I do like Bruce Faulconer's soundtrack for the most part. It's very good in the Buu saga, with Buu's assorted themes, Gohan's power-up theme, the SSJ 3 theme, Gohan's Anger (Used for his SSJ 2 transformation back in Cell Saga, but also used here before his fight with Super Buu), and "Gohan Fights Frieza", which actually never played until Gohan's battle with Super Buu despite the name.
And I'm glad to see you like that video, wander.
edited 1st Feb '13 9:11:03 AM by Anomalocaris20
You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!`Aah, glad DBZA is getting into the Android/Cell arc. The arc that got me to quit reading the DBZ manga at the time it was coming out. I never cared for it.
I think after the epicness of the end of the Namek arc, the fact this one takes forever to get going, and most of the villains are sorta lacking in motivation (and honestly, threat), combined with DBZ' flaws becoming more evident the more I read, finally got the better of me.
Say what you will about Namek (And god there is a lot to say) there's things it does right: It sets up why Freiza should not get the Dragonballs very fast (He's a genocidal maniac worst than Vegeta), sets up his threat (He's more powerful than the heroes could ever hope to beat... and Vegeta is also here on top of that) and gives us stakes (The lives of all the original Dragonball characters whom Nappa killed hang in the balance of this quest they are on) within one issue.
The Cell arc... meanders about. And the villains have for the most part no motivations, and no real threat. They are just super powered jerks with too much time on their hands. Even Cell once he gets his perfect body turns into this. "Well, lets have a tournament... Or I blow up the earth or something.... F if I know what else am I supposed to do?"
edited 1st Feb '13 3:10:47 PM by Ghilz
The Android/Cell arc is actually what made me a fan of DBZ. Before that I was basically in the tiny demographic of people who loved Dragonball original-flavour when we were kids but who saw Z as sorta meh; why does being stronger make you dye your hair blond, why is everyone always so angry, why did you turn a show I liked into a stupid boy show, etc. With the Androids I got a hit of that Toriyama magic again; I was genuinely afraid for the characters, Seventeen and Eighteen were so cool and didn't give a fuck, and I was at just the right age to get a crush on Future Trunks.
edited 1st Feb '13 3:37:22 PM by FurikoMaru
A True Lady's Quest - A Jojo is You!I think that's fine by me. Not every villain wants to watch the world burn. Some just want a tangerine.
Not everyone wants to be some overlord. I actually just realized that there's a lot of different motives for the bad guys in Z:
- Vegeta: overthrow Frieza
- Nappa: annoy vegeta
- Frieza: further secure and expand his empire
- Gero: REVENGE
- the Androids: For the Lulz
- Cell: become perfect, then, because Saiyan genes override everything, become a spirited competitor but above all else win at all costs
- Babadi: because daddy said so
- Buu: Manipulated, then traumatized, then his evil side took over, then For the Evulz.
Buu actually had interesting motivation until the end. Strange, because I found him grating at first and thus didn't see it.
Well, the Future Androids were pretty much quite evil, killing innocent people left and right while treating it like some kind of twisted game. There is that and Cell was prowling about as well, but since the population was dwindling at an alarming rate, he wouldn't be able to muster enough power to defeat and absorb them, so there he goes to the past and carry out his plans.
Man, Dr. Gero has some really bad luck when it came to subordinates.
Please. 16 mentioned he was going to kill Goku, but frankly you look at the androids and it's pretty clear this was a "maybe we'll go do it eventually."
Coz really, why use a van then? They could fly. Be done with it in 20 seconds flat (Especially with Goku crippled in bed). And I doubt Gero failed to program Goku's home address in 16...
Hence, Road Trip.
Point is, giving the villains a token motivations they don't seem interested... at ALL to accomplish and don't even put a token effort towards accomplishing doesn't raise the tension to new heights.
edited 1st Feb '13 7:05:45 PM by Ghilz
I thought their "man, maybe later" approach to their goals was interesting.
If nothing else, because they were still too strong for anyone to approach for most of it. They were ridiculously strong, but so casual about it. They were taking a road trip and stealing crap along the way, and nobody could stop them.
Re: spotlight stealing. Dragonball was the Goku show. You could only call it the Saiyan show retroactively, and even then, there were, for a while, humans, "humans", and demons aliens who could outdo Goku at various points in the story. And I don't see any reason why the story couldn't have been written to be less Saiyan-centric. Maybe if the whole "revive stronger" thing was additive rather than multiplicative. Could have made it great for early-story comebacks, but later on it would have fallen aside in comparison to raw training and creative thinking in battle.
edited 1st Feb '13 7:15:39 PM by Enlong
I have a message from another time...Mind you, this is a setting where it's firmly established that folks can make their strength grow a hundred folds given a new form of training in less than a week. Goku went from weaker than Vegeta to effortlessly beating the entire Ginyu Squad and leaving Vegeta in disbelief about his strength in 5 days. So the casual approach is kinda suicide.
(Or an earlier example, where magic Water allows Goku to become more powerful than King Piccolo)
edited 1st Feb '13 7:25:58 PM by Ghilz
The ridiculous progress of Goku in Z, especially thanks to Zenkai, hypergrav training, and the HTC was notably not budgeted for by Gero, so them being self-assured was understandable.
I tuned out around then, actually. Couldn't find the show on TV for several years after I moved and lost cable. To Youtube!
Oh god, it's the "I'M ALIVE! I'M REAL!" music!
edited 1st Feb '13 7:30:48 PM by wanderlustwarrior
Such rapid advances weren't new to Z though. Even in Dragonball, Goku and Friends getting a one shot event that make their strength grow in a limited amount of time is practically a Once A Story Arc thing.
edited 1st Feb '13 7:32:04 PM by Ghilz
Yeah, that's always been true to some extent. And I have nothing against characters added to Z, or characters from Dragonball getting new moves in Z. I just wish it hadn't drifted into the "all Saiyans, all the time" thing. Some of those new characters and new powers could have done with some more spotlight.
I suppose Goku's allies were more on his level when they were his enemies. Like the fight against "Jackie Chun", or the first encounter with Yamcha.
...come to think of it, did Oolong ever use his shapeshifting power in Z?
edited 1st Feb '13 7:52:27 PM by Enlong
I have a message from another time...

yeah living in holland, I too suddenly saw DBZ shift to its UK dub. Leaving me wondering when the saban voice actors got back.. and why..
Then halfway during the Fusion Saga they just jumped back to the funimation dub. Good thing too, because Buu's themes were awesome
edit: and yeah funis music was pretty metal, but I like it. Moreso than the original music at times even..
edited 1st Feb '13 6:39:48 AM by Medigo0