ARTIFICIAL HUMANS ARC (#118-#199)
Episode 118 (Are ga Chikyū da yo Papa… Furīza Oyako no Gyakushū) aired on November 27th, 1991.
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama.
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida, Minako Ito, Yoko Arai.
-Even though Yamauchi’s traits pop up once in a while, they look pretty effective: take a look at his unique coloring (yellow sky and purple sea blending pretty well) and trademark use of purple during Gohan’s nightmare sequence.
–Chichi with her hair down. <3
–Kind of a memeable line.
–By now everybody is aware of Vegeta’s obsession with Goku.
-Starting from this episode, the opening sequence is slightly changed, in order to make it more up-to-date, by adding clips animated by Ide, Miyahara and Sato.
-With that said, if the opening sequence was partially changed, why did they NEVER replace the annoying eyecatch? We entered a new arc, but Gohan is still a toddler. I hate this.
–Yamcha’s skin isn’t purple.
–The private tutor is an asshole. And also abusive. Creating this character was a terrible mistake. Gohan standing up to him is rather satisfying, though.
–First good thing Chichi has ever done since DBZ began. That asshole deserved more pain.
Episode 119 (Furīza wa Boku ga Taosu… Gokū o Matsu Nazo no Shōnen) aired on December 4th, 1991.
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Kazuya Hisada.
Key animation: Kazuya Hisada (uncredited), Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Masahiro Shimanuki, Naoki Tate.
-Really great storyboarding and direction, with his trademark unique colors and reflections standing out as his usual.
–Like father, like son. Ueda might be a sommelier in his spare time.
–Waku Waku Freezer.
–Tate’s smug Goku.
–Piccolo was there since the very beginning.
–Vegeta acknowledging Bulma’s courage. Progressive.
–Vegeta’s insult to Tenshinhan was translated into ‘runt’. I’m not that sure about those subtitles, because Tenshinhan is actually much taller than Vegeta. Runt isn’t an appropriate insult in this case.
-I don’t particularly agree with the excessive use of footage from previous episodes, but I’m forced to accept it since it connects with the new material quite well. Freezer’s reconstruction is such a great scene with several heavily detailed layouts.
–M518 improves everything.
–Shimanuki’s Tenshinhan is a giraffe.
–Again, Vegeta killed nobody on Earth during the Saiyan arc. Tenshinhan sacrificed himself against Nappa.
-This must be the strangest NEP so far: the 120th episode is supervised by Nakatsuru, but it has Sato’s Krillin from ep. 64, Ohara’s Gohan from ep. 118 and Yamamuro’s Trunks from ep. 122, which wasn’t released yet. What gives?
Episode 120 (Furīza o Ittō Ryōdan!! Mō Hitori no Sūpā Saiya-jin) aired on December 11th, 1991.
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru.
Key animation: Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Takeo Ide, Naoki Miyahara, Chikako Uesugi, Kuniko Iwagami, Akira Inagami, Tetsuya Numako, Naotoshi Shida (uncredited).
–Nakatsuru’s supervision dominates the entire episode. As a result, it looks strongly consistent, art-wise. Expressions may look bland and stock, but it’s not a serious complaint.
-His supervision is dominant and radical, as not only he redraws stances (the original layouts look totally different), but also expressions and characters’ position in the background. The original layouts seem like a totally different world from the finished product.
-During his first appearance, Trunks is uncharacteristically cockier than usual.
–Freezer being legitimately traumatized by the Super Saiyan gaze.
-And yes, Yamamoto’s Battle Point Unlimited is a great insert song. However, the idea of this being a rip-off makes me like it a bit less.
-The recent subtitles translated Yamcha’s opinion about Bulma into “rubbernecker”. Likely not as edgy as “stubborn bitch”.
–Facial highlights. I know Toriyama also drew them on his illustrations, and despite being used quite subtly, I’m not really a fan of glossy characters.
–It’s a giraffe.
-While I may understand why he couldn’t be credited, forgetting Shida’s name in the credits is totally a dick move, especially considering the importance of such an iconic scene.
Episode 121 (Ossu!! Hisashiburi… Kaette Kita Son Gokū) aired on December 18th, 1991.
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard by Kazuhisa Takenouchi, direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa.
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no.
–Only half a koala nose.
–Trunks slicing Freezer is totally reanimated by Ebisawa… and the artistic gap between him and Nakatsuru’s corrections is way too evident. Comparing the two versions would be kinda humiliating.
-While Yamcha’s initial skepticism towards Trunks is quite understandable, he basically accepted to live with Vegeta, whom he hates. Isn’t sharing your house with someone you dislike much worse?
–That’s a very stupid question: there’s no reason for Piccolo to live on a planet he never grew up on. It’s like asking Gohan why he didn’t go living on planet Vegeta.
Episode 122 (Boku no Chichi wa Bejīta Desu… Nazo no Shōnen no Kokuhaku) aired on January 8th, 1992.
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard by Kazuhisa Takenouchi, direction by Junichi Fujise and animation supervision by Tadayoshi Yamamuro.
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Hitoshi Ehara (uncredited).
–Fujise’s direction can be spotted only during Trunks’ narration. Even though I’m not a big fan of ‘the unknown ogre as the new villain’ trope (without revealing his/her identity), the execution of Dr. Gero’s murder is pretty effective.
-Deserved debut as Shindo Pro supervisor for Yamamuro. His art looks definitely far more polished and appealing than Shindo’s. As expected, his corrections dominate all over.
–Vegeta’s first KUSOTTARE.
–Yamamuro’s fist…
-During Trunks’ narration, they use M1020A, an alternate and unreleased version of M1020B (the organ theme). In this version, organs sound gloomier and more muffled. I actually prefer the released one. It sounds more polished.
–Trunks getting in time to stop Freezer may sound convenient, but Goku took Freezer’s arrival too easily. His ki isn’t that difficult to find, is it?
–The DBesque timeline theory doesn’t seem to follow those from ‘Back to the Future’, for example. If Bulma and Vegeta never bred, Trunks wouldn’t be born in the present timeline, but the other timelines would not be affected by present Trunks’ absence. Future Trunks’ life doesn’t seem to depend on his present counterpart’s birth. A proof of this theory would be Zamasu being still alive in the future, despite Beerus destroying his present counterpart. Pretty confusing, but it’s the only explanation.
-Of course, I realize they don’t know it yet, but only gods can manipulate time. Humans are not allowed to use time machines.
–Trunks is a bit reluctant to give Goku his heart medicine because such an action can change history. What about his time trip to stop Freezer? It changed history, as well.
–He was quite moved to finally meet that self-centered douchebag that happens to be his father.
Episode 123 (Gokū no Shinhissatsuwaza!? Mite Kure, Ora no Shunkan-Idō) aired on January 15th, 1992.
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama.
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida.
-Good job at showing how Goku escaped from a dying Namek. Shida executes the scene flawlessly, M1020B is a fitting BGM and we get a gratuitious bluish-purple imagery from Yamauchi.
-Having Shida animate training scenes is a recipe for success.
–Stylish sunglasses.
–HA.
–The outfit Goku is wearing at home looks identical to his Muten Roshi training outfit from DB.
–Since Goku didn’t do THAT on purpose, it cannot positively be considered domestic abuse. More like some sort of inverse reference to Chichi pushing Goku back during early Red Ribbon arc.
–Reusing animation from the 118th episode, but without the yellow sky and purple sea.
–HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. He won’t even get to fight.
-I’m glad to discover that Goku was very shallow even before DBS. Forgetting such important info would be totally something DBS Goku would do, but here’s no exception.
-So, Toriyama decides to take a huge risk, as he basically lets Bulma suggest the most logical thing to do, that is using the DBs to stop Dr. Gero, thus avoiding any sort of agony within 3 years. That’s incredibly risky, because he gave the solution to a problem, which would eventually cause this whole arc to end very quickly.
1) Vegeta’s reaction is pretty clear, as he threatens to kill everyone if they attempt to do something like that. Because Saiyan blood, blah blah blah…
2) Tenshinhan’s reaction is kinda alright, even though he’s not that helpful at this point of the series. Then again, he’s the same one who agreed to take on Daimao alone, so it’s fine.
3) Goku wants to fight, too, because Saiyan blood, blah blah… but his following point is 50% wrong: while it’s indeed true that Dr. Gero hasn’t built anything yet, what about the Red Ribbon Army he defeated on his own? He’s basically creating cyborgs just for the sake of revenge, because he spoiled his plan to take over the world during that very arc.
-Of course, Chichi so mainly obsessed with Gohan’s education she gives no shit about the world being in actual danger. This common trope may not be that unrealistic, but unfortunately, she seems to ignore that if world peace is in peril, there will be no future for anybody, including for her son. What an idiot.
-On top of that, Goku has been missing for over a year, and we only see her yelling at him. I’m not lying when I say they sometimes try to suck any source of humanity out of these characters.
Episode 124 (Koete Yaru… Gokū o!! Sentō Minzoku Saiya-jin no Ō) aired on January 22nd, 1992.
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Minoru Maeda.
Key animation: Takeo Ide, Masaki Sato, Hideko Okimoto, Naoki Miyahara, Akira Inagami, Tetsuya Numako.
-Vegeta’s nightmare sequence is where Kikuchi’s direction focuses on in this episode. It’s actually fascinating to observe Vegeta’s psyche in depth, and Kikuchi’s imagery emphasizes his humiliation and powerlessness, through the presence of clouds and a vortex right in front of him, Goku and Trunks’ Super Saiyan auras overwhelming Vegeta and their progressive distance from Vegeta, a nice metaphor which refers to his own fear of not being able to reach their level.
-On top of that, unlike in the Namek arc, in which he had a breakdown after realizing he could never defeat Freezer, thus leading to him suffering the consequences of his prior cockiness, in this sequence Vegeta is a totally sympathetic character: you watch him feel weak and mortified for not being as strong as Goku. It may be anime-exclusive material, but they did a good job at showing how fragile his pride can be.
–What’s with this awkward slow-mo?
–Smugness square.
-I’m quite confused: during the same sequence, Vegeta dreams of his father actually encouraging him about being the strongest Saiyan. Which means the king of the Saiyans isn’t depicted as a terrible father like in the 78th episode. Who’s the closest one to Toriyama’s take?
–This question to Bulma. It’s actually an important line, which shows the presence of another reason for Vegeta to train harshly. Not only to become a Super Saiyan, but also to return the favor to Bulma after she looked after him a while ago. I believe it’s one of the very first times Vegeta demonstrates to have a conscience on his own.
-If only they made an episode out of Yamcha’s training journey instead of a driving school filler.
-Considering the majority of the key animators worked on ep. 120, no wonder their work is severely corrected by Maeda. Sadly, they seem to get worse and worse.
–Chuck Jones-esque eye liner?
Episode 125 (Menkyo Kaiden? Gokū no Arata naru Shiren) aired on January 29th, 1992.
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Kazuya Hisada.
Key animation: Kazuya Hisada (uncredited), Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Masahiro Shimanuki, Naoki Tate.
-This is considered one of the funniest, if not THE funniest, filler of the series among the fandom.
–Piccolo’s casual outfit is great.
-The funniest part is the car chase sequence, with Piccolo demonstrating his competitivity. He’s really taking this task seriously.
–The female instructor stalking Piccolo all along. She doesn’t seem to mind green lads.
–Shimanuki’s action scene is hands down the best part of this episode. First time for M1216, such a great action track.
-That’s pretty much it for the positives. I feel this episode would be a lot worse without the likes of Seigasha. Just imagine this being supervised by Ebisawa: it would lose most of its “charm”.
–What the deuce?
-To be fair, this seems like an average post-DB episode (especially including GT and Super), in which there’s a lack of balance between good (or even terrific) action and bad (or even awful) writing. This filler is well-executed in terms of visuals, but it’s so terribly written.
1) Goku and Piccolo are pretty badly written: the latter is uncharacteristically submissive, as he’s forced to accept Chichi’s blackmail, despite not even needing to eat for survival (it works on Goku, that’s okay, but it SHOULD NOT work on him). Just for the sake of the bloody sexist joke of Chichi being worse than the devil because authoritarian women are funny.
2) On the other hand, the former may appear as dumb as Super Goku (it may only be a filler, but the “acting stupid in quiet moments and getting serious in action” trope seems to belong to both of these Gokus), but I actually think this Goku is even dumber than Super Goku, which says a lot: Super Goku is a battle-maniac and trains all the time, but at least it’s a way more consistent attitude than Matsui’s portrayal here, in which he basically ditches training, and instead, what does he do? He STARES AT CLOUDS. Besides, he’s also the one who unneedly drags Piccolo into driving school.
3) Using Goku’s stupidity as a source for comedy has always been one of the main qualities of DB, but back in the first series, they were smart enough to stop focusing on his stupidity AFTER the 23rd T.B. time skip (or using it in a more subtle way). In other words, jokes around Goku’s naivety worked a lot better when he still was a kid. In the majority of attempts, DBZ, DBGT and DBS all missed the point of using his stupidity correctly. Yes, Goku cannot drive properly, I’m okay with that… but I’m not that okay with him forgetting how to start up a bloody car.
4) Ironically enough, Chichi isn’t out of character, and contrary to popular belief, she isn’t in the wrong on the surface. What are even the odds of being chased by a boar?? She has any right to complain. Unfortunately, back in the Saiyan arc, Chichi was shown driving a car while going to Kame House (both in the anime and the manga), which brings me to wonder what the shit happened to that car, and most of all, if Chichi is able to drive, there’s no real need for Goku to obtain a driving license. This filler has such an unstable premise.
-Apart from the chase scene, I don’t really care for the rest of the gags. I’ve watched funnier episodes.
-The ending is stupid, as they bring back the ‘there’s nothing I can teach you’ trope after Goku and Piccolo save the children inside the bus.
-Once again, I couldn’t give a lower rating to this, only because Hisada and his colleagues are so talented. One of the many cases good visuals are obstructed by bad writing. Wouldn’t Yamcha’s training journey have been a better choice for a filler episode?
Episode 126 (Kehai o Motanu Satsujinki Doitsu ga Jinzōningen da!?) aired on February 5th, 1992.
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa.
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no.
–Baby Trunks laughing at Ebisawa’s Krillin.
–Krillin’s concern in contrast with Goku’s calm.
–Yamcha’s dismayed expression says it all.
–Krillin isn’t that wrong about Vegeta.
-Even though the anime removed the decapitation bit (for justified reasons), Dr. Gero’s assault still works well.
–Each time I read ‘excited’ on subs, I wait for Goku to say ‘Waku Waku’. It didn’t happen.
-Not a well directed episode. Hashimoto’s direction pops up only during Dr. Gero’s attack on Yamcha. M1212 sounds all kinds of wrong.
-A few episodes ago, Bulma strongly disagreed with Goku and Vegeta’s view about not using the DBs to stop Dr. Gero. However, there she is again, eager to see the artificial humans, WHILE HOLDING HER BABY. She’s literally putting her son into danger because she’s a dumb hypocrite.
-With that said, leaving the Senzus behind is not a very intelligent move, either. He could’ve at least put them in his belt.
–Even Tenshinhan realizes Chaozu is useless.
-Whoa, Trunks sucks at giving info way more than Nail and Saichoro. It’s not a wrong point.
Episode 127 (Reiketsu Nijū-Gō no Akugyaku Hidō!! Gokū · Ikari no Chō-Henshin) aired on February 12th, 1992.
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Junichi Fujise and animation supervision by Tadayoshi Yamamuro.
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Hitoshi Ehara, Akemi Seki.
–Yamamuro’s corrections dominating as usual. Then again, his art style is improving more and more during this era, so it’s not much of an issue.
-It’s quite interesting he doesn’t correct the reanimated flashback by Teruhisa Ryu. Probably in order to make it closer to the DBesque approach.
-It’s a good thing they remembered Yajirobe can’t fly.
–And that’s why leaving Senzus behind was a bad idea.
-According to Dr. Gero’s explanation, his spy robots watched every single one of Goku’s battles from the 22nd T.B., in order to scrape together as many datas about him as possible. However, he decided not to send them on Namek because he felt Goku’s power wouldn’t increase that much, therefore he doesn’t seem to be aware of his Super Saiyan powers. Nevertheless, his spy robots did spy Trunks, and also Goku’s arrival, after which they both went Super Saiyan. How come doesn’t he know about it?
Episode 128 (Gokū, Daburu Shokku!! Yamai to Teki no Hasamiuchi) aired on February 19th, 1992.
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama.
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida.
-The battle between Goku and #19 is well-animated altogether, despite being veeeeeery conservative. Ohara and Shida‘s talent is the only thing I can genuinely praise.
-This episode seems like it wants to take the piss out of you: it has everything you wouldn’t want on DB: Maron, annoying cutaways, Maron, unnecessary perverted Muten Roshi (remember when he used to be active? Anyone? None? Okay…), NEARLY SIX-FUCKING-MINUTES OF SHITTY MONTAGE, M-A-R-O-N.
-By the way, did I ever mention I FUCKING HATE MARON? She’s stupid, idiotic, brainless, materialistic and spoiled. And likes speaking in third person. I. HATE. THIS. CHARACTER.
-Another case of good action getting overwhelmed by terrible writing (recycling Maron is terrible writing, let’s not clutch at straws).
–Shigeyasu Yamauchi is one of the BEST directors of the show, and seeing him underperform feels pretty discouraging.
–Krillin missing his undershirt.
–Is Yamcha stupid or what??? Not if he didn’t go through that sort of pain a few episodes ago…
Episode 129 (Bejīta Tsuyoshi!! Mezameru Sūpā Saiya-jin no Chi) aired on February 26th, 1992.
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Takeo Ide.
Key animation: Takeo Ide, Naoki Miyahara, Chikako Uesugi, Kuniko Iwagami, Akira Inagami, Tetsuya Numako.
-Albeit not fantastic, Ueda’s storyboarding still works well enough, with his trademark quirky colors popping up as always. Solid direction, too.
–Takeo Ide’s debut as a supervisor. DESERVED IT. He’s such a great artist, his art style looks so different and unique and unlike some of his Studio Junio colleagues, he’s so expressive: you cannot miss his random snarl on main characters. It’s not for everyone, but hardcore fans do appreciate him quite a bit.
–Really cool impact frame.
–Yamcha’s humility. Acknowledging one’s own limits is a noble concept, especially for DB standards.
-A pure heart is required to become a Super Saiyan. Vegeta’s heart is pure evil. Makes perfect sense, as confirmed by Krillin a few episodes ago: he’s still malicious.
–Goku not taking the medicine sooner makes also quite sense, since not only he didn’t get any symptom, but he’s also well-known for taking things too easily. However, prevention is better than cure, as a result if you have cardiac issues, you should prevent things to get worse. Waiting for things to deteriorate isn’t recommended.
–Wrong shoes.
–So Piccolo fakes his faint in order to lower Dr. Gero’s guard and save Goku. What a fuckin’ stupid plan.
-Dr. Gero deciding to let Yamcha escape with Goku. Not very clever from him, since all of this ordeal is focused on his will of revenge against HIM.
-Not only Bulma is still insisting on meeting the artificial humans (very dangerous for a lady with her baby aboard), but even forgets spare diapers. Because yes… her priority is putting her son into danger rather than safeguarding him.
Episode 130 (Nijū-Gō no Futeki na Warai… Dokutā Gero no Himitsu) aired on March 4th, 1992.
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Kazuya Hisada.
Key animation: Kazuya Hisada (uncredited), Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Masahiro Shimanuki, Naoki Tate, Hideko Okimoto (uncredited).
–Solid storyboarding from Kikuchi.
-Cyborgs do feel fear. That’s quite badass.
–Another gratuitious Kusottare.
-It feels a bit strange to hear Vegeta call someone else by his actual name.
–Here Takeuchi’s Dr. Gero is clearly corrected, but his Vegeta behind him isn’t. A bit jarring.
–Vegeta lets #19 absorb his energy to confirm they can truly use this ability. Which is quite unnecessary since he presumably saw #19 draining Goku’s energy last time, and immediately threw a conclusion.
-And no, because of this shit, Vegeta cannot be considered a fighting genius. Seriously, there was really no need for him to let the cyborg absorb it.
-On top of that, how could Vegeta lose against Gero if he fought him? Sure, Vegeta would lose if he didn’t escape, as he lost a considerable amount of ki due to that stupid idea. But, under normal circumstances, Vegeta is still stronger. This makes no sense.
–Why is Krillin so hesitant to give Vegeta a Senzu? He may not like him, but right now he’s not the main enemy.
-Sure, blowing up rocks isn’t a very smart idea from Vegeta, as Gero can easily absorb his energy.
The sixth Dragon Ball Z movie (Gekitotsu!! Hyaku-Oku Pawā no Senshi-tachi or Clash!! 10,000,000,000 Powerful Warriors) was released on March 7th, 1992. Script by Takao Koyama, direction by Daisuke Nishio, executive production by Chiaki Imada and Rikizo Kayano, animation supervision by Minoru Maeda, with Masaki Sato as assistant animation supervisor.
-This movie is a disaster, but thankfully, Kikuchi’s M13XX is a pretty competent soundtrack. We’re going to hear many of these BGM during the Cell arc: from good stuff like M1306, M1309, M1311 and M1318 to memorable battle themes like M1307, M1308 and M1312. Whereas M1319 is the weakest of the bunch, as it enters the sappy territory. Still, the best thing about this movie.
–Sato’s additional supervision pops up around the 2nd half, and while his approach doesn’t look as fresh as before, it’s still better than what Maeda has to offer.
-From this movie onwards, Piccolo’s belt will always be red-colored, which was the correct color Toriyama picked for his manga. Of course during the original movie run, since in 2000s/2010s it would be back to blue, like in the original series.
–At the very least Piccolo is here from the start, therefore no Piccolo saving Gohan trope.
-The section with Gohan, Krillin and Piccolo taking on Cooler’s army is the only enjoyable part of this movie. At least Ohara and Shida render it more animated.
-The idea of a scenic representation of the Shunkan-Ido sounds good, but it will be better executed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi in movie 8.
–Nishio’s direction isn’t bad, but looks utterly disappointing. The thing is this is a movie, thus it’s supposed to look better.
-When I watch a Dragon Ball film, I tend to expect something more. Not a fuckin’ montage of how Cooler was defeated in movie 5. This is just insultingly lame.
-To make things worse, choreographies are generally Nishio’s strong point, but here they look extremely dull. The animation looks also pretty lame, lacks of in-betweens and overall, makes the action look very boring. In fact, the main flaw of this movie is that it’s so goddamn B-O-R-I-N-G.
-Speaking of boring, Cooler is the villain, again. As if they thought “Hey, we made Freezer covered in scrap metal, why not doing the same with his brother?”. What a WONDERFUL decision: what made them think that bringing a boring villain back would be a good idea?? What did Cooler do to deserve a sequel??? He’s not as interesting as Freezer, he’s just boring.
-To make things even worse, I generally love Ryusei Nakao, but his performance here sounds so bored. Even his laugh sounds unenthusiastic. Furthermore, Cooler’s true form just blows. What a dreadful design.
-Even without the Piccolo saving Gohan trope, we get the FORMULA with a few new-entries and variations: Krillin gets humiliated, Vegeta saves Goku (NEW), Vegeta’s ‘Don’t get me wrong’, ‘leave it to bro’ Goku’, villain defeated not by a Genkidama, but by a tiny energy ball.
-Koyama’s character writing reaching the bottom: it seems like Goku and Vegeta aside, we could easily do without the remaining characters. I mean… do they even get to take part in the main battle? They don’t:
1) Gohan does get to fight some bots, but that’s the only thing he accomplishes here. Not if he could break those bars…
2) Yajirobe is the Senzu ex machina. I’m going to let it slide.
3) Koyama managed to throw Kame-sennin’s redemption from movie 2 into the toilet in favor of butt-monkey Ruten Moshi. What happened to the Muten Roshi from DB, who used to be rather active in the plot?
4) What the fuck is Oolong doing here? He has no power, he has no courage, he has no skills. He’s just a scaredy pig.
5) Krillin. Koyama hates him like a plague. Every excuse is valid to put him in a bad light. Unfortunately, insisting on a really unfunny recurring gag sort of puts Koyama in a bad light, as well. Apparently, he loves this gag so much it’s probably going to stun me a lot in the next film…
6) Piccolo too, fights the bots and rushes in to save Gohan. Gets his green ass kicked by a Metal Cooler. Wasted.
–Why the shit is Dende the God of Earth?? The manga chapter of him becoming Kami wasn’t yet released by the time this movie aired. What’s the reason behind this massive spoiler?
-Basically, the only way to defeat Cooler’s army is to hit them really hard. That’s it?
-At the very least the previous movie ended with a convincing struggle, with Goku’s Kamehameha pushing back Cooler’s Supernova. On the other hand, here Goku kills him by throwing a tiny ki blast inside Cooler, making it explode. To be honest, it’s not a disappointing ending, because it’s in line with the content of this movie. If the remaining parts are boring as hell, why should I be disappointed by a boring conclusion? It feels rather coherent, I guess.
–An unconscious Vegeta can turn Super Saiyan without waking up, according to movie logic.
Episode 131 (Jijitsu wa Mirai yori Osoroshī!? Torankusu no Giwaku) aired on March 11th, 1992.
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa.
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no.
–Vegeta calling Piccolo by his real name. Again, strange stuff.
-Vegeta’s reaction to future Trunks is hilarious, with that DUH expression.
-What amazes the most is that Vegeta actually acknowledges his son. How progressive.
–Ebisawa’s Vegeta looks laughable, but his Trunks isn’t much better, either.
-Piccolo vs Gero may be a minor fight, but Ebisawa just doesn’t make it any better. His choreography is a mere bunch of stock and boring moves we saw him making hundred of times in the past.
-So, everybody sensed Gohan hitting Dr. Gero from behind, but why did nobody, and I mean NOBODY ever sense Vegeta’s energy wave last episode? While we’re at it, why doesn’t Gero even sense Gohan behind him?
Episode 132 (Tsuigeki!!! Dokutā Gero Nazo no Kenkyūjo o Sagashidase) aired on March 18th, 1992.
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama.
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida.
-Albeit not his best, Yamauchi’s output is quite a return to form over the disastrous 128th episode. Nice use of pink and purple after Gero’s blast, and of course, good to have a purple flashback.
-#17 and #18 are described in two ways: the first one includes two mannequin-like figures and the second one their true selves with headlights. Both representations are well-executed by Ohara and director Yamauchi.
-After 132 episodes, Chichi is shown being worried sick about Goku. Better late than never.
–HAHAHAHA.
–Vegeta talking normally. While it SHOULDN’T be something abstruse nowadays (Toei wants him to be grumpy), here it works to soften his still malicious attitude.
–Piccolo basically telling Trunks not to fuck up anymore.
-Yes, Trunks is disappointed.
–This line from Vegeta kinda reflects some fans’ point of view about relying on a Goku time. Trunks insists on waiting for Goku to recover, but Vegeta has any right to differ, since by now he can turn Super Saiyan and is stronger than him. So, in this case, Vegeta is in the right.
–Gero recognizing Bulma is quite an interesting detail. For the record, Tights is the first daughter.
–Uchiyama‘s approach looks pretty unpolished, but his key animation is even worse. Such sloooooow pacing.
-You can tell this is a quite rushed episode, as it shares a few mistakes, like black eyebrows and pupils on a Super Saiyan and Vegeta’s missing glove.
–Why does Gero look like someone who’s trying not to throw up?
–WTF is Trunks doing?
-I’m not criticizing the fact Bulma knows Dr. Gero’s identity. Though, I DO criticize the fact she conveniently tells us who he is ONLY NOW. For the record, even her future counterpart never told Trunks what he looked like to begin with.
-Frankly, I used to consider Vegeta a complete douche for ignoring his wife and kid being in peril. In actuality, he’s a mere mixed bag: he still acts like a douche towards Trunks, but he’s admittedly proud of him becoming a Super Saiyan like he does. He’s a really difficult character to judge.
-Someone else already addressed this, and I pretty much agree: NOW all of them want to prevent Gero from activating #17 and #18, while they rejected Bulma’s advice of using the DBs to stop him three years ago. Yes, it sounds contradictory. On the other hand, Vegeta still wants to screw things up. Questionable attitude, but feels coherent, at the very least. Spoiled brat.
–Zamasu did nothing wrong.
Episode 133 (Soshite Kyōfu ga Genjitsu ni… Mezameru Jūnana-Gō to Jūhachi-Gō!!) aired on March 25th, 1992.
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Tadayoshi Yamamuro.
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Noriko Shibata, Hitoshi Ehara, Akemi Seki.
-Pretty great directional work, with Ueda’s trademark color bits making their habitual appearance.
–Goku’s nightmare scene is a clear example of his main leitmotiv: more or less like his pink segment from ep. 98, the usage of pink and purple makes this scene really fascinating. Although, the pink blob strangling him looks way too generic.
–Indeed, Trunks is disappointed.
–Shigeru Nakahara’s delivery of this line. So badass.
–That’s NOT how freezing works.
–Krillin getting a severe beating from Gero wasn’t in the manga. If you wonder why they added this, just read the credits. Who wrote this episode? I thought so.
-Even though Vegeta is overtly a dick, Trunks constantly opting for a Goku time sounds just as annoying as his father’s behavior. Also a stupid thing to say, considering Vegeta’s giant ego.
Episode 134 (Subete ga Teokure ka!? Gokū o Korosu Saishū Heiki) aired on April 1st, 1992.
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Junichi Fujise and animation supervision by Kazuya Hisada.
Key animation: Kazuya Hisada (uncredited), Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Masahiro Shimanuki, Naoki Tate, Chikako Uesugi, Kuniko Iwagami, Koji Nashizawa.
–#17 and #18 completely ignoring the spoiled brat.
–Trunks is balding.
–Krillin has any right to be afraid of his future brother-in-law… but by now you should know Koyama’s modus operandi, so any of Krillin’s shortcomings are taken up to eleven. No trace of subtlety.
-As for Vegeta, Toriyama is all but subtle in this case: during this arc he’s trying to make him as insufferable as he can. Again, it’s a consistent characterization, but consistently a dick in any case. Although, spoilers, letting him lose against #18 serves him to question his gigantic ego, and feels as a comeuppance for his dick moves.
-Speaking of which, how can someone consider Vegeta a better father than Goku? For fuck’s sake, he mistreats Trunks all the time and is even abusive towards him. He’s a big-league douche.
–Please don’t give any more ideas for the next movie…
-“If They Set That Android Free It Will Be The End Of All Of Us“. It became a meme for a while. Falcouner’s track sounds dreadful.
Episode 135 (Kawaī Kao de Chō-Pawā!? Jūhachi-Gō ni Shikaku Nashi) aired on April 15th, 1992.
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa.
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no.
-Okay-ish storyboarding. The bleeding first person view is a cool thing, though.
–#17 trolling Vegeta by clapping for his lousy speech. “Subarashii commentary”.
–#18 breaking Vegeta’s arm is so fuckin’ deserved. Horikawa’s pain scream sounds terrific, for the record.
-Overall, I feel this fight isn’t executed that well. The anime even adds a different location, with the fight taking place on top of a truck. Unfortunately, Ebisawa just isn’t good at all, his choreographies are boring.
-The anime makes this fight so weird: #18 is supposed to be the villain, but Vegeta blasts rangelands, causes accidents, destroys other people’s vehicles, insults Trunks and the others… I personally can’t see HOW and WHY #18 is the villain. Considering the amount of bad actions (even though Vegeta didn’t do them on purpose, he’d still give no shit), are we really sure Matsui wanted #18 to be the villain??
–Where’s Piccolo’s aura?
–No leggings.
–After observing Vegeta’s insufferable and douchy attitude, should we really feel sorry for him getting his ass kicked? And while we’re at it, he even rejects teamwork, despite agreeing on that solution on Namek. Although, this change might be a consequence of his delusions of omnipotence after becoming a Super Saiyan.
-Both cutaways are crap: the first one involves a really gross and unfunny gag regarding Trunks peeing on Yajirobe’s face, while the second one about Satan’s fart, Maron. Bringing her back was a huge mistake.
Episode 136 (Dare ni mo Yatsura o Tomerarenai… Zetto Senshi Zenmetsu ka!?) aired on April 22nd, 1992.
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama.
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama (uncredited), Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida.
-Pretty good directional work from Yamauchi, mostly in the action-packed 1st half. Not his best material, but I really enjoy the way he uses pink and purple during the battle. Sporadically, yet effectively.
–The 1st half alone has already better action than the whole last episode.
–Miki Ito sounds adorable here.
–Tenshinhan being useful as always.
-Gohan is rightfully worried about his father’s health, but Bulma insists he should take her home. She is even more selfish than Vegeta, which is a lot.
–ANOTHER MARON CUTAWAY. Squeezing characters to death is wrong, but squeezing BAD characters is WRONGERRRRR.
–Zoophilia isn’t charming. Umigame’s good nature is praiseworthy, though.
-Umigame, power level 0,001, takes out two jackasses. Either they are weak-ass lads, or power levels are BS #?.
-Honestly, the 2nd half isn’t as good as the 1st. This gap clearly affects my final rating.
Episode 137 (Pikkoro no Ketsui!! Totte Oki no Saigo no Shudan) aired on April 29th, 1992.
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Tadayoshi Yamamuro.
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Noriko Shibata, Hitoshi Ehara, Akemi Seki, Hideko Okimoto.
–Everybody is really pissed off in this episode. Like a lot.
–This silhouette impact frame resembles Naoki Tate’s own version back in ep. 98.
-Thanks to the previous filler scenes of Goku suffering from his disease, they fixed the bit with Chichi trying to find the medicine from the manga. It’s still a bit problematic, but follows a quite solid continuity.
-As for the infamous tantrum from Piccolo, it may sound out of character since he’s no longer as evil as he used to be, but makes sense to me. At this point, he’s not evil, but doesn’t want to be a pushover, either way. (as also confirmed by Krillin) If someone is really pissed off, it might happen that his anger makes him say or do things he wouldn’t say or do in different cases. That’s exactly Piccolo’s case, as he’s also forced to reconsider the option of fusing with Kami-sama. Although, why does Krillin tell him he’s their friend? Now THAT sounds a bit forced, since it’s not the right time to bug a livid guy.
–Kami’s flashback of how he became God of Earth gets reanimated, well directed by Kikuchi…
-… but with an annexed montage of Goku defeating Daimao. I know Toda likes flashbacks, but this is too much. We all watched and appreciated that episode. We want to move forward, please.
-They added outlines around shading, and white eyes on Krillin.
–HOW the frig could Tenshinhan forget about Daimao? Wasn’t Chaozu killed by him? Or wasn’t he actually tortured by him in person? How can someone forget traumatic events so easily??
–Vegeta actually knows Trunks is his son. He’s just too douchy to acknowledge him.
–She’s turning into Ribrianne.
–THIS IS MARON’S LAST APPEARANCE. SHE WON’T EVER APPEAR AGAIN. SHE WON’T BE REMEMBERED OR MENTIONED EVER AGAIN. THANK YOU. HALLELUJAH. Badbye, worst character ever created.
–How convenient… but you know what? I DON’T CARE. SHE’S GONE FOREVER. She was a mistake to erase completely.
-The next episode is supervised by Takeo Ide, but I’m pretty sure this shot from the NEP doesn’t look like him. More like Hisada, who will supervise an upcoming episode.
Episode 138 (Aruku Chō-Hakai Heiki!! Jinzōningen ga Gokū ni Semaru) aired on May 6th, 1992.
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Takeo Ide.
Key animation: Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Naoki Miyahara, Akira Inagami, Tetsuya Numako, Yoichi Onishi.
-Pretty good storyboarding. The tunnel scene is the highlight of Ueda’s direction.
–Ide’s second and last episode of DBZ as a supervisor. Such fierce expressivity. His next appearance as a supervisor would be approximately 3 years later, on DBGT.
–Kami-sama stating the truth: unlike in the past, THEY started the conflict against #17 and #18.
–Actually, yes.
-I really like 17 actually having fun trolling the biker gang, but once they break the truck window, he gets him really angry.
-Another recycled montage.
-Moving Goku to Kame House isn’t a bright idea, since it’s technically the second place the cyborgs would sift through after his own house.
Episode 139 (Fukitsu na Yokan! Buruma ga Shiraseta Misuterī) aired on May 13th, 1992.
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa.
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no.
-Hashimoto executes both Trunks’ flashback and Goku’s nightmare extremely well, through interesting use of colors and shade/lighting ratio. He even employs a first person viewpoint during the reanimated debacle against #18. Good stuff.
–Unnecessarily badass.
–Ebisawa’s innate skills of drawing dead bodies.
–A turtle eating ramen is actually hilarious.
–Chaozu is a better cook than fighter. That should’ve been his real career all along.
–Trunks’ eye lines are not supposed to be open.
–Chichi’s obsession again.
-About Goku’s nightmare, he isn’t supposed to know how #17 and #18 look like, and for that matter, even #18’s exact battle damage from her fight with Vegeta. Flawed filler material.
–Yamcha’s question is actually relevant: considering the conditions of altering the future and creating new timelines, Trunks’ time machine causes more troubles than remedies. Even though future Bulma’s original aim was kinda noble, it only led on to create alternate timelines instead of solving the real problem. That’s likely why deities are against mortals manipulating time at will.
-Vegeta’s glorious soliloquy ending with his habitual small dick complex.
Episode 140 (Jāku no Tamago o Hakken!! Kyōfu Suru Torankusu) aired on May 20th, 1992.
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Kazuya Hisada.
Key animation: Kazuya Hisada (uncredited), Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Masahiro Shimanuki, Naoki Tate.
–Unintentional foreshadowing.
-Both the anime and the manga do a great job at setting up an air of mystery around the main villain of this arc. It is likely Seigasha’s least action-packed entry, but for a good reason: no matter how much I’m a sucker for action and sakugas, it’s also recommended to have some breaks once in a while.
–Even Oolong realizes hiding Goku inside Kame House isn’t a clever solution.
Episode 141 (Katsute Nai Teki ni Mukete… Sūpā Namekku-seijin Tanjō!!) aired on May 27th, 1992.
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Daisuke Nishio and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama.
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida.
-First episode to use M13XX (ninth movie soundtrack). One of my favorite Kikuchi BGM, M1312, is used when Kami-sama merges with Piccolo.
–They faithfully reproduced Toriyama’s Piccolo from the manga. Perhaps too faithfully.
–Cell’s introduction is handled fairly well. It’s the only well directed bit of this episode.
–Very last time for Shida as a Last House animator. From now on, nothing will be the same.
-Especially considering Uchiyama’s progressively flatter traits, it’s such a huge loss. Simplicity may be the answer, but his approach is way too simplistic.
-The next episode is supervised by Maeda, but they include an Ebisawa shot in the NEP. Why?
Episode 142 (Kamehameha!? Gokū no Ki o Motsu Monsutā) aired on June 3rd, 1992.
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard by Daisuke Nishio, direction by Junichi Fujise and animation supervision by Minoru Maeda.
Key animation: Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Takeo Ide, Masaki Sato, Hideko Okimoto, Naoki Miyahara, Chikako Uesugi, Kuniko Iwagami, Akira Inagami, Tetsuya Numako, Koji Nashizawa.
-I’m being repetitive, but Sato’s Piccolo is his best-looking character. Realistic noses like those he draws are so so rare in this show.
-Why is Cell so popular? 50% thanks to his first form, which is the best one for his character, because he looks mysterious, gloomy and hideous in a good way, and 50% thanks to his seiyuu, Norio Wakamoto, who’s just amazing. Much like Nakao with Freezer, I cannot fathom Cell with a different voice, Wakamoto is just flawless on him.
-Much like Freezer, he’s introduced by showing how brutal and wicked he is: drinking a poor ningen. The draining sound effect is a classic, and makes this scene more unsettling. Needless to say, the imagery of the dried up poor guy is so disturbing, but in a positive way.
-Not a massive fan of the direction. I think it could be better executed.
–Maeda’s corrections are not that good.
Episode 143 (Zōo to Hakai no Seimeitai!! Yatsu no Na wa Jinzōningen Seru) aired on June 10th, 1992.
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Tadayoshi Yamamuro.
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Noriko Shibata, Hitoshi Ehara, Akemi Seki.
-I don’t know whether Piccolo’s trolling strategy is really clever…
-… or Cell is just incredibly stupid for narrating the exposition of his character. Of course, let’s not forget he ignored that Piccolo could regenerate his arm. And Cell has Piccolo’s DNA, as well. Which makes him even more stupid.
-I hate recycled montages. I really do.
-How come is Piccolo so astonished by Cell being able to use the Kamehameha? Reasonable, since only one character can use it, why not…
-As for the spy robot explanation, they’re still used to steal some of Piccolo’s cells. Even assuming that they were still there all along, so they were observing their moves in the 3 years gap, why did Dr. Gero ignore the existence of the Super Saiyan? According to Cell, they were also used to steal Freezer and King Cold’s DNA, therefore they presumably observed Trunks using his Super Saiyan powers. And Dr. Gero didn’t know about it. It barely makes no sense.
-This bit confuses me a lot: IF Trunks from that timeline did actually come to the past to inform of the artificial humans’ defeat, there could still be a chance of meeting with Trunks from another timeline, according to multiverse theory. It didn’t happen, as Cell killed that Trunks, but this event didn’t affect the other timelines, as THIS future Trunks is still alive. I hope I figured this out, because it’s a very puzzling concept.
Episode 144 (Pikkoro Tsūkon no Dai-Shippai! Seru ga Machi ni Hanatareta!) aired on June 17th, 1992.
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa.
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no.
-Rather solid direction. Good use of a red and black landscape after Cell absorbs the coach driver. How to make a brutal scene without the need of showing it.
–The rainbow-like effect of Cell’s Taiyoken from the NEP is removed in the finished product.
–Cell’s first form is the best one.
–Oneiric Waku Waku.
-Cell can use the Kamehameha and also the Genkidama. Too bad it’s only shown in video games, in which he politely asks to give him stupid energy.
–It keeps on being hilariously weird.
-This is interesting: Vegeta feels so humiliated due to the existence of someone stronger than a Super Saiyan, he even asks Goku’s opinion thereupon. He’s that desperate.
–Chichi is a pain in the ass. Toei seem like in their element, as far as her character derailment goes.
-Again, how is THAT a big deal? Even Tenshinhan could perform the Kamehameha after only seeing it once.
–The Taiyoken isn’t a big deal, either. Contrary to what Tenshinhan stated back in the day…
Episode 145 (Seru Tanjō no Himitsu! Kenkyūjo no Chika ni Nani ga Aru!?) aired on June 24th, 1992.
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Daisuke Nishio and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama.
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara.
–Ohara’s juicy effects being juicy.
-It’s nothing much, but Krillin gets to do something for once.
-How can you tell Gohan was Trunks’ master? From his courage? No. From his techniques? No.
From responding HAI (right) after a command. It’s been Gohan’s catchphrase in the original since the beginning.
-That’s exactly the point of Gohan’s character: he’s a fighter not because he likes fighting, but because he has to. He wants to get stronger for the sake of everyone, not for his own.
-Limited action, with a pretty mediocre direction.
