As such, it seems these extras have been phased out and never got a UK release.
The only difference, as Emsen points out, other than the placement of Crunchyroll’s logos and BBFC ratings the disc art depicts the four star Dragon Ball rather than a plain blue and white background.
This will come as a disappointment to fans clamouring for the original 4:3 aspect ratio, but it is very telling that Manga UK cared about what the fans wanted. Crunchyroll has been a much less customer-focused company.
On August 27th I became aware of this, as my sources at UK Anime News received emails from Crunchyroll.
Now it is official as UK retailer Anime-On-Line has announced Crunchyroll’s upcoming Dragon Ball Super and Dragon Ball Z Blu-Ray boxsets will be making their way to Britain and Ireland.
These box sets had previously been announced for North America, but Dragon Ball fans in the British Isles will only have an extra month to wait, although unlike the US and Canada it will not be a Crunchyroll Store exclusive.
The 9 Dragon Ball Z “season” sets and 10 parts for Super will all come in two collectable boxes each displaying promotional art of Goku and friends and Shenron on the side.
Bothcollections are also available from Amazon UK and likely more retailers to follow.
The leak has been confirmed to be true, as Crunchyroll have announced their November 2024 slate, which does indeed include a new Blu-Ray boxset for Dragon Ball Z.
Dragon Ball Z
The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Crunchyroll Exclusive
Goku—the strongest fighter on the planet—is all that stands between humanity and villains from the darkest corners of space. Joined in battle by the Z-Fighters, Goku travels to distant realms in search of the magic powers of the seven Dragon Balls!
Dragon Ball Super
The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Crunchyroll Exclusive
After 18 years, we have the newest Dragon Ball story from creator Akira Toriyama.
With Majin Buu defeated, Goku has taken a completely new role as…a radish farmer?! With Earth at peace, our heroes have settled into normal lives. But they can’t get too comfortable. Far away, the powerful God of Destruction, Beerus, awakens to a prophecy revealing his demise at the hands of an even more formidable being. When his search for the Saiyan God brings him to Earth, can Goku and his friends take on their strongest foe yet?
As Crunchyroll re-released Funimation’s 2013/2014 Dragon Ball Z Blu-Rays replacing the company’s logo with their own, it is likely the Dragon Ball Super Blu-Rays will get similar treatment.
Don’t expect these Blu-Rays to contain the 30th anniversary discs, as the cover art suggests it will be the heavily criticized cropped Blu-Rays. The only noticeable difference here is amended disc art to be more consistent with the new box, so nothing to write home about.
Thankfully none of the Dragon Ball Super releases have had any issues, and fans can buy any copy from the US, UK or Australia and be satisfied with the picture and audio quality as from the 2010s onward TOEI began to standardize everything.
Both boxsets are due for release on November 5, 2024 in North America. There has been no word, as-of-yet if these will be released in the UK or Australia where Manga UK and Madman Entertainment respectively used to release a lot of the same titles as what Funimation released in the US. So don’t be surprised if both come to Region B territories.
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