Dragon Ball Kai

In my opinion, Dragon Ball Z was a series that desperately needed a directors cut, due to the large portions in between the main story sections. I feel that Dragon Ball Kai covers everything at a reasonable pace, with the show sometimes feeling like it's rushing along to reach the next main point in the story. However, it does a fantastic job of cutting down the story till the end of the Cell Saga, and is a fantastic alternative to watching the original Dragon Ball Z. The new intro is quite upbeat and energetic, along with much better animation, that serves to make Dragon Ball Kai not feel as outdated as its original predecessor.

As children most of us watched Dragonball Z. Goku and his friends taking on enemies with the power that could destroy an entire planet on accident. Only problem is that Toei, masters of wasting time, knew how to drag out the series and at certain points it felt like Goku would charge an attack for an entire 12 episodes. Now with all the excess time cut out of the series and all non-canon arcs removed you now have Dragon Ball Kai. Although I watched parts of DBZ on tv as a child I remembered minor details of how everything went down. I went into Dragon Ball Kai to expect a mediocre Shounen, which actually turned out more than pleasant. Story: The story of Dragon Ball Kai starts with a short arc that leads into a huge saga spanning over 50ish episodes. Our protagonist Son Goku must deal with aliens called 'Saiyans' who come to destroy earth, this encounter leads him into an ordeal he least expected as he is pitted against the ruler of the universe. Art: Toei Animation, for the time the original DBZ aired the art was actually good, but now that we have studios like Madhouse, Shaft, Kyoto etc etc etc. This art is actually very bad for the time it was released. I felt like they could have tried to improve the art like how they did the art for Dragon Ball Super. Character: Dragon Ball Kai has a nice set of characters to get along with. You have the kind hearted warrior Goku, the timid but strong Gohan, the evil nature of Vegeta, and also the determined Piccolo. They all have great development over the course of the series as their interactions with other characters changes their personality for the better (typically). Enjoyment: I thought the Dragon Ball franchise's* only appeal is the high paced fighting and insane powers, but the way these intense fights are brought into being are done through great plot development. For example in the first Saga, you have Krillin and Gohan on a planet surrounded by many enemies and also under pursuit by somebody far stronger than them. They have a goal of collecting Dragon Balls while remaining completely under the radar. Watching this simple 'scavenger hunt' develop into a battle that determines the fate of the universe was extremely enjoyable. It was refreshing to know that combat wasn't the only thing this series had to offer. Overall: You see the score up top, I gave Dragon Ball Kai a 9/10 in comparison to shows such as Fairy Tail that merely does the same thing every arc (Fight enemy > lose > get back up > rematch > win). Even if majority of its fans are here just because of the combat it doesn't knock down the actual quality of the show. ^.^

I think I was expecting to much from DB Kai, but it was nice to watch after all. Not that much, just a remasterization of the original DBZ, with lots of the so called "fillers" removed, making the 200 episodes (end of Cell's Saga) go to 97 episodes. Violence was somewhat restricted, minimizing blood on some scenes and the animation was smoother, but nothing too special or different from the original work. I give 9 for the efforts and hope this work could help on bringing a new DB series someday in the future.

Long time fan, new Kai viewer. I did not watch Kai when it initially aired, rather just recently watched the blu ray releases from Funimation. Kai is definitely my preferred method for subsequent rewatches. Pacing is outstanding, although some scenes do lose a little suspense due to the increased pacing. While I didn't miss most of the filler, I do enjoy the driving test episode. Unlike most I find the Garlic Jr Saga somewhat enjoyable also. Other than that the filler isn't missed. Music is OK, Bruce Falconer's OST would have came in clutch in this for sure. The initial run of Kai only included up to the end of the Cell Saga, which is a solid conclusion to the series. But watch The Final Chapters also. Enough rambling, if you've seen Dragon Ball Z before, give this a watch. If not.. Honestly watching the OG DBZ or Kai isn't a bad choice.

It's just Dragon Ball again. But really, I love the idea behind doing an edit like this. Lord knows Naruto needs it. This is a project I could see fans trying to create with existing footage. Heck, Takahata101 from TeamFourStar even called this show out for being "four years late to that party." The fact that we got an official re-release and re-edit at all is pretty cool when you think about it. Unfortunately it isn't without it's flaws. Rather than leave the aspect ratio alone, which I think old 4:3 shows should just do, they decided to do a dumb bad crop job. Don't try to force widescreen on footage that wasn't made for it. You're cropping out nearly a third of the screen for no reason, and making what's left blurrier for it. That and "digitally remastered" footage that ends up looking super washed out and kind of ugly make the visuals on this not so great. Again I love the idea of trimming Dragon Ball down to just the essential footage, skipping filler and getting to the next action scene as soon as possible, I just think they could have handled the project better. Especially considering what series this is, and the impact it's had on anime and manga all throughout the world, I think it probably deserved a little bit more TLC than it got. Still 9/10 conceptually

This is the Dragon Ball Kai that should have arrived in LATAM and not the Dragon Ball Z Kai. If you want to see Dragon Ball Z in the best possible quality and without filler, as well as a new soundtrack as good as the original and with a better set of voices, check out this series. I do not recommend watching Dragon Ball Z Kai, since it has a poor voice cast, music is added in places where it should not go, it is censored (although that depends on the country) and other things. Just watch the original Kai from Japan to enjoy the series.

DBZ Kai... It removed much of the filler from the original show (though there is still some remaining) and it's paced better overall. Though the pacing is still one of my issues with this show compared to modern anime shows. The other issue for me is the art in DBZ Kai. They largely touched up the anime style from the original show which aired in the 80's and 90's and used a different style altogether for some scenes. These two different artstyles clash a lot, especially in the earlier arcs and that prevents me from giving the show a slightly higher rating. Use one artstyle or the other, but not both. Some frames were lacking in detail as well, it reminded me of early DB Super. Overall, still enjoyable and more digestable compared to the orginial anime with all its filler and dragged out fights and dialogue, but I do prefer the artstyle of the old anime over this version.

[This review is for the Japanese version of Dragon Ball Kai.] DISCLAIMER: This is a review from the perspective of a "first time watcher" of the show. I read the manga when I was extremely young and, while watching the show, had very little memory of it save for the first two arcs. In short, I don't feel nostalgic about this show in the slightest. [Story – 6/10]: The storytelling of the show lacks some of the depth that I've come to expect from other series that I've watched. A villain that's stronger than the previous villain shows up, both the good guys and the villain power up several times, good guy eventually beats the villain, rinse and repeat. It's still enjoyable to a degree but leaves very little room for further analyzation. Everything is, more or less, exactly how it appears on the screen. [Art – 10/10]: Toriyama's character designs, as well as the style of animation, are something I enjoyed a lot. Everyone had a unique and interesting look about them. The older style of animation is also a breath of fresh air from modern animation which looks almost a little too artificial to me sometimes. [Sound – 3/10]: Sadly, this show suffers from Kenji Yamamoto and his plagiarism scandal. Not to mention that really none of the plagiarised soundtracks even stuck out to me that much in the first place. [Character – 7/10]: While not every character gets the same amount of care and attention, everyone is still interesting in their own way and I never found myself getting bored of the main cast. My only criticism is that the villains of the show are all essentially the same: powerful and evil. I've come to expect more depth from villains based on previous experiences and was sad to find it relatively lacking in this show. [Enjoyment – 8/10]: I binged half the show over the course of a few days and found myself often speculating on what was going to happen next. The show, despite its flaws with storytelling, is still a very enjoyable experience. [Overall – 7/10]: In conclusion, the flaws and strengths of this show balance each other out to create a decent, enjoyable viewing experience, even if much of the hype behind the show is propelled purely by the nostalgia of older viewers that grew up watching this.

Since this is considered a remaster of Dragon ball Z, it is not much different from the original anime. It does not have filler and uses the japanese soundtrack. In comparison to the original, this version felt dry and lacked the charm Dragon ball Z had. The plot moves quickly and does not have unique episodes that added to character development like goku and piccolo driving a car. The sound felt dated for an anime reboot or remaster with music that does not match the time we are in. The characters are still great and the plot still focuses to the manga adaptation. In the end it lacks special qualities and feels rushed or like a bad essay turned in badly made. Try this version if you do not have the patience for the original, and a rushed job at that.

This is the definitive version of Dragon Ball's anime post the wedding of ChiChi and Son Goku. I would recommend skipping some parts of the first episode as it has spoilers. The anime picks up a couple of years after Dragon Ball volume 16/ Dragon Ball anime episode 153. Goku has a son named after his grandpa Gohan. Goku meets his brother Raditz and learns he is an alien from the Saiyan race. They fight and Goku dies along with his brother. In a year the Saiyans Vegeta and Nappa. After that there is Freeza and Cell sagas. The anime has some filler kept in but most is gone. I would recommend watching the Saiyan saga filler as it was supervised by Toriyama except the Arcosian shit. Otherwise watch KAi. THe dub is amazing. Its the definitive English Dub. The problem is that it is reframed for 16:9 on Tv but is 4:3 on BluRay. so based on how you watch it you will have either more or less of the picture.

Dragonball Kai is remake but it's better than Z. The story of Dragonball Kai is speed up much more better. I liked Dragonball Kai was because it followed the manga more than Z but when you watch second time you must be boring because 70% of story is same like Dragonball Z. I was disappointed by the visuals of Dragonball Z remake ,I think this should be upgrade art and sound more than Dragonball Z but sometime is feel very classic when you what it second time. In my conclusion Dragonball Kai is the classic cartoon remake you must watch it when you love Dragonball series and you want to watch full story of Dragonball from manga. GoodLuck.

Dragon Ball Z was one of the best anime of its time and still arguably holds up today. However, it still suffers many major problems besides filler. Just cutting out filler and using remastered footage is incredibly lazy and should not qualify as a new adaptation. Also, some parts are censored even in the uncut versions that aren't subtle and don't make much sense visually. When Piccolo shoots a Special Beam Cannon into Goku's and Raditz's chest, the hole shown in both the manga and original anime is replaced by something completely different that I can't for the life of me make out what the hell it's supposed to be. When Krillin shot a ki blast through Vegeta, there was no hole to be seen. The soundtrack is repetitive and forgettable, using the same generic track at least once every episode no matter the scene or whether it fits or not. Although they made many stupid changes, they made a major improvement in terms of voice acting and dialogue, especially in the dub. However, the dub can't seem to choose whether it wants to use the Japanese names or use the translations. They keep Japanese names for attacks but still uses the dub names like Krillin as opposed to Kuririn. While it's good for people new to Dragon Ball Z, it fails to set itself apart and compete with the original adaptation and suffers because of it.

A reimagining of Dragon Ball Z! Dragon Ball Kai is nothing more than an "optimized" version of Dragon Ball Z. Its biggest difference lies in the removal of drawn-out scenes and excessive filler, making the narrative advance much faster and more fluidly. Events unfold at a faster pace, but this doesn't harm the story or the impact of important moments. On the contrary, in many cases, the work becomes even more direct and engaging. It's important to make it clear that this version doesn't intend to reinvent the work or add major new features. Aside from the opening, endings, and some remade animations, Dragon Ball Kai presents practically no new content. However, this is far from being a problem, since that was never the project's objective. Kai exists precisely to condense Dragon Ball Z, respecting the original work, but making it more accessible to those who don't want to endure the long duration of the classic anime. The great merit of Dragon Ball Kai is that it serves as an excellent entry point or a practical way to revisit the Z saga. For new fans, it's a more dynamic and less tiring experience, without the drawn-out episodes that marked Z in its original run. For longtime fans, it works as a nostalgic review, allowing them to relive iconic moments without having to invest so many hours. In my specific case, the experience was somewhat hampered by timing. I watched Dragon Ball Kai right after finishing Dragon Ball Z, which ended up making everything quite repetitive. For this reason, my rating was 6. Still, I can perfectly understand that if I had watched Kai after many years without seeing Z, my perception would be much more positive, and the rating would probably be higher as well. In the end, there's not much more to comment on: the story is the same as Z, the characters are the same, and the great moments are still there. What changes is the pace, in addition to the new openings, endings, and transition animations between episodes, which give the work a more modern feel. Dragon Ball Kai is, above all, a more streamlined and focused version of a classic. I especially recommend it for Dragon Ball fans who want to revisit the glorious Z saga in a quicker and more direct way, or for those who want to experience this phase of the franchise without having to endure the long marathon of the original anime. =================================================================================================================Versão em Português===================================== A reimaginação de Dragon Ball Z! Dragon Ball Kai nada mais é do que uma versão “otimizada” de Dragon Ball Z. Seu maior diferencial está na remoção de cenas de enrolação e fillers excessivos, fazendo com que a narrativa avance de forma muito mais rápida e fluida. Os acontecimentos se desenrolam em um ritmo mais acelerado, mas isso não prejudica a história nem o impacto dos momentos importantes. Pelo contrário, em muitos casos, a obra se torna até mais direta e envolvente. É importante deixar claro que essa versão não tem a intenção de reinventar a obra ou adicionar grandes novidades. Tirando a abertura, os encerramentos e algumas animações refeitas, Dragon Ball Kai praticamente não apresenta conteúdo inédito. Porém, isso está longe de ser um problema, já que esse nunca foi o objetivo do projeto. Kai existe justamente para condensar Dragon Ball Z, respeitando a obra original, mas tornando-a mais acessível para quem não quer enfrentar a longa duração do anime clássico. O grande mérito de Dragon Ball Kai é servir como uma excelente porta de entrada ou uma forma prática de revisitar a saga Z. Para novos fãs, é uma experiência mais dinâmica e menos cansativa, sem os episódios arrastados que marcaram o Z em sua exibição original. Para fãs antigos, funciona como uma revisão nostálgica, permitindo relembrar momentos icônicos sem precisar investir tantas horas. No meu caso específico, a experiência foi um pouco prejudicada pelo timing. Assisti Dragon Ball Kai logo após terminar Dragon Ball Z, o que acabou deixando tudo bastante repetitivo. Por esse motivo, minha nota ficou em 6. Ainda assim, consigo entender perfeitamente que, se tivesse assistido Kai após muitos anos sem ver o Z, minha percepção seria bem mais positiva, e provavelmente a nota também seria maior. No fim das contas, não há muito mais o que comentar: a história é a mesma do Z, os personagens são os mesmos, e os grandes momentos continuam lá. O que muda é o ritmo, além das novas aberturas, encerramentos e animações de transição entre os intervalos dos episódios, que dão um ar mais moderno à obra. Dragon Ball Kai é, acima de tudo, uma versão mais enxuta e objetiva de um clássico. Recomendo especialmente para fãs de Dragon Ball que desejam revisitar a gloriosa saga Z de forma mais rápida e direta, ou para aqueles que querem conhecer essa fase da franquia sem enfrentar a longa maratona do anime original.

My review for Dragon Ball Z Kai. Dragon Ball Z was already one of my favorite anime series, before watching this series. Yes, I watched all of Dragon Ball Z before watching this. Kai is the definitive version of DBZ up to the Majin Buu saga in my opinion. I'll probably just watch the Majin Buu saga on Blu-ray full screen edition and not the chopped up DBZ Kai Final Chapters widescreen edition. Like other old TV Series the best way to watch DBZ is full screen edition. Because unlike movies they were meant to be viewed on the television screen. The reason is movies are sent first to the movie theater and are filmed in widescreen format, except for really old films like The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan where widescreen theater exhibitions didn't exist. Television series only became widescreen around the late 2000's when widescreen TV's became mass marketed. DBZ Kai is gorgeous to look at as someone else said this is how a Blu-ray transfer should be done. My only small complaint is the picture very slightly shakes. This is because DBZ is an old series and DVD's didn't even come out until the late 90's. You probably wouldn't even notice if you had an old CRT TV or Box TV to watch it on. It's slightly noticeable on a Flat or widescreen TV, but you get used to it. This is how DBZ should look, I've seen other versions and Blu-ray full screen is the way to go. Not the Dragon Boxes unless you want to hear Rock the Dragon by Bruce Falconer with lyrics. Story wise I liked the DBZ Kai abridged story. I would say watch the unabridged version first if you can and then watch DBZ Kai. Of course you should watch Dragon Ball before you watch Dragon Ball Z. If you don't feel like investing the time or money just watch DBZ Kai (which cuts out about half the episodes) and finish with the last three parts of the Majin Buu Saga in full screen of course. Sound wise it was excellent. The closing and opening songs were very good. They included a few pump up little songs for the big fights, I thought this was a great addition. In conclusion, this is the definitive way to watch DBZ just skip the DBZ Kai Final Chapters.

As a relativly new anime fan I have a mental list of shows that are 'classics' with people of around my age, DBZ being one of them. Now I have (or had. thanks Pandemic) limited time so sitting through nearly 291 episodes, where the meme is that a single power up attack can take 4 episodes, didn't sound appealing. Then I heard about Kai. A cutdown, anti-fluff edit of a classic with cleaned up images and a newly recorded dub. I was sold and purchased the BluRays. Now onto the review. The story was solid, a little childish (it is a kids show) but sometimes repetative and drawn-out in places, while also being rushed in others. I'm not a big fan of action for the most part so some episodes just made me mentally wander off and read something while it was on in the background. Vs Frieza and Vs Cell had some fights which went on too long but out of the entire 97/98 episodes only about 10 were a struggle. As for stuff being fast there are years between some episodes expained away with a voiceover (as I understand DBZ has 'filler' material that covers this) which is a shame because between the action and melodrama some fluff would have been apreciated to build on the world a little. Overall the story had me somewhat invested and interested in what new way the characters would break physics and attempt to destroy the latest threat. 7/10 The animation was great. What can I say? I prefer 80s/90s animation over post 2010 'too clean' animation. The occasional scuff or missed outline just adds to the charm of the medium for me. The content of the show was more enjoyable than the opening or ad-break animation. As for the visuals they were great. Something that caught me off guard, in a good way, was the cut to black-and-white when something was very powerful. Knowing where people were, especially in a fight, in relation to eachother was very well done and I very rarly felt lost with what was happening. 8/10 I watched this dubbed as that is my prefered method. The voice acting was solid and all of the voices were distict from eachother so there was no confusion about who was who. Some actors had better acting range than others but that didn't bother me as I treated this as a kids Soap Opera where acting isn't always a prioity. The music was good too. The repeated themes let you know if something was serious or being played for laughs and sounded good too. The opening sung by different people was fun and Yeah! Break! Care! Break! is a great ending theme. Wings of the Heart not so much. 8/10 Overall the remaster/recut version of DBZ is enjoyable and worth watching if you have limited time or a fond memory from childhood about the original but don't want to be stuck with 6 months of watching. It convinced me to pick up the whole Dragon Ball saga so once I'm finished with the second half I'll move onto the original Dragon Ball, then DBZ, GT and Super. Overall 8/10 for this half.

Wow. This has to be one of the most fun anime I have watched as a child. Started watching right as NickToons began pumping out episode in 2009. I didn't even know about DB until DBZKai, and a gateway of cool fighting scenes, following the development of Goku and the Z Warriors, and becoming a young fan of the franchise was opened. I was born in 02 and missed DBZ and GT, but Kai had me searching for videos on YouTube and sites where I could find the episodes for free, so I knew Gohan would turn ssj2 when NickToons was airing the finale of the Frieza Saga lol. All and all this began my introduction to anime, even though my first anime was Inuyasha (watched it in preschool on Toonami). But knowing what anime really was, I dove more into Pokémon, another anime I was watching at the time, and introduced me to shows such as Beyblade: Metal Series airing on Cartoon Network. From there it was me stumbling upon anime after anime upon coincidence until I became old enough to understand what I wanted to watch. as a senior in high school, I thank Kai for opening my world to anime and wanting to understand what it was. Sure it wasn't perfect, as it was a streamlined, filller-cut version of DBZ, but I loved it. After all, I wouldn't have attempted to turn super saiyan in my living room or sneak into the family room to watch recorded episodes of the Namek Saga if it weren't for Dragon Ball Z Kai. -Mj

For many people that don't know about Dragon Ball Kai, this is essentially just the original Dragon Ball Z with changes such as the removed filler, new dub, better resolution and touched up art and animation. Because I don't actually want to review this version and The Final Chapters, I'm going to be reviewing all of Dragon Ball Kai. Dragon Ball Z (for its time) was a masterpiece and considered by many as the godfather of shonen. Dragon Ball Kai takes the original product and remasters it. I'm going to review Kai, and explain to you guys why you should be watching Kai over the original Z. Let's get started Story: 8 A lot of people might wonder "Why did this man put the story of Dragon Ball Kai as a 8?" Well, there's a pretty simple reason which is that I'm a very simple man. The story of Dragon Ball Kai is mainly following the original manga, with that being said it took out all of the fillers from Z and only kept the ones that would make the story a little better to follow through. In my opinion, an anime with 0 filler and nonstop action is pretty awesome. With that being said, the story is essentially the same as the original Z. Goku's journey from child to The World's Strongest is one of enlightenment, for Goku to find his purpose and discover himself to become the strongest he can be, and eventually find other powerful people to test his skills. I personally think it's simple as to why I gave Kai's story an 8/10. It's a journey and a struggle with adversity, one with friends, enemies and then old enemies becoming friends and allies, sprinkled in with hope and very cool magic and humor. It's something we can all relate to because that's what life is all about. Art & Animation: 6 Looking back at it, I don't really think the art in Kai is bad (compared to Z). Since I watched Kai in 720p resolution (which is bare minimum HD) I didn't think it looked bad. It was fairly decent, especially with the touch ups they did with said art and animation. Of course, the animation was fairly smooth, but the art was a little bit aged in my opinion. It isn't bad, I'd say it's above average art and animation for when it was created. Sound: 10 The soundtrack in my opinion is better than the original Z's, as it sounds more lively and less dull and I personally love the original Z's soundtrack. However, the voice acting was on a whole different level from Z's. Since they couldn't get every single voice actor from the original Z, they replaced a few. The biggest differences from Kai and Z's voice acting are two fan favorite characters: Gohan and Frieza, and they sound much better in Kai. First, Frieza's voice in Z sucked. He sounded like he needed to clear his throat the whole time, and his lines and overall delivery was a little weak. Chris Ayres did an outstanding job with Frieza, as his new lines, direction, voice and overall delivery were much more vibrant and very energetic compared to the original voice actor's. Lastly, I think Luffy Gohan is much better than Kid Goku Gohan, as his voice is actually original. Again, his lines, delivery, voice were all much better than the original's. Overall, every character in Kai to me sounds much better, they sound clearer and their line delivery and tone were almost always amazingly done. Characters: 7 The characters in Kai are the same as Z. Besides their lines being closer to the original manga and all of the other stuff I talked about in the Sound section, they're really the same. Here's something I have to get off my chest though: I love Goku, he's one of my favorite anime characters, but with that being said he is not a good character at all. Now I'm not saying Goku is bad, but he doesn't develop throughout the series in any significant way. Yes, there are times when he makes logical decisions based on evaluations, sometimes he is a good character yes, but that's only sometimes. There are other characters that I like though, for example I also love Gohan, Vegeta (as a villain and good guy), Frieza, Cell (for the most part), Krillin, and others. I think the cast is very good, and Vegeta is one of if not the best villain in all of Dragon Ball. Of course, they could be much better characters by themselves, but I think overall the whole cast of characters is good enough considering what they've done and who they are to justify a 7. Most of the cast are very likable characters (Buu sucks). Enjoyment: 10 Dragon Ball Kai as a whole is very enjoyable to watch from start to finish. It's a fun anime series to watch, and with all of the stuff I've said before this you can make out why I love Kai. The fights are stellar, the humor is fairly good, everything in Dragon Ball Kai is great to me. It's very easy to follow with a relatively fast pace, and I'd doubt you'd get bored of watching it. Overall Score: 9 Dragon Ball Kai is the definitive way to watch Dragon Ball Z. It has more fillers, a better soundtrack in my opinion, and better voice acting as a whole. It has a faster pace, and easier to follow. The story is very good, the characters are nice, the art is decent, and it is very very enjoyable. If you are a fan of the original manga, Kai will be the way to go, as it is faithful to the manga. Overall, Dragon Ball Kai is one of my favorite anime, and I hope it'll be a fantastic experience for everyone.

As a proper Latino, I watched Dragon Ball when I was a kid, besides playing Budokai Tenkaichi 3 and 2 for hours. Since I hardly remember anything about Dragon Ball Z, I decided that instead of rewatching it, I'd watch what is supposed to be the remastered version. Nobody can undermine the impact Dragon Ball has on anime; it's an inspiration for most modern anime and holds great importance now and in the future. But being completely impartial, from a perspective of treating it like just a normal anime, it leaves a lot to be desired compared to modern anime... Story: 6.7 DBK's story is simple: a villain arrives on Earth to conquer or destroy it, is much stronger than the group of heroes, so they have to train. After training, they beat him. That's roughly how the three sagas of Vegeta, Frieza, and Cell go. There are no complex plot twists or deep story that generates a "lore". For the story to progress, it relies on the villain of the week rather than the characters' goals. Comparing it to other Shonen: in Luffy's case, the story moves forward because he wants to find the One Piece; in Gon's case, his story progresses because he's looking for clues about his father. Even when there isn't a clear goal for the protagonist, like in Katekyo Hitman Reborn, the context of the story—which is Tsuna becoming the Vongola boss—forces the plot to move forward. Dragon Ball in general is the equivalent of Rambo; rather than looking for a story that makes you reflect or raises questions, you enjoy it because of the battles and action. Animation: 7 Here, it's a bit harder to give it an objective score. Because DBZ came out in the 90s, its animation is quite good compared to others of its time, it has a lot of details, but that's for its era. So, even being in 2026, knowing it's from those years, I'd give it a very good score, even though nowadays the animation sits at a 7-7.5. But with DBK, which is supposedly a remaster, I imagined it was going to be animated somewhat better. I knew they wouldn't animate it from scratch, but it seems like only a few scenes got some touch-ups, and nothing more... Characters: 6.5 The goal of the entire main cast is the same (except for Gohan), which is to get stronger. If there are no enemies at the moment, they spend their time training. Most of the characters' histories are already known because the original Dragon Ball anime exists, showing how Goku goes from a kid to an adult, so there's no need to add any "backstory", except maybe for some villains. At most, the only one they did that for is Vegeta, because for Frieza, Cell, or the Androids, there isn't much depth to them other than wanting to do evil. The good thing about such "simple" characters is that you don't dislike them. Personally, I don't hate any character, so bonus points for that. Since most of them just seek to become stronger and are good guys, with a similar personality of being likable, there isn't anyone you end up disliking. Something else I give credit to the characters for is the fights they have. I feel like there are few anime where the characters give their 100% in a fight. In DBK, the main cast fights until they can't anymore; they take a massive amount of hits and still try to get back up, simply awesome... But I'm also surprised by the advantages the protagonist group has, which are simply unbelievable—something almost no anime uses because they are completely broken, on the level of an Isekai: Senzu Beans: Even if they have a hole in their stomach or are about to die, the Senzu Bean heals them, and not only that, it completely restores their stamina; it's mind-blowing. Wendy from Fairy Tail or Felix from Re:Zero would wish they had healing powers like that. Omnivision: With King Kai (Kaio-sama), they could see what was happening if they asked him, not just anywhere in the world, but in the galaxy. It wasn't broken enough to easily find Cell, but if they asked about a specific place, he could easily find it. Omnipathy: Similarly, with King Kai, they can communicate with anyone, whether across long distances on Earth or between planets. They literally had a God on their side. Dragon Balls: Lastly, the Dragon Balls, which they primarily use to revive the dead. Depending on the plot, they can even revive someone more than once, which is crazy. Soundtrack: 8.5 Even trying to be impartial, it's impossible to deny the impact of the Dragon Ball OST; it's so well made that it fits perfectly every time they use it. Overall: 6.7 What Dragon Ball represents to the anime community is something no one will ever change. But trying to look at it for what it is... an anime, it honestly leaves a lot to be desired. I feel it stays pretty simple compared to other anime. The fight against Frieza felt eternal to me, and that's considering I'm watching Dragon Ball Kai, because from what I've been told, the DBZ one is even longer. The Cell saga gave it a somewhat interesting twist, but at the end of the day, it only gives a small plot variation to the saga. What ended up killing me is the power level system, which thank God they later abandoned because it made absolutely no sense how fast they get stronger. Like how a character in one saga is defeated by the villain of the week, and for the next saga, they become 10 times stronger than that villain that previously cost them so much to beat, yet that "10 times stronger" isn't enough to defeat the current villain. My mind completely explodes when they say that Raditz, the first villain, is considered strong with a power level of around 2,000 or something, and then we end up with Cell who easily reaches a billion; the evolution the characters have is insane.

This is a distilled version of DB that only has, and this cannot be stressed enough, ONLY FIGHTING. The animation is one of the best to experience the original DB fights and cutscenes with the hype and exceptional voice acting from the english voice actors. Though that is all this version does well. Do not expect good character quips, character building, and overall good stuff from the original DB series. A lot of content has been cut and some of it is good and some of it is bad. An overall better experience would be the original DB series if you can stomach the longer watch time.