Unpopular DB opinions

[ErikB]

The redone scenes in Kai are a very very mixed bag. Most of them do look bad, but you can find a few here and there that look pretty good:

Spoiler:

(A shame the shot where Goku actually transforms wasn't as well-redrawn as this one.)

Note that in these, where it actually looks nice, they bothered to faithfully represent the line quality of the original drawings (or made at least a mild attempt to in the case of Gohan and Goku in the ROSAT). Most of the time, the traced scenes have completely uniform line-width which doesn't look good with Toriyama's style (especially when immediately preceded and succeeded with shots where the line quality is intact). Additionally, the art in all of these shots was pretty good to begin with.

The redrawing, when handled well, can really make the old art, where it was good to begin with, shine. When not handled well, it can make the old good art look worse:

Spoiler:

Here's the shot immediately after for comparison:

And the absolute bottom of the barrel is when the redrawing wasn't handled well and the old art was bad to begin with:

Spoiler:

(I also just noticed...what the hell is Oolong doing with his hands?)

And then there's the "OK" shots which really aren't one way or the other:

Spoiler:

(Uniform line-width mostly, but the good art in these shots isn't hurt too much by it)

No matter what, splicing cel and digital animation is going to look weird. They could have added synthetic "film grain" with a simple noise filter on the digital stuff and it probably would have looked slightly better (i.e. less jarring)...but they didn't. Oh well.

EDIT: Wow, a bunch of posts popped up while I was making this one. To clarify I was commenting on GravediggerNALK's point #2 (and ABED by extension I suppose).

[Ringworm128]

I actually think Tom Wyner's Cell from Final Bout had potential. And he seems like a pretty good voice mach for Norio Wakamoto.

[dbgtFO]

I have posted in this thread before, but I can't remember what I posted, so here's some of the unpopular opinions I have.

1. The reason why Namek's Eldest is so fat and large is because giving birth so many times had the negative effect of increasing his size by such an unnatural amount. Dragon Ball Online perhaps imply the same given that the new eldest has also become much bigger.
2. Gohan not having the ability to go Super Saiyan 2 after the World Tournament is an inconsistency. I would imagine, it is due to Toriyama deciding, it would better emphasize Gohan being stronger as a kid by having this clear visual difference both to himself as a kid and Goku and Vegeta later.
3. Battle of Gods was disappointing and too kid friendly. Db and Z were at heart also kids shows, but they managed to transition well from comedy to drama. When BoG does the same it feels too forced.
4. Referring to Goku and Gohan, when they are everyday Super Saiyans as Full Power Super Saiyan/Super Saiyan Full Power is wrong. The term only applies, when they have powered up to full power as Super Saiyans(hence the term Super Saiyan Full Power).
5. Krillin's Kienzan can't cut through everything.

[thatdbzguy]

If Funimation ever redubs DBZ, they should make the entire soundtrack be just Slayer.

[baneofdemon22]

I think that Goku the Super Saiya-Jin/Lord Slug is one of the best DBZ movies. I think that the first four movies are the strongest, and I remember Lord Slug getting a fair amount of dislike.

When I first watched the movies, it was one of my favorites too. People seemed to really hate the scene with Icarus. I love it! I thought Gohan was so cute in that scene! Also the False SSJ form was very upsetting to a lot of people, but I thought it looked really cool! Chi Chi was awesome the way she took out troops. There's a lot I really like about the movie.

[superfunk]

I don't care for english kai and I actualy prefer the original funny dub, pure nostalgic ressons though. The japanes is more accurate and just a better product(IMO), so I never saw a reason to finish watching the english kai dub.

[ErikB]

I think that Goku the Super Saiya-Jin/Lord Slug is one of the best DBZ movies. I think that the first four movies are the strongest, and I remember Lord Slug getting a fair amount of dislike.

When I first watched the movies, it was one of my favorites too. People seemed to really hate the scene with Icarus. I love it! I thought Gohan was so cute in that scene! Also the False SSJ form was very upsetting to a lot of people, but I thought it looked really cool! Chi Chi was awesome the way she took out troops. There's a lot I really like about the movie.

Plus Piccolo kicking all kinds of ass until Gohan needs saving (as usual). Yeah, Lord Slug's one of my favourites of the Z movies too actually.

[RandomGuy96]

It's not my favorite, but I definitely think that it's underrated. I especially like that Chi Chi actually gets to kick some ass, if only briefly.

[KentalSSJ6]

If Funimation ever redubs DBZ, they should make the entire soundtrack be just Slayer.

Not to be rude, but that would be even worse than the ridiculous insert songs Funimation used in their dubs of the DBZ movies. When I watch DBZ, I'm expecting Yamamoto and Kikuchi, not Slayer, Pantera, or Disturbed.

[DBZAOTA482]

It's not my favorite, but I definitely think that it's underrated. I especially like that Chi Chi actually gets to kick some ass, if only briefly.

I still place it fairly low in my list of favorite movies due to being boring and unoriginal but it's at least better than movie 7 and 11 because it has more of a plot than those two and it does the characters more justice.

[Weejus]

I think that Linda Young's Freeza is actually worse in the remastered dub. She's still bad in both though.

[orbweaver]

Really, REALLY unpopular opinion:

When Vegeta does things that seem out of character for him (like need to be carried around by the hair by Piccolo, yelled at to man up and dropped from 200 feet... or having to do a song and dance number for the God of Destruction)...

...it's AWESOME.

[orbweaver]

The redone scenes in Kai are a very very mixed bag. Most of them do look bad, but you can find a few here and there that look pretty good:

Spoiler:

(A shame the shot where Goku actually transforms wasn't as well-redrawn as this one.)

Note that in these, where it actually looks nice, they bothered to faithfully represent the line quality of the original drawings (or made at least a mild attempt to in the case of Gohan and Goku in the ROSAT). Most of the time, the traced scenes have completely uniform line-width which doesn't look good with Toriyama's style (especially when immediately preceded and succeeded with shots where the line quality is intact). Additionally, the art in all of these shots was pretty good to begin with.

The redrawing, when handled well, can really make the old art, where it was good to begin with, shine. When not handled well, it can make the old good art look worse:

Spoiler:

Here's the shot immediately after for comparison:

And the absolute bottom of the barrel is when the redrawing wasn't handled well and the old art was bad to begin with:

Spoiler:

(I also just noticed...what the hell is Oolong doing with his hands?)

And then there's the "OK" shots which really aren't one way or the other:

Spoiler:

(Uniform line-width mostly, but the good art in these shots isn't hurt too much by it)

No matter what, splicing cel and digital animation is going to look weird. They could have added synthetic "film grain" with a simple noise filter on the digital stuff and it probably would have looked slightly better (i.e. less jarring)...but they didn't. Oh well.

EDIT: Wow, a bunch of posts popped up while I was making this one. To clarify I was commenting on GravediggerNALK's point #2 (and ABED by extension I suppose).

Yep, to me, what bugs me most visually with Kai is the mix of the old animation with the modern Photoshop/AfterEffects particle effects. It's just too jarring. Either make it all new or keep it all retro.

[Saiga]

It's not my favorite, but I definitely think that it's underrated. I especially like that Chi Chi actually gets to kick some ass, if only briefly.

I agree. Previously it was my favourite, but I've warmed up to Movie 13 a lot more lately. But I still think it's very underrated - even though Slug himself is just too bold a rehash of Piccolo Daimao, there's still plenty to like in it.

[Kid Buu]

90% of the movies are just rehashes yet it feels like DBZ Movie 4 is the only one that gets called out on it.

[Saiga]

Well, movie 4 is by far the most obvious about it. It seems to be the one with the least thought put into covering up the rehashing.

[RandomGuy96]

It's not my favorite, but I definitely think that it's underrated. I especially like that Chi Chi actually gets to kick some ass, if only briefly.

I agree. Previously it was my favourite, but I've warmed up to Movie 13 a lot more lately. But I still think it's very underrated - even though Slug himself is just too bold a rehash of Piccolo Daimao, there's still plenty to like in it.

Slug himself is probably the worst thing about that movie. Well, him and the mediocre fights. A watered down cross between King Piccolo and Freeza, with none of the former's charm. I liked the concept of an evil non-demon Namekian and an evil counterpart to the reformed Piccolo, but they didn't really do anything with it, and it seems like they were trying to make him look like a bitch by not even letting his stronger-than-a-Super-Saiyan form take out FSS Goku (FSS, conversely, is one of the best things about this movie, however brief).

On the other hand, I've been kinda hating 13 the more time goes back. Mostly it has to do with Goku.

Well, movie 4 is by far the most obvious about it. It seems to be the one with the least thought put into covering up the rehashing.

I don't think Movie 12 was any less more about it, with the fat, jolly, psychopathic, and childish demon who eventually transforms into a much smaller, feral, stronger, and more vicious demon incapable of even speech, who proceeds to beat up SS2 Vegeta and SS3 Goku before being taken down by an extreme maneuver that Goku and Vegeta enact while the strongest side character acts as a distraction.

[Kamiccolo9]

Well, movie 4 is by far the most obvious about it. It seems to be the one with the least thought put into covering up the rehashing.

I don't think Movie 12 was any less subtle about it, with the fat, jolly, psychopathic, and childish demon who eventually transforms into a much smaller, feral, stronger, and more vicious demon incapable of even speech, who proceeds to beat up SS2 Vegeta and SS3 Goku before being taken down by an extreme maneuver that Goku and Vegeta enact while the strongest side character acts as a distraction.

Wasn't the movie made before the Pure Buu fight in the manga, though?

[RandomGuy96]

Yeah, but I don't think any of us (well, very few) watched it when it was first released. I'm betting most fans saw it after the Pure Buu battle. So it would come off as a rip-off, even though technically it might be the other way around.

I like to consider that movie "Buu Saga: Ultra-Abridged", or maybe a sort of "what-if" in disguise, with movie characters subbing in for their series counterparts. Like Movie 4.

[Kid Buu]

Movie 1 is pretty honest about it too.

*Villains meet Piccolo
*Gohan is introduced/kidnapped
*Goku goes to save him
*Goku/Piccolo teamup
*Gohan rage boost saves the day.

Raditz arc all over again.