Is it time to accept Faulconer OST did it better than the original?

[Kokonoe]

Like when it comes to being more modern the Faulconer Productions OST has a lot more going for it than the Kikuchi score which goes for a more old-timey kind of thing. Even in the era it debuted in, it was still a mismatch of content of the time. Faulconer Production's used the latest synth tech to create an atmospheric kind of OST.

The fight scenes are easily a lot better in Faulconer's because they are more engaging, diverse, and play with more energy which matches what's being portrayed on screen vs the Kikuchi score which has a lot of very slow brass sounds "DUN DUN DUN....!".

Even the calmer music is better especially on the slice of life moments where it feels cheery and peaceful.

The fact also that they were not hindered by making something specific for the OST but what they felt would fit the scenes on the screen and carefully created on each second really sends it a step above the traditional approach.

What do you think?

[Arteaga4K]

Uh oh.....

[Arteaga4K]

Even though I disagree, it's your opinion at the end of the day. I think the Japanese OST could've used a little more variety (Toei being Toei), but it's hard for me to say a replacement score is objectively better than the score it was originally created for

[It_Is_Ayna_You_Flips]

I'll let you know after I've listened to Mezase Tenkaichi and Red Ribbon Army another fifteen bajillion times.

[Kokonoe]

Even though I disagree, it's your opinion at the end of the day. I think the Japanese OST could've used a little more variety (Toei being Toei), but it's hard for me to say a replacement score is objectively better than the score it was originally created for

How respectable of you you are quite the gentleman.

My view is that because the manga was designed without a OST in mind and both are trying to make music fit where music didn't exist prior, especially with how extensive the Faulconer Productions went with going by each frame of the show, it matters not where the music originates but what does a better job. And for me the job Faulconer Productions did does that.

[Matches Malone]

Nope. Maybe it would've been better on another show, but I could never get behind it with DB as it always felt off and unnatural.

[ZeroNeonix]

I grew up with the Faulconer score, so I know I'm a bit biased. However, I do think the Faulconer score made the show more exciting. The futuristic synth sounds especially fit well during the Android/Cell sagas. And come on. The SS3 reveal is just not the same without this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4E83RKavUU

[jaisonas]

At the end of the day, the Faulconer soundtrack does a really good job at catering to kids and transforming the show from "characters powering up via dramatic moments" to "characters powering up and it a cool af moment" which is basically what American tv wanted i guess.
However its totally not suitable for any form of story delivery or drama, and its inability to use silence enhances this.
I've enjoyed it as a kid but i've grown out of it.

[Planetnamek]

At the end of the day, the Faulconer soundtrack does a really good job at catering to kids and transforming the show from "characters powering up via dramatic moments" to "characters powering up and it a cool af moment" which is basically what American tv wanted i guess.
However its totally not suitable for any form of story delivery or drama, and its inability to use silence enhances this.
I've enjoyed it as a kid but i've grown out of it.

Funny I actually like it more as an adult now then I did as a kid.

I'm sure Kunzait will have a novel-length post tearing Faulconer a new asshole any day now

[It_Is_Ayna_You_Flips]

Funny I actually like it more as an adult now then I did as a kid.

I'm sure Kunzait will have a novel-length post tearing Faulconer a new asshole any day now

I'm a fan of synth but... come on. Faulconer's score sounds as if the only music he'd ever listened to was Bret Hart's WWF theme.

[Metalwario64]

I feel like we had this thread not too long ago...

And no, I am super nostalgic for the Faulconer crew's score (and there are some legitimately very good tracks in it), but the Japanese score is timeless and very memorable. Plus it fits the martial arts core of the series. There was a time I might have said I preferred Faulconer's score over Sumitomo's, but with the Broly film it's definitely going to Sumitomo (that is, if we ever have another Dragon Ball anime).

[KBABZ]

Personally I'll take stolen music over synth with the bass stripped out, haha.

I'll give it one piece of credit though: it uses consistent themes just like Kikuchi did, which is more than what Yamamoto did. Kikuchi makes the most sense though, especially because he's the only composer who did the entire story from start to finish.

[Metalwario64]

Personally I'll take stolen music over synth with the bass stripped out, haha.

I'll give it one piece of credit though: it uses consistent themes just like Kikuchi did, which is more than what Yamamoto did. Kikuchi makes the most sense though, especially because he's the only composer who did the entire story from start to finish.

I don't know.

Both Yamamoto and Faulconer's scores were repetitive, but Yamamoto outright reused musical ideas all over the place when he wasn't plagiarizing. I saw a video (by kei I think) years ago pointing out so many of his tracks end with a 2-3 note stab. Plus, most of his music was just ripped off and barely modified from so many other composers. I would much rather have Faulconer's score to be honest. Maybe even over Sumitomo's Kai score (even if that has a few tracks I love. It has soooooo many I hate.)

I'll take well placed original series Kikuchi over them all though (as much as Sumitomo's Broly score pumps me up.)

[ABED]

Funny I actually like it more as an adult now then I did as a kid.

I'm sure Kunzait will have a novel-length post tearing Faulconer a new asshole any day now

I'm a fan of synth but... come on. Faulconer's score sounds as if the only music he'd ever listened to was Bret Hart's WWF theme.

Yes, but not the cooler version in the later part of his run, rather the version when he first became a single's competitor.

And no, there isn't a single thing the Faulconer score did better, not the least of which sound remotely fitting for a martial arts story based on a Chinese fantasy genre.

[Robo4900]

Like when it comes to being more modern the Faulconer Productions OST has a lot more going for it than the Kikuchi score which goes for a more old-timey kind of thing. Even in the era it debuted in, it was still a mismatch of content of the time. Faulconer Production's used the latest synth tech to create an atmospheric kind of OST.

More modern =/= better.

Guardians Of The Galaxy is a significantly more modern, more technically impressive, more current movie than Spider-Man, even by the standards of just the years they were released in (Spider-Man is a very oldschool movie in a lot of ways; it feels like almost a throwback to the '70s Superman movies in a lot of ways). Does that make Guardians the better movie?
I wouldn't say so.

And, hey, I mentioned Superman there... Man Of Steel is undoubtedly a more modern film than the '70s Superman. Does that make it a better film? HFIL NO!

The fact also that they were not hindered by making something specific for the OST but what they felt would fit the scenes on the screen and carefully created on each second really sends it a step above the traditional approach.

I think what you mean here is that the Faulconer score was specifically composed by Team Faulconer with the finished episodes in mind, with them composing it to exactly fit the visuals, whereas Kikuchi's was packages of pre-composed pieces. Apologies if I've got that wrong, but I think that's what you mean?
The truth is, both approaches are very widely used, and are both entirely valid ways to compose a score. One is not inherently better than another, they tend to create different types of a score.

The fight scenes are easily a lot better in Faulconer's because they are more engaging, diverse, and play with more energy which matches what's being portrayed on screen vs the Kikuchi score which has a lot of very slow brass sounds "DUN DUN DUN....!".

Even the calmer music is better especially on the slice of life moments where it feels cheery and peaceful.

What do you think?

Here is the crux of this thread. In your sole opinion, Kikuchi's score is not as good as Faulconer's score. In your opinion, Faulconer's music hypes up/engages/diversifies the music in the fight scenes, and the calmer music is "better"/"cheery"/"peaceful" in ways Kikuchi's score is not.

The fact is: You can't say one score is better than the other, because it is entirely based on opinon. So no, it is not time to "accept" that one score is better than another.
The hardcore fandom could be more accepting of other fans' opinions; generally, you'll get a bit of a ribbing if you're a fan of the Faulconer score, any of the English dubs, etc. But the reasons people dislike these things are entirely valid, just as the reasons people like these things are entirely valid.

If you ask me, the Faulconer score is immediately made difficult to listen to from the fact it sounds so cheap, like it was recorded using the cheapest, most basic MIDI synthesisers they could find, and the compositions themselves are a mixed bag; while there are a lot of great pieces (the Vegeta theme with the bells, for instance), a huge portion of the score is really bland, and the placement is awful (there's CONSTANT droning on of the music, it just doesn't stop! It's tiring. There's no space!), so... To me, it's not a good score. I love the ways the score was used in the Legacy Of Goku 2 & 3 soundtracks, but in the show, it simply doesn't work, for me.

The Kikuchi score is a very classical score; beautifully recorded from real instruments, every single piece is memorable thanks to the fact they're all generally quite simple, strong melodies, and a lot of the score tends to be based around leitmotifs like Piccolo's ever-evolving theme, which allows the score to change up its tone and style but because it's continually reusing the same melodies, the themes stick in your head really well.
And there were so many packages of good Kikuchi music, just crazy variety there. And the score itself is very good at leaving space for the performers to really shine (which is bad news for Funi's in-house dubs, where the intense Faulconer score helps disguise the lacklustre performances, but that specific case aside, it's a good thing).

So, for me, Kikuchi is the better score, by far. But that's purely an opinion. The synthesisers used in Faulconer's score may sound perfect to your ears, and you may just not like the classical feel of Kikuchi's score. And that's fine.

[90sDBZ]

I've always preferred Team Faulconer to Kikuchi myself, although Kikuchi has grown on me quite a bit over the years.

I don't think the Faulconer score gets enough credit for how it handled some of the more peaceful scenes, like Goku saying goodbye to Mystic Gohan, or the part where everyone gets revived after Namek. Anyone who says it's nothing but mindless rock clearly hasn't heard it in its entirety, as it makes some of the really touching moments more... touching?

Aside from that it absolutely nails the big moments, like Goku going SS3, Vegeta turning SS1, Gohan going Mystic, the final beam struggle vs Cell, Kid Buu's death etc..

I know it's nothing like what you would ever hear in the Wuxia genre, and nothing like how Toriyama would have wanted, but for what Funimation's English dub of Dragon Ball Z was trying to be it fit perfectly. And it's damn good music on its own too, although I will acknowledge it was hurt by lack of silent moments.

[KBABZ]

Like when it comes to being more modern the Faulconer Productions OST has a lot more going for it than the Kikuchi score which goes for a more old-timey kind of thing. Even in the era it debuted in, it was still a mismatch of content of the time. Faulconer Production's used the latest synth tech to create an atmospheric kind of OST.

More modern =/= better.

Wish one of the Kai producers remembered that...

DBZ is an OLD show, and trying to make it more modern only works until the moment the OP ends and you snap back to the 80s/90s art style on decades-old film stock, which no amount of 7.1 cinematic orchestrals ripped from Avatar can cover up.

[Rory]

I'll admit, the clickbait title did get me.
Though if you are serious, not being 'cheesy' is not a strength Faulconer has one Kikuchi or.. frankly any soundtrack. It's loaded with cheese, it's a three cheese melt. It's aged like fucking milk to the point that it's become cheese. It's about as awkward 80's synth as you can get.

I'll summarise what I said in a recent topic in the music section: I grew up on Faulconer, but the older I get, the worse the OST becomes. I can barely listen to them for a nostalgia trip these days, as the sound is hollow, the soundfont is genuinely cringe-worth, and the compositions aren't as great as the defenders make them sound.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

I really have no strong nostalgic attachment to the Team Faulconer music, even with it being what i heard on a regular basis with watching DBZ on Toonami as a child. Once exposed to the Japanese version and the original Kikuchi OST it almost immediately became irrelevant to me in terms of my regular viewing of the series, and since then i've strongly felt the latter fits the series far better when compared to the wall to wall synth assault that Faulconer's score is. Thing is, the latter only worked with the old heavily altered dub that FUNi was producing in a specific time and place back in the late '90s/early 2000's which they've long since stopped doing.

In short, no i don't believe that the Faulconer score is better than Kikuchi's.

[DBZAOTA482]

Only when hell freezes over...