Dragon Ball Rewatch, Week 49 - DBZ episode 58-62

[Robo4900]

Hello, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone between and beyond, and welcome to week 49 of the first Dragon Ball rewatch of the decade.
We're doing five episodes a week, and we'll be watching every single episode of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT. All 508 episodes. Plus the TV specials and the movies.
I encourage you all to watch in Japanese with subtitles, especially if you have never done so before, but watch along in whichever way brings you the most joy.

We have a new logo for the first time since Week 33; this one was used in chapters 276, 307, 311, 321, 324, 332-333, 336, 338, 340, and 517, and -- according to KBABZ -- became the basis of the Dragon Ball Minus logo, which is very interesting given that this logo was used in the chapter in which Bardock appears.
Speaking of Bardock, the Bardock special is next week!
KBABZ is taking another week off from writing trivia, and I've got a lot on my plate, so not a lot of trivia this week. KBABZ has expressed interest in going back and adding some notes to the weeks he's missed when he has time, but for now you're stuck with whatever I can scrounge up.

Previous thread: Week 48 (DBZ movie 3)
Next thread: Week 50 (DBZ 63, TVS1, 64)

Anyway, without further ado...

Episode 211 - Freeza’s Secret Weapon! The Devilish Ginyu Special-Squad (DBZ episode 58)
Dub title: Unknown Enemies (Funimation)
Originally aired 22nd of August 1990
Kai equivalent: Episode 27 - A Hair-Trigger Pinch! Gohan, Protect the Four-Star Ball
Edited dub equivalent: Episode 45 - Immortality Denied (last 16 minutes), Episode 46 - Big Trouble For Bulma
Episode director: Mitsuo Hashimoto
Animation supervisor: Tomekichi Takeuchi

When Zarbon fails to return, an irritated Freeza sends a message to dispatch the Ginyu Special-Squad. The Ginyu Special-Squad is Freeza’s prized unique fighting corps! Gohan obtains the Dragon Ball that Vegeta hid, but meets Vegeta on his way back!! In a good mood at having assembled all seven Dragon Balls, Vegeta leaves without fighting Gohan. Having hidden the Dragon Ball, Gohan reunites with Kuririn, and this time they set out to meet the Eldest!

Anime-only/filler content: Freeza killing a soldier after realising Zarbon has either died or run away, Kaio sensing the Ginyu Force approaching Namek, and hyping them up to Piccolo, Yamucha, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu. (Written by Hiroshi Toda)

Episode 212 - Bulma, Watch Out!! The Four-Star Ball Falls into Freeza’s Hands (DBZ episode 59)
Dub title: Destination: Guru (Funimation)
Originally aired 29th of August 1990
Kai equivalent: Episode 27 - A Hair-Trigger Pinch! Gohan, Protect the Four-Star Ball
Edited dub equivalent: Episode 46 - Big Trouble For Bulma
Episode director: Jōhei Matsūra
Animation supervisor: Masayuki Uchiyama

Freeza releases angry energy! It hits the island he aimed for, and the land shakes. This shaking causes the Dragon Ball that Bulma has to roll into the sea. Bulma goes searching for it in a submarine, but the Dragon Ball falls into a hole. But there are many Dragon Balls! It turns out that these are actually the eggs of a giant crab!! The giant crab attacks in an attempt to protect its eggs. The submarine’s roof collapses from the shock, but Bulma protects the crab and its eggs. Retrieving the Dragon Ball, Bulma returns to land. But Freeza’s henchmen are there…

Anime-only/filler content: Bulma's nightmare about Vegeta, Freeza firing random ki blasts at Namek from his ship, Bulma vs the giant crabs, Freeza's soldiers capturing Bulma. (Written by Aya Matsui)

Episode 213 - Charge!! The Kaiō-Ken and Kamehameha of an Indomitable Spirit (DBZ episode 60)
Dub title: Bulma's Big Day (Funimation)
Originally aired 5th of September 1990
Kai equivalent: Episode 27 - A Hair-Trigger Pinch! Gohan, Protect the Four-Star Ball and Episode 28 - The Super Decisive Battle Draws Near! The Ginyu Special-Squad Has Arrived!
Edited dub equivalent: Episode 47 - Scramble For The Dragon Balls
Episode director: Yoshihiro Ueda
Animation supervisor: Mitsuo Shindō

Captured by Freeza’s henchmen, Razzberi and Buleberi, Bulma lies and says that there is another Dragon Ball in the sea. While they doubt her, the two still begin searching the ocean floor. Bulma is of course the one to show them the way!! She’ll be killed if they realize there’s no Dragon Ball there… Bulma is frightened at this prospect, but the giant crab’s eggs are on the sea floor! The henchmen are defeated by the giant crab as it attacks to protect its eggs. Meanwhile, Goku tries to finish his training at 100x gravity!

Anime-only/filler content: Goku using Kaioken on his ship, Freeza's soldiers attempting to capture Bulma and being eaten by a crab. (Written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa)

Episode 214 - The Great Battle Approaches! The Ginyu Special-Squad Takes the Stage!! (DBZ episode 61)
Dub title: Hidden Power (Funimation)
Originally aired 12th of September 1990
Kai equivalent: Episode 28 - The Super Decisive Battle Draws Near! The Ginyu Special-Squad Has Arrived!
Edited dub equivalent: Episode 48 - Arrival Of The Ginyu Force
Episode director: Tatsuya Orime
Animation supervisor: Yukio Ebisawa

Goku’s training is finished! Having acquired strength that surpasses the limits of the Saiyan, Goku rests in preparation for the decisive battle. Kuririn and Gohan finally arrive at the Eldest’s house, but are overtaken by Vegeta right in front of it! Gohan receives a power-up from the Eldest, but he’s still no match for Vegeta… At that moment, five large ki draw near. In order to fight the Ginyu Special-Squad, Vegeta temporarily joins forces with Gohan and the others.

Anime-only/filler content: Goku breaking a rock, realising he smells, rejecting beer in favour of a sports drink, Vegeta flipping off Kuririn (which was censored to a fist in Kai), Bulma's Dragon Ball being tied to her leg to prevent it rolling away like it did two episodes ago. (Written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa)

Episode 215 - Goku on Final Approach! Smash through Freeza’s Dragnet (DBZ episode 62)
Dub title: New Ally, New Problem (Funimation)
Originally aired 19th of September 1990
Kai equivalent: Episode 29 - The Special-Squad’s Frontline Man! Break Gurd’s Spell (First half)
Edited dub equivalent: Episode 49 - Elite Fighters Of The Universe... The Ginyu Force
Episode director: Jun’ichi Fujise
Animation supervisor: Shigeyasu Yamauchi

The only way to defeat the Ginyu Special-Squad is to use the Dragon Balls to make Vegeta immortal! Gohan and Kuririn cooperate with Vegeta and assemble the Dragon Balls. But as Kuririn hesitates for a moment, the Ginyu Special-Squad appears, and steals the Dragon Balls in the blink of an eye. Ginyu delivers the Dragon Balls to Freeza, and the remaining four end up fighting Vegeta and the others. The results of their Janken is that Gurd will fight with Gohan and Kuririn, while Recoom will fight Vegeta!

Anime-only/filler content: Gohan and Kuririn refusing to give Vegeta the Dragon Ball just before the Ginyus arrive, the flashback to Vegeta being mean to Ghurd, Goku taking his outfit out of a closet full of copies of his gi (see trivia). (Written by Keiji Terui)

-

Interesting trivia:

• At this point in time in the manga, Vegeta kills Jheese, Goku gets his body back, Ginyu becomes a frog, Goku goes into the bacta tank to heal, Nail gives the game away to Freeza, Porunga is summoned by Gohan, Kuririn, and Dende, and they find out he can only revive one person per wish.
• Razzberi closes his helmet in the scene where he goes underwater; his helmet is open in all other scenes.
• When Freeza's soldiers are capturing Bulma, she has a flashback to the Pilaf arc; this flashback is the only appearance of the Pilaf gang in the Z anime.
• Edits in the original dub:
  • Uncut episode 58 features no cuts or paint edits, but after Freeza randomly kills a henchman of his, he says "Guess you were blasted into another dimension for no reason at all!" Interestingly, Vegeta kneeing Gohan in the stomach was left completely untouched.
  • Uncut episode 59 features no significant cuts and no paint edits, and marks the end of a long period of episodes not quite exactly lining up with the edited episodes; in this timeframe, Funimation managed to cut an entire episode's worth of contents, without actually dropping any significant portion of any episodes in that period.
  • Uncut episode 60, AKA edited episode 47, only features a cut in which Bulma flips off Pilaf in her flashback.
  • Uncut episode 61, AKA edited episode 48, features a towel edited onto Goku to cover up his butt.
  • Uncut episode 62, AKA edited episode 49 is, in Chris Psaros's words, "A perfectly untouched episode, not a second cut, not a pixel of digital paint."
• The voice director at the session where Brian Drummond recorded the "My WRAAATH" scene offered him a box of doughnuts if he could manage to hold all of the screams for long enough to fit the flaps. He did, and he got his doughnuts.
• In Funimation's English dubs of Z, Vegeta refers to Kuririn by name in the Namek/Freeza arc, whereas in the Japanese version, he would say the equivalent of "Hey, you there!"
• In the flashback to Vegeta bullying Ghurd, Vegeta lacks a tail, even though the flashback could only take place at a time where he would have one. It's possible he lost his tail in a fight at some point, but most likely this was just Toei using their current Vegeta design without thinking about the fact he used to have a tail.
• When Goku retrieves his outfit in episode 62, Toei changed the scene to him taking it out of a closet full of copies of his outfit; in the manga, he retrieves it from a bag he was given by Kaio.
• Goku's gi with 悟 on the front and back makes its TV debut in episode 62, though it had also appeared in Z movie 3 before this. This will be his primary outfit until after the timeskip following Boo's defeat.
  • Funimation added dialogue suggesting that Dr Brief made Goku's new gi. This isn't mentioned in Japanese or in Funi's Kai dub, and is actually contradicted by the manga.
  • If we pay attention to Super (which is ill-advised ), Goku will briefly wear a different gi bearing an insignia honouring his then-current master, Whis, during the timeskip after Boo's defeat, but for seemingly no reason he switches back almost immediately.
• There are 9 redrawn scenes in Kai episode 27, and there are 20 in episode 28.

Episode summaries, airdates, and titles courtesy of Kanzenshuu's episode guide. Dragon Ball logo courtesy of KBABZ. Additional trivia courtesy of Chris Psaros's DBZ Uncensored guide.

[Matches Malone]

Apart from the Ginyu force arriving, nothing that interested happened. Kai was able to get its main content into just 2 episodes, which says a lot about the amount of filler here. Next week's episodes are far more interesting, as they include everything starting the fight with Guldo until Ginyu's arrival to fight Goku.

[MasenkoHA]

Bulma vs Giant Namekian Crab on one hand, it’s nice to give Bulma something ANYTHING to do in the Namek arc on the other hand...:why?


The Ginyu Force are of course a lot of fun, so much so Toei will (poorly) try to recreate them for the first Coola movie.


Brian Drummond’s “You won’t escape my wraaaaaaath” is of course iconic. Drummond really shined in season 2.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

The Ginyu Force's arrival is by far my favorite bit in this batch of episodes, it shows just what total goof balls they are even with being Freeza's most elite and powerful minions and they definitely ham up and milk the scene for all it's worth with the over exaggerated theatrics of their respective introductions. The roses surrounding the frame at the end of it and Freeza's loss for words silence and blushing is a hilarious cap off because you can just tell he's thinking "Seriously...why?" which adds another thing to show just how ridiculously over the top they do things.

[Matches Malone]

The Ginyu Force's arrival is by far my favorite bit in this batch of episodes, it shows just what total goof balls they are even with being Freeza's most elite and powerful minions and they definitely ham up and milk the scene for all it's worth with the over exaggerated theatrics of their respective introductions. The roses surrounding the frame at the end of it and Freeza's loss for words silence and blushing is a hilarious cap off because you can just tell he's thinking "Seriously...why?" which adds another thing to show just how ridiculously over the top they do things.

What I like about them is that despite being over the top, they still feel threatening. You can tell from the build up and reactions from everyone that they mean business. They act the way they do not because they're idiots, but rather because they're so overpowered and successful they can afford to. It seems like this is what Super was going for with the magical girls of U2, but it just didn't work at all.

[KBABZ]

Four notes:

- Bulma and the Crabs is particularly infamous among old-school dub fans. This is because the show went on hiatus (I THINK because the cast switched from Ocean to Funi's internal cast?) and repeated the original run multiple times. The Crabs episode, being almost pure filler, did not sit well as the first new episode. The only non-filler scene is the scene of Frieza mulling over the current situation.
- In Kai, the scene of the Ginyu Force introducing themselves is given its own insert song. Japanese or English, it's pretty amazing and perfectly encapsulates the team.
- The Bulma and the Crabs episode aired on my birthday. This explains a lot about me.
- Goku's current gi would actually be revised in the Android arc: the belt would be replaced with a sash, presumably because it's easier to draw than the belt.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

The Ginyu Force's arrival is by far my favorite bit in this batch of episodes, it shows just what total goof balls they are even with being Freeza's most elite and powerful minions and they definitely ham up and milk the scene for all it's worth with the over exaggerated theatrics of their respective introductions. The roses surrounding the frame at the end of it and Freeza's loss for words silence and blushing is a hilarious cap off because you can just tell he's thinking "Seriously...why?" which adds another thing to show just how ridiculously over the top they do things.

What I like about them is that despite being over the top, they still feel threatening. You can tell from the build up and reactions from everyone that they mean business. They act the way they do not because they're idiots, but rather because they're so overpowered and successful they can afford to. It seems like this is what Super was going for with the magical girls of U2, but it just didn't work at all.

Yes, the comical theatrics such as their big intro scene don't take away from the threat they truly are which is clearly displayed just an episode or two later when we really get a good showing of their powers. It shows they can be silly and over the top at times and yet still be a group of five powerful warriors to be reckoned with.

[MyVisionity]

Vegeta's encounter with Gohan in episode 58 is just a wonderful delight. Vegeta is an awesome character, and this is one of his best moments. I like how he tells Gohan to hurry back to Earth so he can suck his mama's titties lol. Kudos to Takeuchi and everyone else involved.

I haven't really noticed any issues with the pacing of these episodes. I think the arc has flowed fairly smoothly up until now.

Something about Nail feels like a bit of a missed opportunity.

The Ginyū Tokusentai arrival is always awesome. I also can't help but be reminded of the Ocean version which was awesome, particularly Scott McNeil as Jeice.

Gurd was an asshole. I didn't see any bullying going on in that flashback with Vegeta. Just the usual dick-swinging among Freeza's soldiers.

...and milk the scene for all it's worth...

I see what you did there...

[ArmenianPepsi]

Agreed. Ginyu Force steal the show, and for such one-off characters to make such an impression is quite impressive. For the most part they strike a balance between being kind of goofy but still cold-blooded killers.

This theme that was created for them for DB Kai is such a jam, even if the language barrier keeps me from singing along

Spoiler:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezrbyf6t9mY

Though on a different note, an extension to some of the qualms I have with Kai's dub. This would've been a great opportunity to fix the pronunciations of some of the Ginyu members' names as to retain their original punny nature. As in, instead of saying "Burter" they use "Butta" or "Bāta". But instead we still keep the weird mangled names.

Also, has Sabat ever said why he gave Jeice the Australian accent?

[KBABZ]

Also, has Sabat ever said why he gave Jeice the Australian accent?

He looks like an asshole, what more do you want?

[ArmenianPepsi]

Also, has Sabat ever said why he gave Jeice the Australian accent?

He looks like an asshole, what more do you want?

Spoiler:

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Also note that in Kai the Ginyu Force's big introduction is among one of the scenes and in this case whole sequences to be completely redrawn. This was done mostly to replace the flashing effects that comes after each of the group's members say their names in the original scenes as per the mandated changes which were enacted in the wake of the Pokemon Shock incident and subsequent controversy back in late 1997, so this is one of the redraws i am ok with because it was done for a regulations reason and unlike some of the other redrawn parts in Kai of which many look really bad this one was decent for the most part.

[Robo4900]

Four notes:

- Bulma and the Crabs is particularly infamous among old-school dub fans. This is because the show went on hiatus (I THINK because the cast switched from Ocean to Funi's internal cast?) and repeated the original run multiple times. The Crabs episode, being almost pure filler, did not sit well as the first new episode. The only non-filler scene is the scene of Frieza mulling over the current situation.

The crabs was episodes 46 and 47 of the original dub, the end of the Ocean cast was episode 53, with the Funi cast taking over just about a year later, as I recall.

According to Chris Psaros's guide, it was one of the first episodes to air after a two-month hiatus of nothing but reruns.

- In Kai, the scene of the Ginyu Force introducing themselves is given its own insert song. Japanese or English, it's pretty amazing and perfectly encapsulates the team.

I love this insert song so much.

- Goku's current gi would actually be revised in the Android arc: the belt would be replaced with a sash, presumably because it's easier to draw than the belt.

Oops. lol.
Yeah... I preferred the belt, to be honest.

Gurd was an asshole. I didn't see any bullying going on in that flashback with Vegeta. Just the usual dick-swinging among Freeza's soldiers.

To be honest, it's been a while since I saw these episodes, so my memory is probably faulty here.

I may revise the trivia from this week, when KBABZ goes back and adds his extra notes.

Also, has Sabat ever said why he gave Jeice the Australian accent?

It's because that was his best impression of the Liverpool accent Scott McNeil was doing.

Circa 1999 Chris Sabat was no master of accents.

[MasenkoHA]

Four notes:

- Bulma and the Crabs is particularly infamous among old-school dub fans. This is because the show went on hiatus (I THINK because the cast switched from Ocean to Funi's internal cast?) and repeated the original run multiple times. The Crabs episode, being almost pure filler, did not sit well as the first new episode. The only non-filler scene is the scene of Frieza mulling over the current situation.

The crabs was episodes 46 and 47 of the original dub, the end of the Ocean cast was episode 53, with the Funi cast taking over just about a year later, as I recall.

According to Chris Psaros's guide, it was one of the first episodes to air after a two-month hiatus of nothing but reruns..

Indeed. The last new episode to air in 1997 was Tree of Might part 3 on November 22. Big Trouble for Bulma was the next new episode to air on Jan 31st 1998.

The syndication days were the only time the DBZ dub did the standard network tv 22-30 episodes from around September-May that usually have a mid-season hiatus around the holidays. Cartoon Network’s scheduling was a lot more eclectic.

There was a two month break between Showdown in the Past and “The end of snakeway” for season 1 and while End of Snakeway is kind of a lousy episode, it at least ends with Goku finally meeting King Kai, so, it’s a more satisfying episode to return to from a hiatus than Bulma vs Giant Crab

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Yes, the crab episode is by far my least favorite filler in Z moreso than even the Garlic Jr. arc but just barely. It honestly kind of surprises me that this particular one was left in the old dub given it's entirely a filler episode of no great consequence overall considering how much other stuff they trimmed away especially in the Saiyan arc though it seems they picked and choosed what to leave in and what to cut out in sometimes odd form.

They could've really done with stripping out the Fake Namek episodes and particularly this one, given a lot of the time the filler didn't really lead into the straight adapted material too heavily.

[MasenkoHA]

Funny Funi-ism

In the original edited Funimation dub Vegeta refers to Bulma as a gorgeous girl, I’d say this is foreshadowing but considering this is the company that gave us “Your father was a brilliant scientist” and “General Tao was the heart of the Red Ribbon Army” I doubt anyone at Funimation knew Vegeta was going to get with Bulma later down the line.

In the in-house uncut redub he calls her a bratty girl instead (even though Funimation obviously knew Vegeta was going to get with Bulma) maybe they thought it was out of character for Vegeta to call her gorgeous ?


He doesn’t even mention her at all in the Japanese version and only tells Gohan he got the dragon ball from the bald-headed one.

[ArmenianPepsi]

Funny Funi-ism

In the original edited Funimation dub Vegeta refers to Bulma as a gorgeous girl, I’d say this is foreshadowing but considering this is the company that gave us “Your father was a brilliant scientist” and “General Tao was the heart of the Red Ribbon Army” I doubt anyone at Funimation knew Vegeta was going to get with Bulma later down the line.

In the in-house uncut redub he calls her a bratty girl instead (even though Funimation obviously knew Vegeta was going to get with Bulma) maybe they thought it was out of character for Vegeta to call her gorgeous ?


He doesn’t even mention her at all in the Japanese version and only tells Gohan he got the dragon ball from the bald-headed one.

Even then it still doesnt make much sense. How in the world would Vegeta at that point know anything about Bulma beyond the fact that she is a woman from Earth, and that she is working with Krillin and Gohan to get the Dragon Balls. A line like that would make sense during the Android/Cell arc when they are actually a couple. Right now though, he has not even directly spoken to her.

[Planetnamek]

I know the "Bulma fights a giant crab" plot is like the ultimate punchline for fans that don't like the filler added into the show, but I didn't mind it too much if only because I was grateful just to see Bulma actually get to do something besides complain for once.

The Ginyu Force were certainly memorable though I was surprised that they weren't in as many episodes as I thought they were, I was sure they stuck around longer then they did.

[KBABZ]

I know the "Bulma fights a giant crab" plot is like the ultimate punchline for fans that don't like the filler added into the show, but I didn't mind it too much if only because I was grateful just to see Bulma actually get to do something besides complain for once.

The Bulma and the Crabs episode is infamous not for what it is but more for the context in which it first aired in the West. There was a period of MONTHS where the series was on constant re-runs where it'd get to a certain point, then snap back to Raditz because there wasn't any new dubbed content yet. And when the series FINALLY came back with a new episode... it was Bulma and the Crabs, an episode where literally nothing important happens, and the only scene from the manga is Frieza assessing the situation in his ship. Very anticlimactic after all that waiting!

[Planetnamek]

I know the "Bulma fights a giant crab" plot is like the ultimate punchline for fans that don't like the filler added into the show, but I didn't mind it too much if only because I was grateful just to see Bulma actually get to do something besides complain for once.

The Bulma and the Crabs episode is infamous not for what it is but more for the context in which it first aired in the West. There was a period of MONTHS where the series was on constant re-runs where it'd get to a certain point, then snap back to Raditz because there wasn't any new dubbed content yet. And when the series FINALLY came back with a new episode... it was Bulma and the Crabs, an episode where literally nothing important happens, and the only scene from the manga is Frieza assessing the situation in his ship. Very anticlimactic after all that waiting!

Yeah i can understand people being frustrated back when this originally aired after waiting for months for new episodes only for it to be a filler arc. As someone that never watches TV shows before they finish airing the whole series anymore(well besides animated sitcoms anyways) I thankfully don't have to deal with getting blue balls waiting months for new episodes. I couldn't imagine watching an anime week to week in this day and age, I just wouldn't have the patience for it.