NAMEK ARC (#036-#107)

Episode 036 (Tabidase Uchū e! Kibō no Hoshi wa Pikkoro no Furusato) aired on February 14th, 1990. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Tatsuya Orime and animation supervision by Tomekichi Takeuchi. 
Key animation: Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Masahiro Shimanuki, Kazuya Hisada, Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru (uncredited), Takeo Ide (uncredited), Hideko Okimoto (uncredited), Tomoya Iida (uncredited), Naoki Miyahara (uncredited).

-I appreciate the graphic depiction of both Kaio and Muten Roshi’s narrations.
-Yajirobe is the most sensible character in this episode by a landslide. Even if unintentionally, I really like the way he defends Goku from Chichi absolutely ignoring his health conditions being far more serious than Gohan’s.

-Then again, the first half is simply a contest about which character is more loathsome. Either pick Chichi who:
1) ignores Goku TWICE (Krillin genuinely feels sorry for the guy). If it’s played for laughs (they even use Bumper Cars), they should be ashamed of themselves.
2) blames him for putting Gohan into danger. Too bad she ignores that he didn’t tell Raditz “Hey bro, wanna kidnap my son and threaten all of my friends? I’m getting excited.”
3) ignores that if the Earth gets destroyed, there will be no future for nobody, including for her son. I get it, she represents the apprehensive parent trope, but in a really unsatisfying way. The old tomboyish and naive Chichi is no more. This new Chichi has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, because she’s depicted EXCLUSIVELY as a frustrated and narrow-minded housewife and parent. The series shows nothing else about her, this is what they turned her into.
-… or pick Bulma who yells at Yajirobe for not dying in Piccolo’s place. What a bitch.
-I’ve rarely spent positive thoughts about Bulma’s character during this rewatch. She’s a mixed bag: sometimes I don’t mind her, sometimes I wish she shut the fuck up. However, this line sounds bloody cruel, even for her. I get it, she was sad and all… but if Yajirobe was actually killed off, then it would mean that Goku and the others died as well. Yajirobe has a fairly good point: he was constantly hiding from the enemy, but at least he WAS HELPFUL and SAVED THEIR BLOODY LIVES. On the other hand, what was Bulma doing? Fighting with the Fortuneteller for a fucking crystal ball. Filler scenes only, but even if we erase them, nothing else remains. Bulma did fucking NOTHING during the bloodshed. She’s not a warrior, I understand it, but a good person would never wish for someone else’s death. Furthermore, the series wants the audience to relate with her only because she’s crying. Now then, who’s wrong? A grouchy character who saved Gohan and Krillin? Or a character who constantly acts like a smartass?
–I’m sorry, I hate this. There was a WHOLE BOWL FILLED WITH… you know the rest.
–That’s the number of episodes this arc lasts.
–Gohan revealing this in the NEP. I swear it will never being annoying, no…

Episode 037 (Nazo no Yunzabitto! Kami-sama no Uchūsen o Sagase) aired on February 21st, 1990. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Johei Matsuura and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata, Miki Ugai.

–HAHA. Krillin imitating Yajirobe works better in the Japanese version, since both characters are voiced by Tanaka.
–Popo ignoring Bulma’s whining. Thank you.
–Good callback to Piccolo and Shen speaking an alien language in the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai.
–Also because you cannot open and close a door with a flute.

-Sloppy music placement: from the annoying Gohan’s Crying theme when Goku gets covered in bandages to M652 during a scene that doesn’t involve Chaozu dying (he already did, but still).
–Just imagine hearing a ditz squeal for over 10 minutes, that’s the episode in a nutshell.
-There she goes, blaming someone else for a mistake SHE made in the first place. To think that she thoroughly studied that remote control the previous night… I’m not surprised, she sucks at her job.
–That’s a dumb thing to say, even for Goku.
-“Either that or we can’t leave the hospital because we’re injured“. By the way, how hard can it be to recognize a spaceship?
-During his tale, Kami-sama talks about waiting for his “parents”. Which makes me wonder why he ignores how the real Namekian reproduction works, while Piccolo Daimao was aware of it, since he spat out eggs to give birth to his warriors. Yes, Kami had blurred memories, but apparently, Piccolo didn’t seem to.

Episode 038 (Namekku-sei Iki Hasshin! Gohan-tachi o Matsu Kyōfu) aired on February 28th, 1990. 
Script by Keiji Terui, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Tai’ichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida, Tetsuya Saeki.

-Fairly solid storyboarding.
–That’s nice.
–Krillin saying Doki Doki. I guess Waku Waku^TM isn’t for everyone…
-Gohan’s progression as a character: he’s shown training under considerable hurdles and even decides to take some considerable responsibilities. He’s not a fighting tank or a chicken, but a simple child who wants to give his contribution on this new journey. That’s how Gohan’s character works.
-Premise: Chichi has a good point for forbidding Gohan to go to outer space, because she’s not seen him for a year and wants him to live like a real child. She isn’t wrong at all: Gohan is only 5 and he shouldn’t be fighting some aliens.
-With that said, Gohan telling her to shut up is G-O-L-D.

-The thing is Chichi may be right at some point, but again, does a good action or point erase everything else? Not really. She STILL remains bloody annoying, and the rest of the first half confirms what I expressed about her previously.
–Gohan says he respects Piccolo as much as his father. So… can ‘Piccolo is Gohan’s father’ spokespeople watch this and shut up for a second? He never admitted “my cruel mentor is my real father and I hate my other father, because he supports me every time“. You can respect an elder, but you can never replace one of your parents.
-Speaking of which, Gohan is so skilled he can even sew without anybody’s help. Reproducing the same clothes Piccolo gave him. He’s only 5…
–HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Namek isn’t dangerous.
–They say it twice. Okay, I’m persuaded.

Episode 039 (Teki ka Mikata ka? Nazo no Kyodai Uchūsen no Kodomo-tachi) aired on March 7th, 1990. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Daisuke Nishio and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Takenori Kudo, Toshiyuki Kan’no (uncredited).

-Rather solid storyboard.
-Let’s be honest: the main reason this filler is remembered is Bulma in her undergarments.
-They probably wanted to recreate the “adventure gang” from the Red Ribbon arc, with Krillin, Bulma and Gohan taking Goku’s place. Those traps look rather familiar, too.
–Somehow Krillin is bothered by Bulma being in her underwear. Whether it can be considered a character development or not, he’s the same guy who smelled the diamond Bulma took from her panties.
-Of course, let’s not forget the presence of a 5-year-old kid.
-While I find the hospital filler pretty annoying, I do like Muten Roshi not giving a single shit about Goku doing sit-ups despite his injuries.

-As for Gohan and Krillin’s mental training, it isn’t a bad idea, but Ebisawa executing it with his stock poses and timing isn’t much of an improvement.
-Also, Gohan knows the Makankosappo. The only instance we saw him using this move is on videogames, especially as his future counterpart. Not even in a single filler scene.
–Bulma causes a mess and orders Krillin and Gohan to tidy it up.
–Does this line foreshadow something? And they’ve not even gotten to Namek, yet.

The second Dragon Ball Z movie (Kono Yo de Ichiban Tsuyoi Yatsu or The World’s Strongest Guy) was released on March 10th 1990. Script by Takao Koyama, direction by Daisuke Nishio, executive production by Chiaki Imada and animation supervision by Minoru Maeda.

-Kikuchi’s M9XX soundtrack is quite solid, albeit not among his best compositions: a few good ones like M909 and M922, M910 and M919 (themes of Freezer) and M923 (theme of Saichoro) are frequently used in the Namek arc. A few of them showcase the same leitmotiv, like M901, M911, M915 and M925 (not a bad one, but not that great, either), while M913 brings back the original DB music vibes, more or less like M814A. As for M920, one of the better known themes of Piccolo, as well one of the longest tracks Kikuchi ever composed, I don’t really mind it. The guitar riff at the beginning is great, but the rest is okay-ish.
-Great direction from Nishio, with interesting framings and neat use of lighting.
-Much like the previous film, characters who aren’t Goku get some fair amount of screen time: Oolong appears here to drag Gohan on his panties quest (is he fed up with the ones he obtained in the Pilaf arc??), Muten Roshi is brought back again to take on the Bio-warriors, and Piccolo and Gohan join forces to beat Dr. Willow.
–Master-student Kamehameha. Wonderful.
–The Piccolo saving Gohan trope makes its first theatrical appearance. Fortunately, unlike in the upcoming movies, it’s not that forced since Piccolo was nearby Gohan.

-With that said, this movie follows the infamous formula (with a few variations like involving Muten Roshi, having Gohan and Piccolo fight back), as it’s mostly Goku time and about defeating the enemy with his Genkidama.
-While the previous movie showed similarities with the ‘Raditz arc’, this one showcases a lot, if not TOO MANY callbacks to the remaining portion of the Saiyan arc. As a result, this movie is grossly self-referential: Willow’s bots are basically robotic Saibamen (Piccolo even defeats it with the same mouth blast from ep. 24), Chichi’s ‘Gohan-chan, Gohan yo’ from the first episode, the Kaioken finish on Nappa, the SAME beam struggle with Goku using a fourth times stronger Kaioken (even THAT framing is nearly identical), Goku’s tired pose (losing his shirt still makes no goddamn sense, just for a bloody reference), Goku’s Genkidama getting interrupted, Dr. Willow saying Vegeta’s line before firing his Galick-Ho, and the BLOODY PEOPLE from ep. 34 are seen once again during the Genkidama. Modern DB is criticized for lacking of fantasy, but 1990 Toei wasn’t that original, either.
-Obviously, Koyama cannot simply do without his Krillin aversion: by making him look like a coward, by freezing him, by making him weaker than a fucking machine gun or by exposing him to random pain, Koyama never ceases to disappoint.
-More obviously, we couldn’t simply do without the annoying Chichi trope. At least she got some fair action in the previous movie, which was sort of a throwback to her DB self. On the other hand, here she’s portrayed as the usually unbearable pain in the ass from the regular series.
–Maeda’s corrections start to look not that effective, considering the progressive artistic period of the series.
-The main enemies of this movie, Dr. Willow and his assistant Dr. Kochin, are pretty forgettable. They’re blandly evil and their plan of revenge against mankind is extremely prosaic. Something we saw tons of times in the past. There’s nothing unique about it. They are evil scientist who seek revenge, that’s pretty much it.
-Like the previous movie, this one also has a Gohan montage. Unfortunately, it’s even more random and unnecessary than the other one, and its position makes it even more distracting. While the other one was played before Garlic Jr. could summon the dragon (in an already structured plot), here the main plot hasn’t begun yet by the time this montage is played.
-This montage manages to be very puzzling, too, as they even show the footage of Piccolo sacrificing himself from the Saiyan arc, which as we know, cost his own life and caused the DBs to disappear. However, during this timeline, he’s alive, the DBs work perfectly fine (also considering Muten Roshi used them to revive Goku before the Saiyans’ arrival, therefore they should be stone right now), Goku is wearing his gi with the Kaio symbol and there’s no evidence of the Namek journey. I’m aware that movies follow a separate continuity, but this one got itself into a cul-de-sac.
–Isn’t Gohan too young to pilot??
-The ending is really stupid, following the everyone laughing in the end trope. And Bulma’s joke is also very unfunny (the Big Green version is amazing, though). Go figure.

Episode 040 (Honto ni Honto? Are ga Kibō no Namekku-sei) aired on March 14th, 1990. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Tomekichi Takeuchi.
Key animation: Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Masahiro Shimanuki, Kazuya Hisada, Takeo Ide (uncredited).

–Good storyboarding.
–They don’t call Hashimoto the ‘transition guy‘ for nothing. So so nice.
–Takeuchi wasn’t the best animator or artist out there, but you’ll never criticize him for being unexpressive. Even though his Krillin looks drunk, this is what made him stand out.
–I totally dig Bulma’s abs in this episode. I don’t even mind Takeuchi’s squat neck and thick thighs.
-At the very least this filler is a decent alternative way to introduce the new enemy, the Emperor of the Universe.
–Okay, it didn’t turn out too bad.

–Weird.
-Why do these one-hit characters have to be orphans??
–This gag is unfunny, obnoxious and repetitive. I get it, it might be related to the irony of Goku being afraid of common objects, but Toriyama never implied he was terrified by needles. This recurring gag is entirely pointless.
–I know right? Ask the writers.
– By the way, Chichi needs to fuck off: who got stomped by Oozaru Vegeta? Goku or Gohan? Besides, she is a terrible wife: instead of reassuring Goku, she keeps bashing him for no particular reason. Or better saying, there is an actual reason: because she SUCKS AT BEING A GOOD WIFE.
-I’m being honest, I would expect this kind of gags from Koyama. Ironically enough, Krillin gets more “humiliated” here than in the previous episode. Didn’t they swap the writing credits on both episodes??
–Well, either they are too nice, or she is too selfish. Pick one.
–Which, unfortunately, leads to 4 useless filler episodes.
–HAHA, jokes on you.

Episode 041 (Shinsetsu na Uchū-jin　Ikinari Atta yo Ūshinchū) aired on March 21st, 1990. 
Script by Keiji Terui, storyboard and direction by Minoru Okazaki and animation supervision by Minoru Maeda. 
Key animation: Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Takeo Ide, Masaki Sato, Hisashi Eguchi, Hideko Okimoto (uncredited), Naoki Miyahara (uncredited).

–Using telekinetic powers to smoke a cigar. Chad.
–Gohan using his Masenko to escape from the corrosive pond strongly resembles Goku using his Nyoibo to escape from the flames in ep. 153 of DB.

-Corrosive pond… just like the Fake Namek filler. It’s a corrosive pile of boring and stupid shit.
-First off, Bulma’s Dragon Radar is supposed to work with REAL Dragon Balls around. Why does it work with the fake ones on Fake Namek??
-While we’re at it, shouldn’t the DB be corroded as well??
-During this era, Maeda’s output is suffering a considerable quality decrease. His corrections showcase the soft traits from the original, but also including pointier cheeks and jaw. This hybrid approach cannot work very well. It’s really jarring.
–Lucky him. I got to endure this atrocity for 3 more episodes.
-“Neither should you. Shut the fuck up“.

Episode 042 (Wakusei Furīza Nanbā Sebunti Nain　Fukkatsu no Bejīta!!) aired on April 4th, 1990. 
Script by Aya Matsui and Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Johei Matsuura and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Akio Katada, Naotoshi Shida, Tetsuya Saeki.

-The only somewhat decent part is Goku’s crippled training.
–Gohan looks just too happy to jump. This kinda recalls the adventures of Goku, Krillin and Bulma during the Red Ribbon arc. Their attempt to bring it back is kinda praiseworthy…

-… kinda, too bad the execution is a plain failure. I’m not anyone to judge Toei’s modus operandi, but two writers for a filler episode? For THIS KIND of filler?
-It’s really unfortunate to witness such awful characterization, despite the presence of two writers. Bulma is filled with pure hate, Chichi is filled with pure hate and Krillin? Suffering Koyama’s influence.
-Good lord, Bulma is behaving like an unbearable bitch in this episode. And for the record, who’s the real dumbass in distress?

Episode 043 (Sorotta zo Doragon Bōru! Pikkoro-san mo Ikikaeru) aired on April 11th, 1990. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata, Miki Ugai.

–THANK YOU. She was unbearable last episode.
–Krillin talking sense.
-Here we learn a lot from Vegeta’s personality: he may be a wicked strategist, but he often acts without thinking, as he didn’t turn off his scouter while talking about the Namekian DBs back on Earth.

–Vegeta with Goku’s open eye lines?
-The trolling title.
–Vanity.
-Hmm… do Gohan and Krillin realize they can fly?
–Yes, you wasted 3 episodes for this shitty filler.
–They’re even self-aware of wasting time, so what’s the real purpose of fake Namek, again?

Episode 044 (Arata na Kyōteki! Uchū no Teiō Furīza) aired on April 18th, 1990. 
Script by Keiji Terui, storyboard and direction by Tatsuya Orime and animation supervision by Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru. 
Key animation: Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Takeo Ide, Hideko Okimoto, Naoki Miyahara.

-The Fake Namek filler is over. FINALLY.
–Their casual reaction to Vegeta being on Namek.
-I quite like Bulma decides not to inform Chichi of the menace on Namek.
-Just imagine how the Namek arc would’ve been much better if they’d actually let Bulma leave
-Of course, the main enemy of this arc is introduced in the end: the Emperor of the Universe, the best villain of the franchise. How do they introduce him? Slaughtering a Namekian and making his trademark ‘Hohoho’ laugh. I couldn’t imagine another seiyuu on him, Ryusei Nakao is just too good.

-Spending an entire half finishing the Fake Namek filler is a bit too much.
-Not only the two aliens are incredibly bland and weak, but also terribly stupid: if they read Bulma’s mind, then they should know the password to open the spaceship. They didn’t figure it out because they’re idiots.
–Yes, she should. It’s called ‘taking on one’s responsibility’. A concept she doesn’t know since she tends to delegate other people to do stuff. Pampered.

Episode 045 (Yabō no Bejīta! Uchūichi no Senshi wa Ore da!!) aired on April 25th, 1990. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida, Tetsuya Saeki, Hideko Okimoto (uncredited).

-Positive debut for Yamauchi, with colors and reflections, including a purple one.
-Kewie’s death looking brutal, in both its anime and manga renditions. Punching his bowels out of his stomach and blowing him up.
-This is the only time auras are colored inside. In the majority of cases, their outlines are colored, whereas their inside is either white or transparent.
–Doki Doki in the NEP.

–Not the most polished looking Uchiyama episode.
-This episode starts off a trend about Vegeta’s (and the Saiyans in general) talent in combat, as they get stronger after facing death, and sometimes obtain new skills. In Vegeta’s case, he can now control his power and sense ki, which did require a little more time to Goku, Krillin and the others previously. Now, considering such skills are going to be mentioned lots of times in the future, we should pick a stance, whether considering it sensible for a Saiyan to have such power, or considering it a mere plot device. Why am I saying this? Because double standards are not fair, therefore I’m already establishing my thoughts on this “plot device”: I don’t mind it, it’s not the worst thing DB ever did.
-On the other hand, leaving Bulma on Namek is indeed one of the worst things DB ever did. While it isn’t an issue here, it’s going to be so stressful later on.
–Why would Krillin suggest Gohan to leave Namek? Does he ignore the consequences of no DBs in a plausible future? Even Bulma understands that, especially in light of the fact that Piccolo Daimao killed Shenlong once. Didn’t he learn anything?

Episode 046 (Gokū Pawā Zenkai!! Ginga no Hate made Rokkakan) aired on May 2nd, 1990. 
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.

-Please, don’t tell me that pun wasn’t deliberate.
–Because Waku Wakuism is a universal language.
-Seriously, what medicine does Bulma’s mother ingest to be so cheerful?
-Speaking of Bulma’s mother, she’s known as ‘Bulma’s female parent’. We still ignore her real name.
-At least I praise their attempt to give a connection with the filler material of episode 18…

-… but we clearly saw Piccolo’s Makankosappo destroying Goku’s pod for good.
–I didn’t expect Bulma’s mother to be an adulterer.

Episode 047 (Ihyō o Tsuita Kōgeki!! Chōrō no Nerai wa Sukautā) aired on May 9th, 1990. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Tomekichi Takeuchi.
Key animation: Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Masahiro Shimanuki, Kazuya Hisada.

-Great storyboarding and direction. You cannot have a Ueda episode without his colors.
-First episode to use M9XX (fifth movie soundtrack). M910 (used to introduce Dr. Willow) is Freezer’s theme in the main series (the slower version).
-I just love how much fun Freezer is having by just flexing his power.
–Both Freezer and Dodoria going Hohoho. The latter was trained well…
-By now we should get used to Hisada extending characters’ bodies and limbs. Not if I have problems with it…

–What’s with Takeuchi’s demon eyes on Gohan??
–Power levels are BS #6.

Episode 048 (Gohan Ayaushi! Shi o Yobu Tsuisekisha Dodoria) aired on March 21st, 1990. 
Script by Keiji Terui, storyboard and direction by Minoru Okazaki and animation supervision by Minoru Maeda. 
Key animation: Takeo Ide, Masaki Sato, Hisashi Eguchi, Hideko Okimoto, Naoki Miyahara.

–Eguchi’s ears look so close to real life.
–Miyahara’s strong point has always been his impact frames.
-This can be considered the last pre-angular Maeda episode of the series, as Sato, Ide and his team will take a more squared off and stripped down approach later on. Not necessarily for the best, but still.
–The Portuguese dub doesn’t seem to follow Yukitoshi Hori’s characterization for Dodoria…

-The anime decides to alter Cargo’s death completely, by having Dodoria blasting him, whereas in the manga it’s Freezer who gets to murder him with a Death Beam. I don’t really understand the reason for such a change, and the manga got bonus points for actually showing Freezer’s brutality by making him do something evil. The anime seems to take his wickedness for granted, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing (Freezer is a great villain anyway), but Toriyama was smarter enough to show how threatening he can be.
-The annoying eyecatch timing. After 48 episodes I’m starting to hate it.

Episode 049 (Bakushi Dodoria! Bejīta no Osoru Beki Shōgekiha) aired on May 23rd, 1990. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida, Tetsuya Saeki.

–Rather solid board from Yamauchi. With a purple Freezer, of course.
–Interesting…

-While I kinda appreciate Yamauchi turning the flashback purple, it’s still a flashback. We don’t really need it.
-So both here and in the manga, Vegeta ignores the real cause of the destruction of planet Vegeta. Then, why does he seem to know the truth in later flashbacks?? Why is it THAT necessary to fill in what doesn’t need to be filled?

Episode 050 (Moeru Wakusei kara no Dasshutsu!! Inochigake no Kamehameha) aired on May 30th, 1990. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata, Miki Ugai.

-‘Bulma’s daddy‘. He doesn’t get a name, either.

–A potato head sample.
-The anime carries on with the urgency of filling what doesn’t need to be filled. On the specific, the filler with Goku in space exists only to show the results of his training, and most of all, to emphasize his clumsiness.
-I tend to be lenient on Goku being naive or acting like a man-child, but to an extent.

Episode 051 (Yūki Hyakubai! Kaiō no Moto ni Shūketsu Suru Senshi-tachi) aired on June 6th, 1990. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no.

-Ueda’s storyboarding and direction is the only positive of this episode: colors, colors everywhere.
–Nice petal transition.

–This episode brought THIS. All in all, the visuals and the action are all but satisfying. Without a good direction, this episode would easily crumble into pieces.
–A thumb isn’t supposed to bend like that, right?
–She says it IN FRONT OF A NAMEKIAN KID. Callous and racist bitch.
–Dende confirms Namekians only need water to survive. I still want to give it the benefit of the doubt. Piccolo is a Namekian, too, but grew up on Earth. The thing is, though, we’ll never see him eat anything again.
–Curb everybody’s enthusiasm. Kaio is a bit of a prick.

Episode 052 (Kike Gokū yo! Furīza ni wa Te o Dasu na) aired on June 20th, 1990. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata, Miki Ugai.

-The only noteworthy aspect of Hashimoto’s direction is the use of spotlights during the dialogue between Vegeta and Zarbon.
-This is the funniest gag of this episode: Piccolo carrying Bubbles without giving a shit.
–Please give this line a context.
-If I’m not wrong, this is the first friendly conversation between Goku and Piccolo. Funny, since Goku died in their last “conversation”, which means Gohan’s influence changed Piccolo’s attitude towards his former enemy, as well.

-No matter how smart Kaio-sama is, he still decides to believe that Piccolo will obey him. Yeah, he should totally trust the green guy who stated he wanted to kick Freezer’s butt a few seconds ago.
-Just imagine Yamcha being able to use the Kaioken and the Genkidama… I guess these techniques were main character-exclusive, after all.

Episode 053 (Hotondo Torihada! Bisenshi Zābon no Akuma no Henshin) aired on June 27th, 1990. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida.

-Solid board and direction from Yamauchi. With a few shades of purple.
-The main fight between Vegeta and Zarbon is well-choreographed, yet conservative. 80% of it is only animated by one person. Quality over quantity, especially if such quality is provided by Ohara and Shida.
–Just look at this. Anything about this is perfect (with another pair of realistic ears).

-A very annoying eyecatch timing. It’s been 53 episodes, and Gohan is still a toddler in that damn eyecatch. So distracting.
–This episode forgets to add Zarbon’s info about Freezer also being able to transform from the manga. I don’t really get why.

Episode 054 (Kibō no Hoshi o Mamore!! Kuririn Kyōi no Pawā Appu) aired on July 4th, 1990. 
Script by Keiji Terui, storyboard and direction by Minoru Okazaki and animation supervision by Tomekichi Takeuchi.
Key animation: Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Masahiro Shimanuki, Kazuya Hisada, Takeo Ide (uncredited), Naoki Miyahara (uncredited).

–Bulma is high.
–Gohan, too?
-For the first time, Freezer showcases his fear of a plausible arrival of a Super Saiyan, the only warrior able to stop him. This foreshadows a certain later event…
-Don’t you know? A dragon-type Namekian is 4x weak to ice. On the other hand, a warrior-type Namekian is super effective against ice.

-“Who would’ve thought healing a traitor’s injuries would’ve ever been a good idea?”

The third Dragon Ball Z movie (Chikyū Marugoto Chōkessen or A Super Decisive Battle for Earth) was released on July 7th 1990. Script by Takao Koyama, direction by Daisuke Nishio, executive production by Chiaki Imada and Tamio Kojima, animation supervision by Minoru Maeda, with Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru and Masaki Sato as assistant animation supervisors.

-Kikuchi’s M10XX soundtrack is pretty solid and also multifaceted: they range from instrumental tracks (M1002, M1008 and M1012, which are pretty great) to solemn choruses (M1010, the 2nd part of M1021 and M1023). Last but not least, M1020 a.k.a. the Genkidama theme, a.a.k.a. A Sign of Hope, a.a.a.k.a. the Dun Dun Dun theme… this theme needs no introduction, everybody knows it, it’s indeed memorable and one of the most popular Kikuchi BGM.
-The opening theme is replaced by a montage of Gohan and the others looking for the DBs. That’s a really clever idea, so that it doesn’t waste much screen time, and besides, it makes it appear far more unique.
-Nishio’s direction is pretty great, with tons of nice-looking framings and compelling use of lighting.
-A double-handed Kamehameha? Pretty cool. Miyahara’s impact frame looks very pretty.
–Let that child alone.
–That’s right, everyone of my race can become a giant gorilla.
-The concept behind Tullece is what Goku would be like if he didn’t hit his head as a baby. Considering they’re both low-class Saiyans, it totally makes sense for him to share the same open eye lines Goku has.
-Speaking of which, one of the most criticized things about this movie is Tullece destroying his own Power Ball after making Gohan transform into an Oozaru. Frankly, I’m okay with that because if Tullece is as “weak” as Goku, he wouldn’t be able to control himself as an Oozaru. Besides, due to his lack of control, he could destroy his own Tree of Might. (still, I don’t know why Gohan remained an Oozaru after Tullece blew up his Power Ball)

-With that said, as a villain, Tullece is just okay. He isn’t better than Goku Black, and doesn’t even have a solid premise, to begin with. Why would he be so interested in planting his own tree on Earth? Does he seek revenge? Or does he want to take over Earth? It’s never explained: he wants to plant the Tree of Might just because. Like Goku Black (and Goku, needless to say), he’s voiced by Masako Nozawa, whose performance is indeed good, but pales in comparison with her memorable Goku Black output in DBS.
-The only interesting aspect about his henchmen is their name puns (Amond, Cacao, Rasin…). They’re generic henchmen.
–Maeda’s supervision manages to look even less functional and more unappealing than the previous movie. For this very era, his hybrid traits just can’t work, especially if they’re compared with Sato and Nakatsuru‘s corrections popping up here and there.
-This movie had the chance to let Goku and the others (the early Dragon Team without Piccolo or Vegeta) actually fight together against Tullece’s henchmen. It would’ve been a great idea, since those five never worked together in DB, since they mostly fought separately (and when Goku arrived in the Saiyan arc everyone but Krillin was already dead). And what do they do here? They FIGHT SEPARATELY for a while, just to leave enough room for the infamous FORMULA, for the ‘leave it to Goku’, the ‘Piccolo saving Gohan trope‘ and ‘everyone but Goku gets defeated because it’s Goku time’.
-The beginning of Goku’s ‘I’m an earthling, not a Saiyan’ trope. Remember what he proudly stated in the Saiyan arc?
-While this movie isn’t as self-referential as the last one, Tullece is defeated by a (second) Genkidama. Speaking of which, I thought Kaio-sama allowed Goku to use it only once.
-Apparently, Krillin is no longer Koyama’s target in this movie. Instead, Yamcha receives the honor to be scolded by Bulma for buying an expective flying car, and by Chichi who considers him a bad influence for Gohan. And everyone laughs at him, at someone who just lost his brand new vehicle. I’m sorry: Goku, Bulma and the others are fuckin’ awful friends. “Yamcha is the butt-monkey, irl a person would flip us off if we scolded or mocked him for losing his car in an explosion. But not here, because Yamcha is our trustworthy butt-monkey”. Piss off.
-Needless to say, Chichi is a pain in the ass. Even more unbearable than the previous film.
-Even so, the main problem of this movie is Oozaru Gohan calming down after saving his pet Haiya Dragon. It wouldn’t be a problem on its own… if it weren’t for Oozaru Gohan COMPLETELY ignoring Goku’s screams while he’s crushing him. This is just STUPID, and the fact Gohan ACTUALLY calmed down after hearing Goku’s voice in the Saiyan arc makes this bit even DUMBER.
-I’m aware of Tullece being a low-class Saiyan, but using a cheap device to become stronger… isn’t it against pure Saiyans’ morals??

Episode 055 (Shi no Fuchi kara Yomigaetta　Kiseki no Otoko · Bejīta) aired on July 18th, 1990. 
Script by Keiji Terui, storyboard and direction by Tatsuya Orime and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida, Tetsuya Saeki.

–Decent transition.
–This.
–I swear Tenshinhan has never been that expressive.
–What?
-Yamcha and Tenshinhan are very supportive. Nice use of Yamcha’s baseball vocabulary here.
–Piccolo referencing what Daimao said to Goku before their rematch.
–Bubbles lifting Chaozu. Wholesome.

–Piccolo can’t learn the Kaioken or the Genkidama, main characters only.
–The first time Piccolo extending his arm in DBZ… in a filler episode. Toriyama forgets relevant details, sometimes…
–Healing your enemy so that he can steal your DBs? Yes, that’s a really asinine plan.

Episode 056 (Dodekai Sentō-ryoku!! Kudakechiru Furīza no Inbō) aired on August 1st, 1990. 
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.

-Quite good storyboarding.

-It’s okay to let Vegeta have more screen time. It’s not that okay to let Vegeta have more screen time in an Ebisawa episode.
–Freezer’s face and skin are miscolored.

Episode 057 (Genki ga Modotta zo!! Hyakubai Chō-Jūryoku no Naka no Gokū) aired on August 8th, 1990. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata, Miki Ugai.

-Oddly enough, the filler with Goku trying to survive the 100x gravity is a better content than the Vegeta vs Zarbon rematch. Especially with a director like Yamauchi making everything purple-colored, the job is made a lot easier.

-That’s pretty much it. The rematch between Vegeta and Zarbon is weak and poorly animated. It also has plenty of reused clips from episode 53.
-Of course, Shindo’s corrections don’t improve the character art. Quite the opposite.
–Bulma is very shallow. She has a crush on everyone who is equipped with manhood, including aliens. She’s like Muten Roshi, but when he acts like that, he is the one in the wrong.
–It probably counts as Oolong abuse, even if by someone you wouldn’t expect like Bulma’s father. I have to put up with this shit during every Tenkaichi Budokai. Why bringing it here, too??
-THREE EPISODES AGO, Krillin stated he would protect the DB, no matter what. And there he goes, now. He probably didn’t stand a chance, but I’m fairly sure Toriyama doesn’t like Krillin that much, either.

Episode 058 (Furīza no Himitsu Heiki! Akuma no Ginyū Tokusentai) aired on August 22nd, 1990. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Tomekichi Takeuchi.
Key animation: Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Masahiro Shimanuki, Kazuya Hisada.

–Hashimoto’s direction stands out only during the introduction of the Ginyu Force.
–Brilliant. No other words needed.
–Vegeta’s livid reaction to Gohan stealing his DB needs no comment, either.

-I do comment on the excessive use of M6XX (movie 3 soundtrack) throughout this episode. Why insisting on it? It’s one of the least impressive soundtracks from Kikuchi.
–Kaio-sama overreacting to the Ginyu Force arrival. For being a deity, he certainly craps his pants a lot every time a new threat comes in: “Oh no, Raditz/Nappa/Vegeta/Freezer/Ginyu Force/Pilaf/Puar is here, we’re all gonna die”.
-Restating this, leaving Bulma on Namek was a mistake.

Episode 059 (Buruma ga Abunai!! Sūshinchū wa Furīza no Te ni) aired on August 29th, 1990. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Johei Matsuura and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Akio Katada, Naotoshi Shida, Tetsuya Saeki.

–Pretty good storyboarding.
-One of the dullest fillers of the franchise turns out to be one of the most polished Last House entries.
-Freezer doesn’t need to yell to display his rage. He simply fires comets from his body.

-The main filler with Bulma looking for the DB she lost is one of the most boring and pointless fillers in over 30 years of the franchise. Again, this confirms that leaving her on Namek was a terrible mistake.
-I mean, she doesn’t even want to dunk her boots to get the DB from the lake. To think that she swam a few times to find the DB in the Red Ribbon arc. Did she become gentrified or what?
-Besides, her greediness leads to further pointless moments, because she happens to neglect the DB for a pearl. A DAMN PEARL. Remember the Red Ribbon arc, in which she kindly decided to give the diamond to Muten Roshi as a compensation for his lost submarine? She’s already rich on her own, why so greedy??
-I’m not lying, she was nagging in the past arcs too, but not nagging enough to ruin a whole narrative arc. Her fillers are boring, distracting and completely pointless. Fortunately, there’s nothing of that in the manga.

Episode 060 (Gekitotsu da!! Fukutsu no Toushi no Kaiō-Ken to Kamehameha) aired on September 5th, 1990. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata, Miki Ugai.

-The title completely ignores Bulma’s ordeal, which is a positive.
–Ginyu turning his head in a clichéd way near the end.

-As for the main plot, what else? It’s bland, boring and loud.
-A minute and a half long flashback of what Bulma has (not) accomplished in DB (mostly running away and being a dumbass in distress). A nuisance within the nuisance itself.
–M707 sounds too upbeat for Goku’s Kaioken training.

Episode 061 (Semaru Chō-Kessen! Ginyū Tokusentai Tadaima Sanjō!!) aired on September 12th, 1990. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Tatsuya Orime and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no.

-Solid storyboard and direction from Orime. He may not be the best director, but his use of projections stands out enough.
–Flowers, flowers everywhere.
-The Ginyu Force introduction is indeed memorable, but Freezer’s embarrassed reaction makes it even better.
–The middle finger is a universal language, apparently.
–Do you understaaaaaand?

-Okay, Nail confirms the Namekian DBs can grant three wishes, but what about the other info? About Namekian language? No? Okay then…

Episode 062 (Gokū ga Daisekkin! Furīza Hōimō o Buchiyabure) aired on September 19th, 1990. 
Script by Keiji Terui, storyboard by Shigeyasu Yamauchi, direction by Junichi Fujise and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida, Tetsuya Saeki.

-Pretty good storyboarding from Yamauchi. Keep an eye on his character positions in different layers to give a better sense of depth, and quirky use of colors in a few bits, including PURPLE and its shades.
–Freezer’s puzzled reaction to the Ginyu Force “propitiatory dance”.
-This is the first time Vegeta talks with Krillin in a more “human” way. Likely due to the dire situation, but this might be one of the earliest instance of his change of attitude.
-Vegeta bullying Guldo in a flashback is a decent way to give them a plausible backstory…

-… but if the said flashback is set in the past (way before his landing on Earth), Vegeta should STILL have his tail back and his older armor on.
–Kind of an overstatement. Burter is considered the fastest in the universe, but Ginyu is the strongest member of the Ginyu Force, and automatically also the fastest one (more power, more speed). Not to mention Freezer with his various transformations, and even Guldo, who can freeze time.
–Another jan-ken gag.
-According to the anime pacing, 20 minutes are the same as 3 episodes, fillers aside. I guess time is a partial concept in the anime…

Episode 063 (Chō-Majutsu ka Torikku ka!? Misutā Gurudo ga Okotta!) aired on September 26th, 1990. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Tomekichi Takeuchi.
Key animation: Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Masahiro Shimanuki, Kazuya Hisada.

-Decent debut as a director for Kazuhito Kikuchi. Okay storyboarding, his direction could be better.
-The strong individualities from Shimanuki and Hisada save this episode from being a partial disaster.
-It’s supposed to be a torture, but Guldo pinching Gohan’s cheeks and pulling Krillin’s ears is kinda amusing.
–Recoome being more worried about the efficacy of their poses rather than Guldo being dead. Priorities.
-This episode starts off Vegeta’s “Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t save you because…” trope. While it sort of makes sense here, it’s going to work not so well in the future.

-Not a very good way for Takeuchi to end his experience as an animation supervisor.
-I cannot blame the anime for the poor choreography of the fight between Gohan and Krillin against Guldo, because it was already lame in the manga. It follows a specific pattern: Gohan and Krillin attacking–Guldo freezing time-Guldo running out of breath-Guldo exhaling-Gohan and Krillin using instantaneous movements-Guldo freezing time and so on. As a result, it’s very repetitive and boring, despite the above-mentioned strong individualities.
–Guldo’s death was brutal in the manga, and downright bland in the anime. While I get WHY it was changed, I don’t agree with this choice. The BGM doesn’t sound dramatic at all, and actually makes it look like a funny moment. Even Guldo’s reaction turns out to be funny, and not horrifying in the least. From Vegeta literally beheading Guldo to Vegeta firing a ki blast at him… not a good change at all.
–If they’re complaining about Guldo for being weak (indisputable, though), then why did they even accept him on their squad in the first place???
-So Piccolo can sense Gohan being in danger, in spite of being in a faraway place such as Kaio’s planet. I understand what they tried to do, but I find it a mere excuse for jokes like “Piccolo is a better father than Goku”. I mean… Goku is on his way to Namek and cannot sense the danger, whereas Piccolo can, under equally unlikely circumstances.
–The second jan-ken gag in a row…

The first TV special (Tatta Hitori no Saishū Kessen ~Furīza ni Idonda Zetto-senshi Kakarotto no Chichi or A Final, Solitary Battle: The Father of Z-Warrior Kakarrot, Who Challenged Freeza) aired on October 17th 1990. Script by Takao Koyama and Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto, animation supervision by Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, with Masaki Sato as assistant animation supervisor.

-DISCLAIMER: I do realize this TV special is no longer canon after the release of DB Minus, and while I like a few things about the latter (thanks to DBS Broly), I still prefer the events illustrated by the TV special.
-This is the first time M10XX (sixth movie soundtrack) is being used (it would be introduced in the main series in the 66th episode).
-Such a really strong directional work from Hashimoto. He even “borrows” Ueda- and Yamauchi-esque colors twice in a while.
–THANKFULLY they changed the eyecatches, making them more apt to the TV special context. Drawn by Takeo Ide, off all people. If they recycled the regular baby Gohan eyecatch, it’d piss me off a lot.
-While I don’t really mind family man Bardock from DB Minus, I still tend to prefer him as a cold-blooded warrior.
–Toma’s death is portrayed very maturely: Bardock doesn’t scream or goes ‘NOOOO’, despite witnessing his comrade’s death in his arms. He just sets his corpse down and cleans his bloody face with his armband, which becomes red-colored shortly after. All they needed was M1008.
-The insert song ‘SOLID STATE SCOUTER‘ is used twice throughout this special… who cares? It’s bloody amazing.
-You can’t have proper action without Seiga power.
–A Saiyan eating his own arm??
–WHYWOULDYOUDOIT?
-Even as a kid, Vegeta is still a jerk. In line with his usual self, he gives no shit about the destruction of planet Vegeta. Horikawa’s younger tone on him sounds adorable.
–Vegeta’s training outfit looks identical to his Buu arc outfit.
-After the supervision of the 44th episode, Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru stepped up to supervise this TV special, also providing character sheets alongside Maeda. As expected from his approach, his supervision looks very consistent and dominant over other people’s work.

-Nevertheless, his modus operandi as a supervisor is quite repetitive, due to his frequent use of three-quarters views and constantly stock expressions. They’re not bad at all, but appear a bit too simplistic. Without a context, I can’t tell whether Bardock looks terrified or angry, for example.
-Compared to the DBS Broly rendition of Goku’s farewell to Bardock and Gine, the TV special rendition is kinda meh. “Hey Bardock, we’re going to send your brat to a faraway planet” – “‘kay, thanks”.
–Bardock seeing the future? This device might not be that problematic, but I find it a bit cheap.
-So, a full-health Bardock struggles with Dodoria’s henchmen, but a heavily wounded Bardock can take on Freezer’s WHOLE ARMY. I really doubt it’s mere willpower…
-As seen here, the green freaky fish guy was on planet Vegeta when Freezer destroyed it. He’d never survive his Supernova, therefore he 99,9% died. However, we see him heal Vegeta in this arc. He’s ALIVE. What’s going on? Is he a descendant?
-DB Minus isn’t a problem on its own, since it narrates the event prior to the first arc, without twisting the series continuity that much. In both versions Bardock dies and NOTHING, I say, NOTHING should happen next. Unfortunately, they didn’t listen to me, as crap like Episode of Bardock still exists.

Episode 064 (Mōi Rikuumu! Warukute Tsuyokute Tondemonai Yatsu) aired on October 24th, 1990. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Minoru Okazaki and animation supervision by Masaki Sato. 
Key animation: Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Takeo Ide, Masaki Sato, Hisashi Eguchi, Hideko Okimoto, Naoki Miyahara, Kazuo Takigawa.

–Okazaki‘s storyboard is a nice surprise. The choreography of Vegeta vs Recoome is pretty solid.
-This episode is probably the last great buzz of Studio Junio, thanks to Masaki Sato‘s supervision. Much like the TV special, his corrections are strong and dominant all over this episode. Perhaps one of the solidest and most consistent entries of the entire arc.
–Recoome endures pain very well. Except when he loses his teeth, now THAT makes him angry.
–Another L for Vegeta.

-“Because Saiyan pride, blah blah blah…”. To its plea, at this point it still makes a little bit of sense, since Vegeta isn’t a good guy, but I’m not going to justify this trope again in the future.

Episode 065 (Shinu na Gohan! Gokū · Tsui ni Kessenjō ni Tōchaku da) aired on October 31st, 1990. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata, Miki Ugai.

-Ueda’s storyboarding nicely showcases his trademark bits, such as colors and reflections.
–Further proof of Ryusei Nakao’s greatness.
–Even Freezer, of all people, says the Doki Doki word.
–Leaving the bit with Recoome breaking Gohan’s neck completely silent, without any music or sound effects, does quite work indeed.
-“Goku’s wife“.

-Speaking of which, WHY would Chichi do the laundry at Bulma’s house??? Just for a blatant excuse for another embarrassing filler?
-The fight between Gohan and Recoome isn’t very well animated or directed. Why would you use M719 when Gohan beats down Recoome??? Sounds all kinds of wrong.
–I spy with my little eye something beginning with Goku time.

Episode 066 (Ketahazure no Tsuyosa!! Densetsu no Sūpā Saiya-jin Son Gokū) aired on November 7th, 1990. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Tatsuya Orime and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no.

-The best directional work from Orime so far. Really good storyboarding and direction, with some interesting imagery.
-First episode to use M10XX (but not for the very first time, if we include the TV special). The very famous M1020 is played during Goku’s arrival.
–Smug Goku is the best Goku.
–The middle finger is a universal language, indeed.
-Piccolo totally changed his attitude towards Goku. One of the very first instances he calls him ‘Son’ instead of ‘Son Goku’ (he tends to call him ‘Son’ in the Japanese version).
–So he can actually attack an opponent while he’s powering up. I thought it was forbidden in DBZ.
–First time Vegeta mentioning ‘the legendary Super Saiyan’. Does he mean someone like Yamoshi??

–Ebisawa‘s corrections look pretty ugly all around.
–It’s like witnessing a Saiyan arc deja vu, with Krillin and Gohan nearly dying and Goku conveniently arriving at the right moment.
–You don’t say.
-Karin being able to read minds is fine. Muten Roshi being able to read minds is jarring. For some reason, Goku can read minds, too. This is so forced and dumb, as he’ll never use this skill ever again.
–Krillin asks a good question. Goku learns this skill out of nowhere, as he even states he doesn’t know how he gained it. It doesn’t appear like something he could learn from his gravity training.
–Why is Krillin complaining about healing Vegeta? Right now the main threat is Freezer and his annoying squad.
-The filler with Chichi is pathetic. Knowing Toei, they’re going to squeeze this subplot to death, right?

Episode 067 (Aka to Ao no Raitoningu Bōru! Jiisu to Baata ga Gokū o Osō) aired on November 14th, 1990. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Daisuke Nishio and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida, Tetsuya Saeki, Naoki Mishiba.

–Good, yet not great storyboarding from Nishio. Considering his specialization in battle choreographies, I expected more from him.
-Nevertheless, Last House have so much talent.
–Goku punching Jheese’s face is quite funny. Good comedy timing.
–Ohara draws such perfectly white teeth on Ginyu. Such pink gums. Sometimes he dares to add canines, too.
–Again, smug Goku. Badass moment.

–Burter’s convintions. Not only Goku is faster than him, but also Ginyu and Freezer. The more the power, the more the speed.
–She’s actually right, in the sense that she should’ve been brought back to Earth. Leaving her on Namek was a terrible mistake.

Episode 068 (Tsui ni Chokusetsu Taiketsu!! Ginyū Taichō no Odemashi da) aired on November 21st, 1990. 
Script by Keiji Terui, storyboard and direction by Junichi Fujise and animation supervision by Masahiro Shimanuki.
Key animation: Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Kazuya Hisada, Naoki Tate.

–Pretty great storyboarding and direction from Fujise.
-Official debut as animation supervisor for Shimanuki, who replaced Takeuchi for the role. Considering the art evolution of the moment, with the rounder traits of the first series leaving room for a more angular and geometrical approach, not only this choice is sensible, but also improves the quality of Seigasha entries.
-On the specific, Shimanuki’s modus operandi as a supervisor differs a lot from Takeuchi’s, as his corrections feel stronger and dominant, to the point that they even change poses or expressions from the original genga.
–His correcting procedure on Takeuchi is a special case, though. They are either lighter or basically non-existent. At times, it’s not unusual to spot Takeuchi’s work being uncorrected, probably due to a mere form of respect towards his former supervisor.
–Official debut for Hisada’s turning heads. That’s one of my favorite things about him.
-Also the animation debut of one of the leading Seigasha figures, Naoki Tate.
-That’s the perfect mediation for Goku’s character: “I’m a Saiyan, from Earth“. Not like the movie pattern.
-In actuality, Burter isn’t even the fifth fastest, but still.
–Even Ginyu thinks power levels are BS.
–Ginyu going Waku Waku in the NEP. That was unexpected.

–To be fair, Vegeta didn’t lay a finger on them (weird thing to say). Nappa killed more people than him.
–Is Vegeta stupid or what? Didn’t he see Nail 7 episodes ago???

Episode 069 (Susamajī Hakuryoku!! Mita ka, Gokū no Furu Pawā) aired on November 28th, 1990. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Minoru Okazaki and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata, Miki Ugai.

-Okazaki is quite a difficult director to judge: despite directing a few episodes very well in the past (like #1 or #122), he’s generally been hit and miss. It’s also quite strange to see him in a non-Maeda entry.
–Nonetheless, this is his finest performance in DBZ. The fight between Goku and Ginyu is conservative, yet well-choreographed.
-It’s Goku who usually goes Waku Waku, not his opponent. Ginyu is more excited than him, which is inconceivable.
–The Kaioken is a great technique.
–Gotta love Portuguese Ginyu’s singing voice. Perhaps him… her and Dodoria should make a duet.

–Bulma is the intelligent one of the gang, yet they make her dumber in Matsui’s fillers.

Episode 070 (Tatakai no Yukue!? Saichōrō ni Semaru Furīza no Ma no Te) aired on December 5th, 1990. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Minoru Maeda. 
Key animation: Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Takeo Ide, Masaki Sato, Hideko Okimoto, Chikako Uesugi, Kuniko Iwagami, Noriko Ichibashi, Eisaku Inoue.

-Ueda’s direction mainly focuses on Freezer blowing the Namekian warriors away.
–The nearly fiery effect on Goku’s Kaioken. Nice impact frame, too.

-They didn’t fix Freezer’s miscolored armor from the NEP.
–Bulma using Yamcha as a dartboard. That’s something she’d actually do, but at the same time, it feels kinda mean-spirited. As if she thought “You’re dead, but I still hate you”. Again, in-character, but cruelly in-character.

Episode 071 (Bikkuri!! Gokū ga Ginyū de Ginyū ga Gokū) aired on December 12th, 1990. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Tatsuya Orime and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no.

–Fairly good storyboarding and direction. Not particularly great, but serviceable enough.
-Got to admit, this is my favorite artistic era for Kan’no: his characters look very nice, without being that bulky. Undoubtedly, for better or for worse, he stands out in Ebisawa’s episodes.
-Speaking of the supervisor, he can draw believable Namekian corpses. Awkward thing to admit, but they look fitting.
–His expression on Ginyu-Goku looks also very coherent. Good job.

-Although, the rest… let’s forget it. His Bulma is one of the ugliest.
-As for Bulma, I’m really hating her in this arc: everything she says annoys me, everything she does annoys me. She’s even playing the dumbass in distress trope in this episode, as she’s being chased by the SAME BLOODY pterodactyl from the very first episode and the SAME BLOODY dinosaur defeated by Gohan. Because yes, the SAME pterodactyl and the SAME dinosaur happen to live on Namek, as well. Does Toei actually know what biology is like on Namek???
-1990 is almost over, and they still repeat the same frames over and over to emphasize an attack. I disliked this device in DB, and I still dislike it now.

Episode 072 (Ide yo Sūpā Shenron!! Boku no Negai o Kanaetamae) aired on December 19th, 1990. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama (uncredited), Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida.

–Really good storyboarding, with lots of reflections.
–Ohara’s obsession with canines on Ginyu.
–Shida’s approach isn’t angular or excessively manly, but looks simple enough to make it stand out. Simplicity is the answer.
–Love this.
–What does Jheese’s gesture mean?
–This is quite funny.

-Worst use of M1020.
–Vegeta suppresses his power to hide. That wouldn’t be too bad, but a few minutes before he was shown murdering Freezer’s soldiers, also using his ki. In that case, Krillin and Gohan should’ve sensed his actions, like they did in the 51st episode, when he slaughtered an entire Namekian village.
–Is Krillin an idiot or what? He sees Goku hanging out with Jheese, with a scouter on, asking how they dug up the DBs, and even striking some bloody poses. At least Gohan recognized Ginyu just by sensing his ki. Krillin is able to do it, too. Once again Matsui making characters more stupid than they should be.
-Speaking of Ginyu’s Body Change technique, it’s implied he already used it once in the past. He believes swapping bodies is enough to take control of his opponent’s power. Unfortunately, this proves how dumb Ginyu is, because Goku, who’s all but a genius, does realize Ginyu cannot use his power properly, as body and mind need to be completely united.
-This bugs me a lot, because Ginyu was portrayed as a smart warrior a few episodes ago, yet he ignores the side effect of his own bloody technique. How could he use it in the past without knowing the consequences? What is he? A moron?

Episode 073 (Yatsu wa Ora ja Nē! Gohan Bibiru na Chichi o Ute!!) aired on January 9th, 1991. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Daisuke Nishio and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata.

–Yamamuro is escaping Shindo’s corrections quite often. I’m appreciating his growth during this rewatch.
–Has anyone ever seen a Namekian with boobs?

-It’s a decent choice to have Nishio direct an action-packed episode. I expected more, though.
-The battle choreographies aren’t that bad, but they’re constantly diminished by the exaggerated animation reuse. For example, I’d be able to appreciate Yamamuro’s (still positive) efforts, if I didn’t get to watch the same moves over and over.
-Overall, it’s a quite rushed episode. They even recycle Tomoya Iida’s Piccolo from the 66th episode and EVEN Taiichiro Ohara’s work from the VERY NEXT episode. I think it’s the first and only time they reuse animation from a future episode.
–We get it, Kaio’s a weenie. “Oh my god, there’s a space mosquito on Namek. We’re all gonna die”.
–Ginyu is an idiot. How come doesn’t he know it’s going to take a while for his new body to get used to his new powers? It’s a side effect of a technique presumably created by HIM.

Episode 074 (Dai-Gosan!! Ginyū ga Kaeru ni Natchatta) aired on January 16th, 1991. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama (uncredited), Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida.

-Great storyboarding and direction. You just need colors for a Ueda entry to be Ueda-esque.
-Vegeta beating down Ginyu is one of the best animated cuts ever made. Just look at it.
–Mondo cool.

–THAT gag again.
-So, 40-50 minutes = about 10 episodes. Time isn’t everything for DB, after all…
–Ginyu has become a frog. I believe they’ll never create a subplot around his Body Change. Right…?

Episode 075 (Nanatsu no Tama o Soroeshi Mono yo… Sā Aikotoba o Ie!) aired on January 23rd, 1991. 
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.

–Rather solid storyboarding, with Hashimoto‘s accustomed reflections.
–Vegeta sleeping next to Goku. Isn’t that cute? Why does nobody ship them??

-Hashimoto does like M6XX quite a bit, doesn’t he? I don’t.
-Why didn’t Freezer finish off Nail? He has no reason for letting him live, after being fooled by his stalling.
-I could understand why Saichoro wouldn’t tell them about the password… but what about Nail? He mentioned the three wishes, but he completely forgot about the rest. And… that was supposed to be some important info.
-There goes Toei again, squeezing characters to the bone until the audience gets fed up with them. Ginyu is the protagonist of this round: why giving him so much screen time? He’s now a frog. A bloody frog.
–Bad stuff like ruining a narrative arc? Give him a few months…

Episode 076 (Kami-sama mo Ikikaetta! Sūpā Shenron de Pikkoro ga Fukkatsu) aired on January 30th, 1991. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Tatsuya Orime and animation supervision by Masahiro Shimanuki.
Key animation: Masahiro Shimanuki (uncredited), Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Kazuya Hisada, Naoki Tate.

–Pretty good storyboard and direction.
–This is the TURNING HEADS episode.
–Shimanuki‘s corrections are pretty heavy, but still give a huge solidness to this episode, art-wise. Honorable mention to close-ups with thicker outlines.
-Even the former Seigasha supervisor, Takeuchi, isn’t always free from his corrections, but even so, his work appears uncorrected most of the time. Compared with Shimanuki’s more developed approach, it kinda looks out-dated, despite not being that bad, overall.
-Even Tate gets to shine: his rounder eye lines and pouts are so distinctive.
–Yamcha, Tenshinhan and Chaozu fighting for resurrection may sound out of character, but it works: their argument is so well-animated, thanks to Hisada’s competent body language, that I just can’t find flaws in it.

–Takeuchi does quite like drawing thick necks.
–Piccolo gained great power after training with Kaio… if only the latter taught him the Kaioken… he’s a bit of a prick.
–What’s the big deal? Piccolo can sense ki.
-“Did you mean you wanted him brought here?” YOU DON’T SAY?
–Several more minutes = 9 episodes.

Episode 077 (Saikyō Senshi no Tanjō ka!? Neiru to Pikkoro ga Gattai) aired on February 6th, 1991. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Minoru Okazaki and animation supervision by Minoru Maeda. 
Key animation: Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Takeo Ide, Masaki Sato, Hideko Okimoto, Chikako Uesugi, Kuniko Iwagami, Noriko Ichibashi.

–Takeo Ide‘s art is probably the most interesting aspect of Maeda’s dark ages. Unfortunately, the supervisor’s corrections don’t enhance it enough.
-It’s nice to see Vegeta put aside his pride to join forces with Krillin and Gohan. He even praises Gohan’s abilities. It may sound a minor detail, but it’s actually very important for Vegeta’s character development: if once he was 100% evil, now he’s only 90% evil.

-Last time as a director for Okazaki, and sadly, not a good one. Flat storyboarding, weak direction. The music placement isn’t very accurate, either: M420 when Freezer blasts Krillin and Gohan sounds off.
–Maeda‘s corrections are mediocre.
-I don’t really get why Freezer’s aura is bluish in the ’90s. I think a purple aura suits him better.
–Zarbon told Vegeta about being able to transform… only in the manga, though.
-So… Vegeta always had the habit of letting his opponent transform. This mania of his will probably be an issue in the future…

Episode 078 (Akumu no Chō-Henshin!! Sentō-ryoku Hyaku-Man no Furīza) aired on February 13th, 1991. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata.

-Ueda’s work is definitely the highlight of this episode: great direction, with lots of colors all over (ex. blue on Vegeta, purple during Freezer’s extermination or black and white during Freezer’s Death Storm). Things like these make a difference, in a positive way.
–This looks so much like a postcard. “From Freezer, to Hell”.
–Only an awesome villain like Freezer would leave king Vegeta’s room in a ridiculous way, without being ridiculous. Especially with his “HOHOHO” laugh.
–Freezer basically decides to kill king Vegeta and his troop only because the shockwave spilled his glass of wine onto his thigh. Makes sense…
–King Vegeta’s troop shitting themselves is rather funny.
–Vegeta showing some narrow regards towards Goku. Still narrow, but it’s an interesting detail.
–This time Freezer’s aura is purple. The right color.

-Reusing the footage of the TV special of Freezer destroying planet Vegeta isn’t something I’d fully agree on, but I guess it’s kinda useful to give some sort of connection between the king Vegeta flashback and the events of the TV special. They even applied a sepia filter to make it less distracting (Nakatsuru’s supervision on a Shindo episode looks odd, though).
–Wrong battle armor on Vegeta.
–King Vegeta is likely the worst father of the franchise. And his death is just embarrassing: dying by a simple uppercut from Freezer, in his WEAKEST FORM. He sucks as a monarch, too.
–Another Bulma cutaway. I hate it. Like A LOT.
-The NEP always ends with Gohan saying something (ex. “Otoo-san, I need to poo”). In this case, he states THIS. The “I want to get married” running gag is usually related to Krillin, so why the frig would they let Masako Nozawa read this line in her Gohan tone??? A five-year-old isn’t supposed to think about marriage. It’s just awkward.

Episode 079 (Koko made ka!? Kyōaku Chōzetsu Pawā ga Gohan o Osō) aired on February 20th, 1991. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Tatsuya Orime and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida.

–Pretty solid storyboarding from Orime.
–Ohara’s Freezer is so so good.
-Vegeta firing a Galick-ho with a different stance. Really cool impact frame.

-Another annoying eyecatch timing. It’s been 79 episodes, and Gohan is STILL a toddler.
-SEE? So it WAS Krillin’s line, after all.
–Kaio-sama is supposed to be a deity. Even Kami-sama isn’t as much as a weenie as him.

Episode 080 (Ikki ni Keisei Gyakuten!! Okurete Kita Senshi · Pikkoro) aired on February 27th, 1991. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Junichi Fujise and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no.

–Savage.
–Vegeta supporting teamwork. Continuity.
-Great use of M503 during Piccolo’s glorious entrance. Too bad Ebisawa doesn’t give enough value to it.

-Fujise’s direction is a mixed bag: on one hand, it shows some good vibes, including a bubble transition, on the other… was it really necessary to show a minute long montage of PiccoloXGohan moments?? We get it, Piccolo respects Gohan. We already watched the previous arc, let’s move on.
–Ebisawa’s anatomy looks risible.
-Most of the 1st half is about Krillin escaping from Freezer. Of course, the sequence was a lot shorter in the manga, therefore they decided to add pointless bits just to fill in. Krillin could’ve just used his Taiyoken to temporarily blind Freezer since the very beginning. Details are important to an extent.
–WHY? Krillin could’ve just used his Kienzan to cut Freezer in half. I’m being a party pooper, but we saw him cut his tail, so he might’ve been able to slice him in half while he was blinded by his Taiyoken.
-Wow, Namekians quite suck at communicating. First the Namekian password for the DBs, now Dende’s healing powers.
–Goku isn’t that considerate towards his friends/allies.

Episode 081 (Pikkoro no Jishin! Furīza o Taosu no wa Ore da) aired on March 6th, 1991. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard by Daisuke Nishio, direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Masahiro Shimanuki.
Key animation: Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Naoki Tate, Chikako Uesugi, Kuniko Iwagami, Noriko Ichibashi.

–Ueda’s colorful direction pops up here and there, mostly during Freezer’s Punishing Blaster sequence.
–M810.
–I guess this is a badass line from Nail.

-Even so, this is probably the worst Seigasha episode in terms of actual execution. You can totally feel Hisada’s absence, Shimanuki’s insufficient contribution or Tate being considerably limited. I didn’t give a lower rating because Shimanuki is a good supervisor. Only because of it.
-It’s like everyone underperformed in this episode: Nishio’s choreography is pretty lame (you’ll enjoy it if you like invisible characters), Ueda’s direction isn’t that impressive and, let’s be honest, Maeda’s key animators are not a good replacement of Shimanuki and Hisada. They’re just not as capable as them.
-While I understand why he would stand uncorrected, Takeuchi’s approach clashes with Shimanuki’s supervision, not because he’s a bad artist or anything, but due to his kinda old-fashioned art. Moreover, his constant character trembling becomes awkward in the long term.
-Under different conditions, I would overlook this aspect, but this is just a letdown in every possible way.
-Even the character writing leaves to be desired: why do they have Vegeta escape from the battlefield? Considering we’re going to see Vegeta being terrified by Freezer later, there’s just no reason for him to act like that. Besides, I used to believe Saiyans never run away. It’s likely Koyama decided to humiliate Vegeta in Krillin’s place…
-Koyama also decides to swap Piccolo and Vegeta’s attitudes: surprisingly, here Piccolo is the one who wants to fight on his own, whereas Vegeta is more inclined to accept teamwork. This comparison is actually quite interesting, but utterly strange, as the audience is clearly more used to Vegeta fighting alone and Piccolo preferring support. My guess is that Piccolo has become so powerful he’s kinda blinded by his own ego, which leads him to confront Freezer all by himself.
-TWO MINUTES AND A HALF. Showing a montage of the previous episodes in the middle of a battle. This is atrocious. We ALREADY watched Nail battling Freezer, we ALREADY watched Piccolo fusing with Nail. We ALREADY watched all of that. Seriously?

The fourth Dragon Ball Z movie (Sūpā Saiya-jin da Son Gokū or Super Saiyan Son Goku) was released on March 9th, 1991. Script by Takao Koyama, direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto, executive production by Chiaki Imada and Rikizo Kayano, animation supervision by Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru and Masaki Sato, with Minoru Maeda as assistant animation supervisor.

-Mitsuo Hashimoto’s direction is pretty great: from neat lighting to his trademark reflections, it turns out to be one of the movie positives.
-Who doesn’t love the insert song Kuchibue no Kimochi? I mean, who doesn’t? It’s so bloody catchy.
-Whether you like them or not, it’s undeniable Nakatsuru and Sato‘s supervision is super consistent, and feels like a breath of fresh air over Maeda’s supervision in the last film. Sure, expressivity is quite stock, but still.
-This movie sets up a really unique weakness for the Namekians, as they cannot stand the sound of the human whistle. It’s eventually going to come in handy later in the movie, as Piccolo literally tears off his own ears to accomplish this plan.
–Chichi gets to fight for a few seconds. Nice.
–This is quite funny.
–Piccolo bullying Dorodabo is quite entertaining.
-So… Toei was aware of Toriyama coming up with a new transformation for his manga, that is the Super Saiyan. However, they didn’t know the true hair color of the Super Saiyan, so they decide to bring up such a concept in this movie, by having Goku suddenly turning into this. This False Super Saiyan form differs a lot from the Golden one, as Goku’s hair is reddish and his eye lines are open, while they are closed as a regular Super Saiyan. My theory is this was supposed to be a stronger version of the Kaioken (if you noticed, it shares the same sound effect). Still a cool form, despite appearing kinda out of nowhere.
–Merchandising. And an Arale poster in Gohan’s room, as well.
–BLOW DA WHISTLE and black human beings.
-The ending sequence is a lovely bunch of slice of life moments. Goku is even shown driving (too bad the regular series implies he cannot drive, but this is a story for another day).

-Kikuchi’s M11XX soundtrack isn’t among my favorite compositions: it surely has a few good tracks like M1105, M1109, M1115 and the infamous M1120B (the organ theme, I like the ominous and sinister sound of it), but the rest is pretty middle of the road. M1114 and M1119 are decent battle themes, but M1113 sounds pretty lame and M1118 is probably one of Kikuchi’s weakest sad tracks.
-According to several fans, Slug is identical to Piccolo Daimao, since they’re both Namekians and used the DBs to become young again. To be fair, these are the only things they have in common, because if Slug were identical to Piccolo Daimao, he would be a good villain. He is NOT a good villain: he’s bland, dull and his motivations are not even explained: why does he want to take over Earth? And while we’re at it, how about using the DBs to obtain immortality, like Garlic Jr. did??
–As for his henchmen, Dorodabo and Angira are basically callbacks to Dodoria and Zarbon (Dorodabo the muscular one, Angira the pretty one). As for Zeeun, he only lasts one minute, as he gets killed by Slug because he called him geezer. None of these is a memorable character, needless to say.
-It’s not the only callback, as the injured Gohan shares a similar position to the one after Recoome breaks his neck in the regular series.
-The annoying movie FORMULA: Piccolo saves Gohan’s ass, Goku arrives just in time, ‘leave it all to friar Goku‘, ‘I’m an Earthling, not a Saiyan’, Krillin gets humiliated because Koyama hates him, Slug gets defeated by a Genkidama (how original, he’s only the third villain in a row…)
-It’s certainly a good thing to have Krillin support Goku in order to deflect the meteor at the beginning… but why removing Piccolo? He perceived that, too. He could’ve easily helped. Then again, nobody else is able to save Gohan as much as he does…
-Bulma basically telling Slug how DBs function. Remember, she’s the intelligent one of the gang. What an idiot.
-The last film inserted a DB searching montage as the opening sequence. In comparison, this one feels so lazy and uninspired.
-Gohan wants to fight Slug’s soldiers… and takes Oolong and Haiya Dragon with him. WHY…?
–It’s not like Piccolo can extend his arm…
–Slug’s revelation makes absolutely no sense:
1) Why would he need to hide his real identity? It’s not like Freezer is hunting more Namekians in space.
2) Why would he need fake arms instead of his real ones? He can regenerate them anyway, even if they get cut off.
3) Why is Goku so dismayed? I mean, he couldn’t see Slug’s ears under his helmet, but… HE HAS A GREEN FACE.
4) According to Kaio-sama, in his “Super Namekian” form, Slug is stronger than Freezer and even than a Super Saiyan. Veeeeeery debatable…

Episode 082 (Shutsugeki da Gokū!! Gekido no Furīza ga Dai-Ni no Henshin) aired on March 13th, 1991. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata.

–Really good storyboarding and direction. The battle choreography is quite an improvement over the last letdown.
-The previous transformation was animated by Tadayoshi Yamamuro, while this one by another animator of Shindo Pro, Teruhisa Ryu. His angular shapes look terribly fitting on Freezer’s 3rd form.
–Freezer is so polite.
–Good choice to let Piccolo fight without his weighted clothes on. The manga immediately moves on Freezer transforming.

–THAT joke again. It’s never going to be annoying… it’s never going to be annoying… it’s… never going… to be… annoying…
-The instrumental M424 on Freezer firing Death Beams at Piccolo sounds overdramatic. Meh.
–WA WA WA.

Episode 083 (Kyōfu Shiro!! Furīza wa Sando no Henshin de Shōbu Suru) aired on March 20th, 1991. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida.

-Good, yet not the best directional work from Ueda. Some quirky colors here and there, most of all during the (neverending) Bakuretsu Ranma sequence.
-They say Ohara’s sweat can quench entire country’s thirst. BTW, he’s an underappreciated artist.
-Speaking of his sweat, for the first time Freezer is shown being afraid of a possible coming of a Super Saiyan. This is a quite interesting detail.
-Ohara also redraws the cover page of Toriyama’s manga chapter in the very end. Unlike last time, this is all his work.
–Edgy subtitles.
-I like that Freezer immediately realizes Gohan might be Raditz’s child. That’s continuity done correctly.

–Wonky Uchiyama.
–The Bakuretsu Ranma sequence is unbearably dragged out. They even recycle Nakatsuru’s effects and explosions from the 70th episode.
-I already explained my thoughts on the Zenkai boost: view it as you like, either as a unique ability or a mere plot device. As for me, I don’t mind it. I hate double standards, therefore if I admit one instance is okay, I won’t criticize a similar one.
-However, I DO want to criticize the huge mistake of leaving Bulma on Namek. I know I’m repetitive, but not as much as these fuckin’ cutscenes. Generally, I don’t mind her as a character, but when she acts like that, she’s an utter pain in the arse. She’s one of the main reasons for the anime Namek arc collapse. Not the only one, but still one of the reasons. If you don’t know how to use a character, just don’t use it.

Episode 084 (Dende no Shi… Dete Koi! Tobikiri Zenkai Pawā) aired on March 27th, 1991. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Tatsuya Orime and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no, Takeo Ide, Hideko Okimoto.

-Last time for Orime as a director. Overall, his output in DBZ has been quite positive, albeit not that memorable (his work in episode 66 is his highlight). Here, his storyboarding is more convincing than his own directional picks.
–Takeo Ide is hands down the best part of this episode. He’s undoubtedly one of the most idiosyncratic artists who ever worked on DB.
–Nakao’s sexy delivery of this line.
–I spy with my little eye something beginning with L.

–Ebisawa’s corrections look terrible. I suppose he might also be considered an idiosyncratic artist, but for not the reason you’d expect. Ruining other people’s drawings is not a good reason. He even tries to screw Ide and Okimoto‘s work. During this rewatch, I admit I’m being very biased towards him, sometimes in vain, but the thing is I’m just not a fan of his art style. That’s it.
-Furthermore, I’m not a fan of his modus operandi as an animator, either. Having characters “attack the camera” can work only when they showcase some dynamic poses, which we can observe frame by frame. Unfortunately, Ebisawa has been doing the same stuff for about 5 years, like drawing stock poses, having characters scratching the camera like cats, or screwing up anatomical mechanisms in general. If in the past his faster pacing sort of made up for this lack of originality of his, in this case both his pacing and timing are completely off. Stock movements, stock poses, stock choreographies.
-Remember when the instrumental M424 was being used previously once in a while? Well, forget it, its overuse in these latest episodes turned it into a generic sad theme. It sounded off during Piccolo’s torture 2 episodes ago, and sounds even more off after Dende’s demise.
-The “Don’t get me wrong” trope again. To his credit, though, it still works somehow.
-Oh, so now Vegeta isn’t into teamwork anymore. Kind of a douchy behavior, but then again, it’s in line with his personality.
-What’s the purpose of dragging out the scene, in which Freezer fires a Death Beam at Gohan??

Episode 085 (Machi ni Matta ze, Kono Shunkan!!! Son Gokū ga Fukkatsu da) aired on April 3rd, 1991. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida.

-Excellent directional display from Kikuchi. His trademark chromatic contrasts and powerful imagery render the events even more impactful than expected.
-As usual, Ohara is the other star of this episode. Everything about him is great: lovely visual effects, impact frames, sweaty characters, pretty realistic noses and his Freezer (with glowing pupils as a bonus).
–Uchiyama’s visual effects looking nice, too.
-Having Kaio-sama narrate Vegeta’s breakdown is a clever idea, as Yoji Yanami voices both him and the narrator.
–Freezer smothering Vegeta with insults, yet finishing his line with Saiyajin-san. This line sums up what Freezer is: politely ruthless or ruthlessly polite.
-You can’t have a proper comeback without M1020.

-The second half isn’t as good as the first one.
-So… according to DB timing, Freezer took 40 minutes to transform three times, to stab Krillin, to torture Gohan, to attack Piccolo and to punish Vegeta. All of this in 40 minutes.
-What about Goku? He took about 10 episodes to recover. 40/50 minutes = 10 episodes? That’s kinda weird.

Episode 086 (Munen…!! Hokori Takaki Saiya-jin · Bejīta Shisu) aired on April 10th, 1991. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata.

–Freezer referencing Pilaf.
–Shibata draws a nice-looking Goku.
–YES. That’s the correct characterization for Goku: he was raised on Earth, but doesn’t completely deny his Saiyan origins.

-Unlike Shibata’s Goku, Ryu’s has under par shapes.
-Apart from a few buzzes of color, Ueda’s direction is utterly mediocre. Disappointing.
–Why did they change the red-colored reaction from the NEP?? It worked so much better.
–Freezer remembering Bardock is just a blatant excuse for another pointless recycled montage.
–Namek arc fillers in a nutshell.

Episode 087 (Chō-Kessen no Makuake da!! Omē dake wa Ora ga Taosu) aired on April 17th, 1991. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard by Harumi Kosaka, direction by Akihiko Yamaguchi and animation supervision by Masahiro Shimanuki.
Key animation: Masahiro Shimanuki (uncredited), Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Kazuya Hisada, Naoki Tate.

-Nothing better than a great storyboard to begin the final battle of this arc: sense of scale, competent layouts, well-developed choreographies… such a promising start.
-As said, the big battle begins with a boom, with the proverbial talent we tend to witness in Seigasha entries. Totally back to their high standards after their disappointing 81st episode.
–Piccolo still wants to ‘challenge’ Goku. Not to kill him anymore, just to fight him.
–Gohan being Waku Waku in the NEP. He stole his father’s catchphrase…

–Takeuchi’s work is possibly the least effective of the bunch: compared with the other artists, his art style looks pretty jarring and pops up rather frequently. His key animation is also quite choppy and rudimentary. Despite his massive experience as an artist, he’s likely the only one in Seigasha who seems to struggle with the new character sheets.
–Krillin isn’t supposed to wear his orange gi.
-Oh no, NOT THIS FILLER. PLEASE NO. Have mercy.

Episode 088 (Gekitotsu no Ni Dai-Sūpā Pawā! Honki Dōshi no Nikudansen!!!) aired on April 24th, 1991. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida, Tetsuya Saeki.

–Pretty decent storyboarding and direction. Not as good as his work from three episodes ago.
-The main battle of this arc has a terrible pacing in the anime compared to the manga version, but this issue is sort of concealed by pure talent: Ohara, Shida and Saeki are responsible for the most flourishing Last House period. So far it works.
–The Kamehame balls strategy is quite clever.
–Now Freezer is deliberately going Waku Waku. Nakao’s delivery drives me insane.
–Freezer’s native language isn’t Japanese, apparently.

–As much as I love this shot (it’s been a while since we saw Gyumao being pissed off, and Bulma’s mom looks adorable), the subplot with Chichi trying to rescue Gohan is boring and really dumb. It seems to me like Toei never learnt anything from their mistakes: squeezing a character and/or plot copious times is mostly going to backfire.
-“Son-in-law“… I guess I had to see this one coming.
–“Brung” instead of brought. However, to their credit, this kind of blunder is something you’d expect from Yajirobe, unlike last time with ‘thunk’…
-“It’s been a while since I’ve used a Kamehameha, the technique I spammed so many times in the past”. For the record, I know Goku attempting to blast Ginyu wasn’t in the original manga… but THIS WAS. He used it during his gravity training.

Episode 089 (Furīza Kyōfu no Sengen! Te o Tsukawazu Omae o Taosu) aired on May 1st, 1991. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard by Kazuhisa Takenouchi, direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no.

–FINALLY GOKU SAYS WAKU WAKU. It’s only the second time in nearly 90 episodes.
–Goku biting Freezer’s tail is hilarious. Never fails to make me laugh.
-I usually write my thoughts on the episode storyboarding and direction on the upper line. However, in this case there’s nothing relevant to add, apart from the last few shots, in which we can spot Ueda’s quirky coloring.

-As a whole, his direction is a total letdown, but sadly, Takenouchi’s storyboarding is even worse. This has been his first appearance since the 22nd episode, and what we get is stock framings and an awful choreography.
-Of course, Ebisawa doesn’t improve the situation. Quite the contrary: his movements are copy and paste of his previous experience, his anatomy is fairly questionable, his key animation is way too simplistic and isn’t properly in-betweened. This battle has already bad pacing on its own, and quite honestly, due to Ebisawa’s output it hit the bottom of the barrel.
-While Iida and Kan’no managed to be okay, both of them underperformed here. Kan’no is undoubtedly a much better artist than Ebisawa, but his movements are pretty stiff and cannot improve a bad storyboard.
-Moreover, the execution of this episode is not the only thing that annoys me. Both subplots respond to the definition of ‘filling what doesn’t need to be filled’.
–Chichi’s subplot is an infinite bunch of boring crap. Why should EVERY SINGLE TOEI WRITER align oneself with Chichi’s horrible characterization?? She’s not portrayed as a relatable, upset mother, but rather as a hysterical psychopath.
-Speaking of which, Oolong has a good point: why would they need him to go to Namek? He can transform, that’s okay… but he cannot modify his strength. Even as a tank, he still has the strength of a little pig.
-If this wasn’t obnoxious enough, the subplot with Bulma and Ginyu not only does respond to the definition of ‘filling what doesn’t need to be filled’, but also to the definition of ‘I don’t give a fuck’. Which, again, confirms that leaving Bulma on Namek was an unforgivable mistake, and squeezing Ginyu’s character to the bone is just a terrible idea. What did he do to deserve more screen time? He’s a space moron.
-Look, slice of life moments are refreshing and all, but ONLY when they involve pre-existing characters and, most of all, when there’s no goddamn battle being interrupted. Why would you want a human to relate to a bloody horny alien who’s now a bloody fuckin’ frog??
–This sums up my thoughts on this abomination. I can barely save nothing from this episode. Terrible content, underwhelming execution. I hated it when I was 10 and I still hate it currently. I’m 500% certain you’d enjoy this fight a lot less if you muted Hidenori Arai’s sound effects and Shunsuke Kikuchi’s BGM.

Episode 090 (Hattari ja Nē zo!! Daitan Suteki na Yatsu · Son Gokū) aired on May 8th, 1991. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Minoru Maeda. 
Key animation: Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Takeo Ide, Masaki Sato, Hideko Okimoto, Chikako Uesugi, Kuniko Iwagami, Noriko Ichibashi.

-Even though I enjoyed his 23rd TB-early Namek arc art style much more, Sato’s Goku looks manly. Still better than what the rest has to offer.
–Freezer showing his animal instincts.
–This is a funny line in hindsight.
–Okay, this is quite cool.

-Nevertheless, having Nakatsuru animate the filler with Chichi is a total waste.
–Maeda’s bland corrections are really bland.
-Second episode directed by Ueda in a row… and it’s another bad entry.
–I hate the subplot with Ginyu in Bulma’s body. Like a lot. Piccolo’s discouraged reaction says it all.
-I just realized characters are portrayed as much dumber in Aya Matsui’s fillers: why wouldn’t Gohan and Krillin realize something with Bulma is off? Like… her having a MALE VOICE? Or her rooting for Freezer (the real Bulma actually rooted for Pamputto back in the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc, it’s true… but I think she isn’t stupid enough to root for a bad guy)? I hate it when characters are depicted as idiots just for unfunny gags.
–No, this is her fault for not leaving Namek. She’s screwing this arc up with her BS.
–HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. 15 episodes later.

Episode 091 (Ketchaku da!! Honō no Keshin Nijū-Bai Kaiō-Ken no Kamehameha) aired on May 15th, 1991. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard by Daisuke Nishio, direction by Junichi Fujise and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata.

-Goku’s nightmare is where Fujise’s direction stands out the most, with a few fiery imageries. The shot of Muten Roshi’s stick burning is pretty effective. Great use of M1023.
–Goku does recall Lunch, after all.
–THANK YOU.
-As for the Kaioken X20 moment, there’s nothing much to say: it’s great, Yamamuro is a great artist and both Nozawa and Nakao’s performances are brilliant, as expected.

-Apart from a few framings, Nishio’s storyboarding isn’t that good.
-The beginning is all but promising, with plenty of reused animation and the dreadful Ginyu-Bulma subplot.
-Three episodes ago, we clearly observe Goku calmly thinking of a strategy UNDERWATER, which probably means he can stand there just fine. However, here he risks drowning. Where’s continuity??

Episode 092 (Chō-Tokudai no Genki-Dama　Kore ga Saigo no Kirifuda da!!) aired on May 22nd, 1991. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida, Tetsuya Saeki.

–Good storyboarding during the first half.
-The aftermath of Goku’s 20 times Kaioken-powered Kamehameha is reanimated during the recap. Switching from Yamamuro to Shida: this is how to keep quality properly.
–Amazing impact frame from Saeki.
-I swear this is the most boring planet in the universe.

–Goku denying his origins again. Look, I have to put up with this shit in movies already. Why would Toei disagree with Toriyama’s opinion about Goku’s Saiyan origins? Just for some weird patriotic segment from Vegeta, who flat out stated he didn’t care about his people or family several episodes ago.
-All I needed was ANOTHER pointless subplot, this time involving Ginyu’s idiotic squad. For Shit’s sake, these are some of the stupidest characters ever created. Once again, squeezing them to death was a terrible idea.
–They even beat up Gregory and Bubbles. They cannot even fight back. Giant pricks.
-Indeed. He has a point: Kaio is a bit of a prick.

Episode 093 (Chansu o Ikase!! Pikkoro Sutemi no Engo Shageki) aired on May 29th, 1991. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Masahiro Shimanuki.
Key animation: Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masako Misumi, Kazuya Hisada, Naoki Tate.

-Rather decent storyboarding. His direction could be better, though.

–Takeuchi’s derpy Gohan.
–Krillin doesn’t wear a blue undershirt.
-A minute long montage of Goku training and fighting bad guys, narrated by Bulma. Too bad she’ll never know how Muten Roshi’s training was like and how Goku defeated Burter.
–More Ginyu Force. I needed that…
-Hiroshi Toda wrote both this and the previous episode. Last time Kaio-sama was outside with Yamcha and Tenshinhan commenting on Freezer’s superiority, whereas in this one he was inside when the Ginyu Force arrived. Again, not a very solid continuity.

Episode 094 (Genki-Dama no Chō-Hakairyoku!! Ikinokotta no wa Dare da!?) aired on June 5th, 1991. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no, Takeo Ide, Hideko Okimoto.

-After his latest bad entries, Ueda is back on his usual levels. Pretty good storyboarding.
-Nakao’s performance is fantastic, needless to say.
-Okay, Kaio randomly dodging is quite badass.

-Let me get this straight: Vegeta, Krillin and Gohan (with both of their potentials being unlocked by Saichoro) were no match for Recoome. On the other hand, Yamcha and Tenshinhan can deal with the four of them just fine, despite learning NONE of Kaio-sama’s techniques. I just cannot buy them being stronger than Gohan or Vegeta before the Zenkai boost.
-While we’re at it, Tenshinhan is ridiculously overpowered, which is something strange to hear these days. He can take on both Jheese and Burter without breaking a sweat, and even uses his Shishin No Ken, which, reminder, reduces his power, but for some reason, he has no problem, either.
–Piccolo using a great deal of his power on that kick makes little sense. I thought Dende healed him before Freezer could even reach his final form. What if part of his energy was taken by Goku’s Genkidama?

Episode 095 (Tsui ni Henshin!! Densetsu no Sūpā Saiya-jin · Son Gokū) aired on June 12th, 1991. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Minoru Maeda. 
Key animation: Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Masaki Sato, Chikako Uesugi, Kuniko Iwagami, Noriko Ichibashi, Yukio Ebisawa (uncredited), Tomoya Iida (uncredited), Toshiyuki Kan’no (uncredited).

–The highlight is Goku’s transformation hands down, in terms of EVERYTHING. Toriyama’s version was more straight-forward, with Goku snapping and unlocking his hidden potential. The anime version, however, is the one the fandom remembers the most, for a very good reason: Goku is supposed to be enraged after Krillin’s death by Freezer’s hand, as a result having Yamauchi’s well-built atmosphere and having Goku STRUGGLE and actually reach the transformation NOT IMMEDIATELY makes the scene even better and more realistic, as we might witness what can also be considered Goku’s psychological change. He’s not only a stronger warrior, but also displays a totally different attitude. His veins popping up from his face right before going Super Saiyan utterly describe his enraged mood, and work so so well.
-The first Super Saiyan transformation is portrayed as something special in the manga, and as something VERY special in the anime. If Toriyama’s artwork in this era is quite a mixed bag, fortunately the same thing cannot be stated about Sato’s version.
–Piccolo is officially part of the gang.
-Even though the Ginyu Force was defeated too easily, I just cannot bash Yamcha winning for once. At long last.

-Normally a memorable moment like Goku’s Super Saiyan transformation would affect my overall judgment in a positive way, and it did. In fact, it’s the only great thing about this episode. The rest is pretty bland. It’s far from being a 10/10, too many errors.
-Apart from a few of his trademark purple buzzes, Yamauchi’s direction isn’t his best one on the show. Then the Super Saiyan came and…
-Replacing M201 with M514 (the Goku vs Mutaito BGM) isn’t a very appropriate music choice.
–Nakatsuru sketching facial highlights for the first time.
–Iida’s funereal expression on Gohan is quite funny.
–Piccolo’s blood is red again.
–Because scary female characters are hilarious. HAHAHAHAHA. Because sexism is funny.

Episode 096 (Ikari Bakuhatsu!! Gokū yo, Min’na no Kataki o Utte Kure) aired on June 19th, 1991. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Junichi Fujise and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida, Tetsuya Saeki.

–This.
-Further credit to Nozawa’s performance. Just intense.

-It would be pretty unfair to compare Sato’s Super Saiyan Goku with a Uchiyama corrected shot.
-Even though the Super Saiyan form doesn’t seem to work like Freezer’s transformations (which also erase his battle damage), Goku is strangely 100% healthy, despite his body aching quite a bit last episode. Convenient lack of stamina continuity, otherwise it wouldn’t be as entertaining? Or Toriyama forgot about it? Who knows.
–As for his Super Saiyan speech, I find it a bit weird: how is he sure about the precise requirements to become a Super Saiyan? And while we’re at it, how is he so accurately certain about being a Super Saiyan?

Episode 097 (Namekku-sei Shōmetsu ka!? Daichi o Tsuranuku Ma no Senkō) aired on June 26th, 1991. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata.

–Kazuhito Kikuchi‘s storyboarding looks pretty neat.
–Yamamuro is totally coming through as an artist and animator. His tiny pupils on SSJ Goku make him look glacial.
–Nozawa’s badass delivery of Goku’s ‘Owari da, Furiza’.
-Nakao’s hysterical laugh is indeed memorable.
-I really like the visual clash between Goku’s SSJ aura and Freezer’s red and black shield. Red, pink, purple… any of these colors fits Freezer’s aura. Just don’t let it be bluish…

-First episode to use Shunsuke Kikuchi’s M11XX (seventh movie soundtrack): M1119 is a decent battle track, M1104 is an okay tense track, I don’t really care for M1118 and M1121.
–Teruhisa Ryu’s “Big Bang”.
-“Depends on filler“.
-We clearly observed Freezer destroying planet Vegeta with his Supernova, in his first form. Now he’s in his final form and only manages to destroy the core of Namek permanently. Even though Goku states he held back on purpose because he was afraid of being dragged into the explosion, I don’t believe this explanation holds up, since he presumably held back in his first form when he destroyed Vegeta. Could it be that technique was weaker than the Supernova he used back then?
-And there comes the infamous “five minutes” bit. It perhaps holds up better in the manga, because Toriyama doesn’t drag things up for too long, but according to the timing of the anime, 5 minutes = 9 episodes. It would be easier to exalt “plot convenience”, but my theory is that Freezer might’ve taken a wild guess, as he doesn’t even seem to know when Namek is actually going to explode. Perhaps he just wanted to show off.
-Can anybody tell me what’s the purpose of the Kewie lookalike subplot? Random and out of nowhere.

Episode 098 (Katsu no wa Ore da… Ikinokori o Kaketa Saishū Kōgeki) aired on July 10th, 1991. 
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.

-Pretty strong storyboarding and direction.
–Ueda’s pink segment with hints of dark blue and purple has always been the most fascinating part of this episode. Even back then I did really enjoy this idiosyncratic idea of giving more atmosphere to the main battle.
-Likewise, Seigasha’s output is rather fascinating. Apart from Kazuya Hisada’s debut as an animation supervisor, they can also totally count on powerhouses like Shimanuki and Tate. As expected from what is considered the most consistent animation studio of the series.
–Hisada’s supervising approach is more or less similar to Shimanuki’s, in terms of correction intensity. As for correction frequency, Hisada is slightly more lenient than Shimanuki, as it’s not unusual to catch the other artists being uncorrected (not only Takeuchi).

-For some reason, Takeuchi animates auras only while characters are talking. When they’re silent, they stop moving. Not very good.
–Freezer’s aura is STILL bluish/greenish. Why not purple???
–Goku letting Freezer power up just to deflate his ego might sound like something he’d do, but are we really going to ignore the fact Goku wasn’t that willing to let him power up last episode?? Again, lack of continuity.
-It’s pretty clear that Freezer cannot sense ki, then how is he so sure about which percentage his power is when he attacks? And why would he shout the percentage of his power up? Nobody does that: “Now I’m going to attack you with only 61,55% of my full power”.
-By the way, remember back in the Piccolo Daimao arc, when Bulma was shown grieving for Krillin’s death? How was it called? Empathy. Showing mere empathy. Here Gohan takes Bulma to Goku’s spaceship, she mentions Krillin and that’s it. No emphatic moment whatsoever, because they thought emphasizing his bitching attitude would be much more effective. It’s rather impressive how they’re trying to remove any trace of humanity from this character.

Episode 099 (Shenron yo Uchū o Hashire!! Semaru Namekku-sei Shōmetsu no Toki) aired on July 17th, 1991. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no, Chikako Uesugi (uncredited).

-The big positive of this episode is Yamauchi’s direction and storyboard. He certainly knows how to deliver tension and atmosphere, also through his music placement.
–Kan’no’s artistic talent stands out a lot among the general visual lowness of Studio Live.

-Even so, this episode remains a big misstep over the previous entry, animation-wise.
–Bulma wants to leave Piccolo on a dying planet. What a bitch, and also an idiot: does she forget if Piccolo dies, Kami-sama dies along with him and goodbye DBs?? Another episode, a new low. Even Gohan’s annoyed reaction says it all.
–That time BS again. Restating this, Freezer was just bluffing. He truly ignores when Namek is going to burst.
-According to the conversation between Kaio-sama and Kami-sama, Shenlong cannot resurrect people who died of natural causes, which is fine. However, Kaio states there might be a possibility that the dragon can bring Saichoro back to life, because thinking about his children being murdered by Freezer broke his heart, thus causing him some sort of psychological death. That’s quite contrived, since Saichoro was already nearly dying of old age, therefore it would be impossible to resurrect him in normal conditions.

The fifth Dragon Ball Z movie (Tobikkiri no Saikyō tai Saikyō or The Incredible Strongest vs Strongest) was released on July 20th, 1991. Script by Takao Koyama, direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto, executive production by Chiaki Imada and Rikizo Kayano and animation supervision by Minoru Maeda.

-Kikuchi’s M12XX is quite a return to form after a kinda mediocre M11XX: there’s some pretty good ones like M1201, M1212, M1213 and M1218, excellent battle themes like M1211 and M1216, great and criminally underused material like M1206 and M1220. Overall, pretty good movie BGM.
-While not as compelling as the previous movie, Hashimoto‘s direction remains very solid. The art direction looks stunning.
-This movie takes place in different parts of the daytime, from sunset to early morning. That’s an interesting detail.
–Oolong gets to do something. Nice.
–This is quite funny.
–Piccolo is active part of the story, too, as he gets to kill EVERY single member of Cooler’s squad.
-FINALLY Goku admits he’s a Saiyan raised on Earth in a movie. About time.
–Goku and Cooler fighting underwater is quite a clever idea.
-At the very least, a Genkidama isn’t used to finish off Cooler: just pushing him back right to the Sun. Finally some changes.
–Speaking of Cooler, what I enjoy about him is that he actually has a REASON for being a villain, as he wants to avenge his brother Freezer, unlike Tullece and Slug who came to Earth just because. Cooler actually has a solid premise to hold a grudge against Goku.

-With that said, he’s an arrogant, wicked and self-centered character, just like Freezer, but in the latter’s case, these qualities are taken up to eleven, thus making him a very sadistic and amazing villain. What about Cooler? He’s indeed arrogant, but doesn’t seem to have the charisma, manners and self-absorption we’re used to observe on Freezer. As a result, Cooler is a pretty uninteresting villain, in spite of his solid premise. Not as cool as his brother.
-As for Ryusei Nakao, I adore anything he does: he was great on Tambourine, he’s just flawless on Freezer… but I don’t like him as Cooler. His characterization on both of them is basically the same, but while it works really well on a self-centered villain like Freezer, it sounds off on a less over-the-top villain like Cooler.
–Maeda’s supervision is pretty bland. This isn’t a memorable era for him and his pear-shaped sweat (?).
-This might be the most self-referential movie next to the second one, with tons of callbacks to the battle against Freezer: Cooler letting an unconscious Piccolo fall and blasting him just like Freezer did with a Namekian warrior in front of Nail, Goku’s reaction looking nearly identical to his own after Krillin getting blown up, a similar profile shot before going Super Saiyan like THAT ONE, the iconic Super Saiyan pose and glare just like the OTHER ONE (ironically, both being animated by Masaki Sato) and the ‘Now I’m mad’ stance just like THAT ONE… even Cooler’s squad resembles the Ginyu Force quite a bit, only a bit less idiotic. A bit.
-There may be no Genkidama, but the FORMULA seems like a duty for movies: Piccolo appears only to save Gohan’s ass, everybody goes KO (especially Krillin), ‘leave it for some unadulterated Goku time’, Goku is in danger, Goku fights back.
–What was the purpose of Gohan’s tail growing back? Just to show the infamous tail weakness?
–How bloody convenient Yajirobe gives Gohan another Senzu after giving him a full bag.
-Speaking of which, is it me or they made Gohan a lot weaker in this movie? He never fights back.
-Isn’t the battle between Super Saiyan Goku and Cooler a bit too short?
-I know it’s part of the irony, but in the end Cooler made the same mistake Freezer did for letting a baby Saiyan survive.

Episode 100 (Boku wa Son Gokū no Musuko da!! Gohan, Futatabi Kessenjō e) aired on July 24th, 1991. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard by Mitsuo Hashimoto, direction by Junichi Fujise and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida, Tetsuya Saeki.

-Pretty solid storyboarding from Hashimoto, with some distinctive use of lighting from Fujise during the 2nd half.
–Auras look really crisp in this episode.
–Having Gohan take the responsibility of stalling against Freezer sounds like an overall standout moment for his character…

… however, five episodes ago he barely had any energy to fly or sense ki, whereas now he can even land some hits on Freezer, in his FOURTH FORM (still injured, but still stronger than him) and can fly here and there at high speed. He may be tired, but conveniently not as much as he should.
–Bulma making up numbers. How the frig does she know the exact amount of minutes before the explosion of Namek?

Episode 101 (Ore wa Kono Hoshi ni Nokoru!! Shōri e no Saigo no Negai) aired on July 31st, 1991. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo, with Tadayoshi Yamamuro as (uncredited) assistant animation supervisor.
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata, Miki Ugai.

-The battle is reaching its final stage (?), and a good direction is required to keep seriousness and tension. Thankfully, Kikuchi’s efforts are extremely remarkable, with a great storyboard and a pretty intense direction.
-This can be considered the first episode to feature corrections also from someone different from the supervisor. Yamamuro has been developing his art style for over 30 episodes, and it’s a fairly wise choice to have him correct plenty of cuts. His artwork is a blessing in this era. His key animation strongly relies on his own martial arts knowledge in real life: it’s not usual to see Freezer striking a battle pose.
–Brilliant. Another reminder of Goku’s real reason why he decided to fight Freezer with all his might.
–Wholesome handshake.

–Shindo’s corrections pale in comparison with Yamamuro’s. Too angular for my taste.
–Since when can Goku use telepathy??? Mind reading, telepathy… both out of nowhere.

Episode 102 (Tokoton Yarō ze!! Kieyuku Hoshi ni Nokotta Futari) aired on August 7th, 1991. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Daisuke Nishio and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Takeo Ide, Chikako Uesugi, Kuniko Iwagami, Noriko Ichibashi, Kenji Yokoyama.

–Takeo Ide trying to prevent this episode from being a full disaster.
-I guess I should address Nishio’s attempt to create a martial arts choreography. Not very well made, but could be worse. That power struggle is too long, though.

-This episode may not be a full disaster, but still remains quite a disaster. Again, a good direction is required to keep seriousness and tension. There’s NO seriousness or tension whatsoever: only a bunch of NOTHINGNESS. Terribly directed, with the main plot and the Earth subplot going back and forth, and with nearly three minutes, THREE FUCKIN’ MINUTES of montage of the previous arcs. The term ‘distracting’ is actually a praise in this case, because this is bloody insulting. Looping M1118 over and over is something I’d do with my WMM. Just no.
-Like I stated before, the battle is meeting its end, and I’d like to watch its conclusion for good. Who bloody cares about Vegeta acting like a self-centered douchebag? Who bloody cares about Gohan constantly whining? WHO BLOODY CARES?
-Animation-wise, this episode is like a parallel universe, in which Uchiyama never met Ohara and Shida. The result is plain to all.
-Speaking of his supervision, it’s pretty bad. His unpolished art is pretty lopsided and doesn’t certainly give further value to such an episode. Take a look at his beak nose and bland expressivity.
-Even though it wouldn’t sound that bad on Gohan, I still have to put up with the ‘I’m an Earthling, not a Saiyan’ trope in regular episodes. As if his movies didn’t put my patience to the test.
–Oh, shut up. He’s talking rubbish.

Episode 103 (Aware Furīza! Furuedashitara Tomaranai!!) aired on August 14th, 1991. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, 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, Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru (uncredited), Hideko Okimoto (uncredited), Naoki Miyahara (uncredited).

-Overall positive direction and storyboarding from Ueda, albeit not as good as his usual.
-This episode has the highest number of procurable gengas: in some of these we can see Hisada‘s drastic modus operandi.
-Considering this is a rushed episode, the result is miraculously satisfactory. Although, the animators’ rotation might look a bit jarring, like in this case with Takeuchi-Tate-Misumi in sequence.
–Freezer’s increasing terror is so well described.

-Another flashback montage. I fuckin’ hate these, they’re just insultingly lame.
–Both in the manga and the original genga, Tenshinhan is wearing a shirt. No shirt in the finished product.
–Goku’s Meteor Smash rush gets twisted in the anime: the gut punch is unnecessarily slowed down, and ONLY AFTER the commercial break, Goku kicks Freezer, and unfortunately, Takeuchi makes it look robotic. The framing is also pretty bad. I don’t know whether Ueda intended to change the original attack of the manga, but it’s undeniable this version is not faithful to the source material, and could be better executed.

Episode 104 (Gokū no Shōri Sengen da!! Furīza ga Jimetsu Suru Toki…) aired on August 21st, 1991. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Tomoya Iida, Toshiyuki Kan’no.

-Not his best output, but Yamauchi’s board and direction are the best part of this episode. It’s amazing how he manages to create tension even during a pointless flashback sequence. He’s just too good.

-The rest is just forgettable, and this isn’t what I would expect from the end of the main battle.
–Ebisawa’s proportions are just dreadful. Vegeta’s forehead looks laughable.
–Why would Goku tell Freezer to dodge his homing Kienzan? Why should he care about Freezer getting cut in half? Wasn’t killing off his best friend the main reason for becoming a Super Saiyan in the first place??
-Of course, Goku giving part of his energy to Freezer makes no sense at all. Okay, in 1991 they still had no idea of a possible role reversal in the Tournament of Power, which kinda made it a bit less random… but in actuality, Goku has absolutely NO reason for giving his ki to Freezer. Wasn’t he the same guy who rushed into Black’s robot? Wasn’t he the same guy who caused a huge hole on Daimao’s chest (reminder, his sidekick killed his best friend, too). How come did this happen? Maybe to discern his personality from Vegeta’s?
-The same issue as two episodes ago occurs, as we’re reaching the end of the battle and what do we get? Another display of Vegeta acting like a cocky douche, and what is possibly the dumbest and most pointless filler flashback sequence of the series:
1) Even supposing that Freezer is already having salty manners towards his Saiyan stooges (this flashback is set after the destruction of Vegeta), they still wouldn’t have the guts to rise up against the space tyrant, as already confirmed by Vegeta.
2) According to this flashback, Nappa DOES know what actually occurred to planet Vegeta, which was destroyed by Freezer himself, and automatically tells Raditz the truth. Who cares if Raditz himself still called it a mere meteor collision back in the Saiyan arc. Making up Toriyama’s events is the only thing that matters.
3) Moreover, it seems like Vegeta was already aware of it. Again, Toriyama had different thoughts, but again, who cares about the creator’s opinion?
4) Moral of the story, “I’m the strongest and Freezer can blow me.” That montage was just to show Vegeta’s overwhelming arrogance and how he’s always been a spoiled brat.

Episode 105 (Furīza Yabureru!! Subete no Ikari o Kometa Ichigeki) aired on August 28th, 1991. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Taiichiro Ohara, Naotoshi Shida, Tetsuya Saeki.

–Ryusei Nakao’s performance is just terrific.

-Not even the Pilaf arc finale sucked as much as this one. This is a terribly insulting finale, with a lot of padding and with SEVEN MINUTES of recapping montage altogether. Namek is about to explode and what do we get? A BLOODY FLASHBACK MONTAGE of the previous scenes we saw billions of times. If I ever wanted to enjoy the big battle, I’d rather read the manga version.
-THIS is how to butcher a narrative arc. It’s not my bias against Toei at all, as the anime adaptation of the Piccolo Daimao arc is a considerable improvement over Toriyama’s original mess. This arc, however, is the result of choosing lots of wrong ideas, like flanderizing a supporting character, squeezing new characters to death in vain, keeping a terrible pacing, filling what needs no filler, adding unnecessary and forced details, adding pointless montages and adding feeble subplots.
-Friendly reminder that cutting off M1120B organs for one of Kikuchi’s most generic battle tracks is just an atrocious idea.
-Ohara is a capable artist and all, but his expression on Goku lacks of the same mystery we can find in Toriyama’s original take. After defeating Freezer, Goku is supposed to have mixed feelings, from rage to mere regret. As someone says, “show, don’t tell”, Toriyama did do that exactly: that expression explained everything and nothing at the same time. Such a deep and cryptic vision isn’t sadly felt in the anime version.

Episode 106 (Namekku-sei Dai-Bakuhatsu!! Uchū ni Kieta Gokū) aired on September 4th, 1991. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Mitsuo Shindo, with Tadayoshi Yamamuro as (uncredited) assistant animation supervisor.
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Teruhisa Ryu, Noriko Shibata, Miki Ugai.

-If Freezer’s loss was sloppily portrayed in the last episode, thankfully the destruction of Namek meets a more satisfying conclusion. Kikuchi’s output is spot-on, with his effective use of pitch black inside Freezer’s spaceship. As well as with some good music placement.
-Much like their 101st episode, there’s plenty of corrections from Yamamuro scattered all over, which are so pleasing.
–Yamcha being more desperate and upset than everyone else for Goku’s apparent death. That’s some great stuff, since he was the first Dragon Team member Goku ever met.
–The cynical way Bulma says this. Even in these conditions, death has no consequence.

-5 minutes = 9 episodes. There’s something not quite right.
-About the filler fight between Gohan and Vegeta, it’s very confusing and honestly, not that worth it. Why? Just wait for the next episode…

Episode 107 (Ikite Ita Son Gokū　Zetto Senshi Zen’in Fukkatsu da!!) aired on September 11th, 1991. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Daisuke Nishio and animation supervision by Minoru Maeda. 
Key animation: Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, Takeo Ide, Masaki Sato, Hideko Okimoto, Naoki Miyahara, Chikako Uesugi, Kuniko Iwagami, Noriko Ichibashi.

–The whistle song during the resurrection montage. Love it.
–HAHAHA.
–Bulma’s mother puzzling Vegeta. She even starts stalking him despite meeting him after a few seconds.
–I like that everyone stops being alarmed after they realize it was “a creation by father of Buruma”.

–Maeda’s corrections don’t improve good artwork.
–Where’s Piccolo’s turban?
-A little recap: last time Kaio stated the DBs bring people back to life at their point of origin, and there’s nothing they can do about it. Well, it turns out such an obstacle can be overcome rather easily, as Vegeta suggests to add ‘bring them back HERE’ to make it work. So it turns out that obstacle was completely pointless.
-After the filler fight from last time, Vegeta flies away and Gohan is down. Whereas in this episode Vegeta is STILL HERE and Gohan is STANDING without any harm. The worst part about this is that Toda wrote both episodes. Given that he shouldn’t deviate from Toriyama’s original event, why EVEN thinking of a stupid filler fight which would bring NOTHING but CONFUSION and LACK of CONTINUITY??
-Speaking of weak continuity, a few episodes ago Bulma was shown being terrified by Vegeta, while now she even offers to host him at her house. How very progressive.
-Back to the episode, Vegeta’s ‘Don’t get me wrong’ trope is back. Still holding up, however…
–Goku refusing to come back. Is that even possible? How could he communicate with Porunga? Telepathically??
-I see what they did there: they brought Yamcha back in the same way as they did with Piccolo, without specifying where. Not if Bulma’s friends can actually sense Yamcha’s ki, either way…
–Because pissed off women are worse than the devil. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Playing with sexism…

NAMEK ARC – FINAL THOUGHTS: 7/10

-Not a bad arc, but the anime creates lots of issues. As a whole, the manga version is still superior.
BEST EPISODE: episode 85 (strongly directed, with some fairly captivating action)
WORST EPISODE: episode 89 (it would a lot easier to include the whole Fake Namek mini-arc, but this episode already deals with the big battle, and observing such terrible action, dull choreography and obnoxious cutaways, certainly drains our enthusiasm and interest. One of the worst episodes ever created)

back to Saiyan arc

Garlic Jr. arc