I'll give you that. At least both the original and the recut are out on DVD for the people who want the version they like best.
(and in the case of Star Wars, they even come packaged together)
The Kagami topic has now reached 201 posts! (Nov 5)Well, I finally broke down and watched an episode. Okay, so I wasn't actually avoiding Kai—I just have no interest in spending money on it. But I had a chance to watch it on Nicktoons. So...
The episode I saw was the one where Mr. Popo takes Bulma to Yunzabit and shows her Kami's ship. It seemed to me like the episode had no difference from its DBZ equivalent—as in I didn't notice any scenes missing or removed (but I wasn't doing a side-by-side comparison, either).
Funimation dubbed this series a LOT better than they did the original, so that much is very pleasing. However, they still made some major gaffs. Like for example, having Bulma outright state that she was mad at Gohan and Krillin for dressing impractically for space conditions (and then Krillin still wonders if he did anything to make her mad—in the original, she only thinks about their impractical dress, she doesn't actually call them out, so it makes sense Krillin would be confused). But this is still the best Dragon Ball Z dub to date.
edited 2nd Aug '10 1:21:12 PM by Edmond_Dantes
The Kagami topic has now reached 201 posts! (Nov 5)I saw a few episodes of it. Despite the parts that are the same being, well, the same, being half the show it was makes it a bit less entertaining - I don't want to say it's boring, but it's less fun to watch, and the lack of all the filler means some of the plot holes the filler filled are a bit more obvious.
^^ Actually I haven't seen a Freeza ep yet. I only got a chance to watch that one episode.
The Kagami topic has now reached 201 posts! (Nov 5)I don't recall any filler that "fixed" plot holes (granted, I haven't seen the entire anime), but it did kind of expand on stuff the manga mostly glossed over (like what Tenshinhan, Yamcha etc. were actually doing before Kami summoned them all in the Saiyan chapters) and I will kinda miss that stuff.
Or wait, no I won't. I got the boxes.
The Kagami topic has now reached 201 posts! (Nov 5)Advice on how to write a fight scene? Well, I can tell you a few things:
1) Keep it creative. Don't ever have just a straight-up smack fest. Use strategy. Be willing to bend the rules a bit if it helps.
2) DO NOT introduce a villain by having him come to Earth and totally gob-smacking everyone. That's what the DBZ theatrical movies do and there's a reason they all suck compared to the TV series. No matter how powerful the contestants are, after ten minutes of battle both should be showing signs of wear. If you have a villain take a full-on Spirit Bomb and come out without a scratch, you're doing something wrong (Freeza survived it, but he was bruised all over, had a swollen eye, and took a minute to recover from the sheer shock).
3) Just have fun with it. If you're enjoying writing about it, then your readers will probably enjoy reading about it. Whatever you do, don't take yourself too seriously or get stuck up about anything—keep your tongue firmly in your cheek.
edited 28th Sep '10 1:35:07 AM by Edmond_Dantes
The Kagami topic has now reached 201 posts! (Nov 5)...this isn't "Dragon Ball, Alternate Universe Edition" and neither was Brotherhood.
The reason Brotherhood exists is because the FMA anime had almost nothing to do with the original Fullmetal Alchemist manga it was supposed to be based on. Brotherhood was a more faithful adaptation.
Likewise, the reason Kai exists is because Z was bloated and full of loads and loads of anime-exclusive filler that was never in the manga, and loads and loads of stalling to try to avoid overtaking the manga.
Asking for new content is missing the point. In both cases, all they're trying to do is make a better anime out of the manga than they had done originally.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Actually I'm pretty sure Kai was just a money-grab. Nobody had asked for a shortened version of Z, especially not the way we got it (basically just as a re-edit), and you'd think if "being more faithful to the manga" was a consideration then they'd have given the Kai treatment to Dragon Ball, too (remember, Z covers volumes 17-42 of the manga).
The Kagami topic has now reached 201 posts! (Nov 5)The original dragon ball wasn't even as close to as bad with filler as Z was, though. So there wasn't really a need to give Dragon Ball the Kai treatment.
If Anything, Fist Of The North Star, who did what is considered to be modern Shonen Fighting Series even before Dragon Ball should be given the Kai Treat.
edited 28th Sep '10 5:56:40 AM by Demongodofchaos2
Watch Symphogear

Mainly though, I just don't see the point. The Star Wars movies were fine just the way they were, they didn't need to be changed.
Not to George Lucas. Like it or not, to him they were "half finished movies" The point of the special editions were to make them closer to his vision, whining fans be damned.
And again, I found some changes in the special editions were defenitely for the better (changing the victory song in Return of the Jedi, replacing the Emperor in the 2004 Empire Strikes Back)
if the new version is cut to resemble the manga, then it begs the question: "Why not just read the manga?"
Because it's cooler and easier for some people to watch a more cut-down, coherent story in animated form.
And if you DON'T want a cut-down version of the anime, "Why not just watch the original anime?" If you can still watch it and enjoy it best, Kai's existance shouldn't be such a problem for you.
edited 15th Jul '10 8:40:34 AM by ManwiththePlan