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Dragon Ball Z is the long-running sequel to the immensely popular anime and manga Dragon Ball released in Japan and Hong Kong. The series is a close adaptation of the second (and far longer) portion of the Dragon Ball manga written and drawn by Akira Toriyama (in the United States, the manga's second portion is also titled Dragon Ball Z to prevent confusion). The 'Z' was originally added to the title by Toriyama to signify it as being the ending portion of the Dragon Ball series.

The series follows the adventures of the adult Goku who, along with his companions, defend the Earth and many other planets against various villains. While the original Dragon Ball anime followed Goku through childhood into adulthood, Dragon Ball Z is a continuation of his adulthood life, but at the same time parallels the maturation of his son, Gohan. The separation between the series is also significant as the latter series takes on a more dramatic and serious tone.

The anime first premiered in Japan and Hong Kong on April 18, 1989 (on Fuji TV) at 7:00 p.m. and ended on January 31, 1996. It was also later broadcast across Japan by the anime television network, Animax. In Hong Kong (independent from China), it was the second country to release the full seasons of Dragon Ball Z, due to close ties between Bird Studios Hong Kong and Japan. In the U.S., the series ran between 1996 and 2003, though not always on the same networks or with continuity of dubbing. It aired in the UK, albeit with the same dubbing problem, on Cartoon Network, premiering on March 6, 2000 and running until 2002, with the final few episodes being shown on CNX starting from October 14, 2002 and finishing on February 28 2003. The channel then relaunched as Toonami, on which it was repeated daily.

After Dragon Ball Z, the story of Goku and his friends continues in the anime-only series Dragon Ball GT. This series is not based on a manga by Akira Toriyama.

Toriyama's humor/parody manga Neko Majin Z features several concepts introduced in Dragon Ball Z (several Dragon Ball Z characters even make various appearances), but that manga is designed as a parody and not a true continuation of the series.

Themes

Throughout the series, there is a strong theme that young people can accomplish many of the same feats as adults. One example is during the Perfect Cell Saga, in which eleven-year-old Gohan is given the responsibility of defeating the villainous Cell, which he does after unlocking his inner strength. In addition, Goku starts out young in the series, and accomplishes much despite his young age.

Another theme is the turning of fortunes in a battle through desperation or constipation. Many battles proceed almost to defeat for the heroes, finally to be reversed through a desperate act to defend their home or loved ones. Characters who have used this to their advantage include Goku, Gohan and even Vegeta. This theme is found in almost every battle.

One of the main and most deep of themes is fatherhood. Not only is it seen in the obvious example of Goku and his sons, but also Vegeta, who has a hard time at first, but eventually learns what it means to be a father as seen in the Cell Games,and Buu Sagas, and most of Dragon Ball GT. Other signs of this being a theme are the lesser characters all having a father or being the father of a main character such as Hercule, Gyū-Maō, Dr. Briefs, or Bardock. Even the villains show fatherhood as a theme, through Freeza and King Cold, Babidi and Bibidi, Broly and Paragus, and Piccolo Daimaō and Piccolo Jr.

Censorship issues

Dragon Ball Z was marketed to appeal to a wide range of viewers from all ages, and contains crude humor and occasional excesses of violence(which includes cartoon blood), which are commonly seen as inappropriate for younger audiences by American standards. When it was marketed in the US, the distribution company FUNimation alongside with Saban decided to initially focus exclusively on the young children's market, because the anime market was still small compared to the much larger children's cartoon market.

Beginning with the Ginyu arc (3rd US season) on Cartoon Network, no other show had restrictions this severe on cable programming. From this saga onwards, FUNimation dubbed the show themselves with their own in-house voice actors. In 2003, FUNimation began to redub the first two sagas (Saiyan and Frieza) to remove the problems that were caused from their previous partnership with Saban. They also redubbed the first three Pioneer-distributed movies that were dubbed by the Ocean Group voice actors. The distribution of the redubs on DVD, under the Ultimate Uncut Edition title, began in April 2005.

Creative changes

To an equal extent, people have taken issue with changes in the English edition that are not seen as necessary, such as extraneous dialogue not found in the original, dubbing that sways the English version in its own creative direction, the replacement of the entire original musical score, and renaming of many characters, terminology, and locations. Combined with criticized voice acting, many feel that the English version of Dragon Ball Z almost seems like an entirely different show than the original, and this has led many familiar with the Japanese series to dislike FUNimation's English dub.

Uncut version

In 2005, Cartoon Network started showing the uncut version of the first two seasons of Dragon Ball Z. This version used the original Japanese footage, with the exception of the Japanese opening and closing themes, and has an entirely new score of music. The uncut version also featured many scenes with large amounts of blood, mild profanity and language, as well as mild sexual humor. Generally, while some lines were maintained from the original dub, several mistranslations were also corrected.

International English version

Until 2001, other English speaking countries including the UK, Canada and Republic of Ireland received FUNimation's English version of Dragon Ball Z, both the Saban and In-house incarnations. Until, surprisingly, when Episode 108 aired in the UK (also in The Netherlands) the English Dub switched to a version produced in Canada; which appeared to have been licensed out by FUNimation to produce a version of the show (It is thought it was recorded at either Airwaves or Westwood Studios in Vancouver). However, this version regained the original voice cast by the Ocean Group instead of the FUNimation actors. This version began airing in Canada in the fall of 2001 from Episode 168, and ran through to the end of the series. It used FUNimation's own videotracks and its scripts, albeit with some notable changes to fit the actors better. This version used music recycled from the Mega Man and Monster Rancher cartoons, as well as a few original pieces for the series by Jon Mitchell, Tom Keenlyside and David Iris. This version, albeit with the original actors lacks due to its clearly low production values, and in the speed it was produced - for example many voices did not stay consistent through the series, and by the end few remained from the original 1996 cast. See Below for a complete cast listing.

Filler

Filler is used to pad out the series for many reasons; in the case of Dragon Ball Z, more often than not, it was because the anime was running alongside the manga, and there was no way for the anime to run ahead of the manga since Toriyama was still writing it.

The company behind the anime, Toei Animation, would occasionally create side stories to either further explain things, or simply to extend the series. Filler does not come only in the form of side stories though; sometimes it is as simple as adding some extra attacks into a fight. For instance, many scenes in the anime appear quite protracted, featuring long shots of the characters faces and stand-offs lasting an entire episode. As the anime series was forced to expand 12 pages of manga image and text into 20-22 minutes of animation footage, these changes were introduced to fill the complete television timeslot or to allow the anime writers to explore some other aspects of the series' universe. The Anoyo-ichi Budōkai (Afterlife tournament) between the Cell Saga and Majin Buu Saga and the Garlic Jr. arc, also known as Garlic Jr.'s return from the Return my Gohan!! (Dead Zone) movie between the Freeza Saga and Trunks arc (pre-Cell Saga) are examples of this. However, most changes such as these have been known to sometimes contradict the manga and create plot holes.

Releases

Japanese releases

Originally, only the Dragon Ball Z movies, and the Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans footage were available for home viewing in Japan. The movies were released on both VHS, and Laserdisc format. The Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans footage was released both on VHS, as a visual guide to the Nintendo Famicom game with the same name, and on the PlayDia, as an interactive FMV.

Dragonbox releases

In 2003, all of the Dragon Ball Z TV series was finally released for home viewing in Japan, on two large DVD boxed sets. Each Dragon Ball Z Dragonbox had a large amount of DVD extras, as well as an action figure and a book.

The video and audio transfers of the show used on these DVDs came off of the Fuji TV master tapes of the show, as this allowed Toei to put out a far superior and completely accurate version of the show on DVD. This allowed all episodes to have their original openings, endings, eyecatches, next episode previews, etc., compared to what was available in the US.

In late 2005 the Dragon Box Z DVDs were re-released in single volumes with six episodes per disc. While the packaging and DVD menus are different from the 2003 release, and so far no plans have been announced for the two TV specials and the Playdia footage released with the 2003 versions, the Audio and Visual quality is the exact same as those discs found in the 2003 Dragonbox release.

At the end of March, 2006, a Dragonbox: The Movies DVD-BOX was released. This release contained all 17 Dragonball and Dragonball Z theatrical features, along with a book, and two scouters in the form of walkie-talkies. The video and audio are remastered, however the video is cropped and contains less picture than the full-screen versions, a common occurrence for films from Toei, based on long-running and popular TV series (See Saint Seiya, Fist of the North Star, and One Piece).

All Dragonbox releases contain Japanese language audio only (with exceptions to foreign-language bonus clips), and no subtitles.

Pioneer DVDs

During the late 90's/early 00's, The first 53 (Saban/FUNimation version numbers, originally uncut as 67) TV episodes were released on to DVD by Geneon Entertainment USA (then Pioneer Entertainment). These contained only the edited, US-TV broadcast versions, and totalled 17 volumes. At a later date, the first 8 DVDs were released as the 'Saiyan Saga', while the final 9 were released as the 'Namek Saga'. As of August the 31st, 2004, Geneon's license for video distribution of these episodes ended, allowing FUNimation to re-release these episodes.

Along with these episodes, Pioneer Ent. also produced bilingual, uncut DVDs of the first three Dragon Ball Z theatrical features. These DVDs retained the original Ocean cast for the English track, as well as being one of the first uncut and bilingual releases in the U.S. The English versions of these films were also subject to a different treatment, rather than replacing the original music, the original OP and ED themes, as well as background music, were retained. The only noticeable differences besides languages are the inclusion of a few different sound effects which are not present on the original Japanese version.

These films were released as a three-disc boxset by Pioneer, however much like the 53 TV episodes Pioneer had license to, the first three Z film's home video rights now belong to FUNimation.

FUNimation DVDs

As of 2000, FUNimation has released uncut versions of their Texas-based English dub on to DVD, uncut and with Japanese language track, and English-translation subtitles. Beginning with the Captain Ginyu saga, which took place directly after the Saban/FUNimation-produced episodes, FUNimation has released bilingual, uncut DVDs for every episode covering (Japanese numbers) 68 till 291. Boxsets for the Garlic Jr., Androids, Imperfect Cell, Perfect Cell, World Tournament, Majin Buu, Evil Buu, Fusion, and Kid Buu U.S. sagas have also been released. However, in order to maximize profits, the DVDs were released out of continuity (certain amounts of one section of the series were released, and then FUNimation would go back and release others). With no noticeable numbering visible, this caused frustration to those trying to follow the series from start to finish.

After acquiring the video rights to the first 53 (67) episodes from Pioneer, FUNimation announced that they would release these episodes uncut, with a new 5.1 English language track and uncut footage. The Ultimate Uncut Edition line was born. The release would be 22 volumes, Bilingual, and with extras. The Saiyan saga was renamed the 'Vegeta' saga (Parts I and II, covering 12 DVDs), probably to avoid confusion with the Pioneer volumes. No one is sure what the Namek saga would have been called. This was the same version shown on Cartoon Network. However, as of DVD volume 9, FUNimation has completely cancelled these box sets and are planning to re-re-release them in the new DVD sets they are currently working on. This has greatly upset fans who have purchased the expensive Ultimate Uncut DVDs, as the Vegeta Saga Part II will never be completed.

FUNimation has also released Dragon Ball Z movies 4-13, finishing the release of the movies with 'Wrath of the Dragon', the 13th movie. These are all bilingual and subtitled, but do not follow the trend set by Ocean's first three movies. Music has been changed and altered, including the insertion of songs from rock bands such as Pantera and Deftones. The movies utilize the TV series Texas cast, though they also include the original Japanese version with subtitling by Steve Simmons.

FUNimation re-released the first movie under the Ultimate Uncut line, but movie 2 and 3 were not named 'Ultimate Uncut' even though they had they same cover style as movie 1. All of these movies had a 5.1 English track, new subtitles, different DVD extras and come in a boxset titled 'First Strike'. However, they do not retain the original Ocean dub, and contain a new English dub produced by FUNimation's Texas cast. This version contains different music to the original dub or Japanese version.

FUNimation has officially dropped the 'Ultimate Uncut' line and are working on their new release.

FUNimation Season Box Sets

In November 2005, FUNimation announced they would release a remastered form of Dragon Ball Z on DVD beginning in 2007. It was later confirmed that "Season 1" (the Vegeta Saga)would be released on February 6, 2007. It is confirmed that the first 39 episodes, spread across 6 dvds, will cost $50. The series has been re-transferred at 1080p resolution with digital restoration technology removing all grain and scratches from FUNImation's original prints of the series. It is important to note however that like many early 90's Toei productions, the series was produced on 16mm film which tends to be fairly grainy and soft. The new restoration was supervised by colorist Steve Franko. It has also been reported from FUNImation's online trailer that the series will be presented in widescreen (1.78:1, cropped from the original full frame) for the first time, although this was not confirmed at press time. They also said it will contain a revised English track in 5.1 surround (it is said to contain original the Japanese score, although it is unknown just how the English dialogue is revised). Special features will include a featurette on the remastering of the original Japanese print. It is also confirmed that all other 291 episodes are to be remastered and released in boxset form. FUNimation released a trailer for the new set on the Dragon Ball Z website.

Comparison images from the new set show that while there is missing footage on the top and bottom, there is at least additional footage on the right and left that has not appeared in any prior release, having been taken straight from the original Japanese film master recording. In response to negative fan outcry regarding the release's apparent cropping of the source video, a FUNimation representative has released a document from the team remastering the video, which explains the logistics of the new release. This document details how certain areas of the original film are damaged, and admit that though video is cropped, this release will eliminate the grain that would be present on prior 4:3 releases. It has also been theorized that it is ultimately more inexpensive to remaster the series for HD in 1080p than repair 291 episodes worth of damaged film.

Sagas

Toei Sagas

1. サイヤ人編 Saiyan Saga (Episodes 1~35); 1989 - 1990
2. フリーザ編 Freeza Saga (Episodes 36~117); 1990 - 1991
3. セル編 Cell Saga (Episodes 118~194); 1991 - 1993
4. 魔人ブウ Majin Buu Saga (Episodes 195~291); 1993 - 1996

FUNimation Sagas

Saiyan Saga:

• The Vegeta Saga/Saiyan Saga (Episodes 1~35)

Frieza Saga:

• The Namek Saga (Episodes 36~67)
• The Captain Ginyu Saga (Episodes 68~74)
• The Frieza Saga (Episodes 75~107)
• The Garlic Junior Saga (Episodes 108~117)

Cell Saga:

• The Trunks Saga (Episodes 118~125)
• The Androids Saga (Episodes 126~139)
• The Imperfect Cell Saga (Episodes 140~152)
• The Perfect Cell Saga (Episodes 153~165)
• The Cell Games Saga (Episodes 166~194)

Majin Buu Saga:

• The Great Saiyaman Saga (Episodes 195~209)
• The World Tournament Saga (Episodes 210~219)
• The Babidi Saga (Episodes 220~231)
• The Majin Buu Saga (Episodes 232~253)
• The Fusion Saga (Episodes 254~275)
• The Kid Buu Saga (Episodes 276~291)

Movies, TV specials, and other

Movies

Toei Titles

1. Return my Gohan!! (1989)
2. The World's Strongest (1990)
3. Super Deciding Battle for the Entire Planet Earth (1990)
4. Super Saiyan Goku (1991)
5. The Incredible Mightiest vs. Mightiest (1991)
6. Clash!! 10,000,000,000 Powerful Warriors (1992)
7. Extreme Battle!! The Three Great Super Saiyans (:1992)
8. Burn Up!! A Close, Intense, Super-Fierce Battle (1993)
9. The Galaxy at the Brink!! The Super Incredible Guy (1993)
10. The Dangerous Duo! Super-Warriors Can't Rest (1994)
11. Super-Warrior Defeat!! I'm the One who'll Win (1994)
12. Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Gokū Won't Do It, Who Will? (1995)
13. The Rebirth of Fusion!! Gokū and Vegeta (1995)

FUNimation titles

1. Dead Zone (1997) (Re-released in 2005 under 'Ultimate Uncut Edition' line and re-released in 2006, in a set containing Z movies 2 and 3)
2. The World's Strongest (1998) (Re-released in 2006, in a set containing Z movies 1 and 3 re-releases)
3. The Tree of Might (1998) (Re-released in 2006, in a set containing Z movies 1 and 2 re-releases)
4. Lord Slug (2001)
5. Cooler's Revenge (2001)
6. Return of Cooler (2002)
7. Super Android 13! (2003)
8. Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan (2003) (Re-released in 2006, in a set containing Z movies 10 and 11)
9. Bojack Unbound (2004)
10. Broly: The Second Coming (2005) (Re-released in 2006, in a set containing Z movies 8 and 11)
11. Bio-Broly (2005) (Re-released in 2006, in a set containing Z movies 8 and 10)
12. Wrath of the Dragon (2006)
13. Fusion Reborn (2006)

TV specials

Toei Titles

1. A Lonesome, Final Battle: The Father of Z-Warrior Kakarrot, who Challenged Freeza (1990)
2. Resistance to Despair!! The Remaining Super-Warriors, Gohan and Trunks (1993)

FUNimation Titles

1. Bardock: The Father of Goku (2000)
2. The History of Trunks (2000)

Other

OVA

1. Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans (1993)

Theme songs

Japanese themes

• Openings
  1. "CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA"
     • Lyrics: Yukinojō Mori, Music: Chiho Kiyooka, Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto, Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama
       • Episodes 1~21 (version 1)
       • Episodes 22~117 (version 2)
       • Episodes 118~194 (version 3)
       • Movies 1-9
  2. "WE GOTTA POWER"
     • Lyrics: Yukinojō Mori, Music: Keiju Ishikawa, Arrangement: Keiju Ishikawa, Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama
       • Episodes 195~291
       • Movies 10-12
• Closings
  1. "Detekoi Tobikiri ZENKAI Pawā!"; でてこいとびきりZENKAIパワー! (Come Out, Incredible ZENKAI Power!)
     • Lyrics: Toshihisa Arakawa, Music: Takeshi Ike, Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto, Vocals: MANNA
       • Episodes 1~194
  2. "Boku-tachi wa Tenshi Datta"; 僕達は天使だった (We Were Angels)
     • Lyrics: Yukinojō Mori, Music: Takeshi Ike, Arrangement: Osamu Tozuka, Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama
       • Episodes 195~291

Cast list

Japanese Staff

• Original Author: Akira Toriyama
• Producers: Kozo Morishita, Kenji Shimizu (Fuji TV)
• Series Organizer: Takao Koyama
• Script Writers: Takao Koyama, Aya Matsui, Katsuyuki Sumizawa and others
• Production Managers: Matsuji Kishimoto -> Takeshi Torimoto -> Akihiko Yamaguchi -> Yuichi Suenaga
• Chief Animator (Character Designer): Minoru Maeda -> Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru
• Chief Designer (Art Designer): Yuji Ikeda
• Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi
• Editor: Shinichi Fukumitsu (TAVAC)
• Recording Engineer: Kenji Ninomiya (TAVAC)
• Sound Effects: Hidenori Arai (Fizz Sound Creation)
• Music Selection: Shigeru Miyashita (TAVAC)
• Recording Studio: TAVAC
• Series Director: Daisuke Nishio
• Production: Fuji TV, Toei Animation

Episode list

Video games

See also

• List of Dragon Ball characters
• List of Dragon Ball episodes
• List of Dragon Ball video games
• Z Fighters
• CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA (The 1st opening theme song)
• WE GOTTA POWER (The 2nd opening theme song)
• Dragon Ball (franchise)
• Dragon Ball Movies
• Power levels
• Dragon Ball DVDs

External links

• English Dragon Ball Z website
• Dragon Ball Z World Map
• Toei Dragon Ball Z website
• Atari, publisher of Dragon Ball Z games
• Dragon Ball Z ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

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