Dragon Ball Z Kai: Season 4

I have been a loyal fan of Dragon Ball Z since I was younger and watching the original run on Toonami and on VHS. I drifted away from DBZ for many years but have been an anime enthusiast ever since DBZ got me hooked. Dragon Ball Z Kai caught my eye for several reasons: mainly being remastered yet retaining the original 4:3 aspect ratio (unlike the previous two versions that chopped part of the format to be presented in pseudo widescreen). I have faithfully purchased the Kai series (the titles released so far) on Blu-Ray. Here are my thoughts: Part four takes us through the remainder of the Freiza saga. Let's just say this is probably the most action packed set of episodes in the entire series except maybe the cell games saga (and a brief bit of crazy action during the Vegeta: Cell: Android: Piccolo fights leading up to Perfect Cell). Technical stuff: The ratio is kept to the original 4:3 aspect. Some animations have been cleaned and even re-animated (in the case of some of the lighting effects from ki attacks and power-ups). Some of the re-animated shots look like something from American Saturday morning cartoons rather than anime, but these instances were very rare. The two that stood out were in a previous volume anyway. The sound is vastly superior to the previous versions. The English dub is improved and they aren't afraid to get a little dirty (they swear often, but not in an offensive way. They just yell 'you bastard' a lot). Though the few uses of swearing is in line with the more literal translation. Also, the American voice acting is a lot better this time through. Most of the lines have been slightly changed to stick closer to the actual translation. The Japanese voice acting is the original (highly amusing in some roles) though it has also been cleaned up a bit so that static is removed. The music is the original Japanese score, just re-digitized for this release. It is superior to the original Japanese and the American scores (though the American score was pretty good considering). Editing: Here is where most die hard Dragon Ball Z fans choke up: There is a lot of cut content. I have seen the original, un-cut, American and Japanese versions. I gotta tell you. You're not missing anything. Most of what was cut was pure filler by TOEI trying to fill time slots. They've also removed a lot of re-used cells. I remember how annoyed I was to see Piccolo battling the Android and TOEI reusing animation cells from the Piccolo-Raditz battle. Seriously. Also, I don't hear too many people upset about missing out on the Garlic Jr saga. They cut about 50 episodes (give or take) and reduced the amount to 98 (through the Cell Games saga). I don't know if they will continue through the Buu saga (no word yet even in Japan), but I am a huge fan on the improvement in quality of picture and sound so I hope they do. Also of note: the Blu-Ray version is presented in full HD, though the original show was analog and standard definition. There is a noticeable difference between the DVD and Blu-Ray version in animation clarity and quality. There is also a major difference on the sound. The difference is worth the $2 or so for the Blu-Ray vs DVD if you have a player.

I have been watching DBZ for about 10 years now, and I am happy that I can finally watch every episode and not get bored from all the fillers and stand-offs from the original. Likes- New intro Fixing of the scenes that were damaged over the years Taking out the fillers Better English dialogue Excellent sound quality Pretty much exactly like the manga New animated breaks in between parts of an episode that actually change as the episodes progress. Dislikes- No marathon mode There is no need for two discs, the data on both discs can easily fit on a single bluray disc. There was an art error in a scene where Krillin is shown high up in the sky, he is wearing the orange and blue outfit rather than "Frieza's henchmen" get up. In Part Four of the series we are left with a big clif-hanger. The end of planet Namek is imminent, only a few more episodes till it explodes. Part 5 comes out in June with the Trunks and the Android sagas. I love this "new" series, sad to see that they ended with the Cell Games saga in Japan...

I just want to start out by saying that when I bought this, this was an amazing product. It is much better than Dragon Ball Z becuase of it's amazing voice acting, it's trueness to the book, and it's superior sound and quality! However, I would never suggest anyone to buy this for over 100 dollars! So I recommend that if you want to purchase it, get it used or go over to the Dragon Box's which have the same amount of quality as Kai but are not as pricey. However, the Dragon Boxes contain all of the filler and, therefor, have a slower moving story... So keep that in mind. Overall, I was satisfied with the product and enjoyed watching every minute of it. Also another great thing about this DVD (Which I suspect is the reason it's so pricey) is that it contains the Kenji Yamamoto score. Which is really great! Minus the parts he stole...

What makes part four the best of all? There's no villain like Furiiza. The animation in 1080p HD, the music (made intense), new scenes, no fillers in the way, it made exactly as FUNimation said. This was epic, but the last episode may make you sad seeing Furiiza's sliced to various parts and also leaves you waiting for part five. A little note I would like to leave is that, the release delay from May to June is due to Yamamoto's scandal and so the BGM music will be replaced with the original Japanese DBZ BGM from the brilliant Kikuchi.

I got this copy of DBZ because I really liked the show when I watched it on TV on my country, Chile. So I wanted to see the show on its original language and good video quality, so I purchased this version on Blu Ray. I was really impressed with the sound and video Quality and overall presentation. I don`t give it 5 stars because the 4:3 format and extension of each volume. I know the 4:3 is the original format, but i really liked to see an effort to expand the picture relation to 16:9, and of course, more minutes of show per volume. It is a really nice blu ray for every DBZ fan around the world.-

I am really loving these sets so far basically because of the fact its the first time we get to see this show in a new way on blu ray. Goku versus Frieza has to be 1 of my favorite fights in the entire series, and finally seeing it in HD quality with improved voice acting and script really adds to the epicness of this anime. I highly recommend this to your DBZ collection if you haven't already because DBZ Kai is a must buy on blu ray!

It works well

This is the last set containing Yamamotos plagarized BGM haha whatta shame. I thought it fit well with the pace of Kai and the freeza arc. Blue ray is the only way to watch this series, crisp clear HD. Ive been following Z since 94 and I normally dont like the englsh dub, but I think Kai does a great job with the voice acting. I like switching it to english every so often.