Listing for "Ocean Dub"-specific DBZ: "Rock the Dragon" Set

[ABED]

Not every episode on the set has eyecatchers, but some do.

Early on, they're the same as the Japanese, with the English logo and Doc Harris narrating. In the Namek arc, it's a bit more cartoony with Peter Kelamis narrating.

The ones during the Saiyan arc, are they the ones with the flashing background colors?

[Solidus]

We've had comparison's with the Pioneer DVD's, Pioneer VHS and the Madman DVD's. Can somebody post screenshots from the Bridge Entertainment DVD's released in the Netherlands? These are the DVD's I am talking about.

[Timo]

We've had comparison's with the Pioneer DVD's, Pioneer VHS and the Madman DVD's. Can somebody post screenshots from the Bridge Entertainment DVD's released in the Netherlands? These are the DVD's I am talking about.

I got the "Mega DVD" from Bridge, with the first 8 episodes. Unfortunately I'm really busy right now and for the next few days.

[superrayman3]

Guys I made a troublesome discovery about those shots I posted earlier, I was checking my VLC effects and filters for video and I discovered that the sharpen filter was active and had been modified, because of this I'm sorry to say that those shot's I posted earlier were not an accurate representation of the footage quality, to make up for this I went back and took some new screencaps with the footage looking the way it actually does without any VLC filters active.

Here's what the footage really looks like:









Again major apologies for my previous screw-up.

[BluezaBladeNZ]

Now that's more like it. What a relief.

[b_boult]

So wait, is this interlaced or not? It certainly doesn't *look it* anymore... Also, why did no one else who owns the set pick up on this mistake? Surely you can't all be using VLC Player...

[superrayman3]

So wait, is this interlaced or not? It certainly doesn't *look it* anymore... Also, why did no one else who owns the set pick up on this mistake? Surely you can't all be using VLC Player...

The footage is interlaced I just managed to get shots where the interlacing isn't present I can post a shot of the interlacing if you'd like.

[BluezaBladeNZ]

Would you be able to take some screenshots of the high motion stuff just to see how the compression holds up? About the interlacing, there should be an option within VLC to fix it. I think it was [Deinterlace mode], then [Yadif (x2)].

[superrayman3]

Would you be able to take some screenshots of the high motion stuff just to see how the compression holds up? About the interlacing, there should be an option within VLC to fix it. I think it was [Deinterlace mode], then [Yadif (x2)].

Sure what high motion scenes would you like to see?

[BluezaBladeNZ]

Sure what high motion scenes would you like to see?

Just stuff with fast movement like the Makankosappo/Special Beam Cannon with Raditz and Kamehame-Ha/Galick Gun clash.

[MarcFBR]

I'm one of the official video guys of the website and the reason I didn't notice is simple.

I don't have my DVDs yet.

I'll go over all the technical nitty gritty as I tend to once I have a bit of time with a disk.

[Metalwario64]

Much, much better. Still prefer Madman's though, because this still has that weird out of focus blurring in some spots.

Look here for example:

You can really see it in Goku's collarbone and mouth. Still hurts my eyes. If that wasn't an issue it would be far and away the best this digibeta footage has looked. I imagine kei17 was right when he said it could be due to FUNimation zooming on the interlaced footage. It kind of looks like interlacing gone wrong. As a result, I'm still okay with my Pioneer singles, which I plan on completing very soon.

[ultimateemail5000]

I like the way the blur looks. Gives it that VHS feel that you cant get anymore unless you use one still. That seems to be what Funi was going for which is awesome. When I can afford this I am definetly picking it up.

[Tanooki Kuribo]

Well, I finally got this set in my hands. I don't know where to begin since FUNimation already did a "Hey, Nice Package" video about this, so I'll just talk about what they didn't mention and maybe show some things in better detail.

The first thing I'll talk about is the box itself, here's a scan of the back of the box. They mention trailers but, I didn't find any on these discs. Maybe they just forgot to add them. No biggie.



I was a little disappointed about the box. I figured this outer sleeve would be hard like the DragonBox sets, I mean this thing is almost $100.00 so, you would think... But no. It's actually more like those original boxes FUNi put out for the single discs. It's a bit flimsy and mine already came bent in two corners! Ugh!



The book... it's a nice book. I mean, the pictures are big and bright and look awesome. But I really don't associate these images with the 1997 dub. It feels like when I downloaded Sonic 2 on my iPhone and the icon was of modern Sonic. Here's the front and back...





The book itself is mostly character profiles. But there are pages that talk about the censorship and terms used in this dub, it's a nice touch. I was kinda shocked that they noted that in the original manga and anime, Goku's power level is actually 8,000 not 9,000...





But to be more specific, the book is broken down like this:

Page 1 - Black page. (there's actually a few black pages scattered around)
Pages 2 and 3 - Foreword.
Pages 4 and 5 - Contents.
Pages 6 through 34 - Character profiles.
Pages 36 and 37 - Relationship Chart.
Pages 38 and 39 - The Rise of a Pop Culture Icon. This is a timeline from 1996 to 2013. It's very basic. It's only 9 things. I could think of so much more stuff to throw into this.
Pages 40 through 47 - Rock the Dragon Edition. This section talks about the cencorship at the time as shown in the images above. Then there's two black pages, then the discs.

Speaking of the discs, this is a horrible idea...



It was a little difficult for me to slide one out. I had to really get my fingernail under the disc. Then when I put it back I realized that over time these are gonna rip, it's really only a matter of time.

Each disc has a "Play All" and "Episodes" option (well, except for the disc with the movies, of course). The image for the menu is the same on all discs. It kinda looks like the DragonBox: The Movies menus.



The only time you'll see a different image is when you click the "Episodes" option. Then there's just a picture of a character that's relevant to the episodes on the disc...



Also, mentioned before, each episode has a recap and a preview for the next episode, I'm glad to see those again. Also, about the bumpers. It seems the bumpers are the same as on the Pioneer discs. The only different bumper is seen on Tree Of Might. Some people might remember this, it's the one where Goku throws the DBZ logo at the screen and also him welcoming you back to the show.



Also only, on the Tree of Might is that "Stand by for DragonBall Z" intro with the CGI Dragon Balls.



So how do the episodes themselves hold up? Well, I guess... just alright. I don't think anyone really excepted this to have a full restoration. I think it's a little better than the Pioneer versions. I made some comparison shots between the two. The Rock the Dragon set is on the left, and the Pioneer DVD is on the right...


(To see the full size, go here and click "original size") http://s17.photobucket.com/user/tanooki ... sort=3&o=9)


(To see the full size, go here and click "original size") http://s17.photobucket.com/user/tanooki ... sort=3&o=6

I guess, one last thing I wanna address is something that I wondered myself but no one really talked about. How it would fit on your shelf. Well I took a pic next to various releases to give you an idea how big this is and how it might look on your shelf...



And now, screen shots for the sake of screen shots!

[Gaffer Tape]

Geez, my head's about to spin from the blatancy of all the marketing speak in this product. "No one else in the world has this, and you can't live without it." Wow. Just wow. Remember 4 years ago when the Dragon Boxes referring to "Hardcore Fans" was deemed controversial? In another 4 years, they'll be saying, "We have your family. Buy this product if you ever want to see them alive again."

I've also noticed that they've gone to great pains to keep from mentioning themselves. Oh, they mention themselves when they think it'll make them look better. As in, "FUNimation has gone to the vaults to bring you this release you can't live without." But in terms of all the mentions of alterations and censorship, their name is conspicuously absent throughout. As much as I hate them using the term "Ocean dub" because it just reinforces the confusion in fans as to who made what, it makes sense they'd use the term that's most familiar to people in order to sell it. But they do seem to very much possess a hands-off approach to this material, as if they had nothing to do with it other than to be the generous benefactor in uncovering this archeological treasure and bringing it to you.

[VegettoEX]

So some degree, I understand, though. Who besides Gen Fukunaga himself from that time period is still there? Essentially no-one. They're on their gazillionth brand manager for the DBZ series in general, and that's just AFTER the internal shift post-Saban. Let's not even get into Barry Watson! Most anyone who worked on this "Rock the Dragon" edition, in essence, DID "dig it up" from the archives to present it to folks. Unless it was their childhood watching it on TV, they likely have zero familiarity with it.

But I do agree. They seem happy and go out of their way to not say, "By the way, we at FUNimation were the ones who actually made this back in 1996-1998."

[ABED]

Let's not even get into Barry Watson!

Why not?

The packaging is awesome and wish they had put this much thought and effort into their other DBZ releases.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Let's not even get into Barry Watson!

Why not?

I think Mike just meant, "Don't get me started on him." Basically, he was a producer back in FUNimation's early days, and was primarily responsible for some of the dub's most famous shortcomings and alterations.

[Jon Jon]

I got mine a few days ago and I'm enjoying it.

I agree with one of the other members though, for $99.99 MSRP it really should have been in higher quality.

My cardboard box was a little bent upon arrival (really wish Rightstuf actually packed things, not just wrapped it in some paper and called it a day), but no where near as bad as previously seen in pictures on here.

The DVD sleeves are ridiculous, and I'm glad that I won't be taking them out anymore. I feel like I would eventually scratch the discs trying to just get them out of those sleeves.

Overall, I'm content with what I purchased. It was about what I was expecting from it. As i actually already owned the Pioneer movie box, I wanted to have a solid replacement for the VHS box sets I had of these episodes, as those tapes will eventually get worse and worse as they degrade.

[eledoremassis02]

While I think the Madman DVDs would be the best. This set is tempting for the edited Tree of Might, and the fact that the Madman ones are really rare. Still debating on getting this ><

The Censoring section of the book look like an interesting read.