Sucks to be Trunks

Dragon Ball Z. A long running series with a total of 13 movies and two specials to speak of. Don’t know what DBZ is? Well, it’s a really long story, and if you want to know more, I suggest scrolling down and starting at the beginning – the first part of the series to be exact – if you want to know. Or just look around online. However, you might be able to watch this separately without being too confused. You just wouldn’t have a back story to go with it, which in some cases is possible to deal with.

If you’ve seen the series, then you know all about Trunks, as well as some of his past. But now you get to see the full story of what Trunks has had to go through.

It’s the future, where Goku has died from a new illness and the two Androids, #17 and 18 are the terror of the Earth. They have killed off the entire Z group – save one person. Gohan. After several years, Trunks has grown up, as has Gohan. He now looks a lot like Goku, same outfit, eyes, everything.

As the only two left with Saiya-jin blood, it is up to Trunks and Gohan to save the Earth from the Androids. But they can’t do it the way they are now – Gohan needs Trunks to be a super Saiya-jin if they have even the slightest chance of winning. So they begin to train together in the hopes that Trunks will become more powerful and someday they’ll be able to kill the Androids once and for all.

The problem is that Trunks needs to become enraged in order to become a super Saiya-jin, but after all he’s been through, what’s left to push him over the edge? And throughout all this, how does he end up getting involved with the past?

There’s only one way to find out, and I think you know what that is.

I actually went out on a limb here. I’ve seen so many in Japanese for so long, it’s been a while since I’ve watched anything completely in English. So I gave it a try here. Um, yeah. Needless to say, I was pretty amused. I didn’t have a problem with the voices – I rarely do. I especially liked the Androids’ voices. However, I never really could get over some of the translations and one-liners. Sometimes they’re just way too lame, even for me and I’m a pretty tolerant person.

As for the music, this is the first time I’ve actually sat through the entire opening with the new song (as opposed to the older song they have for the early movies and the show), and now I understand why everyone hated it. I had a feeling it was going to be bad, but wow. It’s horrible. All those times I thought some of the Japanese music was hokey, now it’s really good. And the background music for this wasn’t that fabulous either. It’s times like these when I wonder what the people at FUNi are thinking. Them and their pseudo-rock music. Or weird, pseudo-rap - what is up with that stuff anyway?

The second bottom line: Just get the Japanese version. =P

NT

Other DBZ reviews:
The Movies:
Dragon Ball Z: The Movie – Dead Zone
Dragon Ball Z: The Movie - The World's Strongest
Dragon Ball Z: The Movie - The Tree of Might
Dragon Ball Z: The Movie – Cooler’s Revenge
Dragon Ball Z: The Movie – The Return of Cooler
Dragon Ball Z: The Movie – Super Android 13
Dragon Ball Z: The Movie – Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan
Dragon Ball Z: The Movie – Bojack Unbound

The Series:
Dragon Ball Z - Saiyan Saga: 8-Volume Box Set
Dragon Ball Z - Namek Saga: 9-Volume Set
Dragon Ball Z - Captain Ginyu Saga: 2-Volume Box Set
Dragon Ball Z - Frieza Saga: 10-Volume Box Set
Dragon Ball Z - Garlic Jr. Saga: 3-Volume Box Set
Dragon Ball Z - Trunks Saga: 4-Volume Box Set
Dragon Ball Z - Androids Saga: 4-Volume Box Set
Dragon Ball Z - Imperfect Cell Saga: 4-Volume Box Set
Dragon Ball Z - Perfect Cell Saga: 4-Volume Box Set
Dragon Ball Z - World Tournament Saga: 3-Volume Box Set
Dragon Ball Z - Babidi Saga: 4-Volume Box Set
Dragon Ball Z - Majin Buu Saga: 7-Volume Box Set

Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older