tatum07 - 2015-03-02 03:46:20

Because this is a cult anime I thought it was good but at the end it was just shitty brainless that fail to make over the top scene with one of the worst design ever. Seriously Dragon Ball Z is just bad, really bad... If you plan to watch it, don't even try and watch anime like "kill la kill" if you want over-the-top action.

rusty98 - 2015-01-07 04:16:09

Vegeta what does the scouter say about the nostalgia levels. It's over 9000!!!!

A truly amazing shounen anime for boys of all ages. if you have yet to watch DBZ then you need to drop everything and go watch it now.

gorn - 2014-12-22 08:07:13

the fight amazing also the character amazing  every thing in dragon ball amizing 

agoyette - 2014-11-18 19:48:46

If you don't like DBZ, you're doing anime wrong tbh. 

harber.adele - 2014-09-02 01:08:59

Original Airing- April 26, 1989 – January 31, 1996

Animation Studio- Toei Animation

Episodes- 291

Original Source Material- Manga by Akira Toriyama 1988-95

Dragon Ball Z is one of the most discussed anime ever.Many of us grew up watching shows such as Dragon Ball Z(DBZ), Sailor Moon, and Yu Yu Hakusho. So why review a series that is so well known, and that has been talked about to death over the past 20 years? The main reason is to give the series a fair critical analysis. Often, when people talk about DBZ they tend to lean to one of the extremes. Either the show is the nostalgic gold mine of our youth, or it is that popular fighting anime that people need to just shut up about already. Although, I too fall prey to the love of things from my childhood, and praising them like a dog does a nice belly rub. So, let us go on a journey with our Z warriors and take an indepth look at what makes Dragon Ball Z tick. ETERNAL REVIEW, BY YOUR NAME, I SUMMON YOU FORTH!

The story of DBZ is a long one as you can imagine due to it spanning 291 episodes. The best way to describe the set up of the narrative would be to call them sagas. There are an extensive amount of sub-sagas, but for the sake of the review, we are only going to cover the season sagas. This adds up to nine sagas in total, which are the following: Saiyan, Namek, Frieza, Android, Cell, Cell Games, World Tournament, Buu, and Kid Buu.These sagas form the biggest strength and flaw with the overall design of the plot DBZ tries to tell. The major plus is of course simplicity. Arcs last only a season and then you move on. Also, this is a Shonen, so it won’t ever be over the viewers’ heads in terms of complexity. The flaw, on the other hand, is the repetitive nature of the series. Every season or saga if you will is just a slow build up to fights. This seems to make sense in the Shonen genre, but this causes the show to have little depth. Those 9 sagas can easily be divided into 3 groups. The first third leads up to the battle with Frieza, the second set lead up to a confrontation with Cell, and the final portion for Majin Buu. Now for the time period when DBZ was conceived, stories in the battle Shonen demographic were rarely very deep in any sense of the word. The main goal was just to entertain to the most effective way possible. This is something any series would try to do, but DBZ kind of pioneered the popularity of manga/anime into the modern eye. So, it is hard for me to fault the show for lacking a story that doesn’t change life with some crazyass twist. As long as it gets the job done that’s all that truly matters.

Next, we take a look at an important factor that really makes or breaks certain parts of DBZ, the all notorious filler episode. What are filler episodes? Well, for those who are not aware, filler episodes are episodes that have no real connection or importance to the main plot. The Dragon Ball series is well known for making this concept a real hindrance to watching the show. There are certain portions of the show that just are not worth the time to watch. Let us go over two good examples. First, the season 3 battle with Frieza. This ranges close to 30 episodes of continuous fighting. 19 of those episodes are just Goku vs Frieza. And several of those(most likely 5 or so) are just recaps essentially telling you what has happened up to that point in the fight. I’m not sure about most, but I don’t need a recap that often, and this risks alienating certain viewers. They don’t want to be spoon fed information they are already aware of. I’m mindful this was done due to trying to keep pace with the manga, but there are better ways to do so. The other major example of poor filler, was the first portion of season 4 known as the Garlic Jr. Saga. Not only is this portion unimportant, but it also doesn't make sense unless you have seen the second feature film titled: Dragon Ball Z Dead Zone. Most of the films are considered non canon fun movies, but for some reason the anime creators thought we needed this one. You never make a portion of your show impossible to get invested into because they have to go see the movie first! Now, this isn’t to say all filler is bad. Almost all of season 7 is filler and it is quite good. The otherworld tournament, and Videl/Gohan’s building relationship were smart moves that were later implemented in a logical sense. This is an example of filler done right.

Alright, I am no expert in the animation field by any means, nor are most, but I do feel the best way to explore the animation would be to look at how well it holds up to todays standards, and how well it looked for the time it was made. If we look back to the creation of DBZ, it dates all the way back to 1989. Yikes! That means the show is older than me. And, not only is it older than me, but it also looks better too. Some of the other well known shows from this time were: Ranma ½, Yawara!, and Kimba the White Lion. All of these examples are still considered classics, but also have aged in terms of animation. Dragon Ball Z is one of few shows from the time period that set the bar for good animation. To this day, DBZ still looks great. For a series to have 25 years under its belt, and still hold up is fairly impressive.

If we compare DBZ to contemporary animation, despite the fact that it does hold up, it isn’t in the same caliber. Modern anime has gone to a plateau with its newer styles that traditional animation from the 1980’s just can not surpass in terms of flare. So, instead of looking at how it doesn’t have the same style of modern animation we will just say it does still look rather nice, and does the job just well enough. I have always been a fan of traditional works more so anyway. To give a better idea at what DBZ did so well, let us look at a few examples of good animation. I want to use 3 pictures as examples of how the animation works so well. First, we will look at a great usage of color, the ability to make a smooth fighting scene, and finally just the effects in general.

If you look at the first gif, you can plainly see the amount of different colors presented, and how well they are all presented in a vibrant manner. Here we have yellow, brown, red, purple, and many colors all converging in a seamless effort. Picture 2 just shows how smooth each body motion is between characters when fighting. And the final picture also adds on to the seamless ability to have an attack, and area effects are presented with no drop in quality. Although, it is hard to judge animation off of a few seconds of movement, I believe this is where we can see mistakes happen the most often, and it should be commended for the effort put forth when finished properly.

Sound is split up into two major categories. Music and voice.

Music: Shinsuke Kikuchi, was the composer for DBZ’s soundtrack. Most of his pieces are filled with a feel of rock. In a sense, this means the music is meant to pump you up. DBZ was designed as a battle shonen series through and through, and a rock-style musical score fits appropriately. The music, for the most part, always fits well enough, but they are not anything overly impressive. Now, there are some excellent tracks such as the theme of SSJ Vegeta and the SSJ3 Transformation, but aside from the few stand out character themes the soundtrack is passable. Most of the songs we hear time and time again don’t really make the viewer have a sense of emotional attachment as they should. They are just kind of there to say the least. I suppose before closing the musical portion of this review I will talk about my opinions on the opening and ending themes. None of them are especially incredible but, I will admit  "Cha-La Head-Cha-La"  is a very iconic piece, and I like it overall as it always makes me think of DBZ.

Voice: I am not one to argue for subs or dubs, so I will only go by my own experience in order to give a proper recommendation. Like many North Americans, I watched DBZ dubbed. Because I have not seen the original sub, I will not comment on it as I have no expertise in how well it is done. I will however, give a shout out to Masako for doing Goku to this day. She is a trooper, and reason enough to watch the sub. So now on to the dub. There are many dubs for DBZ as it was one of the first major anime brought to the United-States to be dubbed. Funimation first contracted Ocean Group, situated in Vancouver, Canada, to dub the first 67 episodes of DBZ. It was cancelled and later re-dubbed by Funimation in the US from 1998 onwards. The one I am most familiar with and am going to to talk about is the most well known, the Funimation dub. I will say there are a lot of voice actors who do multiple roles, but this is due to the small pool of talent at the time, so this is a small gripe if one at all. Other than that complaint, I love the dub of DBZ. The original dub is full of life, and really brings the characters to life from their manga counterparts amazingly. Speaking of  characters…..

To me there is no part in an anime that is more crucial to it’s success than the characters. This is especially true in Shonen shows. They tend to skip on deeper stories(as previously mentioned) and rely on the characters to make the series succeed. Dragon Ball Z is a huge show.There are more than 100 named characters, and they all play some role or another, but I am only going to discuss a handful of them. I will talk about Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, and the big 3 villains.

Goku- Son Goku is the hero of the entire Dragon Ball franchise. He is also maybe the most iconic character produced from Japan outside of Pikachu, Hello Kitty, and Godzilla. So what makes him so polarizing and popular? Goku is the hero of all heroes. No matter the situation he always leans towards what is best for the greater good. Goku is utilitarian of sorts. He only wants what is best for everyone. He doesn’t want death and destruction, only peace. This is the sort of hero we can put our trust in as a viewer just as the people in the show do. This isn’t to say he’s not flawed. Because Goku looks at the bigger picture more often, the small concerns of others get left behind. This shows with the little amount of parenting Goku actually does, and how bad he is at being concerned with friends/ family with small events such as birthdays. Why forgive him then? Goku is the kind of character that always saves the day so despite his flaws people around him support his views, and hope one day he will be the best of both worlds.

Gohan- The second main character of DBZ is the son of Goku. Because of his different way of being raised, Gohan holds a much more reasonable and intelligent point of view than Goku. This lets us as viewers latch on to someone who wants to be both people. The hero like his father, and the friend that people can count on. Gohan also grows from a child to adult by the end of DBZ. This lets us grow with him step by step, and this is why some of his biggest moments are series favorites.

Vegeta- Vegeta is the guy who is always a jackass, but somehow still makes a difference because of his power. Unlike most characters in DBZ, Vegeta doesn’t care about peace or being the hero. He just wants what benefits him the most. A greedy selfish person to the core. I think what people like most in Vegeta is the fact he isn’t trying to be perfect. He seems very human like, and we get attached to those similar to us. Humans by nature are selfish, sure not to the same degree as Vegeta, but we can still relate. The hero archetype in one we wish we understood, but greed and pride are as human nature as any trait.

Piccolo- Where Vegeta goes from a villain to anti-hero with relatable traits, Piccolo goes from villain to hero. He goes through the entire transformation, and it is due to his bond with Gohan. The character we most closely grow with helps transform Piccolo, so in a sense we feel as if we played a part in this very process. Having a character feel like they are changed by you can have the effect of attachment, and this is the type of investment creators want in their series.

The Big Bad 3- We have Frieza, Cell, and Buu. They all form a well known deadly sin at their core. Frieza is pride, Cell is lust, and Buu is greed at first and then wrath. Frieza is a prideful being who refuses to accept loss to anyone or anything, especially races he finds beneath him. Cell lusts for more power and challenges before he shows his own pride of being “unstoppable”. Buu is split into two different sins for each form. Fat Buu is greedy to the core. He wants instant gratification constantly and immediately. The wrath comes from Kid Buu who is just pure evil destruction incarnate. His first few actions, such as trying to blow up the Earth, show this very clearly.

There are plenty of other interesting characters we could look at like Krillin, but with just looking at the few most important ones the question is brought up. Do the characters make this show great without a complex narrative? I would say yes. There are few characters in all of anime that are more liked, and well known then the Z fighters. Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan have garnered a significant reputation, and are iconic in the anime industry. The iconic characters of Dragon Ball Z are not just memorable, they are the very reason this show has endured 25 years, and is still considered a classic. Without these characters, DBZ would be nothing more than a crazy battle show without any heart. The characters form the heart of the series, and are a major reason for its success.

Oh goodness, most of the review is meant to be as objective as possible, and now I have the chance to give my personal thoughts. So do I like Dragon Ball Z, and did I have a good time watching it? Yes I did. The show has its fair share of flaws. The music is okay, the story is full of troubles, but DBZ is one of my favorite shows to watch. I find it so highly enjoyable to experience, and the fun is never lost. I find Dragon Ball Z to be to be one of the best starter anime for newcomers. It has many ideas incorporated in it that helped shape the Shonen genre as we know it today. I will continue to rewatch some of my favorite shows for years and DBZ is part of that list. However, no matter how important it is, I can’t keep that too much in mind when rating it. I rate my shows for you guys, and will keep my ratings as unbiased as possible.

Dragon Ball Z is an anime classic. There are few shows that have lasted the test of time, and it is one of them. Is it the greatest thing since sliced bread? Well I don’t know, because it is hard to be a good slice of bread. However, I do know this show has earned a great reputation, and that such recognition is not easily earned. So, if nothing else convinces someone to watch this series, maybe the knowledge of it’s importance is enough.

I will now rate the show on the criteria of Story, Animation, Sound, Characters, and Personal Enjoyment. To do so I will make a wish to a magical dragon and hope that the outcome doesn’t make raging fans come after me.

Story: 5 of 10 or 2.5 of 5

Animation: 8.5 of 10 or 4.25 of 5

Sound: 6 of 10 or 3 of 5

Characters: 9 of 10 or 4.5 of 5

Enjoyment: 8.5 of 10 or 4.25 of 5

Overall: 7.6 of 10 or 3.8 of 5

Here are some other series I recommend if you like Dragon Ball Z and want some more Shonen fun in your life.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of the above pictures. The credit goes to the original creators of each and thus will be considered theirs.

A shout out to fellow hummingbird users who helped me craft this review into what it is.

My very smart and talented friend and editor CheesyJ: http://hummingbird.me/users/CheesyJ

The creator of the section pictures and the ever so kind picture master Dynyma: http://hummingbird.me/users/Dynyma

Until next time my fellow anime fans, See ya Space Corgis!

reinhold49 - 2014-08-26 23:11:44

Ok, DBZ is the anime that brought me and probably most of the anime fans into anime. And that's why it's my favorite anime,, I personally think that it's the best anime that's ever made so far. I'm sure you all know the story of DBZ, that's why I don't need to explain a lot. It's not the best story out there, but in the eyes of a fan it has its moments and the overall plot it actually pretty good. What i really really love about this show is that i've watched this anime at least 100 times, and i still like it.There are plenty of better anime, with better story, better soundtrack and music and better much better animation. For example: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,, I Love this show,, still I couldn't watch it more than twice. DBZ is the anime that has the bigest rewatch enjoyment.
P.S. Look what i found on the internet: Big guys with big hair that glow and fight really, really fast

ritchie.chadd - 2014-01-05 19:04:57

This was my childhood and it was an amazing ride. Dragon Ball Z is a must watch in my opinion. It had a great story line and also, there are many characters that grow who you will come to love. There a lot of fillers but overall, the anime was really good. This is a my bias opinion due to the fact that I am only recollecting on my childhood memories.

tkoch - 2013-09-09 02:32:01

Great anime that's why my enjoyment is a ten, I still enjoy watching DBZ. but, now I'm watch shows like Black lagoon and Dragon Ball Z pales in comparison, pretty much its the truth DBZ characters are very shallow and we never seen a sense of character development or struggle( fighting don't count) Vegeta and Piccolo,Gohan are probably the three most developed characters in Z but they are still shallow like the rest. Andriod arc was the last original arc both Cell and Buu are the same one-dimensional villian who want to kill everybody for no good reason except, they need to absorb life forms to evolve into their perfect forms(Buu actually goes through development thats the only difference between them.) I don't have much to say except Dragon Ball Z is a great battle anime that set the standard for most anime with action scenes.

parker.claire - 2013-04-25 22:18:23

DragonBall Z started it all for me. This was the series that got me into anime.Like many other people, I was a child (10 years old) when I first tuned into DBZ, and I have been addicted ever since. Seriously, it just doesn't get old, like a classic soap opera.DBZ continues where the ever cute Dragonball finishes off...Our main character, Goku, is now an adult who is now married with a child, living a peaceful life in the mountains. That is until trouble strikes.Goku and friends are then thrust back into the adventureous lifestyle they lived in the past, only this time, their journeys take them; outerspace and to the afterlife, fighting a range of villians from all walks of creation. Dragonball Z features many great saga's, in which dispite they serious storylines, still manage to be fun enough to keep you in a good mood and keep you addicted to the very end.Also, you can't help but love the characters of the very dysfunctional Z gang.You may end up like me, going through the episodes again and again for years? Yet I'm crazy.

evandervort - 2013-03-31 15:30:26

Honestly, I never used to like Dragon Ball. The constant screaming, the seemingly pointless attacks and then the artwork. I will no expound on how much I hated the artwork.

But then a good friend of mine sat me down (trapped me in front of my computer screen) and made me look at it and I found it was very enjoyable. 

However, I still find it very annoying. 

True I enjoy the fights, the characters (let me not go to one very sexy Saiyan prince whose name sounds a lot like vegetables) and the development but I could do without the fights taking 10 episodes each. Or a particular move taking an entire episode to power up. Not to mention the absurdity in that, while fighting, no bad guy in their right mind will simply stand up and watch as their opponent powers up an attack that would surely mean their demise. Come on!

Simply put, while I do enjoy looking at the Dragon Ball series, it lacks any kind of finesse. 

If you're a shonen fan and enjoy watching characters beat each other bloody, go right ahead and enjoy, but if you're looking for character depth and development (aside from muscles and power levels), a thrilling plot line and being able to sit through an episode with less than 5 minutes of incoherent screaming then turn right around and move your tush on to another anime, 'cuz you aint gonna find it here.