BUU ARC (#200-#291)

Episode 200 (Are kara Shichinen! Kyō kara Boku wa Kōkōsei) aired on September 8th, 1993. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Tadayoshi Yamamuro. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Hitoshi Ehara, Akemi Seki, Kazue Kinoshita.

-The beginning of the We Gotta Power era, the most relevant time-skip of the franchise. Starting from the opening: everything feels so much like an improvement over the Cha-La-Head-Cha-La opening, including the song. Although, judging from the imagery, they want us to believe this entire arc is all about Gohan. Sounds way too misleading in retrospect.
–They THANKFULLY changed the eyecatch. Even though it will be less fitting later on, it’s still not as annoying as the previous one.
-First episode to use M16XX (twelfth movie soundtrack) and M17XX (We Gotta Power soundtrack). While the latter may appear as overused as M7XX, at this point of the series there’s at least far more variety of movie BGM, so it doesn’t sound as distracting as it was in the Saiyan arc: M1702, M1704, M1708 and M1716 are pretty good, while M1703 and M1706 are decent renditions of the opening theme. M1705 sounds dull, though.
-Nice use of comic-like panels throughout this episode. Simple, yet compelling enough.
-This episode does a good job at showcasing Gohan’s social awkwardness in a normal situation like going to high school. Makes perfect sense for him to hide his ability to go Super Saiyan, to run faster or to jump high in general. It feels quite refreshing to witness how different Gohan is from his classmates. Normal situations like these are nothing normal in the DBverse.
–I love you. <3
–Everybody’s favorite stalker is introduced in this episode. Videl is voiced by Yuko Minaguchi, who sounds plain A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E. She always sounds so reassuring.
-Videl is an average human being, but she’s different from the others. What makes her different? She’s actually intelligent.
-Just wondering: if Mr. Satan is Videl’s father, then what’s her mother’s name? Ferluci?
-Since they ignore the existence of the Super Saiyan, people basically use Big Green dub vocabulary to describe him. Golden Warrior = Super Warrior.
–How oddly specific that this dude knows about Kiai. Not if a common human could go Kiaying elsewhere…
–This confirms how average humans are a bunch of suckers.

–Eraza and Sharpener are being quite invasive towards Gohan, despite meeting him so soon. I mean, I wish Eraza was that invasive towards me, but still.

Episode 201 (Ai to Seigi no Gurēto Saiyaman Sanjō) aired on September 15th, 1993. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Keisuke Masunaga. 
Key animation: Keisuke Masunaga, Masaaki Iwane, Isao Sugimoto, Hideyoshi Takahashi, Chisato Ikehira, Takao Ozone.

-Even though Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru is the character designer of this era in the majority of cases, Masunaga himself made the character sheets for the kidnapped old gang.
-I guess it’s the only time a character is introduced by the narrator.
–That’s probably the most paternal advice Vegeta has ever given to Gohan. How progressive.
-Something tells me mocking Gohan for his Great Saiyaman costume ticked him off way more than Cell ever did.
–Kidnappers acting stupidly. A classic.
-It’s quite hilarious that their hostages are taking their kidnapping too lightly.
–GOOD LORD.

–That’s kind of a dumb question. If Videl is so popular, why should she wonder why the Great Saiyaman knows her name, too?

Episode 202 (Gohan no Hachamecha Hatsu Dēto!?) aired on September 29th, 1993. 
Script by Satoru Akahori, storyboard and direction by Daisuke Nishio and animation supervision by Yuji Hakamada. 
Key animation: Yuji Hakamada, Hideko Okimoto, Shinichiro Fukushima, Takayuki Manaka, Tetsuya Saeki, Koji Nashizawa, Hiroyuki Yokota.

–Very last episode for the former series director Daisuke Nishio. Overall, it’s a decent way to end his journey as a director. It’s just a shame his output isn’t as good as it was in the first DB series.
-Once again, despite Nakatsuru taking the role of character designer, Hakamada designed the dressed up Gohan of this very episode. (neither Nakatsuru nor Yamamuro draw ears like that)
–Adorable. Both of them.
–Chichi strangely supporting Gohan’s Great Saiyaman poses. How progressive indeed.
-As for Chichi’s flashback, if it weren’t for Goku’s personal definition of ‘the most enjoyable thing’, I’d probably complain about this Goku knowing what a date is. The better question I’d better expect from him would be “What is a date?”. Because that’s how it should be.
–I dare you to find the context on this line.

–M904 (Thinking about Piccolo) sounds so weird during Chichi’s flashback. After all, it’s the same track they used when Bulma was in the bath tub in the 49th episode. And also the same track they used when Gohan was having Piccolo fantasies in the 2nd movie.
-I’m not that sure about how Japanese school works, but I highly doubt a student would be allowed to leave the classroom whenever she likes. And especially considering how strict Japanese education is, it feels so unlikely.
–Angela is an asinine and annoying character. She appears exclusively in this episode (YES, we never see her again in the future, unless you count Yamamoto’s fan-mangas) and basically forces Gohan to go on a date with her, otherwise she would reveal his secret.
–Oh, she also whines. LIKE A LOT.

Episode 203 (Gohan, Kinkyū Shutsudō! Bīderu o Sukue!!) aired on October 20th, 1993. 
Script by Yoshiyuki Suga, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara.

-Just like Masunaga and Hakamada, Uchiyama himself made some character sheets for this episode. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ebisawa actually did that, too…
–Gohan can cause an earthquake just by tapping his foot. Clever thinking.

–Rock-sama… such an unimaginative name. He also kinda looks like Nappa…

Episode 204 (Tōnan Jiken Hassei!! Han’nin wa Saiyaman!?) aired on October 27th, 1993. 
Script by Yoshiyuki Suga, storyboard and direction by Takahiro Imamura and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Toshiyuki Kan’no, Hideki Inoue, Yuko Inoue.

-Pretty good storyboard and direction in Imamura’s first full time as a director.
–Nice transitions, even by using random people.
–Ebisawa did arrange character sheets, too. Including Chibi’s chubby design.
-This is probably the sauciest episode so far, with a promiscuous full nelson and a… curious martial arts technique.
–Videl is THAT sharp.
-Onto the main thing, Videl finding out Great Saiyaman’s true identity. As usual, in the anime it takes a lot more time for Videl to find out the truth, unlike in the manga, in which she deduced the truth extremely quickly. In this case, the anime does a better thing at procrastinating, and most of all, at dodging any sort of toilet jokes whatsoever. Such a dumb gag.

-Nonetheless, among every one-hit bad guy the anime used, they forgot the two robbers from the opening sequence, who do appear in the manga, as well (and even on DBS). Why forgetting the only canon bad guys of the bunch?
–M1610 during Great Saiyaman’s escape from the police sounds off.
-By now the pterodactyl has been recycled so many times they need to throw it into the garbage dump.
–SINCE WHEN DOES GOHAN PLAY WITH PTERODACTYLS? Last time I checked, he used to play with the saber-tooth tiger or Haiya Dragon. By the way, whatever happened to them?

Episode 205 (Gokū mo Fukkatsu!? Tenka’ichi Budōkai Shutsujō da!!) aired on November 3rd, 1993. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Masahiro Shimanuki. 
Key animation: Masahiro Shimanuki, Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Kazuya Hisada, Naoki Tate, Jin Inaba (uncredited).

-Really great output from Ueda, with creative framings and nice use of colors.
–This is great.
–Seiga-power is back.
-This is the only episode Dende is wearing his new Kami tunic from Nakatsuru’s sheets. Later in this arc, he’d wear his older outfit.
–Classic fourth wall break.
–HAHA.
–Chichi considering Gohan’s training more important than his studies. How progressive.

–The Great Saiyaman pose gag is getting annoying. It’s like reliving those Ginyu Force dumbasses.
–Yeah, but how could Goku work if he’s dead? IDIOT.
–Trunks is kind of a little bugger, isn’t he?
–Toei LITERALLY recycling dead characters. I get the callback, I get they might be doppelgängers, but… what’s the point of the Great Saiyaman movie filler? It’s pointless.
-I mean… Gohan is actually able to sense Tenshinhan’s ki. Why can’t he find him?

Episode 206 (Gohan mo Bikkuri! Goten no Bakuhatsu Pawā) aired on November 10th, 1993. 
Script by Aya Matsui, storyboard and direction by Osamu Kasai and animation supervision by Tadayoshi Yamamuro. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Hitoshi Ehara, Akemi Seki, Kazue Kinoshita, Naotoshi Shida, Koji Nashizawa, Kumiko Horikoshi.

–Kasai’s board is quite solid, with a few upside down reflections and seldom stylish backgrounds of his.
-It’s been a long while since we got a Shida training scene. It’s a good time to be alive.
–Serious impact frame.
-In early Buu arc, Gohan’s Super Saiyan 1 form has TWO hair locks, which is a good way to distinguish it from his Super Saiyan 2, with only ONE bang (especially without the trademark lightning, things get more complicated). I wonder why they will forget such a simple solution later on.
-It’s also been a long while since we saw DB Chichi. Not the frustrated housewife, but the easily embarrassed girl. Back then she was quite hilarious.
–Hmm, maybe… but it’s more likely Toriyama views Chichi’s character in an entirely different way from Toei. He probably still views her as a housewife with a tomboyish side, unlike Toei, who like to play some frustrated housewife gags more frequently. Needless to say, one portrait is better than the other.

-Now… unfortunately I’m quite an apologist, since I often tend to defend the indefensible. DB isn’t a perfect product: it has its qualities and its flaws. It’s not the best written anime, but has its ups and downs, like every piece of media. On this website, I managed to give a 9,5/10 to an episode mostly thanks to Yamauchi, but also a 2/10 because of sheer annoyance.
With that said, I need to be straightforward: BULLSHIT, BULLSHIT, BULLSHIT and BULLSHIT.
1) Look, I get it, going Super Saiyan isn’t an accomplishment anymore, because there’s plenty of stronger SSJ forms. I also MIGHT try to understand WHY Goten and Trunks would transform without feeling ANGER. I MIGHT even try to understand WHY the new Saiyan generation can transform without struggling like Goku and Vegeta. I MIGHT understand each of these points.
However, what I CANNOT positively understand is HOW and WHY the frig Goten is a Full Power Super Saiyan (you know, the so-called relaxed one). He certainly doesn’t look like THIS Super Saiyan. Or, without bringing up the classics, like THIS OTHER ONE. In this case, S-cells are not a valid explanation. Definitely not enough to prove why Goten is a relaxed Super Saiyan without even some proper training, like Goku and Gohan did in the ROSAT.
2) Of course, the fact Goten doesn’t even know how he accomplished that is so fucking dumb.
3) We don’t know HOW, but at least we know WHEN, and unfortunately, Goten’s explanation doesn’t improve the situation one bit. Quite the contrary, it makes it sound even more nonsensical: Chichi was training him when suddenly his hair color changed. Look, I’m not complaining about its simplicity, but more about its BANALITY: going Super Saiyan isn’t like the departed Lunch sneezing, as it actually has something else behind (Goku lost Krillin, Trunks lost his mentor Gohan, Vegeta felt powerless and Gohan felt inept). What’s Goten’s something else? Turning an iconic transformation into a bloody joke? EVEN THE TINGLY BACK OF U6 SAIYANS ISN’T AS STUPID AS THIS THING, because AT LEAST they tried something different.
4) You know what’s EVEN WORSE than this? Goten’s question before transforming. WHAT’S THE FUCKING POINT OF ASKING IT IF YOU CAN DO IT ANYWAY?? It’s like “I wanna have your fancy car… wait, I already own a fancy car”. IT MAKES NO SENSE.
5) Goten being unable to fly despite being a Super Saiyan sounds forced, yet not as asinine as the previous points. It’s not unusual to lose a few passages.

Episode 207 (A Tobeta!! Bīderu no Bukūjutsu Nyūmon) aired on November 17th, 1993. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Keisuke Masunaga. 
Key animation: Keisuke Masunaga, Masaaki Iwane, Isao Sugimoto, Chisato Ikehira, Akira Inagami, Jin Inaba, Hiroyuki Yokota.

-Oh shit, she’s so adorable. Maybe she should’ve never cut her hair.
-To Gohan’s credit, though, he has a good point: long hair might actually get in the way while playing sports or cooking. As a result, in real life, sportswomen are either short-haired or wear ponytails because of this. Wearing one’s hair down might be a better option aesthetically, but in this case, it sounds less functional.

–Goten’s a bit of a dick, isn’t he?
–Videl masters ki way more quickly than Goku ever did during his training with Mr. Popo. And I honestly doubt that Goku was weaker than Videl… to be perfectly honest, she also managed to float quite quickly, despite never learning what ki is before.
-While I get Chichi pushing Gohan to marry Videl is basically a callback to Gyumao doing the same thing throughout DB… isn’t it a little bit untimely? Gohan is only a teenager.
-Just like Goten, Trunks being able to become a Super Saiyan is BULLSHIT:
1) This case is even worse than Goten’s, because it is NEVER and EVER explained how and when he got to transform.
2) Goten’s explanation still sounds dumb, but at least tried to be a proof. When did Trunks achieve it? Was he training with Bulma’s father’s kitty? Was the kitty afraid of delinquents?
3) And no, the fact Trunks learnt to fly prior to his first transformation isn’t a valid point. It sounds like bullshit and makes the tingly back of U6 Saiyans look like gold in comparison.

Episode 208 (Okaeri Gokū! Zetto Chīmu Zen’in Shūgō!!) aired on November 24th, 1993. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara.

-Given that Nakatsuru is the main character designer of the Buu arc, it feels quite awkward to observe his Oolong in his Buu arc outfit next to Ebisawa’s Oolong from the previous arc.
-Videl might sound selfish, but she is quite right on Mr. Satan’s baseless cockiness.
–And that’s why they don’t call him Satan ONLY…

-Probably due to various causes, the panel of Goku’s return to Earth is not given enough justice in the anime. Goku’s head is at a different angle, and Uchiyama’s corrections are not that useful altogether. Ironically, in a future episode (also directed by Kikuchi) Goku’s head would share the exact same angle as this one, albeit better drawn. We’d eventually have to wait for the final episode of DBGT to get an accurate reproduction of the manga panel.
–Even the collective hug becomes a rugby scrum in the anime. However, Kikuchi would fix this in that future episode.
-Well, I believe Krillin would still be no match for the Saiyans in their base form.
–Such a sexist question. Women can do whatever they want with their hair.

Episode 209 (Ayaushi Saiyaman! Gekisha ni Goyōjin!?) aired on December 8th, 1993. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Yuji Hakamada. 
Key animation: Yuji Hakamada, Shinichiro Fukushima, Takayuki Manaka, Takeo Ide, Tetsuya Saeki.

–Ueda’s direction works well, albeit not as strongly as his usual.
-I missed Ide’s fierce expressions. Looking so intense Hakamada cannot hide them.
–I also missed this guy. So glad to meet him after comparing him with the Cell Games dumbass announcer. Of course, having him deduce the truth behind Cell’s defeat is a really nice touch.
-If I’m not wrong, the announcer is either the third or fourth character to say Waku Waku. Not counting Goku.
-While it’s kinda funny to hear him talk normally with Piccolo, I still believe he’s not that aware of his character development. Last time he saw him, he was busy torturing Goku.
–Apparently Toei thinks that, too.
–Videl is acting quite edgily towards Sharpener. Not if I’m complaining about it…

–No nose.
–M1605 intestinal gurgling sounds wrong during this scene.
–Recycling crowd cheering Mr. Satan from the last movie.
-A few callbacks: Great Saiyaman picking up Ginyu frog out of nowhere and Videl taking him by the arm just like Chichi did with Goku in the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai.
-Last time Videl stated she would be happy if Mr. Satan lost, yet she’s shown entirely cheering his father after a mere punch machine test.
–Goku is a racist, all right.
–Yes, Tenshinhan is a shitty friend.

Episode 210 (Hanpa ja Nai ze!! Chibi Torankusu) aired on December 15th, 1993. 
Script by Sumio Uetake, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Toshiyuki Kan’no, Yuko Inoue.

–Ebisawa did indeed design the character sheets of the generic children.
-The Cell Games movie is one of the best things ever:
1) The ZTV reference.
2) The Dragon Team masks looking as plastic as Yamamuro’s 2010s character designs.
3) Ebisawa designed those costumes, too.
4) Piccolo and Vegeta‘s annoyed reactions.
5) The visible hair on the back of the actor playing Cell.
6) The action is already better than the Other World tournament.
7) Mr. Satan’s embarrassment.
8) The ending credits easter egg.
–Is… Bulma practicing Basic Instinct?
–Piccolo’s “nostalgia” is better depicted in the manga.
–Well, he’s not wrong.

–Ebisawa’s Videl… don’t.
-Not a massive fan of Kan’no’s massive heads on minors. Look so off.
-I’m not sure why, but Kan’no’s Goten is corrected, whereas right next to him, his Trunks shows no trace of corrections whatsoever. Doesn’t seem quite right.
-I’m not that sure about the idea of the audience laughing at kids. Sure, their cheesy battles are quite amusing, but… isn’t it a bit unfair?
–Piss off, Goku’s not a kid anymore.
-Unwelcome, worst characters ever created.
-Also, unwelcome, Oolong abuse.
-Not reconsidering what I stated once in the slightest: humans look even dumber in Ebisawa’s episodes.

Episode 211 (Boku no Deban da!! Goten, Kinchō no Daīssen) aired on December 22nd, 1993. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Takahiro Imamura and animation supervision by Masahiro Shimanuki. 
Key animation: Masahiro Shimanuki, Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Kazuya Hisada, Naoki Tate, Jin Inaba (uncredited).

-As expected from a Toda episode, we get a small flashback of Goku vs Jackie Chun. Reanimated, at least.
–Chichi knocking down another annoying character.

–Imamura‘s storyboarding isn’t that bad, but I don’t really like his music placement: M1308 during the flashback doesn’t look the same without Cell, or M1522 interrupting M1706 sounds too random and awkward.
–Takeuchi’s necks.
-Yeah… they’ve still been comparing Goten’s appearance with kid Goku’s because nobody has ever been able to give him a solid personality. He’s playful? Just like kid Goku. He’s naive? Just like Goku.
–Oolong abuse, just FUCK OFF ALREADY. You’ve never been funny. I’d rather have the writers recycle Maron. I’d rather rewatch the RoF movie instead of rewatching this bullcrap.
-Unwelcome, douchy son of the worst character ever created. Seriously, these ugly ass pricks are so unlikable and have no qualities whatsoever. They seem like the reincarnation of EVIL. They make Freezer and Cell look like angels in comparison.

Episode 212 (Ureshisa Hyakumanbai! Shōnen Chanpion Kettei!!) aired on January 12th, 1994. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara.

–Nice smearing.
–Trunks fighting without his left arm like Freezer against Nail.

–No glove.
-As much as I enjoy Vegeta’s competitiveness in this case, why does he blame Goku for Goten going Super Saiyan? What a douche.
-Actually, Goten has any right to complain about Trunks cheating:
Goten did turn Super Saiyan, too, but not only Trunks does the same, but also uses his left hand to attack (with a ki blast, despite telling to go on without them previously, yet he’s shown firing it two more times). Therefore, Trunks DID indeed use his left hand, even if indirectly. He’s a dick.
-As usual, Toei displaying their bad habit of squeezing bad characters to death. Is it that necessary to give screen time to such an abomination??

Episode 213 (Dō Suru Satan!? Shijō Saidai no Pinchi) aired on January 19th, 1994. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Tadayoshi Yamamuro. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Akemi Seki, Kazue Kinoshita, Kumiko Horikoshi.

–AW.
–HAHA.
-I’m not sure… asking Krillin to die would be like forbidding Roberto Carlos to score a free kick.

–Back when Shin’s character was shrouded in mistery… before turning out to be a poopyhead afterwards.
-While the Ma Junior callback is nice, I think it’s a bit pointless: if people don’t have short memory, then they won’t probably forget he actually revealed his true identity after showing off his antennas (even a few years later, still sounds stupid like shit), not to mention the Ma- for Mazoku, the demon family. So, in reality it would still be unfavorable to pick up either Piccolo or Ma Junior.
-Then again, I’m nitpicking too much, because I always forget average humans are dumb like shit in this series.

Episode 214 (Taisen Aite Kettei!! Hayaku Yarō ze Ikkaisen) aired on January 26th, 1994. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Keisuke Masunaga. 
Key animation: Keisuke Masunaga, Isao Sugimoto, Chisato Ikehira, Tetsuya Saeki, Masahiko Nakata, Yuuki Kinoshita, Masahiro Aisawa.

-Vegeta’s overeagerness to fight Goku is developed so much better in the anime, thanks to Masunaga’s expressivity. In the manga he’s like “I’m going to fight Kakarot? Yeah, whatever“.
–Piccolo’s nitpicking.
-Get it? #18 drew number 9 because 18/2 = 9.
-Well, Chichi isn’t that wrong, surprisingly.
–Uuuuuh…

–Videl is a racist.
–Why are fat and/or giant characters often portrayed as condescending dickweeds?
-While we’re at it, why are normal humans always portrayed as condescending dumbasses?
-Yes, we’re totally going to watch a Goku vs Vegeta rematch in this tournament. Only some sort of tragedy could call off such an event, but it’s unlikely it will happen.

Episode 215 (Dō Shita Pikkoro!! Masa ka no Fusenbai) aired on February 2nd, 1994. 
Script by Sumio Uetake, storyboard and direction by Osamu Kasai and animation supervision by Yuji Hakamada. 
Key animation: Yuji Hakamada, Shinichiro Fukushima, Takayuki Manaka, Takeo Ide, Akira Inagami, Hiroyuki Yokota.

–Kasai’s storyboarding is by far the highlight of this episode: packed with unique framings, trademark creative backgrounds, it makes this apparently bland episode worth to watch it.
–Solid recreation of Piccolo’s reaction shot.
–Gohan’s reaction shot is quite funny.
–I find this hilarious.
-This is the very first episode to feature a Waku Waku and a Doki Doki. Both of them.
Also, the first Waku Waku of the Buu arc.
–Yamcha is everyone’s best friend.
–What about Tenshinhan, you may ask? Well, at least Krillin never said something like “We’ll never see each other again”. Besides, I’m glad they removed the concern sweat drop on Yamcha’s face. It makes this bit far less ambiguous.
-Is it me or the show is basically making self-mockery of the constant padding of DB combats?
-While I realize WHY Piccolo fears Shin’s authority, because he might deduce his real identity…

-… I still don’t like the trend this arc started around Piccolo’s character, as it seems like they want him to stay away from the battlefield. Which is quite a shame, since we’re not talking about a doomed character like Tenshinhan. It’s about Piccolo, who got to shine so many times in the past arcs. What’s the point of sideline him??
–Oolong had nothing to do with this. Fuckers.
-What’s the real point of wasting screen time on a character we know he’s going to be humiliated within a minute??
-So… the audience doesn’t recall Piccolo for being the reincarnation of Daimao, but for being the guy who got in Mr. Satan’s way… I refuse to be like them.
-Also, another unfunny racist joke.

Episode 216 (Fujimi de Bukimi!? Supopobitchi no Nazo) aired on February 9th, 1994. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Shingo Ishikawa, with Tadayoshi Yamamuro as (uncredited) chief animation supervisor.
Key animation: Shingo Ishikawa, Naotoshi Shida, Akemi Seki, Jin Inaba, Kumiko Horikoshi, Shigeki Sato, Miyako Jinguu.

-Pretty solid storyboarding and direction, overall. It executes the manga content quite thoroughly.
-Official debut for Shingo Ishikawa and K-Production, a fan-favorite regular of the Buu arc. And just like Masunaga (Miyahara) and Hakamada (Shimanuki), his early episodes feature Yamamuro’s additional corrections. However, in this case they don’t clash because of their similar art styles.
–This panel looks so much better than the manga version.
–Yamcha is everyone’s babysitter.
-Considering the original DB tournaments altogether, Vegeta isn’t totally wrong.

-“Everything will be fine. Videl may be bleeding, but she isn’t in danger at all“. What an idiot.
-I’m glad Mr. Satan will get a redemption mini-arc later on… because he’s such a bitch in this episode. Remember what he stated during the Cell Games? Well, instead of watching the events, what does he do? He ignores everything for the sake of the “Videl is screwing around like I do” nonsense. Who’s the sloppier parent now?
-You know the thing I hate the most about DB, bad execution and boredom aside?
OVERSTATEMENTS, characters being described as unstoppable, invincible and almighty, who end up not living up to the audience’s expectations afterwards. That’s exactly what occurs here, while introducing Kaioshin: introduced as a deity, who turns out to become… the rest you know.

Episode 217 (Bīderu Muzan!! Deru ka Ikari no Sūpā Gohan) aired on February 16th, 1994. 
Script by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Toshiyuki Kan’no, Yuko Inoue.

–Solid, not great, storyboarding.
–Goku’s expression looks more appropriate here than it was in the manga. Ebisawa actually did do better than Toriyama. I’m astonished.
-While it’s easy to praise Kan’no, Yuko Inoue’s art is pretty solid, as well.
-Maybe it’s just me, but Videl vs Spopovitch showcases some similarities to Gohan vs Recoome: both of them dealing with big-ass opponents constantly kicking their butts.
–Videl actually endures a point-blank ki blast. That’s quite impressive for an average human.

–Ebisawa and Kan’no back and forth. Weak consistency.
–Speed lines out of nowhere. And he’s standing still.
-From this point to the end of the series, every time Gohan turns Super Saiyan, he no longer has two hair locks, but only ONE bang. This is quite confusing, since both his SSJ1 and SSJ2 forms look basically identical without the lightning. Such a distinction would be brought back again only in the Budokai Tenkaichi videogames.
-Restating this, LUCKILY Mr. Satan will get some redemption later on, because he’s such a negligent prick here: instead of checking on Videl, what does he do? Posing in the mirror all by himself like an idiot.
–He even blames Videl for letting her guard down. How can he be THIS stupid?
-Even though killing is forbidden in the Tenkaichi Budokai, I truly doubt a brainless scumbag like Spopovitch wouldn’t bend the rules. Gohan has actually any reason for being pissed off.
-Hmm, so this is where the forgetting Senzus cliché began. At the very least it sounds far more harmless here.

Episode 218 (Barechatta!! Saiyaman wa Son Gohan) aired on February 23rd, 1994. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara.

–Taiichiro Ohara is quite wasted in Last House dark ages. This is one of the last times we get to see his art uncorrected, and even his corrected work looks rather pleasant. I’m not exaggerating when I say he’s the most productive artist who’s ever worked for that studio. He’s so versatile he seamlessly brings back the original manga panel.
–Nice Ueda-esque flashback. It’s a good idea to have Mr. Satan acting cocky REASONABLY for a change, since he’s definitely stronger than an average human, on the specific than Spopovitch before Babidi’s spell.
-“You devil“. Get it? Because devil is anagram of Videl.
–Wish I could’ve used that excuse eons ago. (don’t be fools, go to school).

–Uchiyama being problematic as usual. To think that his corrections are going to be more stifling in a few months…
-Let’s be honest: the only reason why this episode decides to focus on these two simpletons is probably to justify their presence in the end of the opening sequence, like “Hey dude, we’re here, too”.
Yes, I’m addressing this ONLY NOW, 18 episodes later.
-I don’t want to be that guy, but why do they always need to resemble Nappa with long hair??? Originality, where and how?
-Wait… so are you telling me in SEVEN GODDAMN YEARS Karin managed to get ONLY THREE SENZUS out of his “sacred plants”? Or did Yajirobe eat them all? Why are they always missing???

Episode 219 (Ugomeku Inbō!! Gohan no Pawā ga Ubawareta) aired on March 2nd, 1994. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Takahiro Imamura and animation supervision by Masahiro Shimanuki. 
Key animation: Masahiro Shimanuki, Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Kazuya Hisada, Naoki Tate, Hiroyuki Yokota, Yuuki Kinoshita, Masahiro Aisawa.

-Great storyboard and direction. Imamura isn’t the most consistent director, but when he nails it, he nails it indeed. Toriyama offers a quite cinematic narration by both Shin and Kibito, and Imamura executes it to perfection, with some smooth transitions which make this narrative device look more engaging.
–Super Saiyan 2 gets another moment to shine before the introduction of the new transformation. Hisada executes the scene seamlessly: the artwork, the impact frames, the direction make the whole thing so ICONIC. That Super Saiyan 2 Gohan is also 100% in line with Nakatsuru’s sheets.
–Serious impact frame.
–Krillin’s robotic movements are quite hilarious.
–Sounds like Chichi got over her Super Saiyan phobia, after all. How progressive.
–A moment of silence for this guy. Kinda feel bad for him.
–Fourth wall gag.

–Be afraid of Takeuchi’s derpy Kibito.
-I don’t want to be that guy again, but to answer Trunks’ question… Vegeta used to think this.
–If Shin is able to read Vegeta’s mind, then why doesn’t he seem to notice his lack of pureness?
–That’s a good question: Kibito and Shin were dumb enough not to destroy Buu’s cocoon. What’s to stimulate? Even though Bibidi was defeated, they could easily finish the job by destroying the cocoon. They acted so sloppily.

Episode 220 (Kuromaku Tōjō!! Aku no Madōshi Bobbidi) aired on March 9th, 1994. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Keisuke Masunaga. 
Key animation: Keisuke Masunaga, Isao Sugimoto, Chisato Ikehira.

–Spopovitch’s death is downright brutal: no stabbing or blasting… just making him explode from the inside. Combined with Masunaga’s expression and Ueda’s insane coloring, it makes this bit remarkable without too much violence.
–An entire family was murdered to make room for Babidi’s spaceship. This bit is shown for a few seconds, yet it’s an eerie imagery despite the lack of blood. It makes us think “You don’t fuck with Babidi”.
–As for Babidi’s design, he resembles an eyed testicle with whiskers. It looks repugnant… but that’s why it works. It HAS TO look repugnant, in order to give you the idea of not taking this midget lightly. Yoji Yanami (narrator and Kaio) voices him in a quite strange way: despite having a very manly voice, he sounds pretty shrill in this role. Not sure whether it’s fitting or not.
–Goku is eager to fight a new enemy. Again, it’s in line with his personality, I don’t have any reason for complaints.
–HAHAHA. This is gold.
–Videl is an angel. Period. Instead of being hurt by Gohan’s lies, she is so understanding and seems happy to know the truth and, once again, shows why she’s the only rational human character introduced in this arc.

-Speaking of which, since when does learning to fly help you pick up?? So that’s why I didn’t have any luck this far… I just cannot fly.
–What’s with Toei’s obsession with pterodactyls???
–See why Videl is the only rational human introduced in this arc?
-No offence for the guy, but it seems like Krillin wasn’t that useful in the last two arcs, either. Why the urge to addressing this?
-Unlike Kibito last time, at least Shin explains why they didn’t destroy Buu’s seal. What I don’t understand is the convenience of hiding it on planet Earth. Weren’t there any more uninhabited planets in the universe? Why choosing a densely populated planet to hide the cocoon? Due to such a poor decision, lots of people might perish.

The tenth Dragon Ball Z movie (Kiken na Futari! Sūpā Senshi wa Nemurenai or The Dangerous Duo! Super-Warriors Can’t Rest) was released on March 12th, 1994. Script by Takao Koyama, direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi, executive production by Tsutomu Tomari and Yoshio Anzai and animation supervision by Tadayoshi Yamamuro.

-Kikuchi’s M18XX is a really good soundtrack: M1808 is one of the most hilarious Kikuchi tracks, M1801, M1806A, M1806B (used in the main series), M1814 are good tense tracks, M1817 and M1818 are a great battle theme pair, whereas M1821 is a more monotonous version of M1816. The victory theme M1824 is the best track of the movie. M1524 from M8 is reused again.
–Yamauchi’s direction is sensational as usual: layering, reflections, coloring, shades… visuals are the strong spot of this movie, and Yamauchi gives another important contribution once again.
-You could fill up an entire album with reflection pics. The reflective movie.
–Thicker outlines during tense moments. He’s going to adopt this a few times in his next movie as a director.
-This movie starts off the original run of super polished movies. Yamamuro’s supervision is a lot more mature than his previous two movies, and without a doubt, makes visuals outstanding. It’s not a wonder aesthetics are usually the best aspect of this kind of films.
-The first section of the movie does not follow the infamous FORMULA, and there’s no trace of the recurring cast. Instead of it, we get Goten, Trunks and Videl as main characters, which is actually a bold move: having such an unprecedented cast isn’t something we see everyday, especially for a franchise which tends to overuse its main characters (Goku, Vegeta…) to death. While I don’t particularly find this cast that great, I do have to admit it’s also kinda refreshing.
-The second section of the movie is far more compelling, with Gohan taking on Broly. Needless to say, the action is great, and sorts of make up for a lame first section.
–Videl’s crystal is a clever reference to the very first Broly movie.
–Trunks fearing Broly as much as Vegeta did in the first movie. The irony.
–Arale and Tori-bot’s cameo in Goten’s daydream.
-No matter how shamelessly self-referential the Family Kamehameha is, it’s still the best scene of the movie by far.

-The first section of the movie is all over the place: I watched this movie several times, but I’ve still not figured out which is the main focus. Is it the maiden’s sacrifice? The dinosaur? Fighting Broly? Or screwing around with Broly? Or finding the DBs? (Videl even addresses they forgot about what they decided to leave in the first place. She basically admits that the movie forgot about it.)
-Moreover, the early part of the first section is only a mere excuse to introduce the shaman, who is set to reappear in the next movie, as well. Why do I say this? Well, I’m fairly sure the movie could easily do without this part, because it is never mentioned again during their battle against Broly. There’s absolutely no connection between the maiden’s sacrifice ordeal and Broly’s arrival. It’s like they appeared in totally different films.
-The idea of an unprecedented cast is acceptable to an extent, as sadly, these characters are not strong enough to hold an entire film all by themselves. Videl disappears for a while, leaving her screen time to Goten and Trunks. I don’t really care for them as characters, they’re not the worst thing in the world, but they do contribute to fuel the main flaw of this movie:
THIS MOVIE IS THE QUINTESSENCE OF STUPIDITY:
1) Where the shit did Broly find a space pod, in a nearly dying New Vegeta, which presumably exploded after Goku defeated him?
2) His pod conveniently landed on Earth.
3) Almost forgot: HOW THE SHIT IS BROLY STILL ALIVE? We clearly saw him crumble in the previous film. There’s no way in Hell that he could survive. He LITERALLY EXPLODED.
4) Broly waking up by hearing Goten’s crying wouldn’t sound that stupid… if Broly was actually lying nearby. I get the goddamn reference to the first movie (which I even defended, because they were actually lying next to each other), but despite being unconscious, he could still hear Nozawa’s crying at a CONSIDERABLE DISTANCE. How can this make any sort of sense???
5) This movie regresses Broly’s character into a preverbal stage, as he spends the entire damn movie yelling ‘KAKAROT‘. Koyama managed to make the only decent cinematic villain look BRAINLESS and STUPID. I mean, he still was flawed, but not as stupid as he’s depicted here. For the sake of what? Of making some ridiculous puns around Kakarot and carrot. HAHAHA.
6) In the previous movie, Broly was devastating enough to humiliate Goku, Gohan, Future Trunks, Piccolo and Vegeta. On the other hand, here he can barely injure Goten and Trunks, and even Videl can endure a full-fledged Super Saiyan’s attack. They eventually go K.O. only because the movie tells them it’s over. I saw lots of debates around Gohan being SSJ or SSJ2 against Broly, but this is nonsense compared with this BS. It’s not about twisted power scaling, but basically a matter of MAKING SOMEWHAT SENSE.
7) “Let’s have the kids messing around, Trunks taunting and peeing on Broly, Goten peeing and being unable to summon Shenlong“… yeah, it’s fucking shite.
8) Why does Gohan describe Broly like a legendary hero??? I could expect such a register from Goku, not from Gohan.
-As for the second section, it may not be as awful as the first, but this is where the FORMULA scraps gain the upper hand: Gohan takes Piccolo’s role and Goten and Trunks take Gohan’s role, everyone but Gohan goes K.O., Piccolo takes Piccolo’s role and Gohan takes his old role back, Piccolo turns out to be Krillin wearing Piccolo’s clothes (how did he get those?), but then we remember Krillin is a donkey in Koyama’s movies, Broly bear hugs Gohan (how original…), Broly dies, the end.
–The Family Kamehameha is a blatant reference to the Kamehameha struggle in the final stage of the Cell Games: Goku helping out of nowhere (thanks to the DBs?), Trunks distracting Broly like Vegeta did with Cell, Gohan and Goten hesitating to raise their powers and Goku’s NOW before the final blow.
-Of course, they had to recycle Broly’s Legendary Super Saiyan transformation from the first movie: only shorter and less iconic.
-Why is Gohan still afraid of Videl? Which continuity does Koyama follow in this movie? Thinking that this was released a few days after the episode in which Videl finds out the truth behind Gohan… yeah, it sounds so stupid.
-All in all, a 5/10 is the average result of fantastic visuals and action combined with terrible storytelling. This movie didn’t need to exist, because there’s no way Broly would survive the explosion of New Vegeta, and unlike the likes of Freezer, he couldn’t even breathe in outer space. That’s Toei committing the same mistake of recycling characters to death.

Episode 221 (Machiukeru Wana!! Makai kara no Chōsenjō) aired on March 16th, 1994. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Yuji Hakamada. 
Key animation: Yuji Hakamada, Shinichiro Fukushima, Takayuki Manaka, Tetsuya Saeki.

–Pretty solid storyboarding.
-At least the translation doesn’t follow the ‘no shit Sherlock’ line from the manga. Funimation, on the other hand…
–Is that a sarcastic apology?
–Vegeta using ‘WE’ instead of ‘I’. How progressive.

–They just won’t let Piccolo fight in this arc.
-DB fans got used to memorable deaths too well: Krillin’s two deaths, Vegeta dying by Freezer’s hand, Chaozu blowing himself up against Nappa… there’s too many examples of important death scenes on the show.
Then we get the lamest death ever: Dabura blasting Kibito. That’s it. The overhyped Kibito dies in a really anticlimactic way. This is way worse than Bora being stabbed by his own spear. This is as insulting as Piccolo’s death in DBS.
–Never heard a worse laugh before.
-This episode starts showing why I hate overstatements: they’ve been overhyping Kaioshin only because he’s a deity, but he’s the first to back down, the first to procrastinate and eventually the first to chicken out. Kaio-sama is like a Viking compared with this poopy head. And the fact they had Piccolo SURRENDER against him is even more frustrating in retrospect.
–While what Kaioshin says turns out to be true later on… how can you break stone that easily? It’s not paper mache. Come on.
–Another janken gag.
-Wow, Trunks is a dick: blaming Gohan for interrupting the tournament.

Episode 222 (Nameru na!! Bejīta Ikari no Shosen Toppa) aired on March 23rd, 1994. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Shingo Ishikawa, with Masahiro Shimanuki as (uncredited) assistant animation supervisor.
Key animation: Shingo Ishikawa, Shigeki Sato, Miyako Jinguu, Hiroyuki Yokota, Atsushi Matsumoto.

-Good storyboarding and direction.
-Even though Ishikawa’s art is fairly recognizable several times, when I was 15 I used to believe this was a Shimanuki episode: his corrections are everywhere.
–Horikawa’s deliveries are phenomenal.
-Pui Pui dying in a cool way: hands on his chest, pedo grin and BLASTED.
-Yakon actually gets a proper introduction, by assaulting Babidi’s minor henchmen. Hashimoto handles this anime-exclusive scene pretty well, and it’s so refreshing to hear the classic M501 in a Buu arc episode.
–Vegeta basically stating Kibito is weak. Once again, he’s not that wrong. I don’t get why he was overhyped that much.
-The Mighty Mask cutscene is indeed dumb… but I kinda chuckled at Trunks fooling the announcer: it sounds stupidly funny… or funnily stupid.

-Hmm… masked contestants may hate people finding out their real face… but being watched while in the shower doesn’t please them, either. Why would he want to see his junk so badly? That’s awkward.
-The fight between Vegeta and Pui Pui isn’t bad, but is pretty conservative at times.
–WHY IS HE SUCH A WEENIE? Even Shaggy and Scooby Doo are braver than this poopy head.
–This line over here basically exposes DB arcs in a nutshell: unless a super powerful enemy appears, the Dragon Team isn’t worried at all. Although, I’m not that certain about Dabura being as strong as Cell… guess we’ll find out the truth in a few episodes.

Episode 223 (Gokū Pawā Zenkai!! Buttobe Yakon) aired on April 13th, 1994. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara.

(sorry for the delay).
–Solid and colorful storyboard.
–Ohara deserves so much better.
-Once again, very accurate depiction of Toriyama’s panel in a Last House episode.
–Yakon is the first character to be killed off by Goku after 223 episodes (NOT including theatrical films).
–Vegeta acknowledging Goku’s battle experience. Progressive.
–Goku’s transformation starts off decently, with his limbs pumping up like in the 127th episode against #19 and Dr. Gero…

… but the rest is underwhelming. Sometimes Goku’s Super Saiyan hair is drawn decently, other times STALACTITES.
–Gohan’s hair looks odd here.
–That’s the most awkward walk Uchiyama could ever come up with. I swear the gif wasn’t slowed down, that’s the real thing.
–Goku vs Yakon is a pretty decent showdown, too, but mostly in the 1st half. The rest is all about Yakon absorbing Goku’s Super Saiyan energy.
–Kaioshin is simply a POOPY HEAD. He’d chicken out even if he saw a tiny bee.
–The Tenkaichi Budokai restaurant cutaway… it’s fucking stupid.

Episode 224 (Dai-Gosan!! Satan Tai San’nin no Chō-Senshi!?) aired on April 20th, 1994. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Osamu Kasai and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Toshiyuki Kan’no, Yuko Inoue.

–Kasai at full force with his creative and extravagant backgrounds: they dominate the 2nd half.
–An impact frame while Satan’s dignity trips up.
–I miss Daisuke Gori.
-AW. She’s so embarrassed.
–The casual way Goten responds.
-During the recap, Vegeta’s forehead is showing while he’s executing Pui Pui. It was covered by the energy wave in the actual episode.

-I don’t feel to like Kan’no‘s potato heads that much.
–The spoiled brat with his habitual obsession.
-I… don’t believe infatuation works like this.

Episode 225 (Tsuyoi ze Chibikko!! Jūhachi-Gō Dai-Kusen!?) aired on April 27th, 1994. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Masahiro Shimanuki. 
Key animation: Masahiro Shimanuki, Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Kazuya Hisada, Naoki Tate, Hiroyuki Yokota.

–Very last episode supervised by Shimanuki in the original series. The remaining Seigasha entries will be supervised by Hisada, including DBGT. We’d have to fast forward to episode 8 of DBS to see Shimanuki as a supervisor again.
-#18 vs Mighty Mask was a fight without big expectations in the manga, and of course, it’s way longer in the anime adaptation. To be honest, it works so much better this way: they even have Goten and Trunks swap places inside Mighty Mask’s costume for the sake of completeness.
–Hiroyuki Yokota‘s lovely impact frames.
-“Gee, I didn’t know you cared.“

–A bit rushed near the end.
–M1308 sounds too serious when #18 cuts off Mighty Mask in half.
–VERY STUPID QUESTION. Does she know another kid out there who’s just as strong as Goten? Pfff.
-Mr. Satan is quite the incarnation of CRINGE.

Episode 226 (Tachihadakaru Maō! Deban da Gohan!!) aired on May 4th, 1994. 
Script by Masashi Kubota, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Keisuke Masunaga. 
Key animation: Keisuke Masunaga, Masaaki Iwane, Isao Sugimoto, Chisato Ikehira, Tetsuya Saeki, Yuuki Kinoshita.

-Pretty great direction and storyboarding. I honestly have a hard time judging Hashimoto’s performance, I still don’t seem to fully understand him. He knows his stuff, though.
-For example, this is good shit: Mr. Satan literally shattering.
–How to make fun of a common anime trope. This gag is PLATINUM.
–HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Perfect comedy timing.
–#18 is a smartass.
–This has to be the single most depressing moment of the entire franchise: Mr. Satan’s career would meet a horrifying conclusion if he lost against #18, his supporters would turn their backs on him and insult him, and he’d be rejected by his own daughter. It’s sadder than everything the franchise has to offer: a fraud’s pain of loss, everybody would know the truth behind the man who DIDN’T save the world. In spite of the enormous lie that made Mr. Satan great in front of his own audience, it’s impossible not to feel bad for his dystopian vision. He may be full of himself, but ain’t a bad guy. That sort of punishment would be too much.
-I quite like how Vegeta tries to mask his disappointment by giving one more chance to Gohan if he gets angry like he did against Cell.
-Gohan vs Dabura wasn’t treated that well in the manga. Thankfully, this episode does give some more importance to this fight.

–That’s because Shin SUCKS.
–SEE?? And that’s why Saiyans are stronger than this poopy head. They don’t shudder every time they meet their opponents.
-Someone compared Shin’s role in this arc to Future Trunks in the artificial humans arc. It wouldn’t be a bad comparison if it wasn’t for one thing: TRUNKS AT LEAST DID SOMETHING CONCRETE. WHAT HAS SHIN DONE SO FAR? Paralyzing Gohan in the Tenkaichi Budokai. AND THAT’S IT. He met Pui Pui and Yakon, had shat himself before the Saiyans humiliated them. HE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING TO SAVE KIBITO. HIS OWN LACKEY.

Episode 227 (Mitsukerareta Jashin!! Dābura no Meian) aired on May 18th, 1994. 
Script by Masashi Kubota, storyboard and direction by Yoshihiro Ueda and animation supervision by Yuji Hakamada. 
Key animation: Yuji Hakamada, Shinichiro Fukushima, Takayuki Manaka, Noriko Shibata, Akemi Seki, Kazue Kinoshita.

-The battle might not excel that much, but Ueda‘s colors are always a neat addition. Easily the best thing about this episode.
–HAHAHA. Goku’s disappointment.
–Gohan using the same move Goku did in episode 88. Unfortunately, Hakamada doesn’t provide the same result as Shida.
–Vegeta’s tapping matching with the music.

-Cockpit’s prologue of this battle was pretty satisfactory, whereas Carpenter’s follow-up feels like a let-down. Not bad, but slightly disappointing.
–Fucking slow-mo.
-Well, Vegeta isn’t totally wrong. Dabura didn’t really harm Gohan that much. He’s been overhyped to death so far, but overall, he’s a pretty disappointing foe. He’s like Jiren, but without being particularly strong.
-There he goes again, acting like a spoiled brat. I wonder if his pampered attitude is going to cause some more havoc.
–NOT THEM AGAIN.
–What a rude question. No wonder #18 leaves enangered.
-I don’t know, maybe if you hadn’t told her “you’re malfunctioning somewhere”… sore bitch.

Episode 228 (Hakai Ōji Bejīta Fukkatsu!! Butōkai Rannyū) aired on May 25th, 1994. 
Script by Masashi Kubota, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara.

-Pretty good direction by Kikuchi.
–DAT REFERENCE.
-This is the best-looking post-Shida Last House episode. Quite astounding.
-Ohara has always been so underrated: his expressions, his details, his effects… too bad it’s one of the last times we get to observe his uncorrected material.
-I wish modern DB stopped using Goku’s softness in contrast with Vegeta’s tantrums… to their credit, NOW they believe Vegeta has ultimately changed, while back in 1994, he was still considered… unstable.
-I find very ironic that somebody else passed out in Chichi’s place.
-Onto the main event, Vegeta obtaining a Majin tattoo on his forehead. Conceptually, it’s a strong moment, as it represents the pinnacle of Vegeta’s behavior in the past episodes: more aggressive than anyone else. This wouldn’t work nowadays because he’s still an unstable ally in this part of the story. Up to now he’s never been to the Dragon Team’s side VOLUNTARILY, but only because he had to. He has never stated “I’m helping you guys deliberately” like Piccolo has. Vegeta stood on their side against foes stronger than him in the past, most of all, in order to survive, like on Namek, or to fix mistakes HE HAD COMMITTED, like allowing Cell to reach his final form. So… yes, Majin Vegeta’s birth definitely makes sense.

-HOWEVER, the reason behind Majin Vegeta’s birth is explained in the very next episode, but as you may expect, it’s related to his Goku-obsession, which is a WEAK EXCUSE. The fact he’s unstable doesn’t mean he’s automatically evil. If he actually demonstrated to be still malevolent, this would be more acceptable. On the other hand, innocent people die because of a SPOILED BRAT with a SMALL DICK COMPLEX. Babidi’s mind control is merely a pretext, he’s the same Vegeta who betrayed the Dragon Team, who constantly ditched his own son, who allowed Cell to reach his perfect form and so on.
-Overall, a good moment conceptually, but kinda weak moment factually. Nevertheless, Vegeta’s reasons are better explained in the next chapter.
–Gohan’s SSJ lock is a bit off.

Episode 229 (Shukumei no Chō-Taiketsu!! Gekitotsu Gokū Tai Bejīta) aired on June 15th, 1994. 
Script by Sumio Uetake, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Shingo Ishikawa, with Tadayoshi Yamamuro as (uncredited) chief animation supervisor.
Key animation: Shingo Ishikawa, Shigeki Sato, Miyako Jinguu, Hiroyuki Yokota, Atsushi Matsumoto, Mizue Ogawa.

–Yamamuro is perfect. That’s it. His additional supervision further improves Ishikawa‘s already great artwork. They blend so so well.
-Oh, Ishikawa is uncorrected a few times, too.
–FINALLY Kaioshin shows some balls while trying to dissuade Goku from fighting Vegeta.
–THIS IS AMAZING. Goku threatening Shin needs no words. A bit selfish? Kinda, but he has no choice but to accept Vegeta’s challenge.
-Majin Vegeta’s reason is actually understandable: he’s aware of being unstable, of lacking of an identity. He doesn’t know who he is anymore, he wonders if he’s the ruthless warrior from the Saiyan and Namek arc, or the Saiyan family man accustomed to Earth peace. Like I stated previously, it’s a deep concept, as he’s uncertain of what he should be, therefore he decides to be the evil guy, for the sake of his own pride.
-I normally contest his obsession with Goku, but in this case he actually MUST let his former traumas out, starting from his humiliations, which include being surpassed by Gohan and being saved by Goku TWICE (sparing his life the first time on Earth and his sacrifice against Cell). Sooner or later, a character with tons of issues like him should’ve confessed his sheer bitterness.

-THAT SAID, not only an unstable character isn’t necessarily evil, but even after being possessed by Babidi, Vegeta STILL demonstrates to ignore what he truly wants to be. He threatens to kill more bystanders? Nah, he doesn’t care for anything BUT THAT… WAIT, it’s not right since HE KILLED 200 PEOPLE. Then he lets Babidi control his mind and body… except HE DOESN’T. That Majin tattoo proves nothing, because Majin Vegeta… is basically the same douchy Vegeta. It was only a pretext, an incentive. He wreaks chaos by killing innocent people, and eventually, by causing Majin Buu’s awakening, who’ll cause even more harm. ALL OF THIS FOR WHAT? ONLY BECAUSE OF VEGETA’S TANTRUMS, the prince of an extinct race.
–Oh, didn’t Bulma pass out? She recovered rather quickly.
-I honestly feel sorry for Gohan’s character. They’re still trying to make him relevant by addressing the “get angry” formula of the previous arc. This arc is treating him in the INVERSE way of the artificial humans arc, in which he became important in the final segment ONLY. On the other hand, Gohan has gradually been losing his importance since the Tenkaichi Budokai began. To think that the opening sequence mainly focuses on his character, unbeknownst to the future events of this very arc.

Episode 230 (Matte’ro Bobbidi!! Yabō wa Yurusanai) aired on June 22nd, 1994. 
Script by Sumio Uetake, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Toshiyuki Kan’no, Yuko Inoue.

–This looks pretty solid for being Ebisawa’s creation. His smoke isn’t too bad, either.
-Nevertheless, Kan’no is the star of this episode. Even though I’m not particularly a fan of his Jiren-like features, I cannot deny his importance within Studio Live.
–A subtle reference to the legendary beam struggle of the Saiyan arc?
–This is funny.
–Goku punching Vegeta with rocks never gets old.
–The… rematch between Goku and Vegeta was abridged in Toriyama’s manga, whereas the anime develops the battle in FOUR SEPARATE EPISODES, alongside the main plot involving Gohan and Kaioshin. It’s up to you to judge who had the better decision.

-Not a massive admirer of Kikuchi’s direction. Could be much better than this.
-Last time we clearly watched Goku and Vegeta turn Super Saiyan 2, but for some reason, they’re only regular Super Saiyans in this episode. Wrong hair.
-I don’t need over TWO MINUTES OF RECYCLED MONTAGE.
-I don’t need Vegeta’s constant complaints, either. YOU HAD WHAT YOU WANTED. GOKU IS FIGHTING YOU. STOP BEING SUCH A SPOILED BRAT.
-I SURELY don’t need Goten and Trunks peeing and being chased by THAT FUCKIN’ DINOSAUR. TOEI HAS DINOSAUR/PTERODACTYL FETISH.

Episode 231 (Toketa Fūin! Deru Kyōaku Majin Bū!!) aired on June 29th, 1994. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Osamu Kasai and animation supervision by Kazuya Hisada. 
Key animation: Kazuya Hisada, Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Masahiro Shimanuki, Naoki Tate, Hiroyuki Yokota, Megumi Yamashita.

–Pretty good storyboarding.
–Super Saiyan 2 hair fixed at last.
-This section of Goku vs Majin Vegeta is an enormous improvement over the last episode, and to be honest, the most complete. I’m perfectly aware DB fans mostly remember this battle for a SPECIFIC SCENE in particular, but I don’t care. This is the most memorable part of the battle hands down.
-It might be the first time since episode 106 Super Saiyan hair isn’t light yellow without the aura.
–Smug.
–It’s like Goku’s watching you jack off.
–Now this explanation makes sense, since Vegeta still doesn’t know who he is. He’s never had a change of attitude like Piccolo, he’s been standing on a limbo since the beginning of the previous arc. I could see why he would question what to do with this life…

-… but I would question why he would be such a hypocrite: always speaking about ‘MUH PRIDE’, yet he let Babidi control his mind. Wouldn’t this count as another humiliation for his pride?
-“Vegeta became so gentle“. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. The only gentle thing he did was bidding farewell to Future Trunks. Let’s be honest, Vegeta is still a douchebag, with or without the Majin symbol.
–Dabura has no mouth.
-MORE FLASHBACK MONTAGE.

Episode 232 (Fukkatsu Sasenai!! Teikō no Kamehameha) aired on July 6th, 1994. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Tadayoshi Yamamuro. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Noriko Shibata, Akemi Seki, Kazue Kinoshita, Kumiko Horikoshi.

-Masterful storyboarding and direction by the master himself. Only an absolute legend like Yamauchi can make still images effective during the crowd’ commotion and Majin Buu’s introduction. I love his love for purple.
–THIS CUT OVER HERE is the reason why DB fans remember Goku vs Majin Vegeta in the first place. I don’t have anything against it: Yamamuro knows his stuff, Yamauchi knows how to develop it… but seeing it be spammed all over animation forums ONLY for the sake of “MODERN DB WILL NEVER BE THIS GOOD” and “DBZ WAS ALWAYS LIKE THIS”… kinda makes me almost hate it. Overexposition is a killer sometimes. Something similar happened with Naotoshi Shida’s cut in the Battle of Gods movie, which was butchered by excessive blurring.
-Fortunately, I’ll never hate Majin Buu. He’s simply a perfect character: he isn’t introduced doing villain stuff and doesn’t even look like a proper villain. He only plays around ignoring Babidi.
–WTF is wrong with Dabura’s laugh?

-Seriously, what’s Kaioshin’s role been so far, apart from informing people? HE’S A SPINELESS POOPY HEAD. Even Gohan has to disagree with his sloppy decision.

The eleventh Dragon Ball Z movie (Sūpā Senshi Gekiha!! Katsu No wa Ore da or Super-Warrior Defeat!! I’m the One Who’ll Win) was released on July 9th, 1994. Script by Takao Koyama, direction by Yoshihiro Ueda, executive production by Tsutomu Tomari, Tan Takaiwa and Yoshio Anzai and animation supervision by Tadayoshi Yamamuro.

–Yoshihiro Ueda‘s direction is definitely a highlight of this film. I keep writing the same things about him over and over, but it’s almost inevitable: Ueda is one of the best directors of the ’90s, and for being his last theatrical direction in the original run, it holds up very well.
Did I forget something? Oh, yes: COLORS.
-On the other hand, Yamamuro’s supervision is surprisingly and uncharacteristically soft. His corrections are either minimum or non-existent. Could it be due to time constraints? THAT would explain the presence of additional corrections from the likes of Hisada and Shimanuki.
-Okay, it’s time to address the elephant in the room: this is considered the absolute worst DB film by the majority of the fandom. Why? Because of Bio-Broly? Due to the existence of a third installment involving Broly? For starters… I don’t even think Bio-Broly is the worst of the trilogy, since Second Coming bothered me a lot more. Sure, it’s very far from a silver bullet, but it’s got some very interesting suggestions:
1) More or less like the 2nd installment, THERE’S NO FORMULA. This film mostly lacks of typical DB clichés, which made previous movies stock, but at the same time stood as cinematic pillars. 1994 wasn’t the best year, quality-wise, but definitely brought some innovations.
2) Much like the 2nd installment, we get a main cast without seniors like Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo and even Gohan. Goten and Trunks are confirmed and Krillin, #18 and Mr. Satan replace Videl. Not only this main cast is refreshing, but works so much better than Goten-Trunks-Videl of the previous movie. On top of that, this film never changes its mind, as it starts with these characters and ends with these characters. It definitely fixed the mistake of the previous film, which realized they needed Gohan to pick things up.
3) This film uses its characters WISELY: everyone is active here, including Mr. Satan, who may not take part in the main action, but still functions as a deus ex machina. Goten and Trunks are FINALLY treated like main stars, and this can be easily considered their BEST PERFORMANCE TO DATE. It’s the first and only time we see Goten in a brand-new light: this movie doesn’t portray him as a chibi-Goku copycat, but as a full-fledged CHARACTER. I swear I’ve never seen Goten show SO MUCH PERSONALITY. It happened in a movie considered irredeemable.
4) Krillin receives his BEST ROLE EVER since the 2nd DB movie. Sure, he gets thrashed by Bio-Broly, but we already know he’d have no chance against him. I’m actually amazed to see him try FOR REAL, without being a butt-monkey. And do I even have to mention his cool moment? IT HAPPENED, Koyama didn’t treat Krillin too coarsely this time. IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED in a movie considered awful.
-Nice decision to bring up the 10 million zeni subplot from the main series again, in order to create a solid and plausible setup.
–#18 is very edgy. I do like that.
–Miki Ito’s delivery sounds sexy.
–Goten calming down a vicious doggo like Goku would.
–Trunks dropping a Waku Waku bomb. Pretty strange how the first W-bomb would be dropped by someone who isn’t Goku.
–I’m not really sure which part of her body #18 is using to attack…
–This is a very curious reference to the dolphins from episode 150 of DB. Ueda and Shimanuki being in both depictions makes this even more curious.
–Another callback to Krillin saving Gohan in the last movie?
–I don’t think Trunks knowing the Kamehameha can be considered a problem. I mean… pretty much everyone can use it. It’s not that complicated.
-I might sound highly unpopular, but I think the Triple Kamehameha is a far better moment than the Family Kamehameha: it looks way more authentic and a lot less forced, and uses supporting characters so much better. I adore that Krillin gets to do something concrete in a movie for a change, in spite of a yellow aura (?).
-Most importantly, Goku only appears when the movie is literally over. Removing him from the story was a bold, yet successful move. For once they didn’t have to rely on the absolute protagonist, and I do appreciate such decision.

-Kikuchi’s M19XX has its ups and downs: it’s got M1914 (best track), a faster and better version of M1119, the ominous M1910, the peppy M1911, the calm M1923, but especially the LONGEST track Kikuchi’s ever composed, M1912: nearly SIX MINUTES of length. The Buu arc would only use the last minute of it. Fun fact: M19XX is the only DB movie soundtrack to be FULLY RELEASED.
–Bio-Broly is definitely the main downside: its design looks disgusting, it’s got no personality and shouldn’t even exist to begin with. Indeed one of the worst movie villains, if not THE worst. AND IT JUST WON’T DIE.
-While we’re at it, the Bio-Warriors design manages to look even grosser. I know simplicity is sometimes the answer, but this is just meaningless.
–The shaman from the previous film appears, and seeks revenge for losing his “job as a shaman”, so he does the most logical thing he could ever come up with: extracting Broly’s frozen blood sample to revive him as a bio-warrior. How bloody convenient he knew the exact location of Broly’s pod. How bloody convenient he knew some scientists being able to create bio-warriors. HOW BLOODY CONVENIENT.
-In fact, I can’t appreciate this film completely, because overall, it feels less stupid than Second Coming, but also as POINTLESS as Second Coming. The original Broly was obliterated. PERIOD. End of the story. We didn’t need a trilogy of it… wait, Bio-Broly’s design has nothing to do with the original Broly. His original design makes a brief cameo, just to be covered in some nasty slime. The main battle isn’t too bad as a whole, but it’s nearly impossible to conceal a villain who isn’t exactly a solid villain.
-Moreover, I’m getting fed up with the concept of off-screen REVENGE just for the sake of gratuitous content. I do like the 10 million zeni premise, but I don’t really care for what comes next.
-Overall, if 1993 represented DB Renaissance, 1994 follows that pattern and brings up something new, like replacing Goku, Vegeta or Piccolo with Goten and Trunks as protagonists, but also decides to include Broly’s character in both movies. To be perfectly honest, not a bright decision in neither case: one movie is sheer stupidity, while the other one isn’t that necessary.
1994 is a backward step over 1993, but is still better than the disastrous 1992. I guess Toei did realize DB fans weren’t very happy with the lack of Goku time in 1994 films, therefore it’s not a surprise 1995 would go back to formulaic plots and characters, featuring Goku again.

Episode 233 (Zetsubō e Itchokusen!? Nageki no Kaiōshin) aired on July 13th, 1994. 
Script by Shinobu Oito, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara.

–Nice cloudy transition.
–HAHAHAHAHAHA. I love this Majin Buu.
-Among the various forms he’ll get during this arc, Fat Buu will remain the best Buu. Notice how he reacts to Dabura’s taunt: making silly moves, but then when he opens his eyes, it means shit is going down. Unlike the other villains, he doesn’t have to tell you “I’m going to stab your eyes”… he acts and that’s it. One of the best things about this arc is THIS Majin Buu. He simply gets more and more likeable.
–WHY are journalists interested in Mr. Satan’s junk?
-Okay, this passage is very important: it looks like this might not be the first time Vegeta is actually sorry for causing serious issues, on the specific Buu’s awakening, since he already took bad decisions in the past (convincing Freezer of transforming or allowing Cell to obtain his perfect form). HOWEVER, it might be the first time Vegeta is actually AWARE of what he’s caused due to his spoiled behavior, as he’s ready to take his responsibilities, even if it costs his life. It’s quite strange he gets his first “glimpses of humanity” with the Majin symbol on his forehead.

-After episode 228 being the best post-Shida Last House material, Uchiyama hits a new low: not only his art is getting worse and worse, but his corrections are intensified and tend to ruin Ohara‘s stuff remarkably. I guess a comparison with the visuals of the previous entry would be extremely unfair. At his most chaotic and slobbiest.
-While I realize kid Trunks’ Super Saiyan hair isn’t that easy to draw, he still looks like someone who just got out of bed.
–Stalactite hair is just atrocious.
–Buu’s proportions look a bit off.
–Goku was a Super Saiyan 2, right?
–No gloves.
-Whoa, Goku definitely tends to lower his guard quite often, doesn’t he? He never learns.
-Once again, apart from paralyzing Gohan in the Tenkaichi Budokai, WHAT ELSE HAS SHIN DONE SO FAR? NOTHING but CHICKENING OUT and COMPLAINING. WE GET IT, he’s unable to beat Buu, but at least he should grow up some dignity. He’s supposed to be a deity, for fuck’s sake.
–This may be true, but I strongly doubt Babidi would be so kind to lock Buu again.

Episode 234 (Majin Osoru Beshi!! Gohan ni Semaru Shi no Kyōfu) aired on July 27th, 1994. 
Script by Masashi Kubota, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Keisuke Masunaga. 
Key animation: Keisuke Masunaga, Masaaki Iwane, Isao Sugimoto, Chisato Ikehira, Tetsuya Saeki, Masahiko Nakata.

-The 1st half is a lot better than the 2nd.
-First episode to use M18XX (thirteenth movie soundtrack).
-No matter how solid Toriyama’s panel is, Cockpit’s version is leagues superior. It totally gives the idea of a ferocious expression in pain.
–Shioya’s delivery sounds so threatening.
–Technically, Babidi isn’t wrong. After all, Buu was released thanks to Goku and Vegeta.
–Dabura is prophetic.

–It’s a fortune Trunks broke Piccolo and not Krillin. I doubt the latter would be able to regenerate.
-Kaioshin does something at long last: getting beaten to a pulp by Majin Buu. THEY HAD PICCOLO FORFEIT AGAINST HIM… FUCK.
-Thank Kami Mr. Satan gets his redemption later on… because this cutscene embodies DBesque cringe.

Episode 235 (Tabechau zo!! Harapeko Majin no Chō-Nōryoku) aired on August 3rd, 1994. 
Script by Masashi Kubota, storyboard and direction by Junichi Fujise and animation supervision by Yuji Hakamada. 
Key animation: Yuji Hakamada, Shinichiro Fukushima, Takayuki Manaka, Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Megumi Yamashita.

-First time Seigasha (minus the Big Three) joins Carpenter.
-Always enjoyed hungry Buu goofing around.
–In this case, I can buy this statement, since Piccolo doesn’t appear to have a plothole-inducing nucleus inside his head.
-I adore how Buu immediately goes from 😀 to >:(
–Progressive. It’s quite interesting Gohan is the only character Vegeta has apologized to so far. And twice, too.
-This is the first time Vegeta is actually trying to cut down on his obsession with Goku, by focusing on the main threat, that is Buu. It’s a questionable opinion, but I think THIS is where Vegeta’s turning point stands. His following sacrifice only represents the end of the process, not the beginning, because THIS is where his redemption begins.

-Although Vegeta’s redemption is a welcome moment, recycled montages are all but welcome.
–M727 sounds totally off during Vegeta’s farewell to Goku at the beginning.

Episode 236 (Senshi no Ketsui!! Majin wa Ore ga Shimatsu Suru) aired on August 17th, 1994. 
Script by Masashi Kubota, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Shingo Ishikawa.
Key animation: Shingo Ishikawa, Shigeki Sato, Hiroyuki Yokota, Kumiko Horikoshi, Mizue Ogawa.

-Albeit not his most insane performance, Yamauchi’s cinematography is perfection: framings, purple, lighting, dramatic thick outlines, purple… Majin Buu couldn’t get angry in a better episode than this one.
–Ishikawa’s supervision at full force for the first time without Yamamuro’s chief supervision. A more expressive take on his model sheet, it always stood out to me.
–Clever reuse of Buu loafing around from episode 232.
–WTF is Piccolo doing???

–Such massive ears.
-As for the battle itself, it’s rather conservative and not that animated, despite being seamlessly framed by Yamauchi.

Episode 237 (Ai Suru Mono no Tame ni… Bejīta Chiru!!) aired on August 24th, 1994. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Toshiyuki Kan’no, Yuko Inoue.

-Some very good storyboarding and direction.
-Onto the main event: it’s certainly the most important Vegeta moment so far. Him sacrificing for someone else’s sake, including Goku. It makes sense to have Kan’no animate it, and I definitely appreciate its lack of music, as keeping it silent gives way more solemnity and weight to the moment.
-I do believe the heartfelt dialogue between Vegeta and Piccolo is another honorable mention: Piccolo tells him the plain truth about what’s going to occur to him, and Vegeta’s response is so uncharacteristic: he isn’t angered, but subtly resigned, as if he was aware of actually DESERVING that sort of fate. This moment shouldn’t be overlooked, it’s actually deeper than expected.
-Meanwhile, Buu walks like an alpha after being kicked away.

–Piccolo taking out Babidi is his VERY LAST CANON ACTION SCENE. He literally does nothing else in the manga, he just stands there and watches the event. It’s not a bad bit, but for being “the last of him” as a warrior, it’s certainly underwhelming.
-Of course, THEY HAD TO FILL IN WHAT IT NEEDED LITTLE TO NO FILLER. Piccolo facing Babidi didn’t deserve to be THAT long.
-“The prince of an extinct race“. It’s like a disgraced nobleman without his wealth and only with a mere title.
-I don’t know, ask Goku, Zarbon, Recoome, Freezer, #18 and Cell. They’d debunk this theory so quickly.

Episode 238 (Akumu Futatabi! Ikite Ita Majin Bū) aired on August 31st, 1994. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara.

-Pretty great direction.
–Vegeta’s petrified corpse falling into pieces is a quite dramatic moment. Well directed and M1526 orchestral arrangements sound perfect.
-Get it? Because death nearly has no consequence.
-While Videl unnecessarily taking the blame for not stopping Goten is a bit too much, her tearful reaction is so genuine.

–The Final Explosion is reanimated at the beginning… Uchiyama did try. He tried all he could, but this was supposed to be a tragic scene. It manages to look grotesque rather than tragic, to be honest.
–Diminishing corrections. Pity.
-Well, Vegeta was never a role model. Did Bulma forget why he landed on Earth in the first place?
–Piccolo’s last canon action is a DISAPPOINTMENT. They don’t even let him finish Babidi off for good.
-Almost forgot: Piccolo is forbidden to be active in this arc. He could’ve wiped out Buu’s fragments. Maybe it would’ve been pointless either way, but AT LEAST he would’ve tried to be useful.

Episode 239 (Bīderu-tachi no Funtō! Sagase Doragon Bōru) aired on September 7th, 1994. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Keisuke Masunaga. 
Key animation: Keisuke Masunaga, Masaaki Iwane, Isao Sugimoto, Chisato Ikehira, Tetsuya Saeki, Ken Sato.

–Yamauchi’s directional quirks are mostly felt during the underwater scene. A purpler shade of pale.
–Yes.
–Piccolo is talking sense. Dende genuinely sucks as a Guardian of Earth.
–Chichi’s determination is praiseworthy.
–Chichi arranging Gohan’s marriage just like Gyumao arranged hers. Subtle callback.

–Goku’s gi isn’t purple.
–Dende changed back to his old outfit. No more Kami uniform.
–Whoa, Krillin is a dick.
-I personally despise fillers with characters acting ILLOGICALLY:
–They have Bulma try to grab the DB from a nest, WHILE STANDING ON A PRECARIOUS LOCATION. Not if there are some characters able to fly… Videl? Or Yamcha?… Anyone? No? ‘kay.
-Apparently, YAMCHA IS AFRAID OF HEIGHTS. Come on, this isn’t the Pilaf arc. HE CAN BLOODY FLY.
–Yamcha sees her former fiancée in danger… and HE JUST STANDS THERE. HELLO??? WHY IS THIS FILLER SO FUCKIN’ DUMB?
–I’d like to buy #18’s point, but… TELL ME ABOUT #17 FIGHTING PICCOLO. Filler scene or not, it’s still patchy as frig.
–Muten Roshi is a bloody CARICATURE, a pervert whose main attack is FARTING. To his credit, #18’s cleavage looks very soft… but this doesn’t excuse his derailment. Once he was a respectable martial arts champion, now what is he supposed to be?

Episode 240 (Dekkai Kibō!! Chibi-tachi no Shin-Hissatsuwaza) aired on September 21st, 1994. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Hiroki Shibata and animation supervision by Yuji Hakamada. 
Key animation: Yuji Hakamada, Shinichiro Fukushima, Takayuki Manaka, Tomekichi Takeuchi, Yoko Iizuka, Megumi Yamashita.

–Good sense of depth and nice framings in Shibata’s storyboard.
–The rollercoaster scene is quite entertaining and M811 is always nice to listen to.
–Popo problem solver.
–Piccolo’s collaborative.
–Oolong doesn’t talk much, but when he does, he talks sense.
–In line with Bulma’s parents’ personality. Positively no issue here.
–Even Bulma’s mother realizes death has no… you already know.

–Krillin is quite childish, isn’t he?
-“A formidable, arrogant and conceited warrior“.
-Hmm, what does this mean? These DBs aren’t the Namekian ones. Those DO require the Namekian language. Dende never stated Earth DBs present such a requirement, because they DON’T.
–NOW SHENLONG CAN GRANT THREE WISHES. How many wishes could the dragon grant last time? ONLY TWO. Just make up your mind. SEE WHY I PREFERRED THE OLD KAMI-SAMA BETTER??? At least they could only grant ONE WISH.
–I don’t get their astonishment. These DBs have always acted like that, by turning into stone for a year.
-“YES YES YES YES. I CAN WIN. I FEEL GREAT. I CAN DO THIS, UGH…” WE ALREADY SAW THAT, MOVING ON.

Episode 241 (Goten Torankusu　Zensekai ni Shimei Tehai) aired on September 28th, 1994. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Shingo Ishikawa.
Key animation: Shingo Ishikawa, Shigeki Sato, Miyako Jinguu, Hiroyuki Yokota, Atsushi Matsumoto, Mizue Ogawa.

-Whilst not his best, there’s still some creativity in his framings. Hashimoto at least made the teardrop falling trope a bit cooler.
–Miyahara out of nowhere. That appears to be his sole contribution in the episode, since the following cuts showcase Ishikawa’s corrections.

–Why should we care for Tenshinhan? After all, he’s the one who said “we’ll never see each other again“.
-No matter how entertaining Buu is and will always be, the bakery segment is unnecessarily long. NOTHING NEW…
-I’m going to ask this again: is M1416 supposed to be a sad theme? Its first use occurred during Goku, Trunks and Vegeta’s SSJ transformation in the 7th DBZ movie. That movie was sad for further reasons, but THAT specific scene wasn’t sad. What’s its real context? IT’S NOT A SAD TRACK LIKE M1419.
-Oh, I guess I should’ve noticed this sooner: BULMA AND THE OTHERS GRIEVING OVER GOHAN (AND VEGETA)’S DEATH DESPITE USING THE DRAGON BALLS A FEW MOMENTS AGO. Vegeta is one thing, but GOHAN? Toriyama will never cease to amaze…

Episode 242 (Gohan Fukkatsu　Kaiōshin no Himitsu Heiki!?) aired on October 12th, 1994. 
Script by Takao Koyama, storyboard and direction by Kazuhito Kikuchi and animation supervision by Tadayoshi Yamamuro. 
Key animation: Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Noriko Shibata, Kazue Kinoshita, Kumiko Horikoshi, Naotoshi Shida.

–Gohan unwilling quoting ‘The Sword in the Stone’.
–Oh, he eventually will.
–Buu’s menace happens to upset Piccolo the most. Kami’s influence totally got the best of him.
-If perhaps you wonder why Mr. Popo can endure two Super Saiyans… that’s because HE’S MISTER POPO. HE CAN.

–Yamamuro’s at his absolute best, but those facial highlights in the end…
-After two months of irl quarantine, these shots look very uncomfortable.
–Fucking snitch.
–Kibito is unneedly aggressive.
-Folks, we’re usually more intelligent than that. I REFUSE TO BE REPRESENTED BY THESE MORONS.
–Vegeta’s got Ls in every single arc. Why so surprised?

Episode 243 (Nuketaa~!! Densetsu no Zetto Sōdo) aired on October 19th, 1994. 
Script by Masashi Kubota, storyboard and direction by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and animation supervision by Masayuki Uchiyama. 
Key animation: Masayuki Uchiyama, Taiichiro Ohara.

–Nice use of stills to introduce Babidi’s call.
–Uncorrected Ohara is a treat. Too bad he’s getting rarer and rarer.
–This.
–HAHA.
–Why is Videl so sensible?

–Why…?
–Abysmal.
-Look, I’m fine with characters acting differently, as long as there’s a context therein:
1) Trunks asking Goku what he was doing is kinda legit, since he’s just lost his father and has any right to demand some ANSWERS.
2) Trunks accusing Goku of chickening out creaks a little bit more, but again, he’s in a mournful mood. For a moment, I’m going to pretend we never met his future counterpart, who never dared to be so fuckin’ rude with anybody, because it’s a totally different character… but let’s be honest: are we really going to ignore the fact TRUNKS IS SO FUCKIN’ RUDE TO GOKU, despite having known each other for less than 24 hours, and most importantly, WITHOUT SHARING ANY PIECE OF DIALOGUE WHATSOEVER? Yes, I do realize THIS Trunks lives in a totally different environment from the OTHER Trunks, but seriously, if you happened to meet a guy, would you ever inveigh against him/her without a reason? Yes, I do also realize THIS Trunks is still a child… so what? Children can be well-mannered.
3) Goten is EVEN WORSE: he calls his own father COWARD, blames him for Gohan’s demise (for the record, too bad the inverse process already happened…) and as if this wasn’t enough, he basically boycotts his training. Why is Goten worse? Unlike Trunks, he’s generally a mild character, therefore him acting so terribly towards his own father manages to be selfishly out-of-character and IMMATURE. He’d put the whole world in danger because of his stupid slander. Though, I adore Piccolo standing up for Goku. He, too, cannot stand bullshit, thankfully.
4) Why is Goku admitting to be a coward? He was unconscious because the spoiled brat’s father, who happens to be a greater spoiled brat, wanted him to be so.
If there’s ONE thing Goku is to blame for, that would be awakening Buu, but then again, it was all thanks to the ill-mannered spoiled brat’s douchy spoiled brat and his small dick complexes.
I guess Toei likes Goku taking blames they’d eventually have him take part in “blameworthy climaxes” [like Freezer going back to Earth for revenge, the Zamasu ordeal being also Bulma’s fault for creating the time machine, or the Tournament of Power, caused by Goku’s battle thirst (clearly he didn’t want universes to be erased and unwillingly saved their lives somehow) and Beerus and Champa’s ego squabbling in the U6 tournament].
–Whoa, Kibito isn’t that supportive, is he?

Episode 244 (Nerawareta Nishi no Miyako! Tomare Majin Bū!!) aired on November 2nd, 1994. 
Script by Reiko Yoshida, storyboard and direction by Junichi Fujise and animation supervision by Yukio Ebisawa. 
Key animation: Yukio Ebisawa, Toshiyuki Kan’no, Yuko Inoue.

–Pretty nifty storyboarding and direction.
–The last six minutes save this episode from being very nasty.
–That’s a pretty solid scene for Ebisawa’s standards.
–Krillin is a caveman.
–Kinda nice what-if scenario back at Kame House and good old M13A fits so well.
–Senbei Norimaki lookalike?
–Super Saiyan 2 correct hair at last.
-Another instance of why Fat Buu is the only great Buu: he’s gullible, as he takes everyone’s word as valid, and not only Babidi’s, but at the same time he manages to be quite deductive. For the first time, Babidi’s position is insecure.
–It’s like a tongue twister.
–Babidi attempting to be polite is kinda nice…

-… but bringing some of the dreariest characters ever created back is the antonym of that. Even though her snitching role kinda fits, I just can’t bloody stand her.
–Meh.
–Bulma interfering with their training. I don’t like this at all, because I’d expect such attitude from Chichi. SHE’S JUST LIKE HER.
–Bulma left her Dragon Radar at home. Wasn’t she keeping it a few episodes ago??? Fillers contradicting the main story as usual.
–Sigh…
–Trunks is an impudent and rude asshole. Again, who knocked Goku out? The rude asshole’s father, yes. Fuck, I can’t believe he shares the same name as the other one.
–Too bad the little twerp ignores Goku is just as strong as Vegeta.
-“Yes, you’re a good boy, even though you think I’m a coward“.

Episode 245 (At’to Odoroku Dai-Henshin!! Sūpā Saiya-jin Surī) aired on November 9th, 1994. 
Script by Hiroshi Toda, storyboard and direction by Mitsuo Hashimoto and animation supervision by Ichio Hayashi, with Tadayoshi Yamamuro as (uncredited) chief animation supervisor.
Key animation: Ichio Hayashi, Yasunari Hayashi, Naoaki Hojo, Takashi Inaba.

I must thank my good friend @Datwerg for IDing these new names. Kino Production is surely not as famous as Seigasha and Last House.
-In order to introduce a new transformation, it’d be pretty obvious to have Yamamuro handle additional corrections, to the point that he overwhelms Hayashi’s supervision.
–Hashimoto delivers a really strong directional performance. As expected, his highlight is the entire Super Saiyan 3 power up segment: whether you like SSJ3 or not, you can’t deny its memorability, from the use of M1704 and M1109 to the classic Oozaru metaphor. It does totally give the idea of undergoing another massive Super Saiyan stage.
-Such lovely harmony cels near the end.
–Buu is getting excited.

-I praised Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 2 for both their meaning and functionality, while I criticized Super Saiyan Dai Ni/San Dankai for being not that interesting, overall. As for Super Saiyan 3, I don’t particularly care for it. In fact, I think I quite dislike it, because it’s not a balanced stage. Sure, it’s far stronger than SSJ2, but it wastes so much power it gets less and less functional. Modern DB would introduce far more powerful transformations, God and Blue, which do require a lot of energy, but not as much as SSJ3. On top of that, I find the Sonic the Hedgehog hair and lack of eyebrows a bit tacky, and to be honest, it doesn’t show unique skills. For example, Super Saiyan 2 Gohan stood out a lot from a regular SSJ, while SSJ3 is just about flashy appearance. Yes, it got a terrific introduction, but it still won’t change my opinion.
–Goku vs Buu is well-drawn, and that’s pretty much it. It’s not particularly animated, unfortunately.
-Hey, nobody’s friend is back.
–Goku’s telepathy out of nowhere.
–Ki blast barrage isn’t Vegeta’s exclusive technique. Lots of fighters throw ki blasts repeatedly, not only Vegeta.
-Besides, Vegeta never fired ki blasts repeatedly at Buu during their showdown. And I know, Buu can absorb his opponent’s moves… but as long as he watches said moves be performed.

back to Artificial Humans arc PART 2

Buu arc PART 2