Was Dragon Ball Z Kai BETTER THAN Dragon Ball Z?

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Was the Remix that is DBZ Kai BETTER THAN The ORIGINAL that is Dragon Ball Z?
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#dbz #remix #dbzkai #dragonball #dragonballz

[@drchristophe207]

The color pallet is a controversial topic. They both actually have pretty much the same color pallet. Kai looks the way it does because the creators wanted to bring back the original look that the show had, but due to film aging, and horrible remasters, Z has never truly looked the way it was supposed to.

[@lssjgaming1599]

Yeah the Color pallete is so oversaturated in most Funimation releases and even the orange bricks suffer from faded colors. It's honestly kinda sad to see

[@drchristophe207]

@@lssjgaming1599 yeah Orange bricks and blu ray season sets were a diabolical monstrosity.

[@King_Luigi]

​@@yinsolaya It's kinda the opposite case for the Dragon Boxes. For Funimation not only are they working with a later generation copy of the show (it's like having a photocopy of a photocopy) but they just crank up the contrast really high and run it through a DNR filter, causing the colors to be really bright, bleed into each other and lose overall detail. While Toei has access to the original film, the DBoxes just... gave us the raws from them. Problem is, the film they have is _really_ old, and weren't stored in the best conditions, (RIP original broadcast audio) which caused the colors to become a bit off and faded. Funi version suffers heavily from them doing too much to it, while Toei was hurt slightly by the age of the film and doing nothing to it. The Level Sets were the closest Funi came to fixing this mess... but of course they cancelled them 2 sets in.

[@Napolii98]

Agree, he watched the funimation home release and thinks that's how DBZ is supposed to look like. I got a clip of goku vs vegeta on my yt page ripped from the selecta vision bluray release, much better remaster and faithful to the original films. Even better looking than Kai imo

[@ElTequilla]

Not to mention how it was then displayed through CRT. Cartoons by their nature are so much more sensitive to the this change in tech.

[@guitarplayer6565]

Kai is a less fluffy version, I like how it gets to the point much faster, as a kid in the 90s nothing was more painful than a wasted episode of power ups and massive fluff, you’d wait 3 weeks to get 3 minutes in a fight

[@Cornelius87]

Man you just made me have flashbacks. I was disagreeing with kai pacing being better until I read your comment. I vividly remember watching Z and looking up at the clock seeing the time go by and noticing the episode was almost over and we had just wasted like 15 mins powering up and talking nonsense. It was the worst feeling.

[@doodguytheblank2403]

Pacing in Kai is definately much better then the original but I think that sometimes it doesnt give some room to breathe during good moments and also cuts out filler that actually helped to develop the characters. Also the redraws really are horendous, its less terrible in the cell saga or during scenes when bright ki blasts are going out but they always look so bad.

[@ItsBigTune]

I can agree with this

[@samueloak1600]

W take

[@TeloxTheKing]

Kai pacing is much faster which I prefer a lot compared to the original Z

[@DrJareld]

Filler didn’t help develop characters

[@angrybeaver4995]

I don't think the redraws were bad at all. Which redraws do you think were really bad? I remember they fixed the error with Trunks balding edges 😂😂😂😂😂when was transforming into Super Saiyan to blast at the Androids when they first woke up and destroyed Gero's lab.🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@mr.papaveraceae3009]

There needs to be a version that is 4k, uncut, no cropping, has the best color, fixed redraw issues, has all the soundtrack and dubbed versions you can pick on the fly. So if you want original music, or Faulconer you can switch so you get the best experience. I guess Blu-ray is the closest.

[@kakarot3674]

Faulconer music was on point

[@rudysmith1552]

@@kakarot3674 it was loud and annoying and only worked for a couple of moments Japanese audio track all the way

[@kakarot3674]

@@rudysmith1552 Faulconer dub all the way b

[@Mr_Nobody_V]

@@kakarot3674 Fr I loved watching DBZ with Faulconer Dub it sounds so appealing to the ears.

[@mimidreamy6726]

I want to be able to switch to the yamamoto score. Objectively the best and the only way I can watch it.

[@SonCosmo]

I prefer Kai even though I do love a lot of the filler in Z

[@samueloak1600]

W take

[@kazi1]

W

[@jaysteez2025]

Bro take all the W's

[@MastermindAtWork]

With the exception of Garlic Jr, I agree with this.

[@cubah1]

I have not seen Kai, only Z. I’m actually gonna watch Kai for the first time with my girlfriend who doesn’t like anime, but wants to see DB because of how popular is. So for someone like that Kai seems to be the better choice. I’m guessing Garlic jr. is no where to be seen in Kai

[@xarchitect9754]

OG cartoon network's Toonami DBZ was the best DBZ ever produce. Those who didn't grow up back then and see its entry have no idea of its impact. This was a time when NO anime was even being aired over here in the USA. The visual art and Bruce Faulconer score are paramount to the effect. What memories!

[@KeeperPlus]

I'm with you. People younger than us haven't even watched it and say kai is better. The Z they watched was the Japanese music. So they've only seen garbage and hit garbage kai. The falconer score was half the impact

[@isayasbashiri5371]

Faulconer score was trash

[@tastefullys]

@@isayasbashiri5371nope

[@losglo772]

@@isayasbashiri5371i know everybody have they opinion’s but Bruce falconers soundtrack is the definitive for dbz 💯that other soundtrack is pure ass

[@xarchitect9754]

@KeeperPlus Bro, Falconer is to DBZ what cheese is to pizza! The perfect combination! I remember in like 99 or 2000 DBZ coming on right after Sailor Moon and how anxious I was to see it. Between that and WWF, I don't know what defined my childhood more!

[@minixlemonade2335]

Z's dub is so horrible and corny that I think Kai wins by default, even with all of it's flaws.

[@DreamingWhiteColors]

Kai sounds more like a low budget netflix acting where you can tell their voice acting is coming by reading the script word per word while Z feels very naturally human.

[@kindplanet1]

@@DreamingWhiteColors *“You worthless, heartless, BASTARD!”* Kai’s voice line with each character is way better anyways, they’re much more clear to understand. Also you have to admit, Frieza sure did sound like a lizard in Z, but Kai made Frieza’s voice way way more iconic.

[@DreamingWhiteColors]

@@kindplanet1 Freiza in Super/Kai sounds like a nice British butler trying to be like a mean butler lmao, Z Frieza sounds threatening and it has character. Nothing about Kai and Super feels human, you can feel like they are reading of a script, it sounds fake.

[@andrewable2634]

@@DreamingWhiteColors You're going to tell me with a straight face that the OG dragon ball z's voice acting isnt corny as fuck and cringe?

[@kindplanet1]

@@DreamingWhiteColors Maybe because everything has a writing script? Are you dumb?

[@Anthonycheesman33]

The only thing better about Kai is they changed a lot of the bad dialogue in the original . But not a fan of Kai’s gohan compared to the og .

[@XenoCreation]

💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@karascrow]

The bad dialogue in DBZ is a small part of what made it great at times, much like the old Resident Evil games and their corny dialogue. Kai changes the mood and the setup of a lot of lines and scenes and key moments. It ruins the show. There is literally no reason for anyone who loves the original Funimation dub to watch Kai. It feels dull and lifeless and the actors/writers honestly seemed bored and uninspired by this point. My only complaint about the original dub is merely that the inner monologues were a bit much. They thought the characters had to be talking at every turn and that’s just not true. Gohan going SSJ2 in the Japanese version proves this. He didn’t need to say shit to convey his anguish in that scene. The dub is still good, but it really didn’t need that entire spiel.

[@collinsmcrae]

This only matters if you are watching in English.

[@danielcroaker1517]

@@karascrowI grew up with the Funi dub and I could not disagree more. The acting is so much better in Kai. It’s not even close.

[@karascrow]

@@danielcroaker1517Strongly disagree. Watching DBK makes me nearly cringe every single time. There are very few scenes that are done better.

[@BionAvastar3000]

As someone who SUFFERED through watching the saiyan saga on Cartoon Network back in the day, the Kai versions were SO much more enjoyable to watch.

[@1CommonMan]

I love the original DBZ. It's not even the nostalgia, it just hits all the bases, the raw art style, the music the color, the blood, the VA and dialogues no matter if it matches the manga or not, Goks's line after he went ssj against freiza gave me chills back in the day. Idk but Kai just looks like something from which DB super got its weird art style and plastic like color palette from.

[@josephe9487]

I 100% agree with you brother. This guy's video came up In my algorithm because I have been watching DBZ lately on KZbin. It's so weird to me that so many people on here like kai over DBZ but Anyways There's this KZbin channel that has been posting the DBZ that we like, all the fights but He edits out the filler. He actually has a unique & subtle editing twist Where he syncs portions of dialogue Filler to some of the fight scenes in a way that is very fitting... The youtube channel is called "True Tiger" He only does The full fights check it out. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[@Daigon95]

I honestly thing the SSJ speech to Frieza was better done in Kai tbh imo It felt alot less like he was running for president like in the original dub dialogue.

[@noahvanhyning7752]

Complete nonsense

[@RyanElliott2005]

Whenever I take a look at Z and Kai, I always think of the Cell Games arc, Z’s version was so fucking well done with Gohan turning SJJ2, The fact it had its own theme, the silence in Gohans face, and the performance of Masako Nozawa when they scream, absolute chills. Such a well done scene, I still think Kais is good though, just not as impactful how Z did imo

[@mfundoh8148]

Kai was gay.

[@Gentledegenerate]

Kai cut out Trunks “this is for Gohan” line when he went back to his timeline to kill the androids, automatically makes it not better

[@milkbottle4u]

I just watched it like a week ago…No they didn’t what tf are you talking about? 😂

[@Gentledegenerate]

@@milkbottle4u in the original he screams “this is for Gohan” right before killing 18” In Kai after killing 18 he says “ that one was for my friends, and this one is for me and my teacher Gohan” and then kicks 17 It’s just not the same

[@EverRusting]

@@Gentledegenerate I don't know anything about DBZ but if it's closer to the source material (manga) then I take it any day over the modification

[@Izzmonster]

@@EverRusting Nah dude, you're just wrong.

[@karenbetanerd4396]

@@EverRusting dbz kai is objectively a better experience if you're wanting the closest story of DB told. Z is badly outdated and fans can't take off the nostalgia goggles for their lives, even though personally I still prefer Z cause I bonded with it through childhood. If I'm gonna suggest a new watcher to dbz, I have to say Kai for the pacing hands down (and the dub is objectively better aside from some actor changes)

[@jessiesmith6676]

Crazy that I would see this video the morning after I just started rewatching Kai. Overall, I do agree with your assessment, although I must admit I've always defended some of the filler from the original broadcast of the Buu Saga because it did improve some of the character development. (I'm thinking some of the more fleshed-out interactions between Mr. Satan and Fat Buu, and the dynamic between Goku and Vegeta post-Fusion when they were navigating Buu's stomach.)

[@adamgoffe8349]

I prefer to follow the series of every Dragon Ball 1. Dragon Ball 2. Dragon Ball Z 3. Dragon Ball Super 4. Dragon Ball GT

[@Hihey150]

Imagine if GT is after super, I wonder what would super Saiyan blue look like

[@Brohemoth1991]

Imagine vegeta going blue evolved or ultra ego when baby showed up and the entire series being over in the 2nd arc

[@bartman594]

Great review man! Just started watching Kai the other day. Grew up with the original series and it’s awesome nostalgia but feels off so far hope it gets better.

[@Jumpernot]

I don't think I've ever seen someone on the Internet put together such a well thought out and reasonable explanation of their point of view without being completely toxic in some manner. You sir have a gift and I will be following your channel! I only watched your video to kill some time and have never watched kai, I'm someone who grew up in the 90s watching the original dragonball z day by day. I'm a teacher now and kinda roll my eyes with kids talk about super but never thought of it how you mentioned their ultra instinct is our super saiyan transformation. I'll definitely be more open in future. Thanks for the excellent review 👍

[@MonkeMan2.0]

I’ll say this, Kai is great for not only telling you the main story, but it has improved dialogues with voice actors that still stuck around that have clearly improved their work. BUT, i still love the fillers and the old z dub (both Japanese and English), as I was raised by both at once, I’ll appreciate that Kai introduced a new generation of db fans, and the memories the old z gave to us.

[@cxthejokercx8302]

Japanese is ass goku sounded like a fag doesn't help English version or Spanish is by far superior

[@chazo1367]

The way Vegeta trash talks Kid Buu is superior in the OG Dub to Kai imo.

[@victorsamsung2921]

For some reason I can *not* get enough of Faulconer's music for DBZ. Especially, the themes of the Dragon, Vegeta, SSJ transformation and SSJ3 etc.

[@trimorth5996]

this was such a mature and non biased video. well done brother

[@NoahChandleer]

damn brah, got me in my feels just thinking about this amazing anime. Grew up watching it and still love it. really liked the way you articulated yourself.

[@KeriAce]

This was absolutely incredible amazing job with the video I just freaking love everything about this keep up the great work and don't stop making kick ass content.👍❤️❤️❤️🔥🔥👍

[@Essu_]

A lot of people hate Kai for being censored, but will turn around and call the Toonami run of Z the best version of Z ever produced. ...Despite being censored even worse.

[@ItsBigTune]

Plus there are versions of Kai that aren't as heavily censored as others

[@SuperNova4215]

I personally like Z more than Z Kai because I love filler and I also grew up watching Z.

[@jasonyork7892]

Same here z better

[@shenron7x]

I grew up Z, but I’m not 5 anymore, the filler makes the pacing a nightmare to watch, and the English dub aged so poorly, Kai is the only one I ever go back watching, despite owning seasons 1-9 of the original dragonballz

[@emopalsy]

I grew up on the original Z run on Toonami. I grew up buying the orange brick DVD releases. I grew up with all the corny speeches. And I 100% prefer the uncut edition of Dragon Ball Z Kai. I will take that any day over watching Z at this point. I still love Z for nostalgia sake, but I will always prefer a dragon Ball Z Kai

[@MrCliffda3rd]

Original Z: Home of the DARN HIM!!

[@emopalsy]

@@MrCliffda3rd YES! But at least in the uncut version of Z Krillin would occasionally say“bastard“ i’m pretty sure Vegeta would occasionally say “dammit” they would never let Goku say any of it though. Not until Dragon Ball Z Kai. I wonder if it’s because they tried to give this image of Goku that looked like Superman or something. Because like I said even in the uncut version of Dragon Ball Z other characters with occasionally cruise with the exception of Goku

[@joek1989]

I wish Kai had Veggetas Hells bells theme, if they had that I would 100% prefer Kai, because of that I only 75% prefer it 😊😂

[@emopalsy]

@@joek1989 I will say the music scores did hit pretty hard. I miss that, especially love piccolos THEME

[@JEFFMAN90]

Same here bro. I personally own both Z and Kai

[@yellaninja4120]

Kai pacing is more digestible. But original with filler is more classic. Because when we were kids and didn’t know any better and watching filler episodes they were just regular episodes to us we thought were cannon and they still had impactful moments that Kai doesn’t. Gohan solo journey in jungle and meeting those orphan kids and Pigero I will never forget his name because it’s in my dbz mind from stuff i watched as a kid. Fake Namek and Bulma and gang gettin fooled by aliens who just wanted to steal their ship to get off what Bulma thought was Namek but a actual murky planet that is hard to escape in disguise. That was skipped in Kai. Although fake Namek was only like 3 episodes. They skipped a lot of Goku solo training sessions before he got out the hospital and when he left hospital and trained in gravity from 20 - 50 - 75 - 100 they pretty much skipped all of Goku gravity training. As well as garlic jr saga was first time I saw them save earth without Goku being around and just Vegeta space travel looking for Goku and having hallucinations was fun.

[@forcecalibration924]

Said it perfectly I definitely like Z way better. I didn’t mind the filler.

[@omarcraft7166]

Bro bulma getting fooled by all was just to scretch the arc more 💀

[@yellaninja4120]

@@omarcraft7166 it was pretty good episodes in my opinion they were in space for a month so it fit in that’s the thing with filler in dbz it always fit in the story while filler in other anime doesn’t

[@eastsidemuu]

Exactly like the filler episodes in Z were actually trying to keep the OG DragonBall in there "hence" why there where alot of "adventure " type filler( fake namek) (goku/gohan red ribbon) (gohan and icreus) (great sayaman) exc.. they tried to keep the DragonBall aspect alive while being in the DbZ setting. Where as Ki is strictly Z. Ki dialog is better in most part some I give to Z. But Z will always be the best one for me

[@Daigon95]

As a kid growing up between the age of 5 to 8 I absolutely hated a good bit of the filler. I was so annoyed tht very lil progressed when I really wanted to see something progress. It was at its worst with the entire Goku vs Frieza fight. lol

[@crestofhonor2349]

Colors in DBZ and DBZ Kai should be identical. The issues with DBZ’s colors is due to mishandling of the original film recordings. Both should be 4:3 and have identical colors. The issue comes from how many poor rereleases of DBZ there have been, especially in the western releases. The redraws look poor due to how the digital coloring and digital compositing the scenes went through. If you want more information AnimeAjay and Totally Not Mark have done amazing breakdowns in how badly the home releases have been handled. I suggest watching those as they are pretty much required viewing on why DBZ looks awful in the coloring department. It really is a shame because there are tons of other cel anime that have been rescanned in a far more faithful way to the original without losing the quality My experience is also with the DBZ JP dub as I’ve never liked the English cast myself. The Japanese cast does just as good as they did in the original DBZ anime with their re-recorded lines. I cannot comment on the English cast and how they did on both. Always loved the Kikuchi score. Now I never saw the entirety of DBZ and only watched Kai after first reading the manga. However I have seen the entirety of OG DB and DBS(both manga and anime) fully as well

[@ItsBigTune]

Facts

[@The_Blue_Otaku]

Honestly if my computer wasn't shit I'd make a fan edit of DBZ Kai that adds the Kikuchi score, the Japanese Openings/Title cards/Commercial Bumpers/End credits and I'd try to upscale and color corect the dragon box footage of the Buu Saga because I hate how the footage for the DBZ Kai Final Chapters are cropped to be in a 16:9 aspect ratio and with a wired teal blue color filter

[@rudysmith1552]

​@@ItsBigTuneThe dragon box Has completely accurate colors and it's 4 by 3. Not crop to shit like the funimation version. The best way to watch it if just to watch the Japanese dub.

[@ItsBigTune]

@rudysmith1552 Dragon Box and the level sets are the two best looking versions of DBZ to me

[@yinsolaya]

@@rudysmith1552 No, the Dragon Boxes have film aging issues as well.

[@thefirstrelijun]

Cell Games was the proper end for DBZ anyways

[@darkdog42]

Kind of agree love the buu saga but it would’ve been nice to end z on a tournament arc like dragon ball and then like in super dragon ball is at its absolute best during a tournament arc

[@blur8163]

@@darkdog42Cell Games is only a tourney in name, there’s literally 2 fights 😂

[@KeyReviewsOfficial]

Man I remember watching kai on Nicktoons haha good video btw!

[@conm87]

Brilliant summary! Thank you!

[@darthgoku90]

Yeah I prefer DBZ Kai too. Though I did grow up watching the original DBZ on Cartoon Network in the late 90s/early 00s, I've still been able to put aside my nostalgia and appreciate Kai more for various reasons between the better pacing and the more accurate English dub.

[@masonmontoya1608]

I was in the same boat as you when it came to not bothering with final chapters due to already seeing z, but man original kai was absolute peak dragon ball, the score is very memorable. I still love kikuchi's score as that is the definitive sound of dragon ball, but man Yamamoto was built different. I have checked out some of final chapters and a lot of dialogue is actually arguable if kai or z did it better (*ahem* majin vegeta)

[@jimmythecrow]

watched the first part, remember none of the music. Falconers score will always be the best.

[@redSUPERMAN2]

​@@jimmythecrow not even close man, I don't get the appeal of it. It sounds so corny

[@redfive6020]

I think Kai does a better dialogue bc who tf would say "Everyone get down, take cover, get moving, Goku's gonna release the kameyameya wave"

[@Kargo21]

Great breakdown bro👏

[@jg2722]

Disagree but any dbz content is good content

[@goob8945]

Excellent comparison , thanks !

[@easymoneyrad]

Watching this made me realize how similar i grew up like other kids who watched anime. Seeing clips of z and naruto made me fall in love with anime. Found kai one night with my brother on nicktoons and fell in love ever since. Pokemon might be my first anime but z/kai will always be my inspiration and love for anime in as a whole

[@jermaine8573]

I can say Kai is better to certain extent which cuts out alot of drags and some of the animation during the sagas looked better , but the original versions music score throughout surely can't be beat , and that's mostly the only thing that the Z Kai version can't match

[@FlipFreedom1997]

I swear, y'all have to be like 12 years old. The voice acting, the music, the filler episodes, everything about Z IS LIGHTYEARS ahead of Kai. Wtf?? Y'all are some kids.

[@vesha6274]

@@FlipFreedom1997 nostalgia bias

[@FlipFreedom1997]

@@vesha6274 Nostalgia? Or actual quality voice acting and music? Kai doesn't bring that. Remember where Kai came from buddy.

[@vesha6274]

@@FlipFreedom1997 music maybe, but voice acting? You can't seriously think that the voice acting in the original is better without being blinded by nostalgia, when the voice acting in Kai is literally just an upgraded version of the original and is more faithful to the manga, most of the voice acting in the original is just the VAs reading the lines with no emotion whatsoever, at least in the dubbed version, I don't really know much about the subbed version

[@josephe9487]

@@vesha6274 Some of the voice actors in Kai sound terrible. Even if the dialogue is closer to the manga That alone doesn't save it for me to be ok with it. I'm sure There is more than what I can remember But what I do remember is Android 18. The voice actor ruined her in kai. In the dbz funimation version Her voice actor is very fitting to her character's Personality and looks. I know there are more examples that I can bring up but I'm not gonna waste my time Doing all that I think you can see my point.

[@NullRageGaming]

damn you're young. nonetheless, glad you've been able to enjoy this incredible series! Seeing the new younger audience that kai brought in to the fandom makes me appreciate it even more.

[@Draxiq]

Super interesting video 👍

[@Juni0r25]

If I could like this video twice, I would. Most of the takes you had were the same as mine. People think I'm a hater to the original but I personally love Kai. (The uncut verison ofc) Subscribed man!

[@The_Blue_Otaku]

The only upside the TV version of DBZ Kai has is Chris Sabat screaming the *"It's over 9000!!!!!"* line as Vegeta matching brian drummond's Vegeta kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWbMo4SdnsadesU&pp=ygUWZGJ6IGthaSBpdCdzIG92ZXIgOTAwMA%3D%3D

[@daamazinfatb0y752]

Final Chapters was done by Toei in house while the previous Kai show was outsourced to another company. I grew up on OG Z and that was the way for me until I decided to give Kai a shot after learning the show isn't censored on the blu ray and how it was supposedly more faithful to the manga I never looked back

[@theotherjared9824]

Fun fact: the final chapters wasn't intended to be made. This harkens back to Toriyama essentially being forced to make the Buu saga, so the original ending of Kai was supposed to be the "canon" ending to the series. However, an anime adaptation of Toriko airing at the same time flopped hard. That was canceled and Toei rushed out the final chapters to fill a vacant time slot.

[@cjtf2437]

Great video bro

[@nathanskywalker1536]

I prefer the original Z but Kai music was fire every time the music would start slow than the music starts picking up when shit goes down just made it feel new the soundtrack is called the formidable warrior

[@MajestiBrown]

I prefer Kai for the Saiyan and Frieza sagas, and Z for the Android and Buu sagas.

[@KingFuu]

bro your story with kai word for word was literally me. Even finding the buu saga online afterwards and not bothering in watching final chapters. Did the same thing with gt and ended up looking into dragon ball af and heroes thinking it was the next thing lmao.

[@supportpatriarchyordietrying]

I love most of the fillers (especially the trip to Namek which made me so excited for that planet) and dont wanna miss them.

[@nycto5335]

I liked how you talked about the new generation of DB fans feeling like Super is the best in the franchise. It just do be like that. You see it in games like Halo too. No matter what you think of Super it doesn't change the fact that the new kids to the fanbase are super into it. You can kinda see this reflected in DB Legends the gacha game. If I remember correctly a big part of the fanbase is just kids according to analytics. Seeing which banners get the most hype and all that gives a decent lense to see what the fans love and yeah you get my point. Obviously Super has its flaws but never let that push you to make fun of and gatekeep new fans.

[@ItsBigTune]

I'm glad somebody understands😂

[@batmankills100]

Kai is the best experience I have had with this franchise , Yamamoto’s score is incredible to put it mildly, too many bangers to think of when working out or getting into a fight

[@kirbydirby2003]

At the end of the day, Dragon ball Z Kai gave us dragon soul. It was worth it.

[@sourlesscream1272]

I was introduced to Dragon Ball from the Sagas game on the original XBox back in like 05. A couple years later, went to the library and noticed a disc set of the original dragon ball and watched it probably up until just before the red ribbon arc, as they didnt have anymore. then Kai came out and every day at around 3-4 in the afternoon me and my brother would watch kai together, singing to Dragon Soul and even play fighting through it. It is insanely nostalgic looking back at it now, i have rewatched both Kai, Z, and the OG multiple times(cant really say the same for Super but I was able to get through that one unlike GT)

[@justinlewis1555]

Chris Ayers came with Kai. That, alone, makes Kai better imo.

[@mike_datzmag1c21]

I don’t mind the filler but even if some of the filler were annoying it….the big Difference is the Music. Vegeta’s themes were my favorite but also the theme for Goku becoming SSJ and Gohan turning SSJ2 all gage those moments the nostalgia that it does have(not only but mostly). I also liked Piccolo’s associated music.

[@immortalfrieza]

Honestly if they had kept the Falconer music I would have been willing to give Kai more of a chance. Or if they had redone the animation. Can you imagine what Dragonball Z with the animation from the Dragon Soul opening could've been like? All they really ended up doing was cutting out things that DBZ had, redoing the dialog, and putting in dialog that was "closer to the manga" as though that's actually a point in it's favor.

[@jamarlbryant1445]

Dragon ball z Kai was awesome and dbz was great as well too.

[@AntiSerpent]

Toonami was my favorite 🤗

[@KayKwasa]

Kai had better voice acting and less than annoying fillers, the original although not the best with questionable lines has some time to develop minor characters and Bruce Faulconer's musical theme is exceptional

[@obsessivefanboy7]

In terms of pacing, accurate script, and most voice acting, yes. In terms of music, I gotta go with Z. Bruce Faulconer was just on a whole different level. My dream DBZ dub would be Kai with the Faulconer music.

[@gowther1973]

So should I watch og z or Kai? Because I want to re watch it

[@obsessivefanboy7]

@@gowther1973 if you want to get through it faster watch Kai. If you don't mind the filler watch Z

[@gowther1973]

@@obsessivefanboy7 ah I see I just don't like the censorship

[@obsessivefanboy7]

@@gowther1973 Kai also has an uncensored version that swears and shows blood. Most fans that hate on Kai hate it based on the Nicktoons/CW version on TV where it was so watered down, but they don't realize that there's an uncensored version.

[@gowther1973]

@@obsessivefanboy7 oh that's perfect than I'm gonna watch it than

[@sonomni]

Also another thing that they dropped the ball on regarding the Kai soundtrack is that when Yamamoto got fired, they started using the Kikuchi soundtracks and later replaced the re-run episodes with them as well (Buu Saga Kai was when they had Suitomo) , problem is that they used a limited amount of kikuchi soundtracks and it was so repetitive, there’s like 5 hours worth of soundtracks to choose from and they only used like 15 tracks

[@blankmanj5760]

Im 34 years old i remember as a kid cartoon network use to play one new episode a week and i think it was on a Thursday are a Friday in the 90s this show came a long way

[@riiddisbuk2496]

I was literally going to make a top 10 reasons DBZ Kai is better than DBZ. But you summed it all up :) You failed to bring up how they potrayed Frieza correctly 😑😑. So I'll bring it up :P Charismatic, menacing, charming to an extent, AND MY GOD CHRIS AYRES NAILED THAT CHARACTER PERFECTLY... RIP, though 😭😭

[@angrybeaver4995]

I really do miss Chris Ayers. His portrayal of Freeza made Freeza my favorite villian out of the entire series. I think Daman Mills is a perfect understudy to Ayers and probably in some way a tiny bit better as blasphemous as it is to suggest that. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@riiddisbuk2496]

@@angrybeaver4995 Daman Mills is the SUCCESSOR.

[@vekomaboomerang4094]

For me, Bruce Faulconer will always be part of Dragon Ball Z. When I first watched DBZ Kai and I thought the show was ok. I didn't like the change of voice actors for Bulma, Gohan, Freiza, Android 18 and the color palette. The redrawing's in some of the episodes was bad idea. With Bruce Faulconer, Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Future Trunks and others all had their own theme soundtracks. The really wished that DBS would have brought back Bruce to do the soundtrack for the series. During the first 3 years of Dragon Ball Super, the characters looked like had plastic and glossy look to them. That crap disappeared by the beginning of the Tournament of Power saga. The fights were much more brutal, and the color palette was as close as to DBZ as we were going to get. A lot of people hated of how dumb, stupid and careless Goku had become during Dragon Ball Super. It got to the point where Goku had forgotten about Gohan. He had his dumb moments in DBZ, but Goku knew when it was time to get serious. Even DBGT Goku wouldn't have made those mistakes that DBS Goku. Other than the soundtrack and color palette, I think the dumb Goku issue is what kind ruined Dragon Ball Super in the long run.

[@RegimentJoker]

In contrast to the author of this video, you offer a solid opinion. Lol

[@JustKeepFlying]

wait, that glossy plastic look ends up disappearing later on in the show? I couldn't watch super because the art style looked horrendous, and when I have to listen to Bulma's voice actor, my ears fold in on themselves. Nothing will ever replace the Faulconer soundtrack, I tried watching Kai with the japanese soundtrack and it was so boring and uninteresting that I couldn't help but feel it was missing something the entire time.

[@ExTrA_Live_]

I think they both have their pros and cons, but og DBZ just hit different. Bruce really did something with the background music.

[@psychomoth06]

Great analysis! I grew up with the “OG” dub on Toonami, but I still say Kai is a better watch. Sure, Kai has its issues, but if you look at the whole picture and don’t just cherry-pick things, it is a better show overall. I just wish the Yamamoto score hadn’t been scrubbed from all the “official” releases. Even with the plagiarism issues, I still prefer that music for Kai, haha.

[@sean24833]

Dbz on toonami is goated you had to be there 5pm est

[@DaggerofTime]

RIP Akira Toriyama

[@KonzaCelt]

Great analysis, thanks for this. Been a DBZ fan since the 90's, must have watched it all at least half a dozen times by now (and the Unabridged version is priceless!). But to be honest I didn't even know Kai existed until now if you can believe that. I remember seeing the different visuals of Kai on my KZbin feed from time to time, but I never clicked on them and didn't really know what they were all about. As such, I can't speak on the music or dialogue - although if what you say is true about Kai being more honest to the original manga, I would probably have to defer to Kai on that. Imho, the original writing and authorship should always take precedence over other iterations. As for the visuals though, I have to say without a doubt that DBZ is way better than DBZ Kai. Personal preference of course, but the look of Kai just really rubs me the wrong way. Sure the lines are sharper and colors more vibrant, but there's something a bit soulless about Kai's animation - almost as if it was computer generated instead of artist rendered. It looks fake...I know that sounds ridiculous, it's anime. But it's kinda like putting fake on fake. Kai dresses the animation up and puts a lovely polish to everything, but I really think the fuzzier lines and grittier palette of the first DBZ was definitely part of it's charm. 90's DBZ looks and feels like true anime, Kai looks and feels like it got pushed through an AI rendering program. Like I said, Kai felt soulless.

[@wintersoldier0]

thats whats hard for me is most of the filler is removed which some of it is kinda nice and gives good insight

[@AndyNocturne]

As someone who grew up watching the original Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z on either Toonami or on VHS tapes, when I went back to re-watch DBZ for the first time in over a decade, I couldn't stomach the thought of sitting through all of the episodes from the original. If it were the only way that I could watch it again, I would have done it. But thankfully, we had Kai. When I re-watch it again later this year, I'll be watching it again using the Kai version, and when I become a father, I'll most likely show my kids the Kai version as well.

[@cpk9999]

that sucks show em teh original Z you'll have a longer go of it too

[@GeorgeZimmermen]

Fool

[@rockmanfan5104]

Kai is so much better. I watched it with some friends and family. I suggested we watched the cell saga with Og Dbz. Everyone was screaming at me to turn it off because it was dragging on forever. No complaints when Kai is on

[@domoonogotno71]

I am a nostalgia fan. I agree with your perspective here. I favor the blood, the old way, and even the less-than-clean dialogue. I watched this on Toonami (US). I had learned GT existed through a Chilean friend.

[@Via_Satellite]

When you said you grew up watching clips of Dragon Ball Z in 09', that spoke to me man🥲

[@theQuickining]

Rock the dragon is my favorite opening for DBZ it was the first one I saw when I was little and it got me hyped for the show

[@zackerhia914]

I like how aliens had purple blood, as for sometimes the blood from human/ sayian character having lip blood look like dirt, it works since during a battle things would kick up a ton of dust.

[@JoaquinM-ne9in]

Im 14. I started watching dragon ball around 3 weeks ago. Im done dragon ball and on dragon ball Z towards the end of the frieza ark. When deciding between the two i went with dragon ball z because for one, I didn't want to miss anything even if it was just filler. Second, I had just finished dragon ball and got to know the characters and the voice actors. Some of them changed which i really couldn't stand. I will most likely once done with dragon ball, rewatch kai just so i can consume as much dragon ball as possible. Another factor in my choosing dragon ball z over kai was the art style. I was more drawn to the older art compared to kai's.

[@futuredirector23]

the issue i have with kai is that the voice actors seemed bored, they didnt seem to put any real emotion into the lines, and in a show like dragon ball that is not ok. you cant just limp on by with no energy in your voice, even in super it seems like the actors dont care nearly as much as they use to sure its a fresh script and they clearly care more than with kai but its not the same as with the original dragon ball z dub and thats because that dub gave them the chance to put emotion into everything

[@crestofhonor2349]

I watched the JP dub so I’ve never heard of this

[@torankusu3445]

I think it's the opposite lowkey

[@someoneelse5209]

'the issue i have with kai is that the voice actors seemed bored, they didnt seem to put any real emotion into the lines" This is extremely ridiculous, are you joking? You either never sat to watch Kai front-to-back and is just talking out of your ass, or is straight up out of your mind. The kai actors were very clearly putting their all into their reprised rolls and were at their A-game, especially in the original Saiyan-to-Cell run. It's very clearly Dragonball's best dubbing performance and it's not even close. Goku's super saiyan transformation namek scene is leaps and bounds better than Z's; Sean put a fuck ton more heart into it and it's audibly evident.

[@mitchellthompson4381]

Pretty much sums up my thoughts

[@Jedi-xm7rw]

Bro no offense but you need to get your eardrums checked. Or maybe some glasses since you're blinded by nostalgia. The voice actors in Kai's dub are so much better on experience alone. That's like the one thing people can agree on. A lot of Z sounds like it's their first voice acting gig. Some of the actors literally went back and redid their lines in season 3 of the dub because of how rough they were. Goku has this really weird delivery during the whole Frieza saga where it sounds like someone told the voice actor he couldn't lower his voice below a certain pitch. A lot of the voices don't really get fully comfortable until around Cell Games/Buu saga. Their stilted delivery in Z isn't putting more emotion in everything, it's because they lacked the skill/experience for subtly, to have the characters not just be mad or sad. Now they portray more complex feelings like frustrated or guilty. If anything the sub of Kai is where the voice actors are old and aren't really at their peak.

[@jamesshipley9164]

Watching color fixed Dragonbox fan edits of the original 4:3 DBZ with the broadcast audio is the best experience (check Nyaa), but if I want the english dub I'll take Kai (maybe with Faulconer edited in depending on the day) over dub DBZ every time. I grew up on early 2000s Toonami and horrible quality Realplayer rips of the japanese version to see what I was missing over here. The tapes and dvds at the time seemed alright but the orange bricks were horrific by any standard. DBZ is 4:3, period. Kai was cool though, I much prefer the pacing and vastly better english script and dub but it makes too many visual sacrifices, the redrawn elements look out of place and subpar, I miss the film grain, and not a fan of the intro music and eye catchers. Yamamoto's soundtrack was pretty cool plagarism or not, but I grew up on his awesome Butoden arrangements so that didn't surprise me much on either count. Whatever version you watch of DBZ it's gonna have some cons though, glad I have a few options. Usually just read the manga or watch a few iconic scenes at this point but it'd be cool to get a definitive fan DBZ Onepace type treatment using the best video sources and offering whichever audio options you want. Those colorfixed Dragonbox releases with all the audio tracks would be a good start, just a lot of editing to do from that base if you wanted a "manga cut".

[@ItsBigTune]

Agreed

[@theotherjared9824]

I remember when nicktoons aired dragon ball movies for a while. For reasons I can't comprehend, they aired the uncut versions with all the blood and swearing intact. It was such a jarring tonal shift and I loved it.

[@JonWEirdd]

I honestly agree with everything you said in this video. I grew up watching all of Kai and all the old school games! It sucks that bro plagiarized. But, bro knew how to cook with existing material ✨🔥

[@cjkalandek996]

I prefer _Kai_ due to it flowing much better, the script, dialogue, and characterization being a lot closer to Toriyama's vision, and the voice acting being WAY better. A lot of the creative decisions in dub of _Z_ honestly undermine the emotional resonance of the actual story (such as how they handled Goku's "I Am" speech or Gohan going SSJ2 for the first time).

[@mystic8580]

Hell no. I can’t stand Kai. Bruce falconer had the best DBZ production by far

[@thomasbrown6527]

Amen to that

[@Bluntsmoke501]

The dbz Kai theme song was absolute fire.

[@redSUPERMAN2]

Bro, the DBZ Kai soundtrack BLOWS the DBZ soundtrack out of the water. No comparison, man. Sucks that he plagiarized, but boy was cookin

[@johnny6187]

Z all the way. A lot of the dialogue and the soundtrack was WAY more epic.

[@jonathanlisowski5618]

For me, the absence of Faulconer's score ruined Kai for me. If they redid it with that OST, then I'd go with Kai. I don't understand why they didn't include it for the US Release? Vegeta's & Cell's themes in Faulconer's score are masterpieces IMO.

[@Jedi-xm7rw]

Why would they do that though. Anime replacement scores were just a weird phase of the 90's in America. Every other country has been able to enjoy Dragon Ball without a dubbing team changing the music so low attention span children would stay invested.

[@kelz702]

The original ocean dubs was the best. Thanx for making me feel old 😂😂😂

[@sethrod13]

Short answer, objectively yes. Better voice acting, better quality image, actual manga accurate dialogue, less filler and padding

[@JohnnyTightlips2007]

While I do appreciate how Kai shortened out the series an cutting out the filler, I'd still have to go with the original. The Bruce Falconer score I consider to fit a lot better when we started basting off into space. The ambiance fit the vastness of the universe better. You could feel the demise of Namek, a lot of the individual character songs really fit the mood. I actually don't like a lot of this new digital aged drawings either. Super is a particular offender as the colors are so bright that they don't really allow the actions or characters to shine. Some things come off too symmetrical to where you realize it wasn't done by hand.

[@cyl_genderfluid-furry]

In DBZ Abridged, the Android and Cell saga combined only lasted 30 episodes, and improved upon the source by humanizing the Cyborgs and giving a motivation for Doctor Gero to hate Goku so much, and for Android 16 to have a fascination with birds, although I've heard that in the anime it was nature in total, not just the birds. DBZ Abridged made a point that Cyborgs 17 and 18 only really did things because they used to not have the choice, and are still abit sour over being made into cyborgs. Even if something will go bad for them, they'll do it, because atleast it's their choice to make. Sure, DBZ Abridged may not be a direct translation of the anime, but it's shorter and better. Granted, it's abit more on the comedy side, but it does have heart touching moments. Granted, again, it's usually atleast mildly wrapped in comedy, but it still does have them. Also I guess more towards the start it's entirely comedy, but still. So anyways, you say DBZ Kai cut out *all* the filler? DBZ Abridged added stuff, and still had less episodes. And most episodes were under twenty minutes long. (Edit): Also, is Kai as filler heavy as Super? Because I couldn't get through the 6th episode of Super. *WAY* too filler heavy. (Edit): 9th episode I just found out, and nevermind, I'm hooked on Kai final chapters.

[@Neptune_p_g]

90s kid here. I grew up to the english dub on Toonami and loved the original series but did find it frustrating of how long scenes would play out from moment to moment just to get to a satisfying conclusion. And it killed me when we would get to the end of the english dub of episodes that it would just loop around to the first episode. These are the days before social media and youtube on dial up AOL, so finding information on what the hell is going on and knowing when exactly am I going to get to witness the conclusion of the Friez saga and Cell saga was just too painful to endure to keep pace with the show. By the time the Buu saga came around in the original DBZ release, I was off the show. So up until I became an adult and i saw that Kai Bu Saga was available on Hulu, i was able to watch the final conclusion i never got to watch as a kid. So the experience was incredible in my mind beccause I didn't have the original story in my head when I watch DBZK Final Chapters because it was literally watching it for the first time but with the enhancements and re-pacing that the new production added. I could be biased but the bu saga was better than the original DBZ kai but again I could just be biased because I didn't have an original viewhing experience to compare it to.

[@Rman1228]

I prefer the pacing of Kai and I do have alot of nostalgia for it since it's what I grew up with, but once I reached the age were I was finally allowed on the internet and I had the unique experience of being able to watch some episodes of the Z Buu Saga and the movies, I just grew to like OG Z so much more. Kai definitely 100% did its job of getting our generation into Dragon Ball though so it will always have a special place in my heart 😁

[@steelshorts5218]

W upload bro

[@vanlllasky]

i watched Kai (well, only up ep97). i was very bummed when i finished Part 1 of it only to realize that the lines i was so excited to hear after hearing them when i was younger (Goku's "I am" speech and Vegeta's "something snapped" speech) were from the original release, and the lines were changed/removed in Kai to better adapt the manga. i skipped Part 2 of Kai (The Final Chapters) and just watched the rest of DBZ in the original, starting from episode 194. i would recommend anyone watching DB for the first time to just watch the original.

[@ItsBigTune]

Agreed

[@CalamariPlaysStarfield]

I was 7 when DBZ Kai came out and Holy Fuck this was MY SHIT!!!

[@marcoparada6652]

Thank God, a youtuber says the real situation of the Falcouner soundtrack just not sounding great.

[@OnionRingsGaming]

I grew up with kai so its better to me right there, but I also think the voice acting is just much better, animation is cleaner, etc.

[@jeffreydeinum3368]

Kai Gohan always give me the creeps...

[@ruairidhkoch7875]

I prefer LARGE (good) anime. I hate the 8 - 12 netflix anime. Give me 50 to a 100 episodes per season🎉

[@HourRomanticist]

I actually grew up with dbz and dbz kai at the same time. My uncle owned all the dvds for dbz and whenever he cameover for holidays or to visit, wed binge a season or two. Between the time of his visits, id watch kai on tv though. As a kid, i didnt really notice a difference between the two though, other than the censorship.

[@keifer7]

Good video

[@DavidG-zz7ux]

You can never beat the original outside of the realm of blood

[@cinemamadness6920]

Prefer DBZ no contest. I never saw the pacing as "slow" I saw it as appropriate build up, keeping tension. And while the OG Kai soundtrack was good it's no longer the official score and Faconner is fantastic. Also, Piccolo, Bulma and Gohan are better in Z than Kai

[@thomasleist3130]

Great video! I personally prefer dbz original, because I think it's longer pace, voice actors playing multiple roles, and more dated, hand-drawn feel of the animation carry a lot of the show's charm for me. Of course, that's what I grew up on though, so I learned to fall in love with those aspects, and understand how it may turn off viewers who weren't initially exposed to it

[@thomasleist3130]

Also, to note on the soundtrack, I agree that the opening for dbz kai is the best and most iconic of them, and I do think faulconer's soundtrack is flawed, but faulconer's most iconic themes are some of the greatest examples of scoring ever, especially in the cell arc, and for me probably can't be topped. Only thing about faulconer is that ALWAYS having music no matter what can be a bit clunky, but again there's a charm to that

[@Gamer-bq8so]

For everyone watching, its perfectly fine to love both versions. Thats how i feel. 😊

[@Kairac112]

If you get over the nostalgia, Kai is the superior by far.