Anime that didn't make it.

[Revenant Sorrow]

I watch anime that I can't afford or haven't gotten around to buying just yet on one of the many sites available. While looking at the DBZ selection I saw one video call Dragon Ball Bardock episode. I like Bardock after all he's the father of the worlds greatest hero. I've never seen a whole episode about him before so I figured it was worth checking out. The whole episode starts with Frieza blowing up planet vegeta like we've seen countless times before. After the explosion Bardock wakes up on another world and is healed by the strange people that inhabit it. Bardock ends up killing 2 pirates who serve Mr Chilled (another creature like frieza) the people thank him and Bardock goes off to be away from the people who saved him. Bardock trains and one of the little aliens named Belly brings him food and talk to him. One day Mr Chilled comes to the plantet to see why his people never returned. Mr Chilled kills lots of the aliens Bardock manages to kill of the henchmen but get's his butt handed to him trying to fight Chilled. Then all of his own people flash before his eyes Bardock goes super sayan and kills Chilled then walks off into the distance to search for something.

I found it interesting that I've never seen this episode and every indication in all the english episodes are that All sayans were killed on planet vegeta. Has anyone seen the full japaneese versions of dragon ball or DBZ? I curious if there was a bigger part that Bardock played of if this was more of an else worlds kind of tale. I'm sad to see that Funimation dropped the ball on not getting this one translated also and that Bardock has never had the option to go super sayan and as far as I'm aware was and is the only one to be able too go Super Sayan and keep his human form while still having a tail.

[Eothr]

Unfortunately, there are a number of factors that go into the translation/dub process: validity of the episode content (keeping to the story), production costs, sensitivity of content (violence, language, sexual content), etc. Since DBZ was always pushed as a "kid's show", the Bardock arc was probably too questionable for the dubbing team at that time.

One of the most famous examples I can think of is Outlaw Star's "Hot Springs Planet Tenrei"; since the series was on Toonami, a block of time devoted to "kid's show", that episode wasn't dubbed until it was made into a DVD.

[Alisha Mynx]

If you look around, there are some DB/DBZ "movies" that were only released on video/dvd and most likely not aired as part of the series.  Some could easily take place at any point, but a few seemed to focus on a character (Like Bardock, I'm pretty sure there is a mini-movie about him) or a popular chapter of the series.  The ones I've seen on DVD also have the option of watching them in a subbed form or dubbed form, which is pretty neat (I like re-watching for the changes made to the dubbed versions).

I'm always a little amused at some of the random things (and episodes) that get cut from dubs.  I understand altering the nudity/sexy stuff because the FCC and parent groups are clearly under the impression all cartoons are for kids, but some things just seem randomly cut for no reason.  And why is it we can show Bugs Bunny going to Hell and meeting the Devil, but we can't say bad people go to Hell (had to use Home for Infinite Losers, or HFIL, instead)?

[Revenant Sorrow]

I understand them editing parts of episodes so that we don't see Bulma topless. Also them changing words so they fit our culture or the target audience. What caught me by surprise was how this episode was like any other one I've ever seen. Just never got translated into English and released to the US (to my knowledge).

[Alisha Mynx]

I understand them editing parts of episodes so that we don't see Bulma topless. Also them changing words so they fit our culture or the target audience. What caught me by surprise was how this episode was like any other one I've ever seen. Just never got translated into English and released to the US (to my knowledge).

There was an article in an anime mag about 10 years ago that listed a bunch of episodes of anime series that didn't get translated or were otherwise cut from the dub.  I remember DBZ had more than a couple of episodes where they said something similar, it seemed to get cut for no reason because there wasn't anything that would have been offensive or that would have needed changed/clarified due to cultural differences. 

[Revenant Sorrow]

It just makes me wonder what other series I've seen that have "lost" episodes because they never got translated.