Why did Toei cop-out on making Kai a new animated series?

[sintzu]

Because the series didn't need one,Sure you can say they were just being cheap and trying to milk what they already had but isn't that what every company does ?

[andrewtuell1991]

Just take a look at these reanimated bits of Dragon Ball | Dragon Ball Z from Battle of Gods: https://www.flickr.com/photos/65846913@ ... 763946525/

Do I have to? They're REALLY ugly! If that's the kind of crap we would've gotten from re-animated from scratch, I'm almost glad we got a cut-and-paste hackjob. Even the trade off having every single second of filler/alterations removed wouldn't have made it worth it to me. I have to be able to at least look at what I'm watching.

[JulieYBM]

A television series made from scratch would have multiple animation supervisors. Those re-animated segments look as if they were key animated on the quick and corrected by a weak animation supervisor--if there was one at all. This is to say nothing of this flashback segment having only a few drawings to work from to create movement.

[EXBadguy]

I'll ask again, is there any proof Toei only did this for the money? If not, people need to cut it out with those childish claims.

[VegettoEX]

I'll ask again, is there any proof Toei only did this for the money? If not, people need to cut it out with those childish claims.

I'm not sure I understand. Are you really asking if Toei's production of Dragon Ball Kai was produced exclusively to make money?

Look, they're a company. I'm sure there's SOMEONE along the line SOMEWHERE that takes an artistic interest in the series and wants it to succeed on that level, but the entire production of Dragon Ball Kai was coordinated from the very beginning to very specifically target a younger generation of fans to then take advantage of down the line. They spelled this out in financial presentations: use existing back-catalog assets so something "new" wouldn't have to be made, do it in a way that allows them to quickly get it out, and sell it to the younger fans to hopefully build another generation of a fanbase to sell nostalgia to in another ten years. This is LITERALLY THEIR EXACT PLAN.



Sure, there was an air of artistic integrity around the show's original announcement with "closer to the manga" and all that jazz, but it was totally hollow when you looked at the reasoning behind it and the actual numbers going into its production with what the expectations were for numbers in return. The fact that they cut it short after Cell and only started it back up again once the international market showed some interest - even more cheaply than before (specifically by handling the video in-house) - should be your smoking gun.

If you want to make claims about being "childish" I'd wager it's way more childish to hang on to such an idealized vision about its production.

[EXBadguy]

I'm talking about them doing it carelessly for the money, not them reaching out to a younger demographic financially. If they did it carelessly, it would've had less ratings and Toei would be close to bankruptcy.

[VegettoEX]

I'm not sure how you can equate "careless" with "ratings". It's DBZ so SOMEONE is going to tune in to watch it regardless of how it's handled, and probably even more so if it's a train wreck. If you want examples of carelessness:

- Wrong names / misspellings in credits
- Effect layers turned off
- Inconsistent reanimated/old scenes between TV broadcast and home video
- Kenji Yamamoto amiritelulz
- Banking on AKB48 for success
- Total lack of foresight that the international market would want it continued

From what I'm reading in this thread and other threads, you just want to defend the series. Look, it's cool if you like it. It really is. Super awesome if you like Kai. Lots of people like all sorts of things.

Let's not pretend a dog is a cat.

[EXBadguy]

I'm not sure how you can equate "careless" with "ratings". It's DBZ so SOMEONE is going to tune in to watch it regardless of how it's handled, and probably even more so if it's a train wreck.

If you want examples of carelessness:

- Wrong names / misspellings in credits
- Effect layers turned off
- Inconsistent reanimated/old scenes between TV broadcast and home video
- Kenji Yamamoto amiritelulz
- Banking on AKB48 for success
- Total lack of foresight that the international market would want it continued.

Okay, but how was it like that during its first run in Japan. How were they careless during that time? Yes, right now with the Buu Kai, things are messed up, but what about the other half? It had a more positive reception and better ratings outside of this community.

From what I'm reading in this thread and other threads, you just want to defend the series. Look, it's cool if you like it. It really is. Super awesome if you like Kai. Lots of people like all sorts of things.

Let's not pretend a dog is a cat.

Actually, I'm defending more of Kai's first half(Saiyan-Cell) than the second half, because I just don't see how they didn't really got into it. The only thing Kai was missing for me was more clearer animations like how BOG was. Sure, Toei doesn't have a lot of money, but I just find it ridiculous that some people claim they only did it for the moolah, all because they detest it.

[VegettoEX]

Okay, but how was it like that during its first run in Japan. How were they careless during that time? Yes, right now with the Buu Kai, things are messed up, but what about the other half? It had a more positive reception and better ratings outside of this community.

Only the last item on that list has anything to do with the Buu arc. All the rest of it was specifically about the Saiyan, Freeza, and Cell material.

but I just find it ridiculous that some people claim they only did it for the moolah, all because they detest it.

I've laid out the exact plan for you how it was absolutely Toei's entire (publicly-laid-out) goal to make Kai as quickly and as cheaply as possible to specifically indoctrinate a younger audience to take advantage of in another decade.

That has nothing to do with my personal feelings on the show, and in fact was laid out that way before anyone even had a chance to watch it.

You're in denial. That's OK - that's just the first stage of grief.

[EXBadguy]

I've laid out the exact plan for you how it was absolutely Toei's entire (publicly-laid-out) goal to make Kai as quickly and as cheaply as possible to specifically indoctrinate a younger audience to take advantage of in another decade..

Okay, but that's at least something they did Kai for. I mean by them actually doing NOTHING about it, them just doing Kai for personal gain and calling it a day. That's what I thought some people here were claiming.

[VegettoEX]

Yeah, I guess the guy who hit my wife's car which resulted in us getting a new car got us... a... new car...?

So... thanks, Toei...? For doing... something...?

[JulieYBM]

I would say the proof is in the pudding given Dragon Ball Kai is made using footage from a twenty year old cartoon, rather than from scratch. Your average television animated series episode costs $100,000-300,000 from scratch. Some titles have been known to work on $90,000 an episode. For Fuji Televi and Toei Animation to not even pay that much for an episode shows us the budget was much lower than your average $3,800,000 budget for a two cours.

Like Mike has been saying, these are for-profit companies in an industry where their tactics have made them the industry leader. They're not going to throw fans a bone if fans are unwilling to make a venture financially responsible.

[TheWhiz]

The artwork is also extremely poor compared to the 90's art!

(2014) Kai:

- Chubby cheeks.

- Shiny plastic body.

- Goku looks like a pedophile.




(1994) The Dangerous Duo! Super Warriors Never Rest:

- Great artwork!

- They don't look like plastic!

- Body and limbs are proportionate!

- They don't have chubby cheeks!



Conclusion: Toei has become cheap and lazy with how they animate Dragon Ball Z, and don't care about quality (this is starting to sound familiar).

I'll admit. Goku's expression in the first picture did make me chuckle.

[Puto]

To be honest, comparing a movie poster to a CD cover probably isn't a fair comparisons. The latter is obviously going to get made 'on the cheap' compared to the former.

[Kojiro Sasaki]

To be honest, comparing a movie poster to a CD cover probably isn't a fair comparisons. The latter is obviously going to get made 'on the cheap' compared to the former.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

[JulieYBM]

You are implying the newer CD covers are created on the same schedule as the previous ones with the same level of oversight from the CD producer.

[Puto]

Just to exemplify, let's look at a few of the contenders...


Gotenks looks like he wants to rape somebody.


Gokū's face is all twisted and angular. Yumcha's smile is awkward. Something about Bulma there also rubs me the wrong way.


Gohan looks weird, and everything else is lifted straight from the anime.

And a lot of the other ones just recycle frames from the series straight up.

[ParkerAL]

If Toei really wanted to reach a "younger audience" they certainly went about it the wrong way. As much as I love old-school animation, I readily admit that most kids likely prefer watching something that matches the style of modern shows. Of course, Toei saved a ton of money by not re-animating the series. That much is obvious. But companies ultimately have to spend money to make money. At least new animation would have put another tantalizing lure in the water.

[dbboxkaifan]

If Toei really wanted to reach a "younger audience" they certainly went about it the wrong way. As much as I love old-school animation, I readily admit that most kids likely prefer watching something that matches the style of modern shows. Of course, Toei saved a ton of money by not re-animating the series. That much is obvious. But companies ultimately have to spend money to make money. At least new animation would have put another tantalizing lure in the water.

Going by what's on Cartoon Network, such as, Adventure Time, World of Gumball, Regular Show and then Nickelodeon's Breadwinners & Sanjay and Craig (just to name a few) all these "animated" series look horrible (the designs & its overall) so for one thing the kids of the 90's were rather lucky that companies back then gave a rats ass to make quality cartoon shows unlike today. Of course not all animated shows are as bad as the ones pointed out, there's TMNT, Korra, Avatar, Inspector Gadget, Rocko's Life, Hey Arnold, Powerpuff Girls, Billy & Mandy Adventures, Dexter's Lab, Camp Lazlo, Johnny Bravo and much more!

[Chuquita]

I was following Adventure Time, but I dropped it about two or three months ago. I got bored with all the--I don't to say filler, but the more meandering, non-plot episodes. I think that's a show where if you're not an active part of the fandom, it's difficult to stick around. Also that 11 minute run-time is killer. I prefer the old format CN had where you get 30 minutes of either one new episode two new 15 minute ones and then have a break over the summer.