.

[Kaboom]

My biggest pro and personal draw to Kai was not just the "director's cut" pacing of it all (though that certainly is a HUGE hook), but also the opportunity it presented for FUNimation to have a second chance at giving DBZ a good, worthy dub. An opportunity which I'd say they've quite thoroughly taken advantage of with style. This is the main reason why I'm watching and collecting Kai.

From what I understand, though, I'm kind of in the rare middle-ground on the sub vs dub field here, and not many people hold the same stance as me. So for most others, "the good new dub" is as best a small bonus. Or maybe even a negative for some, as much as that befuddles me.

[dan2026]

For me, the one huge pro (less filler/padding) and all the little cons (jerky pacing due to stringing together cut pieces, terrible touch ups combined with 20+ year old footage, tired voice cast, inferior music) cancel each other out.

While I'll give you that some of the 'touch ups' look a little dodgy, I think they have done an excellent job in removing the padding/filler seamlessly.
The voice acting and music is defiantly a matter of opinion. I've read a lot of people who consider it an improvement on the old score.

But I can see this could be argued forever, so I'll leave it be.
One thing is for certain though, Kai has given the Dragon Ball fanbase a lot to talk about.

[Codarik]

I say Kai is worth buying if you are a huge dub fan. Other than that it is not worth it.

[Castor Troy]

Not really. I bought the first Blu Ray out of curiosity and while I enjoyed the sound mix of all things, I just feel the Dragon Box is the far superior product.

If Kai was completely re-animated like the JSAT special and the intro/ed, then I'd be snatching every volume up in a heartbeat.

[AgitoZ]

I think every Dragon Ball fan should have Kai. Why? Well because with it it's much easier to get people into the series.

[VegettoEX]

I think every Dragon Ball fan should have Kai. Why? Well because with it it's much easier to get people into the series.

That's fine and dandy, but I'm a selfish person -- the series, to me, it partially identified by Shunsuke Kikuchi's music. The same way that I wouldn't want to introduce the show to someone with the Faulconer Productions score, I probably wouldn't want to introduce someone to the series with the Kenji Yamamoto score. I'll be the first to admit that it is totally self-serving, but it would feel somewhat disingenuous since I wouldn't be showing them the version of the series that I absolutely adore so much.

[Mewzard]

Well, at least for my Dad, Kai is my best hope for getting him to watch the series with me. He works a lot, and rarely has much time to spare, plus it'd be nigh impossible to get him to watch subs if he wasn't interested in the source material. So, Kai having an accurate dub and not too slow in pacing (plus a moderately slow release schedule helps) has gotten me to get him into around 5-6 episodes. A nice experience, really.

[MR.Mark]

The DBZ dragon Boxes are worth buying for nostalgia value and of course Shunsuke Kikuchi's score. Kai is worth buying for repeat viewing factor, a watchable dub, and like AgitoZ said, a great way to bring in skeptical fans.

[Adamant]

I think every Dragon Ball fan should have Kai. Why? Well because with it it's much easier to get people into the series.

Starting them off one third of the way through the series isn't that good an idea in the first place, so I don't see how that argument really works. Get them into it via the Pilaf arc.

[Soul]

Aha, I definitely agree with Adamant but I'm definitely with Mewzard.
But mainly in regards to what Mike said.. I definitely agree setting someone up to watch the show with say the Faulconer score isn't the best idea, but fact is there's a lot of casual people who are interested in the show but wouldn't watch it subbed.
And I dunno if the English dub w/ the Japanese Score can even help.
So Kai is a very nice alternative.

[AgitoZ]

I think every Dragon Ball fan should have Kai. Why? Well because with it it's much easier to get people into the series.

Starting them off one third of the way through the series isn't that good an idea in the first place, so I don't see how that argument really works. Get them into it via the Pilaf arc.

Well that's not the discussion. (Not that I'm disagreeing DB is all kinds of awesome)

I was just saying one pro of buying Kai is it's a good way to introduce people. The Z portion of Dragon Ball is most likely more interesting and more well known to people.

Also it makes people shut up about 20+ episodes of powering up.

[Daimo-Rukiri]

The dub alone is the reason to buy it.
If you want to watch the Japanese version just get the Dragon Boxes, it's not worth it for the JPN version of kai.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

I don't think it's worth buying, and if Vegetto says it's not worth buying then that's good enough for me.

Did you just start this thread just to convince yourself not to buy DBKai?


Contrary to my feelings on the production value of Kai, I think buying it is totally worth it. I feel this way mostly because of the awesome English dub the series is getting, so I can understand how someone who doesn't like dubs might not be interested in the series.


Well, that and the fact that I get an excuse to buy more Dragon Ball shit.

[AnimeMaakuo]

.

[Innagadadavida]

I love you, AnimeMaakuo. You make me feel so good about all the stupid things I've wasted money on.

Just kidding. Your Dragon Ball collection is super cool.

[TheGreatness25]

This question can be answered differently for different people. For me, it is totally worth it because I am lucky financially and can afford to have every version of DB/Z/GT, for better or worse (that includes the dreaded orange bricks). However, there are fans out there that don't care about Kai. Those who grew up watching DBZ might not appreciate Kai for all that it's worth. Those who grew up with DBZ may feel that Kai goes against all that they know with voice changes, music changes, and cutting out some pivotal moments (such as the Saiyans on Arlia for example). So different people can answer this differently on preference. I personally enjoy Kai and think that it's an opportunity for the dub to reinvent itself. The lines in the original haven't changed much from the original Z show, but the dub is really trying hard to correct itself and that in itself is a whole new venture.

[Gaffer Tape]

If the Kai releases were of the same episode count and had the same level of deference to the Japanese version as the DBoxes do, I might feel a bit more inclined to buy them. But I'm poor and can barely afford one Dragon Ball product, so it has to be the Dragon Boxes since I'm already not all that interested in Kai. The English title cards and credits are just one more nail in the coffin to knock it off my back burner (isn't mixing metaphors fun? ).

[Turtle Marked Stone]

In my book, not really. The one major aggravation to me is all of this stunt casting and while I appreciate the improved pacing there are too many little things that annoy me when it comes to Kai. That's not to say I won't ever pick it up but as of now I'm trying to decide if the entirety of Z is worth buying over again in the Dragon Box format. Needless to say if I can't make up my mind on that Kai is a very low priority Dragon Ball purchase.

[Soul]

I was wondering, which it does pertain to the thread, who is buying both the Dragon Boxes and Kai?

[Mewzard]

I am buying both the Kai sets and the Dragon Boxes. The Dragon Boxes are solely for watching the original Japanese version in the best quality possible, and the Kai sets are solely for watching the best English dub possible. I win with both, and it satisfies both sides of my fandom.