Dragon Ball Z - Episodes 31-35 - Discussion Thread [Rewatch - Week 7]

[Ajay]

Welcome! For details on this rewatch, click here!

Owari da.

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

This week we're covering:

[spoiler]いまだ悟空！すべてを賭けた最後の大技
Ima da Gokū! Subete o Kaketa Saigo no Ōwaza
Now, Goku! A Final Technique with Everything on the Line

Risking his own life to use the Kaiō-Ken x3, Goku wildly attacks Vegeta! Hit with these attacks, Vegeta is astonished and confused, but even Goku’s body is strained by the Kaiō-Ken x3. Mad with rage, Vegeta fires his Galic Cannon in order to obliterate Goku and the Earth with him, but Goku resists with a Kaiō-Ken x4 Kamehameha! Vegeta is blown away! But after returning covered in wounds, Vegeta creates an artificial moon to take the place of the destroyed one, and transforms into an Ōzaru!!

戦闘力１０倍！！ベジータ大変身
Sentō-ryoku Jū-Bai!! Bejīta Dai-Henshin
Battle Power Times Ten!! Vegeta’s Great Transformation

After seeing the artificial moon on his way back to Kame House, Gohan is concerned for Goku and once again returns to the battleground. Kuririn follows behind. As Goku is being chased by Vegeta, whose power has increased tenfold by transforming into an Ōzaru, he realizes that the monster who killed his adoptive grandfather was actually his own transformed form! Firming his resolve, Goku tries to make a Genki-Dama. But he is hit by an attack the instant he finishes gathering ki, and though he manages to wound the Ōzaru’s right eye in his battered state, he has both of his arms crushed, and ends up with Vegeta trying to crush him.

死なないで父さん！！これが悟飯の底力
Shinanaide Tōsan!! Kore ga Gohan no Sokojikara
Don’t Die, Father!! This is Gohan’s Hidden Strength

Finding Goku in a pinch, Gohan and Kuririn watch Goku and Vegeta’s fight in hiding the whole time, and meet up with Yajirobe. Gohan and Kuririn try to cut off the Ōzaru’s tail but fail, however, Yajirobe seizes an opening and severs it! After returning to his original form, Vegeta angrily beats Gohan around. But after being encouraged by Goku, who is lying stretched out on the ground, Gohan musters his power and faces off against Vegeta. As this is going on, Goku entrusts Kuririn with the remaining energy from the Genki-Dama!

撃てクリリン！願いをこめた元気玉
Ute Kuririn! Negai o Kometa Genki-Dama
Shoot, Kuririn! The Genki-Dama, Packed with Hope

After forming a Genki-Dama according to Goku’s instructions, Kuririn aims for Vegeta as Vegeta battles with Gohan! Sensing Vegeta’s evil ki, Kuririn fires the Genki-Dama! But Vegeta notices this due to Yajirobe’s mistake, and is able to dodge the Genki-Dama, but Gohan bounces it back and it hits Vegeta head on! With his battered body, Vegeta uses his remaining power to attack Gohan and the others, but the passed out Gohan’s tail has re-grown!

奇跡を起こせ！スーパーサイヤ人孫悟空
Kiseki o Okose! Sūpā Saiya-jin Son Gohan
Cause a Miracle! The Super Saiyan, Son Gohan

Vegeta notices Gohan’s tail, but while he’s beating up Yajirobe after he came at him with a katana, Gohan looks at the artificial moon and transforms into an Ōzaru! At Goku’s urgings, the rampaging Ōzaru pursues Vegeta. Vegeta is squashed by the Ōzaru the instant he finally cuts off its tail! With his breathing faint, Vegeta calls his spaceship and climbs inside. Goku stops Kuririn as he’s about to finish Vegeta off, and Vegeta departs from Earth, swearing vengeance.[/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.

- That concludes the Saiyan arc! How did you feel about the arc as a whole? What worked, what didn't, and why?

[Bear]

Episode 31: You’re father was an average fighter, but he was a brilliant scientist!

General thoughts: Three words: “SAN BAI KAIŌKEN!!!” The fight continues with the 3 times Kaioken, and after seeing his own, royal blood being shed, Vegeta snaps, and fires his Gyalic Hō, or Garlic Cannon. Goku does and 4 times Kaioken Kamehameha and blasts the prince towards the sky. he returns however, and forms a fake moon to become, an Ōzaru. Much like the last episode, the fight is amazing, including the legendary bea, struggle, one of the most famous events in anime, seriously, watch any fan parody, and they reference this scene. The scene would be perfect, except for one thing. They cut to The Kame house again, in the middle of the beam struggle.

Entertainment factor: One of the most entertaing of this arc. not my favourite, but close.

Animation: Much like the last episode, this episode has many important moments that they animated wonderfully, such as the 4 times Kaiōken vs. Gyalic Hō, Vegeta’s transformation, etc. not as fluent as last episode, but nonetheless, still good.

Music: As I stated for the last episode! These tracks are all used to their fullest, and used more like an actual score, and less like music that they had to put in there.

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

[gaberparadiso]

Episode 31

General thoughts: this could've been a flawless episode, despite a really promising fight. In fact, the concept of Goku vs Vegeta is great, and seeing them wearing out is also realistic. The Kaioken Kamehameha-Galick Gun clash is memorable, and the ending with Vegeta turning into an Oozaru is glorious. On top of that, he demonstrates why episode 18 is pointless, as Saiyans with a tail need a specific biochemical reaction with the full moon in order to transform. A mere projection is NOT enough. (For record, I'm sticking to the Japanese version. No reference to the brilliant scientist Bardock being the creator of the Power Ball, from the mocktragic Ocean Dub) Regardless, once again, Kame House cutaways break that cohesiveness, which is one of the main problems of the Saiyan arc in the anime.

Entertainment factor: really entertaining and all, but probably not the best direction from Nishio. The Kame House segments are ANNOYING, FORCED and interrupt a crucial battle.

Animation: Takeuchi's corrections are relatively few, thus allowing the different key animators to shine. This part of the fight is considerably superior to last episode, thanks to the contribution of two animation giants like Shimanuki and Hisada. The former provides key animation on Goku punching Vegeta on his stomach and, of course, the legendary Kamehameha-Galick Gun beam struggle, also enhanced by Nishio's storyboarding. The latter animates the rotation and Goku kicking Vegeta in the 1st half and the entire sequence of Vegeta's transformation at the end. https://twitter.com/DBanimators/status/ ... 4885771264 Iizuka handles the first portion of Goku's Kaioken Attack https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dra ... 1008222242 and Takeuchi is responsible for possibly the weakest part of the episode, that is Vegeta explaining how Saiyans turn into Oozarus and creating an artificial moon. Even though his contribution was really important for Shimanuki, Hisada and Tate, I'm not a fan of his rudimentary character acting and questionable proportions, like characters' ears. https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dra ... 0422201334 Overall, it's really comforting to have both Shimanuki and Hisada to animate iconic moments.

Music: good placement consisting of M7** and M8**. M811 at the end is a nice choice.

Overall thoughts: 8,5/10. I wish I could give a higher grade. Direction and bad timing are considerable flaws.

[Lord Beerus]

Episodes 31-35

Language: Japanese

General Thoughts: Episode 31 of Dragon Ball Z is a franchise highpoint. It epitomizes everything people love about Dragon Ball Z. It's spectacle in every sense of the word.

Oozaru Vegeta is the second and last “giant boss” type of battle Dragon Ball’s original story would get. What a pity. Fights like this can be so damn entertaining as shown in this arc.

Cutting off Oozaru Vegeta’s tail, and preventing him from crushing Goku to death, would be the most useful Yajirobe would be in all of Dragon Ball.

Gohan deciding to go back to help his father, even when know he realistically know he can’t do much, is such a wonderful moment for his character and story. It sells how much the stakes are unbelievably high for the battle between Goku and Vegeta for Gohan to consider making this decision, but also displays how much Gohan’s character has matured and grown. He feels a great deal of duty to help his father, even if it goes against his father wishes and his better judgement. Great stuff.

Goku letting Vegeta live represents the best and worst of his character. The worst being his incredibly reckless and pretty selfish desires related to combat. But at the same time, this displays why Goku is always ahead of the curve. He creates scenarios where he has to push himself beyond his limits, and as such, he discovers new ways of becoming stronger that he didn’t think existed before.

Man, the battle with Vegeta felt like such an outright war. I loved every moment of it. And how broken and beaten the survivors are really sells the tenacity and brutality of the battle that took place.

Entertainment Factor: These episodes represent why people love Dragon Ball Z. Great animation, great battles, great voice acting (Nozawa fucking KILLS IT with the “Kaioken Times Four” moment and Horikawa brings a wonderful blend of youthful arrogance and prideful, while also somewhat deranged, exuberance when shit goes south for Vegeta), raw tension, and it leaves you with the notion that the battle is far from over and there is still so much more to come. Awesome, awesome, awesome stuff right here. Unfortunately, in humble opinion, Dragon Ball peaks with battle against Vegeta. That's not to say we don't get good battles later, but they just don't reach the overall quality of Z-Warriors vs Vegeta.

Animation: It was two opposite ends of the spectrum. Episode 31 had some of the best looking animation in the series but Episode 33 was ugly and stiff as hell in motion and was probably the worst looking episode in the entire arc.

[Bear]

The weasel’s last fart

General Thoughts: This episode was, slow to say the least. A majority of it is Goku just dodging Vegeta, and charging the Genki-Dama. I dunno, maybe because of how crappy the levels based on this are in the video games, but I don’t enjoy this part as much. I liked how we see ChiChi care for Goku in the cutaway scene, even if it’s for only 10 seconds.

Entertainment Factor: Alright, could have had more to it.

Animation: If you asked me to tell you about the art of this episode in just one word, I’d say inconsistent., but I’ll get to that in a second. Vegeta’s blast against the Genki-Dama is cool, and well animated, the art however. The blood goes from black to red to black to red, then this mixture of the two, and purple, and then black. Pick a colour dammit! And after Goku uses the Taiyoken, Goku’s eyes look really weird. Vegeta, your eyes aren’t messed up, Gokus are. They look like the scene with Gohan and Tullece from the edited TV broadcast of Movie 3. (And when I referenced Goku’s dad being a brilliant scientist, it was supposed to be a joke)

Music: Tracks don’t feel as powerful, with the exceptions of M802, M813, M816 and M817.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

[gaberparadiso]

Episode 32

General thoughts: "the weasel's last fart". That line aside, this episode has some good aspects, like Gohan deciding to go back to help Goku or how the Genkidama charging process was portrayed. As a whole, though, it feels less of a showdown and more like a videogame, in which you have to defeat the giant boss. This episode lacks of that conflict from the last one, which made it much better. Also, Goku has been borrowing others' techniques since 1986, why asking Tenshinhan's permission for his Taiyoken? Feels a bit bizarre.

Entertainment factor: much slower than the last two episodes, and sadly, doesn't lack of pointless cutscenes.

Animation: once again, not a great direction from Ueda, but his storyboarding is quite good: I liked how he is able to build the Genkidama sequence, using different framings wisely, more or less like he did back in ep. 4 before the fight vs Raditz. And the flashback Oozaru-Goku rotation is serviceable enough. As expected, art-wise this episode is a bit messy and inconsistent. Some proportions are definitely questionable and flawed, and Uchiyama didn't manage to correct everything, thus we can see some untouched (and often rushed) shots, like this one of Shida's Goku. https://twitter.com/DBanimators/status/ ... 0539360256 In terms of animation, Shida himself animates the dynamic sequence with Oozaru Vegeta throwing punches to Goku, which he recently described as one of his own favorite works in DB. As for the other animators, it's very likely Ohara handles the scenes before the ending of the 1st half, with Oozaru Vegeta slapping Goku with his tail. Saeki and Katada have pretty vague approaches at this point, so it's pretty hard to tell what they did precisely.

Music: okay-ish placement. M801 being played during Gohan's decision was a mistake. Once again, DBKai nailed it so much better. M816 fits the Genkidama procedure quite well, and that's it.

Overall: 7,5/10. Not as good as the last one.

[TrunksTrevelyan0064]

Episodes covered: Dragon Ball Z 31-35 ("Dragon Ball 184-188")


EPISODE 31
* More of the same gorgeous animation, especially the Kaiô-Ken movement. And they do such a good job of conveying how much of a toll the Kaiô-Ken takes on the user's body.
* Welp, here we see the beginnings of Vegeta's hatred towards "Kakarrot"; his pride took a solid hit and he's starting to make it personal now. If only he realized the Kaiô-Ken is only a temporary power-increase.
* I never understood Vegeta trying to blow up the Earth here - how was he planning on surviving? Was his pride so shattered that he immediately became suicidal? At least we get the awesomest of awesome beam struggles out of it.
* Heyyy, Yajirobe sounds like Yajirobe again. I forgive you for last episode, Tanaka-san.
* "The only way to beat him is with the Genki-Dama; but will I be able to focus?" DUDE you just had all the time in the world while Vegeta was looking for the moon up there!

EPISODE 32
* Really enjoyed Kuririn trying to look after his best friend's son, and Gohan willingly turning towards danger. Already, the kid has come quite a ways since the start of the battle when he was too terrified to do anything.
* Speaking of Gohan - the other Gohan - I always like it when characters we haven't seen in ages are mentioned, if only to show us that they haven't been forgotten in-universe. Shame we never actually got to see an afterlife scene where Goku and his "grandfather" meet up again.
* So good to hear that first GENKI O WAKETEKURE~!!
* Arrrgh, the freakin' crushed legs. Oww the pain! I feel that one every time I see it.
* How would it have affected the rest of the series if Vegeta had permanently lost that eye?

EPISODE 33
* Aww. The art quality, while not atrocious, did take a noticeable dip. Though there is a scene of Kuririn running that looks strangely "satisfying" (that's the best word I can think of to describe that animation).
* Yajirobe suddenly popping out and scaring Kuririn is one of the funniest manga panels. The anime almost does it justice, but not quite.
* I can't quite tell - is that a filter of some kind that's making Horikawa's voice sound deeper, or is that his actual performance?
* When you think of "Goku passing the torch to Gohan", the Cell arc probably first comes to mind. But they have a similar moment here too, though Gohan is obviously not ready to truly take on that role yet.
* As a whole, this final battle is just amazing with how many players are involved. Gohan, Kuririn and even freakin' Yajirobe all play vital roles, it's not just the Goku show - in fact, you could argue he's almost the least useful of everyone there.

EPISODE 34
* Back to near-flawless animation, holy crap does this look good. The art style reminded me of when Goku first turns Super Saiyan, and sure enough, "Chief Animator: Minoru Maeda".
* I like that Kuririn gets some personal interaction with Kaiô, considering the two never actually meet (except in filler).
* Speaking of personal interaction, we don't often see that between Bulma and Chi-Chi, so it's nice to see that too. And Bulma's comment about "if I were to ever have a husband and son" feels kind of surreal, knowing what lies in store for her.
* Everyone's familiar with the "father-son Kamehameha", but the video games should start incorporating this "father-friend-son Genki-Dama" as well.

EPISODE 35
* Come to think of it, the four characters fighting Vegeta are all voiced by either Masako Nozawa or Mayumi Tanaka. It just genuinely feels like four different characters, so I suppose that's a testament to their acting skill.
* I'm always baffled by Vegeta's insane endurance here. Took a Kaiô-Ken x4 Kamehameha to the face, a Genki-Dama to the face, an Ôzaru to the face, yet he still keeps on breathin'. What a battle in general. Everyone's so bruised and battered. You really feel the damage and the exhaustion. So incredibly well done.
* Oh wow, I forgot about Kaiô's "It's wrong for me to play favorites". I wondered about that last week. Well, good on you for acknowledging it yourself, Kaiô-sama. Also, thank you for foreshadowing the "root of evil". Very ominous (and knowing what's to come, it makes me so hyped for the Namek arc).
* Letting Vegeta go is a pretty insane move, but I love that Toriyama wrote Goku the way he did. It's pretty ballsy to give your protagonist such a dislikeable, selfish trait. Poor Kuririn though, being forced to make that ridiculous choice. I definitely feel for him there, especially when he actually mentions Yamcha, Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu by name.


Favorite character: Man, I want to give this one to the whole team! They all fought so well! Should I pick Yajirobe, since this is pretty much his only chance of ending up in this list? I can't say he was my favorite, though... Kuririn and Gohan impressed me more. Arrrgh. Yeah, okay, Kuririn it is! This was probably his biggest role in any of the "final battles" throughout the series.
Previous favorites: Raditz, Gohan, the saber-toothed tiger, Kaiô, Tenshinhan, Vegeta.


- That concludes the Saiyan arc! How did you feel about the arc as a whole? What worked, what didn't, and why?
I definitely consider it one of the best arcs in all of Dragon Ball. It opens up with a gigantic plot twist, changing the very nature of the main character, and leads up to an incredibly tense final battle that has major consequences. Story-wise, most of it works very well, even the filler material. Though there's a bit much of it, it does make the "year of training" actually feel like a sizeable chunk of time. Plus it allows us to get to know Gohan a whole lot better.

What doesn't work as well, I think, is starting your Dragon Ball journey with this arc. If you are not familiar with characters like Yamcha and Tenshinhan and the history they have with Goku, I imagine they just feel like random redshirts whose deaths have little to no impact. As someone who first got into Dragon Ball during the Freeza fight, Yamcha, Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu were always just "the three dead guys" to me. Whereas now, having gone back and learned who these characters actually are, Tenshinhan has become one of my absolute favorites. In a way, starting with Z puts you in Gohan's shoes - sure, you know that these guys are your dad's friends, but you don't have much emotional attachment to them. So although it's scary to see them go, the only death that truly gets to you is Piccolo's. You can tell that Kuririn, by contrast, genuinely does feel the deaths of all his comrades.

[Taisa732]

Language: Japanese

General Thoughts:
Episode 31: There he is, the prince we all know and love with his first temper tantrum. I adore how Horikawa goes form the calm and collective tone he had until a couple of episodes to an hysterical over the top yelling.
Can I also say how much I love that Vegeta ruffles his tail when he starts to get angry? It's just a little detail but it makes me happy.
As for the story, I think that this is Vegeta's biggest mistake in this fight. Going Oozaru I mean. Goku was already almost out of energy (even Yajirobei is hurting him), so if Vegeta would've gone strait back to the fight he probably would've won. Goku couldn't last long and Vegeta creating a Power Ball reduces his stamina almost by half. But that's Vegeta for you, as soon as things don't go his way he immediately loses his temper.
Oh... so we're not rooting for the bad guys? Whoops, my bad.

Episode 32: There's something very sad about this episode and if you've seen or remember the first series it becomes really painful. I'm talking about Goku's realisation that he is in fact the one who killed Grandpa Gohan. It's so sad, especially if you have in mind the scene where Goku meets up with him at Baba's. You can see how much Goku was fond of him, being the only occasion he genuinely seems like a little kid.
His friends always kept this secret from him knowing that if he discovered the truth it probably break his heart, so when he does finds out it's somewhat of a shock. I feel so sad for him here.
On a side note, am I the only one who thinks that it would've been so cool if Vegeta got a scar around his right eye after Goku injures him?

Episode 33: This is what I was talking about last time. In this episode there are at least two occasions in which you can see Vegeta is starting to get the hang of ki sensing. The first when he avoids Krillin's Kienzan, the second when he notices Krillin attack from behind. But he's still not very good at it, in fact Yajirobei's ki is so low he doesn't sense him until is too late. (RIP Vegeta's tail, I'll miss you)
What I also like is the responsibility that Goku gives Krillin by entrusting him with the Genkidama, giving Krillin himself a very relevant role in the fight. Too bad it doesn't work thou.

Episode 34: Aaand... Genkidama fail number 2 already, with the first one being Goku's attempt. There isn't too much in terms of content here, but I still like this episode. Love the scene where Krillin talks about making a grave, only to have Vegeta wake up just to answer back. It amuses me, it's probably because of Vegeta's comeback line.

Episode 35: I remember the first time I was reading this (read this part in the manga first) and thinking “Just die already!”, but now I'm so happy that he didn't and I actually admire him for it. Vegeta keeps getting up no matter how many things they throw at him and it shows an important aspect of his character that we know him for today: his endurance. Something that will become a trademark for Vegeta.
I like the end of the fight, especially if you think how important it becomes for the Goku/Vegeta duality. Yes, it's maybe a bit anticlimactic, no big blast at the end, but it still has some weight. It could've been worst if Krillin just pierced through Vegeta with a sword!

Animation: Well... we have Shimanuki at his best, what else do you want? He's the king of debris and he still is the best when it comes to it. I always wondered how much time he must have spend doing that beam struggle, if anything you can say that it's probably the best one in all of Dragon Ball as far as visuals go.
I liked the effects of the Genkidama, the way it generated in episode 32. Especially when it's surrounding Goku. There is a particular cut, where we see Goku form behind and Yajirobei looking while hiding near the rock, that I really enjoyed.
Loved episode 34 in terms of animation. Vegeta throwing ki blasts at Gohan is a very nice scene. Between the colour scheme, the debris, the explosions and Gohan's first jump to avoid them (love his pose there).
It also has one of my favourite moments, when Vegeta realises the Power Ball is still in the sky and he turns to look up. Always loved that moment. Even before, his unstable stand while walking and flying is very well done.
One negative note, I didn't like the choice of those comic like “!!” when Vegeta sees the Genkidama coming at him. They seem out of place considering that they are not used anywhere else.
Finally episode 35 was nice. Liked how all the characters move at slow pace because they are all exhausted. You can sense how much effort every movements costs them. Particularly on Vegeta and Krillin.
Also I liked Shida's Vegeta hitting Oozaru Gohan in the forehead.

- That concludes the Saiyan arc! How did you feel about the arc as a whole? What worked, what didn't, and why?

Saiyan arc isn't exactly the best of the story, but like every other it has it's positive. Possibly one of the best villain buildups ever, where slowly you understand the power he holds, while creating tension the more it progresses. It's show not tell at it's finest!
An amazing fight that isn't just a one on one, making cooperation an important factor for success. Love the one against a team aspect of it. (Not only because Vegeta is just a badass, but also because the teamwork makes for some amazing twists)
A lot of nice things come out from this arc that well enhance the general story. Piccolo and Gohan's friendship, Goku and Vegeta's rivalry. Not to mention that two fan favourites are introduced in this particular arc, those being Gohan and Vegeta.
And I like watching Vegeta learning how to sense ki.
The negatives, the most noticeable at least, come from the anime. The first one being the fillers that we have already discussed, and for me the journalist are a major problem. And believe me, I'm not done ranting about them!
Anyway, overall still a positive arc that I very much enjoy.

[gaberparadiso]

Episode 33

General thoughts: apparently, in the Japanese version, Gohan is considered a twit by Krillin, and a jackass by his own father. Funny subs. Anyway, I can't complain about Yajirobe's character, because he makes himself more useful than Chaozu, Lunch or Chichi. More or less like an early counterpart of Mr. Satan. Gohan's role in this episode is active, and differs a lot from his chicken attitude of 8 episodes ago. The idea of Goku giving his gathered energy to Krillin is a bit jarring, since the Genkidama is difficult to control, and it feels bizarre to see Krillin pulling it off.

Entertainment factor: decently directed, probably a tad slow as an episode.

Animation: at this point Hashimoto's transitions become quite predictable, especially after Vegeta headbutts Gohan, in which we get a dumb excuse for another Kame House cutaway. In fact, visual-wise this episode is entirely inconsistent: by now Ebisawa's style and corrections are starting to enter the awkward territory of triangles. He can't definitely draw appealing female characters, and his Vegeta is maybe the ugliest of the series. https://twitter.com/DBanimators/status/ ... 4986166278 On top of that, even the animation is inconsistent: the segment of Oozaru Vegeta going back to normal looks bizarre, and Ebisawa's corrections manage to lessen the scene even further. Tomoya animates the bit of Gohan attacking Vegeta in the 2nd half, and once again, it's not that great animation-wise, despite a decent overhead kick.

Music: nothing much to say. Simply alternating M7** with M8**. It's okay-ish.

Overall: 7/10. I know 'baka' literally means idiot-stupid, but seeing it translated into 'twit' and 'jackass' is... funny.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

I am still reading everyone's thoughts but unfortunately too busy at the moment and watching in JPN requires effort so I'd rather just devote my time to DBS until ends then I'll jump back in to this rewatch when it ends!

Man, the battle with Vegeta felt like such an outright war. I loved every moment of it. And how broken and beaten the survivors are really sells the tenacity and brutality of the battle that took place

Which is why I am so miffed that Toriyama decided to even bother with the idea of the re-match in the Buu arc, the fight was crap and he knew it and didn't bother to waste his reader's time with it meanwhile Toei did and it was lumbering, I think this should have been left as is and Goku vs Vegeta should always be remembered as this fight instead it is tainted by the crap we got in the Buu arc, Vegeta vs Goku has to be it's own thing not some minor plot point in a bigger story y'know.

[The gr]

I am still reading everyone's thoughts but unfortunately too busy at the moment and watching in JPN requires effort so I'd rather just devote my time to DBS until ends then I'll jump back in to this rewatch when it ends!

Man, the battle with Vegeta felt like such an outright war. I loved every moment of it. And how broken and beaten the survivors are really sells the tenacity and brutality of the battle that took place

Which is why I am so miffed that Toriyama decided to even bother with the idea of the re-match in the Buu arc, the fight was crap and he knew it and didn't bother to waste his reader's time with it meanwhile Toei did and it was lumbering, I think this should have been left as is and Goku vs Vegeta should always be remembered as this fight instead it is tainted by the crap we got in the Buu arc, Vegeta vs Goku has to be it's own thing not some minor plot point in a bigger story y'know.

Same i'm just reading everyone thoughts while i read the original manga,my internet is not that good so i don't have time for it.

I've always got that impression when i was reading the manga,i know most of the battle are short in the buu saga but damn Majin Vegeta vs Goku was really short.

[gaberparadiso]

Episode 34

General thoughts: this episode is so full of problems: for instance, they reanimate the scene of Krillin controlling the Genkidama, which felt weird in the previous episode, but I let it slide. However, I can't buy Goku telling Gohan that the Genkidama won't hurt good people, and even worst, the latter bouncing it back. Considering that: 1) this Genkidama is still pretty weak, but probably strong enough to damage Gohan, and 2) Gohan is injured, I find this device a bit forced. Then again, it appeared in the original manga, too, therefore I should not complain about it that much. Although, I can freely complain about the Kame House cutscenes being overused, to the point that it becomes really distracting and frustrating. WE GET IT, CHICHI WANTS HER SON BACK. STOP IT. These issues are obviously going to affect my final rating, even though the main plot is solid enough.

Entertainment factor: much like ep. 28, I couldn't fully enjoy this episode, because it's poorly directed. The cutscene timing is maybe the worst so far. Did we really need updates of Kamesennin, Bulma and Chichi so badly??

Animation: while Okazaki's storyboarding is slightly better than his direction, it does still look inconsistent. This episode could've been a right opportunity to show some nice perspective, and I believe he kinda played it safe here. As for Maeda's team, they speak for themselves enough: Ide's expressivity is top notch here, with his purposely imprecise and virile proportions (I really like how he drew bloody Vegeta), Eguchi animates a nice cut of Vegeta using ki blasts on Gohan and Krillin throwing the Genkidama at him (with some esclamation points??) and Satou delivers the following sequence with Gohan bouncing the Genkidama back to Vegeta, who screams in pain. Lastly, Nakatsuru's lack of expressivity kinda works on badly-injured Vegeta, as his blank look gives the idea of an actually worn out character. Nonetheless, I'm not a fan of his repetitive character acting. https://twitter.com/DBanimators/status/ ... 5688853504

Music: Super Divine Poison is back. Apart from that, it's another average placement: M742 has been reused so many times, it simply cannot fit an important scene, that is the Genkidama hitting Vegeta bit.

Overall: 7,5/10. I'd give a better grade if it wasn't that flawed.

[gaberparadiso]

Episode 35

General thoughts: the Saiyan arc finale. And... damn if this episode is GREAT. If some of the previous entries were structured like this one, the overall arc would be much better. Its structure is nearly perfect, indeed: dialogue-action-tension-action-ending. And you know what's the best thing? There's no INTERRUPTION. The Kame gang cutaway is used at the very beginning and they're not shown ever again, which is totally positive. As for the episode itself, it has lots of great stuff, like Yajirobe cutting Vegeta's back with his katana, Oozaru Gohan's rampage being calmed down by hearing Goku's voice, whose aspect makes him so much different from his father, as he's a half-breed Saiyan, and of course, Goku's decision to spare Vegeta's life, in order to fight him another day. This is perfectly in line with Goku's character, as this is something he'd actually do, with his Saiyan motivation being a fair excuse. IF ONLY the other episodes were complete like this one, but still.

Entertainment factor: the most enjoyable episode of this arc. Fluid, really well-directed and without any break whatsoever.

Animation: what a finale with Daisuke Nishio: his storyboarding speaks for itself, with a really clever and compelling use of differing perspectives and framings. https://twitter.com/DBanimators/status/ ... 9741383680 Regardless, the only downside is maybe Uchiyama's supervision, whose art looks inaccurate and rushed at several points, with some questionable proportions, like on characters' ears. Moreover, considering they reused Nakatsuru's ending clip from ep. 34, which leads to a Vegeta close-up from ep. 35, the visual comparison would be kinda fierce. As for the actual animators, Naotoshi Shida animates the segment with Oozaru Gohan's transformation, resulting in a rampage, and also Vegeta kicking him on the eyes. I really adore how he choreographed that segment. As for Ohara, he's responsible of the ending scene of Krillin sparing Vegeta's life. I don't know whether he made some more content here, because once again, Uchiyama's corrections are dominant, whilst being a bit destructive.

Music: SON GOKU'S REDEMPTION DAY being played during Gohan's transformation. Now that's a really sensible pick. The other BGMs are pretty much fitting, too, especially M811 and M816. This episode introduces the last M8** track, the happy-sappy M819B, which is played during the sequence with Goku telling Krillin to spare Vegeta's life. While I think it's appropriate, it sounds really sappy.

Overall: 9/10. What else?

To answer your question:
- That concludes the Saiyan arc! How did you feel about the arc as a whole? What worked, what didn't, and why?

POSITIVE: solid introduction of every single villain, Piccolo's gradual character change, Tenshinhan's solemn death, Goku vs Vegeta showdown, Shimanuki, Hisada and Shida standing out as animators, great arc conclusion.
NEGATIVE: excessive slowness, too many distracting fillers, fillers neglecting pre-existing characters interaction (save Gohan-Piccolo), too many distracting and annoying subplots involving Chichi and the Kame gang, usually happening on the wrong moment, Yamcha's dumb death, inconsistent and often interrupted action scenes.

Final rating: 6,5-7/10. While I don't deny how much important this arc is for the continuation of DBZ, I cannot overlook its flaws, which clearly influenced my final rating.

[JazzMazz]

#31

General Thoughts: Execellent episode, with some of the most iconic scenes in the franchise.

Animation: Seigasha really delivers, with Shimanuki's work being at its absolute best throughout the episode. Nishio's board and direction definitely give the fight the gigantic sense of scale befitting of it.

Entertainment factor: Again, really tense and completely engaging episode. Hell, even the cut-aways served to build tension towards the main fight, and even complimented the scale of the battle.