Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone – It Was Almost Perfect

Dragon Ball Z had a multitude of movies that came out in the late 90s/early 2000s. None of these were considered canon, but many fans love them. You better believe I’m one of those fans. While I admit that there are a lot of issues with many of them, I’m a Dragon Ball fanatic and thoroughly entertained regardless. Last week, I shared my thoughts on Dragon Ball: The Path to Power, and this week, I have the pleasure of reviewing one of, in my opinion, the best Dragon Ball Z movies, Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone.

Although Dead Zone and the other DBZ movies aren’t considered canon, they’re meant to be viewed along the same timeline. Dead Zone is the very first Dragon Ball Z movie that was released. It’s also the only movie that is set after the end of Dragon Ball but before the end of Dragon Ball Z. I bring this up because it’s a Dragon Ball Z movie, but it does have a good amount of spirit that Dragon Ball had towards the end of its run. It was a nice balance that worked in the movie’s favor. The transition from Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball Z was smoother in this movie than between the two shows.

Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone has a really simple story. An alien named Garlic Jr. wants to wish for immortality in a plan for revenge, so he kidnaps Gohan to use the Dragon Ball on his hat. It’s up to Goku to save Gohan from Garlic Jr. and his henchmen. As I stated in my Path to Power review, Dragon Ball has always benefitted from having straightforward stories like this one, and it makes for an exciting story.

Another thing that works in Dead Zone’s favor with this being set before Dragon Ball Z is that the story isn’t a flashy movie with outlandish battles. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy them. However, I never mind a grounded DBZ story, as it gives certain characters a chance to shine. Goku, Piccolo, Kami, and Gohan each have an opportunity to do some fantastic work. Goku goes to town on Garlic Jr’s three henchmen, Ginger, Nicky, and Sansho – at the same time, might I add. At the beginning of the movie, Piccolo gets jumped but returns to the fray and gets a good lick back.  The Guardian of the Earth, Kami, is also shown to have some fight left in him as he tries to stand against Garlic Jr., even going as far as to try and kill himself to defeat Garlic Jr.

As for Gohan’s shining moment, know Goku isn’t the one to save the day. As for how it’s done, watch the movie and see what happens. This movie accomplishes something that I thought wasn’t possible. It made me like Kid Gohan. In Dragon Ball Z and even some other films, Kid Gohan is as annoying as can be. And don’t even get me started on how he is in the video games. But in Dead Zone, Gohan is legitimately a kid who’s been kidnapped. The movie does a great job of showing how similar Gohan is to Goku and hinting at Gohan’s potential inside him.

Krillin also shows up in the movie and saves Goku from an attack, but other than that, he doesn’t get much action. He’s essentially there to be Gohan’s babysitter. It’s understandable; I just would rather have seen Krillin get a good moment in battle, too. Bulma and Master Roshi briefly appear along with Ox King and Chi-Chi at the beginning. While they may show up on the screen briefly, they help move the story along. With their presence, it helps with the pacing of the movie. It’s not too fast, and it doesn’t drag. With how enjoyable the story is, it’s hard to believe how quickly the movie passes by. That’s not saying much, though; the movie is only 41 minutes long.

The one character I had an issue with in the movie is Garlic Jr. Think of a bootleg Emperor Pilaf from O.G. Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Super, or even the trash beginning of Dragon Ball GT. Yes, Garlic Jr. resembles Emperor Pilaf and even shares the same voice actor with him. However, that’s where the similarities stop. Garlic Jr. is actually evil. He wants revenge for having his father trapped in a Dead Zone and will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. He can even transform into a hulking version of himself. But for how determined and powerful he is, Garlic Jr. is an idiot.

The one part of the story that bothered me was evident toward the movie’s beginning. As stated earlier, Piccolo was jumped at the start of the film by Ginger, Nicky, and Sansho, and they believe that they’ve killed him. Even Garlic Jr. believes it, delighting that Kami is dead as well. However, Kami is shown to be alive in the very next scene. With Garlic Jr. knowing that if Piccolo dies, Kami will die as well, it’s hard to believe that he doesn’t know that if Kami dies, the Dragon Balls will cease to function, which means that his wish for immortality would be unable to be granted. It’s a huge plot hole that I didn’t discover until I watched Dead Zone again.

Seeing Piccolo and Goku team up was great in this movie, and we almost got the rematch between Goku and Piccolo if it weren’t for Garlic Jr. having immortality. However, that presents another issue I found within the story. Goku and Piccolo began fighting as they believed that they defeated Garlic Jr. However, Garlic Jr. rises as they start fighting and yells that he can’t be killed, then opens a portal to his own Dead Zone, which begins sucking up the entire planet. It’s shown that Goku and Piccolo are still fighting when this is happening, and I’m sorry, but it’s ridiculous that they didn’t hear any of that.

Aside from these small details, I really did enjoy this movie. The action was great. The fight scenes were animated wonderfully. The story was enjoyable, and the pacing was just right. For the first Dragon Ball Z movie, it’s a really good one. And I’d argue that this should have been the definitive introduction to Dragon Ball Z, but I’m fine with it not being content. I’m definitely going to check out the filler Garlic Jr. Saga in Dragon Ball Z in the coming days. Two excellent movies down, 18 more to go. Next up, Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest!