This post was originally published on July 18th, 2008. Also known as “Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Saiyan Zetsumetsu Keikaku“, and alternatively The Plan to Destroy the Saiya-jin, the feature was remade and released with Raging Blast 2 for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2010, and is available in the US. Sadly, there is not an English dub for both versions.
Huh? There’s more of Dragon Ball Z?! Yes, there is! In case you haven’t been to just about every DBZ fansite on the web, even those that are in a language different from what you already know, there is a Dragon Ball Z OVA (Original Video Animation) somewhere on one of these websites. I won’t say which one (they will come after me if I mention them), but it’s likely that it won’t be licensed soon due to the way this released. You’ll find out soon enough.
Warning: This post contains spoilers! Read at your own risk!
Dragon Ball Z: The Plan to Eradicate the Saiya-Jins (1994)
Like in every Dragon Ball Z feature, a bad guy conducts an evil plan to kill a certain group of people; namely the Saiya-jins. This is what The Plan to Destroy the Saiya-jins is about. The bad guy happens to be a Tsufuru, a race the Saiya-jin have fought against before their home, the Planet Vegeta, blew up by the hands of Freezer (aka Freeza for FUNi fans). The Tsufuru, Dr. Raichi unleashes a deadly Destron Gas upon Earth to kill the remaining Saiya-jins.
Back on Earth, Mr. Popo warns Goku and Gohan of the situation, and of course, they must stop it or earth will be doomed. There are four places where the threats of Destron Gas are found: at a canyon, the desert, an island, and the frozen tundra. A few of the Z Fighters gather; Piccolo is the first one to show up. Since he’s a part of the original Kami-sama, he’s aware of the problem. Before they head out, Goku and Gohan are ambushed by two random monsters. Thanks to the gas, they are unable to concentrate their Ki. Since the monsters are weak sauce, they get rid of them anyway with old fashioned karate.
The three fighters split up to stop the gas from emitting, fighting more of the monsters, who are each guarding the machine producing the Destron Gas. Goku, Gohan, and Piccolo regroup in the freezing mountains to dispose of the last machine, where they are welcomed by a horde of monsters. There are too many of them, but the numbers are greatly reduced when they get a little help from two well known fighters: Trunks and Vegeta! After shoving the monsters aside, they destroy the final generator. The Earth is safe…for a few minutes.
Analysis of Dragonball Z: The Plan to Destroy the Saiya-jins
The Plan to Destroy the Saiya-jins has a few surprises, which I don’t want to spoil for those eager to hunt down the Gaiden. The OVA is two episodes long. Combined, it’s the same amount of time a Dragonball Z movie runs. I found this better than the DBZ movies, and every character gets a decent amount of screentime–especially Vegeta.
The reason why this never made it on DVD or on TV anywhere else is because it was originally made for the Bandai Playdia system released in 1994. It’s also based on a NES (Famicom in Japan) game of the same name; Saiya-jin Zetsumetsu Keikaku. When a scene changes (such as flying to an area) you see it happening as 8-bit cutscenes that lasts 5-10 seconds.
You have two choices: 1) find a Playdia on eBay, along with Parts 1 & 2, or 2) search for it for free. it’s your choice, but of course you’ll search for it online, which is the best thing to do, unless you’re a hardcore collector and decide to search for a Playdia. The Plan to Destroy the Saiya-jins was fun to watch, not to mention that I was DBZ-less after reading the final volume of the manga (and 3 years after the anime ended on TV). If you’re suffering from DBZ withdrawal, you must find this as soon as possible!
Dragon Ball Z: The Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans (1994)
Discover more from Centaku Media
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Affiliates
