Customer Reviews

Dragon Ball Z Double Feature: Dead Zone / World's Strongest (Steelbook)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first watched these two films, it was during the years of when anime clubs were slowly flourishing across the US and I remember just watching these films in Japanese but being in awe with the action. That was over 15 years ago and FUNimation Entertainment has surely been on "Dragon Ball Z" fans happy list because not only have they released the "Dragon Ball Z" and "Dragon Ball GT" series on DVD in the US in Japanese and English but with season box sets of over 25-30+ episodes for a great price.

With the announcement that the "Dragon Ball Z" films would be released on Blu-ray, but not one but two films on one disc, "Dragon Ball Z" fans were in total hi-def heaven! So, how do the films match up on Blu-ray?

Let's start off with the first "Dragon Ball Z" film "DEAD ZONE THE MOVIE". The film was released in Japan back twenty years ago. The film introduces us to Garlic Jr. and his goons who have kidnapped Son Gohan for the Dragon Ball. Garlic Jr.'s evil goal is to call on the eternal dragon Shenron to grant him immortality. With Piccolo beaten, Son Goku and Kuririn together with Kami try to fight off Garlic Jr. and his henchman. But with heightened powers and immortality, can Goku defeat Garlic Jr?

In the second film titled "THE WORLD'S STRONGEST", Dr. Kochin has kidnapped Master Roshi, Bulma and Piccolo in order to find a body suitable for his boss, evil scientist Dr. Wheelo, who's brain has been kept alive and is just looking for a suitable body so he can destroy the world. Having thought that Master Roshi and Piccolo are the strongest, Dr. Wheelo's attention starts to shift to Goku due to his enormous power level. Thus, their attention turns to Goku who is joined by Kuririn and Son Gohan as they not only are trying to protect the Earth but must defeat Dr. Kochin and his henchman but also must fight against a brainwashed Piccolo. Will Goku be able to fight and protect everyone?

VIDEO:

If there is one thing that is important to remind everyone is that these two animated films are twenty years old. It's a general known fact that a lot of older animated films and even TV series have not been preserved well. There is only so much that can be done with the original master source, so let's start with the good and the bad. The good is that this is probably the best we are ever going to see "Dragon Ball Z". It's on Blu-ray, hi-def and the picture quality was great for that time and the colors are nice and sharp with it's 1080p transfer. The video was remastered in High Definition and digitally restored and you get a nice wide screen 16×9 transfer. Colors look good for two anime films that are twenty years old.

With that being said, now the bad. The film is old, so old that there are a lot of dust and scratches and at times, noticeable grain. Because of the better picture hi-def quality, the dust and scratches become more evident and in some areas grain is more visible but really, not that bad or too distracting. Again, I emphasize that these two films are twenty years old and sure Disney can retouch and remaster a lot of their film classics and have the deep pockets to do so but they also have taken care of a lot of their films. In Japan, it's known that this has not been the case for many of their older animated films.

So, are the scratches and dust distracting? Probably not unless you are so intent on focusing on it. There are times when I paused the video in low-light segments and I didn't see any artifacting and paused on some scenes where it looked quite vibrant. Again, the colors really come out with the new transfer but it also enhances certain blemishes on the original film source.

AUDIO:

Like the treatment they have given to their TV season box sets of "Dragon Ball Z", this Blu-ray disc features Dolby TrueHD, English 5.1 with Japanese or U.S. Music and the original 2.0 Japanese track. I love having been given the choice and although I grew up watching "Dragon Ball Z" with its original Japanese language, I have to say that the English dubbing for the US "Dragon Ball Z" is terrific and perfectly cast. Audio came out quite clear on my front channel speakers, I don't really recall hearing much from my rear surround. Dialogue was clear and even the music on both tracks came out clear. The Japanese track was basic as expected and I don't really expect to see any Japanese audio remastering for this older film.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Surprisingly there are no special features included on the Blu-ray but there are a good number trailers for a lot of the recent FUNimation DVD releases.

If you are a big fan of the "Dragon Ball Z" series, you're definitely going to enjoy the amount of action in each film. Especially seeing all your favorite characters together. Considering these are the first two films, they center around Son Goku, Piccolo, Kuririn and Son Gohan.

When it comes to the "Dragon Ball Z" films, these can typically be non-canon as some of them really don't fit into the actual timeline of the TV series. These two films are action-packed but they really deal with Son Gohan and the amount of power he has had at a young age and as he grew older. The first film does tie into an episode arc on the "Dragon Ball Z" television series
that features Garlic Jr. but the second film, really doesn't tie into the series but can be considered as a side-film. An extra adventure...

For me, I am more biased towards the Super Saiyajin Goku years and this film focuses before that time when Goku would ride Nimbus and fight with his staff. And Kuririn, is always used more for his comedic value in the film. But both film's do setup that thought of Son Gohan actually containing a lot of power, more than anyone realizes and that went together quite well on what was happening in the TV series.

But part of the enjoyment of "Dragon Ball Z" is the action sequences and these two films deliver. Seeing these films remastered and the colors really pop was very nice. Again, enjoying the Japanese series growing up, it's great to hear the stellar acting on the English dub. Is this Blu-ray perfect? Considering these two films are twenty years old, the presentation on Blu-ray is still way better than what many of us have seen of the series in the past. Would have loved to see the original film trailers or more special features but overall, the fact that fans of the series get two films on one Blu-ray disc for such a great price is quite awesome.

Overall, if you are a big fan of the "Dragon Ball Z" series and own a Blu-ray player, then definitely start considering getting these films on Blu-ray!

It's awesome to know FUNImation is giving the same treatment to the movies as they are to the TV series. Now, I know a lot of people have been complaining and protesting the decision to make DBZ widescreen. But it's not the end of the world. I mean, sometimes the crops don't make that huge of a differance a majority of the time. Besides, it makes the whole viewing experience seem like a movie. Would I have prefered it if FUNImation released the series in fullscreen? Yeah absolutely, but the widescreen doesn't bother me.

Now, the movies are great. If anyone else got the double-feature release, they would've noticed the inner packet has a two-star dragonball on it (the Trunks/Bardock feature has a one-star ball). The movie also features a preview for the next double-feature release, Tree of Might/Lord Slug, which will probably be released around the same time the Season Six box set comes out. If that's the case, I think we can expect 7 steelbook releases from FUNImation. After Tree of Might/Lord Slug, it will probably go with the two Cooler movies naturally. Then I think they should release Super Android 13/Bojack Unbound together so that way the next release would be the Broly trilogy. This would leave the final installment as Fusion Reborn/Wrath of the Dragon. I'm really looking forward to this.

Both of these films look stunning in 1080p on Blu-ray. I had seen these films on dvd first, but then I got my hands on this blu-ray copy and it made a world of a difference in quality and sound. My favorite film out of all the DBZ movies is The World's Strongest, and getting to see it in 1080p quality was like watching it for the first time again, it was simply incredible.

Both movies were fantastic and both were re-mastered to perfection. The revised dialog with the original Japanese audio was great.

I especially enjoyed watching the World's Strongest film the most, because the story was second to none and the accompanying sound track was brilliant.

This is a great set, the first 2 DBZ films in an awesome steelbook! Some things might not make sense (like how people know about gohan but are all surprised when the series starts later). This is because the movies aren't really canon (they weren't ever in the original manga by Akira Toriyama), so the stories are basically in a different universe, the most obvious example is "History of Trunks". But it makes little difference, because the films are still great ol' DBZ! A must for any DBZ fan. World's Strongest is a great film with a more mediocre storyline but same old great action. One thing I feel I have to mention is the audio track, every single remastered DVD that funimation has put out EXCEPT this has "English 2.0, English 5.1 with Japanese music, Japanese mono" THIS dvd has all of that except English 2.0 is English 5.1 as well! I really wish they released everything else like that. But I guess it's because they redubbed it and figured what the hell (though they redubbed the first couple box seasons as well so I'm at a loss). I also have to say this is quite a steep price ($25 at this moment) but if you want it, you better get it the best you know how! Also comes with commentary, IT'S AWESOME!

I do like the films but I only could watch them on my computer and not the usual Playstation 2 or DVD player. All the other DBZ DVDs I have brought from USA have all worked on my DVD player and PS2. When are the Double Features coming to Australia on the PAL setting?

Yes for the season sets and the TV specials widescreen is bad. That was a bad move on FUNi's part. Though for this release, Widescreen is OK. Ya wanna know why? In Japan the DBZ movies were animated 4:3 (Which is what we got on DVD and VHS previously) but the movies were cropped 16:9 for theatrical showing. All the essential action is animated in the area that nothing important is cropped. So it really boils down to this. If you have a widescreen TV or not. I dont, so i didnt like the widescreen season sets, but if watched on a widescreen TV it dosent matter.

The Movies are top notch. They're definatly made for the DBZ fan. There meant to be enjoyed as entertainment not art, so the animation is kinda sloppy. But its all in good fun. If you have a widescreen tv get this DVD or if you can, the blu-ray. If you have a 4:3 TV, the first strike box will do just nicely.

Dead Zone was the first film released for the Dragon Ball Z franchise, and it introduces an evil character who is referenced in a few of the episodes of the fourth season of the Dragon Ball Z anime series. In this film, Garlic Jr. is wanting immortality in order to take revenge for his father's death and to rule the world. Garlic Jr. wants to acquire this by gathering all seven of the Dragon Balls and summoning Shen Long, the Eternal Dragon. Goku's son Gohan has the four-star Dragon Ball on the top of his hat, and Garlic Jr.'s henchmen kidnap Gohan. The film shows Goku trying to save Gohan, and how he ends up forming an unexpected alliance with his archnemesis, Piccolo.

The disc for the Dead Zone film contains two bonus features. The first is labeled as "Original Feature Commentary," which provides an audio commentary track for the film from voice actor Chuck Huber and ADR director Chris Sabat. The second feature is labeled as "Trailers"; in this selection, there are links to trailers for The Galaxy Railways, Blue Gender, Glass Fleet, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

The World's Strongest was the second film released for the Dragon Ball Z franchise, and it has to be seen as a kind of "alternate timeline" story to the Dragon Ball Z anime series. In this film, a scientist named Dr. Kochin gathers the seven Dragon Balls and summons Shen Long. Kochin requests that his mentor, Dr. Wheelo, and his lab be released from the frozen ground where they are buried in the Tsumisumbri Mountains; Shen Long grants the wish. Then, bio-men and Dr. Kochin come to Kame House, thinking that Master Roshi is still the strongest man in the world. Roshi and Bulma are kidnapped by Dr. Kochin's men. While in caprivitiy, Bulma lets slip that Goku is now the strongest man in the world. Goku comes to the laboratory to try to save Roshi and Bulma, but can he triumph and save the day?

The only extra included on the disc for The World's Strongest are trailers for Ragnarok, xxxHOLiC, the Dragon Ball Z movies, and Dragon Ball Z. It was a little disappointing to not get an audio commentary, since the first film in the set had one.

When it comes to the films in the set, I enjoy Dead Zone; its 45 minute runtime is the perfect length for the story that's being told. However, I think The World's Strongest is a little too long. It's 60 minutes in length, but some of the battle sequences run a little too long; it would have worked a little better if some of those sequences could have been shortened.

If you're a fan of Dragon Ball Z who is trying to track down the movies, these "double feature" DVDs is one of the potential ways to go about getting the films for your collection.

I wrote this review after watching a copy of this DVD set that I checked out through the King County Library System.

"Dead Zone" and "The World's Strongest" are rereleased in 1080p HD with original content such as original Japanese language and soundtrack along with American audio. Since this version is the Blu-ray Disc format both movies are compiled onto one disc. Everything about this release is perfect for DBZ fans.

The movies were great, but the case itself had scratches on all four corners and had a small indent on the bottom left front,an inch away from the corner. The thing is that I can't complain, unlike the other two guys review, I had it easy. Just be wary when buying because if your a die hard collector that want it in mint condition, you might be disappointed.