[Anime] Advice for a Dragonball noob

[KamenRiderBritannia]

ok, so after thoroughly enjoying the DBZ Abridged series by TeamFourStar thusfar, i have become interested in watching the actual series itself.

But from what i can tell there are numerous different versions of the series to chose from, like the original japanese version, the english dub, some sort of uncut dub or something (heck i dont know, kinda lost track with all the differences)

Im looking to watch the english dub that is most faithful to the original and is as uncut as possible (i hate when things like expletives and gore/blood are cut out of things like this.)

im thinking that this one http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Funimation_Remastered_Box_Sets

might be the one to go for but, im just not sure

can ya help a bro out?

 

[Red Ranger]

Just watch it subbed. No English dub has ever really done it justice. The only accurate English (Funimation) dub of DBZ is their version of DB Kai and Kai by itself already had a bunch of issues. The Z dub is pretty horrible if you're looking for something faithful it is to the original. The scripts were godawful with all the nonsense added or change for no reason.

The ''remastered'' boxsets for DBZ are offensive to the eyes. They cropped a 4:3 show from the 80s~90s and stretched it to 16:9 and then SUPERRR saturated the colors to the point where you lose lots of details on the images and everyone looks like they are radioactive. Stay far away from those. I don't think the ''remastered'' DB boxsets are nearly as bad as Z's and the dub is... somewhat better than DBZ's.

The best release of DBZ in the west are the Dragon Boxes and unfortunately we have yet to see a release of the DB Dragon Box yet.

Dubbed:
DB (''remastered season'' sets)
DBZ (DB Kai sets)

Subbed:
DB (''remastered season'' sets)
DBZ (Dragon Boxes)

Also, never use the Dragon Ball wikia, it's ass. Go to Kanzenshu instead.

 

[Bigdog]

Just watch it subbed. No English dub has ever really done it justice. The only accurate English (Funimation) dub of DBZ is their version of DB Kai and Kai by itself already had a bunch of issues. The Z dub is pretty horrible if you're looking for something faithful it is to the original. The scripts were godawful with all the nonsense added or change for no reason.

The ''remastered'' boxsets for DBZ are offensive to the eyes. They cropped a 4:3 show from the 80s~90s and stretched it to 16:9 and then SUPERRR saturated the colors to the point where you lose lots of details on the images and everyone looks like they are radioactive. Stay far away from those. I don't think the ''remastered'' DB boxsets are nearly as bad as Z's and the dub is... somewhat better than DBZ's.

The best release of DBZ in the west are the Dragon Boxes and unfortunately we have yet to see a release of the DB Dragon Box yet.

Guess you are cynical about the dubs, eh? I loved the original series' dub ,and well compared to the Harmony Gold ordeal or the Ocean dub, its first class, though I hated Z until Kai came along. The issues with that are inherent with the original Japanese KAi being watered down in Japan , not to mention the animation was a disappointment in comparison to the intros and outros.

I only have the first volume of the Z set and I found it better looking than the TV broadcast, not to mention it being uncut. Stretching aside, its good, but I blame it more on the Japanese end when they quite literally try to screw over the American end quality wise, as if illegal regioning wouldn't keep Japanese customers from buying the DVDs.

The Dragon Box might be good, but Z to me was the mentally retarded stepchild of the Dragonball franchise alongside GT since it made a huge nosedive in quality story and art wise. not to mention, Toriyama might as well have made Z into another different series since it has very little to do with Dragon Ball itself, and because frankly, the original Z series was the worst IMO without the filler, so GT didn't have much to aspire to by its end.

Also, the burnout from two decades of Z bullshit makes Z even more intolerable ,which it wouldn't be if the show was actually good. The original Dragonball had all the rich mythology,action and humor while Z was just very little plot and ridding of the majority of the original cast for the most unlikable characters period.

I like Kai and all , but Z's done and over with. Time to give something else more attention like Sailor Moon.

 

[Hidden Masta]

^You guys didn't grow up watching Cartoon Network huh?

My advice for a DBZ noob? Go back in time about 20 years.

 

[Red Ranger]

I only have the first volume of the Z set and I found it better looking than the TV broadcast, not to mention it being uncut.

Yeah, those season sets are a beauty, aren't they? Them looking this way has nothing to do with Japan though.

Also, every Funimation release aside from the old vhs ones have been uncut, so that point is insignificant now.

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

While Red Ranger's going for more of a purist standpoint (not trying to offend or accuse or anything), he does have a point.

For the best Dragonball Z experience, the Dragon Boxes are the best. The scripts are as close to perfect as they are meant to be, the videos are in their original 4:3 format as they were meant to be, they are complete and truly uncut, it's perfect. And even if the dub is not perfect, Funimation's newer dubs for DBZ are alot closer to the dub we should be getting rather than the initial dub we got from them...

The Remastered DVD sets are more for people who grew up with the TV-cut version from Cartoon Network. Missing scenes, strong liberties taken with the script, and Western music that was never part of the original show. Not really Funimation's fault; they were being pressured by execs to release something fast, they had to pick up where the Ocean Dub/Saban dub left off, and they were kind of a new business at the time. At the very least, the Remasted DVD sets are more of a history piece showing how much DBZ had to go through before Funimation started handling it and anime in general MUCH better.

As far as I know, DBZ Kai doesn't suffer from the same problems that Funimation was under in the past. The cuts they had to make for TV broadcast are not present in the DVDs/BluRays, and even said changes sometimes homage the weird/funny things they did in the old dub (Over 9000/Special Beam Cannon/etc).

So, that's it. If you want to see DBZ in all it's original glory, the way it was meant to be seen, get the Dragon Boxes or DBZ Kai. If you want to see where DBZ Abridged gets some of its material, either get the Remastered sets or something like it.

 

[Dr Kain]

Watch the original series and then Kai. There is no reason to bother with Z unless you want to sit through 200 episodes of banter and constipation. Don't get me wrong, the full length version of Z is enjoyable, but it takes too damn long for fights to end and there is a lot of terrible filler in it. Plus, the Buu saga is one of the biggest insults to the entire Dragonball universe. It turns Gohan into a loser, brings GOku back yet again, and features the dumbest villain concept ever.

As for languages, it is hard to say, as I have never actually watched the dub to the original Dragonball. If you watch Kai though, you MUST watch it dubbed. Funimation took advantage of the Japanese voice actors not being able to reprise their voices in the same manner (which is only obvious due to their ages) and made a fantastic dub out of it. They kept it true to the original translations, the voice all fit, and most of all, Chris Ayres friggin rocks as Freeza. The man has managed to out do Ryusei Nakao.

The only negative to Kai is how the music is changed at the end of the Freeza saga due to the composer apparently plagurizing and Toei just threw in the old music without a care in the world.

However, if you watch the original Z series, watch it subbed (and in that case, watch both DB and DBZ subbed) as the Z dub is down right terrible.

 

[Red Ranger]

snip

The ''remastered'' box sets and the dragon boxes both contain the exact same dub track and are both completely uncut.

Plus, the Buu saga is one of the biggest insults to the entire Dragonball universe. It turns Gohan into a loser, brings GOku back yet again, and features the dumbest villain concept ever.

Them's fightin' words

(which is only obvious due to their ages)

Apparently it was due to Toei being cheap (what else is new?).

 

[kuroihikari]

The Buu saga gave Gohan his greatest power-up, though.

 

[Hidden Masta]

The Buu saga gave Gohan his greatest power-up, though.

In terms of strength yeah. In terms of people actually giving a crap? Ehhhh...

But you can't skip the Buu Saga it's apart of the show. Like I said before you should of watched DBZ 20 years ago. There's no excuse for skipping part of it now. You want the real experience you watch DBZ, NOT KAI, in it's entirety fillers and all and you watch Goku and Piccolo get there drivers licenses!