Captain Ginyu Saga

Captain Ginyu Saga is the name for the middle third of the much larger Frieza Saga in Dragon Ball Z, according to FUNimation dub's naming conventions for the English language anime, making it the third saga of the Dragon Ball Z series. The manga volumes that it is made up of are "The Ginyu Force" and "Goku vs. Ginyu". All major action in the Captain Ginyu Saga takes place on the planet Namek. The saga deals mainly with the fight between Goku, Gohan and Krillin against Captain Ginyu. Cartoon Network stated that Dragon Ball Z would be completely redone at the original airings of these episodes, as FUNimation started using new voice actors since episode 54.

This saga immediately follows the Namek Saga and is followed by the Frieza Saga. This saga aired in Japan in 1990. It also aired in U.S. in 1998, as the second part of US season two. This saga comprises the second half of the FUNimation Remastered Season Two Box Set and is a part of the FUNimation Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Box Volume 2 Set (however the saga is listed as a part of the Frieza Saga).

Plot
Burter and Jeice continue their losing battle against Goku. After dodging all their attacks with little to no effort, he is able to sneak up behind Burter, who prides himself to be the fastest being in the universe. Outraged, Burter charges at Goku with an all-out offensive, with Jeice soon joining in. Goku easily dodges their hits, and with little effort, knocks Burter out (but not killing him), leaving Jeice the only member left standing. A merciful Goku tells Jeice that he should choose to leave the planet rather than stay there (as he had been doing for much of the previous Namek Saga). Jeice decides to take the offer and leaves the battle field, leaving his comrades behind. Vegeta does not hesitate to kill Burter (by snapping his neck), then killing Recoome (blasting him to bits). Vegeta tells Goku that he is too soft to actually be a Super Saiyan (as he said in the Namek Saga).

Meanwhile, Jeice arrives to Frieza's spaceship (Frieza is out to find the password for the Dragon Balls). He tells Captain Ginyu of all their loss. Captain Ginyu, angered over the death of his men, flies to the battlefield to exact revenge (with Jeice coming along).

Back at the battlefield, Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin discuss what they are to do next. Although Vegeta is concerned that Frieza had made his wish, Krillin points out that Frieza has not made his wish yet, otherwise the sky would have turned black when the Dragon would have been summoned. They then sense that Frieza's ki is approaching Grand Elder Guru's place, which confirms Goku's suspicions that they do need a password to summon the Namekian Dragon. They have little time to act as Captain Ginyu and Jeice arrive. Goku tells Gohan and Krillin to leave, get the Dragon Radar from Bulma, then find the Dragon Balls. Captain Ginyu then sees that Goku's power reading is 5,000. He knows that Goku is hiding his true power (which he believes to be somewhere around 60,000; 90,000 to be precise).

The battle against the Ginyu Force soon commences. Goku and Vegeta vs. Captain Ginyu and Jeice. Vegeta, however, flees the scene, leaving Goku to fend for himself.

Captain Ginyu attacks an unguarded Goku, and elbows straight in the face. The fight then commences, with both equally matched. They are also hiding the bulk of their power (which Captain Ginyu wants to expose out of Goku, but Goku is reluctant to do so).

Meanwhile, Vegeta flies over to Frieza's spaceship first and kills all of Frieza's men that were guarding the ship, but fails to find the Dragon Balls, which Frieza's men have hidden in a hole they dug earlier. As he cleans himself up, he decides to wait for someone to uncover the Balls, kill them and then make his wish.

Back at the battlefield, Captain Ginyu and Goku still seem evenly matched. This is until Jeice fires an attack at Goku. Goku easily dodges, but leaves himself open to be caught by Captain Ginyu in a full-nelson. Jeice urges Captain Ginyu to break his back, but Captain Ginyu lets Goku go. Captain Ginyu then threatens Jeice with death if he interferes again.

Captain Ginyu then tells Goku that he wants to see his perfect power. Goku decides to, and does the Kaio-ken. Captain Ginyu is shocked to find that Goku's power is 180,000 (Captain Ginyu's maximum is 120,000). Captain Ginyu then questions whether Goku can truly be a Super Saiyan.

Knowing now that he cannot defeat Goku himself, Captain Ginyu resorts to trickery. Ginyu immediately drives his fist into his chest, severely wounding himself. A confused Goku can only watch as Ginyu suddenly shoots a beam from his mouth. Upon impact the beam sends Goku's consciousness into Ginyu's body and vice-versa. Captain Ginyu has used his Body Change, switching bodies with Goku. Ginyu and Jeice leave for Frieza's ship while in the process leaving Goku to die in Ginyu's wounded body.

After returning to their initial bodies, Ginyu prepares to make one last attempt to switch bodies once again with Vegeta and he once again uses his Body Change technique. Vegeta then rushes full speed to him and at the last minute, teleports in front of him, tricking Captain Ginyu, and lands a series of powerful attacks to Captain Ginyu, wounding him greatly. Attack after attack, Vegeta has the upper hand, until Captain Ginyu finally sees a chance to switch bodies with him. Ginyu almost succeeds although Goku sees a Namekian Frog, catches it and throws it into the air, directly in the path of the beam of light. After a few minutes, the result leaves Captain Ginyu in the body of the frog. Vegeta attempts to crush the frog, but chooses not to as he does not want to dirty his shoes (and since Ginyu's fate is now much worse than death itself). Vegeta then states that now would be a good time to destroy Goku's team, but Goku however, sees through Vegeta's farce, knowing that he will need their help to defeat Frieza and make his wish with the Dragon Balls. Vegeta takes Goku inside Frieza's spaceship and places him in a Rejuvenation Tank while providing Gohan and Krillin with Saiyan armor. Krillin then decides to take a rather risky trip to see Guru and get the password from him.

Major characters

 * Goku
 * Vegeta
 * Krillin
 * Gohan
 * Captain Ginyu
 * Jeice
 * Freiza


 * Nail

Supporting characters

 * Reccome
 * Burter
 * Yamcha
 * Tien Shinhan
 * Piccolo
 * Chiaotzu
 * King Kai
 * Bulma
 * Dende
 * Moori
 * Guru