#dbza ep29

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: Abridged Episode 29 Review

Originally posted December 8th, 2015

Suspenseful, compelling storytelling.

Great film and great television has the capacity to make you lose yourself in its story, and the best films and TV shows pull you in so deep that you quickly forget that you’re engaged in the act of watching them. They do this by combining sound design, acting, music, cinematography, and editing to engender empathy in you, the viewer, and when all the elements are working together properly, it’s damn near impossible to not get sucked in. And in Dragonball Z: Abridged, no episode yet has shown off these elements working so perfectly together as “Freeza Burn.”

“Freeza Burn,” story wise, is the end of the second act, which means that our heroes are going to be brought down to their very lowest; a moment of true desperation before the final triumph. As someone who’s seen this episode before and is pretty familiar with story structure, there was no way that Goku’s Spirit Bomb failing to kill Freeza would surprise me.

Yet as I was rewatching “Freeza Burn,” I felt drawn in to the story yet again, feeling that same desperation as the characters, and hoping that maybe this time, just once, the Spirit Bomb would work for them. And then when it failed, I felt the same dread as Goku and his friends; despite knowing that Goku’s about to go Super Saiyan and make everything okay again, I felt more threatened by Freeza than I ever have before.

All of this happened because the elements of filmmaking came together perfectly in this episode. The sound design is excellent: you can hear Piccolo scream “My glubark” as he’s being beaten by Freeza, and the Spirit Bomb itself sounds fearsome.

The acting is as excellent as ever, and LittleKuriboh makes clear just how much Freeza’s mounting frustration is taking a toll on him. Their music selection is perfect, with the choir chants after Piccolo’s death being particularly poignant (if anyone knows what soundtrack that’s from, please tell me).

The cinematography and editing (which are one and the same for this show) are excellent as well, and the few jump cuts Team Four Star is forced to use feel significantly more natural than they have in the past. All of this is meant to say essentially a single thing: “Freeza Burn” is the best episode of Dragonball Z: Abridged that I’ve reviewed yet.

Rating: 5/5

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Stray Observations

Krillin: “Phew, how was that?” Producer: “That was perfect, Krillin. Don’t worry about your check, we’ll send it to your next of kin.” Krillin: “What?”

Krillin: “It’s time to get in there and throw down!” Gohan: “Really, Krillin?” Krillin: “Haha, f*** no!”

Chiaotzu: “They look like a bunch of queers.” Tien: “Chiaotzu, we just met them. You should make such rash judgements-“ Ginyu Force: “Tokusentai!” Tien: “Well we shouldn’t think less of them for it.”

Freeza: “If I’m really as evil as you say I am, let God strike me down where I stand.” *lightning strike* Freeza: “Ha! Nice try, jackass! Next time give it your ‘A’ game.”

Krillin: “The spirit bomb is the only thing that can kill Freeza!” Goku: “Shut up!” Krillin: “Too scared!”

Freeza: “There you are again, throwing your hands up in the air like you just don’t care. Care, damn it!”

Krillin Owned: 28. Damn.