When Kai Did It Right

[MrWalnut4]

One of the major criticisms of Kai (more so in The Final Chapters) has been it's music placement. I'll admit, a lot of the time the Sumitomo score was just placed horribly. However with Kai finishing airing, I thought we might take a moment to appreciate the times that Kai got it right. There were some outstanding tracks made for Kai by both Sumitomo and Yamamoto, and occasionally we got scenes that were paired with truly excellent tracks. Here are some of my favorites in no particular order.

Goku Powers Up Against Cell
Kai episode 88

This scene was a little lackluster in Z but turned out much better in Kai's rendition IMO. It also suffered from being split into two episodes in Z rather than one fluid power up like it is in Kai.

Vegeta is Outclassed by Perfect Cell
Kai episode 80

I really liked this scene. It amplifies the frustration and helplessness Vegeta feels when his full strength does nothing to Cell.

The Ginyu Force Arrives
Kai episode 28

What's not to love about this? The Ginyu Force are the supposed strongest mercenaries in the galaxy and they end up being so over the top and flamboyant. This song rises to match their level of ridiculousness perfectly.

SSJ3 is Revealed
Kai episode 126

Sure the song is reused from the SSJG theme, but who cares? It isn't as mysterious as it was in Z, but still pairs extremely well with the reveal of a SSJ3. That, and it's one of my favorite Sumitomo tracks.

These are only a handful of scene Kai did justice as there are probably many others. Overall I liked the music and placement in the first half of Kai minus some repetitive tracks in beginning (it got much better in the Android/Cell saga). Kai The Final Chapters had more issues but still had some gems.

[Lord Beerus]

The scenes of Goku powering up against Cell and The Ginyu Force arriving are indeed awesome.

[SSJ Electric Fury]

I actually like Goku's SSJ debut scene with the Kikuchi replacement. I do wish M1418 played for a bit longer, though.

[Doctor.]

I've already said that the best scene I think Kai improves on Z is when Goku defeats Freeza on Namek with the yellow blast. You have a great, chilling score with Freeza's speech and then it's the lack of score that makes it so memorable (as well as the excellent voice acting on both the japanese and english dub).

[ShaneisMC]

This infuriates me. Seriously hadnt it been known for a long time about Yamamoto and nobody did or said anything? Regardless I found it beautiful and I absolutely loved his bgm. So mad they didn't at least allow him to finish his current project before letting him go. Especially with 3 episodes left for God's sake that's just absurd timing.

[OmegaRockman]

I've already said that the best scene I think Kai improves on Z is when Goku defeats Freeza on Namek with the yellow blast. You have a great, chilling score with Freeza's speech and then it's the lack of score that makes it so memorable (as well as the excellent voice acting on both the japanese and english dub).

I'm in total agreement there. While I don't think it's nearly as good as the original Kikuchi plcement, I feel it's much better than the Yamamoto placement. The Yamamoto track used there just wasn't intense enough for me. Again, the original Z wins overall, but the Kikuchi Kai version was pretty decent, too.

[VegettoEX]

MrWalnut4, you're going to need to remove those full episode links. If there are more specific, individual scenes you can link to, that MIGHT be OK, but this certainly is not. Thanks.

[MrWalnut4]

MrWalnut4, you're going to need to remove those full episode links. If there are more specific, individual scenes you can link to, that MIGHT be OK, but this certainly is not. Thanks.

No problem, links removed.

[Naruto6583]

MrWalnut4, you're going to need to remove those full episode links. If there are more specific, individual scenes you can link to, that MIGHT be OK, but this certainly is not. Thanks.

No problem, links removed.

If you need the goku powering up clip I have it on my channel narutonamikaze6533

[MrWalnut4]

If you need the goku powering up clip I have it on my channel narutonamikaze6533

Thanks, but I think I'll go ahead and upload those specific clips myself.

[ParkerAL]

The scene where Gohan's rage comes out and he attacks second-form Freeza greatly benefited from the quicker pacing. The fast editing really amplified the ferocity of his onslaught.

[qjz123]

Plenty of scenes where done great in Kai… back when it was using the Yamato score, such as the ones that you posted. It was when all the music started being replaced that everything went to hell. Funimation's release of Kai Blu ray parts 1-4 is my favorite way to watch the series.

[Ree]

They got the pace right even though they removed some fillers i like.

[JustSaiyan34]

Okay, question not exactly related to the topic, but do the individual parts of Kai (like parts 1 and 2 that covered the Saiyan Saga) do those still contain Yamamoto's score? Or is it all replaced by Kikuchi's score for Z now (since I know it is in the full season sets)?

[MrWalnut4]

Okay, question not exactly related to the topic, but do the individual parts of Kai (like parts 1 and 2 that covered the Saiyan Saga) do those still contain Yamamoto's score? Or is it all replaced by Kikuchi's score for Z now (since I know it is in the full season sets)?

I think it's only in parts 1-4. Parts 5-8 have the replaced Kikuchi score.

[Naruto6583]

Okay, question not exactly related to the topic, but do the individual parts of Kai (like parts 1 and 2 that covered the Saiyan Saga) do those still contain Yamamoto's score? Or is it all replaced by Kikuchi's score for Z now (since I know it is in the full season sets)?

I think it's only in parts 1-4. Parts 5-8 have the replaced Kikuchi score.

Yup I don't think parts 1-4 were ever replaced, they're out of print but not replaced

[JustSaiyan34]

Okay, question not exactly related to the topic, but do the individual parts of Kai (like parts 1 and 2 that covered the Saiyan Saga) do those still contain Yamamoto's score? Or is it all replaced by Kikuchi's score for Z now (since I know it is in the full season sets)?

I think it's only in parts 1-4. Parts 5-8 have the replaced Kikuchi score.

Yup I don't think parts 1-4 were ever replaced, they're out of print but not replaced

Thank you.

[NinjaGoku]

Goku Powers Up Against Cell
Kai episode 88

Thanks for showing me this! Started a related topic: http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtop ... =7&t=32010

[LuckyCat]

The back-to-back episodes of 60-61 (The episode where Goku gets a heart attack and Vegeta beats up #19) are especially excellent in both pacing and music placement. Kai went as far as changing the footage so that episode 60 leaves the audience with Goku having heart troubles, being beaten by #19, with Piccolo downed by Gero, and Vegeta nowhere in sight. It's all rather bleak, but makes for some great suspense.

[DB_Fan1991]

I think it was overall the English dub in itself. We had the great Christopher Ayres as Freeza. He brought such life and color into the character. I could finally take him seriously as a villain. As for specific scenes I liked the "I am the Super Saiyan, Son Goku." scene. I loved Schemmel's work there, and how they finally addressed Goku's surname in the actual series.