8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The last descendants of an evil race of warriors known as the Saiyans are on a collision course with Earth, and Goku - the strongest fighter on the planet - is all that stands between humanity and extinction. To save his friends and the world he loves, Goku must travel to a realm from which few return, but should he survive, he'll discover the power to face the villainous Saiyan warlord - Prince Vegeta.
Starring: Masako Nozawa, Ryō Horikawa, Toshio Furukawa, Mayumi Tanaka, Hiromi TsuruAnime | 100% |
Foreign | 89% |
Action | 68% |
Fantasy | 51% |
Sci-Fi | 46% |
Adventure | 46% |
Comic book | 45% |
Martial arts | 38% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
With the recent announcement that FUNimation Entertainment was canceling—well, their official verbiage was
“suspending”—their much ballyhooed remastered and restored release of the original Dragon Ball Z (after just
one volume, reviewed here). Fans were understandably distraught, especially after FUNimation so breathlessly
hyped the “old, improved” version of the venerable series. But the marketplace is a mean taskmaster, and the expense
of restoring a 291 episode series was obviously daunting and must have ultimately been too far a bridge to
cross for the Texas based company. Even Dragon Ball Z’s most rabid fans were usually forced to admit (when
pressed) that the original version of the series contained a fair amount of filler, and that provided a lot of the allure for
Dragon Ball Z Kai, a reedited version of Dragon Ball Z the promised to cut out all of the “boring bits”, and
to concentrate solely on the action. FUNimation has been doling out episodes of Dragon Ball Z Kai on Blu-ray
that feature around ten episodes each, and that’s the case with this new Volume Seven, which offers Episodes 78 – 88,
which should mean Volume Eight will complete the series. For those who want to know about the story so far,
our previous reviews can be found here:
Dragon Ball Z Kai: Part
One Blu-ray review
Dragon Ball Z Kai: Part
Two Blu-ray review
Dragon Ball Z Kai: Part
Three Blu-ray review
Dragon Ball Z Kai: Part
Four Blu-ray review
Dragon Ball Z Kai: Part
Five Blu-ray review
Dragon Ball Z Kai: Part
Six Blu-ray review
Dragon Ball Z Kai Part Seven is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. As my colleague Dustin Somner and I have discussed in our reviews of the previous releases of Dragon Ball Z Kai, FUNimation's efforts with regard to this series have been largely commendable, restoring, reediting and crafting new bridging segments to remake the original Dragon Ball Z into a supposedly "no filler" to the point piece. The video quality here is very much in line with the previous releases. A lot of this presentation looks a bit on the soft side, as all the previous volumes have, but colors are incredibly robust and beautifully saturated. One notable difference about this volume, which may simply reflect this particular set of episodes' increased usage of newer bridging elements: there's quite a disparity between the older, "archival" footage and the newer sequences, especially in terms of sharpness. I have to assume that segments like those that are represented in screenshots 4 and 17 are so much sharper and clearer simply because they come from newer elements. There are also some minor stability issues that are akin to telecine wobble that are quite noticeable in several episodes.
Continuing the pace set by the first six volumes, Dragon Ball Z Kai Part Seven offers two great lossless tracks, a Japanese language track delivered via Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and an English dub delivered via Dolby TrueHD 5.1. As has been the case in the previous volumes, the Japanese track sounds just a tad clipped at the extreme upper and lower registers, making it not only narrower but also slightly more compressed sounding. The English dub is incredibly boisterous and offers a surprising amount of really good surround activity. It also has good, consistent use of LFE throughout the many battle sequences.
Things are hurtling toward the endgame of Dragon Ball Z Kai, despite the kind of odd detour the series takes in the last couple of episodes in this particular volume. The show continues to be really enjoyable and often extremely funny, with over the top characters and situations. With the rise of Cell, this set of episodes is full of nonstop action and great showdowns, and things seem primed for a really big finish. Video and audio quality continue to be pretty much what they have been throughout the previous releases, and while supplements are once again on the paltry side, Dragon Ball Z Kai Part Seven comes Recommended.
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鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST
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Limited Edition
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