remastered version of the 1986 Dragon Ball series primarily refers to the "Blue Box" Season Sets released by Funimation, which first debuted in September 2009. While widely available, the quality and "definitive" nature of various remasters remain a topic of debate among fans due to differing restoration techniques used over the years. Key Remastered Releases
The 1986 aesthetic is iconic: hand-painted cels, warm color palettes, and a grainy, filmic texture that screams "retro." However, for years, home releases suffered from severe quality issues—dull colors, scratches, dirt, and, most notoriously, the infamous "cropping" of widescreen versions that cut off the top and bottom of the original 4:3 frame.
Funimation took the original 35mm film elements, scanned them in standard definition (480p), and applied a digital cleanup. This involved automatic dust-busting, scratch removal, and light color correction. Unlike the controversial Dragon Ball Z "Orange Brick" sets (which cropped the image to widescreen and used aggressive DVNR that smeared animation), the Dragon Ball Blue Bricks were presented in their original 4:3 full-screen aspect ratio. dragon ball 1986 remastered
The 2019-2020 Funimation Blu-ray is the definitive English-language physical release. It strikes the perfect balance between cleanup and fidelity.
For nearly a decade, these were the gold standard. The image is clean, bright, and stable. However, some purists argue that the automatic cleanup occasionally removed fine detail (like fabric textures or background lines) and that the colors were boosted to look slightly more "cartoonish" than the original broadcast. remastered version of the 1986 Dragon Ball series
| Feature | Original DVD (2001-2003) | Blue Brick DVD (2009) | Funimation Blu-ray (2019) | Japanese Stream (2021) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | 480i SD | 480p SD | 1080p HD | 1080p HD | | Aspect Ratio | 4:3 | 4:3 | 4:3 | 4:3 | | Film Grain | High | Low (scrubbed) | Moderate/Natural | Low/Moderate | | Color Accuracy | Poor (faded) | Boosted (cartoonish) | Excellent (natural) | Cool-toned | | Extras | Trailers | Textless songs | Textless songs, Trailers | None (stream only) | | Best For | Nostalgia | Casual viewing | Best Overall | Purist audio |
It is crucial to distinguish these remasters from a full remake like Dragon Ball Kai (which was a remaster of Z with re-recorded audio and cut filler). Dragon Ball has never received a Kai -style treatment. The 1986 series is lovingly preserved as-is. That means the filler episodes—Goku and Krillin’s driving lessons? No, that’s Z . But Dragon Ball has its own charms: the Penguin Village detour, Goku’s fight with Colonel Silver, and the extended Red Ribbon Army hunt. All of it remains in the remastered sets. Funimation took the original 35mm film elements, scanned
Often cited as the best visual representation of the series to date, this French release utilized an AI upscale of the 2004 Japanese Dragon Box masters. It features extensive color correction that restores natural skin tones and white-balanced eyes, fixing the "pink" or "yellow" tinting found in older transfers.