March 6th

Hetalia Axis Powers Complete Series DVD (Seasons 1-2)
Sands of Destruction Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)

March 13th

One Piece Collection 5 DVD

March 20th

Dragon Ball Z Kai Part 7 DVD
Dragon Ball Z Kai part 7 Blu-Ray

March 27th

Dragon Ball Z Level 2.1 Blu-Ray
Dragon Ball Z Level 2.2 Blu-Ray
Confucius DVD (Live Action)
Confucius DVD/Blu-Ray Combo (Live Action)

January 3

Dragon Ball Z Movie Pack 3 DVD
Gun X Sword Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)
My Bride is a Mermaid Complete Series DVD
Sekirei 2 Complete Series DVD/BD Combo
Sekirei 2 Complete Series DVD/BD Combo Limited Edition
X TV Complete Series DVD (Anime Classics)

January 17

Hetalia Axis Powers Season 3 DVD
Hetalia Axis Powers Season 3 DVD Limited Edition
Kaze no Stigma Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)
Nabari no Ou Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)

January 24

Fairy Tail Part 3 DVD/BD Combo
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom Complete Series DVD/BD Combo
Tenchi Muyo GPX Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)

January 31

B Gata H Kei: Yamada’s First Time Complete Series DVD/BD Combo
B Gata H Kei: Yamada’s First Time Complete Series DVD/BD Combo Limited Edition
One Piece Collection 4 DVD

Dragon Ball Z Kai tells the story of a fighter named Son Goku and his friends. Several years of peaceful times for the group are quickly interrupted when a strange person arrives from space. The person claims to be Goku’s brother Radditz, revealing that Goku is actually part of an alien race known as the Saiyans. Radditz wants Goku to join him on a mission to conquer another planet, but when Goku refuses Radditz takes his son as a hostage. When Goku faces off against Radditz to save his son, he sets off a chain of events that puts the entire world in peril when two more Saiyans, Vegeta and Nappa, decide to head to Earth.

The story of Dragon Ball Z isn’t a very deep or complicated one. It’s a straightforward “Good vs. Evil” story where a man with the mental capacity of a 12 year old punches bad guys in the face, with some training arcs thrown in for good measure. Such is the case for many shounen fighting series though; there’s as much story as is necessary to get the characters from one fight to the next. So taking a series known for its often horrendously slow pacing and trimming it down to the bare necessities, like Kai does, is a pretty good idea. However, this does have some downsides to go along with the benefits.

The biggest improvement Kai makes to the series is cutting all the… less than stellar episodes of Dragon Ball Z. I love DBZ and all, but I can honestly do without seeing Gohan hanging out with a bunch of rebel kids, or Goku falling off Snake Way and ending up in hell. Those kinds of episodes bored me when I was a kid because they were clearly just time wasters that didn’t add anything of value to the show. They just weren’t entertaining so I’m fine with seeing them go if it means we get to the action sooner.

Kai also quickens the pace of fights themselves. DBZ is known for having fights where opponents spend a lot of time just standing across from each other and shouting or charging up attacks. That kind of thing is gone from Kai. A rather long scene where Vegeta just floats in the sky, screaming at the top of his lungs while the clouds darken and the ground shakes is shortened to a more reasonable length. Shots where combatants stand around while the camera pans dramatically are also reduced. Kai does a great job trimming the series down to its most basic entertaining elements, turning Dragon Ball Z into a fast and exciting series.

The quicker pace does have some downsides though. Sometimes the stuff you really want to see gets shortened such as some of the fights, even the ones that aren’t ludicrously long. The fight between Goku and Vegeta is the highlight of the first story arc, with everything that happened beforehand leading up to that one climactic moment. This wasn’t originally a long fight to begin with, only lasting about three episodes, but Kai shortens it even more such that it feels like it’s over as quickly as it starts. The series spent more time on Nappa pounding everyone into the dirt than it did on Goku and Vegeta facing off. It’s nice to have filler removed and the pace sped up, but sometimes it can take the already brief great moments and make them even shorter.

Regardless of all the changes, the Dragon Ball Z that people grew up loving is still there, with all the same characters and events. Things may be sped up, but Goku is still his childish fight loving self, and Vegeta is still a sadistic murderous villain. Some of the humour may be gone, since much of it came from filler episodes, but the series still has a sense of fun about it. All of the action is still there, and Kai gets to the fights faster so it can be non-stop action at times. If you grew up watching the adventures of Goku and his friends, Kai still has everything you love. If you haven’t seen the original series, Kai makes it easier than ever to do so, conveying the original experience in a faster more condensed manner.

This new version of Dragon Ball Z has given Funimation the chance to do a proper dub for the series, one not rewritten to cram in dumb jokes for kids. This time around the script sticks closer to the original Japanese but while still being tweaked to sound good English, the way they do most of their dubs these days. There is the occasional extra joke thrown in, but it’s not even close to the amount of rewriting that went on with the original dub. One tiny problem that crops up later in Part 2 is a small continuity error with the dub script. At one point Dende refers to all the other Namekians as his brothers and sisters, and then a matter of seconds later he doesn’t understand the concept of females because Namekians are genderless. This doesn’t exist in the original script because he never uses the phrase “brothers and sisters.” This is the only mistake like this I noticed, and the dub script is excellent overall.

Funimation also took this opportunity to recast some of the characters. Christopher Sabat is no longer playing half the characters in the series, though he does still voice his old main ones like Vegeta, Piccolo, and Yamcha. Sabat’s performance as those characters has obviously improved, since he’s gotten about a decade’s worth of experience since originally playing them. His Piccolo voice is also notably softer, sounding much closer to his normal speaking voice than the more gruff voice he used in the past. Other changes to the cast include Colleen Clinkenbeard as Gohan, who perfectly nails the character’s trademark whimper-like-a-little-girl-while-all-my-friends-die that he’s so known and loved for. The biggest change is Christopher Ayres as the new voice of Freiza. Ayres manages to capture the effeminate nature of the character without making him sound like an actual woman as the old voice did. Every aspect of the dub is an improvement over the old one.

If you watch Dragon Ball Z Kai expecting great animation… you’re going to be disappointed. It’s a really old show, so it’s not going to look as good as anything made more recently. Toei did a great job cleaning it up and re-colouring certain parts, but it’s easy to see when looking at it that it’s from the ’90s. That’s not to say the animation is complete garbage. It can be pretty good at times, with one example being Goku attacking Vegeta after using the Kaio-ken early in their fight. It’s a rare moment where there’s actually some flow in the combat which usually consists of abusive overuse of speed-lines and the like, and since a large part of the fighting consists of people using beams from long-range there are scant few times the animation actually has a chance to shine. One particularly jarring thing is the opening and ending, which bookend the old ’90s animation with shiny new animation made just for the show. It really highlights just how old looking the actual show is, but it does manage to make me excited to watch DBZ after all these years, so I have to give props there.

Dragon Ball Z Kai is a great way for both newcomers and older fans to enjoy the story of Dragon Ball Z. It removes all the fluff and gets straight to the action, making it a much more enjoyable experience. Some DBZ fans may complain about all the material that gets taken out, but those people are weird and should be ignored. The new dub is a vast improvement over the old one, having a much better script and improved performances from returning cast members. Kai is an simply excellent revival of a classic series, and definitely worth checking out.

Score: 4/5

Pros: Full of action, great dub, much more accessible version of the show

Cons: Still looks really old, some good things get lost in all the changes

Purchase Dragon Ball Z Kai Part 1 at RightStuf / Also available on DVD

Purchase Dragon Ball Z Kai Part 2 at RightStuf / Also available on DVD

Plot Synopsis: I don’t think they put a plot synopsis on the back of these. Pretty sure there’s just a piece of paper stuck to the back explaining that this is the most definitely best definitive ultimate form of Dragon Ball Z. I can’t remember what actually happens in these episodes, but I can only assume that Goku powers up and punches some dudes.

I’ve bought all of the Dragon Boxes so far, but haven’t bothered watching any of them. Each one has about 40 episodes in it, and I just never quite feel like sitting down and watching them. The only reason I even buy them is because I like Dragon Ball Z, and I like the nice chipboard box these come in. Still, one of these days I’ll sit down and actually watch these.

Purchase Dragon Ball Z Dragon Box 5 at RightStuf

One Piece Season 3 Fifth Voyage

Plot Synopsis: “When their descent from the sky doesn’t go as planned, the Straw Hats find themselves trapped in the Marine stronghold of Navarone. This impenetrable island is surrounded by scraggy stone walls and governed by a military mastermind known as Commander Jonathan. Pirates imprisoned within Navarone’s walls seldom live to see the other side, but not even the great Commander Jonathan has ever faced foes as formidable as Luffy and his crew. Eager to escape the island and get back in the water, the Straw Hats hatch a plan to spring Zoro from the clink, reclaim their confiscated gold, and rendezvous at the Going Merry for a life-or-death, do-or-die, daring dash into the freedom of the deep blue sea! The sailing certainly won’t be smooth, and it’ll take all hands on deck to survive this scrape!”

I bought this before the rest of season 3 because it was $29.99, and I figured that price wouldn’t last long. Now with the current RightStuf sale they’re all $29.99 so I guess I was wrong about that one. You should buy them. Seriously.

Purchase One Piece Season 3 Fifth Voyage at RightStuf

Eden of the East: The King of Eden (DVD/Blu-Ray Combo)

Plot Synopsis:”The intrigue goes international in The King of Eden, a feature-length conspiracy thriller that continues the action of Eden of the East. The deadly game that began in Japan now intensifies on the streets of New York City. The rules are the same: do whatever it takes to win. Die if you lose. Takizawa prevented Japan’s destruction – and then he vanished. Six months later, clues lead Saki to the Big Apple in search of her missing friend. Meanwhile, the remaining Selecao are plotting their final move. Some of them would prefer Takizawa dead and out of the way. Some might even be willing to help him achieve his goals. Unfortunately, some are prepared to destroy everything if it means claiming checkmate in Mr. Outside’s puzzling game.”

I watched Eden of the East a few months ago, and really liked it, so it’s kind of obvious I’d buy the movie too. Although I’ve heard from absolutely everyone that the movie isn’t very good and doesn’t answer anything that was left open in the series. So that sounds great. It also comes in a DVD size case so it doesn’t match my BD of the TV series. I plan to whine about this all week on Twitter.

Purchase Eden of the East: The King of Eden at RightStuf

Kiddy Grade – Anime Classics

Plot Synopsis: “In Star Century Zero-One-Sixty-Five, the Global Union was born. To provide an impartial mediator to the various planetary governments of the G.U., the Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs, or G.O.T.T., was simultaneously formed to settle economic disputes amongst the member planets. Existing in the shadows of the G.O.T.T., the ES Force serves as the G.O.T.T.’s primary law enforcement organization. ES Force members Eclair and Lumiere are on the front line, pursuing all manner of criminals and bringing them to justice. This is their story.”

I don’t really remember why I bought this. Just looking at the cover should have been enough to make me turn away. There’s a little girl in a weird revealing outfit. There’s the Gonzo logo. Both great reasons to not buy something (coincidentally both of these things are also featured on the Strike Witches cover). Maybe it was really cheap. Maybe I was drunk. Who knows.

Purchase Kiddy Grade at RightStuf

Slayers – The Motion Picture

Plot Synopsis: “Enveloped in mists, the island of Mipross has been shrouded in mystery since the dawn of time! Now, two mighty sorceresses will attempt to pierce the veil of secrecy and silence that has hidden the horrible truth about Mipross from the eyes of men for hundreds of year! Join the short-statured and even shorter tempered master mage Lina Inverse and her over endowed associate Nahga the Serpent as they untangle a Dreamweaver’s spell and find themselves ensnared in a deadly web of intrigue and danger! Phantom dragons, amphibious demons and the promise of aesthetic enhancement… year, the Slayers will be there!”

I got into Slayers recently, finally managing to slog through the 3 season box set that I bought well over a year ago, so I figured I’d go after the movies. ‘Cause there’s nothing like trying to hunt down old and hard to find DVDs. This thing is so old it has DVD ROM features. I bought it used on eBay for like $5. It came with candy, specifically the American version of Smarties. I decided not to eat them.

Fruits Basket Volumes 16 – 20

Plot Synopsis: “Tragedy continues to smother the Sohma family, and it seems to be spreading to those connected to the Sohmas as well. Kyo has met Tohru’s mother in the past, and his memory involves Tohru’s birth. Is she ready to hear the truth about her mother and father? Meanwhile, Yuki declares his independence from the actions of others. How will Akito handle Yuki’s declaration?”

Since Stu Levy decided that publishing manga was so 2010 and closed Tokyopop I figured I should finish getting Fruits Basket before it becomes hard to find. I don’t know if it ever will be hard to find, but I don’t really want to take any chances.

Purchase Fruits Basket at RightStuf

As if you didn’t see this coming. Funimation, in continuing their quest to acquire everything Dragon Ball-related, has confirmed the license of Dragon Ball Kai. In case you don’t know, Dragon Ball Kai is a remastered version of Dragon Ball Z formatted for HD and widescreen. It also removes all the “filler” content that wasn’t part of the original manga, thus shortening the series down to about 100 episodes (though an official number of episodes has yet to be confirmed).

Funimation has yet to confirm the details of its release, but knowing how well DBZ has done outside of Japan, it seems fair to bet that they will push for a major TV network airing of this show. Let’s hope they can get it on an HD channel. A Blu-ray release should also be expected.

To you fans who bought the DBZ box sets (and possibly even the recently released Dragon Box): Will you be “double-dipping” on this series? I’m sure that many hardcore fans will be willing to spend as much money as they can towards what is arguably one of the greatest anime series of all time.

As for me, this will be my chance to finally get into the Dragon Ball franchise. So, I will most definitely be picking this up when it gets released.