
The third season, showing Namek's destruction

Ever since the late 1990s, one has really been unable to think about anime without thinking of Dragonball. Mostly because it's airing in America has proven so prolific, it's popularity among anime fans is pretty much the same as it's popularity in Japan. Finally, the series has gotten a release it's deserved.
The third boxset of Dragonball Z features the entirety of the Frieza Saga, which basically means all 33 episodes and 6 discs are spent beating the crap out of one guy. Or, rather, watching one guy beat the crap out of everyone until Goku shows up. But that's fine - Frieza's an extremely strong guy. But, can Goku revive from his injuries in time to save his friends? What is Vegeta doing, joining up with the other heroes? And is Frieza really unbeatable?
This boxset differs from the previous ones in terms of what's included. Because the Funimation dub was already well under way at this point, those actors who no longer work for the company weren't kept around to re-dub the more painful line readings (leaving us with some awkward moments where Goku talks about 'another dimension,' an edit made for the old dub to avoid mentioning death). Sonny Straight continues redubbing Krillin for the most part, and Chris Sabat continues redubbing Vegeta. However, Sabat doesn't redub Piccolo, Guru or Yamcha, despite also voicing them. It's a rather odd choice, considering the performance for Vegeta beforehand was far better than his job as Guru or Yamcha.
Luckily, the remastering and wide screen process has continued to keep things looking fantastic. For the final showdown with Frieza, the new widescreen format winds up making the battle look even more epic - adding to the scope by giving the audience a better view of the continually-collapsing Namek and the literal scope of the fight. Of particular interest is the redone footage where Goku achieves the level of a Super Saiyan. The new coverage looks almost beautiful - and Sean Schemmel's performance as Goku finally hits it's stride there, too.
Like last time, the series can be seen in the original Japanese, in the American TV release format, or in English with the Japanese music instead. I personally prefer the TV-release music, as Brian Falkner's music almost seems to fit the series' intense action like a glove. That's not to say the Japanese music is bad, it's just my own preference.
Unfortunately, there's a complete lack of extras on these discs - aside from watching more Funimation adverts for things you already saw on the other discs because you can't skip the opening-DVD-ads.
30 bucks MSRP for 33 episodes, all over 6 discs, is a great deal. However, the lowering of the episode count and the complete lack of extras is really starting to bother me.
I mean, even a commentary from Sabat and Straight would be appreciated - and they didn't have a problem giving one to Dead Zone...
Ah, well. Not as great a release as the first boxset - but infinitely better than the second boxset. Fantastic if you're a DBZ fan, downright enjoyable otherwise.
Review ID: 10000000008761865

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