Is the Yamamoto score worth being missed?

[dbzfan7]

I miss his music a lot. I still like Kikuchi, but Yamamoto is what made the series feel fresh instead of another dbz episode. Of course the material is the same, but the music gives me different emotions then kikuchi. I always loved Yamamoto's plagiarized game soundtracks.

[theoriginalbilis]

Apart from the Boo arc, music by Kikuchi pretty much always failed to be a good representation of Dragon Ball for me, it was hard to feel anything, no real action, no real sadness, no real epicness, nothing...
To me, if you don't feel you could put the soundtrack on a full-scale movie, then the composer hasn't understood how Dragon Ball is meant to be an epic journey.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion. I like Yamamoto too, but Kikuchi was the king when it came to the anime's music. Regarding Kikuchi's musical style, one should go back to the original Dragon Ball. When Dragon Ball was first animated, it was a light-hearted, somewhat fantastical take, on martial arts movies and the Journey to the West story. Kikuchi's score for Dragon Ball fit this by using the Asian-inspired instruments and the 70's-early 80's style of martial arts movies soundtracks. Dragon Ball is essentially a wuxia (Google it), and once a person realizes that's what Toriyama had in mind (and Toei when they animated it), the music by Kikuchi makes sense and feels natural as you transition from DB to DBZ.

Moving on to Dragon Ball Z, that was point in the series where it started to shift into a more serious, galaxy-spanning adventure. Though the title of the anime changed, the story was still a natural progression from the original DB. Nevermind the fact that the anime pretty much kept the exact same staff, even down to Kikuchi himself. So it makes sense that Kikuchi would carry over much of his themes and motifs from DB to DBZ. Once the series starts increasing in scope (from outer space to the realms of the gods), the music increases in scope as well. As the music changes throughout 291 episodes, each arc has its own motifs and melodies, but is still recognizable as Dragon Ball music. So... as dated as it can sound, Kikuchi's score for DB and DBZ fits like a glove, and retains it's martial arts movie roots.

And you're telling me this iconic theme doesn't arise any emotion in you? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK5z1jU3SMQ

[KingofWisdom]

The placement of Yamamoto's score didn't bother me, I just think there wasn't enough variety in it. Like there was basically the one death song that played every time a Z-Fighter perished. To me, it's more that none of the other songs were fitting of such scenes rather than bad placement. All though, if I had one complaint about the placement, it's that there was practically wall-to-wall music ala Bruce Faulconer (there seems to be a 1-2 min. break in between songs). In general, there were many songs I found unremarkable as well.

[bkev]

Oddly enough I never cared for the Kikuchi score in Z but I've grown attached to it in Kai. Even if the placement feels inappropriate at times, somehow it feels more right to me than the Yamamoto alternative. I don't hate Yamamoto's score - in fact there are quite a few tracks I like - but a part of me always felt like it misrepresents the series a little bit. Unfortunately, that's just a feeling -- so I would have a hard time pinpointing why I think so logically. But it seems as if I'm not alone.

So to answer the OP, I miss the option but prefer the Kikuchi replacement.

[Thanos]

Well... I really don't care about Yamamoto post-Budokai 3. It kind of went downhill from there. So there's really nothing to "miss", considering everything he was putting out paled in comparison to his earlier work.

[Insertclevername]

On second thought; I'd probably miss him more if didn't have so many "dun duns!!!" in his work.

[Ringworm128]

While I've gotten a bit more used to the placement for the Kikuchi score in Kai there are a few pieces/placements I will miss such as when A Mighty Foe plays when Freeza appears before Vegeta and co or the bits where "The Braveheat's Triumphant Return" is played (the new placement for the Kaioken X20 is a joke). Also I was watching the Z version of Vegeta vs Freeza and the music used in the original just made me realise how well "Saiyan Blood" went with that scene in Kai.

[Gaffer Tape]

"Old" fans who knew about the Kikuchi score before likely think it's "Dragon Ball-ish" seemingly cause it was just used first. Yet, I must be an exception, since to me it's not, the Yamamoto, Takaki's Ultimate Tenkaichi or Battle of Gods soundtracks are the ones Dragon Ball-ish to me, all having a similar style that just fits the main feeling of the scene!

So yeah, for Kai, Yamamoto seems to appeal to most people that aren't subject to nostalgia

Well, I can tell you that my preference for the Kikuchi score has nothing to do with nostalgia. I was introduced through the dub music. I only first heard it when Toonami aired DBZ movie 2 and had no idea that what I was listening to there was any more the real music for the series than anything else I'd heard before. All I knew was that I was moved by it, extraordinarily so. Really for the first time, Dragon Ball music was evoking an emotional response from me. I didn't know why. I just knew it was working.

As for the original question, I still have to say yes. Like JulieYBM, that's more on principle than anything else. Part of the reason I've had no desire to own Kai is because it's pretty much impossible to own it in its original form. There are some Yamamoto tracks I like, but, for the most part, I found it pretty generic. But I still wish I could collect Kai the way that it was aired. Well, that is, on those rare moments I care about collecting Kai at all. Honestly, the only times I was excited by Kai was when they let someone else do the next episode previews! "Yo! Yamucha da!"

Yeah, I'm probably not the best person to answer this question.

[KingofWisdom]

Watching scenes with the Yamamoto score again, it sorta sounds like music that would be used for TV promos that they've turned into a score.