I know crappy thread name, but I'm drawing blanks on just what to call this thing.

Okay, I've decided to give this thread idea a go on the off-chance that we can have some reasonable discussion on the subject. Do not, I repeat, do not use this thread as an excuse to flame fans of either version, okay? And this does go out to dub fans and sub fans alike, every side I want to hold to this. If you have a problem with something someone says, take it up with them via PM please. That said, I don't mind some friendly or even not-so-friendly debate on the subjects, just keep it CALM and UNDER CONTROL, okay?

Now, to get started - It's known to most here that I have been for the longest time, a dub fan primarily. This is pretty much my preference for all anime I watch, with the exception of a few dubs that are 'just okay' enough that I'm neutral, to some others that are 'horrible' enough that I go to the sub right away. My fandom for Dragon Ball titles in general is no exception, up until now I've primarily watched the dubbed versions, even while I fully admit there are multiple problems with the dubs of them overall. They've never been bad enough for me to hate the dubs as a whole though, they still aren't, but it has been enough for me to want to someday go back and watch the franchise in it's original format.

So that's what I'm doing now. Starting from the original Dragon Ball and working my way through Z, then into GT, and the movies either along the way or after all of that, I'll be watching this franchise subbed for the first time ever on over 99% of this. In fact, I think the only things I've seen subbed before now are the first 8 episodes of Kai, movie 7 and 8 for Z, the Super 17 Saga of GT, and anything else that we haven't gotten here.

To avoid anymore pointless blathering from me though, let's just jump right on into what I've watched so far, with the first 2 episodes of Dragon Ball.

DRAGON BALL

Dragon Ball - Episode 001 - Bulma and Son Goku

For starters, yes, there'll probably be small discrepancies in my Japanese episode title listing compared to what you may see on sites like Daizex or Kanzentai. That's simply because for my own ease, I'm getting these titles directly from what's said as I watch the DVDs.

Anyway, the first thing I took note of was something I already knew sort-of, how much less the narrator talks. Now I love Brice Armstrong's narrations, but there's a few times where I really wish he wouldn't have been required to keep going on and on about the scene and just let me watch it. Fortunately, Jouji Yanami was under no such requirement, and eloquently delivers what needs to be said, then stops.

I can't make any differences comments on the music obviously since the dub used the same track but I will say that it compliments the scenes much better than the goofier scene tracks for Falcouner's score, so I'm glad they never went that route for this in the first place.

Masako Nozawa's Kid Goku definitely sounds different than what I've heard more of her adult Goku for Z, it definitely fits more, and actually, I can't tell it's a woman at all. It sounds like a real little boy to me, though exaggerated a bit to good effect.

Hiromi Tsuru's Bulma sounds about what I would imagine a Japanese Bulma sounding like, especially when she's supposed to sound coy and 'seductive' which obviously fails on Goku. She definitely handles that side better than Vollmer did I think.

Dragon Ball - Episode 002 - "What the...?! No Balls!

Still enjoying Nozawa and Tsuru's performances, but the real star for me of this arc is Shigeru Chiba's Pilaf. Comedy. Freaking. GOLD. I mean, I'm a big fan of Chuck Huber, who I look upon as pure comedy gold in dubs, but Chiba's performance is the highlight of this re-watch for me. I don't know what it is, but something about his delivery and the voice itself is cracking me up, especially when combined with the more straight deliveries of Shu and Mai's seiyuu.

And looking it up, I'm stunning myself. Shigeru Chiba is also the seiyuu for Kuwabara in Yu Yu Hakusho, one of my least-favorite sub voices of all time. I can't say this'll make me like his Kuwabara any better, but at least this shows that it's just a voice of his I hate, not his performances themselves.

Anyway, not much else to add here for now that I can think of, as it was a few days ago that I watched the episodes, and I haven't watched any more yet. Future installments will hopefully be typed up as I watch, so they'll be a bit more in-depth and less blathering. I invite anyone else who has all of the DB sets and has never really seen the sub version to join me, and give it a chance if you haven't. You might just find something there you like better than you did in the dub. Feel free to give feedback on my thoughts as well, or post your own here!

Until then - Kinto'un!

*jumps on the yellow cloud and flies away*

Dragon Ball - Episode 003 - The Turtle Hermit's Kinto-un

And here we go, my first sub review written as I watch an episode!

Right away, getting to hear more of Daisuke Gouri's Kame, which at first I'm not so fond of. I love his Mr. Satan for later in Z, but this sounded like the exact same voice to me at first, and it was a bit off-putting. At least it was until Turtle started making these weird frightened noises when the bear bandit showed up. I love his little whine as he runs away to leave Goku to fight the bandit!

I completely forgot about the Tori-bot that appears clinging to a tree on the beach, and to top it off, I never knew he had a line! 'Penguin village...this is not.' I love breaking-the-fourth-wall moments like this. Does anyone with more sub knowledge than me know who voices that little line? They didn't go all-out and have Toriyama read it did they? I can't dismiss the possibility, when I know the Video Girl Ai anime had it's author Katsura sing a song for the BGM, and the Buso Renkin anime kept a similar author joke and even had it voiced by Watsuki himself.

There's a line where Goku is saying 'Take care now!' to Kame as he swims off, and I swear it sounds like 'Genki Dama', but it CAN'T be...again, anyone with more Japanese knowledge than me care to elaborate on what I just heard?

Bulma's worried about Kame bringing them 'Pandora's Box' as a gift? I wasn't aware that Greek mythology was commonplace enough in Japan to be used in a line like that. I could have sworn there was a similar Japanese folktale about a sailor getting a box he wasn't supposed to open, only to open it later though. Is this a changed reference even in the subs?

And yes, I know, I'm asking as many if not more questions than I'm actually making comments on. I'm new to half this, this is for my education as much as it is your enjoyment.

Yes, more Chiba's Pilaf at last! I'm seriously convinced that had he worked for FUNi back when this was dubbed, and they went for a soundalike for Chiba, it would have been Greg Ayres. Still, I'm perfectly happy with the performance we got out of Huber as well mind you.

I'm trying to keep comments to mainly the performances and the scripts as I said, so as to not step on the toes of Champion's thread at all, but I can't help but wonder a few things I've never wondered before while watching. You know...I would love to have gotten a backstory on Pilaf. Seriously, where did this guy come from, and where does he keep getting the cash for all these failing machines? Does he order from freaking Acme or something?

...and for that matter, why is Bulma drawing a picture of poo in the sand with a stick. Another slight Slump reference?

And enter Kame'sennin! And Urashima, the song he's singing, now I remember I think! That Japanese folktale was about Urashima, who went under the sea somehow, and was given a box he was to never open, right? This is making me wonder further about that Pandora's Box mention earlier. Did the box in the folktale have a name anyway? It was called the 'Udon Box' in Yu Yu Hakusho.

The Engrish use of Roshi and Kame as they make their entrance is killing me too, in a good way.

Roshi telling Bulma not to sweat the details about a 'Turtle' Hermit having a cloud is great too, I'm seriously loving the fourth-wall destruction in this episode.

Kohei Miyauchi's voice for Kame'sennin at first was showing off the wise-old man side that I knew it would need later, but I was wondering what it would sound like when he had to fall into Roshi's perverted antics. I...was not disappointed. At all. I love McFarland's lecherous old coot voice, and sometimes he can even sound like a wise old man with it, but it still sounds somewhat artificial even when it's really good. I'm going to assume that Miyauchi was probably at least older than McFarland at the time he recorded this, so it definitely has more authenticity to it.

I usually find Kame's character to be rather dull, but his acting like an 'old housewife' in his scolding Roshi makes me wish he'd been around more actually.

I never knew that the closing narrator dialogue in some episodes was dub-only either, somehow I'm liking it better without it there.

Dragon Ball - Episode 004 - Oolong, the Kidnapping Monster

Already a decent way into this episode, and not near as much to comment on so far, other than I always love the pat-pat test.

Oolong's approaching the village now though, so I'd imagine soon enough I'll have a bit more to comment on, with his real voice coming out. Officially halfway through this episode with nowhere near as much to say now though. ^_^;

Actually, both forms of Oolong so far (the giant pig-oni and the gentleman) sounded somewhat similar, and just now when he lost it upon learning Goku's 'little secret', his real voice came out. They all sound somewhat alike, are all forms of Oolong the same seiyuu, even in this episode where at first we aren't supposed to know his true form?

Yup, now the bull sounds similar enough too, I'm almost certain they're all the same seiyuu.

At last, Oolong's real form and true voice have debuted. From what I can tell so far, I like it. I have nothing against Jackson's Oolong, and I definitely like Naoki Tatsuta more than Brian Massey's take on the voice, but to compare Jackson and Massey, why do they both use a voice or just plain sound like lifetime smokers for this little pig? The somewhat nasally voice used in the original fits the appearance much better.

Also, I'd forgotten (as I have read the manga for this part before) that in the original Oolong is a kid like Goku, or at least that's what I'm getting from him saying Bulma is older than him. They always play him off as an adult of sorts from what I always gathered in the dub.

And another episode has drawn to a close. At least I finally did have something of note to say in this one.

Dragon Ball - Episode 005 - Yamucha, the Strong Yet Cruel Desert Bandit

As of this episode, where Oolong is more his whiny and sneaky self instead of trying to be an actual threat (and failing), I'm loving Tatsuta's work much more.

I've never really noticed, but the somewhat stylized animation for when Oolong is thinking about Gyu-Mao, it looks like an entirely different company other than Toei handled it. In fact...it looks downright Gainax-y to me, though I'm not really good with noticing or comparing these things. Is there any notable moments of Toei farming out scenes to other studios though?

Major LOL at Goku's mishearing/misunderstanding on the boat being out of gas, or as he heard it, butt and **** 'How can we be out of ass? What kind of butt is that?'

I never knew what Bulma said to give Oolong diarhea in the original until now either. I wonder why they had to change 'Pee Pee!' into 'Piggy Piggy!'? Surely the kiddie name for taking a whiz could have flown on Toonami, give me a break.

Already to the halfway point, and they're only just now getting to the desert, I'd forgotten that despite the title, it takes a while to actually get to Yamucha.

At last though, here they are, and all of five lines in - I like Naoko Watanabe for Puar way better than any English Puar we've gotten. It's high-pitched to be sure, which is what I'd expect for the character, but all the dub voices I've heard for this cat have been unrealistically and unbearably such.

As for Yamucha, I've never had a problem with Sabat's 'voice' for the character. My only problem with his Yamcha has been some of the lines he was given, and the delivery with which those lines had to be given. The 'surfer dude' if you will. When he's able to do it more normally though, as he did for the entirety of DB unlike in Z, I like his Yamcha just fine. Actually, so far I much prefer his Yamcha. I'll have to re-evaluate my feelings as I get further along with the character obviously, but as of now Tohru Furuya's Yamucha voice isn't doing much for me. It's not bad by any means, but it's not really capturing my attention either. It's just kind of...well, it's 'there'.

Then again, this is Yamucha we're talking about. That's his lot in life. Oh, and when you see me flipflopping on names, like Yamcha and Yamucha, I'm trying to use the Japanese names for when I'm talking about the seiyuu performance, and the dub names when I'm saying something in regard to the dub actor. Is it too confusing? I can just stick with one if it is.

Though, I will say that actually, Goku and Yamucha's fight is the first really entertaining one in the series. He's the first guy that Goku doesn't pretty much take down in one hit when it's actually a real fight, so it really sucks that he was delegated to the background as quickly as he was.

You know, just what was Gohan so famous for? Did he win a Tenkaichi Budokai once? Just what is it he's done other than being strong that he's so famous for even Oolong to have heard of him?

Furuya has now won bonus points from me for the Bruce Lee yells while he used his Rogafufu-ken. If nothing else about his performance so far has captured my liking, that has at least.

I thought he'd get some more for me when he saw Bulma and went into his weakness phase, but I feel he far underperformed that part compared to Sabat, at least in this episode. Still, this was his first episode, he's got a lot more to grow on me and impress me in.

Dragon Ball - Episode 006 - Midnight Callers

I've been waiting for this one. This is honestly one of my favorite humor episodes in this arc. I mean, we've got Pilaf and his cronies running around up to no good; Yamucha and Puar running around up to no good; Oolong making plans that are, again, not good. And the entire time, essentially, Goku and Bulma are out of it. This is where the new background characters get to really shine, and I love it.

My liking for the episode also has absolutely nothing to do with the Bulma shower scenes, I assure you. Totally not a factor. At all. ...Moving on.

Speaking of that scene though, Yamucha just got his first peek, and Furuya's voice is growing on me a bit more, but he still just sounds way too background character for my liking. It's just not a voice that grabs my attention, even though the acting is an excellent job. Unless he whips out something amazing before this arc is done, I think I'm going to always prefer Sabat for this character.

Getting another major LOL, at Goku thinking the reason Bulma got mad at him, was that he was supposed to keep the lack of 'certain parts' a secret. He's so freaking clueless.

Past the halfway mark now, and I'm finally realizing what this familiar vibe I get off of Pilaf's crew's antics is. They're severely reminding me of Team Rocket from Pokemon, maybe they partially inspired those characters?

Yamucha's pretty dense too though, considering...yeah. How does he mistake 'those curves' for Dragon Balls!

And as of his other big meltdown, I'm still much preferring Sabat over Furuya. The line 'One breasts, two breasts...' is cracking me up though.

Dragon Ball - Episode 007 - Mt. Fryapan's Gyu-mao

The first thing of note for me in this one (beyond more enjoyable Pilaf antics) is the appearance of Chi Chi, someone else who I wish had gotten to appear more in the main plot at this age. She's much more enjoyable now than she'll be later on in Z. As for her voice though, Mayumi Shou is doing a fine job, but so far it's another role where I'm much preferring the dub actress. Then again, it would take an AMAZING performance to make me prefer an original take over something Laura Bailey has done. That woman is amazing.

And the other new character for this episode has appeared just before I hit the halfway point, Gyu-mao. I was afraid that I'd find Gouri's performance here too similar to what I know of his Mr. Satan later on, but it's an incredibly different voice. It's hard for me to say at this point which voice I like more for the big guy, between Gouri and Hebert. Both have their charms, and both sound kinda like a big oaf. The drawback to Hebert's is that at times he sounds like a stupid oaf, while so far Gouri's just sounds like a really big guy. As of now though, I'd say they're about even in my mind.

Gotten a little further to the Yamucha and Chi Chi scene, where Yamucha tries to make Chi Chi think he likes her, and still Furuya's performance just doesn't do much for me. Shou's is growing on me a bit more, but still, nothing on Laura Bailey.

I'm beginning to wonder about Chi Chi's intelligence as a kid, compared to Goku's. Between her extremely low knowledge and loving of thoughts of dating, along with the 'My heart's as clean as a flushed toilet' line...

So the moment Goku did a pat-pat test on Chi Chi was the real moment she fell in love with him... *facepalms* Only Dragon Ball.

And with that, I leave off for now, having finished disc 1. I'll pick up again soon with the rest of the Gyu-mao story.

Dragon Ball - Episode 008 - The Turtle Hermit's Kamehameha

Almost right away into this one I'm struck by a question. Kame'sennin says that he got the Kinto'un from Kami-sama himself when Goku makes a comment about how wonderful and amazing the cloud is. Was this just a generic comment at the time, making Kame'sennin seem even more impressive (by having dealt with 'God' himself)? Or did he get the cloud from Kami-sama for real? I know later we see a bunch of these clouds with Korin, did he mean him?

I'm laughing over the old man's quips about Chi Chi's name too. I didn't know that 'chichi' could mean father, but I did know about it meaning 'breasts'. Of all the things to have the same word for LOL. 'Chichi's "chichi" is the Gyu-mao, and her "chichis" are her breasts...So then Chichi's chichi's chichis...are the Gyu-mao's." Did he really just say what I think he did by the end of it...LOL.

Another thing I wish they'd given more backstory on was that potion Roshi drank for immortality. If there were such potions, you'd think more DB villains would have tried to make that stuff instead of always going for the Dragon Balls.

Having the dub pretty well remembered on some lines is helping me notice some parts that were actually perfectly translated for the dub. Example being -

Master Roshi: Of course! There's nothing Master Roshic can't do!
Muten Roshi: Of course I can! There is nothing Muten Roshi cannot do!

- Perfect.

I'd forgotten about Baby Gamera, I wish he'd gotten showcased again at some point.

I love Roshi's little song while riding Gamera too. There's a reason he's one of my favorite anime perverts heh.

What are those things all over Roshi's back anyway? I know the two up on his shoulder that look kinda like crackers are like heating pads or something, but what about the tiny little dot things that go up the small of his back?

Muten Roshi: Sexy, aren't I?
Bulma: Yes, you sure are.

HA!

The 'Take care!' call popped up again and I swear I'm hearing like 'Genki de nah!', but I'll stick with the 'o-genki-de' that penguin explained to me, as his Japanese knowledge is better than my own.

Dragon Ball - Episode 009 - The Rabbit Boss's Special Technique

As much as I enjoy this episode, and even knowing that it's canon apparently, I can't help but still think it's filler of sorts. It doesn't really do much to advance anything. I guess it's 'fluff' rather than filler if I had to use another term besides 'canon filler'.

Another thought just on the show itself rather than the sub - when Bulma's buying those Hoi Poi capsules, she's deliberately picking certain ones out. I wonder if she's picking them for storage capacity for what she's going to put in them, or for what's already in them? Actually, do the capsules come pre-made with certain things in them or do you get empty ones and you put stuff in them? Or maybe both kinds exist?

Oh wait, she just said that it was a house capsule she bought, so I guess that one came with a house in it already. Still, my question stands sort-of.

I know it's probably silly, but from the first moment the two Rabbit solider guys spoke, I automatically missed the Kyle Hebert performance given to one of them in the dub. I'm sure it was annoying to a lot of people, but I thought the snide voice and the 'Yes, no, maybe?' were hilarious.

There's no proof obviously, but I still think that the soldiers here at least would later be where Toriyama got his idea for the Red Ribbon Army, sort-of. The outfits seem similar, and it's another military-type organization with a silly theme. Instead of rabbits like here, it was colors.

I don't know what it is about the seiyuu's voice for Usagi Ninjinka (Rabbit Carrot Transformer), but I like it. There's some weird quality to his voice that I find rather appealing for this character. Though, I quite liked the dub voice for him too, which was Duncan Brannan I think. Oh, and I can't seem to find who the seiyuu for Usagi is, so if anyone knows let me know, kay?

Also, I know that the eventual conclusion for Usagi is from another Japanese folktale (not one I've ever actual read though), but is the ability to turn people into carrots by touching them from that too, or was that just a witty power to give a rabbit-based character?

I think I catch a background joke on the sign for a building. 'Toriya Motors'. Toriyama Motors...Toriyamotors...Toriyamo...Toriyama! Maybe I'm just looking for this one though lol.

Dragon Ball - Episode 010 - The Dragon Balls are Stolen!!

Oh wow, I think this is the only episode title I can think of where it's exactly the same for the Japanese and English versions. I mean if you want to get picky the dub title only has one exclamation point, but let's not split hairs here.

Yes, back to the Pilaf antics almost right away! I love how easily distracted the poor little guy is.

Furuya's Yamucha is finally starting to grow on me in this episode, especially once they've met up with Bulma and the others, but I still think I'd put Sabat above him.

I didn't have near as much to say on this one, but that's probably a good thing since I'm doing such a lump of episodes in one sitting anyway.

Dragon Ball - Episode 011 - At Last the Dragon Appears!

I guess I should say something on Shu and Mai's seiyuu performances by now too. They're fine for the characters, I find Shu's to be entertaining in particular, but they just don't stand out like Chiba's Pilaf does. It might be a bit over the top, but I do think I prefer Chris Cason's Shu over Tessho Genda.

Another of my favorite exchanges.

Pilaf: They don't look like they have any balls...
Mai: Perhaps between that man's legs.
Pilaf/Shu: ...
Pilaf: You know that I loathe crude jokes!

Apparently I enjoy them far more than Pilaf does, cuz that's just funny.

I know it turns out to be nothing like we expect, but I love how Pilaf is willing to do 'something dirty' to Bulma as punishment, and yet hates crude jokes...then again, this is the guy who hates farts and lets loose a loud one in a previous episode. If I had to pick one word for this guy, it's 'hypocrite'.

I know what a 'pafu-pafu' is, but I dunno any of the other Japanese slang for 'stuff' that Bulma's throwing around, like 'hero-hero', 'kyoi-kyoi', or 'inguri-monguri'. Quite frankly, I'm afraid to Google it too...

At long last, all seven Dragon Balls are gathered! I'll finally hear Japanese Shen Long again, it's been a while since I've heard that since he's not as prevalent in the Z stuff I've seen subbed.

Or...apparently not until next episode. I forgot about all the pinball stuff, and then Shen Long doesn't even talk until next episode!

So far though, the narrator just now was the only person to ever refer to him by the name Shen Long though. I wonder when the characters will pick it up, and how they knew it? Maybe it was mentioned in the legend, which would explain how Pilaf and Bulma know it I guess, even if they haven't used it yet.

Dragon Ball - Episode 012 - The Wish to Shen Long

Okay, NOW Shen Long talks at long last.

Hmm...it's not a lot to go off of yet obviously, but so far I'd say I'm neutral between Kenji Utsumi and Chris Sabat for the dragon. Both are really deep voices with an echo to it, both have a bit of a roar to their normal talking voice too, and both say about the same things. If I had to pick some reasons as to why Kenji Utsumi might be a bit better though, I'd say one thing is the roar. Well, not even the roar...there's these weird little roar like noises he makes from time to time, that almost sound like he's clearing his throat. For some reason, I like it. Also, his overall performance sounds less monotone than Sabat's. In the long run I can take either performance just fine though.

So the panties were just generic panties in the original, rather than 'the world's most comfortable pair'. Not really much of a difference, but I prefer the dub's take on it a bit, just because it means Oolong strives for excellence.

Still everyone keeps just saying dragon except for the narration, so I'm just going to keep to my theory for how they realize his name.

I've never thought about it before, but even for someone as carefree as Goku, finding his grandfather's dead body after the Oozaru incident must have been horrifying for him. I'm glad he doesn't realize the truth of the event until he's much older and able to cope with it better.

Also...how did Gohan know prior to the transformation what would happen? I guess Goku had transformed at least two times before this episode, the second being when he killed Gohan, and the first time Gohan was able to fight him off or something? Maybe Gohan figured out the 'snip the tail' trick too.

One more episode to go to close out this story arc. I must get there before I stop this time!

Dragon Ball - Episode 013 - Goku's Great Transformation

Hmm...part of the roar for the Oozaru sounds just like it does in the dub for the Great Ape. I'm guessing it's a mix of whatever sound effect is there and an actor in both versions? Either way, to compare - they both work, though I'm liking the work of Yasuhiko Kawatsu better just for the sake of realism. It doesn't sound like some guy making roaring noises. Mind you, Shane Ray who did most of the Great Ape roaring sounds good to me too, he's the best of the guys they had to do Great Ape roars. He certainly did a better job than Sabat, and don't even get me started on the few episodes Justin Cook did with his Super Buu yelling. So it's definitely Yasuhiko Kawatsu or Shane Ray for me.

...Okay, how did I NEVER think this before. It's spread out, but the whole fight against Oozaru Goku has to be a King Kong reference. Instead of a tower he's on top of the castle remains, but he is trying to swat down a plane that's shooting at him. Then later, he's got hold of Bulma. Sure, it's not an exact homage since he's not being shot at while holdin the girl, and he doesn't have the girl because he likes her, but still. It's way too similar for me not to think it was done on purpose.

They took a pretty big risk taking the tail off now that I think about it. For all they knew that was going to remove his only weakness, not revert him. It's not like they had a lot of other choices to go for, but still.

And so exits the Pilaf gang for now. Darn it, I'm going to miss them. I wish they had come up a bit more often than they did. At least I'll have some more of them in DB at least, but they're definitely gonna be missed once I hit Z.

I think I read someone mentioning this already, either in Champion's thread or somewhere on Daizex, but it's a bit ironic - Oolong's guess is that Goku's an alien. If only they knew.

Oolong just referred to the dragon as Shen Long out of the blue! Where the heck did they catch his name though? *pulls hair out of head* I shouldn't be thinking this deeply, it's Dragon Ball, but still.

And so ends the first arc in the long adventure of Goku. I've often wondered in the past how anime as a whole would have been affected if the story ended here. I think this is maybe where it would have had it not caught on like it had, because it feels just as open-ended as a lot of Toriyama's shorter works. At the very least, if it'd ended here I bet we wouldn't have One Piece, so that definitely would have been a shame.

Anyway, that's all from me for now. Next time I'll start in on the next arc! I can't wait for it personally, as there'll be a lot of new characters for me to hit for the first time in Japanese, as well as the first appearances of one that I already know I love the seiyuu for. In fact, next episode is the debut of Mayumi Tanaka as Kuririn. I can't wait! Unfortunately, I must, as do you. Until my next review post - o-genki-de!

Dragon Ball - Episode 014 - Goku's Rival Appears

I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming that some of this stuff with Yamucha and the others, as well as some of the hinting first appearances of Kuririn are filler technically right? They feel like it, but the good kind.

Ahh yes, those screams, those awesome screams...he hasn't officially been introduced just yet, but I hear Mayumi Tanaka!

I'm not certain, but I think for part of the dub on Goku's flight to Roshi's, the narrator is yapping over it like he's prone to do for some reason. It's much nicer without it. I would check to see if my memory was right, but I'm refusing to switch to the dub audio at any point during my sub watchings, so I can focus on JUST this version. As far as I'm concerned for these reviews, as far as my watchin goes, there is no dub.

Another quick scene of Tanaka's Kuririn, and for some reason with the Kid age voice, I can tell it's Luffy a lot more than I can with the other Kuririn bits I've heard in Z. Then again, I'd imagine she changed her voice a bit near the end just like Nozawa did.

...Did Goku really just do an 'ohohoho!' laugh? Man this is chock full of more Slump references than I ever noticed in the dub.

'It's a guy with no winkie and lots of spunk, right?' ... XD I love you Goku.

Muten Roshi is prone to hilarious singing at the drop of a hat it seems.

I've hit another case where the dub tried to make something less bad, even in the uncut dub. I remember Master Roshi wanting to take the mermaid girl (before he knew) on a walk around his island. Muten Roshi on the other hand wants her panties. Why he thought she'd be willing to give them to Goku though is beyond me...

It's funny how often Goku says 'there's a funny guy' or something of the like when he's the oddest guy there is in this show, personality wise.

And Kururin has finally made his debut for real! Luckily, he talks an awful lot for coming into the tail end of an episode, so I can safely comment a bit on his voice. And like I said, I've already heard some of Tanaka's work, though it was on adult Kuririn in Z. At any rate, she is hands-down my favorite seiyuu in Dragon Ball I think. There's some quality to her voice that I REALLY like, an energy that I don't think even Nozawa has, not the same type anyway. The weird thing is, from what little I've heard of her work on One Piece as Luffy which is pretty similar to her kid Kuririn voice, I'm not as fond of it there.

Somehow in the dub, I neveer noticed that Kuririn accidentally has a male model magazine in with the other magazines and gives it to Roshi too LOL.

Dragon Ball - Episode 015 - The Peculiar Girl, Lunch

Hearing Nozawa and Tanaka play off of eachother is awesome. They bring out the best in each other's work I think, there's a chemistry there that I think they could see right away, which I'll bet played a part in Tanaka's casting.

Heh, I remember the edited version of the joke about how Goku tells people apart. Instead of the pat-pat test, it was by their voices. Krillin told him 'in case you can't tell, I'm a boy'. I'm sure to some it was a cheap way to cut around the 'sexuality' thing, but to me it was still funny considering both characters in question were being played by women. XD

I forgot about the Akira Toriyama wanted poster in the saloon too. Have I mentioned I like breaking-the-fourth-wall jokes? Good. This also provides another example of how Kai should have been a re-animation instead of the clip show it is, and how it should have started from DB - they so could have had one of the wanted posters be Luffy.

I just heard Chiba doubling as one of the little characters in the saloon, I'd recognize that Pilaf screech anywhere now. From the sounds of it, Gouri is playing the other henchman. Great, now I'm turning into a nerd with an ear for seiyuu too. >_<

Lunch has made her appearance now, her sweet form anyway. The sweet voice used by Mami Koyama really fits it well, and doesn't sound as ditzy as McCoy's take. I like both, and really can't choose between them at this point in time.

Goku coming over to see if Kuririn really has a winkie or not...oh geez. I just know there's a yaoi fangirl somewhere who preyed on this scene.

The joke where Goku mistakingly thinks Kuririn meant Roshi is going to eat the girl they find was actually kept almost verbatim in the dub too I remember. See, FUNi doesn't ALWAYS change jokes.

So far the bad side of Lunch is decidely less vocal in this version, so I can't get a read on her voice just yet.

When they first ride off on Kinto'un, Kuririn is clinging to Goku's back, but on the second part of it, he's clinging to Lunch's with a sly smile and rosy cheeks. You sly dog you.

It's a narrow margin, but I think I like Koyama over McCoy, at least for the sweet form. The ditziness effect to McCoy's destroys part of the sweet innocence for me. Both are excellent voices though.

Finally getting a good listen to evil Lunch though. Hmm...it certainly plays well off of her sweet voice, but I'll have to hear more before I decide which voice actor delivers better on this one.

Dragon Ball - Episode 016 - Training -- The Rock Hunt

I'd almost forgotten what a complete suck-up Kuririn is at this age. And yet, he's still one of my favorite characters.

Having heard more of the dark side of Lunch now, I'm about even between Koyama and McCoy. Both sound kind of forced in this half of the role, but it works in both cases, so I really can't decide this time.

Now how in the heck does Mr. Popo get thwacked with the racial card when the woman in this episode doesn't? The one Kuririn goes to get a pen from I mean. I know, I know - part of it is because this is a throw-away character and Popo has multiple appearances, but still.

I'd also forgotten what a jerk Kuririn is at this age too. I like how he turns out later too, but he's just plain awesome here too.

The one time Goku doesn't get to eat, it's in his favor with the pufferfish heh.

I didn't end up having much to say on this episode either, but it wasn't by any means unenjoyable, it just presented less new stuff to the table. This'll be it for now, I had to hit the hay pretty early last night after having woken up so early yesterday. Hopefully I'll at least get to the opening of the Tenkaichi Budokai next time.

Dragon Ball - Episode 017 - With Life at Stake! Milk Delivery

Having Lunch ponder why she transforms when she sneezes before the title card is a bit of a red herring to me, since we never get to see that ideal followed up. Why DOES she change when she sneezes? For that matter, where'd Toriyama come up with the idea for that one in the first place? Entirely original, or did he get it from somewhere even if it's his own take on it?

Okay, I guess it sort-of leads into the joke of her sneezing in her sleep and transforming, but still.

The Roshi training is my favorite of all the training we get to see, it's the most well thought out even while it's among the silliest ones.

Now that Roshi has mentioned back when Gohan and Gyu-mao trained like this, it's something I wish they'd used as filler to pad this episode a bit, not that it needs any. I'd have loved a flashback to a young Gohan and Gyu-mao training just like this. I've always imagined their relationship to be very much like Goku and Kuririn's, though I think the age difference would have to be bigger.

And the first mention of the Tenkaichi Budokai at last! The fights may not be as earth-shattering as even the DB fights set outside in the world, but there's a special kind of charm to tournament matches that I'm looking forward to getting to again here.

Dragon Ball - Episode 018 - The Turtle Hermit's Intense Training

I'm falling more in love with Tanaka's weird little noises with every episode. She makes Kuririn sound so freaking adorable!

Oh wow, I'm surprised by how accurately the book Goku has to read was kept in the dub. I fully expected it to be something worse in the original version.

I liked the montage of warriors sleeping better in the dub, with Roshi's dialogue about how even the strongest of warriors must sleep. Sure, the narrator says as much shortly later, but coming from Roshi it's another lesson for them, from the narrator it's just another joke.

The first flashback to Kuririn's time with the Oorinji temple, is this filler? Not just this scene, but the mention of where he comes from at all? I like the mention of it just to help flesh out his bakground a tiny bit.

'However, for whatever reason, that lake has sharks in it! Be careful!' Ah, the logic of the DB world. I can't help but think they imitated the Jaws theme here too LOL.

As good as these training episodes are, they don't give me a lot to comment on change-wise. Maybe the next episode will be different.

Dragon Ball - Episode 019 - The Tenkaichi Budokai Begins!

On this episode, I varied my title a bit from what my DVD reads. It used 'Tournament' in place of Budokai. It's a translation, but Tenkaichi Budokai looks better together than Tenkaichi Tournament to me, so I'm just nit-picking.

Just another quick Japanese lesson for me and for you guys, did you know that 'Itadakimasu' is said before meals, basically meaning (according to the subs anyway) 'We humbly accept this food'. Think of it as like saying grace I guess. I knew it, but I never knew the 'u' at the end was silent. Also, it looks like 'Ogari' or 'Okari' or something along those lines is how one would ask for 'Another helping!' - given how Goku and Kuririn say it though, this may not be the proper polite way of saying it.

You know, it may just be Goku's stupidi - er, Gokuidity, in action again when he keeps thinking Roshi's in the bathroom, but the old guy DOES spend an awful lot of time in there...I'm thinking of a time in the Saiyan arc in particular.

Also, just a quick animation error I noticed, when there's a close-up on Roshi's face after the table falls on him, his glasses are yellow, but when it goes back to the full scene his glasses are red as they should be.

It just had it happen again when he's explaining something to the boys later on too...only for much bigger scenes. I guess they just couldn't decide what color his sunglasses should be early on?

...And then it switches to red again in the little scene right after...then right back to yellow. Never mind, I think this is just a colorist's incompetence. *facepalms*

It hasn't said so, but I wonder if Yamucha's decision to go into the woods to train was based on how Goku grew up? He may have decided that maybe that's how the boy got so strong at a young age, and tried to emulate it.

I dunno which version of the scene with the boys jumping really high I like better. In the dub, they comment about how something has changed between them, and then land laughing, now realizing that they've become best friends. In this original version however, they realize that they jumped really high, and land laughing at how awesome it is...the dub may be an overstatement of the fact that they've become friends, but the sub is an understatement. I can't decide which handles it better.

I noticed they put an almost-full moon in the background scene when the plane is flying at night. Was this a hint for what's coming they threw in maybe, since I imagine the manga was well past that point by this part of the anime?

You know, we never do see Roshi in one of the gi that he gives Goku and Kuririn, not even when he actually fights later on. Also, I noticed that there's no blue undershirt yet.

And as this episode draws to a close, I realize that I have another episode to get through before the tournament REALLY starts. It's a good thing DB is so enjoyable or this'd be driving me mad. Actually, I already sorta dread doing the reviews for Z when I get there...

Dragon Ball - Episode 020 - Will It Appear?! The Power From the Training

I think I just saw a guy that looked like Kid Muscle from Ultimate Muscle in the background of the tournament crowd...is that older than DB? Maybe this was a nice little homage to it?

There's also a guy who's even more of a Bruce Lee charicature than Yamucha with his screams. This guy looks like him AND sounds like him.

I'm not completely sure since my seiyuu ear is still being broken in, but I do believe Daisuke Gouri is playing Goku's first preliminary opponent. Actually, I'm sure now as he just made some worried sounds. Geez, Gouri is the Japanese Sabat for this show, and before anyone spazzes about me comparing their acting, I'm not - I meant that in the fact that both are in a LOT of roles in the franchise.

Bacterian (not sure just yet if he has a different name in the original) makes his first appearance sort-of, and Bulma gives everyone a nice free show, heh.

Those facial expressions, those screams, and that look - yup, this one guy is definitely a Brue Lee reference.

Dragon Ball - Episode 021 - Watch Out Kuririn!

At last, at last, the tournament really starts! And I'll get to the first couple of completely new characters to cover as well.

Pervy or not, I almost can't blame Roshi for going for more 'pafu-pafu' with Bulma, since to his knowledge, she HAS let him do it once already, LOL.

For some reason, I really enjoy the scene revealing all eight of the finalists. It nicely showcases how very different each one of them are from each-other.

At last, the Budokai announcer has also made his appearance. I'll reserve judgement for now, but as of now I'm thinking I much prefer Vale's performance over Kenji Utsumi's. Also, the other tournament people are also getting at least a line, but I'm reserving judgement on their seiyuu until each of their matches.

Is the announcer's misreading of Goku's name as 'Mago Gosora' completely his misreading Goku's bad spelling, or is it a reference to something else as well?

Bacterian sure doesn't say a whole lot in comparison to the number of noises he makes in either version, so it's hard for me to judge between Yasuroo Tanaka and Chris Rager's performance, as both do a good job of sounding really uncouth and...well, disgusting.

Somewhat off-topic, but I can't help but wish Pilaf had gotten to see Bacterian, given his need for proper ettiquete LOL.

As amusing as it is, I've always found it kind of odd that they point out Kuririn's lack ofa nose, when plenty of other characters in the series, due to design, also seem to lack a nose. I just assumed prior to learning of this part that it was just a design quirk for him.

Now that Bacterian is done with Kuririn getting the last laugh (if er, that's what you'd like to call his little return fire LOL), I have to come to my decision, and...I think I prefer Rager's take on Bacterian. Perhaps it's just the language barrier at work, but I find Rager's acting to better portray the disgustingness of the character than Yasuroo's did.

I could go further, but I've already got a big block of text here, I'll stop for now. It's the end of this disc anyway.

Dragon Ball - Episode 022 - Yamucha V.S. Jackie Chun

I'm loving all the hints about Roshi being Jackie Chun when...it's beyond obvious to begin with.

Youko Kawanami is doing a pretty good job in her scenes so far and sounds pretty sexy, but only time will tell if I prefer her over Bailey. Honestly, despite my love for Bailey, this is probably my least favorite role for her. She came off too goofy and less sexy than I would have preferred for the character. As for Kaneto Shiozawa so far, holding my decision for him till later too, but I already note an odd quality to his voice that makes me think of his Jerry Jewell dub voice, so they did pretty good there.

I'm pretty sure all this stuff in the waiting room with the boys, Giran, and Namu is filler too, but I really enjoy it. It gives these characters that would otherwise be in and out as soon as their fights much more depth.

And so begins the downfall of Yamucha LOL. I like that he though to watch all of the contestants fight during the preliminaries though. It's weird, he doesn't really develop as a fighter so much as he falls...I mean, back in these days he's more thoughtful in his fights and studies his opponents. Later on he's horribly over-confident. What the heck's up with that?

Based on the subs, Yamucha has an inkling of who Chun really is a little bit before Yamcha ever does heh.

'So that explains it. That explains why he doesn't fit into a "gag anime".' *thumbs up* Yes!

This crying scene of Lanfang's perfectly showcases why I'm actually preferring Kawanami over Bailey. In the dub, it just sounds like Kid Trunks whine-sobbing to me, rather than her tryin to sound weak and defense-less. It's not that I don't think Bailey does a good job in the dub, the acting is really good, but I'm just not sure I like her or the director's choice of voice when I know she could have pulled off a sexy character like this PERFECTLY.

As for Namu...hmm...other than the odd quality to their voices, Shiozawa and Jewell sound nothing alike. Jewell's, while good, sounds like a gag voice, which does fit in a way, but it's kin dof the opposite of Nam, who's pretty much the most serious character in this entire gag show we've seen so far. His take makes me think of that one guy from the Simpsons that runs the Kwik-E Mart. Shiozawa however has that odd quality that I kind of like being there, but makes the character much easier to take seriously, so he wins in my book too.

Dragon Ball - Episode 023 - He's Here! The Mighty Foe Giran

I've heard a bit of Banjou Ginga'S Giran so far obviously, but this is the episode where I'll give it my final decision on if I prefer him over Andrew Chandler's take obviously.

I'd forgotten all about the ploy of a storm to pad out this episode a bit. It's gotta be filler, but it's nice to see a different weather pattern in this show at least once.

I know it's just a repeated music track, but why is the guy at the piano playing the same tune as the western bar where we first met Lunch? It just doesn't fit.

Okay, maybe it fits a bit with Giran's new 'Gunslinger' get-up that I still don't quite get, but still.

I can't make a decision between Banjou Ginga or Andrew Chandler, I feel they both did really good with the character. Both make him sound monstrous, and both make him sound like a real jerk. I think they did a really good job casting Chandler for the dub.

I'm actually more on Giran's side, Goku's use of the Kinto'un really should be against the rules, whereas Giran's flight was natural and the gum is a technique.

Giran's such a coward for being such a strong guy, it stinks. I would have liked to see how long he could stand up to Goku with his tail returned.

Dragon Ball - Episode 024 - Kuririn's Desperate Offensive and Defensive Battle

Now onto the semi-finals, meaning this tournament's actually almost over. Darn it, I'm not ready for it to end in a way, but that just means a much bigger and longer arc is next...maybe that's why I'm not ready heh.

If I recall, the dub has it that Launch taught Goku how to count properly instead of Roshi right? I guess they were going for the 'cute' factor, even though Roshi was actually shown teaching them earlier...

Either way, wait...Goku DOES know basic math I guess LOL.

This episode wins 20+ bonus points for Miyauchi's little song number.

How in the heck did Kuririn shoot boogers at Chun if he has no nose! Consistency with your gags please Toriyama.

Shouldn't Kuririn's use of panties be considered cheating too, that was an outside item. Hell, considering how it's used, it's a weapon! Either way, this is why Kuririn is cooler than people give him credit for, he's quite the strategist when push comes to shove.

Why didn't Roshi try to teach Kuririn the Kamehameha during the previous training? Was it to keep the training for both boys the same (seeing as Goku already learned it he couldn't do anything with Goku there), or maybe he didn't think Kuririn would take to it as fast as Goku did?

Dragon Ball - Episode 025 - Get Up, Goku! The Fearsome Tenku pekeji-ken

The Fearsome whoobie-what-now? Hopefully it'll give a translation in-episode, but I'm going to assume that's the original name for Namu's Sky X Attack.

Goku's a fast learner, though his after-image sure didn't work as well as Chun's.

Nope, no translation at all for the Tenku pekeji-ken. Any help guys? I'm pretty sure I know 'ten' means 'heaven', or at least it can. Given the nature of this technique, and Namu's character, I'm assuming it still means it here.

Speaking of Namu's character, I knew his name must come from the Bhuddist mantra 'Namu Amida Butsu', but I didn't realize he says it as he flies back down to attack. You know the kicker though? THAT got a translation in the subs but not the attack! I'm more inclined to think that someone might know what this phrase more or less means without one if they've watched other anime/read other manga (Rurouni Kenshin comes to mind) than the attack name so what gives?

Oh great, now it's 'Cho-tenku pekeji-ken'! Does Cho maybe mean like 'Super' or something? Now that I think of it, 'ken' means 'fist' right? So...Heaven something fist would be a translation for this maybe?

I think I've finally heard enough of the announcer to make a choice by the way, and...once again, I'm equal. Kenji Utsumi does a great job with the character, but so does Eric Vale. Neither one overplays it more than is needed, as it would be easy to overshoot it given how excitable the guy is.

Despite the gravity of what he was fighting for, and how much he has truly lost (or at least thinks he has) Namu is a great sportsman to accept his defeat with such ease and even to congratulate Goku.

Dragon Ball - Episode 026 - The Final Round!! Kamehameha

I've got to as this, because I think someone once upon a time asked this too - is there some kind-of glitch with DB season one or something? There's a freeze-frame over a crowd scene at the very beginning of this episode (before the title card even), while fighting sounds are still heard, then all of a sudden it's the last bit of Goku beating Namu. It feels...weird.

Another really good episode that sadly doesn't leave me a whole lot to comment on...but look at that, we have the franchise's very first beam clash!

'I'll have to think up a strategy during the commercial.' YES! I love you Muten Roshi. I'm sure all of these jokes take away from the show to some people, but to me it adds to it a lot.

So an after-image is called a Zanzo-ken?

Why did Roshi have a heritage chart at the ready to prove his relation anyway...I love the logic of these gags, or rather the lack of it.

So the Drunken Master routine is called 'Sui-ken'? Sui means 'drunk' or 'alcohol' perhaps then?

Nozawa's little chirps while Goku's doing his Monkey-ken routine are freaking adorable! I can tell she had a lot of fun recording these episodes.

I wish I could go on and finish this disc, as well as the tournament, as I have only two episodes left, but I've got a huge lump of reviews here, so let's call it quits for now eh? With my next post, I will finish this arc, start another one, and bring a close to 'Season One'!

Dragon Ball - Episode 027 - Goku's Greatest Pinch!

Ack, again with the Japanese phrase without a subtitle. I'm sorry, but I need these in the subtitles darn it. Anyone know what 'Yoiko minmin-ken' would translate to? I'm guessing something to do with sleeping, since it's the technique Chun uses to put Goku to sleep after all.

Wait, I thought 'Gohan' meant rice or something, but if I'm going off what I'm hearing again, Bulma yells out to Goku something about that when the subs read 'Dinner time!', and Goku says it again repeatedly as he looks around for 'dinner'.

Either I wasn't paying enough attention before and he did it in the other rounds too, or the announcer just started doing the counts in English for this match...

Yet another Japanese name attack that it doesn't give me a translation for at all, the electric attack Chun uses on Goku, 'Bankoku bikkuri-sho'. It's a good thing I know the basic meaning of most of the Z attacks, or I'd be out of luck there too if the subs continue this routine there.

I'd forgotten that Goku was actually willing and ready to admit defeat when it came down to it, so he would have already lost this match if he hadn't seen the moon, compared to how he does end up losing it. Either way, we've got some more Oozaru on our hands.

For that matter, Goku's foot, giant monkey foot or now, is on the roof of the waiting building behind the ring. Shouldn't that be ring-out technically? Gah, stop thinking that deeply Gyt, it's Dragon Ball!

Oh geez...the scene where everyone thinks Goku is dead is absolutely heartbreaking. The dub is sad, but the original is...geez. Especially Tanaka's wails about how he can't be dead. **** you Tanaka! Why are you so awesome... *tears up*

Dragon Ball - Episode 028 - Clash!! Power V.S. Power

On an unrelated note, I remember when the Dragon Ball site used to (it may still have, I don't know) had episode titles that I would later find out to be incorrect for the dub listed. This was one of them, so apparently they just listed the sub names at one point on a few episodes.

Goku's alive, hooray! I thought he was really dead... At any rate, the sadness and the joy were both handled really well. This episode shows what Dragon Ball is really capable of at it's best.

If Toriyama were a planning man, I'd say the announcer's comment about 'Now werewolves won't be able to transform!' gave him the idea for Man-Wolf in the second tournament. But I doubt I can give Toriyama that credit, story genius that he is he's definitely not a planner.

'What, do you find winkies to be that uncommon? I get it! You must be girls!' ...*facepalms* Goku.

I should save it for the end, but I'll say it now before I forget, I really love this fight for showing how, even when Goku HAS to lose for his own good (even if he doesn't realize it), it's still nigh impossible for him too. It's an important lesson he learns here, honestly one of the most important ones, and he learned it thanks to his first master. Er, second if we count Gohan, but still.

Awesome, I've hit an insert song that was definitely not playing in the dub, and the second it starts playing, this episode suddenly got even more awesome than before. Ohh...wait, I thought it sounded kind of familiar, it does play later in the dub for the second tournament. I remember it being mentioned as such in Magic's song guide now.

See Magic! I DO read it! I do!

At any rate, I'm used to hearing the Phillipines dub of this song actually, but I haven't heard the original in forever, and it kicks so much copious butt. It was the perfect song to close out this fight with. Had the story ended here (as it sort-of could have, again fitting with Toriyama's shorter story style), I'd have been satisfied. Mind you, I'm glad there's a lot more to go yet, but I just mean that it feels so...resolved. This is definitely one of the best parts in the show.

Even after transforming, even after running out of energy, and even after Roshi's carefully thought out plan to use his longer legs to his advantage, Goku ALMOST wins. No matter how you look at it, even at this point he's an amazing guy.

Heh, I remember the joke in the dub being Goku saying he should save some room for dessert, whereas in the sub he says that 'moderation is good, right?'. I find both jokes funny, but the sub wins this one. It seems more in Goku's nature to think that he's eating lightly, rather than him thinking he's saving room for anything, LOL.

And even the narrator gets in on the joke. 'Ate until they were fu - er, rather, satisfied'. XD

I've never really paid attention to it, but that plane that's flying overhead as the narrator says something about 'the next adventure awaits' - is it supposed to be a Red Ribbon plane?

Either way, so ends the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai, and with it, disc four of the first Season Set. This feels like a really good place to stop, but still yet there are three episodes I want to cover so I can be done with this set and ready to move onto the next when I continue. So even though this arc was resolved very nicely, here we go!

Dragon Ball - Episode 029 - Another Adventure -- The Wandering Lake

Poor Roshi. In two episodes he lost his newly found wealth, and lost his dream of an island with just him and Lunch LOL.

It's kinda funny to me how easily they all let Goku go out on his own. I mean, he's strong and all, but...I don't have a lot of faith in his sense of direction...for all they knew they were never gonna see him again.

At any rate, I know for a fact that this one is filler. I mean, I haven't read this part of the manga, but it has to be. Still, it's more of Namu and Giran, that's hardly a bad thing.

But good LORD what is up with this episode's Japanese audio? There is a horrible fuzzy echo to just about everyone's lines. Is my set's copy bad, is it this bad in everyone's, and is it a FUNi mistake or just the fact that this is really old mono?

And to prove my Bailey fanboyness, I know without switching to the dub that Bailey played her. In a voice very close to her own if I recall, kind-of her Serena in Case Closed voice. I wish she'd used this voice for Ranfan instead...

LOL, poor Namu. He's a strong fighter, but he's not used to fighting pterodactyls. That's Goku's job.

You know, I said the tournament arc was over and placed this one in the Red Ribbon one since that's the Saga it ended up in back when FUNi bothered putting DB into sagas. But so far, there's not a single Red Ribbon reference or character in this. Just based on it's content and characters of focus, I'd place it more in the tournament arc myself, but I guess it does feel more tagged on in that regard.

...Poor Namu once again. After Goku doing a pat-pat test on him, he tells him 'you're the first man to ride kinto'un'. That just reeks of a bad pick-up line. LOL.

Ooh, another insert song already, and in a filler episode? I haven't heard this one before. It's not as thrilling as the last, but it still makes the episode feel a lot cooler. I guess I'm a sucker for insert songs.

Wow, in the sub Giran actually seems like less of a jerk in this episode, he's reformed slightly. In the original he's still a big one, and arrogant to a fault. I'm not sure of which way I prefer it, considering it's not like he's a great guy here, just a little less of one. And I mean all of this in regards to how he initially reacts to Goku, not in how he is by the end of the episode, since in the end for both, he compliments Goku.

I was right, not a bit of this episode dealt with the Red Ribbon. It has no place in the 'Red Ribbon Army Saga'! Silly FUNi.

Dragon Ball - Episode 030 - Pilaf and the Mysterious Army

Ah, now this episode starts out with the Commander himself. Now we're onto a new arc!

Two things right off the bat. One, that creature on Red's lap makes the same noises in the dub, so I guess that crazy thing wasn't dubbed. And two - YES! Pilaf's back baby!

Geez, and this episode opens with ANOTHER insert song, Dragon Ball Densetsu, better remembered (by me at least) as the ending theme for Mystical Adventure, the third movie. It's one of my favorite Dragon Ball songs though, so it's great to hear it again here. I'm going to assume that they realized they had a hit of an anime on their hands by this point since they keep cranking out insert songs. You won't hear me complaining though.

And with a frightened scream in his sleep, the lovely sound of Chiba's Pilaf is once again filling my eardrums. Poor little guy is convinced that he'll get his wish this time too.

...How in the hell did he get enough money to buy a huge freaking airship after his castle was destroyed LOL! Geez, this guy...

And so enters, with a new piece of BGM, the Red Ribbon Army. Even though this is essentially another 'scramble for the Dragon Balls' arc, it still takes the series in a new direction once again.

I'm not sure who's voice I prefer for this new little thief boy between the original and the dub, and I'm not gonna be sure on his voice for either (though I'll take a stab at the dub and say Meredith McCoy), but both are such throwaway characters (filler too I suspect) that I'm gonna just roll with it and not try to figure out who did a better job.

The first Red Ribbon villain makes his appearance, with the arrival of General Silver. As for his voice, right away I'm torn...I'm not too fond of the pseudo-Yamcha/pseudo-Vegeta voice (or maybe it's closer to his Gama from YYH) that Sabat uses in the dub, but right away I find Banjou Ginga's voice to be FAR too deep for the character. That voice sounds like it should be coming out of Metallitron, not this guy. Maybe once we get to see more of this guy I'll decide though.

It seems the crown Pilaf wants to buy was a favorite of one 'Emperor Aremasandaru'. Is this another name play, or maybe a mess-around reference to someone from Japanese history?

Just saw another animation error of note, a shot of Goku without his wristbands when he should have them, followed by a scene where they're there.

Oh the irony, the old man who's only heard of Dragon Balls in fairy tales and sells fake ones for money, actually had a bird nesting on top of the house with a real one. Goku's chasing after Pilaf who had a fake, and Silver's crew is also unaware, as the real thing moves off on it's own again.

Dragon Ball - Episode 031 - Yikes! A Fake Goku Appears!!

At long last, the end of 'Season One'! It's been a fun ride, but it's nice to finally have made some real headway here.

So far Red's voice sounds unfittingly deep too, but in his case I believe it's part of the joke with his size. He's a little guy with big dreams and a giant's voice. Silver however, it just doesn't seem to fit well.

Yay for the return of Chi Chi and Gyu-mao as well. I could go without hearing JAPANESE CHI CHI, but the tournament arc had a severe lack of Gouri, so it's awesome to hear him once again.

Only Gyu-mao would go hunting for pterodactyls with boulders, heh. And what's a yakitori exactly?

And I just noticed, Gyu-mao's beard is brown now, but once we finally see him in his 'peaceful' outfit, it's black. Why the change?

Now I'm convinced that 'Mago Gosora' is a reference to something, either that aor a misreading one could make on 'Son Goku', since both the announcer and Pilaf both misread it.

Someone's gonna have to explain this joke to me too. It's when Pilaf is making Shu dress up as Goku to trick Gyu-mao and the villagers.

Shu: But I'm ["watashi"] not a very good Goku.
Pilaf: Don't use "watashi"! That brat uses "ora"!

I think 'ora' must mean something like 'I'm' or 'I am' since I know Goku has a habit of saying 'Ora Son Goku!', but I'm still not really getting the joke.

Also, let me switch topics to the dub real quick even though it's a bit off-topic. I realize I've been praising the crap out of Chiba for his Pilaf ever since the first review, and that's because he does an absolutely wonderful job. But in the dub, Huber does an absolutely stellar job as well. I'm by no means throwing Huber out in favor of Chiba, I'm a big fan of both their work with the character. It's just that with Huber, I like him period, in like every role he's played. Chiba however, I hate his Kuwabara. So it only seems right to praise his incredible work here.

Goku and Chi Chi's interactions here are actually kinda cute, even though Goku doesn't have a charming bone in his body, it's nice to see how he actually is being kinda sweet to her.

Also, I'm fairly sure that this whole event with the 'wedding' is all filler right? It's so tightly woven into the plot though that I really do need to get the manga eventually to see how all of this ends up connecting without this stuff.

Everyone shouts 'Kanpai!' where normally people would shout 'Cheers!' or 'To *insert here*', but would that be an accurate translation?

And right when Pilaf is about to be figured out, the Red Ribbon Army makes it's forces known once more, sending Gyu-mao into a rage. He's far from my favorite seiyuu, but there's still few things quite like hearing that man make a sound of unbridled rage.

Did I miss something? How in the heck did Pilaf know the Dragon Ball was inside the roasted pterodactyl?

More Japanese that's eluding me, this episode keeps throwing it at me.

Chi Chi: So when you call out with "Oi," I'll answer with "Hai"...

I understand she's being cute and planning their lives, but what's this one getting at?

And with a look of determination in his eyes, Goku flies off to see what's going on in Gyu-mao's village! As such...this brings to a close my reviews for Season One.

I'll be taking a short break now, as I head up to visit with my mom for a while, and also to give my brain a rest. As I said at the start of this, I normally watch dubs, this is the first time I have EVER watched this much subbed anime in a row. Heck, prior to this I think my longest watching was I"s Pure and From I"s, which only totals to 8 episodes in the end. I've almost quadrupled that with just this portion of the show alone.

So please excuse me as I take a short break to re-gather myself for Season Two and all that it'll bring to the table. Maybe now I can write something non-Dragon Ball related too.

Dragon Ball - Episode 032 - Vanished?! The Flying Fortress in the Sky

Ahh, it's been just long enough for me to have forgotten how good a few of these people really sound. Soothe me with your voices, Nozawa and Chiba...ahhh.

They set up the gag with Chi Chi and Goku falling off the cloud twice really well. The first time my thoughts were 'Heh, she didn't have to grab Goku's tail this time.' But alas, the second time... 'Poor tail.'

You gotta respect Pilaf's belief in himself, despite it being all too obvious to everyone else (his own henchmen especially) that he's pretty incompetent.

I'm still not digging Banjou Ginga for Silver, it's just way too deep for the character. It's a nicer voice than what Sabat gave him though, so...I'm torn. I don't think either side nailed it this time.

Ahh, the dulcet tones of Daisuke Gouri's Ox King are back too. Though, I really just wish I could get to his Mr. Satan already.

It's still hard for me to believe this whole arc with the Red Ribbon going after Pilaf is filler. It's just so well interwoven into the story that it feels natural. Why can't all DB filler be like that?

Why is Chi Chi so focused on getting married right away, at such a young age anyway? Is it just an amped up joke on how 'The dream of a young girl is to get married' trope?

I'm getting to hear more of Kenji Utsumi's original Commander Red, but it'll be a while before I can really decide who did a better job between him and Josh Martin, even with that weird accent Martin gives him.

For a guy who's outclassed, Pilaf is holding his own okay against the army.

LOL at Goku peeing on Pilaf's camera. Chuck Huber was right in the Dead Zone commentary, that kid is ALWAYS peeing.

You know, as much as I am enjoying the Pilaf bits here, I can see where a lot of this is just re-hashed from that first arc in an attempt to draw this out. It still feels very organic as if it's supposed to be there, but not as much as before.

And despite all of his trickery, Pilaf and his cronies still just are no match for even a small portion of the Red Ribbon Army's might. They might not be much in pure power compared to some later foes, but I'd dare-say that no organized force was as potent in this series until we hit the Saiyan/Frieza stuff.

Dragon Ball - Episode 033 - Legend of the Dragon

Is the opening bit of Silver training filler? I'm assuming it is since the larger part of this episode is, with it's 'Dragon Legend' and all. I guess they felt taking down Pilaf wasn't quite enough of a build-up for this guy to be impressive.

Yay! Goku's alive! ...Did anyone REALLY think that explosion was gonna take him out? I didn't think so.

I know overly-detailed backstories aren't exactly Toriyama's strong point, but I wish he'd given something on how Red started this whole military organization. It's not tied to any country or anything, it's just his personal military, and yet it's HUGE. Was he like Pilaf, just another short rich kid with way too much time on his hands?

There's also an awful lot of scenes of Goku and monkeys now that I think about it. Given the original inspiration, and Piccolo's own 'demon' background, I wonder if his original intention was to have Goku be the 'Monkey King', some kind of reborn deity, instead of how Z did end up going?

...I think one of those monkeys was Chiba too. I KNOw that screech!

And here comes the lying filler. It's this filler, that directly contradicts something later on, that gets to me the most, not the kind that drags stuff out horribly. This one just reminds me of a later one in Z, where King Kai tells the Saiyan story. Oh well...I'll forgive this one a bit. It gives me more Mayumi Tanaka.

...Wait...Roshi didn't even KNOW about the Dragon Balls when they're mentioned, but now he knows this legend? I never realized how WTF this one really is.

Again, it is forgiven slightly though. Because Dragon Ball Densetsu is playing again. When that plays, all is well.

Given how much he hates his own tail pulled, I'm surprised Goku grabbed that monkey mom's tail even to save her.

Dragon Ball - Episode 034 - The Heartless Red Ribbon

There's not a lot for me to comment on so far this episode, it seems. I do have one question though - Silver destroying the Nimbus wasn't filler, right? That part was canon?

Seeing as how this is the last of Silver however, I guess I have to weigh in on my final decision between Sabat and Ginga. And...it's still a tie. I think Ginga's voice is much more pleasing, but is less fitting. Sabat's however, while less pleasing, fits better at least tonally.

Finally getting to hear some of Masahiro Satou for Advisor Black as well. I'll save my decision for who's better here, as always, until much later.

LOL. I love that the robot was complaining about how ineffecient humans were. 'They get hot, they get cold', wah wah wah...only for he himself to freeze up and crash the plane.

My seiyuu ear is off a bit or something, cuz I swear Silver, White, and Red all sound way too much alike, and I know it's a different person for all three.

At any rate, I stop here for now, as this finishes the 'Silver' arc. Next time I'll start in with the Muscle Tower story.

Dragon Ball - Episode 035 - Suno, Girl of the North

Hearing a little more of Tessho Genda's White, and while I don't think Hebert did a bad job, I must say it is nice to hear the character without some Russian accent going on. Just cuz they're in snow doesn't mean Russia, sheesh. Besides, nobody else in this village got a Russian accent.

I THOUGHT Suno sounded familiar. Referencing ANN, it looks like she's voiced by Naoko Watanabe, who also voices Puar. I quite liked her Puar too, but her Suno voice is absolutely adorable.

I'd really forgotten how much I love the DB soundtrack. I know the Japanese Z music is great too, especially all of Kageyama's stuff, but I'm really digging some of these 'uh oh' themes.

...Okay, I love Dragon Ball Densetsu a lot, but it's playing AGAIN this episode? They're gonna wear it out. I didn't really think it was possible, but they're gonna do it.

Aww...and that's the last we'll see of those two Red Ribbon soldiers. For some reason, I liked them. Doing a reality check though, I do have to remind myself that no matter how funny the Army characters are, they're a group of people incredibly willing to kill a little boy to get what they want. Sure, they don't stand a chance, but still.

One of the Red Ribbon soldiers tells Goku 'The sun's still too high for you to be wondering around asleep.' I think I sort-of get the concept of what he's saying, that Goku's an idiot if he's really trying to fight, but that's kind of a weird phrasing for it. Is it some Japanese saying more-or-less? Like 'Idiot's can't catch colds', which I've heard before?

The Muscle Tower siege and the later Red Ribbon Main HQ siege are both just awe-inspiring. Even knowing the later stuff I know Goku will be capable of, it's just amazing to watch this kid just PLOW through everyone and everything in his way, all in a dead run.

Dragon Ball - Episode 036 - The Terror of Muscle Tower

And enter good ol' Murasaki. He's arguably my favorite villain from Dragon Ball, and definitely my favorite from this arc. He's like...the anti-Tao. While Tao just reeks of cool and capability, Murasaki is just complete over-the-top fun. I can't judge for sure until I get to his episodes, but so far I think I much prefer Duncan Brannan over Takeshi Aono. This character really benefits from an over-the-top performance, I think.

I remember reading somewhere that Toriyama based Metallic's design and character on Terminator. Is this true, or just fans drawing their own conclusion based on Metallic's appearance?

Metallic doesn't talk a whole lot, so I can pretty much already make my call on him. I'd say it's another tie, both Shin Aomori and Chris Rager did pretty good. A deeper voice like Rager's seems to fit better overall, even though Aomori's is kind-of deep too, but Rager's is just kind of generic big guy. So yeah, definitely a tie when one fits better but is too generic, and the other is better but not as fitting.

This is putting way too much thought into it, but given Metallic's body and what we'll learn later about Dr. Gero, I can't help but think of Metallic as like...Android 7 or something.

Heh, this is kind of cool for LOLs. I wish I had this playing in something that allows me to take a screencap, but when Metallic is scanning Goku and you see the data readout from his PoV, there's a line pointing to Goku as the scan subject. The English written above that line is 'Look Aliens'. Metallic knew!

Something that no matter how hard he tries, Goku can't defeat or destroy...and it loses because it's battery dies. Classic Toriyama.

Dragon Ball - Episode 037 - Enter Ninja Murasaki

Now wait a second...it keeps saying that Goku has now cleared the 2nd and 3rd floors. If I'm not mistaken, he beat the floor with the regular soldiers, and then he beat the floor with Metallic. Shouldn't that be floors 1 and 2, not 2 and 3? If it is 2 and 3 then, what the heck happened to floor 1!?

...Wait...the Murasaki flashback...the gauntlets the other ninja are wearing, and the way they run to rush Murasaki...was Lupin the 3rd: Castle of Cagliostro already out by this point? Cuz I swear that was a reference.

Yeah, I definitely prefer Brannnan for Murasaki. It's not that Aono doesn't do a great job, don't get me wrong, but again, I think this character just really needs to be as over-the-top as he can be.

I love the hot water and bamboo shoot gag. I'll give Murasaki credit that it was a good hiding place/technique, even if obvious once found even a little bit...but how was taht possibly going to beat Goku? I think he's just trying to show off this entire fight.

Goku's little singing while dancing for his victory in the race is adorable too. I could go for a full song of just Goku chanting.

As cruel as it is, I'm dieing of laughter just like Goku over Murasaki's anguish with the pole stuck up his butt. I lost it when he turned around and it hit the tree.

Murasaki refers to the sword as his famous 'Sasanishiki'. What does this translate to? And beyond that, is it a reference to some famous ninja?

Dragon Ball - Episode 038 - Be Afraid!! The Split-Image Technique

Poor Murasaki...if he'd just re-used a Tatami pad, he wouldn't have had to take that last Shuriken to the face...LOL.

I can't find a listing for who does the village chief in Japanese, but whoever it is certainly sounds more like a real old man than Kent Williams did. Mind you, Williams did a fine job none-the-less.

Adding even more fail to Murasaki's ninja resume, is the fact that one of his 'others' is using a gun. I love it.

Hm...you know, the village chief and Suno's father look alike a bit. Are they meant to be related? Or at least, is that something the dub implied, since both were voiced by Kent Williams?

So the joke that it's the Murasaki brothers is actually canon? I always assumed that was some kind of weird dub-only joke. I guess it sort of fits as an explanation for a ninja's multi-form ability, without actually using the ability that Tenshinhan would later show.

And in comes everyone's favorite, Cyborg #8! I'll have to wait until next time when I actually get to hear him speak, to make any judgements on who's better between Mike McFarland and Shozo Iizuka obviously though.

That brings us about halfway through the Muscle Tower arc, and finishes off this disc. I'll pop in the second disc and get the next four done next time.

Also, I may or may not have that set of reviews done to go up tomorrow, it may be the next day. I've got some mixing to do for another project of mine that has to go up tomorrow as well, and it takes precedence. So please excuse another tiny break if you will. ^_^;

Dragon Ball - Episode 039 - The Mysterious Cyborg #8

I'll be honest, McFarland's #8 never stood out that much to me. It got the point across, and it wasn't a bad voice at all, but it was just sort of there. That may be #8's lot with me (despite being pretty cool), cuz I have about the same opinion of Shozo Iizuka's performance so far.

I really like the choice Toriyama made with #8 though. It seems obvious after Murasaki's bluff that he's going to have to fight, and Goku's going to feel horrible fighting him off while doing his best to beat him. You figure that Goku will find a way to beat him gently enough to get rid of the remote. But instead, #8 just flat-out refuses to fight, no matter what. I love that about him.

Also, I'm guessing Goku punching him into a wall is the last canon appearance of Murasaki in the manga right?

This maze where White controls the wall, giving it no way out, isn't filler is it? It sort of reminds me of a part in the Pilaf arc, so I had to wonder.

Just seeing her think of Goku makes me think (though romance was definitely not Toriyama's forte anyway) that it would have been cool to see Suno as a rival to Chi Chi for Goku's 'love'.

Wait, I thought Android 8 was a completely mechanical android? White asks him 'Whow as it that brought you back to this life as an android after you had died once before?' - is this a filler line, thrown in as a reference to the Frankenstein appearance of the character?

It also seems that #8 credits White directly for bringing him back...I know that it was Gero who must have made #8 (despite what the upcoming filler will say), so...was #8 maybe a RR soldier under White's division, and that's what it's getting at?

Dragon Ball - Episode 040 - What Now, Goku?! The Horrible Buyon

I still can't really say who's the better #8. Just like with McFarland, I'm slowly beginning to really like the character, so I can't attribute that to either performance.

And more Suno filler. I know it's all meant to just pad the time, as well as to make her more endearing or something, but she is just too adorable. Again, why can't she be a rival for Chi Chi darn it!

...Heck, I'd rather see Goku end up with her than Chi Chi. >_>

As for the Buyon voices, I automatically defect give Daisuke Matsubara the better vote since English Buyon is just Sabat doing a Piccolo laugh again and again.

I'm beginning to also look at #8 as the precursor to Gohan sort-of. He's got the same 'afraid to fight' personality, also coupled with 'Incredible Hulk' anger/power syndrome, again like the future little Saiyan.

Dragon Ball - Episode 041 - The End of Muscle Tower

Argh, all of these episode openings with no dialogue and scarce few sound effects over them, is really making me dig a lot of the tracks in this show even more. I need CDs!

White seems to rely on trickery over brute force for the most part, when compared to Silver at least. And yet, he still is willing to try and take on Goku, even if he does think the kid is tired. So how does White stack up compared to Silver then?

'*giggle* I thought a fly had landed on me. You know...punches should be more like this! *PUNCH*' Goku, you little **** XD

White's pretty smart though, to figure out that Goku's weakness could be his tail, without ever seeing anything to indicate it.

'Powered gun'? What the heck is that?

While it was a good thing Goku learned a little more mercy and self-control from #8, I really wish Goku hadn't taken it to a whole new level later on...sure, it turns out to be a good thing in the end, but there are a loooottt of times where he really should have just finished someone off.

Ohh...duh. That's what 'powered gun' meant. I forgot that this one shot a beam instead of a bullet.

And the wrath of #8 has been awakened! This isn't gonna be pretty boys and girls.

Quick Japanese question again. I know that a Shinigami is a 'death god'. With that in mind, everytime someone keeps saying 'Die!' it sounds like they're saying 'Shini!' Have I got that right? If I do (and slightly off that track), why is it 'Shinigami' and not 'Shinikami'?

Given how weakened Goku is here, is it safe to say that him getting hit by that gun's blast would count as a near-death experience for him? Basically, would he have received a zenkai from this?

Okay, I'm definitely picking up on some 'Goku/Suno' vibes here for real. Sure, Goku was actually going for the rolls Suno had cooked, but still. I hereby declare Goku x Suno as the best DB fan-pairing ever.

Dragon Ball - Episode 042 - Imminent Danger!! Go For It, Ha-chan

Oh, why hello there contradictory filler! We meet again, and so soon after you told us that lie of a 'Dragon Legend'. We're uh...not gonna make this a habit to come, say a long time down the line, more specifically in a sequel series, right? ...Right? ...Contradictory filler? Hello? ...*gulps*

That aside, this is a great little episode, canonicity aside. It's a final little romp with ol' #8, as well as more Murasaki!

Actually, the part with #8 having the Dragon Ball, is that part filler as well or not?

Actually...so, in the manga, #8 just lives with the villagers without ever again mentioning having a bomb inside of him I take it? If it weren't for Frappe being horribly un-canon, this coming up as a concern makes perfect sense.

Yay Murasaki! Darn it, I wish Kai had been done right and started from the real beginning (among other things such as actually being reanimated...), cuz then Murasaki would have gotten a spiffy new theme all his own.

And...there goes Goku peeing again. Well, at least Murasaki had the right side of his cloth up this time, or Goku would have defiled the flag!

I know lots of people hate added dialogue, but I found the bear costumed Murasaki bit to be much better with it. 'Oh, how'd they see me!?' 'Uh, just a bear!' XD

It's an incredibly one-shot role for me to even do a voice compare, but let's talk about Frappe for a minute. The Japanese voice certainly sounds more natural but seems a bit deep for the character's appearance. Still, it's way above whatever the heck you'd call that accent he had in the dub. So this round definitely goes to Jouji Yanami (I THOUGHT he sounded like the narrator!) over Sonny Strait (getting this one off of ANN, I'm not entirely sure it's accurate this time though...).

Speaking of voice compares, did I ever really compare Suno's? *looks through notes* Nope, I just mentioned how much I really like Naoko Watanabe's voice for her. At any rate, I really think SUNO VA did a great job in the dub too, sounding rather cute, but she doesn't really sound much like a little girl though. So by that fact alone, I have to give Watanabe the win.

Poor Murasaki, in the end Goku didn't even have the Dragon Balls on him at the time after all. To top it off, I guess in the manga you could assume he survived and moved on to something else later on, but in this he gets an extremely powerful bomb to the face. I'd say chances are he's dead. *sniffs* I'll miss you buddy.

Dragon Ball - Episode 043 - Bulma's House in Metro West

Shozo has definitely won me over with his #8 compared to my first thoughts. He just sounds so strangely adorable now.

Is the bit with the village chief and the other old man in the village knowing about Kinto-un filler? I don't see how it could be, but it just...it seems kind of half-assed. It seems like a cheap way to bring the cloud back for Goku.

Though, it does bear some thinking for later in the story. This early into DB's history, and already there are precious few people who are pure enough to ride one of the clouds. It's kind of funny that more people are able to in Z (though all Goku relatives), when the Earth populace itself is much less pure than they are at this point I think.

Yay, another insert song! And this time it's sung by Masako Nozawa herself! I'm loving the Kinto-un song.

Actually...is this more of a Goku song? It suddenly started singing about the four-star ball, so...ahh well. It's adorable regardless.

Is this street fighter guy that Goku has to fight filler? And whether he is or not, I still have another question about him. He's obviously a Bruce Lee charicature. Is he the same guy that we saw defeated at the previous Tenkaichi Budokai? I can't tell about this sub side, but I think I recall him even having the same voice in the dub.

Ooh. The street fighter mentioned Kenpo. Is this Kenpo karate? I took some of that once actually. If I can get a better job to afford it, the lessons have started up again in town and I wouldn't mind learning again. I could use the weight loss anyway.

Goku's art leaves a lot to be desired LOL. It's horrible, and yet really cute. Anyone know how old Toriyama's children were at this time? I wonder if his kids were starting to draw and this was his little nod to it.

Heh, Capsule Corp. is on 'Route 66' in West City.

Dragon Ball - Episode 044 - Goku and Friends and Tons of Danger

...I find it highly suspect that Bulma eats and even requests more Iguana soup like it's a normal food, when complaining about Goku's odd food ideals. Or is that actually a delicacy in Japan?

I love Dr. Brief's garden. It's got a Tori-bot and a Baragon!

And Jouji Yanami is playing Bulma's father as well. This character doesn't really appear that much so it'll be tough for me to pick who did a better job, so let's just call this one an equal deal between him and Chris Forbis.

I also get a kick out of her dad teasing her about Goku and her being a couple. That would have been another interesting route for this to take instead of Goku and Chi Chi. To be honest, the Goku and Chi Chi relationship is just such a cop-out.

And now Bulma's mom has arrived. To be honest, I've never gotten the 'she's a beautiful housewife' thing. She's really not that good-looking to me. Neither of her voices are that pretty either, though her dub voice by Cynthia Cranz is kind of annoying compared to Mariko Mukai's.

Ahh, and now we're to Husky, who seems to me to just be another take at Launch, or maybe a Fujiko reference. That said, is she filler? Sorry for always asking this guys, but there's a lot that strikes me could be that I don't know if it is or not, and I've only read so much of this early manga stuff. Once we get to the pirate's cave though, I'm good all the way through to some parts of Season Three.

Toshiko Fujita is doing a pretty good job right off the bat, but this is another role where I'm likely going to be bias. It's Bailey in the dub, doing quite a sexy voice too, so...um...yeah. ^_^;

I think it's hilarious that Yamucha has a fan club now, given not only how he was at first, but also how the franchise is going to treat him later.

'R-Rich people make no sense at all... I'll be going now.'and then, crashing. LOL. That poor, poor cop.

Dragon Ball - Episode 045 - Watch Out! A Mid-Air Trap

I'm almost certain that this is all filler now. Even with the Red Ribbon Army Connection, this episode doesn't really do anything to further...well, anythin. Then again, neither did Monster Carrot, and that was canon.

Still, this is really fun to see, Goku having fun in the city.

Hehe. One of my favorite gags is happening now. I think you all know the one I'm talking about. 'You have two balls inside your clothes, Could you show them to me?' 'Sure! *drops pants*'

Yeah, I definitely have to give the vote to Laura Bailey instead of Toshiko Fujita. Sorry guys, my fanboyism wins this round due to Fujita not winning me over enough.

I didn't have much to say about this episode in the end, but it was a lot of fun to watch. Goku's misunderstanding and then him tickling Hasky to get her to drop the Dragon Balls are both the highlights of this one.

*facepalms* Although, Goku being concerned for the state he's leaving Yamucha in for about five seconds before going 'Oh well!' is funny in it's own way. Goku, you little jerk.

And so finishes the 'city' arc, and this disc. Next time we'll launch into the fun that is the General Blue arc!

Dragon Ball - Episode 046 - Bulma's Big Failure

It's sort of nice to see Goku and Bulma journeying together to find the Dragon Balls. It's how this all started after all. It's actually sad that a similar event couldn't have closed out the story, either in the end of the manga/Z (though, the manga does have that picture callback) or GT.

Red sure does care a lot about that little...thing...on his lap. I mean, I love my mom's cats but I would still get an incredible urge to play kitty ball if it bit me hard enough to draw blood. Red just keeps petting it and lets it lick the wound!

And one line in, and Toshio Furukawa is already a winner. That was just...wow. It's perfect for the character. I'll save judgement for who I like better between him and Strait till the end obviously, but already I can tell this is gonna be another fun arc.

...Wait...*looks up Furukawa again* ...This is the same guy that plays Japanese Piccolo!?

Amusing as he is though, Blue did just have a man killed for picking his nose. Even if it's over-the-top, Dragon Ball has a knack for showing us some brutal people.

Aww. Poor Dr. Brief is losing his treasured capsule magazines due to a Bulma freakout. Goku's line is classic though. 'Wierd! They're all naked, but they're not taking baths...' I still wonder sometimes how this guy ever had Gohan...

Ahh, that's right. This episode is the DB equivalent of Bulma's adventure on Namek...I can't remember, but I hope it's not near as painful as that one.

I love how hypocritical (for the lack of a better word) Bulma is. I mean, she's openly flirting with the two old Red Ribbon soldiers...and then is freaked when they're attracted to her. I mean, okay, granted they ARE about to **** her, but she egged it on for crying out loud!

'Not somethin we can't do because it's a gag anime though...right?' I'll forgive her for her hypocricy just a tad since she broke the fourth wall for me.

'Isn't there anything dirty...I mean interesting...to do around here?' LOL Roshi.

Dragon Ball - Episode 047 - Kame House is Discovered!!

Ooh, if I'm not mistaken that's another new piece of BGM I'm hearing at the start of this episode (well, after the recap and title anyway).

I love the little jokes between Goku and Umigame since while it does seem to happen every time they meet, that's not often enough to be an issue. Goku always get's his name wrong and insults him in some manner, and Umigame doesn't remember him at first.

...is that supposed to be Baywatch that Roshi is watching? It's got a similar tune and then the running...it's gotta be!

Yay, Mayumi Tanaka's Kuririn is back! I forgot, he plays a part in this part of the arc.

Oh hey, this episode has the second eye-catch where it's Goku and Roshi instead of Goku and Oolong. Did that just happen or did I miss the first instance by not paying close enough attention?

Wait...Umigame's son Taro...why does that name sound like it sound mean something to me...

So I take it 'Kaizoku' means 'Pirate' right? You'd think I'd have known that from some One Piece scan or something. Also, I saw a re-used character design in the pirate fantasy scene - it's Captain Bacterian!

Dragon Ball - Episode 048 - General Blue Begins Attacking!!

It looks like this is another episode that there's not a whole lot to say on, since I'm already about halfway through and nothing of note has happened.

And then, shortly after the half-way point, it gets awesome with a new insert song all for the Red Ribbon Army!

The song specifically mentions about six colors other than Red though, two of which I don't recall an RR member for. Was there a Yellow and a Brown? *scratches head*

Also gotta love that Goku never bothered to mention just who was after him, even after Bulma herself encountered two of the soldiers.

Dragon Ball - Episode 049 - Lunch-san in Danger

Heh, Turtle waits until Roshi's already had some of what he had coming to help.

Roshi taking down the soldiers that come to his island is one of his truly awesome moments. It only makes sense for him to be surpassed, but I do wish he had a few moments in Z that wasn't just him being pervy.

Blue is a smart man even if he is weird. He realizes that he's not up against normal opponents, even if they do have them outnumbered.

I smirked at Bulma wanting to use Kuririn's head for a light. Poor kid.

Yay, they've found ou their in the pirate cave! Now they can find the One Piece! ...Uh, the Dragon Ball rather.

Also, Blue's laugh is priceless.

Dragon Ball - Episode 050 - The Pirates' Traps

Kuririn is really excited for the treasure, poor little guy.

Also, we have our first hints as to what Red's little hang-up is.

I love the gag with the actually dead soldier getting up to warn Blue about the trap. It's so Toriyama.

LOL poor Kuririn. He's just trying to hang on for dear life (and maybe get a peek...hey, he could die any second now!) and Bulma just keeps beating him up.

Up until now, we've only seen Blue as a smarter commander, and one that knows what he's up against sort-of. The scene with the electric eel shows that he's strong enough to be a problem on that front too.

Gotta love how the 'old days' of Dragon Ball world wasn't advanced enough for capsules, but they were for fully working robot guardians.

Dragon Ball - Episode 051 - The Security Guard at the Bottom of the Ocean

The more I hear of Furukawa's Blue, the more I like it. He's another of my favorite Dragon Ball villains, and I'm very pleased to know that hasn't changed in the sub version. Strait's take may be completely over-the-top, but I think this is another character that approach really works on. So I'll call it an even score here too.

Also, major points to the opening of this episode for showing us Goku and Kuririn fighting besides one another.

I'd forgotten how cool the shriek and creaking of the pirate robot is. It's actually almost bone-chilling.

The illusion that it keeps pulling off that someone is watching our heroes from the pirates' main computer room is pretty cool. I actually short-of wish there had been someone, a long-time pirate survivor or the ghost of one maybe, just to go against our expectations of the Red Ribbon being the enemy even in this cave. Though, I've got to wonder...with a security system this advanced, just who was able to kill that pirate captain while he was IN the control room?

Wait...Bulma's panties before were white with like strawberries on them or something. Now they're pink and match her top. Gag-to-seriousness inconsistency!

And with that, I am about halfway through the Blue arc. If nobody has noticed, I'm trying to pace myself better on this set than I did on the last, so that I generally stop at better places. That's why you keep seeing me refer to some things as their own little arcs when they're not.

Dragon Ball - Episode 052 - We Did It! Treasure Discovered

And in one of my greatest reliefs of watching this subbed perhaps - that STUPID octopus no longer talks like a 60s reject! The voice in the dub is okay, but UGH...they had to have been drunk or playing darts when they chose how to make him talk in the dub...probably both.

I never knew the 'u' at the end of 'Itadakimasu' was silent until hearing the squid say it either. Yay, learning!

Speaking of, that octopus sounds vaguely familiar...*checks ANN* ...They've got nothing on this seiyuu.

For some reason the serious image of Kuririn holding the sword bigger than he is sideways, trying to look cool, really cracks me up.

What is that weird sound effect of Goku getting smacked back and forth into the rocks? I wasn't aware he was made of wiffle material...

Also LOL at Kuririn's 'Dokkan!' prank on Bulma. I love the little smartass.

You know, in Blue's defense...Bulma IS licking him out of nowhere. Hot or not, I'd be a little freaked out myself, so it wasn't really fair to call him gay just from that. Even if it does turn out to be true.

I LOVE the Blue laugh! Both Furukawa and Strait's.

Poor Bulma, she has no hold at all over Blue. She may as well be flirting with Goku again.

I think one of my absolute favorite pieces of BGM is the karaoke version of the opening that plays sometimes when Goku's about to kick butt, and it works REALLY well when he bursts out of the water with the rumble of the falling cave all around them.

Dragon Ball - Episode 053 - The Eyes that Sparkle with Terror

Bulma should have known the one who would fall for her trick was Goku, not Blue. *facepalms*

I really like some of the angles they're using for Goku and Blue's fight. Something about this fight just seems really well done in the animation.

For the first time, I can hear Piccolo a bit in Blue I think. That raspy, grunty breathing he does when he's powering up his psychic powers, it sounds a lot like how Piccolo as a whole sounds while he's fighting from what I remember.

What was it Blue said that the subs had as 'Farewell!'? It sounded like 'Sayaba!' or something. Is it a slang way to say 'Sayonara'?

On the downside of the fights in this episode...there is a lot of repeated three frames to showcase a move three times. What's up with that?

How in the heck did a Dragon Ball get all the way down to the bottom of that pool anyway? I've always kind-of wondered that actually...does nobody ever see these things just come slamming to the ground, or see them flying through the air?

'I owe you my life, so I'm going to help you out! Get in my mouth!' ...if that mouse had ever seen Goku eat, I don't think he would have gone along with this plan as readily.

And behold, there was a lot more treasure there than anyone had ever known. It really was the One Piece!

*is thwacked for another outside-DB reference*

Fine, I'll stop...maybe.

Dragon Ball - Episode 054 - Run! Run! The Great Escape

'I've never even had the chance to kiss anybody yet!' ...Bwah? Yamcha and Bulma have seriously been dating for like, what, a year or two now, and they haven't kissed? I'm seriously expected to believe that...cuz I DON'T!

They all barely got out of there in a sub, and Blue was able to get out just by swimming? I never thought about it before but that is crazy! Then again, that's probably why I have so much to say on this series now. I've seen most of this stuff so much before that I usually watch it without thinkin that deeply, you know? But this time I have to.

And the Red Ribbon HQ gets it's first real Goku experience LOL. Also, leave it to Goku to make them wait for him to grab food, but he can't be bothered to grab a drink for Bulma.

Also, I notice that the food has no problem riding the kinto'un...food is pure?

Just what is Roshi LISTENING to...and why would the girl's bathing suit getting wet be a problem for her, isn't that what it's for? *scratches head*

I didn't realize that Bulma hadn't met the blonde Lunch before now until she asked who that was.

Dragon Ball - Episode 055 - Lo! Chased to Penguin Village

Ohhhh how I've been waiting for these next three episodes. I don't know as much about Dr. Slump as I would like to, having only read the first two or three volumes a couple of years ago, but I do love it so. I've especially been waiting to hear it now subbed, because I'll say it now to save myself the trouble later - I can think of NOBODY I liked the dub voice for in the Dr. Slump cameo. Not even the usually awesome Brice Armstrong did a good job here. I don't know who the perfect dub voice for Senbei is, but it's certainly not him.

So the Japanese for 'diamond' is just 'diamondo' huh? I'll take a stab and guess it's one of the words they got from us first, or we got from them?

Also, is that a sub error? Bulma tells Kuririn 'You have a split personality disorder don't you? I never thought of you as being like that...' ...Huh? That's gotta be referring to Lunch, not 'you' as in Kuririn, right?

I can't say for sure, but I seem to recall Roshi's tone in the dub on the 'If the Red Ribbon come I'll just beat them' line implying over-confidence, which sets up the joke where he's beaten by these ropes. But in the sub, he says it normally, because he knows that he can do it probably, since he's done it once before when they sent soldiers. Both are fine ways to take this scene, just making note of it now.

'They certainly are lively in there. I wonder if they're having a party.' Yeah, they're totally having a party with everyone tied up Lunch. ...Wait...

As much fun as this little venture into Penguin Village is going to be, I can't help but feel it's a bit unfair for Bulma and the others to not be a part of the end of this arc as well.

Also - 'W-Wait Goku, don't chase him too far!' Yeah, be careful or you'll chase him right out of this series and into another!

Going back to BGM talk, I also like this jaunty little tune that's playing as Goku chases Blue's rocket on the kinto'un. Speaking of which, they're now flying through some bizarre colors at a high velocity. I declare this to be when they're going through the dimensional rift to Slumpville!

And already, we're seeing signs of Dr. Slump things. I'm sure this part here is even better for anyone more versed in the world of Dr. Slump.

A bizarre new BGM is playing too. Was it composed just for this, or is it maybe some BGM from Dr. Slump?

I forgot the Dr. Slump sun has a face! ...Anyone know if the Soul Eater author was a Slump fan?

I can easily tell that Mami Koyama who plays Lunch is also Arale, but it is soooo much better than the voice in the dub. Same with Kenji Utsumi for Senbei. I already said I would prefer all the sub voices on these characters, and it's true, but I'm actually breaking my 'don't switch the audio' for this review-watching just to hear how bad some of these really were...ouch.

Okay, I take it back a bit...I forgot Laura Bailey was Akane. That one sounds okay. And Justin Cook for the Chinese character is okay, it just doesn't fit at all with the joke of this character, and sounds like they thought this guy was Yusuke. So maybe not ALL of these voices are terrible, but it's still not how I would have wanted them to dub Dr. Slump if they really had gotten it.

It's really cool to see Goku and Arale next to each other. There's something about crossovers that are just plain awesome.

'Heheh! I bet you already know!' Oh quit playing coy Narrator, of course I know where we are.

Dragon Ball - Episode 056 - Woohoo! Arale Rides the Cloud

I already wish Goku had run across Penguin village again at some point, or at least they'd shown it when Goku was asking the world for energy for the Spirit Bomb in the Buu arc. I want to see what Goku's reaction would have been later in life.

If Penguin Village counts as a rural town, I wish all rural places were this cool. I would totally not mind living where I do if it was like Penguin Village!

Yay, Supa-Man! A hero only rivaled by Mr. Satan! Heck, he even does the tile break show of strength!

In seriousness though, I thought I noticed it a bit with Arale and Goku earlier, but the DB art-style and the Slump ones are sort-of different. You can tell with the two show's characters next to each-other in one shot.

The dub voice for Sour Man was actually okay too, listening to it. And...if I didn't know better, I'd say it was the narrator for Z Kai... *checks ANN* It list Dameon Clarke, and that was NOT Dameon Clarke.

My thought that Akane was Dr. Slump's Bulma is confirmed by her inability to ride kinto'un.

So even the rural (and other world) area of Penguin Village has heard of the Red Ribbon Army apparently, at least the law enforcement has, heh.

And now there's a panda clinging to a tree. What is it with Toriyama and small things clinging to trees!

Enter the joke that FUNi covered up...Blue the pedo. I mean, I completely understand the need to cover this up on Toonami, but it should have been fine in the uncut dub.

...That and the little brother excuse doesn't work when I swear Blue was about to kiss the boy on the cheek. >_<

Also, anyone that knows Dr. Slump better, that little boy was the other one that's a robot like Arale, right?

The poo on the stick! Yay! And it's so cute and happy too! ...Just waht do the things that those things are coming out of look like though...

All of this is really making me wish I could see more Dr. Slump. I'll have to settle for buying the manga from the looks of things.

Listening to Brice's Senbei again, I think the reason I don't like it is that it's not really a voice so much as it is an impression of something...that I can't quite place my finger on. Who is he trying to be?

Dragon Ball - Episode 057 - A Face-off! Arale V.S. Blue

LOL, I love the gag with Senbei temporarily turning into a 'good-looking guy'. He does it all the time in Dr. Slump, but poor Goku doesn't know what to make of it.

I can't remember their names, but I love the two aliens collecting trash and thinking it's valuable 'Urth' resources.

With the scene of Goku freaking over Arale and the Ga-chan's food, it's official - Penguin Village is the only place that can weird even Goku out.

And now the full police force of Dr. Slump is lined up and ready to move out! That includes the gun-crazy pretty lady, and the random Storm Trooper...I think. He didn't have his helmet on, but the armor looked right. I didn't know we ever saw that guy without his helmet, but then again this would be after the end of Dr. Slump right?

The Dr. Slump people are just not used to this level of violence are they? The DB violence can be comedic too, but it's definitely more serious than what it sems they're used to, but in the end they (Senbei anyway) realize that things need to get serious for once. It's a similar sort of feeling to watching Turtles Forever, cuz the OT (Old Toon) Turtles don't realize how serious the danger is until they've hung around the 2K3 (2003 4Kids) Turtles for a bit.

I LOVE the Arale theme that plays when Arale fights back! Her gag-manga strength is just too much for any villain.

Have those cops never run across those aliens before? They really thought they were the Red Ribbon Army?

I like how even with it being a gag crossover, Toriyama still used it to re-enforce to Goku that there's a lot of strong people out there and that he needs to train more.

Also, wait, so the Dragon Radar that the gang has from here on is actually the one Turbo made, not the original one Bulma made, right? Is Bulma ever made aware of this?

Aww...now the Dr. Slump crossover is over. Gyt is saddened by this. I really had waayyyy too much to say on these six episodes though, so I imagine a lot of you are thinking 'tl;dr' (too long; didn't read), but for those of you who at least peruse it and all my other monster posts to give me feedback, you guys are awesome. ^_^

Next time, I'll finish my reviews for now with the first four episodes of the Tao arc, which are also the last four episodes of Season Two!

Dragon Ball - Episode 058 - The Sacred, Yet Ominous Land of Karin

I can't believe I forgot all about Yellow, they're mentioning him right now.

Off the topic of DB (sorta)...Holy crap! There was an image, a mountain in the background, that I swear looked identical to part of the opening of Dinosaurs. You know - Earl, Fran, Robbie, Charlene...Baby...'Not the mama!'...anyone?

Hmm...Oopa (first time I've ever seen it spelled like this) and Bora sound okay so far in the sub, but I never had a problem with either of their dub counterparts. Banjou Ginga is really deep, but so was Dameon Clarke, and Mitsuko Horie sounds a lot more like a girl than Kara Edwards did for the part, which will work better for a joke later on. I'll save final judgment for later.

Oh, and on Colonel Yellow, both sound okay, but I'll give the sub one a win just for the fact that the dub decided to throw in another silly accent...sometimes it works, like with Murasaki, but what was the need for one here? Oh, and also for the fact that it's Daisuke Gouri.

Geez, Oopa is as bad as Goku, thinking those planes were birds.

It's already the halfway point? Goku hasn't even shown up once so far! Wow...I think that might qualify for the longest point in the series where he doesn't at all, barring the Garlic Jr. saga in Z obviously.

****! I forgot how brutal and awesome Bora is at first...he just impaled that western-looking Red Ribbon soldier! And apparently he killed everyone in Yellow's division other than Yellow, not just beating them. You do not mess with this guy.

Oopa already mentions wanting to be strong like his father, I wonder how strong he does get? He's not as bulky as his dad is even at his little end-of-Z cameo, but he is pretty buff.

You gotta love how this was just going on like a story of it's own without Goku, only for him to burst in and punch someone, followed by his normal greeting. 'Ossu!'

At long last, Goku is reunited with his grandfather's four-star ball.

The return of Blue, and the grand appearance of Tao Pai Pai in all of his original DB glory. I'm excited to see his first fight where he beats Goku now, since it's sort-of the first for this series.

Dragon Ball - Episode 059 - It's Him! The World's Greatest Assassin, Tao Pai Pai

I don't have anything particularly against the voice Kent Williams uses for Tao, at least in this part of it, but there's later parts (where he comes back here and in Z later for example) where it's just too nasally for my tastes. So far, I'm liking Chiako Ohtsuka's voice for him. It fits, and I think I detected a note of weirdness with his introduction that might come out when he freaks later, which will be nice.

Bora says that his people guard the area around Karin Tower...and we do see a bunch more of them in the Spirit Bomb scene in Z...so just where in the heck are the rest of them right now?

And Blue is now fighting Tao. I'm going to miss him...

As gross as it is, it's also extremely cool how Tao kills Blue, even if I'm slightly saddened by it now. I do think I remember reading something once about the tongue being the strongest muscle in the human body too.

Killing people with tongues, flying on pillars he JUST threw really far - Tao is awesome.

Actually...I never thought about it before, but while the Red Ribbon arc isn't my favorite story, it does have some of my favorite villains. No wonder I'm enjoying this so much.

In addition to killing Blue, I think they showcased Bora's strength before to make it even more obvious how tough Tao is now.

I'm really sad now that Bora's dead...and I have to say that the sub definitely covered this scene better. The dub versions for Tao and the Narrator do it just fine, but Nadolny's Goku just sounds normal angry whereas Nozawa is clearly showcasing that Goku has NEVER been quite this mad before. Top it off with Edwards' crying for Upa is just sad whereas Mitsuko's for Oopa is downright heart-breaking, and this was a scene definitely done better here.

I also think that it's really sad due to this being the first time a good guy has died in this series. It's also the one time where we don't know yet that the Dragon Balls can revive someone.

Dragon Ball - Episode 060 - A Battle!! The Kamehameha V.S. The Dodonpa

This is definitely the first time Goku was ever as outclassed as he was here. I mean, Goku even gave people he would lose to a run for their money before this.

I'll always find it strange that Tao doesn't mention Goku using the Kamehameha like he knows about it, but Toriyama hadn't planned that far ahead yet clearly.

'What's the deal pops, you have a run in with a bomb or somethin'?' Holy crap, that drunk is psychic, he's predicting the future!

What DOES the Pai Pai part of Tao's name mean anyway?

Heh, the phone Tao uses is one of those old number wheel ones. I remember those, my grandma had one when I was a little kid.

It's amazing how well they are making you feel sad that Bora is dead, given that we JUST met the guy. They handled this part of the story really well, Toei did.

Kind of irresponsible of Goku to say that Shen Long will bring Bora back to life though. I mean, the Dragon Balls ARE supposed to be able to grant any wish at this point, but still...

Only Goku could sleep while holding onto a tower while at least hundereds of feet off the ground...

You know, thinking about how the real training under Karin has already begun since it's all about climbing the tower, Toriyama early on was really fond of training being done without them really knowing what it was at first. It happened with Roshi and it's happenening here too.

Dragon Ball - Episode 061 - Karin-sama of Karin Tower

It doesn't really have to do with the epsiode, but since this is the last one I'll be watching for a while, I'm watching the opening again, which I haven't done at all on this set. I absolutely love this opening, the music, the animation, all of it.

On the episode though, I like how the subbed version mentions nobody ever seeing the top followed right away by...Goku seeing the top.

If they show that scene of the one Dragon Ball rolling and scattering the other ones ONE more time...that was the third freaking time!

Though, it is interesting to note that it showed Baba and Grandpa Gohan, who won't be an issue for a bit longer. I guess the manga must have been that far along already though, since this part wasn't in the manga.

Which would also explain why their colors are slightly off, heh.

'The three worlds' is an interesting way to explain 'Past, Present, and Future'.

And at last, we've met Karin. His voice is pretty pleasing already, so kudos to Ichiro Nagai. I don't have a problem with Sabat's take (though I prefer back when it was Mark Britten), but...well, it's like my problem with Oolong. What about the character really suggests they should sound like a smoker of twenty years?

LOL at Tao's 20th Anniversary Sale sign. He is the kind of guy who would do something like that.

An assassin wearing pink with a ribbon should in-of-itself be kind of weird to me, but I find Tao with his hair down to be even weirder....then again he's also bathing in boiling water (that is a very bizarre, unclean color), and boils an egg in there with him so he can eat it. ...If only he had a beard, I'd say there was another fist under there.

I know this part with Roshi training in the storm is filler, but he just launched an energy wave from a finger...the Dodonpa?

At any rate, that brings us to the end of Season Two, as well as the end of this batch of my reviews guys. I'll be taking another short break to watch some other stuff I've bought (starting with Nerima Daikon Brothers), as well as getting a few more real-life issues taken care of. When next my reviews start, I'll be a licensed driver hopefully!

Dragon Ball - Episode 062 - What Will the Effect of the Super Spirit Water Be?!

And once again, I am welcomed by the dulcet tones of Nozawa's Goku. I'm still having Ichiro Nagai's Karin grow on me though.

'Come to think of it, I haven't had anything to eat for five years myself.' Bwah? Does he just mass eat Senzu a lot, or does he just..not REALLY need to eat or something?

Still makes me laugh that the senzu were originally just a bean that would fill you up for 10 days, rather than a healing trump card as they'd be later on.

Karin's eye was also freaky. They went all out when they animated this part of the story to make sure you don't know what the heck's up with him. I think he's creepier than DBZ Abridged's Popo even.

Hmm...I know Goku seeing the others and figuring out how to read a person's movements was filler, but I can't remember how he figured it out in the manga, though I have this part. Maybe he just did it?

And the secret of Karin training is revealed. If the training in Z stayed this interesting, I wouldn't mind the constant struggle to get stronger at all.

'Keep the change.' Tao is a cruel, cruel man.

I've noticed it a lot, but I don't think I've asked, so I'll ask now - a lot of times, they'll use English randomly. I remember hearing that the reason for Vegeta doing so with his attacks in Z, is because it's a very 'punk' thing to do, but I don't know if this is true or if it's made-up junk I read on a site once. At any rate, if that's true it doesn't say the same for when Goku says 'Bye Bye!' in English. So...what's up with that?

Dragon Ball - Episode 063 - Son Goku's Revenge

Red's downfall has already begun, as Black is clearly irritated by his attitude. I still would like to know how this military came to be. How'd Red end up at the top?

Poor little Oopa. He wants so badly to get revenge for his father.

They missed a perfect place for an insert song. With Tao throwing Oopa and Goku flying down to save him, it would have been a great moment. They were going crazy with them in the previous 'season', they should have saved some of that budget for here.

This sort of thing annoys some people, especially later in Z, but yay for random cut-away to the rest of the gang. It allows me to hear Mayumi Tanaka's Kuririn again. ^_^

It's also nice to see good ol' pervy Roshi again, without any sugar-coating, especially so soon after getting that in English with Curse of the Blood Rubies.

I always forget about Tao's sword. Why it makes lightsaber sounds and flashes with every swing is beyond me though.

You gotta love how seemlessly Dragon Ball filters in filler, compared to how Z will do it later on. Tao climbing the tower to get the 'Super Sacred Water' feels like it really should be there.

Dragon Ball - Episode 064 - The Final Tao Pai Pai

That's kind of a weird episode title, gramatically. The English one sounds better in this case I think.

Anyway, hard to believe I'm 64 episodes in already. If this were GT, I'd be finished. A long road before even Z is ahead of me though, so let's keep trucking along.

I don't know what possessed them to have Goku's dream be about Bulma's lack of certain 'equipment' but it's hilarious for what it sets up.

Goku: *sleeping* You can live without your balls or peepee! *laughs*
Oopa: Peepee? What kind of dream is he having...?

That's a very good question Oopa, and I certainly wouldn't blame you if you like...scooted away from him in the tee-pee right now.

...Could this dream have been like a weird Goku puberty dream? o.O;

Wait, how did Red figure out Goku's name? Did I forget something?

I think Ichiro Nagai's voice has finally grown on me, but I don't really think the raspy voice he's always gotten in English is so bad either.

And Tao is no more...at least for now. For his attempt to blow our heroes up, he himself got a bomb to the face. That's what happens when you go against Goku.

'That's wonderful! Why don't we take a bath together to celebrate?' I give you points for effort at least Roshi.

And with that, the little Tao 'arc' is over. All that remains is Goku's stampede into Red Ribbon HQ! ...Which I'll get to next time. Let's draw it to a close for now.

Dragon Ball - Episode 065 - Go, Goku! Commence Assault!

'I get the feeling that today will be the best day of my life.' Oh how wrong you're going to be Red.

Just like I always forget about Yellow, I always forget about Violet too. She just comes way too late into the story, and doesn't get much chance to show her stuff.

That said though, so far, Kazuko Sugiyama sounds okay, and better than who played her in the dub I suppose. Um...crap, what was her name. She was also Shizuru in Yu Yu Hakusho I think. Kasey Buckley?

Red mentions a General Kappa. Bwah? I don't recall that guy being mentioned in the dub.

Ahh, and the first bits of Yamucha, Oolong, and Puar that I've gotten for this set. Nice to hear Naoki Tatsuta again.

I get the feeling that most if not all of this episode was filler, right? I'm about at the end of it, and barely anything has happened really.

We're going to forgive it a bit though, and you know why? Because I hear an insert song! I believe it already played once in 'Season Two' but it's nice to hear the Red Ribbon Army theme again. And it's even nicer without a narrator yapping over it. Much as I love Brice Armstrong's voice, that's one of my biggest problems with the series' dub now, is that they just wouldn't let the guy not talk for a while.

That and, though it's not my favorite Dragon Ball song by any means, ending the episode with that song has definitely gotten me pumped up for the conclusion of this arc!

Dragon Ball - Episode 066 - The Red Ribbon Army Desperately Fights Back

Why in the world do they still think it's Tao coming to them? They just mentioned a few episodes ago that the signal for the device they put on him disappeared, so shouldn't that be their clue that...something's amiss?

What is it Goku does when he's rushing the guy in the plane that's supposed to confirm it's Tao Pai Pai? It sounds like he yells 'Da-da-da-da-da-da-DA!' LOL. That's such a Gotenks thing to do.

All right, Goku's insane bum-rush into Red Ribbon HQ has truly begun, with him on land (and buildings), dashing through and taking down random soldiers as he does. This part almost could have done with an insert song too, but either way, it's a great moment. As great as it is to see it focus on and showcase how amazing Goku is now though, it would've been nice to see Yamucha and the others actually make it there in time to help.

Not much else happening, but the bum-rush continues. Seriously, I want a mini-game of this in some game, where all you do is raid RRHQ.

LOL. I don't blame Red for being frustrated. It is pretty embarrasing to lose to a kid that doesn't know how to use an elevator.

Dragon Ball - Episode 067 - Commander Red Perishes!!

One of the first soldiers taken out in this episode is a bunny guy. I can't remember the last time we saw an animal-headed person in this again. It's refreshing.

Heh, I kinda like Violet now. She's willing to steal from the army that she's been with and make a getaway rather than stay and fight. It doesn't make her a good person persay, but she's better than the others a bit maybe? It's hard to say...

I know it wasn't thought up at this point, but with a bunch of people fleeing the base now...I wonder if Gero is among them? Or maybe he's already quit after Muscle Tower and already hard at work on his plans?

Is it said in any of the daizenshuu or anything just how strong Black is? He seems to hold his own against Goku better than the other soldiers at least, and he has some pretty good movements, so is he a trained fighter?

I don't know if I ever decided before, but I think I do prefer Kenji Utsumi to Josh Martin for Commander Red. The accent in the dub was kind of silly, and his laugh in Japanese is infectious.

The same goes for Masaharu Satou compared to Chris Sabat for Black I think. Sabat's works, but it's too...Popo. It sounds a lot like his Popo.

Red's breakdown is a lot more convincing in Japanese too. You can feel Black's respect for him, which has already been shaking for a while, finally brea. He can't believe the man he's been following up until now, to the point where he just has to stop it. And as such, Red is no more.

He's still an evil guy, but I think Black at least has a small honor code if nothing else though. He seemed disgusted about the men's lives that were wasted.

Due to the subs, I'm sensing a word-play that I don't get. Goku thought Black said he'd just become 'porridge', when he'd just become 'Commander'. So what's the Japanese for 'porridge' and the word for 'commander', how similar are they?

Yup, he's definitely evil still, but Black doesn't want to have to kill Goku. art of it is that he's not sure he can I'm sure, but I think part of it is also that he doesn't want to kill needlessly like Red did.

Dragon Ball - Episode 068 - The Last Dragon Ball

Oh wow, the English title and Japanese title for this episode are exactly the same. If I remember right, the closest that came once before, they were off by like an exclamation point or something.

At any rate, this episode starts with the fight already in it's endgame. If I recall, this is a strange episode, that while it features the end of Red Ribbon, it also signifies the start of Fortune Teller Baba. Though, that makes sense - I used to kind of toss that 'Saga' into the 'Tien Shinhan' era, due to him appearing earlier due to filler, but really, the first part of Baba fits much better with the Red Ribbon arc.

I take back a lot of what I just said about Black. At first, maybe he's less-ready to take life needlessly, but very quickly, he's ready to blow up the entire base and kill the remaining soldiers, just to take out Goku.

And just like that, the Red Ribbon...is no more. Black attempts to flee, and Goku goes right through the robot...actually, it's kind of similar to Piccolo's end. Sheesh, this kid just loves breaking through things.

Oh wow, I completely forgot that Red's creepy little pet survived.

More subs I don't quite get, that I'm going to assume is like some kind of old Japanese saying.

Bulma: Like the sayin goes, we're so busy we need a pig to lend a hand!
Oolong: No, i'ts a cat that lends a hand when you're busy!

I love how they're all smartly thinking up a plan to attack the army, which sadly probably wouldn't have worked, while Goku stupidly rushed headfirst into danger, and it ended up working.

I don't know if I brought it up before or not but...why is Puar able to fly without turning into something with wings? It's not the same as flight like the others all learn later is it?

Woot, our first flashback to young Roshi, though there's no voicing to it. Did Toriyama design what young Roshi would have looked like, or is this one entirely on the anime staff?

More wordplay, Puar mistakes 'karinto', as in Karin tower, for some kind of 'karinto' snacks. Is that like a brand or something? Either way, it's a loooottt better than Puar's lame joke in the dub. Oi vay.

Good lord, this episode sure has a lot of flashbacks to stuff that JUST HAPPENED! Argh, it's this stuff that annoys me when watching Naruto a lot. Give me contradictory new filler, or boring filler that makes no sense, over flashbacks to stuff I literally just saw. It does make sense for everyone to reflect on how strong Goku is now though, especially since he's once again saved the world.

Now as I finally say farewell to this arc, I prepare to move into the next one - but that'll happen in the next review session. Onward to Baba's everyone!

Dragon Ball - Episode 069 - The Possibly Cute Fortuneteller Baba

What a lie this episode title is LOL.

Roshi sure waits until the last minute and everyone's depressed to bring up Uranai Baba.

Everyone's already figured out that Goku gets them into a lot of trouble, heh. Oh the things they've yet to see...

'I wore this the whole time I was fighting.'
'You're disgusting.'

Kuririn's got a point. It's had to have been a month at least that Goku's been wearing that gi now.

And I'm not certain, but you know...I think the outfit they get Goku at first and are laughing at him about, is exactly like what Goten is forced to wear at the end of Z, though color-swapped maybe.

With the way the anime shows Goku and him, it's almost surprising that Oopa didn't become a bigger part of the overall series.

Okay...why does Kuririn think Oopa is a girl? That shirt would be kind of revealing if he was...

I know a lot of people will probably disagree but, anyone else remember the group of people Goku and the others walk up to? Yamucha says hi to them, and this big guy turns around...it's tenseley quiet...and then he asks what they want. In the sub, it's a voice that fits it, a tough voice for the big guy. In the dub, they flipped it and gave this big guy a higher-pitched voice that you wouldn't expect. I actually prefer the dub on this instance, because it's funny as heck, going against your expectations rather than suiting the image.

Oh wow...I definitely like the English voice for Baba's little ghost much better...it's really high-pitched, but not painfully so, but at least it's better than this...weird...thing the Japanese voice has going on here.

I wonder what the group of big guys were wanting Baba to find out for them anyway.

I definitely hear Daisuke Gouri voicing one fo them in the background too. They were more than happy to bring him into the booth at any chance they got weren't they.

...I guess I take back what I said about the ghost, because this voice mixed with that thing's voice is freaking me out now.

At long last, I hear Baba in Japanese, and she appears to be played by...Junpei Takiguchi. She might be able to grow on me over time like so many others have, but right now I'm definitely preferring Linda Young. It's hard to tell that the Japanese one is even a woman to be honest...wait...Junpei? *clicks the name on ANN* ...It IS a guy!?

Dragon Ball - Episode 070 - Attack! We Five Fighters

Kuririn is up first, and it always amuses me how cocky he is as a kid, compared to how cautious he'll become later. He's a lot different from the guy he'll be at the end of this series alone, where he knows when it's time to give up.

Kouji Totani gets a win right away compared to the English counterpart, Robert McCollum, who sounds like he's trying to do his impression of Steve Blum's Guilmon.

I can't help but wonder what reason out of quite a few I can think of, that made Toriyama have Dracula Man go for Kuririn's head rather than his neck. Was the neck too vital of a poin to show in basic shonen manga? Was it just to be different? Or going further on that route, was it all just to set up for the joke with Kuririn's 'blood hair'.

I'm still not very impressed with Takiguchi, Linda Young's voice just feels so much more natural by comparison.

Dracula Man speaks so fast that I couldn't hear the Japanese word for Vampire, anyone know what that is? I usually hear people use 'kappa' as an equivalent, but that's not exactly the same.

One of Tanaka's lines just now almost sounded like Laurie Steele's voice. They did a great job in casting her in the dub, though they don't usually sound this close.

The Invisible Man has another name in Japanese? I thought that was just in the dub, but Baba calls him 'Suke-san'. Does Suke mean something maybe?

From the little bit I just heard too, Hiroshi Ohtake has a silly voice just like Chuck Huber gave him in the dub, so it'll probably be about even there.

Oopa being here and helping out/cheering on further goes with my thoughts that it seems to imply he'd become a bigger part of the story. I wonder if Toriyama toyed with the idea of him returning with them after Bora is wished back, and training with Roshi or something?

Dragon Ball - Episode 071 - A Bloody and Desperate Battle!

Bulma: It's Goku!
Oolong: Nothing good ever happens when he shows up.

This is a true fact, that Goku goes on to demonstrate seconds later by breaking into the plane, kidnapping Bulma and Roshi, and leaving Oolong and Launch to crashland. What a guy.

As bad as Linda's singing as Baba is in the dub, I think the original version wins here, because Takiguchi's singing takes the cake. That song is so horrible and distracting, I'm surprised it's not still distracting them at some point in Z...

Kuririn's trick to get Suke-san covered in blood may be the best part of this little arc.

And the big reveal that Roshi and Baba are brother and sister happens, and...seems to run in circles in the dialogue for a bit. Did it do that in the dub too?

Goku: How old are you?
Baba: It's impolite to ask a woman that.
Goku: Do you have a weiner then?

LOL. I don't even...wow. The sibling bickering between Roshi and Baba may have been to set this part up a bit, but it was still kind of cool to see, since that's a depth we don't often get in this series.

For some reason the sub dialogue has the ability to make me wonder a lot of things I never had before...some things...that were best unwondered too. For example...the Demon's Toilet. It's two opposing demons, on toilets, over a pit of acid basically, right? You fight on the extended tongues. ...Why do two demons on the toilet, have their tongues extended towards each other anyway!?

Dragon Ball - Episode 072 - Meet Son Goku! The Demons' Toilet

I'm going to assume that 'Mira' means mummy, since when Baba said 'Mira-kun' the subs matched with 'mummy-kun'.

It's hard for me to say who I like better for Mira. The voices are about the same, both really deep. The main difference is that Shozo Iizuka comes off more natural, whereas Sonny Strait sounds...kind of like they toyed with the bass a bit or something.

I was about to say that Yamucha is more cold than Goku by this point, since he was willing to kill Mira to win, but...is Mira even alive really? I mean, he is a mummy after all...

And once again, I hear Daisuke Gouri filling in as a random background thug.

Shouldn't Yamucha have technically lost without conceding defeat, seeing as Puar went in and helped him, breakin the rules?

Dragon Ball - Episode 073 - What is the Deadly Devil Might Beam?!

The recap of last episode makes me think again that I'm right and Mira is already dead, technically. When he comes out of the sarcophagus, his skin is pale blue, but then when his eyes shine, he regains normal skin color. So I'm gonna go with my theory that Baba's chant revived him basically.

I was wondering why the subtitle bothered to point out that the word for an opening in Goku's form was 'suki', then it was used in the wordplay for Bulma thinking the mummy likes him, which is again 'suki'...which is short for 'daisuki' right? No, wait...'daisuki' is more like 'I love you', so just 'suki' is love? Bah, I'll figure out more of this language yet.

WOW, I'm dense and forgetful. They go out of their way to mention that Mira is already dead and was revived for this fight, and I forgot all about it. Well...at least my theory was spot on then.

The dialogue between Akkuman and "the masked fighter" is certainly better in the sub, it's actually on topic, instead of some crazy banter about 'my mask makes me look fat' and 'that's what you get for ordering last minute'. As for Akkuman's voice, as I'll save my thoughts on the other guy until later, well...it's hard to say. Ichiro Ikemizu is fitting, but I do like this poshness that Justin Cook brings to it in the dub - at first anyway. If he could keep the voice just posh instead of going silly, it'd be great, but he can't. It sounds way better in the show than it did in Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (where he seems to go 'OOOOH OOOOH!' all the time...), but it's still a tad annoying in the show at times.

Given the nature of the Devil Might Beam, I seriously wonder why they didn't whip this guy out when in dire straights...like in Trunks' future, why didn't they send this guy out to use that on the Androids? Seriously, c'mon!

I think in the long run I prefer Ikemizu, but for when he's powering up the Beam, I prefer Justin Cook. In the dub, they went with this feral growl kind of noise, whereas in the original sub, it's this REALLY high-pitched shriek that is painful to listen to.

And what a tease of a title, I won't be seeing the Beam until next episode. Sheesh, this'd be annoying if I didn't already know where this was going. Still, this is it for now guys. Next time, I'll be back with another five episodes, and finish up the Baba arc.

Dragon Ball - Episode 074 - The Mysterious Fifth Man

Oh wow, another one where the dub episode title and sub one match perfectly.

I know it was to show how amazing Goku really is, but now that I think about it...weren't only pure people supposed to be able to ride the kinto'un anyway? So...why is it amazing that Goku doesn't go boom? Or are we talking about a different level of purity here?

Since it's eating up a decent amount of time, I'm goin to assume (since I just can't remember from the manga) that Akkuman using the beam on Goku twice was filler, or at least greatly exaggerated in the anime.

*snickers* Bulma pointing out that Yamucha has no room to talk about Roshi having dirty thoughts is amusing me, given that they're boyfriend and girlfriend. Or...were. Whatever you'd call them at this point.

Okay...the joke with Akkuman acting weird is much better in the sub. I find a devil going 'What the devil!?' much funnier than him flamboyantly singing 'He's going to huuurt meee!' And there wasn't a mouth flap problem with the first part, and they could have easily made up a longer way for him to say 'Get it?' like in the subs I would've thought...ah well.

I don't know the name of this track playing right now (I think it played a lot during the Murasaki episodes), but it's another favorite of mine. It sounds like an old-school martial arts movie, we're talking Bruce Lee here.

I think I already said it before, but I think I am starting to like Osamu Saka for Gohan here more. It actually sounds like an old man, without sounding silly like Sabat's take does. That and, Sabat's sounds like a sillier version of his Kami.

Oh great, the creepy voiced ghost is back. >.<

Is there any sort of significance to Gohan wearing a fox mask of all masks? Given that he's a ghost and all I mean.

Dragon Ball - Episode 075 - A Clash!! Powerful Adversaries

Whoa, an overhead shot of Baba's palace and the lake just now...is it...shaped like that ghost? Okay, that's it. That ghost is officially creepier than Popo could ever be.

With both Roshi and Goku seeing familiar things about the Masked Fighter (though he's not once been referred to as such in the subs yet), I wonder how many people were able to make a guess as to who he was when the story got to this part in Japan.

Gohan's kamehameha may be the most massive one we've seen up tot his point. It looked bigger than I recall seeing Goku's so far anyway.

It just occured to me - if Gohan knew the Kamehameha, how come he never showed it to Goku? Goku wouldn't have been ready to learn it he would've thought probably, but you'd think he'd have at least shown him at some point.

I didn't realize that Roshi and Kuririn are only just now finding out that Goku's tail is his weakness either. Or maybe I just forgot.

If I didn't know any better, I just heard Goku go 'oro' when he was making pained little noises after being slammed to the ground. Given that Watsuki's using that in Kenshin was taken from something else though, maybe?

Dragon Ball - Episode 076 - The Identitiy of the Masked Man

In the 'last time' thing for this episode, this is the first time I think I've noticed it say 'masked man', or however you say that in Japanese rather, but it seems like it's not used like his name at all.

Yay Pilaf! This little bit is filler though what it leads to isn't I believe (my DB manga knowledge based on what I've actually read drops off for a bit just after the fight going on right now), but who cares. It's more of Shigeru Chiba's Pilaf. ^_^

Gotta love how he takes credit for what Mai and Shu found out and they just go with it too.

I think they missed their beat a bit for Goku's tail snapping off...it just kind of happens while everyone's yapping about other things, rather than it being the focal point in the match that it kind of is.

And just like that, the fight is over. Gohan gives up, and now Goku's starting to realize who he is at last.

The dub did a really good job of being emotional too, but the sub does even better I think at showing what a happy/sad moment this is. At long last, Goku gets to see his grandpa again, and for the first time, we're really reminded that this strong fighter we've been watching, this hero, is still but a child.

I just heard Gohan ask Roshi if Goku ever turned into an 'oozaru' or 'giant ape'. I thought it was Vegeta later in the Saiyan arc that coined the term? So, even in the context of the story, it's just the term for what the form is rather than a stated name for it?

PERFECT time for this insert song! Though, I'll always remember it as movie 3's ending the most. Anyway, I like the moments when they call back to how tis all started. It really is true - none of this amazing story would have happened if it wasn't for that one little ball that Gohan left behind.

And even Gohan is a dirty old man, heh. And major LOL at Roshi wishing he wasn't "immortal" so he could go there and see the 'pichi-pichi' girls there.

Dragon Ball - Episode 077 - Pilaf's Great Strategy

You have no idea how much I'm laughing over here at Chiba and the other seiyuu doing 'emotional flashback' time with the Pilaf gang. Oh man.

'Now I remember! You're the guys who tried to kill me before, aren't you?!' Goku, do you have any idea what a long list that already is?

Pilaf actually calls the Pilaf Machines 'mobile suits' at first. What I wouldn't have given for a Gundam reference right then and there.

'He's Goku, he'll be fine!' Kuririn already gets it, heh.

This episode actually expects me to worry about Goku here, with all those ominous forewarnings? Come on! I mean, the Pilaf machines are strong all right, but this kid just recently took down an entire army, and I don't think these suits are any tougher than Black's was.

I think I've heard this piece of music before, but it perfectly fits the combining robot suit sequence, it just screams transforing robot theme.

Maybe I'm overthinking this but...the rocket that comes out the 'ostrich mode' robot's back-end is white...bird poop joke, or maybe just an egg joke? They both seem like Toriyama-style humor.

Poor Shu, he even loses his clothes this time LOL.

Dragon Ball - Episode 078 - Shen Long, Again

Toriyama is somewhat notorious for saying he didn't really plan ahead, but...Baba mentioning that Goku will save the world just a few story arcs ahead of when he will, could he have at least planned out to King Piccolo by then?

I can't say I really like the 'blue travelers' insert song much as a song, but it certainly is cute and sad sounding, setting up for what we're about to get to. It also showcases that, just like Bulma and the others did for Goku, Goku himself has now done for Oopa - he's really opened a wild new world for the kid, which really makes me wish Oopa had returned as a semi-main character. He said he wanted to train and get stronger, why couldn't he have entered a Tenkaichi Budokai sometime?

And after a long time of not hearing it, once again the dulcet tones of Kenji Utsumi's Shen Long fill my ears.

Even though he's all smiles, even Goku has to ask Shen Long if he can do it. I wonder if there was much talk initially on whether or not the Dragon Balls really should be able to do this or not, amongst fans as i twas approaching, and between Toriyama and his editors as it was planned out.

It's not quite as emotional to me as Goku meeting Gohan again since we know Goku so much more, but it's still really sad and happy to see Oopa run up to his father once more.

'I have to pee!' After all you've been through, I think you deserve a potty break kid, LOL.

Poor Roshi. It really was a pretty good speech, but it's lost on Goku.

And even though it's technically been over for a while now since the vanquish of the Red Ribbon Army, this arc has drawn to a complete close, with the Dragon Balls once again used and gone now. A new adventure is ready to start! But...that'll come with my next set of reviews.

Dragon Ball - Episode 079 - Kinkaku and Ginkaku's Man-Eating Gourd

Remember I said it was time for a new adventure? Eh, yes and no. It's filler time first folks. And what's a good filler without some re-used character designs? Oh look! I see Suno's dad and the mayor from the Muscle Tower arc!

Oh, and about the episode title - the dub one is 'Terror and Plague', and that's what they call the two characters in the dub too. Are those appropriate translations for Kinkaku and Ginkaku?

Well...at least the first bad-guy of the episode isn't a re-used design. Though the giant tiger bandit guy does bear some small resemblances to the bear one Goku first met I guess.

Actually, now that I think about it, this episode feels kind of like a re-hash of the Oolong one, only with the baddies here actually bearing some threat, even if just by the aide of a powerful item.

You gotta love the 'big bad brothers' trope (or whatever it's actually called). The Toguro brothers of Yu Yu Hakusho, the Hiruma brothers of Rurouni Kenshin (though only in the manga) - I see a lot of it in Ginkaku and Kinkaku.

This gourd that can suck people into it and turn it into a potent drink seems like the kind of thing you'd see in Japanese or Chinese mythology either one. Is it inspired at all by anything in those?

Leave it to Goku not to remember to say 'here' even while fighting, given that he was just told about that less than five minutes ago...Oi vay.

Oh, and as for the seiyuu performances here...well, it's hard for me to say much, since we've finally reached a batch of episodes where I've only seen them once before dub or sub, so it's hard to decide. I do remember that the two brothers have some weird accents in the dub sadly, so the sub wins outright, though barring the accent, I did like the smaller brother's performance by Mike McFarland.

As for Chao, I can't remember her dub voice at all, which means it can't have been anything too absurdly awful, so we'll call it an even on that one.

I love the manic glee in Nozawa's voice when Goku is torturing the poor brothers by calling their names repeatedly.

So that's one filler episode down, though unlike a lot of it in Z (even the stuff that is episodic just like this), this actually matched the tone really well, and doesn't feel at all like it's delaying our way to the next arc. This is what filler should be.

Dragon Ball - Episode 080 - Imperial Match! Goku V.S. Ten Long

...I just noticed in the opening shot of this one that Goku's tail has grown back. Had it already grown back in the last episode? How long is this supposed to be into the three years already?

Chin Taiken...Didn't they call hiim like Chindai Ken in the dub, or am I just remembering that from my Pojo guide? Oi vay either way.

Right away, I have to give the seiyuu the win for Chin, his son, and the bigger Ten brother. ...Hey, brother syndrome again! Anyway, Justin Cook's voice for Taiken is okay but it's just...not the best acting he's ever done. The son is basically Kid Trunks born over even though the kid looks like Gohan, and Kyle Hebert's voice for the bigger brother is just kind of overly deep.

Actually...Chin's kid...sounds so familiar...*looks it up* ...Even ANN doesn't know. This kid sounds so familiar though...

As for the smaller and stronger Ten brother, I'm about even so far. I actually remembered that being Jerry Jewell in the dub, and that was excellent castin from what I can tell so far. He and the seiyuu have really strange qualities to their voices that aren't at all unpleaseant, it makes them enjoyable to listen to.

Some would call what Shoken does by drugging Goku's food dirty, but in his defense, what his dad just said to him was incredibly harsh.

And in the end, Goku wins by using the technique of the school he's filling in for, at least...why does nobody realize his entry IS against the rules since he's not really of that school though?

Dragon Ball - Episode 081 - Goku Goes to the Demon World

Ah, now onto the bizarre...Demon World...filler episode...yeah...this one isn't my favorite, since it does fill like filler since it's sorta contradictory to stuff we find out later. To be fair though, they had no way of knowing that at the time.

I'm already wondering what the purpose of changing 'World' to 'Land' for the dub title was though, if it served any at all. Both still mention demons.

...No wonder this whole episode was giving me a movie 2 (Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle) vibe! I think that's what they were going for, especially since this had a scene with the same horn being blown, and a lot of re-used demon designs from that. I wish they'd used some of the ideas for this episode back in that movie though, it would've made for a more enjoyable and complex story I think.

So far I haven't had a lot to say on the sub performances, but that's because this is another episode that I've only seen once dubbed even, and it didn't even impress me much overall then, so I don't remember any performances there to compare, except for maybe Shura himself when we get there.

As much as I'm not fond of this one though, I wish the story of the uprising had been covered better though. On that subject...are Shura, Gora, and Mela, based on Japanese myths just like Enma and Kami?

Okay, I noticed something weird here only because I switched to the dub for once to make sure I was right on something (which I'll get to next). The scene where we first see Shura, in the sub there's this really creepy music playing over the cheers and jubilations of the demons, and it really sets the mood well for where we are now. In the dub however...no such music. It wasn't an insert song really, so I figured it'd be present in the dub too.

Anyway, what I was checking was if I was right in remembering that Shura is performed by John Burgmeier in the dub, and I was. Burgmeier's doing an offshoot of his Shigure voice here, and it really works, showcasing the confidence this character has in himself, which I'm also finding greatly present in the Japanese version. I'd say the two performances are equal in the end.

A quick scene of the rest of the gang got me thinking - I get why Yamcuha would be doing the Roshi training since it's his first time, but shouldn't Kuririn be doing something different this time around? Or maybe his shell is a lot heavier...

Okay, I really want to know if there's something to this episode's backstory now...it just feels like there's so much unresolved in the end, even though the story felt like it had some real depth to it. I gotta know!

Dragon Ball - Episode 082 - The Ferocious Beast, Inoshi Kacho

Eh? I know what the 'Ino Shika Cho' name parody is all about, between what this beast is and the way it's used in Naruto, so...why is it seperated like this in the subs? It seems to me that the dub's way of InoShikaCho keeps the pun better.

Okay, I never noticed that before, and checking into the dub, it's the same thing...what the HECK is that noise the baby makes as the family on the broken vehicle makes as they fly by down the mountain!? It sounds like a drunk monkey, that is NOT a baby sound. LOL. And it's present in the dub too, so apparently FUNi didn't catch that and think it sounded weird either.

I remembered that this filler episode gives us our first glimpse of Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu, but I forgot that it also tried to tie into the Turtle/Crane backstory too.

And speak of the devil, there they are now - our first two new and important characters in quite a while. Since this is a filler episode and they appear in better graces later, I'm not going to judge the seiyuu's performances compared to the dub's just yet.

...I'd know those little grunts anywhere. Inoshi Kacho is Daisuke Gouri for sure!

Geez, some nice villagers. Even if they think Goku really was the scammer, they're shooting at a little kid that they don't know that won't hurt yet! And then they even hunt him down to keep trying to kill him!

And then it's just forgiven as soon as the old man tells them to stop shooting...geez. For the story, this episode isn't so bad, but the thought processes in the end don't make any sense to me.

Dragon Ball - Episode 083 - Hurry to the Tenkaichi Budokai, Goku!

Just like once before, the subs here went with 'Tenkaichi Tournament', but it just seems to me that if you're going with Tenkaichi, may as well go with Budokai right?

Right away, I'm struck by the difference between the voices in the sub versus the dub for Konkichi. The sub goes with a squeakier voice that I'm sure is a girl. Actually, I'm fairly certain it's another role for Mayumi Tanaka...but I won't know for sure until I check. *looks* Nope, it's Noriko Tsukase. *flips through her roster* Must just have that kind of voice, I haven't seen anything else she's in.

Meanwhile, the dub goes with a squeaky voice that I'm not really sure who did it. *looks again* Sonny Strait, really? Wow. Both fit, but I find myself gravitating toward the sub a bit more for some reason.

Anothe re-used design I recognize, the cop in this episode looks the same as the cop from Bulma's town.

I completely forgot that they worked Baba into the episode too. Actually...she's supposed to be big on watching fights. Why doesn't she go to watch the Tenkaichi Budokai tournaments? Or...hmm...she probably does, just from the comfort of her home and the crystal ball? Hmm...I'm not sure.

Anyway, I'm still not feeling the choice to use a male for the Baba role.

On the character of Konkichi, am I the only one that feels he was handled just a little differently in the dub? He comes across as more...oily, in the dub, like he was a bad kid with a heart of gold under it all, but he did need to learn his lesson first. Here in the sub, it feels more like he was a kid that got mixed up with the wrong crowd even though he knows he shouldn't, and then gets into trouble that he wouldn't have gotten out of if it wasn't for Goku. I mean, in both versions he was a thief, but he just seems to be made out to be less sympathetic in the dub compared to the sub. I think I definitely like the original version of him more, he's much more likable.

At last, the next arc is truly set to begin, as everyone heads to Papaya Island to see who the new 'Strongest Under the Heavens' will be! And once again...we'll have to wait till my next set of reviews to start that off.

Dragon Ball - Episode 084 - Aim to Be the World's Best Martial Artist!!

Goku's head looks kind of just...pasted onto the water there, where he's supposed to be swimming and asking for directions. It's kinda freaky looking actually.

Heh, the joke about Lunch wanting to hijack the plane was the same in the sub too. Actually, so was the thing about Roshi needing to use the bathroom. I figured that was a dodge around him being pervy somehow.

I've never been able to tell completely without a picture of the two next to each other, but in some shots, you can tell that Goku is a little taller than he was at first now.

And then Roshi does it again...I'm going to assume that his poop talk is anime only, it seems...kind of out of character for him, given some scenes in the past. Also, do they take Umigame with them in the manga? I didn't remember him going to any of the tournaments.

And at last, Tsurusennin, or the Crane Hermit (I'll probably call him Crane most of the time if I can remember, if Shen turns out to be a dub-only name for him) has appeared. So far...his seiyuu, Ichiro Nagai, is doing a pretty good job at sounding nice and oily, as well as making it not sound a thing like his Karin. I quite like the dub performance by Chuck Huber, but it really doesn't sound as old man-like as it needs to, so the seiyuu automatically has that in his favor.

Poor Kuririn, he's still the shorter between him and Goku.

Okay, they've officially run the Roshi bathroom joke into the ground. I did smirk at his suggestion to 'watch dirty videos - er, go play cards back in the room!' though.

LOL. I also liked his English 'Hiiii!' as he tried to go into the girls' room.

I'm not sure why, but I always enjoy the shots of various martial artist's training their hardest in preperation for the first elimination round of the tournament.

Oh wow, something I didn't realize until just now when it showed all four together - All three of Roshi's current students were his opponents in the last tournament!

Dragon Ball - Episode 085 - I'll Make It Through!! Preliminary Survival!

Yamucha's opponent says he's a little kid. Bwah? Shouldn't he be like...18 by now? Though I guess that could be a kid to this guy, who looks 30-ish.

And yet again, Kuririn get's matched up with a huge guy. This is a joke Toriyama never gets tired of heh.

'Anton the Great'? Is this guy supposed to be an Andre the Giant reference? Would they even know about him in Japan? ...Also, based on the noises he just made after being beaten, it was the late-great Daisuke Gouri again. Geez, is he really like every third person in this show?

Heh, I'd forgotten that Crane is just as perverted as Roshi, though he's a lot less likable.

And as the fight with Chapa-o is left hanging, I didn't have much to say on this episode. Hopefully there's more in the next one.

Dragon Ball - Episode 086 - It's Decided! The Eight Warriors!

That move that Goku used to win his preliminary fight, by shouting and the force of it holding him up in the air - would that be the same thing as a 'kiai' that we see later, where the force of the yell is used to attack the opponent.

And Chun's first opponent was definitely Gouri too. I should've done a Gouri count when I started these reviews.

'Mezase Tenkaichi' is playing again, and I love it! Along with the one insert song (that was also movie 3's ending), this is one of my favorite DB songs period.

Hmm...in a shot where Chiaotzu is stirring the food to play with it, his hand and arm were skin colored instead of white like his face. Was that a coloring error, or was he originally supposed to just be wearing face-paint? It just did it again in a second shot of him too, but in the shot after that one, all white again.

Wait, how did Yamucha know why Namu had entered the tournament originally? Either way, I forgot about Namu showing up here, and if I recall...it doesn't go well for him in a few minutes.

Ack, that's what I was afraid of once I started remembering. Curse you Tenshinhan, I liked Namu, and you just had to injure him badly.

Dragon Ball - Episode 087 - Showdown!! Yamucha V.S. Tenshinhan!

I've been listening to more of Hirotaka Suzuoki as I watch this obviously, and so far I'm not fully decided, but I think I'm about equal between him and John Burgmeier for Tenshinhan. Granted, this is back when Tenshinhan is a total jerk, and I've heard some say that Burgmeier still sounds like that later in Z for some reason. I never thought so, but we'll see what I think of Suzuoki after he changes a bit later on.

LOL at Chaozu's attempt to make Kuririn jealous of his one hair, and double LOL aat Tenshinhan for being embarrassed by it. He may be a jerk, but even now he's still like a big brother for Chaozu.

When the heck did Lunch turn back? It's like they just switch her at the drop of the hat for the fun of it here.

Manwolf's explanation for his transformation makes no sense if he's a human originally like it's implied later on. Is he just showboating here?

And now the Yamucha insert song is playing, this is the first time I've heard this one. Gotta say, it doesn't sound half-bad, though it's pretty funny that the only time his insert song gets to play is in a fight where he gets his butt handed to him. Still, hearing it play is a lot more exciting with the fight animation, then just hearing the fight reacts like we do in the dub.

Dragon Ball - Episode 088 - Come On, Yamucha! The Fearsome Tenshinhan

Yamucha may end up losing this match pretty badly, but he's definitely a lot more impressive this time at least. He's actually holding his own against the man who will be Goku's toughest opponent here at least.

Woo-hoo for Yamucha's first Kamehameha, I'd forgotten that it happens here too. It's kinda gratifying to hear someone other than Goku say it for once, since it's mainly been him up until now.

And with a sickening crunch, Yamucha's leg is broken. Our only solace for the poor guy is that he's unconcious when it happens so he can't feel it yet. And as much as I hate Tenshinhan at this point for being so brutal, it's kind of nice to see a lasting injury in Dragon Ball for once.

The next fight not being until the next day seems like a way to drag out the rest of this episode, so it's probably filler right?

Much as I like Chuck Huber, I think I do have to give Nagai the win here. He just sounds more right for the character over all.

The fight between the Turtle and Crane schools is already set up pretty intensely. I can't wait to reach where their further connection via the Goku and Tao Pai Pai fight is brought up to take it even further though. But, once again - that's a story for another time. Tomorrow (presumably), I'll finish up Season Three with the last four episodes on this set! And sadly, I have pretty much decided that I will be taking another break to watch other stuff. Sorry guys, but I've just got way too many other cool new things to check out to go straight into Season Four. ^_^;

Dragon Ball - Episode 089 - Horrifying!! The Full Moon Grudge!

I don't know why, but I think Panputto is another Bruce Lee reference. Just something about the way he carries himself added to the fact that he's a movie star too.

You know, the way they keep bringing up Man-Wolf's ability, I wonder if they expected us to figure out why he hated Jackie before they even say.

Wait, why was he watching the last tournament while in his wolf form anyway?

I'm saving final judgement until his fight with Kuririn in the next few episodes, but I gotta say, Hiroko Emori sounds absolutely adorable as Chaozu. Even more so than Nozawa does for Goku.

LOL at Man-Wolf's gripes about not being able to find a girl. It ruins what little effect of horror he had left.

Once he starts bein sillier and not just 'ROAR!', I kinda like Man-Wolf. I can't remember what the dub voice for him sounded like, but JAPANESE MAN-WOLF is pretty funny in the role.

I also love how ugly he is once he turns back, as if he'd be much more popular with the ladies in that form LOL. I kinda wonder how strong he is out of the wolf form though, if he's still a 'Level 30 martial artist'.

And now, Kuririn's up to bat again. I don't remember how well I like this fight overall, but if it's got Kuririn in it, it can't be too shabby.

Dragon Ball - Episode 090 - Not the Dodonpa!!

All right, now I'm on the last disc of Season Three. The end is in sight!

'It'd be over if a crow came and pecked at him, right?' Was Oolong actually planning to transform and go do that, or was it just an idea?

I like the callback to Tao Pai Pai. As said before, it really adds to the Crane/Turtle rivalry (as if it really needed it at this point though), and also adds to the old martial arts flick vibe that DB thrives on at this point.

Is Chaozu supposed to be really young, or just a little naive like Goku is (or was, since he learned a bit), given what Kuririn uses to trick him like going right and left a lot.

And it's time now for Kuririn's first Kamehameha too...or it will be at the start of the next episode.

Dragon Ball - Episode 091 - A Comeback!! Kuririn's Gr-eight Strategy!

'Gr-eight' strategy? I'm rolling my eyes right now. I mean, wow.

I think I've come to a decision on my thoughts on Emori by the way. She's freaking adorable sounding, and I definitely prefer her over Monika Antonelli's work. Though, to be fair, I do think Antonelli's best work for the character was here in Dragon Ball, rather than her earlier work in Z. This is the first time since doing these reviews however that I'm writing on a character that now has a second FUNi dub actor, since Brina Palencia has also played the character. Palencia's is a lot like Antonelli's, though it manages to be cuter and not so high-pitched that it's painful, so to me she's a good English equivalent to Emori. I mean, let's be honest, Chaozu's voice in the sub is pretty high-pitched too. The trick to Chaozu is to do it where it's still cute and not ear-piercing is all. So I'd say that Palencia and Emori are about equal.

It makes sense that Kuririn is the first one to figure out what Chaozu's strange powers are, given that he dealt with something very similar the time he fought Blue.

I'm not sure on which version of the Crane's flashback on Tao I like better. The dub has a lot of dialogue that wasn't there, but it didn't really add anything stupid to the mix from what I can recall. That said, the sub version with silence over that somewhat sorrowful music makes it kind of sad, like you can sort of see where Crane is coming from here.

This is why Kuririn is cool, he has pretty great strength but is a lot smarter in his fighting than Goku is. I don't think Goku ever would have realized about Chaozu having to have his hands open to use his powers.

Bulma just had to ruin Kuririn's parade by showing her genius against his smarts LOL.

Looks like you were right Looney, it's already another night in-between matches. What happened to these tournament's lasting only a day? Though, I guess one could say they extended the festivites due to the growing number of contestants and the growing audience.

You know...hate to say it, but Chaozu with his little teddie bear is pretty adorable too.

I'm somewhat surprised that this filler fight didn't have Crane using the Dodonpa. It's clearly another move of his school's style, so why not?

Dragon Ball - Episode 092 - At Long Last! Enter Son Goku!!

And now, the final episode of 'Season Three', and the last fight of round one for the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai!

Oh wow, haven't heard this BGM playing at the episode's start in a long while. I think it's been since the Roshi training that they played it.

Ugh...I remember this episode I think. This whole build-up for the Panputto fight. I wish Goku'd faced him in the preliminaries and then fought Chapa-o in his first match instead. Chapa-o is a lot more interesting a character than this guy. I don't know for a fact, but I highly suspect that it's pretty much a one-hit ring-out for Panputto in the manga.

I know (er, well, suspect highly) that this is filler, but it's interesting that there's a rumor going around about Goku taking down the Red Ribbon Army. I mean, you think that there would be in the manga too, or that the government of the world or whatever the DB world has, would be looking into what happened to such a powerful military force.

I guess if I have anything nice to say about the majority of this episode, it's that it gave us some more Lunch, who's been kind of shoved to the background lately. I wish they didn't become so fixated on her angry blonde form so much though, I liked the cuter blue-haired one too.

And to have something else to say, I don't know the dub actor or the seiyuu for Panputto either one, but the seiyuu wins right away. I remember the dub voice being kind of...overly-husky. The seiyuu just fits Panputto's face more. That and, the dub seemed to make him into even more of a jerk than he is. Sure, Panputto is kinda jerkish, but I don't think he's a total douche or anything. He's just an accomplished martial artist with a lot of fame that doesn't know that, in the long run, he's not much of anything...think of him as the original Mr. Satan, only a little less showy.

Yup...one hit K.O. just as I remembered. This whole episode build-up and that's it. Whoever did this episode's story must've had a hand in some of the later Z filler...

With that lackluster finish, this set of reviews is now over. I should hopefully get to Season Four pretty quick, especially given that this was a pretty crappy drop-off point (heck, all of the DB sets do that with the exception of One and Four), but for now, I need to get in some of the other stuff I've got new to watch. Next time will be another bigger set of reviews - more huge characters, bigger plot twists, and I'll finally cross the 100th episode mark! Kind of odd to me to think that I've almost watched 100 subbed episodes, but it's a good odd feeling.

Hopefully I'm not the only one looking forward to it, so until then, ciao. ^_^

All right, I decided that having watched about two new shows and a re-watch of something else since my last Season watch was enough recovery time, so let's dive right back into this again. The 100th episode is just around the corner, and further up the bend is the end of the first series!

Oh, and as said before (I think), I'm going to be doing things a little differently this time. It's not that I don't love watching this stuff again, but it IS a chore of a sort doing it the way I am. Therefore, to get to a better pace and sort-of get through this quicker, I'm going to be watching and reviewing a disc at a time now. That let's me finish a review set, when I have proper time, in a week or so at a time.

Dragon Ball - Episode 093 - Equally Strong!! Tenshinhan V.S. Jackie!

Whoa, right away, I dunno what it is, but...this episode's audio sounds older than some of the other stuff so far, at least the music's clarity did. That's weird.

I know I've said it a lot so far, but I hear Nozawa and Tanaka again, so it's all good now.

And again with the Roshi bathroom jokes? What is with that in this story arc? He doesn't normally go THAT much that it's a joke point all the time.

'So many girls in t-shirts!' LOL, wha? So...Roshi has a t-shirt fetish now?

I didn't realize until we were already at the half of the episode, but good lord at the padding on this one. Wasn't this episode supposed to be about the fight, not the lead-up? We already had lead-up.

Poor Chaozu trying to count again. I'm reminded again of my newfound want for a Chaozu plushie or mini-figure.

Dragon Ball - Episode 094 - Yikes! The New Crane Hermit Style's Taiyouken

'New' Crane Hermit Style? Is that in reference to Chun's line about the new generation coming into their own?

Wait, does that also mean the Taiyouken is Tenshinhan's move, not the Crane School's? I never really thought of it as a him original thing.

LOL at Lunch's changing back. I was actually starting to miss her blonde form, though it was nice to see the blue haired one again too.

With this fight, I'm already getting more of a feel on Hirotaka Suzuoki's Tenshinhan, but I'm still reserving final judgement until some point in his fight with Goku.

According to the subs, a direct translation of Taiyouken is 'Solar Attack'. I'd always heard it meant something like 'Fist of the Sun'. Which is more accurate technically? Either way, Solar Flare isn't a bad name for it by any means either. It's pretty accurate given what the technique achieves.

'Break free from the path of darkness. Why don't you try walking the path of light?' I'm gonna get some backlash for this I'm sure, and let me say now that I do understand that they are two very different characters in very different moments - but how is that line any more corny coming from Chun in the Japanese than Goku's 'I am the light in the darkness!' speech in the old Z dub? Just saying.

I'm glad that this instance of Tenshinhan using the Kamehameha is the only time it happens. It just seems so...cheap, to me. A cheap way to add more thrill to the character, when he's already doing that by showing how strong he is. It seems like the 'What!?' factor they went for here was later handled much better when Cell did it.

As sad as it is to see Roshi already accepting that his time as a warrior is up (though he'll still get another moment soon enough), I like the idea of him watching over the progress of the new generation from afar. I wish that aspect had been handled better as the story went on though.

Dragon Ball - Episode 095 - Fight!! Goku V.S. Kuririn

I can't remember for sure how much I like this fight in general, but I've been looking forward to it on the basis of the performances for a while now. With Nozawa and Tanaka being among my favorite performances in this, I can't wait to hear them duke it out!

I like how this episode sets up that everyone already assumes Goku will win, including Kuririn himself in some ways, and yet Kuririn is still ready to go all out to prove his mettle against Goku. Their friendly rivalry is never more enjoyable than it is now at this point.

'They're both really fighting for real!' I don't know why everyone is so surprised by this. Goku and Kuririn are both the kind who won't be satisfied if they don't give it their all.

YES! 'Mezase Tenkaichi' is playing again. I can't express how much I love this song. It perfectly fits the spirit of early Dragon Ball to me. I like that they play specifically the part mentining Goku and Kuririn too, since they're playing it in this fight too.

This second round of the Budokai is plagued by matches that claim to really get started in one episode and don't really get going good until the next one.

Dragon Ball - Episode 096 - Say It Isn't So, Goku! Kuririn's Great Strategy

Oolong: I don't think Kuririn will get mauled. But he's definitely bald.

Wha?

Bulma: This is no time for bad jokes!

Ohhh. 'Mauled', 'bald'. Heh heh...okay, not the greatest joke in the series, but it did make me wonder, is it still a rhyming joke in the Japanese language, or is that just the best way to get it across in English?

Even when he's outclassed in the realm of strength, Kuririn is still heading towards a way he could potentially win. I love that about his character.

I don't know why everyone is surprised when Goku has trained himself to not be affected by his tail being grabbed anymore though. They were all there when Gohan gave him a talking to about it. I mean, I guess it is shocking in-that, now, Goku seemingly has no weakness, but still.

'The Turtle Hermit told me to toughen it up.' I'm sure he said it at some point, but shouldn't he give his grandpa top billing for telling him to do that.

'That's the end of the fighting for today.' Gah, it continues...Was that seriously the best way to pad this story arc to them?

At long last, the final match of the tournament is going to start! Unless they found a way to delay the fight's start until the end of the episode on this one as well...I can't remember. Gah!

Dragon Ball - Episode 097 - The Final Match!! Who Will the World's Strongest Fighter Be?!

Why do Bulma and Lunch blush when Kuririn says they're being really nice? Lunch I can sorta get but, Bulma?

Roshi and Crane's bickering and calling each other old man is amusing to me, I wish we could have seen more on their rivalry.

Oh, and once again, they did do enough padding to wait until a good ways after the halfway point to actually start fighting. I get the feeling this is gonna realy get to me again in Z, heh.

There really wasn't a whole lot for me to say on this one apparently. ^_^;

Dragon Ball - Episode 098 - The Secret Haikyu-ken V.S. Battle Power

A bit more of a cryptic episode title than what they've used recently heh.

Tenshinhan's face is always amusing when he starts using the Haikyu-ken, but...his voice in the subs...LOL. That is just completely...out of character for him, with how he usually is. Only Toriyama, LOL.

I know it was all set up for a gag in the middle of the fight, but shouldn't Goku's grabbing sunglasses be considered outside help, and make him lose the match? Either way, it was cool that they set this up earlier with having him notice the effect of the tournament announcer's sunglasses. Was that in the manga or did the gag come out of nowhere in the manga?

Now that Chun will no longer be coming back, why does Roshi not want Goku and Kuririn to know it was him? Wouldn't they be kinda happy to know they'd done so well against their own master in the past, and that he'd cared enough to do that?

Dragon Ball - Episode 099 - Tenshinhan's Distress!!

Rekka Kousoku-ken (Light-Speed Fury Punch) - Sheesh, how many moves of Tenshinhan's are 'ken' based?

And with this episode, I think I'll finally make my decision on Tenshinhan's voice. I don't really mind John Burgmeier's at all, but...I think I'm going to have to give the win to Suzuoki here. His voice sounds a lot more natural, whereas Burgmeier's take can be a little overly gravely at times. I think, since they were playing around with things in Kai anyway, it would've been nice if they'd had Burgmeier go at the role with something closer to his natural voice, maybe deepening it a little but not gravely at all. That may be a better overall fit, and wouldn't be so different that dub fans would recoil either.

Seeing blonde Lunch get taken down is a weird thing at first, even if it makes sense with her being stopped by Crane and all.

This whole time that Tenshinhan is conflicted over what to do, shouldn't the the count have finished by then? I love Dragon Ball's time logic.

Could Crane actually have killed Chaozu? For some reason, I assumed that Chaozu at least had surpassed his master already as well.

I also like that Roshi was the one to send Crane flying. For all their humorous bickering from before, the two are more enemies than rivals in a way, with how twisted Crane is.

And now it's the Shiyou-ken (Four-Arm Technique), Tenshinhan sure has a crapload of moves under his belt, more than Goku really. This move has always just seemed weird to me though, and I've seen more people use it as evidence of Ten's 'alien heritage' than even the third eye. It really is a bizarre technique though.

And that brings this batch of reviews to an end. The next batch will start off with me finally crossing the 100-episode mark, which just seems really cool to me for some reason. It'll also see me finishing this arc and moving into the next even more exciting one, woo-hoo!

Dragon Ball - Episode 100 - Life or Death?! The Last Resort

All right, episode 100! It's hard to believe that I've watched 100 subbed episodes of anything now, much less of Dragon Ball alone. This would've been nigh unimaginable for me just a few years back. So it's definitely a cool feeling to be this far.

Now, let me just delude myself a bit longer about there being more than 400 episodes of the franchise overall left.

Goku doing an eight arm technique seems even more ridiculous really...but they disappear swiftly, and were shimmering while they were there, so I don't think they were physical like Tien's were, right? They were just him moving his two arms that much faster, I think.

This episode really starts to mark how cool Tien can be, in his determination to beat Goku under his own power. I really wish he'd been able to keep up with Goku longer than he did too, because he was a truly good rival character for him.

Kikouhou means 'Energy Cannon' huh? So from a translation point of view, Tri-Beam is a fail, but I guess they wanted something less generic sounding than that for the dub term. Energy Cannon does sound like something that you could call any beam they shoot rather than a particular move.

I didn't know that it supposedly shortened the user's lifespan though. I don't recall them mentioning that in the dub at all.

Dragon Ball - Episode 101 - End of the Tournament! And Then...!!

The end of this tournament feels just as epic as always. Goku really is a brilliant fighter, even if not a great tactician, to use the Kamehameha the way he does.

And then, Goku is robbed of victory. It's a bit of a cheap way to keep him from being the champion yet, but it's also kind of a cool story point that though he won the fight, he lost the match.

Seeing everyone cheering for Goku after his great fight is heartwarming enough (especially when he's snubbed later in the story), but it's especially good to see it happen for Tenshinhan. It's made even better by Yamucha being the first to clap, given what's happened to him in the course of all of this. It was also great to see Goku have a final fight with someone that's a friend by the end of it for once too.

In the end, this was a great story arc, but I'm excited even more for the next one that's coming up.

'By the by, what're you two going to do now?' That seems an odd phrasing choice to me. Wouldn't someone usually say 'by the way'?

'I love your wildness!' LOL, Lunch. I wish Toriyama hadn't forgotten about her and something could have happened with her and Ten. Though, how does blue-haired Lunch feel about him?

Knowing what is about to happen, I feel a bit sad seeing Kuririn run off so helpfully. The quiet staring, with Kuririn all smiles and Goku being the one to have him stop...It's really a good mood-setter for how the story is about to go in an incredibly different and new direction.

Goku can't even eat either, somehow he can feel it I think. They should know something's wrong.

Oh god, Nozawa's voice when Goku is slowly realizing that Kuririn is dead...I love Nadolny, but she definitely did not do this scene as well as Nozawa did. I don't think anyone could.

Dragon Ball - Episode 102 - The Death of Kuririn - A Terrible Plot!!

And now with the new situation set, we move into the Piccolo Daimao arc. Things are really starting to change now as far as the theme of the story goes.

All the silence used here to get across the sadness of the scene is perfectly effective, so that when it suddenly does go to music for a bit, it feels even more powerful. Also, as sad as it is, I think Toriyama made an excellent story choice in having Kuririn be the one who died. He's the one who Goku is closest to (even more-so than Bulma), so on top of this being the first person Goku has lost since his grandfather, it makes it all the more powerful.

It's a refreshing change that we're pretty much getting the whole backstory of the problem happening now in one go too, compared to some of the more recent adversaries such as the Red Ribbon Army and Tien.

Is that Piccolo Daimao's seiyuu I'm hearing for this flashback scene too? I would assume it is, but I never would have guessed that was also Kami based on what I've heard of the latter in Japanese elsewhere.

So the rice cooker is called a Denshi jar. Is that what it's called because it's a rice cooker, or because of what it's used for?

Hmm...I can sort of tell now that I'm hearin the older version of Piccolo Daimao talking that it was the guy from before, I think. Why didn't he know about the Dragon Balls though?

Yes! It had completely slipped my mind that Pilaf was behind all of this and that I'd be getting to hear Chiba again now, for a while at least. Definitely an added bonus of entering this arc.

Dragon Ball - Episode 103 - The Terror of Piccolo Daimao!

Right away, I'm struck by the stark difference in voices between Ryusei Nakao (wait...that was FRIEZA!?) and Dameon Clarke's takes on the character of Tambourine. Nakao goes for a more natural sounding voice, though still pretty evil sounding, whereas the dub went for a full-on monster voice. Both work, but I'll automatically give the win to Nakao, since Clarke's just sounds too much like what we get from his Imperfect Cell voice.

Actually...now that he speaks again, there is a strange kind of rasp to Nakao's voice, but it's still more of a normal voice.

I had to LOL at the Dracula imagery of one shot of Piccolo, with a long red cape and his fang pointed out prominently, and him waving the cape open to let out winged minions.

If you look closely, one of the roster pages that's put up is Akkuman's. I like that, as a little nod to the fact that he was said to have won a Budokai championship once before. Was his page put up in the manga too?

Although, come to think of it...why did the tournament roster on the announcer at the moment include everyone and not just the fighters from that year?

I'm sure most if not all of it is filler, but I like seeing Tambourine going around and offing the other fighters from the listing. It shows us a bit more of what they're doing outside of the tournament life, and it has them not being entirely forgotten just yet.

Nakao's Tambourine laugh is priceless by the way.

Dragon Ball - Episode 104 - Revive, Son Goku!!

Nice to see more of what I was just talking about, the other fighters being offed. There's something morbidly funny about Bacterian ending up in the garbage too.

Wow, talk about a different voice on Piano between the dub and sub too. Sonny Strait (I assume, though ANN lists it as Brian Beacock. Since when does he work for FUNi?) does a rather goofy and endearing take in the dub, whereas Masato Hirano sounds more serious but still lackey-like. I'm going to go ahead and call this one an even score though. It's not like Piano even really does ANYTHING in this arc.

'Pokopen Pokopen Dare Ga Tsutsuita?' is what Piccolo chants while spitting out one of his eggs, and according to a note on the subs, it's a chant from a children's game. LOL. Leave it to Toriyama to keep things still funny in a stupid way even when everything else is getting serious, especially in a scene as disgusting as this one.

I'm gonna call it even right away on Cymbal as well - Paul LeBlanc's voice is like a dead ringer for Daisuke Gouri's take on the role, which was pretty cool.

I forgot about there being a fairy getting nectar or something from a flower here. That's weird, I don't recall us ever seeing a fairy before this...Then again, there's the weird thing that hops by, the plant that tries to eat Goku, and now the kangaroo rabbit thing. Where in the hell did Goku land LOL, this place is as bizarre as Penguin Village.

And out of the woods comes Yajirobe, who sounds suspiciously familiar... I know it's Mayumi Tanaka, so I'm expecting great things, but right off the bat...it sounds a little too much like her Kuririn for my tastes. It sounds like Kuririn if he talked like Goku. So I may end up giving McFarland the win here just for diversity's sake.

Dragon Ball - Episode 105 - Enter Yajirobe, the Strange Boy!!

'Boy'? How old is Yajirobe supposed to be? I always assumed he was in Yamucha and Bulma's age group more than Goku's.

Though I have to admit, Goku's in the wrong here. Did you seriously think that a fish would be stoked on a fire for no reason, when you yourself have done that a lot Goku?

It's always been weird to me to see Yajirobe put up a good fight against Goku, since when you come into Z first, you're just not given a good feeling for this guy. Heck, after this arc, he really doesn't get to do a whole lot, he's shoved to the background faster than anyone else. I mean, he's got one big moment in the Saiyan arc, but still.

'I dunno if you're Yajirobe or Shinjirobe, but go to hell!' Shinjirobe being a pun on 'die' somehow apparently. That certainly wasn't used in the dub.

I'd forgotten just how shortly Cymbal is kept around.

Dragon Ball - Episode 106 - Majuu Tambourine Comes!

Majuu? What does that mean exactly?

As much as I enjoy seeing all the fighters from the Budokai again, it seems kind of weird to have Giran terrorizing some village. The last filler of him established him turning over a new leaf sort-of, did they forget about that?

Given their connection that we'll learn about later, it's kinda funny that the little kid mistakes Tambourine for Kami-sama.

Goku: Yajirobe, your voice sounds a lot like my murdered friend Kuririn!
Yajirobe: So that Kuririn or whatever guy, he must've been pretty cool, huh?

I hear the fourth wall breaking and I love it.

Is Tambourine running into Yamucha and the others in hiding filler or not? It sort of feels like it, since you could pretty much have the story without it, but at the same time it seems pretty much like it could be there in the manga too.

They call him 'Majuu Tambourine' at the end of the episode too, the narrator does anyway. I already assumed that it wasn't an official term for him or anything since I'd never heard it before, and it only being used in an 'outside the story' sense (episode title/ending narration) makes me think that's not the case even more. So what the heck does it mean?

Anyway, that's another 7 episodes down. I'm definitely liking this pacing of doing a disc at a time much more.

Dragon Ball - Episode 107 - Son Goku - Anger Explosion!!

I forgot about the sky pirate group that Roshi and Tenshinhan run into while getting a Dragon Ball. I'm going to assume that most (if not all) of their travels for the Ball are filler.

Also, I can't say for sure, but I think that the lead pirate was Gouri again, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was.

I've decided that I definitely prefer McFarland for Yajirobe over Tanaka. Tanaka does a great job as well, almost as good as she does on her Kuririn, but that's just it: it's way too similar to the Kuririn voice.

Yajirobe is pretty anti-social even to Goku, who is a lot like him in some ways. I realize that's part of the character, but it would have been nice to find out more about where he came from. There's nothing to indicate that he was trained really and yet he's strong enough to go against Goku at this point, and then he's the first person that strong that we've seen wield a sword too.

I'd never noticed it before, but one of the themes that plays when Goku is chasing Yajirobe around (and I think it's a theme that's been played before too) sounds kind of like a Lupin the 3rd BGM song. Not a lot like one, but a bit anyway.

I'm pretty sure meeting the guy that Tenshinhan had once injured is filler, but it's a nice character moment for him. It also makes perfect sense for someone to assume that he's the martial artist killer going around then.

This was a weird episode title for this one in the end, as Goku didn't even do much in the episode. I guess it eludes to the very end of it.

Dragon Ball - Episode 108 - Piccolo Daimao Makes His Landing!!

It's a bit sad to see Roshi staring out the window of the plane and thinking of his students (one he knows and the other he assumes to be dead). It's a rare emotional moment that the series could've used a few more of.

Here's an interesting question - Now, Goku is smacking around Tambourine with ease. When he lost to him before, it was because he'd just gotten done fighting in the tournament and hadn't eaten yet, but if it hadn't been for those factors, do you think he would have won then or still lost? It's hard for me to say, since (knowing what we will later learn in Z), Goku probably got a zenkai after losing to Tambourine the first time.

Hmm...could Piccolo feeling pain when his 'children' are killed be somewhat related to how if the later Piccolo or Kami dies, their opposite does as well?

Pilaf: There are some guys in this world that boggle the mind, huh?
Mai: Such as Godzilla or something?

Being a Godzilla fan myself, this nod amused me. Though, I'm actually kinda surprised that the subtitles went with Godzilla instead of 'Gojira'. Some of the other terms that have been kept in the subtitles seemed a lot less likely to be gotten by a fan than Gojira would be.

Another episode title that refers to something that happens at the end of the episode. This has been happening a lot since the tail end of the last tournament, sheesh.

Dragon Ball - Episode 109 - Son Goku V.S. Piccolo Daimao

Barring small name differences, this episode title is the same in the dub too.

Goku calling Piccolo a 'slug' amused me since it's no doubt a reference to Toriyama's own admission on part of the design sense behind him.

What exactly where those flames that surrounded Piccolo for a while there? Was that some kind of technique, or was it supposed to be his aura?

This ended up being another one that I didn't have much to say about. ^_^; I'm trying to resist making a lot of story comments since this isn't my first overall viewing and because doing that encroaches more and more on Champion's territory, but as each episode goes by, there's less and less to mention on other fronts.

Dragon Ball - Episode 110 - Don't Give Up, Son Goku!

Is Goku's heart stopping long enough to fool Piccolo and then randomly starting up again once he's gone anything more than a plot convenience? It seems rather iffy to me.

That freakishly long tongue is something that I forgot about Daimao doing too. Is it unique to him, or is it just something that's not used again with later Namekians?

Furofushi (no-aging, no-dying) water? That's the first time Roshi has referred to it as such, or at least the first time the subs have said it like that I think.

He then admits that the water doesn't exist, so does that just mean in regards to his ability to die, or the no-aging thing too? Er...well, he's aged obviously, but is Roshi actually still immortal as far as being unable to die from old age is concerned? I've heard yes and no's to this for ages now and I'm still not certain of the true answer.

Dragon Ball - Episode 111 - The Turtle Hermit's Final Mafuba!!

Now comes the one time that we really get to see Roshi in a fight. I always enjoyed seeing his little bit of fighting in the second DBZ movie, and this fight is even more exciting. I said it before, that I understand he's letting the next generation take over, but it's still sad to me that we don't get to see him in his glory often.

'Because I can't spend my time watching dirty videos with you around.' Excellent reason to be fighting him Roshi, LOL.

I'm getting a better feel on Aono's Piccolo but I'm still wanting to hear some of his younger Daimao before I decide for sure who I like better. As things stand, it's about even though. I did love Aono's take when Piccolo spazzes out at the mention of Mutaito.

It seems to be nothing more than a stroke of bad luck that Roshi doesn't win against Piccolo by using the Mafuba.

Roshi's death isn't as sad as Kuririn's, but it's still pretty bad, especially with Goku somewhat sensing it. I also wonder if Baba can feel it, especially with her powers.

Dragon Ball - Episode 112 - Will Piccolo Daimao Become Young Again?!

Aww...there goes adorable little Chaozu now too. Actually, his death really doesn't do much for me. It's sudden, and we don't really know him well enough yet for it to be horribly sad like it was with Kuririn and Roshi.

Something just occurred to me...making the dragon deny a wish if it's within his power must be something that Kami-sama cannot do, since he has to know that Piccolo is back and what he's up to by now, he can't just NOW be realizing.

Aono's voice for Piccolo when he's young again seems to be exactly the same, so I can make my decision now. I have to call it pretty even in the long run, the voices for the character are very different in both versions, but both are fitting. My only issue with Sabat's in this case is that it sounds too close to his Vegeta for my liking, which is an issue I also have for his Piccolo in the next arc too.

Kenji Utsumi seems to go outside of Shen Long's usual voice for the death scream, but it's somehow fitting. It adds to the major shock factor that is Piccolo killing him. I wonder if Piccolo had that planned from the start however, of if he just did it because of what Roshi said.

Is there some hidden joke that someone more knowledgeable about Japan would get with Yajirobe's image of this...giant ape-bat thing for Karin?

At long last, King Castle is mentioned. I think it's never been brought up that the 'Dragon World' even had a king until now.

Hearing the King (no name mentioned yet and as I understand it 'King Furry' is a dub name) sounds...suspiciously like the narrator. *checks* Yup, that's Jouji Yanami all right.

Anyway, the character is minor enough that I'll go ahead and judge now, and once again, I'm calling it even. JAPANESE KING sounds fitting but there's the issue of him using the same voice for Kaio later, whereas Hebert manages to do a voice different enough from his other roles that it's not as noticeable. Both performances are fine though.

I'm actually shocked in a small way that Piccolo just gets rid of Pilaf and the crew, since they did set him free. I get that they're annoying fleas at his side, but...then again, he is letting them go away rather than killing them, so maybe that's his 'mercy'.

Although...is him throwing them from the top of the ship canon? If so, could it be assumed they die there in the manga? I don't see them surviving a fall like that, gag character or not, with how serious this story arc is. There's a scene a bit after that shows them okay in holes in the ground, but that could just be filler.

Also, is seeing Oopa and Bora again canon, or do Yajirobe and Goku just go straight up the tower?

Dragon Ball - Episode 113 - King Castle on the Offensive and Defensive!!

Piano: Presently the Earth is divided into 43 blocks, which are overseen by a king who rules the world.

So this King really does rule over the whole thing. Are there not rulers over the individual blocks as well?

It's kind of weird to hear the same BGM piece that often played for the Red Ribbon Army being played for the King's parade, so I almost wonder if it's more being played to suggest what's coming up that they don't know about.

Another question about the King - he took the throne 20 years before this says. Did he do see by winning some sort of election, or is it a heritage thing like royalty usually is?

'Wizard food' as a way to describe senzu seems kinda funny, but I guess it makes sense as a way for Goku to refer to 'magic' food.

Even though he doesn't end up climbing the entire thing, Yajirobe should still be getting a little stronger from climbing the tower one would think. I wonder how much of a boost he gets.

There's an Indian girl with the 'girls of the world' that Suno is a part of, so I can't understand how they missed a chance to have that be the girl from Oolong's village, since they actually brought Suno back for this too.

It's less hectic and more brutal, but Piccolo's stroll into King's Castle seems like a flipped scenario of Goku's raid on Red Ribbon HQ.

I know it's filler, but Suno remembering and wishing for Goku's return makes me wish more and more that she'd been Goku's wife rather than Chi Chi. She's just plain cuter and would have been a lot less grating.

Another disc down, only two more to go!

Dragon Ball - Episode 114 - Goku's Wish -- Even Karin-sama is Worried!!

You know, even though he uses brute strength, Piccolo's way of taking over still seems a lot more 'proper' than the Saiyans or Frieza's do later.

Bit bold of Piccolo to claim he can destroy the entire planet in a heartbeat though. I suppose he just means wrecking it, which is true, but given how charged up Vegeta had to go to try and destroy it, I don't think Piccolo could do it at all.

It's kind of funny that senzu healing your injuries was thought up second, when it's original purpose (of filling you up for days at a time) is what isn't used much later.

As sad as the gag with everyone thinking Roshi is alive again is, and the resulting scenes too, it almost feels too much like it's milking the sadness in a way.

...Does Ten's third eye have an eyelid or not? It constantly looks half-lidded, and in a scene just now, he had his main eyes closed but it stayed open - then a second later, it looks like that eye blinks with the rest of them.

Now when Goku is remembering Roshi, it actually feels legitimately sad. Maybe it's just that we've already seen it with the others that it feels cheaper this time for me.

The idea of a Super Sacred Water that is real compared to the Super Spirit Water from before seems like a bit of a workaround for Goku to get stronger again, but I'll let it slide. Also of note, the narrator mentions that it could kill him, not Karin (until the next episode anyway).

Dragon Ball - Episode 115 - Get the Mysterious Super Sacred Water!

Is the water being out in some hidden cavern canon? It seems like a way to make this take longer, especially when it seems easy enough for Karin to just have it at his tower with him.

Yeah, this whole cavern situation and it's ice monster really fills like a filler situation. Not a terrible one by any means, but it does feel tacked on.

Whoever is playing The Darkness in the sub certainly has a deep voice, though I think I have to give the dub a win here. Whoever played him in the dub sounds downright demonic in the role. That fits the whole idea more to me, since this seems to be another pre-Z filler take on 'Hell'.

Dragon Ball - Episode 116 - The Turtle Hermit's Alive?!

The fake Roshi and the rest of the gang definitely has to be filler. Heck, this whole bit almost doesn't even feel like Dragon Ball. It's...too psychological.

'The Super Sacred Water was placed in these caves by the gods!' So the Kais put it there?

After all of the other mess-with-the-head stuff here, and the creepy appearance of 'The Darkness', the Sacred Water is a teapot with the word 'sacred' plastered on the side, LOL. Now that does feel like Dragon Ball.

I know it's a gag and more reason for Yajirobe to tell Goku not to drink it, but his taking a small fingertip of the water and writhing in pain, shouldn't he have survived a bit of it and gotten a bit stronger too?

Here's another quick question - there's at least two instances of an Oozaru scene with Goku's awakened power. One is right here when his power is being unlocked, and another is just a bit further when he beats Piccolo. So, this newfound strength of his, is about on the level of what he would have had in Oozaru state before, and that's what it's implying?

Dragon Ball - Episode 117 - Son Goku Finally Takes Off!!

Sadly, it's a pretty correct assessment of the majority of human society I think, that if someone were to forcibly take over as Piccolo has and then say you can do whatever you want, this is pretty much what would happen.

I'm not getting the joke with the punk kids writing demon. One of them asks the others how to write it and they don't tell him, so he scribbles something else down. Now, over the correct writing of demon (which is also featured on Piccolo's shirt) it has an extra subtitle reading "Demon". It says the same thing over the different kanji the stupider guy writes though. Bwah?

Go Ha-chan, scaring those kids straight!

How is Tenshinhan (or how did Mutaito or Roshi do it either for that matter) training for the Mafuba and it not killing him? I guess it only kill you if you actually seal someone with it or something. Although...Roshi died and he didn't succeed, but the difference could be that he actually had someone in it's grip.

Lunch: Holding hands was about as far as we got.

When in the heck did you two even do THAT?

I haven't had a lot to say during the last few episodes (I'm really fearing this to increase tenfold when I get to Z), but with major events finally kicking into gear again in the next one, I'm hoping I'll have something a bit more substantial.

Dragon Ball - Episode 118 - Tenshinhan's Resolve!!

'Now then, my beloved citizens! I have even more evil, horrific news for us all!' Oh do tell me more, papa Piccolo...

I've always wondered what Piccolo's plans for after he's destroyed all of the 43 sectors were.

Ah, Gyu-mao and Chichi again, it's nice to finally see them again. Even if it is filler (I believe?). Gyu-mao seems to know that Piccolo would be impossible for him to beat and thinks it'd be impossible for Goku too, so does that mean he knew of the legend from Roshi as well?

Bulma's parents start being happy that Metro West isn't where Bulma lives. So...at this point, Bulma doesn't live at Capsule Corp. anymore? I wasn't aware she ever lived elsewhere.

'So you found Tama by chance.' with 'by chance' being said as 'tamamama'. Oh lord. *facepalms* It's ironic that Bulma's father says this, since the same seiyuu will later play a character much more known for these kinds of jokes.

Now that he's young again, Piccolo doesn't have to chant to give birth to a new egg?

The minute he starts laughing as coming out of the egg, I'm almost certain that Drum is once again Daisuke Gouri. *checks* Yup, it is.

Dragon Ball - Episode 119 - Will the Legendary Mafuba Work!?

With the chaos of everyone trying to run away, and Bulma trying to reach her parents on the phone again, it only now occurs to me how funny it is that a world that has a technology like capsules doesn't have cell phones apparently.

Whoa, now that Drum laughs again, it doesn't even sound like the same voice from before. Is it possible that they suddenly switched seiyuu on him between episodes for some reason?

And then...it sounds like Gouri again. Maybe he's just making extra effort to make this one sound radically different to his other roles thus far?

Anyway, between the voices, I think I like Gouri a bit better, for a bit more unique sounding voice at times. Dan Woren (according to ANN...but...Byakuya? What are two LA actors doing as minor roles in the end of Dragon Ball if the Beacock thing for Piano was right?) sounds a little too generic for my tastes, even if Drum himself is sort of generic.

It makes sense that Piccolo would have given orders to the military to kill all the surviving martial artists, but it doesn't make sense in a way. If he was going to, you'd think they'd show a scene of him doing so over the TV, and also, you'd think that he would just birth a warrior just for that rather than leaving it up to the military.

Thinking on it though, this scene with Goku saving Chichi and Gyu-mao definitely has to be filler. Chichi is later surprised to hear that Goku beat Piccolo, and that wouldn't be the case with him declaring it like he is now.

It's interesting that they gave Drum purple blood but are still giving Piccolo red at this point.

I love the look on Piccolo's face every time he sees someone using Mafuba, it's a look of pure terror that he definitely deserves to feel.

Okay, now seriously, how come Tenshinhan doesn't die when he had Drum in the grasps of the mafuba? Is it because the denshi jar was destroyed just prior to it's failure rather than actually missing? Or maybe the death thing isn't so much a for sure death, and an extreme exhaustion that sets in, and the older bodies of Mutaito and Roshi couldn't handle the strain whereas Tenshinhan's can.

You know it's serious business when Goku can kick the eye right out of someone's FACE. Definitely excited for the next few episodes as I remember them being fun, let's just hope there's stuff to comment on too.

Dragon Ball - Episode 120 - Goku -- Anger at Full Power!!

Usually they're scared of her, but it's a nice revealing character moment when they become happy to have the blonde Lunch around for times like this and she just laughs with them. Even if they're terrified of her usually, she is one of their friends. Then it has to get ruined by her returning to her blue-haired persona LOL.

Okay, this part has never made any sense to me. How does Piccolo just flying into Piano from Goku's hit manage to kill him? Is Piano really THAT weak? I understand he's not a fighter, but you'd have thought he'd be more capable than that.

Since with subs I have to pay even more attention than usual, I've spotted at least 3 or 4 repeated animations in the fight with Piccolo here. I feel somewhat proud of myself for catching them since I usually don't notice that kind of thing unless it's blatantly obvious.

If Piccolo's life-span is shortened when he uses his full power, then...why in the heck didn't he wish for immortality again? Also, it's kind of weird that this seems to be a problem for him, and not for others who come along later who are far stronger.

And that brings another batch of reviews to a close, and I'm almost done again too. Next time, I'll finish it off with the last disc - and there may even be something special added to this.

Dragon Ball - Episode 121 - Son Goku -- Final Crisis!!

It sounds like they're saying 'koko' every time the subs read 'Your Majesty', so I'm guessing that's the word for King basically?

The flashback to Baba saying that Goku would save the world is a nice touch, even if it is filler (I'm not sure on that though). It's almost as if Toriyama actually did plan to this point when he was there.

Since this is the first time we're seeing that level of power, I'm sure the bit with Piccolo and Goku striking at each other with nothing but their energy, and then Piccolo's attack making a huge mushroom cloud, also made some jaw drops when it first aired.

'Don't mock my Bakuriki Maha!' That's the name of Piccolo's huge blast apparently, anyone wanna take a guess at what it means for me?

Did...this episode not have a halfway-point/eye-catch? I don't remember seeing one this time, did I just miss it somehow?

Dragon Ball - Episode 122 - The Final Gamble!!

'I've got a tail so maybe I'm not human, who knows!' You just might be onto something there Goku.

Is it just me, or does Piccolo's height seem to fluctuate according to what the scene needs it to be? I thought he was just scarcely taller than Tenshinhan before, but now he's big enough to hold Ten up by his head. And then there was where he was big enough to flat-out crush Piano too.

When Piccolo is declaring his victory over Goku now, he refers to himself as 'Piccolo Daimao-sama' rather than just 'Piccolo Daimao' as usual. Because of this, I'm going to assume that the context of the line has him referring to himself in an even higher regard than usual, yes?

And we're now at my favorite scene of this arc, and one of my favorite scenes in the entire franchise, Goku's triumphant punch right through Piccolo. The imagery, the dialogue (in both versions let me say though), the music, everything, is just perfectly dramatic. It's the perfect end to this arc, especially with Goku's tearful declaration that he's won, while remembering the deaths of his friends.

Still wondering how the hell Piccolo spits out an egg when there's not much left of his chest though. Also interesting is his wish for his son to never let the evil in him be extinguished - heh heh heh.

It's a nice moment with Tenshinhan and Goku laughing with each other over who will win the next Tenkaichi Budokai as well, it shows how far the two have come in a very short amount of time, especially when during most of it they weren't even together. I mean...how long did this arc last? It couldn't have been any more than a month in their time.

And with that, I've finished this arc and this set. But, before I go on another break, I do have something else to do here. Remember I mentioned that there may be something special added here? Well, since there was only two more episodes to do with how weird this set was...

Dragon Ball - Movie 01 - The Legend of Shen Long

Let's go straight into the movies! The DB movies are a bit different than their Z counterparts in how they operate, so the way this has ended up, I'm going to cover two of the movies now and then the last two when I get to and finish Season Five and this first series. With Z, I'll probably watch them as approximately close to the arcs they correspond with as I can.

Anyway, let's get this show on the road.

Hearing Yanami's narration at the start of this one sounds weirder to me than in the episodes, for two reasons - One, it was much more recently that I watched this dubbed than any episode I've reviewed, so my ears were automatically ready to hear what I was used to for some reason. And two...the audio at the start there didn't sound near as clear as what I'm used to on the sets. Going into the song, it doesn't sound as clear either. Is it just me, or is it not in as good condition? It sounds rough going into the opening theme too.

I know I said it a lot in my thoughts on this movie when I first got it, but some of the animation here is beautiful. In something as simple as this one fat older guy rubbing his face, there's a certain fluid-ness to it that looks really good.

Goro Naya is music to my ears. I didn't dislike Brooks take on Bongo in the dub but it didn't stand out either, whereas Goro Naya is...well, he's awesome regardless. He's one of my favorite seiyuu mostly for his work as Zenigata in Lupin the 3rd, so to hear him play a villain for once instead, much less one in Dragon Ball, is awesome.

I'll wait until later in the film to say which I prefer between the seiyuu and dub actors for Gurumes and Pasta, but based on what I'm hearing so far, I think it'll be an even score.

Wow, hearing Nozawa here is different too. Is it just me, or into the Tenshinhan and then Piccolo Daimao stuff, was she already changing her Goku voice a bit? It sounds even more youthful here, and more like what I heard in the start of the series probably. Watching the episodes I never noticed much of a difference though.

The audio here definitely isn't as crisp as what I'm used to in the Season Sets. I'm no audiophile to where everything has to sound insanely awesome, but this transfer does sound awfully...well, old. And it is old, but still.

I'd forgotten again that the capsules are 'Hoi Poi' capsules. I can't remember if I asked this before or not either, but does that mean anything or is it just a silly name to give them?

LOL, what is up with Tsuru's laugh when Bulma is shooting at them? It doesn't sound a thing like her usual voice for the character, and it was hysterical.

Pasta is sounding kinda familiar now actually... *looks it up* Oh, it's Mami Koyama? No wonder it sounds like Lunch.

Ahh, some good Naoki Tatsuta for back when Oolong is actually relevant too. I'd forgotten how enjoyable he is too since Oolong's already been shunted to the background in the episodes I'm on.

It might seem like nit-picking to some (though I'm sure the sub fans here agree with me) but I do prefer Goku saying he was taught kung fu over him saying karate. Now, I have nothing against karate as a martial art - heck, I took a form of it once in my younger days. But using that term instead of kung fu when it's actually kung fu, seems like aiming for the lowest common denominator. Even nowadays, more people would recognize the term karate than they would kung fu.

I love Tatsuta's little 'Hehehehehe - henge!' when he's laughing nervously and then transforming out of fear. It was so perfectly deadpan for one second.

I'm at the Yamucha fight already, and I think that's one of the reasons why this film is one of my least favorite ones. It just switches gears way too fast, nothing really has any impact. Goku meets Bulma, boom, he's fighting Oolong, boom, he's fighting Yamucha, boom - and so on.

LOL at Furuya's noises when Yamucha is blushing and falling off the stone bridge. It sounds like something you'd hear from the Three Stooges.

Tomiko Suzuki for Pansy sounds pretty cute, but other than that, I don't think it has much going for it. It doesn't have any punch like Cherami Leigh's does for me, so I give the dub a win on that point.

The banter between Goku and Bulma where she tells him to be quiet after he doesn't say anything is about the same in the dub, but it's clearer in the subtitles and funnier too.

So the 'Blood Rubies' are 'Rich Stones' in the original? And from what I can gather, the Rich Stones still turned him into the monster he is now, but rather than filling him with plain old insatiable hunger, they make it to where he craves fancier and fancier food and anything lesser than what he last had is filling. That's certainly more complex than what it was in the original, I can certainly see why the old dub didn't use that. As for the new one, it would have been nice if they had, had they actually written an entirely new script rather than pilfering from the old one a bit.

I thought I caught it in the dialogue before and wasn't sure, but now that Gurumes is talking again...he doesn't want to wish this form away in the original, what he wants is to wish for more filling food? I think I like this version better as it makes him more villainous, in the dub version, you feel for the guy and wonder why a fight happened at all when they're all after the same thing in a way.

LOL. Even in this scene that they did great in the dub, they did still tone it down a little. Well, tone down's not the best way to put it but...in the dub, he just wanted to see Bulma's boobs, but in the sub, he wants to poke them. Though he then says 'pai pai' and that's something different still as I understand it LOL. Either way, this is still a great scene that I am glad they replicated in this movie.

Oh wait, maybe pai pai is just poking, and pafu pafu is what I was thinking of...Either way, LOL.

Why does Roshi refer to it as 'his Kame house'? I know it's called Kame house, but it's named such because it's his, so for him, shouldn't it just be 'house'?

'I am far removed from worldy life and desires now.' Do you really expect me to believe that Roshi given a few scenes ago? Also, though his speech about bringing frends and strength together being able to grant any wish is sappy, it's still better than the 'Goku has the power of light greatly in him!' message in both dubs, ugh.

Also, Oolong needs to get out of my head, he had a line about how Roshi wasn't removed from desires right about the same time as I was typing it. Or maybe I have an Oolong mindset...I'm not sure how to feel about that...

Bongo's fight with Goku is nice enough, but I really wish he'd done more in the film so Naya could have really shined some.

Actually, why was Naya in this film anyway? He would already have been a bigger name seiyuu from years of working on Lupin the 3rd I'd say, so did they want some 'star' telent in this movie?

I'm calling it a draw between Koyama and Kate Oxley for Pasta. Like Bongo, the character is just kind of there, so it's equal ground, and the only reason I like Bongo's seiyuu more is because I just like Naya's voice, because performance wise they're about even too.

Some probably think it's a stupid line, but Goku saying he bit his tongue when Gurumes hit him and his tongue is out makes more sense to me than him saying 'I'm feeling hungry.' I mean, yeah, it's Goku, but there's nothing else other than that line to suggest he's weakened by hunger at this point.

I still can't see that scene of Gurumes thrashing around and Bulma holding the rader without hearing 'Gotta get those Dragon Balls'. >_<

In the dub (both versions) they have Pansy wish for permission to get rid of the Blood Rubies, but in the sub she just belts out her wish to get rid of the Rich Stones. I prefer the subbed version here, because it fits the situation better. Given how drastic everything is, it makes sense for her to just say it without asking.

Gurumes being satisfied by an apple suddenly after being cured, no matter what the version, is way too sappy. Like it's gagging me level. Seriously.

This film definitely had a lot of differences, even with the new dub being incredibly recent, and that's saddening to me. They could have done a lot better (and would have too) if they hadn't mooched so much from the old script. It's not a bad dub by any means, but it certainly isn't up to their new Kai-level standard either.

Oh, and on Gurumes himself - I call that an even too. Shuuichirou Moriyama didn't do anything to wow me and neither did Jeremy Inman, both get the job done in the end though.

Dragon Ball - Movie 02 - The Sleeping Princess of Devil's Castle

Outside of the movie itself, let me say that I'd forgotten how weird this DVD is. I've got the old 3-movie boxset, and the DVD menu for this thing is just plain bizarre compared to all the rest of the DB DVDs I've had over the years. Also, there seems to be some sort of misprint on the back of the DVD case. It says this film runs for 55 minutes, when according to my laptop's player, it's 44 minutes. Not a major issue, but does anyone know if that was fixed on the recent 4-movie box?

The audio on this movie is a lot clearer than it was on the last one, but good lord the subtitles are tiny. I hate to say it, but maybe there actually IS reason for me to upgrade to that new box. Just what I need, more DB to buy. *heads desk*

Whoa, wait...in the opening theme, there's a bit that looks like they had the widescreened footage in there even though their presentation is the full-screen one. Good lord, this release really was a mess after all. Ack, it did it again too! And then again...I hope it doesn't start doing this in the film too, I sure don't remember it, but I don't remember it in the opening either.

Here's a picture of the kind of thing I'm talking about by the way. It does this about five times in the opening theme.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg142/Gyt_Kaliba/DVDIssue1.jpg

Hearing Nozawa is definitely nice compared to the dub actress here. For some reason I never did like her Goku. Actually, with the way this dub is, I'll probably enjoy this film more than I ever have now.

You know, it just occured to me...this film is in continuation with the last one I just watched, right? At the end of that, Goku said he was going for his grandpa's Dragon Ball, so is it to be assumed he failed in going after it since he's here for training now? Also, it's said nothing about Roshi training his grandpa in either film, that's kind of interesting.

...The movie's film is shaking around a bit too, not on the level that the opening theme did, but it's still noticeable. Ugh. Fine, I will buy that one box set, but it's way lower on my priority list than the Dragon Boxes right now, much less all the other titles I'm looking to support.

I can't quite get a good shot of the bottom of the film being noticeable while actually in-movie since it's a lot less, but making it full-screen and trying, I did notice that the entire screen was shaking more than I'd noticed before.

Kuririn: I wouldn't expect you to be involved in the Budo arts.
Goku: I like budo (grapes).

Another lame joke that only a Toriyama-style story could come up with. That's the first time I remember it ever being called Budo arts though...

Goku: What's a ****y ****y gag?

...Wha? That seems rather...odd too. These subtitles are by the guy who usually does them, right? Or was it before his time? HOw accurate are these subtitles?

Seeing Lunch planning to go after the Sleeping Princess, when we still think it's an actual girl, raises some questions about her, LOL.

Majin-jo = Devil's Castle apparently, I do like it when the subtitles do something like that for me.

In the dub, I think Roshi laughed at how the boys were acting or something, but in the sub he laughs after thinking about the Sleeping Princess. But it didn't seem like a pervy laugh...does he know already that it's actually a diamond?

I am enjoying the bits of Goku and Kuririn running to get to their destination though, and it should probably go without saying - I'm loving hearing more Tanaka. The last set of my episodes watching was sorely Tanaka-less for the most part, so this is nice.

Shouldn't Roshi be wondering when Yamucha became all buddy-buddy with the rest of them, based on when he last saw them? This alternate take on the story does leave a few things unexplained.

As far as the story itself goes, I do definitely enjoy this film more than the last one. It's more different than the 'arc' it's tryin to be than it was, so that's more interesting to me.

This DVD has a weird thing going on to where I can't switch audio even if I wanted to, but going just off my memory, Lucifer was not one of McFarland's best roles (even if it wasn't outright terrible either, I can't remember), so let's just say that Nachi Nozawa wins here. Same thing with Igor, though I do remember his voice in the dub so I can say for sure that Shozo Iizuka for the Igor-looking butler wins.

Is...that Daisuke Gouri for Gasuteru as well? *checks* I thought it was! I definitely prefer him for the character too, over the dub actor, whoever the heck that was. Actually, I hate to say it, but this entire film is, acting-level wise, to me the worst dub in the FUNi-dubbed franchise, I mean, worse than the infamous Season 3 of Z. So it goes without saying, this entire film I prefer subbed, and the only reason I've watched it dubbed up until now is because I'm usually multi-tasking when watching something I've seen before so the dub is a must, and then the dub of something is always the first way I watch something.

This whole ribbon thing with Gasuteru, as well as what he pulls later with the fireballs on his feet to fly. Is he based on something too? He seems to have more to him. He's more interesting to me than Lucifer is really.

The subtitle doesn't say as much, but I distinctly hear Bulma refer to herslef as 'pichi pichi' when Lucifer asks her how old she is. Bet she'd never say that with Roshi around, heh.

As smart as she is, I'm surprised Bulma still thinks this is a costume party.

Nachi's 'Bingo! Bingo! Bingo!' line when he's admitting what Bulma is there for, is really well done.

'Easy Pickings' Lunch? She didn't refer to herself as such in the show, that's for sure, heh.

I like the aspect of this diamond being part of some dark plot to bring about eternal night, but it would've been nice if it'd gotten a full explanation rather than it just suddenly being used as such. It's also an interesting choice to use destroying the sun as part of the plot here, since it's the moon that gets destroyed in the canon story.

I had a feeling that them knowing what was happening to Goku (Yamucha, Puar, and Oolong I mean) was a dub-only thing, since via this version of the story, this is their first time seeing it. I also liked Kuririn's poking fun at him, that he's not going to turn into a werewolf from looking at the moon.

Since in the show he grabs Bulma and in this movie he grabs Lunch, I'm really thinking both times they were going for a King Kong reference of some sort.

Lucifer having any kind of fighting skills, much less a weird kind of energy blast, comes out of nowhere too. It makes sense with him being the leader of this huge demon ary, but there was nothing to suggest it prior to the fight either.

Also, is it just me, or does Lucifer's hair look a lot like Goku's, in the spikes at least?

As funny as it is, everyone's 'Peace!' pose complete with the Devil's Hand doing the same thing is a bit cheesy.

And in the end with how he's acting, I'm not sure if Roshi did know that it was a diamond after all or not. He seems to think Lunch was the princess...

Lunch: Did I do anything bad?
Roshi: N-Not especially...
*Everyone takes a step back*

That's still one of my favorite moments in this LOL. Overall, I did enjoy this film more than the previous one, and I did enjoy it more than the dubbed counterpart by a landslide, but I did notice a lot more 'bwah' moments than ever before, as well as a lot more video issues than I recalled either. Enough so that I do think I'll have to get that new boxset eventually. *sighs* Why don't I just mail RightStuf my wallet, and have them forward about 80% of the cash to FUNi.

Oh, and on a final note - when I went back in to get the screenshot that I have also included, I noticed that this DVD has two video tracks, one for the dub and one for the sub, which would explain why you can't switch audio with a click. I'd also forgotten that it includes that horrid old opening that the last movie reminded me of. *shudders*

With that done, I am now done with this sub review session! I'm going to take another short break for a while guys, watch a few different shows to refresh myself, and when I come back to this, it'll be the last stretch of episodes as well as the last two movies. I can't wait!

All right, let's get started on the final set of episodes before I enter 'Z'! Let me say right off the bat though guys, that my watching may be a bit more erratic on this one, and will only get worse on the next one. Whenever I do put up a review, it'll still be 7 episodes at a time, but actual day-to-day posting till I'm done with a set of episodes...may not be possible, with work picking up and all.

Anyway, that's neither here nor there and I'm sure nobody really cares about that, so let's just dive right back in!

Dragon Ball - Episode 123 - Nyoibou's Secret

It picks right back up where the last set ended, but this still feels more like an honest start to a batch of episodes than I've had in a while, with how these sets always stopped.

Seems kind of weird that blue-haired Launch is yelling out happily to Tenshinhan...so I'm going to assume that that's filler.

I find it interesting that Bulma made it a point not to tell the news stations that it was Goku who beat Piccolo Daimao. Is it that she knows Goku wouldn't want the fame that would come with this victory, or just a story point for Toriyama that he doesn't want that for Goku? Or perhaps a little of both?

It's a sort of bitter-sweet sadness this victory, since the Dragon Balls are 'broken'. People that dislike Dragon Ball always go with the joke that 'you know everything will fine because of the dues ex machina balls', and in a way that's true, but that's thinking on it too deeply. Starting with this incident, there's continually some problem with the Dragon Balls that makes you, as a first time viewer, wonder HOW things are going to work out. That's something I definitely wish I could have been able to experience more of than I did.

For some reason, I've never noticed how big that TV of the old couple's is. I want that TV.

The old couple thinking that the egg might be a child from Kami-sama for them to care for, after they found it floating down the river...is...this a Momotaro reference? I mean, it's an egg instead of a peach, but this seems kind of like that old story. At least I think it was Momotaro...whatever it was, was a Japanese myth that we actually read in school.

Why is Goku surprised that Karin knew about the Dragon Balls? Didn't Karin see one when Goku was there last?

I'd heard the thing about people who are killed by demons being unable to go to the next world before but I'd completely forgotten that it was mentioned here, so I don't know if that's mentioned in the dub or not. I guess this explains something I've always wondered about though, how come Kuririn and Roshi didn't already know what the next life would be like. Technically, Goku is the first one to really find out.

It almost does feel like fate that Goku got the nyoibou when it's needed to become the fighter he'll become later, and yet he's had it all along. I'm sure that it's srot of a grab thing for Toriyama, but I like it, it's a cool twist. Though, Goku having to go back and get the pole, I assume is filler. I even like that though, since it gives him a brief meeting with the King.

I didn't think it was possible, but I've sorta gotten used to the male voice for Baba. Still can't say I prefer it though.

'He's the first human able to meet Kami.' Is that ever indicated anywhere in the manga? It just seems...weird to me that nobody else would have, ever, in the history of the Earth. Also, the pink ghost's new voice is much less creepy than before, thankfully.

WHOA, huge animation error! As Goku flies toward Kame House to pick up the nyoibou, there's a shot of him flying bare-handed obviously...then in the next shot he has the nyoibou...that is extremely glaring, way to GO Toei, way to GO. XD

Gotta love how Goku fails to explain a single thing to his friends, and I also like (though suspect it was all filler anyway) everyone cheering on Goku as he flies over them. It's just a really nice feeling...that's then interplayed with a baby Piccolo blowing up the old couple's house. Is that the new Piccolo guy here as well or someone else entirely? Either way, it's a much nicer effect than the like...Guilmon-type voice Sabat was using.

Wow, I had a lot to say on this episode. I hope this is a sign of things to come, but I really fear it's not with Z so close on the horizon.

Dragon Ball - Episode 124 - The Temple Above the Clouds

Wow, barring a 'The', the dub episode title matches the original title perfectly.

The more I hear of Tanaka's Yajirobe, the more I think she's kind of playing him how she would have Goku if she'd been cast in that part. ...Hey, now there's an interesting thought. I highly doubt it, but are there any records from back then showing who else auditioned for Goku or any of the other first-arc characters? Given that Kuririn comes along right after that, it doesn't seem out of the range of possibility to me that Tanaka could have auditioned for him at the start of the show and got Kuririn instead.

When did Lunch sneeze and turn back? Either way, it's funny to see Tenshinhan actually seeming a bit interested in her. A pity that doesn't last.

I'm sensing lots of padding again, what with Goku's continually getting hit by lightning, seeing the gang, and more of baby Piccolo's escapades, but at least Dragon Ball is fairly creative with it at this point.

However, this bit with baby Piccolo raises a question for me - later in Z, it's brought up that Piccolo was made evil not just by his heritage but by the cruelty of humans that he witnessed...whereas this filler clearly shows him being a little jerk from the get-go, ruining a happy birthday party. So was that line in Z filler that they forgot they'd already shown differently in earlier filler, or was it canon that they had to keep that just makes little sense with what I'm now watching? Either way, this whole thing showing the hardships of his young life makes a lot of sense relatively speaking, to how he'll train Gohan.

Oh, and re-used design alert - this 'Tai-chan' kid's father looks exactly like Pansy's dad from movie 1. I don't think I've ever noticed that before.

I'd forgotten that Kami-sama's palace is actually that big. It's a pity that it always seems so small in the video games.

And at long last, another 'regular' face for Z has made his appearance - Mr. Popo! Right away...I...kind of see how people can see the original Popo as a bit more offensive. I still don't look at him that way myself, design be damned, but if one WERE to see him like that...that voice doesn't sound too intelligent. I'm not really sure that it's going to grow on me either, but I'll still hold back on making a call on this one for a while.

I'd forgotten about him eating a Kamehameha...no wonder it was so easy for Abridged to have fun with Popo, let's face it, he is one hell of a creepy guy. He's giving off the same vibe that Chaozu did at first, only worse.

Dragon Ball - Episode 125 - Enter Kami-sama!!

'Assisting Kami-sama keeps Mr. Popo very busy' - Bwah? Yeah, I'm sure it takes a lot of your time up there just to water the flowers Popo.

I like the turning point in Goku's style that we're hitting here, where he has to learn a little more substance rather than just brute strength. Everything up until now has been different ways of him getting stronger, but now, it's all about him learning to be a smart fighter. It couldn't have come at a better time either, since he's going to grow up fast now.

...Maybe I'm overthinking it a bit, but the part with the military guys flying through and over trees to get to where Piccolo has been seen in the forest, looks very suspiciously like a part of Return of the Jedi while the Stormtroopers do something very similar on Endor. Anyone else notice this?

You know, I never thought about it before but...I can't help but wonder if the bell-training here sort of inspired Kishimoto for the bell test early in Naruto. They're not exactly the same obviously, but similar enough that I have to wonder.

Though it's almost definitely filler, I like the flashback to Goku and Kuririn training with Roshi for something similar. It helps show that though Goku is far stronger than his first master now, there's still things that he has to learn; again, switching to him having to learn some style rather than gettin stronger.

As soon as I heard Kami-sama's voice, I knew it was Aono. He certainly doesn't make his Kami any different sounding from his Piccolo (at least not yet anyway), but in it's own way, I prefer that. It fits more with the connection between the two, than the voices Sabat used. Sabat's voices make a stronger connection between the two Piccolos, when really, it's Daimao and Kami that should be closer.

I find it interesting that the image they show of Goku's friends he wants to revive includes Namu as well. I guess he's there to represent all the non-main characters that were killed as well, as he was the one among them that Goku was closest to?

Dragon Ball - Episode 126 - Shen Long, Revived!!

Popo may figure into this arc a lot, but it's mostly in ways that he's already shown himself, so I'm going to go ahead and say that I prefer the dub takes by Sabat and Cason. Toku Nishio just sounds so...dense in the role, something Popo really isn't. Sabat's sounds a bit weird, but...it fits better to me by comparison. Overall though, I prefer Cason's take for Kai (not his original take when they first got Z though, ugh...), just for the sake of it not being the millionth Sabat role.

I, like so many others, have always wondered where Shen Long goes when he's not been summoned, but watching this bit...isn't it entirely possible he returns to being a stone statue inside that glass case? This is the only time we see it other than later when Dende restores him, so it sorta makes sense to me.

Almost didn't realize until Lunch wondered what was going on, this is actually her first time seeing Shen Long whereas it's actually Tenshinhan's second. Given how new he is to the scene and how old she is, that's almost weird to think about.

Utsumi's doing a weird growl with Shen Long at first too, kind of like when he died. Shen Long is also pretty talkative for once, so this is a pretty rare occasion.

At long last, everyone is revived. It's so great to see Kuririn back given how quick and shocking his death was, and almost even more happy to see Roshi and Chaozu back since they died in the battlefield.

During the scenes of everyone being revived, a lady says 'Honey!' and a kid says 'Daddy!' about Namu. He had a wife and kid? Also, as bizarre as it seems, I like it that a lady actually came to put flowers on Man-Wolf's grave. Guess he was a bigger hit with the ladies than we thought? Poor Bacterian coming out of garbage though LOL.

Heh, I'd almost forgotten how much I missed Roshi's perverted antics. I'll probably get tired of it fast now though, since he's now going to be delegated back to the comedic background entirely.

Dragon Ball - Episode 127 - Faster Than Lightning!

May as well be the same episode title here too, just a different term for 'fast'.

That staff Popo's holding isn't the nyoibou is it? It looks like it but the shade is a bit off. Then when they show a shot of all of the palace, you can still see the pole connected to the bottom, so I dunno what to think. That said though, is using it to go to Kami-sama the last canon time we see the nyoibou?

Why does this gag with Roshi and Oolong fighting over who gets to put lotion on Bulma's back seem really familiar? Was there a similar gag before, or has it really just not been that long since I watched this set compared to everything else?

Oh, well I guess it isn't the nyoibou at all. They actually cover that in the story. *facepalms* Me and my memory...

...Where in the hell did Popo get a kitten? Also, it's sort-of a re-used design, since it looks almost exactly like Puar, only a more normal cat design, complete wth a kitty nose.

Given that we're supposed to take him as a deity at this point, Kami-sama having a machine that can teleport you seems kind of weird. Learning what we will in the first arc of Z however, it makes more sense.

Even though it's not been that long since I've seen these episodes, this stuff in this section I've honestly only seen like once before, maybe twice if I did see it on Toonami years ago, so I can't remember at all what the dub voice for this little girl sounded like.

The similarity between Goku meeting random people here between what Gohan will do in the start of Z isn't lost on me, but for some reason this isn't near as painful. It probably helps that you're much more attached to Goku than you will be to Gohan at that point.

Wow, Chu-Li and her bird really feel un-important. They had maybe 5 minutes of screen time, if even that - they feel like filler to their own filler episode!

Dragon Ball - Episode 128 - As Quietly as the Sky

I'm not normally one to complain about the dub episode titles for DB, since they do fit the episodes, and are often a lot less spoilerific than the Japanese ones, but since they more or less kept the last one, why'd they change this one so drastically? The two fit perfectly together as the phrase Popo was saying just a few episodes ago.

Ah, the Mousse family. I always forget just how large they are, and while I can't say they're my favorite filler characters, it's definitely cool tos ee a large, happy family in this show for once.

The dad tells Goku that Yaochun lives about 5 ri north from there. What's a 'ri'? Is that a Japanese distance measuring, or is it something unique to Dragon Ball?

'Don't forget about me! I've died before, I won't lose that easily!' Kuririn, that logic has so many holes in it that I can't even begin to fathom what you're thinking.

I couldn't tell at first since it was more guttaral than usual, but as soon as Goku knocked him flat, I could tell - Yaochun is Daisuke Gouri again. I should have done a Gouri-count when I watched this show, had I known...

I don't recognize this music playing during Goku's talk with the grandpa at all, it's definitely a new BGM piece.

Dragon Ball - Episode 129 - Time-Traveling Goku

Even though this is still smarter filler than later stuff, they've still started to contradict earlier things if you really pay attention. Here Roshi says that Crane was always a pompous jerk, whereas in the beginning of the Daimao arc, he said that he became like that after Piccolo killed their mentor.

It's pretty obvious that Miyauchi is playing the young Roshi even before we know that's who this guy is, but he is doing a fine job of sounding younger than the usual version of the character. Not as well as McFarland did, but that's hardly a fair comparison - McFarland was probably late 20s when he did this, and Miyauchi had to be older than that.

Also, not really doing a comparison, but the voice of Fanfan isn't near as cute in the subs as it is in the dub. Though, that's probably my Bailey-ism at work. Though, I still wonder...her name mixed with her appearance bein so close to Ranfan's is kinda suspicious.

Re-used character design alert again, the two fellow students with Crane look just like the Oorin temple guys that used to pick on Kuririn.

I enjoy seeing Mutaito once again, though I find it kind of odd that he can so easily dispatch Goku. I mean, yes, this is where things are coming to the point where it's about more than who's stronger, but Mutaito died to seal away Piccolo - Goku actually managed to BEAT Piccolo. That's the most suspect part about this filler episode.

I love this Fanfan girl's attitude, heh. Even more than that though, I like the vibe this episode switches to here - Goku, one of her "suitors" facing off with the evil suitor that is Crane, for her "love". That just feels so cliche and classic, it's great.

They trumped up how much Fanfan approved of Roshi in the dub, but she still seems to like him more at the end of this episode than she did at the start. So I still kind of wonder how things didn't work out for them, filler or no. I guess his perviness got to be too much for her.

Dragon Ball - Episode 130 - Goku's Opponent is...Goku?!

You know, it just occurred to me...the water Popo uses to water the plants is just normal water probably, and not the water they have to use in the Garlic Jr. filler, right?

I don't know if it's intentional or just a product of height, but it's kind of funny how when you see all four, it seems Ten and Yamucha are a pair and then Kuririn and Chaozu, unlike the pairs they were before.

What in the world is that song on the radio when they run past the guy's car? It started out as some rock, but then it sounds like a kiddish song. 'Over this mountain, hoi hoi...Over this river, hoi hoi...A weird, old man who's been alive for 10,000 years...' - Is that just something they made up for this, or is it something Japanese kids would have recognized.

I'm not sure if this was meant on purpose, since I can't remember for sure if it was mentioned in that recent Daizex podcast about it (the first one I've ever listened to actually), but Karin Tower is in the west apparently, since that's where Kuririn says they're heading. They're on a 'Journey to the West'. Heh heh...anyone?

Maybe I'm thinking too deeply on this too, but is there anything to this doll that Popo has made? Is it just something they came up with for a filler episode, or is it a reference to something, a nod even? It just seems...weird, but not really in a bad way.

Come to think of it...the doll is silent in the original too. It adds to the creepyness a lot, and it's not like Nozawa won't get to play lots of other Goku-clones later on.

I've always liked the deepening of the ki aspect here, it's really adding to the supernatural aspect of the fighting power. What's weird though is that it took until now for it to happen, since they've been using it for the Kamehameha since the first story arc.

Dragon Ball - Episode 131 - Each On His Own Path

Well, the episode titles may be different, but the meanings are the same at least.

I really wish this episode hadn't shown more Goku and Popo stuff. We've seen that for the past so many episodes, the focus could have been entirely on the others.

I know I've gone on about how much I love Tanaka's performance as Kuririn, but I gotta say, I love how dorky her laugh for Kuririn is. It's so fitting.

Even though it's filler and we never see her again, I like seeing Kuririn get with a girl a little bit. After all the girls Goku's been featured with in various episodes, it was about time it got to be Kuririn's turn.

...Thinking about it, aren't Yamucha and Ten too young to drink, and not just Kuririn?

Oh wow. I always assumed Kuririn being told it wasn't something alcoholic when he drank it was an edit, but that guy tells him it's just juice in the sub too.

I don't remember Mint's voice in the dub so we'll just call that one even, as for her brother...I'll have to go with whoever's playing him here. The dub has Kyle Hebert, who does okay, but it sounds a lot like his Pikkon.

Despite my earlier complaint, that was the only scene of Goku and Popo really, the rest of the episode was with the other four, so it was better than I remembered.

Dragon Ball - Episode 132 - Hotter than Magma

The episode titles here are nearly the same too. Is 'magma' the term used more often in Japan rather than 'lava'?

I feel kind of sad watching this episode, all things considered. I won't say anymore since that's another topic entirely though.

I always get a little laugh out of Kuririn and Yamucha having problems walking around here though, while Ten and Chaozu just fly.

Actually, now that I listen closer to him...Mint's brother sounds kinda familiar too. But I don't think he even got a name so I wouldn't know what to look for on ANN.

Even though it's used as a segway to cut back to Goku and Popo, Yamucha mentioning that Goku could have handled this is a nice touch. I like that he's the drivin force among all of the others' training right now.

I can't help but see this as a kind of poking fun at belief systems...the priest says that it was his prayers to the Mountain God that saved the village, but it was clearly the combined efforts of the others that did it. Probably reading too deep into it but it strikes me as kinda funny.

Okay, granted, the eruption really hadn't stopped yet, but still.

Wouldn't the rocks just get melted by the lava though? That's not really a realistic ending...I do like the narrator pointing out that though the story is going to jump three years, the next episode will be right on schedule, heh.

This was an odd place to end the filler though. I'm not begging for more filler, but this just kind of stops and goes 'Okay, back to the story!' rather than moving back into it gently.

Dragon Ball - Episode 133 - The Reunion Before the Storm

Has Toriyama ever said why the story shifts back to the Tenkaichi Budokai for the return of Piccolo? Is it just because the tournaments tend to be really popular story arcs, or was it to bring it full circle? The Piccolo story at least. It kind of feels like it does to me, since it started at a tournament's end, and will now end with one.

The gangs back together, or slowly coming together anyway! It feels like it's been forever since I saw Roshi.

I'm loving the silence during this opening scene, no music while the slow eventual reveal of Goku is happening just...makes it feel ominous, which may be in contrast to what's happening, but it feels...right.

I can only imagine how weird this was for everyone in Japan when this happened for the first time, in the manga too (I'm assuming the revelation is similar anyway). Heck, after watching the whole show from the start again, it's kind of jarring to me too.

I'll be saving my judgement on the new take Nozawa's using for Goku's voice until later in, since she's just getting in the groove here, but so far it's not as jarring as later stuff seems to have been. I think she may be going deeper than what she'll be doing later, to further make it obvious that this Goku isn't the same one we knew before.

What is UP with Yamucha's outfit? Looks like he took a trip to Yardrat too, sheesh.

Older Kuririn doesn't sound different at all, unlike with Nozawa's Goku. Is it just because Kuririn is still so short? Either way, I love the scene of Kuririn thanking Goku for bringing him back to life. The lines aren't so different between the versions, but Kuririn having the same voice as when he was a kid is a good thing here for sure, it adds to the emotional impact of the scene.

I know I've seen it before in other anime, so what's with the little ghost thingie Bulma hangs in the window while it's raining? It seems like whenever they use those in an anime too, they always poke it with their finger.

They don't outright show it obviously, but I've always assumed that even though he blows up the debris and saves the mothe rand child, it was Piccolo who blew up that clock tower in the first place. Surely it didn't just explode randomly.

I'm actually kind of impressed that Toriyama remembered that he'd had the moon blown up earlier in the story, or to have Kami-sama restore it even. He wasn't near as tired of working on the series by this point as he was further in though surely, so his memory may have been better here.

Dragon Ball - Episode 134 - The Turbulent Tenkaichi Budokai

On episode titles, I prefer the original Japanese title on this one, simply because it's not a double like the dub on is. How did they mess up and have two 'Preliminary Peril' titles? Geez.

Goku and Ten are horrible liars, I think Kuririn and Yamucha can easily tell that something is up.

Ah, teen Chichi. I can't tell for sure but...it's still the seiyuu for the previous kid Chichi, right? Also, poor Kuririn LOL.

One of the tournament monks says that perhaps the decline in participants is due to how high-level the last tournament was, but I think it has just a little more to do with what the Daimao did. It'd be enough to make me stop practicing martial arts probably too.

Not all of them gave up though, good ol' Chapa-o came back. He's a filler character both times around though, right? Still, it's cool they thought to bring him back yet again, though it could have easily been anyone Goku had faced in a previous tournament.

At long last, I'm getting to hear Toshio Furukawa. As said before, I like the idea of giving him a different voice since he's not the same as his father really, but only time will tell how I feel about the performance itself though. I'm already loving the tone he's using and his laugh though.

Even though it turns out to be nothing, I like the return of Tao Pai Pai. There's nothing to back it up, but I'd like to think it was Gero who fixed him up with cyborg enhancements. It's my own little theory that he may have been one of the Androids 9-12 models, though Gero didn't really expect him to win.

Dragon Ball - Episode 135 - The Chosen Eight

I can't tell for sure but Shen sounds like Takeshi Aono might be voicing him too. *checks* A-ha! It is him, I'm getting better at this.

Wow, actually not a lot to say so far in this one, so I guess I'll add that I love the bit with Shen's fly being unzipped. It was so Toriyama.

I like that they show the announcer freaking out over seeing Kuririn alive again, but I wish he'd been shown freaking out over how much Goku has grown too.

Tsurusennin has returned as well. I know it would have been a repeat of the last tourney a bit but I wish we hadn't been teased with the continued school rivalry only to not see it delivered. If we ever do get another new OVA or something, one of the things I want is to see another failed return by Tao Pai Pai and his brother. The other I'd really like to see, I'll say sometime down the line...far, far, far down the line...

The blue bar thing they're pulling at the end of this episode is weird, but as an effect it's kind of cool too.

Dragon Ball - Episode 136 - Revenge of Tao Pai Pai the Assassin

It's interesting that the re-used animation from last episode that's in the beginning of this one, chose not to use the blue bars.

Not a lot to say so far in this one either, but I do like that they took enough notice to have Tao use three fingers when he tried to take out Tenshinhan's eyes.

It's kind of horrible to say probably, but I like that Tenshinhan gets a scar from Tao. It will serve as an even more constant reminder of where he came from and how important it was that he changed.

Since it's just Tao that uses it, and considering how it is he uses it, is the Super Dodonpa even really an upgraded move? It seems more like some kind of laser or something.

Well...THAT'S an interesting change. In the sub, Crane says that he never wanted to see Tenshinhan and the others again, but in the dub they had him threaten him like they'd be back later to try for revenge again. I hate to say it, but I kind of like the idea that they'd be back for another try again more.

'Maybe it's just me, but you always seem mad.' And it's all your fault Goku. I'd get used to it if I were you.

Hmm...in a way, Chichi at first here is a Manwolf callback isn't she? I mean, Tao was Tenshinhan's to deal with this time, and we already know what Piccolo's deal is. But Chichi is both mysterious and has an as of now unknown reason to hate her opponent; it's just Goku this time instead of Jackie Chun.

Anyway, that's it for now. It feels good to get back in the groove again...but at the same time, new stuff that I can't even get to yet is sitting here staring at me. You are a cruel, cruel mistress, Lady Anime...

Dragon Ball - Episode 137 - Son Goku's Wedding

I can tell it's Shou a bit more now for some reason, maybe it's because she's talking more even from the start of this episode.

Also, now that I get to thinking about it...is this the first time Goku fights a woman in an actual fight? I want to say it is but I can't be sure.

Goku forgetting about her makes a lot more sense in the manga from what I understand. This is the first time we've seen her there since the first arc, yeah?

It's worth pointing out that when Chichi promises to reveal who she is if Goku can beat her, Goku makes a statement about being worried he'd have to spend the rest of his life with someone who's name he doesn't even know. I'm sure it's mostly meant to convey that he already knows he has this won, but I'd like to think it's possible he already plans to follow through on whatever promise he made, should it turn out to be true that he made it. Jerk that he may be at times, Goku does have his moments.

If there's one moment in all of DB's dub that I radically prefer the sub on, it's Goku's 'proposal'. The dub has him spewing some line about how 'his mind doesn't remember the promise but his heart does' or something. Bleh. That's more out of character for the character than any of his Z superhero speeches to me. In the sub however, he concedes that he did make her a promise, and he's going to keep it even if he doesn't fully understand it. I much prefer this version of the scene, which makes it even cuter and funny as she clings to him and follows him around.

I still can't help but feel bad for Kuririn though. He got into fighting for the idea of getting a cute girl, but now it's Goku who's got one. Yamucha's dilemma with Chichi is even funnier. As nice as it is to continue onward into the story now, it's nice to look back on all the early stuff too.

It's oddly fitting that Kuririn is the first one to face the new Piccolo, since he was the first one to fall to the Daimao's reign.

Oh, and it should be pointed out that starting here and lasting through to the Raditz fight (maybe through all of the Saiyan stuff but that's stretching it a bit), is when the fights are my favorite, stylistically speaking. There's still a lot of style and strategy to the fights here, rather than just 'IM'A BLAST AT YOU NOW!' that some of the later ones kind of devolve into after a while.

There's a lot of pride to Furukawa's voice that I'm really enjoying in his voicing of Piccolo. For this stuff at least, I definitely prefer his performance. For me, this part of the dub is Sabat's worst stuff as Piccolo outside of when he first started. His Piccolo here when he's still villainous sounds more like his Vegeta than ever before, and it really took me out of the show a lot.

Dragon Ball - Episode 138 - Shen: Man of Mystery

Is the bit with Tenshinhan saying his third eye can see Piccolo's ki filler? As we all know, the ki becomes very visible later on, so I guess at this level of power you can't see one's ki around their body? That seems to suggest that Tenshinhan's eye is from some sort of spiritual training like it was inspired by, but I've never really thought of it actually being from that in his case. It almost seems like they're suggesting Roshi can see it too.

I always forget until I see him doing it that we never saw the first Piccolo stretch his arms out. Is it just that he didn't, or that he couldn't?

I believe I remember MagicBox listing it as one of the reasons he liked Kuririn so much, and I definitely agree - Kuririn actually giving up the fight rather than fighting on is in it's own way, awesome and very admirable. There's a lot to say for people like Goku who keep on kicking and screaming until they achieve what they were trying to do, but there's a lot to say about people who know when to call it quits too. On a side note of it, Miyauchi does a great job of conveying how proud of his student Roshi is in that scene.

'It looks like he (Yamucha) will mae it through the first round this time for sure.' I wouldn't be so sure about that...while it does make perfect sense for Yamucha to lose this match in the end, it's sad in a way because this officially cements him as Toriyama's official punching bag.

Another episode where I didn't have much to say, but I will say that Shen's fighting is hilarious. Even if it's all an act and one that puts Yamucha to shame it's great.

Dragon Ball - Episode 139 - Another Intense Battle! Goku V.S. Tenshinhan

'Don't tell me you're some sort of space alien or something.' 'Maybe, maybe not.' That exchange between Yamucha and Shen is funny, all things considered.

It's a pity that this is the only real time we see the Soukidan. It's actually a really cool move if you ask me, and it's the kind of thing we haven't seen anyone else do yet, in that he can control where the attack goes after he's launched it. It's on a level we haven't seen before now at least.

Having Goku be the one who first figures out who Shen really is may be the obvious route since he's the only one to meet him at this point, but it also shows how different Goku has become now. He's a lot more reasoning than he ever has been before.

I love everyone commenting on how Yamucha has no luck in these tournaments. The fourth wall, it's cracking again.

When did Chichi come back anyway? She left to shop and now she's back randomly. I guess those two fights did take a while though.

Now this is a fight I've been looking forward to. Barring the event with Tao, this is the first time we've really seen a re-match, since this time both opponents have grown far stronger.

Dragon Ball - Episode 140 - True Strength

I love the BGM that's playing right at the start of this episode as Goku and Tenshinhan trade blows, and would love to know what it's called. I seem to remember it was...played during the old advertisement for the third movie, Mystical Adventure, but I'm not for sure.

I know the two aren't automatically the same, but I find it kind of odd how Tenshinhan just assumes that Goku hasn't gotten any faster than three years ago and is only stronger. Sure, Goku's not showcasing his new speed much yet, but that's kind of an amateurish assumption for Ten to make.

It almost seems like Toriyama really was drawing from stuff he did earlier in the series with this arc actually, including the return of training with weights on.

The flashback to training with Popo reminds me of how little even that filler showed us. Sure, we got some okay-ish side-stories with Goku, but other than him vaguely learning a few things, we didn't see him master a bit of it. I guess it does make his new abilities all the more impressive though. It really is an all-new Goku from this point on.

Poor Tenshinhan. Only Goku would remove an opponent's belt in battle. It's also ridiculously cute to see the blonde Lunch blushing about it.

Dragon Ball - Episode 141 - Four Tenshinhans

Tenshinhan's use of it here is the only canon time we see the Multiform technique, right? If so, could it not be considered an upgraded version of what he did to get four arms during the last tournament? It seems like they'd be connected, only he'd trained and was able to form an entirely seperate body now instead of just extra limbs on his main body.

Or rather, the 'Shishin-no-Ken' (Four Forms Technique), as it's called in the original here.

Having less and less to say as fights go on really does worry me since Z is on the horizon.

Given his training I can understand why he thinks he's unbeatable once again, but it still seems a little out-of-the-norm arrogant for Tenshinhan to declare his techniques to be flawless.

I think it's pretty funny that Goku uses his own Taiyouken against him too.

Dragon Ball - Episode 142 - Who's Stronger?! Kami V.S. Piccolo Daimao

I know the title is in reference to the connection between the two for this fight, but stil, it's not that Piccolo at all...

Starting from this point, I've read the manga version, so I can sort of remember what specific parts are filler even in the canon material. Actually, I know this part of the manga quite well - Volume 16 of the manga happens to be the very first manga volume I ever bought, not just of Dragon Ball, but of any title.

I know it's all to fool people into thinking there's not much to him, but Kami really does seem to be having fun goofing off as Shen. Could it be that he's enjoying it and has always wanted to be down amongst the people in a way?

I'm really starting to like Furukawa's Piccolo, it just really fits well with the character, and he's giving a great performance. I'm really looking forward to hearing him really go at it here, and to some of the character's early Z stuff.

I caught a subtitle error I think, in one of Shen's lines. It's when he's thinking to himself about how strong Piccolo is.

'His power is far too great, despite his having borrowed the body of a weak human!' Um...isn't it Kami who's in the body of a human? ^_^;

...Or...maybe not. Either that or it's a continuing error, as right after that, Piccolo retorts with this.

'Borrowed?! I've borrowed the body of a human, you say?' It's news to me too, Piccolo...what's going on with this exchange?

Another Japanese question, can 'Gaeshi' mean 'Reverse'? The subs just go with 'Reverse Mafuba', but I remember the manga using the term 'Gaeshi' and it was explained that it meant something along those lines.

Dragon Ball - Episode 143 - With the Fate of the World in the Balance!

The BGM playing at the start of this one sounds like something I haven't heard before now either.

I...can't tell for sure, but it doesn't sound like it's still Aono voicing Shen now, or if it is, he's approaching him very differently and making him sound even older than he did before.

The storm is a nice dramatic touch and all, but it feels pretty out of place too. The tension here was already pretty palpable without it.

I'm not sure why but I got a cheap laugh out of the spectators rooting for who they want to win, and one guy going 'Jackie Chun!'. I think he needs to be paying better attention, heh.

All right, now this is the fight I've really been waiting for on this set. It's arguably one of the best in the franchise period, and it even starts off with a bang. I love having read this part of the manga so thoroughly too, cuz I get to actually appreciate how the individual panels were turned into animation for the fight, much more than I normally get to enjoy such a thing.

Ahh, Piccolo's theme is just as awesome as I remembered too. I always loved hearing that in the first three movies of the Ocean dub, and it's probably responsible for me taking an interest in the original score to begin with.

Now just one disc to go before I finish this fight, and one more until I'm done with the first series! I haven't decided yet, but I may watch those discs back to back, we'll just see how that goes.

All right, sorry for the other sudden interruption guys, but I'm ready to jump back into this, maybe. Hopefully it'll help me escape a few of my current problems a little too.

Dragon Ball - Episode 144 - There It Is! The Ultimate Mega Kamehameha

Heh, I like the joke with Roshi thinking of Chichi as another Lunch, I wish they'd kept that in the dub.

It's always amazing to me how much so Piccolo and Goku are on another plane of power right now compared to the others, considering this level will very quickly be rendered as nothing at the start of Z.

What's with the weird like...synthesized noise over Goku and Piccolo's powering up noises now? It's bizarre, but pretty effective at showing what I was just talking about alongside the wind whipping around, and everyone else's reactions.

Once again, I'm pretty impressed by the parts that I can tell where taken directly from a manga panel for animation. If I weren't already playing my DS off and on at the same time as doing this (that's right, I've finally gotten good enough at reading subs to multi-task! Woo-hoo!), I'd have my Volume 16 out to do a comparison with. I might just have to do that with my Dragon Box 1 on the canon stuff.

On something that Penguin mentioned once before, I can definitely tell how Furukawa slowly but surely brings out Piccolo's true nature at this point as the fight goes on, slightly changing the voice to match exactly what's needed. It's definitely enjoyable to hear.

I may just be nitpicking here, but I thought 'Cho' meant 'Super', not 'Mega'? In both the episode title and the subs, it reads 'Mega Kamehameha', when everywhere else I've always seen it referred to as a 'Super Kamehameha'. That and, is this really a new technique at all? I always just looked at it as a normal Kamehameha with that much more power pumped into it.

Even if you don't agree with it, Piccolo does make a great point, that we'll see a lot of times later. Goku's beliefs do keep him from doing what he needs to a lot of the time.

I've always liked that Kuririn is the one to point out the Dragon Balls ability to bring Kami back to life even if Goku kills Piccolo. The fact that Goku agrees with it however, makes something that happens later seem to be a complete...well, out of nowhere, since I can't say the actual term I'm thinking of. But I'll cover that when we get there.

Dragon Ball - Episode 145 - Piccolo Daimao and the Super Giant Technique

Another time that it refers to him as 'Daimao'. Were they just being considered the same person completely by the anime staff at this point? Or doe she refer to himself as such in this episode again? Guess I'll find out if it's the latter.

I laugh how long it takes people to realize who Piccolo is even after seeing him, given that it's only been three years since his reign of terror. Then again, the populace of DB Earth never have been the brightest...

Oh, well he does refer to himself as Daimao, and the fact that this is the episode where everyone else realizes it to does make the episode title fit more.

I've always wondered how Piccolo came up with the technique to make himself larger. I've also found it a bit of a pity that Goku can no longer go Oozaru here, since it would have been cool to see him fight Piccolo size-for-size too.

It's not in the realm of my favorites, but I really like this track playing when Goku first starts to take it to the giant Piccolo too.

Dragon Ball - Episode 146 - Son Goku's Trap

There's an awful lot of episode titles that are almost the same between the versions in these later episodes it seems. Was it them being more faithful, or being lazy, though? And before anyone jumps me, I'm not saying it was lazy to use almost the same titles; I'm questioning the reasoning behind it that made FUNi do it in this case.

Goku actually coming up with the plan to make Piccolo get bigger so he could free Kami-sama is a great character moment for him. It shows how far he's truly come.

I also really love the theme playing as Goku and Piccolo go at it once again after Piccolo goes back to normal size. It's awesome.

Gotta love how Roshi goes out of his way to point out that Goku could care less about the world in a way, and really just wants to fight strong opponents - like it's a GOOD thing. I know it's what makes Goku who he is, but c'mon, a little criticism about one of his greatest flaws, please.

Oh, and you also have to love the hand-waving going on here about how Kami-sama's interruption doesn't forfeit Goku in the match. Is this being treated as a tournament bout or not, geez.

Dragon Ball - Episode 147 - Grim Situation!!

Is there ever a name given for the technique Piccolo is using now? Given it's nature and destructive power, I've always kind of looked at it as being a lesser version of the 'self-destruction' that Chaozu and Vegeta later use.

Oh, well, guess I should have just waited a couple of minutes heh. Apparently it's the 'Choubakuretsu-Maha' or 'Mega Exploding Evil Wave'. Geez, why is it Piccolo that gets all the techniques that are a mouthful?

Leave it to Lunch to actually kick 'God' into the hole. That never fails to amuse me. XD

It's worth mentioning that Goku actually withstanding the blast, and his rush tactic on Piccolo afterward, is one of the most badass moments in the franchise to me.

I have to give the dub a better point on line of dialogue here. I'm sure some will 'ugh', but I really like this line better in the dub, right before Goku rushes him.

Piccolo (Dub): Uh oh, I really think this is gonna hurt!
Piccolo (Sub): S-Stop! W-What are you going to do?!

The 'it's gonna hurt' line is just hilarious to me. ^_^;

...Did the announcer always give the count in English? I can't remember which is sad since I'm pretty sure he counted earlier in this same tournament.

I'm almost there! Now just one episode left before Piccolo's defeat...let's do this!

Dragon Ball - Episode 148 - I Did It! The Strongest Man on Earth!

Man, this episode starts right up with some great BGM.

Ugh. *shivers* That scene of Piccolo just JABBING his ELBOW into Goku's gaping wound always get me. It's got to be one of the most painful hits in the entire franchise (though a certain moment of Z movie 7 comes to mind too...). And not to throw Nozawa under the train, but I feel Schemmel gave a much better pain react on that part. He also outdoes her on the broken leg bit, though they're much closer to even there.

On a character related note, though I still find her annoying in Z and sort-of predict I will even with the sub, if you really think about this arc, it makes a lot of sense for Chichi to be the way she is later. She knows that she's become very strong. She knows that Goku has become so much stronger than her that it's not even funny. And yet despite that, she's watching her fiance be mercilessly slaughtered before her very eyes. Then when we get to the end of this episode, she's going to know that Piccolo is still out there. Given that she also no-doubt knows about the Daimao's killing off of martial artists once before, it's no wonder she is never too fond of Piccolo even after he turns good, much less that she doesn't like her son fighting and/or associating with him.

Shou's crying is nigh-heartbreaking as she sobs for Goku. In fact, everyone is really on top of their game in this scene. It's just an awesome moment.

It's interesting too that Toriyama chose such a basic technique (well, what would become one anyway) such as flying to be how Goku beats Piccolo here. It certainly makes things interesting, but it is kind of random.

Though I think they both did really good, it's great to hear Nozawa play Goku so happy to win the tournament.

Okay, now we're hitting the out-of-nowhere moment I was talking about earlier, though I'd forgotten that there's two of them. First up then is the one I forgot, that the senzu can be used to heal someone. That was never mentioned before now, and there was nothing to suggest that they did that. The other random bit is Goku knowing that if Kami died, the Dragon Balls disappear. It makes no sense for him to know this when Popo never told him that according to anything that's said, and it makes even less sense when you consider that Goku used the Cho Kamehameha earlier with the full intention of trying to kill Piccolo that time. It seems like just an excuse for there to be a reason not to kill Piccolo besides Goku's nature.

That said though, it does set up for a very nice speech from Roshi that Miyauchi delivers great. I never realized how much more to the speech was added in the dub though. At least it wasn't anything too awful though. Anyway, this story really did start with just one Dragon Ball, and it's already reached far beyond where it started in terms of scope. To think about how much further still it's going to go is pretty amazing.

I like the theme playing when everyone has their thoughts about Piccolo flying away too, and I also really like Bulma being the main one to notice that Goku has become so much more than he was. It started with just one Dragon Ball yeah, but it started with one monkey-tailed boy and one pretty genius girl too.

Honestly, I'm glad there is more to the story since there's a lot of great moments to come, but this would have been a truly beautiful place to end it too. It would have been open-ended a bit too, which is something Toriyama seems to like with his stories. I also like how Toei lampshaded the panel of Roshi saying 'This isn't over yet' a bit, by having him say 'It's over already?' only to get hit by a coconut, heh.

Anywa, this has been a fun ride, but finally, I am done with the first series! Now, onward to Dragon Ball Z! To Z I s-

Dragon Ball - Episode 149 - The Wedding Dress Inside the Flames

...Eh? Ohhh, right. There's 5 episodes of filler left. Silly me.

'Getting married sure is strange.' It's comments like that that make me love you so Goku.

The episode title just came by along with the narration, and is there not a Japanese term for 'wedding dress'? Yanami reads it out as Engrish, so it made me wonder.

Speaking of wondering, I'm never going to understand what happened to Gyu-Mao...he doesn't even look like the same character here. At all. I kinda miss the armor. Oh well, it's been a while since I heard Gouri now that I think about it, and with Dragon Ball, that just won't do.

Oh wow, haven't heard that 'western saloon' theme in the BGM for a while now. That's a flashback to early episodes.

I may have gotten used to Junpei Takiguchi's Baba...or at least as used to it as I'm gonna be able to get...but I'm not finding his sneezing here to be believable at all.

Wow, I'm kind of surprised that the sub didn't use the same actor for this first Oolong look-alike Jasmine like the dub did. Also, I definitely prefer the sub having Goku mention Oolong's penchant for panties, since now that I'm paying attention, Chichi does blush when Goku's talking.

I know it's just filler, but if this is the village Oolong is from where he learned the art of transformation...how come there's not any Puar-like cats floating around too? Or is that another village and the school is between the two perhaps?

Dragon Ball - Episode 150 - The Magical Fire-Eating Bird

I see Shu and Mai. I demand Pilaf show up at once, forget this sub-plot of Gyu-mao and the burning castle, give me more Chiba!

...Is Gouri still doing Umigame here? It sounds kind of different. Is it just that he hadn't played him for a while? Or maybe he's making more effort to make it sound different from his other roles now.

Either way, Goku never does get his name right, and it's spreading to Chichi now too heh.

Re-used character design alert, and this time I think it's like...the third time we've seen this one! The old scientist taking care of the Fire-Eater egg looks just like the mayor from Suno's village.

Also, the old man sounds familiar too...is that Yanami again?

It's been a while, but I don't remember Mai's voice being quite so...sultry.

Yes! Pilaf has made his grand entrance into this episode, and I love it so.

Can't believe Chichi was stupid enough to just walk over to them though...it's not like they're an actual threat even to her, but still.

Aww...and they ran away already. Darn it. I want a Pilaf spin-off show.

Hmm...you know, now that I think about it...they don't look like him at all, but the whole ancient bird in a volcano thing...could the Fire-Eater birds be a sort-of reference to Rodan? Heck, there's been a Gamera one earlier in, and there was a Godzilla one in Dr. Slump, so Toriyama's gotta be at least a slight kaiju fan.

Well that's a surprise. The dub changed the reason for why Roshi wrote the fake book. In the dub, it was to impress some girl, whereas in the sub it was because he was drunk. Given Roshi's nature, I'm inclined to like the dub's explanation more.

All right, only one more disc to go until I'm through with Dragon Ball!

Dragon Ball - Episode 151 - All Thanks to Chichi's Wife-Training

The Octagon Woman sounds vaguely familiar too...I doubt ANN would list such a minor character though, so I probably won't check to see who it is.

'Teeth-All-Gone Woman' instead of 'Octagon Woman' makes a lot more sense to me than the dub saying she said 'Octopus'. The 'Gon' at the end sounds more similar to me than the 'Octo' does basically.

Pilaf and crew are back for one final time in the series, so I'd better enjoy it while I can. I won't get to hear them again until GT. Er, other than that brief bit at the start of the 3rd movie anyway.

I know it's just that they know how much trouble the Dragon Balls are now, but it's interesting still that Pilaf and crew decided to find other ways to go about world domination. It's like they're taking a cue from the Red Ribbon Army...except the Army went for the Balls too.

Even though it conveniently got them an item they're going to need in the next couple of episodes, this 'wife-training' sub-plot bored me even more than Gyu-mao running around. This episode should have been spent on as much Pilaf antics as possible darn it! How I'm gonna miss those guys...They may not be formidable by any means, but they're up there in my list of favorite villains in this series.

Dragon Ball - Episode 152 - Hurry, Goku! The Mystery of Mt. Gogyo

The story of this filler episode and the next one always used to irk me since it completely contradicts the way the DB afterlife works as we'll come to learn in the next arc, but knowing now that it's all one big 'Journey to the West' reference makes it a little easier to deal with.

There's a shot of them flying by a great orange pteradon creature, and if the Fire-Eater bird wasn't a Rodan reference, that thing definitely is.

I'd forgotten how random the threats in this episode are. It's like they're stuck in Middle-Earth or the land from Neverending Story or something.

Looking at the way this dragon moves reminds me a lot of the Oozaru, so...now I can't help but notice how much it sounds like it too. I think it's the same seiyuu.

Even if it's filler and the last time, I really enjoy seeing Grandpa Gohan again. He must be someone else Toriyama somewhat forgot, otherwise he surely would have at least mentioned that Goku had met him again in the afterlife in the Buu arc.

...They use the Eightfold Furnace, which lets souls pass through to the afterlife, to make their noodles? ...I dunno whether to just be shocked, or to go 'ewww...'.

Oh, and just for variety's sake, I prefer the seiyuu for Annin. Cranz does an admirable job trying to make it sound different from her Chichi, and if both characters weren't heavily featured in the same episode, then it wouldn't be so bad. But since they are, it's kind-of distracting in the dub.

Dragon Ball - Episode 153 - Mt. Frypan Ablaze! A Deadly Split-Second Decision

All right, at long last, the final episode of Dragon Ball!

As it is the final episode, for the first time in a long time since starting this (probably since like...Season Two or so), I'm going to watch the opening and ending themes again, since this will be my last chance to see/hear them for a while.

I can't remember if I mentioned it before or not, but I really love this opening. 'Makafushigi Adventure!', along with 'Dragon Ball Densetsu', are arguably my favorite vocal songs for the entire franchise. No other songs signify the entire story for me as much as those two do. So while everyone else sings the praises of Hironobu Kageyama for all of his Z songs, I much prefer Hiroki Takahashi's work. That's not to say I don't enjoy Kageyama's stuff though, I really do.

Goku knocking over Gohan seems kind of out-of-character, even with how determined he is. It's almost like they're over-stressing that point, after having him slap away the offer of some noodles.

Even though it comes with some cool music, I wish they hadn't shown so much fighting between Goku and Annin. I would much rather have had him just jump right into the furnace and have it fixed by the episode's mid-point, so that the last half of the episode could have been spent actually SHOWING Goku and Chichi's wedding. They could have found a way to make such a story work in Dragon Ball style, and it would have been much more interesting than what we are getting.

It's interesting to note that, for the last episode, the dub chose to dub the eyecatches rather than leave them silent as usual, whereas the sub just left them silent. It seems an odd decision to make, but it was pretty amusing to me.

Yeah, definitely wishing they'd hurried this along so we could have actually seen some of the wedding. You aren't doing very good filler when your filler episode feels like it has filler interrupting it's filler story. ...Or whatever.

Heh, I like that Goku still pokes fun at his grandpa over Annin in the sub too. Though, as amusing as it is to hear the sneaky knowing way he says it in the dub, the sub's matter-of-fact way makes more sense. Goku wouldn't know how to say it in-the-know.

Bah! After all that, we just get a few brief scenes of the wedding ceremony. This is a travesty I tell you.

The narrator and Baba both breaking the fourth wall a bit to hint at what's next amuses me a lot, especially Baba looking into her ball to see what's next. I used to kind of wonder why she doesn't, you know, warn them about what's coming up since she actually did look into Goku's future directly this time - but I now don't think that's even what she saw. Ending it with a smirk and a wink? I think she saw lil' Gohan, heh heh heh.

And now, the ending theme is playing. I've actually never liked 'Romantic Ageru Yo' that much, and actually prefer the dub version on this one. It's not that it's a bad song or anything...it just doesn't click with me really. The animation doesn't do much for me either, since it's pretty much just going 'Hey look, Bulma pictures!'.

Anyway...I've finally done it. Sure, I've got the last two movies to do. And yes, I still have a crapload more material to get through, technically I'm not even half done. But...I have just finished 'Dragon Ball' in Japanese. Is it sad to feel a sense of accomplishment for this? It's been a long, wild, and crazy ride, but I totally feel like it was worth it.

So thanks for following along with me thus far guys, to the people who have just read it, as well as to the people who respond to the thread. I don't want to leave anyone out, but I do have to especially thank Looney and Penguin, who've both been a big help with their responses in particular. After I watch the last two movies, I'm going to take a break obviously (hey, I've got new stuff to watch for crying out loud!), but then I'll jump into the 'Z' portion of the story! I almost can't wait, Dragon Box...just wait a little longer for me...*sniffs*

Dragon Ball - Movie 3 - Mystical Adventure

Oh geez, I forgot how old the DVD of this I have is too. Again, what I have is the old three-movie pack, so this is that first single FUNi put out for this film. The menu is really retro-FUNi, though anything is better than the second film's disc.

Although, the sub-titles are definitely a bit different than what I'm used to as well. They're larger and gray, but so far they seem to be decent.

Yay for Pilaf at the start! Though it's definitely weird to see them imagined as...scientists...or something. And very sad to see them killed off. Either way, the way this film re-uses a lot of the canon characters in completely different ways is actually pretty cool to me, and I love the opening training montage while the opening theme plays.

So the bit about Chaozu's missing 'wife' Ran Ran wasn't dub only? I thought maybe calling her a wife was.

'Your majesty, dearie' Oh geez. Blue, you are in a class all your own even as a good guy. Or at least, he seems to be a good guy in this version of the story. But alas, he still can't stand up to Tao's tongue.

Ahh, there's that theme I was just talking about earlier, that is playing while Bulma is flying and shooting. They must have decided on some rule that anytime Bulma flies a plane in a movie, she has to be shot at LOL.

It really is kind of cool, albeit random, how many places this film draws from. It's taken elements from the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai, through the Red Ribbon Army arc, and even some of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. Were they trying to make up for lost time in this one or something?

...That was definitely Chiba as the waiter in the resturaunt where Bora and Oopa get chased to. Guess they wanted to use him somewhere else since Pilaf's part at the start was so small.

I can only assume that Sgt. Metallic is still the same actor as before, since I barely remember what he sounded like.

The only thing that I don't like about this movie is that it makes no sense from a power perspective, though I suppose you're not supposed to think about that. That and it being an alternate universe of sorts makes it where everyone's power would be all over the place anyway. It's just weird to think that a Goku that's just ready for the tournament will be able to go toe-to-toe with Tao.

This scene with Chaozu and Tenshinhan after the former's nightmare, while cute...really doesn't help the jokes about them, especially with that music playing. Aw well, Chaozu is adorable anyway.

The outfits are all over the place for what part of the show they're from too. It's weird the things I never notice while I'm watching the dub, but I do notice them while having to pay much closer attention due to the subs.

I hear Daisuke Gouri again, as the big dude that Yamucha takes down.

The idea of this tournament, with a fighter continuing to fight consecutively until he loses, is kind of cool. It's not really fair per say, but it's different. I kind of wonder why the referee is a new design rather than re-using the actual Budokai announcer though.

I'm surprised at a dub change here. When Bulma and Lunch are sneaking into the castle with Puar and Oolong (who are transformed into Crane and Chaozu), they're stopped by two other people. Bulma rationalizes it as them just being guests, but in the dub the guy that stops them assumes they're the two's girlfriends. I always expected 'girlfriends' was a cover-up of the guy assuming they were 'concubines', but looks like I was wrong.

Bora's impalement here, while not as sad due to the pacing, is much more brutal.

I actually forgot that they randomly shoe-horned Karin into this too, only without Goku actually climbing the tower.

Yay for more Arale! She's always enjoyable to see, in the sub at least (though I do like Brina Palencia's take on her in Budokai Tenkaichi 3). Was her being included just because they were drawing from the random Dragon Ball story arcs here, or was that part of the story particularly popular as well.

It's weird that this non-canon take on the story is the only time we ever see Crane use the Dodonpa.

When Tao breaks the ribbon free from the tree, it automatically goes back into a bow on his hair...What...is this, I don't even...that defies even Dragon Ball logic.

Oh wait. He's in Penguin Village. Never mind. I question nothing.

I like Arale joining in to hit back one of the rockets before we see her say goodbye. It was short, but I always enjoy another romp in Penguin Village. Even Senbei comes out to make an appearance!

I find myself almost not caring about this Tenshinhan/Chaozu sub-plot. They try to set up a reason for us to be emotionally involved in this, but I just can't find good reason to really care. Not by this canon anyway. It's weird, because this used to be one of my favorite Dragon Ball films, but now I find myself thinking they just tried to cram way too much into this one.

Chaozu's 'wife' being a doll...*facepalms*

The fissure being shaped like Shen Long is a bit much too.

All my complaints and thoughts aside though, it's all worth it for this ending sequence. By far one of my favorite film endings, and it's coupled with one of my favorite Dragon Ball songs too. I've always thought this one was really catchy, even before I started listening to more Japanese music. It's just awesome.

Well, that brings movie 3 to a close. Let's jump into the last one.

Dragon Ball - Movie 4 - The Road to Being the Strongest

Yeah, I know, technically this one wasn't done until years later, during the GT reign. And it's not even technically a movie as I understand it, more of a 'special'. But given the story it covers, I consider it more of the 4th Dragon Ball feature rather than the 17th feaure overall.

I remember this one being another film I really enjoyed, since it actually has some length to it to actually do something with, but we'll see how I feel while having to pay this much attention to it.

Whoa...I never really thought about it, but that scene where the animation goes from a sort of grayscale into color...this was made to celebrate the manga if I'm remembering right, so that could have been signifying that a bit, kind of like how the 'Prime' world in Turtles Forever was left in black and white like the original comics.

Oh wow, I always thought the fish talking was a dub-only thing. Way to prove me wrong.

Right off the bat, the audio here is much clearer than what I'm used to hearing in the sub stuff here, it's really nice. The animation is of course really crisp too though, since this is much newer than the stuff I just finished watching. I've always liked the GT artstyle actually, it was true to Toriyama art while still feeling fresher and more current.

I love how matter-of-factly Goku states that boys have tails, especially the look on his face, like he's so proud to know something that Bulma apparently didn't.

I'm going to have to look up who scored this. It doesn't sound like GT from what I remember, and it's definitely not the same music that you hear in Dragon Ball.

It might just be because her personality is so much more interesting at the start rather than later, but having just come off of the end of Dragon Ball back into this early-stuff-themed story, I find that I much more enjoy Tsuru's Bulma here.

I could so make a joke about Bulma telling Goku not to touch the bike with his dirty pole...but I won't.

Them running into Oolong just outside of where Yamucha is has to have been taken practically verbatim from The Legend of Shen Long. It's too similar not to have been. That said though, I really enjoy the music that starts playing when Oolong is shown up.

Oh man, I'd almost forgotten how much I enjoy Tatsuta's Oolong, since he's been shoved to the background and will pretty much remain there now. He's comedy gold.

Ooh, I love the music playing when Yamucha starts using the Roga Fufu-ken too.

...Was that supposed to be General White just now? They called him General and it's at Muscle Tower so it's gotta be. Geez, I forgot he got a radical design change too.

Am I the only one getting a Star Wars vibe from the walking unit things the Red Ribbon soldiers have? They look like the...um...The AT Walkers I think. Not the big cow things on Endor, but the two-legged ones.

And speaking of radical design changes, whoa at Sgt. Metallic. Was there ever a reason given for all the changes here? Was it just to shake things up?

Man, they could bring in a lot of other key Red Ribbon Army players, but they couldn't bring in Murasaki? That's just lame. It's nice to see Ha-chan again though.

Maybe it's the music, or maybe it's just the way they set up the scene here, but I find the bonding between Goku and Ha-chan even cuter here than it was in the series, especially the snowball fight between the two.

The re-designs on Red and Black aren't quite as drastic as the other ones from before. I've heard people say that they made Black into a Hispanic man rather than an African-American one, but I can't really tell since it's animation and all. The only thing I can see to support that claim is that Black now lacks the stereotype 'big lips' that Toriyama uses.

I'm glad they thought to keep Goku's discovery of Bulma's 'missing parts' heh. It probably is one of the most famous scenes in the franchise, so I'm glad they brought it back in this.

Holy...I forgot that this film being done in the GT time, that this would mean a new Roshi. The 'Hello!' he belted out threw me off right away, it just did not sound right.

It's probably not fair to judge him just off of what I'm hearing here, but I'm not even sure if Kinya Aikawa plays Roshi anywhere else. *checks* Nope, this is the only time he played Roshi...I can kinda tell why.

At any rate, I much prefer Miyauchi. He sounded heart-warming in a way, whereas this guy just sounds kind of...screechy. Even McFarland's sounds more heartwarming even in his goofy/pervy bits than Kinya Aikawa. But, it's not like they had a lot of choice here. It's very sad that Miyauchi passed away while the franchise was still churning away.

I see a Bulma butt. *does his best Roshi laugh impression*

This military assault on the gang seems kind of like it was taken from the first film as well, though it's a little different.

Hmm, Aikawa does sound a bit better when the character gets serious, but he's still no Miyauchi.

Wow, even Blue is re-designed quite a bit. I can't even tell if it's still Furukawa playing him either, since he doesn't get a moment to do the trademark laugh. Actually, I'm all but sure it's not Furukawa now, it doesn't sound a thing like the Blue I heard before. *checks* No, it was Bin Shimada...geez, Furukawa is still around too, why didn't they get him to do the role again?

Even though it's just a brief cameo, I'm glad they though to show a girl soldier who's definitely meant to be Violet.

Remember how I said the soldiers flying through the forest after Piccolo early on in the last batch of episode reviews reminded me a lot of a similar bit of Return of the Jedi? Well, there's a scene in this that looks even more like it. Someone on the anime staff has to have been a Star Wars fan.

I could be forgetting it, but as far as I can tell, I like Black's breakdown here better than in the actual anime. His stumble towards the jet, coupled with the neurotic laughter, shows a truly broken man who very quickly finds that he's wanted this power all along.

Also, is it just me, or is his mecha much bigger here than it was in the series? I've always thought it seemed to be.

As awesome as seeing him rush back in is, and as dramatic as it's about to take it...how in the heck did Ha-chan even know where they were? This seems to imply he can sense things.

Poor Ha-chan being killed just as Goku wakes back up is probably one of the saddest moments in the overall franchise to me. If I did a top ten list, it'd probably be on there. But oh, does it set up for an awesome rage moment for Goku. The power flying all around his body, the raging scream, the look on his face as the tears stream from his eyes - even though this is a Dragon Ball-themed feature, they must have had his first Super Saiyan transformation in mind for this scene.

Technically, Ha-chan shouldn't be able to be brought back to life since he's fully mechanical, right? Oh well, it's a happy ending, I'll roll with it.

And with the credits playing, that's it! Listening to Dan Dan play officially brings my Dragon Ball portion of this sub-watching quest to a close. I'll save my thoughts on this song until GT since it's played a lot more there, but as for this film itself, it's definitely my favorite of the Dragon Ball films. The length helped a lot in being able to hold the 'journey' feeling that portion of the series has compared to some of the later stuff. And it achieves a certain level of emotion that is rarely displayed in the series and never in the films, so I can't help but like it.

So, now for real, I'm off on my break. I'm definitely watching Azumanga Daioh before I jump back in, and then Ultra Maniac, and maybe even some Disney films. After that however, I'll probably bite the bullet with the first Dragon Box rather than watching Kodocha even though I just got that too. So until then - Kinto-un! *jumps on and speeds off into the wild blue yonder*

Dragon Ball - PSA 1 - Goku's Fire Safety

Oh geez, one of the more dramatic DB themes playing right when I see a kid playing with matches...not even a minute in and this already reeks of PSA-ness.

Goku lecturing anyone on safety for anything just seems weird...I get the reason they did this, but it's already almost too much for me. This is like an anime version of Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue or something...oh geez, I hope I didn't just give animators in Japan a 'brilliant' idea. *heads desk*

'I'm a member of this town's fire brigade.' Eh? How, you don't live there Goku! Though...I thought this was West City at first. It does look too small and rural now that I think about it.

Now I see Roshi, Kuririn, and Yamucha all as fire fighters. Let the fun continue...

For some reason, Roshi is the only one I an listen give this safety advice without almost facepalming. Let the wise old man do the PSAs, I guess.

Okay, I am getting a chuckle over the kids chewing out their parents for unsafe habits. That's just cute.

And now Bulma has appeared, cooking...I already know this isn't going to end well.

...Okay, I get the idea of extreme circumstances you can't forsee that they're trying to get across here...but an Earthquake happens and knocks the grease into the fire, just as Bulma 'coincidentally' hits her head and gets knocked out? And fire safety is the major problem here?

That's interesting. The Japanese number for help is 119 instead of 911. Either that or they couldn't put the actual 911 number for some reason, but that doesn't seem likely since this whole thing is supposed to be raising awareness.

Heh, Roshi tries to catch Bulma only for Yamucha to knock him away and catch her instead. So far that's at least two moments in this I actually liked.

Hmm, according to this, smaller earthquakes causing fires in Japan isn't all that uncommon. So maybe that wasn't as over-the-top as I thought.

Oh geez, and now the emotional music is playing...I'm glad there's only two of these, much more of this and I'm gonna turn into the Nostalgia Critic.

Oooh, now THIS is cool. It's ending with the opening song being sang by...er...the cast I think. Or rather, a re-do of it that has to do with fire safety. It's over-stressing the point again, but it's kinda cute and cool to hear. Also, apparently this didn't air until late into Dragon Ball, since the animation here is a mix of stuff from the special, and the second opening animation.

Dragon Ball - PSA 2 - Goku's Traffic Safety

All right, let's get this one over with before I start needing a few shots to down.

I do believe that's one Daisuke Gouri I hear as the big tiger bandit here. Not surprised they'd work him in here too.

What is Bulma doing in a place called Miyako?

Forgot to mention in the last one, but hearing Miyauchi's Roshi again is a pleasure after having to hear one that wasn't him.

I'm...not too sure on the subs on this one I'm watching, but it's what I've got for this.

Hey...isn't that the same little boy from the last one?

Whoa, the cop is a blonde Lunch! Er, well...a blonde lunch that looks and acts like the blue-haired one.

So Kuririn and Roshi are in a place called Maiota when they were trying to get to Miyako or wherever Bulma is. Are these real places in Japan or something?

Ohh, so the story here is that it's Bulma's birthday and they're all gathering.

Another re-used design here, the ltitle girl Goku runs into is clearly Suno.

...So Goku, the spokesperson to be smart and safe about fire, blindly hops in and through traffic...*facepalms* On the one hand, I'm happy that he's more in-character here. On the other...they can't keep it consistent at all? Oi.

'What's a rule?' Yup, this is definitely the Goku I know this time.

LOL at poor Yamucha in an apron.

Whoa, I just saw Namu walking to cross the road. That was a random cameo to go for.

Ohhh. That's interesting, it's not a Suno-look-alike, it is Suno, just a new version of her.

On an unrelated note, the subs for the copy of this I'm watching...are horrid. Not only are they every freaking color of the rainbow, for some reason it has 'Onima Saber!' for when Goku tells the nyoibou to extend.

Leave it to Goku to show up late and then eat all of the food at Bulma's own birthday party LOL. I guess he earned it though, he did a good deed saving the little boy.

LOL at everyone jumping Goku for eating it all too. Why did this never happen in-show? Goku and then Roshi talking to the audience while looking into the camera is pushing into 'too much' territory though.

Aw man, they didn't even bother to sub the new version of the song either, but once again, it's a cast-sung version that has been re-written to talk about the moral lesson of the PSA.

So with that all brought to a close...

Overall

Since these were special little items for the franchise rather than anything particularly serious, I wanted to do a little column here just on my thoughts on it in the end.

For what they were, these were...cute. But preachy. Very, very preachy. I respect teaching lessons to children about things like this, but PSAs don't seem like the way to do that to me. I know to me as a kid (and it still gets to me), whenever I'd see something I was normally going to watch be interrupted just to give me a lesson, it annoyed the hell out of me.

That raises a question for me though - both of these were actually fairly lengthy, the first one was about 10 minutes I think whereas the latter was almost 15 it seemed like. Were they aired at different times? Or maybe back-to-back as a Dragon Ball afterschool special? Either way, I imagine they were aired in place of a new episode when they first came on, right?

Anyway, for anyone that hasn't seen these, you're not really missing a whole lot. Beyond the message they were sending, these really don't have anything else of note going for them I didn't think, so it's no wonder they weren't picked up and dubbed by FUNi. Especially not with how they marketed the franchise - I don't think the 'hardcore' fanbase would have much appreciated getting PSAs of Goku.

All right, this time for real I'm on break for a while.

Opening/Endings

Makafushigi Adventure!
Animation 1: As the main one that I have seen a lot, I enjoy it obviously, as said before. It's really cool to see, and everything fits the show and theme perfectly.

Animation 2: The new animation definitely freshens things up, and after 100 episodes with the same animation, it was well warranted. If I'm not mistaken though...some of the animation looks familiar. Was any of it used in the old Kidsmark opening?

Romantic Ageru Yo
Animation 1: What few animations in this that weren't in the seconds are kinda nifty. I LOL at Yamucha in a dress. Bulma looking sad on the bed while it rains seems a bit out of place though.

Animation 2: This is the main animation I'm used to as jpdbzrulz4sure pointed out. It's...okay, but it just doesn't do much for me.

Animation 3: Geez, should these even really count as new animation? It's practically the same. I thought the re-does of Dragon Soul were laughworthy as new, geez. That said though, the shot of everyone in front of Kame House is kinda nice.

Animation 4: Ooh, right off the bat I like this one, since it's actually different from the get-go. More Dragon Ball-era pics of the gang older is awesome too, a few of these I don't think I'd ever seen actually. It really adds to the nostalgic feeling of them having grown up, and makes the song even more fitting to me. This is my favorite animation for the endings, definitely.