The Show:
More Dragon Ball goodness as the second DBZ saga begins.
Things look pretty desperate as not one, but two Saiyans have landed on
Earth. They're not here to conquor though, they are here to destroy
all life and then sell the planet to the highest bidder. Though the
battle with the Saiyans lasts a bit longer than it should, the beginning
presented in this disc is really exciting.
Background or "Aren't these on DVD already?":
Dragon Ball Z first came to the US in its cartoon form in 1996.
The only problem was that these shows were sanitized for American audiences
with any hint of blood cut or swearing cut out. That made the shows
run a little short, so episodes were spliced together to make sure that
they'd run the proper length.
Then in early 1999, Pioneer started releasing this series on DVD.
The only problem was that the weren't putting the original Japanese episodes
out, they were releasing the edited US TV versions. I suppose they
thought that the only people who would watch them were kids. The
entire first two story arcs were released in that format. FUNimation
took over after that and continued the series, and their releases were
uncensored happily, but that still left the first dozen and a half DVDs
in cut form only.
Now FUNimation has decided to go back and re-release the early Pioneer
discs in their uncut form. If you've been holding off getting these
discs, wait no longer.
Series Synopsis:
Goku
is a Saiyan, a race of the greatest fighters in the galaxy. He's
lived on Earth since he was a tot, and is peaceful and kind. Unfortunately
another Saiyan, his brother, came to Earth to destroy everyone living there.
Goku and his greatest enemy Piccolo team up against this common enemy They
manage to destroy him but not before the Saiyan could signal two more of
his race to Earth and at the cost of Goku's life.
With the Saiyans on their way, Krillian, Yamcha, and the rest of the
gang only have a short time to train and hone their powers to defend the
Earth. Piccolo decides to train by himself but takes Goku's son Gohan
in order to turn him into a fighter too. For the first step of the
training: leaving Gohan in the wilderness to fend for himself. Meanwhile,
the dead Goku is in the afterlife heading to King Kai's in order to get
special training from the master before he is wished back to life with
the Dragon Balls.
Now the Saiyans have arrived, and though Goku has been wished back from
the dead he still has to travel back across Snake Way before he can get
back to Earth.
This volume:
With Vegeeta and Nappa on the planet Earth, things don't look too good.
Nappa shows off a little of his power by destroying an entire city.
Then they locate the strongest power sources on Earth, belonging to Gohan
and Piccolo, and begin their attack.
The
Saiyans don't just attack though, they have a trick up their sleeve: The
Saibaimen. They grow six powerful fighters from seeds, and set them
off. Luckily the other Z Warriors arrive making it an even battle,
six-against-six. Even so, things aren't as easy as they sound, and
the protectors of Earth lose their first member. Can they hold out
long enough for Goku to return?
This was a good volume. After establishing how powerful the Saiyans
are, they raise the stakes by killing off one of the good guys. (And
he does die. In the original releases, people only went to "another
dimension" but here people actually die.) If one hero can die, certainly
a second one can too.
Though these three episodes contain just one fight (that isn't finished,
by any means) the tension level is kept up and the battle doesn't get boring.
When the Saiyans themselves start into to fighting, things really get interesting.
One of the aspects of this story that I enjoy the most is how young
Gohan develops. Though he's been training with Piccolo for a year,
he's still very unsure of himself and terribly scared when he sees the
Saiyans. How this battle effects him will have some consequences in future
sagas.
These episodes are uncut, and there is some good footage that hasn't
been seen on R1 DVDs before. In addition to letting people actually
die, some footage of Tien's battle that was considered too intense for
American audiences is included.
The DVD:
This disc contains the next three episodes of Dragon Ball Z in
its uncut format. The disc comes in a standard keepcase. A deluxe
edition is also available that comes with an attractive thick board slip case
to hold the entire saga and a Vegetta action figure that is actually pretty
nice.
Audio:
This DVD has four audio options: the original Japanese in stereo, English
and Spanish stereo dubs, or an English 5.1 soundtrack. I preferred
the original soundtrack over the English dub, though the English actors
did a good job. The English track has music added to the background,
and though it fits in well with the show, I liked the more spartan sounding
original track. One critique I do have concerning the English dub
is that Vegetta and Nappa are voiced by different actors. Though
its not that big of a deal with Nappa, Vegetta is an important character
through the rest of the series, and the fact that his voice is radically
different makes it harder to listen to the English dub. The sound
is very good for a show of this age, there isn't any noticeable hum or
distortion, and the range is fine.
Video:
This show is pretty old, being first broadcast in Japan in the late
1980's, but the image looks good for the most part. The colors are
bright and the lines are tight. There is some mosquito noise in all
of the shows, but it's not too bad. There was a minor amount of print
damage, just an occasional white speck, but this was fairly rare.
Overall a nice looking disc.
Extras:
FUNimation has included some bonus items on this disc. There is
a DBZ trivia game, though most of the questions come from later in the
series. There is also an episode of Mr. Stain in Junk Alley,
an odd CGI series that's worth watching, and a series of trailers.
Final Thoughts:
Another fun volume of Dragon Ball Z. This beginning of
the epic battle between the Saiyans and Earth's defenders is pretty exciting.
I really like the fact that some of the good guys fall, it puts some tension
in the battle and makes it much more interesting. Though a lot of
people don't like DBZ for good reasons, if you're one of the people who
do appreciate this classic show you should pick up this disc. Recommended.
Buy: