Dragonball Z Season Two (Digitally Remastered)   Starring (voice): Masako Nozawa, Ryo Horikawa and Hiromi Tsuru Manga Entertainment RRP: £34.99 MANG6001 Certificate: PG Available 27 August 2012

Goku undergoes martial art training, unaware that he is an alien sent to earth to conquer the planet for the Saiyan’s. Having suffered a blow to the head on his arrival the truth only becomes known when he meets his brother, Raditz. Goku turns his back on his own people in his quest for the Dragon Balls, mystical objects which together grant any wish, including the raising of the dead. In the conflict between Earth and Saiyan Goku is killed but revived using the Dragon Balls. With Earth safe the search for the remaining Dragon Balls heads out into space...

Dragon Ball Z: Season Two (800 min) originally ran in Japan between 14 March 1990 and 23 January 1991. The show was directed by Daisuke Nishio, adapted from the Dragon Ball manga written by Akira Toriyama. The show was phenomenally successful in Japan, but less so when shown in the States where it was pulled. The latest release has been re-mastered to present it at its best.

This season encompassed the Namek and Captain Ginyu Sagas, which were markedly different to the show's first season. Apart from splitting the main characters up, the second season falls foul of the need to fill screen time and so it reverts to the tried and tested method of staging innumerable martial arts fights to pad out the story. I can imagine this getting old really quickly as further seasons are released. The lacklustre reception of the first season forced a rethink, so the action in season two takes place several years on from season one. An older Goku has settled down with his lady love, Chichi and sire a son, Gohan.

Leaving Goku to rehabilitate on Earth, the others launch into space, on a mission to find the Dragon Balls, which may exist on a distant planet. Their ship collides with another sending it off course. Their old nemesis, Saiyan prince Vegeta, although repulsed from earth is not wholly defeated and plans the next step, unaware that a greater enemy threatens them both.

Dating back to the nineties, the style of animation is noticeably cruder, there is an attempt to balance the humour with action, but overall so many other shows have now used the same template that it is difficult to recreate the same enthusiasm which greeted the show's first run.

Dragon Ball Z comes on a six disc DVD set, containing an impressive thirty-five episodes, which run from forty to seventy-five; following the Japanese tradition of just following on the numbering system from season one. Each disc has various audio options. Because the show had been adulterated in its move to the States, before returning for a better dub, you get to choose from the original Japanese mono, the U.S broadcast stereo version or the newest 5.1 with English dialogue and the Japanese music.

Rather than presenting the show in its original 4:3 aspect ratio, the picture has a cleaned up, cropped 1.78:1 ratio and at times the cropping is noticeable. The extras are pretty paltry consisting only of the textless opening and closing sequences on the sixth disc.

The set will appeal to Shōnen fans and fans of the Dragon Ball series; others may find that it has not dated well.

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Charles Packer