I'll be so happy if that is the first thing I see when I die. Who ever thought the Grim Reaper could be so hot? Alright, I've got my great intro to my thoughts on the anime Yu Yu Hakusho, so now I'll shut up about how hot I think Botan is before I start to think I'm Inphino Blitz or something like that...
Anyway, yeah, Yu Yu Hakusho is a great show. The very beginning of the series grabs a hold of you as it begins with a young man, obviously a troubled punk, is hit by a car and killed. He then goes on to meet the vuluptuous Messenger of Death Botan, who for all intents and purposes is supposed to be simply a friendly, perky, if not down right annoying character, but for some damn reason, I just find her extremely sexy. Yusuke, the dead boy, bitches and moans and eventually is given the chance to get his life back, and the story begins from there. Hmph. If I was him, I'd say, "Fuck life," (which for him blows out loud anyway) and try my hand at getting the Reaper of Life to set aside her duties and engage in sexual congress with me for the majority of eternity, but that's probably just me.
Continuity, character development, and out and out excellent story telling is the name of the game here, and the only anime comparable I can find to it is Dragon Ball Z, which stands head and shoulders above any television show you will find PERIOD. The DBZ episode entitled "Final Atonement" especially stands out in my mind as a piece of story telling unmatched by any EVER. The emotion, the dialogue, the music, the illustration and animation...fuck any detractors of the Americanized DBZ, because there is no chance in hell this would rule in any other form.
I know I started talking about Yu Yu Hakusho, but I was more or less looking for a reason to put over my infatuation with the sultrey Botan. ARGH! Yusuke needs to start treating her right, damn it! Anyway...I would like now to talk about "Final Atonement" some more. We'll start from the top as I attempt to list off all the things done right in this twenty-five minute clinic on story telling:
1. It begins with a boy and his friend saving his father and mentor, one of two remaining pure blooded Sayains, my personal hero, Vegeta. Anyone who watches Dragon Ball Z is famliar with the characters and understands all this BS, so I won't bother going over the ENORMOUS backstory involved with these events. If you know nothing about the show, then either read on and hopefully become motivated to become a watcher, or go stare at the picture of Botan above. But if you choose the latter...keep the pants zipped up, please. Anyway, the boys show heart and power by stunning the heinous Buu and rescueing Vegeta in an exciting opening sequence.
2. In a heart warming moment, the boys, Trunks and Goten, while still staying very true to their characters, are reduced to nearly tears trying to revive the fallen Sayain Prince. Eventually, he indeed does awake, but his moment of lifelessness has seemingly revealed something to him...he knows what he now must do.
3. We then cut over to Babidi, one of the greatest heels of all time and the inspiration for Lil' Creach, rejoicing over Buu's dominance before being interrupted by the vigilant and intrepid Piccolo. Babidi throws out some token insults, all which bounce right off Piccolo, before fleeing in terror as Piccolo exclaims, "Go ahead, call your monster, so he can watch...you...die!" Babidi attempts to hold Piccolo off with some of his magic, but it is no use. The Namekian is too strong for him. Babidi eventually resorts to summoning Buu, who ignores him seeing as he is busy crawling out from under some rocks thanks to Trunks. Finally, in his final moments, Babidi runs into Piccolo, who simply stares down at the cower wizard and says, "Goodbye." With that, Piccolo delivers the death blow, sending Babidi relatively quietly to his demise, barring a pathetic, "What have you done to me?" The musical piece selected for this segment is so harmonious with the action, it almost brings me to tears. The episode has already reached ***** by this point alone!
4. The next scene, set with a somber tone featuring a howling wind blowing in the distance, shows Goku, still unconscious, and Gohan, supposedly dead in a forest, his face contorted in pain and terror. We then rejoin Vegeta and the two youngsters for a heart wrenching scene as Vegeta bids his son farewell, his last words to him being, "You've made me proud, my son." Good God it is awesome. Vegeta then subdues both children, as they are unwilling to leave on their own, and hands them over to Piccolo. But wait! As Vegeta and Piccolo stand together, an absolutely terrifying music begins to blare, and Buu is shown waddling away from some rubble, babbling with improper grammar about killing those who hurt him! It is simply horrifying, and I can only wonder what it takes to build such an odd creature as Buu into the stuff of nightmares.
5. Piccolo realizes that Vegeta has something big planned, and also is aware that Vegeta will die. In the most amazing display of animation I have ever seen, Piccolo reveals to Vegeta that when he dies, he will go to hell. What's so amazing is that after Vegeta asks what his afterlife fate will be, his eye gives a simple twitch. As Piccolo tell him, he is unmoving, staring off towards Buu, with only the pupil of his eye slightly moving with what I can only perceive as moisture. When Piccolo is done, Vegeta then calmly says, "Oh well...so be it."
6. Piccolo leaves with the boys, and Buu arrives. He ignores Vegeta and calls up at Piccolo, "You stay, you fight Buu!" Vegeta, drawn with a look of complete rage, suddenly cuts in with,"THAT'S RIGHT! YOUR FIGHT IS WITH ME!" Buu quickly shoots a shocked glance towards Vegeta, then fills with anger as another breath taking piece of music begins to play, "Buu's Theme" I believe. By now I'm in heaven of course, because I have confirmed my belief that I want to be a writer in this life. I can only pray that I have the ability to someday put together something this FUCKING GLORIOUS. Buu challenges Vegeta, who simply looks at him as replies," I think I finally understand you. Let's go!" AMAZING.
7. The scene cuts to Piccolo, the boys, and the whacky Krilling escaping, with Krillin wondering why they must leave in such a hurry, and what will become of Vegeta. Piccol responds,"Vegeta is fighting for someone other than himself for the first time, controlling his own fate." The scene then slowly fades to show Vegeta powering up, staring Buu down. Vegeta explains to Buu that,"I'm going to crush you, and throw you into the wind!" before reaching maximum power.
8. We then get a close up of Vegeta on a golden background, who states in an emotional moment,"Bulma, Trunks...I do this for you." He then turns and looks upward, illuminated in the golden light, and says,"And yes...even for you...Kakarot!"
9. At this point the music ceases and crystals of light begin to fill the air, puzzling Buu. Then, not a second too long, "Vegeta's Theme" which I play in my final roleplays kicks in full throttle, and Vegeta proceeds to explode with a blast rivaling an atomic bomb, obliterating Buu and killing himself. Piccolo and his party are seen taking cover from the blast, in awe of Vegeta's power and death. This is the closing scene, followed by the narrator stating that Earth lost a great warrior on this day and that,"His name was Vegeta....a proud...Sayain...Prince."
There you have it. 9 points as to why anyone who wants to write or tell any sort of damn story EVER should view this episode. It is a powerhouse performance of so much talent and emotion that I am blown away every time I see it, and it is only one of many reasons why Dragon Ball Z sits atop my list as one of, if not THE greatest television series of all time.
By the way, as an avid fantasy booker who believes he and he alone knows how to properly book the WWF's programming, I would just like to inform you all that I have unlocked the secrets to make the InVasion angle work, and in some upcoming thought, will detail my intricated plans, along with the failed Edge-Christian IC Title feud which I believe I have fixed as well. But I do believe my Thoughts are finished for tonight, as I might begin work on my Farewell Address to e-wrestling. Once again- I could still end up running a federation with Paul Ballatti, and maybe even roleplaying as comdey characters, but Creature's career is over and the Farewell Address will make that final. I planned on leaving you all with a picture of Vegeta looking into the golden light, but since that will be used in my Farewell Address, I'll just leave you with another look at the reason I no longer fear death:
I'm Out
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