Dragonball Z

Summary

DragonBall Z is the follow up of DragonBall. The story is very different when compared to DragonBall, and we get to meet a lot more new characters in DragonBall Z as well. In DragonBall Z, we don't learn much more about Gokou's travelling experience, but more about where Gokou comes from. We also see him engaging in a lot more battles.

In DragonBall Z, we get a background of Gokou's past and future. We learn about his evil brother Raditz, his father Bardock and the whole entire Saiya-Jin race. We also get to explore more into Gokou's childhood, and the reason why is he sent to Earth. One thing which is a bit different compared with DragonBall is that the story doesn't focus on the seven DragonBalls as much anymore. They are still there, but they are not as significant.

We are also introduced with another important figure, Vegeta. Vegeta's father is the ruler and the king of Planet Vegeta. Vegeta beings his journey as an evil, black hearted killer, and Gokou is one of his main target. The hatred between these two Saiya-Jins turns into friendship as the story moves on, when they help each other during battles against Freeza and the Androids. Instead of enemies, they become inseparable ultimate fighting duo, defeating great opponents such as the Androids, Koola, Majin Buu, Cell and a lot more.

Apart from Gokou and Vegeta, we also see Gohan (Gokou's older son), Goten (Gokou's younger son), Trunks (Vegeta's son) and a lot more of Piccolo (remember him from DragonBall?). Gohan, Goten and Piccolo mainly appear during battles, but Trunks is different. As soon as Trunks is introduced into the world of DragonBall, he instantly becomes one of the most important figures of all. When we first see Trunks, he acts like a messenger, a cocky teenager carrying a long sword around. Then we later realise that he is actually from the future, and travels back in time to inform Gokou about the terriorised future by the Androids (#17 and #18) and Gokou's death from a heart disease. Now this is the interesting part. DragonBall Z actually has two different futures, a modified future and a present future. The present future, is what Trunks tells Gokou when they first meet, a future terrorised by Androids. Or a modified future, the future they create after Trunks travels back in time and informs Gokou about the real (present) future. Sounds confusing? Yes, most people find this section a little hard to understand, you can view our timeline to learn more about the two different futures.

Now let us look at the present (terriorised) future in more detail. Just before the Androids arrive, Gokou suffers a heart disease, and consenquently he dies from it (there isn't any cure for the heart disease at thet time). As the Androids finally arrive, Vegeta, Piccolo, Tien, Krillin and Yamcha and Gohan (Gokou's son) engage in a fierce battle with them. Unfortunately, most of them are killed during the battle, with Gohan as the only surviver (but he looses one of his arms during the battle). At the time, Trunks is still a kid and he hasn't got the capability to fight the Androids yet, but Gohan is always training with him to make him better. A few years later, Androids are back again for another assult, and Trunks wants to take revenge and decides to fight the Androids with Gohan. Trunks is more mature, and a lot stronger, but still not enough to fight the Androids. Gohan purposely knocks Trunks unconscious mainly because he doesn't want Trunks to get killed, hence Gohan goes and fight the Androids alone. By the time Trunks wakes up, Gohan is already killed. At the time, Earth is in great danger, people living in fear day after day. Trunks' mother, Bulma, developed a Time Capsule (Time Machine) which enables travelling through time, has the idea about changing the future by getting Trunks to travel back in time to give Gokou the medicine to cure his heart disease, so Gokou would be still alive and fight the Androids, hence changing the future.

As for the modified future, Trunks travels back in time and meets Gokou. Now Trunks (or Future Trunks since he is from the future) and he explains everything to Gokou and the heart disease medicine is passed on to him as well. Since Gokou is now now health and the heart disease isn't affecting him anymore, Gokou joins the Z team and destroys the Androids, preventing a terriorised future. However, that is not the end, even stronger foes such as Cell and Buu appear later on (I won't say too much because I hate to spoil the plot).

In DragnoBall Z, we also get to learn a lot about a Saiya-Jin, the way they transform into a huge ape (Oozru mode) and the way they transform into the different Saiya-Jin levels. I won't tell you much now, but I am sure you will find them very interesting.

The story of DragonBall Z comes to a conclusion 10 years later after the end of the Majin Buu Saga, we are greeted with the usual characters, except they are all 10 years older. At the time, Tenkaichi-Budoukai (world class martial arts tournament) is also taking place, and an unknown, skinny, dark skinned character named Uubuu is introduced during the tournament. Uubuu is known to be the reincarnated evil Majin Buu that is killed 10 years ago, except Uubuu is good-hearted and comes from a poor family background. Gokou soon realises the skinny kid's true fighting potential and decides to keep Uubuu with him and train him. We don't get to learn much about Uubuu in DragonBall Z, but we will see a lot more of him in DragonBall GT (the sequel to DragonBall Z).

DragonBall Z is a lot more fun and more exciting than DragonBall. The world of DragonBall isn't just based on Earth anymore, but also taken place in numerous of other planets in the universe. There are also 11 special DragonBall Z movies, which they are something that you would not want to miss out (the movies are just excellent). If you enjoyed DragonBall Z, then you are going to love the sequel DragonBall GT even more.

Gundam Wing

Summary

It's the year After Colony(AC) 195. Over the past century, humanity has established a number of space colonies, giant wheel-shaped constructs that are home to millions of people. These colonies are grouped in clusters at the five Lagrange points, areas of relative stability in Earth orbit.
For decades, while the Earth's surface was wracked by war and civil strife, the peace and quiet of the space colonies presented an attractive alternative for war-weary settlers. When the terrestrial wars ended, a new world government was established, a "United Earth Sphere Alliance" committed to bringing about peace through force of arms. In the name of peace and justice, the Alliance seized control of the colonies.
To lobby the Earth's nations for autonomy, the space colonists chose a man named Heero Yuy as their representative. The charismatic Yuy united the colonies, and his message of demilitarization and non-violence was well-received by the people of Earth. But when Yuy was assassinated in the year AC 175, the colonists' hopes were crushed and the colonies thrown into turmoil.
Under the pretext of restoring order to the colonies, the Alliance staged a second military intervention, using humanoid fighting machines called mobile suits to crush all opposition. The colonies were placed under martial law, and all communication and cooperation between colonies was prohibited. Even terrestrial nations sympathetic to Heero Yuy's philosophies, like Europe's pacifist Sanc Kingdom, were crushed by the Alliance's overwhelming force.
Behind the scenes, the Alliance is being manipulated by the Romefeller Foundation, the powerful industrial combine that develops and manufactures its mobile suits. The Alliance's elite mobile suit corps, the "Specials," is trained and staffed by the Romefeller Foundation. In fact, the Specials are nothing but a front for OZ, a Romefeller subsidiary which has been recast as a secret society. Answerable only to the Romefeller Foundation, OZ has infiltrated the highest levels of the Alliance military.
After two decades of oppression, a network of rebels based in the space colonies decides to strike back at OZ and its puppet Alliance. Resistance groups at each of the five colony clusters work independently on their part of Operation Meteor, each retaining the services of one of the scientists who helped create the first mobile suits. Using the super-strong armor material Gundanium, the scientists construct advanced mobile suits called "Gundams," entrust them to five highly-trained, resourceful young pilots, and dispatch them to Earth to wage guerilla war against the Alliance.
Of the five Gundam pilots, the L5 colony cluster's Chang Wufei, L4's Quatre Raberba Winner, L3's Trowa Barton and L2's Duo Maxwell reach Earth without incident. But L1's Gundam pilot, a grim youth code-named Heero Yuy after the martyred colonial leader, is intercepted by Specials ace pilot Zechs Merquise and forced to temporarily ditch his Gundam at sea. This begins the story of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.
Gundam Wing is copyright Sotsu Agency, Sunrise, and TV Asahi. Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz is copyright Sotsu Agency and Sunrise.
Gundam Wing is a television series featuring 49 episodes, 30 minutes each. It was aired in North America from March 6, 2000 to May 11, 2000. The people who made Gundam Wing possible includes:
Director: Masashi Ikeda
Scenario: Katsuyuki Sumisawa
Character design: Shuko Murase
Mecha design: Junya Ishigaki, Hajime Katoki, Kunio Okawara
Costume design cooperation: Yutaka Izubuchi
Art direction: Masaru Satoh, Yuusuke Takeda
Music direction: Yasuo Urakami
English voices:
Character Voice Actor
Heero Yuy -Mark Hildreth
Duo Maxwell -Scott McNeil
Quatre Raberba Winner -Brad Swaile
Trowa Barton -Kirby Morrow Chang Wufei -Ted Cole
Treize Khushrenada -David Kaye
Lady Une -?
Zechs Merquise/Miliardo Peacecraft -Brian Drummond
Lucrezia Noin -Saffron Henderson
Relena Peacecraft/Darlian -Lisa Ann Beley.