Dragonball Z - Movie 01: Die Todeszone des Garlic Jr.

Hands down, Dead Zone is superior to Tree of Might and World's Strongest. The translation from Japanese to English is not too bad, way better than other anime series on today. Like the other Dragon Ball Z movies, the story is fast paced and exiting. The fight scenes are awesome and, as always, the best above all else. This is a must see, especially if you have already seen The Garlic Jr. Saga on the television series.

I watched this feature length anime less than two hours ago and I must say I was impressed. I like "Dragonball Z" the series but I never really get round to watching it much (unlike my younger brother who is a huge fan), I found with this film even if you are not a fan of the show you may enjoy this, as its easy to follow.

I must say I expected this movie to ponder on but I was wrong as it was only on for 45 minutes so it is very short and sweet and I thought that this was a spot on running time for this film.

This film I think is suitable for people of all ages as children enjoy watching the show and older people also really enjoy to see the great action sequences.

Adams Rating - 8/10

Though not the first Dragonball movie despite what many people thing (there were movies based on the original TV series that tells of Goku's adventures with Bulma when he was still a child), this movie is a pretty neat romp for Goku and his friends, as long as you don't think TOO hard about it...because then you'd notice there's no way it could fit into the continuity of the TV series (since Goku has mastered obviously been to King Kai's already and mastered the techniques he taught him there, but is not yet a Super-Saiyan). But if you ignore this, it's a well-animated but badly dubbed fight. Any real fan of Dragonball Z should check this out as soon as possible.

This is the first movie with the "Dragonball Z" title on it. There were in fact some before this, but they had the original "Dragonball" series names on it. It's weird how this is actually shorter than some of the specials! I still consider it a feature length movie. If so, it might be the shortest one I've ever seen. It makes no sense with the show, even though it should with the filler of the Garlic Jr. saga. There's no reason why Krillin would be surprised Goku has a son in the first episode or why everyone is surprised when Gohan unleashes his power on Radditz as those things happened here.

With all that being said, I still enjoyed it, but wouldn't quite recommend it. The scenes where Gohan gets drunk is some of the funniest stuff the series has ever done! I love the idea of taking Emperor Pilaf's voice and giving it to a serious villain. I don't know if I ever realized that Ox King is Gohan's grandfather before. There's so many characters it's hard to keep up with how they're related! The animation is good too. ***

More a long episode than anything else, Dead Zone is actually the beginning of the Dragonball Z series. Fans of the series who find themselves confused by the plot would do well to watch this (and the next view episodes) if they can find it. It establishes the fact that Goku and Piccolo, two of the show's most important characters, were once enemies, a fact that greatly affects later plot elements but is only occasionally referenced once the series gets underway. Of course, like the rest of the series, Dead Zone is light on substance and heavy on fight sequences, but that's what makes the show fun to watch, anyway. 9/10