Dragon Ball Z fans may have a bittersweet feeling when they pick up this latest release from Funimation, knowing this marks the end of the film series on Blu-ray. On the one hand, we're aware this is the best these films will ever look and it's amazing to have the opportunity to own all of them during the infancy of the Blu-ray format, but just like reaching the conclusion of a good video game, we're now left with the feeling of "what's next" in the world of high-definition Dragon Ball Z. I've never been a huge fan of DBZ, so I'm certainly not too torn up about it, but it still made me pause a little knowing this will be my last review of a Dragon Ball Z double feature.
The first film on the disc is Fusion Reborn. Originally released to Japanese theaters in 1995, and running just over 50 minutes in length (this is the uncut version), the film begins with a tournament finale between Goku and Paikuhan in the afterlife. Their battle is cut short when a spirit cleansing tank is broken by a careless employee of the Yama realm, who's transformed into a giant Pokemon-type character with the power to unleash the the inhabitants of Hell to wreak havoc on Earth. Gohan, Videl, Trunks and Goten attempt to keep the undead at bay, even going so far as to call on Shen Long for help. Sadly, they soon find out there's not much any of them can do until the creature stirring trouble in the gatekeeping Yama realm is destroyed. Knowing he must set things right, Goku enters Yama and draws the creature named Janemba into hell, eventually gaining the upper hand just prior to Janemba's mutation into a far deadlier demon. Goku takes a beating as a result, but Vegeta shows up in the nick of time sporting a new body from the spirit realm. After several failed attacks on the powerful villain, the two sworn enemies eventually conclude that the only way they can stop Janemba is by performing a fusion technique to join their bodies and power together, becoming a singular being known as Gogeta. Although the fusion doesn't work as planned the first time, they eventually get it right and stand united in a final showdown for the fate of Earth and the afterlife.
The second film on the disc is Wrath of the Dragon. Released during the same year as Fusion Reborn, this follow-up is also presented in an uncut format and runs just over 52 minutes in length. Opening with a touch of comedy, the film depicts the duo of Gohan and Videl as they split time between school and crime-fighting. One day, they're urgently pulled from class in order to save a pink creature from jumping off the top of a skyscraper. As it turns out, the oddly colored old man has motivations behind his attempted suicide, since he hopes to enlist the aide of the DBZ gang in opening a music box to release a warrior named Tapion. Believing the old man's story, Goku suggests everyone track down the seven dragon balls in order to summon the dragon Shen long in an effort to release the trapped hero. Everything works as planned, but the ungrateful Tapion scolds his rescuers for the danger they've unleashed on Earth. It takes some time, but Trunks is finally able to win the friendship of the reluctant hero and we're shown a historic account of how he ended up within the music box. Rather than give the backstory away, I'll simply mention that the pink man intends to join two parts of a mythical creature into one, and rule the Earth using this giant assassin as his pet. Before the end of the film, Goku, his pals and Tapion will be forced to make some difficult decisions as they attempt to stop the warlock and his minion.
Considering these two films are the last theatrical Dragon Ball Z releases to make their way to Blu-ray, it's a little ironic that they represent the best and worst of the long-running film series. Fusion Reborn is a mess from start to finish, with oddly placed appearances by notable characters (Freeza shows up and disappears in 10 seconds), and a plot that rarely seems cohesive. Half of the film is set in a jelly bean filled hell (I'm not joking) and the villain is one of the most ridiculous animated creations I've seen. The fights contain far too many comedic elements for the viewer to ever take anything very serious, and just when you think the tension is mounting, they'll throw something borderline stupid into the mix to pull you right back out of the movie. I found myself shaking my head trying to figure out why they thought it would be politically correct to depict Hitler's return to Earth in a comedic fashion (especially when he talks about recruiting powerful blonde men), but it really felt out of place in a Dragon Ball Z film.
Fortunately, matters improve greatly with Wrath of the Dragon, which ranks at the top of my list of favorites. What I appreciated about the second film on the disc is the self-contained plot and substantial backstory on Tapion. The fact that his character takes center stage for the length of the film is a welcomed change from the usual Dragon Ball Z formula and adds a degree of weight to the subject matter in the film. It also helps that the tone is much darker than Fusion Reborn, with a healthy dose of tragedy and loss spun into the plot. Naturally, this all boils down to a matter of preference, but I'd bet most Dragon Ball Z fans will find a lot to like about Wrath of the Dragon.
As mentioned in my prior reviews, the quality of the animation is far from stellar, but still leaps and bounds above what you would see in a typical Dragon Ball Z television episode. Static animation is mostly absent and motion is displayed using actual backgrounds rather than the color backgrounds used in early animation to imply fast movement. Character movement is handled nicely, with every kick and punch appearing natural despite the pumped up speed (one of the high points of the television series as well). One odd departure from prior films is the use of thick black outlines and bubbly characters during several sequences in Fusion Reborn. I noticed it the most during the scenes with Trunks and Goten, so it may have been done in an effort to enhance the comedy or childish nature of those segments.
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 25Mbps), this double feature looks to be right on par with prior Dragon Ball Z Blu-ray releases. Given the quality of the source material, I think this is the best we are going to get short of an extensive restoration and DBZ fans will consider this a revelation in 1080p. The Dragon Ball Z films have never been budget-blasting animated features, but there's still something charming about the hand drawn animation. Grain is apparent throughout both features, but not in a pronounced manner that would be considered distracting. Colors are bold and vivid, though I noticed the slight presence of banding in a couple sequences and color differentiation in character costumes seemed to waver slightly from scene to scene. Black levels were appropriately deep, contrast was excellent and I never noticed the presence of line wavering or stair-stepping. I should mention there's an occasional scene to scene variance in the thickness of lines, but that's present in the source material and not a deficiency in the transfer. One source flaw that has been apparent in every Dragon Ball Z title I've reviewed thus far, is the presence of occasional burn marks in the right upper corner of the screen. Given the restoration work that Funimation boasts in the enclosed booklet, I'm surprised they didn't take the time to clean major source flaws, but on the flipside it adds a certain degree of charm that matches the dated feel of the animation.
There are three audio tracks included for each film. The primary track is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English track, which includes the original music track along with the dubbed voice-over. The second track is a comparable Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English track, but incorporates a modern soundtrack in place of the original music. The final track is the original Japanese language track, presented in Dolby Digital 1.0. I typically enjoy listening to the native language track on releases such as these, but in this case, I can safely say I prefer the English 5.1 versions. Both TrueHD audio mixes are sufficiently robust, with nice channel separation, and decent (though not exceptional) use of your subwoofer. Energy blasts and other sound effects demonstrated dynamic movement across the soundfield, which helped draw me in during the many extended fight sequences. Although the track has a nice balance of dialogue, music, and sound effects, it still sounded a little bright, with a dated characteristic that only DBZ fans can appreciate. This is likely apparent in the source, and is only worth mentioning because it does play a small part in my audio score.
I didn't sample the Japanese track as extensively as the high resolution surround mix, but I did listen long enough to arrive at a couple of conclusions. The native language mix is campy, and reminded me of watching an old Saturday morning cartoon (such as "Mighty Mouse"). Listening to the film with this track will likely lead you to think this was made back in the early 80's rather than the mid 90's. I'm glad the original native track was included, but it doesn't fair well at all in comparison with either English track.
If you've bought the rest of the films in the Dragon Ball Z series, then you know what's in store with this release. As I mentioned above, I wasn't a fan of the first film on the disc, but the second made up for its shortcomings in spades. For anyone who's new to the world of Dragon Ball Z, don't let Fusion Reborn deter you from giving the second film a chance, since Wrath of the Dragon is more likely to win over new fans and better represent the attractive side of the series. From a technical standpoint, this release is just as proficient as prior entries, and fans will continue to rejoice at the work Funimation has done to upgrade these classics in high-definition.
