Wednesday, March 16, 2016

T5W#31-Top 5 Dragon Ball Z Sagas


Dragon Ball Z.  We all know the name.  There was an era when this was the show that got many hooked on Anime.  Whether it was watching it in network syndication or on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block, there was hardly a kid out there who wasn’t singing the praises of this little action show that changed lives forever.  So, as a companion T5W for the ongoing ROCK THE DRAGON Movie Marathon, I figured I’d take a look at my five favorite arcs, or sagas, from Dragon Ball Z.  I’m picking these based on personal fond memories.  Everyone’s got favs that differ from mine (kind of like how I like most of Z before the Buu Saga and really dislike any material featuring Kid Trunks and Goten in the later series).  But for me, these arcs mark the best of Z for me.  Also, there is no way I’m going to ever review Dragon Ball Z, in full, on this blog, just because it is soooooo freaking long.  It would take forever, even if I did a saga every once in a while.  So this is a close to a review of the Z Series as you might get here.  So without further ado…

 

#5-The Saiyan Saga
The one that started it all for Dragon Ball Z.  And actually this was the saga I had to work hard to try and find at first.  The network that first aired DBZ only aired the Namek and start of the Ginyu sagas.  So I had never seen any of Goku’s fight against the Saiyans except in brief flashbacks.  Any time I tracked down a volume of this saga on VHS was an exciting moment.  The first appearance of Vegeta, Nappa and Radditz.  A chance to see the original Z-Team in action.  And, of course, the legendary first duel between Goku and Vegeta.  The epic Kamehameha vs Galick Gun face off was the stuff of legends and full of intensity.  It was a good start for what has been hailed as one of the best action shows on TV.

 

#4-The Kid Buu Saga 
And here we take a tearful look at the end of the Z era.  By the time we got to Kid Buu, it was time to wrap things up.  The fights were fine and the resolution wasn’t bad either.  What makes me add this saga to the list though is the growth I see in Goku and especially Vegeta.  During the final battle with Buu, Vegeta watches on as Goku makes one last, life or death, attack against the pink demon.  And finally, he does something none of us ever thought Vegeta would do…he admits defeat and calls Goku his superior…all with a smile on his face.  Granted this was all in Vegeta’s head and he’d never say this out loud.  Still, the Buu saga was where Z was starting to fall off for me, especially where eternal annoyances Goten and Kid Trunks were concerned.  Bringing Goku and Vegeta back to the forefront for one last fight was a smart move and it paid off.  It was the ending this show deserved.

 

#3-The Frieza Saga
We waited FOREVER for this one.  When it was first aired in the US, Dragon Ball Z was dubbed by The Ocean Group and distributed by Funimation and Saban Entertainment.  Only 53 episodes were aired (edited down from the first 67 episodes which comprised the first two sagas), plus a three part version of the Tree of Might Movie.  Everytime it looked like we were going to get to see Goku take on Frieza and the Ginyus…the series restarted (or Tree of Might aired) and we were left wondering what the hell was going on.  WELL…1999 rolled around.  Funimation got full control of the series and on the now infamous Z-DAY on Toonami…new Dragon Ball Z finally aired.  And we got to see it all: the battles with the Ginyu Force; the Namekian Dragon; Frieza taking on Piccolo, Vegeta and Goku all in turn; the deaths of Vegeta and Krillin; and, most importantly, the ascension of Goku to Super Saiyan.  There was only one other time when it was a good time to be a fan of Dragon Ball Z.  But the Frieza Saga delivered on more than a years worth of expectation…and we couldn’t wait for more.

 

#2-The Trunks Saga
This should be my favorite saga.  For it being so short, The Trunks Saga introduced a lot of what I would come to love about Dragon Ball Z at the time.  Trunks was a bad ass and given the best intro any character could receive.  His showdown with Cyborg Frieza and King Cold was perfect.  And to cap it off, he even sliced Frieza in half with his sword in true bad ass fashion.  Id also be lying if I said I didn’t like the power up/Super Sayian music that was given to Trunks in the English Dub…sooooo epic.  We also got a nice teaser of things to come thanks to Trunks.  A darker threat worse than any foe before was right around the corner.  But until “they” arrived, I was content with my two Trunks Saga VHS tapes and watched them in continuous repeat.  So why wasn’t this my #1 on this list?  Well…

 

#1-The Androids Saga
Because what came after Trunks was the apex of Dragon Ball Z.  I still remember when the Androids Saga was released.  It was one of the few times Suncoast actually played the series in store.  Just before I blew my money saved on the four tapes, I enjoyed a small glimpse of the saga in a crowded store.  We got to see the Goku vs. Android 19 fight and then…Vegeta asked an Android if he ever experience fear…and went Super Saiyan…and the whole store went crazy.  This was probably the last good time we saw the original Z-Team in action together before the Super Saiyans took over the proceedings.  And the Androids themselves, well 16, 17 and 18, were all the threats promised and more.  They were ruthless opponents and It was easy to see why they raised so much hell in Trunks’s future…which made the appearance of 19 and 20 all the more scary when Trunks came back since they weren’t in his timeline.  We were in uncharted territory and even down a Goku for much of this saga.  This saga raised the bar and was, for me, the best time to be a fan of Dragon Ball Z.

The ROCK THE DRAGON Movie Marathon continues all this week here on the Anime Corner.

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