Dragon Ball Z: The Ultimate Review - The Saiyan Saga

Dragon Ball Z was the ultimate anime for me as a kid! And the Saiyan saga was my first introduction to what would become a life long obsession! I adore this story and I wanted to pour my heart into a passion project like this for so long! I hope you have fun watching this love letter to the adventures of Goku, Gohan, Krillin and Piccolo as they try to defeat the evil Nappa and the heinous Vegeta!

MUSIC USED

Kikuchi Score from DB and DBZ
The Biggest Fight (DB Final Bout)
Low Life on the Highway (Battlejuice)
Drifter (White Bat)

Covers:

Cha La Head Cha La (Cover by Termosismicos)
Gohan's Anger (Cover by Vossel)
Challengers (Cover by Enigmo)
Fearsome Ginyu Force (Cover by Android Orchestra)

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction
1:28 Raditz' Arrival
14:27 The Training
23:45 The Saiyan Invasion
46:37 Goku Arrives
50:31 Behind The Animation
1:00:57 Goku vs Vegeta
1:15:41 The Earth vs Vegeta

[superj]

Bro was so serious he actually admitted that he totally is Mark

[DashtheBard]

Dude, that bit about Yamcha's sacrifice had me floored. I completely forgot that Yamcha volunteered to go before Krillin because Krillin already died before. It was tactically sound, and he was proven right. Big props to the guy who is meme'd on perhaps too much than he deserves.

[VidaAnimada]

It's funny how we got so used to hearing that DBZ is simple and that is has "no story" that some of us ended up accepting that "truth" and simply anjoy the series as if it were mindless fun.

HOWEVER this video is a wake-up call to many of us who fell under this falacy that DBZ is shallow and it is only about fighting.

Thanks, Mark. This video is not just good, it is NEEDED!

[Jettingson]

I love how Mark is always standing defiantly against the people who go around saying Dragon Ball is just mindless action.

[trikan]

The part with Gohan being unable to attack Nappa after the combo attack made me realize something: During the Cell Games, the reason Piccolo is the one to make Goku realize he made a miscalculation with putting Gohan in his plan is because Piccolo made the EXACT same mistake when making the plan here against the Saiyans. He learned about Gohan's biggest weakness WAY before Goku ever got to know his son. that's crazy.

[Spiderslayer-msbj]

I feel bad for chi chi tbh. Imagine getting a news that your husband is dead and that your son is kidnapped on the same day. She didn’t see both of them for a year. And when she sees them again both of them are almost dead. She sees her 4 year old son unconscious on the floor. She also sees her husband lying on the floor after just coming back to life. And not to mention that she was watching the battle through a crystal ball. That means that she sees Vegeta crushing her husband while she can’t do anything else but to watch. It’s no surprise that she forbids Gohan to fight.

[ThelronFjord]

Memes aside, Yamcha's death was pretty impactful. Imagine being some Japanese kid in 1989, watching Dragon Ball Z for the first time live. You’re a big Yamcha fan, and despite all the bad luck, misfortune, and nut shots, you watch him kick some cabbage monster’s ass. He stands defiantly against the Saiyans, ready to take on more Saibamen, until the previous one lunges out of the hole, and latches onto Yamcha, self-destructing.

Krillin goes to check his pulse, but there is none. Yamcha has died, the first casualty of the Saiyans. Krillin cries, Puar cries, Bulma cries, and you cry, because your favorite Dragon Ball character just died right before your eyes, and he died not to the Saiyans, but to one of their cabbage monsters in an amazingly pathetic way.

Then 30 years later, Yamcha’s death becomes a joke so big, that even the animators and writers for the new Dragon Ball series make a cheeky reference to it in one of their filler episodes. What was heart wrenching then, is funny now, and that itself is pretty funny.

[MirellaSnape]

As someone from Latin America, who atually saw Dragon Ball before Dragon Ball Z, the weight of what Piccolo did by saving Gohan was so damn powerful. I remember being a tween crying over him. That moment turned him into my favourite character.

[rainbowyoshi]

After hearing of Toriyamas passing, i decided to revisit this mammoth of a review series, a love letter of some of Toriyamas most loved work.

He may have passed, but his work remains here for us to enjoy. That will allow him to live on for many many years.

Genuinley hope the current games in circulation do domething to celebrate his life

[benguy]

The bit with Yajirobe is still one of my favorite moments. This dude has hardly done a thing since they introduced him in the OG Dragonball, then comes in clutch twice at the darkest hour like 10 years later.

[EpicNerdsWithCameras]

1:24:42 That little flash of Majin Vegeta sent chills down my spine. We joke about Toriyama forgetting things, but when it comes to things like this, he never forgets.

[DonWeaselYeehawEdition]

Piccolo’s sacrifice will always bring tears to my eyes, manga, anime or otherwise. The way he says to Gohan “you were the only one who ever really talked to me” strikes an emotional chord I don’t think any over dramatic or explanatory dialogue could. While Goku’s friends saw Piccolo as a monster and even Goku hesitated to trust him, Gohan looked past Piccolos facade and saw what he truly needed, a friend who saw him as someone deserving of love.

[lemonsodaa]

1:01:00 I was honestly left speechless by this little montage showcasing the fight with little clips from all the different dubs of the show not only including the English and Japanese one but for all the other parts of the world. As someone who grew up listening to the Italian dub this really made me feel nostalgic and caught me super off guard

I truly hope you do this for every major villain of this series.

[AaronLitz]

Really great stuff. I love that you point out how Yamcha's death at the hands of the Saibaman wasn't because he was weak; it was a _heroic sacrifice_ that would have happened to whichever of them fought. _Yamcha won that fight;_ it was only because of a kamikaze sneak attack that he was killed, after he willingly stepped up to fight before Krillin to save him from risking a second death. I really hate Yamcha being portrayed as a joke and made fun of.

[generalshort]

1:24:44 That sick flash to Majin Vegeta when Mark said, "Fight him again."

[zenkai]

This isn’t just a review of Dragon Ball Z, it’s a love letter to the arc and the series as a whole. You’ve really done it this time time Mark! Can’t wait for the Namek Arc! Keep it up man.

[elementaltwins]

Dear God. The editor of this video must be paid immensely. The edito done at 41:33 was absolutely beautiful and brought tears to my eye. Absolutely amazing

[pvenger]

Its finally time to show people why this series is much deeper than most people think.

[CamCoreMusic]

Dude that majin vegeta edit when talking about goku wanting to fight him again was perfect! Goosebumps fr

[sebastiangaranton]

Saw this a few months ago and came back to watch it all again after finding out Toriyama-sensei's passing. Thank you Mark, for making this tribute and help us recapture and understand the world impact that Toriyama made on all of us and how it touched and influenced the upbringing of so many people across different cultures. His work will be forever inmortilized and he can rest easy knowing that his legacy and message will live across all generations to come. Fly high Master!