What's My Destiny Dragon Ball

I mean it is awesome.

This anime is based on the later part of the Dragon Ball manga written by the insanely talented Akira Toriyama. It is the follow on from the incredible Dragon Ball anime. (see review on my comments page)Set 5 years after the battle against Piccolo, Son Goku is living peacefully. But in the Dragon Ball universe peace is never lasting. Pretty soon the past he didn't even know he had escaped from catches up from him leading to a series of epic battles.

The series goes across four main sagas- Saiyan, Freeza, Cell and Majin Boo. It takes place over a time span of about 27 years, which is pretty cool, and something you rarely get to see in a show like this. You get to see the characters grow up and change. Some character you will like a lot more by the time the series is finished. It contains some of the most likable characters of all time. I don't see how anyone could not like Son Goku. Or Son Gohan. Of course almost all of the old characters return in this series, although most have smaller roles. But most of them still get a chance at some action in at least one part. Piccolo and Kuririn still have fairly large roles, in the first half of the series at least. Yamucha and Tenshinhan have a lot less to do in the series, and Chaozu doesn't play much of a role at all. The villains are awesome. Vegeta is an awesome and well rounded character, Freeza may be one of the most memorable villains around, Cell is awesome just because of the basis of his character, and Boo.... well Boo is just the ultimate killing machine.

The series is really different from the first series. Dragon Ball focused more on humour and martial arts, this focuses more on powerful ki blasts, hardcore action and ridiculously powerful character. It will never be the most challenging series around, but it is still a whole lot of fun. Great action scenes, really cool transformations, and a bunch of alien races. What more can you really ask for? The show spans for 291 Episodes, 13 movies and 2 TV specials. And you will still be sad when it ends.

The Dragon Ball Z movies can be seen as separate stories, as most do not fit into the timeline of the series well. Also, you will find some of the material in the anime doesn't fit in very well. For the most part, this is because it is filler material that wasn't in the original manga. An example of filler is the Garlic Jr. Saga, which was put in after the Freeza saga and is a sequel of sorts to the first movie. The movies and filler are sometimes not as good as the stuff taken from the original manga, but that's not to say it isn't enjoyable. Some of the movies are pretty cool with villains like Brolli and Cooler. So I would recommend you check them out.

As with Dragon Ball, there is not much to say about the animation, although by the end it had improved a fair bit. It is drawn well, and is nice to watch. The characters all have their charms in terms of the way they are designed. The music of the series is nothing spectacular either, although I like the theme songs to the series a whole lot.

This is the show that, along with Evangelion: Neon Genesis, helped me get into anime, way back when I was just a dumb kid. Now I've grown up and become a dumb adult and I still love it. I watch it differently now than I did all those years ago. I grew up with the edited and dubbed version, which is great for kids, but if you are looking for the true series, try and get your hands on some DVDs with Japanese language options. I find them much better. But that's just me. No matter how you want to watch it, I would just advise you to sit down, switch off, and enjoy.

With the upcoming Dragon Ball live action movie, I can only hope that it is successful enough to warrant a few sequels, as a Dragon Ball Z movie would be awesome. I would not expect it to quality cinema, just a whole lot of fun.

There is also a sequel to the series, known as Dragon Ball GT, which is not based on the work of Akira Toriyama. Worth a look if you're a fan, but don't expect it to be as good as Dragon Ball Z

10/10

Wha-? Are you crazy, Nah...the thing is, I really like this show, and it's NOT because of the fighting. Too many people just dimiss the show as a mindless punch-a-thon, as "that fighting anime that turned me off all fighting anime." The thing is, the characters are all really nicely developed. As we watch the show over the years, we get to see the characters grow, and it happens so gradually that we don't even realize it's happening. Toriyama's Freeza saga was probably the best-told part, despite the fact that the anime completely f-ed it up--the reason for everyone to be there in the first place actually made sense, and the transition from the Vegeta fight to the Freeza fight (and the reason Vegeta eventually joined with the rest of the group) was actually logical. I think the show has a lot more substance than everyone else says, but I realize by now that everyone's already made up their mind about the show and no matter what I say, their opinions will stay the soon.

I was going to write a huge long comment on this, but a lot of people really seem to hate this show so I just can't be bothered preaching to the unconvertable. I will say, however, I am a big fan of anime and this is one of my favourites. It's certainly my favourite anime TV series. People don't seem to realise that this is for kids, so screw the voice acting (which is better than many other kids shows) and animation (which is also better than many other kids shows). Comparing this to serious anime like Akira is like comparing He-Man to Gladiator. DBZ is light on the brain and heavy on the adrenal gland. Once you get into it it becomes very addictive, and your imagination covers over any bad acting or animation. Unless you have no imagination... Watch it from the beginning and just let yourself get sucked in to the amazing fights and ever increasing displays of power.

Dragon Ball has become a super-franchise that's attained a foothold on pop-culture like Star Wars and MARVEL, even if it's a somewhat more niche taste for some fanboys out there. Ever since 1996, when Dragon Ball Z (or DBZ) first got imported in the United States via Cartoon Network, the franchise's status in Western popular culture has become cataclysmic in scale and its characters have become household names, especially Goku himself.

Anime has become an interesting paradox in the entertainment industry: some relish its high-detail animation and storytelling whilst some reckon too many are all the same as each other. Yet in Japan anime is simply a domestic term for 'animation' period: not just specific to their own stuff. DBZ is like a nice concentrated form of all the good stuff that's come to define anime over the past couple of decades, even if it has some of the cliches built-in as part of its story. Thankfully the cliches add to the charm and over-the-top nature of the show's many fight scenes and character-driven comedy helps make DBZ a plentiful experience for even the most casual viewers of animated television.

This show is an energetic blast from the past that still has loads of charm and appeal for modern television audiences everywhere. Even if this isn't the very start of Goku's story (the original Dragon Ball covers that), it's still a great introduction to some of animation's most memorable characters.

It may have been years since this ORIGINALLY came out, but to most of us Americans, the show is brand new material. Sometimes people may say the shows tend to "drag on," but this is a clever way to keep you begging for more and tuning in again and again. Also, the characters actually develop and change throughout the series, unlike some other shows. The american translated versions may lose something in the translation, but the show is still a very cool show, and I hope Cartoon Network picks up the entire seven year run of the series. The adjusted script makes some previously "possibly offensive" terms absent, replacing them with less intimidating terms like "bully." But this show IS for kids, and if they didn't take away some terms, it wouldn't air. Then we would be stuck buying the videos for $15.00 a piece instead of taping entire sagas for free. ;) The voice actors aren't spectacular, but they get the point across and tell a good story. The storylines are intriguing and make you want to watch every last episode to see what happens next. The show, despite it's older animation techniques, is still a good looking animated piece. I watch the series everyday on Cartoon Network when they air two episodes side-by-side (which makes since seeing as how the show moves along so slow). The show is divided into "sagas" or series of episodes telling a certain story. My favorite sagas are the Saya-jin Saga, Frieza Saga, Garlic Jr. Saga, Android Saga, and the Cell Saga. I hope this show keeps airing again and again. It's truly remarkable.