Dragonball For the Next Generation

Li'l Lemmy · Post by **Li'l Lemmy** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 4:24 pm

With the Dragon Boxes being splintered into individual releases at last, I started thinking about what might happen when the DVD gives way to the next generation. There's (apparently) a number of competing technologies vying to be ushered in as the next home video format, and reasearching the subject left me wondering how the inevitable change might relate to Dragonball.

Thought it might make for an interesting discussion. Here's what I think about it . . .

Today's DBZ Episode: Goku's Greatest Challenge! Kamehame-Ha Blazing Into the Future

We don't know for how much longer DVD will remain the current mainstream solution, but with no clear leader in the race to replace it, we can practice a little cautious optomism as we wager on at least 2-3 more years until the world begins its gradual shift into the next format change. The individual DVD releases (both Toei's and FUNimation's) of all three Dragonball series will likely have crossed the finish line a short time before that, leaving collectors with a year or so to enjoy having obsessively amassed all that precious footage before we even hear of what comes next.

Will there even be a DBZ release on that next format, whatever it might be? Given that the show still holds a modest degree of popularity in Japan, all Japanese signs would appear to point to an eventual yes . . . but you'd need to pronounce the word "yes" very slowly to get an idea of just how eventual it could be. Toei waited nearly a decade after the end of GT to release the first Dragon Box and certainly took their time getting out the other two, and with the release of the individual volumes finally seeing the light of day, I don't think Toei is going to rush to encode the Dragonball series onto something new until the DVDs have had some decent exposure . . . perhaps a few years' worth, which can only be good news for those of us still working feverishly to fill the gaps on our DVD shelves.

Of course, the majority of us here have been collecting the domestic releases, so what about FUNimation? Well . . . I don't think it's as solid a certainty, to be honest.

The rate at which they're putting out discs tells us that Movie 13 will come out later this year, and that the last of the "Ultimate Uncut" editions will probably release somewhere around Summer 2007. The wild card that is episodes 1-13 of the original Dragonball notwithstanding, by the end of 2007 there will be nothing Dragonball-related left on the horizon . . . unless FUNimation decides to continue with the special editions and redo the Ginyu and Freeza dubs. Now . . . personally, I don't see that happening, though I could very easily turn out to be wrong.

But let's assume for the moment that I'm right. Everything Dragonball that can be formatted to DVD has finally been, and that's the end of that. The only other opportunity FUNimation is ever going to have to profit from the actual show footage is to release it again in its entirety on the new format when it arrives, and while Toei could probably wait to embrace that format even with it staring them square in the face, FUNimation feels like the sort of company who would rather make the shift sooner than later and have at least a few releases ready to coincide with the launch of that format. But I'm not so sure that we should include the Dragonball property among them just yet.

Why? Well, I just don't know if Dragonball can hold out for that long. In Japan, it will always be popular to a degree, but I think that once the Dragonball releases stop here that its popularity will permanently flatten out and allow it to rest at long last. People like us will always enjoy it for what it is and remember what it was like "back in the day," but FUNimation is going to want to move beyond the image of being the company that brought us Goku and become even more serious about branching out than it is today. They will need to distance themselves from their past successes in order to stay competitive, expand in order to experiment with what works and what doesn't, and learn to sustain themselves on several mildly popular shows until they stumble upon a series that has the potential to become the next Dragonball, and by the time that happens Dragonball itself may be little more than an afterthought. (Remember Cyboars? Remember DBZ? Remember Cyboars after DBZ? Of course you don't . . .)

By the time the next format comes out, there just might not be that much of an incentive to re-release the entire series all over again. A few of the movies or maybe key parts of the series might make it under another "Special Edition" label, but I'm not entirely convinced that we'll see every piece of footage transferred and brought over into the next generation of home video. The format will be new, but Dragonball most certainly will not be, and whatever wow-power it might have left by then will probably be overshadowed by newer series.

Only time will tell. Thoughts?

WHY PEOPLE ARE STUPID: According to a FUNimation representative, an online poll given following the release of Bio-Broly revealed that more than 50% of those who participated would like to see Broly in another DBZ movie.

unstable_person99 · Post by **unstable_person99** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 6:29 pm

WHY PEOPLE ARE STUPID: According to a FUNimation representative, an online poll given following the release of Bio-Broly revealed that more than 50% of those who participated would like to see Broly in another DBZ movie.

O_o Are those people nuts?! 3 movies is more than enough for Broli!

kevin449 · Post by **kevin449** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 7:05 pm

unstable_person99 wrote:
WHY PEOPLE ARE STUPID: According to a FUNimation representative, an online poll given following the release of Bio-Broly revealed that more than 50% of those who participated would like to see Broly in another DBZ movie.
O_o Are those people nuts?! 3 movies is more than enough for Broli!

No,there dumb. The only explanation is that they think DBZ is still been made. Although if there where plans to release a second series that would be awesome. I am totally there

Domon · Post by **Domon** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 7:10 pm

However this whole next-format nonsense plays out; Dragonball isn't going to see such a release for quite a while. I say this for the simple reason of oversaturation. Right now, there are well over 100 DVDs for the three Dragonball series. That's helluva lot for anyone to buy(to say nothing of the stores to receive and stock on their shelves). Likewise; the DVDs are selling like hotcakes in Japan (er...so I'm guessing

). Right now, few are going to be open to the idea of buying the series yet again on another format(remember that such a release has to appeal to the casual buyers, not just the hardcore fans).

I would guess whatever next-format release to come out whenever DVDs are considered obsolete(much like VCRs today), and the next format is no longer considered a novelty.

But what about the next-next format? Let's not think that far, mmm'kay?

Akira · Post by **Akira** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:56 pm

I've been collecting the DVD releases for 4 years or longer it seems now. The goal of having everything on DVD, a complete set all on one bookshelf used to seem like an impossibility. Here I am, 20 discs or so from completeing said collection. My interest has dwindled, but I am so close that I will not stop now and leave my collection incomplete.

I originally collected a dozen or two volumes on VHS before I realized that this DVD stuff was the way to go (Back in 1999-2000). I'd hate to get the set complete on DVD only for one of these upcoming technologies to take its place.

No, I plan to order a full set of quality DVD replacement cases. Place my collection in them so they all match. (Better than all these black cases of varying flimsiness plastic qualities and many with those disc holders with the little tabs that break off on you.) Once I have the complete set and all in nice replacement cases, that will be it for Dragonball. For me anyway that will be all I plan to purchase.

I seriously doubt this 3-4 episodes per volume stuff will work on the next gen formats. If they intend to sell the entire series again in a new format (which ought to have a much larger capacity to it than DVD) they are going to have to do it in Saga sets. Not unlike the DVD releases for the original Dragonball Series. Collecting 153 episodes in 11 2-disc sets at $35 each was much more feasable than buying 153 episodes in 3-4 episode volumes at $20 each.

That is my best guess for the next format that takes hold. You will see saga sets in the same way all the old domestic shows are getting "season sets" released.

Tenka-Ichi · Post by **Tenka-Ichi** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 12:04 am

Well, the whole point of why they're making new formats is because DVDs are still encoded in NTSC or PAL, and are not HD. Also, in order for it to be in HD, they need more space, so the new formats will have much more space aswell, which will be really good for TV series. So basically what I'm trying to get at here is, unless FUNi gets their hands on, at least, the Dragonbox remastered masters, there's absolutely no point in re-releasing everything. TOEI, on the other hand, if I were them I'd wait about 5-10 years after the next format comes out and is the standard, and if there's demand, then I'd re-release it.

Kodoshin · Post by **Kodoshin** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 2:15 am

I think there is money to be made state side on the next-gen format. I imagine a few years will pass following the conclusion of the DVD release before anything happens though.

I very much doubt that Funi will ever get their mits on the Dragon Box footage, but with the vastly increased amount of storage space on the next-gen formats I could easily see them shoveling their previous gen quality footage onto these new discs, thus giving you tons of episodes per disc and perhaps actually let you collect the whole series on a relatively low disc count (Which is the only way it's gonna make money after being out of the public eye for so long, this will also send those of us who bought all the DVD's on insane killing sprees).