[Krycek7o2] [SOM] Dragon Ball - FUNimation Dub - HiFi Archive - DBox/CC Sync

Happy 40th Anniversary Dragon Ball!

So, as many who follow Seed of Might on Twitter, Youtube, or on Discord, know that we have dedicated thousands of hours to restoring Dragon Ball's video, audio and revising the English translation, among other things. In some cases, we find that certain aspects of our projects quickly become outdated and are replaced with higher-quality versions or removed entirely in subsequent releases.

It's why I am here today.

Back in 2023, we released the color-corrected version of the original Dragon Ball. That was also the first time we fully committed to preserving the original dub as faithfully as possible. Instead of syncing only the "Remastered" 5.1 track, we included the original 2.0 Saga Set mixes, partly due to the remaster introducing several audio changes to its timing, SFX, and dialogue. Since we had access to an extensive archive of VHS captures, we were able to use the lossless HiFi audio from those tapes and sync it directly to the color-corrected footage.

What I'm presenting here is the finalized version of those HiFi audio mixes. Every mix included has undergone extensive rebalancing, volume matching, and various minor fixes. Since these mixes are the same files used in the 2023 CC release, they will sync perfectly with that version and with our upcoming V2 release (ETA TBA).

I also went back and finished timing additional episodes we hadn't synced the first time, making this one of the largest archival collections of original Dragon Ball HiFi audio available. Unfortunately, these newer sources were captured in lossy formats. So, I went a step further and corrected as many issues as possible. Some problems were unavoidable due to source limitations during the original capping process. Still, many of these have now been resolved for this collection.

That said, this is still VHS audio. FUNimation was known for using lower-quality tape stock during that era, so occasional source hiccups are inevitable, but most listeners likely won't notice.

So why release this as DLC?
While HiFi audio has its merits and, in some cases, can even surpass the audio fidelity of the DVD tracks, there are still limitations that can't be fully corrected without re-capturing the original tapes. Given that this dub is incomplete and the VHS tapes themselves are extremely expensive on the secondary market (with the audio being the only truly valuable part), this is likely the best it's going to get.

Another key reason: Over the past few months, I've been working on a complete restoration of the original 2.0 DVD dub audio. As a result, these HiFi tracks will not be included in the upcoming CC V2 release. Who knows, maybe you'll get a taste of the restored audio sooner than you might think... wink...wink..

The following tapes were used in 2023, not all were utilized for the CC at the time, and presented here for the first time, synced to the DB CC:

June 5, 2001 – Tournament: Roshi's Request (014-016) ------> New to this collection!
June 19, 2001 – Tournament: Turtle Hermit Training (017-019)
August 21, 2001 – Tournament: Fighters, Begin (020-022)
October 23, 2001 – Tournament: Semi-Finals (023-025)
October 23, 2001 – Tournament: Final Test (026-028)
December 26, 2001 – Red Ribbon Army: The Hunt is On (029-031)
December 26, 2001 – Red Ribbon Army: Silver (032-034)
March 5, 2002 – Red Ribbon Army: Assault on Muscle Tower (035-038)
March 5, 2002 – Red Ribbon Army: White's Last Stand (039-042) ------> New to this collection!
May 14, 2002 – Red Ribbon Army: West City Chase (043-045) ------> New to this collection!
May 14, 2002 – General Blue: Underwater Hunt (046-049) ------> New to this collection!
May 14, 2002 – General Blue: Lost in Penguin Village (054-057)
May 14, 2002 – Commander Red: Danger for Hire (058-060)
June 11, 2002 – Commander Red: Korin's Tower (061-064) ------> New to this collection!
June 11, 2002 – Commander Red: The Battle is Won (065-067) ------> New to this collection!
July 9, 2002 – Fortune Teller Baba: Five Warriors (068-070) ------> New to this collection!
July 9, 2002 – Fortune Teller Baba: Yamcha's Fall (071-073) ------> New to this collection!
August 27, 2002 – Fortune Teller Baba: Surprise Reunion (074-076) ------> New to this collection!
August 27, 2002 – Fortune Teller: The Seventh Dragon Ball (077-079) ------> New to this collection!
October 1, 2002 – Fortune Teller Baba: Goku's Journey (080-083) ------> New to this collection!
October 1, 2002 – Tien Shinhan: Tournament Day (084-086)
Episodes 49 and 54 were included on these tapes.
**(List Credit: Hujio - https://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11569)**

**As a bonus, I am also including the fully cleaned-up versions of the English OPED.
These were used globally as OPED replacements in our 2023 and our upcoming V2 release.**

Syncing Credits

ZeroCool

• Episodes 14-27| 29-41 | 46-49 | 59-73 | 84-86

butler
• Episode 42-45 | 54-58 | 72-83

Krycek7o2
• Episode 28

Original & revised cleanup, with insert restoration by Krycek7o2

To correct some misinformation on the DB Wiki:

The extra volumes Funimation had planned, one covering episodes 050–051 and another intended for 052–054, were eventually canceled. That said, episodes 049 and 054 didn't actually disappear. Episode 049 ended up on General Blue: Underwater Hunt, even though the case never mentions it, quietly expanding the release from the advertised 046–048 to 046–049. Likewise, episode 054 was on General Blue: Lost in Penguin Village, extending that volume from episodes 055–057 to 054–057.

The funniest part? The tape itself (Lost in Penguin Village) and the info printed on it list the correct episode ranges.
So yeah… maybe don't unquestioningly trust that notoriously terrible DB wiki.

So, to sum up: episodes 049-053 and 087-153 were never released on VHS.

Enjoy!

Information:
https://discord.com/invite/5HuFcx5msE