Dragonball Z Revisited: Dragon Box 1 - Episodes 1 - 42

 “I thought I had reached my pinnacle...But that Vegeta guy there has done far better than I have...It surprised me...To be honest, I was overwhelmed...But somewhere within my heart, I was happy, and excited...That must be because I'm a Saiyan too. Whenever I see an amazing guy like that, my heart leaps.” - Goku, Episode 35

Dragon Box 1 covers what is commonly known as the Saiyan or Vegeta saga. When I was younger, this was the part of the series that I had the least familiarity with. These episodes had already aired by the time I got into the series, and I somehow kept missing the re-runs. I watched the Goku/Vegeta fight for the first time after the Freeza arc had already concluded on TV. It also didn't help that I felt I was missing parts of the story, because it jumped around a lot. As it turned out, a lot of episodes had been cut and spliced together to make a 26 episode first series. I didn't see the entire series intact until I bought the DVDs.

Strangley, for all the jokes made about Dragonball Z taking forever to do anything, I actually prefer the pacing of the original Japanese version to the cut-down English one. I felt like it was telling a better story, and didn't feel as rushed and choppy as the dub. Plus I was watching a DVD, so I could skip any filler I didn't want to watch. I'm actually really interested to see what I think of Dragonball Kai – it's essentially doing the same thing, so I wonder if Toei did a better job, or if I'll get dub flashbacks when I eventually watch it. A quick thing – when I talk about filler, I'm referring to any scenes in the animé that were not in the original manga.

Diving into the story itself, bombshells are dropped pretty early, and their impact will differ based on whether or not you watched Dragonball. The first thing we learn is that Goku is a father. His four year-old son Gohan is a well-mannered but timid boy with no real interest in fighting. For newcomers, Goku is first introduced as a father, but for Dragonball fans, who remember when Goku couldn't even tell the difference between boys and girls, this is a pretty big moment. The arrival of the Saiyan warrior Raditz provides the second bombshell – Goku is also a Saiyan, and Raditz is his brother! The revelation that Goku is an alien would also come as a shock to long-time fans, but for newcomers, this is again one of the first things we learn about him. Fans still debate whether or not the science fiction route was the right one for the series to take, but I feel that this plot point really fleshes out Goku as a character. I think this story arc places a lot of emphasis on Goku coming to terms with his identity. He might not be a bloodthristy tyrant like Raditz, but he's clearly not human.

Raditz is the first villian of the series, and his confrontation with Piccolo in the first episode sets him up as a force to be reckoned with. When you know the threat Piccolo posed during the 23^rd Tenkaichi Tournament, and you see him terrified of this new opponent, you really know Raditz means trouble. When I watched these episodes on TV, I never really saw Raditz as anything more than a villain, and to be honest, that's all he is. He exists purely as a plot device – he provides necessary exposition and sets the story into motion. This would be fine if he were just a Saiyan, but the problem lies with the fact that he is Goku's brother. This revelation only serves to add to the shock that Goku is an alien – the two have no interactions beyond that of hero and villian. It's a shame that Toriyama didn't feel he could do anything else with the character.

The fight with Raditz is really good. I really like watching Goku and Piccolo work together; two rivals relying on each other to get rid of a mutual enemy. Gohan's attack on Raditz gives us our first glimpse into what Goku's son is truly capable of. We also start to see that Piccolo might not be as evil as his father was. When given the opportunity to kill both Raditz and Goku, he happily takes it. But when he is faced with a dying Goku, he doesn't gloat, he doesn't mock, he just stands next to him waiting for the others to arrive. This element of Piccolo will be explored further as he decides to train Gohan for the upcoming battle with Raditz's fellow Saiyans; Nappa and Vegeta.

The following episodes focus on the characters' training to defeat the Saiyans who will arrive in a years' time. It is here that we start to see more of the supporting cast. Krillin, Goku's long-time friend, goes out looking for their fellow martial artists and breaks the news to them. Krillin, along with Yamcha, Tenshinhan and Chaozu are offered training by Kami up in the heavenly realm. It is here where I think a lot of the anime's filler really contributes to the story. Newcomers won't have any idea who these characters are, so having a few extra episodes to flesh them out really helps, especially given the events that occur later. Goku, in the afterlife, travels down the Serpentine Road in order to receive training from the legandary Kaio. Some of the weakest episodes in this arc are the filler episodes during Goku's journey. I didn't mind them so much when I was younger, but now that I know they are filler, they just feel like a waste of time. Kaio himself is a very likeable character – he is wise, but also goofy, with a love of terrible puns! I like him a lot more now, mostly because his Japanese voice isn't nearly as annoying as his English one. Gohan's training with Piccolo serves to flesh out both characters. We start to see Gohan becoming stronger as a person, while seeing that Piccolo may in fact have a softer side to him. Piccolo's evil side is played up more in the Japanese version, which makes the softer moments all the more powerful.

A year on, the Saiyans arrive, and Goku is brought back to life with the Dragonballs, but will be a day late to the fight. Back on Earth, the fight begins as Piccolo, Krillin, Gohan, Tenshinhan, Chaozu and Yamcha face off against Nappa. These episodes hit me a lot harder than they did when I was younger, because I have now watched Dragonball. Yamcha, Chaozu and Tenshinhan's deaths are much more tragic when you know their history and their relationships to one another. Krillin is in fact put in a really devastating situation – these are his friends, the people he has grown up with, who are falling on the battlefield. Piccolo doesn't care for them and Gohan doesn't know them, so it's really Krillin who suffers the most. Gohan, however, suffers an emotional blow when Piccolo dies protecting him. This is a character defining moment for both of them. For Piccolo, it is the point where he can no longer claim to be evil – he has learned what it means to die for someone you love. For Gohan, it is the point where he realises that he must find the strength to fight in order to protect his friends.

I want to take a moment to defend the series against a common argument. Often, people claim that death means nothing in Dragonball Z, because they can always be brought back to life with the Dragonballs. These people have clearly never watched the series. Yes, death can be undone, but it doesn't stop it from being tragic. Look at any scene where a character dies – the first response is always shock, grief or anger. Not 'Oh, it's okay, we can bring them back'. Then we have this scene. Piccolo is spiritually linked to the Dragonballs' creator Kami – meaning that if he dies, Kami dies and the Dragonballs will disappear. So logically, it would have made more sense to let Gohan die and bring him back with the Dragonballs. Instead, driven by emotion, Piccolo dies in his place, and the Dragonballs die with him. Nobody takes death lightly – even if they know they can be brought back.

It is at this point that Goku finally arrives on the battlefield. It becomes a bit of a running joke that Goku is always late to the fight, but in this scenario, you have to look at the details. The Serpentine Road is over 10,000 kilometres long, and Goku runs the whole thing in less than two days. The only time he shows any sign of fatigue is when he asks for a Senzu bean to restore his energy. After that, he heads straight to the battlefield. If that isn't badass I don't know what is. Nappa is defeated, Gohan and Krillin retreat, and the fight between Goku and Vegeta begins. This is easily one of the best fights in the entire series. Everything about it just feels so huge – Goku and Vegeta throw absolutely everything they have at each other. Every trump card is played, every risk is taken, and yet, it's not enough. Both characters become desperate, and their responses to the situation contrast greatly – Goku knows that his chances are slim, but is still thrilled to fight against someone so strong. Vegeta is enraged that a lower-class warrior could hold his own against the Saiyan Prince. The other thing that stands out is that Goku doesn't win – it is down to Gohan and Krillin to return to the battlefield and finish the fight. And Vegeta does not go down easily. Throughout the entire battle you really feel the power, the desperation and the anger as each character tries to gain the upper hand. And it's amazing how Goku is still able to contribute to the fight after Vegeta cripples him – most notably when he entrusts Krillin with the energy he gathered for his finishing move – the Genki Dama. For a series where supporting characters generally stay out of the way, it's interesting to see them forced to step in.

Against all odds, they fight Vegeta to a standstill, but Goku begs Krillin not to finish him off, and instead let him escape. This leads to one of the most emotional scenes in the entire series. It's also one of the scenes that the English version just got so wrong. In the dub, this was your typical 'good guy' scene – Goku tells Krillin to show him mercy, and Krillin reluctantly agrees. In the original Japanese, Goku begs Krillin not to kill Vegeta, not because they are better than this, not because he sees good in him, but purely because he wants a chance to fight him again. His motivation is completely selfish, and he acknowledges this, but still he asks. Krillin is then torn between allowing his best friend to have his wish, and avenging their fallen comrades and stopping Vegeta from hurting anyone again. It's really heart-wrenching to watch Krillin stand down, and this scene brings a tear to my eye every time I watch it. It's also the moment when Goku starts to accept that he is a Saiyan – his thrill for battle far outweighs his sense of reason.

The remaining episodes are mostly exposition and filler. They set the scene for the next story arc as Gohan, Krillin and Bulma prepare to travel to planet Namek – Piccolo's homeworld, in search of the original Dragonballs, which are now their only hope for bringing back their friends. We also get hints of the next major villain in the series; Freeza. When I was younger, I actually quite liked a lot of the filler at this point, including the 'fake Namek' storyline, as they were quite interesting. But again, when you know it's filler it feels pointless to watch it.

When I was younger, I never really felt much for this story arc. I don't think it was just because I hadn't seen Dragonball – I was already familiar with the characters by the time I saw these episodes, as I had seen the entire Freeza arc. I think it was more down to the way the English dub handled things. When the editing is sloppy, it's harder to get immersed, and when the violence is toned down, the fights don't have the same impact. When death is covered up, you don't feel for the characters, and when they act like generic heroes and villains, it's harder to relate to them. This is the only story arc that was cut down so drastically, so the only one that has these problems on such a large scale.

Today, this is one of my favourite parts of the entire series. Every fight is intense, every attack has an impact, every victory is only narrowly obtained, and every loss is devastating. The revelation of the Saiyans and the transition to science fiction opens up so many doors for the series. While Raditz and Nappa were throwaway characters, they served their purpose and provided some amazing episodes. Vegeta makes a brilliant villain, providing Goku with his biggest challenge yet and one of the best fights in the series. The character development for Piccolo and Gohan is really touching, and even a lot of the filler is really enjoyable. I would say the slowest part of this story arc is the year of training, but these episodes also serve as an introduction to most of the cast, so do have a purpose for newcomers.

Overall, I feel that these episodes, when watched in the original Japanese, are a strong start to the series, and have some amazing moments. Sure, there are some filler issues, but if you're watching a DVD they can easily be skipped. I do wonder how Dragonball Kai handled this arc – does it have the same intensity as Dragonball Z? I probably won't find out any time soon. I only just completed my Dragon Box collection, so I'm not about to go out and buy the same series again. When I eventually do, I will be sure to give my thoughts.

p.s. Yes, I mix up sub and dub terminology depending on what sounds natural to me. Deal with it.

p.p.s. If it's not obvious already, I wholeheartedly endorse the Dragon Box sets. If you want to collect the entire series, this is the release I would recommend.

Dragonball Z Revisited: Introduction

 “A journey that began long ago, in a place neither near nor far...

A story of heroes, passed down through the ages...

Until now. This is our story. These are our heroes.” - Dragon Box DVDs

What can you say about Dragonball Z? If you ask people about it, responses range from “Never heard of it” to “Don't really care for it” to “Isn't that the show where it takes five episodes for anything to happen?” to “It's over 9000!” to “I absolutely love it”. I was about eleven or twelve when I first got into the series. It was during the stage in my life when I was mostly watching cartoons, and I heard this show advertised and never had an interest in checking it out. I eventually gave it a go, and was surprised to find that I really liked it. I think, back then, it stood out to me because it wasn't like any of the other cartoons I watched; the story wouldn't be resolved within twenty minutes, each episode was just a small part of a much bigger plot. Also, it was the only show I knew where the characters would actually grow older. But that was me when I was twelve, and it was my first exposure to a series that actually told a long-running story. How does it hold up now that I'm twenty-three?

I'll get the obvious out of the way first – this series totally holds up. I love it just as much as I did back then. Something I have found interesting though, is that different parts of the series hold up differently. That is more what these blog posts will look at – which parts of the series are as good as I remember, which are better and which are worse. It will also note significant differences between the original Japanese version and whichever English dub I happened to watch the episodes in (seriously, we've had at least four different dubs over here!)

Before I go any further, I should enlighten any readers who are unfamiliar with this series. If you 're already caught up on your Dragonball history, feel free to skip to the last paragraph. Dragonball was originally a Japanese manga series that ran for 42 issues, written by Akira Toriyama. It followed the adventures of Goku and his friends, and their quest to protect the titular Dragonballs from falling into the wrong hands. These seven magical orbs, when gathered together, could summon a powerful dragon who could grant a single wish. Despite its name, the series focussed less on the Dragonballs and more on the group of friends brought together by a love for marital arts. Proving popular with readers, Dragonball was adapted into an animé which ran for a total of 444 episodes. However, in the animé, the story was divided into two series. After episode 153 of Dragonball, the following 291 episodes bore the title Dragonball Z. In Japan, this didn't make much difference, as the entire series aired in order, but in English speaking countries, it's a little more complicated.

When Funimation Productions first picked up the rights to Dragonball in America, they dubbed the first 13 episodes and aired them on TV. Ratings were poor, but rather than leaving the series, they instead turned their attention to the more action-oriented Dragonball Z. Their 26-episode adaptation of the first story arc was picked up by Cartoon Network, and gained a number of fans. This means that the vast majority of English-speaking fans were first exposed to the series through Dragonball Z, me included.

Something I will say about the series; all the English dubs have aged terribly. With awkward line deliveries, painful dialogue, unfitting music and nonsensical censorship, I really cannot say anything good about any English version of the series. When I started buying the series on DVD, I switched to the original Japanese version, and it is just superior in every way. There is no way the series would have aged so well if I had stuck with the English version.

Dragonball Z has seen something of a revival recently. In 2009, Toei Animation began airing a 'refreshed' version of the series, condensing the episodes, replacing the musical score and re-recording the dialogue. This version of the series was named Dragonball Kai, and ran for 97 episodes, but did not cover the final arc of the series, so essentially cut down 194 episodes into 97. Obviously Funimation licenced it in America, but distributed it under the name Dragonball Z Kai. I haven't properly watched this series yet, but from what I have heard of the English dub, it is very good, and I think I would actually choose to watch Kai in English rather than Japanese.

Over the past few years I have been collecting the American Dragon Boxes – Seven DVD sets compiling the entire Dragonball Z TV series (in fact, one of the main reasons I didn't buy Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One on release is because it coincided with the release of Dragon Box 7). I was intrigued to find that the episodes roughly coincide with how the series aired on English TV, so I get an odd sense of nostalgia from them. I will make this clear- this is NOT a review of the Dragon Box sets, but a review of the episodes contained within them. I will note which episodes I will be covering in each review, providing a brief story outline and discussing I liked and what I didn't like, and where the Japanese and English versions differ. I am putting a spoiler warning on this entire series, as I want to discuss the story and characters in a lot of detail, and I can't do that if I'm worried about saying too much. So with that said, my next blog post will cover Dragon Box 1. I won't do these one after the other, as I like to vary my blog posts, but I will try at do one a month for the time being.

p.s. If you're interested in knowing more about Dragonball Z, the two best sites for more information are Daizenshuu EX and Kanzentai. If you're looking to get into the series, but don't know whether or not you will like it, then I have a few recommendations. One would be to stream a few episodes online and see if you like it. Another would be to check out Dragonball (Z) Kai, as it is shorter and probably a little less overwhelming. The other option is to watch TeamFourStar's parody series Dragonball Z Abridged – it's well written, absolutely hilarious and keeps enough of the story intact that you can probably get a feel for whether or not you will like the series.

The Novel Writing Process: Part 2 – Creating Characters

It's been a long time since I've talked about creative writing. My last post on the subject focussed on the overall novel writing process; getting from the beginning to the end of a story. I always planned for this to be a series of posts, and wanted the succeeding posts to go into more specific areas of creative writing. Following up on this plan, I will start by discussing ways to create characters for a novel. Once again, bear in mind that I am not an expert, but these are techniques that I have found useful, so hopefully others will too.

When it comes to stories, I have always found that I am often much more willing to excuse a weak story if it has strong characters, than a strong story with weak characters. I find it hard to get into a story, no matter how well-written, if I don't care about the people involved in it. The characters are the ones to whom the events of the story are occurring, so the more we care about the people they are happening to, the more we will carew about these events. So I feel it's really important to make sure that the characters stand out, and really bring to life the tale that is being told.

The first thing to do when you put your story together is decide roughly how many characters you want to work with. The cast will be divided into three main categories; protagonists, antagonists and the supporting cast. The protagonists will be the main focus of the story – the characters who take the lead, who the reader is supposed to root for. The antagonists will be the providers of conflict – the ones who create obstacles for the heroes to overcome. The supporting cast will be the remaining characters the reader will encounter – those who contribute to the story without necessarily being the main focus. It's important to decide how many of each type you want to have, and how they will all fit together. As an example, my first novel had a fairly small main cast, but a huge supporting cast and a number of villains, giving the potential for a lot of interactions with a wide variety of different characters. My sister's first novel, on the other hand, had a larger main cast but a much smaller supporting cast and one main villain. This allowed her to focus much more on the relationships of the main cast, and how the whole group blended together. The decisions we made were based on the story we each wanted to tell. Hers was mostly focused on the characters' goal, whereas for mine I wanted to paint a picture of the world the main characters lived in. Likewise, you will need to decide how many characters you will need to tell the tale you want, and balance your cast accordingly.

To start building a cast of characters, I find the easiest thing to do is start with a very technical question – what purpose will the character serve? My characters generally start as a function (hero, love interest, best friend, tech guy, mentor, etc.), and their personalities are formed later. This might seem cold and unemotional, but I feel it gives the character a reason to be there, so they will contribute that much more to the overall story. This also helps stop you from going overboard. It's quite easy to get carried away creating a huge cast of characters, but if you don't want the story to feel cluttered or thinly spread. A quick example; a lot of people promote Final Fantasy VI by saying that it has the largest cast of characters of any game in the franchise. This is true, but I don't think that's a selling point. I personally found that Final Fantasy VI had more characters than it knew what to do with, and most of the cast were underdeveloped as a result. In a way, Hollywood has the right idea when it comes to character creation – never have two characters where one will suffice. I don't think novels have to be as strict as films in this regard, but it's important to be sure that every character has something unique to offer.

Now I should be specific – when I say the character is created to serve a purpose, this purpose shouldn't define who they are, it should give you justification for creating them. Once they have a purpose, you need to build them up. Start with the basics – are they male or female? Roughly what age are they? What sort of personality do they have? Are they light-hearted or serious, friendly or stoic? Do they have selfish tendencies? Do they get upset easily? I generally like to write up a basic character list with the character's name, age, any other important details, followed by a few sentences describing their backstory and basic characteristics. These will give you a rough idea of their personality and history, so you will know how to write them when you put them into the story. Ultimately, it's difficult to get the characters personality completely down in a character list – it will come out when you start writing them, but you still need a starting point.

One way to add depth to your characters is to give each of them a history, a life, a family. Even little bits of trivia like their middle name, their birthday or their favourite food can really flesh out a character. In your mind, these things should say a lot about the character and how they act. This doesn't mean all this trivia should be included in the story – most readers won't care what the character's favourite subject at school was, if it doesn't contribute in any way to the plot. As an example of this, remember when J.K. Rowling said that Dumbledore was gay? This was never mentioned in the novels, because Dumbledore wasn't a romantic character, so his sexual orientation wasn't important to the story. But this piece of trivia would have influenced the way Rowling wrote the character, so it forms a part of his identity without ever actually being said. I refer you to the following blog post from Mel's Ramblings on why sometimes, less is more.

The next thing to think about is character arcs. What development are you going to give your characters over the course of the story? What trials will they face? How will it change them? I remember reading in a creative writing book once that a character arc is like sitting your character in a tree and throwing stones at them until they fall down. The person who comes down from the tree will be a different person from the one who went up. While this is a particularly violent image, it shows the principle of character development – test their limits. If you're not sure how to challenge them, I learned another useful skill at University. When you create a basic character with a backstory and personality, map out all the possible directions that character could take, based on what you know of them. If the character claims not to care for anyone, challenge that. If the character is unconditionally nice to everyone they meet, challenge that. If your character doesn't believe in the supernatural, challenge that. How will they face the challenge? Will it change them or make their beliefs even stronger? If it breaks them down, will they piece themselves back together, or fall apart completely? I've found that character development can almost create two different characters – one before the trials, and one after. Not all characters in the story will need to develop – static characters can still be entertaining, and you probably won't have time to give every cast member an arc, but it's important to have at least a few character arcs in your story.

Another thing to bear in mind is character relationships – how will your characters interact with each other? Which characters are the best of friends? Which ones can't stand each other? Which characters will start out indifferent but become inseparable by the end? Get a basic idea of the dynamics of your characters, as this will help you to decide how you are going to write them. Often character relationships are integrated into their story arcs, so plan how certain events in the story will affect how the characters behave to one another.

Once you have created a cast of characters, there's nothing to do but let them run loose in the story. You'll have some ideas how how their journey will go, but as I have previously said, they may very well surprise you. I've found myself concentrating on relationships that I never really dwelled upon in my plans, and given full story arcs to characters who were originally intended to be one-shots. Something to remember is that early on you may not be entirely sure how you are writing the character, so when it comes to the second draft you will probably need to revise the earlier chapters. Don't do this as you go, or you will never finish your story. Ultimately, characters are almost like children – you give them life, you watch them grow, and it's almost sad when you finish a story, when you have written everything for them that you can.

There are a lot of finer details that could be delved into, but probably need their own posts to do so. I'll probably cover some of the more basic aspects of writing, and then later go into the specifics. There are so many aspects to creative writing, I'm starting to realise it will take a long time to cover them all. I'm hoping this should give people a rough idea of how you can put characters together. It's a lot of fun to create characters, but the best part is actually writing them in the story.