FUNimation DBZ TV Blu-ray Official On-Going Thread

[OneDragonZwill]

This isn't about me. This is about you folks, the ones calling the review awful, having to justify and explain WHY you think it was awful.

If an eight-year-old reviewed DragonBall Evolution the way an eight-year-old would and explained all the reasons they thought it was spectacular and how it totally deserves a 10 out of 10... no, I would have no qualms with that review, and wouldn't call it "terrible" or "awful".

But that's not the case here. This is someone who theoretically got paid to write a review for a professional website, and if you're going to critique it on this community, I'd ask that you do so with genuine critique. Blanket statements aren't going to cut it here.

the review SUCKED

[Ashura]

Constructively, you can read the review and disagree with it, but that's the guy's opinion. Nothing he talks about there is really wrong, and I think it's silly some of you guys are getting mad at him about liking the dub more than the sub. Sometimes it's just not people's cup of tea.

I think the main fault of the review is it's just too general and short, and misses answering a lot of questions most reviews should. It doesn't introduce the show to newbies, nor does anything to compare the audio, video, etc to past releases.

If you're writing a review like this, there are two major areas you can hit to make it worth reading; You could aim for the absolute new people who have never seen the show and have no idea what it's about, or the people who might be picking this up for the third time. Personally, in my opinion, I feel the best reviews combine both of these aims into one and cover their bases, but I've seen good reviews that focus on one or the other. This review does neither of those particularly well; it's very focused on his opinion and not much more.

For instance, if I was reviewing Funimation's new Bubblegum Crisis 2040 set, I would sure as cake talk about what the show's story is, my opinion on that story and its overall pacing, and then how this stacks up to ADV's other two releases. Does it have the overlay problems of their first set? Etc. etc. Answer the questions newbies and diehards probably are looking to ask.

This review pretty much assumes you've seen DBZ before and are sick of it. While your opinion of a show is valid (and I don't think it's necessarily a good thing to only review things you're positive about), there should always be enough information given so that the reader can also make a little bit of their own decision after reading as well.

I've read great reviews that I don't agree with, and I think that's an art. If it's still useful and informative to even those who do not agree with you, I think it's at that point you've done your job as a reviewer -- nay -- journalist.

[Kingdom Heartless]

the review SUCKED

What exactly has made you want to cause trouble?

It's not like any good can come of it. Why not be friendly, and avoid getting yourself into trouble?

[TripleRach]

the review SUCKED

This is not an acceptable post. On this forum, you're expected to type properly and speak in detail, per the forum rules. You were even quoting a post that specifically asked you to explain why you don't like it, so that should have been obvious.

EDIT: Now I see someone else already gave you a system warning for that post, but I'll leave this here, since I said something a little different.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

What's wrong with the review? The fact that he likes better the dub doesn't mean his review sucks.

[Craddle]

What's wrong with the review? The fact that he likes better the dub doesn't mean his review sucks.

Misinformation for starters.

[jjgp1112]

What's wrong with the review? The fact that he likes better the dub doesn't mean his review sucks.

Misinformation for starters.

As Marc said, given the trillion different releases, it's pretty understandable that someone would get their audio tracks mixed up.

[VegettoEX]

As Marc said, given the trillion different releases, it's pretty understandable that someone would get their audio tracks mixed up.

It's also a professional/paid site with proof-readers and should have some degree of fact-checking.

No, it's not a major issue. At all, really. But it's there, and it could be misleading for someone going to some of the larger/mainstream anime sites looking for legit information.

[monster]

Grain on this release is very heavy and while grain is a good thing with an animated show like this I do feel it could have used a little bit more dvnr.

I don't like the english title cards, very jarring if you are watching the original language version when a cheap looking title card written in english pops up and the title doesn't even match what the narrator is saying.I would prefer it if they kept all the original video intact and just subtitled the title and credits.

Subtitle font is nice but I would have preferred yellow over white.

No next episode preview is also a negative.

Audio quality of the jp version is quite poor but I guess Funi couldn't do anything about that.

Still a decent release, if you have the Dragonbox set I don't think you really need this Bluray version.

[Craddle]

Grain on this release is very heavy and while grain is a good thing with an animated show like this I do feel it could have used a little bit more dvnr.

I don't like the english title cards, very jarring if you are watching the original language version when a cheap looking title card written in english pops up and the title doesn't even match what the narrator is saying.I would prefer it if they kept all the original video intact and just subtitled the title and credits.

Subtitle font is nice but I would have preferred yellow over white.

No next episode preview is also a negative.

Audio quality of the jp version is quite poor but I guess Funi couldn't do anything about that.

Still a decent release, if you have the Dragonbox set I don't think you really need this Bluray version.

I completely agree with your review, aside from the DVNR. It does have some grain, but I think FUNi has learned their lesson with obsessive DVNR'ing. I would rather they left it alone, then to screw up a decent release. Also, I didn't find the JP audio to be poor. Sub-Dragon Box quality? Yes, slightly.

The only thing you didn't mention was the one major thing I consider a plus for this release. The color corrections. IMO this release has the best colors of any releases. (Yes, "any".) The only down side is the image can be slightly darker then normal. However, I think the huge improvement in the colors trumps the darkness in some spots.



Do I think it's worth buying if you have the Dragon Boxes? No.
Do I think you should buy these instead of the Dragon Boxes? No. (At this point some fans may not have a choice.)
Do I think this is FUNi's best attempt at remastering DBZ? Yes, by far.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

Misinformation for starters.

Like? Don't tell me the thing with the DBoxes he said. This review is not for the DBoxes.

[Craddle]

Misinformation for starters.

Like? Don't tell me the thing with the DBoxes he said. This review is not for the DBoxes.

You should try reading the thread before posting. We're just repeating the same thing over and over. I've already been over this. And no, I'm not saying what he said. He was saying what I said.

"The thing is, if you own, say, the Dragon Box sets, you already have all of the audio options."

Wrong. The Dragon Box does not include the Faulconer score. Which will be an audio option on these releases.

No, this review is not for the Dragon Boxes. However, you can't dismiss incorrect information just because it best suits your opinion. The fact is that statement was part of the review. Therefore, it is relevant to the discussion.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

I've read the thread, and your main problem is the DBoxes false comment, a comment he made for a different product, so this comment shouldn't be a main factor for a bad review. The dub, he likes it better, he dislikes Nozawa, he doesn't like very much both music tracks, he prefers Kai over Z. All those is his opinion. You may disagree, I may disagree. But this doesn't make the review awful.

[KiddoCabbusses]

Since we're on the subject of reviews, I think this may be one a lot of you folks may prefer to see.

http://www.kentaiblog.com/2011/11/we-go ... ac9957372d

(NOTE: Don't worry about the 18+ warning, at least not if you're just looking at the DBZ Blu-Ray review).

It notably goes into a lot more detail about why the Blu-Ray, SPECIFICALLY, has over what previous releases do not, even going as far as to compare the remastering process to other well-known remastering processes.

[Craddle]

I've read the thread, and your main problem is the DBoxes false comment, a comment he made for a different product, so this comment shouldn't be a main factor for a bad review. The dub, he likes it better, he dislikes Nozawa, he doesn't like very much both music tracks, he prefers Kai over Z. All those is his opinion. You may disagree, I may disagree. But this doesn't make the review awful.

He made the DBox comment in relation to this release. Essentially saying that this release has all the audio options of the Dragon Boxes. He is comparing the 2. Comparisons of previous releases is part of the review process.

I never said it was awful. I said there is bad information in the review.

I also said that he contradicts himself on multiple occasions. Also, bad for a reviewer to do. (if they want to be taken seriously.)

Edit:

Since we're on the subject of reviews, I think this may be one a lot of you folks may prefer to see.

http://www.kentaiblog.com/2011/11/we-go ... ac9957372d

(NOTE: Don't worry about the 18+ warning, at least not if you're just looking at the DBZ Blu-Ray review).

It notably goes into a lot more detail about why the Blu-Ray, SPECIFICALLY, has over what previous releases do not, even going as far as to compare the remastering process to other well-known remastering processes.

Whoa, that was a lot of reading. I'll let some others comment on the review before I dive into it.

However, I have to say the following 2 statements made me LOL.:

In a horrible twist of fate, FUNimation gave up the alternate angles right when they got their shit together and figured out how to encode DVDs that didn't look like pixelated asshole

Do you only own the "Season" widescreen DVDs and think they look "okay"? Skip it. This release is simply not for you, unless you want to empty out the Season DVDs and use them as ninja stars... which, actually, sounds kind of fun, doesn't it?

[Travis Touchdown]

I didn't mind the review, but then again I agree with most of what he said. For example, I'm a dub fan, so I enjoy Sean Schemmel's Goku especially during this arc, which was recorded last, ironically, so the cast is at their best.

I doubt if I'll buy the blu-rays though. I really only double-dipped with Kai because it was more/less something new; remastered in HD, cut out the filler, and a whole new dub. I like my stuff to be consistent, so I wouldn't really be interested in this set unless DB & GT were released also. This may be premature, but judging from the fact that there's been no word on DB & GT Dragon Boxes, I find it unlikely. Not impossible, just unlikely. So until there's word on DB & GT, I'll just continue to stick with my Season Bricks.

[KiddoCabbusses]

However, I have to say the following 2 statements made me LOL.:

In a horrible twist of fate, FUNimation gave up the alternate angles right when they got their shit together and figured out how to encode DVDs that didn't look like pixelated asshole

Do you only own the "Season" widescreen DVDs and think they look "okay"? Skip it. This release is simply not for you, unless you want to empty out the Season DVDs and use them as ninja stars... which, actually, sounds kind of fun, doesn't it?

My personal favorite notable quote, although this mostly funny if you're familiar with how DVNR has screwed with American cartoon releases on DVD, was:

One must keep in mind that this is a restoration of a 16mm low-budget TV series from multi-generational elements, not a Disney styled "trace the original frames, average in the backgrounds and let the computer sort it out" affair.

[superrayman3]

I just finished reading kentai's review of the blu ray's and if I can say one thing about it it's this. Kentai actually did a proper review compared to ANN he gives visual examples to some of his points, he didn't contradict himself, and he actually tried to answer some questions that newcomers might have about the release. All in all it was a pretty good read. My favorate part of the whole post was his remark about using the disks from the OB's as throwing stars which is what I might actually do when I get a blu-ray player and the level sets since the OB's are POS.

[Craddle]

I just finished reading kentai's review of the blu ray's and if I can say one thing about it it's this. Kentai actually did a proper review compared to ANN he gives visual examples to some of his points, he didn't contradict himself, and he actually tried to answer some questions that newcomers might have about the release. All in all it was a pretty good read. My favorate part of the whole post was his remark about using the disks from the OB's as throwing stars which is what I might actually do when I get a blu-ray player and the level sets since the OB's are POS.

You could always do what I did with mine. Put the ceiling fan on high speed and throw them at it. Just make sure you don't lose an eyeball from flying DVD shards. rofl.

Anyways, I agree completely on the review. Kentai's review was way more professional then ANN's professional review. When I was reading it, I actually felt like I was reading something intelligent and that someone put some thought into. Rather then just 5 paragraphs of ranting.

[funrush]

Am I the only one that's kind of mad that 2.1 and 2.2 come out on the same day in March? They should put 2.1 for February and spread it out.