Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball is back and more super powered than ever before. Dragon Ball Z takes place five years after the final events in Dragon Ball. Goku and Chichi have married and now have a four year old son, Gohan, thoughtfully named after Goku’s grandfather. Gohan, the spitting image of young Goku, is not the tough boy his father was. A studious crybaby, encouraged by his mother. Gohan is now being introduced to his father’s old friends at a reunion at Kame House with Master Roshi, Krillin, Bulma and more when, of course, trouble strikes and the earth is in danger!
Characters
Goku (Kakarot) the Hero we all want to have in our lives. He is pure hearted, trustworthy, a great and faithful friend, a strong, overly capable hero, and doesn’t let his power go to his head, staying humble. He pushes himself to the boundaries of his abilities and beyond, always trying to better himself and prepare for whatever may come. The drive starting as a child introduced to martial arts by his grandfather but fueled by the fighting spirit that runs in his Saiyan blood, Goku has always been determined and motivated by the prospect of someone stronger than himself to challenge his abilities. Goku is a role model on always being your best, trying to push yourself further, and to not let setbacks keep you down, while still keeping an open heart.
Chichi, the wife, the mother, the annoying. I never particularly loved Chichi but she was a fun child that had some kick butt tendencies. Her focus on marriage at the age of 5 or 6 was a little much but understandable with the “expected” roles often pushed on females. What happened to a little girl raised by the Ox King, of all people. Friendly, encouraging, and powerful, a less impressive image of Master Roshi, the Ox King somehow raised a very brash, unsupportive, pushy, and unapologetically horrible person.
Gohan is introduced as the horrible child obviously raised and encouraged by his mother. A crybaby, no fighting or strong tendencies shown even being the spitting image of Goku doesn’t help with his annoying whining. I was fed up with this child after just a couple minutes but having seen the show as a child I knew that the crybaby attitude doesn’t last long. Gohan learns quick, thanks to Piccolo, to toughen up because the world can be cruel and Gohan has to be ready to face it head on as the son of the Earth’s greatest hero. He hasn’t quite reached his potential but Gohan has buckets of it and someday he will be a worthy fighter.
Piccolo, our dear evil Namekian friend and his good and godly counterpart, Kami are such vital components to our heroes lives. Kami is a wonderful guiding spirit who has done a fantastic job keeping watch of our world. Creating the Dragon Balls has brought about some evil and difficult times but they have also done great things and fulfilled Kami’s purpose in life. Piccolo being the evil parts of Kami should be all bad but he is one of my favorite characters because he is so complex. As soon as Piccolo made the pact with Goku to help defend the Earth in order to one day fight each other again, Piccolo’s heart started to change. Piccolo is not as evil as he was, as he could have been, and as he thinks he is. Piccolo is a great fighter, an interesting character, a new species to learn about, and the perfect on screen inner struggle.
Bulma is literally the same as she has ever been. Self-centered, whiny, boy-crazy, lazy, wasteful, and annoying but she doesn’t drive me up the wall the way dear Chichi does because Bulma has forever been this way and deep in her heart, where it really counts, Bulma cares about others. Not just Yamcha but all of her friends, and the Earth itself, are important to Bulma and she feels compassion and sorrow when it is right to do so. Not solely the tunnel vision of her annoying female counterpart. The best part of Bulma is that she idolizes Goku the way he should be revered. As a friend, a hero, and the most wholehearted person she has known, she would be dead without him… they all would be.
Our other friends, Master Roshi, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu, Oolong, Yajirobe, Korrin and everyone else is just the same as ever. Master Roshi is still the strong, perverted old man everyone could count on, long surpassed by his students. Yamcha is still full of himself thinking he is strong as can be when in all honesty, he is useless and will never be close to the strength Goku possesses. Tien and Chiaotzu are the fighting duo who seem strong, or at least Tien does, but they are about as helpful as Yamcha and Yajirobe, who is the worst of them all taking it easy all day with Korrin in the tower growing Senzu beans.
Goku has surpassed all his teachers on Earth and has passed into the afterlife by sacrificing himself in battle. There he meets his new Sensei, King Kai. King Kai is a silly being with a very lame sense of humour. But he is worthy of his teacher status as his planet is the perfect place to train with it’s intense gravity, ten times stronger than Earth’s. Once able to move freely on the planet, King Kai is able to teach a few techniques but not much else. Once Goku has mastered this, he has to train on his own because he has surpassed everyone that has once tried to teach him. But do not fear, King Kai will not disappear because the rest of the Earth’s heroes will copy Goku and train with Sensei and he has telepathic abilities where he can see much of what goes on in the universe and to communicate with our heroes.
Vegeta, the recurring Saiyan Prince who has the typical Saiyan ruthlessness and evil tendencies, but is cunning enough to know when a pact needs to be made. Like Piccolo, Vegeta is one of my favorite characters. SPOILER ALERT Vegeta also like Piccolo, wants to defeat Goku, yet seems to put his evil ways behind him due to necessity at the time and then he just leaves them there. These tough guys have inner soft sides, but like they would ever let you see that. <3
Raditz Saga
saiyan arc -
A mysterious being, identifying himself as a Saiyan has come to Earth to find his brother… Goku!? This Saiyan, Raditz, is surprised to find that his brother (Kakarot) has not destroyed the Earth and it is revealed that this is due to a head trauma when Goku (Kakarot) was young. Goku and Raditz are only half of the remaining Saiyan’s after their home planet, Vegeta, was destroyed. Raditz takes Gohan in order to convince Goku to help in their pirating of planets. Piccolo sensed the power of Raditz, and in order to survive to fight another day, Piccolo and Goku join forces to defeat Raditz. The battle ensues, and it doesn’t look good for our heroes. Not even a fury fueled rise in power from Gohan, leading to a great blow that injures this great foe, seems to be able to stop Raditz. All hope is not yet lost as Goku and Piccolo come together to defeat Raditz and finally incapacitate both Raditz and Goku, mortally wounding them both. It is revealed by Raditz before his death that his scouter is also a transmitter and the remaining two Saiyan’s will be coming to Earth to avenge him; in actuality they are coming for the Dragon Balls. It seems all is not lost with Goku’s death, as Kami has plans for him, and Piccolo has plans for Gohan. They must all prepare for the impending doom that is the remaining Saiyans, headed their way!
It is great to have the gang back together. Exciting battles, training, and characters are brought around with this first installment of the series. The stories are well thought out, inclusive to the previous stories, and provide realistic challenges to our foes. We always knew Goku was different than his human counterparts, with a greater potential than them. Now we know why, he is part of a very strong, almost extinct, alien race. But by conquering this new foe, it is only natural that another foe should be ready to take his place. Seeing the “evil” Piccolo join forces with Goku is exciting, as they are both strong, capable warriors. There are so many more challenges for these heroes to face, and I am excited to see them do so! “Next time on Dragon Ball Z!”
saiyan arc -
Vegeta Saga
Episodes 1-6
Episodes 7-35
Impending doom! After narrowly defeating Raditz, not without casualties, two more Saiyans are on their way and will arrive on Earth in a year’s time; our heroes need to prepare! Goku, in the afterlife, has a long journey down the one-million kilometer Snake Way to make in order to receive training from the Lord of Worlds, King Kai! On Earth, Gohan must prepare to receive training from Piccolo by surviving alone in the wilderness for six months. Not completely alone, Piccolo does keep an eye on Gohan, this is when Piccolo realizes the true power of a Saiyan, their transformation by moonlight. To stop Gohan’s rampage, Piccolo destroys the moon and removes the weakness of Gohan’s tail. The other fighter’s of Earth, Krillin, Tien, Shinhan, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Yajirobe are called to Kami’s Lookout to train.
Six months later, training continues for all. Gohan is now ready to train personally with Piccolo, the others continue their training with Kami, and Goku has finally made it to the end of snake way and to King Kai’s planet. With ten times Earth’s gravity, just the simple tasks of catching Bubbles the monkey, and hitting Gregory the cricket with a very heavy hammer, become daunting tasks that take months to master. After getting used to the gravity, King Kai instructs Goku on two new techniques, Kaio-Ken and Spirit Bomb. He masters these techniques with a day to spare, BUT he has a two day journey back down Snake Way before he can be resurrected!
The Saiyan’s Nappa and Vegeta have arrived with their destructive ways. The heroes on Earth must hold off the Saiyans until Goku arrives by fighting the Saibamen. The battle ensues, and not without casualties. The Saibamen are defeated, as well as Tien, Chiaotzu and Yamcha. Though it seems the rest of our heroes will soon meet a similar fate, Vegeta makes the decision to wait for Kakarot (Goku) to punish the traitor. The three remaining fighters attempt to use Nappa’s tail as a weakness to defeat him but it backfires, Gohan almost lost his life if it wasn’t for Piccolo taking the blow himself. All seems hopeless for Gohan and Krillin when finally, Goku arrives. According to Vegeta’s scouter, Goku’s power level is “OVER 9,000!!!” Goku makes quick work of Nappa who is rendered incapacitated, and killed by his own comrade.
Finally, the prince of Saiyan’s, Vegeta, and our beloved hero, Goku, fight! Goku gains the upper hand by using the Kaio-Ken times three, until Vegeta transforms into his alternate form, increasing his power ten times. All seems lost, until the occasionally handy Yajirobe cuts off Vegeta’s tail. Our heroes gain the upper hand. Everyone but Krillin is rendered immovable. Goku convinces Krillin to let Vegeta live though Vegeta vows to make Goku regret it as he departs. Now to pick up the pieces of such a devastating battle. What is next for our friends?
This saga, though filled with some entertaining training, the battles are what make it worthwhile. If you know anything about Dragon Ball Z, you know that we have not seen the last of Vegeta. And as with Piccolo, I am quite thankful for that, because he is a very interesting character to watch develop. Thankfully, Gohan has developed into a strong capable young man who is no longer the annoying crybaby we were first introduced to. The development of the storyline keeps me wanting more but sometimes these short episodes full of little action take a toll on my willingness to keep with the show. I persevered and am thankful for it. I can’t wait to see what is next for our friends. The battle may have been won, but I have a feeling the war is far from over!
Frieza arc -
Namek Saga
Episodes 36-67
Time to heal and recover, especially Goku. The heroes decide to wish their friends back to life, but since Piccolo perished in the fight, and Kami along with him due to their link, the Dragon Balls are gone. But Vegeta had mentioned that there were Dragon Balls on Piccolo’s home planet of Namek. So Bulma, Krillin and Gohan use the ship that Kami came to Earth in to head to Namek in search of the Dragon Balls! With a couple bumps along the way, the team makes it to Namek, or so they thought. Turns out it was a trap but they were able to get away to the real planet, but they aren’t alone. Two Saiyan ships have landed and what’s more, a fully healed Vegeta is on one of them!
Turns out Vegeta may not be the only one there after the Dragon Balls, a much stronger foe is on Namek and already has five of the Dragon Balls! Who is Frieza and how can they ever hope to stand a chance against him!?
Yajirobe makes a special trip to the hospital on behalf of Korrin. He has brought Goku some Senzu beans, and with one, Goku is back and better than ever. Perfect timing too because the gang needs help on Namek! With the help of Dr. Brief, using pieces of Goku’s space pod, a new ship has been built specially for Goku to train in on his way to Namek! What took his friends a month, will take Goku six days to travel! All is lost if he doesn’t get there in time!
While training hard in intensified gravity, Goku continues toward Namek to help his friends. Battles ensue one after another on Namek. Frieza and his comrades destroy a village in order to obtain their fifth Dragon Ball, sparing only a child, Dende, who was rescued by Gohan and Krillin who barely got away. The Earth heroes pursuer, Dodoria, met his own demise by the hand of Vegeta. Vegeta then heads to a village that has yet to be raided by Frieza, decimates the village and hides the Dragon Ball in the lake nearby.
Krillin learns from young Dende where the final Dragon Ball is. Guru, the oldest Namekian, is tied to the Dragon Balls and only has a few days left to live before he and the Dragon Balls will be gone for good.
Vegeta wreaks havoc for Frieza after being defeated by Zarbon. He steals the Dragon Balls and escapes only to track down Krillin and Bulma and presumably the last Dragon Ball, AND be tracked down by Zarbon. But little does he know that the ball he had hidden has been found by Gohan. Vegeta makes quick work of Zarbon, and with Zarbon gone, Frieza calls forth the Ginyu Force. What could this mean for our heroes!?
The Ginyu Force’s arrival is so threatening that our heroes make an alliance with Vegeta, but they were too late. The Ginyu Force has tracked them down, and the battle will be fierce. When Goku finally arrives, will it all be too late?! Fast enough to move without being seen, and strong enough to deliver the final blow in a single hit, all without being powered up!? Goku’s intense training has helped him achieve legendary status, he is a Super Saiyan, and the Ginyu Force is no match with his new strength.
Again, my feelings about this show are obvious and consistent. I love the action, I love the drama of having an enemy on your tail with no means of escape and all seems lost when Goku shows up with his awesome power to save everyone. I get very bored and have to convince myself to stick with it during slower moments like at the beginning of the Namek Saga. The healing, constant whining from Chichi and the trip to Namek and then the real Namek are slow and daunting. I have to convince myself to stick with it and when I do I am grateful. Once our heroes reach the real planet of Namek, it seems that all they face is fear, threats of death, and hopelessness. The drama of having not one but two enemies is great and the conflict between them all keeps me on my toes and craving more. The worst part of the Namek Saga is the end when we are confronted with the Ginyu Force. The battles are awesome and seeing Goku’s power, not even his full power at that, is great but the Ginyu Force characters are so flashy and annoying. This entire series seems to be peppered between awesome characters and annoying characters too full of themselves. At least the awesome characters, Goku, Piccolo and Vegeta make the show worthwhile!
Frieza arc -
Captain Ginyu Saga
Episodes 68-74
Frieza, unable to use the Dragon Balls, is on his way to Guru, the oldest Namek. And having shown his power to the Ginyu Force, Goku, being the merciful being he is, let Jeice retreat. This brought forth the wrath of Captain Ginyu, and so the battle begins. A much stronger opponent, but still no match for Goku. But what kind of dirty trick is this!? Captain Ginyu has switched bodies with Goku and left him in an injured state! Can Goku get his body back, and with Captain Ginyu be able to use Goku’s full power? The fight is difficult for our heroes and everyone has to be on lookout for Captain Ginyu’s body switching power. But sometimes a great power, can have great drawbacks.
This saga was fairly short but not bad. It encompasses a battle between the strongest of the Ginyu Force, their captain, and our heroes. Frieza is off trying to discover the password to unlock the power of the Dragon Balls, and having a gay old time beating up on the remaining Namekians. There is a small battle between Jeice and Vegeta that is disappointing; for being one of the last of the Ginyu Force, I would have thought Jeice would have put up a better fight. But we had already seen that he seems to be weak and cowardly, so at least it is consistent. In a surprising twist, Captain Ginyu has a very useful power of switching bodies, making me wonder if he is truly in his own body now! He steals Goku’s body and fails miserably at trying to act the part of Goku. His disguise being blown, he is still a fierce opponent even without being able to use Goku’s full power. And discovering a possibly better body, Captain Ginyu attempts to use his body switching power again. This was quite obvious that it was going to happen and how the outcome would be; Goku jumps in the way and get’s his body back! Wow, big shock… NOT! And even more obvious is the next attempted body switches results which ultimately winning the battle, thanks to the final episodes title “Captain Ginyu… the frog.” Now Goku must heal before Frieza finds him, and they must inevitably fight. Why he has to use the healing chamber when he previously had a whole bag of Senzu beans I cannot understand though!
