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There was a time when UK fans had next to no chance of seeing an anime series that was over 60 episodes released, but that time has thankfully passed! Nowadays Manga have brought us series with several hundred episodes such as Naruto and Bleach, and the daddy of them now passes the 200 episode mark with series 7. The last series of Dragon Ball Z saw the end of the Cell Saga, which many fans consider to be its finest story arc. So is the best really past or is there still more to come? With Cell defeated the Z Fighters have
returned to their normal civilian life, insofar as they can. Krillen has
gotten married, Goku's youngest son Goten has been born and has grown up to be a
carefree seven-year old who spends his time playing with Vegeta's eight-year old
son Trunks, and Gohan has returned to his studies. In the Otherworld Goku
continues to train, accompanying King Kai to the planet of his superior - the
Grand Kai - where he can take his place alongside the greatest heroes who have
ever lived in what can only be described as a fighter's paradise.
Meanwhile on Earth Vegeta undergoes his own training in the hope of surpassing
his great rival, whilst Piccolo spends his time focusing his energy on Kami's
lookout. Yes, things are peaceful once more, and after years of home
schooling Gohan is finally ready to attend high school in the big city.
However, on Chi Chi's orders he has to keep his powers a secret, something that
isn't easy for the justice-loving young saiyan. Satan City - named after
Hercule Satan, whom everyone believes defeated Cell - is a bit of a hotbed of
crime, and after transforming into a Super Saiyan to apprehend a group of
criminals Gohan decides he will need a disguise if he is to keep the streets
safe, and enlists Bulma's help to help him create a superhero alter-ego - the
Great Saiyaman! However, having a new crime fighter in town doesn't sit
well with Gohan's classmate Videl. She is the daughter of Hercule Satan
and a talented martial artist in her own right who helps the police apprehend
criminals, and she doesn't trust the newcomer and vows to unmask him.
After being tricked by Videl into entering the World Martial Arts Tournament,
Gohan faces a dilemma - how can he compete if he's to keep his identity a
secret? Also, his agreement to enter has also piqued the interest of the
other Z Fighters, and they all decide to sign up...including Goku! It
seems he can return from Otherworld for one day, and with the news that he is
coming Vegeta and the others redouble their training. With all of the
strongest fighters in the galaxy entering into one tournament can it really go
off without a hitch? |
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After an entire series of near pure action Dragon Ball Z has entered into something of a quiet period, with the majority of the action focused at the start and end of the series. A large chunk of the episodes in this set are focused around Gohan and his time at school, following him as he moonlights as a superhero whilst simultaneously trying to hide that fact from his classmates. Videl is a good addition to the cast, she's similar to Chi Chi in that she's strong and driven and as the series progresses you see her grow closer to Gohan |
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almost without realising it. Of course her introduction means that Mr Hercule Satan features prominently once again, and there are strong signs that the series is aiming to recapture its comedy roots. The original Dragon Ball series had action but was largely played for laughs, the enemies were often comical and a lot of mileage was made from Goku's superhuman abilities and naive but pure personality. This series seems to hark back to this, but with Gohan taking over as the naive, super-powered hero who has to cope with modern society. He creates a goofy alter ego and fights crime without facing any real threats he can't deal with, apart from the inquisitive, short tempered and attractive Videl! This comedy
focus really drives this volume, with the action scenes largely concentrated at
the start and end of the series. To start with we have Goku in Otherworld
competing with other heroes in a fighting tournament, and to round off the
series we have the return of the World Martial Arts Tournament, which sees the Z
Fighters line up against one another and also starts off the next big story arc.
Goku's immense power means that few of the Otherworld heroes can stand up to
him, but he's not going to have it all his own way as one of King Kai's rivals
brings his own champion Picon to compete. Picon is as strong as Goku and
uses techniques Goku has never seen before, he's fighting against the unknown so
can he prevail? Back on Earth the Z Warriors have spent a lot of time
training, and are basically looking forward to fighting each other and putting
Mr Satan in his place. However, they are not the only powerful force at
the tournament, and there is evil afoot that could cause dire consequences for
all of humanity. However, before that we have several episodes of the Z
Warriors chewing through arrogant human opposition with only the fights against
each other to look forward to. It's one of the main problems with the
series this time round, the main characters are now so strong that the series
almost needs an intergalactic threat to give them any challenge. For the
majority of this volume there isn't one, and the series has to fall back on
humour to try and paper over the cracks. |
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This has left the series feeling a bit aimless. It's still enjoyable but without the peril provided by the likes of Cell and Freiza (who get brief afterlife cameos in which they are defeated with consummate ease) everything is a bit of a foregone conclusion. No-one on Earth is capable of standing up to the Z Warriors in the Tournament, even the arrogant World Champion Mr Satan - who is actually shown to be a capable fighter and strongest at the tournament by human standards - is treated as a comic buffoon. The attempt to |
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recapture the comedy roots of the franchise falls flat as most of the jokes revolve around the main characters trying to hide their powers, although a special mention must be given to the English dub cast whose attempts to provide voices for a city full of people actually ends up providing most of the biggest laughs. The same group of voice actors seem to be playing all of the incidental roles, and they try to keep them distinct by giving everyone a different accent which makes Satan City seem like the most diverse place on Earth. You'll get crowd scenes where Scotsmen chat with Valley Girls, Cockneys, Russians and Italian Americans, it's hilarious! Dragon Ball Z Season 7 eschews action in favour of comedy and while it remains entertaining it is for the most part a decision that doesn't completely pay off. After this long though it's a question of what can Dragon Ball Z really do? It's established the lead character as the most powerful fighter in the universe, killed him off then allowed him to stay in the series from the afterlife with the caveat that he can be resurrected with the Dragon Balls at any point. If you bring in another uber-powerful enemy it's going to be a retread of the Freiza and Cell sagas, and short of stripping the central cast of their power you either rinse and repeat or try to change the series' focus away from action. This series feels like an attempt to renew the franchise, but as it draws to a close it's clear that there's another big bad on the way and we will be heading back into fighting mode. There is a lot to like about this series, it's entertaining, the action when it comes is as good as ever - although one fight towards the end of the series is unnecessarily brutal - and the humour is decent enough for the most part. But it feels like it has gone on longer than originally intended, and although it has not outstayed its welcome by any means it does feel like there are very few twists or turns to come. Dragon Ball Z Season 7 is still highly addictive viewing, and the animation has improved once again, but we are now starting to retread old ground. Extras Just the usual textless opening/ending sequences, although
they are at least new opening and ending sequences. Series:
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