I just wanted to share a bit about my quest to track down all of Dragon Ball, Z, and GT on good ol' fashioned tape and my quest to watch all of Dragon Ball in its various forms. Now, the first question I'm sure most of you might ask is...
"Why?"
Well, to be honest, I've been feeling rather nostalgic about DB lately, and I've decided to indulge in a little trip down memory lane. Dragon Ball was the first anime I watched (before I knew what "anime" was) when it aired for a couple of months on Saturday mornings in my hometown, and I've been itching to relive some of that experience. Now, I'm just as much of a "purist" as some of the best/worst around here (and I've been lurking for many many years), but I thought it would be fun to experience the show like it was when I was first exposed to it.
I just want to say that I do have all of the original show on DVD, and all of Z on DVD (in various forms). Here's where my second goal comes into play. I'd like to own a copy of every release of Dragon Ball, Z, and GT. Now, this isn't just completely for senseless kicks. I'm actually really interested in experiencing how the show has evolved over the years during the various releases the show's had. I also love old tapes, as they were what I bought when I first got into anime. So along with documenting my personal quest to watch the show in its different iterations, I'll be posting my quest to track down all of the show's releases. I'm almost halfway, and I just have to say it's been a very tough journey for various reasons (which I'll get into later, I think).
So without further ado, here's my tentative viewing order:
Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (Kidmark VHS release, bundled w/ Saga of Goku) DONE!
Dragon Ball: Saga of Goku (Kidmark 7-tape VHS set) DONE!
Dragon Ball: Season 1 (Funimation "Blue Brick" 1), episodes 1-13, dub DONE!
Dragon Ball: Tournament Saga (Funimation DVD set 2), dub DONE!
Dragon Ball: Red Ribbon Army Saga (Funimation DVD set 3), dub DONE!
Dragon Ball: General Blue Saga (Funimation DVD set 4), dub In progress...
Dragon Ball: Commander Red Saga (Funimation DVD set 5), dub
Dragon Ball: Fortune Teller Baba Saga (Funimation DVD set 6), dub
Dragon Ball: Tien Shinhan Saga (Funimation DVD set 7), dub
Dragon Ball: King Piccolo Saga (Funimation DVD sets 8.1, 8.2), dub
Dragon Ball: Piccolo Jr. Saga (Funimation DVD sets 9.1, 9.2), dub
Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (Funimation VHS release), dub
Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (Funimation VHS release), dub
Dragon Ball: Path to Power (Funimation VHS release), dub
Now, I went with DVD's for the bulk of Dragon Ball because I already owned all ten Saga sets Funi put out. This has let me start picking up some of the DBZ I don't have on tape yet, and I can fill in the VHS releases later. That said, I'm still on the fence about possibly rewatching it on tape right away for the parts of the show that are available on tape, rather than waiting for my next cycle-through.
Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (Pioneer edited VHS), dub
Dragon Ball Z: Saiyan Saga (Pioneer edited VHS set), dub
Dragon Ball Z: World's Strongest (Pioneer edited VHS), dub
Dragon Ball Z: Namek Saga (Pioneer edited VHS set), dub
Dragon Ball Z: Tree of Might (Pioneer edited VHS), dub
And that's as far as I've gotten in planning my Z quest. I do intend to continue watching it on VHS, but I can't decide if I want to continue watching it edited or if I want to just jump into the unedited VHS. I'd love to hear some input! My only thought was that if I go through the unedited first, I'll have much less interest in going back to watch the edited later, but of course I'll look forward to watching the uncut if I watch the edited first. I also have to figure out which volumes have no edited version available. I guess ideally I'd go:
Cycle 1: DB edited VHS, dub (first 13 eps) > DB unedited VHS, dub (through tape 2 of Tien Saga) > DB unedited DVD, dub (through rest of show) > DBZ edited VHS > DBGT unedited VHS
Cycle 2: DB unedited DVD, dub > DBZ UUE DVD, dub (through disc 2 of Namek saga) > DBZ Dragon Box 2 (through end of Namek), dub > DBZ unedited VHS > DBGT DVD (single releases), dub
Cycle 3: DB unedited DVD, sub > DBZ UUE DVD, sub (through disc 2 of Namek saga) > DBZ Dragon Box 2 (through end of Namek), sub > DBZ unedited DVD (rest of show), sub > DBGT DVD, sub
Cycle 4: The "brick" releases
Cycle 5: Dragon Box releases
Cycle 6: ???
Now, I don't expect this to be a fast project. I watch about 2-3 episodes a day currently, though that may go up or down occasionally. I'd love to hear what folks think of my idea, and would anyone be interested in me posting Youtube videos with commentary and such?
Also, if it's kosher with forum rules, I'd love to post which releases I still need to track down, and maybe pick them up off members. I've had a dickens of a time finding some quality copies of the VHS releases, so I could really use a bit of help.
Thanks!!
Absolutely! 