History Recap / DragonBallZSaiyanArc

** Earlier, Vegeta did this to a Saibaman who lost its fight against Tenshinhan.

* GenreSavvy: Having noted Raditz's battle with Goku and Piccolo, Vegeta advises Nappa to disregard the combat readings of the Earth warriors, noting that they can conceal their true fighting power. Later, when Goku is due to arrive on the battlefield with a power reading of 5,000, he orders Nappa to kill the remaining Z-Fighters so that doesn't team up with the others, and and turn the battle around.

At a secluded area, Gohan, Piccolo, Kuririn, Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and Yamcha face off against the Saiyans. Nappa reads their power levels, but Vegeta reminds him they mean nothing since they can be hidden. Besides, there's a much better way to test their power compared to Raditz: Saibaimen, cultivated lifeforms with Raditz' power level. Tenshinhan is the first to go, and succeeds, before Vegeta blows up the Saibaiman he was fighting. Kuririn offers to go next, but Yamcha decides to take one for the team, since Kuririn can't be brought back. And take one for the team he does, getting blown up by a Saibaiman in a Double KO. Kuririn decides to not take any chances, and blows up the rest of the Saibaimen, except for one that Piccolo kills.

Vegeta only has one resort: to go Oozaru and finish off Goku. But the moon isn't around! That's okay, Vegeta has a method which he can use to simulate one, which leads to the tables being turned very quickly. Goku even tries the Genki Dama, by gathering energy from all around the planet, but that doesn't work, either, mostly because he needs to stand still to use it, which Vegeta refueses to let him do. Even Kuririn and Gohan's interferance isn't helping at all... but then Yajirobe cuts off Vegeta's tail, reverting him back to normal. He's still a colossal threat, but a little teamwork and a Genki Dama with Kuririn subsituting the firing does the job.

...[[MadeOfIron or so we think. Vegeta survived that, too!]] Thankfully, Gohan's tail regrew, and that power ball's still there, so Gohan can transform and crush Vegeta (he gets his tail cut off again shortly afterwards. Oozaru's don't tend to stay transformed long in this series.). And he's still alive! But he's decided to cut his losses while he's at it, and summons his space pod to leave earth.

[[ToBeContinued Find out on the next exciting arc]] [[EveryEpisodeEnding of Dragon Ball Z!]]

** DubInducedPlotHole: In the Saban-Ocean dub, Vegeta mentions that the fake moon was created by Goku's father, who was a brilliant scientist. Turns out, they picked the wrong character to assign the role to, given how Bardock turned out to be. Now no longer an issue as of Creator/FUNimation's redub and their Kai dub.

-->'''Piccolo (''To Vegeta''):''' You seem pretty confident. But I wonder if you can keep that smug smirk on your face when Son Goku arrives.

* ComingofAgeStory: In a sense, the arc is one for Gohan. Within a year, he turns from a crybaby to a KidHero.

* BloodierAndGorier: Tenshinhan and Piccolo lose arms, Goku and Raditz get a big hole in their chests, a Saibaiman explodes graphically, and blood is everywhere. Not to mention all the killing going on in this arc.

* EnemyMine: Goku teams up with Piccolo in order to battle Raditz. Picclo later teams with the other Z warriors as well when the Saiyans turn out to be a much bigger threat then he is.

* HesBack: Goku returns from the afterlife just in time to save Gohan and Krillan from Nappa.

* YouHaveFailedMe: Nappa is killed by Vegeta for a truly humiliating loss against Goku.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Vegeta and Nappa allude to the Super Saiyan, after hearing about Gohan's potential. Earlier, Raditz mentions an interplanetary trade organization that he happens to work for. The remaining Z-Fighters would eventually come into conflict with said organization's head, Freeza - with the Super Saiyan becoming a major plot pint in the following arc.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: The Power Ball Vegeta creates to simulate a full moon and transform into a Great Ape lasts for a few hours. However, it comes back to bite him when Gohan's tail grows back and he becomes a Great Ape himself. Bonus points in that it was Vegeta's own explanation of how Saiyans transform that gave Goku the idea of using that gambit.

* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: First shown when Gohan turns into an Oozaru and goes berserk. Vegeta later weaponnizes this by turning into an Oozaru himself but due to being more experienced, he keeps his sense of self. Ultimately it's Gohan's form that defeats him.

* SpacePirates: What the Saiyans ammounted to, and what Kuririn calls them.

Nappa decides it's time to begin his assault, picking Tenshinhan as his first victim. And Tenshinhan takes a lot of hits, to the point of [[AnArmAndALeg losing an arm.]] Chaozu, in an attempt to stop him, blows himself up, and since he's already been brought back, he's dead for good. Kuririn and Piccolo try their hands at taking him on, but that doesn't work, either. Angered at Chaozu's death, and seeking to avenge him and keep him company in the afterlife, Tenshinhan fires a Kikoho at Nappa, draining the last of his energy. Even a three hour delay isn't enough for Goku to show up, and when Gohan becomes Nappa's next target, Piccolo takes the blast head on, which means Kami-sama dies, which means the Dragon Balls vanish. It's the DarkestHour for the earth: Our beloved cast from Dragon Ball is either dead or dying, they can't be brought back to life, and nothing our heroes are doing is doing any kind of lasting damage to Nappa.

Goku, however, doesn't owe up to Raditz' expectations. He doesn't have the propensity for bloodlust, has cut off his tail, and is absolutely disinterested in continuing the family traditions. But then he notices that kid there with a Saiyan tail. [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi If Goku won't join them, perhaps '''he''' will...]]

** DubInducedPlotHole: In the Saban-Ocean dub, Vegeta mentions that the fake moon was created by Goku's father, who was a brilliant scientist. Turns out, they picked the wrong character to assign the role to, given how Bardock turned out to be. Now no longer an issue as of FUNimation's redub and their Kai dub.

** DubInducedPlotHole: In the Saban-Ocean dub, Vegeta mentions that the fake moon was created by Goku's father, who was a brilliant scientist. Turns out, they picked a pretty back character to assign the role to, given how Bardock turned out to be. Now no longer an issue as of FUNimation's redub and their Kai dub.

!! Main Summary

* WhatTheHellHero: Krillin also calls Goku out for letting Vegeta escape after he's facilitated the deaths of their friends and beaten the living hell out of them. Goku just smiles and says he wants to fight Vegeta again. Granted, Vegeta turns into a valuable ally and Krillin pulls a similar trick two arcs later on his future wife, Android 18.

* HeroicSacrifice: Goku does this at the beginning of the arc by holding Raditz long enough for Piccolo to shoot them both. Chaozu attempts against Nappa but it doesn't work, and Piccolo shields Gohan from a fatal attack from Nappa.

* TheHeroDies: Shockingly Goku dies at the beginning of the story in order to kill Raditz. Of course with the Dragon Balls, that's pretty much a moot problem and he uses the time in the afterlife to go train.

Set a few years after the end of the original Dragon Ball story. Goku comes to visit his friends at Kami House and introduces his son, Gohan. The happiness of his reunion is short lived however when an alien who calls himself Raditz arrives and reveals Goku's true origins. After Raditz kidnaps Gohan to use as a bargining chip against him. Goku is forced to team up with his old adversay Piccolo to fight Raditz. They succeed but at a high cost and it turns out Raditz was just the precurssor to a much bigger threat on the way.

!! The Saiyan Saga has the following tropes

* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: First shown when Gohan turns into an Oozaru and goes berserk. Vegeta later weaponless this by turning into an Oozaru himself but due to being more experienced, he keeps his sense of self. Ultimately it's Gohan's form that defeats him.

* EnemyMine: Goku teams up with Piccolo in order to battle Raditz and later the other Z warriors as well when the Saiyans turn out to be a much bigger threat then he is.

* HeroicSacrifice: Goku does this at the beginning of the arc by holding Raditz long enough for Piccolo to shoot them both. Choazu attempts against Nappa but it doesn't work, and Piccolo shield Gohan from a fatal attack from Nappa.

* TheHeroDies: Shockingly Goku dies at the beginning of the story in order to kill Raditz. Of course with the Dragon Balls, that pretty much a moot problem and he uses the time in the afterlife to go train.

* ShaggyDogStory: For Yamcha, Tein and Chaozu. They train hard to help combat the Saiyans but Yamcha winds up dying before even facing Nappa or Vegeta to a surprise attack from cannon fodder. Chaozu blows himself up in a SenselessSacrifice against Nappa and Tien winds up killing himself using his ultimate attack against Nappa that doesn't do anything.

Set a few years after the end of the original Dragon Ball story. Goku comes to visit his friends at Kami House as well as introduces his son, Gohan. The happiness of his reunion is short lived however when an alien who calls himself Raditz arrives and reveals Goku's true origins. After Raditz kidnaps Gohan to use as a bargining chip against him. Goku is forced to team up with his old adversay Piccolo to fight Raditz. They succeed but at a high cost and it turns out Raditz was just the precurssor to a much bigger threat on the way.