This series is by far one of the first things a westerner may think of when they think of anime. To start off this feature; I generally chose series that would have universal appeal to most audiences in the west, in the same vein as Star Wars or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Akira Toriyama made sure to give a worldly appearance to the series; as it's largely based off the Chinese folk tale "Journey to the West". There also many parallels with the Superman series, to the point where Goku can often be considered the Japanese equivalent of Superman.
We now see Goku, who is only 12 years old at the start of the series. The kid hero is a common archetype of anime and manga; especially shonen series in particular. Just rolling a piece of wood around; it shows how just doing the simplest things can make a person stronger.
He returns to his hut, and begins practicing martial arts moves. It turns out the original series first aired in 1986; but didn't come to the US until its much more well-known successor, Dragon Ball Z, had finished its initial run. As such; it gained popularity through that channel because of being run on Toonami. So, I think this montage calls for a standard '80s power ballad.
With one punch and one kick, he turns the piece of wood into a whole pile of kindling for cold nights.
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| I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK, I sleep all night and I work all day! |
We then get the entrance of Bulma Briefs; the heir to Capsule Corporation and resident female. I personally enjoy her more active role here; her much-mocked status as a damsel scrappy did not occur until DBZ. I also notice her very '80s looking clothes, hairstyle, and car; and the fact that the narrator says with all seriousness, that Goku's life will enter a "Totally Radical" new phase.
A hungry Goku decides to go look for food. He then bids his grandfather's Dragon Ball goodbye before he leaves. Since his grandfather is dead before the series starts; the Dragon Ball is all he has left to remember him by.
He decides to go fishing, but then, he gets some apples first. Look at that little guy go!
I am omitting the scene where Goku is actually fishing, as he does so in the nude after he fell into the river. And this copy of the episode is a DVD rip; complete with a TV14 package. Instead, enjoy this image I found of Golurk Danger fighting Feraligatr in Pokémonic Rim (note: I saw Pacific Rim not too long ago. While the special effects and action scenes showed off a big love letter to mecha anime; I found the story, characterization, and acting to be decisively lacking. I can attribute this to Travis Beacham co-writing the script; since he wrote that terrible 2010 Clash of the Titans remake. It's also a pity the film failed at the box office in the US; since it has effectively convinced studios any mecha movie that's not Transformers is box office poison. Not even the strong international numbers and DVD sales/rentals have been able to convince Warner Bros. to change their minds.).
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| Now it just needs some heavy metal music. |
I must also point out the standards on nudity are much looser in Japan; as while the Toonami edits had no problem with Goku's backside (as much of the target audience had seen animated butt on The Simpsons or SpongeBob SquarePants when it first aired on American TV); Funimation usually painted out Goku's private parts at Cartoon Network's request. The Midnight Run block, which typically aired the uncut version for teenage and young adult fans, was at a timeslot where most people would be asleep; may or may not have had such edits (the revived block uses this model; as an arm of the Adult Swim block. Violence and more risqué scenes often make it in; but stronger profanities in airings of Deadman Wonderland being bleeped have often caused unintentional laughter at tense moments. Shiro's sleek bodysuit, however, is there; hugging every curve of her body from her neck to her toeless, heel-less leggings. It's also a shade barely darker than her skin; and some conveniently-placed red markings serve a similar purpose to Mystique's makeup on Rebecca Romijn-later Jennifer Lawrence in the X-Men movies. I apologize for being behind on projects; but school has been very busy this term. I intend to move some of the things I had planned to 2014; including making good on my plans to recap the first episode of the X-Men anime when Days of Future Past comes out).
Sorry, I just had to fill some of my page out; but now we're back. Goku has a fish, and is hit by Bulma's car. Goku calls the car a monster and lifts it overhead.
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| This is for James Wong turning me into that idiot from Baby Geniuses 2! |
He then hurls the car so hard it knocks the left wheels off!
Bulma then shoots Goku, but the bullets don't hurt him! Bulma is further astonished that Goku has been living on his own, like Tarzan Boy.
Goku, however, just calmly tells her his story as he carries the fish he caught back to his hut.
Bulma is astonished at Goku's strength, and Goku is surprised at meeting the first girl he's ever seen.
Goku is suprised at Bulma's name. From what I can gather, it's a Romanization of "buruma", a type of activewear typically worn by young women in Japan. Bulma is not impressed with Goku's name either.
We then get an ad bumper of a parasol trick with the Dragon Balls; with Goku and Oolong participating. I may do a recap of the episode where he debuts in 2014. There is material, but first I want to get to the projects I wanted to do this year; but couldn't because of school.
When we come back, we see Goku's Dragon Ball glowing and Bulma getting ecstatic because of this.
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| ERMAGHERD! DRRRGON BALL! |
Bulma then explains how the Dragon Balls can do great things when brought together. When all seven are united, they can grant whoever gathers them one wish for anything they desire. However, some use their wishes for good, others for evil.
We then see Emperor Pilaf and his henchmen, Mai and Shu raid a tomb to find a Dragon Ball. He is a typical supervillain that wants to-what else?-take over the world.
Once he finds all 7 Dragon Balls, he will summon the great dragon Shenron to make his wish.
Back at Goku's hut, Bulma offers a little peek to Goku if he helps her find the Dragon Balls.
Goku asks why he would want to see her "dirty old fanny." Bulma takes offense to this.
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| If you think that's bad, you should see how Emmy Rossum plays you! |
Since Goku wrecked her car, Bulma pulls out another Dino-Capsule, and it forms a motorcycle for them both to ride. So, their quest begins.
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| There's a moment in your life when your star begins to shine! This will be your time! |
The dinosaur then ties Goku to a tree and tries to make off with his catch.
As Bulma squirms and screams, he tells her to settle down as he wants a happy meal. Interesting rewrite; as I think Burger King had the fast-food contract at the time of airing.
Goku then frees himself and guns Bulma's motorcycle to catch up to her.
He then guns the motorcycle and hits the dinosaur with his power pole! The day is saved, albeit with Bulma hanging from a branch. Interesting ending, I will admit.
So "That's the Secret of the Dragon Balls." How does it fare? Well, since this is the oldest of the series I've looked at to start this feature; it does have a very '80s vibe to it. With 2014 on the horizon, I plan to look at series that are even older to get a grip for how things were in those days. Having said that, the animation has aged; but it is very nice for the time. The character designs and use of elements from many different time periods and contexts for environments and props is a great feature that Toriyama has. Above all, it has a story that is easy to follow and characters that are easy to latch onto. This is all you need to get new viewers for an anime. With this, I can say that my new feature is off to a great start.
I apologize in advance for this recap being so late; so I will try to get my looks at the Christmas specials I proposed last year done and posted by Christmas eve. Come back next time for my look at Pikachu's Christmas Vacation!
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