin Daizenshuu]

Am I the only one who noticed the unintentional hilarity in this shot?

[jjgp1112]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you are

And aren't those from the Kai remastering process?

[Choujin Daizenshuu]

Actually, that's why it was a good choice. While it might look ugly, the orange spine is clearly supposed to harken back to the "bricks" and the colors by which the three series are identified. If there are Dragon Ball Blu-rays in the future they'll probably have blue spines and GT's would be green.

From a marketing angle, it makes perfect sense. You want the traditional DBZ series to be easily distinguished from Kai or the Dragon Boxes. Therefore you group like things together.

While I think the choice is aesthetically unappealing, I think it's also a good way to develop some kind of product association. Just because these sets will be remastered better than the Orange Bricks doesn't mean they aren't in the same lineage.

If I was a casual customer, I would be offended by this kind of post. That's like trying to say that I'm not smart enough to know that Dragon Ball Z is re-mastered for Blu-Ray unless the covers have the color orange on them.

[Tanooki Kuribo]

Am I the only one who noticed the unintentional hilarity in this shot?

What are you talking about?

[The Time Traveller]

Am I the only one who noticed the unintentional hilarity in this shot?

What are you talking about?

Jheese looking surprised at some red stuff?

[AgitoZ]

If I was a casual customer, I would be offended by this kind of post. That's like trying to say that I'm not smart enough to know that Dragon Ball Z is re-mastered for Blu-Ray unless the covers have the color orange on them.

Here's the thing, the casual consumer is pretty stupid, or at the very least ignorant. The phrase "the customer is always right" is a load of crap.

[Undercooked Sausage]

Just saw the price of this 1.1 set has gone up to $31.49 on Amazon.

I know Mike has been fairly gung-ho about how we shouldn't complain about the cost of this set. I get it, I guess, I was there in the 90s. I definitely bought subtitled tapes of Trigun that had 3 episodes on it for thirty bucks, but there is a reason why that business model for anime went away. I've bought this show twice now in the last five years(three times if you're counting Kai), and I've gotten very used to spending less than a dollar an episode on it for at least a couple years now. Seeing that nearly/almost double because of a blu-ray release does not make any sense to me whatsoever. Who is that price aimed at? The hardcore will be happy with their dragonbox, Pony Canyon remastering, and default japanese language track, the casual fans have either the bricks or the Dragonboxes or even Kai to choose from. Who really wants to spend 2 dollars an episode on Dragonball Z in 2011?

I'm predicting these sets will fail because there is so far nothing attractive about them to any particular audience out there and the oversaturation of Dragonball home video releases of the last couple years is seriously not helping things whatsoever.

[The Time Traveller]

Well the Dragon Boxes are about to end, can't have DBZ not being re-released....again.

Halfway through releasing the Blurays I'm guessing they'll either start doing DVD versions of them or do complete.... Levels...

[KiddoCabbusses]

I know Mike has been fairly gung-ho about how we shouldn't complain about the cost of this set. I get it, I guess, I was there in the 90s. I definitely bought subtitled tapes of Trigun that had 3 episodes on it for thirty bucks, but there is a reason why that business model for anime went away. I've bought this show twice now in the last five years(three times if you're counting Kai), and I've gotten very used to spending less than a dollar an episode on it for at least a couple years now. Seeing that nearly/almost double because of a blu-ray release does not make any sense to me whatsoever. Who is that price aimed at? The hardcore will be happy with their dragonbox, Pony Canyon remastering, and default japanese language track, the casual fans have either the bricks or the Dragonboxes or even Kai to choose from. Who really wants to spend 2 dollars an episode on Dragonball Z in 2011?

I'm predicting these sets will fail because there is so far nothing attractive about them to any particular audience out there and the oversaturation of Dragonball home video releases of the last couple years is seriously not helping things whatsoever.

I think there's quite a few DBZ-centric sets of fans that FUNi still hasn't exactly catered to, which they theoretically could with this new set (although it's questionable.)

For one, it's difficult to find a version of the dub that's close to the Toonami version now in terms of VA selection or visuals, thanks to FUNi redubbing over and over; FUNi's Blu-Rays have video that resemble that version color-wise, at least, which means it'll probably be the closest we'll get to that as it is. Perhaps they'll finally toss in some previously TV-only things. Maybe they'll even have high-quality versions of classic Toonami ads... I'd certainly enjoy a release like that.

They've also never finished releasing the entirety of the Mexican dub. With BluRay having more room for audio options, it's possible they can add this in now and finally cater to those fans.

Of course, if this turns out to be simply the best-looking version of Z, videophiles who prefer visual quality over authenticity to the Japanese version may consider this an "upgrade."

Some good bonus content in general would be good as well.

[Choujin Daizenshuu]

I think there's quite a few DBZ-centric sets of fans that FUNi still hasn't exactly catered to, which they theoretically could with this new set (although it's questionable.)

For one, it's difficult to find a version of the dub that's close to the Toonami version now in terms of VA selection or visuals, thanks to FUNi redubbing over and over; FUNi's Blu-Rays have video that resemble that version color-wise, at least, which means it'll probably be the closest we'll get to that as it is. Perhaps they'll finally toss in some previously TV-only things. Maybe they'll even have high-quality versions of classic Toonami ads... I'd certainly enjoy a release like that.

They've also never finished releasing the entirety of the Mexican dub. With BluRay having more room for audio options, it's possible they can add this in now and finally cater to those fans.

Of course, if this turns out to be simply the best-looking version of Z, videophiles who prefer visual quality over authenticity to the Japanese version may consider this an "upgrade."

Some good bonus content in general would be good as well.

Here's what I would rather have FUNimation do: I would rather have FUNimation work with the fanbase to ensure that the latest release of Dragon Ball Z is the best damn release money can buy. Get fan input on everything: video, audio, extras, the whole 9 yards. Have fellow FUNi reps work with fellow DaizEXers to ensure what works and what doesn't. I'd like to see the kind of treatment FUNi can do for Dragon Ball Z just like they did with One Piece. For One Piece, FUNi had translator "Mato" keep tabs with the fans on Arlong Park Forums to help ensure that One Piece can get a damn good release with the kinds of things fans can ask for as well as keeping tabs on the show's run on Toonami and what would stay and what wouldn't on the official DVD releases. I would like to see that same kind of teamwork for Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and even Dragon Ball GT. I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say that we're all tired of putting up with what FUNimation thinks we like rather than hearing and reading what we like.

Here's the thing, the casual consumer is pretty stupid, or at the very least ignorant. The phrase "the customer is always right" is a load of crap.

I've worked customer service. Trust me, I know the experience all too well.

Jheese looking surprised at some red stuff?

Nope. Guess again.

[The Time Traveller]

Jheese looking surprised at some red stuff?

Nope. Guess again.

Vegeta looking right at the person with long hair?!

[TonyTheTiger]

Actually, that's why it was a good choice. While it might look ugly, the orange spine is clearly supposed to harken back to the "bricks" and the colors by which the three series are identified. If there are Dragon Ball Blu-rays in the future they'll probably have blue spines and GT's would be green.

From a marketing angle, it makes perfect sense. You want the traditional DBZ series to be easily distinguished from Kai or the Dragon Boxes. Therefore you group like things together.

While I think the choice is aesthetically unappealing, I think it's also a good way to develop some kind of product association. Just because these sets will be remastered better than the Orange Bricks doesn't mean they aren't in the same lineage.

If I was a casual customer, I would be offended by this kind of post. That's like trying to say that I'm not smart enough to know that Dragon Ball Z is re-mastered for Blu-Ray unless the covers have the color orange on them.

No, it's like saying that FUNi has 3 or 4 competing Dragon Ball products on the shelves at any given moment, many of which are different releases of the same Z material and as such is in a position that requires them to provide at least some direction for people who would be unbelievably confused.

That's not a knock at the casual customer. The casual customer is fully justified in being confused because it genuinely is a confusing situation.

[Kendamu]

Not that these are the R2 Singles, but it would've been really neat if they used some of the R2 covers for these sets.

[Kingdom Heartless]

So my copy of Yu Yu Hakusho Season One arrived today... I never saw it on DVD or anything, but based on what little I had seen from trailers and what I was expecting, it looks pretty impressive. I won't be in any rush to buy Dragon Ball Z on DVD, but if it looks as good as Yu Yu Hakusho, I might be tempted to grab it up on special.

[Choujin Daizenshuu]

No, it's like saying that FUNi has 3 or 4 competing Dragon Ball products on the shelves at any given moment, many of which are different releases of the same Z material and as such is in a position that requires them to provide at least some direction for people who would be unbelievably confused.

That's not a knock at the casual customer. The casual customer is fully justified in being confused because it genuinely is a confusing situation.

Sorry, Tony. But, it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, the customer is still being taken for a fool and that's just not right. After all, wouldn't the casual customer in this case just read the different varieties to see what the difference is about anyway? Sure, there is an orange label but so what? I would still have to read the set to be 100% certain that the set is in fact the original series and not Kai. I'm not just going to pluck the set off the shelf, drop it into my basket and be on my merry way.

Vegeta looking right at the person with long hair?!

*Ding* You got it. In a way, it looks like Vegeta is saying "What the fuck are you doing to me, HUH?" to the person sitting at the keyboard.

[TonyTheTiger]

No, it's like saying that FUNi has 3 or 4 competing Dragon Ball products on the shelves at any given moment, many of which are different releases of the same Z material and as such is in a position that requires them to provide at least some direction for people who would be unbelievably confused.

That's not a knock at the casual customer. The casual customer is fully justified in being confused because it genuinely is a confusing situation.

But wouldn't the casual customer in this case just read the different varieties to see what the difference is about anyway? Sure, there is an orange label but so what? I would still have to read the set to be 100% certain that the set is in fact the original series and not Kai. I'm not just going to pluck the set off the shelf, drop it into my basket and be on my merry way.

Problem is, when you do that what you'll find yourself reading is "The way it was meant to be seen!" and various buzzwords like "HD Transfer" and "Remastered." Is it the Dragon Box? Is it an HD version of the DVDs? Is it a fresh remaster? Is it widescreen? Is it DVNRed up the ass? Which language tracks does it have? Which English voice cast does it have? You could ask 100 questions and have very few of them answered on the back of the box.

There really isn't a whole lot of outright direction. It's not like buying a copy of Windows where on the back there's a checklist detailing the differences between Home, Premium, Ultimate, etc. I actually think we're at the point where we could use something like that. Having the orange spine act as a universal identifier for "Original DBZ, FUNi masters version" or simply "flagship Dragon Ball Z product line" to clearly distinguish it from every other DB product out there, of which there are many, is a simple solution. Grouping like products together with some identifying mark is marketing 101.

I still think the orange clashes horribly. But I don't think they put it there without just cause.

[funrush]

So my copy of Yu Yu Hakusho Season One arrived today... I never saw it on DVD or anything, but based on what little I had seen from trailers and what I was expecting, it looks pretty impressive. I won't be in any rush to buy Dragon Ball Z on DVD, but if it looks as good as Yu Yu Hakusho, I might be tempted to grab it up on special.

What's pretty funny about that is that for those releases, they used the Japanese Blu-ray masters. I don't think Funimation had any work in creating those masters.