Customer Reviews
season 4 just the beginning!!! 
2008-10-28
this is the buil up to the big showdown in season 6 its also the 1st time we get to meet trunks and learn about the androids i didnt care too much for the garlic jr story line but the trunks and android sagas made it worth the watch for any dbz fans this is a must have for your collection
The introduction of one of the most popular DBZ characters and the Clone saga begins! 
2008-10-20
With each DVD season box set release of "DRAGON BALL Z", as a hardcore fan of the series, it's just incredible to get over 30 episodes for almost the same price or less than most American television box sets.
Season 4 is definitely going to excite some fans as one of the more popular characters, Future Trunks is featured on the box cover.
The season starts off with the Garlic Jr. arc that I wasn't too caring for, while the fate of Goku is still unknown after the battle with Frieza, everyone else gets accustomed to their own lives as Gohan is stuck at home studying for school exams and his mother Chi Chi is very striict with him. Piccolo continues to train and Krillyn dates a beautiful, busty woman named Maron.
But eventually everyone reunites to take on the latest threat to their world when Garlic Jr. unleashes the black water mist upon the world and everyone turns evil with the exception of Piccolo, Krillyn, Gohan, Maron and Master Roshi. With the help of Kame and Mr. Popo, the group take on Garlic Jr. and must save the world from the black water myst.
The next chapter features the return of Frieza and his father Cooler. After Goku's battle with Frieza, it is learned that Frieza's father saved his son and made him even more powerful by taking his body parts and creating a cyborg. Of course, Frieza now back, wants revenge on Goku and friends.
As everyone prepares to battle against Frieza and Cooler, a mysterious guy from the future makes an appearance.
The unknown warrior defeats Frieza and Cooler with ease and everyone realizes that he is a Saiyajin. But the warrior tells everyone that Goku should be arriving that day and everyone is shocked to find out that Goku will be coming back.
Upon Goku's return, the future warrior reveals to Goku that he is Trunks, the son of Vegita and Bulma and warns him of upcoming danger as his world has been destroyed by the Androids. He comes to the past to warn Goku to get him and his friends prepared for their battle because he can defeat the androids but he must take medication to help eliminate a virus that he is going to have soon. According to Trunks, everyone except Gohan is killed but Goku dies due to a virus. But by giving him an antidote, Goku can survive the virus once he gets sick.
So, for the next few years, Goku, Picollo and everyone must train for this major threat from dr. Jiro and the androids.
AUDIO:
This is where I'm so happy with these Funimation releases. The fact that you can watch the series in both Japanese or English dubs but can listen to the English dub with the new digital music or the original Japanese music.
Having watched the series in its original Japanese language when it was first released, this time around, I have been watching the series in dub format and its one of the best English voice acting as Goku, Picollo, Gohan, Krillyn, every character...the voice acting is just well done. There is not one character where I felt the voice acting was off or didn't fit. Voice acting is well done!
VIDEO:
The video looks great on DVD and for those of us who have multi-generation fansubs or fading VHS tapes, just having these episodes on DVD and everything looking great. I know some people have a problem with the show receiving some cropping but for me it's quite miniscule.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Special features include trailers and open and ending themes. If there was one thing lacking, it's the fact that there are really nothing in terms of special features.
As of this review, the latest Season 6 was released and I have started on season 5. But I was quite pleased with Season 4, the whole android saga was great to watch when it first came out and to see future Trunks, Super Saiyan Vegita and everyone all together, fighting together once again. It's just an all out great, mega-brawl and it's one of the reasons why "Dragon Ball Z" has become my favorite action anime series of all time.
I do have to say that the android saga leaves off with a cliff-hanger and continues in Season 5. So, you're definitely going to want to pick up Season 5 as it leads into another major threat that relates to the android-saga.
Again, for the price of over 30 episode....it's a great deal! I just hope that Funimation sets the trend of other companies considering their anime DVD releases via box set for a similar price. But nevertheless, if you are a "Dragon Ball Z" fan, you can't go wrong with this series. Cool characters that you care about, storylines that capture your attention and a series that is just action-packed.
Another season of "Dragon Ball Z" worth owning!
must buy to complete collection! 2008-10-10
if you already purchased any of the previous seasons, i highly recommend buying this one too. its vital because it adds on to the story and the history of cell, trunks, and the androids.i'd give you further information about the dvd but i dont want to spoil the excitement =)
Another good season set 2008-09-25
Dragon Ball Z is the one greatest anime series ever created. With its action-packed universe and compelling storylines, Akira Toriyama's magnum opus has never failed to please. This is the latest season set FUNimation has released of the series.
This set picks up where the last one left off. Goku has defeated Frieza, and the Z-Fighters have returned to Earth. Goku is alive, but has opted not to return to Earth, instead continuing personal training in the vastness of space.
An old foe, Garlic Jr., has escaped from his Dead Zone prison. Using a black mist, he turns all of mankind into vampiric zombies. It's up to Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo to work together to defeat this returned threat... but how will they contend with an IMMORTAL foe?
It doesn't stop there. Frieza somehow SURVIVED his battle with Goku, and has come to Earth seeking revenge. But upon Frieza's arrival, a mysterious youth comes to their aid. Will he be a match for the tyrant who has conquered numerous galaxies?
Three years later, following extensive training, the Z-Fighters find themselves face-to-face with the Android threats that were announced to them by the mysterious young man who helped them before. It isn't long before our heroes, even with all their training, find themselves outnumbered - and Goku is bedridden with a heart virus! How will the Z-Fighters win against what could be their greatest challenge yet?
The DVD set is divided amongst six discs, and contains the Garlic Jr., Cyborg Frieza, Android Training, and Android Sagas. The picture has been subjected to digital noise reduction, and the set includes a booklet of character profiles and episode listings.
Obviously, if you're new to the Dragon Ball franchise, you'll want to start with the Season One box set, but if you're already a fan, you'll enjoy these episodes. I won't lie, this is one of the weaker box sets, it's basically everything that links the Frieza and Android/Cell Sagas. The Garlic Jr. Saga has some good moments, but it's ultimately an anime-only filler that contributes nothing to the overall storyline. The Android Training episodes fare similarly (Chi-Chi wants Goku to get a drivers license despite the fact that she was seen driving in an early episode of the series?) Even the Android Saga itself gets off to a rough, slow start. But amongst the filler and obligatory slow-moving plot progression stuff, there is some great moments, namely the battle with Cyborg Frieza, and the introductions of Androids 16, 17, and 18 - and the battles with them that follow. These aren't the best episodes of the series, but some of them ARE key moments in the series.
One of my personal favorite features of the set is the Marathon feature. FUNimation includes a feature in these sets that allows you to view all of the episodes on each disc from start to end with no interruptions from intros/outros/recaps/etc. This is an extremely handy feature I wish more TV shows on DVD had.
Like earlier Dragon Ball Z season sets, the picture has been cropped at the top and bottom (this was done due to excessive grain and damage to the original source), and it has been subjected to the digital noise reduction process. Obviously a lot of fans, myself included, were disappointed to see the picture get cropped. While the digital noise reduction doesn't do as thorough a job cleaning up the image as you'd hope, it IS the best these episodes have ever looked. In other words, it's a "give and take" scenario. You lose some of the picture you could see on earlier full-frame DVDs (and there ARE a few gaping moments that will really make you question FUNimation's decision), but on the good side, you gain some picture on the sides, and the image quality is superior to all earlier DVD releases.
Sound quality is similar to the earlier sets. English audio quality is fantastic, but the dub is still translated poorly and the voice cast is hit and miss. On the other hand, the Japanese audio quality is poor, showing its age, but it does feature a well-translated subtitle track from Steven J. Simmons that lets you experience the series as originally intended. Is Dragon Ball Z EVER going to get its Japanese audio remastered?
Additionally, like the earlier sets, you have the option of watching the English voice cast played against the original Japanese audio.
Disappointingly, the next episode previews aren't included. But they weren't in any earlier season set, so it's no big surprise.
No special features are included here unless you count the trailers and the same textless opening/closing sequence all other sets like this have had. On the good side, the set does include a booklet similar to the earlier sets, with character profiles and an episode guide, making it handy to go right where you need to go on the DVDs.
It's another good set. If you're a fan of the series and don't already have these episodes, you can get them all here for one low price. Cropping issues aside, this is a great set, and a good value, especially compared to the older DVD releases.
Highly recommended to any fan of Dragon Ball Z.
DBZ season 4 2008-09-13
Good continuation of the series. The extra footage and un-edited version from the original japanese version, unlike the american version shown on TV, is nice to see.
Trunks Remastered! 2008-08-21
The Definitive Collection Continues!!
Season Four contains the complete Garlic Jr., Trunks and Android sagas on 6 discs.
Having returned victorious from their battle with Frieza, the Z-fighters can at last breathe a collective sigh of relief… But they won’t have long to rest. A new host of villains has appeared, ready to wreak havoc on the Earth—and Goku, the Z-Fighters’ greatest hero is still missing!
In the face of these new dangers, a mysterious youth with Super Saiyan powers has come bearing a bleak prediction for the future: in just three years’ time, an evil greater than any the Z-Fighters have ever faced will emerge to cast a shadow of destruction and despair over the Earth. And if the young Saiyan’s prediction is correct, the Z-Fighters will have to train like they have never trained before in order to have any hope against these seemingly unstoppable foes—the Androids!
Another Great Season 2008-07-24
I loved this season also. But it got 4 stars and not 5 cause when i receive this season in the mail the 5th disc was just laying around int he package with a few scratches and found that the clasp to hold the dvd in was broken so i need to be careful so that it doesn't get messed up any more that it is. But i recommend that if your a fan of DBZ to get all the seasons and watch them all in order. It will prolly bring back memories.
It only gets better from here.... 2008-07-20
I've been watching this series over & over for about 10 years now, and must say that this is the beginning of the BEST story line in the series. Once Cell enters into the series, you'll know what I mean.
VIDEO QUALITY - Ignore the bad reviews. You won't even miss anything that was cropped out of the original print. Only the top & bottom 5% portions were cut, so NOTHING VITAL IS MISSING. I would have preferred they left the frames intact, but the original copy was too badly damaged to get a better digital quality from those sections. The reviewers who say otherwise are just not understanding the procedures needed to take to transfer film to DVD code (in layman's terms).The image is MUCH better than the previous video releases (U.S. OR Japanese).
SOUND QUALITY - While the claim to keeping the original Japanese audio overlayed with the English voice cast is true, I think they could have / should have kept the same Opening track in Japanese as well (known as "Cha-La-Head-Cha-La"). Instead they replaced it with a guitar track that doesn't really keep the timing well with the opening sequence. Otherwise, the sound has been cleaned up and sounds much smoother than previous releases did.
SPECIAL FEATURES - The marathon feature is great, being able to watch every episode on each disc right after one another, without the credits or opening sequences. Being able to watch it in Japanese with (badly translated) English Subtitles is nice as well. However, that's about it. I think Funimation could do a LOT better with the features, like adding in interviews with the Voicing cast, some studio outtakes, etc. There are only previews of other Funimation releases to look at, nothing else.
OVERALL - Great if you are only interested in the series, and looking for better video and sound. If you want cool special features, you'll have to get Japanese release DVD's (which also means a DVD player that supports that Region Code for DVDs), which is also a crap-shoot.
Did I miss something? 2008-06-29
The first thing I thought when I saw the box for this dvd was, Who the heck is Garlic Jr? I have read all the manga books and I never saw him once. So far this series had given us much filler, scenes that were slighlty longer than need to be but this is an entire saga of filler. Not only that but it creates some weird backstory about how Gohan and Goku defeated Garlic Jr. and sealed him in the dead zone. Did I miss something? When did this happen? I have seen all the Dvd sets up to now I have tried to think of a time period it could have happened but I am stumped. Gohan and Goku were never together long enough to fight anything except on Namek and this epic fight occured on earth. Did Trunks mysterious time travelling create yet another timeline? Eh, I won't lose sleep over it.
Once I opened up the dvd and looked at the episode liner notes I had my second though; the spice boys? Really? Is this some sort of reference to the spice girls. It can't be since this show was around way before the spice girls were around so maybe it is just a big coincidence but if it isn't then that might just be the lamest joke in the history of the series. The boys actually aren't that bad(they are a lot more reserved than the goofy Ginyu force)but at the end of the day they have to walk inside their house look into the mirror and realize they are called the friggin' Spice boys.
My third thought as I was watching the series unfold was; man, these androids are annoying. The things that made Frieza such a great villain are personified in the beings of #17 and #18 who look like a couple of spoiled punk kids hanging out at the mall and they can get anythingthey want without any effort. Frieza was a great villain because he was so insufferable he made you feel sorry for Vegeta for having to serve under him. And when Vegeta gets beat down by a smirking, big forehead having android after having worked so hard top finally become a super saiyan then you feel for him as well. What's a spiky haired, constipated alien to do? Seriuosly though, Vegeta is one of my favorite Anime characters and i don't like seeing him get crushed. Though in a way that makes me like him more. His Saiyan pride and his constant feelings of inferiority to Goku(Kakarooot!) are what makes him such a great character.
Anyway, even though I was tempted to take off a star for having to endure a nonsensical saga that was quite literally crammed into the storyline by means of dark magic and/or time travel but in the end I enjoyed making fun of the spice boys so much it was worth the time spent. With that in mind let me present the spice boys rap; "We're the spice boys and we're here to say*/we're a bunch of crappy filler villains so you better get ouuta the way/we'll punch and kick you and do things real gay/so you'd better savekamitravelundergroundspreadmagicwaterthroughoughtheworldtobreakthementalcontrolyadayad and save the day. Peace out...we suck."
*P.s. I am aware that this is the starting line of almost every crap rap of the eighties. I couldn't help it.
So much easier 2008-06-23
I already own the entire DBZ series on a mixture of DVDs & VHS. It takes up so much space that I needed almost an entire book shelf unit to hold them all. These new realesed DVD sagas are WONDERFUL. I am now packing away all of my originals and replacing them with these sets. They take up very little space and can be out with the rest of my DVDs. I plan to buy them all as they come out!
