Broli: A Character Discussion in Fandom Context

[Li'l Lemmy]

So in my usual tradition of creating the occasional (somewhat) controversial topic, I've decided to open the can of worms filled with nightcrawlers.

Broli, who has the distinction of appearing in three DragonBall Z movies, is a polarizing character in our fandom today. And not without reason. His powers and abilities have been a subject of protracted discussion. His contribution to the Dragon World- for better or worse- covers a wide range of opinion in terms of impact and success. And the evolution of the character in terms of merchandising has taken a wild swing in recent years; from his inclusion as a secret boss in Attack of the Saiyans for DS all the way to the Super Saiyan 4 incarnation recently revealed in the card-based arcade game DragonBall Heroes, Broli's presence permeates even into new material.

This topic is to discuss the character from an analytical, disapassionate point of view. What are your feelings toward Broli? Are you a superfan or a detractor? Why? Has his impact been positive or negative? In what way? Is he an exaggerated creation, or does he engender exaggerated reactions? Explain.

Please tread lightly and use your best judgement with regard to certain aspects. I think it goes without saying that this is not a thread about battle powers. I'm sure that the moderators will take whatever actions are necessary to keep the discussion insightful and relevant, but we're just as capable to do that on our own. ^_^

So how about that there Broli!


~Da Lemmy

[Chuquita]

Brolli thoughts:
-I like him in Movie 8
-He needed actual dialogue in 10; the writing for Brolli specifically in Movie 10 struck me as lazy. Why is he saying nothing but the occasional "KAKARROTTO!" when he proved he could hold conversation in Movie 8? Why is he a regular ssj instead of in any of his special ssj forms? Where is Vegeta this whole time?
-I don't know if I can really count Movie 11 as a Brolli movie b/c it turns into mud-monster movie too early for you to recognize it as a Brolli movie.
-I liked how the ocean ended up defeating him at the end of 11. XD
-I like his base form's design (even if the hair is a bit reminiscent of one of Gohan's cuts).
-There are some funny joke-artworks about Brolli on Pixiv.
-Who started the Brolli wanders into Touhou world fanarts? I see an awful lot of those on Pixiv.
-I don't think he's interesting enough to get the hype he gets, but I can see why he gets it.
-He really really didn't need ssj3.
-Or ssj4
-His green oozaru form looks hilariously awful; gave me a good laugh when I first saw it.
-He didn't need 3 movies.
-The VS Gogeta thing never made sense to me because Brolli's from the Cell arc era where Gogeta's from the Buu arc era. I don't do power levels, but even I know there's a big difference in scale.
-Does he not wear a shirt because if he did it'd be too much like the Hulk with the amount of shirts he'd rip? I don't know, I don't read Marvel (or DC for that matter).
-That Kai stage show where Paragas and Brolli show up to kidnap Gokû was fun. Then Vegeta, Bulma, and Gohan all try to go rescue Gokû who's been partly-controlled by the Brolli-jewelry; neat stuff.
-I can't see Brolli coming back anywhere outside of video games now that Toriyama's back and Brolli's creator voiced his disapproval of BOG. This is not a bad thing; I don't want a Brolli 4: The Broccoling.
-His power is not maximum, but the ridiculous things done with him occasionally entertain.

[Neshawn]

I love the inclusion of Broly, and how he is being used more as a main antagonist! I wish they did the same with tuluce (turles). I like to see the rogue saiyajins and how they react around goku vegeta and the rest. Something about having the last of the race scattered around the universe adds some mystery and potential for extra back story. I like how he became ss4 because if anyone he makes the most sense seeing as there would have been no reason for anyone to have his tail removed. the only possible detractor is the more saiyajins there are the less the series could emphasize the value of other fighters/species. have you read any of toyables dragon ball af? only 4 volumes but it's very heavy on the saiyajins, very cool! Great post BTW, curious to see some responses and how quick an argument will break out!

[DarkPrince_92]

Honestly when I first saw him, I loved what I saw. Another full-blooded Saiyan who's big mean and green. I was all about him when I was around 13-14. In my head there was a whole chapter in Saiyan history left to be unveiled, and I want to see it. I still am highly interested on other aspects of the Saiyan lifestyle other than fighting. Struggles they faced, dealing with Freeza, everyday life.

Anyway... As the years went on I lost interest in his character. There's not much to him aside from his disturbing hate for Goku. I like watching him operate, it's cool seeing him break stuff. Like his design. Has a Persian Prince look... I think. But, as a character... he's far from impressive. Linear and overhyped. Evil Saiyans played out after Turles I feel.

Also, the whole "Legendary Super Saiyan" thing, doesn't make sense to me. Is it that he's one of them that showed up in history? Or is he... it? And when I refer to LSSJ, I'm talking about his bulky white-eyed form specifically, and not the original SSJ.

[Kamiccolo9]

I like the character. He's a big, bad, unstoppable force of destruction that uses wrestling moves for some reason. His design is cool (especially his Movie 10 SSJ design, which is one of my favorites in the series), and the scene of him dodging attacks from Goku and Piccolo while barely moving is hilarious.

However, he is hampered by one serious flaw. A flaw that can take the most successful, well-designed and portrayed character, and cast him into the bowels of Purgatory, cowering in fear of Poseidon's wrath while carrion crows feast upon his entrails and wailing minstrels tap dance on his grave: His fanbase.

Possibly the single most annoying unorganized group of people to have ever existed since the inception of the interwebz, this rabid, frothing group of renegades has cast the character in a negative light for nearly a generation. And unfortunately, this doesn't seem like it'll be changing anytime soon.

[SSJ God Gogeta]

I agree with every comment here, there is nothing I can say that hasn't already been said. It's like you guys took the words right out of my mouth.
Thank you, you just made my day easier.

[Jackal puFF]

I remember a lot of hype of him before the english dub of 8 came out. I would always see these gifs of him beating up Goku and friends. I was pretty amazed at the time cause this big huge guy is beating up everyone at the same time. From there on out I was just hyped to see that movie as soon as possible and when it finally did, it delivered. I think his appearance alone is what makes him so popular. He must have been a hit early on if Toei was confident in making two more movies with him.

I still can't believe there's a ssj4 form of him now. If super saiyan god becomes a thing don't be surprised to see Broli as one eventually too.

[sintzu]

What are your feelings toward Broli ?

Are you a superfan or a detractor ?

Has his impact been positive or negative ?

Is he an exaggerated creation, or does he engender exaggerated reactions ?

I liked him in M8 but i think that should have been the only movie to use him.

I'm in the middle.

Positive in terms of giving us a good saiyan villain while negative in terms of how a lot of fans look at him.

He engender exaggerated reactions and i think that's because of his name having legendary in it.

[Low Tone G]

I simply don't like him, I better like Turles.

[Eire]

Brolly, Darth Maul of Dragon Ball Z.

No, seriously- campy badass warrior who kicks ass for good part of the movie, narrowly defeated at the very end, not allowed to die, causing love-or-hate it reactions in fandom to the point when one might be ashamed to admit that he actually liked him. Even some discussions I've seen here give me the hint of deja-vu- of course he is just liked by stupid pre-teens and "casuals" whoever they are.

For me parallels go even fuhrer- since I've seen Movie 8 and The Phantom Meance as a child and they managed to impress primary school me I will always have a soft spot for them and see the good points.

So... I liked Brolly in movie 8. I at some point I felt truly sorry for him. I also liked his love-fear-hate relationship with his father. Maybe it wasn't the deep psychological drama, but his background was actually believable and- if we get rid of this "hate from nursery" motif- one of the most convincing from all the villains.

What I really don't like about him is a)that he wasn't allowed to die and b) that discussions that he provokes sometimes go waay too far for me.

[Luso Saiyan]

I don't like the character. The premise of his story makes no sense (couldn't handle Goku's baby cry, therefore a mad obssession against him his born), storyline placement is contrived, has no personality whatsoever, etc... The Mary Sue of Dragon Ball, in my opinion.

[Eire]

Nope. Badly written character-maybe. But Mary Sue(or Gary Stu) describe completely diffrent type.

[EXBadguy]

I LOVE Broly! I love his attacks, his character(though in Movie 8 only), his insanity, his fighting style, and his uniqueness from the rest of the saiyans(Green orb powers FTW). Also, if Funimation didn't do the USA soundtrack(which I'm glad they did, screw Crapkuchi!), I wouldn't love him as much as I do now. I say that his reason for hating Goku makes sense, because it's real life child psychology...somewhat. If any of yall know well of psychology, then I'm sure you know about a child hearing another child crying and then they still remember it when they grow up. They'll either shrug it off or get annoyed.

Now, even if I do think he's the best movie character, I DO see why people hate him. One, the other two movies(10&11) were bad and the dumb Broly fanboys wanna compare Broly to other stronger characters, but still say he's stronger, though it happens with every other character fanbase, right?

[Dbzk1999]

Brolli thoughts:

-He needed actual dialogue in 10; the writing for Brolli specifically in Movie 10 struck me as lazy. Why is he saying nothing but the occasional "KAKARROTTO!" when he proved he could hold conversation in Movie 8? Why is he a regular ssj instead of in any of his special ssj forms? Where is Vegeta this whole time?.
-The VS Gogeta thing never made sense to me because Brolli's from the Cell arc era where Gogeta's from the Buu arc era. I don't do power levels, but even I know there's a big difference in scale.
.

He couldn't say anything besides kakarotto because he lost whatever sanity he had left. He was basically kid buu level of insanity now. He probably stayed in regular ssj form just so we could see that form in action (considering all we got the last movie was that little scuffle with base goku and him tanking ssj vegeta). Asking where vegeta was in movie 10 is like askin where piccolo was in movie 12, or 13. They're in the black hole for characters not needed in the movie. I wouldn't really pay attention to the video game stuff, heck IIRC, they have cooler fight on par with ssj2 gohan, freeza catching ssj vegeta (buu arc) among other things

[FortuneSSJ]

Good

- I really like him.
- I loved the idea of the villain being once again a Saiyan. I enjoyed how he was so completely overpowered that sometimes he couldn't control his ki.
- Movie 8 is one of my favourites.
- He's my favourite movie villain after Beerus.

Bad
- Just the fact that his fanbase says he can beat everyone else while he already got beaten twice (three, counting with Bio-Broly). Makes it annoying.

[Dbzfan94]

My feelings are really mixed. He's a cool character, like the design, concept, etc. He's a psychopath Saiyan that wants to take revenge on the Saiyans. Pretty cool tbh.
Movie 8 is pretty good, Movie 10 is okay...don't know why Vegeta or Piccolo didn't show up though. And Movie 11...just no.

But there's one thing I have with him. Not so much Broly, but his fanboys. Ahem...His power is NOT infinite. He gets his ass handed to him by anyone SSJ2 Cell Games Gohan or stronger. I find it pathetic and hilarious when people say he could beat Vegetto or Gogeta or Buu...(anyone Buu Saga, BoG, or GT for that matter)

[Neshawn]

I simply don't like him, I better like Tullece.

yeah! in games he fights way better and his character in that one movie is pretty sweet. we need more tullece!

[coola]

He reminds me of Sephiroth, he start as good villain in one game, but then, fans/video games producers started making him this "Awesome God" who should be put everywhere in Dragon Ball universe, and it was getting tired.

[SSJ God Gogeta]

Good

- Good character design (base and ssj only).

- both voice actors for Broly (Vic Mignogna/Bin Shimada) do a great job voicing him.

- Hard rock goes well with his character.

- Having a ssj as a villain was a great idea.

- Some pretty good one liners ( "Not until you lie dead at my feet..." )

Bad

- Lssj is just dumb.

- Back story is awful.

- Too many movies.

- Lssj3/4.....

- How the hell did he survive movie 1...

His fans..... You all know why...

I can go on all day...

[Hellspawn28]

If they kept Broli dead after DBZ Movie 8 then I won't mind him that much. I remember before his movies were dubbed over here in the US, there was a lot of buzz about him on the web. Even as a kid, I felt like his LSSj form was bullshit and he was never the strongest in the series. Movie 10 and 11 should have give us original villains instead then bringing back the same character more then once. Even Metal Coola felt like they were pushing it since he was just a rehash of Mecha Freeza.