DRAGON BALL Z MOVIE 1 : DEAD ZONE

Title : Dragon Ball Z Movie 1 Dead Zone

Languange : Japanese

Release Date : July 15, 1989 (Japan)

Directed By : Daisuke Nishio

Distributed By : Toie Company

Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone, originally released theatrically in Japan as simply Dragon Ball Z and later as Dragon Ball Z: Return My Gohan!! (Japanese: Hepburn: Doragon Bōru Zetto Ora no Gohan o Kaese!!) for its Japanese VHS and Laserdisc release, is the fourth anime film in the Dragon Ball franchise and the first one under the Dragon Ball Z moniker. It was originally released in Japan on July 15, 1989 at the "Toei Manga Matsuri" film festival along with the 1989 film version of Himitsu no Akko-chan, the first Akuma-kun movie, and the film version of Kidou Keiji Jiban.

Despite some continuity inconsistencies, Dead Zone acts as a prelude to the series, and is the only film to get a complete follow up during Dragon Ball Z, with the Garlic Jr. arc.

Plot

The film opens with Piccolo being attacked and supposedly killed by a group of shadowed fighters. Chi-Chi along with her father, Ox King, and Gohan are attacked by the same group. Goku is out fishing during the attack and after sensing danger, he returns only to find his son has been kidnapped. The group responsible for the attack are Garlic Jr.'s henchmen, and it is later revealed that their reason for kidnapping Gohan was to retrieve the four-star Dragon Ball that was attached to his hat. After gathering the remaining Dragon Balls, Garlic Jr. summons Shenron and he immediately wishes for immortality. Shenron, never having had to grant this type of demand before, grants Garlic Jr. his wish. A furious Goku arrives to try to take back his son, but soon discovers Garlic Jr.'s new power. Kami makes an appearance (which surprises Garlic Jr., who thought that his henchmen had killed Piccolo) and meets up with Goku, and describes a brief history of Garlic Jr. and his father Garlic. Goku then proceeds to try to find Gohan when he is attacked by the villain's gang, whilst Kami faces Garlic Jr.

After briefly fighting, Krillin and Piccolo arrive to help. Piccolo gets revenge for being attacked earlier by defeating Garlic Jr.'s henchman Sansho, while Goku manages to defeat the other two henchmen, Ginger and Nicky. Meanwhile, Kami is getting brutally outmatched by Garlic Jr., until Goku and Piccolo rescue him. With Garlic Jr.'s newly obtained immortality and a new muscular second form, Goku & Piccolo are forced to work together and are able to outclass him. Goku and Piccolo then prepare to fight each other, but then Garlic Jr., angry at his defeat, unleashes his ultimate attack, opening up a portal into another dimension; a void of darkness known as the "Dead Zone", created by Garlic Jr.'s father, Garlic (and the same place Kami banished Garlic in), intending to suck his enemies into the void. Before he could claim victory, Goku's son, Gohan, becomes enraged witnessing his father and friends in danger and releases his latent energy, blasting Garlic Jr. into his own vortex to be trapped for all eternity. Remarkably, in the end of it all, Gohan does not remember a thing of what happened, instead believing that his father defeated Garlic Jr., and with amazement, Goku figures his son is no ordinary boy, but one with a great hidden potential. At the end of the film, Piccolo is seen from above, looking down on Goku and his friends and vows that one day, he will defeat Goku.