(L) Dragonball Kai: Dragonball Z's 20th Anniversary Recut!!

[ars89]

no it's been delayed until next week for the tokyo marathon

[Vegard Aune]

Well, it's official; Dragon Ball Kai will end with the Cell-arc.

[Shiroth]

It's a huge shame. I'm hoping we'll see the Buu arc at a later date, though going by that article it doesn't seem very likely.

[wingdarkness]

^Nooooooooooooooooooo! I was so looking forward to Majin Vegeta vs. Goku with re-touched animation!

My 6 year old nephew is gonna be pi$$ed too!

Well, I do have a crate of old DBZ tapes, maybe I’ll just edit my own DBZ Kai for him, LOL…But seriously Funimation has been getting great ratings for Nicktoons and they’ve appeared to be centralizing the entire station around DBZ Kai, so maybe funimation will just re-edit orginal DBZ without the filler (Can they even do that?)…If not, guess I’ll be dusting off the old VCR T_T….

[Vicious108]

Originally Posted by Vegard Aune

Well, it's official; Dragon Ball Kai will end with the Cell-arc.

Laaame.

Guess I'll re-watch Z Buu arc after it's over. *sigh*

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by Vegard Aune

Well, it's official; Dragon Ball Kai will end with the Cell-arc.

That's a true shame, I feel like the Buu arc would be interesting to see in kai-form just as much as the namek arc. Oh well

[Blackbeard D. Kuma]

So Kai's premature ending is attributed to the slump of the anime/manga industry and the fact that it primarily caters to the older fans of the series (thus not raking in as much money as "what's new/hot today"). Very unfortunate, but I can see the possibility of Toei doing the Buu arc later on in the future when things have become more stable/lucrative for the industry. We can only hope.

[Shiroth]

Looking at it that way, we're lucky Kai went on for as long as it did.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by wingdarkness

so maybe funimation will just re-edit orginal DBZ without the filler (Can they even do that?)…If not, guess I’ll be dusting off the old VCR T_T….

Is it physically possible? Yes. Is it legal? Not unless they have one of the loosest licensing contracts in history.

Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma

So Kai's premature ending is attributed to the slump of the anime/manga industry and the fact that it primarily caters to the older fans of the series (thus not raking in as much money as "what's new/hot today").

I see this stated nowhere. That was the blogger's personal opinion, not a factual statement from anything Japanese.

It's just as likely that Toriyama, this being the director's cut and all, merely wanted to stop at Cell.

[Blackbeard D. Kuma]

Originally Posted by GDB

I see this stated nowhere. That was the blogger's personal opinion, not a factual statement from anything Japanese.

And I'd say that his personal opinion makes good sense and is definitely plausible. I'll take that over absolutely nothing. Some mangas have already been canceled due to the slump of the industry, so that lends credence to the opinion. In the end we're free to believe what we want until proven otherwise, and I'm going by what I perceive makes the most sense.

[FlareKnight]

Well will say I kind of expected them to roll through the Buu saga and end after that. Still did get quite the run out of Kai. Guess they wanted Gohan to leave with some pride before throwing on that horrible costume .

[j0x]

Originally Posted by Vegard Aune

Well, it's official; Dragon Ball Kai will end with the Cell-arc.

not surprising, and yes i think that blogger is right, Dragon Ball is for older fans and they are less in numbers now compared to the growing number of Toriko fans

so long Dragon Ball

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma

And I'd say that his personal opinion makes good sense and is definitely plausible. I'll take that over absolutely nothing. Some mangas have already been canceled due to the slump of the industry, so that lends credence to the opinion. In the end we're free to believe what we want until proven otherwise, and I'm going by what I perceive makes the most sense.

Yeah i agree with you. It's much more understandable then the "Toriyama wanted to end it at Cell saga" nonsense.

[Blaat]

Saw this one coming but I'm still disappointed by it.

[ChainLegacy]

Looks like I'll have to say 'so long' to the only anime series I currently keep up with. I guess I'll look over the current series and try to find a replacement. Not too thrilled about that.

Originally Posted by wingdarkness

My 6 year old nephew is gonna be pi$$ed too!

Well, I do have a crate of old DBZ tapes, maybe I’ll just edit my own DBZ Kai for him, LOL…But seriously Funimation has been getting great ratings for Nicktoons and they’ve appeared to be centralizing the entire station around DBZ Kai, so maybe funimation will just re-edit orginal DBZ without the filler (Can they even do that?)…If not, guess I’ll be dusting off the old VCR T_T….

Lol, same with my 7 year old brother. I still got all the old Z tapes too so he'll have to deal with that. Kinda weird how our young relatives can appreciate the greatness of DB but it seems like the new generation of Japanese can't (corresponding to Blackbeard's statement that only older fans watch it in Japan)? Wonder why that is? The timeslot? I feel like Dragonball has a pretty timeless appeal, especially for young boys.

[Vegard Aune]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

Wonder why that is? The timeslot?

That seems fairly unlikely, considering how it's been airing back-to-back with the third most popular anime in Japan and all... And the ratings have apparently been consistently great, it just hasn't been selling very well...

[MushroomSamba]

Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma

And I'd say that his personal opinion makes good sense and is definitely plausible. I'll take that over absolutely nothing. Some mangas have already been canceled due to the slump of the industry, so that lends credence to the opinion. In the end we're free to believe what we want until proven otherwise, and I'm going by what I perceive makes the most sense.

I don't really buy it. Why cut one of your best cash cows? As Shiosai pointed out a few pages back:

Originally Posted by Shiosai

The weekly ratings I've read have put DBKai consistently in the top 5 for anime in Japan (usually 9-11%). Occasionally, it gets pushed off the chart by a special, but for episodes like Vegeta going Super Saiyan and Gohan's SSJ2 transformation Kai's ratings jump above titans such as One Piece and Detective Conan.

Even though I'm not a big fan of the Buu saga, I gotta admit it would've been interesting to see it given the Kai treatment. Well, looking at it from the sunny side, ending it on the Cell saga would be good way to cap off the series, especially so if they include the "History of Trunks" special as the finale.

[Blackbeard D. Kuma]

Originally Posted by MushroomSamba

I don't really buy it. Why cut one of your best cash cows? As Shiosai pointed out a few pages back:

I actually pointed this out myself a while back. The Dragon Ball franchise is a cash cow in North America most certainly, but I don't know if the same could be said for Japan right now. In the power hour that is the airing of Dragon Ball Kai and One Piece, it's obvious which of those two would be the weak link. Dragon Ball is an old series that finished a long time ago. The primary audience has seen it already, and Kai is nothing special seeing as how it's not even a remake of DBZ. It's mainly the older viewers that can appreciate it for what it is: a director's cut that adheres more closely to the manga. But there are currently newer/more fresh shows that are on-going in Japan right now that are increasing in popularity. If DB Kai isn't bringing in enough money due to lack of sufficient support (especially during a slump), then a newer and more profitable series is going to get priority over it. That's the way the business works.

[Ahiru77]

I have to admit, I always felt that DBZ ended with the Cell Games. After that, here, it switched channels and I only saw bits and pieces of Buu ect.

But I also must admit that I was a little bit looking forward to seeing Gotenks vs Buu for the first time.......in highest quality.....with perfect pacing......together........with you guys!!

[MushroomSamba]

Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma

I actually pointed this out myself a while back. The Dragon Ball franchise is a cash cow in North America most certainly, but I don't know if the same could be said for Japan right now. In the power hour that is the airing of Dragon Ball Kai and One Piece, it's obvious which of those two would be the weak link. Dragon Ball is an old series that finished a long time ago. The primary audience has seen it already, and Kai is nothing special seeing as how it's not even a remake of DBZ. It's mainly the older viewers that can appreciate it for what it is: a director's cut that adheres more closely to the manga. But there are currently newer/more fresh shows that are on-going in Japan right now that are increasing in popularity. If DB Kai isn't bringing in enough money due to lack of sufficient support (especially during a slump), then a newer and more profitable series is going to get priority over it. That's the way the business works.

Yeah, I can see that being the case. It's just a bit hard to believe DB Kai is getting cut short for financial reasons of all things though, especially given the high ratings. The corporate suits must really believe this Toriko will be the next big thing if they're willing to part with a known steady racehorse. You don't really see businesses taking that kind of risk, especially in these economic times, unless it's a surer bet than it seems.

And is DBZ really that unappealing to the younger audience? Yeah, I know it came out ages ago, but the core principles should still hold in this day. It's not that far removed from other contemporary shounen anime, imo. Does anyone have stats or ratings on the demographics to actually back this up?