Nanner Split said:

You should check out Volume 1 of Dragon Ball. Things are actually paced well, as they didn't have any filler.

Well, not entirely true. The manga didn't introduce Pilaf and his cronies until Goku and company were approaching his castle, but the series introduced him in the first episode and had him make appearances (usually working behind the scenes) in nearly every episode. But, yeah, for the most part, there wasn't much added.

And doubleofive, Dragon Ball Kai is basically a re-edited, re-acted version of Dragon Ball Z brought in line closer to the manga (deleting the filler that ruins the pacing and makes the show drag). There is a bit of reanimating on occasion, but it's generally just the same animation from the original series with a musical score by the guy who does the video game soundtracks. It's an interesting idea, but I actually lost interest in keeping up with it months ago.

And good point, bkev, for pointing out the problems with the 2-disc DB sets. But if Nanner just needs the first 13 episodes and is annoyed that the Japanese title cards have been replaced, he might want to pick up that set instead. But like I said, my opinion is to just wait for the Dragon Box. I'm still pissed at myself for caving and buying the first two worthless season sets, and I'm not doing that again. It's Dragon Box all the way for me (although I haven't decided if I'll bother with the GT or movie sets).