Anime Reviews
ANIME MARK
Goku (or Kakarot to some) is one of the universe's most powerful fighters and defender of earth. Along with the team of Z Warriors, any enemy of earth must go through these guys first. In search of the elusive Dragon Balls, Goku and his friends are forced to use the wish granting power given by the mythical dragon, Shenron.
I think this anime is either something people love or hate. The animation is poor in the earlier episodes, but becomes quite defining later on. The characters are lovable and apart from the main cast, there are hundreds of secondary characters that you'll encounter along the 291 episode journey. And given the immense character count, the show does have really good characterisation. Goku, Vegeta, Krillin, Bulma, Piccolo, Master Roshi, Gohan, Chi-Chi and the list goes on, are generally the main characters you'll see. With each a unique personality trait that you will despise or adore. But most people won't watch it for the character development, but rather the insane fighting scenes.
The fighting scenes are very well constructed and beautifully fluid in their movement and pace. Even though at times there seems to be a whole episode of screaming before a major event occurs, to me it fits in well for the most part. To the critics this is deplorable, but to the fans, they wouldn't have it any other way. If I was being overly picky, I'd say that having less of a scream-fest would make for better viewing. But those who like it, like it A LOT!
Conclusion
With such a huge and loyal fan base, Dragon Ball Z is one of the greats of an era. Although it is not perfect and considered mainstream, this doesn't deter the viewer from enjoying the amazing fight scenes and evil enemies in abundance. The series has a unique universe that is stuck somewhere between the future and past (there's dinosaurs and flying cars). For an old anime, the jokes and quirks hold up well, and there's never a moment of 'boring' to be had. It could have been better paced and reduced to something closer to 200 episodes, but the series, in my opinion, doesn't disappoint.
Pro's
- Unique universe between the future, past and present
- Wide array of characters
- English voice actors are iconic
Con's
- Poor pacing
- Earlier episodes have reduced animation quality
- A bit too much screaming
Final Rating: 7.1/10
Dragon Ball Z
7th of October 2015
Name: Dragon Ball Z
Episodes: 291
Air Date: April 26, 1989
Episode Length: 25 minutes
Created By: Akira Toriyama
Rating: 17+ (Graphic Violence)