In February 2009,
Toei Animation announced that it would begin broadcasting a
remastered version of
Dragon Ball Z as part of the series' 20th anniversary. The series premiered on
Fuji Television and its
FNS affiliates in Japan on April 5, 2009, under the title
Dragon Ball Kai. The ending suffix in the name means "updated" or "altered", reflecting the improvements and corrections of the original work. The original
Z footage was used for the series, with any damaged or erroneous
cel frames being redrawn over. A majority of the
filler content from
Z was omitted to more closely align with the manga's story, resulting in a faster-paced anime series. According to Torishima,
Kai was conceived when
Bandai asked Toriyama if a completely new
Dragon Ball anime could be made to increase the franchise's merchandise sales. Toriyama declined to write a new story, so it was decided that a new version of
Dragon Ball Z that better aligns with the manga would be produced. Toriyama's reaction to the concept of
Kai was positive, with Torishima noting "so it all worked out". The series initially concluded with the 97th episode in Japan on March 27, 2011, with the finale of the Cell Games. The series was originally scheduled to run for 98 episodes; however, due to news coverage regarding the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the last episode was not aired during the original run and instead released as a direct-to-video exclusive in Japan on August 2, 2011. In November 2012,
Mayumi Tanaka, the Japanese voice actor of Krillin, announced that she and the rest of the cast were recording more episodes of
Dragon Ball Kai. In February 2014, the
Kai adaptation of the Buu Saga was officially confirmed. The continued run of the series, titled
Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters internationally, began airing in Japan on Fuji Television and its FNS affiliates on April 6, 2014, and concluded its run on June 28, 2015. The continuation of
Kai was produced to run for a total of 69 episodes. However, the Japanese broadcast was edited down to 61 episodes to fit into a timeslot scheduled to be taken over by a new anime series for the franchise, titled
Dragon Ball Super, which premiered on July 5, 2015.
English dub production and broadcasting Funimation licensed
Kai for an English-language release in February 2010 from
Toei Animation Inc. The series was initially broadcast in the United States on
Nicktoons from May 24, 2010, to January 1, 2012, continuing to rerun the series until its syndication license for it expired in April 2013. In addition to Nicktoons, the series also began airing on the
4Kids-owned Saturday morning programming block
Toonzai on
The CW in August 2010, then on its successor, the
Saban-owned
Vortexx, beginning in August 2012 until the block ended in September 2014. and reruns of the previous weeks' episodes were aired on an evening slot on Adult Swim proper from February 2015 to June 2016. In the United Kingdom,
CSC Media Group acquired the broadcast rights to
Kai and began airing it on
Kix! in early 2013. Despite
Kais continuation not being officially confirmed at the time, Funimation voice actors
Sean Schemmel (Goku) and
Kyle Hebert (Gohan) announced in April 2013 that they had started recording an English dub for new episodes of the series. In November 2013,
Kais Australasian distributor
Madman Entertainment revealed that the Majin Buu arc of
Kai would be released in 2014 and that they were waiting on dubs to be finished. In February 2014, Funimation officially stated that they had not yet started recording a dub for the final arc of
Kai. On December 6, 2016, Funimation announced the continuation of
Kai would begin airing on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block. The continuation aired from January 7, 2017, to June 23, 2018, alongside the English dub for
Dragon Ball Super. An alternate English dub of
Kai by
Ocean Productions was recorded for the first 98 episodes, featuring many of the original Vancouver cast reprising their roles. However, this dub has never been publicly released.
Editing During the original Japanese TV airing of
Dragon Ball Kai, scenes involving blood and brief nudity were removed. Nicktoons would also alter
Kai for its broadcast; it released a preview showcasing these changes which included removing the blood and cheek scar from
Bardock and altering the color of
Master Roshi's alcohol. The show was further edited for its broadcast on The CW's Toonzai block; most notoriously, the character
Mr. Popo was tinted blue. The show's DVD and
Blu-ray releases only contained the edits present in the original Japanese version. A rumor that Cartoon Network would be airing
Kai uncut was met with an official statement to debunk the rumor in June 2010. It would eventually air uncut on the network as part of Adult Swim's Toonami programming block four years later. == Music ==