Movies / Animé and Toons

Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Box 3

By Chris Zimmerman
May 10, 2010 - 21:42

Any self respecting anime fan already knows the story of Dragonball Z.

Everyone is already familiar with the story of the little monkey boy named Son Goku, initially sent to Earth as it’s conqueror only to become its greatest hero and savior. There’s no need to rehash the familiar story or to go into detail describing the multi-million dollar franchise it has spawned.  What we’re looking at today is a set that originated straight from Japan known as the “Dragon Box”.

When first released to the Japanese public, the hype going into the Dragon Box was almost surreal. Featuring digitally re-mastered episodes as well as a book that included character art, episode summaries, and family trees, the Dragon Box was released as huge brick sets that contained over a forty episodes each.  Given its initial success in Japan, Funimation has ported the set over here, once again putting Dragon Ball Z on store shelves.

What we get is somewhat different than the orange sets Funimation has previously been dishing out. For one thing, colors are generally brighter, with grain and dirt being at a minimum. Fans will also take note that the image is full screen as originally intended, rather than the cropping the season sets feature.  It would also be wise to note that the sole music option is that of the Japanese track which has its fair share of supporters as well as detractors.

The episodes featured here are a mixed bunch in terms of quality. The set picks up with Goku’s epic encounter with Frieza, the evil emperor of the universe. The battle is long and arduous; the longest in the series run in fact. While its length has sparked several debates as to whether it really stands out as the best fight in the series, the scope is epic, with both combatants battling on a dying planet with Goku discovering a whole new source of power, transforming into the legendary “Super Saiyan”. 

Afterwards, the quality of episodes takes a nose dive when we reach the “Garlic Jr. Saga”. Reviled as being the worst of the sagas among fandom, viewing these episodes it’s easy to see why.  The first problem would be that the main villain isn’t all that interesting. Originally, Garlic Jr. was a one off villain featured in the first movie only to be defeated handily by Gohan. The second problem is the unusual jumps in power. This has always been a problem for the series as a whole but its patently obvious here that the writers are using them as a crutch to get by.

Fortunately, the series recovers in the form of the “Trunks Saga”, treating fans to the introduction of the youthful Trunks who arrives in the nick of time to challenge the recently resurrected Frieza and his father King Cold. When the teen shows off that he too possesses the ability to transform into a Super Saiyan, the group is left wondering who the boy is and where he comes from. Unfortunately, that information comes with dire consequences as he reveals that a threat unlike any the group has faced before is on the rise, almost guaranteeing their defeat.

The basic premise of Dragon Ball Z has been giving fans one epic fight after another, and this set delivers in spades. The set flows from one battle to next, and while some are admittedly disappointing, there is more than enough entertainment to be had to counteract the negatives. This massive collection delivers loads of action with a gorgeous presentation, retaining the series original look and feel. Diehard fans should take note, this is the way the series is meant to be seen.

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Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12