Best of the East – The Import Report

Dragon Ball GT
Based on DRAGON BALL by Akira Toriyama

• On-Air in Japan
• Genre: Action/Adventure
• Wednesdays @ 7:00 p.m.
• Fuji TV

This newest addition to the series takes us back to more like what the beginning of the story felt like. If you’ve never seen any DRAGON BALL, start now. No, I mean RIGHT NOW. Action, fighting, silly stuff and a blast from the past (I never thought I’d see those guys again!). Watch it! The kids are all right.

– James¹

Hey, this is great! DRAGON BALL returns to its roots–those like me who’ve only seen DB in English² can pick this one up from the beginning without (more or less) skipping a beat. I like Pan a lot–tough chicks like her are still a little hard to come by in any medium. DRAGON BALL in space? Looks like good, zany fun!

– Julie³

I somehow missed the entire DBZ phenomenon, but I did see the English version² and found it most adorable. Watching the first GT episode, it really bugged me to see adult Goku still sporting the same big googly eyes and squeaky little-boy voice, and I heaved a huge sigh of relief when we reverted to its original kiddie form. This could be quite fun, but I dunno what DBZ loyalists will make of it.

– Mark⁴

Goku–now little again!–has one year to assemble the dragon balls now scattered throughout the universe or it’s zetsumetsu⁵ time. There’s enough charm to make even Piccolo smile (you’re gonna love the returning “guest villains” in Ep. 1), and fierce yet girlish Pan (Goku’s granddaughter!) is a wonderful addition to the roster of heroes. Frankly, when DB ended in JUMP, I was skeptical this could prove worthy. Happily, I was wrong.

– Trish⁶