Every day, new and returning fans ask the question of whether Dragon Ball Z Kai is actually better to watch than the original DBZ anime. And while the answer is inherently subjective, there are some pretty clear conclusions we can come to by comparing the two series.
Dragon Ball Z Kai was envisioned as a way to more accurately convey the story of the original Dragon Ball Z manga than did its initial translation to anime. That first Dragon Ball Z anime, while extremely popular, is also infamous for being filled to the brim with filler content. What’s more, the English dub diverges significantly from the original Japanese script.
Kai seeks to right these issues by cutting most filler content and providing a script that’s more accurate to the original Japanese. But does that mean it’s actually a better viewing experience?
Why new fans should watch Dragon Ball Z Kai over Dragon Ball Z
The vast majority of new Dragon Ball fans should absolutely watch Kai rather than the original Dragon Ball Z anime, for reasons ranging from a tighter viewing experience to the content being both more accurate to the manga, and more mature in tone.
There’s a reason why Dragon Ball Z is infamous for its filler content. The original anime consisted of a huge number of episodes, 291 in total, and much of the content making up the show’s nearly 300 episodes was created as filler in order to pad out its running time and let the manga story remain ahead of the anime broadcasts.
What this means in practical terms is that everything takes far longer than it should. Fights are drawn out, and so is the downtime between them.
By sticking to the story told by the manga, Dragon Ball Z Kai manages to cut down the number of episodes from 291 all the way to 167, nearly halving the show’s length. That’s a much more manageable number, and it speaks to just how much bulky filler was included in the original DBZ.
Dragon Ball Z Kai also presents a more mature tone by sticking closer to the original Japanese script. The initial English dub was more over-the-top, as were some of the vocal performances behind it. While fans who grew up with those older episodes will have some nostalgia for the performances and one-liners alike, new fans are almost certain to prefer the revised, and more accurate, approach to dialogue.
This is all in addition to more technical benefits that Kai presents, such as a cleaner picture and a picture adjustment to modern widescreen viewing formats.
Is there any reason to watch the original Dragon Ball Z anime instead of Kai?
The only meaningful advantage the original Dragon Ball Z anime has relative to Kai is that, while it’s stacked with filler content, some of that content isn’t actually all bad. The downsides to the filler are how it needlessly lengthens some events and sequences without providing anything of value, but there are times when the filler can actually benefit the story and its characters.
This benefit usually comes in the form of either additional background context, further character development, or more time on screen for supporting characters. There are a couple of sequences that stand as good examples what is lost in the transition from the original DBZ to Kai.
In one, prominent side characters Yamchia, Tien, and Chiaotzu are involved in a battle with members of the Ginyu Force at King Kai’s home planet in the afterlife. In addition to being a fun bit of action that provides more opportunity for these supporting characters to be featured, it also gives further context to the increasing power Earth’s defenders acquire while training with King Kai.
But because this sequence wasn’t featured in the original manga, it’s cut from Dragon Ball Z Kai.
Likewise, a later fan-favorite episode features series stars Goku and Piccolo attempting to learn how to drive. The resulting comic mishaps make for some fun character development and sequences, but again, it’s removed from Kai because it wasn’t a part of the original story.
Even so, the balance of unnecessary filler content dramatically outweighs the fun sequences that can be found here and there. And if fans really want to seek those out, they can always selectively watch a few choice episodes of the original DBZ anime while generally sticking to Dragon Ball Z Kai’s episode list.
