Dragon Ball Z E15: Dueling Piccolos

If you have not read my review for episode 14, you may do so here: Dragon Ball Z E14: Princess Snake

While Gohan studies and reminisces about better times with his parents, Piccolo is doing some reminiscing of his own.  Replaying the battle with Raditz in his head he splits himself into two for some serious training.  Piccolo has a lot of interesting powers that other characters on the show do not have.  It’s always cool to see him use them.

Gohan uses his high intelligence to make a sailboat which is able to travel on sand.  This will certainly help him make better time on his journey.  Unfortunately he is attacked by a giant bird.  He does manage to escape but his transportation is ruined.  Where is the flying nimbus when you need it?

After ending up on a beach, Gohan decides to find his way home.  Little does he know he is being stalked by a sabertooth tiger.  The tiger never presents any real danger to him though.  After a lot of travel Gohan eventually ends up where he started, on the beach.  He climbs a mountain to discover he is on a island.  Meanwhile, Chi-Chi’s Dad is attempting to get her to eat.

Piccolo keeps up his hard training against himself, trying to discover any weakness he may have.  Gohan trys a new method; he builds a boat but gets himself into trouble when he is out in the middle of the ocean and a storm hits.  Piccolo feels that Gohan is in danger and puts himself back together.  On Snake Way, Goku continues his journey.  Will he make it in time?

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods

IMAX Corporation and Toei Company Ltd. today announced that Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods will be digitally re-mastered into the immersive IMAX® format and released to IMAX® Digital theatres in Japan starting March 30 . The film marks the first-ever Japanese movie to be released in IMAX® as well as the first movie installment in Akira Toriyama’s iconic Dragon Ball franchise in 17 years.

Toriyama, highly influential in manga animation and known for his playful, influential storytelling and distinctive art style, has been involved with the development of the screenplay and the production for this latest feature. He has delivered a completely new original story that is focused on the period between the “Z” and “GT” Dragon Ball animated series – or, more specifically, between installments 517 and 518 of the Dragon Ball comic book series, filling the 10-year story lapse after Demon Boo is defeated.

“We’re proud to be partnering with a pioneering manga creator like Akira Toriyoma to release the latest installment of this beloved franchise and our first Japanese film in IMAX,” said Greg Foster , Chairman and President of IMAX Entertainment. “With its fast-paced battle sequences and stunning visuals, we believe Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods is an ideal fit for The IMAX Experience®.”

Dragon Ball Z E14: Princess Snake

If you have not read my review for episode 13, you may do so here: Dragon Ball Z E13: Goz and Mez

This is pretty much a goofy filler episode.  Still powered by the fruit he stole in the last episode, Goku has already made it back to where he fell off of snake way.  Past that point he finds a building that sucks him into it.  Goku gets confused and assumes Princess Snake is actually King Kai…no one ever said Goku was a rocket scientist!

Princess Snake mostly wastes Goku’s time by teaching him how to dance and fixing him dinner.  Everything she does, from giving him a bath to the dinner was a trick (they put a sleeping agent in his food).  Princess Snake actually wants to eat Goku.  Every time Goku attempts to leave, Princess Snake talks him into staying a while longer.  While sleeping, Goku has a dream about the Saiyans arriving without him there to save everyone.

Goku wakes up to find out that Princess Snakes palace is all an illusion and he is actually in a snake’s belly.  He manages to escape but the snake chases him.  Using his maneuverability, Goku tricks the snake into being tied into a knot.  Goku gets back on his path, traveling snake way.  So far, three months have passed.  While all of this was going on, back on earth, Gohan saw Piccolo training and everyone else arrived at Kami’s lookout.

Dragon Ball Z E13: Goz and Mez

If you have not read my review of episode 12, you may do so here: Dragon Ball Z E12: Global Training

Goku wakes up to find out the strange fruit tree is guarded by a couple of Ogres.  No one is allowed to eat the fruit except for King Yemma.  Not only that, but once someone falls off of snake way, they can never return!  Meanwhile we also see Tien and the gang climbing up to Korin’s tower.

Goku isn’t one to give up so he attempts to jump back onto snake way but simply can’t jump high enough.  One of the Ogres, Goz, offers to wrestle Goku in exchange for a flying machine that will allow him to return to his journey.  Goku wins the match without much effort but it turns out Goz was just messing with him.  He doesn’t really have a flying machine and simply uses a giant teeter totter to send Goku flying upwards…into the clouds, which form a solid barrier he can’t get through.

Mez decides to mess with Goku as well and offers to tell him about a secret passage if Goku is able to catch him.  Once again, Goku takes up the challenge.  After a big chase, Goku catches Mez by tricking him.  Mez shows Goku the secret passage back to snake way when Goku reveals that he had managed to take a piece of fruit off of the tree when they weren’t looking.  Goku, thinking he got the last laugh, finds out he was tricked again.  This passage does lead back to snake way, but it leads back to the very beginning of snake way.  Goku has to start completely from scratch.  The good news is, the fruit Goku took from the tree gives him double the strength and fills him up for 3 months.

Dragon Ball Z E12: Global Training

If you have not read my review of episode 11, you may do so here: Dragon Ball Z E11: Terror on Arlia

As this episode opens, Gohan is having a nightmare about his father, Goku.  With everything that has been going on, Gohan really hasn’t had a chance to grieve over Goku’s death.  Meanwhile, Bulma and the gang are on the lookout for Tien and Chiaotzu so that they can also receive special training from Korin.

During his journey, Goku runs into someone using a street sweeper to clean snake way.  The bad news is Goku finds out that he has only made it about a quarter of the way, the good news is the street sweeper told Goku he can hitch a ride on the back of his vehicle and he will take him half way.  Launch (a character from Dragon Ball who switches personalities when she sneezes) has fixed a meal for Tien and attempts to talk him into robbing banks with her.  Tien wants nothing to do with her and leaves to continue his training, with the goal of beating Goku.

Piccolo is training on his own, using his mind to lift pyramids.  He loses control of one and drops it, causing an earthquake.  During the earthquake Gohan is almost trapped underground but he uses his new skills to jump out before the ground closes up.  The earthquake does destroy Launch’s house though, and Tien is forced to save her.

Bulma uses the scouter to locate Tien and Chiaotzu.  After filling them in on all that has happened they are more then ready for the special training.  Launch (who is apparently obsessed with Tien) isn’t very happy about the situation.  Back on snake way, the street sweeper hits a bump on the road and a sleeping Goku is knocked off of the vehicle and falls off of snake way.  He wakes up to find some kind of fruit tress.  Just as Goku is ready to eat, someone or something knocks him out from behind.

Dragon Ball Z E11: Terror on Arlia

If you have not read my review of episode 10, you may do so here: Dragon Ball Z E10: A New Friend

Gohan wakes up and gathers breakfast and it seems like he is mastering the survival training Piccolo is putting him through.  He is no longer the whiny little kid who can’t do anything for himself.  The T-Rex from the previous episodes even shows up and Gohan toys with him before cutting off part of his tail to make a steak.  Meanwhile, out in space we see the dreaded Saiyans waking up from a deep sleep and on back on Earth Yamcha is still bragging about how strong he is going to be.

Besides a quick glimpse of Goku still running on snake way, the rest of the episode focuses on the Saiyan landing on a planet called Arlia.  This is an interesting episode because up to this point we have never really seen the Saiyans do anything.  Since they were flying by anyway on their way to Earth, Vegeta and Nappa decide make a quick stop to stretch their legs…and conquer the entire planet of Arlia out of boredom so they can sell it off and make a profit.

Arlia is a planet with an insect looking race living on it.  It has apparently been under the rule of a tyrant King for hundreds of years.  Just for sport, Vegeta and Nappa allow themselves to be captured by the Arlians.  While in prison the Saiyans come across some Arlian prisoners; one of them had his wife stolen from him so the King could take her as his Queen.  Vegeta gets bored and decides to end this.  The Saiyans break into the King’s throne room, where he has Arlians fight to the death for his amusement.

After easily defeating all of the King’s guards and even his giant monster he keeps for a pet, the Saiyans finish off the King as well as he begs for his life.  The rest of the prisoners escape and thank the Saiyans for all that they have done.  Deciding that the planet Arlia is worthless, Vegeta and Nappa get into their ships to finish the trip to Earth.  On Arlia we see the prisoner who had his wife stolen reuniting with her.  Back out in space Vegeta stops his ship and blows up the entire planet of Arlia, probably just because the whole experience ended up being a waste of time.

Even when celebrated as heroes by an enslaved race, the Saiyans do not care about life.  They didn’t free the people to help them, they did it just for the fun of killing people in single combat.  If we didn’t already know, we now understand just how evil and without mercy the Saiyans are.

Dragon Ball Z E10: A New Friend

If you have not read my review of episode 9, you may do so here:  Dragon Ball Z E9: The Strangest Robot

As this episode begins, it seems Gohan is starting to be able to take care of himself out in the wild.  He has caught a fish, gathered some fruit and even made himself some medicine to heal his wounds (which he learned how to do from watching Goku).  Unfortunately for Gohan, something big and mean is sneaking up behind him.

For the first time in the series we see Yamcha, an old favorite from Dragon Ball.  He has become a baseball player though he doesn’t seem very excited about it.  Turns out he misses fighting and only plays baseball because he is really good at it and it pays the bills.  Luckily for him, Krillin shows up and informs Yamcha about everything that has been happening and tells him about the offer for special training.  Without a second thought, Yamcha is in.  Yamcha and Bulma also have a little reunion but Bulma is still mad at Yamcha for going out with another girl.

Back in the cave, Gohan wakes up to find he is not alone.  There is a giant dinosaur in there with him!  He runs out of the save but then decides he needs to be brave so he goes back to challenge the beast.  Things are not as it seems though, and the dinosaur actually has a wound that is hurting him.  Gohan uses the medicine he knows how to make to heal him up.  The only problem is, a huge T-Rex (the one Gohan had run from in an earlier episode) shows up and starts attacking the other dinosaur.  Gohan does his best to fight the T-Rex but gets knocked out during the battles.  By the time Gohan wakes up, the dinosaur he had helped is dead and has been eaten by the T-Rex.

After Yamcha brags about how much stronger he will be from the special training at Korin’s tower, Bulma seems to get over being mad at him.  During all of this Goku is still traveling snake way, and it is starting to seem like it will never end.

Dragon Ball Z E9: The Strangest Robot

If you have not read my review for Episode 8, you may do so here: Dragon Ball Z Ep 8: Gohan Goes Bananas!

Gohan wakes up to find out that not only is he down off of the cliff he was on but he has completely new clothes, a sword and his tail is missing!  He has no memory of turning into a giant ape or Piccolo destroying the moon to turn him back into his regular form.  Gohan doesn’t get a lot of time to figure out what happened as he is attacked by several wild animals, eventually falling down into some sort of cavern.

Inside of the cavern Gohan finds a strange robot.  After accidentally powering him up, Gohan is told by the robot to turn him back off and leave.  Gohan agrees but not before he asks for a way out.  The robot tells him to escape using the tunnel behind him, but that only leads to a huge cliff that is so high, Gohan can’t even see the bottom of it.  After waking the robot up again, and complimenting him, the robot decides to help Gohan get some food so he doesn’t starve to death.

Gohan wants to help the robot so he attempts to dig him out of the rubble he is trapped in but it just causes a cave in.  Using the last of his power supply, the robot throws Gohan out of the save and into safety.  Gohan comes back after the cave has collapsed to talk to the machine as he dies.  Motivated by not being strong enough to do anything, Gohan marches off to find his way home with a new determination.

This episode was mostly just a filler episode.  I assume it’s only reason purpose was to motivate Gohan to be tough and start taking things seriously, because there are consequences to being weak in a situation like the one he is in.  Goku is seen briefly a few times, but all he does is talk and dream about eating food.

I give this episode 2 out of 4 stars.

Dragon Ball Z Ep 8: Gohan Goes Bananas!

Considering the Saiyans are on their way to destroy the earth and will arrive in one year, one would think it would be time to start the serious training.  But no, this episode is mostly filling in characters on plot (which the audience already knows) and is played for comic relief.

Gohan is still out in the wilderness with Piccolo keeping an eye on him.  Krillin is still dodging having to tell Chi-Chi that her husband is dead and her son has been taken by Piccolo, and Goku is still traveling Snake Way.

Bulma does manage to get the Saiyan’s scouter working and to make sure it’s reading correctly, she takes the power levels of Krillin, Master Roshi and Turtle.  We find out Krillin is the most powerful of the bunch and Master Roshi is disappointed to find out how weak he has become with his old age.

The biggest event taking place in this episode is that Gohan sees the full moon, which turns him into a giant ape.  As from the title of this episode, Gohan in ape form is a big problem!  He starts destroying everything in site and Piccolo has to come up with a quick plan to stop him or there won’t be an earth left to defend.  Piccolo remembers what Raditz says about needing the moon to transform so Piccolo blows it up, reverting Gohan back to his normal form.

This is an okay episode with a few funny moments, it seemed more like a review to catch people up more than anything.  2 out of 4 stars.

Dragon Ball Z Ep 7: Day 1

Here we are, Day 1 of Gohan's crash course in Martial Arts training!  If our heroes are going to have a chance against the mighty Saiyans, it begins here.  It begins with, oddly enough, no Martial Arts training.  Piccolo informs Gohan that he is going to abandon him in the woods for the next six months and if he can survive, he will train him.

Elsewhere, Kami informs Mr. Popo that Piccolo seems to be changing.  That he might be developing some good in him judging by his actions.  He also says that he knows he will die in a year (if Kami or Piccolo dies, the other dies as well since they are actually 1 person split into 2-that also means the Dragon Balls will disappear).  We also see Goku leave snake way to find out that black shadowy hands come up through the clouds to try to pull him into a vortex of some kind.  Yeah, leaving snake way is not a good idea (even if it was an accident)!

Back in the middle of no where, Gohan gets chased by a T-Rex, only to have his true power manifest again.  This time not in an attack, but in speed.  Without even knowing how he did it he manages to end up on top of a high cliff, out of danger from the T-Rex.  In another example of Piccolo's heart softening, he (secretly) leaves Gohan a couple of apples to eat when he is hungry.

This episode didn't have a lot of action in it but it did reveal a few plot points.  I give this episode 2.5 out of 4 stars.

Man of Steel Hans Zimmer Score from Comic-con Footage

Here is Journey to the Line by Hans Zimmer, used during the footage for the Superman: Man of Steel footage at Comic-con.  Zack Snyder has already said they will not be using any of the music from the previous Superman movies, including the classic theme.  This movie is being made like there has never been a Superman movie before. 

Iron Man 3 Armor Revealed

Well, there it is.  The new Armor from Iron Man 3.  What do you guys think?  To be honest, I'm not feeling it much.  It's not horrible and it could look better in the film, but I like his classic red and gold look better.  Perhaps the new color is for a particular reason in the film.  Guess we will have to wait and find out.  The Armor for one of the villains (Iron Patriot) in the film has also been released.  Not a big fan of this one either really:

The Dark Knight: 9 Things You Didn't Know

I found this article that has some pretty interesting tidbits of information.  If you are a fan of the Christopher Nolan Batman films, this is definitely worth a read.

http://www.superherohype.com/features/articles/171847-9-thing-you-may-not-know-about-the-dark-knight-series

Dragon Ball Z Ep 6: No Time Like the Present

This episode begins with Piccolo telling the others that Goku disappeared at death because Kami, the guardian of Earth, took him for some unknown purpose.  Bulma, being curious as to how Raditz was able to find Goku so easily, is told by Piccolo that the device on Raditz' face is some sort of scanner that detects people.  This information isn't the only thing revealed to our heroes.  Piccolo also regrows his arm that was lost in the Raditz fight and tells everyone that he is taking Gohan to train him because he just might be the most powerful person on earth.

Meanwhile, in the afterlife we meet Goku again.  He has earned a chance to travel a path to King Kai on a trail called Snake Way.  All we know about it is that it is dangerous and Goku is told that if he falls of of it there is no coming back.  When he arrives at the entrance we find out Snake Way is 10,000 miles long and only one person has ever made it!  Before starting his journey he sends a message back to his friends not to wish him back for 1 year (that is how long he will train with King Kai).

Back on Earth Piccolo explains to Gohan what is happening and begins his training.  Very quickly Gohan's true power is revealed and Piccolo tells him he will help him learn to harness it.  Piccolo will have no mercy on Gohan, which is something new for the pampered child. 

I give this episode 4 out of 4 stars   

Dragon Ball Z Ep 5: Gohan's Rage

We open on Gohan's true power being shown.  Somehow his power level is so high he manages to hurt Raditz with a headbutt to the chest.  Considering this child doesn't even train and he managed to do something Goku and Piccolo combined couldn't is pretty interesting and sets up the mystery of how Gohan is so strong.

While Raditz is distracted by his desire to kill Gohan, Goku grabs him from behind in a full nelson.  Now Piccolo has the time to charge up his attack, and he knows it will land because Raditz can't move.  The only problem with this plan is that Goku will be killed by the attack as well.  Goku being the hero he is sacrifices his life so that this villain can be defeated.

Piccolo taunts Raditz before he dies by telling him it's no big deal for Goku, as his friends will wish him back using the Dragon Balls.  Unfortunately for Piccolo and the Earth, Raditz isn't the only one who hears this information.  Before Raditz dies he tells our heroes that there are other Saiyans listening in, who are even more powerful than he is, and they are on their way now that they know about the Dragon Balls.  We also see the mysterious Saiyans talking with each other, already deciding they want to wish for eternal life so that they can become something called a Super Saiyan.  

This whole introduction is an important one, as it sets the course for this show. It opens our Dragon Ball universe up for endless possibilities now that we know there are other aliens out there who are very strong.  It also shows the writers are not afraid to kill off main characters even early in the series (even if they can be brought back).  Who would have guessed when DBZ started that Goku would be dead within 5 episodes?  We know at this point that anything is game in this series.

Superman Man of Steel trailer

Apparently a Superman Man of Steel trailer will be released during The Dark Knight Rises according to information that came out at Comic-Con.  How excited for it are you?

Comic-Con Man of Steel Poster

What do you guys think?

Villain profile: Sylar

 If you have watched the now canceled TV series Heroes, you are very familiar with the character Sylar.  He started out as the main villain on season 1 but his character evolved and changed over the course of the show.  He is sort of the opposite of the main hero in season 1, Peter Petrelli.  Both of them have the ability to copy other specials powers, Sylar just kills people to do it while Peter does it through empathy.

In season 1 Sylar mostly just travels around murdering other specials in order to steal their powers.  Gaining more and more power, becoming important, that is Sylar's main purpose in life during this time.

After season 1 I think the writers thought about their situation, coming to the conclusion that both Sylar and Peter have been made much to powerful so they had to come up with some way to tone them down.  With Sylar they made him lose his abilities.  During all of season 2 he is just an ordinary man trying to figure out how to recover his lost abilities.  He still kills plenty of people along the way in his journey and at the very end of the season recovers his powers.

In season 3 we see Sylar's biggest weakness, he is mentally weak and easy to manipulate due to his mommy issues.  Unfortunately I think the writers made a mistake with Sylar that season.  They let him finally take Claire's power and another specials ability to shape change.  Now you can't even shoot or stab him in the back of the head to kill him (the only way to stop someone with that ability) because his shape shifting power lets him move that spot.  They made Sylar way to strong, so instead of getting into any battles he mostly just drives around learning about his past. 

He comes across his real Dad ( Sylar was adopted by his uncle) and finds out he has the exact same starting power as himself, the ability to take the powers of others.  We pretty much see Sylar's fate here, to become bored and alone.  I didn't really like how Sylar jumps from being a bad guy to a good guy to a bad guy so much in this season.  Like with a lot of other characters on the show during this time, his behavior seems to change on a dime.

In the 4th season, since Sylar is so powerful and they can't do much else with him, he pretty much just travels around some more trying to find some kind of meaning to his life.  He eventually  becomes trapped in his own mind, in his own personal hell, by Matt Parkman.  Since no one can physically beat Sylar anymore this is pretty much the only way he can be defeated.  During his time in his own mind (which felt like 5 years for him) he, with the help of Peter, becomes a good guy once again.  Peter forgives Sylar for murdering his brother Nathan (at the end of season 3) and they go off to stop the new bad guy.

Sylar is a good character but it seems like they mostly kept him around after season 1 just because he is popular.  It is interesting that he is the only main bad guy who actually repents and changes his ways but they shouldn't have had him switch back and forth so dramatically multiple times.  I also don't think he should have gotten Claire's power as that just makes him unbeatable in a fight (especially with Peter losing all of his powers).

I thought Sylar in season 2, being depowered was fine.  I simply wouldn't have let him get his old powers back, just start him over with a clean slate in season 3.  They also should have killed him during the 4th season (if not earlier).  They could have used the same redemption story line and had him sacrifice his life to save Peter, making up for his murder of his brother.

If the show had gone on I am not really sure what they would have done with him since he is basically invincible and has unlimited power.  I just think it would have been better to tone him down (by leaving him mortal he still has to worry about being killed and can be defeated) and keep him a little more consistent in his behavior but overall he is still used pretty well throughout the show.  I also understand that they wanted to keep him around because he is a fan favorite.  Having him give up his own life for the greater good, after having done so much evil, would have been a great exclamation point on his redemption story.

Sylar is a great villain, just used to much.  Like Jaws or Norman Bates, the less you see of him the better.  Leave some things to the imagination.  Filling in the blanks with your own mind is always better than being shown every little detail. 

The Walking Dead Season 3 Comic-Con Trailer

What do you guys think about the new The Walking Dead Season 3 trailer released at Comic-Con?  Looks like they are promoting much more action this season, lots of zombies.  We see a helicopter meaning we know for sure other survivors are out there somewhere.  This should offer some hope for our heroes, regardless of the crash.

The prison and the new town where humans apparently live in peace are interesting concepts (both were in the comic book as well).  If nothing else it offers new (non zombie related) conflict.  The last shot of the trailer looks pretty comic booky though, hopefully it works okay on film without being overly silly.

Dragon Ball Z ep 3: Unlikely Alliance

The episode opens with Goku down and unable to get up.  His brother Raditz wants him to kill 100 earthlings in 24 hours or threatens something bad will happen to his son Gohan.  Frankly, with what we know about Raditz already, there is no reason to believe he is lying about hurting or killing Gohan, this is one bad guy.

On top of all of that, Raditz has decided to conquer the earth and clear it of life, so they can sell it as the Saiyans do with other planets.  Though things seem hopeless, Goku remembers something that could aid him.  When he had a tail, it hurt him when someone grabbed it.  The same trick may work on his brother if he can get a hold of his tail.

Next thing you know Piccolo shows up on Roshi's island and it looks like things just went from bad to worse but Piccolo makes an interesting offer.  Piccolo suggests him and Goku should team up, forming an unlikely alliance, in order to defeat this new more powerful foe.....with the understanding that as soon as Raditz is defeated they become enemies again.  It's not the greatest deal ever but what choice to they have?

Meanwhile, Raditz gets a reading on his scouter that can't be correct.  His crying nephew Gohan has a power level higher than his Dad's and Piccolo's combined!  He assumes his scouter is broken until Goku and Piccolo show up and that confirms what his scouter was reading off to him.  How could such a little child, who doesn't even train, be so powerful?

Goku and Piccolo reveal they are both wearing weighted clothes and when removed their power levels a little higher but still no match for Raditz and he easily moves past them both and attacks without them even being able to react to it.  The episode ends with a standoff that it looks like our heroes just can't win.

I give this episode 3.5 out of 4 stars.