Dragon Ball Z – Dragon Box Z Vol. 4 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

October 3, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

This is the DVD box set that hardcore DBZ fans have wanted. The series uncensored, its original Japanese 4:3 presentation and remastered! And this fourth volume continues the DBZ action with the Android Saga and Cell Saga. More than likely, if you have purchased the previous three volumes, from here on in, you’re going to buy the rest because these episodes just get better and better. Overall, this DVD box set is highly recommended!

TITLE: Dragon Ball Z – Dragon Box Z Vol. 4

DURATION: Episodes 127-168 (1050 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: Japanese Voice track with original music mono, English voice track with original Japanese Music 5.1 surround, 4:3, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV PG

Released on September 21, 2010

Based on the manga and created by Akira Toriyama

Directed by Daisuke Nishio

Series Composition: Takao Koyama

Character Design by Yuji Ikeda

Music by Shunsuke Kikuchi

Screenplay: Aya Matsui, Hiroshi Toda, Jun Maekawa, Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Keiji Terui, Masashi Kubota, Reiko Yoshida, Satoru Akahori, Sumio Uetaka, Takao Koyama, Toshiki Inoue, Yoshiyuki Suga

Episode director: Atsutoshi Umezawa, Daisuke Nishio, Hidehiko Kadoda, Hiroki Shibata, Johei Matsuura, Junichi Fujise, Kazuhisa Takenouchi, Kazuhito Kikuchi, Masahiro Hosoda, Minoru Okazaki, Mitsuo Hashimoto, Osamu Kasai, Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Takahiro Imamura, Tatsuya Orime, Yoshihiro Ueda

Featuring the following voice talent:

Masako Nozawa/Sean Schemmel as Son Goku

Masako Nozawa/Stephanie Nadolny as Son Gohan

Masako Nozawa/Robert McCollum as Son Goten

Takeshi Kusao/Eric Vale as Trunks

Ryo Horikawa/Christopher R. Sabat as Vegeta

Hiromi Tsuru/Tiffany Volmer as Bulma

Kozo Shioya/Josh Martin as Majin Buu

Naoko Watanabe/Cynthia Cranz as Chichi

Mayumi Tanaka/Sonny Strait as Kuririn

Ryo Horikawa/Christopher R. Sabat as Piccolo

Yuko Minaguchi/Lucy Small as Videl

Hirotaka Suzuoki – Tinshinhan

Tohru Furuya – Yamucha

Miki Itou/Meredith McCoy as Andrid No. 18

Daisuke Gouri/Don Brown as Mr. Satan (Hercule)

Michael Dobson as Supreme Kai

Norio Wakamoto/Dameon Clarke as Cell

The battle to harness the power of the seven Dragon Balls explodes in vivid detail like never before. The Dragon Box features over 40 uncut episodes, remastered and restored frame by frame, rendering the legendary action in pristine clarity. Each episode is presented in Japanese and English with the complete opening and closing credits and includes the original episode previews.

I first discovered “Dragon Ball Z” during the very early 90′s. During the infant stages of Japanese anime conventions in America, there would be “Dragon Ball Z” parties where many people would gather around a hotel room and watch a marathon of episodes. Needless to say, the series which hadn’t been released in America was very popular but of course the only way people could see the show were fan subs with terrible quality on VHS.

I then had the opportunity to discover “Dragon Ball Z” through a Japanese video rental store and although I was taking Japanese at my university at the time, I would rent all that I can but probably miss a lot of the story since my comprehension of Japanese was quite bad at the time.

But then the series came to the US, the videos were released with several episodes per volume and I have to admit, looking back how anime TV episodes were distributed, especially like a long series such as DBZ, if one was able to collect every episode, it would literally cost an arm and a leg.

In 2007, FUNimation Entertainment did something quite wonderful and that was releasing a digitally remastered, digitally restored version of “Dragon Ball Z” in 16×9 widescreen and you would get around 32-36 or so episodes per volume at such a low price. This was such a fantastic deal and for nine seasons (the final volume released was released in 2009), I’ve watched “Dragon Ball Z” completely and have given nothing but positive reviews for them.

But…

I would receive e-mails from the hardcore fans of the Japanese television series who were very upset that the show was not presented in its original aspect ratio (4:3) which is the ratio for standard TV and felt the previous releases featured colors that were saturated, the wrong opening and ending credits, no previews for the next episode. Suffice to say, those hardcore DBZ fans who loved the original Japanese episodes were upset. For me, I just looked it at it price wise and figured, at least we are getting something for a great price and I wasn’t going to complain.

But this goes to show you how FUNimation Entertainment does care for its fans and not sure if they received a lot of mail from hardcore fans but they decided to bring out “Dragon Box Z Volume 1″ in the fall of 2009 and here we are now with the latest, action-packed fourth volume of “Dragon Box Z” which focuses on episodes 127-168 and continuing the android saga and the beginning of the Cell saga. .

In Japan, these episodes were cleaned frame by frame and removing jitter and some grain. Keeping the original colors but most importantly for the fans, keeping everything intact including the 4:3 aspect ratio.

As for the series, aside from the technical differences as mentioned earlier, because the series focuses on the Japanese version of the show, the names of characters are different as the Japanese versions uses “Kamisama-hen” versus “Master Roshi”, Kaio the Genki Dama versus “King Kai”, “Tenshinhan” versus “Tien”, “Vegeta” instead of “Vegita”, etc. The DVD’s come with both Japanese and English dubbing.

In the fourth volume of the “Dragon Ball Z – Dragon Box Z”, the set continues with the conclusion of the Android Saga (episodes 127-147) and begins the Cell Saga (from episode 148 through 168) and sets the next volume for the Cell Games Saga.

There is a lot of action in this series and no filler episodes. It’s straight mayhem as Cell continues to absorb people and the heroes can do nothing but just hope they can hang on for a day or more while the Saiyans complete their training and hope to defeat Cell.

The Cell series was quite popular back then when I was watching the series in straight Japanese and the whole android storyline was just exciting to watch (especially the special episode in Future Trunks world which pits him and an older Gohan against the evil androids). It is important to note that the special is not included in the Dragon Box Z but it is available on DVD and Blu-ray. But for those who have never seen the special and don’t intend to buy it, there is an episode that shows footage from that special.

The main characters during this part of the series are:

Goku – Now an adult, married to Chichi and has a son named Gohan. Constantly training in order to become stronger. Still naive and hungry as he was when he was younger. Currently, he is deceased and using his time to train before returning back to the land of the living.

Gohan - Goku’s young son. Goku realizes that Gohan has strong potential but during an unfortunate incident, asks for Piccolo to train his son in fighting to protect people and the planet. Gohan has accompanied Bulma and Kuririn to find the Dragon Balls in the Planet Nemek.

Kuririn – Goku’s childhood friend who accompanies Gohan and Bulma to find the Dragon Balls in the Planet Nemek.

Bulma – A woman still developing products at her father’s company, Capsule Corp. and uses her intelligence to solve the Z Warriors under dire circumstances. With her Dragon Ball scanner, she joins Gohan and Kuririn to find the Dragon Balls in Planet Nemek.

Kaiosama – One of the Kings who trains Goku on how to fight with gravity ten times greater than Earth at Kaio’s world.

Vegeta – The Prince of Saiyan and the most powerful Saiyajin of them all. Comes to Earth in order to destroy it but after being defeated by Goku, rehabilitates himself and now finds himself fighting alongside Gohan and Kuririn.

Future Trunks – Takes a time machine from the future to the past in order to change the future in which his timeline, all Z-warriors have been killed by the androids (artificial humans). In his timeline, Goku died of a virus but if he can get medication to him to prevent Goku from dying, possibly the Z-warriors and humanity in the future have a chance in surviving the android onslaught.

The main enemies in this set are:

Android 16/Artificial Human No. 16 – A powerful android who is passionate about the life on planet Earth but his main programming is to destroy Goku.

Android 17/Artificial Human No. 17 – A powerful male android who is deadly and has no care for human life.

Android 18/Artificial Human No. 18 - A powerful female android who enjoys fashion but also ending human life.

Android 19/Artificial Human No. 19 - Created by Doctor Gero to absorb all forms of energy.

Android 20/Artificial Human No. 20 – The mad scientist Dr. Gero of the Red Ribbon Army has taken his brain and created Android 20 and now has become powerful.

Cell – Unlike the other androids, he continually evolves ingesting humans in order to become a “Perfect Form” Cell.

VIDEO:

“Dragon Ball Z” via this “Dragon Box Z Vol. 4″ set contains episodes featured in standard definition (4:3 aspect ratio). The colors are much different than the previous box set where colors were deeper and more pronounced, the colors of the series features its original presentation as it was in Japan and of course, restored frame by frame in which the previous season was not. Personally, I don’t have a preference to which is better but if anything, this set is for the hardcore fans who preferred the original Japanese presentation.

But for these episodes which aired in 1990-1991, you have to acknowledge how good the transfer was for this restoration. Granted, there is a “Dragon Ball Kai” currently airing in Japan in High Definition (and will be released in the US this month on Blu-ray and DVD) which will look much better but for this DVD box set release, considering it’s 20-years-later, for the diehard fans who have wanted these episodes in its original presentation for so long, Pony Canyon definitely did a very good job on restoration and again, great to see FUNimation Entertainment bring this box set to the US.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

As for audio, this is where things are a bit different from the original Japanese audio presentation. Because FUNimation Entertainment had to include the English dubbed audio, instead of using the 448 kb/s audio, they went with 96 kb/s. This may upset fans who wanted a higher bitrate but because its important to attract those who are prefer English dubs and make the set even more marketable, the English dub had to be included. With that being said, I’ve grown up watching the Japanese audio and typically, I prefer to watch anime in Japanese BUT with “Dragon Ball Z”, I have always felt that the English dub was among the best out there and the voices just sound right for the characters.

But the intention for this box set was for those who wanted the Japanese audio. Personally, it’s a preference that I would rather have 5.1 surround versus mono or stereo soundtracks. And when I do, I typically set my receiver to stereo on all channels since I have a 7.2 setup. But fans will be happy that they get the original Japanese audio for the complete episode, previews for the next episode, opening and ending theme and you get Hironobu Kageyama’s “Cha-La, Head-Cha-La” instead of the Falcouner score.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Dragon Box Z Vol. 4″ doesn’t come with any special features but it comes with cool packaging and an awesome hardbound booklet.

What we have is a yellow slip case box with Cell on the front, unlike the season box sets which were gateway folded, the DVD’s are presented in two foil covered DVD cases and are presented in Japanese style with the first disc on the right hand side and the two discs on the left.

Also included is a hardcover 50-page booklet titled “Dragonbook” in Japanese reading style. The book features a profile of the Goku family, ultimate character and relationship chart, perfect guide, Dragon Ball Z Design Works Collection, Impressive Words and Dragon Ball Z Overlooked Moments. The overall box set package is definitely a solid presentation for the hardcore fans and I have to admit, looks way cooler than the previous orange box sets.

For the most part, this DVD box set is definitely worth it. But before fans who have bought the original single volumes and then the season box sets go on a tirade of having another version of “Dragon Ball Z” released, the main thing to remember is that those who have been vocal from the start were the diehard fans. They wanted the original 4:3 aspect ratio, they wanted the original Japanese presentation and the could care less about the English dubs and the Falcouner score.

Personally, the season box sets are still solid for those who are not so demanding. This box set is primarily for those hardcore fans and FUNimation Entertainment are giving those fans what they wanted for so long and I see that as quite admirable because they invested in bringing this release stateside and preparing it for the American consumer. And for those not familiar with those season box sets, well the good news is that the English dub is featured as well.

Do I have a preference on which I like better? Well having watch both…and enjoying the season box sets, I am actually content with both but I will have to say that “Dragon Box Z” has a much cooler packaging presentation and about 6-8 more episodes but you will be paying about $15 more. So, it’s really up to you if it’s worth it. Personally, if you just want to see the episodes and prefer to watch it with the English dubs, the original season box sets can be found for a great price these days and were solid releases to begin with. But for the hardcore fans who have demanded and have wanted the original series and how they were presented, you can’t beat these “Dragon Box” DVD boxsets. They’re awesome!

This box set was created for those who wanted “Dragon Ball Z” to be presented how it was in Japan and they have waited a long, long time for it. So, I look at these box sets as fans are now getting the best of both worlds and now those fans should be happy. Now the only thing is left will be the Blu-ray fans who will be clamoring for “Dragon Ball Z Kai” (“Dragon Ball Z” minus the filler episodes, remastered with new intro and vocals all re-recorded) which will be released this month but if you want the entire series, the Dragon Box Z series is what you want, otherwise if you want on Blu-ray – “Dragon Ball Z Kai” is the way to go. So, whether or not you pick the original orange box release, this Dragon Box Z release or “Dragon Ball Z Kai” release, all three are solid releases.

With this latest volume, you get the Android and Cell Saga and this is definitely one of the more intense action-packed battle sagas in the whole “Dragon Ball Z” series and was popular in Japan due to the popularity of Future Trunks. And for the most part, if you are a hardcore fan who have purchased the previous three volumes, more than likely from here on in, you’re going to pickup up the upcoming volumes as the action and the storyline continues to get better and better.

Overall, hardcore fans get there money’s worth with this DVD boxset. You get 40+ episodes in their original Japanese TV presentation and each episode which were remastered and you also get cool package-based content. For those hardcore DBZ fans who have waited this long for the original Japanese DBZ anime series in its original presentation, this box set is for you!

“Dragon Ball Z – Dragon Box Vol. 4″ is highly recommended.

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Dragon Ball Z Kai – Part Two (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Review)

September 20, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The action and battles continue as of “Dragon Ball Z Kai – Part Two” is here! “Dragon Ball Z Kai” is a must-buy, must-own anime series on Blu-ray. Highly recommended!

TITLE: Dragon Ball Z Kai – Part Two

DURATION: (Episodes 14-26) 325 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (4:3), English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Toei Animation/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV PG

Release Date: September 14, 2010

Originally created by Akira Toriyama

Directed by Yasuhiro Nowatari

Produced by Kazuya Watanabe, Kohei Obara, Kyotaro Kimura, Makoto Seino

Music by Kenji Yamamoto

Theme Song Arrangement: Seiichi Kyouda

Anime Production: Toei Animation

Featuring the following voice talent:

Masako Nozawa/Colleen Clinkenbeard as Son Gohan

Masako Nozawa/Sean Schemmel as Son Goku

Hikaru Midorikawa/John Burgmeier as Tenshinhan (Tien)

Hiromi Tsuru/Monica Rial as Bulma

Masaharu Satou/Mike McFarland as Kame-sennin

Mayumi Tanaka/Sonny Strait as Krillin (Kuririn)

Naoki Tatsuta/Bryan Massey as Oolong

Naoko Watanabe/Cynthia Cranz as Chi-Chi

Ryo Horikawa/Christopher R. Sabat as Vegeta

Brina Palencia as Chiaotzu/Puar

Tohru Furuya/Christopher R. Sabat as Yamcha

Toshio Furukawa/Christopher R. Sabat as Piccolo

Shigeru Chiba/Justin Cook as Raditz

Tetsu Inada/Phil Parsons as Nappa

Yasuhiko Kawazu/Christopher R. Sabat as Mr. Popo

Mayumi Tanaka/Mike McFarland as Yajirobe

Goku lies battered and nearly beaten, the Dragon Balls have been destroyed, and a new breed of evil looms on the horizon! Frieza, a violent galactic overlord, has discovered the source of the original Dragon Balls, and he’ll eagerly destroy anything to harness their wish-granting power.

Meanwhile, Vegeta – fully recovered from his humiliating defeat – travels to planet Namek on a mission to intercept Frieza and seize the Dragon Balls for own devious desires. With Goku out of commission, courageous young Gohan must journey to the far reaches of space to defeat a foe far more fearsome than anything his father ever encountered. The future depends on it!

For the past few years, I have been raving about FUNimation Entertainment’s releases of “Dragon Ball Z” from the original orange box collections to the recent Dragon Box Z DVD box set releases. And yes, I am a big fan of the anime series and yes, I am going to rave once again about this latest Blu-ray release of “Dragon Ball Z Kai – Part Two”.

Having grown up with “Dragon Ball Z” and during my teenage years visiting the local Japanese video rental store and always in heavy anticipation of what was being shown on television in Japan that week and waiting the two weeks it would arrive in the US and watching it in Japanese, despite not knowing what was being said, I enjoyed the series tremendously.

The main protagonist Son Goku was Japan’s equivalent to America’s Superman. I’m sure the juxtaposition of both Superman and Dragonball can be seen as a baby from other planet comes to Earth, the baby growing up to becoming a boy with tremendous strength and abilities and raised by a loving person who instilled good in his heart.

Granted, Goku’s original mission when landing on Earth was to destroy humanity but learning kindness towards people, nature and animals, he became a hero that protected all that he loved from any evil. But most importantly, Goku was a character that was far from perfect. He was a character that was always learning about people, enjoying life but most of all, setting a goal to becoming stronger and developing his skills in order to protect the people and the planet that he loves.

I was captivated by the original “Dragon Ball” series (which featured Goku as a child) and later with “Dragon Ball Z” featuring Goku as an adult. The series would bring back the characters that were seen on the original “Dragon Ball” series but this time around, the series took on more of a serious tone as the enemies became more deadly and Goku and his friends were put into grave situations that they have never had to face before. “Dragon Ball Z” would feature wonderful character development, intense action sequences and most of all, knowing how to extend the series to tease fans and keep people in high anticipation of what would be happening next.

Since then, I have had the opportunity to see this DBZ fandom grow in the US from the very early ’90s and seeing “Dragon Ball Z” viewing parties at the early anime conventions and then seeing how the series exploded into American pop culture once the series began airing on television in the US and with its DVD releases. It’s hard to believe that this series I have followed for years and began in 1989 has celebrated its 20th Anniversary celebration in 2009. But the celebration was fantastic news for fans as this time, “Dragon Ball Z” would be remastered for HD TV and would be called “Dragon Ball Z Kai” which would include a brand new opening and ending sequence, commercial cut scenes, new frames produced digitally, re-recording of the voice talent, new music and most importantly, focusing on the main story arcs and reducing the series 291 episodes to a total of 100 episodes.

Needless to say, “Dragon Ball Z Kai” received rave reviews from fans in Japan, while some hardcore DBZ fans had a hard time watching a new interpretation of the series (especially with newer music) but when it was announced that the series would be released in the USA on Blu-ray and DVD, fans were happy and with the first volume, needless to say, I was quite happy with the first Blu-ray release of “Dragon Ball Z Kai” and if you enjoyed the first volume, there is no doubt that you are going to enjoy “Dragon Ball Z Kai – Part Two”.

For my review of this Blu-ray release, I’m going to assume that many of the people reading this are familiar with the series. If you aren’t, if you want to experience the full “Dragon Ball Z” 291 episodes, FUNimation Entertainment currently has two releases of the series on DVD but at the same time, it is not imperative to watch the original “Dragon Ball” series to understand “Dragon Ball Z Kai” but it is important if you want to know the relationships of each character.

Currently available from FUNimation Entertainment (and is still being released) is “Dragon Ball” which covers the younger years of Goku. “Dragon Ball Z” covers the adults years of Goku and have been released in nine volumes (seasons) via an “orange box release”. All nine volumes covers all 291 episodes, was remastered by FUNimation Entertainment but presented in 16×9 and utilizes both English and Japanese dub but caters to the English audience crowd who watched the series on television.

In 2009 and currently in the present, FUNimation Entertainment has released the “Dragon Box Z” DVD box set releases (as of this review, there have been a total of three volumes released featuring over 30-episodes each). These releases are to satisfy the hardcore Dragon Ball Z fans who wanted the original Japanese uncut episodes, original Japanese music score but most importantly, the series being presented in its original aspect ratio of 4×3.

Also, released from FUNimation Entertainment were the movies and specials (on Blu-ray and DVD) and also the next story arc known as “Dragon Ball GT” (which “Dragon Ball” manga creator Akira Toriyama had nothing to do with until the final episode) which were also released last year by FUNimation.

So, here were are in 2010, “Dragon Ball Z Kai” is now presented in HD, without the non-essential scenes or filler episodes and instead of 291 episodes, has a duration of 100 episodes and the first volume on Blu-ray and DVD from FUNimation Entertainment consists of the first 13 episodes. It’s important to note that this is not a remake of the series, nor is it a new HD recreation of the animated version of the series. The series uses the original 1989 animation but is cleaned up of all damaged cels and blemishes. Only the opening, ending and commercial cut scenes feature new animation.

Here is a basic summary of “Dragon Ball Z Kai – Part Two” (episodes 13-26) on the two Blu-ray discs:

Disc 1:

EPISODE 14 – “AN ALL-OUT KAMEHAME-HA! VEGETA’S TERRIBLE TRANSFORMATION” - With Goku unleashing his triple Kaio-Ken, Vegeta resorts to his inner ape.
EPISODE 15 – “GOKU ON THE ROPES! PIN YOUR HOPES ON THE SPIRIT BOMB” – Goku is worn out from battle, so Gohan and Krillin try to take on Vegeta in ape form.
EPISODE 16 – “DEFEAT THE INVINCIB:E VEGETA! WORK A MIRACLE GOHAN! – Krillin and Gohan continue to fight against Vegeta.
EPISODE 17 – DAWN OF A FIERCE BATTLE! THE STAR OF HOPE IS PICCOLO’S HOMELAND! - Although the battle is over for now, the Z warriors must find the Dragon Balls to resurrect their friends.
EPISODE 18 – “THE SHIP RESTING IN YUNZABIT! TIME TO BLAST OFF FOR PLANET NAMEK! – Bulma tries to use the Saiyan ship as a way to travel to the Planet Namek.
EPISODE 19 – “A POWERFUL NEW FOE! FRIEZA RULER OF THE UNIVERSE!” – Another foe has their eyes in trying to get the dragon balls.
EPISODE 20 – “THE REBELLION AGAINST FRIEZA! VEGETA’S BURNING AMBITION!” – Gohan and Krillin take on Frieza’s henchmen, while Vegeta is about to take on Cui.

EPISODE 21 – PROTECT THE DRAGON BALLS! THE NAMEKIANS ALL-OUT ATTACK! – Goku goes off to the Planet Namek, meanwhile Krillin and Gohan watch Frieza’s men slaughtering innocent Namekians.
EPISODE 22 – DODORIAS TERRIFYING CHASE! A TURTH REVEALED TO VEGETA! – Gohan and Krillin try to rescue a young Namekian. Meanwhile, Vegeta learns the truth of the destruction of his home planet.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 23 – VEGETA’S COVERT MANEUVERS! A TRAGIC ASSAULT ON THE NAMEKIANS! – Vegeta searches for the two remaining Dragon Balls. Krillin and Dende leave to warn the elders of Planet Namek.
EPISODE 24 – FRIENDS REBORN! ZARBON’S HIDEOUS TRANSFORMATION! – King Kai tries desperately to warn Goku of the danger in Planet Namek.
EPISODE 25 – POWER UP KRILLIN! FRIEZA’S MOUNTING APPREHENSION! – The eldest Namekian unlocks Krillins internal, dormant power.
EPISODE 26 – THE SCHEME IS SHATTERED! VEGETA STRIKES BACK AT ZARBON! – Vegeta tries to steal the Dragon Balls from Frieza and Krillin prepares for battle.

VIDEO:

I always find it interesting when it comes to “Dragon Ball Z” because each review, I’ve always mentioned how things look much better when I saw the series especially comparing to my old Japanese TV recordings. But with the release of the series via the orange box season sets and then the Dragon Box Z releases, although they look good…nothing compares to how gorgeous “Dragon Ball Z Kai” looks. The picture quality is clean, no spotting, no blemishes, no dust, no speckles… Colors are absolutely vibrant, blacks are nice and deep and the series looks absolutely fantastic on Blu-ray.

Presented in 1080p High Definition and 4×3. As mentioned earlier, “Dragon Ball Z Kai” is not a remaking of the series in HD. The most noticeable addition is the opening and ending sequence and also the commercial cut scenes which use new animation and featured in HD. But ow awesome would it be if a “Dragon Ball” related series was re-created to look like those digital HD scenes? That would have been amazing.

But once the series begins, for those who have been watching “Dragon Ball Z” long enough or multiple times will just in awe of how beautiful and how clean the anime series looks in HD on Blu-ray. You’ll also notice scenes that you have never seen before.

First, lets discuss the picture quality. Not one blemish can be seen in these episodes. With the sketches and animation cels having since been discarded and anime series back in the ’80s and early ’90s not really being taken care of, Toei animation had new frames produced for this series and it was a laborious job of digitally tracing over still frames from existing footage and filling them with softer colors. Some scenes were cropped and new scenes were added.

Also, as times have changed when it comes to what can be shown on television and stricter laws on what can be shown on television since 1989 and the fact that “Dragon Ball Z Kai” would be distributed worldwide on television in other countries (in the US, the series will begin airing on Nickelodeon’s Nicktoons), most immediate changes are when it comes to the nudity and violence. Nude scenes featuring a young Goku or Gohan now feature their private areas now covered. There is now less blood during the most violent battle scenes.

But the added footage is easily noticed. I caught one scene with Nappa and Vegeta outdoors sitting near a campfire with a digital flame. Also, another scenes with Nappa with the dark stroke around the character which was seen in the later “Dragon Ball Z” movies. There were scenes in which shading was utilized but with all new sequences, it’s important to note that they created the sequences to compliment the older footage. So, everything looks just right together.

But watching this series on Blu-ray, I can say that “Dragon Ball Z Kai” does not look like a series that came from 1989. Tohei Animation did a wonderful job with this animated TV series, editing these episodes and choosing what scenes to include and what new scenes to add to ensure that the pacing works out fine. In terms of picture quality, those ugly dust, speckles and blemishes are gone, I did not see any major edge enhancement or compression artifacts. I have no doubt that fans will enjoy this HD presentation of “Dragon Ball Z Kai”.

Of course, for those wanting the true anime on HD treatment, this is probably not the series one should look for as you do get the original late ’80s animation and this series was created long before animators considered HD let alone were making the series digitally. But it all comes down to how it looks compared to the original series released on DVD and I have to say that this is the best looking version of the series available despite it being a modified and shortened version of the “Dragon Ball Z” series.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

This is where “Dragon Ball Z Kai” shines on Blu-ray and its the lossless audio. The series is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English) and Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (Japanese).

Because the English is mixed and utilizes more channels, there is a dramatic difference in sound, although for those with a modern receiver and have a solid 5.1 or 7.2 setup, can easily switch their receiver to stereo on all channels for the Japanese soundtrack for a more immersive soundscape.

There are online stores showing that the Japanese is Dolby Digital 2.0 but this is incorrect, it is indeed a lossless Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 soundtrack. And both soundtracks sound great!

But here is the lowdown on the lossless audio. Sound effects are now heavily utilized on the surround channels. For example, in “Dragon Ball Z Kai – Part Two”, there is a good amount of surround audio during Goku and Vegeta’s battle, while in the Planet Namek scenes, you can hear a lot of flight (as a big part of the series in this arc features characters flying after the enemy or to get from place-to-place).

But the biggest and most noticeable difference when it comes to “Dragon Ball Z Kai” and its previous “Dragon Ball Z” releases on video is the music. As a hero like Superman or Batman will have its own musical orchestra driven theme song in a film, Goku now has a theme, the enemies have their theme and when a Z-Warrior passes away, there is a theme. Music is used to full effect in the series and the majority of it is orchestra driven and also utilized in the surround channels. You will hear the strings or brass playing through the surrounds and its done rather nicely. Some people may have an issue with the battle music as the music tends to incorporate the style that you hear from the most recent video games and transitions from jazz/funk to synthrock.

But these effects and music sound so delightful via lossless, its hard not to be impressed by it. Again, the English soundtrack is much more immersive because it utilizes a 5.1 lossless soundtrack versus the Japanese 2.0 lossless track. But I know fans who have wanted anime on Blu-ray with Japanese lossless should be happy. It’s important to note that this is a TV series and not an OVA or film, so the fact that there is so much going on with this TV series audio-wise is pretty awesome.

Granted, I know there are hardcore fans who will tell me that they loved the original Japanese music and I’m sure there will be fans including myself who love the new music, but of course, this is all subjective. And with that being said, for those who liked the Falcouner music, then buy the orange season box sets. If you want the original Japanese BGM, then the “Dragon Box Z” sets is for you. If you want a lossless soundtrack with outstanding music that is fully utilized with your home theater setup, “Dragon Ball Z Kai” is fantastic.

As for the dubwork, the voice acting has also been revamped with Colleen Clinkenbeard now providing the voice for Son Gohan, Monica Rial for Bulma and Brina Palencia for Chiaotzu and Puar. In Japan, the most noticeable difference is for Kame Sen’nin (Master Roshi) as Kohei Miayuchi passed away during the final season of “Dragon Ball Z” back in 1995 and for DBZ Kai is voiced by Masaharu Satou.

For the most part, both voice acting for the English and Japanese were very good. Of course, listening to both soundtracks voices are much different from each other especially the voice of the main character Goku. But depending on your preference, both Masako Nozawa and Sean Schemmel do a fantastic job as Goku. For those who watched the English dub and have played all the DBZ video games will probably see the most noticeable different with the character of young Gohan.

Overall, because of the clarity of the audio and how much it plays in the part of enhancing the enjoyment of the anime series, the lossless soundtrack for “Dragon Ball Z” is awesome! I enjoy the new BGM and if you have a 5.1 or 7.2 setup, you’re going to enjoy the soundtrack of this series.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Dragon Ball Z Kai – Part Two” comes with the following special features:

Textless Opening Song DVD Version 01
Textless Opening Song DVD Version 02
Textless Opening Song Broadcast Version
Textless Closing Song
Trailers – Trailers for upcoming or currently available titles from FUNimation Entertainment.

All that went through my mind when I was watching “Dragon Ball Z Kai” was how awesome an experience it was to see this series finally in HD and how fantastic it looked and how incredible the lossless audio track was.

The second part of “Dragon Ball Z – Part Two” focuses on the battle between Goku vs. Vegeta and the Planet Namek/Dragon Ball episodes. Although, I originally enjoyed this arc from the original series, it was one of the longest story arcs in “Dragon Ball Z” leading up to the battle between Goku vs. Frieza (which should be the focus in the next upcoming release of DBZ Kai).

Fortunately for those who have watched the series many times, we do get various selected scenes from the Planet Namek arc to shorten up the arc in “Dragon Ball Z Kai”. I do highly recommend for those who have never watched “Dragon Ball Z” to please check out the actual series because watching this arc in its entirety is a must!

As a person who has followed the series for nearly 20 years, watching “Dragon Ball Z Kai” was a bit surreal because everything looked so clean. Especially comparing with how it looks to the first movie on Blu-ray which had dust and scratches galore and HD enhancing those defects, it was great to see a blemish-free DBZ series.

Now does “Dragon Ball Z Kai” replace my feelings towards the original series. Of course not but I can tell you right now that when watching “Dragon Ball Z” many years ago and even watching it again and again, part of the experience at the time was being kept at the edge of your seat because each saga lasted so long. We would literally have to wait as it would come out to our Japanese video rental store and would contain maybe two to four episodes. And this really tested your patience especially with each saga or battle lasting like 30 episodes or more. I

f you were an original DVD purchaser of “Dragon Ball Z” when it was released per volume, not only was it an excruciating wait, it was an expensive wait to collect all volumes. Sure, the DVD box set releases definitely have fixed the problem and is much cheaper than how things were back then.

But what “Dragon Ball Z Kai” does is cut down all non-essential scenes, all filler episodes and focusing on the more important scenes of the story including the action sequences. Footage was re-edited to closely follow the manga and the action is now a more faster pace and I found the pacing for this series to be quite enjoyable and for those watching anything Dragon Ball related for the first time, especially on television, “Dragon Ball Z” makes it much easier for those viewers, especially those with a short attention span.

For long-time fans, this new revision of the series maintains the heart and soul of “Dragon Ball Z” but gives us the best looking and best sound version of the series. It’s not meant to replace the previous “Dragon Ball Z” series that we have enjoyed (and for many, have spent money for via the box sets) but to compliment it and also to bring the series to HD and now on Blu-ray.

“Dragon Ball Z” has been such a part of the lives of many people for two decades and with this release, hopefully will entertain a new generation of DBZ fans or hook fans who have been curious about the series for a long time. Because the series only lasts 100 episodes, there will be multiple volumes but this is one series that gets better and better with each season and the characters grow especially in powers and skill as they take on enemies that are much worse than the previous enemy.

As for the Blu-ray release and its special featuers, sure… I would love to have more special features included on this release but as the regular series never had them, we’re not going to see it on this Blu-ray release. Granted, it would have been nice for FUNimation Entertainment to let their ADR director interviewing some of the voice talent and doing a commentary. It’s done on other anime releases from FUNimation Entertainment, so I wish we had some commentary included. Also, it would have been nice to have the original Japanese TV Spots included as well. But you do get several textless opening and ending themes.

Overall, “Dragon Ball Z Kai” is easily a must-own anime on Blu-ray series. Granted, I’m sure that many of us are quite biased towards the “Dragon Ball” series but for those who have always been curious about “Dragon Ball Z” and have no intention watching every episode made, then “Dragon Ball Z Kai” is recommended because it’s a much shorter run at 100 episodes and this particular release cover episodes 14-26 thus far. So, we are 25% complete.

If you are a fan of “Dragon Ball Z” or one who has always been curious about the series, then it’s about time to watch this series in HD. Definitely recommended!

Filed Under: Anime on Blu-ray

Dragon Ball – Season Five (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

July 25, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The final volume of “Dragon Ball” is all out action, high level anime entertainment and just a wonderful ending to the first chapter as it sets things up for “Dragon Ball Z”. Featuring another enjoyable volume featuring the battle between a grown up Goku and Piccolo, the next martial arts tournament and the wedding of Goku and ChiChi. If you are a fan of any of “Dragon Ball Z” and “Dragon Ball GT” and have missed the original “Dragon Ball” series, you owe it to yourself to watch the original series. Volume 5 is an awesome conclusion to “Dragon Ball” and is definitely recommended!

DVD TITLE: Dragon Ball – Season Five

DURATION: Episodes 123-153, 5 DVD’s (745 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: 4:3, English Voice Track with Original Japanese music 5.1 Surround, Japanese Voice Track with Original Music Mono

COMPANY: Toei Animation/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV 14

Release Date: July 27, 2010

Originally created by Akira Toriyama

Directed by Daisuke Nisho and Minoru Okazaki

Music by Shusuke Kikuchi

Character Designs by Minoru Maeda, Yuki Ikeda

Anime Production by Toei Anime

Featuring the following voice talent:

Masao Nozawa/Stephanie Nadolny as Son Goku

Hiromi Tsuru/Tiffany Vollmer as Bulma

Daisuke Gouri as Umigame

Eiko Yamada/Julie Franklin as Mai

Kenji Utsumi/Christopher R. Sabat as Shen Long

Kohei Miyauchi/Mike McFarland as Kame Sennin (Master Roshi)

Mayumi Shou/Laura Bailey as Chi Chi

Mayumi Tanaka as Krillin

Naoki Tatsuta/Brad Jackson as Oolong

Naoko Watanabe/Monika Antonelli as Pu’erh (Puar)

Christopher R. Sabat as Grandpa Gohan and Turtle

Shigeru Chiba/Chuck Huber as Pilaf

Tohru Furuya/Christopher R. Sabat as Yamcha

Takeshi Aono/Christopher R. Sabat as Piccolo

Brendan Hunter as Tien

In the aftermath of his epic battle with Piccolo, Goku embarks on an electrifying quest to rescue his fallen friends from the realm of the dead. His perilous journey will take him to the heights of Korin Tower – and beyond – as he searches for Kami, a mystical being with the power to resurrect Shenron and restore the magic of the seven Dragon Balls!

But even if Goku succeeds in raising the dead, there’s no guarantee he’ll live long enough to enjoy a reunion with his slain comrades. The World Martial Arts tournament is just around the corner, and an eerily familiar foe known only as Junior wants to teach Goku the true meaning of pain! To survive the tournament and finally earn the title of World’s Greatest Martial Artist, Goku must train his mind as well as his body in order to complete his amazing transformation from a bushy-tailed boy into a man to be reckoned with!

Before “Dragon Ball Z” and “Dragon Ball GT”, it all began with “Dragon Ball”.

Originally, a manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama for “Shonen Jump”, the manga series lasted from 1984 through 1995 and since the manga series has produced several anime series which include “Dragon Ball”, “Dragon Ball Z”, “Dragon Ball GT” and currently in Japan, a new HD broadcasting of “Dragon Ball Kai” and in 2009, an American live action film titled “Dragonball Evolution” was released worldwide.

“Dragon Ball” is the first arc of the series which aired in Japan from 1986 through 1989 and lasted for 153 episodes. The series was released by Harmony Gold USA in the late 80′s and then by FUNimation Entertainment in 1995 and uncut episodes were released on DVD in 2003. The episodes focus on Son Goku’s childhood, searching for the dragon balls and training to become stronger to protect his friends and the world.

With the uncut episodes released in the U.S., remastered and digitally restored, the final, fifth season of “Dragon Ball” is now here and concludes with a grown up Goku taking on Piccolo Jr., a new martial arts tournament and the wedding of Goku and ChiChi.

“Dragon Ball” focuses on the following characters:

Son Goku – Not much is known about Goku’s past. He was found by a man he calls Grandpa Gohan and trained to be a boy who loves nature and people. And has incredible strength and fighting ability. He was warned by his grandfather to never look at the moon but one day he did and turned into a giant ape and accidentally killed his grandfather. Although not too familiar with humans, he meets a female named Bulma for the first time who is trying to look for Dragon Balls. Now Son Goku continues to train to help his friends and protect the world from evil.

Bulma – A teenager who’s father is a scientist and owner of the Capsule Corporation. A technology that people can store vehicles, homes and storage into a tiny capsule. When thrown, the capsule turns into the actual object that was stored. She’s rather impulsive and outspoken. Her dream is to find the Dragon Balls and make a wish in order to get a perfect boyfriend.

Oolong – A pig who has a fascination with women’s panties. A perverted pig who once terrorized a village. Has the ability to transform to anything for five minutes. Attended a class with Puar in transforming but failed and never learned to stay in a object for more than five minutes. He joins Bulma and Goku in their mission to find the Dragon Balls.

Yamcha – A banded who is accompanied by his shape-shifting animal Puar. With his Wolf’s Fang Fist fighting ability, he trains under Master Roshi and joins Goku to fight evil.

Krillin – A former monk who has been bullied by his other monks. He goes to Master Roshi for training and trains alongside Goku and becomes good friends with him.

Master Roshi (Kamisama-sen) – An old lecherous man who trained Grandpa Gohan and the Ox King to fight. Despite looking like an old man, he has a tremendous fighting ability and is known for his devastating attack known as the Kamehameha. During the martial arts tournament, he disguises himself as the world champion, Jackie Chun.

Other Characters:

Puar – A shape shifting animal who can shape-shift for a long period of time and hangs around Yamcha.

Launch – A shy and attractive maid of Master Roshi who has a dissociative identity disorder. When she sneezes, she goes from the shy/beautiful blue haired woman to a blonde, attractive and dangerous weapon-toting, foul-mouth woman.

Korin – The guardian of Korin Tower who has the sacred water which Goku needs.

Fortuneteller Baba – Master Roshi’s oldest sister who uses her psychic abilities for financial gain.

Master Shen - An old rival/friend of Master Roshi who trained under the same master but went towards a darker path. Also, the brother of Mercenary Tao.

Tien – A stuent of Master Shen and a dangerous martial arts fighter with three eyes. An enemy of Goku in the beginning, he learns his ways and trains under Master Roshi.

Chiaotzu – A good friend of Tien and trains alongside with him.

Yajirobe – A warrior with strength but also constantly hungry. Not the one to get involved in anyone’s battles but somehow ends up getting involved. The second person after Son Goku to climb the Tower of Korin.

Kami – A Namekian who is a guardian of Earth.

Mr. Popo – A loyal servant of Kami and an immortal genie who tends to the palace and trains Goku to prepare for his battle against Piccolo Jr.

The Villains:

Piccolo Jr. - Before King Piccolo died during his battle with Goku, Piccolo managed to launch an egg from his body and from that egg, Piccolo Jr. was born.

“Dragon Ball – Season Five” features a total of 30 episodes on five DVD’s. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

DISC 1:

EPISODE 123 – Lost and Found - Goku must search for his power pole in order to reach Kami and revive his friends.
EPISODE 124 – Temple Above the Clouds – Before Goku can meat Kami, he must defeat Mr. Popo.
EPISODE 125 – Earth’s Guardian Emerges – Mr. Popo may be too much for Goku but Goku continues to persist.
EPISODE 126 – Eternal Dragon Resurrected – Goku meets Kami and talks to him about reviving the Eternal Dragon.
EPISODE 127 – Quicker than Lightning- Goku now learning from Mr. Popo embarks on a trek up Mount Rumble.
EPISODE 128 – Secret of the Woods – Goku meets a master fisherman.
EPISODE 129 – The Time Room – Goku goes back into the past when Roshi and Shen were younger.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 130 – Goku’s Doll – Yamcha, Tien, Krillin and Chiaotzu go to climb the Tower of Korin for training. Meanwhile, Goku takes on a splitting image of himself.
EPISODE 131 – Walking Their Own Ways – Mr. Popo challenges Goku in a game of hide and seek.
EPISODE 132 – Hotter Than Lava – Krillin and friends try to help a village that is under threat from a volcano.
EPISODE 133 – Changes – It’s day 1 of the Martial Arts Tournament and Bulma and friends are greeted by a tall fighter. Who is he?
EPISODE 134 – Preliminary Peril - Goku meets a potential female opponent who is very upset with him for some reason.
EPISODE 135 – Battle of the Eight - Goku and friends take on opponents at the Martial Arts Tournament.
EPISODE 136 – Tien Shinhan vs. Mercenary Tao - Mercenary Tao is brought back from the dead as a cyborg.

DISC 3:

EPISODE 137 – Anonymous Proposal - Goku takes on the female opponent who will reveal her identity to Goku if he can beat her.
EPISODE 138 – The Mysterious Hero – Krillin vs. Piccolo Jr.
EPISODE 139 – Rematch - The conclusion of the match between Hero and Yamcha. Tien and Goku have their rematch.
EPISODE 140 – Goku Gains Speed - Continuing the match between Goku vs. Tien.
EPISODE 1410 – The Four Faces of Tien - Tien uses his new special move against Goku.
EPISODE 142 – Kami vs. Piccolo - Kami who is disguised as Hero takes on Piccolo Jr.
EPISODE 143 – Battle for the Future - Goku and Piccolo Jr. reach the finals.

DISC 4:

EPISODE 144 – Super Kamehameha – Goku wants to use the Super Kamehameha but finds out that if he kills Piccolo Jr,, he will kill Kami.
EPISODE 145 – Junior No More – Piccolo Jr. reveals his true identity to everyone watching the match.
EPISODE 146 – Goku’s Trap - Goku does all he can to survive his battle against Piccolo Jr.
EPISODE 147 – Goku Hangs On – Goku knows he must end this battle or else the planet will be doomed.
EPISODE 148 – The Victor – Kami feels that in order to rid of Piccolo Jr., he may need to sacrifice his life.
EPISODE 149 – Dress in Flames – Goku and Chi-Chi plan their wedding but an earthquake creates a fire that may destroy her mother’s wedding dress and kill her father.
EPISODE 150 – The Fire-Eater – In order to stop the fire, Goku and Chi-Chi must find a new Bansho fan.

DISC 5:

EPISODE 151 – Outrageous Octagon – Goku and Chi-Chi continue their adventure to build a new Bansho fan.
EPISODE 152 – Mystery of the Dark World - Goku and Chi-Chi must search for a magical furnace to stop the fires.
EPISODE 153 – The End, The Beginning - Goku and Chi-Chi try to reach the magical furnace, so they can save the Ox King and start planning for their wedding.

VIDEO:

When I first saw “Dragon Ball”, it was probably back in 1992 and the quality of this raw Japanese video was so rough and hard to watch, it was just bad. Several years later, I was able to catch the first few episodes that aired on television but the problem was that the schedule was inconsistent and our television network was quite bad.

So, it is great to see this uncut, remastered and digitally restored version on DVD. Presented in its original format of 4:3, one thing I noticed is how good this anime series looked on DVD. The series is nearly 25 years old and just watching it, FUNimation Entertainment did a great job in bringing this series out and making it look very good. Granted, it is not free of blemishes, there is some dust, you will see a bit of compression but for the most part, compared to what we had available years ago or over a decade ago, I’m quite content with this remastered version of the series.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

As for the audio, similar to the recent FUNimation Entertainment “Dragon Ball Z” and “Dragon Ball GT” releases, the English voice track with original Japanese music comes in 5.1 Surround, while the Japanese voice track is in its original Japanese mono. I watched both English and Japanese and of course, there are some changes in the English dialogue (ie. Master Roshi and in the Japanese track, Kamesama Sennen) and grew up watching the original Japanese version but for the most part, I have enjoyed the “Dragon Ball Z” and “Dragon Ball GT” dub work and similar to those two series, I found the English dub work for “Dragon Ball” to be quite solid. Dialogue is clear and understandable and for audio settings, for both audio tracks, I found the best setting for me was to select on my receiver “Stereo on all Channels”.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Dragon Ball – Season Five” comes with the textless opening and closing theme songs and FUNimation Entertainment trailers plus a 24-page booklet with character information and episode synopsis.

A wonderful conclusion to the “Dragon Ball” series!

For fans of “Dragon Ball”, many have waited for the moment when Piccolo (Jr.) would make his appearance, when Kami and Mr. Popo would make their first appearance, the moment when we would see a more grown up Goku and most of all, how he and Chi-Chi got married. And we get to see it all happen in this final fifth volume of “Dragon Ball”.

Watching “Dragon Ball”, the series has become a wonderful journey as we have seen Goku grow up and find ways to train and defeat his opponents. For the first 130 episodes, we have seen Goku take on Pilaf and the Red Ribbon Army and King Piccolo but this final volume is the bridge to “Dragon Ball Z” in which we see Goku go from the young boy and literally become a young man and to see him evolve in his martial arts.

And the journey of watching this final volume does not just focus on Goku, we also see how the Z Warriors come together and train together (Krillin, Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu) and evolve in their own martial arts as well. We also get to see that Mr. Popo is more than just a servant to Kami but he’s also quite a fighter himself. And of course, a fitting end as we see Goku and his bride-to-be Chi-Chi on a mission to stop the destruction of her home and most importantly to save her father.

A fitting conclusion to “Dragon Ball” and eventually getting the viewer all set for the ever awesome “Dragon Ball Z”.

I know there are people who just focused on the “Dragon Ball Z” series and those who are not fans of watching older anime series and have bypassed “Dragon Ball” (and also “Dragon Ball GT”) but for any fan of “Dragon Ball Z”, I truly believe you owe it to yourself to watch “Dragon Ball” and to see how the characters came together and became the Z Warriors. And the fact that you can now purchase the complete “Dragon Ball” series for a lower price than those of us who had to purchase several episodes per volume years ago is awesome!

Overall, the final volume of “Dragon Ball” is all out action, high level anime entertainment and just a wonderful ending to the first chapter as it sets things up for “Dragon Ball Z”. Featuring another enjoyable volume featuring the battle between a grown up Goku and Piccolo, the next martial arts tournament and the wedding of Goku and ChiChi. Volume 5 is an awesome conclusion to “Dragon Ball” and is definitely recommended!

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Dragon Ball – Season Four (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

May 4, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Action-packed and enjoyable throughout! Season four of “Dragon Ball” brings us an action-packed volume featuring battles against between Goku vs. Tien, Krillin and features the King Piccolo saga!

DVD TITLE: Dragon Ball – Season Four

DURATION: Episodes 93-122, 5 DVD’s (745 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: 4:3, English Voice Track with Original Japanese music 5.1 Surround, Japanese Voice Track with Original Music Mono

COMPANY: Toei Animation/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV 14

Release Date: May 4, 2010

Originally created by Akira Toriyama

Directed by Daisuke Nisho and Minoru Okazaki

Music by Shusuke Kikuchi

Character Designs by Minoru Maeda, Yuki Ikeda

Anime Production by Toei Anime

Featuring the following voice talent:

Masao Nozawa/Stephanie Nadolny as Son Goku

Hiromi Tsuru/Tiffany Vollmer as Bulma

Daisuke Gouri as Umigame

Eiko Yamada/Julie Franklin as Mai

Kenji Utsumi/Christopher R. Sabat as Shen Long

Kohei Miyauchi/Mike McFarland as Kame Sennin (Master Roshi)

Mayumi Shou/Laura Bailey as Chi Chi

Mayumi Tanaka as Krillin

Naoki Tatsuta/Brad Jackson as Oolong

Naoko Watanabe/Monika Antonelli as Pu’erh (Puar)

Christopher R. Sabat as Grandpa Gohan and Turtle

Shigeru Chiba/Chuck Huber as Pilaf

Tohru Furuya/Christopher R. Sabat as Yamcha

Takeshi Aono/Christopher R. Sabat as Piccolo

Brendan Hunter as Tien

Goku’s headed for a showdown with a sinister green fiend!

A new breed of evil – more powerful than anything ever experienced – is taking the world’s greatest martial artists down for the count. Goku is quick to join the fight, but he’s about to meet his match in the form of King Piccolo. This menacing monster has the power to pulverize the planet, and his murderous rampage will not stop until he controls the power of the seven magic Dragon Balls.

When Krillin is the first hero cut down by the monster’s minion, the stage is set for a brutal grudge match between Goku and Piccolo. Earth’s greatest champion vows to avenge the loss of his best friend, but first, he must journey to Korin Tower on a quest for the Ultra Divine Water: a magical elixir that could give him the strength to save humanity – or send him straight to the grave!

It’s the series that started it all… “Dragon Ball”. Originally, a manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama for “Shonen Jump”, the manga series lasted from 1984 through 1995 and since the manga series has produced several anime series which include “Dragon Ball”, “Dragon Ball Z”, “Dragon Ball GT” and currently in Japan, a new HD broadcasting of “Dragon Ball Kai” and in 2009, an American live action film titled “Dragonball Evolution” was released worldwide.

With the uncut episodes released in the U.S., remastered and digitally restored, the fourth season of “Dragon Ball” is here and features the martial arts tournament against Tien and also the beginning of the King Piccolo saga.

“Dragon Ball” focuses on the following characters:

Yamcha – A banded who is accompanied by his shape-shifting animal Puar. With his Wolf’s Fang Fist fighting ability, he trains under Master Roshi and joins Goku to fight evil.

Krillin – A former monk who has been bullied by his other monks. He goes to Master Roshi for training and trains alongside Goku and becomes good friends with him.

Other Characters:

Puar – A shape shifting animal who can shape-shift for a long period of time and hangs around Yamcha.

Korin – The guardian of Korin Tower who has the sacred water which Goku needs.

Fortuneteller Baba – Master Roshi’s oldest sister who uses her psychic abilities for financial gain.

Master Shen - An old rival/friend of Master Roshi who trained under the same master but went towards a darker path. Also, the brother of Mercenary Tao.

Tien – A stuent of Master Shen and a dangerous martial arts fighter with three eyes. An enemy of Goku in the beginning, he learns his ways and trains under Master Roshi.

Chiaotzu – A good friend of Tien and trains alongside with him.

The Villains:

Master Shen - The brother of Mercenary Tao and the master of the Crane School of Martial Arts which Tien and Chiaotzu has trained under. After the death of Tao, he wants revenge against Goku.

King Piccolo – Escaping his prison, now Piccolo wants to destroy Earth piece by piece and kill all living things. His minions include Tambourine, Cymbal, Drum and Piano.

“Dragon Ball – Season Four” features a total of 30 episodes on five DVD’s. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

DISC 1:

EPISODE 93 – Tien Shinhan vs. Jackie Chun - It’s the semi-finals and Jackie Chun (Master Roshi) takes on Tien.
EPISODE 94 – Stepping Down – Jackie Chun wants to try and change Tien’s evil ways.
EPISODE 95 – Goku vs. Krillin – In the semi-finals, it’s friend vs. friend – Goku vs. Krillin.
EPISODE 96 – Tail’s Tale – Krillin knows one way he can fight against Goku.
EPISODE 97 – Final Match: Goku vs. Tien – It’s Goku and Krillin to the end, who will with the match?
EPISODE 98 – Victory’s Edge – It’s the finals – Goku vs. Tien.
EPISODE 99 – Tien’s Insurrection – Something happens to Goku during his battle with Tien.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 100 – The Spirit Canon – With Tien losing the match, he uses his last resort against Goku.
EPISODE 101 – The Fallen – Goku takes on Tien’s tri-beam.
EPISODE 102 – Enter King Piccolo – Goku’s friend is killed and now he wants revenge against the menacing monster, King Piccolo.
EPISODE 103 – Tambourine Attacks! – Piccolo sends his killer minion Tambourine to slaughter the most powerful martial arts fighters in the world.
EPISODE 104 – Mark of the Demon - Piccolo sends his minions to find the dragon balls.
EPISODE 105 – Here Comes Yajirobe - Goku meets the samurai warrior, Yajirobe.
EPISODE 106 – Terrible Tambourine- Master Roshi and Chiaotzu try to find the dragon balls before Piccolo’s minions find them.

DISC 3:

EPISODE 107 – Tien’s Atonement - Tien must make a choice…pursue the life of good or evil.
EPISODE 108 – Goku’s Revenge – Goku vs. Tambourine
EPISODE 109 – Goku vs. King Piccolo - The first battle between King Piccolo and Goku.
EPISODE 110 – Piccolo Closes In - Master Roshi and Tien try to get the dragon balls.
EPISODE 111 – Roshi’s Gambit - Master Roshi vs. King Piccolo
EPISODE 112 – King Piccolo’s Wish – Another friend of Goku’s perishes in battle and Piccolo uses the dragon balls.
EPISODE 113 – Siege on Chow Castle – Goku and Yajirobe climb Korin’s Tower.

DISC 4:

EPISODE 114 – Conquest and Power – Goku asks Korin for more training in order to fight Piccolo.
EPISODE 115 – Awaken Darkness – Goku looks for the Ultra Divine Water.
EPISODE 116 – A Taste of Destiny- Goku is put through the test in order to find the water.
EPISODE 117 – The Ultimate Sacrifice – Tien masters the evil containment wave and now he goes to fight Piccolo.
EPISODE 118 – Prelude to Vengeance – King Piccolo makes his decree to the world.
EPISODE 119 – Battle Cry – Tien vs. Drum
EPISODE 120 – Goku Strikes Back – Goku returns for a rematch against Piccolo.

DISC 5:

EPISODE 121 – The Biggest Crisis – The battle between Goku vs. Piccolo continues.
EPISODE 122 – Final Showdown - King Piccolo uses Tien to fight Goku.

VIDEO:

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Dragon Ball – Season Four” comes with the textless opening and closing theme songs and FUNimation Entertainment trailers plus a 24-page booklet with character information and episode synopsis.

This is the volume of “Dragon Ball” that I have been waiting for!

For many people familiar with the characters of “Dragon Ball Z”, many people who were only familiar with that series were probably unclear about Goku’s rival Piccolo and why the two had an uneasy relationship in the first season. Also, a lot of people may not know that Tien and Chiaotzu were also one time enemies and rivals of Goku and friends. But this latest season definitely ramps things up in terms of action in the “Dragon Ball” storyline which would extend through “Dragon Ball Z” and partly with “Dragon Ball GT” (despite GT not being an official manga by Akira Toriyama).

But for any fans of “Dragon Ball”, the martial arts tournaments have always been exciting and fun to watch and in this case, this latest tournament is no different as we get to see Goku vs. Krillin but also Goku vs. Tien. We also can see how ruthless Piccolo was back then and definitely a 180 to what people are familiar of the character today from “Dragon Ball Z”.

Also, the fourth season introduces us to the samurai warrior Yajirobe who is the comedy character for his hunger and naivety but for some reason, he’s just a hilarious and silly character that somehow ends up saving the day and continues that way even through “Dragon Ball Z”.

And if you have collected the first three seasons, it just gets better from there and the next volume of “Dragon Ball” should be the final in the series, just in time as FUNimation Entertainment prepares its HD release of “Dragon Ball Z Kai” (note: “Dragon Ball Z” is currently available, also in its uncut Japanese version featured in the “Dragon Box” DVD sets from FUNimation Entertainment”. Hopefully, we will see a re-release or maybe a Blu-ray release of the “Dragon Ball” films.

Overall, “Dragon Ball – Season Four” is another awesome, action-packed volume and it just gets better and better with each release. Definitely recommended!

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Dragon Ball – Season Three (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

February 20, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Season Three of “Dragon Ball” is an action-packed, all out fight fest! An awesome volume featuring Goku vs. Mercenary Tao, the Red Ribbon Army, the mysterious fighter and a new World Martial Arts Tournament.

DVD TITLE: Dragon Ball – Season Three

DURATION: Episodes 62-92, 5 DVD’s (745 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: 4:3, English Voice Track with Original Japanese music 5.1 Surround, Japanese Voice Track with Original Music Mono

COMPANY: Toei Animation/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV 14

Release Date: February 2, 2010

Originally created by Akira Toriyama

Directed by Daisuke Nisho and Minoru Okazaki

Music by Shusuke Kikuchi

Character Designs by Minoru Maeda, Yuki Ikeda

Anime Production by Toei Anime

Featuring the following voice talent:

Masao Nozawa/Stephanie Nadolny as Son Goku

Hiromi Tsuru/Tiffany Vollmer as Bulma

Daisuke Gouri as Umigame

Eiko Yamada/Julie Franklin as Mai

Kenji Utsumi/Christopher R. Sabat as Shen Long

Kohei Miyauchi/Mike McFarland as Kame Sennin (Master Roshi)

Mayumi Shou/Laura Bailey as Chi Chi

Mayumi Tanaka as Krillin

Naoki Tatsuta/Brad Jackson as Oolong

Naoko Watanabe/Monika Antonelli as Pu’erh (Puar)

Christopher R. Sabat as Grandpa Gohan and Turtle

Shigeru Chiba/Chuck Huber as Pilaf

Tohru Furuya as Yamcha

Goku embarks on a journey to test his strength against the best of the best!

Driven by his promise to a heartbroken young boy, Goku completes his training under Master Korin and prepares for a brutal rematch with Mercenary Tao! These two powerful warriors trade blows in a furious flurry of Dodon Rays and Kamehameha Waves, but that’s only the beginning of this adventure.

The Red Ribbon Army continues to cast a dark shadow across the land as they inch ever closer to attaining ultimate power. Only Goku can halt their reign of terror and resurrect a fallen friend, but first he’ll have to fight for possession of the seven Dragon Balls!

To complete his quest, Goku must beat a fortune-teller at her own game, slam the door on Demon Land, tame the dread Inoshikacho, and survive a beating from a masked dead man. His journey will be filled with danger, but with each victory, Goku gains the strength needed to emerge victorious from the upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament!

Contains episodes 62-92.

And now the episodes have been released in the USA uncut, remastered and digitally restored. In Feb. 2010, the third season of “Dragon Ball” was released with 31 episodes on five discs.

“Dragon Ball” focuses on the adventures of Son Goku during his younger years. In this latest volume, Goku finally meets Korin and confronts the Red Ribbon army and Mercenary Tao. The second storyline arc features Goku making good on his promise to bring Upu’s father back and retrieve the seventh Dragon Ball. But in order to do that, he, Krilllin, Yamacha and friends must take on Fortuneteller Baba’s five fighters. The final arc on this volume features the latest Worlds Martial Arts Tournament where the gang must confront their new rivals Tien and Chiaotzu.

“Dragon Ball” focuses on the following characters:

Son Goku – Not much is known about Goku’s past. He was found by a man he calls Grandpa Gohan and trained to be a boy who loves nature and people. And has incredible strength and fighting ability. He was warned by his grandfather to never look at the moon but one day he did and turned into a giant ape and accidentally killed his grandfather. Although not too familiar with humans, he meets a female named Bulma for the first time who is trying to look for Dragon Balls. Having own the #4 Dragon Ball which his grandfather gave him, he decides to join her on a quest to find the remaining Dragon Balls (seven total).

Yamcha – A banded who is accompanied by his shape-shifting animal Puar. With his Wolf’s Fang Fist fighting ability, it was not strong enough to beat Goku and thus he ends up assisting both Goku and Bulma along the way in order to get the Dragon Balls.

Krillin – A former monk who has been bullied by his other monks. He goes to Master Roshi for training and trains alongside Goku and becomes a rival but also good friends with him.

Other Characters:

Puar – A shape shifting animal who can shape-shift for a long period of time and hangs around Yamcha.

Upu – A young Indian friend of Goku. His father was killed by Mercenary Tao and now he goes with Goku to find the seventh ball.

Korin – The guardian of Korin Tower who has the sacred water which Goku needs.

Fortuneteller Baba – Master Roshi’s oldest sister who uses her psychic abilities for financial gain.

Master Shen - An old rival/friend of Master Roshi who trained under the same master but went towards a darker path. Also, the brother of Mercenary Tao.

Tien – A stuent of Master Shen and a dangerous martial arts fighter with three eyes.

Chiaotzu – A student of Master Shen and Tien’s best friend.

The Villains:

Emperor Pilaf – The main antagonist of Bulma and Goku who is trying to collect all the Dragon Balls. He calls himself the emperor and expects Shu and Mai to find the Dragon Balls.

Shu – A ninja fox who works for Emperor Pilaf. Tends to be a bit misunderstood and clumsy.

Mai - The gun-toting henchman for Emperor Pilaf.

Red Ribbon Army – Not much is known about the Red Ribbon Army but they are ruthless and will do anything to obtain the Dragon Balls. The Red Ribbon Army is led by Commander Red who sends out this generals to go after the Dragon Balls.

Officer Black - Commander Red’s right hand man.

General White - The leader of the Red Ribbon Army’s northern forces and threatens the peaceful Jingle Village.

General Blue – The strongest general of the Red Ribbon Army and very arrogant.

Mercenary Tao – The powerful mercenary who charges an exuberant fee to his clients but because he’s known for his strength and ability that surpasses anyone the Red Army has seen, he is a major force to be reckon with.

“Dragon Ball – Season Three” features a total of 31 episodes on five DVD’s. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

DISC 1:

EPISODE 62 – Sacred Water – Goku tries to get the magic water from Korin.
EPISODE 63 – The Return of Goku – Goku goes to find Mercenary Tao.
EPISODE 64 – The Last of Mercenary Tao – Mercenary Tao tries to climb the Tower of Korin.
EPISODE 65 – Confront the Red Army – Goku goes to confront the Red Ribbon Army.
EPISODE 66 – A Real Bind – Goku goes to take on Commander Red.
EPISODE 67 – The End of Commander Red – Goku vs. Officer Black
EPISODE 68 – The Last Dragon Ball – Goku vs. Commander Black
EPISODE 69 – Who is Fortuneteller Baba? – Goku and friends go to meet Fortuneteller Baba in order to find the seventh Dragon Ball.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 70 – We Are the Five Warriors – Fortuneteller Baba sets the rules in order for her to help Goku. Her five vs. Gokyu, Krillin, Yamcha, Puar and Upu.
EPISODE 71 – Deadly Battle – Yamcha fights the next battle after Krillins fight with Fangs.
EPISODE 72 – Goku’s Turn – Yamacha takes on Bandages the mummy.
EPISODE 73 – The Devilmite Beam – Goku vs. Bandages the mummy.
EPISODE 74 – The Mysterious Fifth Man – Goku vs. Spike the Devil Man
EPISODE 75 – The Strong Ones – Goku takes on the mysterious fifth warrior.

DISC 3:

EPISODE 76 – True Colors of the Masked Man – Who is the mysterious fifth warrior?
EPISODE 77 – Pilaf’s Tactics – Pilaf has the final Dragon Ball but wants to make a wager against Goku in order to get all six Dragon Balls.
EPISODE 78 – The Eternal Dragon Rises – Goku and Upu call the Eternal Dragon.
EPISODE 79 – Terror and Plague – Goku begins his solo adventures. The first helping Chao save her village.
EPISODE 80 – Goku vs. Sky Dragon – Goku goes to another village to help another person in need.
EPISODE 81 – Goku Goes to Demon Land – When Goku goes to a village, a girl was kidnapped by a demon. Now Goku goes to save her.
EPISODE 82 – The Rampage of InoShikaCho – The beast InaShikaCho is causing damage and destruction and Goku goes to help the villagers who fear the monster.

DISC 4:

EPISODE 83 – Which Way to Papaya Island? – Two years have passed and now it’s time for the World Martial Arts Tournament and a slightly taller Goku goes to join his friends.
EPISODE 84 – Rivals and Arrivals – With the World Martial Arts Tournament beginning, Yamcha and Krillin wonder where Goku could be.
EPISODE 85 – Preliminary Peril – Yamcha and Krillin take on their first match against their challengers.
EPISODE 86 – Then There Were Eight – Goku takes on King Chapa
EPISODE 87 – Yamcha vs. Tien – Yamcha takes on Tien
EPISODE 88 – Yamcha’s Big Break – Yamcha and Tien continue their battle.
EPISODE 89 – Full-Moon Vengeance – Jackie Chun vs. the Man Wolf

DISC 5:

EPISODE 90 – The Dodon Wave – Krillin vs. Chiaotzu
EPISODE 91 – Counting Controversy! – Continuing the battle between Krillin vs. Chiatozu.
EPISODE 92 – Goku Enters the Ring – Goku takes on the movie star challenger Pamput.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

As for the audio, similar to the recent FUNimation Entertainment “Dragon Ball Z” and “Dragon Ball GT” releases, the English voice track with original Japanese music comes in 5.1 Surround, while the Japanese voice track is in its original Japanese mono. I watched both English and Japanese and of course, there are some changes in the English dialogue (ie. Master Roshi and in the Japanese track, Kamesama Sennen) and grew up watching the original Japanese version but for the most part, I have enjoyed the “Dragon Ball Z” and “Dragon Ball GT” dubwork and similar to those two series, I found th English dubwork for “Dragon Ball” to be quite solid. Dialogue is clear and understandable and for audio settings, for both audio tracks, I found the best setting for me was to select on my receiver “Stereo on all Channels”.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Dragon Ball – Season Three” comes with the textless opening and closing theme songs and FUNimation Entertainment trailers plus a 24-page booklet with character information and episode synopsis.

So, far this latest volume of “Dragon Ball” is my favorite yet. For “Dragon Ball Z” fans who enjoyed more action-oriented storylines, this volume is definitely action-driven.

Also, we get a glimpse of situations that become important in the “Dragon Ball Z” storyline such as Goku getting acquainted with Korin and Goku having his first sensu bean. Also, plenty of battles with Goku taking on Mercenary Tao, the Red Ribbon Army and also the World Martial Arts Tournament where we get to see future Z-warriors Tien and Chiaotzu.

There really is nothing negative that can be said about this latest volume. If you are a “Dragon Ball” fan, it’s simply a must buy. This is the best release I have seen of the anime series thus far in the US and the fact that you are getting over 30 episodes in one set is an amazing deal.

And if you have collected the first two seasons, it just gets better from there and expect about two more volumes of “Dragon Ball”, just in time as FUNimation Entertainment prepares its HD release of “Dragon Ball Z Kai” (note: “Dragon Ball Z” is currently available, also in its uncut Japanese version featured in the “Dragon Box” DVD sets from FUNimation Entertainment”. Hopefully, we will see a re-release or maybe a Blu-ray release of the “Dragon Ball” films.

Overall, “Dragon Ball – Season Three” is another awesome volume for the series and its literally a series that gets better and better. Definitely recommended!

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Dragon Ball Z – Dragon Box Z Vol. 2 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

February 9, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The second action-packed volume of “Dragon Ball Z” via “Dragon Box Z” is here! Dragon Ball Z fans have waited a long time for the show to come to the US the way it was presented in Japan. 20-years after the first episode appeared in Japan, hardcore DBZ fans have gotten their wish in getting the original episodes in 4:3 format, the original opening and ending scenes, original next episode previews and very cool packaging and hardcover book. Highly recommended to the fans who have wanted the show in its original Japanese presentation and have not purchased the previous Dragon Ball Z volume releases.

TITLE: Dragon Ball Z – Dragon Box Z Vol. 2

DURATION: Episodes 43-84 (1025 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: Japanese Voice track with original music mono, English voice track with original Japanese Music 5.1 surround, 4:3, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV PG

Released on February 16, 2010

Based on the manga and created by Akira Toriyama

Directed by Daisuke Nishio

Series Composition: Takao Koyama

Character Design by Yuji Ikeda

Music by Shunsuke Kikuchi

Screenplay: Aya Matsui, Hiroshi Toda, Jun Maekawa, Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Keiji Terui, Masashi Kubota, Reiko Yoshida, Satoru Akahori, Sumio Uetaka, Takao Koyama, Toshiki Inoue, Yoshiyuki Suga

Featuring the following voice talent:

Masako Nozawa/Zoe Slusar as Son Goku

Masako Nozawa/Hyle Herbert as Son Gohan

Masako Nozawa/Robert McCollum as Son Goten

Takeshi Kusao/Eric Vale as Trunks

Ryo Horikawa/Christopher R. Sabat as Vegeta

Hiromi Tsuru/Tiffany Volmer as Bulma

Kozo Shioya/Josh Martin as Majin Buu

Naoko Watanabe/Cynthia Cranz as Chichi

Mayumi Tanaka/Sonny Strait as Kuririn

Ryo Horikawa/Christopher R. Sabat as Piccolo

Yuko Minaguchi/Lucy Small as Videl

Hirotaka Suzuoki – Tinshinhan

Tohru Furuya – Yamucha

Miki Itou/Meredith McCoy as Andrid No. 18

Daisuke Gouri/Don Brown as Mr. Satan (Hercule)

Michael Dobson as Supreme Kai

The battle to harness the power of the seven Dragon Balls explodes in vivid detail like never before. The Dragon Box features over 40 uncut episodes, remastered and restored frame by frame, rendering the legendary action in pristine clarity. Each episode is presented in Japanese with the complete opening and closing credits and includes the original episode previews.

Having suffered heavy losses in the battle with the Saiyans, and with Goku still recovering from his injuries, the remaining Z-Fighters must embark on a perilous journey to Planet Namek in search of the Namekian Dragon Balls. Unbeknownst to them, however, a powerful new enemy has set his sights on the same prize: the ruthless tyrant Frieza!

Contains episodes 42-83.

For the hardcore “Dragon Ball Z” fans of the original Japanese animation, the previous box sets were not what the diehard fans were wanting. So, FUNimation Entertainment is bringing the Japanese limited edition Dragon Box Z to the US featuring over 40 episodes, digitally remastered (frame by frame) and using the correct aspect ratio (4:3). Definitely for the hardcore fans of the class Japanese anime episodes of “Dragon Ball Z”.

But…

The second volume of the Dragon Boz features episodes 43-84 on six DVD’s. The DVD’s are numbered Disc 7-12 in this latest volume.

In the second volume of the “Dragon Ball Z – Dragon Box Z”, the set continues the Namek Saga and begins the Freeza Saga as the evil tyrant now has five of the Dragon Balls. Gohan, Bulma and Kuririn are in the Planet Namek searching for the Dragon Balls. Meanwhile, his henchmen Dodoria and Zarbon continue to look for the remaining two dragon balls and pursues after Vegeta.

Meanwhile, a deceased Goku continues his training and awaits for Gohan and team to find the Dragon Balls so they can return him back to the living. With Gohan and Kuririn teaming up with Vegeta in order to find the Dragon Balls, the Ginyu Corps arrive in Planet Nemek to make sure they don’t get far and setting up major battles between both parties.

With the scales leaning more towards Freeza’s side, will Goku arrive back in time in order to defeat Freeza and the Ginyu Corps?

The main characters during this part of the series are:

Kuririn – Goku’s childhood friend who accompanies Gohan and Bulma to find the Dragon Balls in the Planet Nemek.

Kaiosama – One of the Kings who trains Goku on how to fight with gravity ten times greater than Earth at Kaio’s world.

The main enemies in this set are:

Freeza – The evil tyrant known as “Emperor of Evil” responsible for destroying many planets including the planet Saiyan.

Zarbon and Dodoria – The henchman of Freeza

Ginyu Special Corps – Freeza’s elite team of warriors. Five members led by Commander Ginyu and features the members Butta, Jheese, ReaCoom and Ghurd.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Dragon Ball Z” via this “Dragon Box Z Vol. 2″ set contains episodes featured in standard definition (4:3 aspect ratio). The colors are much different than the previous box set where colors were deeper and more pronounced, the colors of the series features its original presentation as it was in Japan and of course, restored frame by frame in which the previous season was not. Personally, I don’t have a preference to which is better but if anything, this set is for the hardcore fans who preferred the original Japanese presentation.

But for a series that debuted back in 1989, you have to acknowledge how good the transfer was for this restoration. Granted, there is a “Dragon Ball Kai” currently airing in Japan in High Definition but for this release, considering it’s 20-years-later, for the diehard fans who have wanted these episodes in its original presentation for so long, Pony Canyon definitely did a very good job on restoration and again, great to see FUNimation Entertainment bring this box set to the US.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Dragon Box Z Vol. 2″ doesn’t come with any special features but it comes with cool packaging and an awesome booklet. What we have is a yellow slip case box with Vegeta on the front, unlike the season box sets which were gateway folded, the DVD’s are presented in two foil covered DVD cases and are presented in Japanese style with the first disc on the right hand side and the two discs on the left.

Also included is a hardcover 50-page booklet titled “Dragonbook” in Japanese style which has information on each character, episode summary, fashion and design works collection are featured. It’s a pretty solid presentation for the hardcore fans and I have to admit, looks way cooler than the previous orange box sets.

Do I have a preference on which I like better? Well having watch both…and enjoying the season box sets, I am actually content with both but I will have to say that “Dragon Box Z” has a much cooler packaging presentation and about 6-8 more episodes but you will be paying about $15 more. So, it’s really up to you if it’s worth it. Personally, if you just want to see the episodes and prefer to watch it with the English dubs, the original season box sets can be found for a great price these days and were solid releases to begin with, it was just not to the liking of those who wanted the original Japanese presentation.

This box set was created for those who wanted “Dragon Ball Z” to be presented how it was in Japan and they have waited a long, long time for it. So, I look at these box sets as fans are now getting the best of both worlds and now those fans should be happy. Now the only thing is left will be the Blu-ray fans who will be clamoring for “Dragon Ball Kai” (“Dragon Ball Z” minus the filler episodes, remastered with new intro and vocals all re-recorded) and want their HD fix and truthfully, I can’t wait to see how gorgeous the series will look whenever it is released in the US especially with lossless HD Japanese audio, but for now, don’t expect DBK to come out in the US anytime soon. Your good with the original season box sets or the Dragon Box set. Again, both are solid releases.

In terms of the the episodes featured in this volume, the Freeza saga is possibly the longest saga in the “Dragon Ball Z” series (especially if you include the Planet Namek series) as the majority of the episodes focus on Vegeta, Gohan, Kuririn and Bulma. There are a good number of battles and Vegeta fans will surely love this volume as he takes on Freeza’s henchmen and then the battle against the Ginyu Force begins. As for Goku fans, you’ll have to wait until vol. 3 because the battle between Goku and Freeza is coming up soon! And definitely one of my favorite story arcs of the “Dragon Ball Z” series.

Overall, for its presentation, 40+ episodes in its original presentation, remastered and its’ cool packaged content… for those hardcore fans who have waited this long, “Dragon Ball Z – Dragon Box Vol. 2″ is highly recommended.

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Dragon Ball Z – Dragon Box Z Vol. 1 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

November 20, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Dragon Ball Z fans have waited a long time for the show to come to the US the way it was presented in Japan. 20-years after the first episode appeared in Japan, hardcore DBZ fans will finally get their wish with a beautiful remastered “Dragon Box Z” featuring the original episodes in 4:3 format, original opening and ending scenes, original next episode previews and very cool packing and hardcover book. Highly recommended!

TITLE: Dragon Ball Z – Dragon Box Z Vol. 1

DURATION: Episodes 1-42 (1050 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: Japanese Voice track with original music mono, English voice track with original Japanese Music 5.1 surround, 4:3, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV PG

Released on November 17, 2009

Based on the manga and created by Akira Toriyama

Directed by Daisuke Nishio

Series Composition: Takao Koyama

Character Design by Yuji Ikeda

Music by Shunsuke Kikuchi

Screenplay: Aya Matsui, Hiroshi Toda, Jun Maekawa, Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Keiji Terui, Masashi Kubota, Reiko Yoshida, Satoru Akahori, Sumio Uetaka, Takao Koyama, Toshiki Inoue, Yoshiyuki Suga

Featuring the following voice talent:

Masako Nozawa/Zoe Slusar as Son Goku

Masako Nozawa/Hyle Herbert as Son Gohan

Masako Nozawa/Robert McCollum as Son Goten

Takeshi Kusao/Eric Vale as Trunks

Ryo Horikawa/Christopher R. Sabat as Vegeta

Hiromi Tsuru/Tiffany Volmer as Bulma

Kozo Shioya/Josh Martin as Majin Buu

Naoko Watanabe/Cynthia Cranz as Chichi

Mayumi Tanaka/Sonny Strait as Kuririn

Ryo Horikawa/Christopher R. Sabat as Piccolo

Yuko Minaguchi/Lucy Small as Videl

Hirotaka Suzuoki – Tinshinhan

Tohru Furuya – Yamucha

Miki Itou/Meredith McCoy as Andrid No. 18

Daisuke Gouri/Don Brown as Mr. Satan (Hercule)

Michael Dobson as Supreme Kai

The Ultimate for any Dragon Ball Z Collector!

Originally produced in limited quantities in Japan, the incredibly rare Dragon Box has long been the ultimate prize for avid Dragon Ball Z collectors. Now this coveted collection has been reproduced for the first time in the United States, delivering the authentic original Dragon Ball Z experience to hardcore fans.

The battle to harness the power of the seven Dragon Balls explodes in vivid detail like never before. The Dragon Box features over 40 uncut episodes, remastered and restored frame by frame, rendering the legendary action in pristine clarity. Each episode is presented in Japanese with the complete opening and closing credits and includes the original episode previews.

Truly the essential edition for Dragon Ball Z purists, this set isn’t an addition to your archive – it is your archive. Your wish is finally granted. The Dragon Box is here.

But…

But this goes to show you how FUNimation Entertainment does care for its fans and not sure if they received a lot of mail from hardcore fans but they decided to bring out “Dragon Box Z Volume 1″. In Japan, these episodes were cleaned frame by frame and removing jitter and some grain. Keeping the original colors but most importantly for the fans, keeping everything intact including the 4:3 aspect ratio.

With the first volume of the first volume, the first 42-episodes on six DVD’s are included. As for the series, aside from the technical differences as mentioned earlier, because the series focuses on the Japanese version of the show, the names of characters are different as the Japanese versions uses “Kamisama-hen” versus “Master Roshi”, Kaio the Genki Dama versus “King Kai”, “Tenshinhan” versus “Tien”. But the DVD’s come with both Japanese and English dubbing.

“Dragon Ball Z” begins five years after the finale on “Dragon Ball”, after Goku defeated King Piccolo. “Dragon Ball Z” begins with Goku introducing his friends to his young son Gohan. But while things seem peaceful, unfortunately things are going to go from peaceful to downright terrible when Goku’s brother from the planet Saiyan, Raditz, goes to check and see if Goku has destroyed the planet Earth. But Goku, who was raised by the peaceful Gohan when he was a baby grew up compassionate towards the living life on Earth and swore to protect it.

Needless, to say Raditz is disappointed and decides to kidnap Gohan in order to fight a battle against Goku. Both Goku and Piccolo decide to work together in order to beat Raditz and rescue Gohan.

So, the first arc of this box set features Raditz arriving on Earth and the fight that ensues and a major character is killed off. The second arc features Piccolo training Gohan to become stronger while Goku trains at Kaio-sama’s world and the arrival of the two Saiyans: Vegeta and Nappa who take on Earth’s toughest warriors which include Yamucha, Tenshinhan, Krillin, Piccolo and Gohan. This arc features even more deaths of characters. The third arc features a battle between Goku and Vegeta and a death of another major character. The final fourth arc features Bulma, Krillin and Gohan searching for the dragon balls from the Planet Namek.

The main characters during this part of the series are:

Goku – Now an adult, married to Chichi and has a son named Gohan. Constantly training in order to become stronger. Still naive and hungry as he was when he was younger.

Gohan - Goku’s young son. Goku realizes that Gohan has strong potential but during an unfortunate incident, asks for Piccolo to train his son in fighting to protect people and the planet.

Piccolo – Still a rival to Goku but during these dire circumstances, the two form an alliance. Due to circumstances, Piccolo accepts Goku’s request to train Gohan.

Chichi – Goku’s wife, Gohan’s mother who is very strict. She does not want Gohan to be like his father and makes him study.

Bulma – A woman still developing products at her father’s company, Capsule Corp. and uses her intelligence to solve the Z Warriors under dire circumstances.

Kaiosama – One of the Kings who trains Goku on how to fight with gravity ten times greater than Earth at Kaio’s world.

Z-Warriors: Krillin, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Chaozu, Kamisama-sen, Yajirobe are continuing their training to protect people from the Saiyan invaders.

The main enemies:

Raditz – Goku’s older brother who is so upset that Goku has not destroyed the planet Earth and now set on killing him.

Vegeta – The Prince of Saiyan and the most powerful Saiyajin of them all. Comes to Earth in order to destroy it but wants to fight the strongest of the planet.

Nappa – Sidekick of Vegeta and tremendously strong.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Dragon Ball Z” via this “Dragon Box Z Vol. 1″ set presents the episodes in standard definition, 4:3 aspect ratio. The colors are much different than the previous box set where colors were deeper and more pronounced, the colors of the series features its original presentation as it was in Japan and of course, restored frame by frame in which the previous season was not. Personally, I don’t have a preference to which is better but if anything, this set is for the hardcore fans who preferred the original Japanese presentation.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Dragon Box Z Vol. 1″ doesn’t come with special features but it comes with cool packaging and an awesome booklet. What we have is a yellow slip case box with Goku on the front, unlike the season box sets which were gateway folded, the DVD’s are presented in two foil covered DVD cases and are presented in Japanese style with the first disc on the right hand side and the two discs on the left.

Do I have a preference on which I like better? Well having watch both…and enjoying the season box sets, I am actually content with both but I will have to say that “Dragon Box Z” has a much cooler packaging presentation and about 6-8 more episodes but you will be paying about $15 more. So, it’s really up to you if it’s worth it. Personally, if you just want to see the episodes and prefer to watch it with the English dubs, the original season box sets can be found for a great price these days and were solid releases to begin with, it was just not to the liking of those who wanted the original Japanese presentation.

This box set was created for those who wanted “Dragon Ball Z” to be presented how it was in Japan and they have waited a long, long time for it. So, I look at these box sets as fans are now getting the best of both worlds and now those fans should be happy. Now the only thing is left will be the Blu-ray fans who will be clamoring for “Dragon Ball Kai” (“Dragon Ball Z” minus the filler episodes, remastered with new intro and vocals all re-recorded) and want their HD fix and truthfully, I can’t wait to see how gorgeous the series will look whenever it is released in the US especially with lossless HD Japanese audio, but for now, don’t expect DBK to come out in the US anytime soon. Your good with the original season box sets or the Dragon Box set. Again, both are solid releases.

Overall, for its presentation, 42-episodes in its original presentation, remastered and its’ cool packaged content… for those hardcore fans who have waited this long, “Dragon Ball Z – Dragon Box Vol. 1″ is highly recommended.

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Dragon Ball – Season One (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

September 6, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“Enjoyable, addicting and absolutely awesome! This is the animated series that introduced Goku, Bulma, Krillin, Yamcha and friends. 31 Episodes in one volume, you’re definitely getting your money’s worth with this release. Highly recommended!”

DVD TITLE: Dragon Ball – Seasone One

DURATION: 31 Episodes, 5 DVD’s (745 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: 4:3, English Voice Track with Original Japanese music 5.1 Surround, Japanese Voice Track with Original Music Mono

COMPANY: Toei Animation/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV 14

Release Date: August 25, 2009

Originally created by Akira Toriyama

Directed by Daisuke Nisho and Minoru Okazaki

Music by Shusuke Kikuchi

Character Designs by Minoru Maeda, Yuki Ikeda

Anime Production by Toei Anime

Featuring the following voice talent:

Masao Nozawa/Stephanie Nadolny as Son Goku

Hiromi Tsuru/Tiffany Vollmer as Bulma

Daisuke Gouri as Umigame

Eiko Yamada/Julie Franklin as Mai

Kenji Utsumi/Christopher R. Sabat as Shen Long

Kohei Miyauchi/Mike McFarland as Kame Sennin (Master Roshi)

Mayumi Shou/Laura Bailey as Chi Chi

Mayumi Tanaka as Krillin

Naoki Tatsuta/Brad Jackson as Oolong

Naoko Watanabe/Monika Antonelli as Pu’erh (Puar)

Christopher R. Sabat as Grandpa Gohan and Turtle

Shigeru Chiba/Chuck Huber as Pilaf

Tohru Furuya as Yamcha

Duncan Brannan as Monster Carrot

The greatest adventure of all time begins now!

Goku may be small, but this fearless warrior packs a punch as powerful as any on the planet. Left alone after his grandfather’s and eating some more. But all that changes on the day he meets Bulma – a bossy, blue-haired beauty with boys on the brain. Together, they set out to track down the seven magic Dragon Balls and make the wish that they will change their lives forever.

And that’s just the beginning! Goku also spends some time on Turtle Island where he and Krillin study martial arts under the legendary Master Roshi. The old hermit may not look like much, but if his new pupils can find him a woman, he’ll make sure they’re ready to rumble at the upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament.

Season One of Dragon Ball is a must-have for everyone from the die-hard fan to the next generation of collectors.

But now the episodes will be released in the USA for the first season of “Dragon Ball” for the first time uncut, remastered and digitally restored.

“Dragon Ball” focuses on Son Goku, a boy who is not familiar with any humans but his Grandpa Gohan. One day, a teenage girl named Bulma uses her Dragon Ball radar to track down a Dragon Ball belonging to Goku. Goku explains to her that he never seen any female humans before but his grandfather taught him to be nice to them. He also explains that the Dragon Ball he has was given to him as a gift by his grandfather.

Bulma who has accumulated a few Dragon Balls herself wants to find the remaining Dragon Balls in order to grant herself a wish. Goku decides to join her on her quest to find the Dragon Balls and along the way the two have their own set of challenges.

“Dragon Ball” focuses on the following characters:

Son Goku – Not much is known about Goku’s past. He was found by a man he calls Grandpa Gohan and trained to be a boy who loves nature and people. And has incredible strength and fighting ability. He was warned by his grandfather to never look at the moon but one day he did and turned into a giant ape and accidentally killed his grandfather. Although not too familiar with humans, he meets a female named Bulma for the first time who is trying to look for Dragon Balls. Having own the #4 Dragon Ball which his grandfather gave him, he decides to join her on a quest to find the remaining Dragon Balls (seven total).

Bulma – A teenager who’s father is a scientist and owner of the Capsule Corporation. A technology that people can store vehicles, homes and storage into a tiny capsule. When thrown, the capsule turns into the actual object that was stored. She’s rather impulsive and outspoken. Her dream is to find the Dragon Ballas and make a wish in order to get a perfect boyfriend.

Krillin – A former monk who has been bullied by his other monks. He goes to Master Roshi for training and trains alongside Goku and becomes a rival but also good friends with him.

Master Roshi (Kamisama-sen) – An old lecherous man who trained Grandpa Gohan and the Ox King to fight. Despite looking like an old man, he has a tremendous fighting ability and is known for his devasting attack known as the Kamehameha. He then takes Goku and Krillin as his students.

Other Characters:

Puar – A shape shifting animal who can shape-shift for a long period of time and hangs around Yamcha.

The Ox-King - Many fear the Ox-King who rules Fire Mountain and is the father of Chi Chi. Aside from his brute strength, this huge man is a goodhearted guy who just hated people for trying to steal from him. He also cares deeply about his daughter and does everything to make her happy.

Chi Chi - A girl who is smitten with Goku and wants to marry him. The daughter of the Ox-King.

Launch – A woman that Master Roshi likes and when normal, she’s a regular, innocent girl. But when she sneezes, she becomes a whole new different woman with a bad attitude.

The Villains:

Emperor Pilaf – The main antagonist of Bulma and Goku who is trying to collect all the Dragon Balls. He calls himself the emperor and expects Shu and Mai to find the Dragon Balls.

Shu – A ninja fox who works for Emperor Pilaf. Tends to be a bit misunderstood and clumsy.

Mai - The gun-toting henchman for Emperor Pilaf.

Colonel Silver – The ruthless high-ranking official of the Red Ribbon Army who will squash anyone in his way in order to find the Dragon Balls.

Red Ribbon Army – Not much is known about the Red Ribbon Army but they are ruthless and are led by Colonel Silver.

“Dragon Ball – Season One” features a total of 31 episodes on five DVD’s. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

DISC 1:

EPISODE 1- Secret of the Dragon Balls – Bulma and Goku meet for the first time.
EPISODE 2- The Emperor’s Quest – Another group looking for the Dragon Balls.
EPISODE 3 – The Nimbus Cloud of Roshi – Goku tries to help a turtle get to his home.
EPISODE 4 – Oolong the Terrible – Bulma and Goku find a Dragon Ball in a nearby village but the village has been terrorized by something called Oolong the Terrible.
EPISODE 5 – Yamcha the Desert Bandit – Yamcha, the bandit from the desert challenges Goku.
EPISODE 6 – Keep an Eye on the Dragon Balls – Oolong joins Bulma and Goku on their quest for the Dragon Balls.
EPISODE 7 – The Ox-King on Fire Mountain – The next Dragon Ball may not be easy to find especially since its located inside the home of the Ox-King.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 8 – The Kamehameha Wave – Goku and Chi Chi go to Master Roshi for help to calm the fire at Fire mountain.
EPISODE 9 – Boss Rabbit’s Magic Touch – While at another village, a rabbit turns Bulma into a carrot. Will Goku be able to beat this troublesome rabbit.
EPISODE 10 – The Dragon Balls are Stolen – Emperor Pilaf and his group try to steal the Dragon Balls from Bulma.
EPISODE 11 – The Penalty is Pinball – Emperor Pilaf traps the Goku and friends in a game of pinball.
EPISODE 12 – A Wish to the Eternal Dragon – Who will make the wish to Shenlong after the Dragon Balls are gathered.
EPISODE 13 – The Legend of Goku - Bulma and Oolong learn why Grandpa Gohan told Goku not to look at the moon.
EPISODE 14 – Goku’s Rival – Goku meets his rival/training partner Krillin.

DISC 3:

EPISODE 15 – Look Out for Launch – Goku and Krillin must find a date for Master Roshi in order to receive training.
EPISODE 16 – Find that Stone! - Goku and Krillin continue to train while the woman Launch has a secret.
EPISODE 17 – Milk Delivery – Goku and Krillin delivery milk as part of their training.
EPISODE 18 – The Turtle Hermit Way – Will Goku and Krillin survive Master Roshi’s training.
EPISODE 19 – The Tournament Begins – Goku and Krillin take part in their first World Martial Arts Tournament.
EPISODE 20 – Elimination Round – Goku and Krillin take on their first opponents in the tournament.
EPISODE 21 – Smells Like Trouble - Krillin must go against the very smelly and foul Bacterian.

DISC 4:

EPISODE 22- Quarterfinals Begin – Yamcha fights an old man named Jackie Chun in the tournament.
EPISODE 23 – Monster Beast Giran – Goku takes on the frightening beast Giran in the tournament.
EPISODE 24 – Krillin’s Frantic Attack! – Krilllin takes on Jackie Chun in the semi-finals of the tournament.
EPISODE 25 – Danger From Above – Goku takes on Nam in the semi-finals of the tournament.
EPISODE 26 – The Grand Finals – The finals of the World Martial Arts Tournament featuring Goku vs. Jackie Chun.
EPISODE 27 – Number One Under the Moon? – When a full moon comes out during the tournament, Goku changes to an ape.
EPISODE 28 – The Final Blow – Jackie Chun must end the battle with Goku (in ape form) before anyone gets killed.

DISC 5:

EPISODE 29 – The Roaming Lake – Goku looks for his grandfather’s Dragon Ball.
EPISODE 30 – Pilaf and the Mystery Force - While Emperor Pilaf and his group search for the Dragon Ball, so is the mysterious Red Army.
EPISODE 31- Wedding Plans? – One of the Dragon Balls is in the possession of the Ox-King and with Goku to return, will it be a grand wedding for Goku and Chi Chi?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

So, it is great to see this uncut, remastered and digitally restored version on DVD. Presented in its original format of 4:3, one thing I noticed is how good this anime series looked on DVD. The series is nearly 25 years old and just watching it, FUNimation Entertainment did a great job in bringing this series out and making it look very good with only a hint of dust particles and scratches but for the most part, this remastered version definitely looked very good on DVD.

As for the audio, similar to the recent FUNimation Entertainment “Dragon Ball Z” and “Dragon Ball GT” releases, the English voice track with original Japanese music comes in 5.1 Surround, while the Japanese voice track is in its original Japanese mono. I watched both English and Japanese and of course, there are some changes in the English dialogue (ie. Master Roshi and in the Japanese track, Kamesama Sennen) and grew up watching the original Japanese version but for the most part, I have enjoyed the “Dragon Ball Z” and “Dragon Ball GT” dubwork that I found the English dubwork for “Dragon Ball” to be quite solid. Dialogue is clear and understandable and for audio settings, for both audio tracks, I found the best setting for me was to select on my receiver “Stereo on all Channels”.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Dragom Ball – Season One” comes with the textless opening and closing theme songs and FUNimation Entertainment trailers.

Enjoyable, addicting and absolutely awesome!

That’s how I felt after watching the first season of “Dragon Ball”. I thought it was absolutely fabulous that the FUNimation Entertainment has released the series uncut, remastered and digitally restored but to also release the first 31 episodes as a box set like they did with “Dragon Ball Z” and “Dragon Ball GT”. For fans of any of the “Dragon Ball” series, not so long ago, it cost a lot of money just to purchase separate volumes of the series (which typically came with only a few episodes) and now, here we are several years later and definitely getting our money’s worth.

Also, to watch this series once again, not only was it a nostalgic time for me, it was just great to see the episodes and watching how fun, humorous and action-packed they were. Each episode was absolutely addicting and it was great seeing how awesome of a fighter Master Roshi (Kamesama Sennen) was back then and just seeing how the story evolved pre-Dragon Ball Z. Also, to see Bulma and Yamcha during their younger years was fun as well.

Although “Dragon Ball” is not as intense or action-oriented like “Dragon Ball Z”, the series still manages to capture a lot of action and although this is Goku when he was much, much younger, even then, he was no slouch and had very good fighting ability. And there was more emphasis on the storyline as well.

For parents wondering about the TV 14 rating, part of it is because Goku is nude quite a few times and also, when he finds out that females are not the same as males (and he hasn’t been around humans all that long), Goku tends to touch people in the crotch to see if they are male or female. Also, during Krillin’s fight with Bacterium, there are things that the opponent does that you will never seen in a television series, let alone an animated series. And the characters of Oolong and even Master Roshi are characters that are quite perverted.

As for the DVD, as mentioned, this is the best I have seen “Dragon Ball” look and 31 episodes for the first volume is pretty much a bargain for what it’s sold for. Granted, I wish there were some special features included outside of textless theme songs but overall, you’re getting your money’s worth with these box set releases.

Granted, if I had to find a negative and wanted to be nitpicky, I can easily complain that the fifth disc only contains three episodes and that the Japanese audio track was not in Dolby Digital 5.1 but truthfully, 31 episodes is still plentiful and for purists, you do get the Japanese audio track in its original mono format. Really, there is nothing I can really complain about this release. It’s a very solid release that is affordable and just worth it!

Overall, “Dragon Ball – Season One” is another wonderful release from FUNimation Entertainment. Fans of any of the “Dragon Ball” series will definitely want to make sure this one is in their collection. Highly recommended!

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Dragon Ball Z – Season 6 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

October 9, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“The season 6 box set will probably be one of the better selling of the ‘Dragon Ball Z’ sets due to the popularity of the battles against Cell. Definitely loads of action and for those that waited for Gohan and even Trunks unleash their full power, you’re going to love this season!”

BUY THIS DVD

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: DRAGON BALL Z (SEASON 6)

DURATION: 700 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Animated, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC

COMPANY: Funimation

Released on September 16, 2008

Having at last achieved his Perfect Form the evil Cell’s powers have soared to terrible new heights overshadowing even the greatest of the Z-Fighters. Eager to demonstrate these newfound abilities and prove his superiority Cell proposes a tournament. He issues an ultimatum to the people of Earth: produce a worthy opponent or die!The day of reckoning upon them Goku and the Z-Fighters line up to participate in Cell’s twisted game the world’s best hope of defeating the monster. But they are not the only ones brave enough to accept the challenge – the reigning World Martial Arts Champion Mr. Satan has also stepped into the ring!Now with the fate of the human race hanging in the balance one of these valiant fighters must come forward to defeat the seemingly invincible Perfect Cell – but who will it be?

The Cell saga continues as Cell who has sinced absorbed the androids 17 & 18 is now complete but not it’s time for the battle that everyone has been waiting for. Goku vs. Cell which later becomes Gohan vs. Cell.

Without revealing too many spoilers in regards to this season, not only is it full of action, the series had a great build up of how evil Cell was, his goal to achieve his complete stage but also to showcase the additional characters much stronger than before and trying to take Cell down.

Whereas the Friezer battles were long but I felt a bit drawn out for the sake of having many episodes, with the “Cell” storyline, I just felt that everything came together quite well and didn’t take forever to get towards the conclusion.

I really enjoyed the camaraderie of Goku and his friends and most of all to see Vegita and his acknowledgment that he has things about himself that he really needs to work on.

And you also get the introduction of Mr. Satan, world’s greatest champion which will be interesting on how he and his family become important to the series probably in the next upcoming season. So, definitely stay tuned for that!

But overall, this is another wonderful box set for an awesome animated TV series. Definitely for those who love action and can’t get enough of it.

As for my problems with the last season box set which disc 4-6 only featured three episodes, season 6 fortunately features a full disc 4 but season 5 and 6 has only three episodes each. But I kind of understand as they transition to the next season which will take place several years into the future and these DVD box sets are created to have six discs and not five.

And again, for $29.99, for all these episodes, about the same price or less than buying an American television series box set and Funimation has definitely set the standard which I hope many of the anime industry will follow. You get the bang for your buck for these season box sets!

VIDEO:

The video looks great on DVD and for those of us who have multi-generation fansubs or fading VHS tapes, just having these episodes on DVD and everything looking great. I know some people have a problem with the show receiving some cropping but for me it’s quite miniscule.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Special features include trailers and open and ending themes. If there was one thing lacking, it’s the fact that there are really nothing in terms of special features.

Season 6 was another action-packed season that I could have probably watched in a full sitting. I found myself really attached to each episode and not wanting to stop because there was so much action and this time around, each character has its importance. From Kirilin having feelings for Android 18, Android 16 showing his love for nature and wanting to help the team, Goku showing his newfound power but noticing that his son has an even impressive power, Vegita and Trunks together trying to develop their relationship as father and son which never happened in the future Trunks lived in. And so much more!

This was among my favorite seasons of “Dragon Ball Z” when I first watched it air in Japan but knowing what’s coming soon next season with the Super Saiyaman series and especially the Buu series and more characters and development, I can’t help but be excited with what is coming next from Funimation.

Again, more bang for your buck with these box sets and for “Dragon Ball Z” fans, you don’t want to miss any of them. Check it out!

+ Characters you care about and a good balance with action!

+ One of the best nemesis storylines in the whole series!

+ Pretty awesome battles!

+ One of the best English dubbed anime series, if not the best out there!

- Lags on special features.

- Funimation cut the episode count down on disc 5 through 6 to only 3 episodes.

BUY THIS DVD | Netflix Delivers DVDs to your home. NO LATE FEES. Try for FREE!

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Dragon Ball Z – Season 5 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

September 28, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“The battle against Cell box set is now available in retail but in a surprising change from previous box sets, Funimation puts only three episodes on disc 4-6 instead of the typical 6-7 episodes. A sign for things to come? Still a great deal for its price but I hope this is not a sign for future releases to come.”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: DRAGON BALL Z (SEASON 5)

DURATION: 615 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Animated, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC

COMPANY: Funimation

Released on May 27, 2008

The Z-Fighters gather their forces in an effort to combat the Android menace that has been set loose upon the planet. But they are about to discover that the Androids are the least of their worries. An even greater threat has risen from the shadows: Dr. Gero’s most lethal creation Cell!Born from the genetic material of the greatest warriors ever to walk the Earth Cell is Dr. Gero’s ultimate weapon a perfect fighting machine capable of duplicating all of the Z-Fighters’ most powerful attacks. Now after years of waiting Cell has begun to unleash his terrifying powers wiping out entire cities as he gathers the energy he needs to fulfill his creator’s grand design.Time is short! The Z-Fighters must find a way to stop this monstrous foe before he completes his quest to absorb the other Androids and achieves his invincible Perfect Form!Contains the complete Imperfect and Perfect Cell Sagas (26 episodes).

One of my favorite episodes in the “DRAGON BALL Z” anime series was the Cell saga. The toughest enemy that the team has fought yet and the series focuses on everyone trying to prevent Cell from absorbing the androids while the Saiyan’s Goku and son Gohan and Vegita and his son Trunks (future) train to get stronger, so they can prepare to fight Cell.

With each DVD season box set release of “DRAGON BALL Z”, as a hardcore fan of the series, it’s just incredible to get over 30 episodes for almost the same price or less than most American television box sets.

Season 5 surprisingly in duration wise, shorter than the previous volumes. Where each DVD had around 5 or more episodes, on disc 4-6, there are only three episodes on each disc.

I was surprised and I have to admit that I would be upset if Funimation did this from here on in but I understand that it’s business and with everyone buying these box sets because it’s awesome price for a large number of episodes, you can’t beat it. But I’m just hoping that this is not a permanent decision.

VIDEO:

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Special features include trailers and open and ending themes. If there was one thing lacking, it’s the fact that there are really nothing in terms of special features.

Season 5 ends with a cliffhanger to the upcoming Cell games chapter and at the time of writing this review, Season 6 is now available in retail.

Speaking of the special, the special is not included and I assume that they will hopefully release it with the movie collection re-release. But for those who have never seen it and don’t intend to buy it, there is an episode that shows footage from that special.

Overall, Season 5 is a very good box set. I was put off by the sudden drop of episodes when you reach disc 4 and noticed every disc thereafter only has three episodes. Again, I hope this is not where the future of the box sets are going. But with season 6 now available, I guess I’ll find out.

Nevertheless, you still get over 20 episodes but after being spoiled with 30 or more episodes per box set, it just sucks to get this drop. But I understand it’s a business decision that probably will work since people are hooked on this DVD box set for its sheer amount of episodes and great price.

All in all, another cool box set release from Funimation, just a bit sour about the drop in episodes though.

+ Characters you care about and a good balance with action!

+ Pretty awesome battles!

+ One of the best English dubbed anime series, if not the best out there!

- Lags on special features.

- Funimation cut the episode count down on disc 4 through 6 to only 3 episodes.

BUY THIS DVD

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

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