The sequel series, Dragon Ball Z was arguably the most well received of Toriyama's Dragon Ball programs. With a whopping 291 episodes under its belt collecting individual volumes of the series would no doubt be a daunting task. Equally challenging would be the quest to catch each episode on TV. The problem with going down that road is the fact that the episodes have been censored for the American audience so you're not exactly getting the whole picture. If you have waited patiently for a full block of episodes that featured uncut content then FUNimation has the ticket you've been searching for.

Here we are with the fourth uncut season of Dragon Ball Z 107 episodes have been put behind us as we enter this volume and to put it bluntly, a lot has happened.

DBZ started out simply enough with Goku reemerging as a father to one whiny brat named Gohan. Before long a Saiyan threat appeared and a guy claiming to be Goku's brother, Raditz, sought to annihilate the planet, which was Goku's job in the first place. Well, to make a long story short Goku had to team up with Piccolo in order to defeat Raditz but this resulted in Goku's death. Piccolo took Gohan under his wing to train him to be a powerful warrior while Goku journeyed through the afterlife seeking more power for when the Dragon Balls were gathered to resurrect him.

Eventually Goku is brought back to life and all hell breaks loose. The focus is shifted to another quest for Namekian Dragon Balls in order to resuscitate Piccolo. The crew heads to another world and battles Vegeta and a new nemesis, Frieza. There are many details in between that I'm leaving out for the purposes of spoilers in case you happen to be joining the show at this point. All you really need to know is that up to this point the series has gone back and forth between the good guys and bad as they each seek out the Dragon Balls for their own purpose.

In the last volume Krillin and Gohan found all seven of the Namekian Dragon Balls and Frieza was hot on their trail. Naturally the villain doesn't want our heroes to revive Piccolo and Goku but it's all for naught as it turns out that Porunga can only revive one person. They chose Piccolo because it allowed the spheres to return to Earth. In good DBZ form a huge battle erupted and Frieza really showed us his true colors and abilities. Luckily for the galaxy that Goku came back just in time in his golden Super Saiyan form to battle Frieza and save life as we know it.

As the battle between titans winds down some other trouble is brewing as Garlic Jr. escapes the Dead Zone (no, not the TV series). As he crashes the celebration party his ultimate goal becomes clear as a black mist is ready to be unleashed on the world's population. If Gohan and company can't stop it then the people of Earth will be turned into evil minions, which isn't exactly something to look forward to. This plotline follows for a few episodes and at one point Piccolo finds himself under Garlic Jr.'s control thanks to the mist. Another big battle looms as Gohan must not only get Piccolo back from the brink but also find a cure for the world.

Without giving away too much the heroes overcome Garlic Jr.'s plot somehow but the quiet aftermath doesn't last very long. Despite all the things that happened in the previous season between Goku and Frieza, the villain makes a comeback and this time Goku isn't around to stop him; at least not yet. Another huge fight breaks out between our heroes and the penultimate evil though I guess I don't have to tell you who wins. Closing things out is yet another action-packed story arc that follows closely with the History of Trunks movie that was recently released. In the closing moments of this season those pesky Androids appear to wreak havoc and yet another battle ensues.

The last season of Dragon Ball Z felt kind of tired as the quest of the Dragon Balls took up most of the screen time. This season changes all of that. With more action to be had and multiple threats to face there's a lot at stack this time around. Some of the fighting gets really intense here and it doesn't let up until the final episode's credits roll. If you're a fan then you'll appreciate every moment from this season despite a couple of filler episodes that have been tossed in. The show is still good and doesn't seem to be stopping just yet.

If you're a fan of Dragon Ball Z you already know that FUNimation has cropped the original 1.33:1 image and churned out a 16:9 anamorphic widescreen transfer in the process. The promise was put out there that more would be gained and it would give the show a nice theatrical appearance. While the image does carry a certain cinematic flare now there are times when it's glaringly obvious that sections were chopped off. Newcomers may not recognize it as easily as fans but even I, with my limited exposure to the show, spotted a few areas that made me question the decision.

As far as the content itself you can expect a mixed bag of quality. Sometimes the colors appear vibrant with a wide palette though there are quite a few spots where the show looks washed out. Other nitpicky flaws such as grain, dirt, and scratches also appear throughout the 31 episodes here. With all of that being said, I do have to say for a show this old it looks very good. Compared to other anime from this timeframe the care taken to clean up the image here is definitely appreciated.

Overall the video quality on this DVD is tough to gauge. For starters, the cropped anamorphic widescreen does little improve upon the presentation. I mean, I love widescreen anime as much as the next guy but why mess with a classic and present it in a manner that wasn't intended? Other than that controversial subject matter the image quality here is very good with noticeable effort towards cleaning up the original print.

Dragon Ball Z season four includes audio quality mostly identical to what came before it. This means that you can expect the original Japanese Mono track and a track for English stereo and surround. I enjoyed the original Japanese track the most and listened to that for much of my viewing. The English dubbing has always sounded cheesy to me and therefore it is a "must avoid" while watching in my opinion. There are some out there who would rather deal with the English dub and not bother with reading flawed subtitles.

As far as the quality is concerned what is here is fine but not groundbreaking. The 5.1 English track certainly offered more immersion during battle sequences with some ambient noise kicking in at times. The stereo and mono tracks were noticeably lackluster in the technical presentation but all around the sound quality was crisp and clean.

Once again Dragon Ball Z's Uncut DVD set presents the Marathon Feature for extended play. The only thing you'll find that resembles bonus content is a booklet with character descriptions and episode recaps.

After the somewhat disappointing third season, the fourth uncut release of Dragon Ball Z from FUNimation takes the cake. There is a ton of action here and every one of these episodes puts something on the line for our heroes to fight for. From Garlic Jr. to the Androids and resurrection of Frieza it seems that our champions can't catch a moment to breath. Sure some of the fights are a tad too long but that's a trademark of the series and something to appreciate in my opinion. If you were ever a fan then pick this up, otherwise go back to the first season and start watching this classic anime now!

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