Top 5 Deaths in Dragon Ball Z

By: Sean Dibble

So, death in Dragon Ball Z is somewhat fickle seeing how no one seems to stay dead for very long, kind of like in comic books where no one stays dead. However, even though death is present, most of the characters don't even make you sad or upset because well lets face it, they will be back in a few episodes. The deaths that I am going to be talking about though made everyone cry, not because the character is gone but because of what the character did or what it means in the moment. So here is my list of top 5 deaths and remember this is my opinion and if you do not like it well to bad.

5. Frieza kills Krillen- This one makes the list in the number five spot because not only was it shocking but it also sent Goku over the edge and gave him the power to fight the tyrant and avenge his friends. This shows that the power of friendship goes deep.

4. Piccolo's Sacrifice- If you are like me and you watched Dragon Ball before Dragon Ball Z you know that Piccolo was a bad guy. So seeing him risk his life to save Gohan from absolute death is a shocker. You may not cry, but I know a tear will drip as Piccolo tells Gohan that he did it because Gohan was his only friend.

3. Vegeta Dies on Namek- Vegeta the strong and powerful prince of all Saiyans was killed on Namek. He was constantly saying that he would become the legendary Super Saiyan and that is why Frieza feared the Saiyan race. Frieza, to shut him up, shot him through the chest. Before his death though you watch as Vegeta, a man you never thought you would see cry, tell Goku how he became who he became and with his final words asks, no, begs Goku to avenge himself, his father and the Saiyan race.

2. Goku's Sacrifice- Goku is no stranger to death in Dragon Ball Z but this is probably the one that will tear you up inside. He sees that the Earth stands no chance now that Cell was going to blow himself up. Teleporting himself to save the planet losing his life in the meantime. Now the sad part doesn't really come with Goku dying, its him saying goodbye to all his friends, his son and then telling him to take care of his mom for him. Just the reaction from the other characters will bring a tear to your eye.

1. Vegeta's Atonement- Last but not least we have the most heart wrenching and tear jerking all around feels moment, Vegeta sacrificing himself in hopes to atone for his past sins and take the evil Majin Buu with him. In this scene he tells a young Trunks to take care of his mother and tells him that he has made him proud. The whole thing is just not a side of Vegeta you ever thought you would see and that is why a river ran from my eyes when it happened.

Another

By: Robert Murphy 

I have never been a super huge fan of the horror genre, if I was a character in a game I would have the weakest constitution in the group but never the less it doesn't stop me from playing a scary game or watching a scary show. Another though doesn't start right out into the shock or the gore aspects of the horror genre but rather it strives to give you the chills and unnerves you to your core with it's story. We follow a young student named Sakakibara Kouichi who just moved back to the town of his birth for school while his father is away on business. And while everything appears to be normal in this town, his class and the town have some secrets hidden just underneath the surface and Kouichi, just like a stereotypical horror movie character, keeps asking questions until he finds out just what is going on in his new home. 

From the very first episode of the show things are a little bit eerie and unnerving as it flashes images of creepily designed dolls every so often as if to try to place subliminal messages into your brain that this show is going to be a little off it's rocker. This was a little off putting at first as it seemed to be so out of place and not at all relevant to what is going on but you can never judge an anime before it's finished and so I kept going. Happily, I was rewarded for waiting it out as the pieces started to come together in the story but Another was trying too hard to put in some horror cliches that just didn't quite fit in. The horror aspects that did work for the show are when the cliches disappear and you get to watch the story unfold and Kouichi starts to figure out just what's happening around him. All the characters in Kouichi's class move about shadily and you can tell there is something right beneath the surface of each one of them. When this breaks out it is truly a shocking scene just for the pure dread that some of the characters will exude and they really have every right to do so as many of them and their families begin to die.

Now I apologize if my first paragraph may have led you to believe that there isn't any gore in Another, no this isn't the case because once the deaths start to occur in the show they can be pretty gruesome. The very first death in the show had me at a loss for words just for the ridiculousness behind it, it's was deliberately meant to be far-fetched and the writers wanted something unique that came off as corny. Other deaths are fairly standard things that we've all seen before but are exceedingly drawn out such as the replay moment over and over when a young nurse dies in an elevator collapse, her head is shown repeatedly hitting the floor and splattering blood in every direction like a watermelon at a Gallagher show. Stuff of this nature happens constantly throughout the show and while at first it was somewhat of a draw it quickly became a predictable part of Another. 

The sad part of all this is that the show had some intriguing aspects working for it but decided to make itself into another cheap horror flick about teenagers being murdered one by one. As I said before, Another starts out trying to give you the chills as Kouichi strives to find out the secret behind his class and eventually the secret to why they're all dying around him. It's an intriguing mystery to be honest and it had me hooked right up till the end because it's an idea that I just have never seen before. Kouichi's class is almost like there own select part of the school, they have their own rules and their own way of doing things and while this is no big news when you see how proper and advanced most Japanese schools are, this was still something unique. 

In the end, if Another had avoided using so many tired cliches that I have been numb to over the years, it would have been a much better show. The creepy angles that the show was going for worked for the story that I was watching but then things go all Miley Cyrus and crashes through with a big drawn out death scene with abnormal amounts of gore. There is a solid story buried underneath the rubble but it's not enough to save Another entirely. 

Good:

- A solid idea for a mystery and suspense story

- The dynamic of the kids in the classroom is something unique 

Bad:

- A gross amount of horror movie cliches

- Drawn out death scenes with an overabundance of gore and blood 

- Some of the deaths were just ridiculous and stupid to think about 

Scully Rating: 5.0 out of 10 

Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey

Dudes and Dudettes Bill S. Preston Esq. and Theodore “Ted” Logan are back for more. Now the Wyld Stallyns have entered a San Dimas battle of the bands.  Chuck De Nomolos a man from the future who hates Bill and Ted’s music steals a time machine and brings back two robots that look exactly like Bill and Ted. These two evil robots go out and kill the real Bill and Ted. Face to face with Death himself who challenges them to a game which they win. Bill and Ted try to speak in their ethereal form but it is difficult and what makes it worse is Bill’s stepmom Missy says a séance that sends the boys down to hell. Now facing Satan both must face their fears and try to get back to the mortal world, and win the battle of the bands the future depends on it. 

The Sequel to “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” didn’t fare as well as its predecessor did. This movie had the rocker feel but it just couldn’t hold up to the expectation that we all wanted from it. No real memorable lines and the real only great scenes are with death. The plot was nothing new try to stick together to make music that makes world peace.

Good:

-Scenes with Death are great

-Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter remain great wannabe rockers

Bad:

-Lackluster plot

-Nothing new from the first film

-Didn’t’ live up to the hype

-No memorable lines

Scully Rating: 4 out of 10