Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 1 Discussion

[funrush]

Well, for review, this is the email I sent the guy way back when. It seems vague at first, but really, it confirmed that the sets would have Kikuchi.

I wrote:
I have recently seen the Rightstuf listing for "Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 1" and I was wondering, will this set have the Dragon Ball Z score composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi that was recently placed in "Kai" Part 5, or will it have the musical score that was in "Kai" Parts 1-4 by Kenji Yamamoto. Knowing the answer to this question may help me decide if I should double dip for these sets.

Thank you.


Funimation wrote:
To Whom It May Concern,
It will be the new musical score that was included on Dragon Ball Z Kai Part 5.
Thanks,
Product Concerns

[MoltenMan]

Looks like somebody needs to be inspecting their products then. XD

[MajinVejitaXV]

But couldn't one argue that the mention of Kikuchi and "Original Japanese Score" could lead someone to believe it means the Original Z score?

I'm sure they could, but that'd similar to believing that Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood would have the same original score as Fullmetal Alchemist, simply because they have similar names. Sure, FMA: Brotherhood is reanimated, but DBZ: Kai is supposed to be completely different (in FUNi's eyes) from DBZ. Kai was originally aired, and conceived, with a Yamamoto score. Hence, "Original Japanese Score" would be Yamamoto. If it said, "Revised Japanese Score" or "New Score From Japan," I'd be more willing to budge.

Notice that I'm not saying you're wrong, simply that the following is objective fact:
-FUNi announced this release, which taking into account the precedent set by their other properties, was probably just a consolidated re-release.
-FUNimation's customer service was contacted, based on the speculation that the score might be replaced. FUNi's rep said "Yes, it'll be Kikuchi."
-No marketing materials mentioned any music change whatsoever, even though it'd be an excellent double-dip opportunity.
-The new release says Kikuchi on the back and has Yamamoto's score...but the Kai Part 5 set (I don't have Part 6 yet) says Yamamoto and has Kikuchi's score...so let's just agree that FUNi sucks at proofreading/fact-checking.

I doubt this was a 'mix-up' the more I dig into it. However, FUNi can answer for themselves.

[bkev]

I have this bizarre theory that the Kikuchi score hasn't been testing well in markets and they put back the Yamamoto score on the DVDs/blu-rays on purpose. Maybe Nicktoons doesn't want to risk legal trouble with the score and continues to use the Kikuchi mix? It would be interesting to see if FUNimation's original claim that the score was too boring for American children turned out to be fact... does anybody have data for the ratings before/after the switch?

[funrush]

You know, I've been listening to the Daizex podcast, and apparently, there have been reports from people who have been buying Part 4 and reporting that they have the Kikuchi score now. A stealthy switch, kind of like the old Trunks DVDs.

[DB_Fan1991]

I may get this anyways just so I can have the series uncut, but it is disappointing that Kikuchi's score isn't on there.

[SuperSaiyan3Goku]

You know, I've been listening to the Daizex podcast, and apparently, there have been reports from people who have been buying Part 4 and reporting that they have the Kikuchi score now. A stealthy switch, kind of like the old Trunks DVDs.

Heh, if this is true, what about Sets 1-3?

I may just have to buy the part sets.

[thedarkuniter]

You know, I've been listening to the Daizex podcast, and apparently, there have been reports from people who have been buying Part 4 and reporting that they have the Kikuchi score now. A stealthy switch, kind of like the old Trunks DVDs.

Heh, if this is true, what about Sets 1-3?

I may just have to buy the part sets.

Oh wow. If that's the case, how the heck do we know what score is on the set when we order it online or in-store?

[funrush]

Well, does anyone back from the days of the singles know how they could tell the difference between the Trunks sets other than the obvious added two episode guide on the back.

[MajinVejitaXV]

Well, does anyone back from the days of the singles know how they could tell the difference between the Trunks sets other than the obvious added two episode guide on the back.

The font changed, the burst with the "two versions" text was smaller, and so on. I sold them back in 2004 so it's been awhile. ;p

[MoltenMan]

Now I'm just confused.

Is it safe to buy the Wal-Mart sets, or is something in the other set(s) going to, or already is different?

XD

[funrush]

My suggestion: Save your money right now until we have a single idea about what the hell is going on. Funi still hasn't emailed me, and it's been six days now.

[MajinVejitaXV]

You know, I've been listening to the Daizex podcast, and apparently, there have been reports from people who have been buying Part 4 and reporting that they have the Kikuchi score now. A stealthy switch, kind of like the old Trunks DVDs.

That was one guy, if I'm not mistaken. Was it even independently verified?

[MoltenMan]

I don't believe so. Outside of that one comment, I haven't heard or read about anyone finding such a thing.

[DBfan4life]

Wow! So yeah, I just read this today and found out about how these sets have the musical problem. Some being Yamamoto and some being Kikuchi. I bought my Blu Ray set yesterday and it is already shipped from Amazon. I'm just wondering now which one is it going to be. Anyone who bought the Blu Ray know if it is Kikuchi or Yamamoto?

[DanielGClapp]

So these season sets will have the same menu's as the parts? That's stupid. I was considering replacing my part sets with these since they have the same score and everything, and I like the packaging better than the parts, but if the menu's are inconsistent, then that's a huge turnoff. Not to mention the inconsistency of scores.

So will this be the last release for Kai, or do you think it will get re-released again?

[Tanooki Kuribo]

Wow! So yeah, I just read this today and found out about how these sets have the musical problem. Some being Yamamoto and some being Kikuchi. I bought my Blu Ray set yesterday and it is already shipped from Amazon. I'm just wondering now which one is it going to be. Anyone who bought the Blu Ray know if it is Kikuchi or Yamamoto?

It's going to be Yamamoto (the original Kai score). No one has the Kikuchi score on their "season" sets....yet.

[DBfan4life]

It's going to be Yamamoto (the original Kai score). No one has the Kikuchi score on their "season" sets....yet.

I see. I guess I will just keep them and then replace them when they start changing the season set to the Kikuchi score like how they secretly did with part 4 of Kai. That is assuming the next season set actually has Kikuchi and not Yamamoto.

[funrush]

You know, I've been listening to the Daizex podcast, and apparently, there have been reports from people who have been buying Part 4 and reporting that they have the Kikuchi score now. A stealthy switch, kind of like the old Trunks DVDs.

That was one guy, if I'm not mistaken. Was it even independently verified?

I don't even know. I think you're right about it being one guy, though. The thing is, at this point I don't think anyone has the want to round up the money to see if this is true, considering the chances of it being true might be low.

[Nadian]

Just more information surrounding the repackaged nature of the season sets. A user mentioned earlier that the DVD volumes indicated they were the part releases as well. This is probably no surprise since I believe the menus do as well.

I have yet to see anybody mention the disc sizes because they could reveal some interesting information. In particular, Part 1 Disc 1 reported itself as 90GB while the other three discs showed up as the usual 7-8GB. This quirk I've only seen on Funimation DVDs during something like a 1-2 year time frame. More recent Funimation titles do not do this, old-enough Funimation titles don't either.

This suggests that P1D1 is literally the same image used in the first Part release. More interestingly, it raises the question why P1D2 isn't the same. I'd compare it to the original Part 1's second disc if I hadn't already boxed that up in preparation for moving. It might mean Funimation touched something on that second disc even though they apparently didn't change the musical score. Or it could be that right in the middle of the Kai Part 1 release was when they stopped doing that, but if it's the former then that could indicate deliberate ignoring of the issue on Funimation's part.

All speculation, of course, and a bit of a dead end unless I brave the boxes to find the one I packed Dragon Ball stuff into.