Dragon Ball Z - Episodes 51-55 - Discussion Thread [Rewatch - Week 11]

[Ajay]

Welcome! For details on this rewatch, click here!

Zarbon time!

Here are some legal ways to stream the series:
Funimation (North America)
AnimeLab (Australia and New Zealand)

This week we're covering:

[spoiler]勇気百倍！界王の下に集結する戦士たち
Yūki Hyakubai! Kaiō no Moto ni Shūketsu Suru Senshi-tachi
Courage Times One Hundred! The Warriors Gather Under Kaiō

While having a meal following rescuing Dende, Gohan and the others sense a large “ki”. It belongs to Vegeta, who is attacking a village to steal their Dragon Ball. When Dende learns the reason Gohan and the others came from Earth, he begs them to save his friends. In order to protect the last Dragon Ball, Kuririn and Dende hurry toward the Eldest’s house! Meanwhile, as Goku continues his training in his spaceship, Kaiō speaks into his mind. The dead Piccolo and the others have come to Kaiō’s to receive training!

聞け悟空よ！フリーザには手を出すな
Kike Gokū yo! Furīza ni wa Te o Dasu na
Listen to Me Goku! Hands Off Freeza

Piccolo and the others hear from Goku that a person with a “ki” surpassing Vegeta’s is on Planet Namek. When Kaiō learns that this is the worst enemy, Freeza, he warns Goku not to get involved with him. Piccolo and the others then begin training right away. But their first task is a pun! Tenshinhan somehow succeeds after much effort, and Piccolo makes a pun purely by accident! Meanwhile on Planet Namek, Vegeta and Zarbon’s battle has begun!

ほとんど鳥肌！美戦士ザーボンの悪魔の変身
Hotondo Torihada! Bisenshi Zābon no Akuma no Henshin
Nothing but Goosebumps! The Handsome Warrior Zarbon’s Devilish Transformation

A fierce battle unfolds between Vegeta and Zarbon! But Zarbon was still hiding his true power. He transforms into an ugly form, powers up overwhelmingly, and comes at Vegeta!! Vegeta had had the upper hand up until that point, but his speed and power are no match for the transformed Zarbon, and he sinks to the bottom of a lake, beaten to a pulp. Meanwhile, after much effort, Kuririn and Dende finally arrive at the Eldest’s house.

希望の星を守れ！！クリリン驚異のパワーＵＰ
Kibō no Hoshi o Mamore!! Kuririn Kyōi no Pawā Appu
Defend the Planet of Hope!! Kuririn’s Astonishing Power-Up

The Eldest awakens Kuririn’s latent power! After powering up all at once, Kuririn receives the Dragon Ball from the Eldest, and returns to the cave to have Gohan’s latent power drawn out as well. Thinking that Vegeta might have hidden a Dragon Ball, Freeza orders Zarbon to go find him. The Dragon Ball that Vegeta hid turns up on the Dragon Radar, and Gohan hurries to pick it up!!

死の淵からよみがえった　奇跡の男・ベジータ
Shi no Fuchi kara Yomigaetta　Kiseki no Otoko · Bejīta
Back from the Brink of Death — The Miracle Man, Vegeta

Yamcha and Tenshinhan’s training continues on Kaiō’s planet! At first they had a difficult fight with Bubbles and Gregory as their opponents, but the result of the training steadily increased. But Piccolo thought their training was stupid and wouldn’t join in on it. He finally participates in some sparring training, but is surprised at Yamcha and the others’ growth. On Planet Namek, Zarbon discovers Vegeta! Vegeta revives after receiving treatment from a medical machine!![/spoiler]


Suggested Format & Weekly Questions

Language: For the sake of context, let us know which language you're watching the series in (and what score, if required).
General Thoughts: Your thoughts on the episode, possibly linked to the suggested questions if need be. Cover the plot, the tone, the character interactions, and characterisation.
Entertainment Factor: How was the pacing? Did the episode keep you entertained throughout, or what could have been done better?
Animation: Did you like the action sequences, or the way characters emoted? Did things move in a satisfying way, or was it mostly style over substance?
Questions: Not necessary, but if you're curious about opinions on a specific point that hasn't been touched on, go ahead and ask! It's a nice way to spur the topic onward.

- Vegeta slaughtering the Namekian village is arguably one of the more brutal displays of violence since his introduction in the series; is this act so extreme as to make his transition into an ally and eventual hero feel less believable?

[gaberparadiso]

Two episodes in a row this time:

Episode 51

General thoughts: Vegeta slaughtering Namekians. That's about it. To answer your question... yeah, this act is quite extreme itself, but we also have to consider Vegeta's change was gradual, and considerably slower than Piccolo's. Later in this arc, he'll be forced to join forces with Krillin and Gohan, because he's aware of not being as strong as Freezer. And starting from that precise point, his attitude was getting slightly different, somehow from being 100% evil to just 80%. So... yes, it's still believable, because it's not something that happened AT ONCE, but is the outcome of a precise strategy.
That said, I answered this question immediately, because quite honestly, there's nothing much to say about this episode. At the end, Kaio tells Goku his friends are going to train on his planet, despite not even learning the Kaioken, and knowing Kikuchi's BGM placement, its sappiness is taken up to eleven.

Entertainment factor: strong direction from Ueda, but it's not a particularly engaging episode.

Animation: at this point of the series, Ueda is definitely one of the most solid and reliable storyboard artists/directors, and here is no exception. As previously pointed out, he makes good use of colors (in this case, the passage from yellow to blue during the beam struggle is really nice), and can build up atmosphere. However, I'm going to throw the elephant out of the room, this episode is mostly known for THIS. https://akphoto1.ask.fm/137/659/047/-29 ... o1_500.jpg At this point, he's showing some considerable limits at drawing Vegeta and Bulma especially, who look pretty ugly. The rest, though, is nothing that terrible: Iida (credited as Handa on Kanzenshuu) and Kan'no's outputs look fairly decent, with the former especially handling the ending scene with Goku talking with Kaio. The latter is partially corrected by Ebisawa, but we can still trace some potential in his art. https://twitter.com/DBanimators/status/ ... 8205161472

Music: M919 is used for the 1st time, which is basically a different rendition of M910 (I previously called it M912, my bad), only faster, shorter and with annoying whistles at the end. That aside, it's an all right placement. M819 at the end is a mushy triumph. Meh.

Overall: 6/10. A strong direction, but the rest is eh.

Episode 52

General thoughts: on the other hand, this one is the total opposite: there are way too many subplots, that I can't even say which is the main plot. Of course, Kaio forbids Goku to fight against Freezer (funnily enough, they said the same with Beerus, Zeno and the Daishinkan). And thus, the horrendous joke test begins: I'm not gonna lie, despite being incredibly cheesy, I kinda like it. In fact, Tenshinhan using his own techniques to tell a stupid joke is BIZARRE, but I like it. It's also quite amusing to see Kaio laugh at a totally unfunny line from Piccolo. As for the other subplot, Zarbon bumps into Vegeta, who start fighting, after a dialogue sequence. Speaking of which, I want you to pay attention to Zarbon's line at the end, which is basically cliched: since he got his arse kicked by Vegeta, his hidden power was awakened. Jiren's backstory may be cliched, but this line is even more CLICHED.

Entertainment factor: this episode focuses too much on quantity, but Hashimoto's direction is lackluster. There's not a real common thread between each subplot. Considering he's known as the 'Transition Guy', his transitions would've come in handy.

Animation: again, his storyboarding might not even be that bad, but it's clearly underused. Time was most likely a relevant factor here. Shindo's staff is also back after approximately 2 weeks from the last episode. As a result his corrections are inevitably strong. Animation-wise, the beginning of the fight between Vegeta and Zarbon is handled by Ryu and Shibata (corrected by Shindo), and despite seeing some quite nice smears in combat, it's just fine. https://twitter.com/DBanimators/status/ ... 8658863107

Music: another pretty much okay placement: M815 fits Kaio's concern about Freezer on Namek, but Tao Pai Pai Kills Bora during a not-so-serious scene?? Really?

Overall: 6,5/10. Too many subplots. Fun to a certain extent.

[Ajay]

I feel like if I'm ever going to keep up with posting my thoughts, I'm just gonna have to repost my brief thoughts from Twitter here, maybe with some added details.

Episode 51

In really dialogue heavy episodes, it's so important that the storyboard and direction keeps things interesting, otherwise you're really just looking at pretty bog-standard talking heads for 20 minutes, and that's no fun for anyone. Thankfully, Yoshihiro Ueda, far and away Z's strongest director at this point is in charge here, so you've got plenty of interesting compositions to break up the monotony.

Ueda's use of colour is something that really stands out to me in every single one of his episodes, and this one's no exception. The flashback to Namek pre-weather catastrophe is drenched in reds, while explosions cover the screen in blue hues. I particularly enjoy the section with Freeza and the Dragon Balls where his face is all distorted in the reflection. Ueda's apparently a fan of this cause he does it again later down the line with Bulma (Episode 56). He really is the most distinctive director on the series. Although we're still early on, I'll be surprised if anyone comes close to him throughout this rewatch.

Despite the solid direction in places, it's not the most consistent thing in the world, with many scenes falling back on pretty standard back and forth conversations. Not every scene needs to light the world on fire with snappy back and forths and cool layouts, but it certainly helps when you're dragging things out for time. As a result, it does feel a little baggy in places. The fact that it's fairly light on animation with fairly unappealing art does leave little to appreciate during the weaker moments, and as a result makes thing just that touch boring.

[Taisa732]

Language: Japanese

Episode 51:
General Thoughts: Not exactly the most interesting episode from ad action point of view, but a very dense one due to a lot of exposition.
We are on a new Planet and we are just starting to explore it. I like all the stuff regarding the namekian culture that is introduced. The ajisa plants, the reason why namekians are mostly farmers and the climate problems and the explanation of why there are so few people left.
And finally the introduced of Saichoro.
I also like the fact that the good guys are now dividing in groups, and that will become important soon.

Animation: I never liked the first part of this episode as far as animation. Vegeta's attack on the namekian village is boring and very, very ugly. At least the part of it isn't in the manga.
Everything else is fine. Not a spectacular episode because most of it is just people talking.

Episode 52:
General Thoughts: One of the reasons I like the Namek arc is this fighting in three factions, the good guys, the bad guys and Vegeta who plays the jolly.
He first sense Krillin and Dende, making us fear again for there lives, but then goes for Zarbon, because he doesn't care who he kills. You never quit know who Vegeta's next target will be.

Animation: The only part of the events on Kaio's planet that I like is this one. It's funny and Kaio's reactions are very well animated. This is the episodes of extreme expressions and over the top movements. This could've been just a bunch of people standing around making jokes, but its made fun and interesting because of the execution.
I also like the animation on the fight between Vegeta and Zarbon.

Episode 53:
General Thoughts: Too much filler in this one. This fight could've been much better if they showed it properly.
This is also where I stop caring for anything at Kaio's and everything to do with Goku started boring me a long time ago. We get it, he's training, but do we have to see him do push-ups every single episode?!

Animation: Although I admire the fight, thanks to the amazing timing, what keeps it from being even better is the abundance of reuse. Cut's that are repeated several times and/or flipped. There are too many and too often for me to enjoy it fully.
It also annoys me that the Goku scenes have more thought put into them than anything on Namek, where the story really is.

Episode 54:
General Thoughts: The legend of the super saiyan is starting to creep in the story, it's mentioned twice in this episode.
An other thing I like of this phase in the arc is how everything and everyone is moving, it's like watching a live game of chess. And that is the result of good storytelling.

Animation: Mostly talking here as well, but there are some nice things. For example Kami/Piccolo's flashback or Krillin flying, with the animation on the background.

Episode 55:
General Thoughts: What a waste of an episode. The Gregory stuff was a repeat when Goku did it, why do we need to see it again?
Once more a lot of good things are happening on Namek, but we are stuck watching uninteresting fillers.

Animation: The only worth thing mentioning is the little sparring match, even if I don't like anything around it.

- Vegeta slaughtering the Namekian village is arguably one of the more brutal displays of violence since his introduction in the series; is this act so extreme as to make his transition into an ally and eventual hero feel less believable?

We know Vegeta ad a hero nowadays because of his recent development, but he never was a hero in Z, at least not until the very end, past all the Majin stuff and tragic deaths. Vegeta went from a villain to an anti-hero. Somebody you cheer for even if he does bad things.
The reason why, despite all his flaws and sometimes controversial believes or motives, we still consider him somewhat of a hero is because he dose some heroic gestures, even if he doesn't always have the best intentions, it makes us forget that once upon a time he could slaughter a village of innocent people with a sneer on his face and no regret.
But at this point we don't have to see him as a hero or an ally, we need to see him as a villain. We need to fear him and be afraid of what he can do.
Him slaughtering the namekian village not only does not make his transition less believable, but it actually enhances it. Vegeta's character development is slow and steady and therefore fascinating and it's one of the many, many, reasons why he's the great character that he is.

[gaberparadiso]

Episode 53

General thoughts: I'm honestly pissed off. This episode could've been so much better. Much like the last one, there's too many cutaways, which are way too distracting, especially that one from Kaio's planet. Really pointless. The fight between Vegeta and Zarbon isn't that great, either, due to constant interruptions, and also due to repeated animation (which is understandable, since only TWO key animators are credited, 4 weeks from their last time). Anyway, Vegeta getting his arse kicked is kinda funny, it made me laugh quite a bit for some reason. However, the anime overlooks the part in which Zarbon tells Vegeta that Freezer can transform, too. I never got why this bit wasn't included in the anime. It has its importance. We finally meet Saichoro, who is really fat for some reason, despite Namekians not needing to eat to survive, and of course, Nail, the strongest Namekian warrior (so far). As a whole, I'm quite disappointed by how messy and disorganized this episode is.

Entertainment factor: too many subplots, I can't enjoy it that much. Clearly, Yamauchi's direction is the main flaw of this episode, as it's utterly terrible. There's no transition, no common thread, or not even a true atmosphere.

Animation: Last House's previous episode aired 4 weeks before, and here we only have two animators, Ohara and Shida, who are definitely the strongest of that studio. Of course, they animate the whole action, on the specific Vegeta vs Zarbon, which has some nice glimpses, but it's really conservative. Ohara's choreography is solid, but I've seen better outputs from him. Funnily enough, his laughing Vegeta does resemble laughing Basil from ep. 79 of DBS quite a bit. https://twitter.com/DBanimators/status/ ... 2568228865 Shida takes part to this fight, too, but here his main highlight is Goku's training scene, which is so beautiful to look at. I absolutely adore his speed and movements, not to mention his shading. Love it. https://twitter.com/DBanimators/status/ ... 0066449408

Music: apparently interrupting music isn't a prerogative of DBS. This clearly happens when you have a really poor direction. Also, [M923 makes its debut as Saichoro's theme, but b]Gohan's Crying Theme[/b] and M513 being played during CALM scenes? WHY???

Overall: 6/10. Without Ohara and Shida, my rating would be considerably lower. A solid direction is important, indeed.

[TrunksTrevelyan0064]

Episodes covered: Dragon Ball Z 51-55 ("Dragon Ball 204-208")


EPISODE 51
* AAGH MY EYES oh lord oh god still bad even when you know it's coming.
* I do enjoy the developing friendship between the Earthlings and Dende. Must be a relief for the latter to learn not ALL aliens are murderous lunatics out to slaughter his entire species.
* I've always liked that it's the 4-star ball Vegeta finds first. I wonder if that was intentional on Toriyama's part. I want to say "probably not", but who knows.
* Oh hey a bunch of my favorite characters (including Kaiô) are in the afterlife together. The majority of them may not be relevant anymore but I really like that they're still given as much screentime and dialogue as they are.

EPISODE 52
* Ahhh it's great that Goku has a direct conversation with Yamcha. They haven't seen each other or interacted in so long. And they go ALL the way back - even further than Kuririn - to the original frickin' Dragon Ball hunt.
* If you weren't scared of Freeza yet, how about you listen to Kaiô-sama of all people straight up telling you that this guy is untouchable.
* Piccolo's theme, how I missed thee. I really like that he still isn't 100% "good" yet at this point; you can still catch traces of the old Daimaô in his dialogue and mannerisms.
* As a Tenshinhan fan, this is... THE GREATEST SCENE OF ALL TIME. Approaching the joke challenge as if it's an official Tenka'ichi Budôkai match, the fumbling, the intensity of his determination, the delivery, Kaiô's serious reaction to the whole thing. Just... perfection. We're done, show's over, nothing can top this. By the way, at the start of the series, in Pilaf's castle, Yamcha makes a pun about boogers (manga-only, I think). I'm wondering if (and really hoping) that's the exact same pun he lends to Tenshinhan here?

EPISODE 53
* It's great how Toriyama plays with our expectations here. Vegeta's already obliterated Kewi and Dodoria, so we naturally assume he'll do away with Zarbon in similar fashion. NOPE! Not yet, anyway. Interesting how you already strangely root for Vegeta to survive here, even though he's still very much an evil murderous bastard. It's just that it'd be completely random and meaningless for him - as a developing character - to die here, from a writing standpoint.
* Niiiice fluid animation there during Goku's training.
* Yikes, Tenshinhan looks imposing wielding a mallet. I'd be terrified to see that chasing after me if I were Bubbles-kun.
* I like that it's not one of our Saiyan protagonists but rather Kuririn who first meets the Namekian Grand Elder.

EPISODE 54
* Well, well. The first mention of Super Saiyan. And the one and only time we hear Appule's name. Clearly, that indicates he is a prodigy of legend.
* It's nice to get a visual representation of what the child of Katattsu went through. Even though it's been explained multiple times before, it's still a fair bit of exposition for new viewers to get their head around, so this refresher certainly doesn't hurt. Plus, it's just cool to see Piccolo Daimaô again.
* Toriyama did such a great job juggling all these different characters doing different things. Our heroes may not be able to straight up fight Freeza or Vegeta, but they still have certain advantages (the ability to sense ki, a Dragon Radar, befriending Dende and the Grand Elder) to give them a chance to succeed. All this strategizing and plotting back and forth is just really, really thrilling to watch.

EPISODE 55
* From an objective standpoint I should complain about the Kaiô filler, as it absolutely can be infuriating to sit through if you don't care for it. That's certainly how I felt watching this stuff the first several times as a kid. Now, though... I just love all these characters too much, they get some time to shine for a change, and I'm no longer in a hurry to get on with the main plot. All throughout this rewatch I've been able to sit back, relax, and enjoy things as they come. If that makes me a poor critic, so be it, but I'm just having a good time.
* Obligatory "R.I.P. Appule" comment. Aaaand next time we get what's probably my favorite Vegeta moment in the whole series.


- Vegeta slaughtering the Namekian village is arguably one of the more brutal displays of violence since his introduction in the series; is this act so extreme as to make his transition into an ally and eventual hero feel less believable?
It helps that that transition is very gradual, and of course that he and our heroes end up sharing so many common enemies. That said, his acts here are definitely at least as evil as what Freeza and his lackeys have been doing. And he does remain evil - or at least exceedingly selfish and unconcerned about others - for quite a long time (up until the Cell Games, I'd say, when he begins to admit "Kakarrot" is better than him). In recent Super episodes, whenever I hear Vegeta talking about wanting to fight for others and to protect people, I do find myself wondering if it's really in-character for him to say such things. I know he changed a lot throughout the Boo arc, but did he really become that selfless? Don't get me wrong, it's great to finally see him wise up, but I can't help but wonder if there's not a part of him that's still disgusted at his own growing "softness".

Favorite character: APPULE-SAMA, of course! No, jokes aside, it's really hard to pick a single favorite character when the narrative keeps switching between so many of them. Hmmm. I liked Zarbon's surprise, but then he messed up and made himself look like a fool. We got the greatest Tenshinhan scene of all time, but I don't want to be too biased towards a fun moment that otherwise had little to no impact on the overall story. I'll go with the Namekian Grand Elder instead, for he is wise and kind, and he provided Kuririn with some great gifts.
Previous favorites: Raditz, Gohan, the saber-toothed tiger, Kaiô, Tenshinhan, Vegeta(1), Kuririn(1), Bulma, Vegeta(2), Kuririn(2).

[gaberparadiso]

Episode 54

General thoughts: there's actually nothing much to say about this episode, apart from the plot must go on formula. Saichoro reads Krillin's past, which includes a nice callback to Piccolo Daimao spreading terror on Earth. And the Super Saiyan is mentioned for the second time on the series (the first is when Nappa refers to Gohan as a SSJ back in ep. 5), who Freezer seems to be afraid of. This is a very important aspect, since no matter how powerful he is, he still fears the arrival of a Super Saiyan. Anyway, I laughed at Freezer roasting Appule's cousin for killing the only Namekian, who survived to Vegeta's slaughter. He orders Zarbon to heal him, which is probably a really dumb move from him, considering Vegeta wants the DBs so badly, as well.

Entertainment factor: alright direction from Okazaki, which is definitely a step up over the last two underwhelming directions.

Animation: Seigasha is back after 7 weeks, but something seems a bit weird. Probably because of movie 3 production, Shimanuki and Hisada's presence was considerably limited to the 1st half, (Hisada animates Krillin's flashback, while Shimanuki handles Krillin's potential unlocking) and some uncredited key animators take on the 2nd, like Hisashi Eguchi (he can be spot through near-death Vegeta's ears) and Takeo Ide (square jaws are quite recognizable).https://twitter.com/DBanimators/status/ ... 1090646016 I still think there's still some more of them, but it's really puzzling that these important names were not credited. Maybe because they couldn't exceed a certain cap for crediting animators.

Music: decent placement: M923 is here, as expected, and we get some really nice DB callbacks, with Piccolo Knows No Bounds and M517, which are used respectively for Krillin's flashback and Krillin flying with the DB.

Overall: 7/10. Okay.

[gaberparadiso]

Episode 55

General thoughts: I don't really care about this one: it's just about a copy and paste of Goku's training at Kaio's planet in Saiyan arc. This time with other characters, but undergoing the same tests (catching a monkey and hitting a cricket with a mallet). I guess this is a reference to Goku and Krillin's training with Kamesennin, which was apparently nothing special, but it would show its results immediately after. In fact, all of them seem a bit stronger than before after these tests. Unfortunately, though, they'll never learn the Kaioken, at the very least. Anyway, it's nothing terrible: it's actually a bit amusing to see Tenshinhan being much less serious than usual, by joining Yamcha and Chaozu in their nonsense. As for the Namek plot, Vegeta disposes of Appule (goodbye, brave man), and goes to steal the DBs from Freezer. Which definitely demonstrates how his plan to heal him was pretty dumb.

Entertainment factor: decent direction from Orime. It's fun to an extent.

Animation: Orime's storyboarding is not bad, as it actually uses his trademark thought imageries during Piccolo's meditation, much like Tenshinhan's grieve in ep. 24 or sad Bulma in ep. 36. Art-wise, this looks plainly a bit rushed, with only 3 scarce weeks from Last House's last episode. While I adore Shida's mouth shading https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dra ... 0824074453, the ending scene is particularly unpolished. https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dra ... 0824074748 In terms of action, we have the fight between Tenshinhan, Yamcha and Choazu vs Piccolo, which is decent and conservative, most likely animated by Ohara (at the very least the first portion).

Music: okay placement: they used the unreleased Gregory Throws The Kame Gang For A Loop just during this occasion, since we'll never hear it again. M742 and M741 are here, as always, and M816 plays during the ending scene. Fitting enough.

Overall: 6/10. Didn't hate it.

[Asura]

Oh man, I wish I had started this from the very beginning, I've really been wanting to watch the entirety of DBZ in Japanese for the first time. Watching a whole 50 episodes to catch up on though, that will be rough.

[Ajay]

Episode 52

Not a great episode, really. Definitely a case of the narrative dragging its feet, and with Shindo Pro returning after only just doing episode 50, it's not too surprising that it's a very static episode, too. As Zarbon vs Vegeta begins, you do get a little bit of movement, but it's a fleeting moment, and not massively exciting on its own.

Episode 53

Absolutely fantastic on the whole. Love this one so much. Shigeyasu Yamauchi is a pretty legendary director, even to this day, and having only joined at episode 45, it's awesome that he's making his mark already. He'll go on to direct a bunch of the movies, too! I really love his storyboard here - outside of the unique moments, he's also done an awesome job of adapting Toriyama's manga. That Zarbon and Vegeta panel comes from Taiichiro Ohara's scene, which showcases his super smooth action - I really love the way it snaps into the manga panel on the impacts.

Masayuki Uchiyama's corrections are usually pretty overbearing, and that's certainly true of this episode on the whole, but Naotoshi Shida mostly escapes them for his awesome little scene of Goku training. I love all of these super expressive shots throughout, too.

Episode 54

Unlike #52, the narrative isn't dragging its feet here, but they do share similar issues in the sense that the direction isn't doing much to really make a dialogue-heavy episode very interesting. Anime's a little different to live action in that a performance alone can't totally make up subpar components around it. Static heads with flapping mouths need compelling framing and lighting to sell important moments, and this episode doesn't really have masses of that. There are a few moments where Seigasha's crew get a little chance to shine, but it doesn't make much of a difference.

Episode 55

Great way to wrap up this batch; I really enjoyed this. It's largely filler, but it's good evidence that filler is not always bad. The writing here is seriously strong; I love the dynamic between Kaio and Piccolo. Mostly solid if a little uninspired direction, and of course, Taiichiro Ohara comes with more neat animation as everyone begins fighting.