Dragon Ball Z Kai (known in Japan as
Dragon Ball Kai) is a revised version of the
anime series
Dragon Ball Z produced in commemoration of the original's twentieth anniversary.[sup]
[1][/sup] It began broadcasting on
Fuji Television on April 5, 2009.[sup]
[2][/sup] It features remastered
high definition picture, sound, and special effects as well as a re-recorded voice track by the original cast.[sup]
[3][/sup] As most of the series' sketches and animation
cels had been discarded since the final episode of
Dragon Ball Z in 1996, new frames were produced by digitally tracing over still frames from existing footage and filling them with softer colors; thus reducing visible damage to the original animation. Some frames were selectively cropped, while other frames feature new portions added to scenes that were hand drawn to conform to the designated picture ratio. Much of the material original to the
Dragon Ball Z anime, including whole story arcs, will be left out, thus reducing the episode count from 291 episodes to a total of 100.[sup]
[4][/sup]
The series uses two pieces of
theme music: an opening theme, titled "Dragon Soul" and an ending theme, titled "Yeah! Break! Care! Break!". Both pieces are performed by
Takayoshi Tanimoto.[sup]
[5][/sup] Although the story footage is taken from existing material, the opening and closing sequences were made from scratch using different animation methods.[sup]
[6][/sup] The first
DVD and
Blu-ray Disc compilation was released on September 18, 2009,[sup]
[7][/sup][sup]
[8][/sup] with individual volumes releasing monthly as well as Blu-ray box sets.[sup]
[9][/sup]