Dragon Ball Z is perhaps one of the most popular and most recognizable anime series in the world. Alongside running the Dragon Ball Z TV series, Toei Animation also produced a total of thirteen Dragon Ball Z theatrical movies. The stories and plots would often coincide with events that happened in the TV series, but they are not part of the DBZ continuity set by Akira Toriyama and the manga he wrote and drew. This is probably why DBZ movie villains are almost never mentioned in TV episodes.
Dead Zone is the first theatrical DBZ movie. It was one of three that received more than one English dub in the USA. For this review, we will be looking at the more recent one made by FUNimation Entertainment.
The events of Dead Zone seem to take place between the end of the original Dragon Ball and the beginning of DBZ. Enraged by his father’s death, the evil and mysterious Garlic Jr. kidnaps Gohan (Goku’s Son) and takes his Dragon Ball so he can unite it with six other Dragon Balls and make a wish of immortality. Now Goku must team up with the then-villain Piccolo and somehow outsmart the immortalized Garlic Jr.
The plot is probably the weakest aspect of this movie. It seems to be nothing but a simple revenge quest, a rescue mission, heroes fighting off a few strong minions, the climatic boss battle , and **********SPOILER ALERT*********** Garlic Jr. is defeated by Gohan knocking him into the titular Dead Zone that he creates. ********END SPOILER. ********* The best DBZ villains are motivated by more than just personal revenge, so hardcore fans may find this one disappointing.
Other aspects did show promise. The animation quality is just what you would expect from Toei Animation, if not, better than the TV series. Sound effects are more or less the same as well, which is good for anime standards. The recently-redubbed English voice-acting is also well-acted by today’s standards. And if you don’t like dubs, there’s always the Japanese audio with subtitles.
You can find this title just about anywhere they sell new or used anime DVDs. The price will vary depending on if you buy the movie by itself, in a double-feature pack or the recently released four-movie pack.
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