“Kamehamehaaaaaaaa!”

Following the success of the manga Dragon Boy, the subsequent Dragon Ball manga, and the popular Japanese anime Dragon Ball, the timing seemed right to pick up where the other tales left off with a new series, Dragon Ball Z.  Originally debuting in Japan in the spring of 1989, the story follows the now-adult Son Goku, and his companions as they defend the Earth and the universe against a variety of super-villains in this complex blend of magic and martial arts.  

The new series paralleled the original by pinning Goku’s adult life with that of his growing child’s, Son Gohan.  Things quickly changed when Raditz showed up and revealed himself to be Son Goku’s brother.  No mere human, Raditz was Saiyan, an alien race with a reputation as the biggest, baddest warriors in the universe.  He came to ‘refresh’ Goku’s memory – which had been lost upon his arrival on Earth – and to get him to rejoin the conquest against Earth, but when Goku wouldn’t go along with it, Raditz saw great power in Goku’s son, and kidnapped Gohan so that he could train him for his own purposes.  

In addition to all this chaos, his former rival, Piccolo, was on the scene.  Fortunately for Goku, Piccolo joined the ‘good side,’ became a ‘Z Warrior’ and teamed up with Goku to save Gohan.  Sadly for Goku fans, he sacrificed himself to save his son, killing Raditz along the way, making way for Gohan to become his successor.  Piccolo rescued Gohan, but not before letting Raditz know about the seven powerful Dragonballs, which combined give the possessor one wish to be granted.  Though Raditz died, two others heard the conversation from light years away, Vegeta and Nappa.  As they planned to get their greedy hands on the powerful Dragonballs, Son Goku was being trained in the post-mortem art of spirit attacks, so that he could help his friends and family on Earth.  

Vegeta’s quest for the Dragonballs heated up as he fought the Z warriors for control at the end of the first series, which would become known as “Vegeta Saga.”  Soon, Piccolo had all seven Dragonballs and brought Son Goku back to life, though he would die in the battle.   The Dragonballs were on the planet Namek, where the warriors were rescued (with the exception of Piccolo, of course) by Gohan and company.  When Vegeta got news that the Dragonballs were on Namek, he made his way to the planet, thus setting up the next part, the “Freeza Saga.”

Namek wasn’t just home to the Dragonballs, it was also home to the most powerful warrior in the universe, Freeza.  The Freeza Saga consisted mainly of battles against this super-powered baddie, with plenty of deaths and revivals to go around.  One such death was that of Krillin, Son Goku’s best friend.  It is at that point that the importance of Goku’s heritage is revealed, as Goku’s anger and pain turned him into a ‘Super Saiyan.’  When beefed up to Super Saiyan size, Goku not only got a boost in strength and power, he also got green eyes and huge spiky blonde hair.  But looks can only get you so far, even in anime.  Souped-up Super Saiyan Son Goku was able to defeat Freeza and took home the title of Most Powerful Warrior in the Universe.  His time at the top was short-lived, as Freeza’s father rebuilt him and sent him to Earth.  Things were looking pretty bad for Goku and the gang, but Freeza didn’t reclaim the Most Powerful mantle for long.  A new warrior, Trunks, arrived and defeated Freeza and his father.  

Turns out, Trunks is really the future son of two of his teammates, Bulma and Vegeta (like Piccolo before him, he went ‘good’).  Trunks traveled back in time to bring a medicine that would cure Goku’s heart disease and help give him strength for the impending attack of deadly androids – setting up the next series, which was alternately known as “Cell Saga” and “Cell Game.”

In the Cell Saga there were a series of androids. Created by the deranged Dr. Gero, the androids were numbered… Android #17, Android #18, etc… with Gero, himself, becoming Android #20.  With the warning provided by Trunks, the Z warriors were able to train and prepare for the coming events, easily defeating Androids 1 through 20.  However, Android #20’s most devious creation was still being assembled in a laboratory by his computers.  Known as Cell, he was created from single cells of the greatest warriors in the universe, and thanks to careful cross-time plotting, he emerged in the ‘present day’ to wreak havoc on the Z warriors.  After absorbing the bodies of the fallen androids, he became the Perfect Cell.  To him, battle was a game, so he set up a tournament.  Soon, Son Goku took Perfect Cell on to no avail.  Gohan stepped in, and while he didn’t fare much better against the android, when Perfect Cell went lethal, Gohan went to a whole new level.  Son Gohan reached the Super Saiyan Stage 2, the next plateau in Saiyan powers.  

When the going got tough, the droid went into self-destruct mode, threatening to not only kill himself and those around him, but to destroy the entire planet! Realizing the gravity of the situation, Goku teleported both the droid and himself to a distant location, sacrificing himself.  He knew that there was no chance for revival, since using the Dragonballs for resurrection was a one-time-only deal.  Besides, he’d been a trouble-magnet since the day he showed up on Earth, so he figured it was best to remain with his friends, as a guardian spirit.  Unfortunately for the gang and the ethereal Goku, one cell from Cell survived the destruction, and naturally it regenerated itself.  Cell was back to his games, and soon took out Trunks.  Stepping in, assisted by Vegeta, Son Gohan unleashed the fury of a double Kamehameha, vanquishing Cell once and for all.  

So yeah, it can all get a little overwhelming, but it was precisely that which helped audiences both younger and older keep tuning in for the series’ seven year run from 1989 to 1996.  Dragon Ball Z found tremendous success outside of its ‘homeland,’ though in the American version, as happens with much within the anime genre, it was toned down – a.k.a. less violence, less… everything.  But, it was still no kiddie cartoon.  Audiences continue to go crazy for the show in re-runs, as well, leaving the door wide open for Dragon Ball Z to pick up scads of new fans.  In addition to its own popularity, the series ushered in a wave of interest in Japanese manga and anime to the United States, as well as spawning a new series, Dragon Ball GT, which follows the story of a returned Goku, who has been transformed into a child and must seek out a certain dragonball to fix the situation… but that’s another story.