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I've read that Dragon Ball Z Kai is an HD remaster and recut of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. However, Kai has 98 episodes while Dragon Ball has 153 and Z has almost 300.

If I watch only Dragon Ball Z Kai, do I miss anything I would get by watching the other two series? And is anything censored in Kai that is not censored in the others?

Pablo
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Cattua
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  • Most minor arcs and fillers and physical contact in fights are missing. DBZ Kai also ends after the cell sage (skips 6 volumes, which are the best) and starts after Dragon Ball (the first 16). DBZ Kai is comparable to any anime that has been ruined by 4Kids (the 4Kids version of DBZ Kai is a bad relatively. In conclusion, watch the real DBZ 'cause it is good and a classic and you get to see Kid Trunks in action. – TAAPSogeking Oct 06 '13 at 00:19
  • This might not seem as much of an answer as a complaint. I've watched only a few episodes which dosen't give me much to work with. But what I think I have the right to complain about is the fact that these are just normal episodes off the original Z series give or take a few scenes and improved intros the least they can do is make the whole episode improved. Also the episodes titles seem too long. I'm not saying that I hate it (I actually love the theme song called 'Dragon Soul' [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goqzyg6kfiw)) RECOMMENDED!! I'm just saying that there is some stuff that mak –  Dec 14 '13 at 10:49
  • the kai one is for little kids. It's the kid version. –  Jan 11 '14 at 18:16
  • -------ANSWER: ------- I can't answer because they put a freeze on this question, so I thought I'd answer in the comments. I've just watched the first episodes of Kai and the Original DBZ. Kai's dialog is heavily edited compared to the original and I feel like it looses alot of it's charm in the process. I can't comment on the fillers in DBZ but I've just finished watching the original series DB. I personally hate fillers and have stopped watching series like the Flash and Arrow because their fillers were unbareable but I found the Dragon Ball fillers to be quite enjoyable and worth watching. – thebunnyrules Nov 18 '17 at 20:47
  • In DB. their fillers were less fillers and more like secondary arcs that spanned over several episodes. Again, I can't comment on the DBZ fillers but seeing how they were made back to back, I can't immagine it being very different. The main advantage of Kai is the higher resolution and I personally did not find the visual fidelity gains to be worth the lost content as they've essentially taken the original DBZ and blown it up. It's super blurry and I needed to watch the 1440x1080 release at 50% zoom for it to look any good. – thebunnyrules Nov 18 '17 at 20:47
  • It will still look better than the original when fully zoomed but it's still very blurry. Next, the sound. I personally like the original dubb way more than the modern one. The modern one has too music playing in the background and it's actually really stressful to watch because of that. The original one was mostly quiet and I find really relaxing to watch that. If you watch Kai, you're stuck with the modern dub. If you're going with the original, you have a choice. Also, I think all the PC censorship that modern one got is complete BS. I like my black Mr. Popo. – thebunnyrules Nov 18 '17 at 20:53
  • @thebunnyrules I've unprotected the question, feel free to repost the comments as a proper answer. – Aki Tanaka Jan 01 '21 at 05:03

2 Answers2

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First off, Dragon Ball Z Kai doesn't include anything from Dragon Ball, which is the story of Goku as a child. Secondly, the main difference is that Kai lacks the filler content of the original Dragon Ball Z, and stops at the end of the Cell saga.

By filler I mean content not originally in the manga. Some (like myself) enjoyed the filler, while others thought it to be extra fluff. Kai is more faithful to the manga than the original anime was. In some cases though, this could affect how some see the development of characters. For example: In the original DBZ, one of the most intriguing, and perhaps touching, moments is Gohan surviving alone in the wilderness. The challenges and events he faces, as well as the people he meets, all influence the person he becomes later on. Much of this was cut in Kai, and so, unless you've already seen DBZ, it might seem a little choppy.

By ending at the Cell saga, it ends in the place where the original author Akira Toriyama wanted it to. In doing so, you miss the two-three seasons that came afterward.

The are also other small differences between the two, including different music in some cases, and new scenes added/redone in Kai.

As for censorship, some scenes where updated to fit the new standards of Japanese Television. In American productions of the anime (namely dubs), there could have been further censoring. I can't remember the name of the company at the moment, but one went so far as to make the character Mr. Popo blue, to lessen claims of racism.

Scene edited to remove blood Mr. Popo's skin is normally pitch black.

Given the facts, you can make up your mind as to which you will watch, but in my humble opinion I would go with the originals first, and later on, if you want, you can look into Kai as an abridgment. As someone who has personally watched both, I must say that I only enjoyed Kai because I was able to fill in the details myself. If I had never seen DBZ I doubt I would have felt this comfortable.

I hope I helped! :)

Shaymin Gratitude
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Miguel
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    Not sure if this needs to be updated, since at this point DBZ Kai doesn't end at the Cell saga. Since april this year they have started airing the Majin Buu saga too. – Peter Raeves Jun 26 '14 at 11:43
  • Someone should make some sort of guide on how to merge Kai and the original: replace the original episodes that overlap with Kai and keep the ones that aren't covered by it. This way we can enjoy the higher fidelity without missing out on the story. – thebunnyrules Nov 18 '17 at 19:01
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Kai is not too bad as I'm currently watching it on KIX. BUT! there are silly things chopped away from what I remember in Dragonball Z.

(SPOILER ALERT)

Cell stomps and crushes Android 16's head after he's done telling Gohan to embrace his inner anger to defeat Cell. In Dragonball Kai, this is cut out and only Android 16's brain cartridge and a few bolts are seen MAGICALLY on the scene. Yet During the Frieza saga you get to see Krillin use 'Destructo Disc' to cut off Frieza's tail which did happen in both Z and Kai but this clashes with the head crushing.

To me Dragonball Z DESTROYS Kai in every form and shape because its more influential in all the characters development. Not to mention I've yet to see Yamcha use his technique The Wolf Fang Fist.

From what I've read as well we are going to lose out on the Majin Buu Saga, the Kid Buu Saga and the Super Android 17 Saga.

Lastly it hasn't been mentioned from what I've read but even though it's only a filler what happened to the Garlic Jr saga? If I remember correctly it was based after the return from Namek. I could be wrong. So much is cut from Z, it's sort of depressing.

Maroon
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  • Super 17 Saga is not DBZ, but its bastard son: Dragonball GT. Garlic Jr. saga doesn't appears on comics, and it's based on a plot that comes from an OVA which was plot-incompatible with the series, so it's possibly the best part to cut. – Flamma Dec 29 '13 at 17:35