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Dragon Ball Z Kai: Part One [Blu-ray]

Sean Schemmel (Actor), Christopher R. Sabat (Actor) Rated:
NR
Format: Blu-ray
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 119 ratings
IMDb8.3/10.0
Additional Blu-ray options Edition Discs
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Blu-ray
May 18, 2010 		—
2
—
— $64.00
Genre Anime & Manga
Format Color, Subtitled, Full Screen, Animated
Contributor John Burgmeier, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Christopher R. Sabat, Monica Rial, Mike McFarland, Doc Morgan, Justin Cook, Sean Schemmel See more
Language Japanese, English
Runtime 5 hours and 25 minutes
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Product Description

Product Description

The Legendary Z Reborn!

For the first time in history, experience the legendary Z as the master intended: bigger, faster, stronger, and packed with the pulverizing power to blow your puny minds! Beef up your collection with this manga-centric, fresh take on Akira Toriyama’s original vision, featuring more action than you can handle, revitalized animation, and an amped-up audio experience that will make your ears beg for mercy!

The last descendants of an evil race of warriors known as the Saiyans are on a collision course with Earth, and Goku – the strongest fighter on the planet – is all that stands between humanity and extinction. To save his friends and the world he loves, Goku must travel to a realm from which few return, but should he survive, he’ll discover the power to face the villainous Saiyan warlord – Prince Vegeta.

Amazon.com

When manga artist Akira Toriyama began Dragon Ball in Shonen Jump in 1984, he launched one of the most successful franchises in anime history. The second TV series, Dragon Ball Z (1989), which recounts the heroic adventures of Goku, Gohan, and the Z-Fighters, remains the most popular iteration. For Dragon Ball Z Kai (2009), the 291-episode saga has been recut and trimmed to 99 episodes, eliminating some of the subplots and streamlining the main story arcs. The visuals have been cleaned and reformatted for wider screens. The dialogue has been re-recorded in a new, more accurate translation, with several of the key voice actors reprising their roles: Sean Schemmel (Goku), Christopher R. Sabat (Vegeta, Piccolo), Mike McFarland (Master Roshi), and Sonny Strait (Krillin). The first 13 episodes comprise most of the original first season: The evil Raditz arrives and informs Goku they are both Saiyan warriors from the planet Vegeta. Goku destroys Raditz with the help of Piccolo but dies in the process. He moves to the Other World to train with King Kai, knowing he'll eventually be brought back to life with the magical Dragon Balls. Piccolo trains Goku's son Gohan, anticipating arrival of the remaining Saiyans. Goku returns in time for that confrontation, and the set ends during his climactic battle with Saiyan Prince Vegeta. Dragon Ball Z Kai seems to be aimed at younger viewers who don't have the patience for the rambling pace of the original series. The duel between Goku and the villainous Frieza in season 3 dragged on for more than 20 episodes of recycled footage. Kai feels faster, funnier, and more exciting, with more action and less nattering. Hard-core otaku will want to keep their sets of all nine seasons of Dragon Ball Z. But novices, especially the 8- to 14-year-old boys who have always been the series' core fans, will prefer the livelier Dragon Ball Z Kai. (Rated TV PG, suitable for ages 8 and older: violence; minor risqué and toilet humor, ethnic stereotyping and alcohol use) --Charles Solomon

Product details

  • Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.33:1
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 5.25 x 0.25 inches; 4 ounces
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Mike McFarland
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Color, Subtitled, Full Screen, Animated
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 5 hours and 25 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ May 18, 2010
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Sean Schemmel, Christopher R. Sabat, Justin Cook, Mike McFarland, John Burgmeier
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English (Dolby TrueHD 5.1), Japanese (Dolby TrueHD)
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Funimation Prod
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0036ZA8G2
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 119 ratings

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
119 global ratings
Great Release, Great Quality
5 Stars
Great Release, Great Quality
This release has been getting a lot of mixed reviews because of the screen resolution and people who don't know what there talking about. Some people also review before the item even came out. I find that incredibly stupid. Anyways, here's the review.This is a great release. I think this is the best quality you can get from such old material. The animation been traced from the old sketches and look just like the original DBZ with color improvements and quality. People complain that this is 4:3 and the jap is 16:9 but that is not the case. Both releases are 4:3. It just aired on Jap tv in 16:9 but its been cropped. The top part and bottom part is missing from the jap tv releases. This release is definitely worth buying if your a DBZ or anime fan.The video and audio quality is great. The English audio track has been re-done with the old voice actors but have improved in quality. The video doesn't have extreme amounts of grain like the movies that are released on bluray. I was a little displeased because there's no extras on this set except for text-less opening and closing but that's not a major deal. The video and audio is enough to buy this product. Also great that the fillers are cut out. The action is now on every episode.
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Top reviews from the United States

Christopher Barrett
5.0 out of 5 stars FINALLY!!! Dragon Ball Z the way it was meant to be seen!
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2011
Verified Purchase
I was so excited when this re-formatting of Dragon Ball Z was announced. I have been watching Dragon Ball Z since it was first aired on Toonami and purchased the VHS episodes when they were released (yes, VHS since it was before DVD took over). Unfortunately the only VHS copies available were the English dubbed (no format switching with VHS). I never quite put in the effort to collect all of the episodes on DVD (though I have most from the BUU and Cell Games saga). But this is all just background for my next point: I am a Dragon Ball Z nut. I'm talking action figures, card game, all that. Though my friends and I used to joke around about the reused animation frames and filler content.

I hated the Dragon Box and the remastered edition that chopped a large portion of the screen off in order to make it 'widescreen'. It was a step in the right direction though. Finally when Dragon Ball Z Kai was released I found the ultimate Dragon Ball Z edition. This is the truest version to the manga. This is what Akira Toriyama's vision was like in the manga. I admit that there was a lot cut out, and that this edition cannot substitute the sheer weight of the 290+ episode series in its entirety, but suffice to say, this edition keeps the meat and sheds unnecessary weight.

Another big plus is the cleaning up of the animation (without re-animating anything). This mainly meant the studio took out some of the fuzz and static that was from inexpensive animation (not due to the artists' true efforts). Toriyama's hand drawn art is still classic, though the layering and color has been tweaked. The Japanese soundtrack is great (as always), but the English dubbing is massively improved. The voice actors were all pretty green when they originally dubbed DBZ, now they are more experienced and have a better grasp on their roles. Though I prefer Japanese original voice acting in nearly every series, there is something nostalgic about the English dubbing, since that was how I originally viewed the episodes.

Overall, 290+ episodes is a lot of commitment so I am glad to see this 99 episode compact version (who is really going to miss the Garlic Jr. saga huh?). Bravo!

(Update: I thought Funimation had announced 99 episodes... but they are televising episode #66 and we haven't seen Cell yet... so I think maybe the 99 episodes run through the cell games not through the Buu saga - either that or there will be quite a bit more than 99 episodes in the end).

Figured it out. 98 episodes running through the end of the Cell Games saga. They took out several filler episodes (such as Gohan making a robot friend... etc...) so they trimmed about 50 episodes from the 150 or so that ran through the Cell games saga. No news yet if they are going to run through the Buu saga, but they really can't trim too much from that saga... The Dragon Boxes would suffice for the Buu saga I think. Though they are not released yet in entirety.
 Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Box Five
Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Box Six
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Danny DeMent
5.0 out of 5 stars So Many Misconceptions...
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2010
Verified Purchase
I have to say there are so many misconceptions with this series that it's not even funny. Let's just go over a few of them, shall we?

1: This is a rip-off because there will be over 270 episodes!
-Wrong. This series is MUCH SHORTER. By Episode 13, Goku is already fighting Vegeta, as opposed to being in the 30's by then. In fact, there's probably only going to be up to 150 episodes at the MOST according to Toei Animation themselves.

2: This isn't a new series, so no one will want it.
-Also wrong. While it's not a new series, the logic behind a re-release is to introduce a new generation of youth to the series and create a new generation of fans. Plus it's also going to be airing on television again soon, though again it will be severely edited.

3: The artwork is cheap!
-While it's hardly groundbreaking, the artwork is NOT cheap. It's simply a touch-up of the existing film, and anything that couldn't be saved or deteriorated too much had to be redrawn. They did that as little as possible to maintain the classic look and style that Toriyama-sensei gave to his world.

4: The acting is horrible and so is the script!
-The thing is, this was Funimation's first big anime. Most of the voice actors had not only no experience, but were STAFF working at the studio. They had to pick up the slack after a contract dispute with the previous cast went awry, and despite this, they still managed to make it a classic.

However, even if one plays the games, you can notice these actors have improved greatly over time. And this is a complete and utter redub. So they're bringing all their added talent and experience into this with a much better script. I myself have heard some of the new dubbing, and you can actually FEEL the emotions in the characters' voices.

And finally...

5: Cutting out the filler removes what let you get to know the characters better!
-Actually, the thing is... the way the characters are presented in the filler (With exception perhaps to the Garlic Jr Saga) are often times not the way they really are at all. for example, filler made Roshi into an even greater pervert than he was, made Krillin into a mere comic relief character half the time (which he's not), made Gohan seem to be much more into fighting than he actually was, etc. What gives you the character development and background is the series DRAGON BALL, which is what comes before DBZ in the first place.

Now as for what this is... this was the original DBZ story as it was written by the author. This is the characters being treated with respect and not bashed because they look funny, this is the villains being darker, this is the story with more flow... It's quite literally the manga (comic) in anime (animated) form. It's got a great new dub, new script, even in the Japanese version, and an HD touch-up on the animation. Now we seem to think HD has to fit a certain eye-popping criteria, but that's not always the case. What it means is that it's crystal clear and smooth, no visible defects, not as much grainy effect.

If you're new to the series, I suggest you watch. If you're not new to the series, you'll love it anyways. (But parents be warned, DBZ uncut is NOT the same as what you'll see on TV. More violent, for sure)

But it's well worth a purchase. :)
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Florian
5.0 out of 5 stars Dragonball Z Kai is just awesome
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2011
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First of all I have to say, that I am a big Dragonball Fan. I read the Maga, watched the whole series from Dragonball to Dragonball Z to Dragonball GT. So I know, what Dragonball Z Kai is trying to do. And they doing it so good.
The pace of the series is the right one, no fillers, just the action. Just like in the Manga. Because of the fact, that I know how the Original Series goes, I sometimes get the feeling that it is too fast, but it's not. Now I can watcht the series without getting tired of the fillers or someone powering up for like half an episode.
The Backgroundmusic is so nice, it gives Dragonball Z a new atmosphere and I like it. I mean I still love the Faulconer Score, but this score is also nice. Different but nice.
The voice dubbing is just cool, the characters seem to sound much more serious, and much more grown-up.
So if you are a fan of the Dragoball franchise, you need to have this set. I live in germany and I must say funimation is doing a great job especially Chris Sabat, the way he dubbs Piccolo in DBZ Kai ist just great.
There is just one thing that bothers me a little and that is the redrawn scence because you recognize those scence right away, but I can live with that.

So all I can say is..just buy the set and have fun with it.
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Top reviews from other countries

Aragami
5.0 out of 5 stars I love the colors and everything but the fact that they ...
Reviewed in Canada on November 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
I love the colors and everything but the fact that they removed the fillers and 1/4 of the images makes it less better then the new Funimation's blurays.
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MS
5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Way To See Dragon Ball Z
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 5, 2010
Verified Purchase
Dragon Ball Z is one of the greatest and most well known anime's of all time and has been loved by many. To celebrate Dragon Ball Z's 20th anniversary, Toei Animation have brung back the iconic anime, and have remastered it to make it the best it's ever been.

The story of the original DBZ still remains the same, but is now much better paced with the filler all removed and those long powering up scenes have been trimmed down to make the fights much more faster paced, which is a much needed improvement.

The animation still is the same from the original DBZ but has much more brighter colours, improved for HD and some fixed scenes of animation which you will notice a lot. There is a new opening and ending which both have completly new animation and new songs to go with them. Both are great.

The soundtrack is all completly new with some really great pieces of music which fit the scenes perfectly to capture what is going on. The original voice actors from the Funimation english dub return with a few voice recasts for Gohan, Bluma, Olong, Puar, Chaotzu and Mr. Popo. The recasts all sound great and the other well known voice actors are on top form for Dragon Ball Z Kai, as they preform the characters the best they have ever done. For the Uncut version, the original untranslated names for the attacks is kept in for the english dub to keep the experience as closer to the original Japanese version as ever. A lot of care was put into the english dub. The Japanese audio is also optional for those who prefer the Japanese version.

As for extras, there arn't many. Textless opening and closing and some Funimation trailers. Thats it. Not much else to say on that.

If your a fan of Dragon Ball Z, or if you have never experienced it before, this is the best way to watch it. With the first 13 episodes across 2 discs, this provides a great start into the series. It now follows the original manga much more closer and provides the best experience to watch one of the greatest anime's of all time. Your in for some great anime action.
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Michael
1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed
Reviewed in Canada on March 13, 2019
Verified Purchase
Not as advertised, item was repackaged.
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