The Defining Moment of Dragonball Z

I have been a huge fan of Dragonball Z for the past several years. As the newer episodes are released in America, it seems that they get less interesting then the prior episodes. In my opinion the Frieza Saga was the best in the Dragonball Z series. This saga really developed the characters and the plot of the series in great depth. In this review I will discuss the "Frieza - Super Saiyan Goku" volume of the Frieza saga.

For those of you that don't know, Piccolo died in the Saiyan Saga, which preceded the Frieza Saga. Because of his death, the Earth Dragonballs have vanished. The Dragonballs of the planet Namek still exist however and several different parties want them for many reasons. Frieza has set out to find the Dragonballs so he can gain immortality and rule the universe. Vegeta has the same ambitions as Frieza, to gain immortality and become the most powerful warrior ever. Bulma, Gohan and Krillin set out to find the Dragonballs of Namek so they can bring back their friends Yamcha, Tien and Piccolo from the dead.

Eventually all three parties come together on the planet Namek and a huge battle ensues. Gohan, Krillin and Vegeta end up joining forces to battle against Frieza and his ruthless Ginyu Force(a group of powerful yet idiotic mercenaries). Eventually Piccolo and Goku join the battle in the later episodes.

On the "Frieza - Super Saiyan Goku" DVD(or VHS), you get episodes 79 through 81, 3 of the best DBZ episodes ever in my humble opinion. In the previous episodes, Goku has shown up on the battlefield to confront Frieza, who has killed Vegeta and pretty much beaten the stuffing out of Piccolo. A long battle ensues between Frieza and Goku, with Frieza gaining the upper hand throughout, until Goku hits his KA-ME-HA-ME-HA wave which barely does any damage to Frieza. After being beaten within an inch of his life Goku somehow manages to summon enough power to begin his spirit bomb attack.

The spirit bomb is a giant ball of energy that is gained from the power of all living things within a certain area. In Episode 79, Goku continues to gather energy for his spirit bomb. The bomb is massive, having gathered most of the energy from the solar system surrounding Namek. Frieza grows tired of standing around waiting for Goku so he renews the battle. Piccolo steps in to fend of Frieza so Goku can finish the spirit bomb. Frieza basically kicks the crap out of Piccolo and then goes to kill him. Before he can kill Piccolo, Frieza is struck by two energy blasts from Krillin and Gohan. Frieza becomes annoyed with the whole group of good guys and decides to just blow up the planet. Goku finishes the spirit bomb just in time and nails Frieza with a direct hit. There is a massive explosion and it appears Frieza has been destroyed.

In episode 80, we see a happy reunion between Goku, Piccolo, Krillin and Gohan. This reunion is interrupted however when Frieza reappears. Frieza is quite annoyed now and fires his death ray at Goku, but Piccolo dives in front of Goku to save him. It appears that Piccolo is dead. As Gohan and Krillin mourn Piccolo's death, Goku appears to be helpless to do anything. Frieza continues his onslaught by blowing up Krillin next. Suddenly Goku becomes enraged and undergoes a transformation that gives him green eyes and gold hair. He is now a "Super" saiyan. Frieza appears unimpressed, but is a bit startled by the new Goku. Goku tells Gohan to take Piccolo and leave the planet.

Episode 81 begins with Gohan leaving with Piccolo. Frieza laughs and says that no one will be leaving without his permission and tries to blast Gohan, but Goku suddenly appears in front of him and grabs his arm. Goku crushes Frieza's hand and Frieza is alarmed at the sudden increase in the saiyans power. Goku gives Frieza a lecture on all his naughty deeds and then basically proceeds to kick the living crap out of Frieza. Frieza throws a temper tantrum because he can't hit Goku with any of his attacks and the Super Saiyan gives him a serious beating. Frieza and Goku then square off to begin the final battle and we are left to wait for the next episode.

Overall I was very impressed by the quality of this DVD. It has several extras, but they are basically just previews of the upcoming new DBZ releases. There is also a preview of the next episode. I can't really say that it was worth the extra five bucks to get the DVD instead of the VHS version, but I think the overall sound quality was a lot better. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this part of the Dragonball Z series.