The International Version of the Buu-Kai Arc

[kei17]

So it doesn't have a serious version of recap music? Wow... Spopovich stretching his neck with happy music is hilarious.

[DBZ_Lee]

So it doesn't have a serious version of recap music? Wow... Spopovich stretching his neck with happy music is hilarious.

It sounds completely ridiculous. I don't know if the serious recap music will kick in next week, but I really hope it does soon.

This week's episode covered an equivalent of one chapter of the Manga. Episode #16 of "The Final Chapters" should match #107 of the Japanese Kai TV series.

For those interested, Anibox will be showing the entire Kai Majin Buu Arc up to now (1-14) next Saturday - Interestingly enough, they won't be showing no. 15, at least it isn't listed on the schedule:
http://www.aniboxtv.com/schedule/day.ph ... 2014-09-06. Anione, however, are showing it.


I'll see if I can get it the following weekend.

[Valerius Dover]

Doesn't the original Japanese DBZ use non-serious recap music? I don't see how this is different.

[theoriginalbilis]

Doesn't the original Japanese DBZ use non-serious recap music? I don't see how this is different.

The Japanese recap music is more adventurous in tone than outright "happy." The tone of Z's recap music suggests "Hey, let's go on an awesome epic adventure!"

[Valerius Dover]

Doesn't the original Japanese DBZ use non-serious recap music? I don't see how this is different.

The Japanese recap music is more adventurous in tone than outright "happy." The tone of Z's recap music suggests "Hey, let's go on an awesome epic adventure!"

Exactly. That's kind of how I interpret the Fight it Out recap, too. To each his own, I guess.

[theoriginalbilis]

Doesn't the original Japanese DBZ use non-serious recap music? I don't see how this is different.

The Japanese recap music is more adventurous in tone than outright "happy." The tone of Z's recap music suggests "Hey, let's go on an awesome epic adventure!"

Exactly. That's kind of how I interpret the Fight it Out recap, too. To each his own, I guess.

The problem folks are having with the "Fight It Out" recap music, as well as the NEPs for both Japanese Kai and The Final Chapters, is that the quality of the actual arrangement and instrumentation are considered to be quite poor. It sounds way too MIDI-fied and more like a jingle you'd hear for a handheld video game than a show that has mostly used an orchestrated score for decades (original DB/Z/GT, Kai 1.0). People don't like it because it sounds cheap and doesn't really mesh with the visuals.

[kei17]

Doesn't the original Japanese DBZ use non-serious recap music? I don't see how this is different.

The Japanese recap music is more adventurous in tone than outright "happy." The tone of Z's recap music suggests "Hey, let's go on an awesome epic adventure!"

Exactly. That's kind of how I interpret the Fight it Out recap, too. To each his own, I guess.

Z's one sounds more neutral and universal. The Fight It Out arrangement sounds just too lighthearted in comparison.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Sorry if this has been mentioned before but is the music placement better here than the Japanese broadcast?

[TheRed259]

In my opinion, the Japanese Version is way better than this. The tracks that played when Piccolo learns about Kaioshin, when Gohan gets angry or when he says to Spopovich that he will never forgive him etc. did fit perfectly the scenes and they changed them.

[DBZ_Lee]

I'd much rather watch the International Version any day of the week. The Japanese broadcast has at times clearly benefited from hindsight - some of the placement has been changed for the better, ie Trunks' scene in which he is talking with his opponent backstage at the Budokai, Kaioshin revealing his identity to Piccolo, the "serious" recap music playing when Spopovich is battling Videl but to name a few.

Though the placement has been a very mixed bag across both versions, the overall quality of the International Version is far superior. Would I have preferred a lesser episode count from 69, sure, but I understand and see why they produced that amount.
The issues are there to be seen, awkward editing is apparent all over the Japanese episodes, some cover 6 chapters, whilst others barely cover 2 (which are clearly taken from the International version) another issue is the lack of breathing space, the cut throat editing which looks very unprofessional, and rushed.

Thing is, what you see in the Japanese broadcast version is what you get when you remove more filler and cut at every opportunity - a mess. Erratic pacing, poorly edited scenes, wall-to-wall music but to name a few.
Yes, I'd much rather sit though 69 episodes with a better, more consistent pacing and for the most part well edited production than a hack job for the sake of a lesser episode count. The only reason we got 98 for the 1st iteration of Kai was because they had to produce below 104 episodes for Fuji TV.

But for the Majin Buu Arc, they weren't restricted as to what they could produce, and it's probably for the best, as if we had to have the version they do, I think I'd pass.

[sintzu]

The only reason we got 98 for the 1st iteration of Kai was because they had to produce below 104 episodes for Fuji TV.

Was that the original number they were going to have ? I remember seeing an add about it being under 100 episodes when it was announced but i don't remember if it was true or fan speculation.

[Freeza Soldier #156]

The only reason we got 98 for the 1st iteration of Kai was because they had to produce below 104 episodes for Fuji TV.

Was that the original number they were going to have ? I remember seeing an add about it being under 100 episodes when it was announced but i don't remember if it was true or fan speculation.

The whole 100 episodes thing was always just a rumor; Toei never confirmed anything about it being around that number. Though, with phase 1 of Kai being 98 episodes, I guess it was a good prediction.

[ChibiGoku]

The only reason we got 98 for the 1st iteration of Kai was because they had to produce below 104 episodes for Fuji TV.

Was that the original number they were going to have ? I remember seeing an add about it being under 100 episodes when it was announced but i don't remember if it was true or fan speculation.

The whole 100 episodes thing was always just a rumor; Toei never confirmed anything about it being around that number. Though, with phase 1 of Kai being 98 episodes, I guess it was a good prediction.

The original plan was to have 4-cours (48-52 or so episodes, don't remember specifically), ending at Freeza. That's basing off what Toei listed originally for the DVD and BD releases. Somewhere down the line, it got extended.

[ShinGaijin]

A french TV channel, J-One, just starts airing the show in France :

Spoiler:

tv schedule : http://programme-tv.premiere.fr/jeuness ... ball-z-kai
interesting interview with one of the producers of the series : http://www.j-one.com/nyusu-show-du-160414/

Spoiler:

It seems that the green tint is not an "accident" or a flaw, according to their comparative:

[Cold Skin]

Indeed, the French Kai Boo arc has started already.

Unfortunately, J-One is not one of the main channels accessible to anyone, you need to pay for the Canalsat pack or the Numericable pack to get that channel among hundreds of others.
But it should still make it more accessible than in Korea, it's possible that we'll find someone in France who has it.

Everybody was caught by surprise, there was no communication about that first airing starting.
So don't expect to be able to find the first episodes already aired, it's only NOW that the word about it will spread and that someone might be able to film/capture samples soon.

[TheRed259]

And what about Nickelodeon? Doesn't it have the rights for DBZ Kai anymore?

[Cold Skin]

^ Who knows? Kaze has the right to Kai now, and Kaze is in a special partenership with J-One. This explains that.

In the meantime, the documentary linked by ShinGaijin states that Kai was a huge success in Japan with a very high viewing rate, and was unfortunately stopped at Cell due to the earthquake.

The producer says "at the beginning, when we were creating that remake, part of the picture disappeared due to the new widescreen ratio, but now [= with the Boo arc], it's the first time you get to see the full picture". Was this bit mistranslated or what? It is shown when you see the screen with the different screen ratio markers, in the 2nd half of the video. But it's peculiar saying we get the full picture... Maybe he means we get parts of the picture that were not present even on the 4:3 original frames, for example on the sides...

[Valerius Dover]

Well, it's great to know this series is finally spreading to other countries. I wonder why they didn't advertise it much, though?

[ShinGaijin]

I noticed that the french documentary was blocked in some countries, so I've uploaded it on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0FwDGDwH1A
So MTV (the owner of J-One and Game One) still own the rights of "Z" Kai in France, what a shame that people have to pay to watch the show.

[Cold Skin]

Well, it's great to know this series is finally spreading to other countries. I wonder why they didn't advertise it much, though?

It looks like a last-minute addition.

J-One is in a big partership with Kaze, the French publisher that recently acquired rights to Kai and wants to release Blu-rays around September. Kaze gives them exclusive - or early - access to some of the productions they have in store.
There's a good chance they caught the channel by surprise, saying "hey, by the way, it's September now, and that's just around that time that we'd like to start releasing Blu-rays for Kai. Would be good if you started airing those Boo episodes we give you right now, this week".

J-One, on their official program schedules, apparently didn't even have time to show more than the series' logo at a certain hour, not even writing the title's episode or synopsis. Again, might be a sign that they barely had time to insert Kai in their own website presentation, not even having time to write the titles and other infos on the contrary of other animes around.

Each day, two episodes of Kai are aired in the end of the morning, and two episodes at the end of the afternoon.
That makes four episodes a day. This likely includes re-run, as a common strategy in France is to air two new episodes the evening, and re-air them the next morning. So it would likely be:
- Afternoon: the two new episodes of the day.
- Morning: re-run of the two new episodes of the previous day.