Should I wait for a possible Kikuchi release or buy Kai now?

[Budogenkai]

Hey guys I need help deciding what to do. Right now, Amazon has parts 1 & 3 of the Kai blu-rays for only $16. I really am tempted to get these, but I also think I may want to wait for FUNi to add the kikuchi score.

What do you guys think? Is the sale price worth enough for me to get it? How is the score in Saiyan and Freeza arcs in Kai compared to the original?

[Soul]

No one knows how Kikuchi's score in Kai during those first two sets sound like yet.
But in all honestly? If you LIKE Yamamoto's score? Then yeah grab them now, otherwise wait.
Plus I still believe have Parts 1-4 with Yamamoto's score then the rest of the series with the Kikuchi replacement won't be too jarring really, people seem to have gotten use to it with in a few episodes near the end there.
Added I still believe since in Part 5, we're going into a new arc have a change in music isn't that bad.

Lastly? If you feel those first 4 Parts with Yamamoto's score could be Collector's Items? Then grab 'em!

[coola]

I`ve only got Part 1 on Bluray and also wondered if i should wait for re-release,but i decided to buy Part 2-4 with Yamamoto track,from what i heared,Kikuchi score in Kai is complete lottery,sometimes they put track completely unfit for situation

[Dark Vegeta-Sama]

Buy them now. The presence of the Yamamoto score is how Dragonball Kai was intended to be. A hypothetical re-release with the Kikuchi score will essentially be a faux version of Kai.

[Daimo-Rukiri]

Buy them now. The presence of the Yamamoto score is how Dragonball Kai was intended to be. A hypothetical re-release with the Kikuchi score will essentially be a faux version of Kai.

Not to the older fans

[Tanooki Kuribo]

Buy them now. The presence of the Yamamoto score is how Dragonball Kai was intended to be. A hypothetical re-release with the Kikuchi score will essentially be a faux version of Kai.

Not to the older fans

Well, I'm an old school fan and I hate that Yamamoto's score is being replaced by Kikuchi's score. I mean I love Kikuchi's pieces but it just feels like they randomly placed these pieces with little or no regard to the scene it's playing in. I can't blame them though, I totally understand the situation they were in. But to me each DragonBall series has it's own musical feeling. It's like if they replaced the original DB music with say, DBZ's Boo arc music. Or if they switched the GT music with the original DB series. I don't know, maybe it's just me. I don't like this situation but, there's really nothing I can do about it.

[kei17]

Well, I'm an old school fan and I hate that Yamamoto's score is being replaced by Kikuchi's score. I mean I love Kikuchi's pieces but it just feels like they randomly placed these pieces with little or no regard to the scene it's playing in. I can't blame them though, I totally understand the situation they were in. But to me each DragonBall series has it's own musical feeling. It's like if they replaced the original DB music with say, DBZ's Boo arc music. Or if they switched the GT music with the original DB series. I don't know, maybe it's just me. I don't like this situation but, there's really nothing I can do about it.

I would feel the same way if Kai was a fully-reanimated series, but it's just a reedited version of Z with the old footage, so I have no problem with Kai with the Kikuchi score (if each piece had been placed properly though). Instead, to me, the Yamamoto version does sound like "score replacement".

[TheGreatness25]

I don't understand why his score would be replaced because he stole music during LATER episodes? It's like if a movie has nudity an hour into it, if they were playing it on TV, they'd go back and blur out the entire thing from beginning to end. That's just how this seems to me. What does his rip-off of music during the TRUNKS arc have anything to do with music having to be replaced for the early stuff?

Or I have a better idea... why not just make new scores for Kai? Slapping the old early 90's music to Kai would make it feel even older than it does now. It doesn't feel like a new show and never will. This is just going backwards. Is this replacement of score really a possibility? Could there be another release of this? Damn it, I am so sick and tired of a new Dragon Ball product on the shelves every half a year. Don't get me wrong, love the series, but for the love of God, leave the damn thing alone!

[Tanooki Kuribo]

...Or I have a better idea... why not just make new scores for Kai?...

I don't think they wanna pump more money into a dead series.

[Kaboom]

If you can, do like I did and grab the already-existent sets with the Yamamoto score. Allegations of plagarism or not, it's the music that was originally made for Kai, which as timeless and great as it is, Kikuchi's was not. What I've heard of Kai with the Kikuchi score sounds okay, but somewhat awkward and out of place.

[Dark Vegeta-Sama]

Buy them now. The presence of the Yamamoto score is how Dragonball Kai was intended to be. A hypothetical re-release with the Kikuchi score will essentially be a faux version of Kai.

Not to the older fans

What you mean to say is, not to you.

I am what you would call an "older fan." Dragonball Kai was not geared towards me. However, I can appreciate it for what it is, a "refreshed" version of DBZ. The Yamamoto score was excellent for this day and age. Unfortunately, all that the re-inclusion of the Kikuchi score does is make an already dated show look and sound even more dated. The Kikuchi score was fantastic when the show was first being produced 20 years ago, but no new anime of today would use music like that, and for good reason. Times change, and so do artistic sensibilities. Any way you look at it, Kai was meant to be a "new" version of DBZ for a new generation. The HD generation, at that. It should not have music from 2 decades ago inserted into the entire series because a few tracks at the very end caused a problem.

[kei17]

Unfortunately, all that the re-inclusion of the Kikuchi score does is make an already dated show look and sound even more dated.

Just.. why? There is no logic in that. You say the Kikuchi score fits DBZ, but sounds dated in Kai which has the exactly same old footage as Z?

[Budogenkai]

I think I'm gonna get parts 1 to 4 with the Yamamoto score now, I'd really hate to miss a chance to get a music score that was meant for Kai. And if they do release Kai again with Kikuchi I can either re-purchase it or sell the older sets to get them.

[Dark Vegeta-Sama]

Unfortunately, all that the re-inclusion of the Kikuchi score does is make an already dated show look and sound even more dated.

Just.. why? There is no logic in that. You say the Kikuchi score fits DBZ, but sounds dated in Kai which has the exactly same old footage as Z?

The Kikuchi score was fine for when DBZ first aired 20 years ago. You wouldn't have any newly-airing show with dated music like that now, and despite the presence of the original Z footage, Kai was meant to be a refreshed version of Z for this generation. The opening and closing footage was done with new animation to emphasize that point. They are not the same show; even if they are essentially telling the same story, they are two different series. Besides, the footage isn't quite the same anyway, it's been cleaned up and become what you could theoretically refer to as high definiton (and that's how it was being marketed as). The Kikuchi score worked for Z, a 20-year-old show, but Kai is not Z.

For DBZ purists who welcome the Kikuchi score, enjoy it all you want, but Kai was never meant for you in the first place. The only reason it's even being stuck in there is because Toei panicked and needed a quick and easy way out of them no longer having a musician for the series. It doesn't help that the Kikuchi score that's been placed into Kai has been done haphazardly as well, with little to no regard for whether or not it fits the scenes. It takes an already lazily-made production and makes it even more blatantly lazy. Ultimately, it doesn't do anyone any good.

[Choice195]

I only have 1 question, Will the remaining episodes excluding the last 2 include the Yamamoto score instead of the Kikuchi score?

[Budogenkai]

I only have 1 question, Will the remaining episodes excluding the last 2 include the Yamamoto score instead of the Kikuchi score?

You mean on the DVD's? I doubt it. It will probably be replaced with the Kikuchi score starting with Part 5 of the Blu-Ray/DVD.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Ya know, now that Yamamoto's score is gone, I realize how much I miss it. Yes, I know pieces of Yamamoto's music were plagiarized, but Kai just feels so weird with different music. It's weird, because I've always considered Kikuchi superior to Yamamoto, and ultimately I still do, but Kai and Z are two different entities...which is rather ironic considering that it's pretty much the same show but with a different presentation. This would have been okay if they did this from the start...it would have been great, even. It would have excited the hell out of me for someone to tell me that they were going to be using Kikuchi's music--in very high quality, no less--alongside the English dub.

Alas...Yamamoto's music is better than I gave it credit for. It doesn't help that the music placement for Kikuchi's music in Kai is (in my opinion) terrible at times. Actually, out of curiosity, who's in charge of deciding what music goes where? He's not doing a good job.

[Metalwario64]

Actually, out of curiosity, who's in charge of deciding what music goes where? He's not doing a good job.

Yup, that would be Yukio Nagasaki.

[Ultimate_DB_Fan]

I'd choose neither option.

With the musical problems Yamamoto has caused, not only is Kai getting music that wasn't meant to go along with it (a dated score, at that), the possible inclusion of the Buu saga had to suffer, as well.

All in all, Kai has been nothing but an utter failure in almost all areas. While there have been many praising its dub, a lot of others never cared for it from the get-go. Why support an incomplete product?

The second wind of the franchise will end in a whimper, not a bang.

[Budogenkai]

Why support an incomplete product?

All honesty, how is it incomplete?

Toei discussed having around 100 episodes before, and sure, they didn't finish it exactly as planned, but at least it had an ending. There's really not much I can do to convince you though, Kai did some things wrong, but I think they did a lot good too.