Ranked #1472

Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock

Esta review también está en español.

In the Jump Anime Tour (version 2008) we received Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!, the first thing DB related in more than 13 years. And it was pretty good, since, only three years later in the Jump Festa 2012, we received Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock, a 20-minute special that adapts the manga of the same name.

The story show us that Bardock, Goku's father (and Raditz too, but nobody cares about him, thx to team four stars :P), survives that ginormous attack launched by Freiza, that killed all his companions and destroyed planet Vegeta. If he didn't die... what happened to him? In a weird turn of events, he time travel to the past. Yes people: he traveled through time, but not space. On a planet Vegeta (Plant in this time line) rather primitive, Bardock meets some purple aliens (that doesn't look like the saiyans or the tsufuru at all), and is cared by Ipana (village doctor) and his son, Berry. Soon after, two soldiers arrive, announcing that Plant now belongs to Chilled, universe emperor (and ancestor of Freezer, by the way). Bardock obviously kick their sorry mook asses, not because they're threatening the planet or the habitants, but just for the joy of crushing something similar to his original enemies. Receiving no response from his followers, Chilled decides to go to the planet himself, and Bardock will finally have the chance of revenge he desires so much...

So, story is not like "holy shit, what a great story!", but is in DB lines of quality. This special is also full of little details, like, for example, a healing pocion used in Plant will be the inspiration for the medical tanks used in Frieza's ships (remember those? Is where Vegeta's healed when he return from the Earth, and where Goku recovers after his fight with Ginyu). Of course, there are other stuff, but for a spoiler matter, I can't tell. There's also a little detail that change from the original story (it's so silly that it barely deserve mention, but since this is my review, I will do it anyways), and thats, in the intro, when Frieza destroy planet Vegeta. In this special, Zarbon and Dodoria are amused by the giant genocide, but in the original work, they're terrified by Frieza's madness (that was the whole point of the scene: showing how merciless Frieza was, that even his evil minions are scared).

Also, before actually watching this special, I was afraid that 20 minutes were way too short to adapt the story in a satisfactory way. Luckily, I was very wrong (maybe I had that impression since, in the original series, they needed like five eps to just charge energy xD), and everything flows nicely, with a very good pace.

Characters. Well, Bardock is a Saiyan. A real one, and that means he's wild and violent, but not sadistic or evil... we could say that, in behavior, he is in the middle between Goku and Vegeta. He even acts a little tsundere a few times! He's a bit confused about his current situation (since, you know... time travel is not that common... shut up, Trunks...), but he want to fight that Chilled dude and get some kind of revenge for what Frieza did to his peers (he kinda forgot that he had a premonition in which he saw his son, Goku, beating him xD). On the side of the good aliens, they all are quiet and kind, similar to the Namek people. None of them want to fight (even if they wanted to, they're a pack of little pushovers anyways), and they consider Bardock their hero for saving them for those damn soldiers. Berry, specially, appreciate him the most, and admire him a lot, even if Goku's father is kinda aggressive with him. On the side of the evil aliens, we have generic soldier with no personality besides being bullies. Chilled is very, very similar to Frieza, both in looks and behavior. Self-centered, sadistic, ruthless, childish and with no respect for any kind of life, he's the villain we all want to kill for being such a bastard.

The animation is excellent, Fluid, dynamic, blablabla all is very nice (pretty similar to the one in Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!). The character design... Well, Bardock's skin is a little darker than their sons (like Goku in DBGT... I wonder why that happens...), and the good aliens are a bit more cartoonish than the rest of the DB characters, but those are just little details (although, that Bradock thing really intrigues me...). Where I don't complain is with the bad dudes design: all the soldiers are from different races, all very diverse, but true to the style of the main series, specially compared to the great diversity seen in the Namek saga. Chilled is similar to their descendants, he's a sci-fi Napoleon, or better said, a dwarf conqueror... but a little more obese than Frieza or Cooler xD.

Sound. No opening, or ending, or music at all, except for the occasional in the background (and just for a few secs). The voices... well, I grew up with the superb latin dub, in which Goku (and by default, Bardock) was voiced by Mario Castañeda... that means, a guy (and what a great voice people, believe me. When Goku was serious and start to talk about serious stuff, he really inspired respect). It bothers me a little that the voice of the most powerful male in the universe is voiced by a woman (a pretty old woman)... but I’m supposed to be objective here, and, after all, Masako Nosawa is regarded as one of the best seiyuus ever. With the rest of the cast I have no problems, and Berry's voice is especially good (every time you listen to him you wanna hug him n_n). Chilled sounds pompous and arrogant, so he's good (same seiyuu as Frieza, of course).

And now the final words. I have to say that Bardock is a special dude. He started as the protagonist of a special chapter (fancy name for a longer filler), but the story ended up so good that Toriyama incorporate him to the series's canon. In his first appearance, he gained the ability to see the future (great skill/curse, depending on how you watch it). And in this special, an attack that should have killed him (disintegrated, actually!) just send him to the past. This fella is surely lucky. This is a great ep that show us one more time that Dragon Ball don't need to be eternal to be good :p. True to the style of the original series, full of action and several interesting fights, this special will appeal to all the DB fans. Truth to be told, I never understood why Bardock was so popular, but now i feel a renewed respect for the father of the strongest character in the history of the anime. Highly, highly recommended.
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En la Jump Anime Tour del 2008 recibimos Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!, y ahora, en la Jump Festa 2012 obtuvimos Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock, un especial de 20 minutos que adapta al manga del mismo nombre.

La historia de este especial nos muestra que Bardock, el padre de Goku (y de Raditz, aunque a él nadie lo quiera) sobrevivió a ese súper ataque que extermino a toda su raza y al planeta Vegeta. Si no murió, que fue lo que le paso? De alguna forma no muy clara, fue transportado al pasado... viaje en el tiempo, si, pero no en el espacio. En un planeta Vegeta (Plant a partir de ahora) más bien primitivo, Bardock conoce a unos pintorescos aliens violetas que no se parecen en nada ni a los saiyan ni a los tsufuru, y es cuidado por Ipana y su hijo, Berry. Al poco tiempo, dos soldados llegan al planeta, anunciando que ahora le pertenece a Chilled, el emperador del universo (y ancestro de Freezer, por cierto). Obviamente Bardock les da una paliza, no por que amenacen al planeta y a sus habitantes, si no por el simple gusto de poder matar a gente que le recuerda tanto a sus enemigos. Al no recibir respuesta de sus secuaces, Chilled se dirigirá al planeta, y Bardock tendrá la oportunidad de vengarse de Freezer, al menos de forma indirecta.

La historia en si no es muy compleja, pero cumple. También está llena de pequeños detalles, como, por ejemplo, una poción curativa que usan los habitantes del planeta Plant seria la inspiración para los tanques curativos que hay en las naves de Freezer (se acuerdan? Es en donde se cura Vegeta cuando vuelve de la tierra, y en donde Goku se recupera después de la pelea contra Ginyu) y otros sucesos que no puedo comentar por una cuestión de spoilers, pero créanme, están ahí. Antes de ver el especial, creía que 20 minutos eran insuficientes para contar una historia satisfactoria. Por suerte, estaba muy equivocado (tal vez tenía esa impresión por que en la serie original, se tardaban cinco capítulos solo en juntar energía para atacar xD), y todo se desarrolla a un buen ritmo.

Los personajes. Bardock es un Saiyan. Uno de verdad, o sea, bastante salvaje y violento, pero no sádico o maligno... digamos que su carácter esta en el medio de Goku y Vegeta (hasta tiene ciertas tendencias tsundere!). Esta muy, muy molesto por la muerte de sus compañeros, y quiere venganza. Por el lado de los aliens buenos, todos son tranquilos y amables, similares a los nameku. Ninguno quiere pelear, y consideran a Bardock un héroe por haberlos salvado de los dos soldaditos. Berry, especialmente, le tiene bastante aprecio, a pesar de que el padre de Goku se muestra muy agresivo con él. Por el lado de los aliens malos, tenemos a los soldados genéricos, que carecen de personalidad, y solo se limitan al típico rol de matón. Chilled es muy, muy parecido a Freezer, tanto físicamente como en su comportamiento. Egocéntrico, sádico, despiadado, y sin ningún respeto por la vida, es el villano al que todos queremos matar por ser tan hijo de puta.

La animación es excelente. Fluida, dinámica, blablabla todo muy lindo (muy similar a la vista en Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!). El diseño de personajes... bueno, Bardock se ve un poco más “oscuro” que sus hijos (de la misma forma que Goku en DBGT... ¿Por qué será esto?) y los aliens buenos son más caricaturescos que la mayoría de los personajes de DB, pero son solo detalles. Donde no hay quejas es con los malos: los soldados son de diferentes razas, todos muy distintos unos de otros, pero fieles al estilo ya visto en la saga de Namek. Chilled es parecido a sus descendientes, todo un Napoleón sci-fi, o sea, un conquistador enano, aunque luce más obeso que Freezer o Cooler xD.

El sonido. No hay opening ni ending, ni mucha más música que la ocasional de fondo. Las voces... bueno, yo crecí con el soberbio doblaje latino, en que la voz de Goku (y por default, la de Bardock) es la de Mario Castañeda, o sea, un hombre (y que voz, señores, que voz... cuando Goku se ponía serio y hablaba, realmente inspiraba respeto). Me molesta que la vos del ser más poderoso del universo sea la de una mujer (la de una mujer muy mayor)... pero se supone que debo ser objetivo, y después de todo, a Masako Nosawa se la considera como una de las mejores seiyuus de la historia. Con el resto de los personajes no tengo problemas, y la voz de Berry es especialmente buena (cada vez que los escuchas te dan ganas de abrazarlo n_n). Chilled suena pedante y soberbio, lo que lo caracteriza muy bien (misma voz que Freezer, después de todo).

Y ahora las palabras finales. Bardock es un tipo especial. Arranco como el protagonista de un capítulo especial, que era solo una historia aparte. Pero a Toriyama le gusto tanto el personaje, que, en un hecho increíble lo incorporo al canon. En su primera aparición, ganaba la habilidad de ver el futuro. Y en este especial, un ataque que debería haberlo matado (no solo matado, si no desintegrado!), solo lo mando al pasado. Decididamente, es un tipo iluminado por la varita mágica. Este es un gran episodio, que nos demuestra una ves más que Dragon Ball no necesita ser eterno para ser bueno. Fiel al estilo de la serie original, llena de acción y varias peleas interesantes, este especial gustara a todos los fans de Dragon Ball. La verdad, antes no entendía muy bien el por qué de la gran popularidad de Bardock, pero ahora siento un respeto renovado por el padre del personaje más fuerte de la historia del anime. Muy, muy recomendable. read more

Well, if Dragonball Kai disappointed you, then I would suggest turning your sights an something else, something actually new, but as long as your fan glasses aren't on, then this would be a must watch for any dragonball fan.

STORY: Long, long ago, Frieza blew some shit up, killed Goku's father (And every other saiyan on their home planet) and became a major asshole, but what if, what if Goku's father, Bardock, actually survived and instead was sent back so-and-so years ago and became the first of the legendary super saiyans of legend to exist or something along those lines. That is pretty much the premise of this short OVA, and I'll be blunt, put aside my fanboy eyeglasses for a sec, and outright say: that's dumb, really dumb.
Dumb, yet very cool in a sense that if you don't think about it to much, and just go along with it. This ova isn't the pinnacle of DBZ's story potential (Blasting shit to kingdom come is), and honestly feels more like a tribute to Dragon ball than anything else. For starters, Bardock's personality is very similar to how Piccolo was when he was training Gohan after Goku's death back in the beginning of Dragonball Z, cold, antisocial, and does nothing but train, but slowly opens up to a youngster, in this case, a member of an alien species who are practicably existing for the purpose of hinting clues to the viewer where Bardock actually ended up.

And where he ended up is and where the story goes from there is practicably a homage to the original Goku Frieza conflict, where eventually, Bardock ends up becoming a super saiyan (Almost exactly how Goku did).

But, the simple story and meh build up isn't what the problem of this ova is, it's what any DBZ fan can point out, heck anyone for that matter. It's almost impossible for anyone to actually fall for this set up, Frieza "kills" Bardock, not some how blasts him through time, that's preposterous. What about every other person "killed" by Frieza for that matter, where'd they end up if could Bardock survive that blast and why just Bardock? Though it really isn't important, because this is nothing more than a nice pat on the head for dragon ball fans, despite how head scratching the premise.

And personally, I enjoyed this a lot, it's interesting from a canon point (If it's place in dragon ball's continuity isn't in question) and is just a nice treat for the fans of Bardock (All ten of them ha ha).

ANIMATION: Because this is where it makes up for the stories shortcomings, this is probably the best the dragon ball series has ever looked, bright and very colorful, nice and smooth animation, and a very well animated fight at the end (This also does a small loud out to the most popular of the dbz movie villains). If I'm going to complain, it would be the character designs, where everyone, but Bardock and other original dragon ball characters, look odd, and just silly (Even for dragon ball standards).

SOUND: Well, just your generic dragon ball japanese sound track playing, and the voice acting does a fair job, except Bardock himself, sounds very screechy, almost irritating, but makes it clear where Goku got his high pitched voice from.

OVERALL:
The Good:
+ A fun new dragon ball story.
+ Great animation, with an impressive fight at the end.

The Bad:
- If it mattered, there's a good amount of continuity problems that would bug any dragon ball fan.
- Premise is too far fetched to believe, db fan or not.

Maybe it's canon, maybe it's not (And it's definitely not), it's just entertaining and probably be best to be treated as one of those what if scenarios the games throw out, which at least it's a better crafted story than Spike the Devilman defeating Cyborg Frieza and his father. read more