So much Dragon Ball Z, So little money.

[ryushe]

After hankering for some DBZ to watch, I came to a realization today;

I don't have a complete, "perfect" collection of DragonBall Z in its entirety.

I know, sad! The only type of collection I currently own is the HK bootlegs I bought years ago which has every episode, looks great all with pretty decent subs to boot. Anywho, I quickly hit the internets to see what I could do a alleviate this issue and came across, as some would say, the only two viable options there are.

The first option, of course, is the mucho sexy Dragon Box DVD collection, which, to my understanding, is the way to go if you want All DragonBall Z! All the Time!* Basically, the purest edition.

My second (also pretty sexy in its own right) option is the Dragon Ball Z Kai Blu-ray set. Not as complete and definitely not as pure (well, depending which way you want to look at it) as the Dragon Box, but has two big things going for it. 1. It being digitally remastered. 2. It following the manga to a tee*.

Now, both have their strengths as well as weaknesses. The Dragon Box is DBZ as I know and love. I'm actually one of the few people who actually really love the drawn out nature of the series in comparison to the Manga. Not only that, it makes for some better character development...most time. The downfall to that however is, I've already don't the "Charging up for a dozen episodes" dance with DBZ already and I'm not sure if I can do it again given how busy I currently am. Not only that, while the origianl run of the series made for better character development, especially in the cases Vegeta and Piccolo, but I often felt that some of the characters in the Manga and the Anime were kinda different from each other. Not by a large degree, but more then they should be (Roshi, Yamcha and Krillen come to mind).

The strengths of Kai now is primarily in the fact that it is of a more trimmed down nature, which, if I'm going to be realistic, would be the way I'd watch this series again if I was in control or had the Dragon Box -- but with that (the Dragon Box, I mean) I actually have the control to skip what I'd want and wouldn't want to watch. Not only that, they trimmed down some of my favorite scenes for the worst. Also, it being digitally remastered for the best is also a great thing...the only down fall with that is, I only have one blu-ray player in my house (My PS3) as opposed to at least half a dozen things that can play DVD's. Still though, despite it sounding like I'm not too hot on the idea of the Kai set, I'm actually looking at that a bit more for a different watching experience.

Now, with that in mind, what do you all feel is the best buying option. I know neither is complete (from my understanding that is) and money isn't really an issue here, but as someone who wants to re-watch DBZ again whilst also having a "true" collection to call their own, what do you all suggest I do. Also, if there's any type of notable differences between the two I haven't listed, feel free to do so as it might help tide my decision.


*Good and Bad.

[superplough]

I voted for the Dragon Box... Dragon Ball Kai is great, and I think it's wonderful for bringing new fans in or for refreshing someone's Dragon Ball Z experience... but to own a "true" collection you definitely want the Dragon Box. Like you said, there's simply too much cut of of Kai... and you can skip whatever you want while watching the Dragon Box.

Of course you could always get both

[lav2k4]

Just go with Dragon Boxes. It's the only true option for purists. I like the idea of DBZ without filler, but man I need my Goku and Piccolo driving episode. Hopefully the more support it gets, the chances of us getting Dragon Boxes DB will increase. I just ordered the first box, and will definitely buy the rest in the near future.

[old hat]

Originally Posted by superplough

Of course you could always get both

How much money is that again?

[Soluzar]

I would never be satisfied with anything but the original.

[Jon]

Ideally, I would want the Dragon Box + Ocean dub. But...that'll never happen. But yeah, get the Dragon Boxes.

[Ryvius]

Dragon Boxes. No broken pacing, superior original dub, superior original music, correct aspect ratio, etc etc etc.

I've got the first three sets myself and it was more than worth it!

[ryushe]

Well, there ya' go. Guess I knew the only true choice all along.

Originally Posted by lav2k4

Hopefully the more support it gets, the chances of us getting Dragon Boxes DB will increase.

The idea of this kinda sold me.

[Mr. sickVisionz]

I'd go for Kai and then Dragon Boxes for the arcs that aren't in Kai. I've gone back and forth between Kai and the original and I don't think there is "broken pacing" like others have said. DBZ is way slower but it didn't feel like it was dragging and Kai doesn't feel like it's rushing.

[KT Kore]

The Dragon Boxes are about as complete as you're going to get with DBZ. They have absolutely everything. The episode previews, all the openings and endings with the correct credits, etc. Everything that was left off of the original DVDs for the series are on the Dragon Boxes.

I guess if you're talking about dubs though, then yeah, the DBoxes only have the dub with the original Japanese music. No Ocean dub, no dub with that other dub composer.

DragonBall Kai sucks in my opinion. The music is sub-par (and apparently stolen *laughs*), it's censored, and they cut out way too much to the point where the show moves far too quickly for my liking. The best thing about Kai is that they fixed the color of Vegeta in his first appearances heh.

[lav2k4]

Another point to make is that Kai is ending in the beginning in April, and it will most likely end without ever touching the Buu saga. That's about 6-7 volumes of material.

[superplough]

Originally Posted by KT Kore

(and apparently stolen *laughs*)

Lol really?

Originally Posted by lav2k4

Another point to make is that Kai is ending in the beginning in April, and it will most likely end without ever touching the Buu saga. That's about 6-7 volumes of material.

WHAT???

[lav2k4]

Originally Posted by superplough

WHAT???

It's getting replaced with another show in its time slot, and it's confirmed that it will end an episode count of 98. Will it be finished another time? No one really knows.

http://kanzentai.com/index.php?subac..._from=&ucat=4&

[Ryvius]

It's Japanese but yeah, this was supposedly the Toei statement admitting to plagiarism in the DBK BGM, I'll copy paste another comment from somewhere else about it:

Originally Posted by dtshyk

Toei Animation announced that more than one background musics of Dragon Ball Kai were suspected to infringe the copyrights of third parties. They have already replaced those musics with the original BGMs of Dragon Ball Z.

Toei Animation had assigned the music of Dragon Ball Kai to Yamamoto Kenji instead of Kikuchi Shunsuke. Yamamoto Kenji's other musics have also been suspected to be plagiarized works. (ref. niconico video)

Source: Toei Animation (PDF file)

And indeed lav2k4 is correct about DBK ending with Cell for all I know, so all the more reason why I don't even want to bother with DBK, and for someone like ryushe here looking for a "perfect" collection of the series... yeah, that shoots that out the window.

[ryushe]

But wait, I thought they didn't want to make DBK no longer than 100 episodes long? If they're at 98 already and that's just ending the Cell arc, will there ever be any plans for the Buu arc?