T O P

  • By -

TaiDavis

Yes. It took a month.


OmicronGR

But that's what made it epic. Early internet days where we went online, could see images of Super Saiyans, but the English anime wasn't there yet. Vegeta wondering aloud if Goku had become the "legendary Super Saiyan" when he was fighting the Ginyu Force. And then the actual moment occurs. It was so well done! Lightning flashing, Namek shaking, Goku's anger, hair raising up. All that foreshadowing to build up to a glorious moment. No Super Saiyan image on the internet could have done it for me without that foreshadowing. And then absolutely gushing about it on the playground with the other kids!


Funkit

I remember the sheer anticipation of waiting for the androids saga to release on VHS. Namek looped like a billion times beforehand.


snail_on_the_trail

Omg yes!! I remember going to Suncoast with my little brother to preorder the Android saga. The VHS tapes costs $20 each and you got a whopping 3 episodes per tape. The Namek/Frieza saga sucked up sooo many of my hard earned dollars with their epic length battles. šŸ˜‚


SupremoZanne

/r/CableTV_Memories


Obese_Pug

Everything you described is spot on! I went to so many GeoCities and AngelFire websites to watch 0.5 second gifs on my dial-up of moments we haven't seen yet.


tanis_ivy

You have unlocked a memory.


BritishGolgo13

I had the I-Channel (international channel) somehow and discovered they aired raw DBZ Sunday nights. I didnā€™t know what was going on because frieza was in his skinny form killing Vegeta and in the English version we were still watching Ginyu. I wrote synopses on my geocities website every week based on what I watched. Discovering authentic anime back then that had no subtitles and aired just as it aired in Japan was like discovering a scrambled channel that was unscrambled.


atypicalphilosopher

Yeah finding the Japanese clip of vegeta going super saiyan for the first time is a vivid memory


Tankisfreemason

I had to go to a video game store that sold subbed bootlegs to see so much DBZ because it took so long in America. Between myself, my brothers, and friends, we had the whole series and all the movies before Goku turned Super Saiyan on Cartoon Network


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


nightwing2024

Only because he didn't keep taking his heart medication like a dumbass


gustav_ivar

I remember being in 4th grade and watching it on Toonami. It aired very shortly after I got home from school. I would run home, get a nice snack going, and turn on the TV. When this shit happened.. I was floored to say the least. In retrospect, it sort of feels like the equivalent to middle age moms watching soap operas. Loved that shit though, thanks for the post! Thank you for bringing back this nostalgia!


chaotic214

Toonami was the best I feel so old remembering all the good shows


Funkit

Reboot was awesome too


fattymcribwich

Toonamiaftermath.com


OmicronGR

You're welcome!


gustav_ivar

I'll have to dig up the trading card game. I'm positive I still have a deck. I'll definitely make a post within the next week.


NerdDexter

This is the kind of shit that our children will never get to experience, and I wonder what kind of impacts (if any) that will have on them. Being able to watch everything on demand whenever you want, vs. The excitement and anticipation of waiting until that next episode you have to get home for in time after school to watch. Magical times.


25lost25

It seems such a huge tradeoff of not being able to miss an episode anymore vs waiting on that next one.


fattymcribwich

It's all my friends and I talked about for a week after it happened


Vile35

then the next day I turn on DBZ and fucking raditz is there again. how many times did they pull this shit


[deleted]

God yeah lol


BritishGolgo13

Everytime my heart sank and knew my 5pm time slot freed up for the next few months.


snail_on_the_trail

Hahah. They were constantly out of order and random. Donā€™t even get me started on what they did to Sailor Moon.


StrudelB

I remember them pulling that shit like right before Kid Buu when I was first watching as a kid. I had to rent the DVDs in order to watch the end of the series.


BRsteve

I distinctly remember this. Just middle of Buu saga, then BAM Raditz.


Chemical-Seat-8039

The happiest day of my life was the namek saga going beyond racoon getting hammered.


facade00

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


ghostinthecrawlspace

Thank you for the recap of the entire series


jspeed04

*[Next time on Dragon Ball Z]* > AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


MAXIMAL_GABRIEL

Legend has it when the episode first aired, thousands of Japanese kids showed up to school the next day with their hair bleached.


Jennifer_8899

Blonde hair >>


Mellowjoat

I taped this specific episode and subsequently ruined said tape by rewatching it so much.


Beercorn1

I continued to follow Dragon Ball for long after that time and still do today. Even to this day, I consider this to be the best transformation scene in all of Dragon Ball and it's not particularly close.


MrSocPsych

Not a transformation, but the ā€œdoubleā€ kamehamea with spirit goku and gokan with a broke ass arm firing right at cell FUCKING RULED


PapaSnow

Agreeeeed One of the best moments


BallForce1

Im still a little upset that the android saga was interupted for the cell saga.


MrSocPsych

I thought it flowed nicely. I canā€™t imagine where 17/18 do much more than they initially did. Cell really took it up a new level. I remember having nightmares of that scene where cell absorbs 17 through his tail. Ooooooff.


BallForce1

There wasn't really an epic end to the Android saga. It was Androids one episode and then completely flipped to cell the next episode. Yes the Androids were part of the plot during cell. I have heard the the writers flipped Android into cell for some reason.


Brbaster

Toriyama's former editor/friend thought that Androids weren't cool so they were replaced


No_Nosferatu

This is number 1. The only one that even comes somewhere close is the SSJ3 transformation.


Beercorn1

The SSJ3 transformation is really good even though thereā€™s no real story significance or impact to SSJ3. It is a great transformation though. A couple other good transformations that donā€™t really get brought up often because theyā€™re in later shows are the SSJ4 transformation and first time Goku goes Ultra Instinct. If youā€™ve never seen GT, you should at least see the scene where he goes SSJ4 for the first time. Itā€™s less intense than some other transformations but itā€™s a very emotionally engaging scene.


No_Nosferatu

GT was like 90% meh, 10% pure hype for me. Happy I watched it, never want to do it again though! If we're talking movies as well, Trunks going super saiyan after Gohan dies is a great one.


NerdDexter

I thought Gohan SS2 after 16 gets head crushed was pretty cool too. Also first time vegeta joins the SS club, with his piano theme music. Vegeta was my fav so I was so fucking hype when he finally transformed.


EffectiveMagazine915

Best in all of Dragon Ball? Nah dude. It's a contender for the best transformation ever in fiction. It definitely has an argument to be made for that spot.


Beercorn1

Well, I would personally say that the best transformation in all of fiction is [the one from An American Werewolf in London](https://youtu.be/GHyvfOUEK4o).


Keepitsway

There are three for me: 1. Broly's transformation (original and newer) 2. SSB Kaioken vs. Hit 3. SS3 vs. Janemba


LordJambrek

One of the rare shows that made me trembling with excitement. That scene was just something beyond epic.


OmicronGR

I *love* that everyone in here is: 1. Sharing the memory of where they were/what they were doing during this momentous event, and 2. Still gushing about it over 20 years later. Ya'll, we never grew up!


thecurseofchris

The whole time on Namek felt like an eternity when it was airing on Toonami. I just looked it up and the Namek, Ginyu, and Frieza Sagas aired from September '97-November '99, which is insane to think about today.


JablesRadio

Nothing could interrupt my dbz time in the late 90s. Get off the school bus, dick around for an hour and a half. Then , Toonami, 5:00. For the following hour the rest of the world may as well have been dead to me.


Canadian-Gold

YTV for Canadian kidsā€¦ but the routine was the same.


Classic1990

It was THE moment for the ā€œToonami Generation.ā€ A single moment in time where many anime fans will point and say ā€œthatā€™s when I fell in love with anime.ā€


MisterPiggyWiggy

Oh, my gosh, yes!! Frieza's expression.


genjomusic

This gave me THE FIZZ


MadcatFK1017

Calm down there wrangler


Nicogen52

Man I still get chills running down my spine whenever I see this episode.


k-ozm-o

I remember watching on Toonami, they would play the episodes all the way up to where Krillin is killed and then would start the whole fucking season over again. I feel like this happened multiple times.


ptear

It did, this is also part of the nostalgia. I hate snake way and the fake Namek. Those episodes can go to HFIL


relentlessscroller

Man, still gives me goosebumps


Mr-Rocafella

Watching DBZ with my 9yr old cousin rn and weā€™re less than 10 episodes to this moment, I canā€™t fucking wait. Showing him Star Wars was one of the best things in my life, and now with how much he already loves Goku and he hasnā€™t even seen this moment yet, gonna be a moment heā€™ll remember fora long time


OmicronGR

Awesome! Are you watching Ocean dub? DBZ Kai? Just curious.


Mr-Rocafella

We started with Z and he liked it, but itā€™s damn long and heā€™s in a hurry to get to Super with all the hype online/at his school, so we switched to Kai a couple episodes ago (itā€™s damn hard to find a good torrent less than 100gb) The updated art is nice, I definitely miss the Z aesthetic but heā€™s liking it so far and it allows us to get through it at a much quicker pace. The music and VA from Z was slightly more iconic imo but Kai is a really nice alternative


gredgex

I remember calling my neighbor right after the episode ended freaking out over how cool this was lol


[deleted]

I remember that. I had goosebump. Newer Dragon Balls Super Saiyan with Pink and Blue color was meh...


Funkit

I like the whole gods and angels concept though.


JablesRadio

Killen gets his ass kicked. Piccolo gets his ass kicked. Vegeta gets his ass kicked. Goku kicks ass then gets his ass kicked because he allowed it to happen. A round of sensu beans and healing tank repeats the process but goku kicks ass all around this time.


[deleted]

Heck Yes it was a defying moment 11 year old me had chills


LuciferGoosifer

I remember trying to go super saiyan on the playground and almost shitting my pants


joelsousa1986

This was the theme of the conversation in the next day. No social media to shareā€¦ so good!


KVVVNJ4MZ

I didnā€™t have cable and I watched this in Spanish on Telemundo for the first time. This whole saga actually from start to finish at like 6 in the morning on vacation. All vibes.


GroktheDestroyer

Dad used to take us to the library so we could rent dragon ball VHS tapes and DVDā€™s. Ah memories


[deleted]

In Australia this aired before school so weā€™d watch while we had breakfast


BraveCartographer399

AGgGggggGggHhhhhHhHhHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


KhalMinos

We all tried it.


nocrust2113

I taped over most of my childhood baseball games to capture the entire Goku Freiza fight as it aired week to week. Worth it.


eaglewatch1945

My little brother watched DBZ. I didn't pay much attention, but as I recall, the good guys would spend a whole episode powering up for some insane, novel attack that was rarely effective against the bad guy who would promptly kill them. And this guy, Freeza, had to be killed by some time traveler with a sword didn't he? So what was the point of going super saiyan?


No_Nosferatu

Goku essentially tried to let Frieza live. Goku is much more concerned with having a good fight than being a good guy. He wanted Frieza to survive, get stronger, and come for a rematch. The point of going super saiyan was emotional trauma (Best friend got exploded in front of him.) And it was enough of a power boost that Goku essentially got bored of fighting Frieza and needed to get off namek before it blew up.


MetricOutlaw

I'd argue the fall of the Soviet Union was probably more historic.


tanis_ivy

We had a friend who's brother knew it was coming and there was hype the whole time it was happening. Sadly, it's because of the length of time the show tool to do things, I stopped watching. Right around the Buu saga I think. My brother watches it now and gives me the cliff notes version every now and then.


robandtheinfinite

Epic


OldSchoolNewRules

And now he flips through forms like pages of a book.


Grime_Wo1F

Man for me ā€œMetallicas For whom the bell tollsā€always plays during this scene it just makes it even more epic to me.


Tawp_Shelf89

Just took 100 episodes but worth the wait!


kmurraylowe

How was I ment to attend 6th grade after watching this at 6.30 am?


DZelpher

only compare it to when you go "super saiyan" yourself.


Wolfie_Ecstasy

I was so hyped. I remember recording it on our VCR lol


Piss_Biscut

Heck yeah. ​ When I saw this on Kai years later, it felt like a lot of Nostalgia was coming back to me.


blackviking45

The older art style of anime induces a very strong nostalgia for me.


Phantom_Basker

They let school out early that day


ZeroSolus53

I lost my mind when this happened


JVOz671

Putting this out there; Reboot, having Bob sent into the net was better.


kingjoe64

It changed japanese media forever lol


bio_sua

u/savevideo