Dragon Ball Z (1989 - 2003)

Let's get it going.

Dragon Ball Z premiered in Japan in 1989 and aired its final episode in 1996. In 1995 Funimation licensed the English production which was released stateside in 1996 through Saban Entertainment and Pioneer Entertainment. Dragon Ball Z would be cancelled in 1998 due to a lack of interest from western networks and low ratings. Dragon Ball Z was picked up again in 1999 by the Cartoon Network where it became the flagship show of Toonami and it's from there DBZ exploded into popularity stateside, despite having been around for quite sometime already. The anime enjoyed a tremendous level of success on the Cartoon Network before airing its final episode in 2003.

The adventure continues.

Dragon Ball Z is the anime adaptation of the last 325 chapters of the original Dragon Ball manga and continues Goku's story by introducing new villains, new characters, and new arcs. It has been five years since the defeat of the evil King Piccolo and the human race is enjoying a period of peace. On this day however, a strange pod crashes in a field. Elsewhere, Goku who is now an adult with a wife and child is getting ready for his reunion with Roshi, Krillin, and Bulma who he has not seen in the last five years. The group is surprised by the appearance of Goku's son Gohan who, much like his father when he was younger, also has a tail. The surprises don't end there however as a strange alien shows up to crash the party.

Raditz

Goku and his friends have numerous questions and this terrifying invader has answers. His name is Raditz and he explains that he and Goku are part of a warrior race called the Saiyan who are the conquerors of some worlds, and destroyers of many others. Not only that but Goku is actually Raditz's kin, and big brother isn't too happy that Goku has become the protector of Earth rather than its destroyer. Raditz wants Goku to join forces with him and the other Saiyans so they can conquer a neighboring planet and sell it on the intergalactic market.

Guess we'll add kidnapping to murder and destruction of private property.

When Goku refuses, things turn violent as Raditz soundly thrashes him and kidnaps his son. Raditz gives Goku 24 hours to decide if he'll join with Raditz and the other Saiyans, or Gohan will face the consequences. Even if Goku joins his brother, Raditz makes it clear that their next order of business will be to destroy Earth. After Raditz departs, Goku is visited by his nemesis Piccolo who presents him with a most unusual offer. Piccolo realizes that Raditz can and will make good on his promise to destroy the planet and neither of them can stop him alone, but together they might stand a sliver of a chance.

Brother vs Brother

Dragon Ball Z does a lot right at the outset. Within the first two episodes we get an in-depth look into Goku's heritage, learn that there are people in the universe even stronger than he is, and we also learn that the Dragon Ball world will entail new adventures far beyond Earth. Dragon Ball Z does a great job introducing new characters as well as re-introducing old ones from the original series. This is done in a very believable manner which is justified by the narrative. The Saiyans are a threat to the entire planet and to have even a chance at beating them, Goku must team up with old friends, rivals, and even his nemesis Piccolo. The early episodes are very good at building tension as there's a very unsettling ambiguity about the Saiyans' power. Sure they talk the talk, but the terrifying depth of their power isn't revealed until they walk the walk all over our heroes' graves.

Final Justice!!

The early fight scenes in DBZ are also very well done because unlike in many contemporary shonen titles (Claymore, Bleach, Naruto) most, if not all the battles serve a thematic purpose. They're not just there to fill time between the next cliche. Despite the conflicts being physics defying clashes between titans, the causes of the conflicts and resolutions to them are realistic. Foes such as the Saiyans, Frieza, and Majin Buu are strong advocates of genocide and their ideologies whether driven by greed, fear, or madness, are not matters that can be resolved by just talking about them. Goku and his enemies don't just "talk it out" and then everyone changes their minds and are all friends. Dragon Ball Z is more mature than that, particularly in the earlier arcs. We see clashes between mega powers but also between the ideologies these combatants have.

A new legend is born.

As the adventure continues, stakes are raised higher and higher from the Saiyans who pose a threat to the planet, to Frieza who poses a threat to the galaxy, and villains such as Cell and Majin Buu that can destroy the universe. The viewer can really feel the urgency inherit in these new threats and I for one was consistently impressed every-time Goku reached a new level of power, but he wasn't the only one.

Super Vegeta

Goku's most bitter rival Prince Vegeta is also one of the most impressive figures in the entire series. In addition to being the first character in the current DBZ timeline to recall the legends of the ancient Saiyans, he's also the first Super Saiyan to reach a new level of power, actually ascended passed the level of Super Saiyan, overtaking Goku himself for a short-time. Despite turning face early on in the series, Vegeta retains his unique character and ideologies, but also changes as a person.

DBZ also introduces other beastmode characters like Trunks who became one of my favorites from the word go. Trunks also has one of the better character designs in the series and to see him grow from badass to uber-badass was most impressive.

Favorite DBZ villain.

Any anime worth its viewership needs to have an interesting cast of villains and while it's hit-or-miss in some cases, DBZ does have a good collection of rouges. While Frieza is the most recognizable villain in the series, I prefer the villains who show up later on as their modus operandi is a bit more complex than genocidal alien overlord. My personal favorite is Imperfect Cell - a techno-organic hybridization of heroes and villains throughout the series, Cell has the genes of several DBZ characters in his genetic make-up which grants him access to their skills and techniques. What's also striking about Cell is how different he is from DBZ villains before and after him. Unlike most of the villains who are tiers of strength above the heroes, Cell is actually much weaker than our cast. Because of this, Cell must rely on his cunning to stay ahead of the Z-fighters and he shows that he's a terrifyingly skilled tactician who knows his way around Xanatos speed chess. He's always one step ahead of the heroes and he's even able to turn around a disadvantageous situation to ensure he comes out on top.

Kid Buu

The series gets a lot of mileage out of Cell but the same is equally true of Majin Buu. Similar to Cell, this pink terror has several forms, each more powerful and more vicious than the last. What's interesting is that Buu's entry into the series also ties directly into some of the DBZ mythos and it's through Majin Buu we learn more about the Kais (gods that watch over certain parts of the universe). Buu serves as the final villain in the series but don't let his Kirby-esque vibes fool you. Among a roster of ridiculously over-powered villains, Majin Buu is pure nightmare fuel. A demon of destruction whose madness is matched only by his power, there is nothing he won't do.

In terms of production quality Dragon Ball Z is in a league of its own. The colors, animation, score, mixing, and voice acting are head and shoulders above most anime, and the original DBZ is much better than the updated Dragon Ball Z: Kai which is a baffling paradox if there ever were one. An epic score by Bruce Faulconer puts DBZ's music in a class that many anime today can't touch.

As ratchet as this anime's pacing.

It's not all perfect in DBZ though. When the anime is rolling on all cylinders it's like an MVP, but when it messes up and it does, it drops the ball and falls on its face. Dragon Ball Z's biggest stumbling blocks are pacing and predictability. No character in DBZ says anything another character won't repeat six or seven times. Heroes will often repeat something the villain has said and vice verse, often several times, which really drags the pacing. My favorite example of this comes during the Android Saga where Trunks questions Krillin on how Piccolo got so strong. After Krillin explains Piccolo must have fused with Kami and became a Super Namek, Trunks very nearly repeats the same explanation back to him. The same thing happens when Vegeta shows up and asks how Piccolo got so strong. This is not a rare occurrence either. If someone is charging a blast powerful enough to destroy the entire planet, get ready to hear four or five characters say "Oh no that blast is powerful enough to destroy the entire planet! Don't do it!" This is all artificial padding to drag out each individual scene and really proves to be a bane of the action which was detrimental for me personally.

Taking a bite out of entertainment.

The incessant talking during fight scenes and constant cuts to characters who aren't even involved in the battle made me wonder how I even made it through the series when I was a kid. Every fight scene will have two characters throwing punches which typically will not land, then cut to another character making a statement about what the viewer just saw, then a cut back to the fight where there's energy attack, energy attack, energy attack, none of which do anything to turn the tide and then a cut to a character saying something about what the viewer just saw. There is so much padding during fight scenes that battles which took place over a course of four or more episodes can typically be watched in 30 minutes or so on Youtube. Or a better example, the "action" portion of the Cell Games saga takes place over roughly 15 to 17 episodes. Edited down i.e. removing all the filler it's a little under two hours. That's how much artificial padding there is across this series. For an anime that prides itself as the number one action series it has more talking than anything else. And that is to say nothing of episodes that have two characters flying and talking, then a group of characters talking in another location, and then back to the two characters flying and talking.

Super Saiyan 3

Another issue I had is that Goku is really the only character that does anything. The anime has a large cast of heroes but ultimately no one succeeds in saving the day or taking down the bad guy but Goku. While there are two exceptions i.e. Piccolo defeating Raditz (with Goku's help) or Trunks thrashing Frieza, for the most part the supporting cast only gets a few small victories but it's Goku who ultimately saves the day. While it is true that this is a convention of shonen and Goku is expected to save the day because he's the main character, there are scenarios throughout the anime where it appears that Vegeta or Gohan might be the difference maker and save Earth. But whenever it so much as appears the torch is going to be passed Goku arrives with another power-up or technique to save the day. Goku is either there in person or in spirit to save the world and it feels like our cast can't do anything without him regardless of how much they train. It makes the show really predictable and renders most of the power-ups superfluous because no matter how big the baddie is, and no matter who fights him, you quickly learn the pattern that Goku will have to save the day.

Super Saiyan Swagger

The anime isn't perfect and it's not the GOAT like its rabid fanbase would have newcomers believe. Taken on its on Dragon Ball Z does some amazing things, but as an anime there are several issues in terms of pacing, narrative, and just overall entertainment given the amount of editing that has to be done just to put the battles into a watchable format. I feel that its numerous flaws aside Dragon Ball Z is a good anime and newcomers or even long-time fans of anime who have never seen DBZ should give it a watch, even if it isn't a must see.

Karas: The Prophecy (2005)

Good luck finding the double disc set.

Shinjuku has become a hotspot for paranormal activity in recent years. In their investigation, two detectives find that these disappearances, mysterious murders, and other altogether unsettling phenomena bear the earmarks of demonic activity. Mikura (demon vampires) have infested Shinjuku and are preying on the city's inhabitants. But a glimmering blade of hope cuts through the darkness. A mild-mannered doctor named Otoha has risen up to stop the Mikura horde. Clad in armor darker than the blackest night, he is Karas. Opposing Otoha is a mysterious man named Eko. Not only is Eko leader of the Mikura however, but he is a Karas as well. Why are there two Karas in the city of Shinjuku? What is Eko's objective? Can Otoha stop him? Can anyone?

Written by Shin Yoshida and directed by Keiichi Sato, Project Karas commemorates the 40th Anniversary of Tatsunoko Productions, creators of works like Gatchaman, The SoulTaker and many others. Karas was originally released as a six-part OVA available on Japanese PPV. For its DVD release, the first three parts were edited together as a nearly seamless film entitled Karas: The Prophecy while the last three were re-released in a similar fashion as Karas: The Revelation which concludes the Karas saga. The release history sounds more complicated than it actually is and simply put, Karas is two movies: The Prophecy and the Revelation.

Karas vs Karas

Karas: The Prophecy is a fascinating movie which tries juggle a lot of different stories in its overarching narrative and more often than not succeeds. In Karas: The Prophecy we have no fewer than three major stories being told at one-time, with a subplot or two thrown in the mix. Our main character, Otoha is a doctor but he doesn't have human patients. Rather, he tends to the yokai living under Shinjuku. These supernatural creatures are dying off en masse and Otoha cannot find the cause of it. At the same-time, Otoha must battle the Mikura as Karas.

We have two detectives Minoru Sagisaka and Narumi Kure who are investigating these supernatural occurrences for different reasons. Sagisaka's daughter had an unfortunate encounter with the supernatural which left her emotionally and psychologically scared but no one believes an encounter of that nature ever occurred, so Sagisaka has made it his mission to prove demons do exist and vindicate his daughter. Kure on the other hand is a skeptic and doesn't believe the events happening in Shinjuku have anything to do with the paranormal. Despite their ideological differences, the two detectives start to form a student-teacher like bond. While all this is going on, a rogue Mikura named Nue is taking the fight to Eko's henchmen in order to pay penance for the past atrocities he committed while working under Eko.

Otoha is a really nice guy. Just don't get on his bad side.

Because Karas is split into two large parts (or six smaller ones if you count each individual release), Karas: The Prophecy mainly serves as an introduction: showing us the players in this game, setting the tone, and doing a lot of world building. The movie is very dark and while the levels of gore certainly aren't at the level of Karas: The Revelation, there is violence in this film but nothing more graphic than what you'd see in say Akira for example. Of course that's not to say the movie is tame by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, because this is a Tatsunoko production, there is the underlining tone of many sentai works where forces of evil threaten the innocent and a hero arrives, transforms, and saves the day. Don't get the impression that Karas is a cheesy superhero flick however.

You must have gotten on Otoha's bad side.

Otoha is one man trying to protect a city of millions. Further complicating these matters is that his ultimate enemy is another Karas with very much the same experience and power, if not to a substantially greater degree in both departments. In addition, there are personal evils involved in the lives of the inhabitants of Shinjuku and these evils cannot be fought with a blade. If Eko's behavior is any indication, heroes are not immune to the evils in the human heart. There are also personal tragedies that characters must endure such as the situation involving Detective Sagisaka's daughter. Karas: The Prophecy is dark sure, but it's also a very mature story because problems are resolved as simplistically as you'd see in many other anime. The hero must defeat the ultimate villain but the entire world isn't going to just be happy and problem free. The movie doesn't have the typical slapstack humor, exaggerated expressions, or falling down gags you see in anime at the most inappropriate times. While there are scenes of levity, they are very brief and sparse.

This is Eko. All his sides are bad sides.

The animation in this movie is absolutely jaw-dropping. Karas uses traditional hand drawn characters throughout, all sporting a vibrant colors and a wide array of detail, albeit with some weird designs here and there. The fighting scenes however is where Karas truly shines because there is a blend of computer animation rendered seamlessly with 2D backgrounds. These action sequences are liquid smooth and easily rival everything I've reviewed thus far including the likes of Unlimited Blade Works. I'd go so far as to say that Karas doesn't just rival the best out there, it absolutely blows the competition out of the water. The movie opens with an over the top fight scene between two Karas which easily outclasses any other action scene I've seen in years if not ever. High speed combat, slow motion during finishing move, stylish combat poses, and more make this the most exciting, most creative, action anime you'll see this year. Of course impressive action scenes need an equally impressive score and Karas delivers in spades. 

Karas uses a lot of trumpets and horns which are atypical for classic sentai shows particularly when the hero shows up to take down the bad guys. This is less a cliche and more of a throwback as modern sentai shows mainly used Japanese pop and rock music while the classics more often used a score similar to what you hear in Karas. Blending together themes such as the tragedy and sorrow of one who carries the role of Karas, but also the sense of triumph and hope this crusader brings to the people, this amazing score was composed by Yoshihiro Ike and performed by the Prague Symphony Orchestra. Voice acting is another area where Karas succeeds. Granted some seiyuu outshine others but every character was well voiced, however annoying some of them may be. Karas is a spectacular movie but it's not perfect however.

As mentioned earlier, Karas: The Prophecy is part one of a two part saga so there are many questions raised but left unanswered when the credits roll. While these questions are answered in Karas: The Revelation, many viewers might feel turned off when taking stock of what they learn by the time this film is over which - spoiler alert - is not much at all. We're introduced to our cast of characters, the good guys and the bad, but Eko's objective is still largely unknown and is not revealed until part two. Our lead Otoha is very much a mystery man and apart from him pulling double duty as a doctor by day and hero by night, we don't learn anything about him as - much like Eko's history - Otoha's is not revealed until Karas: The Revelation.

Karas: The Complete Collection - Comes with parts one and two.

Overall, Karas: The Prophecy is an amazing anime with so much stylish, over the top action you won't believe what your eyes. The score is impressive, the story has a good degree of mystery to it, and the animation - which blends 2D and 3D is something to behold. It's possible that the characters may not immediately pull you in but it's still an anime you have to check out as it tells a very captivating story which picks up in part two, has a very affordable special edition for anime fans on a budget, and it serves as a very impressive introduction for anyone not already familiar with Tatsunoko Productions.