INTRODUCTION

Dragonball Z is a Japanese animated cartoon series and for those of you who have read other reviews of mine, you will be able to tell that I am a bit of an avid fan.
Now Dragonball Z is all about fighting, all about honour and all about Good Vs Evil. It is also about standing on your head when something funny occurs and about groaning for long periods of time but we shall put that to one side.
Dragonball Z is seperated into sagas. Now although there are definable sagas, each saga continues the story from the last. The first saga of Dragonball Z is the "Saiyan Saga". This is followed by the "Namek Saga", the "Ginyu Saga" and then the "Frieza Saga" (the one reviewed here). What makes the Frieza Saga special is that it is a culmination of all the sagas before it. Take a look at the story and events leading to it and you'll see what I mean.

DRAGONBALL Z: APPROACHING FRIEZA

Understanding this saga is about understanding Saiyans. Saiyans are basically just like humans except with super strength and power (and their hair never grows either). Also, whenever a saiyan is defeated in battle, they become stronger when they heal. Goku is a saiyan and has a son called Gohan (who is half saiyan, half human). Their friends include Piccolo (an alien from the planet Namek who looks like a bald green human), Yamcha, Krillin and Chauzu. When two evil Saiyans arrive in the first saga to destroy Earth, only these fighters can stand against them. With Goku delayed in arriving, Piccolo Yamcha and Chauzu are destroyed by the first of the two Saiyans (Nappa). Then Goku arrives and takes care of him for good. But the other Saiyan is stronger and called Vegeta. After a lot of fighting (and with an input from Gohan), Vegeta and Goku are both on death's door and Vegeta struggles to his ship to escape. Goku is sent to hospital.
Now we come to the "Namek" saga - where Frieza makes a debut appearance. In order to revive the friends killed by Nappa, the dragonballs (7 orange spheres which when brought together grant the finder 2 wishes) on planet Namek must be collected. Gohan and Krillin go to Namek to take on the task. Bulma is a girl who accompanies them but she is not important. On Namek, Vegeta arrives healed up and also out to get the dragonballs for immortality. And a third party is already in place, with 5 balls already collected! The evil Frieza and his henchmen - the most powerful being in the universe. The saga that follows is a ruthless murdering of Namekians as the two evil parties race for the dragonballs and the good guys are heavily out-matched. When Goku later arrives to help out, he fights all of Frieza's evil henchmen (The Ginyu Force - Ginyu Saga) and takes a battering in the process. He then goes to rest in a healing tank in Frieza's ship. Gohan and Krillin have by this time actually sort of teamed up with Vegeta with the purpose of taking on Frieza. Vegeta rests and while this happens, Gohan and Krillin take advantage and summon the dragon with all 7 dragonballs (which had previously been guarded by Frieza's Ginyu Force). They wish for Piccolo to be brought back to life and to planet Namek - again, in the growing campaign against Frieza. However, before the second wish can be granted, Vegeta wakes up and decides he wants immortality. Remember that Vegeta still plans to kill all of the good guys, though Frieza is his number one problem so while Frieza is around, the good guys can only be assets to him. Indeed, the same is true for the good guys - they need Vegeta's help against Frieza. Before the second wish can be granted, the dragonballs turn to stone as the eldest Namekian dies. At this point, Frieza (who had realised that everyone was using the balls behind his back) arrives in a temper. Everyone is in trouble!

THE FRIEZA SAGA: A RELENTLESS BATTLE

So now we come to the Frieza saga. An all - fighting affair, with plenty of twists and turns all the way. Frieza has arrived and only Gohan, Krillin and Vegeta are there to face him. Goku is still healing in Frieza's ship (unbeknown to Frieza) and needs a long time to heal. Piccolo has arrived on Namek and fuses with another Namekian who is dying, thanks to a beating from Frieza earlier when Frieza wanted information from him. The fusion results in a massive strength boost for Piccolo. Also - while Piccolo was dead, he had been training with someone called King Kai - a place where you go when you die. This had also made him much stronger so despite previously being nothing in comparison to Vegeta, he is now much more.

So. That hopefully sets the scene for you - a major battle is about to go down. The Frieza Saga is very honestly named. It is all about fighting Frieza and it takes an incredible 34 episodes (or 14 hours) for all of the events and fighting to take place and conclude. The Frieza Saga itself can be purchased over 10 DVD's with each DVD containing 3 or 4 episodes. I own some of these DVDs but others are harder to acquire, though I have seen the entire saga before on TV.

FRIEZA INVINCIBLE?

For most of the saga, you'll be asking the question that titles this section of the review. At the start of the saga, Vegeta is actually equally strong to Frieza and starts to fight but Frieza has an ability to transform. When he does, his strength increases dramatically. On finding Vegeta equally strong, Frieza transforms into a huge monstorous form of his former self and starts a merciless assault on Krillin, Gohan and Vegeta. Krillin is first on the list and is impaled by one of frieza's horns before some truly ruthless torture on Frieza's part (Uncut version only). And so the fighting goes on. Both Gohan and krillin are brutally attacked but thanks to Dende (a namekian child who is with them and who has the power to heal people), they are both healed without Frieza knowing what happened.

And so the saga continues. Soon, Piccolo arrives to challenge Frieza also. But although Frieza seems to be out matched in places, he never is. The fight with Piccolo sees both sides dishing out some punishment but before long, Piccolo appears to be on top. On finding Piccolo too strong, Frieza reveals he can transform twice more...and makes the next transformation. This one sees Frieza's head grow huge, his shoulders extend and spikes emerge from his back and head. His face also points outwards but most important is that Frieza is much faster and a whole lot stronger.
With the battle resumed, Piccolo has no hope. Frieza soon has him on the receiving end of a violent plethora of energy attacks but Gohan can't stand to watch this. He flies off after Frieza in a rage, despite the radical differences in their power.

After a mighty energy blast, Gohan almost has Frieza toppled...but not quite and soon he has no power left. Frieza, being astounded by his efforts decides to transform to his final form....Ultimate Frieza.

FRIEZA SAGA: A MASTERPIECE

So there you have it - the first stages of the frieza saga and with plenty more action to come. It's a thrilling experience for fans of Dragonball Z but DBZ has always been something you love or hate. On the surface, it's a childish fighting cartoon but many people are soon absorbed and drawn into the plot, eager to see what happens next and the Frieza saga is an example of this. For those who have seen the sagas leading up to it, it becomes much more of a must - see but for those who are new to Dragonball Z and intrigued, this is a fine place to start, though there will be plenty of questions raised as various different events are referred to.
The animation, as with all Dragonball Z can at times be a bit static - that is there is little movement. This has always been an issue with Dragonball Z but to be honest, I am not too bothered by it - I can still really enjoy watching. Of course the actual fighting scenes see plenty of movement but the parts between can at times be a little more still.

FRIEZA SAGA: THE DVDs

You can purchase the DVDs on Amazon, ebay and other such sites. Sites such as play.com don't have them available. The DVDs contain between 3 and 4 episodes and are as follows:

DVD 1: FRIEZA - THE SUMMONING

These episodes see Krillin and Gohan summon the eternal dragon to make their wishes. After the dragon has granted wish 1 of 2, the balls are turned to stone with Guru's death and Vegeta is left annoyed at not being able to wish for immortality. But more pressing issues are at large...Frieza!

DVD 2: FRIEZA - TRANSFORMATION

These episodes see Frieza transform to his second form and give Krillin and Gohan a good beating, with vegeta nervously waiting his turn. But soon Piccolo arrives to start a battle with the evil super giant.

DVD 3: FRIEZA - REVEALED

Frieza finds Piccolo too strong, so he transforms to his second form and has the brave namekian on the receiving end of a vicious assault. Gohan intervenes but fails to damage the tyrant and soon he's morphing into his final form! Dende (the healing namekian child) is killied in a trice.

DVD 4: FRIEZA - DEATH OF A PRINCE

Vegeta, having used Krillin to injure him and Dende to then heal him steps up with greater strength and power to challenge Frieza (remember a saiyan grows stronger after recovering from injury).

DVD 5: FRIEZA - CLASH

Goku has arrived to face the alien and it's a mighty clash of powers.

DVD 6: FRIEZA - DESPERATION

With Goku getting ripped apart with no chance of beating the tyrannical monster, what can be done?

DVD 7: FRIEZA - SUPER SAIYAN GOKU

DVD 8: FRIEZA - ELEVENTH HOUR

DVD 9: FRIEZA - FALL OF A TYRANT

DVD 10: FRIEZA - NAMEK'S END

DVD 11: FRIEZA - DEFEATED

So there you have the DVDs in the series. I have avoided a synopsis for later DVDs so as not to spoil the plot for those interested. It's an exhilarating journey and the action rarely lets up much. Each DVD can be bought new or used at various prices ranging from about £1:50 - £10:00.

DVD EXTRAS

There are very very few DVD extras, almost none to be precise. There are a few preview clips for later sagas and thats about it. None too impressive, but then I have already seen all of Dragonball Z and I dont get the Frieza DVDs for the extras but for those who like a lot of extras and background information, these DVDs will doubtlessly disappoint in that field.
On the DVDs you can either view them in English, or in original Japanese. Needless to say, the latter makes absolutely no sense unless you understand the language but it also features different background music and the credits on the Japanese version look like a load of warped images that you'd see if you'd taken LSD. The English version takes things more seriously and in my opinion is more enjoyable to watch (language aside).

WHO CAN WATCH?

The DVDs can either be bought uncut or edited. If you get the uncut DVDs, they are probably not suitable for children aged 12 or under due to blood and violence. Particularly the second episode on the second DVD - that episode may pose problems. However, with the edited version anyone can watch - there is no gore and not too much violence but still plenty of action.

CONCLUSION

So overall, yes I would definately recommend the Frieza saga to all Dragonball Z fans and also fans of such programmes. In my opinion, this is the best saga that Dragonball Z has to offer. It has had a good build up in sagas prior and shows plenty of action with Good Vs Evil. You'll have a lot of viewing if you purchase the entire saga and this is a saga that I can watch again and again (and I have). The drawings are great and despite a slight nagging lack of movement here and there, this is a great watch.

So grab those DVDs and get viewing! The good guys won't wait for you forever and the monstrous Frieza won't just fork it over without one hellacious battle. Fortunately, you'll have the entire action right in your hands.

V