Movies / Animé and Toons

Dragon Ball Z Kai Part Four

By Chris Zimmerman
March 22, 2011 - 10:17

Love it or hate it, Dragon Ball Z is and will always be one of the most influential anime to ever grace television. It speaks volumes that a series that wrapped in early 1996 remains just as popular today as it did 15 years ago. Still, the series was not without its faults. Overly long fight scenes and filler padded the anime. Then there was its repetitive nature consisting of a threat appears, good guys team up to take it down, providing a distraction until Goku can arrive to save the day.

Even so, Dragon Ball Z has been among the most lucrative franchises in all of anime. Toei, the animation studio behind the series made the decision to go back and re-release it while eliminating the problems that plagued it during its original run. Dubbed Dragon Ball Z Kai, the series underwent drastic edits. Gone was the filler and while the fights still lasted multiple episodes, they weren't nearly as drawn out as before.

Part Four consists of Goku’s battle with Frieza. For those who missed the last set of episodes, Gohan and Krillin teamed with their arch nemesis Vegeta to take on the tyrant Frieza. However, even with a revitalized Piccolo, the group struggled to put a dent in the overlord’s armor. This set picks up with Goku’s arrival and Vegeta’s untimely exit. Goku and Frieza waste little time going at it and for a while appear evenly matched. Unfortunately, even Goku is powerless in the face of Frieza’s overwhelming power and once again all hope seems lost.

The fight takes a dramatic turn when Goku pulls out his ultimate move, the spirit bomb, but in the end all this just serves to irritate Frieza who decides to make sport of his enemies. For all intents and purposes, Frieza was meant to be the last villain in the series, and as such, was made to look like a real monster. Not only did he toy with the previous antagonist in Vegeta, he handily laid waste to Krillin, Gohan, and Piccolo, and then put a beating on Goku just to show he could.

To this end, the battle between he and Goku is epic. The two trade advantages over the course of the duel, powering up, trying new tricks, and transforming. More than one character bites the dust, and even the planet begins to combust. For fans of titanic battles, this was a wet dream.

The edits to the series provide for a much tighter story. There isn’t a whole lot of filler dialogue, nor are there too many repeated frames of animation. The restoration of tha animation also gives the series a nice sheen.  

Sadly, I would be remiss if I neglected to talk about the one downside to the re-release. The music is uninspired. The tunes are getting stale by this point, and every episode contains the same musical number. It would be nice if Toei could switch up the soundtrack based on the arc. Also, the music lacks the dramatic weight of Bruce Faulconer’s original soundtrack. It just doesn’t convey a sense of urgency like the original.

The extras are limited to textless music and trailers. The standard for these sets. Would it hurt to record a commentary track for these or a feature discussing the importance of Dragon Ball Z?

If you’re a fan of the original Dragon Ball Z series, you owe it to yourself to check out Kai. While the plot still meanders from time to time, the elimination of filler and the cleaned up image do wonders. The music, though not the best, is still serviceable. This is the definitive release and a clear reminder of what made the series a cultural phenomenon in the first place.

A-

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12