...so...uh... it's been a few months... In my defense, I became busy with work. ...until I lost my job 3 months ago. ...ok, fine, I'm lazy. Sue me. But the hiatus is over, and I can FINALLY finish me Dragon Ball films/Specials reviews! ...minus the special that wasn't really a special for Super and the new movie announced for December. ...but besides that, let's finish things up. And first up is the first half of the specials, the T.V. Trilogy!
The T.V. Trilogy, as I call it, is the three specials made for the show as it aired and intended to be canon for the series. ...whether or not any of them can be considered canon now is a question I'm choosing to ignore for these reviews. And the standard stuff applies: My opinion, my terminology, not right answers, ect. But regardless, let's look at these specials.
A FINAL, SOLITARY BATTLE: THE FATHER OF Z-WARRIOR KAKARROT, WHO CHALLENGED FREEZA/ BARDOCK: THE FATHER OF GOKU
So we start with a group of Saiyans slaughtering an entire race and devastating a planet! And their leader is our hero for this story! ...this is gonna be a very different kind of Dragon Ball story, isn't it? Anyways, this guy is called Bardock, and he's been gifted the ability to see the future! ...no idea why, it isn't explained well. But Bardock is injured and brought to a planet to heal... and it turns out his son is there! His son Kakarot, who will grow up to become Goku, the mightiest warrior in the entire Universe! And Bardock... thinks his son is trash and is disgusted by him. ...wow, you're backing the wrong horse there, Bardock. But as Bardock heads off on another mission, he finds out that Freeza has decided to kill all Saiyans! Bardock fails to save his men, but he heads to Planet Vegeta to warn everyone. And... no one believes him. So Bardock goes, single handily, to take on Freeza and his men... only to be utterly destroyed by Freeza in a single blast. ...ouch. As Bardock and his planet are dying, Bardock sees one final vision: Kakarot will grow up, become strong, and take on Freeza himself. So, knowing that his son will be the one to avenge his race, Bardock dies with a smile on his face.
...this is a REALLY good special. Like REALLY good. Bardock isn't a hero, and yet we still feel for him throughout. Goku was just a cast off, unwanted. He was trash in his father's eyes... and yet he'll grow up to take out the guy that killed his father. This special essentially is telling two stories simultaneously with Bardock and Goku, and nails them both. I don't have much more to say, except watch it for yourself!
DEFIANCE IN THE FACE OF DESPAIR!! THE REMAINING SUPER-WARRIORS: GOHAN AND TRUNKS/ HISTORY OF TRUNKS
...why are the Japanese titles so much better? Anyways, We start our special with Goku dying, followed quickly by every other Z Fighter! ...this is gonna be a happy special! So Androids 17 and 18 have killed everyone but Gohan and Trunks, and is terrorizing the world. And our two heroes... fail miserably at stopping them. Trunks can't even go Super Saiyan yet, people keep dying, they lose their last Sensu bean, and Gohan loses his arm. So obviously, the next time the Androids attack... Gohan knocks out Trunks to take them on alone. ...yeah, Gohan dies. It's quite sad. Trunks wakes up and finds Gohan's corpse, finally becoming a Super Saiyan as he releases that primal scream. ...and then we jump ahead a couple years, where Trunks gets beaten up by the Androids and left for dead! ...but there's still hope, for Bulma has finished her Time Machine! She sends Trunks to the past to save Goku and... well, that's it. ...Not a lot of story to this one, really...
Not gonna lie, this is my favorite of these three. It may only be backstory for Trunks, but it is such GOOD backstory! Trunks is not only a failure, he's a COMPLETE failure! It makes his character growth in the series proper just that much more satisfying, especially when he eventually DOES save his future! ...well, until Super, but that's another story. This is a great special, and makes the series proper even better.
GOKU'S SIDE STORY! THE PROOF OF HIS COURAGE IS THE FOUR-STAR BALL/ A HERO'S LEGACY
We start with Goku and all the Z fighters dead. ...why is this so popular? So we are 100 years in the future and Pan is a grandma raising Goku Jr., her grandson. Goku Jr. is bullied in school, and seems to afraid to fight. ...oh, crap, it's Geeko! Well, Pan has a heart attack, and Goku Jr. sets off on a journey to gather the single Dragon Ball to wish her back to health! ...wait, single? ...oh, he is gonna be so disappointed... Well, Goku Jr. teams up with Puck, his school Bully! ...seriously. And then demons try to eat them! ...again, seriously. Well, Puck falls to his death, Goku Jr. goes Super Saiyan to fight off the demons, and finally he finds Grandpa Gohan's house. Inside is the Four Star ball! Goku Jr. tries to make a wish... but it fails. He's all sad, until Goku, OUR Goku, shows up to tell him what an idiot he is! ...wow, jerk. Nah, but he also tells him that true courage is inside of him and such... and then Pan and Puck arrive, still alive! Goku Jr. leaves, keeping the Four Star Ball as a memento of HIS grandpa Goku.
I'm mixed on this special. Most of it seems pointless and kind of stupid... but other parts are actually pretty strong and emotional. ...It's a lot like GT as a whole, really. I like parts of it, want to like others, and find other parts stupid. Unlike the other specials, however, this special is ultimately unimportant. It takes place 100 years in the future, so it adds NOTHING to the current story of GT at the time. Most it did was add a LITTLE bit of context to GT's ending, but it's really unneeded. Still, there's worst things you could watch.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I love the idea of specials, the idea of stand alone extra length stories that help add onto and build the mythology of the franchise. The first two are amazing like that. ...the last one, not as much... But in the end, much like the movies, they are ultimately harmless little distractions that tell new and different stories that Toriyama would almost never do. I love all three of these specials.
But next time we finish the specials with a look at the remaining three specials in what I call The Games Trilogy. Weird name? Oh yes. But it'll make sense when I talk about next time.
I am The R2 Dude, and this is The R2 View!
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