ドラゴンボール
Dragon Ball

エピソードオブバーダック
Episode of Bardock

 

Story

This is an unknown story about SON Gokuu's father, Burdack. When Gokuu was just a newborn, Burdack alone challenged a great enemy.

An injured Burdack floats in space just above Planet Vegeeta, along with many of Freeza's soldiers. Burdack angrily asks why the Saiyans were attacked despite being compliant workers. Zaabon laughs, and Duduria says the Saiyans were merely being used. Freeza further explains that he wants to be rid of the Saiyans and Planet Vegeeta. As he and Burdack each charge up attacks, Freeza says that it would be unpleasant if a "Super Saiyan" appeared. Freeza's attack quickly grows into a giant ball of energy, and it easily absorbs Burdack's smaller blast. Freeza hopes for fireworks as he launches the giant ball toward the planet, which directly hits Burdack and many of Freeza's men, and easily destroys Planet Vegeeta.

Yet Burdack suddenly wakes up in a bed, in pain, and certain he was caught in Planet Vegeeta's explosion. He then looks out of a window and notes that the scenery and sky color here are similar to that of Planet Vegeeta. Just then, two humanoid creatures with frog-like eyes enter the room, and Burdack ponders this race he's never seen before. The taller one introduces himself as Ipana and explains that he is the village doctor. He introduces the smaller one as his son, Berry, and explains he found Burdack unconscious at the edge of the forest.

Ipana then prepares to use Planet Plant's secret medicine on Burdack's wounds, and Burdack remembers that Planet Plant was Planet Vegeeta's original name. Ipana then applies the medicine, which is a fluid that reminds Burdack of the fluid in Medical Machines. This causes Burdack to wonder if he's in the past. Berry then asks for his name, but Burdack dismisses the boy. They are soon interrupted by the sound of a spaceship landing nearby in the village.

Two alien warriors suddenly attack the village with weapons attached to their arms. They shout to the villagers that this planet now belongs to "Chilled-sama" the space pirate, and they'll kill any who oppose them. Burdack then appears before them, and the smaller warrior, Toobi, thinks he is a fool. The larger one, Kyabira, prepares to handle Burdack alone and fires his weapon. But Burdack easily dodges the shot and delivers a hard punch to Kyabira's gut. Toobi tries to assist with his own weapon, but Burdack suddenly appears before him and delivers a harsh kick that knocks Toobi into a nearby mountain. Both aliens then fall to the ground as Burdack gloats. The villagers crowd around Burdack to thank him for saving them, but Burdack states that he doesn't care about them and flies away.

Burdack arrives at a cave that he decides to stay in for the time being. He sits down and wonders what happened to him after fighting Freeza and being caught in the planet's explosion. But he grows alert when he suddenly senses someone's presence. It's Berry, who has arrived with a basket of food, but Burdack tells him to go away and threatens to kill him. Berry begins to run off, but says he'll leave the food here anyway. Later, during a rainstorm, Berry returns with another basket of food, and is happy to see that Burdack finished the first basket. And during another clear day, Berry arrives with more food, and Burdack allows him to sit in the cave and share the food. As they eat, Burdack finally tells Berry his name.

Out in space on a ship, Chilled says they haven't heard from Toobi and Kyabira for 10 days, and one of his men thinks they were attacked. Chilled decides he'll go there personally to figure out who opposed him. He thinks the trip to Planet Plant could be quite entertaining as his ship speeds off toward the planet.

In the village, Ipana tends to a child's wounded arm as Chilled and his men arrive. Chilled takes great interest in the healing fluid. The villagers then ask these new people who they are. One of Chilled's underlings claims they are space police that protect the entire universe. They are in pursuit of two bad guys that fled to this planet. But the villagers explain that those two are already gone, thanks to Burdack. Chilled then asks to see Burdack so he can be thanked, but Berry grows suspicious of Chilled.

Outside of his cave, Burdack is feeling completely healed, but he is interrupted by Berry's arrival. Berry explains that more aliens have arrived at the village, and they're looking for him, but Burdack doesn't care. As Berry tries to explain his misgivings about these people, they suddenly hear a loud boom. There is smoke and fire coming from the village, so Berry begs for Burdack to help them. Burdack tries to refuse, but he suddenly remembers his slain comrades and the villagers' kindness, then flies away.

Chilled says space police time is over, and now it's slaughter time. He and his men destroy the area as Ipana protests. Chilled then asks him for that medicine, but Ipana refuses. Chilled's men thus prepare to attack Ipana until he changes his mind. But Burdack suddenly kicks one underling and chokes the other. Ipana shouts his name in surprise, and Chilled notes that this must be the person that killed Toobi and Kyabira.

Burdack takes one look at Chilled and instantly thinks of Freeza. He angrily rushes towards Chilled and punches him in the face, but Chilled easily kicks Burdack away, sending him sliding across the ground. Chilled then steps on Burdack's head, causing Burdack to scream in pain and yell, "Freeza...!" Chilled complains about all this "Freeza" nonsense and explains that he is Chilled, the mighty space pirate. Burdack thinks that if this is the past, then this Chilled person might be Freeza's...

Berry returns to his village, where he sees Chilled smack Ipana away with his tail. As he tends to his father, Chilled expresses his disappointment in Burdack and kicks him further across the ground. Chilled has no use for someone this weak, so he begins charging energy at the tip of his fingers. Berry rushes toward Chilled and yells to stop, which causes Chilled to direct his attack at Berry instead. Berry lies unconscious as Ipana and Burdack look on. Chilled then complains about these nuisances before turning his attention back to Burdack.

Burdack slowly pulls himself up, wishing he had more power, both now and during Freeza's attacks on his comrades and Planet Vegeeta. A storm begins to rage as he climbs to his feet, very angry with Chilled. His hair slowly changes color as lightning cracks and the ground trembles. He then thinks of Freeza and snaps, exploding with power. Chilled is shocked as Burdack ponders his new power. Burdack turns his attention back to Chilled and tells him he'll pay. But Chilled says he shouldn't let this turning gold business get to his head. Burdack remains calm as Chilled heads into the air and fires a barrage of ki blasts down at him. The force of the damage flies toward the villagers until Chilled finally stops, and all that remains is a cloud of smoke. Chilled gloats about his victory, stating that turning gold changed nothing for him.

But when the smoke clears, Burdack is still standing, with only minor damage taken. Chilled attempts to punch him, but Burdack calmly catches both fists. Chilled angrily asks who he is, and Burdack responds that he is merely a Saiyan. Burdack then whips Chilled across the ground, sending him flying. He flies over to meet Chilled and elbows him, then grabs Chilled by the tail and swings him around, tossing him away again. Burdack grabs Chilled by the horns this time and throws him, then kicks Chilled up into the air. Chilled catches himself mid-air and screams with frustration that no one could possibly be stronger than himself. He then says this whole planet will die as he charges up a large ball of ki and launches it toward the ground. But Burdack simply uses a powerful one-handed ki blast to send it back up to Chilled. Chilled is hit directly, and the force of the blasts propel him all the way out into space.

Later, Chilled has been hooked up to medical equipment in his ship, where his men watch over him. Chilled weakly removes his breathing device to deliver a message to his men. He says to tell his clan to beware of Saiyans that turn gold. Chilled then collapses. Meanwhile, Berry recovers in his father's arms, and the two of them watch as Burdack walks away into the sunset.

Is Burdack's defeat of Chilled the beginning of the Super Saiyan legend? We can't be sure.

Continuity

This special was created separately from the main continuity, 16 years after its original publication ended, and 15 years after its original broadcast ended. It is meant to be a sequel to the first Dragon Ball Z TV special, which was an anime-original story that was later acknowledged in the main continuity. The events of this story slightly contradict the events of the TV special, but they do not necessarily contradict the summarized version of it that appears in the main continuity.

Differences from the TV special include: Freeza never spoke to Burdack; Burdack's dialogue was originally more about changing fate than questioning motives; rather than commenting on the potential arrival of a Super Saiyan, Freeza only marveled over the beauty of the planet's explosion.

The events of this animated special are taken from the manga Episode of Bardock Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, which were first published a respective 6, 5, and 4 months before this special premiered. Changes from the manga version include: Selypa's hair is shorter, as it was in the original TV special; Berry is no longer shy when he first meets Burdack, and is instead open and friendly; Burdack's fight with Toobi and Kyabira is depicted differently, and their deaths are less explicit; no village mayor makes himself known; Chilled does not kill one of his own men, and thus blood is not the reason Berry suspects Chilled is evil; Chilled's men now have guns on their arms; Burdack spends much less time confusing Chilled with Freeza; Burdack's fight with Chilled is extended, as is his Super Saiyan transformation; and the narration is less definitive about Burdack originating the Super Saiyan legend. There are also a number of small changes to the dialogue in this adaptation.

Cast

• 野沢雅子 Masako Nozawa as バーダック Burdack
• 中尾隆聖 Ryuusei Nakao as フリーザ Freeza, チルド Chilled
• 江原正士 Masashi Ebara as イパナ Ipana
• 桑島法子 Houko Kuwashima as ベリー Berry
• 三浦祥朗 Hiroaki Miura as ザーボン Zaabon
• 長嶝高士 Takashi Nagasako as ドドリア Duduria
• 平井啓二 Keiji Hirai as トービ Toobi
• 石川和之 Kazuyuki Ishikawa as キャビラ Kyabira
• 島崎信長 Nobunaga Shimazaki as チルドの部下 Chilled Underling
• 宮崎寛務 Hiromu Miyazaki as チルドの部下 Chilled Underling
• 佐々木智代 Tomoyo Sasaki as 村人 Villager
• 照井春佳 Haruka Terui as 村人 Villager
• 平尾明香 Sayaka Hirao as 村人 Villager
• 八奈見乗児 Jouji Yanami as ナレーション Narration

There are also numerous unnamed Freeza soldiers. Toma, Selypa, Pumbukin, and Totappo appear in flashbacks, but have no dialogue.

Setting

The events of this special take place primarily on Planet Plant. Locations include a small rocky village, Ipana's house within that village, and a nearby cave. There are also scenes in and around Freeza's spaceship in the space above Planet Vegeeta (the future name of Planet Plant), and at Chilled's spaceship in the space above Planet Plant. Additionally, there are flashbacks to a scene at a wrecked village on Planet Meat.

The events of this special begin in Age 737, just before the destruction of Planet Vegeeta, but go back to an unspecified point in the past prior to Age 720. The pre 720 events begin on one day, but eventually skip ahead 10 days.

Miscellaneous

• The title for this special is written in romaji (Episode of Bardock), but the DVD menu and label also use the katakana title (エピソードオブバーダック).
• This special was part of the "Dragon Ball SSSS Project," and was first screened at Jump Festa 2012. It was later streamed on the web.
• The ending narration of this special suggests that the Super Saiyan legend may have been passed down because of Burdack, but this special does not directly state that Burdack traveled back 1,000 years.

Home Video

This special was released on DVD on the Dragon Ball Special Anime DVD, which was bundled with the March 2012 issue of Saikyou Jump, published on February 3rd, 2012.