Dragonbox VS Orange Brick Sets....a few questions

[Questrider]

I currently own all 9 "orange bricks" that make up the 291 episodes of DBZ.

Now that the Dragonboxes are in release, can someone tell me the BIGGEST differences between sets?

If I am not mistaken, the Dragonboxes simply "boost" the picture and sound quality.
Are there any other MAJOR differences?

In the Funimation orange sets we have ALL audio options, including Falconer's score so techinically, the Dragonboxes have LESS audio options, correct?

If anyone can provide a bit more background info, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

[Blue]

We need a sticky for this kind of thing.

Dragon Box has the full picture and the original colors. They contain the next episode previews and original title cards. They also contain the Japanese track with English subtitles and the dub track with Japanese music.

Orange Bricks have the top and the bottom of the picture cut off and the colors are over saturated. They don't have the next episode previews and they only have the dub title cards.

[Questrider]

@Blue-
Thanks for the info.

Regarding the picture...does having the FULL picture make a BIG difference?
(to warrant buying this set?)

As far as the colors go, I've only seen the orange brick sets and wasn't really paying attention to the colors as much as I probably should have.

Also, why does the Dragonbox actually have LESS audio options?
I'm not afraid to say that I like Falconer's score a lot more than the original Japaneese.
Is that blasphemy to say here? lol

[Blue]

The loss of picture is very noticeable at certain points in the Orange Bricks I'm sure you've noticed. Such as in the Saiyan Saga where we get a beautiful zoom up on Tenshinhan's nose. Or when Gohan is chasing after his saber tooth friend and he keeps falling off camera and then jumping back on.

Also did you notice how the lines around the characters' faces and bodies disappear whenever the camera shakes? That's the result of the season sets' awful job at trying to remove all the grain from the footage.

The Dragon Box is more catering to the Japanese fans, most of us hate the Funimation music. As soon as you pop one of the disks in the default language is Japanese with English subtitles. The dub fanbase wasn't really the target market with these sets which is why the dub music wasn't needed.

People usually rag on the dub music here but it's not a huge deal if you like it.

The Dragon Box literally was very carefully remastered so all the damage to the film is removed. Funimation put the orange bricks in a machine pressed "go" and went out for coffee which is why you do see more film damage on the season sets.

[Hao_Kaiser]

They don't have the next episode previews and they only have the dub title cards.

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the orange bricks do have the original title cards as well. It's been a while since I've popped any of the discs in, but IIRC, the first four bricks have the alternate video track. Maybe they changed with the later ones?

Also, Questrider, if you prefer Falconer's score, and the picture/color issues present in the orange bricks don't bother you... Then what's the problem? Just don't buy the DragonBoxes. You'll be losing your favorite version of the show, while more-or-less gaining nothing that matters to you.

[Blue]

Oh maybe the early sets do have Japanese title cards. Well nonetheless my point still stands seeing as how they lose them after around the 3rd or 4th set.

[.:PoetikaL:.]

All the Season Sets have the original title cards.

[Blue]

Well excuuuuuuuuussseeee me princess! (I usually skip over them, sorry about that.)

[Kaboom]

If I am not mistaken, the Dragonboxes simply "boost" the picture and sound quality.
Are there any other MAJOR differences?

I suppose that's one way you can put it. Here's the scoop on the differences in video.

Toei's "Dragon Box" footage underwent a very delicate, dedicated remastering process, where things like scratches, tears, and so forth were meticulously corrected by hand, frame-by-frame. Those frames were also re-aligned in order to reduce shakiness to the bare minimum, overall resulting in a crisp, steady, and near-perfect visual presentation of the footage.

FUNimation's "remastered" footage was run through a machine. The process attempted to remove the grain in the footage that naturally comes with its age, which resulted in the picture being blurred and detail being lost. In addition, some frames were caused to "blend together" in some instances, resulting in lines actually disappearing during high-motion scenes. The footage was also over-saturated, resulting in the picture at times being washed-out and too bright. On top of it all, somebody thought it was a good idea to crop the footage to 16:9, resulting in a good amount of the top and bottom of the picture being lost.

Here's an example of the "disappearing lines" problem.
Here's what some of the "remastered" footage looks like at it's worst, compared to the Dragon box.

The DragonBox remastering process only sought to fix actual problems, by cleaning up errors or correcting damage to the film. Little to no effort was made to "enhance" the picture because, let's face it, it's a 20-year-old show. Short of being re-animated, it's never going to look like a modern show from the 2000's.

FUNimation's attempt at "remastering" it, however, DID seem to happen with a cause of "high-deffing" the series in mind. Attempts to smooth out the picture and give the "cinematic widescreen" experience were mostly futile, and just ended up making things look worse.

Some of the problems like the disappearing lines and the blurriness improved or all but disappeared in the later sets. The Boo saga as a whole, for example, actually looks pretty good most of the time, save for the widescreen. However, this is most likely only because the original footage itself is newer and in generally better shape, rather than any change in practice with the remastering process.

On the plus side, the remastered editions of the movies underwent the same process, but due to the same reasons, like being from higher-quality film to begin with, they ended up looking pretty darn good. There were still some slight issues with saturation and color balance, but they were minor. They still don't look as good as the DragonBox editions of the movies, which FUNimations allegedly also has a hold of. So it might be worth holding off for a possible "Movie Box" release.

In the Funimation orange sets we have ALL audio options, including Falconer's score so techinically, the Dragonboxes have LESS audio options, correct?

Yes, the DragonBox sets from FUNimation were produced primarily with the Japanese version and its fans in mind. In fact, the subtitled Japanese audio track is the default one, and the inclusion of any dub at all was noted by FUNi's reps as a "bonus." Naturally, it's the track that uses the Japanese BGM which was introduced in the Season Sets. Whether this is a deliberate effort on FUNi's part to start "doing away" with the changed dub BGM (as producing such a thing is unheard of in today's dubbing scene) or merely a choice of quality (since the Japanese BGM dub track is mixed in 5.1 surround) isn't known for sure.

So it all comes down to which aspect you care about more. If you want the best possible picture (for just a slightly higher price), and don't mind missing out on the "nostalgic" sounds of Monsieur Falcouner, then by all means, pick up the Dragon Boxes. But if you simply can't live without that snazzy, synthy, incessant sound, and are willing to put up with awful-looking footage (for a slightly more affordable price as well), then the Season Sets are the way to go.

All the Season Sets have the original title cards.

The DBZ ones do, anyway. They ditched alternate angles for the remastered movies and the GT and DB sets, so there's only the English credits and title cards for those.

[jjgp1112]

Um, Blue, every single Z set has alternate angles. It was the GT and DB sets that didn't have them.

And really, unless you actually care about improved picture quality and watching the preview for the episode that you're gonna watch in 30 seconds anyway, then there's really no point in getting the Dragon Boxes if you already have the season sets. Just stick with what you have.

[SHINOBI-03]

You want to know differences in picture quality? Here are the examples I did. Judge for yourself.

[Questrider]

Thanks for all the great feedback.

Being a huge fan of the series, I DO have enough respect to want to see DBZ as it was originally intended thus maybe sometime down the road I will be adding the "box" to my collection.

[Questrider]

Here's a follow up question:

Do most of you watch DBZ in english or do you watch in Japanese with subtitles?

Just curious.

[.:PoetikaL:.]

Well excuuuuuuuuussseeee me princess! (I usually skip over them, sorry about that.)

Sorry, I didn't want to come off like a jackass. My apologies Blue.

P.S. Love the Zelda reference, how cheeky of you.

The DBZ ones do, anyway. They ditched alternate angles for the remastered movies and the GT and DB sets, so there's only the English credits and title cards for those.

I forgot to mention that, but I did mean only for DBZ. Thanks for clarifying that. I feel that it's stupid to not to include them, but the only remastered movie to get their original title cards were the Trunks and Bardock specials, but even then they were TV episodes in a sense.

[SHINOBI-03]

Here's a follow up question:

Do most of you watch DBZ in english or do you watch in Japanese with subtitles?

Just curious.

Japanese with subtitles.

[.:PoetikaL:.]

Here's a follow up question:

Do most of you watch DBZ in english or do you watch in Japanese with subtitles?

Just curious.

Used to watch it in English, but since then (then being almost a year now) I have been watching the show only in Japanese.

[jjgp1112]

Here's a follow up question:

Do most of you watch DBZ in english or do you watch in Japanese with subtitles?

Just curious.

Can't speak for everyone, but I mostly watch it in english. I only switch to the Japanese version occasionally out of morbid curiosity and then switch back after hearin Goku's voice for more than 5 minutes. If I want the original, I'll just read the manga.

[Rory]

Here's a follow up question:

Do most of you watch DBZ in english or do you watch in Japanese with subtitles?

Just curious.

For the majority of this website? I'd definitely say Japanese. There are a few dubbies spotted here and there, but for the most part the Daizex fan-base are mostly apart of the "subbie" crowds.

[rereboy]

Here's a follow up question:

Do most of you watch DBZ in english or do you watch in Japanese with subtitles?

Just curious.

Most over here watch it in Japanese with subtitles. The main reason for this is because the dub script is horribly inaccurate regarding the original script.
Most of those who know this, and are aware of what the true/original script states, find the Dub unbearable.

Then there`s other reasons, but those are more of matter of taste, like preferring the japanese actors` voices to the americans` ones and/or preferring the japanese soundtrack over the american one.

The only Dub who everyone seems to enjoy is the one they are doing for Dragon Ball Z Kai. That Dub is accurate so a lot of people are liking it.

[VegettoEX]

We need a sticky for this kind of thing.

Well, the website has plenty of documentation on this sort of thing, too .

Here's a follow up question:

Do most of you watch DBZ in english or do you watch in Japanese with subtitles?

Just curious.

I can only speak for myself and the mission/goal of the website, but it is 100% original Japanese version. That's what we love, that's what we spend our time with, and what's what we are here to promote.

As for the general community that's associated with our website? There is mostly only anecdotal evidence and casual observations, but it appears to be what's been stated: the majority go with the original Japanese version. That makes sense, too -- if you're the type of fan that has such a vested interest in learning so much about the franchise that you'd dive into a site like ours, you're probably leaning toward the original version of the show.

We are also currently conducing a poll for our podcast listeners, and while I am not comfortable sharing any of the data just yet (if at all), I can pretty safely tell that our suspicions are pretty accurate.