searchspell:ball zcorrected for dragon ball z
Dragon Ball Z is the long-running sequel to the popular anime Dragon Ball. The series is a close adaptation of the second half of the Dragon Ball manga (in the United States, the manga's second half is also titled Dragon Ball Z to prevent confusion), but also features characters, situations and backstories not present in the original. The series follows the adventures of the adult Son Gokū who, along with his companions, defends the earth against assorted villains. While the original Dragon Ball anime followed Gokū through childhood into adulthood, Dragon Ball Z is a continuation of his adulthood life. The separation between the series is also significant as the latter series takes on a more dramatic and serious tone. Originally, creator Akira Toriyama had planned to end the series after the Freeza Saga, but was made a significant offer to keep it going due to the story's continued value. The anime first premiered in Japan on April 18, 1989 (on Fuji TV) at 7:00 PM and ended on January 31, 1996. In the U.S., the series ran between 1996 and 2003, though not always on the same networks or with continuity of dubbing. It aired in the UK, albeit with the same dubbing problem, on Cartoon Network, premiering on March 6, 2000 and running until 2002, with the final few episodes being shown on CNX starting from October 14, 2002, before that channel relaunched as Toonami, on which it was repeated daily. After Dragon Ball Z, the story of Son Gokū and friends continues in the anime-only series Dragon Ball GT. This series is not based on a manga by Akira Toriyama. Toriyama's humor/parody manga Neko Majin Z features several concepts introduced in Dragon Ball Z (several Dragon Ball Z characters even make various appearances), but that manga is designed as a parody and not a true continuation of the series.
Plot SummarySpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.Son Gokū, the protagonist, is an extremely powerful but somewhat naïve martial artist. After a visit from his previously unknown brother Raditz, he discovers that he belongs to an alien race called Saiya-jin or Saiyan and that his kind once sent him to Earth to destroy it. When he refuses to reassume this task, Raditz challenges him to a lethal battle in which Gokū sacrifices himself to beat his brother (with the prospect of resurrection by the Dragon Balls). This, however, is the trigger for events of even greater magnitude to happen, making Gokū and his friends the foremost defenders of Earth, mankind and ultimately the whole universe. Gokū later learns that his race was destroyed by the one and only Freeza-sama, the planet-conquering maniacal onslaught of an alien emperor. Zarbon, Freeza's top henchman, had requested that the best solution would have been the complete annihilation and extinction of the Saiyan race, thus triggering Freeza's wrath. (See Freeza Family Tree) Freeza killed Gokū's father Bardock (or Viz's translation "Burdock") as well as King Vegeta when he attacked and obliterated the entire Saiyan planet from existence. After many years, Gokū comes face to face with Freeza and his wrath, in a decisive fight of good against evil. As the series progresses, Son Gokū, his son, Son Gohan, and their companions age, get immensely stronger and fight increasingly more powerful and sinister villains. Many of the main characters die, are resurrected, get married and/or have children. The series progresses dramatically throughout its entire run. The overall mood changes significantly from the one of Dragon Ball, as tournaments and personal vendettas are replaced by wars against alien villains threatening earth in its whole, changing the focus to violent battles and the feeling of a power struggle. There also is a change from the rather myth-oriented theme to a more science fiction oriented one, interpreting several facts from a very different point of view. DBZ and anime fandomDragon Ball Z was (and largely still is) one of the most popular shōnen anime series' worldwide. Due to its length, associated varying production quality, creative devices, and sometimes overenthusiastic young fanbase, anime fandom at large has mixed reactions to the series. These range from simple lack of interest to downright vocal hatred of the series as overrated and superficial. In response, fans of Dragon Ball Z have countered that many who criticize the series sound as though they don't know it as well as they'd like to think. While contributing much to the shōnen genre in Japan, some feel Dragon Ball Z has created a stereotype associated with anime at large in the West amongst those outside the anime community. The main character of Dragon Ball Z, Son Gokū, is often compared to the DC Comics hero Superman, due to their outward similarities in origins (as redefined in DBZ) and abilities. Many of these connections are a deliberate attempt by Akira Toriyama to pay homage to the Western superhero archetype, just as the earlier Dragon Ball series paid homage to Chinese folk archetypes. Because of inconsistencies both in the original manga and the anime series, and the common acceptance of the anime as canon, much debate is had by the younger fanbase as to the relative strength (or power levels, speaking in series terms) of the various characters. However most hardcore fans believe that anything that didn't appear in the original manga is irrelevant and can be ignored. Censorship IssuesOne of the biggest criticisms of the series in North America from fans is the extensive amount of editing and other changes it faced, in order to be broadcast. Dragon Ball Z was marketed to appeal to a wide range of viewers from all ages, and contains crude humor and occasional excesses of violence which are commonly seen as inappropriate for younger audiences by American standards. When it was marketed in the US, the distribution company FUNimation alongside with Saban decided to initially focus exclusively on the young children's market, because the anime market was still small compared to the much larger children's cartoon market. The series underwent many changes, with the removal of nudity and partial nudity, references to sex, alcohol, and smoking. For example, FUNimation digitally removed the cigarette from one character's mouth, and digitally pasted the word ROOT above a sign that said BEER to make it say "ROOT BEER." Clear glasses with beer were recolored blue to create frothy mugs of water. Many violent scenes were left on the cutting room floor and others had wounds digitally removed or blood re-colored as spit. Dead bodies lingering on the battlefield during ongoing fights were not shown, implying they were taken away or vaporized altogether. The dialogue was changed, removing references to Heaven, Hell, God, and death. The most infamous dialogue edits would be the characters saying "I will send you to another dimension," rather than "I will kill you", and another where after a villain destroys a helicopter, one of the characters exclaims "It's okay, I can see their parachutes!" when in the original version the crew died with the vehicle. This amount of editing led to characters' speech not matching what occurred on screen, unrealistic and twisted plots with major holes, and obviously altered images. These changes left many fans irate, and some Dragon Ball purists refuse to watch the American version of the show. One of the biggest points raised by critics of the editing of violence is that the removal of wounds, blood, and death from a show ultimately about fighting will encourage violence without showing any of the consequences. Starting with the Gi'nyu arc (3rd US season) on Cartoon Network, censorship was reduced due to fewer restrictions on cable programming. FUNimation did the dubbing on their own this time around with their own voice actors, meeting again with mostly critical reactions. Some censoring, of nudity, however, was still unavoidable. Subsequent DVD and VHS releases of those episodes still have some censorship. FUNimation still used toned down words like "heck", "darn", "oh my gosh" instead of "hell", "damn", "oh my god" even on their uncut DVDs and VHS tapes. In 2003, FUNimation decided to redub the first two sagas of Dragon Ball Z, to remove the problems that were caused from their previous partnership with Saban. They also redubbed the first three movies that were also dubbed by the Ocean Group voice actors but were distributed by Pioneer. The distribution of the redubs started in April 2005. The character "Mr. Satan" was changed to "Hercule" in the edited dub. A very violent scene with the extended version of Freeza's impalement of Kuririn during the Freeza saga was edited out on CN and merged with the other two episodes. Non-graphic scenes such as the beginning (Kuririn getting stabbed) and the end (Kuririn getting thrown into the water) were kept in. All blood was removed from the already edited version. The full scene is viewable by purchase of the Frieza-Transformation (Uncut version) VHS or DVD. Creative ChangesTo an equal extent, many fans who object to censoring have taken issue with changes that are not seen as necessary, such as extraneous dialogue not found in the original, dubbing that sways the English version in its own creative direction (example: the TV audience booing Gokū's appearance during the dubbed Cell Saga while cheering him in the Japanese series), and the replacement of the entire original musical score. Combined with widely criticized voice acting, many feel that the English version of Dragon Ball Z almost seems like an entirely different show than the original, and this has led many familiar with the Japanese series to dislike FUNimation's English dub. For example, in Japanese episode 138, Yamcha and Krillin are carrying the sick Goku onto an aircar to hide him from #16, #17, and #18. Here's what was said, in both versions... Japanese Yamcha: Are the artifical humans really that fearsome? Krillin: Yes, they are worse than we feared. English Yamcha: Whoa! Goku's put on a few pounds. Krillin: Hey, cut him some slack, he's been through a lot. This type of thing takes place in pretty much every episode, and at times, it really serves to destroy the mood for an important scene. Furthermore, the translation liberties create plot holes, and portray the story inaccurately. For example, through the dialogue in Season 4, a viewer would be lead to believe that all of the Artifical Humans are completely mechanical. While this is true for #16 and #19, it's not the case for #17, #18, #20, and Cell. Cell is completely organic, while #17, #18, #20 are mostly human with some robotic parts. This is a very important part of the story, which is completely missed. Once again, this is only one of many instances. The script additions weigh heaviest on the opening recap, which is arguably the worst part of the show. In the Japanese version, the narrator said two, perhaps three sentences tops. In the American version, he talks from start to finish, pointing out the obvious while spitting out one childish cliche after another. For example, let's take Japanese episode 148, "The Explosion That Shatters Heaven! Piccolo vs Artifical Human Number 17/The Monster Is Coming"... -Japanese Version- Narrator: Becoming more and more powerful with every person he kills is Cell. (Scenes of Cell Attacking A Young Couple) Narrator: Meanwhile, Goku has finally recovered. Goku (To Vegeta, from Ep 147): There is a room in Kami's Palace where you can get one year of training in just one day. Vegeta: Is that true? (At Kami's Palace) Popo: Come in. Narrator: They've started training to become greater than Super Saiya-jin. But, the worst thing that could have happened occured before that day could be completed. (Scenes of #16, #17, and #18 Landing on Mutenroshi's Island)
Piccolo: I see. You can go ahead and try. There is a deserted island. We can go there.
(Recap Closes With Scenes of Piccolo and the Artifical Humans Landing On An Island, No Further Dialogue.)
Narrator: Last time, on Dragonball Z, how you ya stop an evil android creature, who has come from the future, to take over the world? Any suggestions? (Scenes of Cell Attacking A Young Couple) Narrator: Goku thinks he knows! Now that he's free from the clutches of the virus that had a grip on him for so long, he's ready to put his plan into action. Goku has to get into fighting shape, and he's taking Vegeta, Trunks, and Gohan to Kami's Place, where they can get a year of intense training in one day. Vegeta: Allright, I'll go. (At Kami's Palace) Narrator: The door is open, all they have to do is step through. Mr. Popo: Good luck. Narrator: Better hope Trunks is tough enough to survive being locked in a room with Vegeta! Goku and Gohan go in next, and if Goku is right, this training will push their Saiyan powers to the next level! (Scenes of #16, #17, and #18 Landing on Mutenroshi's Island) Narrator: Goku's plan had better work, because the three devious Androids are still on his trail. Android 17: Hi! Can Goku come out and play? Where has Goku gone? If you don't tell us where he's hiding, I'll make you tell us. Piccolo: Allright, have it your way. Over there. That island. You and me. Android 17: Very well, if you really want to. (Scenes of Piccolo and the Artifical Humans Landing On An Island) Narrator: Piccolo's got his hands full now! A duel with Android 17 could be deadly! Don't forget - pulverize and ask questions later is the motto of this trio of terror! Sure, Piccolo is pumped up with extra power since uniting with Kami, but does he have the strength to pull the plu on Android 17?
The MusicIt's hard to describe what exactly makes the FUNimation's dub music score bad. It's random, flat, has no flow, and is grating to the ears. Additionally, it has no feeling, and does not portray the mood or emotions that it should, especially compared to the Japanese version. From the sound of things, the music is produced using a keyboard/synthesizer, audio mixing tools, and not much else. Another problem with the English dub music score is how it's played continuosly. In the original DBZ, the music started and stopped at predetermined times. At some times, no music was played at all. The silence helped to accent a scene, make it more intense. In dubbed DBZ, the music starts when the show starts, and does not end until the show itself ends. This only makes the music become repetitive, and it serves to kill the emotion of many intense scenes. It is interesting to note that for the Ocean Group's dub of the rest of the series (episodes 118-291), the replacement music was taken from Ruby-Spears's Mega Man cartoon series which ran between 1995 and 1996 (the cartoons also shared certain voice actors). The VoicesUnfortunately there are characters who were given voices which were highly inappropriate. The most obvious one being Freeza. For some inexplicable reason, dubbed Freeza was given a very effeminate voice. In the original Japanese version Freeza was nothing like this. In the Japanese version the characters don't have particularly unusual voices. Vegeta and Piccolo do not have any "bad guy" or "monster" voices. Their voices were more realistic than animated. As a whole, the Japanese VA's deliver their lines using a more natural tone of voice. Also, in FUNimation's dub one voice actor had to do the voices of three major characters as well as dozens of minor characters. Christopher Sabat, the voice director and also the voice actor for the following characters: Vegeta, Piccolo, Yamcha, Lord Kami, Popo, Jeice, Rikuum, Zarbon, Saichorou (Guru) King Vegeta, and several other characters. Post 9/11The day after the September 11 attacks, CN cut an episode of Dragon Ball Z where Gohan saves a plane from crashing, then later has to deal with a burning skyscraper office building, due to the obvious parallel imagery. Since the series is a continuing story, Cartoon Network held off the rest of the 5th season until a few months later. Uncut VersionIn 2005, Cartoon Network started showing the uncut and unedited version of the first two seasons of Dragon Ball Z, similar to the Japanese original, although the English version features a new darker opening theme, whereas the original Japanese themes were cheerful in tone and had bright, colorful animations, the "new" English dub still doesn't have the original Japanese soundtrack. Most importantly, all fighting scenes are totally uncut, but several other differences can be seen, like foamy water now actually being beer, blood being red again (whereas the edited version showed purple) and shots of characters sticking up their middle fingers being left in. References to death and killing can be heard and Muten Rōshi's lecherous attempts on Bulma are shown at their fullest, too. Mild use of profanity is also heard, like Jheese (Dub: Jeice) saying "The crazy bastard killed Guldo!" and Vegeta shouting "Damn you, Kakarrot!" and numerous utterances of the words dammit, bastard and hell. Still, the first 23 episodes of the "Ultimate Uncut Special Edition" were profanity-free, just like all the episodes of the FUNimation dub of DBZ. Those still contained euphemisms for profane words such as "darn", "heck" and "gosh". Episodes 24-67 did, however. Scenes containing graphic violence, like Vegeta blowing up a Saibaiman, Gokū shredding his hand on his training rope while on his way to Planet Namek, Vegeta slamming his arm clean through Zarbon's stomach, Vegeta decapitating Gurd (Dub: Guldo) and destroying his still-speaking disembodied head, and Gohan getting severly beaten by Recoome are restored. Scenes featuring Lunch also are restored; she was edited out of 4 episodes of the older version, because only the first 13 episodes of Dragon Ball had been dubbed at the time in which she did not appear. Other characters such as Karin, Piccolo, Tenshinhan, Chiaotzu, and Yajirobe had also not been seen in those 13 episodes, but they were important to DBZ's plot. Since Lunch was not, and her scenes included bank robbing, guns, and alcohol, they decided to remove her. In the new release, she is constantly following Tenshinhan because she is in love with him. Other new scenes include the showing of Gohan's penis (albeit not detailed) and Gokū's bare butt while bathing at Princess Snake's palace. The Saibaimen are also more sadistic. Even missing episodes that were totally left out by FUNimation are now shown, such as young Gohan helping out a robot that refused to help him as an act of teaching him to take care of himself, and eventually saved his life before he shut down and "died". Toonami Timeslot ControversyAfter Cartoon Network completed its airing of the uncut version on weeknights at 10:30PM EST, it was put on Toonami on Saturdays at 7:30PM EST. While there weren't many complaints about earlier episodes, there was controversy from parents over episodes such as Gohan Goes Bananas (which shows Gohan transforming into an Oozaru and then back into a boy, during which his penis and testicles are shown) and Princess Snake (which shows Gokū's bare buttocks while excercising in the spa and after he comes out. It also has a scene which shows one of Princess Snake's servants shooting herself in the head, but she doesn't die). Airing these episodes in the 7:30PM timeslot on Saturday nights makes this easier for young kids to watch them, as opposed to airing them at 10:30PM during the week, when most children are asleep. In response to this controversy, Cartoon Network officially removed the uncut version from their schedule on January 21, 2006 and replaced it with the original Saban-edited version from 1996, which heavily altered the show's content for young children. Strangely, these episodes aired at a TV-PG rating, though this was probably just a mistake due to the sudden schedule change. This broadcast ended on February 18, 2006, when the show was replaced by reruns of Teen Titans. On Wednesday February 15, 2006, Dragonball Z returned to the 10:30PM slot on Cartoon Network and airs Monday through Thursday at 10:30PM EST, right before Adult Swim. This weeknight version is the edited FUNimation dub, and is starting in the middle of the Frieza Saga rather than the beginning of the series. FillerFiller is used to pad out the series for many reasons; in the case of Dragon Ball Z, more often than not, it was because the anime was running alongside the manga, and there was no way for the anime to run ahead of the manga (since Toriyama was still writing it, at the same time). The company behind the anime, Toei Animation, would occasionally make up their own little side stories to either further explain things, or simply to extend the series. Filler doesn't come only in the form of side stories, though; sometimes it's as simple as adding some extra attacks into a fight. As the anime series was forced to expand 12 pages of manga text into 20 minutes of animation footage, these changes were introduced to kill time or to allow the (anime) writers to explore some other aspect of the series' universe (the Anoyo-ichi Budōkai (Afterlife tournament) between the Cell Saga and Majin Buu Saga and the Garlic Jr. arc, a.k.a. Garlic Jr.'s return from the Return my Gohan!! (Dead Zone) movie between the Freeza Saga and Trunks arc (pre-Cell Saga) are both good examples of this). They have also been known to contradict the manga and often create new plot holes. For example, during the Freeza Saga, there is a flashback showing that Vegeta, Raditz and Nappa were already aware that Freeza destroyed their home planet long before the events in DBZ took place even though the series showed that Vegeta was not aware until Dodoria told him on Planet Namek. Sagas
Saiyan Saga: The Vegeta Saga (Formerly known as the Saiyan Saga) Freeza Saga:
Cell Saga:
Buu Saga:
Movies, TV Specials, & Other
In 2002, a rumor surfaced on the internet claiming that 20th Century Fox had acquired the rights to make a live action Dragon Ball Z motion picture. This created a furor in the online fan community. Online forums were created for the express purpose of relaying rumors and "insider information" about the live action movie. Magazines like Beckett Dragon Ball Z Collector as well as the official DBZ website began to write surveys and polls soliciting fan input about casting for the live action movie. Several fan sites were created for the movie, though few had any verifiable information about the movie. Official news about the movie was primarily relayed through the official DBZ website or via the Internet Movie Database. In early 2004, production was halted, but in June 2004, screenwriter Ben Ramsey (The Big Hit) signed on to adapt Dragon Ball Z for the big screen. The movie was considered to have been in development, though no director had signed on and no casting had taken place, and there was no scheduled release date for the film. Recently, the official Dragon Ball Z website and FOX Studios have confirmed that they have no current plans for a Dragon Ball Z live action movie. Uncut DVDsDragon Ball Z has seen 2 types of DVD releases. These releases are the uncut and edited versions. Originally, the edited versions were aired on TV and were the first DVDs to be produced by Geneon [Pioneer]. If you wish to own every episode of Dragon Ball Z right now on DVD, this can be done with the edited version. If you want the uncut version which contains extra footage, blood, and some profanity, as well as Japanese audio, you're going to want to purchase the uncut DVDs by FUNimation. Starting with episode 68, FUNimation has released all DVDs uncut. Movies 4-12 are also uncut and have been released by FUNimation. Recently, FUNimation has begun to re-release the first 67 episodes in uncut form. FUNimation is also re-releasing the first 3 movies as Ultimate Uncut Editions, but the original Pioneer dubs of these movies were actually more uncut and accurate to their original Japanese counterparts. The original dubs of the movies have the original music as well as the scripts that are much more closer to the original Japanese version. FUNimation's DVDs have been criticised for containing only a few episodes (usually 3, sometimes 4) per disk and costing far more than they should. Every DBZ episode is about 20 minutes. It should be noted that most other animes that have 20 minute episodes usually have around 10 episodes on every DVD for 3+ hours worth of content unlike FUNimation's DVDs that have 60 or 80 minutes of content. Episode and Volume Numbering DescrepancyThe original Japanese episodes totaled to 291. FUNimation dubbed the first release of DVDs which consisted of episodes 1-53 (jap. 1-67), 14 episodes worth of scenes were cut. FUNimation later cut one in the Freeza saga as well (Episode 80, "Piccolo the Super-Namek"). This episode was released as a "Bonus" episode on the Frieza - Transformation DVD. Because of Saban's cuts, all FUNimation released uncut DVDs have incorrect episode and volume numbering. Most of the old uncut DVDs by FUNimation (Ginyu saga and up) do not have volume numbers and if they do, the numbers are inaccurate. It is still unknown whether FUNimation will re-release all the DVDs with the correct episode and volume numbering but it is unlikely. Below is a list of every uncut DVD released (and to be released) by FUNimation. You can see the episode numbering given on the Uncut DVD releases, with the correct episode numbering listed beside it in brackets. Episodes
Movies
TV Specials
Theme SongsJapanese Opening (OP) Themes"CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA"
"WE GOTTA POWER"
English Opening Themes"Main Title" (AKA "Rock the Dragon") "DragonBall Z" (AKA "DBZ Theme") "DBZ Uncut Theme" "Eternal Sacrifice" (Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan theme song)
Japanese Ending (ED) Themes"でてこいとびきりZENKAIパワー!" / "Detekoi Tobikiri ZENKAI Pawā!" / "Come Out, Incredible ZENKAI Power!"
"僕達は天使だった" / "Boku-tachi ha Tenshi Datta" / "We Were Angels"
Cast List
Video GamesGames released in Japan, America, Oceania and EuropeSony: PlayStation (PS1)
Nintendo: Game Boy Color (GBC)
Sony: PlayStation 2 (PS2)
Nintendo: Game Boy Advance (GBA)
Nintendo: GameCube (GC)
Nintendo: DS
Games only released in JapanNintendo: Family Computer Famicom (FC)
Nintendo: Super Family Computer Super Famicom (SFC)
Sega: Mega Drive
PC-Engine Duo
Nintendo: Game Boy (GB)
PlayDia
Sony: PlayStation (PS1)
Sega: Saturn
Games only released in America and Oceania
See also
External links
DBZ Navbar
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