Dragon Ball Z Special 1: Tatta Hitori no Saishuu Kessen

Bardock: Father of Goku, is a 40 minute 'movie' that shows some backstory into Goku's father, Bardock (in case you didn't get that from the title). It begins in the aftermath of Bardock, a low level saiyan, and his squad, conquering a planet long desired by Frieza. As the saiyans celebrate there victory a final enemy appears and grants Bardock psychic powers before dying. However this was meant as a curse for destroying his home, as Frieza is threatened by such low-level saiyans performing as well as his elite soldiers. Bardock must now watch horrifying visions of his own planet's destruction as punishment. However hisvisions of the future also show Kakarot's (Goku's) future, giving Bardock hope as he believes Goku will be the one to defeat Frieza. Bardock as a character is one of the most 'real' characters in the entire Dragonball Z series. As he is portrayed as neither particularly good or evil. He initially shows little interest in the birth of his son and commits genocide in the name of Freiza like any other saiyan. But later on shows clear concern for his squad and his home planet. He's not a saint like Goku, but neither is he as ridiculously evil as saiyans were portrayed early on in DBZ. If that isn't enough of a reason to watch the movie, there's also kawaii Vegeta and Nappa with hair. But no Raditz, because seriously who gives a fuck about Raditz. The movie is definitely worth the 40 minutes it takes to watch it. The movie could technically be watched at any point in Dragonball Z, as it is set before the beginning of Dragonball and contains no spoilers for the rest of the series. However I would recommend watching around episode 43 of Dragonball Z (episode 20 in kai) as it acts as a good introduction to Frieza, Dodoria and Zarbon.

Bardock - The Father of Goku is actually a DBZ movie that you will hear me say is good, but don't get too use to hearing me say things like that. The biggest problem that I have with DBZ is its redundancy. This movie however, doesn't follow the classic trend which is that recycled and disturbing pattern that folks like myself have grown to hate. Another problem with the movies is the lack of main storyline continuity. Most of the movies appear to exist outside of the storyline. This doesn't appear to be the case with this movie, as it seems more to be aside story or a prequel to the Frieza Saga. This movie has an overall different feel. The dark tone is a nice change from the campy attitude of the series. It doesn't feel like DBZ in the opening scenes, and at times, it doesn't feel like it at all. The movie opens up with a decent battle involving the Saiyans in great ape form demolishing an entire race. The movie keeps the same violent tone through out and the comedy is kept rather low. Surprisingly, the action scenes are minimal, but what little bit is here can be fairly entertaining. The battles aren't very long and they don't contain the re-used cel formula simulating quick combat. Therefore, the animation is decent. The artwork is about on the same level as the TV series, with plenty of reused models from the series. The rock soundtrack does a great job adding a spark to the action scenes. In fact, the overall BGM compliments the mood very well on all levels. The most interesting part of this movie would be the character development of Bardock. For a DBZ movie, you will never, ever, see character development like this. The change that Bardock goes through is very believable. The ability to see into his future was a well used plot device, which never seemed forced and I believe it was added strength to the ending. It's amazing really, but after re-watching the movie and thinking about it, this single character proved to be more interesting than quite possibly all of DBZ's bloated up cast. The story adds a good amount of background but the only problem is that it all feels unnecessary. This entire situation was covered in the Frieza Saga, to include all loose ends were tied up there. I don't believe this movie will reveal anything new to someone whom has seen the series; but to a casual fan, perhaps this could force them into giving the series a try, since some of the main story is delivered. In closing, I ONLY recommend this movie to fans of the series. New fans whom are very curious on learning about DBZ are better off coming into the series, or beginning with Dragon Ball; but be warned, coming into DBZ in general will be terribly time consuming and there are plenty of classic anime titles to surf through that I feel are more rewarding. Highs: Doesn't follow normal DBZ pattern, dark tone, soundtrack Lows: Could have used more action, kind of unnecessary

[Watched with Original English Dub with Japanese Score] [Keep in mind this review is more focused on the dub and how it affects the product overall. The subbed version of the special is easily an 8 or 9 out of 10] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Honestly this special looks and sounds great. The score perfectly compliments the visuals being presented, and you have a great tragic tale that is not often seen in the Dragon Ball franchise. I would recommend it to any Dragon Ball fan... Unfortunately, everything was ruined by the meme worthy dub. Whoever approved this script must have been insane, and the voice acting in general was incredibly poor.I get that people may have nostalgia for the English dub, but so much of it didn't work at all. I found myself laughing at some of the enemy voices and lines, and scratching my head at some of the logical deductions made. I watched a few other English Dragon Ball films after this one, and the dub got much better, especially with the later Buu Arc ones. But as it stands, this dub taints what is one of the best specials/movies in all of Dragon Ball. Do yourself a favor and skip out on the Dub on this one, it isn't worth it... The Sub is worth it... at least here.

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