Reddit reviews Dragon Ball Z Kai: Part One

Kai isn't for "casuals", it sticks closer to the manga and has the most accurate English dub to date.

Kai is not finished yet, but you can purchase it uncut up to the end of the Cell arc by buying "seasons" 1-4 on Amazon. The Majin Buu arc is currently airing in Japan, and there remains no official word of a dub, so you'll be waiting at least a year or two before you can buy it outside of Japan.

Due to the Kenji Yamamoto plagiarism scandal, be aware that the "Season" sets all contain the old Shunsuke Kikuchi score from Dragon Ball Z. If you would prefer the Yamamoto score, you'll want to purchase the "Part" sets here, but Parts 1-4 are the only ones that contain it.

Someone recently asked if Dragon Ball would ever make it to Bluray. To quote /u/VegettoEX:

>Asked often, but no real updates. For an actual HD release, someone would need to pony up and scan film masters. Right now, that would have to be Toei; FUNimation's current masters are digibeta tapes at best.
I mean, they could do an upscaled release to Blu-ray, but that'd be a lot more trouble than it's worth with their current materials, and if they crop anything else... (insert fist-shaking here)
I would honestly expect to see something from Toei on Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT in HD before I would expect to see it from FUNimation.

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That being said, our FAQ in the sidebar has a list of your options when it comes to purchasing the series.

>##Q: What is the best way to purchase the anime?
A: There are many different ways to purchase the anime. While all releases of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT are in their native 4:3 fullscreen aspect ratio, most English releases of Dragon Ball Z were cropped to 16:9 widescreen.

>* For Dragon Ball, your best option is the Blue Brick DVD sets. [4:3 Native]

• For Dragon Ball Z, your best option is the most recent Bluray set. [16:9 Cropped]
  
• For Dragon Ball Z Kai, your best option is most recent Bluray/DVD set. If you prefer Kenji Yamamoto's musical score, you want "Parts 1-4" of the Part set. [4:3 Native]
  
• For Dragon Ball GT, your best option is the Green Brick DVD set. [4:3 Native]
  
  >Other releases include:
  
  >* The Dragon Ball Z Orange Brick DVD set [16:9 Cropped], which are criticized for their aggressive filtering, over-contrasted colors, automated center crop, and excessive detail loss during scenes with shaky picture.
  
• The Dragon Ball Z Dragon Box set [4:3 Native], the now-out-of-print collector's edition which is considered by many to be the best DVD set of the series. Unfortunately, they run around $700 for a complete set on eBay, and don't include the American broadcast score.
  
• The Dragon Ball Z Bluray Level Sets [4:3 Native], the now-cancelled Bluray set which was praised for its faithful colors, grain preservation and original 4:3 aspect ratio.
  
• The Dragon Ball Z "Rock The Dragon" set [4:3 Native], which contains all 53 episodes of the original Ocean Group dub.

During Dragon Ball Z's English broadcast run, FUNimation replaced Shunsuke Kikuchi's original Japanese score with Shuki Levi's edgier, electronic/guitar-driven soundtrack, inspired by his work on Power Rangers. When FUNimation switched to their in-house dub for episodes 068+, they hired Bruce Faulconer to replace Shuki Levi for the remainder of the series. In 2004, FUNimation went back to redub the Ocean Group's episodes, hiring Nathan Johnson to replace Levi. This redub, featuring Johnson (001-067) and Faulconer (068-291) is featured on all uncut DVD and Blu-ray sets, while the edited-for-TV Ocean dub can be found on the "Rock The Dragon" set.

When Dragon Ball Kai first aired in Japan, it was given an all new soundtrack by Kenji Yamamoto. Due to a plagiarism scandal, the last three episodes of the Cell arc had the soundtrack replaced with Shunsuke Kikuchi's original Dragon Ball Z score, with all prior episodes quickly following suit. The Majin Buu arc (episode 99 and onward) currently features yet another musical score by Norihito Sumitomo.

FUNimation's first four Part sets for Z Kai contain Yamamoto's score up to episode 52, before switching to Kikuchi's Z score for 53-98. The current Season sets of Kai all contain the Kikuchi replacement score.

>I would like to watch the show in as much originality as possible so which should I watch?

The most "original" version is the original Japanese with English subtitles. The next best option is Dragon Ball Kai, which received a much more faithful-to-the-Japanese English dub than DBZ did, and as a result, it's often recommended for new viewers who do not wish to watch the series subtitled.

The final story arc of Dragon Ball Kai has yet to be released outside of Japan. Because of this, if you choose to watch Kai (legally, and in English), you will need to switch to episode 200 of Dragon Ball Z after finishing episode 98 of Kai.

• For Dragon Ball Z, your best option is the most recent Blu-ray set
  
• For Dragon Ball Kai, your best option is most recent Blu-ray/DVD set. If you prefer Kenji Yamamoto's musical score, you want "Parts 1-4" of the Part set.
  

That's correct. The first four volumes of the 8 piece "Part" set (released 2010) includes the Yamamoto score.

The newer "Season" set (released 2012) replaces the Yamamoto score with Shunsuke Kikuchi's Dragon Ball Z score.

Your submission has been removed for the following reason:

>This topic is addressed in our FAQ. See the link for more details about the different dub versions and soundtracks.

There are many different ways to purchase the anime. While all releases of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT are in their native 4:3 fullscreen aspect ratio, most English releases of Dragon Ball Z were cropped to 16:9 widescreen. All home releases except for the "Dragon Box" and "Rock the Dragon" sets offer three soundtrack options: Japanese with original soundtrack, English dub with original soundtrack, and English dub with Funimation's replacement soundtrack. (There is no Funimation soundtrack for Kai or Super.)

• For Dragon Ball, your best option is the Blue Brick DVD sets. [4:3 Native]
  
• For Dragon Ball Z, your best option is the most recent Blu-ray set [16:9 Cropped]
  
• For Dragon Ball Kai, your best option is most recent Blu-ray/DVD set. If you prefer Kenji Yamamoto's musical score, you want "Parts 1-4" of the Part set. [4:3 Native]
  
• For Dragon Ball GT, your best option is the Green Brick DVD set. [4:3 Native]
  
  Other releases include:
  
  
• The Dragon Ball Z Orange Brick DVD set [16:9 Cropped], which are criticized for their aggressive filtering, over-contrasted colors, automated center crop, and excessive detail loss during scenes with shaky picture.
  
• The Dragon Ball Z Dragon Box set [4:3 Native], the now-out-of-print collector's edition which is considered by many to be the best DVD set of the series. Unfortunately, they run around $700 for a complete set on eBay, and don't include the American broadcast soundtrack.
  
• The Dragon Ball Z Blu-ray Level Sets [4:3 Native], the now-cancelled Blu-ray set which was praised for its faithful colors, grain preservation and original 4:3 aspect ratio.
  
• The Dragon Ball Z "Rock The Dragon" set [4:3 Native], which contains all 53 episodes of the original Ocean Group dub.
  
  If you prefer a stream, you can watch the series on several online services including FUNimation. Streams are available subbed or dubbed, but both versions will feature the original Japanese soundtrack.
  
  
  
  If you have any questions, see our extended rules. If you believe this removal was made in error, you can appeal to the moderating team.

From our FAQ regarding soundtracks:

Why does Dragon Ball Z have so many different soundtracks? Which one am I buying?

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During Dragon Ball Z's English broadcast run, FUNimation replaced Shunsuke Kikuchi's original Japanese score with Shuki Levi's edgier, electronic/guitar-driven soundtrack, inspired by his work on Power Rangers. When FUNimation switched to their in-house dub for episodes 068+, they hired Bruce Faulconer to replace Shuki Levi for the remainder of the series. In 2004, FUNimation went back to redub the Ocean Group's episodes, hiring Nathan Johnson to replace Levi. This redub, featuring Johnson (001-067) and Faulconer (068-291) is featured on all uncut DVD and Blu-ray sets, while the edited-for-TV Ocean dub can be found on the "Rock The Dragon" set.

When Dragon Ball Kai first aired in Japan, it was given an all new soundtrack by Kenji Yamamoto. Due to a plagiarism scandal, the last three episodes of the Cell arc had the soundtrack replaced with Shunsuke Kikuchi's original Dragon Ball Z score, with all prior episodes quickly following suit. The Majin Buu arc (episode 99 and onward) currently features yet another musical score by Norihito Sumitomo.

FUNimation's first four Part sets for Z Kai contain Yamamoto's score up to episode 52, before switching to Kikuchi's Z score for 53-98. The current Season sets of Kai all contain the Kikuchi replacement score.

> So me and my friends are re-watching the series and we decided to stream it via Amazon Prime. One thing I am noticing is that music has changed and it is fucking awful, it sounds very Dragonbally and I feel it ruins the feeling of the entire show. Does anyone know if this is just in the Sayain saga or for the entire series, and if it is does anyone know why the music was changed?

Digital services like the Xbox marketplace, FUNimation's streaming site, Amazon, and AnimeLab use Shunsuke Kikuchi's score.