Funimation's 30th anniversary collectible home video release

[clutchins]

You guys are forgetting something very important, PLEASE take context into account when making your statements.

In the eyes of the 99.999999% of fans who have purchased the Orange Bricks, Blu-Rays, they have been absolutely perfect releases. Think about it. It fits perfectly into everyone's television, the colors are vibrant (incorrect, but we all know that people naturally gravitate towards bright pallets) and they're not expensive. I'm willing to say that what we consider the WORST release of all time, is probably FUNI's best seller company wide. Any time I speak to people who own the Orange Bricks, they're always unaware of the cropping. They don't know that extra footage, nor do they seem to mind its missing when I tell them. It's not a big deal AT ALL outside of this community.

As a fan I really don't care how much money Funimation made on those sets. They were visually erroneous and ushered in over a decade of disrespecting a beloved show. They had zero reason to crop it in the first place. It's not hard to understand why the letterboxes need to exist on your television. Like, I'm sorry you fell in love with a show from a time when that was the standard aspect ratio and then grew up in a world that suddenly changed all that.

And guess what? If it truly bothers you that much, you can zoom in on the picture at the press of a button! And this feature uses about the same amount of effort that went into cropping the Orange Bricks because both were automatic processes! Again, your argument is invalid.

[PhoenixEX]

A lot of people seem to be forgetting that FUNimation is a business and that they're not going to please everyone. They're catering towards the masses who really don't give a shit whether something is cropped of not, it's really that simple. A lot of the people commenting on social media seem to even want 16:9 because "it's 2019". The only people complaining are those commenting on specific Dragon Ball-related mediums like on this forum and /r/dbz. Does it suck? Sure, but that's business.

[Bardo117]

You guys are forgetting something very important, PLEASE take context into account when making your statements.

In the eyes of the 99.999999% of fans who have purchased the Orange Bricks, Blu-Rays, they have been absolutely perfect releases. Think about it. It fits perfectly into everyone's television, the colors are vibrant (incorrect, but we all know that people naturally gravitate towards bright pallets) and they're not expensive. I'm willing to say that what we consider the WORST release of all time, is probably FUNI's best seller company wide. Any time I speak to people who own the Orange Bricks, they're always unaware of the cropping. They don't know that extra footage, nor do they seem to mind its missing when I tell them. It's not a big deal AT ALL outside of this community.

As a fan I really don't care how much money Funimation made on those sets. They were visually erroneous and ushered in over a decade of disrespecting a beloved show. They had zero reason to crop it in the first place. It's not hard to understand why the letterboxes need to exist on your television. Like, I'm sorry you fell in love with a show from a time when that was the standard aspect ratio and then grew up in a world that suddenly changed all that.

And guess what? If it truly bothers you that much, you can zoom in on the picture at the press of a button! And this feature uses about the same amount of effort that went into cropping the Orange Bricks because both were automatic processes! Again, your argument is invalid.

From a business perspective, and not your childish perspective, what makes sense? Appeal to the 500 Fans that are clamoring for a 4:3 release and have all the other fans simply 'press zoom' on their remote, or just make the show fit into every television in the country ?

I don't think you realize that me and you are the minority. Realistically, FUNI has done the right thing but most of you won't admit it. Only a few people wanted a 4:3 release, so they released an absolutely perfect collectors set and made it a limited release.

What bothers me is how quickly you disregard the target audience in place of your own desires and disregard the realistic business perspective of FUNI. I cant tell you what would've happened, but I'm pretty sure if the Orange Bricks were an authentic release, it wouldn't of been as successful . But those are all just assumptions.

If you missed out on the Dragon Boxes that is your fault.

[Forte224]

A lot of people seem to be forgetting that FUNimation is a business and that they're not going to please everyone. They're catering towards the masses who really don't give a shit whether something is cropped of not, it's really that simple. A lot of the people commenting on social media seem to even want 16:9 because "it's 2019". The only people complaining are those commenting on specific Dragon Ball-related mediums like on this forum and /r/dbz. Does it suck? Sure, but that's business.

This isn't for the masses. It's for 6000 people at maximum.

[Bardo117]

A lot of people seem to be forgetting that FUNimation is a business and that they're not going to please everyone. They're catering towards the masses who really don't give a shit whether something is cropped of not, it's really that simple. A lot of the people commenting on social media seem to even want 16:9 because "it's 2019". The only people complaining are those commenting on specific Dragon Ball-related mediums like on this forum and /r/dbz. Does it suck? Sure, but that's business.

This isn't for the masses. It's for 6000 people at maximum.

I think they're just meeting us halfway, in their minds.

Of all fans, we deserve an authentic release, but so do the other fans who aren't as 'authentic'

[clutchins]

Buddy, this release is targeted precisely at the hardcore fans. We are their prime demographic for this expensive release that need I remind you is LIMITED TO 6000. If they wanted to appeal to casuals, they would have reprinted the cropped 2014 Blu-rays. They clearly want to appeal to the type of fan that has disposable income to waste on overpriced collectors sets like this one. I expect them to go all out for such a release aimed at hardcore fans. Look at Rightstuf's ultra editions for Gundam! And those are in 4:3!

[clutchins]

The cognitive dissonance on this thread is mind-boggling. I'm surprised this many kanzenshuu users are out here defending this crap.

Occam's Razor, people. The simplest explanation is usually the most likely one.

[Forte224]

A lot of people seem to be forgetting that FUNimation is a business and that they're not going to please everyone. They're catering towards the masses who really don't give a shit whether something is cropped of not, it's really that simple. A lot of the people commenting on social media seem to even want 16:9 because "it's 2019". The only people complaining are those commenting on specific Dragon Ball-related mediums like on this forum and /r/dbz. Does it suck? Sure, but that's business.

This isn't for the masses. It's for 6000 people at maximum.

I think they're just meeting us halfway, in their minds.

Of all fans, we deserve an authentic release, but so do the other fans who aren't as 'authentic'

Meeting us halfway how? How is putting it in 4:3 and zooming in on it helping the fans who aren't authentic?

[Bardo117]

The cognitive dissonance on this thread is mind-boggling. I'm surprised this many kanzenshuu users are out here defending this crap.

Occam's Razor, people. The simplest explanation is usually the most likely one.

Definitely not defending the release, it fu**ing sucks, but I'm buying it anyways because like you said, typically a hardcore fan has income to dispose on items such as this. Came in with low expectations, and left the same way.

[clutchins]

The cognitive dissonance on this thread is mind-boggling. I'm surprised this many kanzenshuu users are out here defending this crap.

Occam's Razor, people. The simplest explanation is usually the most likely one.

Definitely not defending the release, it fu**ing sucks, but I'm buying it anyways because like you said, typically a hardcore fan has income to dispose on items such as this. Came in with low expectations, and left the same way.

You are defending the release not with your words but with your wallet and that's all that matters. Once again, you are part of the problem. You know all the problems about the set, but you just don't care. That's the worst kind of evil. And I'm not saying you're evil, by the way. I'm sure you're a great person. But your actions in supporting this evil are in itself evil and I disagree with them on a fundamental level. That said, you have certain rights as a consumer which I respect and no amount of information or disinformation is going to stop you from making your poor decision.

[linkdude20002001]

Appeal to the 500 Fans that are clamoring for a 4:3 release and have all the other fans simply 'press zoom' on their remote, or just make the show fit into every television in the country ?

I don't think you realize that me and you are the minority. Only a few people wanted a 4:3 release, so they released an absolutely perfect collectors set and made it a limited release.

What bothers me is how quickly you disregard the target audience in place of your own desires and disregard the realistic business perspective of FUNI. I cant tell you what would've happened, but I'm pretty sure if the Orange Bricks were an authentic release, it wouldn't of been as successful . But those are all just assumptions.

If you missed out on the Dragon Boxes that’s your own fault.

Wow, you think most people want 16:9 just becuz the orange bricks sold well? They sold well BECUZ THEY CONTAIN DBZ AND ARE CHEAP. Most non-old-people are intelligent enough to understand aspect ratios and how TVs work, so they’d understand that it’s a show made in 4:3. They can’t get MAD that it’s in 4:3. They’d buy it and enjoy it the same as when they bot the VHS tapes and DVDs from 1995 till 2007, and the same as all the other 4:3 cartoons they might buy.

And your prior argument about “Ew! Black bars on the side of my TV!” is the stupidest argument I’ve heard in my entire life. My TV is BLACK, so the “black bars” are non-existant. It literally looks like a part of my TV. Clearly YOU just just need a new TV if you can’t handle black bars. Or one that zooms! If yours doesn’t, again, don’t make the rest of the population suffer becuz if your own foolish purchases.

AND, I own the Dragon Box Z sets, but that’s irrelevant. You’re saying that since we have it on DVD, there’s no point in us having it on BD in over twice the resolution? That’s especially stupid cuz the people who want it in the mutilated format already have it all on BD, so...how dare you say we don’t deserve to complain that this it just version number two of the SAME THING on store shelves currently. Even people who like the mutilated version were upset by this same-old-same-old release that was way over-hyped.

Also, not every Dragon Ball fan was old enuf (or alive enuf) yet to buy the Dragon Box Z sets.

!!!

[SqueakyBoots]

If you missed out on the Dragon Boxes that is your fault.

Let's say you're currently 15 years old and you recently started getting into Dragon Ball after seeing some episodes of Super or playing FighterZ with a friend. Ruling Kai out because you want to see the original uncut version of the show, your only options are tracking down dozens of old single disc releases with only four episodes a piece or getting the cropped smeary season sets. What's that? You didn't buy the limited run collectors editon sets that came out when you were seven? Sucks to be you, then.


And generally speaking, the type of people that are okay with it being cropped are also the people that will have their tvs stretch 4:3 images into 16:9 anyway so that's kind of a moot point. I have never seen anyone complain when any given 90s or earlier show under the sun gets released in its proper ratio.

[Bardo117]

The cognitive dissonance on this thread is mind-boggling. I'm surprised this many kanzenshuu users are out here defending this crap.

Occam's Razor, people. The simplest explanation is usually the most likely one.

Definitely not defending the release, it fu**ing sucks, but I'm buying it anyways because like you said, typically a hardcore fan has income to dispose on items such as this. Came in with low expectations, and left the same way.

You are defending the release not with your words but with your wallet and that's all that matters. Once again, you are part of the problem. You know all the problems about the set, but you just don't care. That's the worst kind of evil. And I'm not saying you're evil, by the way. I'm sure you're a great person. But your actions in supporting this evil are in itself evil and I disagree with them on a fundamental level. That said, you have certain rights as a consumer which I respect and no amount of information or disinformation is going to stop you from making your poor decision.

Where do I draw the line though, skip out on the 30th Anniversary edition and hope they do it right for the 40th? Or hope for them to scrap current plans and make a worth-while set? What does me skipping out on the set accomplish?

I wish I could make a difference.

[Bardo117]

If you missed out on the Dragon Boxes that is your fault.

Let's say you're currently 15 years old and you recently started getting into Dragon Ball after seeing some episodes of Super or playing FighterZ with a friend. Ruling Kai out because you want to see the original uncut version of the show, your only options are tracking down dozens of old single disc releases with only four episodes a piece or getting the cropped smeary season sets. What's that? You didn't buy the limited run collectors editon sets that came out when you were seven? Sucks to be you, then.


And generally speaking, the type of people that are okay with it being cropped are also the people that will have their tvs stretch 4:3 images into 16:9 anyway so that's kind of a moot point. I have never seen anyone complain when any given 90s or earlier show under the sun gets released in its proper ratio.

Here's my question to those 15 year olds. Would additional footage at the top and bottom of the screen help in your experience? Would it radically change the DBZ Experience? Would it suddenly turn into something 10x better because of the additional footage?

Those are all rhetorical questions, the answer to all of them is no. If you're 15, and want to watch the show, the blu-rays will do just fine and you won't really miss out on anything.

I'm not sure why most of you can't be more open minded, I went out of my way to collect the Japanese and American Versions of the DragonBoxes because of the purist within me, but even then I realize that there isn't a significant upgrade to my experience of watching them on the Dragon Boxes.

[ABED]

Clutchins, stop making such a huge deal about this. You compared supporting funimation's releases to people staying in an abusive marriage and now call this situation "evil"! It's not evil, it's just a bad release.

That said, I don't know why anyone cares that much about black bars, especially in comparison to the proper framing of the images. I don't want some awkwardly framed footage.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

I re watched the trailer again and specifically broke down and snapped pics of most all the clips shown in order, so here's some comparisons between my FUNi Dragon Box and the corresponding clips of the exact same frames captured from this 30th Anniversary "remaster" apparently. Mostly as an illustration of just how much image is cut off from the 4:3 framing depicted in the latter, as well as showing the horrible DNR and heavy saturation not to mention the crushed blacks on top of it all.

Dragon Box Z (FUNi)




30th Anniversary




Dragon Box Z (FUNi)




30th Anniversary




Dragon Box Z (FUNi)




30th Anniversary




Dragon Box Z (FUNi)




30th Anniversary




Dragon Box Z (FUNi)




30th Anniversary




Dragon Box Z (FUNi)




30th Anniversary

[ABED]

Why do people assume that the way you make money in business is appealing to the lowest common denominator? The people clamoring for either 4:3 or 16:9 are a small percentage. Most don't care. The biggest factors are things like price point.

[clutchins]

If you missed out on the Dragon Boxes that is your fault.

Let's say you're currently 15 years old and you recently started getting into Dragon Ball after seeing some episodes of Super or playing FighterZ with a friend. Ruling Kai out because you want to see the original uncut version of the show, your only options are tracking down dozens of old single disc releases with only four episodes a piece or getting the cropped smeary season sets. What's that? You didn't buy the limited run collectors editon sets that came out when you were seven? Sucks to be you, then.


And generally speaking, the type of people that are okay with it being cropped are also the people that will have their tvs stretch 4:3 images into 16:9 anyway so that's kind of a moot point. I have never seen anyone complain when any given 90s or earlier show under the sun gets released in its proper ratio.

Here's my question to those 15 year olds. Would additional footage at the top and bottom of the screen help in your experience? Would it radically change the DBZ Experience? Would it suddenly turn into something 10x better because of the additional footage?

Those are all rhetorical questions, the answer to all of them is no. If you're 15, and want to watch the show, the blu-rays will do just fine and you won't really miss out on anything.

I'm not sure why most of you can't be more open minded, I went out of my way to collect the Japanese and American Versions of the DragonBoxes because of the purist within me, but even then I realize that there isn't a significant upgrade to my experience of watching them on the Dragon Boxes.

It's not about whether it would change my experience of the show. It's about respecting the artistic intention of the creators, ESPECIALLY during the show's 30th anniversary. This is supposed to be a celebration of a great show but it sure doesn't feel like one.

You can make a difference by voting with your wallet. If they don't hit 3000 orders they won't make the damn thing! That will show them that you aren't willing to put up with this shit anymore.

And ABED, you know damn well my analogies are accurate.
I'm tired of funimation milking us like damn cattle and I'm not going to just sit here and let it happen before my eyes.

[ABED]

They aren't, please stop the false equivocations. There's no lasting trauma. It's just a bad release. You'll live.

I have the DBoxes, I'm fine. Even if I didn't have them, I'd be okay because it's just a TV show.

[clutchins]

It's not false equivalency, it's an analogy. One is a logical fallacy, one is metaphorical.

Next.