Dragonball Kai (FUNimation English) Dub: General Discussion

[B]

Whether some like it or not, DBZ and it's filler are the original adaption of the manga, not Kai.

The manga is the original story, not DBZ, both Kai and DBZ are adaptions. I just feel Kai is better in a lot of ways to the DBZ adaption. During, the "DBZ" portion in the manga, Toriyama had evolved the story style into almost pure action. So in a sense, DBZ fails in this regard due to horrid pacing, despite it's memorable music, acting, or at times, filler.

I worded it wrong. DBZ is the original anime adaptation, not Kai. Despite flaws, I still overall think DBZ is better for the things you listed. It's just more memorable. Kai is cool to watch for free on TV but that's about it.

I think it's rather unfair to Kai to place it behind Z simply for being the second attempt at telling someone else's story in an animated format. What if Z had cut integral characters out of the anime? What if it pulled an FMA and ended before, say, the 22nd Tenakichi Budokai? It gets a pass for being "more memorable?"

[Codarik]

I heard 18 will have a new voice actress. Please be someone like this.
She'd do an awesome 18.

I doubt Meredith McCoy will be replaced. She still does voice work for FUNimation. Most recently Maria Ross in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

[Cowboy Dev]

I think it's rather unfair to Kai to place it behind Z simply for being the second attempt at telling someone else's story in an animated format. What if Z had cut integral characters out of the anime? What if it pulled an FMA and ended before, say, the 22nd Tenakichi Budokai? It gets a pass for being "more memorable?"

Honestly I think Kai is just as horribly paced since it's little more than stock footage of DBZ cut down and strung together. At least the filler helped flesh out characters. (ex: Gohan)

[B]

I heard 18 will have a new voice actress. Please be someone like this.
She'd do an awesome 18.

I doubt Meredith McCoy will be replaced. She still does voice work for FUNimation. Most recently Maria Ross in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Well, she hasn't done a whole lot, but I guess her chances of showing up are better than say, the guy who played Dabra or Duncan Brennan as Babidi.

Honestly I think Kai is just as horribly paced since it's little more than stock footage of DBZ cut down and strung together.

Are you trying to say the splicing is distracting or something? Because it's not. There's the occasional hiccup in redrawn scenes, and the disappearing/reappearing Krillin thing in episode one, but I don't find either to be drastic enough or to happen frequent enough to claim Kai is "horribly paced." Gohan develops fine in Kai.

[Mewzard]

I think it's rather unfair to Kai to place it behind Z simply for being the second attempt at telling someone else's story in an animated format. What if Z had cut integral characters out of the anime? What if it pulled an FMA and ended before, say, the 22nd Tenakichi Budokai? It gets a pass for being "more memorable?"

Honestly I think Kai is just as horribly paced since it's little more than stock footage of DBZ cut down and strung together. At least the filler helped flesh out characters. (ex: Gohan)

Except filler doesn't matter to the characters and is rarely even mentioned again after a point.

And being dragged out by large amounts of pointless filler is annoying after a while.

The advantage of Kai is that most of that dragged out, noncanon material is gone. Though, I do miss Z's music at times, lol.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

I heard 18 will have a new voice actress. Please be someone like this.
She'd do an awesome 18.

I doubt Meredith McCoy will be replaced. She still does voice work for FUNimation. Most recently Maria Ross in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Same here. Meredith Mccoy and Chuch Huber were excellent in their roles as #18 and #17. I'd hate for either one of them to be replaced.

[penguintruth]

I agree. Chuck Huber and Meredith McCoy were great as 17 and 18 back then and may be even better now. If they don't both reprise their roles, I'll be disappointed.

[The GREAT D.]

Well, she hasn't done a whole lot, but I guess her chances of showing up are better than say, the guy who played Dabra or Duncan Brennan as Babidi.

Actually Duncan Brennan's still fairly active at Funimation. He was recently in One Piece, where he played Mr. 3 and Sarquiss, and FMA: Brotherhood, where he reprised his role as the younger slicer brother. He's also been in a few other things Funimation has dubbed recently. So I wouldn't worry about him not coming back to play Babidi. As for Meredith McCoy I really don't know, but if she doesn't come back I do believe that Stephanie Young would make a great replacement.

[Super Sonic]

Meredith McCoy also sang this song that never leaves my head.

[MR.Mark]

Honestly I think Kai is just as horribly paced since it's little more than stock footage of DBZ cut down and strung together.

Gross exaggeration, that's pretty much like saying Toriyama's manga is like a bunch of images strung together.

[Cowboy Dev]

Honestly I think Kai is just as horribly paced since it's little more than stock footage of DBZ cut down and strung together.

Gross exaggeration, that's pretty much like saying Toriyama's manga is like a bunch of images strung together.

Not really.
Toei: "Hey let's make a new series called Kai! Will make a brand new series that follows the Z portion of the manga more closely. Let's get to work frankensteining the old series slap a new label on it and call it a day."

All in all I enjoy watching Kai but aside from watching for free on TV, there's no other purpose. I have the Dragon Box. If I don't want to watch filler, I have this magical device called the fast foward button.

[MR.Mark]

Toei: "Hey let's make Dragon ball Z and half-ass on filler material that 95% of time drags out the pace and adds nothing to the original story by Toriyama, and call it a day."

The fast forward button excuse doesn't work when a lot of manga material is dragged out. Again, there are elements from the Z adaption that I enjoy, even prefer, but the pacing sure as hell aint one of them.

[Cowboy Dev]

Toei: "Hey let's make Dragon ball Z and half-ass on filler material that 95% of time drags out the pace and adds nothing to the original story by Toriyama, and call it a day."

The fast forward button excuse doesn't work when a lot of manga material is dragged out. Again, there are elements from the Z adaption that I enjoy, even prefer, but the pacing sure as hell aint one of them.

I must like dragged out scenes because I haven't fast foward once since getting the Dragon Box. To each their own.

[Gaffer Tape]

I've never really gotten a vibe that it was too dragged out either. Well... sometimes, but in an overall sense, no. I remember being really frightened when I got DBox 3 in the mail because it had been a long time since I'd seen those episodes, and I'd never seen them in Japanese before, while for years I'd been exclusively reading the manga. And that section of the show does has some of the worst padding in the entire series. I was quite worried that I'd lose interest upon rewatching it. And while some things did drag, I found myself enjoying it quite a lot.

As has been said before, you might be complaining of the pace, but everyone still seemed to get through it just fine when they were introduced to it, otherwise, most people wouldn't be here right now!

I certainly don't agree that Toei's intention was, "Har har, let's draw this show out as long as possible just to make it terrible!" It was most certainly more along the lines of, "Well, we have this show we're adapting alongside its source, and we can't catch up to it, so we have to add additional stories to it." And some of it worked out well, and some of it... not so much, and some of it only really seems bad in hindsight, which, of course, they didn't have then.

[MR.Mark]

I never even implied that Toei intended to make the show terrible on purpose, that would be silly. Never the less, the pacing can be downright terrible in DBZ at times, you can't really argue that fact. This wasn't artistic integrity, Toei literally had no choice but to drag it out, Kai simply has the luxury of not having to compromise the pacing now that the manga is long finished.

Again, the "being introduced through Z" card doesn't hold up either, as the pace of the original anime doesn't become too apparent initially. Most hardcore fans do joke and complain about the pacing, because it is one of the biggest flaws in the Z adaption. Nostalgia aside, it takes many years of repeat views and growing up with the series to give it a fair assessment, like I feel I have.

[Cowboy Dev]

I never even implied that Toei intended to make the show terrible on purpose, that would be silly. Never the less, the pacing can be downright terrible in DBZ at times, you can't really argue that fact. This wasn't artistic integrity, Toei literally had no choice but to drag it out, Kai simply has the luxury of not having to compromise the pacing now that the manga is long finished.

Again, the "being introduced through Z" card doesn't hold up either, as the pace of the original anime doesn't become too apparent initially. Most hardcore fans do joke and complain about the pacing, because it is one of the biggest flaws in the Z adaption. Nostalgia aside, it takes many years of repeat views and growing up with the series to give it a fair assessment, like I feel I have.

The thing is like you I don't let nostalgia cloud my judgement (if I did, I would still be into the english dub and soundtrack.)
I just think people overplay the whole "IT GOES ON FOREVER!" B.S. One Piece fans have no room to talk. Seriously, it's not that bad.

[JulieYBM]

I just think people overplay the whole "IT GOES ON FOREVER!" B.S. One Piece fans have no room to talk. Seriously, it's not that bad.

Did I miss the part where we One Piece fans come into play? 'Our' anime is just as stretched out, most of the time.

[Cowboy Dev]

I just think people overplay the whole "IT GOES ON FOREVER!" B.S. One Piece fans have no room to talk. Seriously, it's not that bad.

Did I miss the part where we One Piece fans come into play? 'Our' anime is just as stretched out, most of the time.

I just felt the need to bring OP up since it's far longer and convoluted.

[Budogenkai]

Meredith McCoy also sang this song that never leaves my head.

I personally think that the English version of One Piece opening 2 is better than the original and the Japanese, she sang it very well.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

I never even implied that Toei intended to make the show terrible on purpose, that would be silly. Never the less, the pacing can be downright terrible in DBZ at times, you can't really argue that fact. This wasn't artistic integrity, Toei literally had no choice but to drag it out, Kai simply has the luxury of not having to compromise the pacing now that the manga is long finished.

Again, the "being introduced through Z" card doesn't hold up either, as the pace of the original anime doesn't become too apparent initially. Most hardcore fans do joke and complain about the pacing, because it is one of the biggest flaws in the Z adaption. Nostalgia aside, it takes many years of repeat views and growing up with the series to give it a fair assessment, like I feel I have.

Basically this. Dragon Ball Z had bad pacing. This is a fact. Anyone who has watched the series knows this. Whether the pacing is downright horrendous or affects greatly on one's enjoyment of the show, is obviously debatable. I personally think that it was bad at times, but overall it was okay.