Dragon Ball Z: Season Six (Cell Games Saga)

Season 6 is the battle with cell - and it's the bomb! can't wait for the next one.

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. In his Perfect form, Cell is seemingly invincible. After the Z-Fighters were unable to defeat the villain, he retreats, stating that in 10 days time he will hold a tournament, so that he may fight the strongest fighters in the world. Our heroes go into training, knowing what lies ahead will be their toughest battle yet.

The DVD set is divided amongst six discs, and contains the complete Cell Games Saga (the post-Cell Afterlife Tournament episodes are, disappointingly, NOT included. They will be featured in the next set.) 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 Dragon Ball Z, you'll want to start with the Season One box set, but if you're already a fan, you'll enjoy these episodes. The previous set contained some excellent fight scenes, and you get plenty more of them here, including Gohan Vs. Cell - one of the most legendary of all Dragon Ball Z fights. The first 10 episodes or so of this set are terrible - some of the worst anime-only filler in the series, with only the occasional interesting moment, like the coming of a new Guardian of Earth. But once you get past those stinkers, it's an all-out thrill ride for the latter two thirds of the package. The Cell Games (first 10 or so episodes aside) feature some incredible battles. It's just a shame the "afterlife tournament" episodes weren't included. I, personally, thought those episodes always worked better as "Post Cell" episodes than "Pre-Buu" ones, though my opinion may be in the minority there.

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, 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.

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 great Dragon Ball Z season set, enough said. Easily some of the best material in the entire series. 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.

I've been into DBZ for a while, so I can be overly critical when it comes to new merch and rereleased videos. I've been buying the new DBZ seasons on DVD since the first ones became available. The picture quality is simply amazing, especially after viewing VHS versions. Funimation is digitally renewing the quality of the entire series, one season at a time, and they're doing an excellent job. Another notable feature is the 3 different audio options available, Japanese dialogue with Japanese music, English dialogue with Japanese music, and English dialogue with the US broadcast music. Earlier VHS tapes only let you watch with English dialogue and Japanese music. I like watching DBZ with the US broadcast music, which is available on these DVDs. Also another cool feature, marathon play. This play option plays the title theme once at the beginning, and from then on cuts the title theme, recap, and ending credits out from between episodes, shortening view time and ending the ever irritating task of skipping forward with the remote. All these features, along with a shiney box and informative insert, make the $30 paid for the season more than worth it. If you're a fan of DBZ these seasons are a must have.

Cell is ready to get down and dirty with Goku and the Z fighters in the Sixth season of Dragon Ball Z. This is pretty much what we have been looking forward to since Trunks gave Goku the warning and now after two whole seasons of warm-ups it is time for the full on fight to the death. Not since the Frieza Saga have we seen such an incredible battle. Though this one will have a few interesting twists to it as well as new characters with will either amaze or disgust you. Sit back and enjoy all the glory that is Dragon Ball Z! (Part 6 of 9)*

*With Season 7 not to far away it seems that the Dragon Ball Z series will end with a total of 9 complete seasons)

If you have not seen it, to appreciate season six, You need to buy from season 1 - 5. I wish I had done so and seen it in strict order.

This is especially true as it relates to the humble character of Gohan and the heights of achievement a father's love makes possible.

Season six also lays the foundation for the subsequent MaJin Buu series.