Dragon Ball Rewatch, Week 57 - DBZ 90-94

[Robo4900]

Hello, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone between and beyond, and welcome to week 57 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.

I was actually ready to post this at 9:40PM on Wednesday (UK time), but Kanzenshuu was down.
Additionally, I think there are still tech issues, so I've been unable to link this thread in the last one, or remove the "CURRENT WEEK" tag from it.

I'm sure the fact we're ending on episode 94 this week will annoy some people, since Goku goes Super Saiyan in episode 95... But, I'd argue episode 95 is a terrible place to end a week, because until the last 7 minutes-ish, it's a pretty normal, slow, plodding Freeza arc episode. Then it seems to end, and then Goku goes Super Saiyan, and just when things are really heating up... That's the end of the episode!

Well, anyway, enough of my gripes about an episode that we're not even watching this week.

Previous thread: Week 56 (DBZ 85-89)
Next thread: Week 58 (DBZ 95-99)
 

Episode 243 - That Ain’t No Bluff!! The Audaciously Wonderful Guy, Son Goku (DBZ episode 90)
Dub title: Bold and Fearless
Originally aired 8th of May 1991
Kai equivalent: Episode 44 - A Physical War That Exceeds All Limits! Goku and Freeza and Ginyu, Again?! (Last half)
Written by: Aya Matsui
Episode director: Yoshihiro Ueda
Animation supervisor: Minoru Maeda

Freeza asks Goku if he doesn’t have any desire to become his underling. Naturally, Goku refuses. Freeza boasts that even considering the power that Goku is hiding, he can defeat him using only 50% of his full power. Goku senses that this is no bluff. Even a 10-fold Kaiō-Ken is ineffective… On Earth, Chi-Chi fails to take off. Meanwhile, having switched bodies with Bulma, Ginyu appears before Piccolo and the others. However, they realize something is strange about Bulma.

Anime-only/filler content: The Ginyu & Bulma bodyswap, Chichi and the gang going to Capsule Corp. to try (and fail) to go to space.

Episode 244 - Showdown!! The Embodiment of Flame in a 20-Fold Kaiō-Ken Kamehameha (DBZ episode 91)
Dub title:
Originally aired 15th of May 1991
Kai equivalent: Episode 45 - It’s a 20-Fold Kaiō-Ken! A Kamehameha With Everything on the Line (First half)
Written by: Aya Matsui
Episode director: Jun’ichi Fujise
Animation supervisor: Mitsuo Shindō

In Bulma’s body, Ginyu starts to use Body Change on Piccolo. But Gohan promptly throws the frog-Bulma, and Ginyu instead winds up returned to being a frog… Freeza uses astounding power to split the ground of Planet Namek, and Goku is one-sidedly pummeled. As the faces of his friends drift through his mind, Goku gambles everything on a 20-fold Kaiō-Ken, and fires a Kamehameha with all his might. But it doesn’t have any effect on Freeza…

Anime-only/filler content: More of the Ginyu & Bulma bodyswap, Goku dreaming about the horror Freeza would inflict on earth.

Episode 245 - An Extra-Large Genki-Dama — This is the Final Trump Card!! (DBZ episode 92)
Dub title:
Originally aired 22nd of May 1991
Kai equivalent: Episode 45 - It’s a 20-Fold Kaiō-Ken! A Kamehameha With Everything on the Line (Last half) and Episode 46 - This is the Last Trump Card! Goku’s Extra-Large Genki-Dama (First third)
Written by: Hiroshi Toda
Episode director: Mitsuo Hashimoto
Animation supervisor: Masayuki Uchiyama

Even the 20-fold Kaiō-Ken powered Kamehameha was only enough to bruise Freeza. But Freeza sees even this as a huge disgrace. He angrily attacks Goku, and Goku no longer even has the power to counterattack… Meanwhile, Recoom and the other dead members of the Ginyu Special-Squad appear on Planet Kaiō. Yamcha and the others are dumbfounded as they see their fighting poses… On the defense, Goku begins making a Genki-Dama. A gigantic Genki-Dama appears in the sky, but…

Anime-only/filler content: A little more of the Ginyu & Bulma bodyswap subplot, as well as Bulma standing with the others, watching the fight. Goku having a vision of naked Vegeta telling him to beat Freeza, and the Ginyu Force going to Kaio's planet.

Episode 246 - Seize the Chance!! Piccolo’s Suicide Support Strike (DBZ episode 93)
Dub title:
Originally aired 29th of May 1991
Kai equivalent: Episode 46 - This is the Last Trump Card! Goku’s Extra-Large Genki-Dama (Middle third)
Written by: Hiroshi Toda
Episode director: Kazuhito Kikuchi
Animation supervisor: Masahiro Shimanuki

Since Goku is collecting energy from nearby planets, completing the Genki-Dama takes some time. It’s all over if Freeza discovers it. On Planet Kaiō, Recoom and the others test out their techniques. They are pleased at the force of their techniques, which is beyond what it was when they were alive… Freeza cautiously attacks the immobile Goku. But he becomes aware of the Genki-Dama by seeing its light reflected in the lake. At that moment, Piccolo’s surprise attack sends Freeza flying.

Anime-only/filler content: Bulma talking with the Ginyu Frog about how strong Goku is, and more of the Ginyu Force on Kaio's planet subplot.

Episode 247 - The Incredible Destructive Force of the Genki-Dama!! Who Will Survive?! (DBZ episode 94)
Dub title:
Originally aired 5th of June 1991
Kai equivalent: Episode 46 - This is the Last Trump Card! Goku’s Extra-Large Genki-Dama (Last third)
Written by: Hiroshi Toda
Episode director: Yoshihiro Ueda
Animation supervisor: Yukio Ebisawa

Piccolo fights in order to buy time until the Genki-Dama is completed, but is no good against Freeza… Meanwhile on Planet Kaiō, Yamcha and the others are battling the Ginyu Special-Squad. As a result of their training, the fight is even… Backing up Piccolo, Gohan and Kuririn’s ki blasts hit Freeza head-on. As a frenzied Freeza tries to destroy Planet Namek, the Genki-Dama is finally completed! Freeza is sucked up in the gigantic explosion, but…

Anime-only/filler content: Extensions to Piccolo trying to distract Freeza, and more of the Ginyus on Kaio's planet.

-

Interesting trivia:

• At this point in time in the manga, Freeza goes to 100% full power, Kaio and God pull off their Shen Long gambit, Freeza unsuccessfully tries to wish for immortality before everyone except him and Goku are wished off the planet, Goku decides to abandon the fight, Freeza cuts himself in half by accident trying to kill Goku in retaliation, and Freeza pleads for Goku for help, which he eventually gives in the form of a little ki.
  • Making the job that LITTLE bit harder on the anime staff, the manga took the first week of May off!
• Freeza's pose just before fighting Goku at 50% strength is his now-famous pose of bending forward, dipping his head, putting one foot in front of the other, and holding out his lowered palms facing his opponent. This is the only time he assumes it in the story until Super.
• The orange spacesuits worn in Episode 90 are using designs made by Toriyama for Shonen Jump 1989 Issue 47, which depicted several main characters in them to celebrate the characters going to space for the first time at the beginning of this arc. Goku would wear one when he has to deal with asteroids on the way to Namek, and they would appear again at the start of Return of Cooler as the characters journey to New Namek.
  • Yajirobe's involvement with the second mission to space contradicts the manga: in the title page panel for Chapter 322 (while Kaio and Kami set up their gambit), he's at a campsite wondering what Goku is up to right now. Being part of the second space mission which in the manga takes places earlier than 322's title page), he would almost certainly know that Goku's on Namek trying to rescue Gohan, Kuririn and Bulma.
• In the wide shot of Goku and Freeza just before the "50%" bout, you can see the destroyed landscape where Goku tossed Freeza during the "no arms" bout. This will in fact be the hill that Freeza slices through just before Goku decides to try a 20x Kaio-Ken.
• Once again, Goku is pushed to the limit by a villain vastly stronger than him and is forced to use a body-wrecking Kaio-Ken just to put up a good fight. The last time this happened was against Vegeta on Earth. It wouldn't happen again until Super. In the anime, meanwhile, it shows up once in the Afterlife Tournament filler (combined with Super Saiyan for a "Super Kaioken"), and twice in Super (both in combination with Super Saiyan Blue for "Blue Kaioken").
• In the manga, this is the final time the Kaio-Ken is ever depicted being used. After this point, Super Saiyan is the preferred technique, as it multiplies the user's battle power by 50x without putting much stress on the body.
• Shortly after the Kaio-Ken x20 fails, the manga shows Bulma wondering what happened. This small moment may have inspired the Captain Ginyu filler that takes up much of the next portion of the story.
• The filler of Goku's visions while being held underwater by Freeza was kept in Kai. This is a rare moment where Goku expresses fear over losing Chichi.
• In order to prevent Freeza from noticing the Genki-Dama, Goku has to form it much higher above him than before. This presents the problem of trying to depict its huge size, since visually it doesn't look much bigger than the one on Earth. This may be why Gohan and Kuririn point out how astonishingly big it is multiple times after they first see it.
• The Ginyu Force arriving at Kaio's presents some logistical problems for all future villains that are as strong as them, such as Freeza, King Cold, Cell, the Androids (in Future Trunks' time), Dabra, Boo, and even movie villains likes Broly and Coola. If the Ginyu Force are strong enough to get past King Enma, then logically all the other villains the heroes kill should be able to do it too! (ikaos notes below that Kaio explains he deliberately invited the Ginyus over when this happened)
• The infamous Ginyu Frog filler has one extra gift for us: it completely contradicts the later story. After the filler is finished, Bulma eventually vanishes from watching the Goku/Frieza fight, and is later seen back in the small canyon she was originally hiding in so that Gohan can try and save her. The anime makes no attempt to show or explain why she decided to go back to it.
• Reacoom's dialogue in the Ginyu saga was all redubbed in the "Remastered" dub in 2007, but none of Reacoom's dialogue was redubbed for the filler from this week, even though Sabat's redub Reacoom voice is drastically different to his original take.
• Similarly, in the flashback scene in Episode 93, Chris Sabat and Sonny Strait voiced Nappa and kid Kuririn, whereas Phil Parsons and Laurie Steele would take over those voices when those characters had significant screentime in a Funi-dubbed product.
• Funimation's TV censorship:
  • In Episode 90, blood coming from faces is painted out (but they don't cut them wiping the blood off their faces).
  • No edits in Episode 91.
  • Episode 92 had its title card background replaced; in Japanese it was a purely black background, while Funimation used a shot of Goku gathering energy. Nude Vegeta was painted over to be wearing something on his lower half; his tail was also removed.
  • No edits in episodes 93 or 94.
• Goku's pose on the title page for Chapter 315 is almost the exact same pose Kuririn takes when charging a Kienzan.
• This Genki-Dama is a notable moment in the franchise, as the idea of it being small dies here. Before this, including in the movies, the Genki-Dama was about the size of a dodge ball and dealt serious damage to the opponent it hit. After this, the Genki-Dama is forever ingrained as a colossal orb that swallows up the target.
  • It's also the first time at least one character shouts "DO IT!!!" just before Goku throws it.
• The panel of a delirious Freeza holding up his "planetary death ball" has been replicated countless times for when he uses it as an attack in various video games.
• Interestingly, the attack Freeza uses in an attempt to destroy a planet appears different each time, between destroying Planet Vegeta, his attack before getting hit by the Genki-Dama, and the move he uses in desperation against Super Saiyan Goku. Even the attack he uses at the end of Resurrection F is different!
• When we rejoin Kuririn after Goku throws the Genki-Dama, he says that they're so weak they can't sense ki anymore, forcing them to discover with their eyes and ears that Goku, Piccolo, and Freeza are still alive. Being too weak to sense ki doesn't get mentioned again, although as far as both KBABZ and I can recall nobody is really put into a situation where this warrants it being pointed out anyway.

Episode summaries, airdates, and titles courtesy of Kanzenshuu's episode guide. Filler breakdowns and Dragon Ball logo provided, and trivia co-written, by KBABZ. Additional trivia courtesy of Chris Psaros's DBZ Uncensored guide.

[MasenkoHA]

It will always be wild to me just how close the anime was to the manga. No wonder the Goku vs Freeza fight lasted nearly the length of an American network television season and then the 10 episode anime exclusive Garlic Jr arc. Still can’t help but feel Toei could have been a bit more creative with the filler content. Chris Psaros suggested an episode or two dedicated to Mr.Popo collecting earth’s dragon balls and that might have been something. They could have also maybe done something more with the dead earth warriors training with Kaio. Maybe deliberately go to hell for special training?

And of course Kai keeping the Bulma Ginyu frog plot was inexcusable for whatever good points Kai had going for it, it utterly failed at its promise to be “The Akira Toriyama Cut” (really it failed at the first second of episode 1)

On the dub side of things I think (but don’t quote me) this was roughly the time Schemmel stopped trying to (poorly) emulate Kelamis’s speaking inflections and went with super serious macho wannabe Superman Goku....which not ideal but at least he doesn’t sound like he’s confusingly reading off cue cards in the recording both anymore.

[Robo4900]

It will always be wild to me just how close the anime was to the manga. No wonder the Goku vs Freeza fight lasted nearly the length of an American network television season and then the 10 episode anime exclusive Garlic Jr arc. Still can’t help but feel Toei could have been a bit more creative with the filler content. Chris Psaros suggested an episode or two dedicated to Mr.Popo collecting earth’s dragon balls and that might have been something. They could have also maybe done something more with the dead earth warriors training with Kaio. Maybe deliberately go to hell for special training?

I think once they reached the start of Goku vs Freeza, there was no turning back. They could have found time for filler at any time in the year or so the Namek/Freeza arc had run by that point, but they never really did anything substantial, they just padded things out and added a few small plotlines.

I guess they didn't expect the Namek arc to go on so long.
The Androids/Cell arc would do better by inserting new storylines here and there; Goku getting all the balls before the Cell Games, etc.

And of course Kai keeping the Bulma Ginyu frog plot was inexcusable for whatever good points Kai had going for it, it utterly failed at its promise to be “The Akira Toriyama Cut” (really it failed at the first second of episode 1)

Yeah...

On its surface, Kai seems to be good, but the more you dig into it, the more disappointing it becomes.

On the dub side of things I think (but don’t quote me) this was roughly the time Schemmel stopped trying to (poorly) emulate Kelamis’s speaking inflections and went with super serious macho wannabe Superman Goku....which not ideal but at least he doesn’t sound like he’s confusingly reading off cue cards in the recording both anymore.

TBH, I don't think he was ever really a good Kelamis soundalike, but pretty much from day 1, he's been a decent soundalike for Ian Corlett. Even in Super it's clear that that's where he got the tone of voice, even if his performance has changed a lot since 1999.

[KBABZ]

Goku getting all the balls before the Cell Games, etc.

That was in the manga!

[MasenkoHA]

Goku getting all the balls before the Cell Games, etc.

That was in the manga!

I thought he collected them off panel? Unlike the anime where we actually see him locate them and stuff like meeting Tao again

[KBABZ]

Goku getting all the balls before the Cell Games, etc.

That was in the manga!

I thought he collected them off panel? Unlike the anime where we actually see him locate them and stuff like meeting Tao again

Ohh okay. This must be my familiarity with Kai again, which only showed him collecting them in brief moments.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

On the above with Sean's performance as Goku it was really clear early on in his earliest days as the character that he was trying to (really poorly) imitate Peter Kelamis's take from the chunk of episodes just prior to the cast change though it was and is even today as mentioned much closer to Ian Corlett's take although it's definitely improved even still in the last decade or so. Same with Chris Sabat's performances as Vegeta and Piccolo, given neither particularly these days sound anything like the bad impressions of Brian Drummond and Scott McNeil from when he'd first started voicing the two back in 1999.

[ArmenianPepsi]

I wonder which studio did the animation for this weeks episodes. They're looking pretty on point to my eye.

[KBABZ]

I wonder which studio did the animation for this weeks episodes. They're looking pretty on point to my eye.

I mean there's a section of the main site that can tell you...

https://www.kanzenshuu.com/animation-pr ... e/#dbz-092

[MyVisionity]

I always appreciate the way this show utilizes nudity. They can make it work for the casual moments, the comedic moments, and also the serious moments. Vegeta being nude in the vision is probably a reflection of him being dead, like a sort of disembodied spirit that has yet to move on. It also has a hint of the "cosmic nudity" elements that result from being deep in outer space and fighting intense battles. Powerful and effective.

I noticed how the dub has Freeza react to the Genki Dama with outright fear and disbelief ("No, that's impossible! ...It's too powerful!") as opposed to the original where he's overconfident and then in denial ("Something like this... Something like this...!!!").

I never noticed Sean Schemmel doing a Peter Kelamis impression before, but I guess it's possible. However Kelamis is one of a kind and has a unique voice so it would be tough to replicate him. I agree he probably sounds more like Corlett than Kelamis.

The infamous Ginyu Frog filler has one extra gift for us: it completely contradicts the later story. After the filler is finished, Bulma eventually vanishes from watching the Goku/Frieza fight, and is later seen back in the small canyon she was originally hiding in so that Gohan can try and save her. The anime makes no attempt to show or explain why she decided to go back to it.

Wasn't she blown away from the battle during an attack? I would just assume she was blown all the way back to the canyon.

When we rejoin Kuririn after Goku throws the Genki-Dama, he says that they're so weak they can't sense ki anymore, forcing them to discover with their eyes and ears that Goku, Piccolo, and Freeza are still alive. Being too weak to sense ki doesn't get mentioned again, although as far as both KBABZ and I can recall nobody is really put into a situation where this warrants it being pointed out anyway.

It reminds me of the filler episodes with Popo training Goku in Heaven, where Goku must use his own Ki in order to seek out and lock onto Popo's Ki. So it makes sense that having a weaker Ki level would make it more difficult to detect Ki.

[ikaos]

The Ginyu Force arriving at Kaio's presents some logistical problems for all future villains that are as strong as them, such as Freeza, King Cold, Cell, the Androids (in Future Trunks' time), Dabra, Boo, and even movie villains likes Broly and Coola. If the Ginyu Force are strong enough to get past King Enma, then logically all the other villains the heroes kill should be able to do it too!

I dislike this filler immensely, however I believe the anime attempts to patch over the plothole by having Kaio say that he invited the Ginyus on purpose, after they're defeated.

[Robo4900]

The infamous Ginyu Frog filler has one extra gift for us: it completely contradicts the later story. After the filler is finished, Bulma eventually vanishes from watching the Goku/Frieza fight, and is later seen back in the small canyon she was originally hiding in so that Gohan can try and save her. The anime makes no attempt to show or explain why she decided to go back to it.

Wasn't she blown away from the battle during an attack? I would just assume she was blown all the way back to the canyon.

That's a long way to be blown away. Seems like more of an attempt at a handwave by Toei than an actual fix to this little plot hole.
I might talk to KBABZ about revising that trivia entry if we ever compile all our trivia into one place in future, though.

Still, in fairness it is just a plothole. Not really a big deal.

The Ginyu Force arriving at Kaio's presents some logistical problems for all future villains that are as strong as them, such as Freeza, King Cold, Cell, the Androids (in Future Trunks' time), Dabra, Boo, and even movie villains likes Broly and Coola. If the Ginyu Force are strong enough to get past King Enma, then logically all the other villains the heroes kill should be able to do it too!

I dislike this filler immensely, however I believe the anime attempts to patch over the plothole by having Kaio say that he invited the Ginyus on purpose, after they're defeated.

Lol, my bad. I should have checked that over more carefully. Thanks for the correction.

To be honest, I kinda like the idea of Kaio inviting villains to his planet as an unexpected challenge for those he's training, but I feel the Ginyus were a poor fit for it, and it feels very needless right now in the middle of the Freeza fight. It would have been more effective to do it like one of the Budokai games (I think 3?), where he instead arranges for Raditz to come and fight Goku towards the middle/end of Goku's training.

[Planetnamek]

Just noticed you forgot to list the dub titles for episodes 91-94, they are in order: "Embodiment of Fire", "Trump Card", "Keep the Chance Alive", and "Power of the Spirit".

[ABED]

A number of the dub episode titles are taken in part from the original. Wish they had done that more often.

[MasenkoHA]

A number of the dub episode titles are taken in part from the original. Wish they had done that more often.

I did notice for the Freeza and Garlic Jr sagas Funimation dod a good job Westernizing the Japanese episode titles but it became less frequent later on and I don’t think they really did it at all for the UUE dub.

It’s like when they had Goku start doing the NEP instead of the narrator (even though they went back and forth on that) it was a nice gesture .

[Planetnamek]

I agree that all the stuff with the Ginyu Force definitely felt like unnecessary padding(I definitely would've rather seen Mr Popo getting the Dragon Balls over that), but otherwise a good set of episodes. Goku spending almost two entire episodes charging an attack is where all the jokes about the show being drawn out came from, but it's used pretty effectively here. I loved Freeza's terrified reaction to finding out about the Spirit Bomb the hard way.

Vegeta being nude was rather odd to say the least, as Chris Psaros pointed out it is rather bizarre that Z has quite a bit of male nudity but very little in the way of female nudity(I don't remember if it has any female nudity period).

[KBABZ]

Vegeta being nude was rather odd to say the least, as Chris Psaros pointed out it is rather bizarre that Z has quite a bit of male nudity but very little in the way of female nudity(I don't remember if it has any female nudity period).

DB Episode 6 springs instantly to mind.

[MyVisionity]

Vegeta being nude was rather odd to say the least, as Chris Psaros pointed out it is rather bizarre that Z has quite a bit of male nudity but very little in the way of female nudity(I don't remember if it has any female nudity period).

Well male nudity has always been a thing in the series going back to the original, so I can't say it's completely out of place. And any female nudity was usually the result of the gag humor from earlier in the series, so it makes sense that it wouldn't be as prevalent in the Z-era.

However I think that in the case of Vegeta and some of the others, it's got something to do with just how intense things get in the series, especially with them travelling through space so much. To me the nudity makes sense amidst all of the serious drama and cosmic battles. Like it's a reflection of just how raw and unhinged things become. I appreciate that from the series. And I think I mentioned earlier that with Vegeta specifically it may have been a way of expressing that he was dead.

I also enjoy the comedic nudity in the series as well, with adult men just hanging around naked. I like that kind of humor.