Gephyrophillia | Watch This Space #57

Originally Posted on 04/07/2003 by Jeff Harris

Monday, August 31, 1998, the series that would turn a block that turned Cartoon Network's Toonami block from a popular, yet unloved programming block on the network into the premiere block of action on Cartoon Network, made its premiere.

On Monday, April 7, 2003, almost five years later, the series made its swan song with a very unexpected finale, with millions of fans watching the last English episode.

From The Arrival of Raditz to Goku's Next Journey, Dragon Ball Z has been the premiere draw to this block we call Toonami. Today's installment was indeed the final episode to air. Sure, this is hardly the end of the Dragonball franchise. We still got the remaining episodes of Dragon Ball and the final televised chapter Dragon Ball GT to look forward to. Plus, there's always the minute chance that we could see the DBZ movies that have premiered exclusively on video in this country. And the "lost" episodes from the Saban-guided seasons will premiere exclusively on video in about a year or two. Oh, and the awesome-as-hell DBZ comics are seen in Shonen Jump and starting next week, at a cheaper price in graphic novel form. Oh, and Jakks Pacific is making very detailed action figures featuring those wacky Saiyans. Dragon Ball Z is over on Toonami, but the franchise still has a little steam left in it.

About that last episode . . . okay, this is the first time I've seen this episode in English. I saw it a couple of months ago on International Channel (damn you, Cox Cable Hampton Roads for taking off that channel just when it was getting REAL good!), so you know it was in straight Japanese with no subtitles. Pretty frustrating to this English-speaking jackenfool. Anywho, I thought I understood what the episode was all about, and I figured that he was going to take Uub to train him. The dub confirmed that. The way the episode (and the actual comic) ended just kind of left a bitter taste in my mouth. I mean, jeez, he just abandoned his family and friends just to train a kid he had a feeling about. Yeah, Goku's the savior of the world and all, but it seems like he was bored with his wife, his kids, his granddaughter, and his friends. It's pretty obvious he prefered to be somewhere fighting, rarely even speaking with his friends. Heck, he spent a year and a half on another planet training after his battle against Freeza. You DO remember Freeza, don't you?

Guess you can take the boy out of the wild, but you can't take the wild out of the boy. He spent a bulk of his childhood alone after his grandpa's death and only got pulled into the world of action when he was 14 (he was a mighty small 14 year-old). He was a kid. He still has that youthful energy his friends, now decades older physically and mentally (by the end of the show, what are Goku's older friends (aside from Piccolo and Master Roshi), in their 40s?). He is definitely an older character than the first episode of DBZ (The Arrival of Radditz), but Goku maintained that youthful innocence that could be confused by some scholars as Peter Pan syndrome, growing up physically but not mentally. It probably shouldn't have surprised anyone that Goku would become a master to a young pupil. Afterall, when he was young, Goku was trained by the best. In his later years, he trained his sons. Goku is always looking for the next challenge. Now, he has his chance to train the most powerful human without any Saiyan blood flowing through them.

But still, leaving your whole life behind? Leaving your family and friends? Goku might have had temporary insanity and a strange euphoric rush training the ultimate student, however, he shouldn't have abandoned everything like that. The final episode of Dragonball Z wasn't the best way to end a series. Then again, not a lot of shows ended right. Fortunately, DBGT will have a "proper" finale for the Dragonball Saga, but that'll come later.

Farewell, Dragon Ball Z. It's been fun.

Oh. One more thing.

CNX: Toonami Revolution got it's millionth hit last week, the second major Toonami fansite to reach that milestone (Toonami Digital Arsenal reached that pinnacle first many months ago). I'll talk about it later, but I'll say THANKS to all the fans who kept on visiting. Too much to think about . . . gotta get back to work.

Until we are one, later.
Jeff Harris
CNX Creator/Webmaster
April 7, 2003