Unboxing: Dragon Ball Z – Season 1 (Blu-ray) [USA]

For many anime fans, me included, Dragon Ball Z was one of the first English adaptated anime shows to grab their attention and change their views on cartoon themed entertainment. Fast forward several years (decades?) into the future and after many successful releases of the series on DVD FUNimation is now trying its hands at a Blu-ray release, for the second time I might add, so what can we expect from this Blu-ray instalment of the legendary series? Well lets take a look.

To start off with this Blu-ray version of Dragon Ball Z – Season 1 contains the entire “Sayian Saga”, which is 39 episodes long, across four Blu-ray discs with the Blu-ray discs presented in a standard Blu-ray case and carded sleeve. The Discs are also rather plain, with no artwork or special designs – just the Dragon Ball Z logo and disc number. In terms of presentation its another ‘bland’ experience but in reality its the quality that everyone is interested in and luckily it doesn’t disappoint.

According to FUNimation each episode of this Dragon Ball Z release (and future Blu-ray releases from this collection) has been recaptured from the original 16mm film by using a 1080p High Definition Widescreen method, additionally digital enhancements were made to remove any damages to the film. The end result is a far superior viewing experience and after a quick glance between the DVD & Blu-ray releases the difference is noticeable, something which we’ll compare at a later date.

In reality this Blu-ray release of Dragon Ball Z – Season 1 (and presumably future Season releases) is a Blu-ray incarnation of the Orange Box DVD Sets (something which Manga UK just finished releasing in the UK). The reason I say this is because the audio and disc bonuses are similar. The Audio included in this Blu-ray set is exactly the same as those included in the Orange Boxes, so you’ll receive the English Audio (with original Japanese background Music), English Broadcast Audio and the original Japanese audio track. Additionally the “exclusive” marathon mode, which has only been included in the orange box sets, is also here on this Blu-ray release and more importantly the “Next Episode Previews” are not included in this release either.

This Blu-ray release of Dragon Ball Z – Season 1 will receive mixed opinions, it has the picture (and audio) quality that you would expect from a Blu-ray release and has everything the DVD version has, however the fact that it has been cropped (something which doesn’t bother me) and that the next episode previews are not included (something which does bother me) will put some people off. On the Brightside it is Region B compatible, which means that us Dragon Ball Z fans in Europe can enjoy it.