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The Dragon Ball franchise has been around for nearly
30 years now. Akira Toriyama, also known for his work on
numerous video games and other series, created a classic
for the ages when he put the first volume of the Dragon
Ball manga into Shonen Jump magazine in 1984. Like many
manga series, it inspired an anime adaptation. ***
Dragon Ball Z is an anime adaptation of the second
half of Toriyama's manga series, and it serves as the sequel
series to the original Dragon Ball. It was followed by an
anime-exclusive series called Dragon Ball GT, which met
with a mixed reaction from fans. ***
Essentially, Dragon Ball Z picks up 5 years after the
original Dragon Ball left off. Son Goku, the martial artist
the original series revolved around, has married and now
has a child of his own. Of course, periods of peace don't
last long in the Dragon Ball world. It isn't long before
an extraterrestrial villain lands on Earth and tells Goku
of his less-than-favorable origin. As the series progresses,
newer and stranger villains enter the picture - far more
deadly and dangerous than anything our hero has ever faced
before, but his friends are still around to lend a helping
hand. ***
The Z series is generally revered as the best of the
Dragon Ball Trilogy of Series. And it isn't any surprise
why. The battles are at their most intense, the characters
continue to develop, and Toriyama throws in just enough
interesting twists and turns to keep things interesting.
Yes, it gets bogged down in clichés and redundancies at
times, but that doesn't keep fans from loving the series
less - myself included. ***
Prior to 2007, the release history of the Dragon Ball
Franchise in America had been a hit-and-miss one. The first
VHS tapes and DVDs were edited versions. Eventually, FUNimation
began releasing uncut DVDs (including a Japanese audio track),
but these were released in no particular order, and were
insanely overpriced - not to mention they didn't include
every episode, including the first 2 seasons worth. Eventually,
they started releasing those episodes too - but aborted
their plans as quickly as they had started. Does your head
hurt yet? It ought to. ***
In early 2007, FUNimation finally started releasing
affordable Season Sets of the Z series. And those met with
a mixed reception due to the overzealous use of cropping
and noise reduction. Fans stateside were pissed to see Japanese
audiences had gotten a faithful frame-by-frame remastered
version of the series, while those American fans got an
inferior product. ***
Apparently, FUNimation has heard the fan outcry and
gotten the Japanese source, using it to re-re-re-release
(is that enough re's?) the series. Is this the package fans
should have, though? ---
Image And Sound:
After the atrocity of the Z season sets, we finally
have it - the way the series was meant to be enjoyed. The
image features the original colors, no annoying enhancements
or cropping. The image looks a bit grainy and faded, but
these ARE the original, unmodified colors. All things considered,
this is how the show looked when it took to the airwaves
20 years ago. No butchery on FUNimation's part this time
around. We finally get the show as Toriyama and Toei Animation
intended. ***
The Japanese music track is the only one on the disc,
but a (sadly, unrefined) dub track still appears. Sadly,
the Japanese audio is still showing its age, but it definitely
sounds better here than it does on the Season Sets.
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