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 packing 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

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/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”.

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.

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.

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.

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 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:

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.

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.

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. 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 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.

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.

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, 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.

Tags: a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review, Akira Toriyama, anime, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Box, Funimation Entertainment

Filed Under: Anime DVD Reviews

Anime voice actor Daisuke Gouri dead from an apparent suicide

January 19, 2010 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

Mainichi Daily News is reporting that Daisuke Gouri (known for his voice as Mr. Satan for “Dragon Ball Z”, Hiromi Yamazaki of “Patlabor”, Robin Mask of “Kinnikuman” and many, many other anime series) has died of an apparent suicide. According to the publication, Gouri was found on the street with cuts on his wrist and neck. A suicide note was found in his trousers.

Tags: anime, Daisuke Gouri, Dragon Ball Z, Kinnikuman, 本名・長堀芳夫

Filed Under: Anime Related News

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.

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.

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.

Tags: a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review, Akira Toriyama, anime, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Box Z, Funimation Entertainment

Filed Under: Anime DVD Reviews

Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge/The Return of Cooler (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

October 9, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“For the ‘Dragon Ball Z’ fans who loved the Frieza saga will enjoy two more films featuring Cooler, the powerful brother of Frieza who wants his revenge against Goku. Featuring two action-packed films and all the humor and non-stop battles that one would expect from DBZ.”

TITLE: DRAGON BALL Z – COOLER’S REVENGE/THE RETURN OF COOLER

DURATION: 90 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: English Voice Track with Original Japanese Music 5.1 Surround, English Voice track with U.S. Music 5.1 Surround, Japanese Voice Track with Original Music Mono

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV PG

DBZ Movie #5: Cooler’s Revenge

Based on the original manga by Akira Toriyama

Directed by Mitsuo Hashimoto

Screenplay by Takao Koyama

Music by Shunsuke Kikuchi

Art Director: Masazumi Matsumiya

Animation Director: Minoru Maeda

Producer: Chiaki Imada, Rikizou Kayano

Edited by Shinichi Fukumitsu

Photography by Masatoshi Fukui

Planning by Kenji Shimizu, Kozo Morishita

Supervision by Daisuke Nishio

Theme song by Hironobu Kageyama

DBZ Movie #6: The Return of Cooler

Based on the original manga by Akira Toriyama

Directed by Daisuke Nishio

Screenplay byTakao Koyama

Music by Shunsuke Kikuchi

Art Director: Junichi Taniguchi

Animation Director: Minoru Maeda

Producer: Chiaki Imada, Rikizou Kayano

Edited by Shinichi Fukumitsu

Photography by Yukio Katayama

Planning by Kenji Shimizu, Kozo Morishita

Theme Song by Hironobu Kageyama

Featuring the following voice talent:

Masako Nozawa/Sean Schemmel as Son Goku

Masako Nozawa/Stephanie Nadolny as Son Gohan

Hiromi Tsuru/Lalainia Lindbjerg as Bulma

Mayumi Tanaka/Sonny Strait as Kuririn

Toshio Furukawa/Christopher R. Sabat as Piccolo

Ryusei Nakao/Andrew Chandler as Cooler

Kohei Miyauchi as Kamesennin/Master Roshi

Naoki Tatsuta/Brad Jackson as Oolong

Naoko Watanabe/Cynthia Cranz as Chichi

Masako Nozawa/Sonny Strait as Bardock

Production Company: Toei Animation, Bird Studio

Cooler’s Revenge

A quarter of a century after a chance encounter in space, fate looks to reunite two enemies on Earth: Goku, the planet’s staunchest defender, looking forward to the peaceful reprieve of a camping trip, and Cooler, brother to the defeated Frieza, on a quest to avenge his family’s honor.

Backed by the frightful forces of his Armored Squadron, first Gohan and then Piccolo fall victim to the Cooler’s wrath. Satisfied with no less than the death of the Saiyan responsible for Frieza’s demise, he seeks out Goku, prepared to destroy the entire planet to quench his thirst of vengeance. As Cooler taunts Goku with his friend’s destruction, the Saiyan must again accomplish what he has only achieved once before.

This is the story of chance versus fate.

The Return of Cooler

The planet of Namek was destroyed years before, a New Namek having since been located and settled. During the intervening period, the inhabitants have enjoyed a time of peace. But as death approaches and threatens homeland horizons. Goku and the Z Warriors are called upon to save a world not their own.

More surprising than one planet which can devour another is the enemy’s true face behind the evil enterprise. But just as seeing is believing, Goku and the others settle in to fight the once-defeated Cooler and his forces. And yet victory won’t be so easy the second time around! As the Z Warriors are vanquished one after the other, the fate of New Namek hangs in the balance…

This is the story of past versus present.

When it comes to “Dragon Ball Z” films, when it comes to memorable villains, the two that will always come to mine when it come to the fans are Broly and the other is Cooler. For fans of the Frieza saga, the Cooler films have been fan favorites due to the amount of action involved but also how it relates to the storyline of the original television series.

For the fifth Dragon Ball Z film titled “Cooler’s Revenge”, the film was shown in theaters back in the Summer of 1991 and for the most part, if you haven’t watched the Frieza saga yet, it is best not to watch this film just yet as it does contain spoilers to the Frieza saga and the second Dragon Ball Z special “Bardock the Father of Goku”. As a matter of fact, if you haven’t watched these two, it’s probably best that you don’t read further, because my synopsis will contain spoilers.

“Cooler’s Revenge” takes place after the battle between Goku and Frieza, which the feared tyrant was defeated by Goku. Cooler, the brother of Frieza, has always despised his brother from afar. Always, seeing his brother always getting the upperhand and recognition but when he hears about his brother’s death, he feels that he needs to beat Goku in order to restore his family’s honor. So, Frieza along with his Armored Squadron – Doure, Naiz and Salza go to Earth to find Goku.

Meanwhile, Goku, Gohan (along with his pet Icarus), Krillin and Oolong go on a camping trip and needless to say, they are attacked by the Armored Squadron. But as quickly as Goku is easy to fight against Cooler’s henchman, Goku is hurt by trying to save Gohan.

With Goku out of commission, Cooler and the Armored Squadron are hunting for Goku and friends who are hiding out inside a cave. But they need to get some help, will they get it in time?

The sixth “Dragon Ball Z” film is titled “The Return of Cooler” which was released in theaters in Japan back in March of 1992.

In this film, the people of Namek have lived peacefully in their new planet known as “New Namek” for the past three years (since the destruction of their planet by Frieza). But all of a sudden, an alien force has come to take over their planet and use the Namek’s as a source of energy. Sensing the danger in his planet, Dende quickly calls out for Goku to help the Nameks.

Immediately, Goku, Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin, Master Roshi, Oolong and Yajirobi use one of the Capsule Corps spacecraft to quickly go to New Namek and help. But when they arrive, they learn that the Nameks are being held as prisoners by these huge robots and to make things worse, these robots are controlled by Cooler (who everyone thought was killed by Goku back in the fifth DBZ film “Cooler’s Revenge) who has now evolved to Meta-Cooler.

This time, Meta-Cooler has bonded with technology and can easily reproduce himself if he loses any limbs or body parts and to make things worse, the reason why the robots are needing the Nameks is to use their energy to create many Meta-Coolers. Can Goku and the gang help the Namek’s and beat Meta-Cooler?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

There are two things that I will note in regards to both films. The first is that both films are from 1991-1992, so it has been nearly 20 years since both films were shown in theaters in Japan. The second thing I need to note is that I have seen all “Dragon Ball Z” films via High Definition with the exception of these two films which I have seen only on DVD but are digitally remastered, so I can lend you my opinion on the difference between the films on HD and the version on SD.

First, let’s start off with picture quality. The film has been remastered in High Definition and digitally restored. The original Japanese film masters were transferred via an industry-standard Spirit DataCine, passing through a Digital Vision DVNR1000 to remove film grain and then receiving a further round of processing using a Teranex VCooo video computer. These digital noise-reduction units helped to remove thousands of instances of dirt, scratches and debris.

With that being said, the “Dragon Ball Z” films look much more vibrant than its previous DVD counterpart in the past and for those who grew up with their 5th Generation VHS copies of the film, needless to say, for both films nearly 20 years old, these two films look very good.

But is it perfect? No. Even with the noise-reduction units to remove dirt and scratches, dirt and scratches and film warping can be seen in the earlier films of “Dragon Ball Z”. In fact, the later the film, the more vibrant, sharper and clearer the picture quality tends to be. But one thing that I found with this DVD is that the dirt and scratches are not as pronounced as its HD counterpart but yet, if you are really looking, it is there. Of course, the Blu-ray version brings out the blacks and the colors more but again, it brings out the imperfections as well.

But I think this is the best we are going to see of the films unless Toei in Japan invests in major restoration (which is very costly) for the films. So, for now, this is the best release that we are going to see in the US for now.

As for audio, the film is presented with the English voice track with original Japanese music 5.1 surround, English voice track with U.S. Music 5.1 Surround and the original Japanese voice track with original music audio. For the most part, the 5.1 surround audio track is where you will hear most of the sound effects via the front, center and surround channels but personally, if you have a receiver that can set all channels to stereo, I prefer that setting for a more immersive sound.

Unfortunately, the Japanese audio tracks for “Dragon Ball Z” have never received the 5.1 or HD lossless treatment, so audio is still the original mono soundtrack. But personally, I’ve gotten used to the DBZ English dub which I think is one of the best anime series to feature right on target voice talent. The casting was done very well and it’s one of the few anime television series which I have been 100% content with the English dub voice talent.

As for the subtitles, the film offers English subtitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge/The Return of Cooler” does not come with any special features but FUNimation Entertainment trailers. It’s important to note that both films are presented in two DVD’s and are included in steel book case.

Overall, the Cooler-related “Dragon Ball Z” films were quite entertaining. With a lot of the “Dragon Ball Z” films having nothing to really do with the television series in terms of it’s relationship to the TV storyline, the films have been more action-driven than a reliance towards a plot. And “Dragon Ball Z” is one of those few rare anime series which people don’t really mind, since the action is where a lot of fans tend to zero-in on.

But what matters in the films are the actual opponents of the Z-warriors. You either get characters that some deem forgettable and then you get characters that stick in your mind. In the film, there are only two villains that have managed to get more than one film and that is Broly (who’s presence is in three films) and Cooler who is seen on two films which are included on this movie set.

Although Frieza’s storyline took many episodes and shown him nearly unbeatable, you wonder how his brother Cooler would be in battle. And sure enough, he quickly makes his presence known to the Z-Warriors and as much as I would have loved to see his presence on the television series (especially more episodes dedicated to him), his appearance on both films are quite fine. Although, one would question in the fifth film of how a blast took out Goku and knowing that he has taken much, much worse than a standard blast in the television series and to see him being taken out of battle and down for the count, didn’t seem right.

But again, these are “Dragon Ball Z” films which are typically created for the fans but also shown in the theater to be shown to those unfamiliar with the TV and manga series and thus, you get certain limitations in terms of its screenplay. But for the most part, those who expect nothing but action, will definitely find both films enjoyable.

Overall, I expect many hardcore “Dragon Ball Z” fans wanting to add this set to their ongoing collection of DBZ films but if you were only being selective, then definitely pick this set up and also the Broly DBZ films as well.

Tags: a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review, anime, Cooler's Revenge, Dragon Ball Z, The Revenge of Cooler

Filed Under: Anime DVD Reviews

DRAGON BALL Z: BARDOCK THE FATHER OF GOKU (A J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

September 22, 2009 by Goromi · Leave a Comment

“DRAGON BALL Z: BARDOCK THE FATHER OF GOKU is a great prequel special to the whole Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball series that concentrates on the Father of Goku, Bardock.”

DVD TITLE: DRAGON BALL Z: BARDOCK THE FATHER OF GOKU

DURATION: 48 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9, English 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound, Japanese Mono

COMPANY: TOEI ANIMATION/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV PG

Release Date: September 15, 2009

Based on the manga by Toriyama Akira

Directed by Daisuke Nishio

Music by Shunsuke Kikuchi

Character Design by Minoru Maeda

Anime Production by TOEI ANIMATION

Featuring the following Japanese voice talent:

Masako Nozawa as Bardock and Son Goku

Kazuyuki Sogabe as Toma

Yūko Mita as Seripa

Takeshi Watabe as Panbukin

Kozo Shioya as Totepo

Ryuusei Nakao as Frieza

Sho Hayami as Zarbon

Yukitoshi Hori as Dodoria

Banjō Ginga as Toro

Kinpei Azusa as Son Gohan

Ryo Horikawa as Vegeta

Shozo Iizuka as Nappa

Joji Yanami as Narrator

Featuring the following English voice talent:

Sonny Strait

Linda Young

Christopher Sabat

Chris Forbis

Stephanie Nadolny

Sean Schemmel

Mike McFarland

John Burgmeier

Bart Meyer

Ceyli Delgadillo

Chris Rager

Chuck Huber

Dale D. Kelly

Dameon Clarke

Justin Cook

Kyle Herbert

Mark Britten

Before there was Goku, there lived his father Bardock. A low-class Saiyan soldier under the command of Frieza, Bardock is attacked by the last of an alien race they are employed in destroying. Healing on his home planet of Vegeta, Bardock discovers he has been blessed with the ability to see into the future.

But the blessing soon becomes a curse, as the Saiyan finds himself haunted by visions: The tragic extermination of his own race and the destruction of their beloved planet, all at the hands of Frieza. Bardock sets off on nightmarish race with fate to avert the impending disaster. But as his strength fails and despair sets in, hope will be found in one last vision.

This is the story of Bardock, the father of Goku.

In this special that is a prequel to Dragon Ball, we get to see into Goku and Vegeta’s past and we are introduced to Goku’s father, Bardock. We get to see what Planet Vegeta was like and how the Saiyans lived before the terror named Frieza doomed their planet. The main story centers around Bardock, a lower class Saiyan who ends up challenging Frieza.

The Saiyans were a ruthless, violent, and very proud race. They only live to fight and destroy and “caring” is the last word to describe them. They worked under Frieza, who put them to good use, taking over planets for him, but they have no idea of the tragedy that is about to happen to this proud race because of their allegiance to Frieza.

After completely massacring the inhabitants of another planet, Bardock is randomly attacked by one of the survivors and is given the power to see the future, and the cursed future that awaits the Saiyans.

While he’s recovering from the injuries he sustained in battle, Bardock starts having visions of the future, including the future of his son, Kakarrot (aka Goku), and the horrible future that awaits his planet. At first, he ignores the visions and goes to catch up with his crew who went to destroy another planet. What greets him is the beginning of the cruel fate that awaits his race, and his one last fateful fight.

“DRAGON BALL Z: BARDOCK THE FATHER OF GOKU” focuses on the following characters:

Bardock – One of the many lower class Saiyans. Overall he lacks emotion, even when his son Kakarot is born, he doesn’t care. On a certain mission where he and his men were sent to destroy another planet, he was attacked by one of the survivors that “cursed” him with the power of seeing the future. After the attack, he starts having strange visions of the grim future of his planet and of his son and his future.

Toma/Tora – The tall member of Bardock’s crew. Bardock later uses Toma’s armband as his red headband.

Seripa/Fasha – The female member of Bardock’s crew and one of the few female Saiyans we ever see.

Panbupkin/Shugesh – The overweight member of Bardock’s crew.

Borgos/Totepo – The muscular member of Bardock’s crew.

Prince Vegeta – The prince of the Saiyans. Despite him only being a child, he is extremely proud and ruthless. He cares about nothing other than becoming more powerful.

Nappa – One of the higher ranking Saiyans that serves as Vegeta’s aide.

Frieza – One of the most powerful and ruthless beings in the universe. He has taken over and has destroyed many planets. The Saiyans serve him and have helped with ridding many of the planets and their inhabitants. Despite the Saiyans pledging their allegiance to him, he has a grim fate awaiting them and their planet.

Zarbon – The highest ranking among Frieza’s officials.

Dodoria – Another one of Freiza’s high ranking officials. He has a big part in the tragic fate awaiting the Saiyans.

VIDEO & AUDIO

Just like the “History of Trunks” DVD, the colors and quality of the video in this DVD are definitely cleaned up and pretty considering this originally aired almost 20 years ago. The picture looked great. If you watch the English dub, the sound is in stereo and surround sound, but if you watch it in the Japanese audio, it is in the original mono. The mono can be a plus or minus… the minus being I had to turn up the volume quite a bit on my DVD player, but a very big plus for me is being able to watch it with how I remember it. The mono sound actually is quite nostalgic to me, so I didn’t mind.

For those who watch the English dub, there are different character names and there is an entirely different soundtrack including music done by Sum 41, American Hi-Fi, and Saliva. However, you also have the option of watching it in the English dub with the original Japanese music as well.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features on this disc, however there are some FUNimation trailers.

Just like the “History of Trunks” DVD, despite how much of a DBZ fan I am, this was the first time I have actually seen this special all the way through. I have been watching Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z since I was a child in Japan when the original episodes were airing. I already knew what happens in this special, but it was great to finally be able to see it in its entirety.

Unlike the usual flow of the DBZ series, this is a rather serious episode. There isn’t much humor in this special. However humor may not have fit in because of this special being about Saiyans, who aren’t very funny to begin with. Even though we finally see other Saiyans, it really was just for a brief moment so that may be my only complaint. But at the same time that’s totally understandable since the story is about Bardock. It was really interesting to see how the Saiyans are toward each other vs. how humans interact with each other.

One of the cool things about this special is you actually get to see a female Saiyan, even if it’s for a little while. It’s also cool to see how Bardock’s trademark red headband turns red. It’s also great to see a glimpse of the Saiyans’ past, and you get to see why Vegeta is how he is and you get to finally see Bardock in action since in the series you only catch glimpses of him.

This would be a film I would recommend to Dragon Ball Z fans without a doubt. But for those who don’t know very much about the series, they may want to hold off on watching this until they know a lot more about the series as there are spoilers and the film may be confusing without prior knowledge of the series.

Overall this is a great film. A little more serious than other Dragon Ball Z films but I would still highly recommend it.

Tags: BARDOCK THE FATHER OF GOKU, Dragon Ball Z, Goromi no Heya

Filed Under: Anime DVD Reviews

DRAGON BALL Z: THE HISTORY OF TRUNKS (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

September 15, 2009 by Goromi · Leave a Comment

DRAGON BALL Z: THE HISTORY OF TRUNKS is a wonderful special episode of the legendary Dragon Ball Z series, showing the dire future that Future Trunks grew up in, the future that Goku has died.

DVD TITLE: DRAGON BALL Z: THE HISTORY OF TRUNKS

DURATION: 48 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9, English 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound, Japanese Mono

COMPANY: TOEI ANIMATION/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV PG

Release Date: September 15, 2009

Based on the manga by Toriyama Akira

Directed by Daisuke Nishio

Music by Shunsuke Kikuchi

Character Design by Minoru Maeda

Anime Production by TOEI ANIMATION

Featuring the following voice talent:

Joji Yanami / Kyle Hebert as Narrator

Takeshi Kusao / Eric Vale as Trunks

Hiromi Tsuru / Tiffany Vollmer as Bulma

Masako Nozawa / Dameon Clarke as Gohan

Shigeru Nakahara / Chuck Huber as Android #17

Miki Itou / Meredith McCoy as Android #18

Kōhei Miyauchi / Mike McFarland as Master Roshi

Naoki Tatsuta / Bradford Jackson as Oolong

Naoko Watanabe / Cynthia Cranz as Chi-Chi

Naoko Watanabe / Monika Antonelli as Puar

Daisuke Gōri / Kyle Hebert as Ox-King

Goku is dead, victim of a deadly virus. Last of the Z Warriors to pass, the Super Saiyan’s death has left the Earth far more vulnerable than ever before. With no one left to protect the planet, Androids 17 and 18 arrive to terrorize the great cities, plunging all into darkness where the inhabitants cower in fear. Is there no hope left in this apocalyptic horror? Is this the end?

Goku’s son, Gohan, is now a man, and with an extraordinary young teenager named Trunks by his side, the two determine to face off against the threat. But as tragedy follows upon tragedy, the world around Trunks is fast collapsing and there seems no check to the evil of the Androids.

This is the story of the future that never was.

Dragon Ball Z fans are finally able to see the past of one of the most popular characters of the series, Trunks.

The story takes place in an alternate future, the future in which “Future Trunks” came from, where Goku is dead. The story takes place 13 years after Goku’s death, where Android 17 and 18 have killed off most of the Z warriors and have plagued the world with their destruction. Much different from the past that Trunks went back to, and the time line that is the main story where both Androids, especially 18 showed they had a heart.

In this horrible future where the whole world is in ruins, the only ones that stand a chance are Gohan and Trunks. Gohan becomes a teacher to Trunks and after years of training, they go up against the Androids only to have more tragedy come into their lives. The only spec of hope is that Goku might have not been the only Super Saiyan powerful enough to defeat them after all…

“DRAGON BALL Z: THE HISTORY OF TRUNKS” focuses on the following characters:

Trunks – Trunks is the mysterious young man that appeared in front of the Z warriors one day, saying he was from the future. The story takes place in his future, a very dark future. The story starts when he is a baby and Son Goku dies, leaving the world in ruins because of Android 17 and 18. Trunks grows up in this horrible future along with his mother, Bulma and his mentor, Son Gohan. Being the son of the Prince of the Saiyans, Vegeta, he always wonders what his father was like since he never really had a chance to meet him. The majority of the story takes place when Trunks is in his preteen and teen years. He is very proud (just like his father), but he also has a strong sense of justice and is very caring.

Bulma – Bulma has been a prominent character in the Dragon Ball universe ever since the first episode. She is now older, and the mother of Trunks. She has calmed down quite a bit, but still acts as the ray of hope even in this horrible future. She constantly is working on a time machine in hopes that it can be used to help Goku before his tragic end, and to change this horrible future that they are now in.

Son Gohan – Son Gohan, the son of the legendary Son Goku, is the only Z warrior left. He is not the cute little boy anymore, but one of the only hopes left for the world against the Androids. He acts as Trunks’ mentor in fighting. He is now able to turn Super Saiyan like his father, and tries to help Trunks do the same so they may stand a chance against the Androids and defeat them once and for all.

Android 17 and 18 – The male and female android duo that was created by Dr. Gero to defeat Son Goku. However, Son Goku was dead by the time they were awaken so instead they decided to destroy everything else in their path. They are almost invincible in strength and have no compassion for anything. They take what they want and destroy everything else and are the ones responsible for the chaotic future that Trunks lives in.

VIDEO & AUDIO

The colors and quality of the video is definitely cleaned up and pretty considering this originally aired almost 20 years ago. The picture looked absolutely gorgeous. If you watch the English dub, the sound is in stereo and surround sound, but if you watch it in the Japanese audio, it is in the original mono. The mono can be a plus or minus… the minus being I had to turn up the volume quite a bit on my DVD player, but a very big plus for me is being able to watch it with how I remember it. The mono sound actually is quite nostalgic to me, so I didn’t mind.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features on this disc, however there are some FUNimation trailers.

Despite how much of a DBZ fan I am, this was the first time I have actually seen this special all the way through. I have been watching Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z since I was a child in Japan when the original episodes were airing. But because I was in the States when this special aired, I didn’t get to see it but at the time, Shonen Jump released anime-manga (Where they took scenes from the actual anime and made it into a manga) books of their theatrical releases and specials, so I got to know the story of this specials in that manner. I had seen bits and pieces of this special on TV but in the English dub so I didn’t want to really watch it at the time (I actually don’t mind the Dragon Ball Z dub, I am just too attached to the original Japanese voice actors, especially for this series).

Trunks is one of the most popular characters in the Dragon Ball Z universe. When he first appeared, he was surrounded in mystery and it’s great to see what happened in his past. (because by the time the main time line progresses, the future has changed.) It’s a sad story because you learn what happens to all of the main characters and you get to see a much different version of Son Gohan. The villains, Android 17 and 18 are also pretty different than the main time line versions. They are much more heartless and show no mercy for anyone. Everything that Trunks has to go through in this special is rather emotional, but it is very much worth watching and it fills in gaps for the main time line.

This release is great for so many reasons: an awesome story, the awesome picture quality, and it’s a great price. I highly recommend this DVD for any DBZ fan. I can also recommend this film for those not as familiar with the Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z universe because it is a great film, but I would advise watching or at least knowing the main story of the series or there will be a lot of spoilers or just sheer confusion.

Great action, great emotion, and a great film!

Tags: Dragon Ball Z, Goromi no Heya, HISTORY OF TRUNKS, TRUNKS

Filed Under: Anime DVD Reviews

FUNimation Entertainment Announces First U.S. Release of Dragon Box

July 18, 2009 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

Produced From THE Original Dragon Ball Z Masters, Available on DVD in November

Flower Mound, TX – July 18, 2009 — FUNimation Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, today announces that it has acquired the original masters for the entire Dragon Ball Z anime series, episodes and films, and will release all as the Dragon Box for the first time in the U.S. The first of seven Dragon Boxes will be available at major retailers nationwide this Fall.

The Dragon Box will be produced from the original Dragon Box masters after a frame by frame restoration and will span the entire 291 episode television series and all 13 of its movies.

This definitive DVD box release begins with Dragon Box One which includes the first 42 episodes, uncut, on 6 discs.

The Dragon Box releases will feature an aspect ratio of 4:3, the original Japanese audio (with options for an English track or English subtitles), the original episode previews, complete opening and closing credits and a collector’s booklet.

Dragon Box One will be available at major retailers nationwide on November 10, 2009 and will have an SRP of $79.98.

Filed Under: Anime Related News

FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT AND NAMCO CYBERTAINMENT INC. BRING ANIME’S GREATEST HERO TO GAME CENTERS ACROSS THE U.S.

July 15, 2009 by J!-ENT · 1 Comment

Anime Leader and Major Amusement Game Operator Introduce Game Featuring Dragon Ball Z Figures

Flower Mound, Texas (July 15, 2009) – FUNimation Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, Toei Animation, Ltd., and Namco Cybertainment Inc., one of the largest amusement game operators in the U.S. and Caribbean, are bringing the Z-fighters to more than 780 amusement centers around the country.

Already available, these centers house a new crane game containing figures of Goku, his friends and foes. The Dragon Ball Z figure crane game will offer an entirely new experience for those who are familiar with the old crane concept. Instead of directing a crane claw to a random and, hopefully, substantial grip on a desired prize, crane players are able to utilize their skills to line up the claw fingers with one or more of the eight holes in the custom figure packaging for a precise hook on their favorite Dragon Ball Z figures. These collector edition figure prizes are designed and manufactured by Banpresto Co., Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan and cannot be found in retail stores.

Pictured above: Dragon Ball Z crane prizes, designed and manufactured by Banpresto Co., Ltd © BIRD STUDIO/SHUEISHA, TOEI ANIMATION. Licensing coordinated by FUNimation® Entertainment.

Created by Akira Toriyama and produced by Toei Animation, the anime series “Dragon Ball Z” has taken millions of fans around the globe in search of adventure and the chance to put Goku’s skills to the test. A valiant warrior, he has saved the Earth as he faced powerful villains. Now, Dragon Ball Z fans can then test their own agility and hand-eye coordination in playing the crane game.

Fans can visit this online store locator to find the nearest game at an amusement center near them.

Tags: Dragon Ball Z, Funimation Entertainment, Inc., Namco Cybertainment

Filed Under: Japanese Entertainment News

DRAGON BALL Z – BROLY – THE LEGENDARY SUPER SAIYAN / BROLY – SECOND COMING (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

February 15, 2009 by Dennis Amith · 2 Comments

“FUNimation Entertainment’s first foray in bringing their anime licenses to Blu-ray (2007), kicking things off with two highly popular ‘Dragon Ball Z’ Broly films. Action-packed, with a heavy hitting rock soundtrack and everything you expect for a ‘Dragon Ball Z’ Broly film and more! Definitely worth checking out!”

TITLE: DRAGON BALL Z – BROLY - THE LEGENDARY SUPER SAIYAN / BROLY - SECOND COMING

DURATION: 140 minutes (70 minutes for both films)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: High Definition Widescreen 1920×1080p, Dolby TrueHD: English 5.1 with Japanese Music, Dolby TrueHD: English 5.1 with U.S. Music, Original Japanese

CATALOG #: FN-03861

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV PG

DRAGON BALL Z MOVIE #8: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan

Director: Shigeyasu Yamauchi

Original Creator: Akira Toriyama

Screenplay: Takao Koyama

Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi, Chiho Kikuchi, Takeshi Ike

Art Director: Shinzo Yuki

Animation Director: Naoyoshi Yamamuro

Producer: Chiaki Imada, Tomio Anzai

DRAGON BALL Z MOVIE #10 – Broly – Second Coming

Director: Shigeyasu Yamauchi

Original Manga by Akira Toriyama

Screenplay: Takao Koyama

Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi, Chiho Kikuchi, Takeshi Ike

Animation Director: Naoyoshi Yamamuro

Art Director: Ken Tokushige

Art Design: Tadao Kubota

Producer: Tomio Anzai, Tsutomu Tomari

DRAGON BALL Z CAST:

Masako Nozawa/Sean Schemmel as Son Goku

Masako Nozawa/Stephanie Nadolny as Son Gohan

Hiromi Tsuru/Lalainia Lindbjerg as Bulma

Mayumi Tanaka/Sonny Strait as Kuririn

Toshio Furukawa/Christopher R. Sabat as Piccolo

Takeshi Aono/Christopher R. Sabat as Kami-Sama

Akira Kamiya/Chuck Huber as Garlic Jr

Daisuke Gouri as Gyuumaou

Kenji Utsumi as ShenLong

Kôhei Miyauchi as Kame Sennin

Mayumi Shou/Lisa Ann Beley as Chi-Chi

Miki Itou/Meredith McCoy as Android 18

Takeshi Kusao/Laura Bailey as Kid Trunks

Yuko Minaguchi/Kara Edwards as Videl

Bin Shimada/Vic Mignogna as Broly

Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan

A Saiyan warrior has arrived on Earth and his plea for assistance had ignited a clash between Goku and Vegeta. Sparks will fly as the two battle to be the one to confront the galaxy’s new menace, yet the true danger lies much closer. The volatile Broly has his own agenda, and his target is the most powerful Saiyan in the Universe! But will it be Goku or Vegeta?

Broly – Second Coming

Defeated but far from dead, the Legendary Super Saiyan Broly has returned and he’s got a fierce thirst for revenge. Not only will he threaten Goku, but his rage will imperil every innocent soul on the peaceful planet. All Earth’s heroes must unite and join this terrifying battle, an undertaking which could prove their last!

In November 2007, FUNimation Entertainment had their first release using Hi-Definition Blu-ray technology with the release of their two of the most succesful “DRAGON BALL Z” films “Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan” (the eighth “DRAGON BALL Z” film released on March 1993) and “Broly – The Second Coming” (the tenth “DRAGON BALL Z” film released on March 1994).

As a “DRAGON BALL Z” fan, the Broly films have always been my favorites, especially “Broly – The Second Coming” which I first saw (in Japanese) at an anime club meeting back in 1994. But whenever there is a film with Broly, you can expect a lot of action and intense battles. And personally, the “DRAGON BALL Z” films that involve “Broly” plot-wise are the best!

Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan

The eighth film “Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan” takes place around the time period possibly right after the “Cell” saga (because Future Trunks is featured). The Z-fighters are at the park for some R&R while Chichi and Goku are at an important school meeting in order for Gohan to hopefully get entrance to a good school.

Out of nowhere, a spaceship arrives at the park and Paragus with many soldiers ask Vegeta (or Prince Vegeta) to come back to claim the planet “New Vegeta”. But it’s important for Vegeta to fight the legendary super saiyan who has been destroying new planets.

Meanwhile, King Kai calls Goku telephatically that there is a new threat and he needs to stop this new threat.

With Future Trunks, Gohan, Krillin, Master Rohshi and Oolong traveling with Vegeta to the new planet, Paragus introduces his son Broly. While at the new planet, the group notices that something fishy is going on. There are slaves from different planets being mistreated and learn that Paragus may not be a friendly Saiyan.

Goku manages to make it to the new planet and comes across Paragus and Broly and when Broly sees Goku (Kakkarot), he starts to get angry for some reason. After several interactions with Broly, Goku starts to discover that perhaps, Broly may be the legendary super Saiyan and to make things worse, there is something quite unstable about him.

You learn that Paragus and Broly were executed and left for dead by Vegeta’s father before Planet Vegeta was destroyed. Paragus has been using Broly as a way to conquer planets and leverage to become a great leader, while Broly. Since he was born with ultimate power levels, he was deemed a threat and executed as a baby. But somehow, he and his father were able to escape Planet Vegeta.

As a baby, Broly was born in a station right next to Kakkarot (Goku) and because of Kakkarot’s constant crying, it somehow caused some resentment in Broly and somehow, he blames Kakkarot for his misfortune.

And thus, Broly and his father Paragus want their revenge against Vegeta and Goku. The two Saiyans must team up with their friends to take on the most powerful Saiyan ever.

Broly – The Second Coming

For the tenth “DRAGON BALL Z” film titled “Broly – The Second Coming”, Vedil, Trunks and Goten are searching for the Dragon Balls. The group needs only one more and thus they end up in a village full of people in fear.

The people have used their young as sacrifices every year to appease a monster and with another child being offered for a sacrifice, Vedil is not going to stand up for it. Thus the three decide to take on the monster that the village has been fearful of.

As they wait for the monster, Vedil and the other two hide inside a pot. Both Trunks and Goten are hungry and Trunks manages to steal an apple. Goten is so hungry but when he tries to get food, Vedil slaps him. Goten starts crying and then you notice that Broly has been encased in ice and the cries of Goten (who he thinks is Kakkarot) awakes him.

Meanwhile, the three end up defeating the monster and helping the village, not until Broly makes his appearance and Vedil, Trunks and Goten try to fight him before he destroys any village or the planet.

Trunks and Goten manage to spot the final Dragon Ball and think that maybe Shenlong can fight Broly but Goten doesn’t know how to activate the Dragon Balls. The three try to fight the best as they can, meanwhile Gohan senses trouble and speeds off to help his brother, Vedil and Trunks and thus setting up a major battle between Gohan and Broly.

VIDEO AND AUDIO:

“DRAGON BALL Z” is featured in High Definition Widescreen at 1920 x 1080P. According to a flyer inside the case, there is information about the transfer and how the original Japanese film masters were transferred via an industry-standard Spirit DataCine, passing through a Digital Vision DVNR10000 to remove film grain and another round of processing using a Teranex VCooo video computer. These digital noise-reduction units helped to remove thousands of instances of dirt, scratches and debris.

The cleaned footage signal went through a da Vinci 2K Plus color system to ensure that the colors were true to the original film prints. The final media for transfer was Sony’s HDCAM, a high-definition digital tape.

With that being said, let me first say that a lot of older Japanese animated films have not been taken care of. In fact, many anime films have had warping and major issues that restoration even to DVD has not been all that great. Unless, there was an expensive facility developed for it (such as the recent “AKIRA” release which was an expensive remastering process), there’s only so much that can be done to make an older Japanese film look great.

There is a big difference between the video quality of “Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan” which has looked like the previous “DRAGON BALL Z” films that were released on Blu-ray and “Broly – The Second Coming”. With “Broly – The Second Coming”, one thing you’ll notice is a slight art difference with the background art and also the colors are much more vibrant and colorful.

One can say that the later the film is, the better the colors and I suppose that you can say in this case, the tenth film is much, much cleaner and colorful than the eighth.

But with that being said, “Broly – the Legendary Super Saiyan” does look good for an anime film that is 16-years-old and “Broly – Second Coming” which is 15-years-old which colors and animation is so far the best in video quality compared to the other “DRAGON BALL Z” films and specials preceding it.

Now one of the things that has been an issue with older “DRAGON BALL Z” films is the scratches and dust. Despite the DNR units that helped to remove thousands of instances of difrt, scratches and debris, again… with a lot of the original Japanese film sources not really being taken care of, there is only so much that can be done. And in this case, there are visible scratches, dust and even some warping at times but nowhere as numerous as the first two “DRAGON BALL Z” films.

As for audio, audio is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound (HD-DTS), English Stereo and Original Japanese. Unlike the newer “DRAGON BALL Z” Blu-ray releases, there is typically an English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio track with the English with newer music and another with the Japanese music track. Because this is a 2007 Blu-ray release, the track I tend to listen to is the English track with the original Japanese music.

Having watched these film in original Japanese before, I watched it again in Japanese but when watching on Blu-ray, you want that awesome sound, so watching these two films with the Pantera and rock n’ roll guitar and percussion driven music was definitely a first for me.

I have to admit that hearing the heavy metal like guitar churning and heavy hitting music, definitely added an enjoyable side to watching these two films and really gave the film some extra energy during the battle scenes.

And when it comes to the English dubbing, FUNimation Entertainment has one of the best well-casted series with “DRAGON BALL Z” films. In fact, it’s actually difficult for me to watch the original Japanese (that I grew up watching for years) because of the significant vocals with the English dub track. So, the English dub track was well-acted and again, enjoyable!

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The “DRAGON BALL Z” films really don’t come with anything for special features but surprising enough, there were two featurettes. One that featured the transfer and bringing “DRAGON BALL Z” to Blu-ray. From making the films as 16×9 and other technical but informative facts about the transfer. The other is mainly a promotional for the upcoming “DRAGON BALL Z” television series to DVD.

With many “DRAGON BALL Z” films being short and sweet, one of the exciting things about Broly is that he has made his appearance in three films (which includes the eleventh film “Bio-Broly”). It’s important to note that at this time of my review, FUNimation Entertainment has planned on a triple feature “Broly” release in Spring 2009. So, suffice to say, this double-Broly release may be out of print.

Suffice to say, the Broly films are my favorite “DRAGON BALL Z” films. There is a good plot, intense action and overall, compared to the other films, the Broly films are just enjoyable!

“Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan” is the longest running “DRAGON BALL Z” film at 71 minutes. The second film “Broly – The Second Coming” is about 60 minutes long.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed watching these two films again, especially my personal favorite “Broly – The Second Coming” on Blu-ray. The colors were just vibrant and after watching many of the films out on Blu-ray thus far, to see the clarity of the tenth film was just amazing.

Granted, the transfer is not perfect and there are signs of scratches, dust and a little film warping on very few frames but I was very impressed with the transfer to Blu-ray for both films considering how old the films are.

As mentioned, the “Broly” trilogy will be released on Blu-ray in Spring of 2009 and this “Broly” double feature may be out of print and no longer be available. This Blu-ray disc was the first release for FUNimation Entertainment back in 2007 but nevertheless, if you are able to find this release for a low price or have no interest in the eleventh film “Bio-Broly”, then definitely pick this title up.

Overall, the “DRAGON BALL Z” Broly films are just fun to watch. I have to admit that I enjoyed listening to FUNimation’s heavy metal, guitar and percussion driven music soundtrack during the battles, considering I’m more into the original Japanese dialogue and music. Being a hardcore “DRAGON BALL Z” fan, I was a bit skeptical at first of heavy rock bands being used for the musical soundtrack of the English dub but it definitely added a charged up, energetic feel to those action-packed moments. And there are many action-packed scenes on both features.

Overall, another solid “DRAGON BALL Z” release and these two films look good on Blu-ray. “DRAGON BALL Z” fans, this double-feature is definitely worth checking out!

Tags: a J!-ENT Anime Blu-Ray Disc Review, BROLY SECOND COMING, BROLY THE LEGENDARY SUPER SAIYAN, Dragon Ball Z

Filed Under: Anime Blu-ray Reviews

DRAGON BALL Z – SUPER ANDROID 13 / BOJACK UNBOUND (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

February 12, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“Continuing the action-packed “DRAGON BALL Z” films on Blu-ray, this time taking the Z-fighters in a thrilling battle against more androids and and an intergalactic martial arts competition against the powerful BOJACK! Two films full of action, on Blu-ray, for a great price!”

TITLE: DRAGON BALL Z – SUPER ANDROID 13 / BOJACK UNBOUND

DURATION: 47 minutes (95 minutes for both)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High-Definition, 16×9, Dolby TrueHD: English 5.1 with Japanese Music, Dolby TrueHD: English 5.1 with U.S. Music, Original Japanese

CATALOG #: FN-03866

COMPANY: FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: TV PG

DRAGON BALL Z MOVIE #7: SUPER ANDROID 13

Director: Kazuhito Kikuchi

Original Creator: Akira Toriyama

Screenplay: Takao Koyama

Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi

Art Director: Hitoshi Nagasaki

Animation Director: Minoru Maeda

DRAGON BALL Z MOVIE #9 – BOJACK UNBOUND

Director: Yoshihiro Ueda

Original Manga by Akira Toriyama

Screenplay: Takao Koyama

Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi

Animation Director: Naoyoshi Yamamuro

Art Director: Ken Tokushige

DRAGON BALL Z CAST:

Masako Nozawa/Sean Schemmel as Son Goku

Masako Nozawa/Stephanie Nadolny as Son Gohan

Hiromi Tsuru/Lalainia Lindbjerg as Bulma

Mayumi Tanaka/Sonny Strait as Kuririn

Toshio Furukawa/Christopher R. Sabat as Piccolo

Takeshi Aono/Christopher R. Sabat as Kami-Sama

Akira Kamiya/Chuck Huber as Garlic Jr

Daisuke Gouri as Gyuumaou

Kenji Utsumi as ShenLong

Kôhei Miyauchi as Kame Sennin

Mayumi Shou/Lisa Ann Beley as Chi-Chi

Miki Itou/Meredith McCoy as Android 18

Takeshi Kusao/Eric Vale as Trunks

Kazuyuki Sogabe/Phillip Wilburn as Android #13

Hisao Egawa/Chris Rager as Android #14

Toshio Kobayashi/Josh Martin as Android #15

Tessho Genda/Bob Carter as Bojack

SUPER ANDROID 13

The peace of a routine day is shattered by violent explosions, with the citizens of the world trembling in terror. Goku knows that he is the target of the vicious assault – and the devastating power of the attacks can mean only one thing: Androids.

A mysterious fiend is creating Androids that are faster, stronger and far more deadly than anything over devised by the deceased Doctor Gero. Goku and the rest of the Z-fighters will have to find the identity of the murderous mastermind if they are to halt the onslaught of his lethal inventions.

This is the story of the Android Assault.

BOJACK UNBOUND

Warriors from every corner of the galaxy are gathering to battle in the most incredible martial arts tournament ever conceived. Many will test their power and technique. Few will make it to the finals. One will be hailed as the greatest. But before a victor can be crowned, sport gives way to a fight for survival.

Bojack – an intergalactic scourge as evil as he is mighty. Leading a gang of deviant criminals, Bojack will stop at nothing short of universal domination. One by one, Earth’s a greatest heroes fall. Only young Goahan can stop the wicked invaders – if he can summon the strength within.

This is the story of one boy’s greatest stand.

FUNimation Entertainment introduces another action-packed “DRAGON BALL Z” movie volume on Blu-ray. The fourth volume featuring the two films “SUPER ANDROID 13″ and “BOJACK UNBOUND” featuring more intense battles and more DBZ fun!

For those not familiar with the “DRAGON BALL Z” films, where they would fit into the timeline of television series is left to interpretation of the viewer. For these two films, these two films take place after the “Android” and “Cell” storylines.

The best old school anime memory back in the early 90’s that I have for any of these two films was back in 1994 which I remember 50-60 people crammed inside a hotel room for a very early anime con watching “SUPER ANDROID 13″ and people cheering for Trunks and laughing at Goku’s ability to eat. Suffice to say, those were special times of watching a film in not-so-great video quality.

So, to watch it 15 years later in Blu-ray in 1080p High Definition and really vibrant colors was quite amazing and nostalgic at the same time.

The first film on the Blu-ray disc is “SUPER ANDROID 13″ which came out in theaters back in 1992. The seventh in the “DRAGON BALL Z” movie lineup which takes place after the “ANDROID” saga and introduces us to the storyline when both Androids 17 and 18 destroyed their creator Dr. Gero. What the two androids don’t know is that underneath Dr. Gero’s lab is a super computer that had been developing three other androids.

While these androids are being developed, Goku, Chichi, Gohan (along with Kuririn) are out shopping for new clothes in the city. While they are enjoying their family time out, two androids start destroying parts of the city and making their way to the area that Goku and family are at. The two are androids 14 & 15 who have been programmed to fight Goku and thus the fight begins.

While Goku tries to lead the androids to another area, he gets some help from Picollo, Trunks and Vegeta. But the androids also get some help from Android 13, an even more powerful android and thus the Z-fighters must protect themselves from the android assault.

The second film included on the Blu-ray disc is “BOJACK UNBOUND” which came out in theaters in 1993. This film is not the eighth but actually the ninth “DRAGON BALL Z” film.

This film takes place right after the Cell saga and it’s time for a new martial arts tournament. But this time, warriors from different parts of the galaxy are invited and unlike the previous tournaments of one versus one battles, it’s an all out battle royale of who from Earth will make it to the semi-finals and will go head-to-head against the galactic champions.

But behind-the-scenes, on the side of the galactic champion side, the galactic champions are being murdered by a super powerful being known as Bojack who came along for the ride to Earth with his henchman.

What will happen to the Z-warriors when they encounter Bojack? With Goku still not in the land of the living (note: watch the end of the Cell storyline to find out what happened to Goku) and not there to save the day, that leaves only Trunks, Kuririn, Gohan, Piccolo and Vegeta to take on Bojack and his group.

VIDEO:

As mentioned in previous “DRAGON BALL Z” volumes, the more recent the film, the better the video quality in the transfer. Both films are in 1080p High-Definition and 16×9. Colors are vibrant and compared to the earlier films on Blu-ray which has quite a bit of scratches and dust, you don’t see it as much in these two films. Very little which is great.

But the colors really do stand out for these two films and considering they are over 15 years old, the transfer to Blu-ray does showcase the colors and these two films are a perfect example because of so many colors utilized.

AUDIO:

Like the treatment they have given to their TV season box sets of “DRAGON BALL Z”, this Blu-ray disc features Dolby TrueHD, English 5.1 with Japanese or U.S. Music and the original 2.0 Japanese track.

I love having been given the choice and although I grew up watching “DRAGON BALL Z” with its original Japanese language, I have to say that the English dubbing for the US “DRAGON BALL Z” is terrific and perfectly cast.

Although, I did question the Western twang of Super Android 13 but overall, everything was good.

The Dolby TrueHD English 5.1 track is where you are going to hear the difference because of the utilization of the rear channels during the battle scenes. So, it’s great to have FUNimation really work the 5.1 track for the Blu-ray release.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Surprisingly there are no special features included on the Blu-ray but there are a good number trailers for a lot of the recent FUNimation DVD and Blu-ray releases.

This time around, this volume breaks away from the standard numerical order of DBZ films by featuring the seventh film “SUPER ANDROID 13″ and the ninth film “BOJACK UNBOUND”. Primarily because the eighth film “BROLY: THE LEGENDARY SAIYAN” was being paired with the ninth tenth film “BROLY: THE SECOND COMING” to give viewers a “BROLY DOUBLE FEATURE” and coming soon a “BROLY TRIPLE FEATURE”.

What I enjoyed about “SUPER ANDROID 13″ is that you get a glimpse of the Goku, Chichi and Gohan on a family shopping spree in the city. Something you rarely see in the television series and really rare to see the entire family doing something together away from their home. So, it was quite enjoyable to see the family shopping at a mall and eating a food court.

I definitely enjoyed the numerous location shots throughout that city area during the first half of the film and of course, then it becomes more action-based and everyone takes it out towards to an area full of snow. But the Blu-ray does showcase the vibrant colors when Goku and family are around the colorful city, the mall and good utilization of sound and rear channels during the film.

Also, with the film “SUPER ANDROID 13″, many “DRAGON BALL Z” fans have wondered who were the previous androids to 16, 17 and 18. The three which we knew from the television series and thus, we get to see the previous three who have been lingering in the underground in the cave where Dr. Gero’s lab is located.

With “BOJACK UNBOUND”, this was definitely a humurous and action-packed film as the film focuses on a martial arts tournament. Unlike what we saw on television, this was not one-on-one matches right off the bat. If anything, it’s more of the last person standing as all fighters are put in a platform and whoever falls in the water is eliminated.

So, it was great to see Gohan and Trunks amongst the competitors and to see Chichi and Bulma each supporting their son and getting in each other’s faces of who will win.

Again, the Blu-ray transfer of the film showcases the vibrancy of the colors and another film that shows off the unknown strength of Gohan.

If you thought Gohan’s battle with Cell was exciting and action-packed, definitely check out how Gohan takes on Bojack and his henchman. Definitely a film for those who enjoy watching Gohan kick ass!

Overall, the two films were fun and enjoyable but most of all giving “DRAGON BALL Z” fans what they want and that is all-out action.

Another fun, action-packed volume in the “DRAGON BALL Z” movies on Blu-ray! Check it out!

Tags: a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review, BOJACK UNBOUND, Dragon Ball Z, SUPER ANDROID 13

Filed Under: Anime Blu-ray Reviews