So another DBZ Movie has come... and the music is once again being replaced with more mindless crap. Does that mean that complaints towards FUNimation are useless and that they never listen to anyone who isn't madly in love with them? Yes, and no.

Years ago someone at FUNimation once commented that, "We would have improved and have done so sooner... if people wouldn't keep picking on us all the time." So basically what that person was saying was- "If only the people who were in love with us talked about us pleasantly, and those disliked us said nothing, we'd have improved so much more and so much faster." Obviously that was just a pisspoor excuse and justification for their continuation of almost neverending errors. But look at how far FUNimation has come since then...

When they first started they sucked hardcore and had NO experience at all in the anime industry. Mistranslated scripts, music all butchered away, employees who (including even their head CEO) didn't even bother to familiarize themselves with the original version, "silence" eliminated. Yeah, I'm talking about DBZ. But look at all their other animes- Dragon Ball, Blue Gender, Fruits Basket, Yu Yu Hakusho, Lupin III. Even many of the people who despise FUNimation like the dubs of these and the way they're being treated. And, although some like the Japanese version of those over the original, even the most hardcore fans do appreciate that FUNimation is showing these particular animes respect.

Dragon Ball originally never had a drop of it's original music- and FUNimation originally never planned on allowing a drop of it to ever remain there. They wanted their own soundtrack to charge royalties for and to market on their own cd's, because they thought their American viewing audience would prefer their soundtrack over the original soundtrack. Years later now, the original music is almost all in there. Why is that? Because FUNimation knew that fans were pissed and wanted it in there- and that this decision would make them the most money. Sure, maybe DBZ kept being butchered and maimed to the very end (primarily because it was so profitable to begin with and the FUNi execs were too afraid to "tamper" with their "successful formula." And because they felt they could use the success they had to justify to themselves everything they did, as if they couldn't have possibly made it better or more successful.) but their other animes are turning out fine. And look at GT- FUNi's been bashed from here to heaven for the shit they've been shoveling into that anime!

So Movie 8's music is being replaced. Well- at least it's script should turn out fine, maybe even really good (no Christopher Neel this time, woohoo!) and the directing should be good as well. Mike McFarland did a good job directing DB Movie 4- so he should also be doing a good job directing DBZ Movie 8. Even if the music is gone, 2/3rds of the movie will be done right and professionally done and will still be enjoyable. Would any of this have happened if nobody had complained to them? Of course not, Christopher Neel might still be lurking around in the credits and they could have just had another lazy, untalented director work on the next DBZ movie and do just as horrible a job as was done on DBZ Movie 7.

FUNimation's main executives (Gen and Cindy Fukunaga, Daniel and Allan Cocanougher, and Barry Watson) have shown themselves committed to a path of stupidity, ignorance and arrogance in regards to all the music for DBZ. The fact that Movie 8, the most anticipated of all Z Movies in America and worldwide, has always been shown and been enjoyed with it's original music didn't bug them at all. And there are other countless other reasons mentioned by more than enough people for them to not butcher the music away, yet they simply ignore all those reasons. "DBZ never had any original music- and look how successful it's been. Obviously, the original music is horrible and is ridiculous to the American viewing audience, and hiring Dr. Faulconer was a BRILLIANT decision on our part! Trust us, we here at FUNimation didn't get where we are and get soooo rich just by mere accident! Obviously, our success shows that we know exactly what we're doing and we know how to make the most money with any anime franchise, and that is EXACTLY what we shall do!" However...

With each royal screwup like GT, with each complaint and angry post, and gradually over time... FUNimation is becoming less and less stupid and ignorant. They are actually starting to become... skilled... intelligent... and are beginning to do good jobs and start to show animes real respect instead of treating them as nothing more than bloated cash cows that they should only focus on milking as much as humanly possible. No more screen shot cover art- actual inserts being included- for a DB movie no less! I may have bitched about Chris Sabat's directing of Movie 4 and 5 (okay,. you did alright on the TV Special Chris) but look at Blue Gender. For the first episode alone he watched it 30 TIMES. And he did a great job directing the series because, based upon what they learned from misdubbing of DBZ, they took those mistakes and applied them to Blue Gender to make into a really good dub. FUNimation really is listening to the fans and, although it's taken them a long time, they are actually gradually improving. In fact, 5 years from now I doubt any of the animes they dub from then on will be as badly mangled as anything like GT- and I imagine that by then they'll understand how incompetent it is for them to pay more money for "new modern" music that's completely inferior to the original score that's already available to them at a much cheaper cost for any of their animes. FUNimation may hate it when people complain, but these complaints have helped make their company better, stronger, smarter and more successful.

So don't look at what's happened to Movie 8 as a complete disaster- music aside, the rest of the dub should be fine. Just look at this way- the cup is now half full. And who knows? Maybe someday FUNimation will finally fill the cup up all the way.

- GreatSaiyaman777