So is DRAGON BALL Better than DBZ?

This whole time, I’ve been watching DRAGON BALL from a bit
of a clinical distance. It’s all been about cooly assessing the show, and academically
analyzing how it relates to the later series (and to the shonen tradition, in general).

This might’ve been the first episode I simply just enjoyed
on its own merits. I walked away with a big grin on my face. There are no significant
connections to divine here. It’s just a delightful told-in-one that ends on a
note that’s as whimsical as the one that started it.

== TEASER ==

I just loved the absurd dream logic Goku uses in that last
part. How do you deal with an evil bunny like Monster Carrot? Well, how about you just ride
the Power Pole up to the Moon and drop him and his cronies off there. Why? Because that’s where rabbits go.
Obviously.

My second favorite part had to be when Goku drops the goons.
They’ve been terrorizing these villagers for so long, the poor people can’t
remember a time when they weren’t
living in fear. Well, here comes Goku,
and this kind of rough stuff is just business as usual for him. Bulma volunteers his fighting prowess like he’s going to change somebody’s tire. He's so blase about it, he won’t even
start to fight with these grown-ups until he’s done eating.

Again, you can’t
help but smile over that kind of dream logic.

I wouldn’t say this is better
than DBZ - - it’s really just a different flavor of fantasy. You can’t have a
strong opinion about choosing chocolate over vanilla. That said, I’m sure
plenty of you lunatics actually do have strong opinions about this, and I
suppose now would be as good as time as any to solicit them. So which do you
prefer, huh? Regular DRAGON BALL, or DBZ? Or do some of you actually prefer… * GASP *... DRAGON BALL GT?

Watch "Boss Rabbit's Magic Touch” and
decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode.