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The Funimation "remastered" Box Sets are a series of DVD box sets released by Funimation. For Dragon Ball Z, they feature an anamorphic widescreen (16:9) transfer from original Japanese film print, a revised English audio track, original English and Japanese audio tracks, plus many other special features. Similar sets have also been released for Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball GT. While the Z sets are cropped to achieve a widescreen (16:9) presentation, the original Dragon Ball and GT sets are presented in the original 4:3 aspect ratio. The sets do not include the next episode previews due to Toei not having supplied them to Funimation (they were recreated for TV broadcast and previous home video releases), although the narrator still erroneously provides the "stay tuned for scenes from the next episode" message.

These releases are also notable for being the region 1 debut for the uncut versions of Dragon Ball Episodes 1-13, Dragon Ball Z Episodes 28-67, and Dragon Ball Movie 1. Several voices in early Funimation-dubbed episodes also received redubbing for this release for consistency purposes (it should be noted that DBZ Episodes 1-67 and Movies 1-3 were redubbed from 2004-2006 for the earlier "Ultimate Uncut" Cartoon Network broadcast and canceled DVDs).

Restoration[]

Original 5

Ultimate Uncut Edition screenshot

Video Post & Transfer was responsible for the restoration process, during which they used the original 16mm negative, taken from FUNimation's film vault.

Lead by colorist Steve Franko, all 291 episodes of Dragon Ball Z were given a series of clean-ups. First was color correction, which Franko stated was little to none, using a Da Vinci 2K Plus Color Corrector. Next came the restoration process: the film was first processed by a Digital Vision DVNR 1000 HD Noise Reducer, which eliminated much of the video noise and grain that was in the system. Next was the Teranex, which was the final process of the clean-up. Franko stated in an interview that it took over $2 million worth of equipment to carry out the restoration. However, when the prices for each individual piece of equipment are added up, the equipment actually cost closer to $1.835 million. The entire process was done at 23.976fps (often referred to as 24fps for shorthand), the original framerate of the masters.

Remastered6

"remastered" screenshot

The restored footage was then laid out tape-to-tape at 1080p. The series was telecined at an aspect ratio of 16:9, re-conforming it from its original 4:3 aspect ratio. This allegedly helped to eliminate some of the grain and glue on the top and bottom of the picture and added more image to the left and right than any previous standard definition transfer, but also removed footage from the vertical aspect. The decision to crop the picture was FUNimation's decision, not Franko's.

Franko has said that due to a small budget and short schedule, he and his team were not able to do a complete and thorough job of the transfer.

Audio features[]

The following audio options are available on all box sets:

Dragon Ball[]

  • English track from Funimation dub, with the original Kikuchi score (Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, note that the FUNimation dub that aired on Cartoon Network used the original Japanese music; there was no original dub score ever made for the FUNimation dub of Dragon Ball).
  • Original Japanese audio (Dolby Digital 1.0 mono), with optional English subtitles.

Dragon Ball Z[]

  • English track with revised dialog based on the FUNimation dub, with the original Kikuchi score (Dolby Digital 5.1 surround).
  • English track with revised dialog based on the FUNimation dub, with FUNimation dub music (Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo). For the Season Box Sets, Nathan Johnson's Ultimate Uncut Special Edition music for episodes 1-67, and the Faulconer Productions music for episodes 68-291. (Some of the Faulconer Productions music has been changed from the original, most notably Episode 70 "Frieza Approaches".)
  • Original Japanese audio (Dolby Digital 1.0 mono), with optional English subtitles.

Dragon Ball GT[]

  • English track with revised dialog based on the FUNimation dub, with the original Tokunaga score (Dolby Digital 5.1 surround).
  • English track with revised dialog based on the FUNimation dub, with FUNimation dub music (Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo). For the Season Box Sets, original Mark Menza music for episodes 1-64.
  • Original Japanese audio (Dolby Digital 1.0 mono), with optional English subtitles.

Season Box Sets (Dragon Ball)[]

Season One[]

  • Release Date: September 15, 2009
Dragon Ball Season 1 Box Set Cover (Funimation)

This set contains the Emperor Pilaf Saga and the Tournament Saga. Episodes 29-31 are part of the Red Ribbon Army Saga. This DVD set marks the region 1 debut of the uncut version of Episodes 1-13. While there's no redubbing like the Dragon Ball Z sets, there are some minor alterations. For instance, Fighter 69 from the Tournament Saga had his voice pitched down in the original release, whereas here it is kept at its original pitch. Also, the filter on Great Ape Goku's roars was removed and is now heard as it was originally recorded.

Cover Character: Kid Goku

Episode count[]

Emperor Pilaf Saga:

Tournament Saga:

Red Ribbon Army Saga:

Season Two[]

  • Release Date: November 10, 2009
Dragon Ball Season 2 Box Set Cover (Funimation)

This set contains the remainder of the Red Ribbon Army Saga and the General Blue Saga. Episodes 58-61 are part of the Commander Red Saga. There are little changes, though the Pirate Robot's filter was removed from the episodes it featured and the voice left at its original pitch.

Cover Character: Krillin

Episode count[]

Red Ribbon Army Saga:

General Blue Saga:

Commander Red Saga:

Season Three[]

  • Release Date: February 2, 2010
Dragon Ball Season 3 Box Set Cover (Funimation)

This set contains the remainder of the Commander Red Saga and the Fortuneteller Baba Saga. Episodes 84-92 are part of the Tien Shinhan Saga. There are little changes, though Man-Wolf's voice no longer has a distortion as it did before.

Cover Character: Master Roshi (Max Power)

Episode count[]

Commander Red Saga:

Fortuneteller Baba Saga:

Tien Shinhan Saga:

Season Four[]

  • Release date: May 4, 2010
Dragon Ball Season 4 Box Set Cover (Funimation)

This set contains the remainder of the Tien Shinhan Saga and the King Piccolo Saga.

Cover Character: King Piccolo

Episode count[]

Tien Shinhan Saga:

King Piccolo Saga:

Season Five[]

  • Release Date: July 27, 2010
Dragon Ball Season 5 Box Set Cover (Funimation)

This set contains the Piccolo Jr. Saga. Little changes are present, though the filter effect used for Yaochun was removed.

Cover Character: Goku (Adult)

Episode count[]

Piccolo Jr. Saga:

NOTE: On the Dragon Ball saga sets that were released prior to the season sets, the subtitle translations were credited to Clyde Mandelin. On the new sets they are credited to Steven J. Simmons - although the translations are almost identical to the earlier sets. Some of the later season set discs are still credited to Mandelin. 

Season DVD Box Sets (Dragon Ball Z)[]

Season One[]

  • Release Date: February 6, 2007
Dragon Ball Z Season 1 Remastered DVD Cover

This set contains the Vegeta Saga and part of the Namek Saga. Unlike some of the following sets, this set does not feature any redubbing, except for one of Vegeta's lines during the Goku Vs. Vegeta fight when he is inconsistent in his pronunciation of "Kaio-ken" (though the original recorded line is still present for the US Music track). As such, many old errors remain uncorrected (Planet Vegeta being destroyed 3 years ago, Snake Way only being 10,000 miles, etc.) This DVD set is also the region 1 debut of the uncut version of Episodes 28-39.

Cover Character: Vegeta (Scouter)

Episode count[]

Vegeta Saga:

Namek Saga:

Special features[]

  • Dragon Ball Z Rebirth: Part I - Film to Video: The HD Transfer featurette
  • A New Look Featurette
  • Textless Songs
  • Trailers
  • Booklet including character profiles, episode summaries, and DBZ timeline

Controversy[]

The box set has created much controversy amongst fans and purists.

Background

Original film print

The 1

"remastered" screenshot

  • Many fans and critics have attacked FUNimation's decision to crop the series from 4:3 to 16:9. This results in minor (roughly about 20%) picture loss on the top and bottom, a few times resulting in awkward framing. It should also be noted that image is gained in the left and right (roughly about 5%) from the standard definition.
  • Due to the DVNR automatic process used to clean the prints, while it does greatly clear large amounts of dirt and grain, it accidentally blurs detail. Another effect is that, when the picture shakes, lines of detail are lost.
Funi season goku lines gone

Loss of detail due to the DVNR process

  • Some have attacked FUNimation's claim that they "remastered" the film prints frame-by-frame, due to some amounts of grain, scratches, and jiggling frames (all normal for an old anime show) still left. It should be noted that there are other ways to justify frame-by-frame remastering, including DVNR process, color correction, and 1080p HD transfer.
  • People have complained that the Japanese BGM sounds too low in the 5.1 Surround mix.
  • Some note the loss of the Spanish audio track, and the 5.1 surround TV broadcast English track from the Funimation Ultimate Uncut Special Edition. It should be noted that the reason behind this might be due to the large amount of content already on the DVDs, that there might be a smaller bitrate, meaning a loss of quality.
Orginal Screenshot

Original screenshot

Remastered Screenshot

"remastered" screenshot

  • Some have criticized that on the 5.1 surround, an insert song is missing. A clear reason for this is copyright laws (other dubs miss the song as well). Along with that, a chorus line in the score is missing at one point. A reason for this could be the track FUNimation used for the sound mix, the chorus note may be lost. Another track problem is the song 'Cha-La Head-Cha-La' is replaced by FUNimation's opening song for the movies. It is confusing as to why, mostly due to the fact Ending Song ("Detekoi Tobikiri ZENKAI Power!") is left perfectly intact.
  • It has also been said that FUNimation lied in the featurette, Dragon Ball Z Rebirth. At one point, there is a comparison between original film print and "remastered" print. Some have noted that the original film print side is still the "remastered" frame, just sped up to reveal grain. A reason for this may be that FUNimation just created that side to show the audience how the prints did somewhat look alike. Telling from the original frame on top, the picture is most likely that of how it was portrayed.
  • There is a glitch in the Marathon Mode in which footage prior to the title card does not play. As such, the pre-title card sequence in "The New Threat", introducing the series, is cut off if the Marathon Mode is chosen.

Reception[]

The release has become one of the most controversial anime DVDs released. Many purist fans say the season releases are an insult to fandom. Many fans say the picture is inferior to the Dragon Box sets released by Toei in Japan. Others, however, give positive reviews to the set, calling it one of FUNimation's better Dragon Ball Z sets.

One of the biggest events against the set was when Animeondvd, a well-known anime DVD review site, said they wouldn't even review it (or any other Season Set releases for that matter).

Despite the massive controversy, the set has become one of the best-selling anime DVDs all of time, selling more than 48,000 copies during its first week of release.[1] On Amazon.com, it continued to remain on the Top 10 bestselling anime DVDs, even several months after its release. In a report, ICv2 reported that Dragon Ball Z continues to remain the number one anime property, beating out other well-known anime Pokémon and Naruto.

FUNimation later released a statement saying that the set is the highest selling anime DVD of 2007.

Season Two[]

  • Release Date: May 22, 2007
Dragon Ball Z Season 2 Remastered DVD Cover

This set contains the remainder of the Namek Saga and the Captain Ginyu Saga. This set marks the region 1 debut of the uncut version of the Episodes 40-67.

Cover Character: Goku

Episode Guide Cover Character: Frieza (First Form)

Episode count[]

Namek Saga:

Captain Ginyu Saga:

Special features[]

  • Instrumental music
  • Trailers
  • Booklet including character profiles and episode summaries

Captain Ginyu Saga redub[]

For the "remastered" release of the Ginyu Saga, FUNimation redubbed several voices to make the transition from the previous episodes (which were dubbed uncut only recently at that point) easier. Light script changes were made to some of the redubbed characters' lines of dialogue.

Alterations:

  • Brice Armstrong, who performed Ginyu in the Namek Saga, replaces Dale Kelly as Captain Ginyu. Kelly's original voice is still used for some of Ginyu's battle grunts and power-up screams due to Armstrong's age.
  • Christopher Sabat redubs his work as Vegeta. Originally, Sabat voiced Vegeta similar to previous English voice actor, Brian Drummond. Later in time, Sabat voiced the character much differently. However, the original battle grunts are left intact from episode 68 onwards.
  • Sonny Strait redubs all his work as Krillin. His voice also varied significantly throughout the series. Strait was brought back to present continuity with the previous 67 episodes.
  • Stephanie Nadolny redubs most of her work as Gohan with the exception of two lines (one where he has the Dragon Radar out after Burter and Recoome's demise, and another when he's sitting on the Dragon Balls outside Frieza's ship).
  • Linda Chambers-Young redubs her lines as Frieza. Her voice originally sounded more calm and woman-like. Here, her voice is more rough and threatening. It helps present continuity to the Namek Saga voice. Some of the grunts are the original lines and in episode 69's recap, the original dub lines for edited episode 54 can be heard.
  • Laura Bailey replaces Ceyli Delgadillo as Dende.
  • Christopher Sabat replaces Vic Mignogna and Mark Britten as Burter. Mignogna was supposed to handle Burter's redubbing from the original Ultimate Uncut dub of the Namek Saga, but was unavailable. Sabat completely replaced Mignogna in the Namek Saga material as well.
  • Christopher Sabat gives a couple of groans to Recoome in "Ginyu Assault" after Jeice retreats whereas he was silent in the original version. Bizarrely, this was the only new material Recoome was given in the remastered dub.
  • Kyle Hebert replaces Dale Kelly as the narrator. Dale Kelly voiced the narrator originally, but Kyle Hebert took over the role beginning with the Great Saiyaman saga, and later narrated the uncut version of the first 67 episodes. (Hebert's redubbed narration was first heard on the Cell Games Saga DVDs starting with Volume 50: Guardian's Return)
  • The scene where Bulma escapes from the cave to steal the Dragon Balls was completely redubbed, possibly owing to the master recordings being lost or too damaged to use. Other small changes were made to the script. All other scenes with Bulma were left completely intact.
  • In the original US broadcast English track, the Vegeta Saga and the Namek Saga (Episodes 1-67) feature the Ultimate Uncut Special Edition music from Nathan Johnson. The Captain Ginyu Saga all the way to the Kid Buu Saga (Episodes 68-291) feature the Faulconer Productions music in the series. Shunsuke Kikuchi's music is used in the 5.1 surround sound audio track for all 291 episodes.
  • Several additional characters were also given a redub by various voice actors. Stephanie Nadolny reprised her role as Bulma's electronic diary for a redubbed scene. The three Warrior Namekians originally voiced by Sonny Strait in "Frieza Approaches" were redubbed by Gordon Holey, Mark Lancaster, and Brandon Potter. Two of Frieza's soldiers from "Calling the Eternal Dragon", also previously voiced by Strait, were redubbed by Anthony Bowling and Phil Parsons respectively.
  • Despite many alterations, the voices for Nail, King Kai, and Guru are left intact. Goku's voice, Jeice's voice, and Bulma's voice are also left mostly intact; only one of Bulma's scenes was redubbed, a few of Jeice's lines have been redubbed and one added in episode 68, and one of Goku's lines in episode 74 is an alternate take.
  • Minor changes were made to Christopher Neel's original script, sometimes replacing less-mature sounding dialog, and dialogue that may have sounded awkward in the original version. Example:
  • Frieza (Original): Any last wishes before you go the way of the dodo?
  • Frieza (Redub): Any last wishes before I kill you?
  • Vegeta (Original): This is going to be easier than coloring inside the lines.
  • Vegeta (Redub): This is going to be easier than I thought.

Reception[]

Unlike the first season, the set has received little controversy (most of the fans complaints are identical to the previous set). Some fans complain of the redub, including of not redubbing characters done by Sean Schemmel (Goku, Nail, and King Kai; Sean Schemmel originally voiced Goku in a similar pitch to Peter Kelamis before developing his own better-known voice in the Frieza Saga).

Like the previous set, it has also sold very well. On Amazon.com, it is on the top ten highest selling anime DVDs.

Season Three[]

  • Release Date: September 18, 2007
Dragon Ball Z Season 3 Remastered DVD Cover

This set contains the Frieza Saga.

Cover Character: Frieza (Final Form)

Episode count[]

Frieza Saga:

Frieza Saga Redub[]

Unlike the Captain Ginyu Saga, the Frieza Saga does not receive extensive redubbing. Chris Forbis continues to revise portions of Christopher Neel's original script.

  • Christopher Sabat continues to redub his lines as Vegeta for the entire Season. Some battle grunts from the original are present, such as episode 77 and the beginning of episode 86. Also, the original dub voice can be heard in the recaps of episodes 87 and 101.
  • Linda Young continues to redub her work as Frieza leading up to the character's first transformation, though most of the battle grunts are left intact. Portions of her work as 2nd form Frieza are redubbed as well as redubbing one line for 3rd form Frieza in Episode 82, the line "Oh Piccolo, it's time for school!" is replaced with "Now now, you're not giving up already, ay?" in addition to 3rd form Frieza's voice sound effect being completely and unintentionally removed from the Remastered releases. Frieza's final form is redubbed in episode 84. Redubbing stops at episode 85.
  • Stephanie Nadolny continues to redub most of her work as Gohan up to Episode 79. Redubbing stops as Gohan attacks Frieza when he says, "You... ANIMAL!" in episode 79 Gohan Attacks.
  • Sonny Strait redubs all his work as Krillin leading up to episode 94. In episode 86, he redubs most of his work as Bardock in the Frieza flashback (except for when he says, "No way!")
  • In episode 104, Phil Parsons and Justin Cook redub Dylan Thompson and Lane Pianta's lines as Nappa and Raditz in order to maintain continuity with the Vegeta Saga.
  • Brice Armstrong continues to replace Dale Kelly as Captain Ginyu in remaining scenes, including the lines involving the "frog" subplot with Bulma, as well as Frog sound effects. However, Dale Kelly's voice was left intact in Episode 92.
  • John Burgmeier replaces Chris Cason and Lane Pianta as Tien Shinhan for the entire season. Burgmeier also replaced Cason as Gregory when he gets roughed up by the Ginyu Force in episode 92.
  • Christopher R. Sabat redubs his performance as Zarbon in episode 78 and also gets an extra line "Well, I suppose you know best." when Frieza goes to destroy Planet Vegeta, keeping his performance in continuity with the Namek Saga. Sabat initially followed suit with Paul Dobson and gave Zarbon an Australian accent before he devolved away into a more Mid-Atlantic sounding voice. Zarbon's original accent is left intact for episode 104.
  • Bill Townsley replaces Dylan Thompson as Guldo.
  • Laura Bailey continues to replace Ceyli Delgadillo as Dende throughout the rest of the season.
  • Kyle Hebert continues to redo Dale Kelly's narration.
  • Christopher R. Sabat replaces Chris Cason as Mr. Popo.
  • Mike McFarland redubs his work as Master Roshi and Yajirobe in two scenes.
  • Brad Jackson replaces Mark Britten as Oolong.
  • Kyle Hebert replaces Mark Britten as Ox-King.
  • Christopher Sabat continues to replace Mark Britten as Burter. For some reason, Mark Britten's voice is kept in Episode 92. Similar to Dale Kelly's grunts as Ginyu, most of Britten's battle grunts were retained for Burter.
  • Eric Vale redubbed Christopher Sabat as Moori during his revival in episode 100. Mark Britten is still Moori's voice in episodes 105 and 107.
  • Christopher Sabat redubs portions of his work as Kami and replaces Chris Forbis for his appearances in Episodes 76-77.
  • Christopher Sabat redubs Mike McFarland as Mez when the Ginyu Force falls into Hell. Mark Britten is retained as Goz.
  • Several minor characters were also given redubs by various actors. In Frieza's flashback to King Vegeta's failed coup, one of Frieza's grunts is revoiced by John Burgmeier in place of Chris Cason. The Saiyan Elite who shouts "The King! No!!" is also redubbed by Burgmeier in place of Sonny Strait. For Episode 97, during the filler scene on Planet Frieza #79, Commander Gonma is redubbed by Bill Townsley in place of Mark Britten and the Doctor went from Dale Kelly to Chris Cason. Also, the control tower soldier is redubbed by Troy Baker who voiced him in the Namek Saga, replacing Sean Schemmel's performance. Two Namekians in Moori's village receive redubs from Eric Vale replacing Chris Forbis and Christopher Sabat from the original. Vale also replaces Lane Pianta and Chris Cason as two Namekians who grieve for Guru's passing. When Porunga is summoned in West City, the woman who freaks out seeing him is redubbed by Carrie Savage in place of a pitched-up Cynthia Cranz. The cop riding a moped is now voiced by David Trosko replacing Sonny Strait. Plus, the Sky Car 6 reporter is redubbed by Anthony Bowling replacing a distorted Stephanie Nadolny.

Despite these differences, the voices of Goku, Chi-Chi, Jeice, Recoome, King Kai, Bikini, Dr. Brief, Puar, Nail, Chiaotzu, Guru, Yamcha, Piccolo, Shenron, Porunga, and Bulma are left perfectly intact. Nappa's yell in a flashback during Episode 93 is still performed by Sean Schemmel and young Krillin is voiced by Sonny Strait instead of Laurie Steele. Porunga's appearances after being summoned for the first time are still done by Dale Kelly despite Chris Sabat replacing him when Guru and the dragon are restored to life. Moori's voice is still Mark Britten when Guru dies again and during his stay at Capsule Corporation. While Sabat resumed playing Moori in the dub of the Namek Saga (and the Kid Buu Saga), his performance in the original dub of episode 100 was much different of how he would portray the character later on, using a high-pitched voice with a heavy Texan accent.

Reception[]

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"remastered" screenshot

NDVD 003

Original screenshot

The Season 3 set, so far, has received a much better reception from fans, mainly due to how FUNimation kept the colors the same, although they were brightened. Also, unlike the Season 2 set, the lack of redubbing for Goku in Season 3 was not poorly received as by this point in the original dub, Sean Schemmel's voice for Goku had developed more.

Season Four[]

  • Release Date: February 19, 2008
Dragon Ball Z Season 4 Remastered DVD Cover

This boxset contains the Garlic Jr. Saga, Trunks Saga and the Androids Saga. Unlike earlier season box sets, this set does not feature extensive redubbing. Some minor changes do exist, however, such as the removal of the voice effect given to Android 19. Kyle Hebert continues to redub Dale Kelly as the narrator and Mark Britten as the Ox King. Vegeta's short appearances in the Garlic Jr. Saga have also been redubbed. In addition, characters such as Spice, Mustard, and Maron have been redubbed with new voice actors (Spice went from Bart Myer to J. Michael Tatum, Mustard went from Chuck Huber to Brandon Potter, and Maron went from Daphne Gere to Leah Clark respectively). Puar gets a redub in "The Heavens Tremble". Also, the pitch of the aliens in Vegeta's scenes are the original recorded lines unedited while the original dub had high pitch voices. The doctor on Planet Cold is redubbed by Chris Cason in place of Chuck Huber form the original (also Christopher Sabat did the doctor's two lines once Frieza is fully rebuilt originally but Cason also redubbed those). Some of the civilians in "The Androids Appear" are given redubs such as the blonde mustached man who Android 19 kills, going from Mike Wiebe in the former to Eric Vale in the latter, and the two office workers that Yamcha questions with Wiebe and Vale's original performances being redone by Anthony Bowling and David Trosko respectively. One of Krillin's lines in the aforementioned episode has a different take used as is one of Gohan's. The latter's line asking Yajirobe if he's okay after his skycar is destroyed is replaced with "Hey mister, are you okay?" despite that dialogue already appearing in "Goku's Ordeal". Bizarrely, Gohan can be heard saying "Way to go, dad!" during the early stages of Goku's fight with #19 despite not Gohan not having arrived to the battle then. There are some musical changes for the 2.0 audio track, containing the English Dub with the Faulconer Productions score. For example, in Episode 118 of the Trunks Saga, when Gohan rebelled against Mr. Shu, his mentor for that filler episode, a more goofy tune played rather than more serious music playing like it did in the Original FUNimation Dub found on the Single DVD/VHS as well as the original Cartoon Network Broadcast. Like Season 3 (and for all upcoming Seasons for the Remastered "Orange Bricks" DVD Sets) there are sound effects removed, such as Trunks landing in Episode 119 having a "BANG" sound effect when he lands in the Original Dub mix, as well as that same sound effect playing a few times after that to match the Faulconer Productions music track "Trunks Appears". Vegeta turning Super Saiyan in Episode 129 also has a sound effect when his hair turns Golden, which also has been lost. It's necessary to point out that only sound effects originally added by the dub have been removed, so it has no missing sound effects that the Japanese version has. Mark Britten is retained as Korin in the Garlic Jr. Saga despite having been mostly replaced by Chris Sabat in the series. One of Chi-Chi's lines in "Goku's Special Technique" is voice matched by Lydia Mackay in place of her usual actress Cynthia Cranz due to Cranz not being available for recording it. It is retained for the remastered release. Master Roshi's story on how Goku defeated the Red Ribbon Army in "Double Trouble for Goku" is left unaltered including mistakes such as Mercenary Tao still being called "General Tao" and Dr. Gero still being said to have masterminded the entire army. Commander Red, Staff Officer Black, and Major Metallitron's voices are still voiced by Mike Wiebe, Phillip Wilburn, and Chris Sabat respectively instead of having Josh Martin, Sabat, and Chris Rager redub them from the previous series.

Cover Character: Future Trunks (Sword)

Episode count[]

Garlic Jr. Saga

Trunks Saga

DBZ5

A comparison between the visuals of the Japanese and English pictures.

Androids Saga

Season Five[]

  • Release Date: May 27, 2008
Dragon Ball Z Season 5 Remastered DVD Cover

This set contains the Imperfect Cell Saga and the Perfect Cell Saga. Minor redubbing is present, the most notable being the Narrator. Kyle Hebert notably fills in a moment that was previously all silence in the beginning of "Our Hero Awakens" and again at the tail-end of "Hour of Temptation". Cell is given an extra line in "Sacrifice" when he attempts to rise out of the hole made by Tien's Neo Tri-Beam: "When I get out of here, I'll make you pay!" In "Bow to The Prince", Future Trunks' screaming during his trials in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber are a different take than previously used as is his screaming "NO!! NO!!!" and "FATHER!!!" when he thinks Vegeta is burning to death. Laura Bailey redubs Ceyli Delgadillo for Dende's scream during Gohan's flashback in the aforementioned episode. Mark Britten is retained as Moori for his appearance in "The Last Defense" instead of Christopher Sabat redubbing him.

Cover Character: Cell (Perfect Form)

Episode count[]

Imperfect Cell Saga:

Perfect Cell Saga

Season Six[]

  • Release Date: September 16, 2008.
Dragon Ball Z Season 6 Remastered DVD Cover

This set contains the Cell Games Saga. Some minor changes were made to the dialogue in addition to minor characters receiving re-dubbing (such as the News Interviewer who approaches Cell before the games begin) in addition to Ox-King and the narration. The aforementioned newscaster was redubbed by Joel McDonald in place of Christopher Sabat, the latter using a voice virtually identical to his performance as Grandpa Gohan. Gohan is given extra dialogue during the final beam struggle with Cell. Also, a spectator wearing a pink hat watching the Cell Games is given two extra lines by Mike McFarland in "No More Rules" despite sounding distinctly different in the role from the original dub. The most notable difference from the first release is that Laura Bailey has replaced Ceyli Delgadillo as Dende. However, it's not necessarily a redub, as FUNimation had lost contact with Delgadillo when first dubbing the Cell Games saga, and Laura Bailey was cast as a voice match to replace her (this was Bailey's first voice acting part), but Delgadillo soon after returned to the studio and redubbed all of Bailey's work, and it is her voice that was heard in the original broadcast and DVD release. However Delgadillo left FUNimation again, and Laura Bailey once again replaced her as Dende in all future media. The voice of Dende heard in the "remastered" set is Bailey's voice that was recorded before Delgadillo returned to redub her work. It should be noted that the error of Tao being called "General" instead of "Mercenary" has not been fixed. Goku's Instant Transmission against Perfect Cell has a second MEEEE missing, resulting in Goku saying Kamehaha. This is probably due to the fact that they lost the dialogue track. Said track is in the Cell Games Saga releases prior to the Remastered releases.

The Hyperbolic Time Chamber echo and reverb effects found on the Toonami Broadcast and VHS/DVD Single releases are entirely and unintentionally removed, due to the fact that they did an entirely new mix from scratch, thus the edits done to the original English Dub are gone in the Remastered Home releases. It's important to mention that they only did this for the English Dub tracks, thus the removal of sound effects exclusive to the dub. This is the exact same reason why the aforementioned effects that 3rd Form Frieza and Android 19 had are gone. Episode 192 "Goku's Decision" removes the audio from the Z-Fighters' flashbacks; Yamcha's contained audio from the BLT/Ocean Group dub of the Dragon Ball anime episode "The Legend of Goku" with Saffron Henderson and Alec Willows as Goku and Oolong respectively while Tien's flashback to "Lost and Found" had original audio (as Funimation hadn't gone back to rerecord the original anime at the time) done by Ceyli Delgadillo, who also voiced Goku in Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle and Mystical Adventure.

Another note is that in the episodes "Memories of Gohan", "Save the World", "Goku's Decision", and "One More Wish", Mark Britten's voice for Ox-King is left intact. Kyle Hebert still redubbed him in most episodes, but not the four listed. Captain Ginyu's croaking in the first-mentioned of those episodes is still performed by Dale Kelly despite Brice Armstrong redubbing most of his material. Fortuneteller Baba's appearance is left intact with Laurie Steele instead of Linda Young redubbing over it.

Cover Character: Goku (Super Saiyan)

Episode count[]

Cell Games Saga

Reception[]

The box set sold more than 37,000 copies during the first week of its release.[2]

Season Seven[]

  • Release Date: November 11, 2008.
Dragon Ball Z Season 7 Remastered DVD Cover

This set contains the Great Saiyaman Saga and the World Tournament Saga. Minimal redubbing is present with Kyle Hebert redubbing Christopher Sabat as Ox King but no longer as the narrator despite his earlier work sounding deeper than most of his narration (he was retaining consistency with Dale Kelly at the time). Duncan Brannan is also kept as Fortuneteller Baba. Plus Chris Rager and Justin Cook as Goz and Mez respectively have been left alone despite most of their appearances being dubbed by Chris Sabat. Dameon Clarke's performance as King Yemma is also retained. One of young Goku's lines originally performed by Ceyli Delgadillo during Chi-Chi's flashback in "Gohan's First Date" was redubbed by Stephanie Nadolny, though the latter still did most of his dialogue even in the original dub. Young Chi-Chi, however, is still voiced by Monika Antonelli instead of Laura Bailey who mainly voiced her in the original Dragon Ball anime.

Cover Character: Piccolo

Episode count[]

Great Saiyaman Saga

World Tournament Saga

Season Eight[]

  • Release Date: February 10, 2009
Dragon Ball Z Season 8 Remastered DVD Cover

This set contains the Babidi Saga and the Majin Buu Saga. Very little redubbing is present in this set, such as Kyle Hebert redubbing Chris Sabat as Ox King. However, Yakon's lines have been left unaltered from the voice filter that was used to deepen his voice in the original version, which is now removed on the Remastered boxsets, as well as Innocent Buu's effect that lighten his voice originally. Also his incredibly high-pitched scream when used his Angry Explosion and the higher pitched scream effect he did when he got blow up by Majin Vegeta are removed. The echo effect on Babidi's voice when he's telepathically speaking to the Earth's population is gone as well. Also, in "Buu is Hatched", Goku and Majin Vegeta staring at each other has added dialogue they think in their minds. Goku said "His moves are incredible!" while Majin Vegeta said "Finally I'm going to tear him apart!". Though it's highly likely that the lines were recorded in 2001, just like all the other lines that aren't redubbed due to the voices themselves being not really different. Once again, Duncan Brannan's performance as Baba has been left untouched.

Another note is that Goku has a voice filter added when he powers up to Super Saiyan 3 in front of Innocent Buu and Babidi, which is untouched on the VHS/DVD Single releases.

Cover Character: Vegeta (Majin)

Episode count[]

Babidi Saga

Majin Buu Saga

Season Nine[]

  • Release Date: May 19, 2009
Dragon Ball Z Season 9 Remastered DVD Cover

This set contains the Fusion Saga and the Kid Buu Saga. There has been portions of redubs and extra dialogue included in this set, such as Kyle Hebert redubbing Christopher Sabat as Ox King. Majin Buu's voice is at the original unedited pitch while the original dubbed voice was deepened. Also, Vegito's voice as the fighting candy is at normal pitch while the original dub voice was high pitched. Goku has been given extra dialogue as well as Yamcha (Such as when Goku is unable to transport off Earth during its destruction stating that he is unable to concentrate). One of Gohan's lines in "Granddaughter Pan" is changed when Mr. Satan provides initial seating for him and the other Z-Fighters and another is redubbed with Kyle Hebert replacing Dameon Clarke's voice double from the original. Duncan Brannan's dialogue, plus Wendy Powell's in "Vegito... Downsized" as Baba has been left intact. Sabat's voice as Ox King is retained in "Call to Action" and "Buu's Reincarnation".

Cover Character: Super Vegito

Episode count[]

Fusion Saga

Kid Buu Saga

Season Blu-ray Sets[]

FUNimation began releasing Dragon Ball Z in season volumes on Blu-ray in December 2013. Each successive volume was released six weeks after the previous volume, with the exception of the first volume. The picture is presented in a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio using a method known as "tilt and scan" or "tiltscanning" in place of the automatic cropping process seen on the Orange Brick transfer. Each volume includes four discs with approximately 10 episodes per disc and also includes certain bonus featurettes. Seasons 1-3, 4-6 and 7-9 each feature a branching image across their respective front covers.

Season One[]

  • Release Date: December 31, 2013
Dragon Ball Z Season 1 Blu-ray Cover

This set contains the Vegeta Saga and the part of the Namek Saga.

Cover Characters: Raditz, Nappa, Goku, Piccolo, Chiaotzu, and a Saibaman

Episode count[]

Vegeta Saga:

Namek Saga:

Season Two[]

  • Release Date: February 18, 2014
Dragon Ball Z Season 2 Blu-ray Cover

This set contains the remainder of the Namek Saga and the Captain Ginyu Saga.

Cover Characters: Bulma, Vegeta, Gohan, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, two Saibamen, Zarbon, Dodoria, Guldo, Recoome, Captain Ginyu

Episode count[]

Namek Saga:

Captain Ginyu Saga:

Season Three[]

  • Release Date: April 1, 2014
Dragon Ball Z Season 3 Blu-ray Cover

This set contains the Frieza Saga.

Cover Characters: Burter, Jeice, Krillin, Frieza (Final Form), Nail, Guru, and Dende.

Episode count[]

Frieza Saga:

Season Four[]

  • Release Date: May 13, 2014
    Dragon Ball Z Season 4 Blu-ray Cover

This set contains the Garlic Jr. Saga, Trunks Saga and the Androids Saga.

Cover Characters: King Cold, Frieza, Android 19, Android 16, Android 18, and Future Trunks.

Episode count[]

Garlic Jr. Saga:

Trunks Saga:

Android Saga:

Season Five[]

  • Release Date: June 24, 2014.
Dragon Ball Z Season 5 Blu-ray Cover

This set contains the Imperfect Cell Saga and the Perfect Cell Saga.

Cover characters: Dr. Gero, Krillin, Vegeta, Android 17, Tien Shinhan, and one Cell Jr.

Episode count[]

Imperfect Cell Saga

Perfect Cell Saga

Season Six[]

  • Release Date: August 5, 2014.
Dragon Ball Z Season 6 Blu-ray Cover

This set contains the Cell Games Saga.

Cover characters: Cell, four Cell Jr.'s, Gohan, and Goku.

Episode count[]

Cell Games Saga

Season Seven[]

  • Release Date: September 16, 2014.
Dragon Ball Z Season 7 Blu-ray Cover

This set contains the Great Saiyaman Saga and the World Tournament Saga.

Cover Characters: Spopovich, Videl, Great Saiyaman, Goten, Trunks, and 3 citizens.

Episode Count[]

Other World Saga

Great Saiyaman Saga

World Tournament Saga

Season Eight[]

  • Release Date: October 28, 2014.
Dragon Ball Z Season 8 Blu-ray Cover

This set contains the Babidi Saga and the Majin Buu Saga.

Cover Characters: Dabura, Babidi, Majin Vegeta, and four citizens.

Episode Count[]

Babidi Saga

Majin Buu Saga

Season Nine[]

  • Release Date: December 9, 2014.
Dragon Ball Z Season 9 Blu-ray Cover

This set contains the Fusion Saga and the Kid Buu Saga.

Cover Characters: Goku, Mr. Satan, Kid Buu, and two citizens.

Episode Count[]

Fusion Saga

Kid Buu Saga


Season Box Sets (Dragon Ball GT)[]

Season One[]

  • Release Date: December 9, 2008
Dragon Ball GT Season 1 DVD Cover

This set contains the Black Star Dragon Ball Saga and part of the Baby Saga. The opening and ending themes have been redubbed into English for the English dub audio track in order to fit with the uncut footage.

Cover Character: Goku (Super Saiyan 4)

Episode count[]

Black Star Dragon Ball Saga:

Baby Saga:

Season Two[]

  • Release Date: February 10, 2009
Dragon Ball GT Season 2 DVD Cover

This set contains the remainder of the Baby Saga, the Super 17 Saga, the Shadow Dragon Saga, and the Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy TV special.

Cover Character: Gogeta (Super Saiyan 4)

Episode count[]

Baby Saga:

Super 17 Saga:

Shadow Dragon Saga:

The Complete Series[]

  • Release Date: September 21, 2010

This set contains the entire Dragon Ball GT series and the special A Hero's Legacy. The discs are identical to the season set release and both booklets were also included in the set.

Dragon Ball Z Movie Double Feature DVD/Blu-ray Steelbook Sets[]

All the movie double feature steelbook sets have been released both on DVD and Blu-ray. The specials contain redubbing on the parts of the narrator, Nappa, and Ox-King, and one of Korin's lines was redubbed in the fifth movie. Additionally, most only include a single "Angle" option, which features the American titles/credits exclusively.

Dragon Ball Z Double Feature 1[]

Cover Character: Future Trunks

  • Release date: May 27, 2008

Contains Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks and Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku.

Dragon Ball Z Double Feature 2[]

Cover Character: Goku

  • Release date: July 15, 2008

Contains Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone and Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest, as well as an original commentary for Dead Zone by Chris Cason (ADR Director) and Chuck Huber (voice of Garlic, Jr.)

Dragon Ball Z Double Feature 3[]

Cover Character: Goku (Kaio-ken)

  • Release date: September 16, 2008

Contains Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might and Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug.

Dragon Ball Z Double Feature 4[]

Cover Character: Meta-Cooler

  • Release date: November 11, 2008

Contains Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge and Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler.

Dragon Ball Z Double Feature 5[]

Cover Character: Vegeta (Ascended)

  • Release date: February 10, 2009

Contains Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! and Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound.

Dragon Ball Z Triple Feature[]

Cover Character: Broly

  • Release date: March 31, 2009

Contains Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan, Dragon Ball Z: Broly - Second Coming and Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly.

Dragon Ball Z Double Feature 6[]

Cover Character: Goku (Super Saiyan 3)

  • Release date: May 19, 2009

Contains Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn and Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon

Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z Movie Collection Box Sets[]

All 17 movies were re-released in collection box sets containing 4-5 movies each. Each boxset is a thinpack with each movie separated on individual discs. The individual thin cases feature new artwork based on the original Japanese poster artwork on the front, and the clean artwork from the previous American release on the back. These releases generally contain no extras with the exception of Dragon Ball Z Movie 1's commentary track. Each movie contains English 5.1 and Japanese 1.0 (sometimes 2.0) soundtracks. These are the same discs as the "Double Feature" releases.

Dragon Ball Movie Collection[]

The Dragon Ball Movie Collection contains all 4 Dragon Ball movies. It marked the "remastered" debut of Dragon Ball movies 2-4 on DVD. The first disc is recycled from the "Curse of the Blood Rubies" single release from December 2010. The only extras on this set are brief trailers for various FUNimation series. Movies 2 and 3 do not contain any redubbing, while Movie 1's English dub came from the uncut 2010 release featuring FUNimation's voice cast from Dragon Ball Z Kai. As a result, the voices for each character are very inconsistent throughout all 4 movies. This set is also notorious for its seemingly rushed approach toward English titles, credits, and music. Movies 3-4 contain no English credits whatsoever, and the title screen for Movie 2 was left in Japanese (despite an English one being made for the previous release). For the English dub, theme songs were in English for Movies 1 and 3 but were left in Japanese for Movies 2 and 4. Each movie is presented in an open matte 4:3 aspect ratio.

Interestingly, these box sets, still have a "Clyde Mandelin" credit in the translations area, and do not give a credit to Steve Simmons like the Dragon Ball season sets do.

Cover Image: Dragon Ball: The Path to Power

Release Date: February 8, 2011

Contains Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies, Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle, Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure, and Dragon Ball: The Path to Power.

Dragon Ball Z Movie Collection One[]

The first Dragon Ball Z Movie Collection box set features the first five movies in the Dragon Ball Z franchise. The discs are reused from the previous double feature sets.

Cover Image: Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug

Release Date: November 1, 2011

Contains Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone, Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest, Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might, Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, and Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge.

Dragon Ball Z Movie Collection Two[]

Cover Image: Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan

Release Date: December 6, 2011

Contains Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler, Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!, Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan, and Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound.

Dragon Ball Z Movie Collection Three[]

Cover Image: Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon

Release Date: January 3, 2012

Contains Dragon Ball Z: Broly - Second Coming, Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly, Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn, and Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon.

References[]

External links[]

Site Navigation[]

Dragon Ball Z Blu-ray Volumes
Seasons Dragon Ball Z: Season OneDragon Ball Z: Season TwoDragon Ball Z: Season ThreeDragon Ball Z: Season FourDragon Ball Z: Season FiveDragon Ball Z: Season SixDragon Ball Z: Season SevenDragon Ball Z: Season EightDragon Ball Z: Season Nine
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