Product Details

• Actors: Sean Schemmel, Christopher R. Sabat, Justin Cook, Mike McFarland, John Burgmeier
• Directors: Mike McFarland
• Format: Full Screen, Color, Animated, Subtitled
• Language: English (Dolby TrueHD 5.1), Japanese (Dolby TrueHD)
• Subtitles: English
• Dubbed: English
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Funimation
• DVD Release Date: May 18, 2010
• Run Time: 325 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0036ZA8G2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,500 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Dragon Ball Z Kai: Part One [Blu-ray]" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

When manga artist Akira Toriyama began Dragon Ball in Shonen Jump in 1984, he launched one of the most successful franchises in anime history. The second TV series, Dragon Ball Z (1989), which recounts the heroic adventures of Goku, Gohan, and the Z-Fighters, remains the most popular iteration. For Dragon Ball Z Kai (2009), the 291-episode saga has been recut and trimmed to 99 episodes, eliminating some of the subplots and streamlining the main story arcs. The visuals have been cleaned and reformatted for wider screens. The dialogue has been re-recorded in a new, more accurate translation, with several of the key voice actors reprising their roles: Sean Schemmel (Goku), Christopher R. Sabat (Vegeta, Piccolo), Mike McFarland (Master Roshi), and Sonny Strait (Krillin). The first 13 episodes comprise most of the original first season: The evil Raditz arrives and informs Goku they are both Saiyan warriors from the planet Vegeta. Goku destroys Raditz with the help of Piccolo but dies in the process. He moves to the Other World to train with King Kai, knowing he'll eventually be brought back to life with the magical Dragon Balls. Piccolo trains Goku's son Gohan, anticipating arrival of the remaining Saiyans. Goku returns in time for that confrontation, and the set ends during his climactic battle with Saiyan Prince Vegeta. Dragon Ball Z Kai seems to be aimed at younger viewers who don't have the patience for the rambling pace of the original series. The duel between Goku and the villainous Frieza in season 3 dragged on for more than 20 episodes of recycled footage. Kai feels faster, funnier, and more exciting, with more action and less nattering. Hard-core otaku will want to keep their sets of all nine seasons of Dragon Ball Z. But novices, especially the 8- to 14-year-old boys who have always been the series' core fans, will prefer the livelier Dragon Ball Z Kai. (Rated TV PG, suitable for ages 8 and older: violence; minor risqué and toilet humor, ethnic stereotyping and alcohol use) --Charles Solomon

Product Description

The Legendary Z Reborn!

For the first time in history, experience the legendary Z as the master intended: bigger, faster, stronger, and packed with the pulverizing power to blow your puny minds! Beef up your collection with this manga-centric, fresh take on Akira Toriyama’s original vision, featuring more action than you can handle, revitalized animation, and an amped-up audio experience that will make your ears beg for mercy!

The last descendants of an evil race of warriors known as the Saiyans are on a collision course with Earth, and Goku – the strongest fighter on the planet – is all that stands between humanity and extinction. To save his friends and the world he loves, Goku must travel to a realm from which few return, but should he survive, he’ll discover the power to face the villainous Saiyan warlord – Prince Vegeta.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

199 of 228 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So Many Misconceptions... May 2, 2010

By D. J. DeMent

Amazon Verified Purchase

I have to say there are so many misconceptions with this series that it's not even funny. Let's just go over a few of them, shall we?

1: This is a rip-off because there will be over 270 episodes!
-Wrong. This series is MUCH SHORTER. By Episode 13, Goku is already fighting Vegeta, as opposed to being in the 30's by then. In fact, there's probably only going to be up to 150 episodes at the MOST according to Toei Animation themselves.

2: This isn't a new series, so no one will want it.
-Also wrong. While it's not a new series, the logic behind a re-release is to introduce a new generation of youth to the series and create a new generation of fans. Plus it's also going to be airing on television again soon, though again it will be severely edited.

3: The artwork is cheap!
-While it's hardly groundbreaking, the artwork is NOT cheap. It's simply a touch-up of the existing film, and anything that couldn't be saved or deteriorated too much had to be redrawn. They did that as little as possible to maintain the classic look and style that Toriyama-sensei gave to his world.

4: The acting is horrible and so is the script!
-The thing is, this was Funimation's first big anime. Most of the voice actors had not only no experience, but were STAFF working at the studio. They had to pick up the slack after a contract dispute with the previous cast went awry, and despite this, they still managed to make it a classic.

However, even if one plays the games, you can notice these actors have improved greatly over time. And this is a complete and utter redub. So they're bringing all their added talent and experience into this with a much better script. I myself have heard some of the new dubbing, and you can actually FEEL the emotions in the characters' voices.

And finally...

5: Cutting out the filler removes what let you get to know the characters better!
-Actually, the thing is... the way the characters are presented in the filler (With exception perhaps to the Garlic Jr Saga) are often times not the way they really are at all. for example, filler made Roshi into an even greater pervert than he was, made Krillin into a mere comic relief character half the time (which he's not), made Gohan seem to be much more into fighting than he actually was, etc. What gives you the character development and background is the series DRAGON BALL, which is what comes before DBZ in the first place.

Now as for what this is... this was the original DBZ story as it was written by the author. This is the characters being treated with respect and not bashed because they look funny, this is the villains being darker, this is the story with more flow... It's quite literally the manga (comic) in anime (animated) form. It's got a great new dub, new script, even in the Japanese version, and an HD touch-up on the animation. Now we seem to think HD has to fit a certain eye-popping criteria, but that's not always the case. What it means is that it's crystal clear and smooth, no visible defects, not as much grainy effect.

If you're new to the series, I suggest you watch. If you're not new to the series, you'll love it anyways. (But parents be warned, DBZ uncut is NOT the same as what you'll see on TV. More violent, for sure)

But it's well worth a purchase. :)

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Not Starved, It's Dieting May 19, 2010

By Elias L. Blondeau

Kai (Dragon Ball Z minus the filler) has been the subject of many debates which I have participated in.
Some parties argue that it is an unnecessary trimming of an already great show, while others say that the
lack of filler helps viewers focus on the core story and key plot points of "Dragon Ball Z." As somebody
who owns all of the "Orange Box"-ed "DBZ" sets, and has seen every episode over the course of 3 or 4 years,
I can firmly say that I believe the latter party more. All of those annoying excuses to recycle animation,
all of those perfunctory attempts at "deepening characters", and the overly-long attack proclamations have
all vanished, leaving us with what made the original "Dragon Ball" manga so great: fast clip, quick battles,
and no lag between plot points. Whether you're a DBZ newbie or just a seasoned veteran, "Kai" is a worthy
purchase, especially at the price Amazon's offering it at.

28 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars F***ing Amazing ! April 30, 2010

By M. Hernandez

I just recieved my copy of Dragon Ball Z Kai on Blu-ray today. ( gotta love Rightstuf ) Anyway this is AMAZING ! packaging is awesome, quality is awesome, sound is awesome, redub is awesome, opening and closing credits, awesome. ( Keyword; just AWESOME ! lol ) But anyway this comes with 13 episodes; 9 on the first disc and 4 on the second disc. ( In my opinion I think the DVD version is going to have 7 in the first and 6 on the second ) There aren't any extras but hey who CARES ! The redub is better then I expected. Although its the same voice actors they just act better then original DBZ and better script ( but thats probably because org DBZ was dubbed like 12 years ago ) Sond is of course 5.1 and Japanese 2.0. And Finally ! they have next episode previews in english ! Well.. nothing else I really can say..just have to GET IT ! and support DBZKai ! ( I'll probably post pics up later today or tomorrow) =P