FUNimation continues with their releases of the unedited versions of the first Dragon Ball Z storyline with the Vegetta Saga Volume 6. Though it's not a bad volume, this is one where not a lot happens, and the stories just aren't as engaging as they usually are.

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 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 they 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 three more of his race to Earth and at the cost of Goku's life.

The Saiyans will arrive in one year, so 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.

This volume:

This volume starts off with Gohan washing ashore on the mainland after being shipwrecked in a storm. A group of orphans discover him and willingly accept the young warrior into their ranks. These children lost their parents in a tsunami that hit two years ago, and have been trying to avoid the authorities who want to put them in an orphanage ever since. Now that Gohan is with them, it's pretty clear that they won't have to worry about the police anymore, or will they?

The next episode focuses on the Z fighters who are training with Kami. Mr. Popo sends the group back in time and to the planet Vegetta so they can experience what fighting a Saiyan is really like. Though it's four fighters against only two Saiyans, the heroes have a horrible time and realize how much training they still have to do.

The volume ends with Gohan accidently triggering a device in the ship that brought Goku to Earth. This machine projects an image of the moon into the night sky, and it has the anticipated effect on the young half Saiyan. It's up to Piccolo to stop the monsterous rampage.

Also in this show, Goku finally gets to the end of Snake Way. There he finds King Kai's planet, and starts to train. But who is that monkey that he's training with?

The end of the last episode was a lot of fun, but the rest of this volume was just so-so. The first episode ended in a really strange way that wasn't very satisfying, and the second felt like filler. One of the biggest critiques that DBZ faces is that the fights are too long and that not a lot happens in between. While I agree with both of those, I think that the people who are making them miss the point. It's not the final resolution of the plot (or fight) that is important, it's the journey getting there. This is one of those volumes where the journey just isn't as interesting as it usually is. That's not saying it's a bad volume, it just isn't the most engaging disc out there.

This disc contains the next three episodes of Dragon Ball Z in its uncut format. The disc comes in a standard keepcase. One interesting item of note is that viewers have the option of having English or Spanish menus.

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 dubs, 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. The sound is very good for a show of this age, there isn't any noticeable hum or distortion, and the range is fine. There was a problem with the 5.1 English dub though; the music was mixed too high in relation to the dialogue. At normal listening levels the music sounded fine, but the voices were very soft. If you turned the volume up so that the voices were at a good level, the music was blaring.

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 wasn't 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 contest, though most of the questions come from later in the series. There is also an episode of Mr. Stain on Junk Alley, an odd CGI series that's worth watching. They still don't have the nimbus cloud that identifies scenes that were originally cut. That was my favorite feature on the first disc.

Final Thoughts:

This is one of the weaker volumes in this first storyline. The first two episodes are stand alone stories that really don't have much to do with the overall plot, and it's only in the last half of the third episode that things really start happening. Even so, fans of the series will enjoy watching these shows, as I did. Recommended.