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TThe Dragon Ball franchise has been around for nearly
30 years now. Akira Toriyama, also known for his work on
numerous video games and other series, created a classic
for the ages when he put the first volume of the Dragon
Ball manga into Shonen Jump magazine in 1984. Like many
manga series, it inspired an anime adaptation. The anime
versions of Toriyama's story ran for well over 10 years…
but were often bashed by fans and non-fans alike for the
hefty amount of “filler” material packed in that wasn't
in the original manga. ***
Dragon Ball Z, which has been re-edited into Dragon
Ball Z Kai, sticks pretty close to the original Z's story,
with removal of filler and some re-animated/remastered sequences
being the key difference. Essentially, the story starts
5 years after the original Dragon Ball, when Goku defeated
the villainous Piccolo Jr. at the 23rd World Martial Arts
tournament. By this time Goku is married, and has a son
of his own. Things seem peaceful, but an evil extraterrestrial
lands on Earth, revealing the terrible truth of Goku's origin.
It isn't long before our young hero and his friends find
themselves back in action, against stronger foes than ever
before. ***
Dragon Ball Z Kai, essentially, tries to re-edit the
Z portion of the series, removing all the heavy filler Toriyama
did not approve of. The result is a more concise, to-the-point
series that tends to strictly hit the high notes of the
manga presentation. However, this comes across as a double-edged
sword, leading a number of characters to get next to nothing
as far as development goes. When certain major characters
die, we don't care because we haven't gotten to know them.
But on the other hand, it means we don't have to sit around
for 5 episodes, watching a character power up. In an effort
to make this series an accessible starting point to someone
new to the Dragon Ball franchise, the first episode features
a flashback of Goku's exploits during the original Dragon
Ball - disappointingly this proves no substitute for watching
the original series and getting to know the characters firsthand.
At times, Kai feels a wee bit too rushed for its own good.
***
In addition to the show having its filler removed,
it has been remastered and overhauled for HD viewing. A
full-blown restoration effort has been undertaken, with
damaged frames removed, and reanimated sequences inserted
where necessary. ***
In the end, I would say that Kai is a good series,
but don't run off and sell your Season Sets or Dragon Boxes.
For years I clamored for a Dragon Ball series free of filler,
but the end results here still leave a lot to be desired.
Is it a good series? Is it a decent starting point for a
newcomer? I have to say yes, but a die-hard fan may still
have to explain some things to new viewers. ***
For the price of the set, I wish FUNimation had included
more episodes. The MSRP can go as high as $55, and it only
includes 13 episodes. If you want it, get it from an independent
seller on Amazon - they usually have some pretty good bargains.
At this rate we are looking at 7 or so sets - and that is
too damn many to pay full retail for. ---
Image And Sound: While the show was (selectively) cropped
to 16:9 for its television airing, the Blu-Ray is presented
in an uncropped 4:3 ratio. The image quality is very impressive,
it is clear Toei Animation went to great extremes to make
the series look good for HD viewing. Some of the re-animated
scenes, though, do seem blatantly obviously - but that's
a small price to pay. ***
Both audio tracks are technically impressive. The Dub
version sounds the more technologically impressive of the
two, but the voice actors sound tired and uninterested in
the project. A shame, because this series features a better
dub script than any Dragon Ball release to date. I'll be
sticking with the original Japanese, which retains all but
a few of the original voice actors - and even at over 70
years of age, Masako Nozawa is still voicing Goku (and nearly
all his other male biological relatives) excellently.
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