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FUNimation June 2013 Dragon Ball Z Blu-ray Survey

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On 20 June 2013, FUNimation launched a survey distributed via email, social media, and Internet forums ostensibly asking for fan feedback regarding future releases of the Dragon Ball Z television series on Blu-ray. Entitled "Dragon Ball Z - We Want To Know", the survey became a centerpiece in the criticism of the company's ongoing re-releases of the series for years. Feedback received from the survey regarding aspect ratios was ultimately ignored internally at FUNimation, and a widescreen-cropped version of the series began its release later that same year.

Historical Context

Prior to 2007, all home video releases of the Dragon Ball franchise from FUNimation were incomplete, out-of-order, or otherwise of varying consistency:

  • The Dragon Ball television series was released edited and dub-only in 1995; when the company picked the show back up in 2001, it never completed a VHS release, and would go on to see episodes 14-151 released out of order on DVD; a complete, linear box set release would not begin until 2009
  • The Dragon Ball Z television series received edited, dub-only VHS and DVD releases through 1998, at which point the company picked the show back up internally; while the remainder of the company's English dub aired in a linear fashion on cable (with reruns between "seasons"), the home video releases on VHS and DVD released through 2005 were out of order; the company redubbed the first two "seasons" later in 2005 for an itself-cancelled "Ultimate Uncut Edition" DVD release; a complete, linear box set release would not begin until 2007 (see below)
  • The Dragon Ball GT television series had a fabricated "Lost Episodes" batch comprising the first 16 episodes in late 2004, which were released after the rest of the series ran to completion earlier in 2004; a complete, linear, two "season" box set would not be released until 2008

From February 2007 to May 2009, FUNimation released "season sets" (colloquially referred to both internally at FUNimation and externally by fans as the "orange bricks" due to the coloring and nature of the packaging) for the Dragon Ball Z television series on DVD. This was FUNimation's first consistent, fully-complete release of the series on a single home video format. The series was cropped from its original 4:3 broadcast aspect ratio to a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, heavy digital video noise reduction was used on the company's multi-generational film masters, and additional color adjustments were made. While ultimately released on standard-definition DVD, the release was regularly advertised as "remastered in high definition".

From November 2009 to October 2011, FUNimation released seven DVD box sets collecting the Dragon Ball Z television series' "Dragon Box" master, originally released in Japan in 2003. This was Japan's first-ever home video release of the Dragon Ball Z television series, produced by Toei from the company's own film masters. The entirety of the Dragon Ball (one set), Dragon Ball Z (two sets), Dragon Ball GT (one set), and films (one set) were released in these "Dragon Box" sets in Japan over the course of 2002-2006; FUNimation broke the Dragon Ball Z series into seven smaller boxes for their American release.

Beginning in May 2010, FUNimation began releasing the Dragon Ball Kai "refreshed" television series (under the branding "Dragon Ball Z Kai") on both DVD and Blu-ray, concurrent with the "Dragon Box" release and into the next Dragon Ball Z television series release.

In November 2011, FUNimation began releasing Dragon Ball Z television series Blu-ray sets under a new "Level" branding line. The company hosted an extensive live stream in October promoting the upcoming release, stated to be "available for the first time in HD on Blu-ray", with Gen Fukunaga (Founder/CEO of FUNimation), Christopher Sabat (ADR director and voice actor), and Matt O'Hara (Manager of DVD, Blu-ray and Video Production at FUNimation).[1] That same November, the company released a short featurette[2] (which the company had previously shared at conventions that summer) showcasing their remastering process[3]. Shortly after minor delays for the next run of releases, almost exactly six months to the date from their original announcement, FUNimation suspended all further work on this new remaster of the series in January 2012.[4]

TO-DO: transcribe content from ANNCast episode (https://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=20319)

Survey

FUNimation's June 2013 tweet announcing the Blu-ray survey
Segment of FUNimation's survey regarding aspect ratios

The "Dragon Ball Z - We Want To Know" survey from FUNimation was hosted on the Zoomerang web service[5] and distributed primarily through email and social media[6] in June 2013.

We need your help.

FUNimation is looking into releasing Dragon Ball Z on Blu-ray at an affordable price with a brand new remaster using new technology to make the show look brighter and crisper.

Before we make this decision, we need your input. Please take a few minutes to answer a few questions. Your feedback is valuable to us.
— FUNimation email, "Interested in more DBZ Blu-rays? We need your help."

Interested in more #DBZ Blu-rays? We need your help. Please share and retweet. http://owl.li/meTx9 #DBZBluray
— FUNimation, tweet

The survey itself began with the same introductory text from the email distribution, and contained standard questions asking if fans had previously purchased the series on DVD, and if they would be interested in purchasing the series on Blu-ray. The survey eventually moved on to questions about aspect ratios, ultimately asking directly, "Which screen size format would you want to see Dragon Ball Z on Blu-ray?"

Subsequent Responses

When directly asked by Kanzenshuu in December 2013 whether or not the survey earlier that year had played into the company's decision to release another cropped version of the show, the response received skirted the issue[7], with additional responses going on to justify the "benefits" of such a presentation:

We took multiple factors into consideration when deciding how to approach the topics of restoration and remastering the Dragon Ball Z Blu-ray releases. The survey data was only one of those factors. Others included past performance of the Level Sets and Orange Bricks, as well as what experience we're trying to deliver with this release, just to name a few.
— FUNimation, response to Kanzenshuu

Additional text...

Internal Reception

Lance Heiskell's July 2015 tweet regarding the Blu-ray survey

In July 2015, Lance Heiskell, former Marketing Director and Director of Strategy at FUNimation, shared on his Twitter account that the majority of survey results voted for the original 4:3 broadcast aspect ratio, but this was ultimately ignored internally at FUNimation:[8]

Majority of surveys voted 4:3. Then it was ignored internally. Past sales of 16:9 sold better than 4:3.
— Lance Heiskell, Twitter

Speaking with Kanzenshuu on episode 404 of the website's podcast, Heiskell elaborated:[9]

Part of it is, it wasn't totally ignored; it was, we do the survey, we have the fan feedback... 'cuz you know there are two camps, here's this and here's this. The thing is, the decision to be 16:9 was more of the bricks sold and they were 16:9 and that was the success. The Dragon Boxes which was the 4:3, that was when that didn't perform. And then with TV, 16:9, and then the discussion was the new generation was, like, "Well, I need 16:9." And so it was, we had the camp with the 4:3s and the camp with the 16:9s, and at the end of the day, one of the camps would be deciding, and so... internally there were people that wanted it, but at the end of the day, all those pros and all those cons, and to make the decision...
— Lance Heiskell, Kanzenshuu - The Podcast: Episode #0404 (interview)

Additional text...

Legacy

FUNimation released a new version of the Dragon Ball Z television series on Blu-ray over the course of 2013-2014. Like the "orange brick" season sets before them, these Blu-ray "season" sets were cropped to widescreen, and featured heavy digital video noise reduction and color alterations.

In 2019, FUNimation produced a "30th anniversary" Blu-ray set of the Dragon Ball Z television series, a limited-edition set only sold to those who pre-ordered said product. While produced in the series' original 4:3 aspect ratio, the set's video still featuring zooming and aggressive digital video noise reduction, along with other complications.

External Sites

References

  1. ↑ "Dragon Ball Z Blu-ray Live Interview w/ Gen Fukunaga, Matt O'Hara, & Chris Sabat" (06 October 2011). YouTube. Retrieved: 21 January 2020.
  2. ↑ "Dragon Ball Z - Level 1.1 Blu-ray - Remastering Featurette" (04 November 2011). YouTube. Retrieved: 21 January 2020.
  3. ↑ "FUNimation DBZ Blu-ray Additional Details" (03 August 2011). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 21 January 2020.
  4. ↑ "FUNimation Suspends In-Progress DBZ Blu-ray Release" (26 January 2012). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 21 January 2020.
  5. ↑ "Dragon Ball Z - We Want To Know" (20 June 2013). Zoomerang. Retrieved: 19 January 2020.
  6. ↑ @funimation (20 June 2013). Twitter. Retrieved: 19 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "FUNimation Responds to Kanzenshuu Community Blu-ray Questions" (31 December 2013). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 January 2020.
  8. ↑ @lheiskell (21 July 2015). Twitter. Retrieved: 19 January 2020.
  9. ↑ "Podcast Episode #0404" (17 May 2016). Kanzenshuu. Retrieved: 19 January 2020.
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