Customer Reviews

Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Box One

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

REVIEW

Having my hand at watching the Dragon Box and the extra material it offers, I can say this is easily a great quality release from FUNimation. It's a near perfect release. Now let's break down what it has to offer.

Picture: Taken from the original 16mm film preserved in cold storage, the picture was quite perfectly clean, but with most old animation, it will suffer from some damage over time. Pony Canyon, the company that went through the remastering process, had all the new digital technology available to them to clean the footage frame by frame while reducing jitter and removing most of the grain. With FUNimation's Dragon Box Masters, most of this is quite evident. The picture is clean and looks great in motion. As most say, screenshots really don't do it justice. There were times where I did notice some minor inconsistencies with flesh tones. Somewhat pinkish in one frame, not so much in another or another episode. It's a minor problem and I suspect it had something to do with the film damage over the years. Aside from that, everything is crisp and clear. I couldn't ask for more and it's the best quality available for the Dragon Ball Z series.

Audio: The set includes two audio options, Japanese Mono in 96kb/s stream (vs. the original 448 kb/s in the Japanese Dragon Boxes) and the English Dub w/ Japanese music 5.1 surround sound. While FUNi's Dragon Boxes have less kb/s compared to the Japanese release, it's the best audio quality we'll ever get for the Japanese track on a English Dragon Ball release. It sounds clear and more vibrant than the prior releases. There's not much you can do with a mono track either, so it's another minor problem. The English 5.1 track is pretty much the same track that was on the Season Sets.

Content and Packaging: The Dragon Box includes the first 42 episodes of the series spanning from the Saiyan arc to the beginning of the Namek arc. The packaging is great with an epic prologue reminiscent of the Star Wars films and what looks like an Akira Toriyama designed Son Goku (It's actually Nakatsuru Katsuyoshi, veteran Dragon Ball designer/artist for the TV show). Part of the spine image shows said Goku and Son Gohan with later releases. The episodes are split into 6 discs. 3 on each container with the Dragon Book packaged in the middle making up part of the spine image. The Dragon Book (or should I say Dragon Books) was originally done in 2 volumes spanning 128 pages each. The Dragon Books contained an introduction by Akira Toriyama himself and content such as a recap of the early Dragon Ball series, Episode summaries (with original air dates), Character profiles, Character relationships, Dragon Columns which includes the History of Dragon Ball Z along with real world events at the time, Fashions of the series, Character sketches, and a whole lot more. What FUNimation decided to do is to release the Dragon Books in 7 separate volumes co-relating with the 7 separate planned releases. The first FUNimation Dragon Book is a near-perfect replica of part of the original Japanese Dragon Book Volume 1. It includes the recap of the Dragon Ball series, character profiles, relationship chart, episode summaries with the original airdates, part of the Dragon Columns (which include parts of the History of Dragon Ball Z and the Fashion Check). No Akira Toriyama introduction unfortunately. All of the original names and attack terminology are even used. No Krillin, Tien, Destructo Disc, and Special Beam Cannon to be found here. Even the original Japanese voice actors are listed under each character. There's a lot of content and fun facts to know here in the Dragon Book that even the casual fan can appreciate.

Overall, the packaging is great and even better than most FUNimation releases. For a company that thrives itself in giving quality releases for other series's like One Piece, Yu Yu Hakusho, and the such, that's really saying alot.

Other Thoughts/Conclusion: This set might not really for the casual/dub fanbase that grew up with the broadcast syndication. For those dub fans in the know of the Season Sets and want the Dragon Box quality with the Falcouner score, I sincerely feel sorry for them. But with FUNimation, having a perfect Dragon Ball release is near impossible. There's always something wrong with each release that comes out and the FUNimation Dragon Box is no exception. There's the lingering possibility that the Dragon Boxes may or may not include the TV specials (Bardock and Trunks) and the infamous "Lost OVA"/Playdia Footage, "The Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans", which was never EVER released in North America. FUNimation did claim to purchase all of the Dragon Ball Z Dragon Box Masters, so it's a definite possibility to be able to see the "Lost OVA" in the FUNimation Dragon Box. If the Bardock and Trunks TV specials aren't included with the Dragon Box sets, I would be very disappointed. I just don't think there would be a valid reason not to include it. There just as important parts to the TV series as the episodes themselves. All it takes is an extra disc co- relating with the set of episodes it aired alongside with. Despite a problem or two with the Dragon Boxes, it's still a great and damn near perfect release. It shows that FUNimation is giving proper respect to a series that's really done well for them over the years. I can't highly recommend this set more than I already have. With the Amazon price, it's really more worthy of a purchase. Go get it.

Like many, I grew up watching Dragon Ball Z. Unlike most, I grew up watching it through nth generation fansubbed VHS. For years I wanted a box set of DBZ that was presented the way I remember (With a more vibrant picture and clearer sound of course.). Funimation's earlier efforts were foolish to say the least, but it was understandable when you consider and understand Toei gave them very little to work with.

The Orange bricked sets released a few years ago was not how I remembered DBZ. The widescreen presentation was a major turn off. I heard about the Japanese Dragon Box sets but considering it was over $500 to order and it was strictly in Japanese I passed on them. Then the Otakon announcement hit and my mind was blown. After a back and forth email session with a friend with connections to Funimation I quickly preordered it.

Three months later, I received it. THIS is the DBZ I remembered! The picture and audio quality is impeccable to say the least. The packaging is as close to the JP release as possible. I thank those who brought the orange boxes because if it wasn't for them, The Dragon Box would still be a Japan exclusive.

I'll grab all the other volumes and movies. After that I will be content as Kai is an abomination (In a nutshell, it's as if DBZ was restored and remastered by George Lucas). I'm surprised the fanbase isn't hostile towards Toei like the Star Wars fans 10 years ago. But that's neither here nor there.

When I first heard the Dragon Box was coming to America, I thought it was some kind of lame joke. But it turns out that it is actually true. For those who don't know. The Dragon Box was released in Japan years ago which featured a true frame by frame restoration of the Dragon Ball Z anime. The original 16mm film was used to create the DVDs that were sold in Japan, so the original colors and frame alignment are being displayed correctly.

One thing about the Japanese Dragon Box release was the price. It actually came in 2 seperate boxes, each containing one half of the series, which retailed for about 100,000 yen, or about $850 USD for each box. So for the Japanese release, you would spend over $1700 USD for the entire series. Also keep in mind there is no subtitles on the Japanese release as well, just Japanese language only. Instead of 2 boxes, FUNimation has decided to split the set in 7 seperate sets. This will make it easier to purchase the entire series at a much lower cost. For all 291 episodes of Dragon Ball Z in Dragon Box format, you could probably expect to pay around $400 as opposed to $1700 for the Japanese version.

Now, thanks to FUNimation, the Dragon Boxes are coming to the US with subtitles and English audio options and most importantly, a FULLSCREEN aspect ratio. This definitely makes up for the much reviled "season sets" in which they tried to convince the public that it was in "widescreen" when in reality they actually cropped the footage resulting in substaintial loss of original footage.

This release is not for everybody, if you are already satisfied with the orange brick season sets, then stick with them. But if you want to view Dragon Ball Z "the way it was meant to be seen," I highly recommend tbe Dragon Box sets to see this great series in its original broadcast form.

I used to be one of those individuals that would criticized the dragon box because of the lack of Bruce Faulconer music and because the price was significantly higher. Since I'm a fan of the series I couldn't help myself and I found my self pre-ordering the first Dragon Box to find out what the big deal was. I knew deep down that I wasn't gonna be to happy with the Japanese music.

Once I received the box I realized how incredibly well packaged everything comes. It had already made the orange bricks look cheap and I had yet to open the box. The dragon box was about the size of two orange bricks (remastered sets) and the smaller boxes inside were beautifully build. The booklet that's included with the set is very handy when watching the episodes and its hardcover and not held together with a single staple like in the orange bricks.

The quality of the video is superb, its near perfect and the colors are beautiful. I found my self looking at all the vivid colors and seeing detail I had not seen before. It was truly like watching a different version of Dragon ball Z. This is the way Dragon ball Z should have been released from the start!

Now on to the music, when I first started watching the series I wanted the American music! Since I couldn't have it, I just stop complaining and decided to watch it and appreciate it. I found my self loving the Japanese music. Before I knew it I just couldn't go back to the American version. It's almost like watching an entirely new show. Try the Japanese music and it will grow on you after each episode.

I also want to mention that I did own the orange Bricks, but now that I own the First dragon box I've sold all the orange bricks on Amazon.

Now as a conclusion if you have the orange bricks, sell them and get your self the real definitive Edition. Watch the series the way it was originally intended. For those who don't own the Dragon Box, don't give the box bad review's, just because you didn't acquire this version first instead of the orange bricks. This is the best release of Dragon Ball Z to date! Appreciate its release! Buy the dragon box you wont regret it.

The Dragon Box shows you the series as originally intended and you won't miss the American music.

Dragon Box Volume 2 February 16, 2010!

I have now received my Dragon Box, and it is a very great set! Everything that was advertised about this set is 100% completely true and unless you're a big fan of the English Dub Music (which this set lacks), this set is a must-buy for Dragon Ball Z fans.

PROS:
- Video quality is EXCELLENT! Very "fresh" and high quality, yet still maintains the same old-school visual appeal
- Is NOT cropped in Fullscreen (or Widescreen if your TV stretches it out)
- Includes both Japanese voices and the Dub (in 5.1 Surround Sound)
- Does not include the English dub music (I am against it, this is just my opinion)
- The quality of the Japanese Mono audio is much more clearer and better than the Remastered Japanese Track
- Packaging is top notch and superb
- The Dragon Book is a very nice collectible, full of info.
- Next Episode Previews!

CONS:
- Disc overlapping

I recommend this set and give it a 10/10 or 5 stars.

Hey, guys! Josh here!

For those of you not in the know, back in 2007 FUNimation started releasing their Dragonball Z Season Sets that were remastered with the company Video Post & Transfer. The remastering process was a largely-automated DVNR process that missed a lot of the dirt specs, removed important detail during certain high-motion scenes, smoothed away finer details in an effort to remove film grain, had severe contrast issues in Season 2 and parts of Season 3, and was cropped to 16:9 in order to not have to deal with the glue stains on the top and bottom of the frames. Let's not forget that Toei is notorious for not giving out good quality film masters to the international market.

The result was a flawed product that many people enjoyed because it was the first time all 291 episodes were on DVD (uncut!), the first time the dub could be heard with the Japanese music, and because it was incredibly cheap. Still many fans weren't pleased and they wanted more.

FUNimation, after a lot of work with Toei, finally got the rest of us what we wanted: the best print of Dragonball Z in existence! WHat they have is the result of the remastering work of Toei and Pony Canyon. In this release, each and every frame has been manually restored to perfect condition without the need for cropping or automated shortcuts. The shakiness of the frames, common in old shows, has been reduced so that the show is much more smooth. The colors have been restored to perfect condition, too!

The USA is the first country outside of Japan to get this perfect print of Dragonball Z! If you want to enjoy the Season Sets instead, that's fine. Just remember, you get what you pay for. This one's a little bit more expensive, but Dragonball Z will never look better than this on DVD.

After alienating so many fans with the very poor season set releases, FUNimation have lovingly crafted what could be considered an apology to hardcore Dragonball fans.

It's fullscreen, beautifully restored from the first generation film prints, and is truly the way the series was meant to be seen.

I don't really feel the need to write a long review, since most of the important stuff has been said, so here is my personal opinion.

This is a great set and I absolutely love it. I never got a chance to really watch Dragon Ball as a kid, cause I never had cable and I only caught snippets of it on Saturday mornings. I've read most of the manga and I've seen a little bit of the later anime, but I've never really got a chance to see it all. Despite this, I've been a Dragon Ball fan for about 9 years now and an anime purist for about 4 or 5 years, so when I heard that there was going to be an American release of the Dragon Box, with an emphasis on the Japanese version, I was naturally very excited.

I have to say, I'm completely satisfied with the purchase and I can't wait for the other releases. This is the definitive release of Dragon Ball Z and it is so great to see a proper Japanese release. I'm glad that Dragon Ball is finally getting the respect it has deserved and I definitely advise buying this and all other Dragon Boxes if you are a fan of the Japanese version. The Dragonbook is my absolute favorite part. It's so nice to see it translated so faithfully and without the use of any of the wacky dub terminology. If you love Dragon Ball like I do, then please, buy this and show Funimation that this is what we have been waiting for all these years.

There are far too many one star reviews for this, by people who probably know nothing about the history of Dragonball Z DVD releases. This is the best version available, with the clearest possible remastered picture (and it's really remastered, unlike the orange boxes), original aspect ratio, and all credits and previews, based on the restored Dragonbox set in Japan that's several times the price. Yes, it does cost more than the orange boxes, and yes, Funimation's releasing the same episodes twice... but if anything, that means that the orange boxes should be rated down, not this. It's the version we should have gotten in the first place.

First and foremost let me say this is not a set for those of you who prefer the english Dub. I've just finished a double run of this set (one for Japanese audio and the other for English)and discovered that 4 of the 6 discs definetly have sync problems with the ENGLISH audio. Its really noticble on the 1st disc but only slightly on the others. This isn't a big deal for me since I prefer the Original Japanese Audio. This set is definetly ideal for any "True" DBZ fan. When Funimation managed to get their hands on this they definetly hit gold. Can't wait for the next set to be released.