Dragon Ball Z
a review by WhatAGoodShow
a review by WhatAGoodShow
Considering it is a continuation of an existing franchise, it won't be possible for me to evaluate it based on its own.
I will use Japanese Terms mainly because I watched it mainly in Japanese. Whenever I know the English Terms, I will use them. Also American Dragon Ball Z is far more different than Dragon Ball Z in every other country which is another reason why this review is focusing on the Japanese version.
Story
Well, we are already in a territory that is up to interpretation and misconception. Most people view Dragon Ball as: Random Bad Guy appears, beats up everyone, protagonist gets a new power up, beats up enemy who tries to destroy the planet.
Sadly they aren't far off. But we will get to that. Dragon Ball was about Goku discovering how vast the world is and discover his passion for fighting.
Up to this point, Goku trained under various Martial Arts Masters, defeated an entire army as a kid, beat up a Demon King, surpassed GOD and became the strongest under the heaven.
So how would Dragon Ball Z break the boundaries of previous Dragon Ball? By introducing Aliens... I know, that sounds stupid. The story was about mythological akin to Journey to the West and suddenly we are fighting aliens?
This is one of the reasons some old Dragon Ball fans got alienated (pun intended).
However, Dragon Ball Z has an ace up their sleeves: Saiyans.
Saiyans are a race of aliens Goku belongs too. It works because up until now Goku was treated as an oddity in this world full of talking animals, demons, gods and shit with faces.
It also introduced enemies that seem to have good reasons to be stronger than God as they know about themselves better than Goku and thus about their power.
The Saiyans are a race of battle honed warriors that invade planets and sell them for profit. Back in the day, they valued members by their power. Weak ones are send to planets with no challenge as a baby even. Strong ones are treated like gods and get the best treatment. Right now there are just 4 remaining of the original full bloods including Goku.
The weakest and thus a low class Saiyan Raditz can take on Piccolo and Goku simultaneously and beat them almost effortlessly. They couldn't beat him without any casualty which is Goku's death.
Before his dead, Raditz would mention how there are 2 other Saiyans far stronger than himself that would come to defeat them.
For that the remaining fighters on earth would train their hardest while the Dragon Balls would eventually be used to revive Goku who trained under the God of the World King Kai.
King Kai, who trained Enma who judges who goes to heaven or hell, mentions that the Saiyans that come to earth even surpass him in power.
This was a good way to show that these new threats are on a completely different league from Gods and can even destroy planets (at least Vegeta).
We would eventually see that in action as Nappa, the weaker of the two, manage to survive 2 suicide moves by characters trained by God and killed Piccolo with just one attack. It raised the tension since with Piccolo's death nobody can be revived from the Dragon Balls... tho the arc also gave hints of another set of DBs so it doesn't mean too much.
Nappa would eventually be defeated and we would get the showdown between Goku and the Elite Warrior Vegeta.
Vegeta mentioned that Goku could never beat him simply because of their genetics. And even with training from Gods, the Kaioken and Genkidama aka Spirit Bomb, Goku was unable to beat Vegeta. Vegeta was a very talented fighter, knows to control the Oozaru and can use it without full moon.
It was a team effort of Gohan, Krillin, Yajirobe and Goku that managed to fend him off.
Sadly this was the best Dragon Ball Z had to offer. The Saiyan Saga in terms of storytelling and staying true to the original end here.
From here on we enter the Frieza Saga which is about Krillin, Gohan and Bulma flying to the Planet God was born in, Namek, and use their Dragon Balls to revive their comrades. On paper that sounds great. A space adventure is what we needed and the anime does flesh it out a little more. Sadly Namek is one of the most boring locations ever. It's just a glorified battle field. There are 3 suns so the author has never to draw nighttime unless the Dragon appears. The anime filler tries to flesh it out a bit, but considering how dragged out this arc is it just made it worse.
Frieza and his army for which Vegeta worked for invaded the planet to get the Dragon Balls for themselves. Frieza is an imposing villain. A one dimensional evil bad guy with no explanation given to make us understand why he is how he is. He destroyed the Saiyan homeworld, Planet Vegeta. King Kai shit his pants. He has various forms each exponentially increasing his power. Non of his underlings dare to oppose him.
And Vegeta himself would arrive also for the hunt. Thus there is a conflict between 3 groups trying to first get the Dragon Balls. The Dragon Team, Vegeta and Frieza's army.
Frieza's army despite their number would be at a disadvantage without their radar, but their number and strength make them terrifying. Vegeta can sense power and uses his ability to alter his ki to hide. Slowly gathering the balls.
The Dragon Team are the weakest but they have a Radar to guarantee they find what they are looking for.
The Dragon Team and Vegeta would team up to increase their chances for success and only manage to bring Piccolo back before the Dragon disappears.
They had no choice to fight Frieza. One of the longest fights.
The Namek Saga would not be the originator of what we know as power creep but this is where it escalates. And probably where some old fans of Dragon Ball just gave up.
Saiyans get stronger as they fight and gain other passive power ups by almost drying and being revived. This devalues Goku's past accomplishment since just losing makes him stronger as he survives. Thus making training trivial.
Piccolo who had been outclassed by now gets a free exponential power up by fusing with another Namekian. This puts him about Second Form Frieza level who was already more than twice as strong as Vegeta in his Oozaru form on earth in his First Form.
Needless to say, many characters people loved in the past would get obsolete. There can't be any logical reason that someone like Tien or Yamcha could fight someone on Frieza's tier regardless how much they train. At least logically they shouldn't.
Goku would eventually come to terms with his Saiyan heritage in this arc somewhat and that was needed to beat Frieza. All his moves, strategy and experience were useless against Frieza. The bond of friendship and unity the Genkidama failed. It was Goku giving in his anger and fighting thirst that allowed him to reach Super Saiyan. A form teased throughout the arc and the reason Frieza was scared of them in the first place.
Now, with surpassing Gods and beating what was considered the strongest being in the Universe. There is no way you can go on, right? Nope. Remember the army Goku defeated when he was like 12? There is that one old dude who collected data up to the Saiyan Saga and created Artificial Human, Cyborgs or Androids that can be on par or even surpass a Super Saiyan.
It is when power creep makes no sense. Suddenly the form that appears once per 1000 years and hard to archive form is obtained by all the surviving Super Saiyan. All non-Saiyan became irrelevant, including Piccolo who got 1 more power up that put him temporary above the Saiyans.
Cell would appear and explain his entire plan about absorbing everyone to get stronger. Cell is one of the characters excused for his strength with being a patch work of the, at the time, strongest fighters and their techniques. But Cell also brought other repeating things to the story.
The only highlight was Goku passing the torch as the main character to Gohan and giving us a good finale. Sadly the final arc would ruin it.
I skipped the Garlic Jr arc since it doesn't do much and is confusing if you didn't watch the Garlic Jr Movie. An arc that requires you to watch a movie at a certain point is not really a good way to make a story arc. There is also the Otherworld Tournament. It's just a fun tournament where the winner would get trained by the Grand Kai, the boss of King Kai.
Goku would have to fight many legendary fighters like him who died protecting their planet.
If you like OG Dragon Ball Tournaments, you may enjoy this one too.
The final arc is what many people think about Dragon Ball Z. Random bad guy appears, awakens some pink demon who wants to destroy the world, characters get power ups that mean nothing because the villain transforms too and at the end they combine everything to beat the bad guy.
The Boo Saga is a terrible way to end Dragon Ball Z which is why it left many fans dissatisfied. Any prior arc had a great way to conclude it, but an arc that didn't even matter and felt out of place was the finale.
Gohan and Videl who were introduced as the main characters of that arc were shafted by their dads and Vegeta. Yes, Mr Satan a comic relief character shafted Gohan and Videl who had the most potential in this arc.
I don't like to talk about art. But Dragon Ball is visually pleasing. But the art quality doesn't speak much about the action. Since even badly animated shows can have engaging fights and sometimes are better. OG Dragon Balls fans will be disappointed by the lack of martial art style fights. The show ended up with characters yelling, randomly punching each other and fight like its a video game. Power creep made fights so one sided, that strategy, speed and smarts mean jack shit. Unless you are even in power. So someone like Roshi could never beat Puipui. Not even with the Mafuba (ehem, Dragon Ball Super...).
But in terms of spectacle and iconic moments Dragon Ball Z scores high here.
Sound is also not something I care much about. Music is used fine I guess and makes fights enjoyable. I think many anime have really good soundtrack enough to not feel it being significant. Opening of Z is great. Chala Head Chala is one of the best Dragon Ball openings next to Dan Dan from Dragon Ball GT. The Final Opening is meh and also false advertisement.
Characters
Goku is now a pretty serious guy. Finally a father of two children. He was becoming more human in OG Dragon Ball by sparing lives. In Z he would be confronted with his sudden origin, having a brother opposite to him and having to accept what he is. That would eventually give him the means to obtain the power no normal Saiyan could archive: Super Saiyan.
After his character arc was over, he would just show to be a character that calls the shots. Do most decision making on how to handle threats. Put the things he learned from his masters to good use to train his son and Master Super Saiyan before obtaining levels far above.
While he does do stupid decisions, they were always with good intend... unlike...
Vegeta... It's the series where he gets introduced. Vegeta would go through several character arcs. He is shown to be confident and in control in the Saiyan Saga. The Frieza Saga he is the opposite where he lurks around looking for opportunity to get what he wants. While being confident, his control because of the lower power level compared to Frieza and his elites clash here.
In the Cell Saga after obtaining the Super Saiyan form the power went over his head. His interactions with his son also gave him some interesting character development. While Vegeta was unbearable, that character arc indeed made him what people like about Vegeta. Lastly while the Boo Saga was a train wreak, he was one of the highlights.
He would try to take responsibility for his actions, reflect and accept that Goku is indeed better than him bringing his character full circle (until Dragon Ball Super came and ruined it OR Toriyama if you read the inferior manga).
Piccolo went from the Demon King we knew and loved to Gohan's mentor. Originally intended to be a mean to stop the Saiyans, Piccolo would also grow an attachment to Gohan and sacrifice his life to protect him. It felt natural that he would want to fight Frieza later on and while he felt like an afterthought who was just there to get a fight aka filler, it was neat to see.
In the Cell Saga Piccolo would get just one more character moment where he finally decides to become one with God. After that he would be completely irrelevant. He would mentor Goten and Trunks for the Fusion Dance, but most of the Boo Saga was Piccolo just being comic relief.
Krillin was just there the entire series. He did help a few times but rarely managed to do anything relevant after the Saiyan Saga. He showed courage and got a wife.
The other Z fighters from OG Dragon Ball were just an afterthought too. Power creep made Chaotzu, Yajirobe, Tien and Yamcha completely irrelevant. Tien only showed guts by holding back Cell. He would always appear and do Kikoho then disappear from the plot.
Yamcha became a running joke just from his lost against Saiyamen. And Chaotzu nobody remembers. Yajirobe managed to help against Vegeta, but disappeared after that.
Bulma is pretty much comic relief. All female characters in the Dragon Ball franchise are violent, aggressive and bossy, only existing for comic relief including Android 18. Toriyama can only write that kind of character and they don't add anything to the plot. Bulma in the original was actually moving the plot and did shit.
In Z she just flies to Namek and complains. The only redeeming factor is her relationship with Vegeta sprouting in the Cell arc. Something Kai and the manga failed to do. She is moreso a plot device since she is an inventor. But she doesn't have the presents other inventors in anime have with plot continuaty have and besides the Dragon Radar most are pointless. I honestly believe her father did more shit and he is just a side character. He build a spaceship that even Goku can use and he turned it into a training room. He also helped making Android 16 functionable.
Gohan is pretty much a secondary main lead... at least intended to be. As Goku's son and being a half Saiyan, he was introduced as a character with very high potential and means to stop the Saiyans. He gets random rage boosts that allow him temporary to get an advantage over stronger opponents. But it is done in a way he doesn't feel like a gary stu since he lacks experience and the power up doesn't manage to shift the tiles in battle.
Eventually Goku would train him proper and he would be the first to surpass Super Saiyan the way it meant to be. That moment finally being able to use his full power properly and him growing up to become independent is what made many like Gohan.
Sadly by the time of the Boo Saga he would be nerved and get another plot induced power up that end up doing nothing. Toriyama must have given up on him being unable to write anything different that a character like Goku. A complete waste for those who got invested.
Frieza is one of the most beloved anime villains. Despite being one dimensional evil bad guy, the way he represents himself made him beloved. Just on his introduction without him doing anything he made everyone shit their pants. He could kill almost anyone with the move of his finger and even the last villain that survived a massive ass whooping didn't even consider challenging him head on.
Frieza managed to survive the strongest moves and defeated the mightiest fighters with ease. Even the gods were scared off him. And as the killer of the Saiyans, the viewers really wanted Goku to be the one defeating him.
Frieza was also a good villain to push Goku far above his own morals and force him to obtain Super Saiyan at the end. Sadly he would eventually be ruined in the next arc and other media, but in the Frieza Saga he is the villain many love to hate.
Besides Cell the Androids are awful antagonist. Overpowered for no good reason and they are pretty forgettable. Tho many remember 18 because she humiliated Vegeta, but after that and being a female character she would end up like a house wife and retire from fighting. Even in the Cell arc she was just a damsel in distress, completely useless. She had only 1 good moment and that's it.
Android 16 only existed as a plot device for Gohan to get serious.
Cell started off as a mysterious antagonist who would then just infodumb everything. He was interesting as he is a patchwork of other fighters. Using the knowledge of others to his advantage and their moves. Eventually he would absorb 17 and become one of the ugliest beings ever. And all we remember of that form is him getting his ass kicked by Vegeta to the point Vegeta had to suggest to absorb 18. After absorbing 18 Cell lost everything that made him special. There was no motivation left for him since he reached his life goal and all he could do is test his new power.
Sadly we need a villain that is worth killing, so Cell threatened to destroy earth if nobody fights him. He would eventually act like Vegeta and Frieza, about to destroy the planet when packed to a corner.
Mr Satan started off as a boring comic relief character with a one not joke. In the Boo Saga his character arc with Boo is what made him actually funny. And he would come in clutch defeating Boo at the end.
Fat Boo aka Majin Boo aka. Mr Boo started off as a mindless monster with a child's innocent. He liked killing and eating people. After meeting Mr Satan, he would start to respect others' lives and other good things. But since we need a badguy to beat, his body would span an evil side who absorbs him and becomes the new villain.
Super Boo who is also just referred as Majin Boo is basically a parody of Cell. Like Cell and Fat Boo he can regenerate. He basically has all of Boo's abilities. Can also absorb others to gain their skills, knowledge etc.
He rather feels like a filler opponent since all fights against him lead to nowhere. Eventually after the fat Boo gets freed he turns into a small Majin Boo who is just a random psychopath and becomes stronger. Because absorbing Kaioshin makes him weaker.
Goten, Kid Trunks and Gotenks are basically filler character. They only parody the accomplishment of their dads and otherwise don't add anything to the plot. You can take them out of the plot and miss nothing of importance.
Closing words
Dragon Ball Z is a spectacle to watch but it can get really repetitive if you watched other fighting shonen. Most characters have the same skills and fighting style. There is no martial arts and strategy doesn't matter.
The power jumps are illogical compared to previous Dragon Ball and can "alienate" old fans. It seems like stuff gets retconned or randomly pulled out of Toriyama's ass like Dabura being stronger than Cell for some reason and Puipui being 1000 stronger than Frieza because the Kaioshin shit his pants. Beloved old characters have been almost rendered useless and it became the Saiyan show. Every arc since the Frieza Saga needs a new Super Saiyan or a power surpassing it like Fusion and potential unlocked.
The story arcs get progressively worse and several characters get shafted like Gotenks, Piccolo and Gohan. Not to mention nobody remembering the Mafuba in an arc around a demon that can only be stopped if somebody seals him away.
And for the love of god, don't watch any Dragon Ball expecting a well-written female character.
Regardless the highlights are great and the action is similar to fastfood. But most fights don't have too much rewatch value or won't be remembered like in other shows with less detailed choreography.
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