Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock

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.

Overview:

Almost every huge franchise has a few spinoffs that are REALLY bad and enrage the fandom. Star Wars had the Christmas Special. Superman had Superman 4: Quest for Peace and the 2006 Superman Returns. Dragonball has a fair number of bad spinoffs, but Bardock 2 released in 2011, may be the worst of the worst. Although GT is still pretty god damn horrible and in close competition.

SPOILERS! although, honestly you shouldn't bother seeing this shit anyways.

Plot and characters: 1/10

I have literally seen DBZ fanfiction that was better written than this piece of shit! Bardock is blasted by Freeza's giant death ball and for absolutely ... no reason is sent back in time instead of disintegrated like the other several million individuals hit with the same death ball at that time. Bardock discovers a bunch of odd purple aliens that make the juice used in Freeza's healing tanks in the future. Bardock quickly learns that he was sent back in time, but seems entirely unphased by this. I guess he has come to expect terrible plot points from this writer, who also made Yo! Son Goku Returns. Freeza's ancestor appropriately named Chilled happens to attack the planet at the same moment Bardock arrives. Chilled kills some villagers and Bardock goes SSJ and beats Chilled in under 3 minutes. Really thrilling fight! (sarcasm). Chilled is blown back into space, but is able to board his ship, which BTW was on the ground at the time he got blasted up into space, and lives long enough to inform his children that there is a thing called a Super Saiyan. Here are a few problems. Firstly, the action in this movie is terrible and there is barely any at all. DBZ is a fighting anime! That is the entire reason we watch it! It is also odd the Chilled resembles Freeza's first form, which is not his natural form, but rather a form created to contain his massive power. This would indicate that Chilled can transform like literally every other member of his race, but he never even attempts to do so. I also disliked that in the first Bardock Special, Bardock gives a speech against Freeza's tyranny and has realized he was wrong for serving Freeza, but in Bardock 2, the scene is remade so Bardock says, "we were working together so well, why did you betray us?" This makes Bardock a LOT less likeable and goes against the canon of the first special. Neither are actually canon, but Bardock 2 exists in a canon completely by itself.

Music: 5/10

The music lacks any of the memorable tracks from DBZ original or Kai. It is simply lackluster all around. No epic transformation music for the first Super Saiyan, no awesome battle music. This OST sucked!

Art: 6/10

The art uses the same animation from Kai and actually looks pretty decent. That is the ONLY good thing about this special. The art looks "ok".

Enjoyment: 2/10

If you enjoy having your childhood ruined, then this is the TV special for you!

Overall: 3/10

The music was mediocre and the art was decent, but the writing, plot, characters, action, and everything else was fucking horrible! I am convinced that the plot was chosen by lottery from a bunch of bad fanfictions written in a contest for children 12 and under. That is the only thing that could explain how shitty Bardock 2 is. I understand that the severe time limitation made it difficult to have an epic fight in the usual DBZ style, but it is possible to have good anime fights that are short. That is no excuse, just as there is no excuse for this special to exist!

Episode of Bardock is a spin-off that doesn’t need to exist. Breaking pre-established rules from the Dragon Ball canon while ruining the point of the superior Bardock Special, this OVA is essentially a fanfiction with next to no merit.

The original Bardock special emphasized how ordinary and insignificant Bardock is. Although granted the power to see the future, he dies while having no impact whatsoever. He wasn't the hope to save the Saiyan race from Friezaa but merely an ordinary individual who strived to make a change but accomplished nothing. In a franchise of extraordinary individuals, Bardock is effectively special by not being special. ... Episode of Bardock completely strips this tragic tale that the original Bardock special established.

Rather than die by the hands of Frieza, Bardock is transported to the past, without explanation, to the origin planet of the Saiyans where Frieza’s ancestor, Lord Chilled, rules. The whole scenario comes off as contrived with no basis for how the time travel occurred or why exactly Bardock landed on that particular planet. The OVA attempts to build a relationship between Bardock and some child inhabitant of the planet, but this relationship involves nothing more than the child providing Bardock with food. That the child’s injury results in Bardock’s transformation into a Super Saiyan is downright ludicrous. While Goku and Vegeta required utmost training and psychological pressure to transform, Bardock achieves this with no training, talent, or potent stimulus. The weight of the Super Saiyan transformation is lost completely in this special, becoming merely a convenient tool for Bardock to overcome Lord Chilled. There are no impressive fight tactics or meaningful plot developments in the entirety of this special. Given no meaningful characterization, Bardock becomes nothing but a generic hero in a franchise where vapid overpowered characters are the norm. The entire OVA comes off as an attempt to make Bardock special for the mere fact that he’s Goku’s father in the most uninspired fashion possible while stripping away the tragedy of the original Bardock special.

To make matters worse, the special heavily contradicts the Dragon Ball canon. At the end of the special, an attempt to tie to the canon is made when Lord Chilled is determined to warn his successors about Bardock the Super Saiyan. However, this idea fails both in regards to Dragon Ball’s time travel mechanics and the clues about the origin of the Super Saiyan provided in the series. Firstly, Dragon Ball’s time travel operates under parallel universes, by which travelling to the past doesn’t affect the present an individual came from but instead forms a new timeline. Any changes made to the past affects the new timeline, but the original is left unchanged. Consequently, Episode of Bardock makes no sense as the reason Frieza feared the Super Saiyans. The current timeline would be unaffected and thus the time travel could not serve as the reason for Frieza’s destroying of the Saiyan race and fear of the potential Saiyans could have. Furthermore, the term Super Saiyan wasn’t mentioned in the special at all, so it would be implausible for Chilled to spread this term to his ancestors. As Saiyans hadn’t existed at the time, there would be no way for Chilled’s descendants to recognize them, and the Saiyans wouldn’t be aware of this legend if it arose from Chilled. This goes against not only Frieza but also the Saiyans themselves holding notions about the legendary Super Saiyan. The special also makes it appear that Bardock is the actual original Super Saiyan, but this fails as it was said the Saiyan in legend was said to have become a Super Saiyan in his transformed state (as a Great Ape/ Oozaru).

Episode of Bardock is possibly one of the worst official fan-fiction works in the anime medium. It is a vapid work that fails at nearly everything it does and merely breaks that which the Dragon Ball franchise had established. There’s nothing of interest here. In terms of even entertainment value and action, the original Bardock Special completely overshadows this disappointing OVA.