Dragon Ball Super Season 1 – Part 1 contains the first 13 episodes of the latest Dragon Ball anime. This sounds like a pretty standard amount for a half series collection but in here it is a noticeable flaw. The first story line of Dragon Ball Super consists of the first 14 episodes. What viewers are getting in this package is incomplete.
This might not be so bad were the full story not available elsewhere. The first season of Dragon Ball Super is a remake of the two movies that were released before Super started airing. These episodes represent a longer version of the first of those two movies.
How attractive a purchase this collection makes hinges on that key factor. The episodes present in this collection have a greater running time to play with than Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods did. Unfortunately, this extra running time only proves to be unnecessary. In fairness to the anime, it doesn’t follow the script of the movie exactly, but it doesn’t achieve anything that its predecessor was unable to. The episodes aren’t bad. As a collection they are fun to watch; they are exemplary of the mixture of charm and action that Dragon Ball has come to be famous for. They just don’t do enough to justify themselves. Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods offers largely the same experience for a cheaper price. The fact that this bundle doesn’t even offer the complete storyline only makes it less desirable a purchase than Battle of Gods.
Dragon Ball Super Season 1 – Part 1 offers three different ways to view the episodes on offer. Alongside the choice to watch individual episodes, or ‘Play All’ is ‘Marathon’. Unlike ‘Play All’ ‘Marathon’ offers the chance to watch all of the episodes together without being interrupted by the credits. The opening plays before the first episode only. This gives the chance to watch the episode as a seamless whole rather than as segments. The one flaw to this feature is that it still contains the “previously on”. In ‘Marathon’ such segments only serve to parrot what readers just watched back to them, making it unnecessary.
In terms of special features, the most notable are the ‘Catching Up on the Dragon Ball Universe’ segments. In these two videos members of the cast attempt to explain Dragon Ball to their daughters, and quiz them on what they’ve learned. Watching the actors’ daughters trying to explain the show is funny but they aren’t the catch up that the title suggests. Don’t come to them looking to learn much about Dragon Ball.
Dragon Ball Super Season 1 – Part 1‘s problem isn’t that it is bad. It is a showcase of what Dragon Ball is capable of, it can be tailored to different viewing habits, and the extras are fun enough. However, it still doesn’t manage to escape the fact that a better quality, complete viewing experience is available for a cheaper price.
Special Features: Catching Up on the Dragon Ball Universe: Sonny Straight & Savannah Ligaluppi / Catching Up on the Dragon Ball Universe: Christopher R. Sabat & Hero D. Sabat / Textless Opening Song / Textless Closing Song 1 / Textless Closing Song 2 / Trailers
DRAGON BALL SUPER SEASON 1 – PART 1 / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: KIMITOSHI CHIOKA / WRITERS: VARIOUS / STARRING: SEAN SCHEMMEL, CHRISTOPHER R. SABAT, JASON DOUGLAS, IAN SINCLAIR, SONNY STRAIT, KYLE HEBERT, MONICA RIAL / RELEASE DATE: 30TH OCTOBER
