Search - Dragon Ball: Season One on DVD

Your Wish Has Been Granted...

Reconnecting To My Childhood | 08/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have long wondered when Funimation would finally get the rights to the first thirteen episodes of Dragon Ball allowing them to release a proper set. Now after all that waiting it's finally going to happen and their giving us the first two sagas and beginning of the third all in one set! I'm ecstatic to read from Gen Fukunaga, president at CEO at FUNimation Entertainment, that the original thirteen episodes will be redone uncut as up til now they've only been properly available in a highly edited DVD set titled 'The Saga of Goku'. While I happily purchased that set long ago from LionsGate Entertainment I'm more than happy to upgrade to this set if it means finally owning those first thirteen uncut episodes.
This set will contain the following 31 episodes from the Goku/Pilaf, Tournament and Red Ribbon Army Sagas:

The Saga Of Goku/Emperor Pilaf Saga

1 Secret of the Dragon Ball
2 The Emperor's Quest
3 The Nimbus Cloud Of Roshi
4 Oolong the Terrible
5 Yamcha the Desert Bandit
6 Keep an Eye on the Dragon Balls
7 The Ox-King on Fire Mountain
8 The Kamehameha Wave
9 Boss Rabbit's Magic Touch
10 The Dragon Balls Are Stolen
11 The Penalty Is Pinball
12 A Wish to the Eternal Dragon
13 The Legend Of Goku

Tournament Saga

14 Goku's Rival
15 Look Out for Launch
16 Find That Stone!
17 Milk Delivery
18 The Turtle Hermit Way
19 The Tournament Begins
20 Elimination Round
21 Smells Like Trouble
22 Yamcha Vs. Jackie Chun
23 Monster Beast Giran
24 Krillin's Frantic Attack!
25 Danger From Above
26 The Grand Finals
27 Number One Under The Moon
28 The Final Blow

Red Ribbon Army Saga

29 The Roaming Lake
30 Pilaf and the Mystery Force
31 Wedding Plans?

There haven't been any real extras on Funimation sets other than previews for their other DVD releases so I wouldn't count on finding any here. The set is said to include English and Japanese language options with the original Japanese musical score in 5.1 Surround. I'm glad Funimation and Amazon are announcing the set as Full Screen Aspect Ratio because though I adapted to the cropped 'widescreen' Dragon Ball Z sets I can't imagine watching Dragon Ball in anything other than 4:3 aspect ratio. I'm so excited for this to come out and can't believe that my long standing wish to have the first uncut season of Dragon Ball is finally coming true. Thanks For Your Time.


"

Enjoyable, addicting and absolutely awesome!

Dennis A. Amith (kndy) | California | 09/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's the series that started it all... "Dragon Ball". Originally, a manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama for "Shonen Jump", the manga series lasted from 1984 through 1995 and since the manga series has produced several anime series which include "Dragon Ball", "Dragon Ball Z", "Dragon Ball GT" and currently in Japan, a new HD broadcasting of "Dragon Ball Kai" and in 2009, an American live action film titled "Dragonball Evolution" was released worldwide.

"Dragon Ball" is the first arc of the series which aired in Japan from 1986 through 1989 and lasted for 153 episodes. The series was released by Harmony Gold USA in the late 80's and then by FUNimation Entertainment in 1995 and uncut episodes were released on DVD in 2003.

But now the episodes will be released in the USA for the first season of "Dragon Ball" for the first time uncut, remastered and digitally restored.

"Dragon Ball - Season One" features a total of 31 episodes on five DVD's. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

DISC 1:

* EPISODE 1- Secret of the Dragon Balls - Bulma and Goku meet for the first time.
* EPISODE 2- The Emperor's Quest - Another group looking for the Dragon Balls.
* EPISODE 3 - The Nimbus Cloud of Roshi - Goku tries to help a turtle get to his home.
* EPISODE 4 - Oolong the Terrible - Bulma and Goku find a Dragon Ball in a nearby village but the village has been terrorized by something called Oolong the Terrible.
* EPISODE 5 - Yamcha the Desert Bandit - Yamcha, the bandit from the desert challenges Goku.
* EPISODE 6 - Keep an Eye on the Dragon Balls - Oolong joins Bulma and Goku on their quest for the Dragon Balls.
* EPISODE 7 - The Ox-King on Fire Mountain - The next Dragon Ball may not be easy to find especially since its located inside the home of the Ox-King.

DISC 2:

* EPISODE 8 - The Kamehameha Wave - Goku and Chi Chi go to Master Roshi for help to calm the fire at Fire mountain.
* EPISODE 9 - Boss Rabbit's Magic Touch - While at another village, a rabbit turns Bulma into a carrot. Will Goku be able to beat this troublesome rabbit.
* EPISODE 10 - The Dragon Balls are Stolen - Emperor Pilaf and his group try to steal the Dragon Balls from Bulma.
* EPISODE 11 - The Penalty is Pinball - Emperor Pilaf traps the Goku and friends in a game of pinball.
* EPISODE 12 - A Wish to the Eternal Dragon - Who will make the wish to Shenlong after the Dragon Balls are gathered.
* EPISODE 13 - The Legend of Goku - Bulma and Oolong learn why Grandpa Gohan told Goku not to look at the moon.
* EPISODE 14 - Goku's Rival - Goku meets his rival/training partner Krillin.

DISC 3:

* EPISODE 15 - Look Out for Launch - Goku and Krillin must find a date for Master Roshi in order to receive training.
* EPISODE 16 - Find that Stone! - Goku and Krillin continue to train while the woman Launch has a secret.
* EPISODE 17 - Milk Delivery - Goku and Krillin delivery milk as part of their training.
* EPISODE 18 - The Turtle Hermit Way - Will Goku and Krillin survive Master Roshi's training.
* EPISODE 19 - The Tournament Begins - Goku and Krillin take part in their first World Martial Arts Tournament.
* EPISODE 20 - Elimination Round - Goku and Krillin take on their first opponents in the tournament.
* EPISODE 21 - Smells Like Trouble - Krillin must go against the very smelly and foul Bacterian.

DISC 4:

* EPISODE 22- Quarterfinals Begin - Yamcha fights an old man named Jackie Chun in the tournament.
* EPISODE 23 - Monster Beast Giran - Goku takes on the frightening beast Giran in the tournament.
* EPISODE 24 - Krillin's Frantic Attack! - Krilllin takes on Jackie Chun in the semi-finals of the tournament.
* EPISODE 25 - Danger From Above - Goku takes on Nam in the semi-finals of the tournament.
* EPISODE 26 - The Grand Finals - The finals of the World Martial Arts Tournament featuring Goku vs. Jackie Chun.
* EPISODE 27 - Number One Under the Moon? - When a full moon comes out during the tournament, Goku changes to an ape.
* EPISODE 28 - The Final Blow - Jackie Chun must end the battle with Goku (in ape form) before anyone gets killed.

DISC 5:

* EPISODE 29 - The Roaming Lake - Goku looks for his grandfather's Dragon Ball.
* EPISODE 30 - Pilaf and the Mystery Force - While Emperor Pilaf and his group search for the Dragon Ball, so is the mysterious Red Army.
* EPISODE 31- Wedding Plans? - One of the Dragon Balls is in the possession of the Ox-King and with Goku to return, will it be a grand wedding for Goku and Chi Chi?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

When I first saw "Dragon Ball", it was probably back in 1992 and the quality of this raw Japanese video was so rough and hard to watch, it was just bad. Several years later, I was able to catch the first few episodes that aired on television but the problem was that the schedule was inconsistent and our television network was quite bad.

So, it is great to see this uncut, remastered and digitally restored version on DVD. Presented in its original format of 4:3, one thing I noticed is how good this anime series looked on DVD. The series is nearly 25 years old and just watching it, FUNimation Entertainment did a great job in bringing this series out and making it look very good with only a hint of dust particles and scratches but for the most part, this remastered version definitely looked very good on DVD.

As for the audio, similar to the recent FUNimation Entertainment "Dragon Ball Z" and "Dragon Ball GT" releases, the English voice track with original Japanese music comes in 5.1 Surround, while the Japanese voice track is in its original Japanese mono. I watched both English and Japanese and of course, there are some changes in the English dialogue (ie. Master Roshi and in the Japanese track, Kamesama Sennen) and grew up watching the original Japanese version but for the most part, I have enjoyed the "Dragon Ball Z" and "Dragon Ball GT" dubwork that I found the English dubwork for "Dragon Ball" to be quite solid. Dialogue is clear and understandable and for audio settings, for both audio tracks, I found the best setting for me was to select on my receiver "Stereo on all Channels".

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Dragom Ball - Season One" comes with the textless opening and closing theme songs and FUNimation Entertainment trailers.

JUDGMENT CALL:

Enjoyable, addicting and absolutely awesome!

That's how I felt after watching the first season of "Dragon Ball". I thought it was absolutely fabulous that the FUNimation Entertainment has released the series uncut, remastered and digitally restored but to also release the first 31 episodes as a box set like they did with "Dragon Ball Z" and "Dragon Ball GT". For fans of any of the "Dragon Ball" series, not so long ago, it cost a lot of money just to purchase separate volumes of the series (which typically came with only a few episodes) and now, here we are several years later and definitely getting our money's worth.

Also, to watch this series once again, not only was it a nostalgic time for me, it was just great to see the episodes and watching how fun, humorous and action-packed they were. Each episode was absolutely addicting and it was great seeing how awesome of a fighter Master Roshi (Kamesama Sennen) was back then and just seeing how the story evolved pre-Dragon Ball Z. Also, to see Bulma and Yamcha during their younger years was fun as well.

Although "Dragon Ball" is not as intense or action-oriented like "Dragon Ball Z", the series still manages to capture a lot of action and although this is Goku when he was much, much younger, even then, he was no slouch and had very good fighting ability. And there was more emphasis on the storyline as well.

For parents wondering about the TV 14 rating, part of it is because Goku is nude quite a few times and also, when he finds out that females are not the same as males (and he hasn't been around humans all that long), Goku tends to touch people in the crotch to see if they are male or female. Also, during Krillin's fight with Bacterium, there are things that the opponent does that you will never seen in a television series, let alone an animated series. And the characters of Oolong and even Master Roshi are characters that are quite perverted.

As for the DVD, as mentioned, this is the best I have seen "Dragon Ball" look and 31 episodes for the first volume is pretty much a bargain for what it's sold for. Granted, I wish there were some special features included outside of textless theme songs but overall, you're getting your money's worth with these box set releases.

Granted, if I had to find a negative and wanted to be nitpicky, I can easily complain that the fifth disc only contains three episodes and that the Japanese audio track was not in Dolby Digital 5.1 but truthfully, 31 episodes is still plentiful and for purists, you do get the Japanese audio track in its original mono format. Really, there is nothing I can really complain about this release. It's a very solid release that is affordable and just worth it!

Overall, "Dragon Ball - Season One" is another wonderful release from FUNimation Entertainment. Fans of any of the "Dragon Ball" series will definitely want to make sure this one is in their collection. Highly recommended!"

This is where it all begins

Ryan Daniels | Planet Namek | 07/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dragonball fans have been waiting for a proper Dragonball dvd set for years. Due to the fact that lionsgate owned the rights to the first 13 episodes and the first movie, we have NEVER had all the Dragonball episodes uncut on dvd. So now it is time to enjoy this series uncut, uncropped (fullscreen aspect ratio 4:3)in the way it was meant to be seen. With the first 31 episodes on dvd, Dragonball fans will be pleased."

Funimation, will you marry me?

J. Heath | 08/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You may remember watching this on Toonami, back before Cartoon Network became MTV Junior, or you may just be a Dragon Ball Z/GT fan who has been waiting for the chance to see how it all began, maybe you've never even seen a single episode of any of them but have been considering checking it out. After years of waiting, our time has finally come! By far and away the original is the absolute best of the Dragon Ball trilogy.

If you're unfamiliar with the series, the original Dragon Ball concept was a retelling of the Chinese classic Journey to the West. It focuses on the young monkey boy Son Goku, and his journeys. Unlike it's sequel, Dragon Ball Z, it contains a good mixture of light hearted humor and action.

If you've seen Dragon Ball Z, you know that it suffers from being very repetitive, every saga can be summed up as follows, "Goku and friends learn of an impending battle with ultimate evil. Goku trains for battle. Ultimate evil arrives, kills several of his friends, and angers Goku. Goku attains new level of power, everyone acts amazed, he defeats ultimate evil, occasionally dying in the process. Everyone who died is brought back to life, rinse and repeat." Dragon Ball however does not suffer from this. Every battle is unique, and even during the most heated fights, Goku and friends will still make you laugh.

Whether you're a long time fan who has been screaming for years "Give us the original on DVD!" or someone who just loves a good cartoon, you will not be disappointed in this."