Dragonball Z (1989) - Synopsis
The Anime (or Japanese cartoon) craze is a worldwide phenomenon, and the series Dragonball Z in particular has an extremely loyal, almost cult-like following. This video, Arrival, is the first episode in the Dragonball Z series. It is literally where Dragonball Z begins.
You see, in the beginning there was Dragonball, a Japanese comic/cartoon series about a young boy named Goku who was found as a baby in the wild and raised by an elderly gentleman named Gohan. The focus of the Dragonball series was collecting the famed "Dragon Balls", seven of them, that were scattered all over the globe. Anyone who could gather all seven together could summon a magical dragon that would grant one wish. Once the wish was granted the Dragon Balls would scatter all over the world again. Young Goku and his friends trained in martial arts and spent their time collecting the Dragon Balls, fighting off evil-doers in the process..
In "Arrival", Goku is now a grown man, and he is on his way to the island home of his martial arts trainer from the old days, Master Roshi, for a reunion of the old gang. He is accompanied by his 5 1/2 year old son named after the elderly Gohan. The old gang is suprised to see that Goku has a son, and also suprised that the boy is not being trained in the martial arts. Gohan's mother, Chi Chi, forbids it and insists the boy spend all his time studying.
The happy reunion is short-lived, however, with the arrival of the evil Raditz. He appears to the gang and tells them that Goku is really Kakarott, a Saiyan from the now-destroyed planet Vegeta. The Saiyans are a race of warriors who destroy life on other planets and then offer the planets up as real estate. Kakarott (Goku) was sent to Earth as an infant with a mission to wipe out all human life here. As a baby Goku took a fall, however, that gave him amnesia, and caused him to forget his mission.
The evil Raditz informs Goku that it's time for him to start destroying the Earthlings, and when Goku refuses Raditz takes Goku's young son hostage and vanishes. As Goku is trying to figure out his next move, Picolo arrives. Picolo was Goku's archenemy in the original Dragonball series, but Picolo has already had a run-in with Raditz and he offers to form an alliance with Goku to defeat Raditz, knowing that neither he nor Goku has enough strength to defeat Raditz alone. Goku distrusts Picolo, but he agrees in order to save his son. I'll stop with the story there, but I will say that once "Arrival" is over, the story is far from over and you will immediately be wanting to watch the next episode, and the next one.
Hard-core Dragonball Z fans often dislike the video "Arrival" because the English version of Dragonball Z is heavily censored. In Japan Dragonball Z has a lot more graphic violence and profanity. "American" Dragonball Z is very family-friendly. Still, if you're new to Dragonball Z "Arrival" is definitely the place to start. Also, people who are not used to watching Japanese cartoons may be put off by the seeming simplicity of the animation. Just keep watching: it won't be long before you understand why Anime is so enourmously popular.
