9 format and nothing has really been gained either , but I find it more aesthetically pleasing to view a program that takes up most of my screen .
For those who have wanted to see this portion of the series with the original soundtrack rest assured it is here , for the most part . The opening song is strangely absent and in it's place an instrumental guitar piece that works well . I'll say this , I've never cared for the Japanese soundtrack . It's very corny sounding and outdated , I just don't feel a lot of it accurately fits the spirit of the show . I'm not saying the English dub's techno stuff fit any better , but there were some scenes that were better in the dub . I absolutely despise the song played during the ending credits on these discs but thankfully FUNimation included a marathon feature that cuts out all of that stuff so the action never stops . Also , the show can be viewed subbed with the original voice cast . Honestly , unless Japanese is your native language I don't know why you would want to do that . The English dub sounds as good as any anime or cartoon one is going to find and Sean Schemmel's Goku is absolutely perfect . There was a time when the English dub was not so good ( like the Frieza saga ) but it has really come a long way .
In the end , this is the definitive version of Dragonball 。 's Vegeta saga . The picture quality is fantastic , both language tracks are included , and most of the original soundtrack is present for the purists . This is also DBZ at it's finest . There are a lot of lighthearted moments that capture the spirit of the original Dragonball series . Some of this humor and charm is lost later on in Dragonball Z ( though recaptured for the Buu saga when characters like Mr Satan , Trunks , and Goten play a larger part ) which is kind of a shame . Dragonball Z is not a groundbreaking anime , but it is fun , charming , and there are a lot of great action scenes . This set is how I would introduce someone to the series and I really hope that FUNimation plans on giving us more sets like this so that it is actually affordable to own a high quality version of the entire series . If you're a DBZ fan on the fence on this one because you already own three different releases of this saga I'd suggest you ditch the old ones and pick this up . This is something every fan should own .
015 4 The best anime in the world with tons of action , tons of humor , tons of adventures , and good stories . Nothing can top this anime . And i also recommend Dragon ball and Dragon ball GT .
037 4 I know this isn't really a question board , but with all the hardcore DBZ fans who seem to be looking at this site , I was wondering if anyone's heard if FUNimation is doing anything with the original 13 or so episodes of Dragonball . I've seen DB , DBZ , and DBGT in english and japanese , but I have never seen those first couple of episodes unedited , just the kids version . Does anyone know for sure , or know a site that I could find the answer at ?
085 4 Overall , I think Funi had the right idea releasing seasons in boxed sets . And as I own a ton of subbed bootleg copies of Dragonball Z and GT back from my high school days , the picture quality is much better in these DVDs . However , a portion of the picture is missing , as many have stated . So if you can buy this and accept the fact that a portion of the intended picture is missing , then you will enjoy it . If you are upset that the picture is cropped , then you probably should buy the 3 episode uncut DVDs . And I highly recommend the original Japanese language with subtitles , because once you hear it without the terrible American voice overs , you will really appreciate it . Vegeta's original Japanese voice is by far the coolest cartoon voice ever ! ! !
148 4 I became a Dragonball fan as a teenager when the show was moved to Cartoon Network . Before I had been aware of the show's existence but it never had a very good timeslot on the the WB and wasn't something I had enough time for . Naturally , once I found the time for it I was hooked by the action and artistic style . I had always had a small interest in anime ( mostly the over-the-top violent stuff as a kid because that was just something not present in American cartoons ) so DBZ wasn't foreign to me . Once I had viewed all that was available at the time of the Pioneer Dub , I went to the internet and learned what I could about the show , watched some terrible subbed bootlegs , and anxiously awaited the day the rest of the show would be dubbed . Of course it , and the rest is history .
As fans , we've seen a lot of versions of DBZ over the years and this is really the one I think most people have been waiting for . Paying 25 bucks a DVD for 3 episodes was nothing short of a rip-off . Finally , FUNimation has released an entire season at an affordable price . And while I've avoided the internet DBZ community for a few years , I am almost positive there are countless numbers of people out there griping about this release .
Back when the series was first dubbed , if it wasn't the voices people were complaining about it was the lack of the original Japanese soundtrack . DBZ has been so hallowed by the hardcore fans over the years someone new to the series would think it's going to be some sort of a mindblowing experience . Well , it's not . Dragonball Z , at it's heart , is a very simple show that utilizes the same tricks and gimmicks over and over . The characters are flat , the plotlines simple and predictable , and sometimes the pacing is downright horrible ( it's almost impossible to watch some of the later portions of the series one episode at a time because so little happens ) . Don't get me wrong , I enjoy the show for what it is , but let's be serious , there's nothing incredible about this show . It is what it is .
This first season though is Dragonball Z at it's best . Yes there are some slow , filler episodes but at least here they feel like they accomplish something ( the only truely bad episode is when the characters decide to sit down for an entire episode and wait for Goku , the hero of the series , to arrive ) . The fight scenes are some of the best in the series . The first confrontation between Goku and Vegeta captured on this set remains my favorite fight scene for the whole series .
Dragonball Z has also never looked better . The picture is so crisp and clear one would think this is a Blu Ray disc or HD DVD . Bare in mind , I've only viewed this on a plasma set but I assume it looks great on any set . Hats off to the editors for getting this old show to look this great . I've read some complaints about the show only being displayed in widescreen but as someone who is watching this on a plasma set I must say I much prefer the series in widescreen . Nothing of significance has been lost in making the screen fit a 16 : 9 format and nothing has really been gained either , but I find it more aesthetically pleasing to view a program that takes up most of my screen .
For those who have wanted to see this portion of the series with the original soundtrack rest assured it is here , for the most part . The opening song is strangely absent and in it's place an instrumental guitar piece that works well . I'll say this , I've never cared for the Japanese soundtrack . It's very corny sounding and outdated , I just don't feel a lot of it accurately fits the spirit of the show . I'm not saying the English dub's techno stuff fit any better , but there were some scenes that were better in the dub . I absolutely despise the song played during the ending credits on these discs but thankfully FUNimation included a marathon feature that cuts out all of that stuff so the action never stops . Also , the show can be viewed subbed with the original voice cast . Honestly , unless Japanese is your native language I don't know why you would want to do that . The English dub sounds as good as any anime or cartoon one is going to find and Sean Schemmel's Goku is absolutely perfect . There was a time when the English dub was not so good ( like the Frieza saga ) but it has really come a long way .
In the end , this is the definitive version of Dragonball 。's Vegeta saga . The picture quality is fantastic , both language tracks are included , and most of the original soundtrack is present for the purists . This is also DBZ at it's finest . There are a lot of lighthearted moments that capture the spirit of the original Dragonball series . Some of this humor and charm is lost later on in Dragonball Z ( though recaptured for the Buu saga when characters like Mr Satan , Trunks , and Goten play a larger part ) which is kind of a shame . Dragonball Z is not a groundbreaking anime , but it is fun , charming , and there are a lot of great action scenes . This set is how I would introduce someone to the series and I really hope that FUNimation plans on giving us more sets like this so that it is actually affordable to own a high quality version of the entire series . If you're a DBZ fan on the fence on this one because you already own three different releases of this saga I'd suggest you ditch the old ones and pick this up . This is something every fan should own .
163 4 Many people were angry because of the 20% loss and 5% gain with the screen size but I hardly notice it . I have never seen the beginning of this fine show until now . I must say , it's amazing . Along with the original music , this is THE box set to buy if you have never seen it before . The extras were kind of dumb , though . Nothing amazing there . But it is an amazing collection . I hope they do this re-mastering thing to every season . If you want the whole series of Dragon Ball Z , buy this to begin with and continue on with this series of sets . I am completely happy with this item . I watched all 935 minutes of it in a row . A Dragon Ball Z-athon , if you will .
027 4 I watched this series off and on while in High School . But sadly enough never made it to the end . You know , college and getting work and what not . Anyways tt's great seeing these seasons being released at an truly affordable price . Seeing as I have the funds and time . In all honesty I have noticed the cropping , but the dub is HORRIBLE . Now the only reason I am still giving this five stars is because of the original japanese track and subtitles . I've gotten used to it and enjoy it alot !
021 4 If you grew up watching this show as a kid like I did , you'll love the dvd set . Don't expect a lot of extras or behind the scenes stuff - - what is there is pretty boring . But as a person who does not do anime , this was a great buy and I'm planning on getting the other seasons .
045 4 I absolutely am a geek and I loved DBZ as a kid . Lately I've had a craving for it so I purchased the DVD . I'm actually watching it as I write this review : D But to me , this is just as good as the TV show I remember and I am very impressed with the DVD .
034 4 Being a big fan of anime I love watching all my favourite shows in the original Japanese language with the English subtitles . At first glance watching DBZ in Japanese was great however I was disappointed that Goku's Saiyan name is Kakkarot ( The U.S . name ) and not Kakkarotto ( The Japanese name ) also in Japanese they are known as Saiya-jin and ever though you hear it the subtitle reads Saiyan . Is this really the Japanese version of my favourite anime or is this Funimation's version of what the Japanese episodes should be ? You might think I'm being foolish by making a big issue over minor things but I ask you if someone took your favourite book and reprinted it with errors , your favourite movie and remade it with differences , wouldn't you make an issue of it ?
030 4 and this collection has it . Funimation targets the english-language version toward the kiddie market . What a waste . Watch the Japanese version . It won't kill you to read subtitles .
060 4 This is by far the cheapest you will find this product online and in-store . I have not had any problems with the aspect ratio . I don't have lines / bars on the bottom and top of the screen . I have watched the show on a macbook pro and 42 hdtv and it looks fine . Happy I bought it and didn't listen to the more negative reviews !
079 4 This show is very good one of my favorite shows actually . It has a good plot and the fighting scenes are great . It is definitely worth $30 , I highly recommend this to any fan .
109 4 The fifth disc has a major scratch on it when I received it . The other discs are in perfect condition . The delivery time was decent ( about 10 days from shipment ) . The extras don't include much other than a detailed description of how these classic episodes have been enhanced . There are 39 episodes in this box set , a great buy for $29.99 .
118 4 I would gladly buy this product if it were fullscreen , the way the show was meant to be . I wish Funimation would quit butchering my favorite anime .
090 4 This new version of the clasic show is fully uncut . As a child I remember watching this show in the very early 80s at 6am in the morning . The show was HEAVILY editted . This version shows the entire show . Yes , there is some editing to make it widescreen and so forth , but watching it on a high dev TV in widescreen is a lot of fun . I didnt miss the small ammount that they cut off to make it widescreen .
050 4 I cannot find this season in stock ANYWHERE in stores . It was nice to find it quickly on Amazon . It was shipped promptly and I received it in about a week . Great show and the first season is always the best !
064 4 I got this season and as soon as i started watching it i realized that i missed a few episodes back in the old days and maybe even forgot some and when watching this it was like if it was the first time seeing it and got to say that is an awesome feeling . I recommend to get all the seasons .
071 4 This is one of the best anime collections I have ever seen . The clarity and sound are magnificent . Not to mention the awesome story line ! If you are a fan of DBZ , then this Set is for you ! You will not regret it .
091 4 It is amazing that they decided to put this series on DVD . . . and the DVDs have a marathon feature which allows you to watch all the episodes in a row without having to watch the intro and ending credits every single time . . . . simply amazing
108 4 Great series and it was even better the second time around uncut ! The only drawback to this whole show was that in remaking it they decided to stick with the original japanese music rather than the american . That actually had a big effect on my viewing experience where as i loved the show and new scenes i really missed the good music i remembered from the first time i had watched this show . All in all if your a dbz fan this is the ultimate experience
052 4 i have been a dbz fan since it came out in britan and this made me remember so much and dont worry there region 1 2 and 4 so most people should be ok it's bassicly Insane its a brilliant series and i plan on buy each one !
065 4 I am impressed , this is a must have . For those that love dbz , this is the item for you . Uncut , remastered , high definition , original japanese version + soundtrack , english subs , english version / japanese soundtrack , widescreen . . and alot more ! I enjoy having this . . definately looking forward to purchase the next season . This makes a definate good collection .
077 4 Great shipping . . . . passed several other purchases that were purchased a week or more earlier ( from other sites ) . . . . thanks !
094 4 Great price and quick delivery ! Not bad for the best anime ever .
103 4 fantastic set , great picture , great sound , and contrary to what some mite say , great aspect ratio , so what if we loose some imaging on the top and bottom , the action looks way better with more image on the sides , definently the way dbz was ment to be seen , this is the start of a fantastic series
112 4 I love the idea of remastering the DBZ seasons and releasing them on DVDs . The drawings are definitely better , and making the episodes uncut is a sweet idea . I used to watch the show frequently when cartoon showed them on a regular basis , and I bought this set hoping to relive those days somewhat .
I bought this set with high hopes that those complaining about the cropping were being too nit-picky . Unfortunately after viewing a few of the episodes I can see that they are 100% in the right . It is sometimes excruciating to watch as the camera zooms in and cuts off the heads of some important characters . This show was definitely made in the full-screen format , and should probably be kept that way .
If that was my only reservation I wouldn't be writing this review , but there are two other things that irk me . The first is the drawn out intros and theme music that funimation put at the beginning of each episode . They took out the sweet guitar theme that Americans know and love and replaced it with the cheesy music the Japanese versions used . Furthermore , they replaced the short intros with drawn out ones that are annoying to sit through by the 4th or 5th disc .
Finally , the voice acting is horrendous . Plain and simple . I used to think the DBZ episodes from the cartoon network were kinda bad , but this makes me appreciate those episodes dearly . The voices from this release sound as if Funimation ran out of money and hired one guy to do the voices for every character . Vegeta's and Goku's are exceptionally bad . I wish I could put sound clips to prove my point , but Amazon won't let me .
This season left a bitter taste in my mouth , and I will certainly not be buying any of the other releases . Instead I will dl the old episodes ; sure they are edited and the drawings aren't retouched , but it certainly beats sitting through the horrible music , cropped scenes and horrendous voice acting .
007 4 Widescreen , no problem in my book . Cant really tell a big difference 95% of the time and its really not a big deal . 30 dollars for more than 6 episodes !
095 4 dragonball z has always been funimations bread and butter for some many years.and when they broke the news that we was getting season sets.its fans was over the moon.the sets are great value for money.but the set has a few faults
1 . the box art is horrible.the uncut single disc releases had such lovely art work and this box does not .
2 . the show is cropped and its not noticeable untill later in the set but its still there .
i used my mothers amazon account to get this and as always amazon sent it well packed and it arrived in a respectable time.if you want dragonball z and have never bought it on dvd and do not care about the widescreen screw up then this is the sets for you.but if you want the full screen originals maybe you should hold back a little longer , and see if they release theses sets on hd-dvd or blueray in future with the full screen and widescreen versions .
106 4 so okay the good and bad , everyone pretty much knows by now , or should , that this is the definitive set of dragonball z . contains story arcs up to the conclusion of the saiyan saga , which is wonderful for the price . the quality of the picture is great , and yes while there is some cropping going on this problem can be solved .
upon my first viewing i noticed that often , too often , characters were partially or completely offscreen . odd since i didn't remember this at all from the early days of dragonball viewing . with a little zoom experimentation i soon realised that the dvds are indeed cropped generate the appearance of widescreen . luckily for me my hd set also has it's own set of zoom features . so if you're lucky all you have to do is zoom out on your dvd player , the first setting should do it , and zoom in on your television . playing around with some of the aspect ratio settings on both your dvd player and tv may help too . for about 15 minutes i was really angry with this boxed set , definitive indeed , but once i solved the cropping problem i couldn't be happier . if you're really into dragonball , or like me just grew up on it , then you don't have much of a choice . buy it .
119 4 Good things about this release :
1 . Price per episode
Bad things about this release :
1 . Color's horribly altered , despite Funi's claim that they're original
2 . Video is horribly cropped . It was a TV show , like any TV show you would have seen on the tube here in america . It was intended to be seen in the 4 : 3 aspect ratio . Not 16 : 9 . . . not the Vista Size that some OVA's produced during that time used . This is NOT how the show was supposed to be presented .
3 . Noise reduction / Edge Enhancement . . blurs every bit of texture out of the backgrounds and characters . Terrible .
It's trash , plain and simple . . . barely worth a rent and rip .
137 4 Please look at the other detailed reviews on the cropping issue . The set has oversaturated colors , various spots of damage in the film , and the fact that it's been cropped to widescreen , which causes massive picture loss . Funimation should have kept this in the original aspect ratio of 4 : 3 , fullscreen .
115 4 let's get one thing straight i am sick and tired fo people b @ # & ing about the widescreen crap graaaa get the hell over it you can baraly notice it let me tell you somthing i've seen the original episodes back in the 90 ' s this is NOT CROPPED forget everything you read about people going aaaaa it's cropped a a a aaa waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh ok now that that's taking care of on to the review
dragon ball z was like every boys favorite show back in the day casue the had never been anything like it before up until then . i remeamber waching it on Tonnami when i was like 11 or 12 . anywho when i found out that they where brining back the old episodes on seessaon box sets i was totaly pumped up . the first thing i noticed about the box set was that it was in HD very nice plus you could hear the original japanese music over the english dialuge very very nice or you could hear the whole show straigh up in japanese or english . the characters looks like they where back in that season Goku's head likes kind of thin and Piccolo is a darker shade of green now there is one thing that steams my noddles about this and that is why it dosn't get 5 starts . for some reason they decied to NOT use the original voces for some if not all the characters like when you hear vageta he sounds like he does in the cell / majin buu sagas . that is not cool . also some of the dialoge has been changed which i think is very very stupid . well you be the judge but i thank we can all agree tha dbz rocks its only comparasion is naruto believe it
006 4 Dragon ball Z is world wide known and almost everyone i grew up with , male and female , watched this one . It's a classic with some of the most legendary moments in anime and I've seen over 100 + animes .
So we start the whole Dragon Ball Z Series with Goku's Brother . What better way to start off a series then to learn the main hero is a alien ? Basically from here on out you learn about goku's origin and how he came to earth and so on . Second half of the season is pure action and pure awesomeness . You got Nappa , vegeta's friend , facing off against the Z warriors in a brutal fight to the death . Then you have Vegeta vs goku , a legendary battle to the fullest .
So yes check out season 1 and for what you get 30 + episodes for 30 bucks it's so worth it . Enjoy !
025 4 It started out as battle with Goku & Piccolo team up defeating Raditz . When Goku dies & he spends his new upgrade training with King Kai . Piccolo takes over training Goku's son Gohan . This season entire covers Nappa & Vegeta battle . You can witness some deaths of the Z warriors , growing up of the weak Gohan .
Pro :
Remaster with clearer vision .
5.1 Digital master English surround sound
Very cool cover Dvd boxset , Pages preview booklet
Special Features of the remake from original dragonball features
Maraton Mode
Cons :
The english subtitles is 99% wrong from the DVD
The japanese music in each series is missing
The japanese music starting & ending theme is only feature in special Feature
Overall :
I would still buy it because for just less than $30 , you get 39episode / 6disc from season 1 . The series is 5 * because of the music , i am giving 4 * .
046 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
i have been in love with dragon ball z since i was 4 i am now 16 and i still love it this dvd is a competly new experence with so many parts that never where in the tv airing this is a must buy im buyin season two right now
051 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
i have been a dbz fan since it came out in britan and this made me remember so much and dont worry there region 1 2 and 4 so most people should be ok it's bassicly Insane its a brilliant series and i plan on buy each one !
062 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
An excellent box set at an excellent price ! Great clean film , bright vibrant colors , good audio . 5.1 is available only for Dub + Japanese music track . Regular dub and regular Japanese audio have only 2 channel sound . Cut frames ? Not at all noticeable for this entire saga . Comes with a nice booklet highlighting the characters and filled with episode summaries .
066 4 This is one of the best anime series ! This is the first season of the DBZ series where we meet for the first time the prince of all Saiyans , Vegeta ! And the beginning of Goku as he becomes an even stronger warrior . It comes with the American voice actors and with the Japanese voice actors as well . You can even play the Japanese music with the English voice over , or just keep it with the American music . It's also a great deal because you get all of those episodes for a good price . If you are a DBZ fan you know that it was almost 20 bucks to get about 5 episodes but in here you get a whole season for 30 dollars ! I've always wanted the whole DBZ saga and with these uncut editions I may just get them all and save some money ! The episodes look even more amazing if watched upconverted to 1080p with the PS3 ( Blu-ray ) player !
083 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
It was not an issue for me .
Honestly there was only 2 spots throughout all 6 discs that made me think that there was something cut off , and I only remember 1 of them , and it lasted a total of 2 seconds ( tops ! ) .
I held off on buying Season Two along with this one because of the talk of the cropping . However , there is nothing to worry about .
I'd never seen this saga before ( nor most of DBZ except the Buu saga on up til the end , and some filler after the Frieza saga until Goku returned ) . Perhaps this is why nothing looks strange to me .
Juicier extras would've been nice . Oh well . It doesn't take away from the end product .
088 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
I think the set is awesome . True , the picture is cropped and you lose 20% of the image and the dragonboxes would be better , but personally , for me , it doesn't take away anything . You get the main picture with better color and of course , it is still DBZ ! ! !
117 4 I was disappointed that funimation decided to redo all the voices and the background music because i thought the edited version that aired on tv was done so well . As a big dragon ball z fan , i've watched episodes of dragon ball z over and over again and i am disappointed with the lack of emotion in certain situations . I could go with all this since it is a good price but one major thing that bothers me is VEGETA'S voice . . . Vegeta is a powerful character and for funimation to change his voice really irks me . It just doesn't sound like vegeta anymore . . I don't understand why they changed this but to me , it'd be like changing goku's voice , it just isn't the same . Good price , however , i would have loved it if they kept the seasons exactly as they were when they aired on tv when i was a little kid waking up at 7 in the morning to watch season 1 . I pray that they don't remaster / redub the cell saga cause that's when dragon ball z reached it's pinacle of success and the themes , voice acting were stellar and should not be modified in any way , shape or form .
047 4 i have been in love with dragon ball z since i was 4 i am now 16 and i still love it this dvd is a competly new experence with so many parts that never where in the tv airing this is a must buy im buyin season two right now
144 4 Dispite what other some people might say Dragonball Z was NEVER meant to be seen in widescreen . I've seen enough screencaps from this release to see what a terrible thing they've done to an awesome show . Way too much important stuff has been lost on the top and bottom of the screens and a whole lot of nothing was added to the sides of the screens . Most definitly not recommended at all . Even if you love the show this is an outrageous destruction of this show .
022 4 All the Dragonball Z shows on disks with no commercials , and its digitally remastered , why have you not bought it yet ?
072 4 This show is awesome . I had never really watched Dragon Ball Z before I got this DVD . I only got it because my friend said it was a pretty good show . I wouldn't say it is a pretty good show . It's a great show .
076 4 Very entertaining experience . If you liked DBZ before , you'll love the remastered version . The music is immensley superior to the music I remember from the Cartoon Network version . The new voices are great . I remember Vegeta's voice from the Cartoon Network and I thought it was terrible for his character , but his new voice fits him perfectly . It'll have you on the edge of your seat . The remastered version is definately worth it .
125 4 If you are a dragonball Z fan then you will enjoy this beacuse I Know I did . It has been digitly remasterd so it has a good picture but the only thing about it that I do not like is that they used the music from the orginal Japanese version and it is really corney .
146 4 I grew up watching the american episodes , and man was it lacking in all departments.Most Of the voices weren't good , there was so much cut footage , and lack of violence.This is how it was meant to be seen , for the first time ever in the US you can see the Saiyan Saga , really known as the Vegeta saga uncut.I cant believe how great it was to see them , in clearity and uncut format.I just recieved this set on thursday and just finished it recently , I was hooked and couldn't stop , didn't even want to go to school or work.I am a little upset about the money I wasted on the individual dvds they were releasing , and that is what makes this set so awesome , its total cost is a that of two of the individual releases.I dont have a problem with the widescreen format , like some have stated it makes it look as if you were viewing an epic movie.The only thing I am upset about is the fact I have to wait till May to watch the Namek Saga uncut , my personal favorite saga in the DBZ series.You must get this if you are a fan , dont be fooled by the widescreen feature .
016 4 I've been watching Dragon Ball Z since I was a child , and it's great to see the series come to season form . Definitely recommend it .
020 4 This product arrived in excellent condition ! ! To finnaly have the DragonBall Z sagas in a Season format is very Convenient .
039 4 I have been waiting for DBZ to release seasons , now here they come . Excellent transfer and I like all the features . If your a anime fan I would highly recommend getting this series , one of the classics .
053 4 Back in my elementary and middle school days , I use to watch Dragonball Z about every day . I waited patiently for each new episode with great anticipation . Unfortunately , if you missed one episode , you missed it for good until the season was over . I hated that aspect of it all . Finally , years later , the most popular anime ever created hits the DVD shelves . I admitt I'm not really an anime fan but DBZ has always captivated me with it's interesting characters and incredible detail and action sequences . Now fans can own the complete series uncut , fully remastered both audio and visual wise . Excellent ! ! ALso included is the original Japanese dialouge and music , a interesting option to enjoy DBZ in its original form . If you're a die-hard fan this is a great way to start off your collection with the season that started it all , the Saiyan or Vegeta saga . Starring in my opinion the most thrilling and greatest character ever , Vegeta ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
069 4 One of the greatest action shows of all time . This is definately a must have for any DBZ fan , and anyone who enjoys good action filled anime .
130 4 I was a little surprised when i saw this in a bestbuy catalog , and was very hesitant when it came to buying it . But then i remember how much i used to like it when i was a kid , so i bought it . It's terrific , it was worth every penny i spent and if you like DBZ and have none or few DVD's or Videos of the show , this is the perfect place to start .
134 4 Thanks Amazon.com , now I can enjoy DBZ the original way . . . The Japanese audio is a definate buy in any DBZ series and now with original background scores , the series cannot be more complete ! The English voice over is a wonderful supplement , also ! Thanks Funimation ! Can't wait for the other season to be released ! !
138 4 While many times , especailly today , programs are filmed in widescreen , Dragon Ball Z was filmed in fullscreen , and the widescreen version , as shown in numerous Internet screenshots will crop off a considerable amount of the image and alter the original intentions of the animators . No offense to anyone , but I believe that customers should be notified that they are NOT recieiving the complete product prior their decision to purchase . FUNimation is capabale of so much better than this , and it is disappointing .
145 4 All videos are of highest video and sound quality . The extra features are a great addition . Recommended for all Dragonball Z fans .
151 4 This version of DBZ season one has been re-mastered and has the unprecedented option of listening to the Japanese music with the English voice cast . However I would recommend NOT purchasing this title . It is in a wide-screen version which cuts off the top and bottom of the original picture , and adds in incidental footage on the sides . I suggest waiting for a proper full-screen release .
161 4 I was jaw dropping amazed by Dragon Ball Z - Season One ! This is the best this anime has ever looked , and I will definitely recommend anyone who is a fan to buy it ! The only thing is the lack of special features , like documentaries about the series , although there is a short one about the new transfer .
147 4 This set is the beggining of an anime era here in Puerto Rico . Yes we true fans watched many different anime series but with this series is that anime was finally known in Puerto Rico . I remember when I was in high school talking about the episode of last night and I can't stop smiling because this series was part of me and my friends . I hope to see all the series again and I will definetly buy all the seasons because I'm a huge fan of this series .
014 4 I am very excited about this product . I know the German episodes but I find this one a thousand times better . The picture quality is superb and the English Snychronisation is top . I bought all the seasons here . I can recommend them all very much !
029 4 This is a great series . I feel it's the best series since it's the one that got the ball rolling for the rest of the series . Great stuff .
059 4 This boxset gives you incredible value for the amount of episodes . Some people don't like this set because of the widescreen , but I got used to it after a while . It also allowed me to see the episodes in Japanese for the first time , so if you're looking for the original translation this is for you .
099 4 I would buy these set , if it wasn't for the widescreen , widescreen ruins it , and missing insert songs doesn't help the set either ! all copies of this mockery should be burned ! case closed !
120 4 This is great and well worth the money . Quality is great for a old show like this one . I love everything about it except two things . 1 . Its wide screen , I don't make a huge deal out of this but i would still prefer full screen . 2 . Is that it doesn't have the cha la head cha la song which is one of my most favorite japanese DBZ songs . But other then those two things i couldn't ask for anymore .
157 4 ok , here is what I believe of this box set . I have been buying the dbz box sets since 2001 . This was such a good buy . I cant believe the amount of people complaining about the widescreen image . I just started watching the episodes last night , and I was astounished with the video and sound quality of this box set . I got the set for 25 dollars , and it was such a fantastic deal . The special features lack a lot , but i dont really care for that kind of stuff anyway . Basically , the wide screen format takes away extra clouds and the top of people's hair which is fine considering you get to see more of the horizontal picture . To sum up my review , I would say this
If you are extremely picky with video , then this set is not for you .
If you are looking to get DBZ this is a perfect box set .
024 4 Extreamly impressed , great quality ! and amazing value too , with 6 discs ( a total of 39 episodes ) a must buy for any die-hard DBZ fan ! ! ! .
041 4 I Brought this title because i love DBZ and it was cheap . I was expecting to be disappointing because of the reviews i have have read but i am the type of person who needs to see it for myself . I was Excited this is an amazing DVD so don't take the words of other reviews just watch the DVD yourself .
056 4 I about 20 years old and have been watching Dragon Ball Z as well as other Anime TV show and movies . I bought the first season because I wanted to see some Dragon Ball Z but it was it on the TV . So I went looking for some and I found the first season with 39 in a box set . I really enjoyed watching all of the show . The show were better then I expected . Which is to say that I didn't expect a whole lot of a change from the TV shows but they were the best I had very seen of Dragon Ball Z . The shows were so good that I came back and got the second and third seasons . I'm planning right now to buy the rest of the seasons but need so money to do so .
111 4 ok , its awesome that 40 eps . are this cheap , first and foremost . This is the DBZ they should have released in the first place .
However , you dont really lose much image on widescreen . Here is an example or an actual DBZ production cell , and the way it is cropped for full 4 : 3 , 16 : 9 , as well as 4 : 3 compensating for the overscan your SDTV would cut off : [ . . . ] thats straight from funimation .
IMO , you get a better picture with the 16 : 9 cropping , a must-buy if you have a big WS set .
uncut , original music , cheap , get it !
123 4 u think that funimation put everything that japan put in toryama put something in that funi cood not even show so prety much funimation cut out 1 or 2 percent of DBZ
here was the scene someone kneed goku on the side of his private part
ps : this me using my dad's account
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
Sweet and short :
This box is a must have for every true DBZ-Fan !
036 4 Sweet and short :
This box is a must have for every true DBZ-Fan !
Dragon Box One
Dragon Ball Z : Dragon Box Two
Dragon Ball Z : Dragon Box Three
Dragon Ball Z Kai : Season One , Part One
Dragon Ball Z Kai : Season One , Part One [ Blu-ray
]
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga )
Dragon Ball Z : Season Two ( Namek and Captain Ginyu Sagas )
Dragon Ball Z : Season Three ( Frieza Saga )
Dragon Ball Z : Season Four ( Garlic Jr . , Trunks , and Android Sagas )
Dragon Ball Z : Season Five ( Perfect and Imperfect Cell Sagas )
Dragon Ball Z : Season Six ( Cell Games Saga ) Dragon Ball Z : Season Seven ( Great Saiyaman & World Tournament Sagas ) Dragon Ball Z : Season Eight ( Babidi & Majin Buu Sagas ) Dragon Ball Z : Season Nine ( Majin Buu Saga )
To be blunt , I am a specific fan . That meaning that as long as I already have the complete series of a tv show and it's uncut , why the FUDGE would I want to fork out 30 , 40 sumthin ' freakin ' dollars for the same series that I ALREADY HAVE ! ! ! ! ! !
The problem with our society today is that most of them too easily swallows the hookline when it comes to show formats , DVD , & Video game releases . A PRIME example is that most so called people don't care about what bonus features , Ocean Dub dialogue , or old VHS & DVD promos are NOT carried over to these definitive boxsets as long as they are digitally remastered and properly transferred to widescreen .
I am really FED UP with this ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Every W.E . ( World Entertainment ) dvd set now features badly dubbed over music , I've wasted over 70 DOLLARS on Disney's badly releases of Darkwing Duck vol . 2 , & Xmen : The Animated series vol . 1 and 2 , and over 247 DOLLARS on ( you guessed it ) the orange brick boxsets of DBZ & their movies .
So why am I supposed to take companies like Funimation seriously anymore ( with no disrespect to their voice actors ) , when I came across the url website
[ . . . ] after purchasing the orange & silver tinned bricks then realizing the harsh truth that Funimation has duped me & anyone else by constantly getting Christopher Sabat & others to advertise bald face LIES about the Bricks & Dragon Boxes being definitive , PLEASE ! I no longer believe the overrated hype !
The worst part of this is , most people who post DVD reviews on sites like Amazon don't give a rat's crap about the most important essestials that are WHAT S NOT INCLUDED ! . . . . . Why ? I truly understand the neccessities of company income but Funimation , Disney , the WWE , & any and ALL companies & genres that are taking this cheap and degrading cash-flow routine to milk money out of innocent people should all be ashamed of theirselves .
So as a future reference , I would appreciate it if companies would stop their greedish ways & for fans ( especially on Amazon ) to stop being so sheepish and take into account on how their innaccurately positive reviews are effecting us as a majority . Also we need to spread this message so that others won't support these definitive sets that don't and won't include 1 ) a choice between viewing the Ocean Dub & Funimation dialogues , whether original or redub , 2 ) A choice to view any & all past openings & closing credits , 3 ) A choice to view ALL previous VHS & dvd extras / promos from previous releases , 4 ) a weblink to view all previous VHS & DVD cover & boxset art & to top the icing on the cake , . . . . . . . 5 ) view any & ALL TOONAMI & cough . . . . Kids WB Promos of the Dragon Ball series in the respective ( in all senses of the word ) , TRUE boxsets ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! There is [ . . . ] , Ebay , AMAZON , Kyle Herbert's email address [ . . . ] & many other sites where we can petition to STOP all these bogus DVD releases so we can have TRUE collections !
As a beloved wrestler used to put it Well Enough IS Enough , and it's time for a change ! . Anyway I hope THAT review / insight was helpful to you all . Keep the faith .
- Bryant Out !
100 4 I just finished watching this box set with a friend who purchased it for he and his son . Honestly , I don't know why everyone's complaining . You can spend the outrageous amouont of money and purchase each individual disc ( which has only 3 episodes ) , or you can buy this box set . I read a review on Amazon's Season Two page ( which I'd like to add a little asteric her , how can you review something that hasn't come out yet ? ) and was shocked at how someone could bludgen this incredible deal ! This reviewer said many things about lies form FUNimation and how all DBZ Fans have been dishonored and disgraced , but if you really stop and think about it , have we ? We now have a true Season 1 , with a Season 2 on the way , and FUNimation has done away with the SAGA names , which for a non DBZ Fan can get confusing , which was a great step . He also talked about how FUNimation cropped the original film when they digitally REMASTERED the series , I say again , DIGITALLY REMASTERED the series . What it all boils down to is that I'm not going to sit down and watch both the Japanese and American versions and look for differences , because now you're just getting way too anal about a TV Show . I've watched every season as released on Cartoon Network's Toonami ( RIP ) , and it has been a while since I've seen the show , but after viewing the entire Season 1 most recently released by FUNimation , I can't complain . Maybe there were small differences , but change isn't always a bad thing . I think that people need to stop worrying about the little things and just be thankful for what they get . Whether you're a Hardcore DBZ Fan , or never even heard of the series , this item is a great buy . There are many viewers who may complain , but just remember that they are the ones who can't except anything good . Outstanding job , FUNimation , it's just what we've been waiting for .
116 4 I HAD RESENTLY BOUGHT THIS ITEM , AND COME TO FIND OUT DISK 3 WAS THE WRONG ONE INSERTED IN THE BOX . INSTEAD IT WAS REPLACED WITH SEASON 2 ' S DISK 3 . BAD BUSINESS MAN . I GOT IT FROM THE SELLER JON ALLEN ( ACTOR ) , ET AL
140 4 Dragon Ball Z : Dragon Box One
Dragon Ball Z : Dragon Box Two
Dragon Ball Z : Dragon Box Three
Dragon Ball Z Kai : Season One , Part One
Dragon Ball Z Kai : Season One , Part One [ Blu-ray
]
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga )
Dragon Ball Z : Season Two ( Namek and Captain Ginyu Sagas )
Dragon Ball Z : Season Three ( Frieza Saga )
Dragon Ball Z : Season Four ( Garlic Jr . , Trunks , and Android Sagas )
Dragon Ball Z : Season Five ( Perfect and Imperfect Cell Sagas )
Dragon Ball Z : Season Six ( Cell Games Saga ) Dragon Ball Z : Season Seven ( Great Saiyaman & World Tournament Sagas ) Dragon Ball Z : Season Eight ( Babidi & Majin Buu Sagas ) Dragon Ball Z : Season Nine ( Majin Buu Saga )
To be blunt , I am a specific fan . That meaning that as long as I already have the complete series of a tv show and it's uncut , why the FUDGE would I want to fork out 30 , 40 sumthin ' freakin ' dollars for the same series that I ALREADY HAVE ! ! ! ! ! !
The problem with our society today is that most of them too easily swallows the hookline when it comes to show formats , DVD , & Video game releases . A PRIME example is that most so called people don't care about what bonus features , Ocean Dub dialogue , or old VHS & DVD promos are NOT carried over to these definitive boxsets as long as they are digitally remastered and properly transferred to widescreen .
I am really FED UP with this ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Every W.E . ( World Entertainment ) dvd set now features badly dubbed over music , I've wasted over 70 DOLLARS on Disney's badly releases of Darkwing Duck vol . 2 , & Xmen : The Animated series vol . 1 and 2 , and over 247 DOLLARS on ( you guessed it ) the orange brick boxsets of DBZ & their movies .
So why am I supposed to take companies like Funimation seriously anymore ( with no disrespect to their voice actors ) , when I came across the url website
[ . . . ] after purchasing the orange & silver tinned bricks then realizing the harsh truth that Funimation has duped me & anyone else by constantly getting Christopher Sabat & others to advertise bald face LIES about the Bricks & Dragon Boxes being definitive , PLEASE ! I no longer believe the overrated hype !
The worst part of this is , most people who post DVD reviews on sites like Amazon don't give a rat's crap about the most important essestials that are WHAT S NOT INCLUDED ! . . . . . Why ? I truly understand the neccessities of company income but Funimation , Disney , the WWE , & any and ALL companies & genres that are taking this cheap and degrading cash-flow routine to milk money out of innocent people should all be ashamed of theirselves .
So as a future reference , I would appreciate it if companies would stop their greedish ways & for fans ( especially on Amazon ) to stop being so sheepish and take into account on how their innaccurately positive reviews are effecting us as a majority . Also we need to spread this message so that others won't support these definitive sets that don't and won't include 1 ) a choice between viewing the Ocean Dub & Funimation dialogues , whether original or redub , 2 ) A choice to view any & all past openings & closing credits , 3 ) A choice to view ALL previous VHS & dvd extras / promos from previous releases , 4 ) a weblink to view all previous VHS & DVD cover & boxset art & to top the icing on the cake , . . . . . . . 5 ) view any & ALL TOONAMI & cough . . . . Kids WB Promos of the Dragon Ball series in the respective ( in all senses of the word ) , TRUE boxsets ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! There is [ . . . ] , Ebay , AMAZON , Kyle Herbert's email address [ . . . ] & many other sites where we can petition to STOP all these bogus DVD releases so we can have TRUE collections !
As a beloved wrestler used to put it Well Enough IS Enough , and it's time for a change ! . Anyway I hope THAT review / insight was helpful to you all . Keep the faith .
- Bryant Out !
155 4 Do not buy anything from this seller ripp my off . DVD BAD stinch of cigarettes and POOR quality picture . If you want this DVD package go to your nears electronic store ( Recommend BEST BUY ) worth spending full price ( $30 dollars )
158 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
WOW ! I DIDN'T KNOW PEOPLE IN THE ORIENT DIDN'T HAVE HEADS OR FEET . MAN , WHEN THE CRITICS SAID THAT THESE EPISODES WERE CROPPED , THEY MEAN THEY WERE CROPPED ! ! ! THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER SEEN A DRAGON BALL Z CARTOON AND IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THEY ZOOMED IN TO MAKE THE WIDESCREEN VERSION AS THE CHARACTERS HAVE NEITHER HAIR , NOR FEET . PLEASE FUNIMATION ! PLEASE ! PLEASE ! PLEASE ! ! ! JUST GIVE US THE CARTOONS IN FULLSCREEN . I WOULD RATHER HAVE A SQUARE PICTURE WITH BLACKNESS ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT OF MY T.V . AND SEE EVERYTHING GOING ON THAN HAVE THIS FRUSTRATING CROPPING . SERIOUSLY . THE CROPPING WAS OVERDONE TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT THIS FIRST TIMER IS EXTREMELY ANNOYED AND AGGRIVATED . THE ONLY REDEEMING FACTOR THIS SERIES HAS FOR IT IS THE ENTERTAINMENT LEVEL IT PROVIDES MY DAUGHTER WITH AND THAT ELIMINATES MY ANGER TO SOME EXTENT . FOR THAT I'LL GIVE IT A 4 . IF I WAS SINGLE WITH NO DAUGHTER , I'D GIVE IT A 3 . IT'S ALSO GOOD TO HAVE THE MANGA ON HAND AS WELL TO FILL IN STORY-LINE GAPS WITH THE CARTOON AND GAMES .
162 4 THE LONG AWAITED UNCUT DRAGONBALL Z IS HERE IT IS MY BEST ANIME SINCE I WAS A KID I WATCHED EVERY SAGA AND NOW THE FIRST TWO SAGAS ARE NOW UNCUT ! ! ! THIS IS THE BEST ANIME I HAVE EVER WATCHED IN MY LIFE
165 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
THE NEWLY RELEASED DBZ VEGETA SAGA SEASON ONE BY FUNIMATION IS THE GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT THEY HAV ACHEIVED . THE DVD'S ARE AMAZING AND ENTIRLEY REMASTERED .
GOOD
VIDEO : HIGH QUALITY AND GREAT COLOURS WHICH RESULT IN GREAT IMAGE QUALITY . THERE IS VERY MINIMUM SCRATCHES OR GRAINS ON THE VIDEO AND IT IS VERY CINEMATIC .
WIDESCREEN : THE WIDESCREEN IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE TOP FEATUERES OF THE RELEASE . YOU HARDLY LOSE ANY IMAGE AND IF SO IT IS UNIMPORTANT . THIS FEATURE GIVES A BRAND NEW EFFECT TO THE IMAGE AND CREATES A CINEMATIC VIEWING .
AUDIO : THE NEW VOICE ACTING IS TERRIFC AND HIGHLY ACCURATE THROUGHOUT THE SEASON . I PREFER THE JAPANESE MUSIC WITH THE NEW VOICES , WHICH IS HOW THE SERIES SHOULD HAVE BEEN ORIGINALLY SHOWN IN ENGLISH .
BAD
THE PACKAGING IS TERRIBLE , AND VERY UNCONVINIENT . IT IS EXTREMELY HARD TO REMOVE CD'S AND THE COVER WITHOUT CAUSING AND DAMAGE .
OVERALL THIS IS THE GREATEST RELEASE AND I RECOMMEND IT TO EVERY DBZ FAN . THE WIDESCREEN IS NOT BAD AS EVERY ONE MAKES OUT BUT JUST A BONUS FEATURE . I RATE IT 5 / 5 .
166 4 THE NEWLY RELEASED DBZ VEGETA SAGA SEASON ONE BY FUNIMATION IS THE GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT THEY HAV ACHEIVED . THE DVD'S ARE AMAZING AND ENTIRLEY REMASTERED .
GOOD
VIDEO : HIGH QUALITY AND GREAT COLOURS WHICH RESULT IN GREAT IMAGE QUALITY . THERE IS VERY MINIMUM SCRATCHES OR GRAINS ON THE VIDEO AND IT IS VERY CINEMATIC .
WIDESCREEN : THE WIDESCREEN IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE TOP FEATUERES OF THE RELEASE . YOU HARDLY LOSE ANY IMAGE AND IF SO IT IS UNIMPORTANT . THIS FEATURE GIVES A BRAND NEW EFFECT TO THE IMAGE AND CREATES A CINEMATIC VIEWING .
AUDIO : THE NEW VOICE ACTING IS TERRIFC AND HIGHLY ACCURATE THROUGHOUT THE SEASON . I PREFER THE JAPANESE MUSIC WITH THE NEW VOICES , WHICH IS HOW THE SERIES SHOULD HAVE BEEN ORIGINALLY SHOWN IN ENGLISH .
BAD
THE PACKAGING IS TERRIBLE , AND VERY UNCONVINIENT . IT IS EXTREMELY HARD TO REMOVE CD'S AND THE COVER WITHOUT CAUSING AND DAMAGE .
OVERALL THIS IS THE GREATEST RELEASE AND I RECOMMEND IT TO EVERY DBZ FAN . THE WIDESCREEN IS NOT BAD AS EVERY ONE MAKES OUT BUT JUST A BONUS FEATURE . I RATE IT 5 / 5 .
I'm 27 , been a fan of Dragon Ball Z since 1999 , and a fan of anime since 1992 . I'm very picky about uncut anime , and I always prefer the original aspect ratio . I dislike English dubs as most any anime fan does . This is my first review of a DVD .
Video : FUNimations claims this is a widescreen transfer from the original video . Dragonball Z fans are screaming the original video was cropped to make it widescreen . I've spent the last 2 days with WinDVD and Photoshop to confirm or disprove this . Anyone who does image editing knows that cropping a 4 : 3 image to 16 : 9 can be really dramatic . After watching 67 episodes of this new release from FUNimation , I wasn't completely convinced about the transfer being cropped from it's original 4 : 3 aspect ratio . Dragonball Z fans are correct to say the widescreen transfer is cropped , but they also would need to admit to that the 4 : 3 broadcast we fans know and love was also cropped ! The widescreen transfer has extended video on the left and right that was cropped for the original 4 : 3 TV broadcast some 18 years ago . A time when 4 : 3 televisions were standard . In recent times , 16 : 9 televisions have taken over , and we're much more widescreen oriented . The original animation aspect ration I got when I was done sizing and layering the images over each other from the 4 : 3 and 16 : 9 gave me a 16 : 11 aspect ratio . This my Dragon Ball Z fans . . . Seems to be the ORIGINAL size . 16 : 11 though won't look all that great on any TV set . Also makes sense though since animators make the original larger so when transferring the animation to video , there's room to play with so you don't have random spots missing on the sides , top and bottom . So if you have to ask yourself if this is a legitmate 16 : 9 transfer or some 4 : 3 cropped ( cut / edited ) video , the real answer is . . . It's a legimate 16 : 9 transfer . Both the 4 : 3 and the 16 : 9 are cropped from the original . . . In the end , it depends on personal preference .
The video was supposedly cleaned up , and the colors remastered . Personally , For the most part , I see an increased brightness on the video , which actually does look better . They did clean up the video and removed grain and video noise . All in all , the remastered picture looks better compared to the original DVDs that FUNimation released .
Audio : I can't say much about the sound quality since I'm using my computer for the time being . Just moved , and have yet to hook up my home theater again . FUNimation is releasing this with 3 settings . The original Japanese language and music . Nothing seems to have changed between the original DVDs and this release . For those who watch DBZ subbed only , I see no change at all . The second option is the English dub with the Japanese music . This is actually quite interesting , and I give credit for this addition ! In this rare instance , I have always like the dubs for Dragon Ball Z , so having the option to watch it with the original music is great . If that isn't enough though , this new way to watch the series is in Dolby Digital 5.1 . Then there's the third option which is the English dub with the US music done by Bruce Faulconer in stereo . I guess doing this in 5.1 would have taken too much time .
The dub was also redone for whatever reason . After comparing the original DVDs vs the new ones , the older ones sometimes seem a bit more consistent with what was originally being said . One quick example would be this . . .
Japanese Audio : Vegeta I suppose
Original English Dub : Vegeta I guess so
New English Dub : Vegeta Shut up !
Why FUNimation went out of the way to do a whole new dub , I have no idea . . . This seems to be wasteful of production time , or maybe they can't use the original dub anymore . Why FUNimation does anything at times is beyond my understanding . They have time to redub the series , but they can't make the English dub with the US music in 5.1 . . .
The menus on these discs are light years ahead of the original DVDs FUNimation released , with much more chapter points , and the MARATHON option which allows you to watch all the episodes on a disc straight through without the opening / closing between the episodes . More like watching a movie than episode after episode , having to skip after each one .
The packaging of the discs in the case is rather nice . Seems upon collection the series , you can line them up for a large DRAGONBALL Z title ! Each season comes with a small booklet with character information , episode information , etc .
Also want to note that according to FUNimation , this video was remastered on HD 1080 / 24p . This doesn't mean the discs are HD and can optimize the new HDMI 1.3 , but it does show that 1080 / 24p mastering is being done , and we're probably not far off from seeing this much more commonly done and seeing HDDVDs with actual 1080 / 24p video as TVs are now coming out with HDMI 1.3 .
I hope this information helps people looking to possibly buy this series or in the case I'm in , buy it again for the remastered video and widescreen version . Also much more compact compared to dozens of standard DVD cases !
Giving this 4 stars . Why not 5 ? Because there is still room for improvement . The new dub doesn't always seem to fit , and in comparison to the actual translation of what was being said , it's like comparing black and white . FUNimation was always lousy about the dub translation , and there's little excuse for rebubbing the series and making it just as poor as the first time around . Making the English Dub with Japanese music 5.1 , but the US music in 2.0 is another point away from me . While this doesn't change anything for me , if they had the time to redub and upscale to 5.1 for the Japanese music , it seems to me they should have taken the time to upscale the US music track too . Lazy ? Additionally , they should have some slight explanation of the widescreen transfer included . The extras on the discs are meaningless .
For the price these new box sets go for . . . It's an unbeatable deal for the series and Dragon Ball Z fans .
001 4 Quick Facts : I'm 27 , been a fan of Dragon Ball Z since 1999 , and a fan of anime since 1992 . I'm very picky about uncut anime , and I always prefer the original aspect ratio . I dislike English dubs as most any anime fan does . This is my first review of a DVD .
Video : FUNimations claims this is a widescreen transfer from the original video . Dragonball Z fans are screaming the original video was cropped to make it widescreen . I've spent the last 2 days with WinDVD and Photoshop to confirm or disprove this . Anyone who does image editing knows that cropping a 4 : 3 image to 16 : 9 can be really dramatic . After watching 67 episodes of this new release from FUNimation , I wasn't completely convinced about the transfer being cropped from it's original 4 : 3 aspect ratio . Dragonball Z fans are correct to say the widescreen transfer is cropped , but they also would need to admit to that the 4 : 3 broadcast we fans know and love was also cropped ! The widescreen transfer has extended video on the left and right that was cropped for the original 4 : 3 TV broadcast some 18 years ago . A time when 4 : 3 televisions were standard . In recent times , 16 : 9 televisions have taken over , and we're much more widescreen oriented . The original animation aspect ration I got when I was done sizing and layering the images over each other from the 4 : 3 and 16 : 9 gave me a 16 : 11 aspect ratio . This my Dragon Ball Z fans . . . Seems to be the ORIGINAL size . 16 : 11 though won't look all that great on any TV set . Also makes sense though since animators make the original larger so when transferring the animation to video , there's room to play with so you don't have random spots missing on the sides , top and bottom . So if you have to ask yourself if this is a legitmate 16 : 9 transfer or some 4 : 3 cropped ( cut / edited ) video , the real answer is . . . It's a legimate 16 : 9 transfer . Both the 4 : 3 and the 16 : 9 are cropped from the original . . . In the end , it depends on personal preference .
The video was supposedly cleaned up , and the colors remastered . Personally , For the most part , I see an increased brightness on the video , which actually does look better . They did clean up the video and removed grain and video noise . All in all , the remastered picture looks better compared to the original DVDs that FUNimation released .
Audio : I can't say much about the sound quality since I'm using my computer for the time being . Just moved , and have yet to hook up my home theater again . FUNimation is releasing this with 3 settings . The original Japanese language and music . Nothing seems to have changed between the original DVDs and this release . For those who watch DBZ subbed only , I see no change at all . The second option is the English dub with the Japanese music . This is actually quite interesting , and I give credit for this addition ! In this rare instance , I have always like the dubs for Dragon Ball Z , so having the option to watch it with the original music is great . If that isn't enough though , this new way to watch the series is in Dolby Digital 5.1 . Then there's the third option which is the English dub with the US music done by Bruce Faulconer in stereo . I guess doing this in 5.1 would have taken too much time .
The dub was also redone for whatever reason . After comparing the original DVDs vs the new ones , the older ones sometimes seem a bit more consistent with what was originally being said . One quick example would be this . . .
Japanese Audio : Vegeta I suppose
Original English Dub : Vegeta I guess so
New English Dub : Vegeta Shut up !
Why FUNimation went out of the way to do a whole new dub , I have no idea . . . This seems to be wasteful of production time , or maybe they can't use the original dub anymore . Why FUNimation does anything at times is beyond my understanding . They have time to redub the series , but they can't make the English dub with the US music in 5.1 . . .
The menus on these discs are light years ahead of the original DVDs FUNimation released , with much more chapter points , and the MARATHON option which allows you to watch all the episodes on a disc straight through without the opening / closing between the episodes . More like watching a movie than episode after episode , having to skip after each one .
The packaging of the discs in the case is rather nice . Seems upon collection the series , you can line them up for a large DRAGONBALL Z title ! Each season comes with a small booklet with character information , episode information , etc .
Also want to note that according to FUNimation , this video was remastered on HD 1080 / 24p . This doesn't mean the discs are HD and can optimize the new HDMI 1.3 , but it does show that 1080 / 24p mastering is being done , and we're probably not far off from seeing this much more commonly done and seeing HDDVDs with actual 1080 / 24p video as TVs are now coming out with HDMI 1.3 .
I hope this information helps people looking to possibly buy this series or in the case I'm in , buy it again for the remastered video and widescreen version . Also much more compact compared to dozens of standard DVD cases !
Giving this 4 stars . Why not 5 ? Because there is still room for improvement . The new dub doesn't always seem to fit , and in comparison to the actual translation of what was being said , it's like comparing black and white . FUNimation was always lousy about the dub translation , and there's little excuse for rebubbing the series and making it just as poor as the first time around . Making the English Dub with Japanese music 5.1 , but the US music in 2.0 is another point away from me . While this doesn't change anything for me , if they had the time to redub and upscale to 5.1 for the Japanese music , it seems to me they should have taken the time to upscale the US music track too . Lazy ? Additionally , they should have some slight explanation of the widescreen transfer included . The extras on the discs are meaningless .
For the price these new box sets go for . . . It's an unbeatable deal for the series and Dragon Ball Z fans .
002 4 Hey I'm from Germany so please dont be angry about my english .
A lot of people wrote that this box set is not as good as the japanese .
OK . . . but then dont buy it !
This Episodes wich are newly remastered have a completely new feeling and IT IS a completely new experience , and in my Opinion it is a lot more fun to watch the remastered episodes ! And even the widescreen cropping is giving a new look to the Episodes , all is new !
Because the colors look more realistic and its just beautifull .
AND YES the automatic noise reduction sometimes looks disturbing but it looks perfekt 99% of the time .
So do not grumble about funimation they did a good job !
And before you are angry about the set and write bad reviews . . dont buy it because nobody forced you watch it ! !
For all the Dragonball Z fans worldwide i can just recommend the set for you it is a lot of fun watching it .
003 4 I recently purchased and watched this set , and thus feel like typing up this review . I will try to remain relatively objective throughout the review , but if you feel as though I am being to subjective , I urge you to not continue ( wherever you feel as though I may be biased ) .
First , let me say that I rather like this release . I've never seen all the episodes of the Vegeta saga before ( I did see a good number of episodes on CN though , of the Ultimate Uncut Edition ) , so this is a pretty new experience for me . I watched this one my 32 Panasonic TC - 32LX60 LCD HDTV , though I watched it in 480i playing on my Panasonic DVDS52S DVD Player , in proper 16x9 Widescreen , so as the black bars would not appear . I liked the visuals and the audio . I rather prefer the English Dub cast over the Japanese Dub cast , and the English Dub seems even better with the Japanese music . Once again , let me say that I am rather pleased with this set .
Now , there are some flaws with the set . Many of you may have heard this before , so skipping over it might save you some time . Seeing as Dragonball Z was originally broadcast as 4x3 show , with no 16x9 version ever available before , FUNimation had either 2 options : to either stretch the picture or crop it . They went with the latter . Do not be deceived , you are losing picture from the top and bottom . About 20% of each initial frame is lost You do get some added to the sides of each frame , but it is rather minimal in comparison . A stark 3 - 4% is the picture that appears on the sides , and it is rather unnecessary . Overall , you are losing more picture than you gain . There are also a number of shots where you may notice some dirt and glue running over . If you intended to see the show as it was ORIGINALLY intended to be seen , you will not .
Now after that , do I consider this release bad ? No , I do not . I admit , it could have been better . A better set would have been the footage FUNimation cropped dubbed into English , along with the other options of the Japanese Dub with Japanese music , and English Dub with previously used English music presented in a 4x3 format . The ideal set would have been the Dragonbox masters , with the same audio and langauage options ins this set , with the OPTION of Widescreen ( for those that would have wanted to see it as such ) , all at the price this set is being sold for . But we must make due with what we have . And what we have is , in my opinion , a good release .
Though not much of an actual remastering process has been done with this set , FUNimation did spruce it up a bit from their previous releases ( keep in mind , everything in this paragraph is my opinion , your opinion may very well differ ) . FUNimation has changed the colors up a bit , making it a lot better . The audio is absolutely wonderful , sounds very nice , and is by far the best I've heard in any Dragonball related release ( note that I only saw the English Dub with Japanese music ) . Overall , I would rate it as FUNimation's best release of these episodes though . When comparing to the episodes I have seen the Ultimate Uncut Edition of the Vegeta saga episodes that aired on CN about 1 - 2 years earlier , I prefer this by a large margin .
Now this set isn't for everybody . If you insist on watching it as it was ORIGINALLY inteded to be seen , then you may not want to purchase it . I do urge everyone that is reading this to at least check it out , but hey , if you feel you do not wish , that is your choice , and I hope no one forces you to watch it against your will . For those that wish to see these episodes in its English Dub format with the Japanese music , this may be a nice little option , and I find it rather enjoyable .
Now if FUNimation decided to reuse the footage that's present in this iteration , but maintain it in its 4x3 format and re-released it , would I purchase it ? No , I would not . If FUNimation licensed the Dragonbox masters and released those , would I purchase it ? Most likely , assuming the price isn't too high . Will I continue to purchase these 16x9 season sets if FUNimation keeps pumping them out ? Yes , I will support this until the end , and I do hope FUNimation releases the series in its entirety in this format , since they've already started it .
Well , thanks for reading my review ( whoever's left ) . I hope that I've helped in your ultimate decision on the importance of purchasing this set yourself .
004 4 Funimation discontinued the Uncut releases of Season 1 and 2 to work on these new Season Sets . I have to say that Funimation has finally outdone themselves with a DBZ release . I haven't watched the Dragonball series in a while , but this is , by far , the best US DBZ release ever . The redub of the first series is much better than the original Ocean one where half of it was cut out for syndication time . When they did the reasonably priced season set releases for the original Dragonball a few years back , I was hoping eventually they'd release DBZ this way as well . The original DBZ releases were very mediocre . Their best selling point was the fact that they included the uncut Japanese version which was unavailable in America until then . Ironically , this is also the best priced DBZ release as well . For about the same price as one of the original DVDs which typically had 3 - 4 episodes we get 39 . This is probably helped by the much lower cost of television DVDs nowadays than when they were first around .
VIDEO - Tremendous restore of the picture . I wish they hadn't used the widescreen , but its not the end of the world . I've have never seen these episodes looking better than this . The entire track is almost identical in both English and Japanese ( it just uses the Japanese opening and commercial sequences ) except for the end title sequence which has two different angles depending on the language . Both angles are the original Japanese end sequence except that in the English tracks it displays Funimation's credits and in the Japanese one the original untranslated Toei credits are shown .
AUDIO - There are three options here . One option is for the 2.0 English Broadcast track . This is basically the Stereo version of the English tracks on the original Uncut DVDs . The main audio track is a first for Dragonball Z . It is the English dub with the Japanese music . Previously , FUnimation did not have access to the Japanese soundtracks for the DBZ episodes ( they did for DB which is why that dub was all the Japanese music . ) This is a nice addition to fans who have been waiting for that . The third option is the original Japanese track . This has been a standard and essential inclusion on most anime DVDs . This is the same Japanese track that was on the uncut DVDs . It would have been nice if they had remixed this in Stereo , as for many old school DBZ fans this will be the track of choice , but I'm not going to make a huge complaint about this . The important thing is that the track is available .
REDUB - If you watched Season 1 and 2 on Cartoon Network back in the day , this is not the same dub . It's a redub using the Season 3 and later actors . The actual script and dub actors performances isn't always the greatest , but it is far superior to the original dub of this season because it is at least uncut . The original dub has several episodes worth of material cut out for lack of syndication time .
It's not perfect , thus not 5 stars , but it is the best we'll for DBZ in America , and it is still excellent .
005 4 Well first , I would like to say that I own the COMPLETE original Dragonball Z DVD's that Funimation originally released . If you are wondering which to buy , then I will try to be of some help .
This particular season , was re-released by Funimation , the voices were re-done to be that of the Frieza Saga and beyond ( all of you may know that Vegeta and Goku's voices sounded kind of wimpy when Pioneer did them ) . There are episodes that were NOT released to DVD originally by Pioneer , and these are all un-cut . Now lots of people are saying that this is cropped , I have yet to notice them , yes , you did lose some screen on the top and bottom , but have you ever tried watching the 4 : 3 format of DBZ on a HDTV ? It looks awful , it is very pixel lated , and blurry and whenever they do a Energy blast , you can see freckles around it . If you have a Wide-screen TV and want these again , buy these , you will NOT be disappointed . The colors are amazing to say the least , and you cannot even tell that it is being cropped if you are watching it on a widescreen TV as I said before . Now if you still own a 4 : 3 TV and want DBZ , and HATE the black bars on the top and bottom of your TV , these may not be for you .
009 4 I was a bit worried before I ordered this boxset . . . I've been reading a lot of negatives reviews , but :
That widescreen feature is , obviously , not a good idea . But it's not as bad as it has been described here and on many anime forums . Sure , a 1.33 aspect ratio would have better . But everyone here should consider that getting 39 episodes for 30 bucks is a blast ! Sure the Dragon Boxes rocks , but they are very expensive and not subtitled .
The remastering : It is good , but it could have been better . There are still some picture problems out there . I hope funimation will make a better job in the futre .
I'm a foreigner . More precisely , I'm from France , and I can tell you , this show has been butchered here in a way that really make true anime fans puke ! Dragon Ball Z has been heavily censored , Heavily cut , no original version available , disastrous image quality etc . . . )
So that's is why I'm buying R1 DBZ DVDS . . .
I do own all the previous DBZ funimations releases , so I bought this set and I will probably buy the next one as well . The widescreen feature ? I think I will live with it . I hope Funimation will re-release this set in a 1.33 format .
Hope this review helps , Thank you .
010 4 Cleaner picture , more episodes for a cheaper price , the Japanese BGM in the dubbed version . . . the list goes on for the positive ( or at least assumed to be positive ) things about this set . But all of these things are nulled out by one thing : WIDESCREEN .
The series was originally filmed in 4 : 3 ( aka Fullscreen ) , so the excuse of gaining more on both sides is a fuzzy issue . Since the series was made in the ' 80s , it was animated using cels , which basically work like a flipbook . However , because the positioning of the camera taking the picture of each cel can be slightly off , animators took a precaution and put slightly more picture outside of the 4 : 3 reach . These parts are what FUNimation is referring to as the gained footage on both sides .
But they've completely avoided what they had to do to make the series widescreen . They actually had to cut off parts of the top and bottom screen . If you refer to the actual screenshots put up in this guide , you'll see that a good number of shots have been ruined thanks to this cropping .
What really ticks me off about this set is that their special features on the final disc try to justify their reasoning for making the entire series widescreene-ed . What they do is focus solely on how you're getting more footage on the sides than normal . What they fail to mention is how they had to crop the footage on the top and bottom to do so . And to think that FUNimation takes the liberty to refer to this set as the way it was meant to be seen . . .
For the most part , this doesn't effect your viewing experience , but there are still a handful of instances where the camera view pans up for a character and completely misses the person's head because it was out of the widescreen perspective's reach . It's just really annoying to know that you're missing what's actually meant to be viewed .
As you watch these episodes , you WILL notice that FUNimation has at least brightened up the colors . This isn't that big of a problem with me , but some fans still aren't content with these colors , since they're not necessarily what was originally intended . What I do find wrong with the re-mastering that FUNimation has done is how some solid lines have actually been broken down , probably because they automatically cleaned off the minor dirt specks on the film and actually thought some of the lines were dirt .
As for the Japanese background music as an option for watching the dub , I found that it actually made the dub sound worse . Sure , the Dragon Ball ( as in without the Z ) episodes sounded fine , but that was because they were dubbed with the intention of having the JP background music . This dub was done with the intent of having the American background music alongside it , thus having some of the script not match the music altogether . I think this is mostly due to the fact that some background music was actually taken out completely and replaced with utter silence . But at least those songs were kept in the Japanese audio version ( as always , the option of the Japanese audio track is available ) .
The only real purchasing point for me here is that you get so many episodes for such a low price . That and this is the only way to get ALL of the Saiyan Saga episodes , without importing , since FUNimation cancelled their Ultimate Uncut Releases . In conclusion , I highly recommend buying FUNimation's 4 : 3 releases and only get this ( and the next set ) because those episodes have never been released Uncut in America before . But if you don't even care about the dub ( and have a good amount of money ) , then I suggest merely importing the Japanese DVDs and playing them on a region-free DVD player .
011 4 I feel that Funi did a crap job with this . Yes you get a lot of episodes for your money , and maybe better picture quality , but come on ! ! If it was so expensive to do this , how come there are so many defects ? ? If they had the means to re-master it all , how come they didnt think of giving you an option of fullscreen or wide ? ? I think if they gave you the option , this set would be perfect and satisfy every DBZ fan ever .
Please feel free to yell at me or agree . . .
012 4 I've been a DBZ fan for around 8 years , since they were airing the Pioneer dub of the Vegeta Saga on Cartoon Network ! Shortly there after , I started my own DBZ fan site which I operated for a few years before I went to college . [ . . . ]
I bought this new version of the first 39 episodes of DBZ about a week ago . First off , I would like to compliment FUNimation on a few things . Overall , the dub is great ! I personal interviewed Sean Schemmel when I used to run DB3K and think he is a wonderful voice actor . The first couple episodes done by FUNimation ( beginning with the Ginyu episodes ) were kind of shaky , but the dub improved rather quickly throughout the further episodes . Though I don't find much of a difference , if any , between this new set and the original uncut DVD's . Regardless , the voice actors and script writers have done a superb job on the english dub for this version .
Second , I would like to compliment their job cleaning and correcting the color . I've done several side by side comparisons and I never really realized just how overexposed looking the original DVD's were . This new set has perfected the color to its original glory ! It is truly amazing how big of a difference this has made .
Another small side compliment : it is really nice to have the new english dub with the original japanese music . I hope this will help later in the series , especially during Gohan's SSJ 2 transformation in the Cell Saga . FUNimation really ruined that the first go around . Watching the uncut episodes in their entirety has also been a nice bonus ! I'm so glad that FUNimation went back and re-did all of Pioneer's terrible work .
Now , to the bad . . . The wide screen is extremely annoying . As I mentioned earlier , I've done several side by side comparisons and the difference is baffling . FUNimation has cropped an enormous amount from the top and bottom . I don't care about the miniscule 3% gained on each side . I can tell in every single scene that a huge amount has been taken off the top and bottom . Hopefully with fan complaints , a newer version will eventually be re-released with a full screen option . This is my biggest complaint with these new DVD's . It seriously almost brings me to tears . However , this will be beneficial when re-relasing the movies , because like all movies , they were originall wide screen . As far as the episodes go , it really really bugs me looking at how much has been cropped off .
My second complaint is the advertised HD 1080P . I have searched through the settings of the DVD and find nothing about 1080P or even 1080i . These DVD's really aren't any higher resolution than the normal DVD's . I've even decrypted the files on to my computer to analyze them . They are simply NOT HD . The resolution is normal 720x480 , which is what every DVD is . This is blatent false advertising by FUNimation and is very misleading . I was wondering how they could fit so many HD episodes on one DVD , which should normally require a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc . . . apparently I was right . It can't fit on a normal DVD , and thus , these DVD's are NOT HD ! This was on of my biggest selling points in purchasing this set , but in this regard has left me very disapointed .
Whether this review helps in your decision to buy this set is up to you . I've given a very fair and unbiased review , inluding the positives and negatives of these discs . I do hope the FUNimation continues in their quest to perfect their rendition of Dragon Ball Z . The versions they release are progressively getting better . They just need to listen to the fans and eventually they will get it right .
013 4 Plenty of the reviewers here don't know a thing about film or the telecine process , so let me fill everyone here on a few key points :
1 ) Pretty much every animated TV series made before the digital age was shot on 1.48 : 1 silent 16 mm film , which is usually made less wide by the inclusion of a magnetic audio strip that takes up the right side of the film and makes the ratio 1.33 : 1 , the same as a 4 : 3 fullscreen TV set . Dragonball Z was no exception , and the original film masters have a natural ratio of 1.48 : 1 .
2 ) Animators who worked in TV knew this would be the case , and framed everything they wanted to keep in the horizontal center of the frame . The extra 10% or so of the 1.48 : 1 frame was considered dead space , and would be lost when the show was converted to D2 master tapes for TV broadcast framed at 1.33 : 1 .
3 ) Every telecine ever made loses the edge of the frame , since that's where the camera arpeture ( the rounded edge of the inside of the camera's image ) and splice marks would otherwise be more visible . If you're seeing rounded edges on the outside of the frame , you're seeing more of them film than any film maker wanted you to see .
4 ) 1.48 : 1 isn't as wide as 1.78 : 1 , which is the same as 16 : 9 and is the current HD standard , so FUNimation had to cut 20% of the top and bottom of the original film frame to make the 1.48 : 1 film master 1.78 : 1 on DVD . They did restore the 10% of the image on the sides of the film that the animators consider dead space , but at twice the cost of image the animators were expecting the audience to see .
In short , FUNimation's new Season Box Sets are cropped by 20% , and the remastering segment is nothing short of a lie . Anyone with one of the Ultimate Uncut Edition DVD's could compare any scene with the Season One box set and see footage missing on the top and bottom of the frame .
Don't support this butchering . Write to FUNimation and tell them you'll buy Dragonball Z when you can get all of it in the original and intended 4 : 3 aspect ratio .
017 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
I love Dragon Ball , from the beginning till the end ! ! Amazon is really great for selling it for such a low price . . . . I got it in perfect condition , and I live across the ocean . I got all six dvds 39 episodes of the Vegeta Saga ! You can choose Japanese or English , but PLEASE , choose Japanese case English dub SUCKS ! ! !
There's only one thing I have a problem with ! ! Soo , Funimation worked with the quality of the picture and made it better . . . AS IF ! ! ! Maybe the colors are better , but the picture keeps going up and down . . . This can only be seen if you really look into the screen . . . But I forgave them since DBZ is 20 years old !
Anyway . . . everything is great , I'm satisfied and can't wait to buy the rest of the seasons ! ! If you like DB , buy this case it's worth it . . . And you can't find a better one !
018 4 I love Dragon Ball , from the beginning till the end ! ! Amazon is really great for selling it for such a low price . . . . I got it in perfect condition , and I live across the ocean . I got all six dvds 39 episodes of the Vegeta Saga ! You can choose Japanese or English , but PLEASE , choose Japanese case English dub SUCKS ! ! !
There's only one thing I have a problem with ! ! Soo , Funimation worked with the quality of the picture and made it better . . . AS IF ! ! ! Maybe the colors are better , but the picture keeps going up and down . . . This can only be seen if you really look into the screen . . . But I forgave them since DBZ is 20 years old !
Anyway . . . everything is great , I'm satisfied and can't wait to buy the rest of the seasons ! ! If you like DB , buy this case it's worth it . . . And you can't find a better one !
023 4 Wow , the digitally remastered version has so many extra scenes / episodes .
Definitely a great buy . This season is one of the best in Dragonball Z and I will never get sick of it .
Really good buy , Amazon has cheap prices but quality goods , even through standard shipping I got my goods within two and a half weeks and thats on the other side of the world !
026 4 Dragon Ball Z is the one greatest anime series ever created . With its action-packed universe and compelling storylines , Akira Toriyama's magnum opus has never failed to please . This is the first season set FUNimation has released of the series .
This set picks up five years after the original Dragon Ball left off . Goku has been living a peaceful life with his wife Chi-Chi , and the twosome have a son , Gohan ( named in honor of Goku's late adoptive grandfather . ) When an alien arrives on Earth hunting for someone called Kakarotto , Goku learns the awful truth of his presence on Earth - he was sent from a far away planet as a baby , to conquer Earth ! Goku forms an alliance with his greatest foe , Piccolo , to combat the new threat .
But it doesn't end there ! The foe announces two even stronger members of his species will be coming to Earth in a year's time ! The Z-Fighters must join together and train . . . . the greatest deciding battle for the planet Earth is coming !
The DVD set is divided amongst six discs , and contains the complete Saiyan Saga .
If you're new to the Dragon Ball franchise , this is the place to start ( I'd recommend starting with the original Dragon Ball and working your way forward to Z , but all the original DB sets are out of print . ) The fight scenes in this first saga of Dragon Ball Z are great , though there are too many fillers ( particularly with Gohan in the wild ) and training episodes . But the good outweighs the bad , and this saga does a good job starting off what becomes the pivotal chapter in the Dragon Ball series .
One of my personal favorite features of the set is the Marathon feature . FUNimation includes a feature in these sets that allows you to view all of the episodes on each disc from start to end with no interruptions from intros / outros / recaps / etc . This is an extremely handy feature I wish more TV shows on DVD had .
Like earlier Dragon Ball Z season sets , the picture has been cropped at the top and bottom ( this was done due to excessive grain and damage to the original source ) , and it has been subjected to the digital noise reduction process . Obviously a lot of fans , myself included , were disappointed to see the picture get cropped . While the digital noise reduction doesn't do as thorough a job cleaning up the image as you'd hope , it IS the best these episodes have ever looked . In other words , it's a give and take scenario . You lose some of the picture you could see on earlier full-frame DVDs ( and there ARE a few gaping moments that will really make you question FUNimation's decision ) , but on the good side , you gain some picture on the sides , and the image quality is superior to all earlier DVD releases .
Sound quality is similar to the earlier sets . English audio quality is fantastic , but the dub is still translated poorly and the voice cast is hit and miss . On the other hand , the Japanese audio quality is poor , showing its age , but it does feature a well-translated subtitle track from Steven J . Simmons that lets you experience the series as originally intended . Is Dragon Ball Z EVER going to get its Japanese audio remastered ?
Additionally , like the earlier sets , you have the option of watching the English voice cast played against the original Japanese audio .
Disappointingly , the next episode previews aren't included . But they weren't in any earlier season set , so it's no big surprise .
No special features are included here unless you count the trailers and the same textless opening / closing sequence all other sets like this have had . On the good side , the set does include a booklet similar to the earlier sets , with character profiles and an episode guide , making it handy to go right where you need to go on the DVDs .
It's a great set . If you're a fan of the series and don't already have these episodes , you can get them all here for one low price . Cropping issues aside , this is a great set , and a good value , especially compared to the older DVD releases .
Highly recommended to any fan of Dragon Ball Z .
031 4 Let me start off by saying this . . . If you are worried about buying this set because of the well known cropping-issue don't be . It's not nearly as bad as most people make it out to be . I finished watching it and there was not one instance where I could point out that it had in fact been cropped from the original episodes . I had to go online and find the comparisons to even notice . So yes there is cropping but in my opinion it in no way took away from the amazing experience of watching DBZ .
I think what I like about this the most is that they have redone the voice acting . You can now watch the entire Dragon Ball Z series start to finish with the same voice actors . That and the fact that you can get most of these sets for $24.99 makes this a steal of a deal .
032 4 FUNimation's latest release acts as a slap in the face to fans of the series . After 6 years of DVD releases , which consisted of 79 discs at approximately $2,000 retail , FUNimation has pulled the rug out from underneath the very fans that helped them establish their position as a respected anime company . Now , fans who had 251 episodes out of 291 will never be able to complete their collections legally .
The release itself consists of 39 episodes which have been cropped , losing 20% of their original vertical resolution . While this is often minor details such as hair and so forth , during high-octane fight scenes entire characters can lose the majority of their bodies and half of their heads . This is most definitely NOT the way the series was intended to be seen .
As DragonBall / Z / GT is being mastered from 16mm film , it is essentially a 4 : 3 presentation ( it is slightly larger , but nowhere near a widescreen aspect ratio ) . FUNimation , in conjunction with Video Post & Transfer , have destroyed the original framing of the series by carelessly cropping it to widescreen . While people seem to mock those who are angry about this , proclaiming the details lost to be only hair and feet , in truth the detail gained is usually even less ( 5% which tends to consist of rocks , clouds , etc . ) . In addition , the cropping makes the action scenes very claustrophobic .
In addition to the above , FUNimation and VP & T have destroyed a great deal of detail in the digital print by applying Digital Video Noise Reduction ( DVNR ) by way of an automated process . This results in the series looking like a pastel painting and even causes some lines in the animation to disappear completely in certain scenes ( such as Nappa's teeth , Goku's face and more ) . This completely eliminates the point in doing an HD transfer , as the purpose is to capture more detail not to destroy it . Add to this the obvious changes to contrast and color balance , which cause humorous problems such as Gohan flashing blue when bursting out of Raditz's spacepod , and you have a release that is truly worthy of laughter .
The worst part , however , is FUNimation's advertising techniques and the very documentary on this disc . FUNimation has tried desperately to sell this set on lies and insults , such as trying to insinuate that overscan has anything to do with why the show should be cropped . In truth , my television ( which is a Pioneer Elite PRO - 910HD widescreen plasma ) has 2.5% overscan on all sides , meaning I lose 25% of the vertical picture and gain * nothing * horizontally . My television is also fairly high end , as you can verify by looking online . Also , the fact that FUNimation and VP & T felt the need to fabricate the scenes with grain ( the framerates of the ' clean ' footage and the grain don't match , see for yourself ) serves only to insult our intelligence more .
This release embarasses me and it should embarass FUNimation . I've been a fan of the series for 12 years now . I own all the DragonBoxes from Japan because I wanted the series * truly * remastered and not just automatically filtered . I truly had hope that FUNimation would produce a set that was worthy of those who helped them become a force in the world of anime production , however after 7 years FUNimation still hasn't learned .
This release is insulting to the original animators of DragonBall Z , the fans of DragonBall Z and to FUNimation themselves , who have proven they are capable of much more than this . If you want to be respected as a fan and as a consumer , don't buy this set . Don't send FUNimation the message that we like being lied to and will accept whatever they toss us . Just remember , whatever they may say , numbers don't lie . We're losing a net 15% of DBZ . And seriously , who wants that ?
033 4 First and foremost : if you don't already own Dragon Ball Z in some form or fashion myself and / or passed on the now-discontinued Ultimate Uncut DVDs ( I fall into both of these categories ) , then this repackaging of the series ( in this volume , $35 for 39 episodes ) is a godsend , especially considering how incredibly long the show is . Personally , I'd rather FUNimation hurry up and put out a respectable release of the original Dragon Ball on DVD , but that's for another day .
Yes , I know that the top and bottom of the picture have been lopped off , no matter how desperately FUNimation tries to spin you otherwise . For someone who is a staunch advocate of preserving the original aspect ratio of any show or film - - 4 : 3 , 16 : 9 or otherwise - - this steams my broccoli indeed , and I'm ashamed that the house that Goku built insisted on taking the cheap route of cropping the image .
Unfortunately , it doesn't seem that any amount of petitioning will convince them otherwise . But at the end of the day , I can think of very few people who would shell out a whopping $20 - $25 on a 3 - episode DVD for a show that is nearly 300 episodes in length . Taking the MSRP of each Ultimate Uncut DVD into account , buying this 39 - episode box set saves approximately $290 from what it would cost to buy this number of episodes in 3 - episode volumes . Comparatively , losing part of the picture seems like a small price to pay for this convenience .
As for the episodes themselves ? Well , this set spans the entire Vegeta saga . Goku's all grown up and has a little son named Gohan , but then a strange guy named Raditz shows up , claiming to be Goku's brother and admonishing him for failing to destroy humanity . By teaming up with his nemesis , the demon Piccolo , Goku is able to kill Raditz - - but at the cost of his own life . Raditz sends for his comrades Nappa and Vegeta , who will arrive at Earth in a year's time . In the afterlife , Goku makes a journey to train with the eccentric but wise god Kaiou ( as Goku's pals search for the Dragon Balls to revive him ) , while Piccolo takes it upon himself to foster Gohan's emerging power .
This is my first time being exposed to the original Japanese version after growing up with the atrocious editing job given to this show in its first American broadcast , and as such , I have little interest in the English track ( and zero in the version which edits out the original music for louder synthesized crap ) . For the money , though , it's an entertaining way to kill time and experience , for better or worse , a show which helped shape the face of Japanese animation in America .
038 4 Back when I was big on Dragon Ball Z , episodes were sold on VHS for 3 - 4 episodes each for $20 . The DVDs of the same episodes were anywhere from $25 - 30 . That's for a mere three episodes ! Now , we get the entire first season ( The Vegeta Saga ) in this beautiful box set for a reasonable price . But that's not the only thing that's changed .
THE COLOR : The color is restored , and all of the grain is obliterated . The coloring is pretty much perfect . While the animation is a bit crude in the first episodes , it's fun to watch it evolve . We won't see the beauty of the animation peek until the Cell Saga , though .
THE WIDESCREEN : It surprises me that so many people are upset about the widescreen . The little bit of the picture that was cropped to make way for the widescreen format is more than worth it . There is a new cinematic quality to the show that it lacked it its other releases . Changing the format to widescreen was one of the best ideas FUNIMATION had for this release .
THE CONTENT : The first season of Dragon Ball Z wasn't the best it had to offer . That title goes to either the Frieza Saga or the Cell Saga . There was a lot of filler in the episodes leading up to the Saiyans arrival on Earth , and even a bit of filler after . The climatic battle is wonderful , though not as visually stunning as the fights that the series has in store for later episodes . I loved that FUNIMATION reassembled all of the voice actors who performed from the Ginyu episodes all the way until the end of the series . And , to my surprise , I found the last disc ( after the Vegeta Saga was resolved ) to contain some of the most interesting episodes . The second season is set up nicely .
FEATURES : The language options are wonderful . You can choose from one of three options . Japanese music with American dialogue . American music and dialogue . Japanese music and dialogue . The subtitles are also a good feature , so we can get a direct translation of what the characters originally said . It's interesting to compare the subtitles with the new American dialogue .
BOX SET : There are six discs , and they are set up like this - - Disc One overlaps two , three overlaps four , and five overlaps six . It's a handsome set , but it would be more convenient if it were set up with each disc having it's own section . It's annoying to have to remove two discs to get to one , and I'm sure it takes its toll on the box .
Overall , I recommend this set to any Dragon Ball Z fan . Don't listen to the anti-widescreen hype . It's much better this way .
8 / 10
040 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
I Brought this title because i love DBZ and it was cheap . I was expecting to be disappointing because of the reviews i have have read but i am the type of person who needs to see it for myself . I was Excited this is an amazing DVD so don't take the words of other reviews just watch the DVD yourself .
042 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
We gave this for a Christmas gift , very nice . I plan to purchase the rest of the series over time .
044 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
I absolutely am a geek and I loved DBZ as a kid . Lately I've had a craving for it so I purchased the DVD . I'm actually watching it as I write this review : D But to me , this is just as good as the TV show I remember and I am very impressed with the DVD .
048 4 Dragon Ball Z , the series that got many fans , like myself , into Anime to begin with . After Funimation frustrated a lot of fans by cutting off their redubbing and re-releasing of the first saga in the series ( originally called the Saiyan Saga , now the Vegeta Saga ) the company finally starts to do the series proper . Released in an uncut format with restored video clarity , reformatted for widescreen display , and with new audio treatment we finally get the series proper , and it looks good .
The Audio comes in three tracks , Japanese in Mono , English with the Television broadcast music in Stereo , and English with the Japanese music in surround sound . There are separate caption sets for English and Japanese dialog , so you can literally watch the dub while reading the sub to see what differences there are . Overall the sound is good no matter which track your using . Since this set features the complete and uncut saga , it is also the first release of Funimation's redubb of the early episodes . When dragon ball z was first imported to the US it was heavily edited for network television and featured voice talent from a Canadian company called the Ocean group , working under Pioneer . It wasn't until halfway through the Namek / Ginyu force saga that the series was cancelled on television and dubbing stopped . Years later DBZ appeared again on Cartoon Network's Toonami program , and eventually was picked up by the then very small Funimation . Funi picked up where Pioneer left off , and was forced to change the cast of voice actors completely . Years later , after completing all three shows that make up the series , Funi decided to return to the early episodes of DBZ so they could release them uncut and with consistent voice actors . While much of this newly dubbed version was released on regular DVD , funimation cancelled it just before the fight between Goku and Vegeta got started ( I'm sure I wasn't the only unhappy fan at that point ) and much later finally gave us this box set with the complete saga .
The Video of the season set has been cleaned up and restored considerable . As many have mentioned this process wasn't perfect , but it looks a lot better then previous releases of these episodes . The new colors make the images look a lot sharper and the restored framerate makes all the animations look a lot smoother . The difference is definitely noticeable . The transfer is also reformatted into widescreen , standard 16x9 ratio . There's no black bars . While many fans do complain about the cropping , you're actually not missing anything in the space that is lost . Moreso every version of the series released so far has been cropped , including the standard 4 : 3 ratio display . Again , no matter which format you watch the image is slightly cropped and it is very minor .
There aren't any features worth mentioning . Funimation included some trailers for other DBZ related merchandise as well as for other DVD releases . There is a marathon feature that allows you to play consecutive episodes without the extra opening and ending credits and the episode previews . This is an excellent feature for fans .
As for the story , the Saiyan / Vegeta saga is my favorite across all three shows . The struggle against the Saiyan's is so desperate , and even Goku gets killed very early in this new series . The good guys really get their rear ends handed to them and even in the end they had to pull everything out of the bad to barely scrape away a win . It cost them most of their friends ' lives and even the dragon balls themselves were lost . Few times have Earth's heroes ever faced a situation so dire . The action was top notch in this series . Nappa , Vegeta , and Raditz didn't use cheap gimmick attacks to get wins over the fighters , or absorb other beings for unfound power . They were just that strong . And the fight near the end between Goku and Vegeta is my favorite fight in the entire series .
All in all this set is a great economical buy for any fan ! For the price point you just can't go wrong !
049 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
I cannot find this season in stock ANYWHERE in stores . It was nice to find it quickly on Amazon . It was shipped promptly and I received it in about a week . Great show and the first season is always the best !
054 4 Dragon Ball Z , in my mind it's just awesome . I used to watch it when I was a kid and loved the all the action in it . Then when I discovered these season boxsets that were out , I bought them as quickly as possilbe . Then I sat back and renewed all my memories of this show . The Vegeta Saga was a great way to start this series off in my mind . The characters from Dragon Ball are re-established and some new ones are introduced , like Gohan , King Kai and Vegeta . New story lines are brought in , but the comedy is still there and makes this show very entertaining to watch . You get 39 episodes for this first season and I can't complain . So if you haven't seen this show in a long time , I recommend you start buying this series since all the seasons are out on DVD boxsets and just enjoy an awesome show .
Review by Trevor Kies
055 4 I just started digging into this new remastered uncut series .
I am just blown away .
The quality is outstanding .
Since I am a big Dragonball fan . With the dubs by Funimation .
Going from there to the awful dubs of Ocean group had been a huge disappointment .
I got used to the gang all sounding a certain way , & hearing them through the ocean dubs sounded bad & cheesy .
What makes this set essential is that it actually ties together much of the story that was missing from the cut series .
There are important subtleties within the storyline that are neatly tied together , where I had always disliked Z for just jumping around too much , without any explanation .
You can actually see here the development of the relationship between Piccolo & Gohan .
Episodes 36 - 38 actually become essential in this series instead of just filler episodes in the bad cut ocean version .
You connect with the loss of the z fighters & the aftermath before they head out to Namek .
Episode 30 you actually see Launch again , in her last scene ever which was cool for me because they all but forgot about her after DB .
I am excited to see how the Frieza & Trunks saga's are handled .
The Frieza series with ocean dub was Bleech ! !
Took way too long & 5 minutes became half of a saga .
Also want to see if the DR . Gero storyline problems are better dealt with in the Trunks Saga .
I would highly recommend getting this series .
I am actually looking at Z now with a fresh outlook .
I am hoping that the quality remains throughout .
058 4 Dragonball Z Season 1
It is called the Vegeta Saga but it really should be called the Saiyan Saga because Goku learns his origins from his past from his older brother , Raditz and King Kai . Another reason is that two Saiyans , Nappa and Vegeta , come to Earth to take it over which results in an epic battle .
The one thing I just can't understand is how Raditz can have power level of 1,200 . It is just so small even for a Saiyan ! Like all Saiyans , they grow up and train on Planet Vegeta , which has 10 times Earth's gravity plus all the work that Freiza gave to the Saiyan race . Looking at Raditz he would probably be in his early 30s . I would understand if he had a power level of maybe 6 or 7 thousand .
This is the largest season of all with 39 episodes . It has a lot of different things happening leading up to the Saiyan battle . There are quite a few boring episodes , like ` The Strangest Robot ' , ` Plight of the Children ' , ` A New Friend ' .
The ` Terror On Arlia ' was a good episode and it showed what Saiyans are truly capable of .
In the booklet , it says that Vegeta and Nappa first appeared in Episode 11 ` Terror On Arlia ' but they actually appeared in episode 5 ` Gohan Rage ' just after Raditz is defeated , Vegeta & Nappa are on a distant planet making plans to travel to Earth to wish for eternal life .
The Piccolo cover shot for Season 7 should be on Season 1 because it fits into what happened during Season 1 .
The other Z Fighters who take part in the Saiyan battle could have won the battle even without Goku . Yamcha , Tien , Chiaotzu & Krillin train in the Pendulum Room and out on top of the Lookout , which would explain their power levels being equal to that of a Saibamen . As Kami says ` These men are full of fire but it's still not enough ' . Kami should know that the Hyperbolic Time chamber is still there on the Lookout .
Also , this is the last season that Launch appears in .
It is a pity that all the people that Nappa killed ( East City , the reporters & journalists and the people in the military and the other city ) weren't brought back to life through the dragonballs . Nappa was fierce and I felt he could of turned up the intensity and gone completely berserk and when Vegeta kills Nappa , I did feel a little sorry for Nappa but then again he kill thousands of people on Earth . I think , Piccolo had to die because it would have given Goku , Krillin , Gohan and Bulma a reason to travel to Planet Namek . Also letting Vegeta go was also a right thing to do because he killed Qui , Dodoria , Zarbon , 4 Ginyu Force members and lots of Freiza's guards . If Krillin killed Vegeta with the sword back on Earth , Goku would have came and only fought Cui , Dodoria , Zarbon , 4 Ginyu Force members but not killed them . Thanks to Vegeta's ruthless side , he destroyed those henchmen who would have been responsible for killing thousands of innocent people from other planets . So getting rid of them was the right thing to do .
The fight between Goku and Vegeta was great ! Goku's Kaioken Attack made for good watching . And having Vegeta transform into the Giant Ape was an added bonus . Looking at what Vegeta did to Goku in the Giant Ape state meant that Goku could of died a second time . Goku's body was crushed when Vegeta stamped on his legs , squeezed his body and crushed his body with his hands and Goku over exerted himself with the Kaioken Attack .
The other thing I can't understand is that battle went on for 2 days . Goku tells Master Roshi that he will arrive a day later . It should have been 2 days for Goku to get back to the Check In station in Other World since the trip on Snake Way is 10,000 miles long and he is in another dimension . On Earth , the fighting should have gone for the entire day starting about 8am and finishing around 6 : 30 to 7pm .
Overall this is a good season . Just a few episodes before the Saiyan battle can be boring . I rate it 4 out of 5 .
061 4 Well first of the only little prob is that they chaged the Vegeta voice and changed the over 9000 sence but it doesn't really bother me ( but i did always love how vegeta say's that on the TV version ) .
But overall this is a very good buy Over in the US and UK .
Again like in my other review i would higly recomend this to any Dragonball Z fan or someone who's just getting into action anima .
067 4 Dragon Ball Z - Season One ( Vegeta Saga )
I received this set and watched it over the weekend and I must say that it is amazing what they have done . I remember watching the original version on T.V . when I was younger and this digital remaster is incredible . All of the graininess from the original is gone and you are left with a perfectly clear picture for every frame . The added original Japanese scenes not seen in the U.S . add so much to the novelty of the show . Not to mention being able to watch it with the original Japanese or remade U.S . musical score in the background . I must suggest this to any DBZ fan big or small these box sets are more than worth getting . I have already ordered all 5 seasons and will be looking for the rest as they come out and then to the G.T . series after that .
068 4 I love this season 39 episode over 900mn
awsome season .
I recommend this season to people to buy it
070 4 This set contains the 39 episodes that made up the first season , and they span six discs . The first five discs each contain seven episodes , while the last disc contains four episodes and extras .
One thing I really liked about this set was the marathon feature . This allows you to watch the episodes back-to-back , but only have to see the opening credits once ( and the ending credits never show up in this feature ) . I wish more DVD sets would include this feature . The only drawback to the marathon feature , however , is the fact that it reinforces how much the story in the first season was stretched out .
Overall , the special features aren't much to get excited about . The featurette , Dragon Ball Z : Rebirth - - Part 1 has one of the colorists working on the restoration project talking about various aspects of the remastering project . A New Look is essentially a three minute long commercial for the Dragon Ball Z remastered DVD box sets . You can also see the opening and closing credits without the text covering the images . There are also trailers included in the special features menu .
While the special features aren't great , this set is a must get for any Dragon Ball Z fan . Not only do you get all 39 episodes of the first season in one set , but you can buy this six disc set for a rather reasonable price for what you get .
073 4 Dragon Ball Z - Season One ( Vegeta Saga )
It was overall really good . The quality was amazing , and the sound was great . The only problems were the cut out top and bottom , and line dissapearance . Youll notice the cut off top and bottom when they are fighting Vegeta and Nappa . Its annoying looking at half heads : /
The quality was amazing , it was so clear , when i first watched it i couldnt believe my eyes . The line dissapearance is sort of annoying too . When there is too much shaking or thin lines , the black lines dissapear and you get blended skin and stuff , its really odd .
But other than that , it was all good , a must buy for DBZ fans .
074 4 I always kind of liked DBZ on TV but the linear nature of the show requires you to watch every episode in order . That's difficult on TV , but this DVD makes getting the full experience out of this saga easy and affordable .
I LOVE the marathon feature ! ! It takes you from episode to episode without the beginning , recap , upcoming episode info , and ending sequence . You seamlessly jump from show to show , making sitting down for a couple of hours very enjoyable . It still includes the mid-show ad transitions though .
I've continued to purchase seasons two , three , and four and have been pleased with them as well . Waiting on season five to come out soon !
078 4 When I was younger I remember watching Dragon Ball Z every weekend on some local television station . My brother and I would wake up early ( or stay up really late ) just to watch one highly edited episode , then we had to wait another week to watch where it left off .
One unfortunate weekend , we were waiting to see the final conclusion of an episode where Goku finally returns home after training to only find to our dismay that the television station had restarted the entire series . I had never bothered to watch Dragon Ball Z after that until now .
Now after watching it again it's exactly that same feeling , you watch about 10 episodes of Goku traveling to get trained , and then another 10 episodes returning from training just for a fight scene that doesn't reach a satisfying climax what so ever . Every 2 punches they throw is then filled in with 5 minutes of talking , and then someone charging up their energy to perform an even stronger move then the last . . . rinse , repeat .
If you're looking for pure unadulterated fighting violence I highly suggest looking at the Grappler Baki series and leave Dragon Ball Z to the elementary school kids .
080 4 Do you like Dragonball z ?
-
-
-
if you do ?
-
-
-
Well then this box set is perfect for you . Its audio and quality is perfect .
And its cheap too . i strongly recommed this dvd collection . dont buy those expensive dvd's with only 3 episodes , just for the widescreen thing . i didnt even noticed it ! just buy this !
082 4 I've been a huge fan of Dragonball Z for years , and have always wanted to own the series . I never liked how you had to buy seperate DVD's or try to find the hard to come by Saga sets . Now with
Dragon Ball Z - Season One - Vegeta Saga ( Uncut )
, that problem has been solved . You can own the entire series from the beginning . The quality is great , and the marathon feature is also a nice addition . You no longer have to watch multiple opening and closing credits ; with the marathon feature , it plays all the episodes on one disk all the way through . This really is a great collection to buy if you are a DBZ fan . I can't wait for the next seasons to come out !
084 4 It was not an issue for me .
Honestly there was only 2 spots throughout all 6 discs that made me think that there was something cut off , and I only remember 1 of them , and it lasted a total of 2 seconds ( tops ! ) .
I held off on buying Season Two along with this one because of the talk of the cropping . However , there is nothing to worry about .
I'd never seen this saga before ( nor most of DBZ except the Buu saga on up til the end , and some filler after the Frieza saga until Goku returned ) . Perhaps this is why nothing looks strange to me .
Juicier extras would've been nice . Oh well . It doesn't take away from the end product .
086 4 After debating with myself for two months over the widescreen issue and finally buying it :
For those of us who were unable to get the ( now out-of-print ) Dragon Boxes , the adage better than nothing at all sums this box set up nicely . Frankly , as much as I love this series , I'd rather get FUNi's imperfect boxset for $22 and deal with the widescreen than spend hundreds tracking down the Dragon Boxes . As for the content itself - anyone buying this set probably knows what they're in for : lots of fighting , bizzare anime-only fillers , Gohan's incessant whining - and some VERY good payoff ; the final Goku-versus-Vegeta fight is amazing .
The dub is HORRIFIC ; Vegeta sounds like he smokes three packs a day and Christopher R . Sabat voices three of the main characters ? No , thank you .
I understand that FUNimation hasn't exactly been forthcoming on the issue of a future fullscreen release - how about not screwing us over for once , FUNi ?
092 4 Cropped or not , to get all 39 episodes of dragon ball z season one , on six dvd's , plus a booklet , for the price of a special edition dvd , is a once in an otaku life time event you shouldn't miss .
Three aliens are bent on wiping out humanity so they could sell planet earth to other aliens . only goku and his friend , former rivals and archenemy can stop , or can try to stop these aliens .
The plot may sound boring , but when it gets an akira toriyama treatment , you'll end up with a great adventure , full action , laughter , main characters dying , sexually aroused grumpy old men , main characters returning from the dead , berserked gorillas and funny looking vehicles .
True , some fights are too long , but they're not boring and full of intensity .
The box set is neatly designed in a fold in box that contains six cd's and a booklet that includes hero profiles , enemy profiles , episodes summaries and a short history of dragon ball z . five of the six cd's have seven episodes each and the sixth four plus an extra that has some trailers and a short making of the remaster video .
The original Japanese dialogue is a lot better than the english dub .
One of the best action comedy anime series out there . buy it before it's out of stock
093 4 Finally , the first season of Dragonball Z is released , and in its uncut form , not the horrible Saban dub .
I know there are issues with the move to widescreen , so I'll address this first . Yes , some of the picture from the top and bottom on the screen is cropped . That being said , it doesn't take away from what you're watching . Sure , there are some moments where it looks odd , but all in all I enjoyed watching this set too much to notice other , more insignificant instances . Even though parts of the picture are cropped , you never really lose sight of what's going on . The purists speak out against widescreen and I understand that . But the finished product is not as bad as some would have you believe .
The sound quality is pretty good , especially if you go with the original Japanese version with their original opening and endings . In terms of English voice acting , it's one of Funimation's better works .
DVD menus are easy to navigate , although there are some issues . There is no chapter select within the episode selection , and marathon mode ( leaving out opening and ending credits ) is a little useless in my opinion . That sort of thing might be your cup of tea however . The extras are not all that plentiful , but then again you're not picking this up for the extras .
All in all , this is a good set . I was a DBZ fanboy back in the day , and the release of this season has reawakened the fanboy within . Widescreen does crop out some of the picture , but not enough to make a huge difference . Those who already own this season might not want to spend the extra money . But those who haven't had the opportunity to own the first season of one of the best and most influential animes ever , it is well worth it . I'm now waiting for season two .
096 4 Dragon Ball Z is the most controversial anime ever made . Not for reasons because of questionable content in the vein of Evangelion , Cowboy Bebop , and Koi Kaze ( though the show is very violent ) , but just in various different arguments . Some people feel that Dragon Ball Z represents the best anime has to offer , while other people believe that Dragon Ball Z represents the worst anime has to offer . Add into the fact that Dragon Ball Z has had one of the most questionable dubs of all time , and ( along with Sailor Moon ) helped make anime popular in the USA ( before Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh ! painted anime as thirty minute toy commercials ) . With a reputation like that , Dragon Ball Z is certainly one of the most important animes ever made , but the show has been a hassle to buy if you were a fan of the show . Released in overpriced DVD's that retailed for $25 each and contained three episodes a piece , one had to buy at least SEVENTY DVD's before they could get all of Dragon Ball Z on DVD !
Add in the fact that the episodes were released out of order , and you'll see that buying Dragon Ball Z on DVD has certainly been one frustrating experience for many people ( myself included ) . Now FUNimation is re-releasing Dragon Ball Z one more time in season box sets . These sets are supposed to be the ultimate release of the show , and the release hardcore fans have been waiting for . In some ways they are correct in this statement , and in some ways they are dead wrong . Like everything Dragon Ball Z related , the release of Dragon Ball Z : Season One is such a mixed blessing / curse that there is no way to be straightforward about the release . These DVD's are supposed to represent Dragon Ball Z as restored from a master print , with three sound options ( Japanese mono , English surround , and English with original Japanese score ) , and remastered in high definition widescreen .
I'll talk about the widescreen remastering first since this aspect of the DVD is the most controversial ( and with good reason ) . In case you didn't know , Dragon Ball Z was first aired in 1984 . The show was animated in full screen , as widescreen TV shows didn't really exist back then . To achieve the widescreen scope this DVD presents , the image has been cropped at the top and the bottom , therefore losing about 20% of the image . This has caused the biggest problem with the release as a good portion of the show either looks cropped , poorly photographed , and sometimes silly and / or odd . The show almost never obtains the cinematic look FUNimation claims it's supposed to look with the new widescreen transfer , and even the most casual fan will find several shots in the show that look at the very least strange . Granted , it's not like you always feel like your missing something , but enough of the image is lost where you defiantly notice something is off .
The sound is fine . If you're watching the show in English FUNimation has given the show a brand new 5.1 surround sound mix , which sounds excellent on a surround sound system . If you're like me though , and prefer to watch the show in it's original Japanese language track , you'll find the same mono track that was presented on all the other single disk releases of the show . With ( what surely sounds like ) a fatal flaw when it comes to the viewing of the show , many of you may be wondering why you'd want to bother with the show at all . Well , two things : Picture and price . Yes , the display of the show may be the biggest problem for this show , but the restoration is also one of the brightest things about the DVD . While not perfect , Dragon Ball Z has never looked this good before on DVD . The colors are mostly perfect , and the tone is very consistent , with only some grain to be found in certain spots . Regardless what you think of the widescreen presentation , the look of the picture is excellent .
Then there's the fact that this DVD set retails for $50 and contains the first 39 episodes . I remember spending $20 on a Dragon Ball Z DVD with three episodes on it . If you bought the single disk releases on sale for $16 each ( and this is being generous , as most single disk Dragon Ball Z DVD's will cost you $20 easily ) , then you'd spend around $250 by the time you got up to episode 39 . Considering you can get Dragon Ball Z : Season One on sale for $30 - $35 at most places , this is the cheapest Dragon Ball Z has ever been on DVD . At this rate , $250 will get you the whole show . All 291 episodes for what you would originally pay for the privilege to own 39 episodes . Despite the issues with the widescreen , it's hard to argue when the savings are that huge . Whether or not the widescreen issue is enough to scare you away from this DVD is entirely up to you .
Re-watching the show again after I hadn't seen it for several years has made me see it in an entirely different light . It no longer seems to be the greatest action show I remember it to be . Some of the fights are rather silly looking , there are stretches of time that contain way too much filler , and several episodes early on in the show seem to wasting time while they are waiting for the story to come around . That said , when the show is good it's very good . Character development in these early episodes is excellent , there are many heartbreaking moments , and to actually go back to when Goku wasn't a Super Saiyan is a revelation as it shows me that it was more interesting to see these characters grow stronger then it was to watch them . . . well , BE stronger ! It's not a perfect show , but a good portion of the episodes on this set do hold up quite well , and there's a reason we'll still be watching Dragon Ball Z several years from now . Maybe in ten years the show will be revisited in a much better HD-DVD or Blu-Ray set . For now though , I think I can live with these sets . On that note though , why is Vegeta on the cover for Season One while Goku gets banished to being on the cover of Season Two ?
097 4 I got the Season One set last week and I love it ! This is how DBZ should've been released years ago . But oh well , better late than never .
On to the review :
I'm amazed at how beautiful this show looks . The person / s behind the restoration process did a tremendous job on revamping the first season . While watching it , I didn't see any grain or dirt . I think I saw some glue or something on one of the frames but I could overlook that since I hardly noticed it .
The colors were very vibrant from such an old show . The restoration was astounding as this show was originally done back in the 80s , yet this set makes it look like brand new .
Including three different audio tracks was good as well . I strongly prefer the English dub over the original Japanese ( Sean Schemmel and Chris Sabat rule as Goku and Vegeta ) . I can't stand the original Japanese as the voices seem a little annoying and the music is corny by today's standards ( No offense to anyone who likes the original Japanese , but it's just not my bag ) . But there's also the option of having the English dub with the Japanese music , kinda like they did with Dragon Ball . That should please some of those out there who don't like the English techno / rock soundtrack . So that's squared away .
Now the big issue at hand : widescreen . Personally , I'm not bothered by it at all . If anything , it makes it more cinematic . Granted , they did crop the picture but hardly anything is missing because of this . By going with widescreen , FUNImation had two choices : either crop it or stretch and distort the picture . They chose the first one .
Now I enjoy this set for a number of other reasons :
1 ) It's compact ( about the size of two DVDs together ) , which allows for more space on my DVD rack .
2 ) It's 39 episodes for about the same price as it was for 3 episodes .
3 ) I can sell back my individual Vegeta Saga DVDs and get some money back for them .
4 ) It's freakin ' Dragon Ball Z ! ! ! ! ! !
So I personally enjoy this set and recommend to any other DBZ fan out there . Season Two comes out in May , which is an improvement since it took damn near forever to complete one saga with the individual DVDs . So from what I can presume , we'll probably be up to the end of the Cell Games by year's end .
So will I continue to buy these season sets ? Oh hell yeah !
098 4 Hopefully , this will help others like myself make a choice . I have been on too many forums in the last few days reading lots of negativity from super-picky ultrahardcore fans . I have even read admissions that many of those fans have purposely tried to very negatively skew these reviews . Shame on you guys . That said , here is my review of the set , which I do own , and have viewed : It's not bad !
I have been a Dragonball Z fan dating all the way back to it's first running in American syndication . I was revolted , like many others , at the edits and butchering of the series by Saban and Pioneer for the American TV market .
You won't run into that garbage here . It's all here , uncut ( yes blood , beer , cigarettes , and Roshi trying to grab a handful of Bulma ! ) The one thing missing is the Next time on DBZ preview of the next show , but you're watching the next show right after it on a DVD , so who cares ? Speaking of that , these DVD's have an excellent feature where you can watch a whole disc straight through without seeing the opening or ending themes between shows . makes it like each disc is an extended movie , and keeps you in the action . It's all been re-voiced so as you collect the Dragonball Z DVD Season sets , the voices will be consistent . The ability to hear the english dialogue over the Japanese BGM is a great pleasure . They did goof and make some instrumental music the default opening theme , hopefully this will be corrected in future sets , and we'll hear Head Cha La as the default . This is a minor issue , no biggie .
Now to address the most controversial portion of the set : the widescreen cropping . I'm a realist . I'm going to admit to you , adding a little on the side does pretty much next to nothing . You are * not * seeing some amazing lost detail you have always missed . It's usually just an extension of the horizon , foliage , etc . Just extra backgound . It absolutely * IS * cropped on top and bottom . However , speaking to you as a realist that is a fan of Dragonball Z , it just isn't that big of a deal . I rarely encountered any scene that I thought was negatively impacted by the cropping . It just didn't bother me as I was afraid it might . I spent a * whole day * reading forum posts , reviews , etc , afraid to even open the set , thinking I might just return it because honestly , FUNimation is being dishonest with how they are marketing it . It is HARD to even tell it's a widescreen set if you pick up the package in a store . The screencaps on the box back are 4 : 3 , the only mention of widescreen is VERY tiny on the lower back of the package . They DON'T seem to want you to know that the set has been cropped down . The whole technical short in the special features tries to convince you that overscan is important , it isn't . You are getting a cropped product , and the tiny bit of new view on the sides is unimportant and uninteresting .
All that being said , I liked it just fine . I did not miss what was cropped . Once I get a widescreen TV ( soon ) I expect I am going to appreciate this set even more , since it will fill the whole screen . It is anamorphic , for those of you that care . The picture is clear , crisp , and very colorful . It's the clearest and most vivid I have ever seen the show . The voice acting is pretty good . For the price espescially , you cannot beat this set . if you have always wanted compact , full season sets of DBZ , this is what you have been waiting for . It's even formatted for the future . Go ahead and go for it , this coming from a VERY picky DVD collector . It was so nice to return to a series I had not watched in a few years , and see it even more vibrant and alive than when I first viewed it .
101 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
This is my personal opinion as an anime watcher as well as an artist . I'm no purist with DBZ . I got into fighting anime thanks to DragonBall Z . I didn't grow up on DBZ like the purists out on the net ( you know who you are ) . I'm not gonna talk about the contents of this release ( episodes and story info ) . I like this set in widescreen personally . For me it feels more episodic like other shows in widescreen .
On the plus side you get to watch the entire Saiyans story that was originally intended for the Ultimate Uncut Editions , but instead ended up on Cartoon Network ( which I personally recorded ) . And on less discs than said edition . My only complaint is that you can't view the original credits for the intro ( opening ) as well as the opening song for the revised dub / japanese bgm selection . So what ?
I've grown to like anime in widescreen , because I like the bars at the top and bottom of my screen . This was FUNi's decision to widescreen DragonBall Z and it's worked out pretty darn well . The purists need to get over it .
102 4 This is my personal opinion as an anime watcher as well as an artist . I'm no purist with DBZ . I got into fighting anime thanks to DragonBall Z . I didn't grow up on DBZ like the purists out on the net ( you know who you are ) . I'm not gonna talk about the contents of this release ( episodes and story info ) . I like this set in widescreen personally . For me it feels more episodic like other shows in widescreen .
On the plus side you get to watch the entire Saiyans story that was originally intended for the Ultimate Uncut Editions , but instead ended up on Cartoon Network ( which I personally recorded ) . And on less discs than said edition . My only complaint is that you can't view the original credits for the intro ( opening ) as well as the opening song for the revised dub / japanese bgm selection . So what ?
I've grown to like anime in widescreen , because I like the bars at the top and bottom of my screen . This was FUNi's decision to widescreen DragonBall Z and it's worked out pretty darn well . The purists need to get over it .
104 4 This review is from :
Dragon Ball Z : Season One ( Vegeta Saga ) ( DVD )
As a DBZ fan all throughout college and wasted somewhere between 2000 - 3000 dollars on videos . Funimation ( the real English team behind DBZ ) finally decided to bring the series of DBZ to DVD ha ! ( DBZDVD ! ) . But it is much more than just seaons .
For those who need a little history the first two sagas of DBZ were own by Pioneer entrertainment and they edited the crap out of them . Also the voice acting was poor the background music stunk and the stories just weren't well put together you knew something was missing . Funimation took the series and created two versions for vhs and it was the first time you were able to see DBZ uncut in all its bloody glory . Also a brand new voice staff was brought in with voice talents of Sonny Strait , Christopher Sabbat etc .
The first season which introduces Goku and his friends from the preceeding series Dragon Ball and opens the story in a whole new way . Goku now learns he is from outter space and one of the last of his race called Saiyans . He also learned that Saiyans are not very nice especially when the first one he meets is his own older brother Raditz who tries to kill him . Now there are two more coming in search for the infamous Dragon Balls . It is up to Goku's sworn enemy Picollo to train Goku's 4 year old son Gohan that he has a power deep within and might just be more powerful than he knows .
This DVD set is worth it because now that Anime is so far beyond mainstreem on the western side of the world . It was time for Dragon Ball Z to be removed of its guenia pig status and finally be revieled that this was not a kids show ! Even though it is cropped for wide screen format it really doesn't seem to bother me . But now the first seaons is uncut so the violence his not cleaned up there is plenty of cuts blood and bruses and most importantly there is more story and the voices from all the funimation owned sagas are doing what they do best for this first season . If you like DBZ this is a worthy set for your collection .
105 4 As a DBZ fan all throughout college and wasted somewhere between 2000 - 3000 dollars on videos . Funimation ( the real English team behind DBZ ) finally decided to bring the series of DBZ to DVD ha ! ( DBZDVD ! ) . But it is much more than just seaons .
For those who need a little history the first two sagas of DBZ were own by Pioneer entrertainment and they edited the crap out of them . Also the voice acting was poor the background music stunk and the stories just weren't well put together you knew something was missing . Funimation took the series and created two versions for vhs and it was the first time you were able to see DBZ uncut in all its bloody glory . Also a brand new voice staff was brought in with voice talents of Sonny Strait , Christopher Sabbat etc .
The first season which introduces Goku and his friends from the preceeding series Dragon Ball and opens the story in a whole new way . Goku now learns he is from outter space and one of the last of his race called Saiyans . He also learned that Saiyans are not very nice especially when the first one he meets is his own older brother Raditz who tries to kill him . Now there are two more coming in search for the infamous Dragon Balls . It is up to Goku's sworn enemy Picollo to train Goku's 4 year old son Gohan that he has a power deep within and might just be more powerful than he knows .
This DVD set is worth it because now that Anime is so far beyond mainstreem on the western side of the world . It was time for Dragon Ball Z to be removed of its guenia pig status and finally be revieled that this was not a kids show ! Even though it is cropped for wide screen format it really doesn't seem to bother me . But now the first seaons is uncut so the violence his not cleaned up there is plenty of cuts blood and bruses and most importantly there is more story and the voices from all the funimation owned sagas are doing what they do best for this first season . If you like DBZ this is a worthy set for your collection .
110 4 Well kiddies , you remember when you got home from school , sat down , and turned on toonami to watch D.B.Z ? ( or whatever channel you got it on ) Well , this box set will take you on a trip down memory lane .
Pros
This box set inculdes the first 39 Episodes . ( Basicly the Vegeta Saga ) All of which have been cleaned up and presented in a 16 ' x9 ' widescreen presentation . Also fixed is the audio which not only appears in not just the original japenese and the U.S . tv version but also the made just for this set a 5.1 audio english track with japenese music . The final disc bonus features include Dragon ball Z : rebirth part 1 which basically explains how the clean up was done other than that there is A New Look the trailer that is show on amazon.com
Cons
The Only con I see with this set is that because of the frame rate being increased to 24 frames per second , the audio tracks for the tv english will lag a little but not by much .
All in all if your a big fan of the series and you don't want to spend an arm and a leg , start your D.B.Z series with this .
114 4 the fact they include 39 episodes of this series in a affordable package makes this worth it alone . . . the original releases never really came with much extras other than 2 versions of the show to watch , one being the english and the other being the japenese languages . . . this one containing a 3rd viewing version with the original japanese music and redubbed english tracks . . .
As for remastering the dvd set , this set sparkles with bright , vivid colors that were once before a little washed out . . . I think they shown alot of love towards this series by taking the time to clean the animation up and trying to reduce the flawed stock footage . . . I personally love the widescreen addition because im a widescreen pureist . . . i hate when movies get chopped on the sides and spread out to cover everything . . .
This may crop a little of what was once before , but it adds a better thematical viewing . . . Giving the show a more epic feel , which it deserves . . . I personally find the 2nd audio option the best because its more contemporary music to these times and dramatic . . .
I for the longest time never fully understood the series or what the big deal was partially from never seeing the first episodes that explain everthing , and partially from being niave . . . But i am hooked now , and excited about the May 07 release of Season 2 . . .
I hope Funimation considers releasing the Orginal ~ ( DragonBall ) ~ in Season Boxsets aswell , and then Release ( Dragonball GT ) by Season box . . . we will see what happens , but at least Funimation understands now that anime is mainstream enough now to cut the price to more reasonable and affordable sets and giving us full dvds with several episodes , instead of the usual 3 episodes given before . . .
Thank you Funimation for thinking of the consumer first this time ! we will show our appreciation by buying up all the Season sets you bring to us = )
121 4 well if your looking for the dragon ball z europen version the best in my opinion you wont find them on the taken over dvd's by funimation
even though these are ok and i rated these only 3 stars i believe im being kind
ne way yes that person who said it aint the same music was right the music has changed it used to have the music from the start dragon dragon ball . dragon ball zzzzzzzz , if its got that then you know they are the ones that aired on cartoon network europe makes you wonder
why dont cartoon network { europe } . release them as they was supposed to be
ne way i hoped this helped
122 4 Funimation claim they have the original US broadcast , revised eng dub and original jp audio , which isn't true . they do have the original jp audio and revised eng dub but I'm sure we're all familiar with IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAND ! ! ! ! amirite ? well don't expect to see that on this set . I've played both eng dubs and they're both the revised version , only difference is one has jp bgm the other has us broadcast bgm .
( bgm = background music )
was also disappointed to find they don't have the rock the dragon opening on any of these sets . they have the cha la opening song for the jp audio but both english dubs have some corny rock type instrumental .
I'm still happy to watch DBZ all over again uncut and the cropping doesn't really bother me but it's far from perfect and a bit of a let down . why they couldn't just release them in full screen with the actual US broadcast audio I'll never know . my guess is they'll re-release them in full screen once the widescreen sell out . wouldn't put it past Funimation . . .
126 4 This set was perfect - price , episode count , uncut , remastered , nice packaging . . .
But it was ruined by the decision to cut the top and bottom of the frame off to make it widescreen .
Funimation has put out all sorts of propaganda saying that nothing important would be cut and that we'd get a bunch of new footage on the sides , but in reality widescreen is not what DBZ was made for and it shows .
Characters whose heads are anywhere near the top or bottom of the frame now have half of their heads missing in many cases . In one case a close-up shot of a character's face shows only the top of the mouth to the bottom of the eyes . . . one pupil is partially visible . In another case a character is just eyebrows and a scalp at the bottom of the screen . In the majority of cases the much-vaunted added footage is merely more blank floor or wall in the background , or perhaps a character's elbow .
In my opinion , this change has made the set unwatchable and I'm very disappointed . I would have bought the entire Dragon Ball franchise in sets like this had the original aspect ratio been retained , but if the series is released like this I won't be buying any of it .
127 4 I've watched both the anime and read the manga . I probably prefer the books over the shows ( back to front reading aside ) because there is a lot less filler in the books . Case in point , the episode plight of the children where Gohan escapes from his training regime with Piccolo so he can hang out with orphans until he decides to go back and continue his training with Piccolo . The first episode is a yawner as well , with Gohan aimlessly wandering through the woods . ( Gohan's constant whining can be quite annoying ) The only thing that saves the episode from being the most boring waste of time ever is seeing Raditz show up and take out a farmer that shoots at him by plucking the bullet out of the air and throwing it and then casually flicking it back at him .
Oh well , even though there may be some weak shows in the set it's still a good deal because the set is cheap enough it's worth the money just for the episodes that aren't crap . Discs 1 , 4 , and 5 are probably the best , since they have all the battles with the Saiyans , Raditz , Nappa and Vegeta , the dude on the cover .
The special features aren't all that great , although I liked the booklet with information on the characters and plot synopsis of the episodes . As to the widescreen issue I was generally satisfied . I did notice a fair amount of cropping . Top's of certain character's heads getting cut off on the screen but in general I didn't notice until I read about it and started paying attention . Still , it didn't affect my enjoyment of the show too much . It's still easily worth the money and a good buy .
131 4 I am a huge fan of Dragon Ball Z . I have been waiting so long to see this season been released , but unfortunately this set doesn't include Spanish Audio . There are a lot of fans out there who watched these animated series in Spanish and we will love to buy them to watch them again , but not in English . In summary , my message to Funimation will be : Please don't forget your Spanish speakers market ! Also , I will prefer a full screen rather than a wide-screen version .
Thanks !
132 4 FINALLY someone who is willing to break things down for potential buyers of this set . Thanks to Darth for his review .
I'm a huge DBZ fan , and chose to purchase the set in lieu of all the widescreen controversy . Like Darth , I'm still hoping that FUNi will release a full screen edition of these boxed sets to appease the mass amounts of their fanbase who are unsatisfied with the widescreen upgrade . But for now , this set will have to do , and at least FUNi has made some large improvements to the franchise already with regards to the picture quality and pricing .
One other complaint I have with this set that has yet to be discussed , is that the U.S . TV Broadcast version does not have the broadcast opening or closing . While I appreciate the effort FUNi took in releasing an English dub track with the Japanese audio in addition to the U.S . broadcast track , if you're going to include all U.S . Broadcast music throughout the series , then you should be consistent with the opening and closing as well . The U.S . DBZ opening is one of the most memorable and nostalgic moments from it's U.S . TV run .
135 4 I've watched the every episode on TV and have been collecting DBZ videos and DVD's since Funimation started releasing the series . So you might say I've got a good perspective to share with other people interested in buying this series .
PROS
- Price . Very fair for what you get in this set . I hated paying for the individual discs in the Ultimate Uncut series so creating this compilation was the right thing to do for the price conscience fans . . . but Funimation should have still finished the Ultimate series so fans could have a completed set .
- Remastering . The color correction is very good . . . I loved the rich colors . Bravo Funimation !
- Dubbing . Very good ! I hated when the voice actors changed later in the series . The Funimation actors are much better so I'm very pleased to have the series from the beginning with the same character voices .
- Packaging . I'm very thankful that Funimation decided to offer the complete saga in one high quality set . The packaging is good , although some people may not like having to remove the front discs to get access to the back discs .
CONS
- Widescreen Cropping . Everything you've read from the other comments about the poor cropping is true . In some scenes the widescreen crop doesn't really matter but in other scenes it's really obvious . . . in a bad way . Several times I noticed the characters heads cropped out right at the eyes . Most first time watchers won't notice but those who have seen the series before will notice , especially in the opening title where you can immediately see the character's heads cropped out on top . . . a sign of things to come .
- Sound . Sorry but unlike other comments here , I hate the Japanese music with the English dubs . If you were introduced to the series in North America then you will immediately notice something sounds weird when you select the Dolby 5.1 sound option and start playing . My biggest complaint is that the English version with English music only comes in 2.0 stereo . . . what's up with that ? I'd rather watch the series in 2.0 with good music than suffer through that weird 5.1 Japanese music . In my opinion , the Japanese music doesn't even fit the mood of the action on screen . . . for example , you'll hear silly , light-hearted music while Nappa is beating the poop out of the DBZ heroes . . . that's not right .
BOTTOMLINE
This set could have been perfect with a little more attention given to the cropping and sound issues . But to be fair , neither of these issues should keep you from collecting this series . After reading this review , you'll at least know better what you're getting .
My hope is that this first attempt was a good learning experience for the Funimation crew and they will get it right with the Season 2 set .
139 4 I got this at Best Buy for $34.99 and started to watch it .
I am enjoying every minute of it . I agree this is a better release
for the Show , you a have whole series to watch . I don't really care for the U.S . T.V . version with the Music . But I enjoy the English Dub with
the Japanese music and the Japanese language with the Japanese music .
I don't really want to collect all of the sets , just a few . That's just how I am and would like to do things . I am counting down to Frezia , Androids , Cell and Kid BUU . I can't wait to get these . Hope to write more reviews soon ,
See , Ya
141 4 This is a great season !
Here are some nonspoiler thing that will go on in this season !
Goku is in big trouble !
Piccolo is forced to do something !
A little huge power emerges ! !
Will he die ! ! ?
Who is this King ! ! ? ?
Is it really over ! ?
Haha , that's all I can say to make you hyper , unless you want spoilers . . . .
- The thing I love the MOST about DB / Z / GT is that it is like a Christian show ! !
Goku is the one who always leads everyone the correct way , He is the savior of the world ! ( Symbolic to God leading us the right way & being our Savior ! )
Goku trains & helps his friends to become good fighters ( Symbolic to God training us in His Word )
Goku trusts in his friends knowing they will do the right thing . ( Symbolic to God trusting that His true followers will obey Him & go His way )
Goku always shows love & mercy even to his enemies & evil people . ( Symbolic to God showing all us people , whom have broken His Perfect Law - The Ten Commandments - and yet He still gives us Mercy to flee from sin & follow Him )
Goku believes anyone can change their life from bad , to good . ( Symbolic to fleeing from our sins & following the Will of God )
Goku was like a father , always protecting people from evil ( Symbolic to how God protects us from evil & when the storms comes , He's still with us )
Everytime it seems hopeless & like evil will prevail & there is no way out , Goku is always there to help ! ( Symbolic to no matter how strong the temptation or urge is , God always provides a way out for us because He is with us )
When the Saiyans or other fighters feel like there is no hope , they go into a new level of strength ( Symbolic to when you are weakest you are strongest )
Like with us when we feel we can't resist the temptation or do the Will of God , we still press on and reach a new level or strength . . . . . haha , like a Spiritual Super Saiyan , being much stronger into & with God then we were before .
When the fighters are fighting & they feel there is no hope , someone else usually comes to the aid ( Symbolic to God will never leave us & He always provides help )
DBZ is not only a great show but I look at it through a Christian sense , look at it as a Christian sense , it's symbolic , it'll make it 10x better ! I know it did for me !
142 4 This box set of Dragon Ball Z contains the entire Vegeta Saga . The Vegeta Saga makes up the first 39 episodes of Dragon Ball Z . The story of Goku and his friends from the classic show Dragon Ball continues with Goku finding out he comes from an alien race of fighters known as saiyans . Now his past has caught up with him and he and his friends must defeat these powerful foes or the people of Earth will face certain doom . This box is crucial for any collector of Dragon Ball Z as it introduces Vegeta , one of the most popular characters in Dragon Ball Z history .
Specifically , the set has 6 discs and very little extra features , but any real fan of Dragon Ball Z will not buy this for extras . They will buy this for the excellent story , the great dialogue , the economic value , and of course the action . The way the discs are packaged is annoying , but you get used to it . I have heard much hype about how this set will ruin Dragon Ball Z because it is in Widescreen , but to be honest this is just not the case . Now I consider myself a true fan of Dragon Ball Z , and I am sad that you do lose some of the picture due to this , but most real fans will easily overlook the loss . I thought the Widescreen would cut much more picture than it actually did . By the second episode , I actually got used to the new look of the screen .
The sound and picture are great , and you can hear the English dialogue with either Japanese or American music behind it , or you can hear the original Japanese version of the show . I enjoy listening in English , but with the Japanese subtitles on to spot where the dialogues differ , I find this to be very interesting . The English music for this set isn't as good as in others such as the Buu and Cell DVDs , but I still think it is better than the Japanese music , though I know my opinion on this matter is probably with the minority .
One thing this set adds that I wish previous ones would have is the Marathon Mode . You can watch every episode on one disc one after another and see them as if they were one gigantic episode . You skip the opening and ending themes and the Last time on Dragon Ball Z . . . part . Of course , you can still watch these parts for every episode if you want.Another great thing about this set is the value . You get at least seven episodes on each DVD but the last , and to get the first 39 episodes of Dragon Ball Z for around $30.00 , a price you could easily pay for 3 episodes ( and I have ) , is just incredible .
The key to buying this set is the show itself . Many of the other versions of this saga cut so much footage that they pack the entire saga down to only 25 episodes . This is a tragedy which has finally been fixed . A specific example is the episode called , The Strangest Robot . This episode was never in the old translation , well most of it . This Saga has many wonderful and tragic moments including the first death of Goku , the first appearance of King Kai ( and Vegeta as mentioned above ) , the awesome battle of Goku versus Vegeta , Gohan's training with Piccolo , and of course Piccolo's sacrifice .
As mentioned above , another good thing about this set is the improved voices . When this show originally aired , I noticed the voices changed between the Namek and Freiza Sagas , but they have finally re-dubbed the first two sagas . Of course this is also the set's only down side to me . I already own many DBZ sets including the Cell Games , Majin Buu , and Fusion Sagas . If they re-release them with new dialogue , better sound , better picture , or for a better value or something I will feel like a fool and a bit annoyed . Personally , I hope they re-release upto and including the Frieza Saga , but my frustration only proves I am a true fan .
This set is a great value , contains 39 episodes of what I consider to be the greatest action cartoon and anime of all time , and is for any true fan of Dragon Ball Z , or even someone who enjoys anime .
143 4 I am really glad to see they put out the entire season one at a reasonable price . What I'm angry about is buying episode 1 to 26 at $15 - $20 bucks a pop . Then they stopped releasing them after episode 26 to dump the rest of the episodes in one release of the entire season one !
Which means I bought 1 - 26 for nothing ! I'm buying this Funimation because I love DBZ , but I don't love YOU . This , Funimation , is the last dime you are getting out of me EVER . I've already sent an extremely rude email to Funimation ( and I'm not a bit sorry for the rudeness ) telling them , I am officially their ex-customer . Maybe next time , they will consider whether ripping off their customers is the best way to keep customer loyalty .
150 4 Like someone here has suggested , this being a widescreen release means that portions of the pictures ( notably , the top and bottom of the frame ) are cut off .
I have studied film , and while a full screen aspect ratio usually means , for modern day movies , that the Wide image has been cropped to the 1.33 : 1 frame , such is not the case for Dragon Ball Z .
Dragon Ball Z was intended and created for television - the original aspect ratio is 1.33 : 1 . To go from full screen to wide , means that you must loose some of the top and bottom image - meaning , you're actually getting less of the image in this transfer .
It should be noted though , that because it is mastered in WS , when viewing on a WS television , though parts of the picture are missing , the image will not be distorted ( stretched ) to fit the screen . Had they left it in full screen , that would have been the case if you were watching it on a WS television using the whole screen .
Personally , I would have preferred them leaving the whole image intact , and simply formatting my tv to remove the distortions , knowing that I could have always just watched it on a full screen tv to see the whole image .
152 4 I was very happy when it came in the mail , but unfortunately the boxset got really , really badly damaged . The side and almost everywhere on the box looks like somebody hammer the boxset really hard like they were mad , there were these weird brain stains on the box ( that i can't even taped over ) , the interior was bad too . The thing that holds onto the disc were crack ! ! I was thinking since the box was damaged , maybe I don't need to exchange it , but no the inside were really bad too . So I decided to return it and I just did that today , and hopefully the boxset don't arrive in bad condition . I hope they arrive in very good condition . T-T And I got excited about watching the dvd set today too .
So , I advise you when buying this set , but another item or two with it because they will have those air bubbles protector . If you just buy one item , you will get this cardboard that it is not even going to protect the item inside .
154 4 I have been waiting for FUNimation to release DVD sets of DBZ for years , and finally my prayers have been answered . But WOW , this set was WAY more then I was hoping for . English voice track with the orignal Japanese music ( though I have to switch the audio to hear CHA-LA-HEAD CHA-LA as the opener in that mode . It also contains for those who are more used to and prefer the FUNimation music ( which for once I am not against on an anime as it made it edgey , actiony , and darker ) there is an audio option for that as well to get the music from the original US Uncut Airings on Cartoon Network of these episodes . FUNimation said they had newly done voice tracks , but it sounds no different by word , acting , or such then it did in the previous uncut version , I think that may have not been true , unless it meant those tracks as new as those uncut episodes were not too old either , infact they were fairly new . Plus of all the DBZ DVDS , I have never seen such picture in high quality , I am really impressed . Yes it's widescreen , So what ? it's not made that way from the videos , it's made that way from the original film footage that had more picture in it that never got onto the FullScreen version that originally aired . Yes we lose some parts from top to bottom , but they mater very little , not at all important as I read someone say , it's no different then the footage we get at the sides pretty much . Infact , while we do not get all the original footage of the FullScreen , we get some to the left and right as well that were in the original film as well , . besides , not all Widescreen DVD releases capture all the footage that was originally in theaters either . As you gain some additional footage from the sides as well that was in the original film , I'm open to trying it to experence a little more as well , even if it's not much .
And if you are going to whine at me for liking it then do me a favor and go jump off a bridge , seriously , I rated it 5 stars because of most of the stuff , I don't mind the cropping that much , yes , it too annoys me at times in some areas but I don't care , it's NOT THAT BAD ! I did checking myself , on such , I do agree it's not perfect but it's better then nothing and it's better then a edited version that does not keep the original storyline . If you hate it so much , buy an import set in fullscreen or download episodes , extract the sound from this set , and use a movie maker program to merge them together . I saw other things in the fullscreen version we could have gotten that were just as bad or annoying , so we get one or the other with one flaw or the other , to me both are equally annoying . So shut up . I mean , I rather just get this show uncut and enjoy it , same would go if a fullscreen version of a movie was all that was made on DVD , and that has been the case many times , but if it's all I can get of an uncut release as long as the picture quality is good and enough of the imaging shows then that is good enough for me . Don't try and change my opinion , because you won't . And I just said the downsides as well . If you don't want it in this format , fine , I won't argue with you , but leave me out of it , I DID compare , yes it's not perfect and it's annoying to long time fans of the show in Japanese , as I did say , it's annoying to me at times as well . But here is another reason I am okay with this .
Getting sets with 39 episodes at 30 bucks a pieces then spending 15 dollars on a single dvd at a time that only has about 3 or 4 episodes each that will take up about 3 shelves of space , this ways it's less expencive to see the entire show . and saves you room for more shows on DVD for your shelves .
And one thing that annoyed me about the previous fullscreen releases , the picture quality was very blocky , especially in high motion and flashing parts of the show , and to me that is was just as annoying as this widescreen thing , I dispise bad picture quality , so for me , it's an upside on this as this set does not have that . I bought the previous DVDs as well and compared , it's a win-win , lose-lose situation . This is no better or worse . I will admit , they could have made it a little LESS wide and still do wide screen to show more of the footage , so they did not transfer it perfectly , I know because my computer is widescreen and I still see blackbars . So yes , they did not do it perfectly either for the footage , but I still stand by what I said , if you don ; t want to buy it , fine , but I enjoyed it and that's all I care about , I just wanted it uncut and true to the story , that's why I called this completely true , because's it's not the previous edited for TV versions and it stays more true to the characters as well , and to me , that's what is really important , if it had BOTH bad quality like the last DVDs and widescreen , then I probably would not buy this , but it only has ONE . and as I said , I like picture quality more , it's indifferent enough for me to rate it 5 stars . Just respect that .
156 4 I have got to give the creators of Dragonball Z credit : they really know how to make me laugh . And I'm not only talking about the parts that are supposed to be funny . No , I'm talking about the ENTIRE series . That's right , ladies and gentlemen . Dragonball Z makes me laugh ! Why ? Well , where else can you find a plot so ridiculously silly that it makes the Highlander series look like Star Wars ? And where else can you find such terrible-sounding music that can give you a permanent earache ? And , of course , where else can you find characters that are so over the top in terms of looks and personalities ? I mean , take a look at Goku , Trunks , and Piccolo . Their appearances are overdone , especially when they power themselves up . If this anime isn't supposed to be a comedy , then it doesn't matter to me because I was really amused by this show . It's so over-the-top and so moronic that I just know that it's a comedy . That's the reason why I am giving Dragonball Z a D instead of an F , because everything about this series is hilarious !
Grade : D
P.S . Yes , I am talking about the original Japanese version . But either way , I'm sure the American version is funny as well .
164 4 After years and years of buying over priced 3 - episode crappy dub DVD's , Funimation finally redeems themselves with a cheap , but almost perfect , DVD set .
THE PICTURE : 4.5 / 5
DBZ has NEVER , NEVER looked this good . The colors are vibrant , natural and sharp , making you feel like you're right in there with the action . There is some grain , obviously , but this film is old . The grain only stands out once in a while . Honestly , this picture is close to perfect . And the widescreen issue is no delima . Let me elaborate . A single frame of DBZ starts in an aspect ration neither full screen or widescreen . For TV , it is cropped a bit on each side . With telivision overscan ( every full screen TV DOES have this ) you lose up to another 10 percent of the image . With this widescreen version , you see the full width of the picture for the first time . Yes , some is cropped on the top and bottom , but its things like bottoms of shoes , hair , the tip top of Piccolo's turban , etc . Unimportant . On the sides you see more landscape , arms , eyes , etc . , things that make the image . The FACT is that you see MORE in the 16 x 9 version then you saw in the 4 x 3 version , or at least an equal amount , depending on the amount of overscan your telivision has . Like I said , DBZ has never looked better . This picture is almost perfect .
THE SOUND : 4 / 5
Funimation went all out with the picture , and they went almost all out with the sound . The main audio track is a 5.1 mix containing the original Japanese music and sound effects and the english dub . This mix sounds GREAT . I have always grudgingly tolerated the dub , but never really enjoyed it . But I have come to the conclusion that the dub was held back by the awful music and sound effects . With the Japanese musical score in , the dub sounds great , and I really prefer it over the Japanese , soley because I can understand it and I enjoy it . Usually I watch in Japanese because the dub is so bad , but that is a thing of the past with DBZ . The original Japanese mix is here too , but is sadly left in mono . This is what stops this from getting a 5 / 5 . This should have also gotten a 5.1 mix , or at least a stereo mix . There are those kinds of mixes already made , so this is really a bit disappoiting .
THE MENUS : 5 / 5
This part is perfect . You have a handy play all option , and a handier marathon mode , which plays all without the opening and ending themes . Saves time and makes you feel like you're watching a film . Everything is easily accesable , and the menus are also kind of flashy , but not distracting .
THE BONUS FEATURES : 2.5 / 5
There's really nothing important except a short featurrette about the remastering . . . which actually lies a bit . The 24 page booklet it comes with , however , makes up for this . It has profiles , episode summaries , and a superfluous but somewhat interesting history of DBZ in America . So yes , dissappointing bonus features , but FUNImation has never been strong in this department . Plus , no one is buying this set for bonuses .
THE PACKAGING : 4 / 5
It comes in a fold out package where the discs overlap , making you take out disc one to get to disc two , etc . It's not to annoying , and you get the hang of it quickly . Some may have wanted slim pack cases , but I for one am glad they did not use them . Slim paks are more handy , but make the boxes that hold them weak and flimsy . Plus , the fold out gives you a better sense that you're watching a season or a set . Slim paks give the impression of individual volumes .
FINAL VERDICT : 4.5 / 5
This set is almost perfect , and the best FUNI has ever put out . Re-experiancing my favorite show again is great , especially in this format . I really wish I had a big widescreen TV to show it off with , but the fact that it looks hi-def on my aging full screen TV says something important . Funimation put a lot of heartfelt effort into this , and though people may squak about the widescreen issue , you have to admire the effort . They're not just trying to rip you off . They're trying to earn back fans they've lost , and let a new generation experiance Dragonball Z .
the music and the widescreen presentation . There is no arguing with the Japanese soundtrack , but the English music has to be some of the most boring and lazy work I've ever heard . Poor and boring are the words that come to mind when I hear it . I actually enjoyed some of the work Funimation did with the soundtrack previously , but here it just seems like practically no work was put into this soundtrack . It's unacceptable for an action series . My second gripe is with the widescreen or letterbox formatting of the video . It was totally unneccessary and done badly . The video seemed more cropped then augmented for the widescreen format . The series is over 20 years old . The original format would have suited me just fine . As for the voice work , it's up to par and I can enjoy it in English or Japanese . And the extras , even the little booklet with some of the DBZ history , is welcome and appreciated . But Funimation has disappointed me with some critical mistakes on this project .
019 4 For the most part , this deal was great ! It had a great price and fast shipping . My only complaint would be that some of the discs were scratched , resulting in freezing and skipping of the picture . But is was used , so I suppose that it's not really all that bad . Overall , good deal .
081 4 After finally succumbing to watching DragonballZ 8 years ago , I can proudly say that I'm a huge fan . This DVD is perfect , you have the original japanese music ( strange ending credits ) with brand new english vocals with also a choice of listening to the american music . Excellent background information on DBZ and really the best way to start watching DBZ from the beginning of course . My cousin never watched it and now he's hooked and this is before even Super Saiyans , so he's in for a treat with Seasons II - . . .
113 4 i was plesantly surprized how clean the picture is and how fresh and exciting the music and sound effects are . it is a excellant dvd set and i am looking forward to the future season sets . arnie0079 . . . . . . . . . . .
149 4 I had high hopes for this boxset , but I'm pretty disappointed . Mostly my disappointment has to do with two things : the music and the widescreen presentation . There is no arguing with the Japanese soundtrack , but the English music has to be some of the most boring and lazy work I've ever heard . Poor and boring are the words that come to mind when I hear it . I actually enjoyed some of the work Funimation did with the soundtrack previously , but here it just seems like practically no work was put into this soundtrack . It's unacceptable for an action series . My second gripe is with the widescreen or letterbox formatting of the video . It was totally unneccessary and done badly . The video seemed more cropped then augmented for the widescreen format . The series is over 20 years old . The original format would have suited me just fine . As for the voice work , it's up to par and I can enjoy it in English or Japanese . And the extras , even the little booklet with some of the DBZ history , is welcome and appreciated . But Funimation has disappointed me with some critical mistakes on this project .
