Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This is the first movie with the "Dragonball Z" title on it. There were in fact some before this, but they had the original "Dragonball" series names on it. It's weird how this is actually shorter than some of the specials! I still consider it a feature length movie. If so, it might be the shortest one I've ever seen. It makes no sense with the show, even though it should with the filler of the Garlic Jr. saga. There's no reason why Krillin would be surprised Goku has a son in the first episode or why everyone is surprised when Gohan unleashes his power on Radditz as those things happened here.With all that being said, I still enjoyed it, but wouldn't quite recommend it. The scenes where Gohan gets drunk is some of the funniest stuff the series has ever done! I love the idea of taking Emperor Pilaf's voice and giving it to a serious villain. I don't know if I ever realized that Ox King is Gohan's grandfather before. There's so many characters it's hard to keep up with how they're related! The animation is good too. ***

Takes place before the Saiyans landed on Earth. Kami's nemesis's son: Garlic Jr. has made his first move in seeking revenge. Due to his father loosing the title of Earth's Guardian to Kami. Junior sends out his minions to collect the Dragon Balls so that way he can wish to be immortal. Gohan was kidnapped during the Dragon Ball hunt, because he was wearing one on his head. Gohan's dad, Goku must rescue his son as well as defeat the "Immortal hungry" Junior.For only being the first Dragon Ball Z movie. It lives up to being an enjoyable flick. Contains the same opening as the long running TV series. While the the whole thing felt like a two parter episode than a movie. Of course anything shorter than an hour always seems that way. It was the same with the first 3 Dragon Ball Movies. Ignoring that, this feature film is worth watching. I imagine the Kami/Piccolo fans to enjoy this because the play a part in it.Available to own on DVD as well as the other 12 full length features.

This movie didn't do so well with me. It had it's moments. Such as the weapon fighting between Goku, Nicky and Ginger but the plot was all to familiar ie: Vegeta. Points of the movie seemed odd also. Such as Kami saying Piccolo had been killed by Goku, yet Kami showed barley any signs of dying himself. Also being so mentally connected he would never make the mistake of thinking Piccolo was dead when by all means he wasn't. Also Garlic Jr. informing his crew that he intended to keep Gohan as a disciple seemed lamely put, as he showed no signs of even bothering to entertain the boy. There was barley any background to the movie, it was just start to finish.I did like Goku's new persona though, rather cocky. It was a nice change. As for original characters I didn't find anything interesting (except that Nicky and Ginger pulled swords from their limbs!) They were all stupid and with very annoying voices. Give the bad guys voices that suit for once! Also why would three strong warriors (Sancho, Nicky and Ginger)follow the leadership of Garlic Jr, he wasn't smart, strong, or even witty! It just seemed to me that the characters in this film (all characters) were running around like headless chickens. Yet it was the 1st dbz film so obviously this was a training ground for all the rest.

First let me say that compared to the other Dragonball Z movies, Dead Zone is the only one which can possibly fit in with the timeline set by the episodes. It takes place before the series, and thus runs no risk of contradicting anything. Although the translations of Japanese animation into English is usually poor, I found the character of Goku to be, as always, the perfect combination of super hero and down to earth dad. Gohan's hidden power, which even Goku is unaware of at this time, is amazing, and he is definitely his father's son in the way that it comes out when his friends and loved ones are suffering. A must see for DBZ fans.