Dragon Ball Super: Broly

As a long time fan of the Dragon Ball series, first getting into it via Toonami in the 90s, I'd say it safe to say that the movies of Dragon Ball have been a bit more hit or miss. Many of them having no cannon connection to any part of the series made them seem superfluous and more interesting "what if" scenarios. And many of them lacking quality and good writing when it comes to the memorability of the villains our iconic Z warriors would fight. Every now and again you'd get something in the vain of great TV movies like "History of Trunks" or"Bardock: Father of Goku" or even some good movies like "Fusion Reborn" or "Wrath of the Dragon". But one that most kids in our youth do remember, and often find has not aged entirely well but still withholds much nostalgia and popularity, is the 3 Broly Movies from years ago (Broly- The Legendary Super Saiyan, Broly- Second Coming, Bio-Broly) do not hold up well due to the writing of it's popular but honestly badly written villain Broly. In those films, Broly was wanting to kill Goku due to their time on Planet Vegeta as babies and Goku's crying upsetting Broly. It made him a neanderthall who's motivation for wanting to fight Goku needless and bad. Now in recent years, we've gotten movies related to the Dragon Ball Series thanks to the popularity of Dragon Ball Super and the two films before this one "Battle of Gods" and "Resurrection F". Both turning out to be cannon to the source material and actually kept the series going. And they were good. So after Super finished airing, and the announced the next one would star Broly as the antagonist, I got worried. But then I heard this movie would be cannon (Taking place not to long after Super's "Tournament of Power Saga") and that Broly would be re-written, I got hopeful. And after seeing the movie last night, I can honestly say they did an amazing job and it's become one of my favorite entries in the Dragon Ball franchise. In this film, Broly and Paragus are given an actual backstory and much better reason behind their choices, motivations and characters. They become more fleshed out and actually become interesting and very entertaining. Heck, there's even some re-writes to Goku's voyage to Earth, Bardock (Along with Goku's mother Gine), and the destruction to Planet Vegeta that works out really well too. None of the rewrites destroy or make less entertaining the Dragon Ball mythos and only improves it in my mind. And the story is very good here this time around. Well paced as well, it kept moving forward and did amazing at telling the story. And the animation... Sweet Jesus the animation. The art aesthetic and overall animation is phenomenal. This looks more among the lines of Bones or MadHouse productions and that is to the movie's benefit. So many moments of Sakuga in an already well animated and gorgeous film, it's a real feast for the eyes. And even allot of the experimental moments and shots I wouldn't expect (Like a POV shot for a bit from Broly's perspective during a battle) is really well done as well. So much detail is here, that I feel if you went through this movie an slowed it down and go at it frame by frame, you'd find so much. The character's fight animations, expressions, are so well detailed. This isn't your old Dragon Ball of quick flashiness of dude's punching each other. There is that, but it also has many a moment of beautiful animation and details throughout. One of the best produced Dragon Ball films out there. Honestly, if you're a fan of Dragon Ball, please watch this. It changes elements of the mythos and history might rub some people the wrong way, but in my mind, it honestly helps build up a great future for Dragon Ball and gives one of it's more popular villains a re-write redemption adding him to the list of good Dragon Ball villains. This is honestly one of my top favorite Dragon Ball films and quite possibly anime and animated films in general. It's a feast for the eyes and did so much for me as a fan of one of anime's biggest titles.

It’s hard to think of shonen series tie-in film that I’ve enjoyed more than Dragonball Super: Broly. For a number of reasons, stemming from both nostalgia and purely good storytelling on a more fundamental level DBS:B delivers on every expectation I have and then some. With spectacular visuals and a rousing OST that’s definitely grown on me this is a film not to miss if you’re a fan of Dragonball or a fan of self-contained action romps. There’s a lore-filled flashback that takes up a fifth or so if the runtime. And, if I want to be really nit-picky perhaps the film is too muchfor action over substance. But as one who has watched many battle series, I’ve found that the way DBS:B scratches the testosterone fueled fighting itch while emphasizing restraint and discipline is quite astounding. And as an a showcase for orgasmic animation we need look no further than DBS:B’s show-not-tell attitude when it comes to how Broly is structured from scene to scene. As an example: there’s a moment when Goku and Broly size one another up before a bout of energy-filled lunches begin to fly. Broly looks at Goku and he stares back, letting go of his coat, allowing it to fly away, carried on the wind. Goku strikes a pose and flexes. Broly responds in kind. As the two stare in another down, their stances and thereby attitudes begin to shift towards one another. Unsure but still excitable, Broly begins to steel himself, settling into a stance that mimics Goku’s while still more loose and fluid. One could interpret it as, “monkey see, monkey do.” As Broly has copied movements from other characters throughout the film unbeknownst to himself. But really, Broly is growing and learning, stealing knowledge and adding it to his own in order to bring calm to the world, to stamp out the irregularity he is faced with. This moment, in conjunction with what we have already seen in scenes that establish his very simplistic mindset portrays a strong sense that the animators understood Broly’s character as opposed to him simply being another bad guy to beat down in a straightforward fashion. Other minuses. There were a few lines of dialogue that felt a bit exposition-heavy in the flashback section. And your mileage may vary with the use of CGI which, at times, seems a wee-bit overbearing. That said, I’ve found it’s use to be quite fitting, and a welcome improvement over some of the more shiny and garish techniques used and abused at studios such as UFOtable. While I don’t think the film is perfect, I think it’s pretty nearly perfect. Or close enough that I’m willing to give this bitch a perfect score here on MAL. 92/100 (because 92 feels like the right number. I don’t have this down to a science.) Or 10/10 MAL score. Thanks for reading, pal. Call me Kakarot.

A great movie that actually cuts idle chatter by a lot. I was surprised with how little talking they did overall, and especially with any screaming to transform, doesn't take 10 mins to go into next stage. They cut a lot of useless/unnecessary things that would've made the movie 5 hours into 2 if they stuck with normal methods from dbz The only downside was the 3DCG that would appear randomly during fights, otherwise the fights were absolutely beautiful and colorful, the music was hype which was great Would recommend if you enjoy a movie with loads of fighting with very little idle chatter, or justlike bright colors

Dragon Ball as a franchise has always been a pretty important part of my interests – it’s what ordinally piqued my interest in Japanese animation, it got me into martial arts in media, and it consumed me when I was around 11 or 12. The newest series, Dragon Ball Super, besides some highlights, didn’t really grab me as a fan, and I started to wonder if I had been the one to grow out of it. Dragon Ball Super: Broly convinced me that it wasn’t me – this is the best Dragon Ball has been in a very, very long time. The first thing I tookaway from this film was just how nice it was too look at – it made me think about the much earlier art-style from the start of Dragon Ball Z, which I feel is a massive upgrade from the somewhat static and often plasticy-esque looks of the characters in the low points of Dragon Ball Super. The set-pieces of the film look nothing short of amazing – the destruction of Planet Vegeta is awe-inspiring, and the main bout had me practically bouncing in my seat – the environmental destruction on display and the movement between sky, ice, and fire kept the look of the fight from becoming too stale in one place too long. Music-wise, whilst there are highlights, some of the music during power-ups felt slightly out-of-place, but it was nothing that took me out of the film. But voice-wise, it’s phenomenal – so much of my love for Dragon Ball Z is tied to it’s amazing dub cast. Just about every single voice actor is on point, especially with Chris Sabat’s role as Vegeta, and Vic Mignolgna’s tortured screams as Broly. Since the movie’s promotion heavily focussed on the main fight of the film, my biggest worry going into the film was if they were going to stretch out the main bout of the film out far too long, but I couldn’t be happier about the way this film is set out. The film sets the stage, presenting a thirty-minute prequel to the series, showcasing the fates of the Saiyan race, the survivors of the planet’s destruction, and Broly’s origin. This section went on slightly longer then I thought it would, but I was glued to the screen the entire time – Broly’s broken origin was such an incredible upgrade over his original depiction. I additionally loved the inclusion of a few other beloved Dragon Ball characters, such as getting a little glimpse at old favourites Raditz and Nappa, and a brief show of heroism from Goku’s father, Bardock. The entire Planet Vegeta prequel has a constant feeling of calamity just around the corner, and I couldn’t say better things about its tone. In all honestly, the actual present-day events, plot-wise, aren’t that amazing – but I wasn’t going expecting a ton. All the value comes from the character interactions and the fight itself, and in that sense, I loved near everything about it. One of the parts that took me out of the film a bit was that the set-up for the big encounter in the ice felt a little forced and a bit too silly, but in a very Dragon Ball kind of way that I couldn’t really have that great an issue with. Lastly, I also felt it was nice to see so many beloved elements from the franchise’s non-canon instalments (Like Broly, elements of Bardock, and a few other surprises) and bringing them into the universe canon-wise. It’s just fun to know, going further, that Broly is a part of what goes on in future Dragon Ball instalments. I honestly can’t think of a time Dragon Ball’s animation has ever looked this good – the major brawls between our heroes and Broly look incredible, a very loose, fluid art style that just flows from attack to attack. Even when it steps away from traditional animation, instead using CGI to depict the fight, it never looks bad and is only a minor step below the previous animation. There’s a few moments of the film where the CGI looks a little ‘plastically’, but this is mostly for some backgrounds and is gone in a few seconds. For all intents and purposes, the entire fight between Goku, Frieza and Vegeta against Broly is incredible, and will go down as one of the franchises’s best. Few fights in the series are as brutal, desperate and exciting as this one, and rather than falling into old traps of ultra-fast fighting and overuse of energy attacks, features a lot of actual martial arts technique (albeit, to an exaggerated degree). The slow build-up of the fighter’s power scale was fantastic, with none of the combatant’s utterly destroying the other. Well, except for the final section of the bout, which I feel is, sadly, one of the weaknesses of the film. To start with, the situation that leads to Goku’s power boost breaks up the momentum of the Broly fight a little too much. Whilst the circumstances of the final section are among the film’s most exciting, the battle against Broly ends a little too rapidly for my taste, as one side becomes far, far too powerful for the other to deal with. But, at the same time, without this upgrade, this fighter wouldn’t have stood a chance against the other. It’s just a consequence of the exciting, yet age old power-up based combat of the Dragon Ball franchise. It doesn’t break the film, but it’s entirely possible these criticisms come from me just wanting to get just a little bit more of this film’s amazing bout. It also, in some ways, takes the battle too far, with some flat-out crazy things going in the final exchanges that don’t honestly make sense with some honestly baffling backgrounds. But no fight is worth its salt without having the characters to back it up. We don’t really get a lot of new knowledge regarding our returning characters, sans Freiza’s new heights of how to be a jerk. Just about every character who appears in this film gets their little fun moment, if it’s Weiss’ comments on the cold of space or Beerus being saddled with babysitter duty. No, this stage is all for Broly, who I adore as a character. Rather than the rage-fuelled, baby-hating roid monster he was in the non-canon films, this Broly is a nuanced victim of circumstance, abuse, and not having his own place in the universe. He’s not Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan because he was born to be that – he is what he is, because people made him that way. His father is unlikeable, crass, and brutal to his son – but I think the reason I feel he’s a good character is because he felt real, to an exaggerated degree – people treat their children in a related manner, and it gave a level of tragic realism to the entire film. The look that falls on Broly’s face when we see the shock collar for the first time made me feel honestly uncomfortable and uneasy in a way that Dragon Ball has never had before, which I was really impressed with that kind of characterisation. I was simply floored by how much I enjoyed this film – it’s leaps and bounds ahead of the original Broly trilogy from all those years ago and reignited a love for a franchise I’d been starting to burn out on. It’s not perfect, but I legitimately feel that it’s the closest Dragon Ball has gotten in a very, very long time. With one of the series best characters, a beautifully animated brawl for the ages, and the (hopeful!) future of Dragon Ball ahead us, I’ve haven’t been this excited for this franchise in a very, very long time.

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