Dragon Ball Z Vol-5: Goku Held Hostage (1989)
Released by: Funimation
Animation Production: Toei
Running Time: 75 Minutes
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

It’s been a couple of weeks now so I figured this would be a good time to get in a new Dragonball Z DVD review. This time we’re going to jump back a little bit from our last one (Great Saiyaman) and go back to an earlier point in the series, specifically during the time in which Goku is traversing the Serpentine Road to meet Kaio-sama in the hope that he will teach him superior martial arts techniques that will help him take on the two Saiyans that are headed for Earth!

So with that let’s sit back and kick back, it’s time to catch up with Goku, Piccolo, Gohan and the rest of the gang.

Story

"After waking up dazed and disoriented, Goku discovers that watching him are two giant ogres who want nothing more than to use the hero as a play toy! If Goku can defeat their challenges, the pair vows to show him the way back to Snake Way. But can these two beasts be trusted? Meanwhile, still in shock that Raditz was able to dodge his strongest attack, Piccolo flies off the handle causing him to split in two! " -- DVD Box

Review

This 5th volume in Funimation’s release of Dragon Ball Z features uncut versions of episodes 13 through 15 in the series, which include:

Episode 13: Goz and Mez
After accidentally falling off of the Serpertine Road Goku now finds himself in the first district of Hell where two ogres oversee all. Looking to amuse themselves with their unexpected guest both Oni challenge Goku to a series of challenges. If Goku wins them they will show him the way back to Serpentine Road, but if he fails Goku’s journey may be over sooner than expected!

Episode 14: Princess Snake
Having worked his way up back to the Serpentine Road and father into it Goku runs into a strange looking household where the Princess Snake and her helpers reside. It’s been a while since they’re last visitor and with Goku being a prime specimen they decide that they are going to do whatever it takes to keep him there. Unfortunately Goku is unaware of what’s going on! Will he finally figure out that the Snake Princess is not Kaio-Sama?!

Episode 15: Dueling Piccolos
As Goku makes his way to see Kaio-Sama Piccolo and Gohan are hard at work training themselves for the coming battle. However, while Piccolo is faring well, Gohan is beginning to miss his mom. Can he put together a boat to go back for a visit? A coming storm may put his plans on hold.

As with my previous Dragonball Z review this volume (which is part of Funimation’s new unedited re-released of the episodes that had up until now only been available in their TV censored form) covers a series of episodes that are not particularly crucial to the overall story arch, focusing more on smaller character moments and self contained stories that are easily resolved. In this case what we have is a heavier emphasis on Goku with the first two episodes and then on Gohan and Piccolo in the third episode.

Episode thirteen is a rather light hearted outing that has our hero fall to Hell from the Serpentine Road and then challenged by two giant Oni who promise to show him the way back if he beats each of them at a challenge of their choosing. This episode basically serves the purpose of establishing what an up an coming star Goku is as he impresses the two Oni with speed and prowess. Like so many storylines and episodes in this series we get to see Goku challenged, shown up and then he overcomes whatever it is that is up against to the surprise of his antagonist/s and all spectators (including us in the audience).

Episode fourteen like the previous story focuses on a more lighthearted plot that brings Goku face to face with the Princess Snake, an odd inhabitant of Hell that wants to keep our hero around for her own personal amusement. This episode was interesting to watch because it was so different from your typical Dragonball Z story not only in terms of overall plot, but also in its approach, which leans heavily on Goku’s inability to correctly deduce what is happening around him. This fish-out-of-water angle leads to some surprisingly bits as the Princess Serpent tries to do whatever she can to keep Goku from leaving. Ultimately though this story really has little to add to the overall mythos of the series aside from a fun diversion in the great scheme of things.

Episode fifteen is a back to basics story that is nothing more than a display piece for Gohan and Piccolo’s training in anticipation of the Saiyans arrival. Of the two Piccolo definitely has the more interesting part of the episode as he splits himself in two as a way to train himself. This brings in some action scenes that fill the screen with the kinds of fireworks that this classic Toei series is so well known for, but were missing in the first two episodes of this DVD. Gohan on the other hand spends most of his time in solitude in a small island where he continues to train although nowhere near as harshly as Piccolo. The big development here is that Gohan is really getting tired of this existence and would rather go home and see his mom, who he misses a lot. Nothing overtly complex, but it does humanize his character, who after all is still a young child, not a seasoned fighter like Piccolo or the other warriors.

This DVD like the Saiyaman DVD was surprisingly fun to watch given that it doesn’t really cover any of the important milestones of the series or even some of the secondary battles. Seeing Goku go through his paces against the Onig ogres and then the Princess Snake do little overall to develop his character, but they do solidify further what he is all about and the reasons why we enjoy his personality and free spirit. Seeing more of the spirit realm in which he finds himself in and how its populated by such strange denizens also proves amusing and insightful. On the Gohan and Piccolo front not too much is really thrown our way that we haven’t really seen or known of before, rather like Goku, they’re story here is more of a way to continue building on what has already been established.

On the technical side, these episodes of Dragon Ball Z comes to us from the early 90’s, so they’re a little dated in terms of animation style and quality, but the show is still quite beautiful to look at, not to mention that nothing beats Toei’s classic hand drawn animation! As far as I’m concerned this is the pinnacle of the studio’s animation efforts (well this along with all the super robot shows from the 70’s and early 80’s). The frame rate is smooth and the color palette is filled with many bright pastels, so visually, it’s very pleasant to the eye. Visual effects are for all intents and purposes limited to energy attacks.

In the audio department this show is just amazing with music that will stick in your head all day and that will make you cheer during the exciting battles that the series is known for. I can’t get enough of the original Japanese background music and theme songs, what else could I say! In the voice acting department I can’t imagine a better cast for this series, especially on the Japanese dubbed soundtrack side. Very, very good in this front!

On the DVD front this is another nice release from the folks at Funimation that features a terrific video and audio transfer of the show. In the audio front the original Japanese soundtrack is included alongside two English dubbed tracks (one of which is encoded in 5.1 surround sound). Extras are limited to a trivia section, previews for other Funimation releases and a small fold out brochure inside the DVD box with the company’s release schedule for the next couple of months and info on several of their properties.

Final Thoughts

While not the best collection of episodes from the series’ overall run, these stories hold up well and are a lot of fun if you give them a try. Dragonball Z collectors definitely need this one for their libraries, everyone else should at least try checking it out, especially if you enjoy the series to any degree.

You can never go wrong with Goku! Recommended.

Jeffrey Couto