r/anime • u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang • 3d ago
Rewatch Dragon Ball 40th Anniversary Rewatch - Week 33: Z Episodes 36-44 Discussion
Episode 36: We're Off into Space! The Star of Hope is Piccolo's Homeland
Episode 37: Mysterious Yunzabit! The Search for God's Spaceship
Episode 38: Blast-off for Planet Namek! The Terror Awaiting Gohan & Co
Episode 39: Friends or Foes? Children of the Mysterious Giant Spaceships
Episode 40: Honest to Goodness? There Lies Namek, the Planet of Hope
Episode 41: Kind Hearted Aliens – There's the Five-Star Ball Already
Episode 42: Planet Freeza NO.79 – Vegeta Revives!!
Episode 43: The Dragon Balls are All Found! Piccolo-san Will Also Come Back to Life
Episode 44: A Tough New Enemy! The Emperor of the Galaxy – Freeza
<- Previous Week | Index | Next Week ->
MAL | Anilist | Kitsu | AniDB | ANN
Let's hope you don't embarrass mankind.
Hello everybody! Time for the Comment of the Week, courtesy of u/Kendotsx for reminding us of the one truth of the world:
This is Shueisha we're talking about. Colour pages don't exist!
Then again it's not like Shougakukan and Kodansha are much better...
1) How long do you think Gokú will be stuck in the hospital?
2) What expectations do you have for our new villains?
3) What is the most likely thing Bulma will do to embarrass the human race?
Next Week: Episodes 45-53
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky 3d ago
First-Timer Searching for the Silver Dragon Balls Z, subbed
Episode 36
Chi-Chi’s immediate priority was her baby, makes sense. Wild how she has nothing to say to Goku though.
Oh, so Kuririn thinks that if they find Piccolo’s home planet, they can get new Dragon Balls.
Unless they just steal one of the other Saiyan transports? Ah.
Episode 37
Oh wait they’re actually just changing his bandages and he’s screaming like that?
Well, it’s certainly larger than the one-seaters the Saiyans were using. Does it still work?
Is that the excuse they’re going with for God to not remember he was an alien?
Episode 38
Ah, fair enough. His hair still looks weird though.
Episode 39
Goku would be the kind of guy to train while still wrapped in full-body bandages.
I obviously don’t care for Bulma spending the entire episode in her underwear.
Them finding food right after they commented about being funny feels suspicious…
Oh, it was a “childish trap” because the enemy is a bunch of kids?
Episode 40
Oh shit, I’ve heard that name before. So Freeza’s the next big bad?
Okay, now Goku’s having to deal with a needle. It’s really funny how bad he is with those, considering how beat up he gets in fights.
Damn, they’re still pointing guns at them despite the fact that they saved their asses?
Episode 41
lol, alright then. Looks like they did find the right planet, though.
Oh neat, the Dragon Radar now shows how many it senses in a given area.
G-Geez… How are they supposed to get the Dragon Ball out of a place like that?
Episode 42
Not a tornado! And the fourth Dragon Ball just had to be inside of it…
Episode 43
That… looks like an attack purposefully triggered the cave’s collapse?
It was on purpose… Are those two Lychee and Zaakuro?
These two are planning to steal the wish once they get the last Dragon Ball, aren’t they?
Ah. The whole planet & Dragon Balls were an illusion. Wonder how the illusion even tricked the radar.
Episode 44
That same cosmic tidal current is what that group of kids meant to warn them about the shortcut, isn’t it?
Ah, that explains how they knew about the Dragon Balls, Namek, etc.
That’s not Namekian. They didn’t get that part of Bulma’s memory, huh.
Gohan showing up to get the ship to open back up while those two were gloating was pretty funny.
…so Freeza has the same voice actor as Kurotsuchi. Huh.
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang 3d ago
…so Freeza has the same voice actor as Kurotsuchi. Huh.
And Tambourine!
Wild how she has nothing to say to Goku though.
"Ugh, you died a year ago anyway, who cares?"
[Spoilers]Goku’s one fear: needles.
Is that the excuse they’re going with for God to not remember he was an alien?
Yeah Toriyama didn't put much thought into this bit.
Dammit…
Yeah sadly Bulma never goes back to having longer hair again past this aside from like... a single chapter later on. Shame, really.
His hair still looks weird though.
I really hate how many games like to make it his default
Oh, it was a “childish trap” because the enemy is a bunch of kids?
This is a weird episode of Infinite Ryvius...
Looks like they did find the right planet, though.
Wonder how the illusion even tricked the radar.
Alternatively the Radar was somehow part of the illusion. It's the best answer I got.
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u/oomoepoo https://anilist.co/user/oomoepoo 3d ago edited 2d ago
Goku when Demons, Aliens, Dinosaurs: I sleep.
I obviously don’t care for Bulma spending the entire episode in her underwear.
The whole combination is kinda wild. There's Kuririn dressed like a damn tourist, Gohan in... whatever his garb is and then Bulma in underwear, for some reason. Feels like nobody is actually dressed for the occasion.
Wonder how the illusion even tricked the radar.
I'm with raiking on this: The radar was probably an illusion too.
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang 2d ago
Gokú when needles
dressed for the occasion
TBF I wouldn't call Kuririn's cap the most fitting for the whole planet occupying occasion either.
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u/oomoepoo https://anilist.co/user/oomoepoo 2d ago
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang 2d ago
Welp, guess guy's out for some green stew.
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u/oomoepoo https://anilist.co/user/oomoepoo 3d ago edited 3d ago
Rewatcher
Man, seems like the timing of this rewatch will be kinda funny, given it now runs in parallell with DB Super Beerus. I just checked our schedule and with a bit of luck(if you wanna call it that), [This arc and DB Super]I might just witness the demise of Freeza in two consecutive weeks. Or rather, when Freeza gets pwned over in DB Super, our rewatch will probably still be stuck at Namek blowing up in 5 minutes
This rewatch is always funny. Sometimes my reaction to an episode is
and sometimes it's
Unfortunately this week had a lot of the latter in it and not a lot of the former.
Let's start with the good things: I really liked the beginning of the set! Even I find it rather morbid that the episode was literally called "Picking up the pieces", it was also incredibly fitting. They're picking up the injured Kuririn and Gohan, the almost dead Goku and then go around searching for the remains of the ones that didn't make it, knowing that their deaths are permanent. Even if it barely lasts an episode, the emotional reaction to the characters' deaths, especially Bulma's crashout work pretty well and hit home!
I also think all the preperations to get to Namek were pretty fun to watch. Especially Bulma shines here (again) and is fully in her element. Woman casually reverse-engineered a centuries old alien spaceship, and learns to operate it within less than two weeks. This also includes learning the language of the aliens. Nevermind understanding the basic functionality of a remote control for another alien ship (unfortunatly not good enough) within an evening. Thinking about it, she has to be among the most competent woman in the entirety of Dragon Ball [DBZ]Probably only rivaled by 18 and to some lesser extent Baba. Also I kinda liked her "slop" look when she appeared in the hospital for the first time. But also Gohan gets a little bit of time to shine when he finally stands up to his mom and volunteers to accompany Kuririn and Bulma to planet Namek. Goku's antics were mildly amusing but it was basically just Goku being Goku.
One mayor point of contention really was the stuff that occures between Bulma & Co setting out to Namek and arriving at the planet. The space orphans stuff was alright and namedropped Freeza and his mooks a bit early but I really did not care for the tragic backstory of the kids or them doing the whole "We had to grow up too fast"-shtick. The idea that fire weapons are any real threat to anyone except Bulma is also quite ridiculous. But at least Bulma got to shine with her piloting skills. Figuring out the controls of an alien spaceship within 5 minutes, under pressure while being basically held at gunpoint, and managing to savely navigate it through an asteroid shower. Batman wished he was as smart and competent as Bulma. Even worse was the "fake Namek"-stuff. It's one of those episodes [deragotory] for me. I'm not sure why exactly but it just didn't work for me, at all. Neither back then nor upon rewatch. It's an idiot ball(s) plot that doesn't even feature fake stakes because every hurdle they encounter is cleared very easily. The nicest thing I can say about it is that the whole Kuririn - Gohan - Bulma dynamic is kinda fun. And it gave us a sort of RAIDA KICK from Gohan. [DBZ]Great Saiyaman: Secret Origins
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The other problem with this set is really Chi-Chi. The show tries really hard to make her as unlikeable as possible. She's constantly nagging. She doesn't even react to Goku being a miserable pile of flesh and bones on the ground. Or shows the slightes bit of compassion for anybody that's not Gohan. Hell, when the brat goes off to nowhere, she blames Goku! Despite him being literally unable to move a muscle. The worst thing is that she even has a point about all of it. All the crap Gohan (and Goku) have been through so far would absolutely warrant complaining.
Unfortunately for her she's in a story where the fate of the world seems to hinge on her family stepping up to the plate. So the story basically tells her: Dinosaurs walk among us, our President is a furry, and we're constantly being invaded by Aliens/Demons/Alien Demons. Adapt and throw hands or get out of the way! Poor Chi-Chi, what have they done to you.
Behold: Spaceship.png
-snapshot00153.png){kind=link}
Holy shit, is that the guy that Goku meets on his way to the second to last Tenkaichi in DB?
-snapshot00148.png){kind=link}
You'd think after all the stuff happening lately, people wouldn't freak out that much about a flying carpet.
I love Karin just acting like basically a regular cat in the cockpit scenes :3
The idea of Kaio just having a giant book filled with addresses of various planets is kinda amusing me.
1) How long do you think Gokú will be stuck in the hospital?
Can't be too long anymore. The senzu beans should arrive any day now.
2) What expectations do you have for our new villains?
Pastel colours are inherently evil. And given that even Vegeta has a bit of respect, they're probably pretty capable.
3) What is the most likely thing Bulma will do to embarrass the human race?
It would be funny if she would go all Kirk or Riker and try to flirt up some hot alien guy. [DBZ]No, not that one
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang 3d ago
Woman casually reverse-engineered a centuries old alien spaceship, and learns to operate it within less than two weeks.
Toriyama doesn't always remember that Bulma is a genius, but when he does, it's a delight.
And it gave us a sort of RAIDA KICK from Gohan
The best part is that it's all Toei so he can't even be sued.
The show tries really hard to make her as unlikeable as possible. She's constantly nagging
To give Toei some credit, it's not like Toriyama gave her any positive traits for them to work off around this point.
Dinosaurs walk among us
See, this is true, but I think Toriyama forgot about this. Dinosaurs stop appearing past this point, and later DB entries written by Toriyama act like dinosaurs have always been extinct.
Behold: Spaceship.png
Look, we have to cut corners somewhere.
Holy shit, is that the guy that Goku meets on his way to the second to last Tenkaichi in DB?
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u/oomoepoo https://anilist.co/user/oomoepoo 3d ago
To give Toei some credit, it's not like Toriyama gave her any positive traits for them to work off around this point.
Yes, that's true. It's more Toriyama's fault than anything else.
See, this is true, but I think Toriyama forgot about this. Dinosaurs stop appearing past this point, and later DB entries written by Toriyama act like dinosaurs have always been extinct.
I feel like there's also significantly less animal people down the line. But I could be wrong.
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang 3d ago
I feel like there's also significantly less animal people down the line. But I could be wrong
You're not wrong. It feels like the only animal people we see from now on are pre-established characters.
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u/Not__Trash 3d ago
Oh cool! I'm on a rewatch but about a hundred episodes ahead lol, catch y'all in a few months!
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u/zsmg https://anilist.co/user/zsmg 2d ago
Rewatcher
It was a solid transition between the Saiyajin and Freeza arc. The fillers were fine, the kids ship was inoffensive and I’ll be honest I skipped the Fake Namek episodes, couldn’t bother to watch them nor at increased playback speed even though it’s an old school Dragon Ball adventure. One interesting tidbit I think every filler episode still adapted some stuff from the manga (usually a single or few pages of a chapter)
Anyway not much to say this week.
Also better get used to the boring repetitive backgrounds because we'll be stuck here for a long while.
Funniest joke:
Episode 36 had numerous funny moments: Chi Chi jumping over Goku to grab Gohan, Yajirobe asking Goku if he could hit Chi Chi (we were all thinking that!) Kaio hitting Bubbles with a hammer and them all randomly pointing and saying let’s go to Namek. I later realised that this is reference to the cover of chapter 243
Episode 37 Blooma accidentally self destructing the pod, will never stop being funny. In the same episode, Blooma saying "Unlike those guys, I'm delicate" is both funny and untrue. Blooma ending up summoning the toilet and a bed by mistake was amusing.
In episode 40 tittle girl kicking Kururin after he powered up was funny. Goku being afraid of needles is silly and funny.
In episode 44 Blooma wants to check the content of the atmosphere while Kururin and Gohan immediately go outside.
Lost in translation:
In episode 38 Kururin wears a cap that says Kululin. We've been spelling his name wrong all this time.
There is no i in Freeza and Tenshihan. Stop adding unnecessary “i” to character names US dub!
This hasn’t aged well:
In episode 37 Blooma doesn't trust a blackface character and later one she think he’s going to rape her…
In episode 39 Muten Roshi was harassing the nurse and then the doctor decided to give him an appropriate nickname and we all have a good laugh about it…
p
This won’t age well:
In episode 37 they keep saying [spoiler] Kami’s parents (plural) the characters don't know yet Namekians have a single parent
In episode 40 Blooma says [spoiler] “They (the people who conquered the kids' planet) got nothing to do with us.” Well… about that
In episode 43 Vegeta claims his tail will grow back in time…
This batch of episodes only had five filler episodes, ahh well I’m sure this won’t cause any problems down the line for Toei. [spoiler]
Nice call back:
In episode 37 the seat in the Namekian spaceship looks a lot like Piccolo Daimaou's throne.
In episode 39 seeing Kururin, Booma and Gohan explore the base reminds me of when they explored the pirate base back during the Red Ribbon Arc.
Blooma the genius
In episode 36 Blooma can calculate the distance to another planet with a simple calculator.
In episode 38 Blooma and her dad casually fixed up and improved a centuries old alien spacecraft in a week. That’s genuinely crazy. Also Blooma has a short haircut, an iconic look. I like how Blooma is seriously dressed while Kururin is in casual clothing. Naturally she is annoyed by this. Being overdressed for the occasion always sucks. Furthermore Blooma has three different hairstyles in this episode, a record I’m sure.
In episode 39 Blooma is bored and does what any bored person does, eat a lot and walk around in their underwear. I feel sorry for Kururin and Gohan having to deal with her.
In episode 40 Blooma takes over the controls of an alien ship and is able to pilot it like a pro. She is that awesome.
Crybaby Gohan
Episode 38 had lots of important moments for Gohan: first he stands up against his mum, then he is in his iconic bowl cut hairstyle. And lastly he made a Piccolo GI outfit for himself, which is crazy for a 5 year old.
He also looks up to Piccolo as much as his dad, thus starting Piccolo is his real dad memes.
Piccolo the Namekian:
In episode 36 we find out that there was an abnormal storm that killed most Namekians, and Kami was sent to Earth as a way to save the species.
In episode 37 we find out that Piccolo means Other World Piccolo wait... Piccolo is Namekian for Isekai. After listening to the dialogue they're not using the word Isekai, I'm disappointed.
Vegeta, [spoiler] Prince of Saiyajins
Vegeta at first didn't need his scouter but then decided to change his mind after he finds out Freeza is on Namek.
Emperor Freeza and his forces Freeza first gets mentioned in the preview for episode 40.
This guy names planets after himself, with a number behind it. I hope a certain President won’t get the same idea or else he might rename every US state to “<his name> #number”
Freeza listened in on Vegeta’s conversation back on Earth and now wants to use the Dragon Balls to wish for eternal youth.
Freeza is also really strong, Vegeta thinks he can handle anyone in his forces except Freeza himself.
Freeza is voiced by Ryūsei Nakao aka Tambourine, I’m sure Kururin will be fine this time around.
Chichi, the Asian Tiger mum:
In episode 36 Chi Chi says “I'm far more worried about the fate of Gohan than I am of Earth.” that sums up her Z characteristics quite nicely.
In episode 38 Chichi is losing her mind after Gohan announces he's going to Namek, although to be fair he is a 5 year old kid.
In episode 40 she just mocks Goku’s fear of needles and leaves the room.
Come forth, Shenlong!:
By episode 44 Freeza already has four of the Dragon Balls, with only three remaining he’s already close to completing the set.
Big guy, small guy combo:
Despite them being short Kururin and Gohan definitely fits this trope.
You look familiar…
In episode 40 a bunch of kids are stuck together on a ship, is this Infinite Ryvius?
Perverted Padding:
In episode 39 Muten Roshi is harassing the nurse.
Flashback Padding:
In episode 36 we see moments of Blooma with Yamucha, and the death of all the characters again.
Positives changes from the manga:
In episode 39 we see Gohan and Kururin fighting during the image training.
In episode 43 we see Vegeta grabbing the scouter, explaining how he has one when he lands on Namek in the manga he suddenly has a scouter when he lands on Namek.
Filler Failure
In episode 38 the canon scenes of Blooma telling them about the spaceship in the hospital room clearly takes place after she left with Popo to the spaceship in the previous episode but because of the filler scenes it feels jarring to suddenly see the cast together again.
Unexpected Foreshadowing
In episode 39 [spoiler] Blooma is wondering about Vegeta, guess their romance hint starts this early huh.
In episode 40 we see Kewi make a cameo appearance before his first appearance a few episodes later.
It’s a FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE
The Namek our heroes landed on was a fake as were the Namekians.
Hang on…
In episode 36 apparently there is a universal coordination system because Blooma understands the coordinates of what Kaio is saying.
In episode 37 you’d think when a patient screams a lot in pain just by changing his bandage, you’d give him some painkillers. In the same episode couldn’t Blooma ask [spoiler] Jaco for a ride to Namek? Why doesn't Popo go to the ground and let Blooma on the carpet that way? Seems way safer. You’d think a Space Ship being exposed to weather and other erosion effects for centuries would have some holes in it but I'm happy for Blooma’s sake that the ship is still airtight or else she would have died of asphyxiation.
In episode 39 Is Blooma really going to explore an alien ship in her underwear?! The answer is yes. Why are Kururin and Gohan propelling themselves forwards using ki attack instead of using flying technique?
In episode 40 even if the spaceship’s outer armour is covered in mirrors it would still be detected by radar. Also how can you have a shortcut in space unless it involves a wormhole.
Look at all the new fancy techniques we picked up [spoiler] and it never shows up again:
In episode 39 we’re introduced to image training, no idea how it works (some sort of psychic connection?) but it looks cool. Also Gohan can do the makankosappo apparently, or maybe he likes to imagine he can do that move?
I’m talking to myself:
In episode 37 Kururin is imitating Yajirobe, both are voiced by Mayumi Tanaka so a character she’s voicing is imitating another character she's voicing.
Toei spoiling in the episode preview:
The episode 44 title mentions Freeza but he only appears in the final shot of the episode.
The preview for 45 spoilers [spoiler] the Namekian ship gets destroyed
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang 2d ago edited 2d ago
Also better get used to the boring repetitive backgrounds because we'll be stuck here for a long while.
[Honestly]even after we leave the backgrounds take a massive hit for pretty much the rest of the series.
chapter 243
Shout out for the surprisingly decent English.
Stop adding unnecessary “i” to character names US dub!
At least with Freeza it doesn't completely ruin the pronunciation
In episode 43 Vegeta claims his tail will grow back in time…
I think Toriyama forgot about tails in general.
first he stands up against his mum, then he is in his iconic bowl cut hairstyle
It's all about balance, I guess. Now if only games stopped making it his default...
In the same episode couldn’t Blooma ask [spoiler]
[Spoiler]I think Bulma just forgot her sister's phone number and was too embarassed to ask.
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u/zsmg https://anilist.co/user/zsmg 2d ago
Thanks I didn't even notice it was my cake day.
I think Toriyama forgot about tails in general.
Toriyama forgetting things? That would never happen.
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang 2d ago
People joke "Araki forgot" but somehow not as many people joke "Toriyama forgot"
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u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/tripleaamin 2d ago
First-Timer
This was a decent transition batch of episodes. The biggest thing was Gohan's desire to want to go with Bulma to bring back Piccolo and the others. It more enhances their relationship that I like a lot. Even though it was a fake Planet Namek. I still like seeing Gohan not hesitating. A lot of stuff puts Gohan at risk and he has no hesitation and I like it a lot.
But yeah it did drag for a while, and realizing it was not the real planet Namek was a bummer. But man I am used to Bulma being her annoying self which is part of her charm. Chichi's character is actually an annoyance at this point. Everytime Goku and Chichi are on screen together it feels like a divorced couple.
It was speculated there was a greater true evil before. Well it seems like that is Freeza. The fact that Vegeta switches from going to Earth to going straight to Namek illustrates how dangerous he is. Nevertheless this raises a big question if they were able to take of Vegeta before what hope is there without even Goku around for two months?
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u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta 1d ago
Semi-Rewatcher
We got to the end of that great fight against the Saiyans, and I thought, "That was nice and all, but you know what I could really go for right about now? Filler!"
Well, whether I truly wanted filler or not, that's what we got.
Overall, not too thrilled with this batch of episodes, especially compared to the last ones. Goku's hospital time, the spaceship full of refugee children, the fake Planet Namek... none of that really hits the spot for me. I like everything with Vegeta, but aside from that, it's pretty much a wash after the gang leaves for space.
Speaking of things I don't like, I strongly dislike Chi-Chi. She serves no purpose other than to endlessly nag the rest of the cast. It would be so easy to make her funny or emotionally resonant, but sadly, that's not the direction they took with her.
We also got plenty of stilted dub delivery (esp. in episode 38), tons of reused shots (esp. episode 42), and another botched translation job in English when they don't properly explain how Frieza learned about Namek and the Dragon Balls via the scouters. Lots of stuff just doesn't make sense, too, like Bulma forgetting to wear clothes, the children's instant belief that the good guys worked for Frieza, Bulma's insistence on fake Namek being the right planet, and Krillin's hat respawning upon arriving at real Namek. Finally, we have that filler trademark of energy beams solving everything. Fighting a fire? Energy beam. Stuck in a tornado? Energy beam. Need underwater propulsion? Believe it or not, energy beam.
On the bright side, we have a couple more 80s pop culture references we can add to the list. The boulder in episode 43 is reminiscent of Indiana Jones and the healing tank in episode 40 onward is reminiscent of Star Wars Episode V.
Okay, question time:
- I must refrain from answering this question, seeing as I've watched the show before.
- See my previous answer. :-)
- It would be pretty embarrassing if Bulma went on her return journey and fell for a fake-Earth trap on the way back!
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u/Raiking02 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang 3d ago
Hello everybody, and welcome to the Dragon Ball Z Rewatch!
Adapted Chapters: 241 (Pages 13-End)-247 (Pages 1-14)/519
It's so refreshing seeing a DB fight that ends with everyone utterly battered and they're not immediately healed by Senzus. It gives Episode 36 a very melancholy and kinda downer vibe, even taking into account how it does end with some hope being planted for our heroes. There's some levity, especially due to Chi-Chi's theatrics, but still, it's not really the sort of mood DB goes for often.
While I still object to Piccolo being an alien for the reasons I have already stated, I can't deny that going to his home planet to get everyone back to life is a good hook. Dragon Ball tends to unfortunately be rather flippant about deaths (Mostly for the worse IMO) but having it so the heroes have to actually go on a journey to earn these revivals makes it feel at least a bit more acceptable. Plus hey, the arc finally promises to give Bulma some screentime back after being relegated to a bit character for so long.
I love the little lore bits we get about God before he became God, by the way. It's not a lot, but it at least gives us something of an idea of why his life was like that before he actually started doing shit. Although I will say, it's kinda funny how his flashback seems to imply he aged normally whereas Piccolo… didn't. [Spoilers]Heck later on we find out Namekians do seem to age normally (Dende sure seems to look like a teenager in the final arc) but still.
This line kinda shows why I'm a bit less angry than usual at this particular instance of Gokú doing dumb things for the sake of a fight: It's much more obviously framed as something he thought of in the heat of the moment and credit where it's due, a lot of the early Chapters after the fight do actually show him wondering if it was the right choice. Ultimately it doesn't amount to much and the show kinda forgets about it, but hey, it's something at least.
Speaking of, dear old daddy is out of commission so it's once more up to Junior to take up the reigns. I love that scene where he tells off his Mom. The way the previous arc had it so Gohan kept whining about not wanting to fight to being determined to go out on one more trip if it means helping others is great stuff, and also it's just fun seeing Chi-Chi at her most annoying being told off.
[Spoilers]Makes it all the more frustrating Gohan becomes such a passive character in the next two arcs
Also, Gohan got his first new haircut! He's gonna get a few as the series goes on and… well, it's not his worst? I dunno, when it comes to Gohan, the messier the hair the better.
Like Piccolo, Vegeta gets to join the "Main Villain Comes Back for Another Arc" gang, but unlike Piccolo, this stretch makes it clear things will be… different. Vegeta's goal has not changed at all: He wants Namek's Dragon Balls to become immortal. The only problem is just… well, now his employer also wants that. And neither are the sharing type either, so it's time to improvise on spiky's end.
I particularly love how it's clear even Vegeta is on high alert with everything. His first scene on Namek has him admit to himself he stands NO chance if he faces Freeza head on and is gonna have to play it safe. This effectively turns the whole arc into a three-way struggle, as him, Freeza's squad and KGB
hey wait a secare all out for the same McGuffin but for completely different reasons.Filler Corner
So as I mentioned last time, in the Manga there's no cuts to the peanut gallery watching the battle from their TV/Crystal Ball, so everyone's reaction seeing everyone dead is more than and nowhere is this clearer than Bulma. She cries a fair lot in both, but man the Anime really heightens how fucking broken she is just now. And I mean… yeah, who can blame her, her boyfriend and a bunch of her friends just died.
While one could argue this is a tad overly melodramatic, I can't even bring myself to complain about it. If anything I'd argue the Manga has her get over it a tad too quickly. Bulma is spoiled, self-centered and vain, but she's also a very emotional person at heart. That scene where she flat out tells Yajirobe he should've died instead really says it all; it is a downright hearless thing to say… yet it's all coming from a place of genuine grief.
Honestly Episode 36 may be a contender for one of my favorites in the whole franchise. For a series that is so flippant about death, to have it this thoroughly focused on and honestly with some of the series' finest directing too… it's stuff I struggle to find even in shows that arguably aim much higher with their writing. So yeah, big props to Koyama Takao and Sumizawa Katsuyuki for expanding on Toriyama's Manga like this.
HEY WAIT A SECONDWait, Gohan knows the Makankosappo!? Why did he never use it outside of videogames then!?
That weirdness aside, the show decides to give some breather room between the gang leaving Earth and actually arriving at Namek. In the Manga there's no break because… well I think we've grown used to how Toriyama writes stuff by now: There is no breathing room, there is only the next story. The man is a Spartan of writers. As such, he promised Namek would be next, and the trip is more or less skipped over.
Anyway the Anime needs to create some buffer between them and the Manga so filler time it is.
I'm actually gonna be the weirdo who defends these two mini-arcs. Do they add much? Not really. Are they fun? I'd say yes. I especially like the first chunk with the kids in the spaceship. It's a very different sort of setting from DB's usual and I like how the Anime gives it some depth, and especially how they use it to hype up Freeza. It's like a better version of how the Early RRA Filler was used to tease the arc, but better IMO since we don't actually meet the army here, we just hear the stories.
The Fake Namek stuff does possibly go on for a bit too long, but I'd say it being intercut with the Vegeta stuff helps somewhat. It's a fun idea and the final episode especially lets Bulma troll the villains for a little bit. The twist is perhaps a bit obvious, but hey, as far as ways to pad out the runtime go, there are far worse. Believe me, this arc has some of the worst filler in all of DB, and this is not part of it.
Yeah minor thing: In the Manga Toriyama has Vegeta say he doesn't need the Scouter anymore… but then has it again when he arrives in Namek. The Anime adds in a quick scene of him changing his mind and getting the Scouter back. Far from the biggest addition, but an appreciated one.
Animation Studio Spotlight:
Episode 36: Seigasha
Episode 37: Shindo Pro
Episode 38: Last House
Episode 39: Studio Live
Episode 40: Seigasha
Episode 41: Studio Junio
Episode 42: Last House
Episode 43: Shindo Pro
Episode 44: Toei Animation
Your eyes do not deceive you. It took them 197 episodes, but Toei finally animated an episode in-house. It's pretty good looking too; it's supervised by Nakatsuru Katsuyoshi and that guy's work is consistently great. Alas he's only gonna get one more episode of the regular series, but hey, at least he's also gonna be doing the TV Special in three weeks.
Also, finally we avoid the insane whiplash of having every Studio Junio episode be preceded by a Studio Live one. Episode 40 isn't exactly my favorite Seigasha episode (Something about Bulma looks… off) but oh well.
As for actors, Episode 39 gives us a boy played by Yanagisawa Michiyo (I don't really know her for anything else) and a doctor played by Machi Yuji. Other roles include Tsukino Kenji from Sailor Moon, Ultraman Tiga and Ace from Street Fighter among a few others.
Come episode 40, Zeshin is played by Nanba Keiichi. Other roles include Katz Kobayashi from Zeta Gundam, Bat from Fist of the North Star, Pisces Aphrodite from Saint Seiya, Popp from The Adventure of Dai, Umino from Sailor Moon, Andy Bogard from Fatal Fury, Axl Low from Guilty Gear and Ultraman Hikari among others.