Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Box One [DVD]

I own all nine DBZ orange boxsets and I wanted to know what the excitement was all about with the Dragon Boxes.Actually, I think before they started releasing the Dragon Boxes, I did some calculations of my own. I know with most of the DVDs from the boxsets some have 3 or 5 or 6 episodes and I thought if you put 7 episodes a disc on 6 discs and keep doing that until you reach the last episode, just how many season boxsets would you save. The answer I found was you would save 2 whole season boxsets.If they were ever going to release the Dragonball series into Dragonboxes they would be only able to release 4 of them instead of the 5 season Dragonball boxsets. So they would save one whole season boxset.My calculations are, if they put 40 episodes on 6 discs for the first 3 Dragonboxes (equals 120 episodes) that will leave 33 episodes for Dragonbox 4.What was different with the Dragon Boxes compared to the boxsets is the Dragon Boxes are shown in full original un-cropped 4:3 format. So much more image can be viewed in 4:3, I had to question myself whether the boxsets actually cropped the image and sadly yes they did.I believe Dragonball Z is meant to be viewed in 16:9. Every shot, every angle suits the widescreen experience. I'd wonder if the cropping is optional.The picture quality in the Dragon Boxes is grainy and not at all clear and sharp as the digitally re-mastered DBZ boxsets.I noticed in some dark shots in the Dragon Box episodes you could see things, which can't be seen in the boxsets. For example, when Goku runs up the dark stairway to reach Snake Way, you can literally see the steps and when he sees the light at the top, you can see the woodwork in King Yemma's desk drawer (To view these images please see customer images in Dragonbox Season 1).I still prefer the animation to be digitally re-mastered but as long as they don't crop it and not making some of the dark parts so dark that not much can be seen.I am a huge fan of the Bruce Falconer's music but the Japanese music, they repeat a lot of the music and there isn't a great deal of variety. But as you progress through the series, you hear different music.I know with the American music they do repeat the music here and there but there is a lot more music to choose from. Some parts in the episodes there isn't music at all and you can really hear what the characters are saying, rather than having their voices drowned out by the American music. I did notice a few music tracks from Dragonball from the Japanese music.What I like about the Dragonbox booklet is that it feels much more like a hard covered book unlike DBZ boxset booklet, which feels a lot less sturdy. This means the DBZ boxset booklet will damage easily compared to the Dragonbox booklet.This is the same with the actual boxset and Dragonball where the DVD cases or DVDs are kept.I do like the summary on the back of the DBZ boxset, which details part of the DBZ story up to that point.Although in the Dragonbox booklet, you get thorough information on the episodes and when they aired, characters interaction with other characters (looks like a family tree), character designs and a timeline on what the Dragonball Z series made their mark in the world.I believe the Dragon Box are for fans who want to stay close to the original with the music and 4:3 format. Even I go back to the Dragon Boxes over the boxsets.

I used to be one of those individuals that would criticized the dragon box because of the lack of Bruce Faulconer music and because the price was significantly higher. Since I'm a fan of the series I couldn't help myself and I found my self pre-ordering the first Dragon Box to find out what the big deal was. I knew deep down that I wasn't gonna be to happy with the Japanese music.Once I received the box I realized how incredibly well packaged everything comes. It had already made the orange bricks look cheap and I had yet to open the box. The dragon box was about the size of two orange bricks (remastered sets) and the smaller boxes inside were beautifully build. The booklet that's included with the set is very handy when watching the episodes and its hardcover and not held together with a single staple like in the orange bricks.The quality of the video is superb, its near perfect and the colors are beautiful. I found my self looking at all the vivid colors and seeing detail I had not seen before. It was truly like watching a different version of Dragon ball Z. This is the way Dragon ball Z should have been released from the start!Now on to the music, when I first started watching the series I wanted the American music! Since I couldn't have it, I just stop complaining and decided to watch it and appreciate it. I found my self loving the Japanese music. Before I knew it I just couldn't go back to the American version. It's almost like watching an entirely new show. Try the Japanese music and it will grow on you after each episode.I also want to mention that I did own the orange Bricks, but now that I own the First dragon box I've sold all the orange bricks on Amazon.Now as a conclusion if you have the orange bricks, sell them and get your self the real definitive Edition. Watch the series the way it was originally intended. For those who don't own the Dragon Box, don't give the box bad review's, just because you didn't acquire this version first instead of the orange bricks. This is the best release of Dragon Ball Z to date! Appreciate its release! Buy the dragon box you wont regret it.The Dragon Box shows you the series as originally intended and you won't miss the American music.Dragon Box Volume 2 February 16, 2010!

My review isn't going to be super detailed compared others, as you can find what you want about this product in the description. However, my review consists of having experienced the first 4 dragon boxes (I will continue will the rest eventually).I've owned several seasons, volumes, etc of dbz in different versions and I will tell you this is the best archive to have hands down. What you get is dbz's purest original picture with the perfect colors and the correct aspect ratio. I personal don't find the remastered versions to be any better because they cut the picture and also enhance the contrast while making the colors more vivid (which i think looks like a cheap video filter). For those of you who are true blu-ray fans like me, I should warn as to not spend a buck on dbz blu-ray versions as they are one of those animes that don't translate well into the better format and hardly make a noticeable difference. This dvd box is the best quality (while maintain the original uncut picture) that I know.There is a lack of special features (but previous iterations haven't provided worthy additional content anyway so its nothing to worry about). I know a lot of people are going to miss the english score/intro in the beginning, but chances are if you are like make and will watch this in chunks at a time, you're eventually find yourself skipping all intro and credits anyway.***bottom line, each box will give you your bang for your buck (as long as you get it off amazon).P.S. for the hardcore/collector fans out there, the box is fairly thick (high quality), very pretty and glossy, and each box comes with a nice hardback art/character profile/ synopsis that fits nicely within the box as well.