IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN DRAGON BALL Z, THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

Hey guys! First of all I would like to thank everybody who has taken the time to read my DBZ reviews. I understand that DBZ is a TV show and not a movie, so many people on this site might not be interested in reading them, but to those who do, thanks! I wouldn't review just any show on this site, but DBZ is not only important to my childhood, it also feels quite cinematic to me overall. For instance, I wouldn't review SpongeBob SquarePants on here.

Another thing I need to let you all know is that I consider this Trunks/Android Saga to be everything from when Trunks arrives to when Trunks discovers another spaceship that is the same one he used to travel back in time. I was initially going to combine this saga with the rest of the Cell Saga, but now I look at this saga as Part 1 and the rest with Cell as Part 2. So technically this review is for Part 1 of the Android Saga. I just feel as though I can do this review more justice by splitting them (you could argue that I could've split the Frieza Saga into two saga (one with early Namek episodes and the rest with the battles with Frieza, but I still think of that as one saga altogether). I feel that this saga has enough about it that I can consider it a saga in itself (or as I said, Part 1 in the same saga).

Anyway, I didn't grow up with the Android Saga as much as the others, simply because I didn't really catch it on Toonami (our cable might have been turned off). But I have seen it since, and I must say that I absolutely LOVE it.  Even though I admit that I somewhat feel that it should have been Goku who killed Frieza with this clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H03OnxtH6g4). In actuality, DBZ was supposed to end with the Frieza Saga, but Akira Toriyama (the creator of DBZ) hadn't completely fulfilled his contract with Shonen Jump, so he had to keep the story going. Considering that, I think he did a phenomenal job, and while part of me thinks DBZ should've ended with Frieza, the other part is VERY glad it didn't.  I can't help but love the fact that even though Goku defeated him, he survived and is on his way to Earth. The scene where the Z Fighters sense Frieza and his father, King Cold coming to Earth is very tense. Goku has still not returned to Earth, and none of Earth's warriors (and Vegeta, who is with them) are powerful enough to stop Frieza.

Enter Trunks. Trunks, hands down, is my favorite thing about the Android Saga. What I love is that initially, like all the characters in the show, we have NO idea who he is or where he came from. He's completely calm and poised, and he's here to take down Frieza and King Cold. He takes down all of Frieza's men, and then there's his line "You're about to find out what it's like to fight a real Super Saiyan. And I'm not talking about Goku." Firstly, I realize that Goku was initially meant to be the ONLY Super Saiyan. However, I love the fact that Trunks can turn Super Saiyan, and he is much stronger than Goku was on Namek. I love how Trunks single handedly defeats these guys without even breaking a sweat, particularly in this clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxRpLxtMR6U&feature=related). Once we find out about Trunks, about his history and everything, it's just awesome. I'm a big fan of time travel and whatnot (Terminator, Back to the Future), so I really love this storyline. It's much different from the previous DBZ storylines, and it gives it a more edgy, sleek feel if that makes sense. In a lot of ways, Trunks reminds me of Kyle Reese from The Terminator. What's also great about Trunks is that he is Vegeta and Bulma's son. Talk about a twist. I honestly don't think it's all that far-fetched that they had a child together, like some do. All of this creates a great dynamic between the two. You get the notion that Trunks wants to satisfy Vegeta; at the same time he is disappointed and angry at his father for a lot of the stupid things he does (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sidq_qZPqS8&feature=related), yet he still cares for his father. Trunks is certainly more calm and patient than Vegeta, and he is obviously much friendlier, but I like that he possesses the same cockiness and ruthlessness in battle.

This leads to the character of Vegeta. One thing that is evident is that Vegeta is not the pure evil Saiyan that he was for the Saiyan Saga and some of the Frieza Saga; he is more of an anti-hero than anything. However, he is still incredibly selfish, and is motivated by his jealousy of Goku. Vegeta's main goal is to become stronger than Goku. Eventually, he becomes a Super Saiyan as well, which is actually a great moment in the show; I actually really like the version with the American music, as it is here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDDBuyIUi1Y). Once this happens, Vegeta's ego  nearly bursts, to the point to where he can get pretty annoying, at least to me (many people prefer him to Goku, though I'm a bigger Goku fan myself). Vegeta eventually tries to take on the Androids by himself, fighting Android 18. He is beaten VERY badly, which damages his pride, leading to this scene, which is another one of my favorites (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PryL0qjazsU&feature=related; I actually prefer the scene with the Japanese soundtrack, since in that version it focuses less on the music and more on Vegeta's thoughts, though I love both versions). My feelings toward Vegeta are mixed. I can't help but love his "I bow to no one" attitude and even his cockiness to a degree, but some of the time he comes off as a stupid, arrogant prick. He still one of my favorites, though.

Goku actually takes a back seat during most of this saga, as he falls victim to a heart virus. I always liked this story arc, because it shows some vulnerability to the character, especially since he seems unbeatable as a Super Saiyan. I like how Krillin, Tien, and Yamcha still have roles in this saga, though it is apparent that they're failing to keep up with the Saiyans and even Piccolo. I will say that even though I wish Krillin was braver and had done some real fighting (like in the first two sagas), I LOVE him for his comic relief. What I've always loved about Krillin is that he's the most "normal" character out of the bunch; even though he's a strong warrior, he often cannot believe the situations he's in, and he wants to at least have a girlfriend before getting killed by powerful villains, like here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk6sbABU_Yo). Krillin is actually one of my favorite characters. But as I was saying, I'm just glad these guys still had a place in this saga.

Now on to the androids. Honestly, I really like the concept of the androids as villains. The storyline connects way back to Goku's days as a child when he defeated the evil Red Ribbon Army (go to Wikipedia for the story) which is cool, and it's actually very interesting. I love the fact that Trunks informs the Z Fighters that the androids are coming ahead of time, so they train for 3 years to be prepared. The other neat thing is that because the androids aren't human, their power levels can't be sensed. This a truly horrifying scene after Yamcha discovers the androids (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLV95mafwm4).

Now the truly awesome Androids are Androids 17 and especially 18 (who, I won't deny, I had a crush on as a kid). Both of them are cool and sleek, and yet they're evil and incredibly powerful. They're actually pretty intimidating because of how calm and cool they are. The fight between Android 18 and Vegeta is the standout battle of this saga, and here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0O2xBAgoBM. I won't lie, I love Vegeta, and he is hilarious in this fight, but something was very satisfying about seeing Android 18 beat the crap out of him.

Overall, the Trunks/Android Saga is a very good, very different sort of DBZ Saga. I love the mysterious feel of it. It's actually about equal n quality to the previous two sagas in a lot of ways.