'Dragon Ball Z Abridged' Recap, Episode 48 Posted Online

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Team Four Star continues their parody of Dragon Ball Z with Episode 48 of their abridged series.

Despite the fact that the word "abridged" is in the series' title, it is still, well, long. With Dragon Ball Z Abridged pushing 50 episodes, it's clear that--even in truncated form--it's still a behemoth.

In Episode 48, something returns that has been scarce in recent installments--"The Krillin Owned Count." The other Z-Fighters can get thrown through mountains and emerge barely scathed. Krillin, however, collides with Bulma's aircraft, and things go awry for the inept warrior. The scene is edited, and it doesn't appear in the original show.

Still, Team Four Star has managed to blend their visual parodies into the series. By doing so, they add a sense of visual humor that feels like it would belong in the original series. Nothing looks out of place.

Cell stands out in Episode 48-- a lot. This is good, though. Team Four Star has always had the Dragon Ball Z's villains steal the comedic spotlight, and Cell is no exception; after absorbing Android 17, Cell looks at his reflection in the water and observes that he has lips. This is different from his first form, when he had a peculiar-looking armored beak.

Fascinated by his new appearance, he starts to make motor noises with his new oral anatomy. The bumbling continues when Tien blasts him with his Tri-Beam.

While I often find things funny, I seldom laugh aloud. This, however, I found humorous enough to merit it.

Android 16 punches him, and he still makes the same noises. It's silly. It's goofy.

And it adds Cell to a list of successfully lampooned villains. Frieza had a Stewie Griffin-ish demeanor.

Nappa was reduced to a buffoon--one that played patty cake while in the middle of a brawl; and Cell makes crass observations about the placement of Android 18's internal bomb.

Episode 48 is a worthy addition to Dragon Ball Z Abridged. Its visual, situational, and spoken humor show that, despite nearing 50 episodes, Team Four Star haven't run out of creative ways to lampoon everyone's favorite over-the-top anime.

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