Dragonball Z - The Search For Dragonball Z
"Dragonball Z: The Search For Dragonball Z" is the follow up to "Dragonball Z - Dragonball World" in the Dragonball series. I've always enjoyed Dragonball, and while I'm not as passionate as Mike Mcassewitz is, I still love this series. There are several notable differences between these and the previous films, however one similarity is that Nicholas Lehmann is once again attached to the director's job as an artist and co-writer. I'd seen his name before with his work on the "VA" ("Vehicle Action Program") series, so I wasn't worried about his participation on this film since I knew he was back doing an episode of Dragonball Z after being off for a couple of years.
The story is a combination of Japanese story telling, martial arts, and animated sequences all mashed together to create a fantastic movie experience. I especially enjoyed how the fighting scenes were animated, and while they may be a little repetitive at times, it makes up for it in the amount of heart felt characters, especially Dr. Brief, who is depicted as a brilliant medical professional. The fight scenes were some of the most intense I've seen in a Dragonball film, and I especially liked the final confrontation between Goku and Piccolo. It's a terrific climax, and there are several small touches throughout Dragonball Z: The Search for Dragonball Z that makes it stand out from the rest of the films.
Dragonball Z: The Search for Dragonball Z is the start of a new franchise, and while I think it's a good film, I'm not quite sure whether I'll like future releases. For one, I don't think Piccolo is as well developed as he was in the series. I also thought the story was a bit too predictable, and I'm not sure if it's helped by the fact that half of the movie is basically rehashing old events. Overall, I'm not too sure if this is going to be a hit with me, but I'll probably keep this one on the list of favorites. If not, I might see Dragonball Z: The Joker, which is a much better film overall.
