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AlinhoAlisson Since: Apr, 2014
04/13/2022 12:14:11 •••

Namek Saga (Pre-Ginyu) - An Incredible Return to Form

After the filler and worf effect-heavy, but enjoyable Saiyan Saga, it's time to review the Namek Saga. For some reason, some fans prefer to split the Namek Saga into the trip to Namek, the battle with the Ginyu Force and the battle with Freeza rather than the characters' entire adventure on Namek.

For this review's sake, I will also split them up like that, not only because the review would get too long otherwise, but also because I consider the first part of this Saga to be generally excellent while I consider the second and third parts to be... not that, but I'll get into that later.

After the Battle

The arc starts with the gang grieving over their fallen comrades and discussing what they should do now that the Dragon Balls are no more. When Popo, also struck with Kami's death, shows them a way to get to Namek and use their Dragon Balls to reverse the situation.

Once again, it's an awesome set-up and a great beginning. Every single moment with the characters mourning after their dead friends is golden and the entire preparation for their trip builds up what the audience is sure to expect during Namek itself. But after a while, the first big problem of the arc becomes evident: Bulma.

For some bizarre and unexplained reason, Bulma does a complete 180 on her personality and motivation when they're about to depart. She shows herself completely willing to go to Namek and resurrect her dead boyfriend, but as soon as she's on Master Roshi's house, she becomes extremely whiny, angry with Kuririn and Gohan for no good reason, and completely unwilling to go to Namek.

And if memory serves me right, Bulma does nothing of substance in the entire arc, so... Why is she going again? The justification, or so as I understand it, is that she's the only one who can repair the spaceship should it be damaged... which doesn't happen. And she's the only one who can repair the Dragon Radar should it fail... which also doesn't happen. So, in the end, Bulma ends up contributing absolutely nothing other than providing the anime with a bunch of stupid, worthless Filler scenes.

Fake Namek

During their trip, the gang is caught on a detour, being captured by a spaceship of children who lost their parents to Freeza. Although these episodes are a bit boring, I do enjoy their presence here, and their foreshadowing of the villain before he is properly introduced.

The trip on Fake Namek, though? Yeah, that's unforgivable. The entire story hinges on Idiot Plot. The aliens wanted a way out, and instead of asking politely to the heroes to help them escape, they make this entire pointless adventure illusion for them. And even when Bulma offers them to escape together, they refuse for no discernible reason. It's pretty bad, but at least, it's over quickly.

Arrival on Namek

Meanwhile this is happening, Vegeta is healing on the "Freeza Something Planet." It is then revealed after a brief talk with a throw-away villain named Cui that Freeza had been listening to their scouters all along and now is interested in the Dragon Balls himself.

Maybe what makes the entire journey throughout this arc so fantastic is the way it brings back the focus of the show on adventuring and on searching for the Dragon Balls, whereas previously, they were treated as an afterthought rather than the main goal.

Everybody is after them, but because there are villains so much more powerful than the heroes fighting amongst themselves to get there first, the heroes are forced to sneak from place to place undetected while also helping whatever Namekians are caught on the crossfire. There is just so much potential for conflict by all parties involved that the Namek Saga excels on its storytelling.

It also helps that Namek serves as a fantastical setting, giving the show ample opportunity to explore uncharted territory and build its lore around characters like Piccolo and Kami. And it also does help that for the most part, Goku is kept entirely out of the picture, allowing the stakes to rise and feel real again.

The Zenkai Bullshit

The second big problem I have with this arc is how it introduces one of the worst aspects of this entire franchise: The "Zenkai."

Vegeta meets with Cui again and effortlessly wipes the floor with him, even though Cui was supposed to be stronger than Vegeta. Vegeta tells him that every single time a Saiyan loses a battle and comes back from near-death, they become much stronger. I have several issues with this plot-point.

First, because it nullifies most of the original Dragon Ball. For the most part, Goku became stronger from rigorous training and pushing himself to the limit. He also learned how to sense Ki because he trained for three years with God himself to attain that ability. But here comes Vegeta, saying that all Goku needed to do was get his ass beat and he would magically obtain all of that without the slightest bit of effort. This put a sour taste in my mouth.

Secondly, because from this point on, battles in Dragon Ball become less about using strategy and intelligence to defeat your foes, and more about taking ridiculous power-ups and transformations out of Toriyama's ass and justifying them with "because Saiyan." The battles becomes so obvious and repetitive that each single one of them in this arc play out exactly like this:

Vegeta meets enemy > Enemy beats Vegeta to near-death > Vegeta recovers > Vegeta meets enemy again > Vegeta effortlessly kills said enemy > Rinse and repeat.

Final Thoughts

Although I hate, and I mean, really hate the concept of the Zenkai, and although I felt Bulma was a completely wasted character who did nothing but bitch and whine her entire time on screen, I can excuse these given how wonderfully this arc utilizes its cast of heroes and villains with their several different goals and motivations, all the while bringing the Dragon Balls and the genre of adventure back into focus while giving the story a more mature and darker take than the original ever did.

Rating: 4.5/5

megagutsman (Seven Years' War)
04/12/2022 00:00:00

For some bizarre and unexplained reason, Bulma does a complete 180 on her personality and motivation when they're about to depart.

Yeah, Bulma is a big annoyance for me too in this season. And the worst part is that she has no reason to be this much of a bitch.

Why is she going again? The justification, or so as I understand it, is that she's the only one who can repair the spaceship should it be damaged... which doesn't happen. And she's the only one who can repair the Dragon Radar should it fail... which also doesn't happen.

In-Universe said explanation does make sense, after all, neither Kuririn nor Gohan could predict that either machine wouldn't break, so it was safer for Bulma to be in Namek with them. Out-of-Universe? Not so much because Bulma now has nothing to do.

So, in the end, Bulma ends up contributing absolutely nothing other than providing the anime with a bunch of stupid, worthless Filler scenes.

I mean, what else could they have done with Bulma? She's an untrained human, she simply couldn't fight. And there was no tech-related issue she could help with.

The second big problem I have with this arc is how it introduces one of the worst aspects of this entire franchise: The "Zenkai."

I do not personally agree with the argument that it weakened the entire franchise at all because I do like the transformations and power-ups, but I do agree that they were terribly executed. It does throw away tactics for power making it so the heroes win by obtaining a new power-up out of nowhere (it just so happens that I can simply turn off my brain and enjoy an anime were people punch and kick each other and try to destroy each other with energy beams).

Theokal3 Since: Jan, 2012
04/13/2022 00:00:00

//I mean, what else could they have done with Bulma? She\'s an untrained human, she simply couldn\'t fight. And there was no tech-related issue she could help with. //

That wouldn\'t be a problem if they create in-story issues that could be solved in other ways than fighting.

megagutsman (Seven Years' War)
04/13/2022 00:00:00

That wouldn't be a problem if they create in-story issues that could be solved in other ways than fighting.

Like...? Remember, our heroes aren't invading a Frieza-owned base, they went to a pacifist planet that lacks technology and Frieza was invading, there was literally nothing Bulma could do.


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