A Lonesome, Final Battle: The Father of the Z-Warrior Son Goku, who Challenged Freeza (Japanese: たったひとりの最終決戦 〜フリーザに挑んだZ戦士孫悟空の父〜, romaji: Tatta Hitori no Saishū Kessen ~Furīza ni Idonda Z Senshi Son Gokū no Chichi~) is the 1st Dragon Ball Z TV Special, which is an addition to the popular manga and anime series. It first aired on October 17, 1990, between Dragon Ball Z episodes 63 and 64 (during the fight against the Ginyu Force). FUNimation's title is Bardock: The Father of Goku & Bridge Entertainment's title is The Father of Goku.
| Bardock: The Father of Goku | |
|---|---|
| File:DBZ THE TV SPECIAL NO. 1.jpg Japanese poster art | |
| Starring | Masako Nozawa (Son Goku / Burdock) Ryuusei Nakao (Freeza) Ryu Horikawa (Vegeta) Sho Hayami (Zarbon) Yukitoshi Hori (Dodoria) Shozo Iizuka (Nappa) Kinpei Azusa (Grandpa Son Gohan) Yūko Mita (Selypa) Banjō Ginga (Tooro) Kouzou Shioya (Totepo) Kazuyuki Sogabe (Toma) Takeshi Watade (Panbukin) Joji Yanami (Narration) |
Release date | October 17, 1990 |
| Language | Japanese |
Plot
The special is the story of Burdock, a low-class saiyan warrior. At the outset of the story, his son, Kakarot (known as Son Goku), is born on Planet Vegeta, and prepared to be sent to Earth in order to destroy all life on the planet. Meanwhile, Bardock and his crew are on an assignment to exterminate all the lifeforms of Planet Kenassa. After the planet is seemingly devoid of all other life, Bardock and crew rest up and celebrate their victory... Until one remaining warrior catches him off guard and decides to give him the "gift" of seeing the future. This gives him the ability to see the destruction of Planet Vegeta, and the entire Saiyan race along with it, at the hands of their master, Freeza. Also, he sees the salvation of the planet Earth through his son, Goku. Meanwhile, this prediction becomes reality when Freeza decides to destroy the entire saiyan race.
Bardock dismisses the visions, and goes to join his team on Planet Meat, but soon discovers his friends are all dead. He battles the ones responsible, and defeats them all, but is easily overwhelmed by a single mouth blast from one of Freeza's henchman Dodoria. He is left severely injured, but manages to make it back to Planet Vegeta. Though Bardock attempts to convey the danger that they are all in to the other Saiyans, since he has now realized that Freeza is going to destroy them all, everyone laughs at his claim and Bardock alone begins one final assault against Freeza. Killing many of his minor henchman and sending a large wave of ki to Freeza himself, Bardock seems about to change the future. However, Freeza counters this with a powerful ball of energy, which kills Burdock, many of his own henchmen, and destroyed Planet Vegeta itself. As he is dying, Bardock sees one more vision of the future: his son Kakarot facing Freeza. Being assured that Kakarot would be the one to kill Freeza, Bardock gives a small smile as he disintegrates along with the planet. Bardock after his death, telepathically tells his son Kakarot in the space pod to take care, which wakes Kakarot up. Soon afterward, Kakarot's space pod touches down on Earth, where he is found by the elderly Grandpa Son Gohan, and (in a departure from the manga and anime) giggles happily in the old man's arms. Elsewhere, Vegeta, having just completed an assignment on a far-off world, is informed by Nappa of his homeworld's destruction. His pride keeps him from expressing his shock, and he remains outwardly emotionless.
Cast list
| Character Name | Voice Actor (Japanese) | Voice Actor (English) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bardock | Masako Nozawa | Sonny Strait | |
| Freeza | Ryuusei Nakao | Linda Young | |
| Zarbon | Sho Hayami | Christopher Sabat | |
| Dodoria | Yukitoshi Hori | Chris Forbis | |
| Vegeta | Ryu Horikawa | Christopher Sabat | |
| Nappa | Shozo Iizuka | Christopher Sabat | |
| Son Goku | Masako Nozawa | Stephanie Nadolny (baby) Sean Schemmel (adult) | |
| Grandpa Son Gohan | Kinpei Azusa | Christopher Sabat | |
| Selypa | Yūko Mita | Linda Young | |
| Tooro | Banjō Ginga | Mike McFarland | |
| Totepo | Kouzou Shioya | ||
| Toma | Kazuyuki Sogabe | ||
| Panbukin | Takeshi Watade | ||
| Narration | Joji Yanami | Kyle Hebert |
Music
- IN (Insertion Song)
- "Soriddosutēto Sukautā"; ソリッドステート・スカウター (Solid State Scouter)
- Lyrics: Fuminori Iwazaki, Music: Fuminori Iwazaki, Arrangement: Dragon Magic Orchestra, Vocals: TOKIO
- "Soriddosutēto Sukautā"; ソリッドステート・スカウター (Solid State Scouter)
- ED (Ending Theme)
- "Hikari no Tabi"; 光の旅 (Light’s Journey)
- Lyrics: Dai Satō, Music: Chiho Kiyooka, Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto, Vocals: Hironobu Kageyama & KŪKO (Waffle)
- "Hikari no Tabi"; 光の旅 (Light’s Journey)