Sean Dibble
Five years have passed since the ending of Dragon Ball, and our hero Goku has grown up and now has a son named Gohan. The world has been at peace since the world tournament battle between Goku and Piccolo, and that’s the way Goku and his friends hope it will stay; but this peace will not last for long. Goku will face villains from out of this world, literal aliens, who come to destroy Earth in this series. Goku and his friends, the Z Fighters, must do all they can to save Earth and its populace.
(Characters from the Vegeta Saga)
The story of Dragon Ball Z is much different from its predecessor, Dragon Ball. Where Dragon Ball focused on adventure and storytelling, DBZ focuses more on fighting and, well... more fighting. For most people, this would be a negative, but I personally enjoyed all the action scenes (despite them making no sense on occasion.) One thing that DBZ had that Dragon Ball didn't was better villains, like Vegeta, Freiza, and Cell. These villains make the story much more compelling, as these three each make you think that there’s no way Goku can win. While Vegeta does eventually become an ally to the Z Fighters, the other villains aren’t so yielding.
Episode-wise, the story flows very well, for the most part. The story of Dragon Ball Z is made up of nine sagas with very little filler content. There is no lull in the story, unlike some other notable anime with a large amount of episodes that have come out long after Goku and his friends were around. What little filler there is isn’t particularly noticeable and you probably won’t realize that it’s filler unless you’ve been told beforehand such as the Garlic Junior saga and a few others that are really just more enjoyable parts to the overall story in a way.
(The two best Saiyans face off)
The characters in DBZ have their ups and downs. Following the events of Dragon Ball, Goku continues to be the strongest and Krillin can only be seen as a joke in terms of sheer power and fighting ability; however, he does compete with Yamcha for the title of Worst Human Character in DBZ. One thing I wish the show developers did differently was provide a greater backstory for Vegeta. He’s such an interesting character, but the show portrays him as a whiny crybaby. He arguably shouldn’t be stronger than the main character but Vegeta as he’s shown in DBZ is a mockery to those who enjoy his character and see just how hard he tries to stay at the top of his game. Though, despite my complaints about his character development, Vegeta does have some fantastic scenes. Among my favorite are his sacrifice against Buu, and his climactic and action-packed battles with Goku that pop up here and there.
One other part of the story, which I had some qualms with too, is the nature of Gohan and Goku’s power. You would think that, because Gohan is Goku’s son, Goku would be the more powerful of the two. While this is usually the case, there’s some inconsistency in their power levels. Gohan is generally seen as a wimp throughout much of DBZ, but during the Cell Saga he gains immense strength which rivals (or possibly even surpasses) that of his father. This is fine, and the son surpassing their father in terms of raw fighting power is seen in plenty of contemporary works, but the problem with DBZ’s representation of this concept is that they don’t follow through with it. Right after Gohan’s epic battle with Cell, he goes back to being the wimpy little kid he was beforehand.
(Gohan being a BA)
Even the animation has stood the test of time, and it’s still remarkably engaging several years later. I’ve seen this show close to ten times, and it’s one of my favorites. DBZ was the first anime I had seen and it made me fall in love with the genre. Since then, I’ve seen Bleach, One Piece, Fairy Tale, and many more; but DBZ continues to be one of my favorites, even with its flaws in timeline issues and poor character development. These flaws are small prices to pay for a fantastic storyline and hours upon hours of action-packed fight scenes. What Akira Toriyama has created with the Dragon Ball series is a legacy which few can hope to ever match. As a fan, I can honestly say that I hope Toriyama was sincere when he suggested DBZ might make a return in the future.
Good:
- Action, action, action: If you want an anime with plenty of action, DBZ certainly won’t disappoint.
- Decent storytelling: While it has its flaws, DBZ builds off of the quality storytelling practices used by its predecessor.
- Seamless flow: Each episode connects with admirable continuity, drawing the viewer in and engaging them one episode after another.
- Great show for beginning anime fans: DBZ is notorious as being one of the great gems of animation, and is a fantastic segue into more complex anime. Heck, I even know people who don’t particularly like anime who love DBZ. That should speak for itself.
Bad:
- Character development: Some characters, like Vegeta and Gohan, don’t have personalities or consistencies needed to make a powerful connection with the viewer, or simply don’t have personalities which suit their power levels.
- Some episodes simply don’t make sense: Even in the world of anime, episodes should make sense in the world which they’re built upon. For example, during the Freiza Saga, the planet Namek is supposed to be destroyed within five minutes. Several episodes occur within this timeframe, and I assure you that Namek could have blown up several times over by the time the events of these episodes have occurred.
Scully Rating: 8.9 out of 10
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