Well, damn… that had to be the most entertaining 22 minutes all month. Holy crap. I’m wiping the laugh-induced tears away as I type this, right now.
Yeah, it’s another one of those “Hey - - what the hell?” semi-random pickings from Hulu’s anime catalog today. Perhaps you’ve noticed that I’ve lately opted to review odd episodes of the more perennially-popular shonen series and, well, it’s hard to get more perennially-popular than D! B! Z!
And like any popular show, DBZ’s inevitability attracted intense feelings of fondness and scorn by now. Re-visiting the series yet again, I can’t help seeing it pre-emptively deflecting any potential criticism (at least at this stage of its lifespan, anyway).
Do you deride DBZ for a lack of sophistication? For its slow plotting that allows fights to stretch on for episodes and episodes? Well, the joke’s pretty clearly on you, because the show’s rather obviously aware of its own failings (for lack of a better word) and it’s making fun of itself long before you’ve even started thinking up any catty jokes.
Seriously, Saiyan Level 3 Goku’s hyper-kinetic punch exchange with MaJin Buu here has more in common with a quarrel between Tom and Jerry than… well… basically anything that expects you take it seriously. And FUNimation’s clearly thinking the same thing I am, because the dub track is so sublimely overwrought that it's a balls-out riot just listening to Goku shriek “KAMAYA-MAYA!” at Earth-shaking volumes, Buu snicker like a perpetual tickle victim and Vegeta grunt like every breath demands the highest level of strain. And I sincerely doubt this a case where the dub team’s “MSTing” otherwise dour material.
You know what? I’ve been kind of agnostic for a long while. Every time I got a Dragon Box in the mail, I’d chuckle about how the very mention of the stuff immediately brought me back to epic, imaginary Saiyan battles on the playground and then I wouldn’t really argue with critics of the show.
Well, those were good days on the playground, all right! And it’s rare to find any “serious” or “acclaimed” that's fun enough to give some good days, so I’m going to stop over-thinking this and jump back into the Z-Fighters’ cheerleading group.
Yeah, it was totally awesome seeing Goku reach Level 3 and Buu reform himself like bubblegum and Vegeta come to the rescue. And if you’re got problem with any of that, brother - - then that’s your problem!
Watch this episode, "Vegeta's Respect” here and decide for yourself.
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
I'm glad you enjoyed revisiting good ol' DBZ. Though I can assure you, I took these fights entirely seriously back in the good old days.
The new dub in Dragon Ball Z Kai is fantastic, it's a real shame it doesn't cover the Buu saga.
EDIT: crisis over
When I was a kid it didnt seem to matter how much DBZ stretched out its plots, but when I got older it was grating.
Fireball will destroy the planet in 5 minutes - takes 5 episodes
It streamed only in usa. Good, keep there the shitty english dub.
Things that are entertaining when you are twelve...should not really be when you are 30. But then even when I was twelve I didn't enjoy crazy shows with no intelligence that existed only to sell toys. Gummi Bears, Smurfs, no thank you. Shakespere festival putting on Hamlet..yes please.
Feel there is something wrong with me if you like.