Dragon Ball (Warning: Untagged Spoilers)

[-Robin-]

Holy christ guys. Imagine Chris Sabat doing Vegeta's dance number

 

I cant wrap my head around it..

If Lanipator can pull it off, I think Sabat can too.

[goku262002]

My god, wow finally thank kami that 20th century fox got off their asses and gave a greenlight for an ENG dub I just can't wait to see this and its getting theater treatment too which I think only happened for Super Android 13.

[Zaysho]

My god, wow finally thank kami that 20th century fox got off their asses and gave a greenlight for an ENG dub I just can't wait to see this and its getting theater treatment too which I think only happened for Super Android 13.

 

I think "Fusion Reborn" and "The Return of Coola" got a double-feature at one point when FUNi was making a big push to get some anime films in theatres (was probably around the same time they just got "Conqueror of Shamballa," which I believe also had a limited theatrical release). Those might have been the first ones, actually. I didn't know "Super Android 13" got the treatment as well, though.  But yeah, it's nice knowing they're doing this; shame 20th Century Fox is pushing for a bigger release theatrically (they have the money, I'm sure...), but that just means we get the DVD/Blu-Ray sooner.

[MamboCat]

If Lanipator can pull it off, I think Sabat can too.

 

Imagine Brian Drummond doing that(!) XD

 

Oh god.... *cries*

[Zaysho]

So, it's not "big" news like "Battle of Gods" being on its way, but here's an interesting tidbit concerning the Majin Buu portion of Dragon Ball Kai. Apparently the international edition of those episodes are extended from the Japanese broadcasts.
 

While the on-going analysis from fandom is obviously all just subjective observations, there is a consensus that something is clearly “off” about what has been airing on Fuji TV. From the green tint to the rather haphazard editing, it cannot just be the removal of Q-TEC from the video remastering process that is affecting things.

Additionally, there have been massive contradictions in episode titles: promotions in issues of Weekly Shōnen Jump and V-Jump list one set of titles, and by the time the episodes make their way to television, the final broadcast either has adjusted titles or entirely new titles for certain episodes.

[...]

If the Majin Buu arc of Dragon Ball Kai has been in production since at least late 2012, it is baffling to think that episodes are being re-titled this late into the game, especially with episode titles already simply being adaptations of prior Z-proper titles. It is clear that that Toei has been adjusting things just prior to broadcast, and has not bothered to keep Shueisha in the loop.

We knew that international dubs would be coming (under the subtitle of “The Final Chapters”), but it is finally now with the Korean broadcast of Dragon Ball Kai that everything starts to add up. There is simply more footage in this “international” version, with — for example — three (extended) episodes in the Korean version of the Great Saiyaman arc covering what was reduced down to only two episodes in the Japanese television broadcast.

It's most likely, as Kanzenshuu points out, that international version was what was first in production and then when it was decided to start airing the show in Japan again, they chose to make cuts for their version. If I had to guess, it could be that they already agreed to give these episodes as they originally made them to international companies and because of whatever deals they had, they didn't have "first rights" to air it (since they initially didn't plan to, but I guess "Battle of Gods" changed that). Granted, I'm not sure that makes sense given Toei is the licensor, but I can't think of a better reason, at the moment, why they'd recut their recut for Japanese airwaves when it appears the international versions (so far) are fine.

Another odd bit from the same article:
 

Toei’s English-language announcement of 69 episodes seemed to be at odds with the pace set by the Japanese broadcast, and while that could always be adjusted down the line, it was setting the stage for episodes eventually being straight-up adaptations of Z-proper episodes on a 1:1 ratio, essentially defeating the entire purpose of making Dragon Ball Kai. If there are two “versions” in production, this at least starts to make a little more sense.

...am I reading this right? Most of Kai's episodes will likely be straight up adaptations of original Z episodes? Did Toei get really lazy or something? It does sort of defeat the purpose of Kai, but there's part of me that wants to look at this as "FUNimation getting a second chance on some proper Z episodes."

 

Shame we're probably looking at another year or so before it even airs over here (things'll speed up if Toonami chooses to air it in hour-long blocks since AoT and Bleach are both ending this Fall...), but it's kind of interesting we're actually getting more material for once.

[VO.SUPER]

I think it's less that it was extended, more like it was the original cut from what I hear from Kaizenshuu and that the one in Japan was a redub. It would explain why the Japanese cut has been considered a real rush job.

[Zaysho]

I think it's less that it was extended, more like it was the original cut from what I hear from Kaizenshuu and that the one in Japan was a redub. It would explain why the Japanese cut has been considered a real rush job.

 

I did clarify that after, but admittedly referring to them as extended in my first sentence was a mistake I didn't go back to edit. Like I said, they recut their recut.

 

That said, I hadn't heard anything about the JPN broadcast until today, since I just haven't been following news on the subject closely. It's odd, since they essentially had the version they made for international broadcasts all ready to go, but I wonder if any of that is tied up in further licensing issues that forced Toei to cut their version down before it airs in other territories?

[VO.SUPER]

I did clarify that after, but admittedly referring to them as extended in my first sentence was a mistake I didn't go back to edit. Like I said, they recut their recut.

 

That said, I hadn't heard anything about the JPN broadcast until today, since I just haven't been following news on the subject closely. It's odd, since they essentially had the version they made for international broadcasts all ready to go, but I wonder if any of that is tied up in further licensing issues that forced Toei to cut their version down before it airs in other territories?

 

It may be that Toei is aiming to make more money on DVD sales by having less episodes out? That way the show can benefit more from a DVD release without viewers getting fatigued of buying even more sets. Honestly, it has to be some money saving scheme, knowing Toei.

[Zaysho]

It may be that Toei is aiming to make more money on DVD sales by having less episodes out? That way the show can benefit more from a DVD release without viewers getting fatigued of buying even more sets. Honestly, it has to be some money saving scheme, knowing Toei.

 

I'd be more surprised if they only release the international version on home video in Japan. I expect them to pull the "Two version" stunt by offering a standard DVD (which by our standards would be overpriced anyway) and then a premium DVD featuring the international cut (or like they did with Kai originally--the cropped, widescreen edition and the 4:3 edition). I think that's also why they've had FUNi remove Region 2 compatibility from their DVDs (notably Dragon Box) in recent years because it's actually cheaper for people in Japan to import those releases (though they can't do anything about Blu-rays).

 

In any case, I think it'd be cheaper to not have to make two different cuts of the same show in the first place.

[VO.SUPER]

I guess that makes sense. I'm wondering though, if the international version will be another 4:3 fest instead of a remasters 16:9.

[Zaysho]

The show is produced in 4:3 and cropped for broadcast over there, but it's more or less reframed in a way so the cropping isn't nearly as distracting as, say, FUNi's orange brick remasters. I expect we're getting the original, uncropped masters like before. Not a problem for me, but I'm not a fan of cropping material that was never intended to be viewed that way.

[VO.SUPER]

But this show was made using cels, isn't there background that can be found in the original material if you stretch the camera out?

[goku262002]

So whats cut exactly? is Kaizenshuu keeping track via a topic or a guide?

So, which version are we getting then? the rush job or the original intended episodes?

And are these episodes still 1:1 with the original DBZ episodes? or was that just an intended thing that was supposed to happen but changed in development?

[VO.SUPER]

So whats cut exactly? is Kaizenshuu keeping track via a topic or a guide?

So, which version are we getting then? the rush job or the original intended episodes?

And are these episodes still 1:1 with the original DBZ episodes? or was that just an intended thing that was supposed to happen but changed in development?

 

Z's episode count for the Buu saga was 81 episodes, while the international Kai cut will be 69. So it is going to be pretty much 1:1 after a certain point with episodes.

[Zaysho]

But this show was made using cels, isn't there background that can be found in the original material if you stretch the camera out?

 

It depends on what's photographed on the film, and getting a little extra data that's not that important to the composition of the frame, at the cost of what's actually important, isn't worth it, IMO.

 

 

So whats cut exactly? is Kaizenshuu keeping track via a topic or a guide?

So, which version are we getting then? the rush job or the original intended episodes?

And are these episodes still 1:1 with the original DBZ episodes? or was that just an intended thing that was supposed to happen but changed in development?

 

Visionary already covered it, but Kanzenshuu does have a topic it appears. I'm just going with the one they linked in the article, I don't know if anybody's made a specific topic yet (I'm not a member and I don't follow things that closely on there if it's not on the main site), since the Korean version is airing and can be used as a point of comparison now. But yeah, we're getting the proper version, not the recut of the recut, so no worries there.

[VO.SUPER]

It depends on what's photographed on the film, and getting a little extra data that's not that important to the composition of the frame isn't worth it, IMO.

 

I wouldn't mind it. They cleaned up the film for this release already, they may as well naturally extend the shot instead of just stretching the thing, or leaving it in it's 4:3 look with black bars. 

 

Though, I suppose most of the original masters are destroyed at this point; knowing a studio like Toei.

[Zaysho]

I wouldn't mind it. They cleaned up the film for this release already, they may as well naturally extend the shot instead of just stretching the thing, or leaving it in it's 4:3 look with black bars. 

 

Though, I suppose most of the original masters are destroyed at this point; knowing a studio like Toei.

 

The film's in cold storage, which is what they used for the Dragon Boxes. They gave FUNi some kind of third generation film master, I think, which was only slightly better than the digi-beta tapes they had before. That film has since been FUNi's base for their own remastering efforts.

 

For me, if the show is meant to be viewed in 4:3, the pillar-boxing doesn't bother me because I'm not focused on them. Same when I watch a widescreen movie on my 4:3 TV, because it's meant to be viewed that way and the letterboxing doesn't really distract me because my eyes only focus on the active frame. If the show gets cropped, it's not even the letterboxing that bothers me, but I oddly find the cropping to be distracting because the frame looks off.

 

I didn't really know to what extent it would actually bug me until I randomly bought one of the orange bricks back in college. The remastering, which made heavy use of DVNR, wasn't even well done to begin with, but seeing it in motion, it just didn't look right to me, and it turns out it's because the compositions were messed with for no reason. What little was gained on the left and right of the frame wasn't worth the odd cropping of heads and more claustrophobic frames from my viewing (and I hadn't even watched the show in a few years before I saw this DVD, which is why I didn't quite understand Kanzenshuu's criticism of the practice at the time until I saw it for myself).

 

That's just my personal take on it though. I'd rather it's not done, and I find it odd people are so forgiving of this being done on Dragon Ball when they'd be rioting if it was done with Evangelion or any other show.

[VO.SUPER]

The film's in cold storage, which is what they used for the Dragon Boxes. They gave FUNi some kind of third generation film master, I think, which was only slightly better than the digi-beta tapes they had before. That film has since been FUNi's base for their own remastering efforts.

 

For me, if the show is meant to be viewed in 4:3, the pillar-boxing doesn't bother me because I'm not focused on them. Same when I watch a widescreen movie on my 4:3 TV, because it's meant to be viewed that way and the letterboxing doesn't really distract me because my eyes only focus on the active frame. If the show gets cropped, it's not even the letterboxing that bothers me, but I oddly find the cropping to be distracting because the frame looks off. I didn't really know to what extent it would actually bug me until I randomly bought one of the orange bricks back in college. The remastering, which made heavy use of DVNR, wasn't even well done to begin with, but seeing it in motion, it just didn't look right to me, and it turns out it's because the compositions were messed with for no reason. What little was gained on the left and right of the frame wasn't worth the odd cropping of heads and more claustrophobic frames from my viewing (and I hadn't even watched the show in a few years before I saw this DVD, which is why I didn't quite understand Kanzenshuu's criticism of the practice at the time until I saw it for myself).

 

That's just my personal take on it though. I'd rather it's not done, and I find it odd people are so forgiving of this being done on Dragon Ball when they'd be rioting if it was done with Evangelion or any other show.

 

Oh no, I hate FUNi's efforts too, even if I haven't studied their remasters well enough to get the horridness outside of coloring issues. I just want a proper remaster so they can stop. 

 

And hey, if the old masters are in cold storage, then use those to do something proper. I wouldn't care, as long as it was done right and we could get proper DVDs here in America, but Toei just won't give.

[Zaysho]

Oh no, I hate FUNi's efforts too, even if I haven't studied their remasters well enough to get the horridness outside of coloring issues. I just want a proper remaster so they can stop. 

 

And hey, if the old masters are in cold storage, then use those to do something proper. I wouldn't care, as long as it was done right and we could get proper DVDs here in America, but Toei just won't give.

 

I must've been misreading your posts then, my bad.

 

We were getting a proper remaster, that was apparently using more of the original frame than anything before it, but it wasn't selling because FUNimation made the mistake of putting it out when Kai was in full swing and the Dragon Boxes were there too and the orange bricks were still there as well. You don't need a degree in marketing to realize that that was poor timing. So they fell back on this shitty practice once things died down simply because the proper way was too expensive. It's a sensible decision, but I don't agree with it either. I should be glad I have my Dragon Boxes, but it still sucks for everyone else that ultimately has to settle for an inferior product (especially since I'm usually on that side of the fence). It wouldn't surprise me if Toei has some mandate to keep FUNi from continuing to release anything with the Dragon Box footage either.

 

I doubt Toei will ever fork over the original film to FUNi, even if FUNi could afford them. This is the same company that shorted FUNi on original credits and audio for next episode previews. Actually, I've heard Chris Sabat say they actually had to reference stuff from the Mexican dub at one point because of something with the masters Toei gave them (I don't remember exactly what he said, but it's not the first time I'd heard it either). If a new, proper remaster comes about, it'll be something Toei makes on their own terms, and likely at a premium again.

 

I honestly blame both companies for what we have right now. One has dubious practices with how they license and release things and the other tends to just make dumb mistakes or just downright weird decisions with this one specific property to the point it can almost never get a proper release in the first place.

[VO.SUPER]

I blame FUNi for just being stupid, but I dislike Toei more for being a bunch of dubious cheapskates with questionable practices when it comes to licencing and their own market. 

[Kenny_Glover]

 Dragonball went way downhill after Cell.

[Falco]

Dragonball went way downhill after Cell.

Care to explain why?

(Please don't say he intended to end at cell. That's a false rumor.)

[8ther]

Dragonball went way downhill after Cell.

Because they decided to return the series to it's action comedy roots with the Buu saga? what's wrong with that?

[Kenny_Glover]

(Please don't say he intended to end at cell. That's a false rumor.)

 

 I'm not, but the ending to the Cell saga would have been the perfect ending to the series. Gohan proves his worth as a warrior and surpasses Goku, who dies and decides to stay dead to keep the Universe safe. All loose ends were tied up. There was plenty of closure and finality. But despite how there was no need to see anything after Cell, continuing the story still could have worked. Showing us how the Earth would be defended with Goku dead for good could have been interesting. However, what we were given as the Majin Buu saga was terrible. There were a few good moments, but that was it. It sucked:

 

 -Goku was terribly handled. The decision to bring Goku back to life and be the one to save the day completely negates the significance of the Cell saga's ending. The Cell's saga ending was very significant as it had Goku sacrificing his life to keep the Universe safe and had Gohan take up his sword. With that, he should have never been the main star again. Of course, Goku is a vital character to Dragonball, so keeping him in the story was necessary, but he still shouldn't have become the main character again. Unfortunately, in the Majin Buu saga, he comes back to life and saves the day as if all that was nothing. Crap.

 

Other reasons why Goku was poorly handled was how he didn't take responsibility for his actions in the Majin Buu saga: his strength drives Vegeta mad, who accepts Babidi's power so he can defeat Goku. Instead of finishing Vegeta off as a Super Saiyan 3, Goku decides to hold back and let Vegeta beat the crap out of him, which causes Majin Buu to be released. Goku could have defeated Majin Buu himself as a Super Saiyan 3, but he tries to make a younger, more inexperienced group of fighters (Trunks and Goten) do his dirty work for him. That's just stupid. It was Goku's fault why things got so bad, and so he decides to make other people do his dirty work? Crap.

 

 -Trunks and Goten were terribly handled. Right off the bat, they're already able to turn Super Saiyan? Crap. Any real character depth and development they could have had is scrapped in favor of this and them fusing into Gotenks, who was a terribly bland character.

 

-Instead of giving characters like Vegeta, Trunks and Goten more development ... Mr. Satan is given more of a focus. They give some random comic relief character more focus than who'd you expect to be important fighters? Crap.

 

 -The Potara was poorly handled. It appears out of the blue when Gohan loses the advantage against Buu. If Old Kai already had the Potara, why in the world would he waste time trying to bring out Gohan's hidden potential? He could have just had Goku and Gohan fuse and defeat Buu. And the reason why Vegerot split back into Goku and Vegeta was terrible. It was due to ... the "nasty air" inside Buu? Crap.

 

 -The Spirit Bomb finale was redundant. They could have use the wishes from the Dragonballs to bring Gohan and Gotenks to destroy Kid Buu. No point in going through the whole thing with the Spirit Bomb.

 

 -The ending to the Majin Buu was a horrible ending to the series. Goku leaves his family to train some random kid. There was no sense of closure or finality at all. 

 

Seriously, Goku should have stayed dead. There should have been a big focus on Gohan feeling grief and guilt over his father's death (after all, had Gohan killed Cell when Goku told him to, Goku would have still been alive). Vegeta and Trunks' relationship should have also been a main dynamic; Trunks struggles to gain his father's acknowledgement and respect. Trunks should have become a Super Saiyan through actual training.There should have been more of a focus on Vegeta himself. On his jealousy of Goku. On how he'd realize just how much he loved his family. He should have had one final moment with Trunks and been the one to defeat the final villain and save the day by sacrificing his own life. Like Goku, Vegeta should have been kept dead. Then, after Goku would say his final goodbye to his family and friends, we would see that Vegeta was allowed into the Other World by King Yemma due to saving the Universe. The series would then end with Goku and Vegeta preparing to fight in the Afterlife (that would be awesome? Reminds me of the ending to Rocky 3)

 

 Oh, and no fusion so the fighters could get more development individually. And no Goten as his only relevance to the plot was to fuse with Trunks (Goten was a very unnecessary character).

[Ratcicle King]

 I'm not, but the ending to the Cell saga would have been the perfect ending to the series. Gohan proves his worth as a warrior and surpasses Goku, who dies and decides to stay dead to keep the Universe safe. All loose ends were tied up. There was plenty of closure and finality. But despite how there was no need to see anything after Cell, continuing the story still could have worked. Showing us how the Earth would be defended with Goku dead for good could have been interesting. However, what we were given as the Majin Buu saga was terrible. There were a few good moments, but that was it. It sucked:

 

 -Goku was terribly handled. The decision to bring Goku back to life and be the one to save the day completely negates the significance of the Cell saga's ending. The Cell's saga ending was very significant as it had Goku sacrificing his life to keep the Universe safe and had Gohan take up his sword. With that, he should have never been the main star again. Of course, Goku is a vital character to Dragonball, so keeping him in the story was necessary, but he still shouldn't have become the main character again. Unfortunately, in the Majin Buu saga, he comes back to life and saves the day as if all that was nothing. Crap.

 

Well that's the thing, Gohan NEVER wanted to be a warrior, it's been said since the begining of the series, he only dd that to avenge his father, and after that he wanted to live a normal life, the whole arc of the Buu saga is about Goku trying to find someone to take over the role of saving the world, someone who WANTS to do so, because he saw how Gohan finally has a normal life for once, and doesn't want to drag him into the fights once again, he tried Goten and Trunks since both of them wanted to fight, but he soon realised how they're just kids after all, so much that the series ended with him training Uub, you know, so he can have someone to take his place who wants to fight and help everyone.

 

 

Other reasons why Goku was poorly handled was how he didn't take responsibility for his actions in the Majin Buu saga: his strength drives Vegeta mad, who accepts Babidi's power so he can defeat Goku. Instead of finishing Vegeta off as a Super Saiyan 3, Goku decides to hold back and let Vegeta beat the crap out of him, which causes Majin Buu to be released. Goku could have defeated Majin Buu himself as a Super Saiyan 3, but he tries to make a younger, more inexperienced group of fighters (Trunks and Goten) do his dirty work for him. That's just stupid. It was Goku's fault why things got so bad, and so he decides to make other people do his dirty work? Crap.

 

Goku said it himself: He's dead, he's not supposed to take care of the business of the living, at that point he was trying to make Goten and Trunks get enough time to grow into the warriors he belives they can become, because he is dead, and he won't be there to help them forever, he'll be gone in less than a day, and if another threat shows up, then the world would have no one capable enough to take care of it, especially with Gohan and Vegeta dead.

In Goku's head, it probably was like this: He's dead,  he has no way to come back, nor does he want to, because one day on Earth and another threat shows up, proving his point that he's a disaster magnet, so he MUST keep himself dead and not deal with business of the living, so he'll leave it for Gohan and Vegeta... But then they die, so he goes for the only two living warriors with enough power to help, Goten and Trunks, and he knows they're inexperienced, that's why he asked Piccolo to train them, so he did his best to help without getting too much involved with that, and left when his time ended.

 

 

 -Trunks and Goten were terribly handled. Right off the bat, they're already able to turn Super Saiyan? Crap. Any real character depth and development they could have had is scrapped in favor of them fusing into Gotenks, who was a terribly bland character.

 

It's been said over and over that Saiyan/Human Hybrids have an easier time becoming Super Saiyan, and Toriyama handwaved somewhere that unborn baby saiyans can trade their tails for an easier time unlocking the Super Saiyan if one of their parents can already go Super Saiyan.

They had some character during the first episodes, before Buu showed up, it is there, you just need to take a good look to find.

 

-Instead of giving characters like Vegeta, Trunks and Goten more development ... Mr. Satan is given more of a focus. They give some random comic relief character more focus than who'd you expect to be important fighters? Crap.

 

Vegeta, got his own character arc on the saga, heck, it was probably the best handling of the character on the series, since it lampshaded how he went soft, showed him trying to force himself into going back to being evil, but failing because of the time he spent on Earth, and accepting that not only he's now a father and has a family, but that Goku is better than him, giving the character some closure.

Besides, considering how Videl got involved, and Satan was already involved because of the fame he got from the Cell Games, it wouldn't make sense if he just disappeared, not even trying to fight Buu even once, since he was the champion that defeated Cell on the eyes of everyone, after all.

 

 -The Potara was poorly handled. It appears out of the blue when Gohan loses the advantage against Buu. If Old Kai already had the Potara, why in the world would he waste time trying to bring out Gohan's hidden potential? He could have just had Goku and Gohan fuse and defeat Buu. And the reason why Vegerot split back into Goku and Vegeta was terrible. It was due to ... the "nasty air" inside Buu? Crap.

 

Goku was dead and had no plans of going back to life, all other warriors were either dead or already on their last legs on the fight, the Potara was obviously a last resort situation since it meant sacrificing two willing lives for the fusion, not only that, but even if Gohan had to fuse, he'd still need the power up so he'd have more power for the Potara fusion, especially because at the time, there was no one like Goku or Vegeta alive, who were the two best fighters of the show by that point, being the only ones that never stopped training.

 

 -The Spirit Bomb finale was redundant. They could have use the wishes from the Dragonballs to bring Gohan and Gotenks to destroy Kid Buu. No point in going through the whole thing with the Spirit Bomb.

 

While it might have been redundant, Gohan, Gotenks, Goku and Vegeta gangbanging Kid Buu and ending the final battle in five minutes wouldn't be as interesting and cool for the FINAL BATTLE OF THE WHOLE SERIES. The Spirit Bomb, while redundant, ended the series with a bang.

 

 -The ending to the Majin Buu was a horrible ending to the series. Goku leaves his family to train some random kid. There was no sense of closure or finality at all. 

 

There's when you look at the arc as a whole. Goku started the series living a normal life, but got dragged into fight after fight to save his friends and try to save the world, every time with bigger stakes, when it all culminated on him deciding that since Gohan is stronger than him, Gohan should take the sword on saving the world, with him dying for the sake of keeping the world safe from anything that might have a beef with him, while Gohan can take care of any future threats. But in the Buu saga, Goku notices how Gohan is living a normal life, but he is being dragged into a fight, just like what happened at the begining with Goku, so he starts looking for someone who was WILLING to accept the role, instead of dragging Gohan out of guilt for his death, and you can see how he tries to make Goten and Trunks, and even Vegeta to some extent, take the role for him, but then after he fought Buu, and learned he'd revive into a better person, not only he now knows someone stronger than all other warriors, but who's a nice person and would probably very well accept the role of the hero of Earth.

 

Seriously, Goku should have stayed dead. There should have been a big focus on Gohan feeling grief and guilt over his father's death (after all, had Gohan killed Cell when Goku told him to, Goku would have still been alive). Vegeta and Trunks' relationship should have also been a main dynamic; Trunks struggles to gain his father's acknowledgement and respect. Trunks should have become a Super Saiyan through actual training.There should have been more of a focus on Vegeta himself. On his jealousy of Goku. On how he'd realize just how much he loved his family. He should have had one final moment with Trunks and been the one to defeat the final villain and save the day by sacrificing his own life. Like Goku, Vegeta should have been kept dead. Then, after Goku would say his final goodbye to his family and friends, we would see that Vegeta was allowed into the Other World by King Yemma due to saving the Universe. The series would then end with Goku and Vegeta preparing to fight in the Afterlife. 

 

 Oh, and no fusion so the fighters could get more development individually. And no Goten as his only relevance to the plot was to fuse with Trunks (Goten was a very unnecessary character).