Dragonball Z Double Feature: The History of Trunks/Bardock The Father of Goku Review

For the last 2 or 3 years Funimation has been remastering the Dragonball Z series and releasing it in nice affordable season box sets. In addition to the television series, Funimation has also been releasing the feature films based on the series in fancy double feature releases. The History of Trunks/Bardock The Father of Goku was the 4th release in the double feature set.

What separates these 2 titles from the rest of the DBZ movies is that they actually aren't movies, their television specials. The irony in this is that "The History Of Trunks" and "Bardock: The Father Of Goku" is far better than any of the theatrical films and may be one of the best parts of the Dragonball Z series period.

While the series and theatrical films generally favored action over a deep storyline. These specials do the opposite, offering intriguing stories and placing the action on the backburner. Both specials act as extensions of certain storylines from the series. The History of Trunks tells a story of a bleak alternate timeline where a bulk of the main characters have been killed by evil androids and shows why Trunks decides to go back in time to try and prevent this from happening (setting up the 3 major arc of the series). Bardock: The Father Of Goku is more less a prequel to the events of the dragonball series and details Bardock's attempt to expose the evil warlord Frezia for the villain he really is.

Both specials caught me guard with how well written they were; mainly because ,as stated before, DBZ isn't that great in the story department. I loved the dark tone of the titles and really wished they would have put this much attention into the regular show. I have to admit that preferred Bardock over Trunks, mostly because I felt it made me connect with characters more.Bardock's general lack of interest in his child, until he realizes their world is going to be destroyed, was interesting and believable. It's easy to take something for granted, but faced with the threat of losing that something, attitudes can change quickly.

I can't recommend this set highly enough to fans of Dragonball Z or people who are curious about the series. Neither special ends with happy ending as the overall stories are carried over and concluded in the show, but even then these two tales offer a unique take on the DBZ world.