Dragon Ball Z Vol-50: Great Saiyaman - Crash Course (1989)
Released by: Funimation
Animation Production: Toei
Running Time: 61 Minutes
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

A couple of weeks ago I posted our review for the first volume of Dragonball Z and for today’s review I decided to skip around a little bit and take a look at something a little bit further down the line in the series, specifically some of the episodes that deal with the Great Saiyaman and the latest Tenkaichi Tournament and bring together many of our brave fighters who haven’t seen each other since the great battle with Cell, including Earth’s greatest hero (no, not Mr.Satan) Son Goku, who is allowed to come back to Earth for 24 hours to take part in the tournament.

With only three episodes in this DVD it’s a short trip, but one that includes some important moments in the Dragonball Z storyline, let’s see what they are.

Story

"With the World Martial Arts Tournament fast approaching, Videl and Goten must learn to fly, and fast! Gohan reveals the secret to flying and struggles to goach his two students into the air! Miles away, Veget is hlding a traingin session of his own and gets a big surprise from his young son, Trunks. Later The big day arrives for the tournamnet and the Z fighters reunite - even a long lost hero! Contains 3 exciting Dragaon Ball Z episodes! " -- DVD Box

Review

This 50th volume in Funimation’s release of Dragon Ball Z features uncut versions of episodes 192 through 194 in the series, which include:

Episode 192: Take Flight Videl
With only a few more days until the Tenkaichi Tournament Gohan and Goten are taking in some more intense training lessons when Videl drops by and becomes interested in learning how to fly. Now Gohan must teach not only his younger brother how to fly, but also Videl. Will he be able to teach her and still have enough time to train with Goten?

Episode 193: Gather for the Tournament
At long last the day of the fighting tournament has arrived and as our heroes gather to compete Goku, who has been dead for several years appears to the many tears and heartfelt emotions of everyone there, especially young Goten, who has never met his legendary father before.

Episode 194: Camera Shy
High school jock Sharpner is out to win Videl’s heart, but she seems to be dedicated only to the great Saiyaman! Armed with only a camera Sharpner sets out to reveal the true identity of our masked hero (Gohan) to the public and ruin his heroic career in the hopes of winning Videl away from him.

This particular DVD in Funimation’s very long release cycle of this gigantic-sized series is one of the more laid back ones that decides to spends more time focusing on character moments rather than the constant back and forth of the duels and giant battles that this series is so well known for. In particular we get a closer look at Gohan, Goten, and Videl, not to mention some shorter moments with Vegeta, Trunks and the other fighters like Kuririn and Piccolo.

We start with a very simple story in episode 192 that has Videl join in on Gohan and Goten’s fighting/flying training. Through a persistent approach she manages to convince Gohan to teach her how to fly and control her Chi, which to his surprise she manages to pull off in a matter of days. During this time the three of them end up spending a lot of time together and bonding over the many lessons Gohan goes over. By the end of it all we see the seeds of Videl and Gohan’s relationship being planted for the first time as they say goodbye until the time they see each other at the tournament.

From there the story goes back to a larger cast of characters as most of the main fighters that have joined Goku in battle gather up for the latest Tenkaichi Tournament. This gathering is headlined by Goku himself who is allowed to come back from the other world to take part in this tournament. This results in one of the most heartfelt moments of the series as everyone if filled with excitement and emotion the moment Goku appears, but it is Goku himself who is the most excited because not only does he get to see all his old friends once more, but additionally he finally gets to meet his youngest son, Goten, who he was never able to meet after his sacrifice during the battle with Cell.

The final episode is more of a comic relief story that has Sharpner following Gohan around (in his Saiyaman costume) in an attempt to unmask him. Naturally (and predictably) this has him trying out a variety of methods to discover Saiyman’s true identity that not only fail, but manage to in each of the failed occasions result in some kind of comedic relief moment/disaster. Not the best the series has to offer, but it does have one very cool moment that reunites our heroes with the ring announcer from the Cell games who still recognizes them and is perhaps the only person aside from Mr.Satan that knows who the real victors of that battle were.

All together this DVD was actually more enjoyable than I anticipated and it once more proved that this show is about so much more than just endless battles. Dragonball Z is all about the main cast and the great adventure that they are undertaking in life alongside their friends. When Goku appears in the tournament island and surprises everyone it made for a scene more powerful than any of the great battles of the series, a moment when you can literally feel the emotion jump out of the screen. This my friends is why I love anime as an art medium!

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 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

I love this series and even though these may not represent the best moments of its long run, they are definitely worth hunting down and adding to your collection. Seeing Videl and Gohan’s relationship blossom along with Goku’s return is the kind of character development that gave this show its human spirit and outstanding drawing power.

Recommended for all anime fans.

Jeffrey Couto