Spring 2009 Anime Roundup - Dragon Ball Kai
Anime Legend DragonBall Z is Back in HD and Now with Less Filler
Apr 21, 2009
In honour of Dragon Ball's 20th anniversary as an animated franchise, Toei animation announced a new Dragon Ball series. But instead of creating a new series, Toei instead chose to re-edit the original Dragon Ball Z animation, reducing the series from over 220 episodes to just 100. Renamed Dragon Ball Kai (DB Kai), the series is broadcast in high definition and features a new audio track including re-recorded material by most of the original cast.
Story
For anime fans who are unfamiliar with the Dragon Ball mythos, the first episode provides a brief recap of protagonist Son Goku’s story in the pre-Z Dragon Ball story. Five years later, Goku is living in peace with wife Chichi and son Gohan. However, danger lurks for the world’s greatest fighters as Radditz, a Saiyan warrior, approaches with intent to destroy all life on the planet.
Often mocked by fans for its excessive filler and padded fight sequences, Dragon Ball Kai promises tighter pacing which more closely resembles Akira Toriyama’s original manga. For comparison, the first three episodes of Dragon Ball Kai cover the same amount of storyline as episodes one to five of Dragon Ball Z. Fans and casual viewers will enjoy the series, but it will do little to change peoples’ opinions.
Sound
The OP/ED themes are new for DB Kai, which will disappoint long time fans who have associated the iconic song “Cha La Head Cha La.” The new music is quite good and captures the spirit of the series, but the opening is poppier, while the end resembles Super-Eurobeat tracks like those from Initial D.
The new dialogue recordings are a welcome improvement in quality, sounding nice and clear without the harshness of the original mono tracks. Those unfamiliar with the intricacies of the original will be unlikely to notice the difference between re-recorded and original dialogue. While most characters are re-voiced by their original actors, many supporting roles including Nappa, Mr. Popo, and Gregory were recast.
Vision
Originally animated in the mid-90’s, the footage has been cropped to a 16x9 aspect ratio for HD broadcast. Utilising Toei’s DragonBox edition remasters, the colours are bright and vivid, and the grain is kept in check. The opening and ending are newly animated, and reflect the additional details in Toriyama’s later in-series designs and reprint covers.
Unfortunately, the benefits end there. The cropping makes occasionally odd perspectives, a problem in such a high action series. Likewise the amount of onscreen blood and nudity featured in the original is either edited out with the cropping or digitally repainted - a process which (along with the general re-editing of episodes) would have seen US licensor FUNimation Entertainment crucified by angry fans. Lastly, some edits are visually awkward, with faded scenes versus the straight cuts which exclusively populate animation.
Summary
Nostalgic Dragon Ball Z fans and new viewers will find much to enjoy in Dragon Ball Kai, but the presence of censorship is disappointing. Likewise, many fans raised on CG animation may be put off by Toriyama’s unique designs and the look of cel, especially next to the reworked credit sequences.
