(L) Dragonball Z discussion

[Tabiree]

Originally Posted by Gevurah

Perfect! Not only would that kill my DB thirst, I would also get to see Vegeta saying, "Only you can prevent forest fires, kusotare!!!"

Never did I think I'd see the day...

Actually, it's set in Dragonball, not Z, so you get people like young Goku, Krillen, Roshi, Yamcha, Lunch etc. But still, I doubt you'd be able to see these and the playdia animation released in the US.

[Sugetsu]

An uncut version of DB and DBZ avialable in the US? Now, that's sweet Too bad the national TV audience had to watch the edited and fu!@ed up version of DBZ... If only had they watched the original version we would not have so many people bashing DB on animesuki

[Tabiree]

Originally Posted by Sugetsu

An uncut version of DB and DBZ avialable in the US? Now, that's sweet Too bad the national TV audience had to watch the edited and fu!@ed up version of DBZ... If only had they watched the original version we would not have so many people bashing DB on animesuki

No, we probably would have, simply because it doesnt fit into a 13 episode series about "KEKEKE KAWAIIICHANNNNN ^____________^". I mean music and Dialouge aside, Dragonball is still going to be Dragonball.

PS the US release is mostly uncut, however its consistency isn't something to be happy with.

[pinomustfly]

Hello. I've never watched the uncut version of Dragonball Z, only the cut one. Now however, Funimation has started releasing Ultimate Uncut DVDs, but I have only heard that these will continue to episode 60-something.

What I've also heard is that at Animenext, they have confirmed to release more DVDs after 60-something. Is there a source for this where I can get more information? I've only heard this on a chat channel. The person talking about it said something about Dragon Box DVDs by Funimation.

I would be grateful for any help, as I would really like to collect some DVDs, but I dont think it's worth buying if the uncut versions are dropped.

[wingdarkness]

Originally Posted by Kamui4356

Funi sells both editted and uncut dbz. The one that's bilingual is the uncut version. The english only is the editted. You should be able to get dbz dvds just about anywhere, just make sure it's the correct version. However, pioneer originally had the license to the first season of dbz, which so far hasn't been re-released by funi uncut. Could these be the missing episodes you speak of?

DBZ un-cut, the entire first season was re-done by Funi and aired on Cartoon Network for like 4 months...This was way back late last year and early this year...I assumed the DVD was out if it aired completley on TV...

I do know that Pioneer (now Geneon) did splice 1 or 2 eps together because the violence was too much, but at the time DBZ orginally aired regulations for cartoon violence were much stricter and had yet to evolve to the adultswim-type level of violence we see in cable anime today...

[Mr. DJ]

I had noticed this a long time ago, but with the advent of www.youtube.com I had searched and found it so I could prove it to the world. Now I am the only human being in the history of mankind to have noticed, but now I share with the world my find...

Christina Aguilera's music video for What a Girl Wants features a poster of what seems to be SSJ4 Goku and Frieza Saga Gohan!!

Don't believe me?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tiRZmkua-...20girl%20wants

The video is like 4 minutes long or whatever, but make sure to check really closely IN THE BACKGROUND at about 1:09 and you should see it! Now what do think of that? Christina's music video was made before Cell Games was dubbed in English if I'm not mistaken and way before GT was even mentioned in America. This was way before her time and MTV's time. A pretty interesting and random find.

kudos Maverick_X

edit: odd that my thread was moved to here o_O

[FrozenCreep334]

ok guys im a big and old fan of dragonball z i think is 1 of the greatest animes ever but i whant 2 now what you guys think?

[gumbaloom]

Wrong forum dude.

DBZ is licensed.

-gumbaoom

[FrozenCreep334]

My bad sorry i will put it in the right forum

[FrozenCreep334]

ok guys im a big and old fan of dragonball z and i whant 2 now what you guys thin

[Rurouni]

Hey guys.

The time for me has finally come. I've seen so much anime already, but never seen anything of Dragonball, or Dragonball Z. So it's time for me to 'catch up' and watch Dragonball, followed by Dragonball Z. But these two series are known for the overload of fillermaterial. So that's why I wanted to ask you: is there stuff that I can skip? Any episodes that are only flashbacks and stuff you can miss?
Both shows consist of a lot of episodes, so I do want to keep it a bit fast paced....at least: as much as possible.

Thanks in advance

[Rahan]

Fast Paced and Dragon Ball Z is an oxymoron.

First, you can skip everything that is not the first two TV series. (OVA, movies and GT)
I still like the first TV serie. It's funny and the action is pretty good. It's an awesome adventure shounen. (the battles are not very long)
Z is not as funny and very slow. (As say the joke "how many (race of characters from DBZ) does it take to change a light bulb ? One, but it takes 20 episodes) I would say you can skip everything and read the manga instead or watch till the Freeza saga (until episode 110 or so). It's where the mangaka wanted to end, but he was "forced" to milk the cow by the publisher.

[saravis]

It's funny how people complain about DBZ dragging things out because the way I see it, the lengthy series of today can't even put an end to whatever the main villian is. The battles in DBZ may have been drawn out, but at least they eventually defeated the enemy.

[Forbin]

I smell someone who's mad at Inuyasha.

I liked DBZ up to Freeza, that's when I went, WTF it took 20 episodes (a whole season) to fight? Please.

[saravis]

Actually I was thinking of just about all lengthy shounen series. I really don't particularly care, I just find it amusing that people somehow think that Bleach or Naruto is any better in regards to lengthiness.

[Awataurus]

lol it was aired all episodes in Lithianian TV Japanese version

[roriconfan]

DRAGON REVIEW PLAYBALL TIME

PROLOGUE
This series is considered the king of shounen. Every animefan knows it and most grew up watching it. Many became otakus because of it. I know it’s just brainless action, but it’s the kind of brainless action that becomes likable after a while.

The creator of the original story, Akira Toriyama, had just finished his Dragon Ball series. Seeing how famous it was, he decided to continue the show in an even more action-oriented manner. Dragon Ball Z was the result, which dropped the adventure element in favor of extreme battles.

ART SECTION [Explosions and beatings as far as the eye can see… and beyond.]

General Artwork 2/2: The world is more sci-fi than before, where some simple explanations are given about how everything works. The world is still quite wacky (especially Heaven and Hell) with little sense but also with extreme originality and humor. Makes a fine JRPG world.

Character Figures 1/2: Most characters are just slight modifications of one another. A small change in the hair and in the cloths and they are presented as a different person. Especially the Super Saiyans, it gets hard to tell who is who after a while.

Backgrounds 1/2: There are several different backgrounds but most are just the same type of hill or tree, repeating over and over.

Animation 1/2: There are several parts where the animation is crude and repetitive, with too many reused frames and with a lack of variety. Simple speed lines give the illusion that the characters move faster than the eye, when in fact, they just have really small and repeating frame rate.

Lightning/ Visual Effects 1/2: Most special attacks (energy beams and visual effects) are just a monochromatic beam that blows anything in its path or an aura that emanates from someone’s body. Although the main characters have different attacks, the result is just an explosion. No side effects or further strategy, whatsoever.

Total for Animation: 6/10 In general, the animation quality began in a mediocre fashion, with crude movements, rather short and round objects and typical visual effects. But steadily, it improves; especially towards the ending (just notice the noses and the edges around objects). They are not great, but even younger otakus can stand them. I would normally have given them a higher mark but the repeating backgrounds and the copy-pasted characters don’t allow me to do so.

SOUND SECTION: 6/10 [I’m the strongest – No, I’m the strongest. – No, you are not. – Yes, I am.]
Nothing much to write about. Catchy opening, medium music themes and decent voice acting. Quite average as a whole. The dialogues tend to be very cheesy and irritating, filled with phrases like “I’m going to become stronger and beat you!” and “Run! You can’t win!” or “He is so strong!”. Also, the tone of their voices while intimidating or screaming can vary from imposing to awful, based on your personal tastes. So, if you are looking for sophisticated talking, look elsewhere.

STORY SECTION: 5/10 (spoiler alert!) [Let’s train and get stronger and fight strong people.]

General Scenario 1/2: The story began as a Japanese version of Superman . The story of planet Vejita is simply a darker variable of the planet Crypton. Most elements and characters in the story are in fact, comical representations of American superhero comic books. The series was very appealing to teenage boys worldwide because it melded the Western and Oriental clichés of superheroes into the same series and even went as far as to make fun of them (notice the poses Ginyu, Satan and Super Sayaman make all the time).

The scenario is about Son Goku, now an adult, learning of his origins as an alien and protecting the universe from evil aliens that want to rule or destroy it. The story can be summed up as followed: The apparently strongest villain in the universe appears and tries to rule or destroy the universe, everyone trains to get stronger, they fight him, they get trashed, and suddenly for no apparent reason the main character becomes stronger than the villain and defeats him. But then, an even stronger villain appears and the above procedure repeats.

Form of Development/ Pace of Plot 1/2: The general story is quite simple. The same things repeat in all the story arks. But each time they are presented under a different light that really make the general shallowness of the story a trivial thing.

Side Stories/Extra Spices 1/2: The general story is presented in a non-predictable way. There are various revelations and some side stories that easily make you forget its predictability.

Plus, the general story becomes more and more grand-scaled (and thus more interesting), as it progresses.
-The first villain, prince Vejita, is the strongest Saiyan warrior in the universe who wants to become immortal and spend his eternity by fighting and killing every single person on every planet he goes to. If he succeeds, the universe will be at the mercy of an immortal battle-loving powerful warrior. There is also some drama on the parts of Goku who has to fight against his own kind, Gohan who has to fight against his will and Picollo who is forced to team up with the good guys and starts to like them.
-The second villain, emperor Frieza, is the strongest alien in the universe who wants to become immortal and spend his eternity ruling the universe in terror and destruction. If he succeeds, the universe will be at the mercy of an immortal heartless monster. That’s much more serious. There is also more drama on the parts of Vejita and Picollo who want to avenge the death of their races at the hands of Frieza.
-The third villain, Perfect Cell, is the strongest artificial creature of the future that wants to become perfect and spend his eternity destroying the universe. If he succeeds, the universe will be just destroyed. That’s even more serious! There is also more drama on the parts of Trunks who wants to change the grim future and the androids that want freedom and not be used only as weapons.
-The fourth villain, Majin Boo, is the strongest Jennie/God of Destruction. He is already the most powerful and if he is left alone, the universe will be destroyed in a few days. That’s more and more serious! There is some drama on the parts of Vejita who has to decide if he will return to his evil self and Kaioshin who is afraid of the massacre Boo did to his people.

Believability/Reasoning/Realism 1/2: The world definitely isn’t detailed or realistic but it is still one of the most distinguished worlds, ever made into anime. And those silly explanations from time to time are enough for this kind of story. Still, the general story:
-Undermines the gravity of pain and death to ridiculous levels. No matter how much someone is injured, he can easily be completely healed, without permanent damage or even scars. No matter how many die, they can easily be resurrected. And always only the good people return to life, while the bad remain dead.
-Undermines the idea of the after life and of the gods. Heaven and Hell are amusement parks and the gods are just strong creatures that even mortals can surpass in power.
-Has no realism in terms of empowerment. It makes no sense how someone can get a million times stronger in a few months, while others needed eons to do the same. Or it is quite stupid to always see someone getting stronger at the gravest moment and save the day in a Deus Ex Machina way.
-Pays no attention to the laws of physics. Energy beams that explode on air, cause dust even when they didn’t hit anything. A mountain or a moon or a planet that blows up has no effects on the surroundings (not much debris, gravity alteration or planet trajectory/axis mix up). Time travel does not cause time paradoxes. Faster than light speeds don’t increase the temperature of those running.
-Recycles the illusion of empowerment by continuously weakening the explosions. An energy beam that could destroy a planet on one ark, can blow a mountain at best on the next. The newest trick that could surpass any difficulty on one ark is completely useless and forgotten on the next.

Conclusion 1/2: There is one but it is like that of a fairy tale.

CHARACTER SECTION: 5/10 [Me smash puny human. Ugh!]

Presence 2/2: Some men are funny, some are dramatic, and some are scary. But the thing they all have in common is that they all solve their problems with violence. Is something wrong in your life? Just kick the shit out of it and it’s solved!

Women are treated purely as fan service. You won’t find any good female fighters in it. Bulma and Chichi are a bunch of brainless lolitas that exist for the sole reason of undressing and make sexual jokes about boobs and marriage. Toriyama is a phalocratic bastard!

In general, all the characters have a strong presence in the series (usually cool). Son Goku and Vejita are amongst the most distinctive fighting shounen characters. Their continual empowerment and Super Saiyan transformations make the general cast to appear better with these two alone.

Personality 1/2: All the character’s names are based on some cultural (Nappa) or fetish (Trunks) object. It is very funny to look for the meaning and origin of each one’s name. Their personalities are simply either comical or battle frenzied, making them quite repetitive. You almost feel like the series has only two characters that change clothes all the time. Still, they are two quite distinctive characters.

Backdrop & Development 1/4: But then, they have simple backdrop stories (just enough to excuse their existence in the story) and really small character development. No one matures much; just gets older and/or stronger. And always fights! No one tries to reason with his enemies; he just fights them. No one tries to trick his enemies with cunningness; he just gets stronger and fights them.

It is very cool to see them getting stronger, with new cloths and haircolor but it is also quite disappointing to see them acting the same way, no matter how many years pass and regardless of how many hardships they face.

The series has a way of measurement, called Battle Power to determine someone’s strength. This made many to believe that characters mature and get stronger in a logical way and that they are different just because their strength is different. But in fact, the Battle Power is a stupid excuse to give just to know beforehand who is the strongest. And no matter how strong someone becomes, he is the same battle-frenzied idiot he was before. He doesn’t get wiser or smarter.

Anyway, it makes little sense as the characters raise their strength ridiculously fast. And since the strongest person in one episode mysteriously becomes weaker on the next, you can’t make a solid assumption of what can someone do with a given amount of power. For example, Frieza could easily destroy a planet with a Battle Power of 500.000. But even when he maxed out at 12 million, he could just blow a mountain at best. It’s a mockery of the viewer’s intelligence. And it’s stupid to think that only power is the statistic that matters in battles. What about intelligence, wisdom, and cunningness?

Catharsis 1/2: If some become a bit more mature, it is only after they lose to Son Goku. They were interesting antagonists up to the point they rival him; but after their defeat, they change to stunts or uninteresting underlings (such was the case with Picollo, Frieza, Cell and Boo). Vejita is an exception, as he can’t decide if he wants to be a good guy or a bad guy. He is by far the best character (although he is also quite shallow as a complete personality).

VALUE SECTION: 8/10 [If punches were money, they would be made of gold.]
Historical Value 3/3: Hey, it’s the series that hooked millions of people to shounen. How can I give it less?
Rewatchability 2/3: High. All those brainless battles are mysteriously as addictive as Teletubbies. You know they are stupid but for some reason you keep watching them.
Memorability 4/4: Definitely. It has a very distinctive world.

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 5 [The fight is over. And now? Another fight!]

The enjoyment equals the percentage of the worthy episodes. I personally have the following remarks about the flow of the story.
-The Saiyan Saga (episodes 1 to 35) was small and solid. Very good as a whole. The episodes where everyone trains (episodes 6 to 20) were generally boring. Gohan’s training was dramatic enough but it simply lasted too long.
-The Namek Saga (episodes 36 to 107) was solid but unnecessary long. Very atmospheric as a whole but with a lot of dead time. The episodes where the heroes go to Namek (episodes 36 to 44) were boring. And the battle with Frieza (episodes 78 to 107) could easily be done in half the episodes.
-The Garlic Jr. Saga (episodes 108 to 117) was just pointless fillers.
-The Cell Saga (episodes 118 to 194) was unnecessary long. Very mysterious as a whole but with a lot of dead time. The battle with the androids (episodes 134 to 194) could easily be done in half the episodes.
-The Boo Saga (episodes 195 to 291) was unnecessary long. Very flashy as a whole but with a lot of silly ideas and dead time. The ark with the after life tournament, the Super Sayaman and the Satan tournament (episodes 195 to 218) were more stupid than interesting. The battle with Boo (episodes 129 to the end) could easily be done in half the episodes.
If you sum it up, out of the 291 episodes, about 150 were worthy, giving an average of 5.

VERDICT: 6/10
The accused is found … NOT GUILTY! … He is repetitive and shallow but in a very cool way.

SUGGESTION LIST
Famous Shounen to choose from:
Saint Seiya. Lots of brainless action and teen drama.
Bleach. Interesting, until those fillers popped up.
Fist Of The North Star. A lot less characters but a lot more bloody action scenes.
Naruto. Interesting, without the fillers.
Tekkaman Blade. Interesting characters with cool costumes and action scenes.
One Piece. Mostly comedy, but it packs a good story hidden somewhere.

If you like Akira Toriyama’s style of animation, look for the series Doctor Slump and Blue Dragon as well as games such as the Dragon Quest series and Chrono Trigger.

[Om Nerabdator]

just notice another movie was out that i had no idea about, i was quickly excited until i saw the pics of the bad guy..........The Easter bunny.........



Dragon Ball Z The Movie Battle of Gods

[Chiaki_chan]

I just see the film and ... hum... I like Goku modo GOD good and the villain is not really villain

and +5 for Vegeta's dance

[SOGESNAKE]

Hummm... wasn't sure where else to share this...

Akira Toriyama to Draw Manga About Goku's Mom

I... never really thought about her before... we had Bardock... so why the hell didn't I clue in that Gine wasn't ever touched on?