 "Dragon Ball GT - A mixed bag" | 2007-05-07 |
| - Reviewed By i1iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii |
Dragon Ball GT (1996-1997.)
INTRODUCTION:
The Dragon Ball Z anime had ended. Finally, Akira Toriyama's entire Dragon Ball manga had been translated to anime form. He had lost interest in the series and went on to pursue other projects. But Toei Animation had other plans. The company who had translated the manga to anime form wanted to cash in on the franchise one last time, and thus created an entirely new, non-canonical Dragon Ball series, GT. Read on to see how the series fares.
OVERVIEW (DVD):
FUNimation began releasing Dragon Ball GT DVDs in America in 2003. The series is broken into twenty DVDs (the five "lost episodes" DVDs that start the series, and volumes one through fifteen that follow.) Each DVD is uncut, with a dub and sub track, and some modest bonus features.
OVERIVEW (SERIES):
GT picks up a couple of years after Z leaves off. Goku has been training Oob, the young man he went away with at the end of the tournament that concluded the Z series. But things go terribly wrong. Emperor Pilaf gets a hold of a second set of Dragon Balls that was created back before Piccolo and Kami split - and accidentally turns Goku into a child again! And that's not the worst of it. The Dragon Balls have scattered across the universe! If the balls aren't reunited in a year, the Earth will be destroyed. The universe is full of villains who will stop at nothing to have them for themselves. As the series progresses, other new villains rise, including Baby, a creation of a race the Saiyans once wiped out, Super 17, a fusion of Android 17 and a duplicate created in hell by an old foe, and evil dragons who rise from the old, overused Dragon Balls. But Goku and company aren't going to give up that easily, as Goku discovers a level of Super Saiyan beyond level three that will help him to compete with these new villains.
REVIEW (SERIES):
GT is a hit and miss series. When it sucks, it sucks. When it's good, it's good. You can tell Akira Toriyama wasn't the creative force behind the series, and it shows in many places. The characters seem to have gotten a lot weaker and stupider, and the battle sequences pale in comparison to those of Z (though some of the later ones come close.) One of my biggest disappointments is Pan, Goku's grand daughter. They make her one of the main characters in this series, and she's basically annoying and weak, and spoiled. Essentially she's a retread of Chi Chi, which isn't something the series needed. Vegeta's role is also significantly lessened up until the end of the series, which is a huge letdown for fans of the Saiyan prince. There are plot holes galore, as well. It's clear Toei wanted to make a series that was a combination of the original Dragon Ball's adventure/comedy feel, and Dragon Ball Z's pure action feel. But as a whole, it's a compromise at best. Do yourself a favor and don't come into the series with high expectations - it does not surpass any previous chapter in the Dragon Ball story. Remember - Toriyama didn't create it himself, so it's essentially professionally-made fan fiction. It's not as bad as everyone says, though.
REVIEW (DVD):
If you've seen FUNimation's uncut DVDs for the other Dragon Ball series, you'll know what to expect here. Two language tracks, with the Japanese featuring translations by Steven J. Simmons, as well as modest bonus material (profiles, previews, etc. nothing special.) The dub is not great, though it's not FUNimation's worst work either. I have some complaints with the Japanese subtitled version that need to be voiced though. Kakarotto is translated as Kakarrot. Saiya-Jin is translated as Saiyan. Tsfuru-Jin is Tsfuruian. Oozaru is Great Ape. If they keep in all the name titles (kun, sama, etc.), why can't they keep this stuff straight? Also, old episodes refer to the Dragon Balls as the numbered ball they are, whereas later episodes change it to the weird Mandarin Chinese names. I wish they'd gone one route or the other from the beginning and stayed consistent, not switched halfway through. Still, these are little faults in the long run.
OVERALL:
Overall, GT is a good series but not a great one. It's better than most people say, but still falls short of the original series and Z. If nothing else, it's good for a weekend rental - but you will have to endure some boring, tedious episodes before you get to the good stuff - BE WARNED! Final verdict? If nothing else, GT is at least good for a rental.
EDITION NOTES:
I'm not sure if these DVDs are still in print or not. But just the same, Amazon's independent sellers have all of them in stock, and you can get them for very low prices now - hell, that may be even cheaper than my previous suggestion of renting them!
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 "SSJ 4" | 2005-03-24 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2KETF0N7RWXIH |
| it starts with uub saving pan. then elder kai and kibito kai pull goku's tail out while uub fuses with majin buu. uub is supposedly defeated. goku becomes gold oozaru, and then, ultimately goes ssj 4 in this dvd. |
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| "Episode Listing for Dragon Ball GT: Preparation" | 2003-10-22 |
| - Reviewed By jfryk |
| Episode 17: The Return of Uub (Ep. 32 in Japan) Episode 18: The Tail's Tale (Ep. 33 in Japan) Episode 19: Back in the Game (Ep. 34 in Japan) |
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| "Dragon Ball GT takes it to the next level!" | 2003-07-24 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3UN6WX5RRO2AG |
| This is a great DVD. On this disc, the struggle against Baby heightens to a new level, as in his clutches is Pan! But then, as the front cover suggests, Uub comes to the rescue. I don't wanna spoil the fight, but will Uub's training with Goku pay off? Will he take over from Goku as the savior of the universe? The dubbing is excellent on this disc, with Baby, Uub, Goku, and all the others with fantastic voices. I, not being a fan of the Japanese version, haven't watched that yet. Over here in the UK, DBGT airs, but the voices are terrible and the picture quality is awful. But the picture quality on this DVD has been brightened up, and the voice cast is great. I really recommend this disc to you, but if you are just starting your DBGT collection, you should buy Affliction. But this is a fine DVD. |
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| "Super Saiyan 4 Goku" | 2003-07-23 |
| - Reviewed By bfrost2k3 |
| It's amazing how Goku went SS4 in this DVD and it's more amazing to hear the adult voice of Goku because the kid voice was getting on my last nerve. Anyways, with Majuub absorbed by Baby Vegeta, Goku steps in to pick up where he left off. And whoever said that it was horribly edited by FUNimation is one true jackass to think that. By Goku becoming a SS4, does he have what it takes to put Baby to rest? Stay tuned to 2 more releases in October: Annihilation & Salvation and in December: Calculations & Revelations. |
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| "Best part of saga!" | 2003-06-11 |
| - Reviewed By goldidragoon |
| This DVD features Goku becoming SSJ 4. Also Baby using Vegitas body to make him mad strong which gives Goku something to be reckoned with. If you just wanna see action in the Baby Saga, this is the one to see because Baby and Goku lots of crazy moves like Revenge Death Bomb x10 and 10x kamehameha. Well at least thats what it was in the japanese version. I'm a little nervous of how the english voices would sound in this show. I never heard them before in english and probably are terrible like most of the Dragonball series voices. I prefer the japanese version of any show because you know what they are really saying not what funimation wants them to say. I do really reccomend this dvd if your a fan of the english version of Dragonball/Z/GT. If you like Japanese better, just buy the japanese version on ebay, you'd get it cheaper and get it all on one dvd or cd. |
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