Dragon Ball Kai Released in the US! (discussion thread)

[Master Rudy]

Well this was a surprising bit of news from Funi once I heard about it:

Funi's Blog post
Amazon's pre-order page

While I'm sure we all saw this coming it's still a surprise. Dragon Ball Kai is making it's way to the US (rebranded as DBZ: Kai) but that's not the big news. The surprising part is the fact that volume one is carrying a release date of May 18th!
I've lost track of the link where he said this but Chris Sabat (voice director, VA for Vegeta/Piccolo/half the minor cast) has promised that Funi's dub of Kai is going to be much more true to the original series than the Z dub was since the translations and scripts are better. He also promised that there will be several minor recasts so that he isn't voicing half the characters and therefore talking to himself

Now I myself am excited for this set and have been waiting for this announcement. Kai is 20th anniversary Z done right: no fillers, digitally remasted/color corrected, ect. However it does bring forth a major question in regards to Dragon Ball: it is too much, too soon? After all we had the redubbed Saiyan/Namek Sagas as part of Funi's nine season box sets from about 2007-2009. Then we have the US releases of Dragon Box volume one and two. Now we have this.......

For as big as a DBZ fan as some of you may know me to be I think you'll all be surprised to learn that I do not own any of DBZ on DVD or Blu-Ray in any way, shape or form. As a result this set will be great for me. Now I don't have to shell out $360-$450 for NINE DBZ sets totaling almost 300 episodes, with ungodly amounts of filler (good bye Garlic Jr!), Namek blowing up in five minutes (over the course of 15 episodes), ect. Now I can have just Kai: the DBZ half of the manga condensed down to about 100 episodes. However when you consider the number of DVD releases the series has had over the years (not to mention the past three years or so alone) one has to consider how well this is really going to sell.

Go ahead and discuss your thoughts on the matter guys. I know we have DBZ fans on this board. I'm curious to see what you all think ^_~

EDIT-Almost forgot this little bit of info which I'm sure is going to get asked. Volume One of Kai is the first 13 episodes. The final episode on the second disc is the lead up to the fight with Vegeta. I assume this puts Volume Two as the end of the Saiyan Saga and the start of Namek. All in all this seems like it's going to be following the recent trend of 12-15 episode "season" sets :-/
Even so I still this this'll be the best release of DBZ you can get.

[Blademaster]

I watched the Japanese version (a few episodes, anyway) about 2 months back. It was... disturbing how quickly everything moved.

I just hope they don't chop all the best scenes down.

[Master Rudy]

I watched the Japanese version (a few episodes, anyway) about 2 months back. It was... disturbing how quickly everything moved.

I just hope they don't chop all the best scenes down.

Well that's kind of the whole point of Kai. Kai is suppose to cut out all the pointless filler and condense the entire series down to about 100 episodes. When the series was first announced in Japan a full viewing was marketed as taking about the same amount of time as reading the manga from start to finish.

Now granted I know some people do like the filler and even I'll admit filler episodes had their moments. However the worst part of watching DBZ in general was the sheer length and how often some of the fights got dragged out for much longer than they should have. As far as the animation quality goes I already know it'll be great. I've caught the first two episodes on You Tube awhile back. If the English dub of Kai delivers what Sabat is promising then I have a feeling we'll be in for a real treat.






As far as the visual quality goes I don't think you can argue with these screenshots ^_~
EDIT-As I look at that first image again I'm starting to think it may be a promotional image more than anything. Even so it still looks damn good.
As an added bonus here is Goku's NEW Super Saiyan theme! ENJOY ^_~

[Mr. Brightside]

The Garlic Jr. Saga made no fucking sense.

OH HAI GUYZ WE KNOW YOU JUST KILLED THE MOST POWERFUL GUY IN THE UNIVERSE AND LAST TIME YOU FOUGHT US WE WERE WEAKER THAN RADITZ BUT NOW WE'RE MAGICALLY STRONGER THAN FRIEZA AND I SOMEHOW ESCAPED THE DEAD ZONE. ALSO THERE'S SOME KIND OF MAGIC NECROPOLIS IN THE LOOKOUT.

Lol really? I remember a few things only. I haven't watched the show since 2000 something. I remember that Garlic Jr. put Kami on a bottle and i always though this was funny XDD

Maybe it wasn't that good after all XDD

[color=forestgreen]Well that's kind of the whole point of Kai. Kai is suppose to cut out all the pointless filler and condense the entire series down to about 100 episodes. When the series was first announced in Japan a full viewing was marketed as taking about the same amount of time as reading the manga from start to finish.

I love how shiny it looks. As i said i'm downloading it but i haven't watched it yet.

[Mr. Brightside]

So those pics are only for promotional reasons? I watched the first episode and the quality is pretty much the same it was in the original episodes, no "shiny" Goku or any other character. Only the intro and ending are completely new. O.o

Damn it, and my french is not that good to read exactly what the heck it is written on top of those pics. I get the first line but...

[Mr. Brightside]

Dragon Ball Kai is making it's way to the US (rebranded as DBZ: Kai no less)

(good bye Garlic Jr!)

lol the name. "Kai no less"? Seriously?

Am i the only one who liked the Garlic Jr part?

Anyway i don't care: A) Because i'm in Europe B) English dub most of times sucks C) I'm downloading the Japanese version with Greek subs ^^

[Heald]

The Garlic Jr. Saga made no fucking sense.

OH HAI GUYZ WE KNOW YOU JUST KILLED THE MOST POWERFUL GUY IN THE UNIVERSE AND LAST TIME YOU FOUGHT US WE WERE WEAKER THAN RADITZ BUT NOW WE'RE MAGICALLY STRONGER THAN FRIEZA AND I SOMEHOW ESCAPED THE DEAD ZONE. ALSO THERE'S SOME KIND OF MAGIC NECROPOLIS IN THE LOOKOUT.

Honestly, though, this looks sweet. I've been checking out the Japanese stuff on Youtube and such. Hopefully the dub will be good.

I know they'll cut out all the filler. Still, the one bit of filler I did like was when Gohan ran away from Piccolo once to go save a bunch of orphans from the evil orphanage woman. Don't know why. Also, proper HD Goku going Super Saiyan for the first time...sweet.

I wonder if half of the Earth's population will randomly still be animals in this one.

[DarkestLight]

I know that Kai is a great idea for people that hated the filler, but in the same vein...I liked the filler in a complete sense. Sure I can really fast forward through Freiza (Man wtf..) now (I'm still collecting the Orange Box set) but sometimes I don't mind a filler episode just running.


Although at the end of box one, they have the fight with Vegeta. Holy hell xD.

[Heald]

One thing that annoys me in the new one is that Goku looks exactly the same when he meets Raditz as he did when he killed Buu. Considering he aged by at least 10 years, and he must've been only 20 when Raditz came to Earth, surely he should still look younger like he does in the original one. He also looks just as buff as he does when he goes Super Saiyan, even though his power level isn't even 9000, or over it for that matter.

[Master Rudy]

One thing that annoys me in the new one is that Goku looks exactly the same when he meets Raditz as he did when he killed Buu. Considering he aged by at least 10 years, and he must've been only 20 when Raditz came to Earth, surely he should still look younger like he does in the original one. He also looks just as buff as he does when he goes Super Saiyan, even though his power level isn't even 9000, or over it for that matter.

Don't forget one key thing Heald: Goku was dead for about seven and a half years when both of his deaths are taken into account. I'd need to pull up a timeline to get exact numbers but if memory serves me he should have been about 37 in the Buu Saga. However due to time spent dead he was actually just short of 30 in terms of actual physical age. Plus there's also the fact that those with Saiyan blood age slower than Humans. Vegeta was in his 50's in the final episodes of Z that took place 10 years after Buu but looked nothing like it.

[pokemasterfrank]

One thing that annoys me in the new one is that Goku looks exactly the same when he meets Raditz as he did when he killed Buu. Considering he aged by at least 10 years, and he must've been only 20 when Raditz came to Earth, surely he should still look younger like he does in the original one. He also looks just as buff as he does when he goes Super Saiyan, even though his power level isn't even 9000, or over it for that matter.

Don't Saiyans age much much slower than humans? I believe Vegeta made a mention of it in one of the episodes.

So, I just saw a commercial advertising DBZ: Kai and it's place in the "Nicktoons" block. I didn't see that coming.

[Heald]

Eh, that's a good point.

Still, it still looks stupid that he looks exactly the same as he does at the end of DBZ as he does at the beginning, unless they change it and make new Goku at the end of Buu really super buff.

[Mr. Brightside]

Eh, that's a good point.

Still, it still looks stupid that he looks exactly the same as he does at the end of DBZ as he does at the beginning, unless they change it and make new Goku at the end of Buu really super buff.

You have a point there, didn't think of it. But how more buff can Goku get? @.@ He would end up like Super Vegeta & Trunks which looked as if they were on steroids.

[Blademaster]

I stopped wondering about aging in DBZ at the end of Dragonball when Goku went from a grade-schooler half King Piccolo's size to a grown man in the span of three years.

[Ash_300]

Now I don't have to shell out $360-$450 for NINE DBZ sets totaling almost 300 episodes

There are other ways to acquire the episodes.

As for DB Kai, it's a welcome addition to the many releases of the DBZ series that are out there. However, I think people would be missing out on a lot of memorable moments from the original version of the anime, if Kai is their first exposure to the series. Sure, a lot of the filler in the original series consisted of arguably pointless scenes such as 5-minute stills of Piccolo doing the O-face. But without the filler we wouldn't have had things like the SSJ2 Goku vs Kid Buu fight which was a great lead up to the 'real' fight.

[Blademaster]

Oh boy! I can't wait to see this show on right after Rugrats!





It's gonna be a knee-slapping fun time!

[DarkestLight]

I had all of DBZ on VCD for years, paid like 35 bux total..

But since they FINALLY had the price drop on the last three box sets of the orange set, they're all 24.99 now (at retail, Amazon had a sale where you could grab them for 14.99 a box) Yeah, I haven't even broke 200 bux yet for them all

[Master Rudy]

I had all of DBZ on VCD for years, paid like 35 bux total..

But since they FINALLY had the price drop on the last three box sets of the orange set, they're all 24.99 now (at retail, Amazon had a sale where you could grab them for 14.99 a box) Yeah, I haven't even broke 200 bux yet for them all

Damn Dark! Not bad at all on the price! Now you've got me trying to figure out who the bigger Jew is: you paying that price for the Funi remastered DBZ box sets, or me paying 16.99 each for seasons 1-6 of 24 and $20 for season seven

[DarkestLight]

LOL. I dunno. I penny pinch tighter than a coiled whip after a slave beating. :O

[Master Rudy]

Well the series is out. Saw the whole first disc and boy am I happy with this puchase. Best part is Sabat delieved and wasn't kidding when he said the redub would be much better. My inner nerd cried for joy when I actually heard Piccolo say Makankosappo in English! In addition to that expect to hear Goku and a few other characters curse a bit more and translations to actually be accurate (holy shit did I hear Vegeta say "over 9000 8000?! )

Sadly however Funi did screw us out of the HD transfer and opted for full screen. I'm guessing this is because of the deal to show it on Nick.......obviously can't fault Sabat and the voice cast for that but come on!

EDIT-Almost forgot! Here's my review of Kai from Amazon ^_~
Not without it's flaws but still an excellent release (unbiased review!), May 18, 2010 (4/5 stars)

After the long wait it's finally here. Dragon Ball Kai (or DBK for short) has finally been released in English. However it wasn't without it's critics. Just look at the pre-existing reviews here on Amazon and you'll see what I mean:

"It's double dipping!"
"They've already released this before!"
"It's the same!"
"It's Star Wars/LotR/(insert series with many releases) all over again!"

Just take a look at any of the reviews dated before May 18th, 2010 and disregard them. It's clear that these are the people who have no clue or only want to complain. I guess they all must have gotten their hands on the time machine Trunks had since they seem to know it all about this series. In any case it's time to clear up some misconceptions.

First off this is not a new series. Kai is a new version of DBZ released for the 20th aniversary of the original series. What sets it apart is the fact that all of the filler material and storylines of the original anime are cut out. DBK manages to cut down the massive 291 episode DBZ into a far more manageable 120 episodes (give or take since the series is still ongoing in Japan and not yet up to Buu). So what does that mean? Quite simply it's the latter half of the Dragon Ball manga in animated form. The main story as originally written by Akira Toriyama. Think of it as the ultimate director's cut of Z by the original writer/creator ^_~

It gets better however. As many people know the original series at this point is really showing it's age. As a result of this Toei Animation went ahead and remastered it in HD! The scenes that were too far gone were reanimated using modern technology. It's very exciting......until you find out Funi did a full screen transfer as opposed to HD. This is the reason why I can't do a five star review. Even so the series looks better than it has in years. Audio wise both the Japanese and English tracks have been 100% redubbed and gotten a brand new soundtrack to boot. Amazingly enough however I think I'll need to give the edge to the English voice track this time. The Japanese script is largely unchanged but if you compare the clips with the original Z certain characters sound almost forced at times. To me Vegeta seemed to have more emotion in his voice in the audio track from over 20 years ago. Personally I don't know if this is more of an issue of Ryô Horikawa being older or if it's a matter of "been there, done that" but either way it sounds slightly off. As for the English track it's yet another redub. This marks the third time that Saiyan Saga material has been redone but it's the best dub yet. Sean Schemmel, Chris Sabat and the rest of the returning cast have had over a decade to perfect their voices and no longer sound like "the replacements" to me. If you have your doubts on the matter then compare Schemmel and Sabat's first episode during the original dub while the Z Fighters are on Namek to their work on this dub. Not only had the English voice acting greatly improved but it's also uncut and much more true to the Japanese version. Expect to hear Goku curse a bit more, Vegeta scream "It's over 8000!" (not a typo), and Piccolo yell "Makankosappo!" as opposed to "Special Beam Cannon!" If you grew up watching Z in the US on Cartoon Network then I've no doubt that like myself you'll do more than one double take.

So what's the final verdict? Well that does depend on a few factors. The main one is if you already own all the season box sets that were released a few years ago or any of the Dragon Box sets. I'll admit that if you have either of those that it may be best to either wait for the full series set that'll undoubtly be released a few volumes down the road or to hold off completely. Of course the extremely hardcore fans will most likely buy this anyway
For folks that don't already have the full series in some form (such as myself) then this will be perfect. It's also perfect for people that may have been curious about DBZ but didn't want to try it due to it's reputation as "Drag-on Ball Z." To give you an idea of the quicker flow Goku starts to fight Vegeta in episode 13 of DBK. In the original DBZ this battle didn't even start until episode 30. Plus while Funi did screw us out of the HD transfer it still looks much nicer than it has in years.

All in all despite minor flaws DBK is potentially a good buy for fans of the series both old and new. Those that don't like the so called "double dipping" may want to wait and think twice if they already have the entire series in another form. The bottom line: be aware that enough has changed to actually make this release almost feel like a brand new series.

[DarkestLight]

*Shrug* 7 out of nine Orange Box series later this pops up. Naa I'm good. I just wanted the original Jap sub like I saw years ago on VHS. And hell that just released that Yellow box business too. Naa, I won't be getting Kai. Sounds cool though.

[Master Rudy]

Well as of late Sean Schemmel and Chris Sabat have been releasing a series of interviews on You Tube in regards to Kai. In the movie recent one they talk about some of the casting changes and go on to mention that Linda Young is not returning as Frieza once they get up to Namek. While this does somewhat concern me I'll wait on judgement. After all Bulma's new voice is so close to the original that I actually forgot it was a new actress.

In regards to the change Sean went on to explain that the original dub used a ton of "artistic license" with Frieza due to the less that stellar job the original translation team did. He said that while the new script is far more accurate that it also resulted in Linda not being able to keep up with the faster pace that the new script demanded. Attempts at her trying to alter her Frieza voice to compensate also didn't work. The good news however is that Sean has gone on the record as saying that the new English voice is much closer to the original Japanese one and that it's downright creepy. As I said I'll wait on judgement. After all I didn't care for the new voice Funi gave Xellos in Slayers Revolution. However after comparing it to his Japanese voice I noticed that it was much closer and eventually over time it grew on me.

[Jeff]

Goku vs. Nappa is on right now on Nicktoons, and...

It's still over 9000!

[Master Rudy]

Seriously? The TV version keeps it as 9000? Why even bother changing it then? ~_~()

[Master Rudy]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846

Amazon is now taking pre-orders on the second set of Dragon Ball Kai. The second set goes up to the 26th episode (Vegeta's second fight with Zarbon) and will conclude the first season of the show. For reference the Ginyu Force lands in episode 28, Goku starts to fight Frieza in episode 43, he turns SSJ in episode 47 and the battle ends in episode 52 (end of season two).

Personally I kinda wish Funi would release them a bit quicker. On TV they will be showing episodes 30 and 31 this week. Then again on the flip side the TV version is edited. I don't mind Funi taking their time to release Kai provided it's accurate and uncut. However I also don't want to see this take two years ~_~()

[ptrhenry52]

Dragon Ball is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama.Dragon Ball Z Kai is an anime series that is a high-definition remaster and recut of Dragon Ball Z done for its 20th Anniversary.The story of Goku and friends continues in the anime-only series Dragon Ball GT. This series is not based on a manga by Akira Toriyama.

[Blademaster]

It's Dragon Ball Kai, not Dragon Ball Z Kai. And I believe it has less filler and thus is truer to the manga than DBZ was.

[Master Rudy]

And sadly Daizenshuu EX is apparently reporting that Kai has been canceled for currently unknown reasons in Japan. Speculation points to a combination of the decline in Dragon Ball sales in Japan along with a record breaking year for One Piece. The sales of One Piece are expected to top two and a half BILLION in Japan alone for fiscal year 2010/11 ending this month. Worldwide however the Dragon Ball franchise frequently tops one billion in sales with recent years being in the range of 1.4-1.6 billion. Worldwide sales of One Piece have yet to top 100 million a year outside of Japan. All the listed sales numbers are in yen.

It's been confirmed that in Japan the final episode will be episode 98. This leaves us with only three more episodes with the series ending at Cell and not moving onto Buu. There is however speculation that due to international sales that once the US catches up that it's entirely possible that the remaining episodes will be produced for Funimation.

Obviously there's nothing solid in regards to why it was canceled as well as if we'll see Kai reach the Buu Saga outside of Japan. I'll keep my eyes and ears open for additional news but as it stands currently it's not looking good :-/

[Blademaster]

Oh gee, ONLY a billion?

Fucking lazy Japs, any idiot with a computer can chop out the amount of filler not present in the manga and do some new voice-overs. I'm gonna be pissed if Buu saga is left out. It may have been goofy, but I want a remade SSJ3 transformation and Super Spirit Bomb finale.

On an unrelated note, how far has the English translation gone? I'm currently watching the English dub of Trunks' first appearance on dubhappy.com or whatever sites have it and I wanna know where I should stop looking.

[Master Rudy]

Trunks first apperence is episode 55. The censored Nicktoons version reaches episode 61 today (Vegeta's first appearence as a Super Saiyan). Part Five is released onto DVD on May 3rd with a new MSRP of $29.99 instead of the $49.99 price tag the first four volumes had. The first four sets will be price dropped on that day as well with some online retailers already dropping the price long before then. I myself have picked them up from Amazon over the past nine months for the following prices:

Part One-$25.99
Part Two-$31.99
Part Three-$32.99
Part Four-$36.99
Part Five-$21.99 (Pre-Order price on Amazon)

If you're looking to buy them and have a Blu-Ray player I'd suggest picking those up when possible as Amazon's price for Part Four is actually CHEAPER on Blu-Ray. And please don't just say you'll pirate them, get them off a torrent, ect. That's what actually leads to higher prices in the first place not to mention why companies will complain that no one is buying the product. If you like Dragon Ball then please support the official releases with purchases. Don't forget that DVD sales are what got Family Guy and Futurama revived ^_~

[Blademaster]

You could have just said 'episode 61' without having to tell me shit I already knew and then whore yourself out advertising all that shit.

Also, the more I think about it... I hate to say it, but I think Kai might actually not pick up again after all. The financial issue, I think, is a scapegoat for the real reason: As far as I know, Toriyama himself wanted to end DBZ after the Frieza saga. He toughed it out in the Cell saga, yes, and he did a Hell of a job, but when Buu came along, he just sort of gave up and did everything he could to scuttle the series. The Fusion Dance was made as ridiculous as it was in an attempt to get the show cancelled. I don't think it's much of a stretch to think that he did a lot of other things for the same reason... Buu's design, Gohan's retarded superhero gimmick, Gotenks'... well, Gotenks in general really...

I know a few DBZ games also end with Cell. Burst Limit did, I know that. I hope I'm wrong, but it's the only real answer I have after a little thinking.

[shazza]

Hi guys. I am trying to make my mornings before work as fulfilling as they were when I was a child, so I have decided to watch one episode of Pokemon and one episode of DBZ a day. But then I considered the possibility of Kai. It's more condensed, refreshing and updated, yet still contains an element of nostalgia. Should I watch Kai instead of Z? My main problem is the shitty music and different voices. Thanks!

[Master Rudy]

Hi guys. I am trying to make my mornings before work as fulfilling as they were when I was a child, so I have decided to watch one episode of Pokemon and one episode of DBZ a day. But then I considered the possibility of Kai. It's more condensed, refreshing and updated, yet still contains an element of nostalgia. Should I watch Kai instead of Z? My main problem is the shitty music and different voices. Thanks!

Well Shazza it's a matter of preference I would suppose. First off did the Aussie's get the US English dub or a different dub? Second off while I like Kai's original soundtrack there was a major issue where Kenji Yamamoto finally got called out on the claims of stealing the work of other composers for years. As a result Kai has reverted to the original Japanese soundtrack from DBZ. Part 5 and onward for the US release have the DBZ soundtrack with Parts 1-4 being deeply discounted due to having the Kai soundtrack. Eventually in October those parts will be reissued as Dragon Ball Kai Season One (Part 1&2) and Season Two (Part 3&4). These rereleased versions of Kai are going to be the same as far as the English dub goes but are being reverted to the DBZ soundtrack so that they remain consistant with the remaining releases.

Personally as a dubbie I'd pick Kai as it's hands down the best English dub ever done for DBZ. However be aware that due to "poor sales compared to One Piece" (and that phrase is being used very loosely by me since DB worldwide beats out OP domestic sales) that Kai was canceled. As a result it only goes up to the end of the Cell Saga. There have been a few rumors that Funimation might do the Buu Saga on their own. However as I have no source and only heard them in passing I would say it's unlikely. If it is done however be aware that any Buu Saga release of Kai would be very unlikely to include a Japanese dub if that's what you prefer.