So many things are better because they come in pairs. Where would the world be if socks came one by one or if shampoo didn't have conditioner? With that in mind FUNimation has been packing Dragon Ball Z movies together with some amount of success.

Given their revisit to the series with an uncut widescreen presentation (yes, yes, insert purist rant here) it has renewed interest in the classic and somewhat tired franchise. If you have been following DBZ lately then you have undoubtedly seen these efforts on both standard definition DVD and Blu-ray. FUNimation has released two of these already to varying degrees of success. The first pairing mashed two films out of sequence with each other while the second went back to the beginning of the movie line and presented the first two films. For the third time around we get the third and fourth films, Tree of Might and Lord Slug.

FUNimation's love affair with DBZ started quite some time ago and over the years each of the films and much of the show has been release and re-released ad nauseam. Pending on your saturation with the franchise and films you may just want to pass over these releases, but if you're new to the series for some reason then getting two movies for the price of one is a fairly sweet deal. In the case of both of these films, it has been about six years since we've seen them on DVD so chances are fairly good you may have missed them somewhere along the line.

Let's proceed assuming you know the DBZ franchise backwards and forwards and need no explanation who characters are or what the series is all about. Tree of Might was originally released in Japan in 1990 and found itself outside of the known DBZ timeline a bit. There really weren't any episodes where it could be wedged in between or Sagas for it to be a part of, but rather it seemed to be its own entity.

In the first film here, aliens come down to Earth and plant the seed of the Tree of Might. That may not sound like such a bad thing at first, but consider this plant uses the life force of the entire planet to thrive that's not exactly a weed you want to leave alone. The Tree has the potential to wipe out all life on Earth so naturally Goku and the rest of the Z Fighters decide to do a little pruning. Unfortunately the mastermind behind the whole Arbor Day festivities is a Saiyan named Turles. As you'd expect once this plot is in place the rest of the film follows Goku and Gohan's attempts to thwart Turles plan and save the world. Plenty of fighting ensues and any real development is pushed aside in order to showcase some nice action sequences.

The same can basically be said for the second film here, Lord Slug. In this movie the banished Namekian, Slug, comes around to show the Earth how nice of a fellow he is. Once he arrives he wastes no time gathering the Dragon Balls and restoring his youth, which makes him a potent threat. What happens next is basically Goku, Piccolo, and the rest of the warriors teaming up to beat Slug down by any means necessary.

Out of the two films here Tree of Might easily outshines Lord Slug in terms of story. Sadly that's not saying very much considering both are essentially extended episodes that feature fighting as their main attraction. That's not really surprising considering this is Dragon Ball Z after all and I suppose that's really all fans want to have. Personally, I feel that the franchise has always been at its best when it balances fighting and storytelling. Tree of Might attempts to do that, while Lord Slug more or less ignores it. Both films proved to be entertaining in their own right from the perspective of the DBZ franchise, though the former is much better than the latter. Fans will want to pick this release up, but the uninitiated probably shouldn't really bother until they check out the show.

Both Tree of Might and Lord Slug are presented on DVD in much the same way the remastered show is. The original material has been brought through one filter after another to clean up the picture and it definitely shows. While both films maintain a certain worn look with grain, dirt, and some faded colors there's no denying that the transfer contains an overall vibrancy and is much sharper than you'd imagine a twenty year old image would look like. The aspect ratio for both films is presented in anamorphic widescreen to give a somewhat more theatrical appearance. If you have seen either of the recent movie releases then you already know what to expect here.

Both films feature original Japanese language tracks with mono output and English 5.1 offerings with selections for original Japanese music and updated English tunes. When it comes to this series I have always been a fan of the original Japanese content and though the mono track is definitely more subdued I found the dub to be much more palatable. With that being said the English offerings are much better in the technical department with a greater sense of immersion. Unfortunately even that 5.1 selection isn't quite as robust as it could have been.

Trailers are the only bonuses you're going to find on either of the discs included here.

Another Dragon Ball Z two pack has hit stores and this one keeps FUNimation's new line of DBZ treatment going strong. You could look at this as DBZ for a new generation because the widescreen transfer definitely isn't for purists of the franchise. With that being said the uncut presentation of both films is a nice touch and the packaging is definitely slick, what with the steel book case and everything. As for the quality of the films?

If you've seen any of the other DBZ films then you already know that they are essentially just extended episodes. Tree of Might is definitely a much more balanced experience here with Lord Slug being the weakest all around. Despite this, fans will appreciate both for what they are and can consider this release an easy recommendation. If you're new to the franchise then you'll probably want to pass until you know more about the characters and storyline as knowledge is simply assumed here.

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