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REVIEW: Dragon Ball DVD Season 2 Uncut Set




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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 12:13 am Reply with quote
I enjoy a lot of the Red Ribbon material, save for the pirate treasure bit, which goes on longer than it ought to. I'm still holding out for a Dragon Box of the original series, but I may give in and buy one of these sets somewhere along the lines.

I would argue that the dub of Dragon Ball is certainly better than its sequel, but it has a lot of the same problems that DBZ has in its casting. Stephanie Naldony's Goku is a little too scratchy and charmless, and I much preferred the voice they gave him for the movie dubs, Ceyli Juliann Delgadillo (who plays Dende in DBZ), who sounds a bit more naive and guileless. Tiffany Vollmer's Bulma still grates on me from time to time, too. Laurie Steele's Kuririn is surprisingly fitting for his personality at the time, though: sort of a jerk. I'm also a fan of the English voices for Tao Pai Pai and Commander Red.

It's later on when they march closer to the DBZ material, when they reintroduce Sean Schemmel's Goku, that I get a little less impressed. Not that the English dub is bad, but the Japanese cast is consistently stronger.
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Wooga



Joined: 22 Jun 2007
Posts: 916
Location: Tucson
PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:10 am Reply with quote
I like how one of the drawbacks of the show is that it's 'ultimately kind of pointless'... Isn't all entertainment ultimately kind of pointless? Laughing
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jr240483



Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 4369
Location: New York City,New York,USA
PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:02 am Reply with quote
Come on guys so what if it's loose a bit. At least it's the classic dub that most of liked on CN even though sub prusuits are right now crying out blody murder

if it was so bad why in the heck are their so many releases for DB and DBZ let alone the massive about of games the franchise has???

though it's no Evangelion,it's still a great dub in my eye and it's a mus have.

Besides,compared to the horror that was known as 4kids which I thank god EVERY DAY that they NEVER got the license for this as well as DBZ (Could you imagine the mess if they got their hands on the series???), this dub is paradise.
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Son-kun



Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Posts: 345
PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:10 am Reply with quote
I'll agree that a lot of the humor interjected is great fun from what I remember of the Cartoon Network days. I think their experience with Yu Yu Hakusho really shines here and the dub comes off as just generally being the best one out of the Dragon Ball trilogy. Less is changed and what is changed generally doesn't distract from the mood and characters of the show. Something that I thought generally changed and consumed the general experience from the various DBZ dubs. Nadolny works just fine as Son Goku, but for some reason I found her to be largely annoying in the Dragon Ball Revenge of King Piccolo localization. Perhaps it has something to do with her laughs.

I'll agree that the Japanese track is muddy, but to put it as a negative is pretty much an unfair assessment given the age of the show and the technology that was available at the time. I welcome it as artistic direction given the inspiration that was shown from the old Kung-Fu flicks of the time. Despite my nitpicks, I thought it was great review.


Last edited by Son-kun on Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:25 am; edited 1 time in total
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asimpson2006



Joined: 13 May 2008
Posts: 3151
Location: USA
PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:24 am Reply with quote
I have yet to listen to the Japanese track but it will probably be a while before I do so. I liked the English audio track but I wish they would have kept the fact that spoiler[Gen. Blue is gay] in the English dub. The way they have it it just makes him sound like half a sissy.

I would have made fewer of the treasure hunt episodes, they seem to drag on a little too much for my taste.
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Daimao Raki



Joined: 03 Jul 2008
Posts: 593
Location: Dark Side of the Moon
PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:51 pm Reply with quote
Solid review. I really do like the RR portion of Dragonball more-so than the later arcs.
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Brice_Armstrong



Joined: 07 Jun 2009
Posts: 19
PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:42 pm Reply with quote
Good review, but as usual, ANN reviewers always seem biased when it comes to english dubs, how many times have we read the line "The eng dub outdoes the Japanese version" when in fact it's far from true... To think the internet's most trusted anime source could have staff that are almost entirely biased to the english version, it's like I once said, never trust ANN reviewers when it comes to two things:
#1 English dubs cause they will always overrate them.
#2 Bleach: cause they all seem to think this is thee greatest shonen series of all time when it's just a pure rip off of DragonballZ and other Shonen animes (still can't get over how many times Bleach characters go "Let's move the fight to another location in order to avoid destroying the place" then they take off into the air and literally fly to another location, DBZ-esque anyone!?!?)
- Fun fact: Watch Grimmjow and Ichigo's fight in episode 165 then watch Vegeta and Goku's fight in Saiyan Saga (ep. 28+ if I remember correctly), talk about the EXACT SAME SCENARIO!
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:09 pm Reply with quote
Isn't it weird that a person with the username "Brice Armstrong", one of Funimation's own VAs, and narrator of Dragon Ball is talking about how ANN supposedly has a preference for dubs?

ANN reviewers don't have to come to any general consensus, nor is the head of the editorial staff responsible for hiring folks who have a particular standard for English dubs to balance things out. An anime fan should shop around for opinions. They're not always going to agree with a reviewer, nor should they expect to.

If you disagree with the opinion of the article, present your argument(s) and participate in a discussion, as you have. But I can hardly see where ANN has some overreaching preference for dubs of either Japanese or English.

Now, personally, as I've stated, I dislike the way Funimation handles the Dragon Ball franchise as far as dubs, but even if that were a prevalent opinion, it's hardly the only one.

That said, if you're the real Brice Armstrong, I would compliment you on your fine work.


Last edited by penguintruth on Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:14 am; edited 1 time in total
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UltimaShadowfax



Joined: 03 Mar 2004
Posts: 288
PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:42 pm Reply with quote
Questions: Are these Dragon Ball boxsets done in widescreen like the DBZ ones? IOW, cropped?

Also, is it just the dub that takes liberties with the script, or do the subtitles also make changes? I imagine that as long as the subtitles are direct translations, purists (like myself unashamed to admit) shouldn't have too much to worry about.

On a side note, it's great to finally see an uncensored release of the earliest episodes of Dragon Ball (which aren't in this set of course). I remember greatly enjoying DB on Toonami back in the day, but the massive amount of cuts they made for TV, obvious to even someone who had yet to read the manga, was jarring.
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:50 pm Reply with quote
From what I've read about them, they're not quite Dragon Box quality, but they're a lot better than the previous releases. They might be a tad "zoomed in", but it's not to the degree of the DBZ "season sets".

Nobody should be ashamed of owning one of these sets, but personally, I'm holding out for a Dragon Box version.
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Greed1914



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4410
PostPosted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 1:34 am Reply with quote
Brice_Armstrong wrote:
Good review, but as usual, ANN reviewers always seem biased when it comes to english dubs, how many times have we read the line "The eng dub outdoes the Japanese version" when in fact it's far from true... To think the internet's most trusted anime source could have staff that are almost entirely biased to the english version, it's like I once said, never trust ANN reviewers when it comes to two things:
#1 English dubs cause they will always overrate them.
#2 Bleach: cause they all seem to think this is thee greatest shonen series of all time when it's just a pure rip off of DragonballZ and other Shonen animes (still can't get over how many times Bleach characters go "Let's move the fight to another location in order to avoid destroying the place" then they take off into the air and literally fly to another location, DBZ-esque anyone!?!?)
- Fun fact: Watch Grimmjow and Ichigo's fight in episode 165 then watch Vegeta and Goku's fight in Saiyan Saga (ep. 28+ if I remember correctly), talk about the EXACT SAME SCENARIO!


I have to agree with Penguintruth's response to this. ANN doesn't really have a preference one way or the other. I've seen them call out a dub if they think any part of it is bad, and do the same for Japanese. Besides, we're talking about a B vs. a B-. It isn't a huge difference at all, so I'd hardly say it was overrated. Of course, there is also the bit where you claim that it is a fact that the Japanese version is better. Last time I checked, an opinion and a fact are two different things.

Also, what does Bleach have to do with this? Regardless of how relevant that little bit is, I don't recall anyone at ANN EVER saying that Bleach was the greatest shonen series of all time. Somehow I don't think it's a problem if any of ANN's reviewers enjoy the show and say so when they review it. Shonen series tend to have a lot of similarities among them, but that doesn't make any of them less enjoyable. It would be pretty tough to enjoy most shows if any sort of similarity was considered completely off-putting.
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Hannish Lightning



Joined: 13 May 2008
Posts: 376
PostPosted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 11:09 am Reply with quote
I thought the sub was just God awful.
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 2:53 am Reply with quote
Hannish Lightning wrote:
I thought the sub was just God awful.


What a well-developed argument.
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Otaking09



Joined: 24 Feb 2009
Posts: 637
PostPosted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 10:40 am Reply with quote
Here's one universal truth: Everyone, and I mean everyone, likes Dragon Ball (Z) for some reason or another!

Rate it a A, B, or even a C if you like, but the original inspiration is almost-always better modern cokkie-cutters. (this applies to Naruto and One Piece, but not to the same degree...)

Question: Who doesn't love Goku???

Another Question: Who doesn't love the concept of the Dragon Balls???

It's a timeless classic plotline: You live by yourself/with family/friends/etc., and something happens, that prompts you to get out, you have fun, make friends, and go on a journey.

It's the type of scenario I like to call the "bandwagon" genre. i.e. when a group of people go on a journey to accomplish a common goal, albiet with different intentions. But they all have one thing in common: they are all friends...

I don't know why, but that's magic to me! Dragon Ball may be ancient now, but it left something behind... and that something is shown in nowaday Shonen Jumps.
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