The Dragon Ball Films: A Personal Assessment

[Lord Beerus]

In honour of Dragon Ball Super getting its first movie, I thought why not take a trip down memory lane and cover the other Dragon Ball movies because... why not? I have some spare time on my hands.

Unlike my previous "assessments", I won't be doing a bullet point summary for two reasons:
1. There are too many movies to cover
2. Most of the movies are VERY light on story. So I honestly don't see much of a point in doing that.

However, just like my previous "assessments" I only viewed the movies and TV specials with the original Japanese cast and audio.

And, no, I won't be covering the live actions movies because honestly, I don't think any of them are worth my time, money and effort to buy them or look for them on the internet. I saw Dragon Ball Evolution once, and once was more than enough for me. I legitimately don't consider that a Dragon Ball film. And Dragon Ball: Ssawora Son Goku, Igyeora Son Goku and Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins haven't been released in English, so what would be the point anyway?

So let's dive right into it.


Dragon Ball


Dragon Ball ~ The Legend of Shenlong (Dragon Ball Movie 1):


A character in this film is called Pansy. Hmm.

There unfortunately isn't much to write home with this movie. It's, for all intents and purposes, an abridged retelling of the very first arc of the Dragon Ball anime. And it's not a good one. While the deviations from the original plotline of the TV anime arc it's adapting become very clear once the character introductions are over, the story and character beats don't flow naturally. Oolong insertion into the plot is very awkward, Roshi's role in the movie feel incredibly superfluous, the new villains introduce as a replacement for the Pilaf Gang (Bongo, Pasta and King Gurumes) aren't interesting, and the main cast ultimately feel like secondary characters to main plot... which all about Pansy and her goal of saving her village.

I will credit to the ending of the movie feeling much sincere -- with Pansy wishing for her country to be restored and for Rich Stone to be take away -- compared to Oolong wishing for panties to save the world. The scene with Pansy giving King Gurumes an apple, and him calling it the best thing he's ever eat, is really the cherry on top of the cake. I also must give create to the production values of the movie. The art direction in particular is great. This would of course be a trend that would permeate throughout most of the Dragon Ball movies in general.

As much as I want to give this film the benefit of the doubt for only having 50 minutes to work with, the pacing is terrible. Nearly half the movie is spent just introducing the main characters (Goku, Bulma, Yamcha, Puar, Roshi etc.), that any kind of plot development feels very rushed and mostly unsatisfying.

While the movie does succeed in at least giving itself its own identity as retelling of the first major arc of Dragon Ball's story, the identity it moulds isn't intriguing. And abridge retelling of the introduction of the cast do more harm than good for the pace and flow of the narrative. The movie really bit off way more than it could. It tried to tell so much story, with not nearly enough time to do so. You're better off watching the TV anime, in all brutal honesty. - 4.5/10

Dragon Ball ~ Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (Dragon Ball Movie 2):


Goku fights Fangs The Vampire's ancestor. Wicked.

The movies take a much smarter approach to adapting and retelling material from the main series than the previous Dragon Ball. Unlike taking a whole story arc and trying to condense it into a 50 minutes narrative like The Legend of Shenlong attempted to do, this movie takes the beginning portion of the 21st Budokai Tenkaichi which focuses on Goku asking Roshi for training, and Roshi agreeing only if his brings him a woman, as well as the introduction of Krillin int the mix. It's basically two episodes (or three manga chapters) of content greatly expanded upon. And I have to say... it's unbelievably entertaining.

It's astonishing how much a minor subplot could be exploited in such a grandiose fashion. It become less about finding a girl for Roshi and more of lengthy quest including demons, vampires, ancient legends and a plot to blow up the fucking sun. And for bonus points, this movie even manages to feature the entire cast in some fashion in the plot.

This movie is also really funny from start to finish. My favourite gag from Goku saving Krillin from the literal (giant) jaws of death and trying to put him on the Flying Nimbus... only for Krillin to fall through it and Goku having to save him again. And when Goku scolds Kuririn about thinking bad thoughts, Krillin responds, "I can't help it!", I died laughing.

Major props has to be given to this movie for also developing characters. Something that was terrible absent in the previous movie. While in the original story, Krillin's character development is more subtle and nuanced -- with becoming a genuinely nicer person through his own virtues -- in this movie retelling Krillin's character developments is centred around Goku's unconditional kindness and compassion towards him. It's certainly a more direct way of giving Krillin a character arc compared to the original story, but the intent behind it, as well as the execution of it, is very much satisfying.

The inclusion of other characters like Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong and Puar feels wonderfully intertwined and provides great entertainment. You have Bulma being the damsel in distress and comically playing off of the demons in Devil's Castle, Oolong and Puar posing as demons to try and save Bulma (which in itself has a hilarious conclusion) and Yamcha managing to beat up some of the demons.

If there is a major negative I have about this movie is that the main villain is uninspired and dull in personality. But when you have a vampire demon named Lucifer as your main antagonist, well, I guess you don't really need to delve deep into his character to know how he acts.

This movie really an underrated gem. With a gorgeously eerie setting, heavy homages to classical horror -- something Dragon Ball never really does, and a well utilised cast, honestly, I think this movie is superior to the material it adapts. It's a wonderful blend of comedy, action and horror that really encompasses the unique charm and flavour Dragon Ball can offer. - 8/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball ~ Mystical Great Adventure (Dragon Ball Movie 3):


The best you'll see of Chiaotzu in all of Dragon Ball

The movie really is something special. With the huge task of covering the important story beats of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai, the Red Ribbon Army arc, and the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai arc, I never would have thought that in 45 minutes this movie cover all that content in such a sufficient manner.

One of the best things about this movie is that it doesn't waste time. I mean, right off the bat we're give a montage of Goku and Krillin's training with Roshi, which not only serves a great bridge from the conclusion of the last movie, but also works a great setup for the movie itself by giving the viewer an idea of what's happened. The battles at the Tenkaichi Budokai only consist of the fights that actually carry weight in the story and Arale's appearance in the plot is brief and palatable.

The handling of the cast in general is fantastic. But Chiaotzu is the grand highlight. You wanna why... he actually feels like a character. I genuinely think how Chiaotzu is handled in this movie is far better than any we see from him in the original series. His relationship with Tenshinhan is handled with so much more emotional depth than what we get from Toriyama.

The story manages to act like Dragon Ball's Greatest Hits™ (at the time), while also introducing its own original elements. It take the best of the three major arcs in Dragon Ball at the time and retools them into a consumable and very satisfying abridged retelling, without feeling as though a lot of significant material was left out. A wonderful Dragon Ball movie that is terribly overlooked. - 9/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball ~ The Path to Ultimate Strength (Dragon Ball Movie 4):


A redundant commemoration of Dragon Ball.

This is yet ANOTHER retelling of the first few arcs of Dragon Ball, but unlike The Legend of Shenlong this movie is more faithful with its retelling how Goku and Bulma's adventure kicks off. But just like The Legend of Shenlong, there some notable deviations. such as the Pilaf Gang not appearing (what have Dragon Ball movies got against them?) and the character redesigns for Metallitron, Staff Officer Black and General White.

Let me just get this out of the way...this movie is visual porn. The animation, the art direction, the use of backgrounds... it's all simply mesmerising. Now that that's out of way, let me just straight to the point: This movie feels SO redundant. I mean, there have already been three Dragon Ball movies which have covered the ground that The Path to Ultimate Strength is already trying to do. And quite frankly, those movies did a better job in retreading that ground than this movie did, purely because it felt like less of step-by-step remake with a visual face-lift, and more of an independent retelling that wanted to bring it's own distinguishable flavour to retelling some of the major part of Dragon Ball's early story arc.

That's not to say that this movie is bad primarily because it doesn't do enough to create its own identity as a retelling of some of Dragon Ball's first arcs. In fact, I would suggest giving this movie a watch if you wanted to to see how some part of the first few arcs of Dragon Ball would look like with a bigger budget. The main problem with this movie is that it feels a bit too... safe. I mean, it is a reasonably quite faithful adaptation of Dragon Ball's first story arc, with some parts of the Red Ribbon Army arc thrown in for good measure, but you would honestly get more of the story arcs the movie is retelling if you were to actually watch and/or read the corresponding arcs that The Path to Ultimate Strength is taking its material from.

There's nothing really radically different in the storytelling compared to the arcs in the main story to really grab your attention, or, in all brutal honesty, justify this movie's existence. Even with nearly double the run time that most of the Dragon Ball movies got at the time, I just can't help but feel there just wasn't enough story being actually told. I mean, when the grand finale of the movie features the death of character who receives barely any character development (Android 9), where does the emotional resonance come from with regards to Goku's killing Staff Officer Black in revenge?

Overall, I find that the movie is a nice commemoration of Dragon Ball's early days -- which in itself is really why this movie even exists as a product -- but your mileage will really vary in regards to how much enjoyment you get out of this movie for its own merits.

For me, there are better movie retellings of Dragon Ball's first arc(s) and the anime TV series ultimately adapts Toriyama's original material in a very faithful and satisfactory fashion. And even in the "high value production" department, there are other Dragon Ball movies that surpass this.

This movie just feel a little lost in the shuffle. I think it's mainly because of the cookie-cutter nature the narrative for this retelling. That's not to say that the plot of Dragon Ball inherently basic and somewhat cookie-cutter. But there was that Toriyama charm and whimsy, that made those adventures stand out well. This movie ultimately feels like a basic, by-the-numbers battle/adventure shonen story, even accompanied with the traditional somewhat saccharine ending to it with Android 8 being brought back to life when all is said and done.

This movie just feels like a huge wasted opportunity. It's not good, it's not bad, it's just.. kinda there. At least Akihito Tokunaga's score is excellent. - 5.5/10

[Lord Beerus]

Dragon Ball Z


Dragon Ball Z ~ Return My Gohan!! (Dragon Ball Z Movie 1):
[spoiler]

Garlic is in the menu for this full course meal.

This is one the few DBZ movie that has a plot that is more than one dimensional. But even then, the mythos of how Garlic Jr. and Kami know each other is quite interesting. Despite this being a "Dragon Ball Z" movie, the direction this movie has feel more acquainted to what we would see in the first Dragon Ball anime, with how grounded the combat is and the heavier focus on the fantasy and mystical elements of martial arts of Dragon Ball.

The fight scenes are extremely well choreographed, the art direction is fantastic, and the music is great. This is also one of the few Dragon Ball Z that can fit into the main story without that many niggling issues. I think if you're looking into getting into Dragon Ball Z, this movie would be a great segue into doing so. It's fast, action packed, frantic, well paced, visually stimulating and makes good use of the central and supporting cast. The film has its own identity, while at the same time incorporating elements from Toriyama's story, such as Gohan's rage, Goku and Piccolo teaming up and the central villain being tied to Kami in some fashion.

This movie is a real breeze. Too bad this movie would lead to a fucking terrible filler arc in the DBZ anime. - 8/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball Z ~ The World's Strongest Guy (Dragon Ball Z Movie 2):
[spoiler]

A brain in a jar has never been such a bother.

The concept of this movie is great. I love the idea that Dr. Kochin is searching for the world greatest warrior and and his quest for said warrior leads him Roshi. I't a nice throwback to the days of when Roshi was indeed the strongest under the heavens and sevres a great way for a forgotten characters like Roshi to be utilized in the plot, in both showing his competence in battle and moving the plot forward, without feeling cynically thrown in on a whimsy just for fanservice. *cough* UniversalSurvivalarc *cough*

I also really like how Oolong, another seemingly forgotten character by the time this movie came out in Japan, gets the ball rolling with the plot. Even though the motivation for him stealing the Dragon Ball radar is wishing for panties. Something which was done for him in the very first arc of Dragon Ball. What's even more nice is how well he bounces of Gohan in his comedic escapades. I don't think Gohan and Oolong ever really interact in the series, so seeing them "team up" was surprisingly nice treat.

Once Goku gets into the mix, the action is cranked up several degrees. Some of the fight choreography is wonderfully directed. And the Kaioken has never felt more grandiose in the plot than in this movie. Special mention has to be made of Nozawa's EPIC "Kaioken times three" scream. It's ridiculously awesome.

The sublot of Piccolo being taken over by Kochin's bio-technology felt quite tacked on, but it lead to nice character moment for Gohan so I'll let it slide.

Needless to say, it was one hell of a treat to see Goku, Krillin and Roshi teaming up to take on a common enemy (Dr. Uiro). And as far as I know, this is the only time in all of Dragon Ball where this has happened. So the movie scores extra bonus points for that.

The music is also absolutely brilliant. I honestly think out of all the Z movies, this has the best soundtrack.

Unfortunately, this movie starts the precedent for (most) DBZ movies being unable to fit in the main continuity of Dragon Ball is any real shape or form. Regardless of that, as far as a standalone DBZ movie goes, this one of the best entries. Great action, a villain with a motivation that entwines with the cast, and a great use of the supporting character make this one of the most unique and re-watchable Dragon Ball movies available. - 9.5/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball Z ~ The Ultimate Decisive Battle for Earth (Dragon Ball Z Movie 3):
[spoiler]

Evil Goku arrives! And is bringing a big ass tree with him!

On a serious note, I like the ambition of this movie. No other DBZ movie with went with the whole "evil counterpart" trope, and I'm glad this movie took the gamble, because Turles function quite well as an "what-if" antithesis to Goku's origin, upbringing and general characterization. It also helps that Nozawa provides such wonderfully distinctive and menacing tone to the voicing of Turles that aids in highlighting is evil and malevolent personality.

Unlike the previous DBZ movie, I feel the use of the supporting cast, especially in regards to underlings that Turles drag along with him, leaves a lot to be desired. Sure, Tenshinhan, Yamcha, Krillin and Chiaotzu get to use their signature moves, but in terms of moving the plot forward of even putting on a good fight, those guys really get the short end of the stick. Being quickly disposed by Turles' goons with one attack... who they themselves get utterly wasted by Goku very shortly afterwards... with one attack. What a waste of characters.

There was also a major plot in the film regarding Gohan. Not just the fact that his tail magically regrows, but also by the fact that when the artificial moon that Turles creates to turn Gohan into an Oozaru is destroyed but Gohan remains an Oozaru. It's very well known in the main series that when a Saiyan turns into an Oozaru and the moon becomes no longer present they change back into regular Saiyan. So why didn't that happen to Gohan when the artificial moon was gone?

Needless so say, the climactic battle between Goku and Turles is surprisingly enthralling. I enjoyed the subtle homage to the Saiyan arc with Genki Dama initially failing to defeat the central foe. And Goku having the try to again to get the job done.

The continuity of this movie is mess. I have idea when the fuck this movie is supposed to take place, and I'm not going to bother trying to wrap my head around it. So it's best to chalk it up to this movie being an alternate continuity to the events of the Saiyan arc, where instead of Nappa and Vegeta arriving, it's Tulres and his henchmen.

I like this movie for what it's worth. Unlike the previous Z movies, this movie has a bit of a slowburn start. Which while some may bemoan this approach and just rather right to action -- which is understandably what Dragon Ball is known for -- it's always nice to have some downtime with the cast before shit hits the fan. Turles is interesting antithesis to Goku and the final battle is a nice spectacle. Too bad this film would mark a significant decline in the quality of the Z movies for a bit. - 6.5/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball Z ~ Super Saiyan Son Goku (Dragon Ball Z Movie 4):
[spoiler]

The FTC should be all over this movie.

Okay, let me just get this right off my chest... I DEEPLY resent the title and premise of this movie. It's sooooo goddamn misleading and a blatant attempt at trying to cash-in on the hype and intrigue that was created by the Freeza arc, with regard to the legend of the Super Saiyan. A Super Saiyan does not appear in the movie. So I don't what possessed Toei to give the film this title. It sounds more like a working title for the film, then the actual legitimate name for it. What's even worse is that this cheap marketing stunt actually worked, in regards to the profit the movie generated. As this movie would be the most profitable Dragon Ball movie of any kind released in Japan at that time. And by quite a decent margin as well. You thought the Dragon Ball Super Broly movie was an exploitative cash grab movie... this is WAY worse. Because at the time this movie was released, Super Saiyan hadn't debuted in the anime or even in the manga. And just to rub salt in the wound, the pseudo Super Saiyan form doesn't accomplish anything in battle and lasts for only a few minutes. So again, I ask, why call this movie Super Saiyan Son Goku? I know all the Dragon Ball movie are really cash-grabs of varying degrees, but this movie is without a shadow of a doubt the most cynical case of this. For shame, Toei.

With regards to content in the movie itself, it's pretty standard. The villain appears, we get some homages to scenes in the manga and anime from arcs scattered across the story, the supporting cast skirmish a little and get their butts kicked, and Goku arrives at the 11th hour to kill the big bad with a Genki Dama. It may seem like there not a lot to talk about this movie given that brief summary I provided, but... that's really isn't much to talk about.

The reveal itself of Lord Slug being a Namekian could have been spotted a mile away. I mean, he's big, he has green skin, and has name is Slug. You really don't have to be Sherlock to put one and one together.

One thing I will give this movie credit for is Gohan's whistling tune. It's super cute.

I don't like this movie. At all. In its attempt to cash-in on fan expectations and perhaps provide some sort of unique identity for the film, result in any kind of sincerity that movie could have provided being tossed to the wayside. I wanted this movie to be more than just the Dragon Ball Z that advertises Super Saiyan Son Goku, but ultimately that's all it has going for it.

Fuck this deceptive piece of shit movie. - 0/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball Z ~ The Incredible Mightiest vs the Mightiest (Dragon Ball Z Movie 5):
[spoiler]

Freeza is alright, but his brother is Cooler.

In terms of trying to exploit what was popular at the time, this movie is certainly far less dubious in that regard compared to Movie 4 (I refuse to refer to that movie as Super Saiyan Son Goku). But the story beats are all there: Freeza Cooler and his cronies turn up and cause havoc, Gohan, Krillin and Piccolo fight and kill them, Goku arrives to save to day when the big bad arrive, but is taken out of commission, only to return in battle and get his butt kicked, before Super Saiyan conveniently kicks in and his saves the day for real. Bonus points for this movie also feature the cast camping at the start of the movie much like The Ultimate Decisive Battle for Earth. It's extremely formulaic.

As much the films tries to bring some differentiation between Freeza and Cooler, it's impossible to not notice the blatant similarities between the two. I mean, hell, Toei even go the extra mile and have Freeza's seiyuu, Ryūsei Nakao, voice Cooler. There's really no way to dodge this: Cooler is a Freeza clone. A gimmick created off of the back of an already very popular concept and character in Dragon Ball's main story. This would of course be a marketing trend for many of the Dragon Ball films until DBZ Movie 14.

One thing that really pops out about the movie, and is arguably the most memorable feature of not just this film, but of Dragon Ball films in general, is Cooler "fifth" form. I love it. I love it so much. It such a uniquely cool take on Dragon Ball transformations. It feels like Dragon Ball dipped its toe in Mortal Kombat, with regards to aesthetics. And honestly, that kind of un-Dragon Ball approach is something I really appreciate Toriyama for taking.

Another thing that really pops out about this movie is how visually entrancing it is. The use of such a colorful background and is a much welcome change to the bland and dark backdrops that permeated throughout the previous three DBZ movies. And Super Saiyan would never have looked more gorgeous.

One thing I will give this movie credit for is trying to give substance to story. At the beginning of the film we get a flashback to when Freeza destroying Planet Vegeta, with Cooler observing that Freeza did destroy a space pod that escaped the planet before its destruction. And Cooler calls Freeza soft for not destroying the pod and decided to leave as he want to teach Freeza a lesson and doesn't want to clean up his brother's mess. And just before Cooler is disintegrated by the Sun, the flashback is played again, with Cooler now lamenting his decision not to intervene and realizing he was the soft one. I love dramatic irony like that. If anything, it at least gives some kind of unique spin on the climax of DBZ films. What's even better about the climax is the twist of the "Villain Is Not Yet Dead" trope, with Sauza being the last remaining antagonist... only for Piccolo to kill him offscreen. That was pretty neat.

This movie is caught in a really weird place in more ways than one. The movies makes it clear this takes place after the Freeza arc, but there just too many factors working against this movie for it to really take place in any kind of main continuity. But even taking that into consideration, this movie -- in its own vacuum -- is enjoyable for what it is: an amalgamation of the most famous story beats of the last 1/3 of the Freeza arc.

Oh, and if you're wondering why I didn't talk about Hire Dragon much this DBZ movie or in the last few... it's because he sucks. I'm only mentioning him now because this his last ever appearance in Dragon Ball. Good riddance. - 7/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball Z ~ Clash!! The Power of 10 Billion Warriors (Dragon Ball Z Movie 6):
[spoiler]

The Freeza arc exploitation continues with Cooler, as he becomes the first Dragon Ball movie original villain to get his own sequel.

To kick things off, we're get some copied story beats from the Freeza arc with (New) Namek under siege from an alien robot army. Gohan, Goku, Piccolo, and Krillin answer the call of duty to liberate the Namekians New Namek once again. And for some reason, Roshi, Yajirobe, and Oolong tag along. And, you guessed it, they skirmish with some of the grunts, get their butts kicked and are sidelined for the rest of the movie. * sigh *

Then we get introduced to Mecha Freeza Cooler. I'll give the movie credit for giving Cooler such a wonderfully sleek metal redesign. I would have loved to have seen Freeza get that kind of redesign when he arrived on Earth after Namek blew up.

What I won't the give the movie credit for is its animation. Out of all Dragon Ball movies, this is without a doubt the least appealing visually. Far too often does the animation become off-model. It gets especially bad when Goku and Cooler skirmish for the first time in the movie.

The premise of this film is also incredibly convoluted. How the Big Gete Star originated is absolutely stupid. How can a microchip be a sentient? And how can microchip absorb technology? Is the sentient microchip a black hole? Or is it magnetic? Is there seriously random machinery just floating around in space? Or did it rip technology right from other planets? But the major issue I have with this whole scenario is how Cooler fused with the Big Gete Star. How in the ever-loving fuck was there anything remaining from Cooler for him to fuse with the Big Gete Star? In the last movie, he got blasted into the fucking sun. How the FUCK did he survive that? Because the last time I checked, anything that goes into the Sun, does not come back out again. And considering what we see remaining of Cooler is mostly his head, and movie goes out of its way to state that Coolers conscious mind fused with the Big Gete Star's core, how did any part of Cooler's head survive in the vacuum of space, let alone not get instantly incarnated by the goddamn Sun? Fucking hell. This all so retarded.

Then we have the usual DBZ movie story beats for the climax -- with Goku being in a tight spot, he fight's back (sometimes with the help of an ally) and defeats the main villain with one attack. But on this occasion, it isn't a Genki Dama (Thank God) that gets the job done. It's... just a ball of Ki. How original.

The only real novelty of this movie is seeing Goku and Vegeta team up a to fight a common enemy. And I won't lie... I do like the dynamic between Goku and Vegeta in the movie. You have the plucky attitude of Goku bouncing off of the abrasive and uncontrollable attitude of Vegeta. It makes for their battle against Cooler all the more interesting, even it's at face value. And I absolutely love the scene where Goku and Vegeta collapse from exhaustion after defeating just one of the Cooler robots, only to see that there an army of them on the cliff coming towards them.

I don't really spend any time considering the details as to when any of the Z movies take place, because often mental gymnastics are needed to try and fit them into the main timeline. But, holy shit, is this movie just a cavalcade of continuity snarls, or what? I haven't even got the vaguest fucking idea of when this movie is meant to take place.

This movies stinks. Visually and narratively. And unlike the previous Cooler movie, where there was some kind dramatic irony added to the ending to create some kind of identity for the movie, nothing like that happens in this movie. When arguably the best thing about an anime movie is the ending song (which is really fucking great in its own right), you know something is wrong. - 1.5/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball Z ~ Extreme Battle!! The Three Great Super Saiyans (Dragon Ball Z Movie 7):
[spoiler]

These are certainly not the droids we're looking for.

We start of with Goku, Gohan, Chi Chi, Krillin, Trunks, Roshi, and Oolong getting in shenanigans at the mall.. and it's pretty boring.

Then two Artificial Humans (#14 and #15) arrive to wreck shit... and it's pretty boring.

Goku, Vegeta, Future Trunks, Piccolo and Gohan fight the Artificial Humans... and it's pretty boring.

You can already tell what direction this mini-review is going to.

I'm just getting so exhausted with the DBZ movies at this stage. They're just so banal by this point.

The antagonists introduced in this film have zero personality. The Artificial Humans #13, #14 and #15 don't have a distinguishable character trait between the three of them. Artificial Human #14 in particular has, what I call, "negative personality". That guy only says a few lines in the movie... and all of them are "Son Goku". Fucking hell.

When 2/3 of the central threat in the plot (Artificial Humans #14 & #15) don't display any kind of unique abilities, you know you've got a boring movie on your hands.

And when it comes the climax of the film, and we finally seem some kind unique ability displayed in the movie, it's fucking absurd. I never thought that an Artificial Human fusing parts from two destroyed Artificial Humans would lead that Artificial Human becoming a roided up Super Saiyan. How the fuck does that even work? Why does Artificial Human #13 muscles expand? Why does his hair turn orange and spiky? Who does his skin turn blue? I mean... what the fuck is going on with that? Where is the basis for Artificial Human #13 transforming in the way he does in this movie in the main series?

You know, when the plot of a movie is so trite and uninteresting, you can perhaps fall back on the visual the salvage some kind value in the experience. And this movie doesn't even that liberty to save this film. It's not as bad as DBZ Movie 6, but it can get really ugly at times. I can't help but feel that Dragon Ball Z was going through some kind of rough transitional period, in regards to the artistic direction with it's character design. And DBZ Movie 6 & 7 were caught in the middle of this.

The films marks the first appearance for Future Trunks, and it's... serviceable. But one thing I didn't like about him, and really the rest of the Saiyans in this film (excluding Gohan), is how they seem to forget that they can transform into Super Saiyan. That kind of forced tension is something I didn't like in the previous DBZ movie, and it was ramped up to 11 here.

If there one thing that this movie is known for, and one thing I got a kick out of, it's when Super Artificial Human #13 punches Goku in the dragonballs. That ALWAYS cracks me up for some morbid reason.

One thing I can appreciate about this movie is it's the last time we see the Genki Dama used to kill an opponent. And for what it's worth, I liked the unique style of which the technique was used to put Super Artificial Human #13 down for the count. I mean, absorbing the energy of the Genki Dama and using it disintegrate Super Artificial Human #13 with a super punch... that's pretty awesome, I won't lie.

This movie continues the horrendous trend started by DBZ Movie 6 of only the Saiyans mattering in battle. An angle that, in all fairness, was already having a stranglehold effect on the plot in the main story by the time this movie debuted. But... goddamn... I really would like see the Z movies do something with the side characters. I mean, why waste time with them, if they aren't going to contribute something the plot?

This movie is boring. Really, really boring. I just... don't even know what to say. Actually, I do... the fights are stale, the animation is subpar, the antagonists are flat characters and the use of the non-Saiyan characters is appalling.

This movie blows. - 1/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball Z ~ Burn Up!! A Red-Hot, Raging, Super-Fierce Fight (Dragon Ball Z Movie 81):
[spoiler]

It's Broly time!

I've given the previous DBZ movies some grief with how they start the film, but I have to give an immense amount of praise to how the kick-off the movie. The movie starts with the Southern Galaxy being destroyed by some unknown Super Saiyan ki. I have to question why Super Saiyan Ki would feel any different compared to regular Ki, but I still enjoy that right off the bat were home grand mystery to sink out teeth into, and hook us into the movie. But... holy fuck... is that some insane serial escalation for feats of strength, or what?

The "relaxation period" of the movie is quite possibly the most entertaining version this in any Dragon Ball movie until DBZ Movie 14. We have Goku and Chichi in line to be interviewed for a potential cram school for Gohan. And Chichi drills the bored Goku on how to answer certain questions such as, "What are the father's hobbies?" To which Goku responds by saying that his hobbies are fighting strong guys. Chichi then tells him to say "Reading and sports". To which Goku responds, "Chichi... is this interview a fibbing contest?" I laughed hard at that line.

Meanwhile, Krillin, Gohan, Trunks, Oolong, a drunk Roshi, Dr. and Mrs. Brief, Bulma -- and for some odd reason Vegeta -- are having a picnic under cherry blossoms. Krillin's drunk tone deaf karaoke while the picnic is happening slays me. And Vegeta threatening to make him pay for subjecting him to such awful singing just makes the scene 10 times better. I never knew DBZ movies could be this funny.

Enter stage right, Paragus. Who is, in my opinion, the best character in this movie. He's cunning, patient, strategic, and seen in the flashback involving King Vegeta regarding Broly's battle power as an infant, he can be sympathetic and rational. All of this makes a Parugus a shockingly well rounded, and somewhat tragic, antagonist in the film. We see in the previously mentioned flashback that he was truly invested in the idea of using his son abnormally high battle power to support the Saiyan race, only to rebuked by King Vegeta -- under the pretense that Broly's great power could also be threat to the Saiyans as much as it could be an aid to them -- and left for dead along with his infant child... both of which King Vegeta tried to kill! Seriously, how fucking dark is that shit!? It's just a shame that backstory doesn't do much for Broly's character in the grand scheme of the plot. But it does serves as some great dramatic irony later in the film with how mentally unstable Broly is shown to be growing up with his immense power -- proving that that King Vegeta was right in the end to question how much of a threat Broly could be -- and with the circumstances of Paragus's death at the hands of his Broly, his own son, once Broly becomes the Legendary Super Saiyan.

Once Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Future Trunks, Piccolo and the rest of the gang get relocated to "New Planet Vegeta" -- which is just a ruse created by Paragus as the planet is going to be destroyed by a meteor soon -- the plot truly kick-starts as we're introduced to Broly, but more importantly, the concept of the Legendary Super Saiyan. Now I have to say that absolutely love the concept of the Legendary Super Saiyan. The idea of there being a Super Saiyan beyond the mythos of the legend of the original Super Saiyan form I something is that could have expanded lore of the Saiyans by showing that what we previously knew about the Super Saiyan form. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen in the movie. And the Legendary Super Saiyan form ultimately just becomes another gimmick that serves as way to power up a character and conveniently move the plot forward.

But to be fair to Broly, he in himself is a decent character. We see how unhinged he become as grows up, and how docile and polite he can be when his urges don't get the better of him. I do find it very convenient that out of all the Saiyans Broly encounters, it's Goku specifically that results in his natural Saiyan urges being awoken. I mean, wouldn't it have been better suited -- especially Paragus's revenge subplot that essentially drive this movie -- that Vegeta be the one that sends Broly mentally off the deep end, considering Vegeta look practically identical to the same person (King Vegeta) that tried to stab Broly as an infant because of his battle power? It just seems like a very contrived way to somehow tie Goku into Broly's personal conflict.

That being said, I do love the tension that builds with Broly unable to control his urges and becoming a (subdued) version of Super Saiyan and attacking Goku. But what I don't love is the reveal that Broly was responsible for destroying the Southern Galaxy. Because it's very anticlimactic given the story goes out its way to state Super Saiyan ki could be felt as the Southern Galaxy was destroyed. Insert your "His power is maximum" memes here if you want.

The major turning point of this movie is when Broly becomes the Legendary Super Saiyan. And this is major turning point for two reasons:

1. Any kind of story the movie had going for it, is tossed to the wayside.

2. Broly becomes a Generic Doomsday Villain.

While I know it's easy to bash on Broly for the negative connotations he brings to the franchise, for the purposes of judging this movie on its own merits, Broly's Legendary Super Saiyan design is pretty astounding. Unlike the pseudo-Super Saiyan transformation that Super Artificial Human 13 went through in the previous DBZ movie that felt so out of place for not only the context of the movie but for the context of Artificial Humans in the series, this transformation actually meshes well context of the film and the context of Super Saiyan forms. It lives up to the billing of being the "Legendary" Super Saiyan with its distinctive green hair, lack of pupils and imposing increase muscle mass and height. Vegeta's shell shocked PTSD like reaction just sells the form so well, too. Which just makes it such a crying shame the form becomes a cheap, one-note gimmick after this movie.

And with Broly's Legendary Super Saiyan form, we get some unexpected tragedy and some wonderful dramatic irony as Paragus tries to escape the planet, realizing that he can't control Broly as a Legendary Super Saiyan, only for Broly quickly catch on what he's going to do and throw him into the meteor heading towards the planet, killing him. I just can't help but feel that that Paragus was not only the true antagonist of this movie, but was a tragic villain in all circumstances. I mean, himself and his infant son get executed and left to die on plant on the brink of destruction because of how powerful Broly is as an infant, he spend years trying to subdue his son's wild and innate Saiyan instincts -- being his thirst for destruction -- and having to resort for literal mind control just to prevent his son from killing him by accident in a wild fit of rage, and still hoped to gain revenge against being left to die by King Vegeta... only to die at the hands of his son... with the very power he wanted to utilize to exact his revenge against Vegeta and rule the universe. While I don't agree with Paragus's megalomaniac based end goal, it's a bit hard not to feel some kind of sympathy for him. I mean, if you were put in Paragus' position, wouldn't you go off the deep in your pursuit for revenge?

The movie really turn into one big fight in the final 1/3 and I honestly don't mind that approach. Considering how much the story has built up to the Legendary Super Saiyan, I don't mind the movie spend so much time in emphasizing the overwhelming strength of the form. What also really adds to the intensity of this fight is knowing that the planet their fighting own is going to be destroyed. So while you have cast struggling against Broly, they have to also take into consideration their a planet that's going to be space dust very soon. Not to mention how Broly comments about his power continuing to rise as they fight. Just further adding the escalating drama of the fight.

To say that the climax of the movie is incredibly anticlimactic would be understatement. I'm not keen on always using this word but... that ending was an asspull. So the last 20 minutes of the movie is dedicated to Broly no selling everything that Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Future Trunks and Piccolo were throwing at him. At the same time. But after Gohan, Vegeta, Future Trunks and Piccolo donate their ki to SSJ Goku, that makes SSJ Goku powerful enough to kill Broly... with one punch. One. Fucking. Punch. That is so fucking stupid. Broly was beating the hell out of those five guys at the same time. How would pooling their ki into one source make that much of a difference in the fight? Since when punches cause people to explode? It's absurd. With one motherfuckin punch, any kind of gravitas the Legendary Super Saiyan form hard, just died. Goddammit.

This movie is REALLY good. It has a lot of good things going for it. Paragus is a surprisingly well written tragic villain, Broly's character is very much serviceable to the plot, the mythos behind the Legendary Super Saiyan is a wonderful mystery that is also well built up, the Legendary Super Saiyan form is aesthetically appealing and stands out very well, the animation is a huge improvement over the last two DBZ movies, and as a added bonus, this movie fits very well within the main continuity of the series, with this movie taking place during the several day waiting period before the Cell Games. Not to mention that Bin Shimada knocks it out of the park as Broly.

The main issue I have with the movie is the ultimately the ending. As I mentioned before, it's incredibly anticlimactic, and ties the movie up in a bow far too conveniently for my liking.

But, hey, at least we found out at the end of the day that Goku's favorite hobbies really are reading and sports. - 8.5/10[/spoiler]

[Lord Beerus]

Dragon Ball Z ~ The Galaxy at the Brink!! The Super Incredible Guy (Dragon Ball Z Movie 9):
[spoiler]

Goku is not the main character in this one. Weird.

I really like the opening for this movie. Mainly because we get to some of the Earthlings (Krillin, Yamcha and Tenshinhan) actually throw a punch (Well, not so much Yamacha. Poor guy). The setting of which this takes place is a martial arts tournament held where fighters were invited to come from around the globe to participate, and where they will face terrifying aliens. The winner of said tournament will get one hundred million zeni, a family-sized tour of the world's hot-springs, and a chance to challenge Mr. Satan And all of this is being organised by Mr. Money (insert rimshot), in honor of his son Doll's 10th birthday. Well, I certainly can't fault the premise for this movie. It may feel a bit random, but for the context of how spontaneous the plot of Dragon Ball, it functions just fine. I mean, any movie that gives me Tenshinhan fighting Future Trunks is aces in my book.

Once the finalists of the tournament are decided, it's through their matches that were are introduced to the central antagonist of this film. Along with their backstory. Bojack and his crew Bujin, Bido, Zangya, and Gokua traveled through the four galaxies, conquering them at their whim. So the four Kaio's banded together and imprisoned them. And by destroying Kaio's planet by bring the self imploding Cell to Kaio's planet, Goku unwittingly unleashed Bojack and his cronies onto the universe. I gotta say, that's one of the best backstory's any of Dragon Ball movie have ever produced. Not only for the fact that fits well with the Dragon Ball cosmos, but the fact that is seamlessly ties into the events of Cell arc. It aids in given the Cell much more of an overarching effect of the grand narrative of Dragon Ball, and it itself, it's some really good lore expanding and world building.

So naturally the supporting cast, pretty much everyone that isn't an the Saiyans, get their butts kicked by Bojack and crew. And as is traditional with practically every Dragon Ball Z movie since Movie 6, Vegeta makes his "grand" appearance... despite the fact that the period of when this movie takes place is when Vegeta swore he would never fight again after Goku's death. And Bulma even commenting in the movie that Vegeta hasn't been the same since Goku died. But, whatever, I guess we must have Vegeta doing something flashy for these movies.

Bojack powers up and nearly squeeze the life out of Gohan, until Goku breaks all kinds of rules regards life and death in Dragon Ball and teleports to the living realm to deliver a sucker punch to Bojack, to save his son's life. Before he depart back the Other World, he tell Gohan to stop acting like a child and use his full strength. And Gohan does. By suddenly remembering he can become a Super Saiyan 2. Then we get cool homages to Gohan's battle against Cell and the Cell Jrs in the Cell arc, with SSJ2 Gohan one-shotting some of Bojack's cronies, and then delivering a sick gut punch to Bojack. We get a brief beam clash between SSJ2 Gohan and Bojack, and then Gohan quickly ramming through Bojack, defeating him once and for all. And it wouldn't be story set after the Cell arc if Mr Satan didn't somehow take credit form saving the world, as the film informs us at the end that Mr Satan save the world again.

It's so rare to see a Dragon Ball movie that relegates Goku to supporting character, but honestly his lack of presence in the film was such a nice breath of fresh air. Of course, given the period of which this movie was set within Dragon Ball's story, it would only seem natural for Goku to have a reduced role given he's, well, dead. And that's another thing I need to quickly talk about with this movie: the period of which it is set. The continuity of this movie fits extremely well. You could easily place this movie as it happening when Future Trunks went back to the main timeline to inform everything that he had killed the Androids in his timeline. The only real issue is that in this movie, Future Trunks has long hair, despite the fact that when Future Trunks left to go his world in the future after the events of the Cell Games, he cut his hair short. Maybe he decided to grow it out again? Or get hair extensions? It's nothing to really get your knickers in a twist about.

With a nice change up in the protagonist, a return of action for some of the Earthlings, great animation and well entwined lore, this is certainly a movie worth checking out. The only really major bummer about this movie is the complete lack of characterization for Bojack and his crew. But they provide enough unique abilities (I love their thread-like magical barriers) to make their appearances worthwhile.

You could easily pass this movie off as an epilogue for Gohan's character following the events of the Cell arc. And in that sense, this is a fantastic and extremely wholesome movie. - 9/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball Z ~ The Dangerous Duo! Super-Warriors Can’t Rest (Dragon Ball Z Movie 10):
[spoiler]

Guess who's back? Back again. Broly's back. Tell a friend.

I have no idea how this movie can work with its premise. The last time we say Broly, his body literally exploded and he was left on a planet that collided with a meteor. How the fuck is Broly still in one piece? And why does Broly did crash land on Earth on space pod? Better yet, where the fuck did he get that space pod from? And how did Broly get into the space pod? And how did he operate it? And when did he get the time to operate it while his body exploded and plant was being destroyed by the meteor? And how did the space pod find its way to Earth? Who? What? Where? When? Why? This is some really fucking stupid and lazy-ass writing. I haven't even gotten the core content of the movie and I'm already really annoyed.

Goten, Trunks, Gohan, and Videl are essential the stars of this film. And they are play off each other quite well in the movie. Although I wish Videl's reasoning for being in the plot would have been beyond her just wanting to see what Shenlong looks like when he summoned. I mean... that's just weakest excuse you could cook up for a character being involved in any given plot in Dragon Ball, even for a throwaway movie like this. At least give the motivation of wanting to grant a wish like Goten and Trunks. Oh well.

The quest for the last Dragon Ball lead to Goten, Trunks and Videl coming across this weird and poor village in the mountains. What's odd is that their home is surrounded by rare crystals, yet they're still so poor. Videl goes into the village to investigate, and finds a young girl being set up for sacrifice, named Cocoa. Videl and the local priest go head-to-head, as Videl tries to convince the villagers that they're falling into simple superstition. The village mayor explains how they have little choice, since the village's money dried up ever since the monster arrived seven years ago. As a champion of justice, Videl intervenes, offering to face the monster herself. Goten and Trunks decide to come along. Hungry, Trunks steals a little bit of the offering. But when Goten tries to swipe his own, Videl smacks him and tells him off. This lead to Goten crying a lot and Broly being awakened. And the flanderization of Broly begins.

Goten and Trunks hunt the most terrorizing the village, which is a dinosaur, and the villagers cook it for them a treat for saving them. The next morning, Videl is awoken by flashes and bangs and guess who it is... Broly. Videl confronts Broly, and the first thing Broly says is "Kakarotto". He say that quite often in the movie, and it gets grating very quickly. Broly notices Goten, who looks like Goku, and goes right after him and Trunks. Naturally, Goten and Trunks can't do shit to Broly. Then, Goten spots the final dragon ball (the four star ball) And the pair devise a plan: grab it and summon Shenlong, and have him take care of Broly. I have to say, I never thought that any Dragon Ball character would actually go through with the idea of Shenlong kill the main threat. It's so un-Dragon Ball. And I love it. Too bad it never happens.

Goten goes after the four star ball and we got so toilet with Trunks pissing on Broly. Broly, in his poorly put together sequel, getting pissed on. You cannot convince me that wasn't an inside joke.

Enter Gohan. And we finally get some well craft fight choreography with him and Broly skirmishing. Then Gohan becomes a Super Saiyan or Super Saiyan 2 depending on which fan you ask, while Broly gets some recycled animation, and it's Super Saiyan vs Legendary Super Saiyan, Round 2. It's... not good. The ends almost as quickly as it begins. But something great happens at the end of the fight as after Gohan has seemingly buried Broly in a pit of lava and passess out fros exhaustion, we're lead to believe that's Piccolo that save Gohan -- which in itself is a running gag in Z movies -- only for it be actually Krillin dressed up as Piccolo. I love that twist. I think it's one of the clever bait-and-switch moments in all of Dragon Ball. And the high-point of the movie.

We get another Cell arc call back with Gohan getting bearhugged to death. But Videl kinda makes the save and tosses a crystal at Broly, which gives Gohan the chance to escape. And cue (another) homage to Cell arc, and we have beam clash finale... which leads to one of the most offensively contrived moments in Dragon Ball ever.

So Goten jumps into the fray to help Gohan in his beam struggle against Broly. They're about to lose, but then Goten mentally wishes for Shenlong to save them, and as a result... Goku appears.

What.

I mean...

What.

I, for the life of me, can't figure out how this works. Goten never asked specifically for Goku to come back to life. He specifically asked for Shenlong to save them. That wish does not have to automatically involve Goku. And even in the case that Shenlong knew what Goten was asking for subconsciously, Goten never verbally spoke his wish. On top of that, he wasn't anywhere near the full set of Dragon Balls when he asked for Shenlong to save him. And even worse, he never properly summoned Shenlong in the first place.. And just to compound this convoluted mess... Goku is sent back to the afterlife despite being brought back the living realm. What the fucking fuck is going? Was Goku a ghost? Did Shenlong materialize into a physical representation of Goku to literally "save" them? Was Goku literally brought back to life and then taken back to Heaven when Broly was dead? Who? What? Where? When? Why? I don't know what's going on.

But the madness doesn't stop there, as Trunks throws a ki blast -- just as Broly is about to deliver the one great ki blast to swing the beam clash in his favor -- and that somehow prevents Broly being able to add extra energy to his giant ki ball because Takao Koyama didn't write out the finale of the movie well at all. And Goku, Gohan and Goten add more oomph to their family Kamehameha, defeat Broly, and hurl him into sun. Making sure that's the last we see of Broly. I wish...

This movie is such a rollercoaster. And a massive headache. So much contrived and dumb shit happens in this movie and Broly is literally caricature of how he was portrayed in the DBZ Movie 8. Broly seriously has only one line of original dialogue in this film, with every other thing him saying in this film consisting of evil laughing, grunting and angrily yelling "Kakarotto".

But on the flip side, I really liked the dynamic between Goten, Trunks and Videl, the animation is terrific and the visual of the Goku, Gohan, Goten Family Kamehameha is breathtaking and the movie itself can fit decently into the main continuity without great issues.

That's being said, I can't recommend this DBZ movie, unless you're a diehard Broly fan. And unfortunately, things would get worse for Broly's character after this movie. - 3/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball Z ~ Super-Warrior Defeat!! I’m the One Who’ll Win (Dragon Ball Z Movie 11):
[spoiler]

Goddammit. Broly got a third movie. Ugh. I'm gonna follow Toei's direction with this movie and phone this in.

The cousin of some rich asshole that used to be a martial arts rival of Mr Satan when they were kids arrives to Mr Satan's mansion -- where he's currently being terrorized by #18 for the debt he owes her for letting him win the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai -- and threatens to reveal to the world that Mr Satan used to be a bedwetter. (Seriously, that is the threat that kickstarts this plot) Turns out this rich asshole, who's name is Baron Jaga, has being using his great wealth to fund an army of Bio Warriors, which he plans to use defeat Mr. Satan to get revenge for Mr Satan defeating him when they were young.

I gotta give the movie major credit for having #18, of all people, in such a prominent role in the movie. She was so underutilized after Cell arc. But why in a movie like this? Well, I guess beggars can't be choosers.

Goten and Trunks are also in this movie. Why? Because the why the fuck not?

Goten, Trunk and #18 smack around the Bio Warriors like they're nothing. And we get Broly. Again. How, you may ask? Turns out that the prayer giver from the village in the last Broly movie brought a sample of Broly's blood to Jaga in exchange for a big pay day, after the Goten and Trunks ruined his easy life in Natade Village by killing the Dinosaur/Monster that had been plaguing the village. How the fuck did he get a sample of Broly blood? BROLY WAS HURLED INTO THE FUCKING SUN!!! And even bigger question to ask is how did that prayer giver even know that Broly's blood he was taking? Was he watching the battle of the previous in the DBZ movies in the distance? It doesn't matter in the end as the Broly clone turns out to be a dud, and instead of the Legendary Super Saiyan we get the Swamp Thing.

So SSJ Goten and Trunks fight the Swamp Thing and get battered around.

Then #18 gives it crack and gets her arm broken. And that's her done for the movie.

Krillin makes the save for #18 before she gets killed... and he gets his butt kicked.

Then Trunks devises a plan. The lab is filled with this messed up purple goop that eats everything alive it touches. So Trunks leads the Swamp Thing into it, and Swamp Thing dies. Good.

But, lo and behold, the Swamp Thing, because of the purple goop actually turns into a giant Poop Monster. I guess Trunks should have studied more about the secrets of the ooze.

But then, at the 11th hour, Goten figures out that the ooze is weak to sea water. So the Gohan, Trunks and Krillin (You read that right) launch a triple Kamehameha into the ocean that turns Poop Monster Broly into a giant statue of poop for generations to enjoy.

#18, who's pretty much the shining diamond shoved into this horeshit, continues to berate Mr Satan for debt he owes her, and we're out.

I don't understand why Broly had to be in this movie. For one thing, his actual appearance is so brief and fleeting that is really feel as though him showing up in movie was just so that kids in Japan who watched this film wouldn't have been mislead with Broly showing up in the story. In all honesty, you could really could have had a generic bio-engineered warrior fit the role of the main antagonist as Boly brings jackshit to the table as a villain. He has no personality, doesn't say anything, and doesn't have any unique abilities or techniques.

This movie is boring. Something Dragon Ball should never be. At least Krillin and #18 got to do something, so that's worth two points. - 2/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball Z ~ The Rebirth of Fusion!! Goku and Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z Movie 12):
[spoiler]

Hooray for Martial Arts Tournaments. I love Martial Arts Tournaments. And jelly beans.

We start off with Goku and Piccolo Paikuhan duking it out at the Anoyoichi Budokai held in the Next World. And instead of getting treated to what would be an awesome rematch between the two of them, we see the new kid in charge of changing evil ki tanks in the soul cleaning unit is too busy rocking out to listen to his superiors. And because of his negligence, the ki-cleansing machine overloads and explode. The evil ki surround the kid and he turns into our antagonist, Janemba. I knew that Rock and Roll was really the Devil's music. If that kid was listening to some Soul or Jazz this shit would have never happened.

Janemba initial form is just wonderful. It seemed to pay homage of some sort to the design of Majin Boo from the manga. And his personality also seems to take inspiration from Majin Boo as well. Except he acts far more childish. It not made clear in the movie whether it's because of Janemba's existence that the Afterlife is thrown into chaos, or if he's done it on purpose, but giant freakishly looking jelly bean type things cover the Check-In Station, the Anoyoichi Budokai, and every other key place in the Afterlife. I've never seen Dragon Ball take such an outlandish approach with it's background design, but I really like it. The vibrant and colorful art direction really help compliment the wacky and child-like atmosphere that reflects Janemba influences of how he is distorting reality into his image and how life and death itself are being affected.

Speaking of life and death being affected, because Enma Daiō is trapped in the Jelly Bean prison (I giggled a little when I typed that), his powers over the Afterlife fade. Which causes the dead to walk the living realm once more. Juliet is reunited with a still-alive Romeo, Dracula rooms the street looking for blood while having a iron stake in his heart, and Adolf Hitler rides through Satan City in a tank with an army of skeletal Nazis. This movie is already a 10/10.

This trouble doesn't go unchecked by the supporting cast, as Videl, while having a meal with Goten, Gohan and Chi Chi, is informed by the police that there is a zombie invasion in Satan City.

Grand Kaio-sama sends Paikuhan and Goku to rescue King Yama and put things right. And Janemba "picks" to battle Goku, much to his wonderful delight. And mine too. Goku's battle with Janemba is just wonderfully whimsical and hysterical. It's gets even better when Janemba shed's his Majin Boo expy skin and becomes his own unique character with his own unique abilities. My favorite part of Janemba's battle with Goku was when Janemba counters Goku's Kamehameha with a shadow copy of Goku firing a Kamehameha. Which results a damaged and a confused Goku saying, "You're a wizard."

The movie's B-plot is just as entertaining as the A-plot -- something that never happens in Dragon Ball movies -- and even better, the B-plot never loses steam. Gohan, Goten, Videl and Mr Satan battling the dead is far more entertaining than it has any right to be. And it gives us the greatest cameo of the rogues gallery of Dragon Ball villains from the main series the previous DBZ movies and one of the entertaining one sided battles you'll ever see with Gohan decking Freeza with one punch. Plus, how many anime movies can you say gave an hilarious battle involving a caricature of Adolf Hitler? It's all so absurd. But the movie never really treats is deadly serious matter because of how strong the supporting cast when it comes to them dealing with the issue. So the wonderful whimsy and delirium that is accompanied with the Gohan, Goten, Trunks, Videl and Mr Satan fighting the living dead isn't lost.

Visually speaking, I can't praise this film enough. It's pure eye candy. The productions values of this movie are astounding. The art direction is incredible, the character design are amazing and the blend of CGI and 2D animation is seamless. Aesthetically speaking, no DBZ movie, until Dragon Ball Super: Broly became a thing, looked better than this.

One major flaw I have with the movie is Vegeta's appearance. It's far too random for my liking. Well, to be fair, practically ALL of Vegeta's appearances in the DBZ movies are pretty random. But this was most egregious. Despite that, his dynamic with Goku is wonderfully wholesome and entertaining. And gives this amazing exchange:

Vegeta: "I'd rather die than fuse with you!"
Goku: "But Vegeta, you're already dead."

And of course, Vegeta's insertion into the plot eventually lead to one of the greatest moments in the history of Dragon Ball with SSJ Gogeta being born. And the battle itself between SSJ Gogeta and Janemba was fantastically quick and visually breathtaking. It's practically a "One Scene Wonder" type of fight. But, fucking hell, it's handled so goddamn well. If you're gonna have a curbstomp battle, that's how you do it.

Also, Janemba is a very flat villain. He has his charm when he first appears as the Majin Boo expy. But after his transformation, he become another Generic Doomsday Villain. It also doesn't help that the only word he speaks in the entire film is his name. But I can forgive this given the circumstance of how Janemba was created: he's the amalgamation of all the evil in the universe. He is literal pure evil. Much like Kid Boo from the manga. And I didn't mind in that circumstance and I don't mind it here either. Also, Janemba's design after he transforms looks killer.

It's such a shame that this movie is impossible to fit within the main continuity of the story, because honestly, this one of the few Dragon Balls that deserves the distinction of being part of the main story. The movie just oozes with the kind of charm, whimsy sensationally direction action you'd only see from Toriyama's manga. From Goten and Trunks fusing to fight and kill Zombie Hitler and skeletal Nazi's, to Goku and Vegeta messing up the fusion dance and becoming a fat Gogeta and farting their way out of trouble, to Janemba's weakness being insults shouted at him... this movie is such a treat. Hell, even the ending song (Saikyo wa no fusion) fucking rocks. This movie fires on all cylinders. Even if you're not a fan of Dragon Ball Z, I'd still highly recommend this movie. It's a goddamn blast. - 10/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball Z ~ Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Won't Do It, Who Will?! (Dragon Ball Z Movie 13):
[spoiler]

The title of movie kinda spoils the ending. Oh well.

The film starts with a cold opening which features a young Mohawk boy with a sword who gets crushed by a giant monster. And said giant monster then vanishes. I love how right out of the gate we get treated to a mystery that needs to be solved. I'm always such a sucker for these kind of things. I think it just works as such a effective to way to hook you right into the story.

We then get treated to Gohan, as the Great Saiyaman, stopping some bank robbers, along with Videl, who's his partner in heroism as the Great Saiyaman II. This movie is one of the very few instances in all of Dragon Ball where we get see Gohan and Videl fight crime together isn their superhero personas. And it's such a damn shame we don't get to see more of it. The acts are so sincerely goofy and charming, that I'm shocked Toriyama didn't have a field day with it in later Dragon Ball material. Oh well.

Just as soon as Videl and Gohan get back to their classroom, Videl gets a call to aid the police in rescuing a strange old man who has climbed up a skyscraper still in construction, and is threatening to leap from the beam, while screaming about a music box. And our plot takes off.

The old man in question is a strange alien named Hoi. The old man in question is a strange alien named Hoi. Hoi has a strange music box that contains the hero of the Planet Conuts... a noble warrior named Tapion. Hoi is worried about a great catastrophe which will soon befall Earth, and he needs help from Shenlong to open up the seal on Tapion's music box prison. He also somehow knows Gohan and Videl have had dealings with the Dragon Balls, and lured them out on purpose for that specifically. Cue Dragon Ball collection montage, Shelong summoning and wish granting, and the music box open and we get Link Tapion.

Tapion tells them they've done a terrible thing by opening the music box, and takes off. Trunks find Tapion very interesting and tails him, along with Goten. Tapion spend some time brooding in an abandoned building, while the rest of cast have barbecue. Then all of sudden, a pair of giant monster legs attacks a downtown city. Great Saiyaman I and Great Saiyaman II jump into the fray and engage in a intense battle with the giant monster legs. Only to discover that its ghostly form becomes most vulnerable to attack shortly after it attacks. And it isn't until Tapion's ocarina plays that the monster legs disappear into the night.

Tapion comes off as quite an intense character in the movie. But it's later revealed that the reason Tapion is so weary and aloof is that when he accidentally slept for the first time since he was released from the music box the monster's top half suddenly bursts out of him. And it's only by using his ocarina that he can he subdue the beast.

Trunks' relationship with Tapion developed exceptionally well. I feel this movie did more develop Trunks' character than honestly Toriyama was able to in the main series. We find out that Trunks' attachment to Tapion is rooted to the fact that Trunks has always been a bit jealous of Goten having a big brother like Gohan, and given how Trunks from the onset finds Tapion such an interesting character at the surface level, Trunks really wants him as his own big brother. It's a little sappy, but really anything that gives Trunks some kind of characterisation beyond "Being one half of a fusion gimmick character" is fine by me. And it's also through this relationship that Tapion's character also develops.

As Hoi attempts to convince Trunks to give his Tapion's ocarina but tell him that Tapion at the person who bring the great catastrophe to Earth, Trunks doesn't buy it and gives the ocarina to Tapion, causing Hoi to flee. Grateful, Tapion becomes more relaxed and opens up to Trunks and his family. Well learn more about Tapion's past, such the the fact he had a little brother call Minoshia, and the their world, Conuts, is remarkably like Earth. It's also were the movie's big exposition dump takes place. But I don't mind at all in this instance. The story of Hildegarn put to shame most of the backstory's we get about DBZ movie villains.

Long ago, a group of wicked Warlocks from unknown space came to Conuts. They found an ancient, holy totem, which was used to absorb the evil will of that world. Infusing it with their wicked energy, they transformed this holy artifact into the monstrous phantom, Hildegarn. Hoi was a member of that order, and will stop at nothing to gain control over Hildegarn to use as a means of dominating the universe. But there were items that could control the holy totem, given to Tapion and Minoshia by their God to fight back against the beast. With their holy ocarina, Tapion and Minoshia froze Hildegarn in place, while a priest took up a divine blade to slice Hildegarn into two. Using the ocarinas, Minoshia and Tapion absorbed one half of Hildegarn's body each into themselves, and were sealed in music boxes. The music boxes were sent to separate galaxies, so that the warlocks might never reunite Hildegarn. But the fact the monster bottom half is already on Earth indicates that Minoshia is dead. Which ties into the cold opening of the film, where Minoshia was crushed to death by the Hildegarn. I do have to wonder how Minoshia escaped the music box he was sealed in. Oh well. Guess we'll have to chalk that one to plot convenience.

Speaking of plot convenience, Hoi somehow manages to completely resurrect Hildegarn, and that mean's it's time for the main event!

Every Saiyan available takes part in fighting Hildegarn. And far as climatic battles goes, it's quite a visual treat. We get the usual beats that come with the climactic battle of a DBZ movie. The heroes fight the big bag, the heroes get their butts kick, the big bad pull out the "I Am Not Left Handed" trope and transforms, beats down the heroes some more, and the big bag is defeated by one attack.

And naturally, as part of Dragon Ball dealing karmic death to their antagonists, during the final battle, Hoi gets his comeuppance and is accidentally crushed by Hildegarn during his ramped

Although, in the midst of that climax, we are given some quite compelling character beats and a nice plot twist. As Tapion's ocarina subdues Hildegarn and absorbs all of the monster within himself, Trunks is given the agonising duty of killing Tapion so that Hildegarn will dies with him. Why Trunks, of all people, is given that duty? Well... I guess we needed some kind dramatic turn in the development of the Tapion's brother-like relationship between with Trunks. I can't lie... this reeks of plot convenience and forced drama. But with how well Trunks has been characterised in the movie and how well Tapion has been developed and how their relationship grew in the movie, I'll let it pass.

Naturally, before Trunks can do the deed, a more powerful and complete Hildegarn breaks free from Tapion. Goku remembers he can transform into a SSJ3. Goku employs Gohan's attack strategy of waiting for Hildegarn to attack and become vulnerable, then suddenly whips out his brand new finishing technique the Ryu-ken -- a Shenlong looking like dragon of pure ki the bursts from Goku's punch -- and it coils itself around Hildegarn, before exploding him into dust. Goku has saved the day... with one attack... again.

With peace restored and Tapion's mission complete, Bulma lends him the Time Machine so he may go back to the era he once lived in, in peace. Before he departs, he gives his sword to Trunks. And we end with montage of Future Trunks doing cool shit with his sword, to imply that sword he's using is the one Tapion gave him. Yeah... that's makes no sense.

I don't think there has been a Dragon Ball movie of any kind that has spent so much time on characterisation, but this movie the thrives in that department. It takes it time to expand the lore and provide the world building it needs to make the events of the story movie forward in the movie carry more weight and meaning. And it's so rare for Dragon Ball to actually to pull it off in such a palatable fashion. Once again, much like The Rebirth of Fusion!! Goku and Vegeta, the animation and art direction is stunning. Also, the theme Tapion plays on his ocarina to subdue Hildegarn is absurdly catchy.

One major issue I have this movie is the ending. All DBZ movies end with climatic one-hit-KO technique, it's pretty much tradition. But never, in all of Dragon Ball's entirety, have I seen Goku display such an ability (the Ryu-Ken) for him to defeat Hildegarn in the way he does. It seems a little out of context, even for Dragon Ball. And just seemed to happen so that Goku could have all the glory of saving the day. And considering Goku was practically a supporting character in this film, that just make the whole scenario with the ending lack any kind of sincerity. But that Deux Ex Machina-eqsue ending doesn't take away from how thoroughly engaging and entertaining the movie as a whole is. It may be a bit too Saiyan-centric for some people's taste, but I still enjoy this movie a hell of a lot for what it is. - 9.5/10[/spoiler]

[Lord Beerus]

Dragon Ball Z ~ God and God (Dragon Ball Z Movie 14):
[spoiler]

Cat loves food. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

Dragon Ball's first movie in 17 years starts will re-animated scenes from all the major arcs in Dragon Ball. It would be a nice tribute... if the scene weren't so blandly animated.

Anyway, the story kicks off with Kibitoshin and Elder Kaioshin looking up at the sky, as they feel a presence awaken that they've not felt in exactly 39 years. Beerus, the Destroyer, God of Destruction. I love it when Dragon Ball movies star with such a grand mystery.

Kaio-sama feels the presence of the Beerus the God of Destruction as well, and immediately begins to fear for what may happen now that he become active again. We also get the wonderful tidbit about how Kaio-sama's planet was much bigger than it is right now, but Beerus destroyed it after he lost a game of Hide and Seek. I can't stress how much I love that reveal. If you wanna do a retcon, that's how you do it.

Goku, who is training with Bubbles on Kaio-sama's world, sees something is wrong with Kaio-sama. Kaio-sama takes Goku on a drive to tell him about the delicate balance between creation and destruction and that Hakaishin exist like the Kaioshin, and the Hakaiashin exist to balance them. Of course, Goku's interest piques about Beerus and he wonders if he's tough. This train of thought leads to Goku wanting to fight him. And Kaio-sama tells him that he absolutely cannot fight him. But when has anyone ever convinced Goku not fight someone?

Enter Beerus and Whis. And holy shit, there designs are awesome. Their personalities are even better. Beerus is basically a lazy bastard who nuke planets when he's awake, while Whis plays the role of the "exposition man" but carries enough charm and sass to make him a more layered character.

While Beerus slept, he had a dream about a Super Saiyan God, who he believes may be an archrival. We also find out before he slept that he told Freeza it was alright with him if he destroyed Planet Vegeta, because he didn't like them. He also doesn't much like Freeza though, and reckons he'll destroy him when he next sees him. It's then Whis informs him that a Super Saiyan, Son Goku of Earth, already destroyed Freeza... Goku. That is revisionist history. Future Trunks was the one who killed Freeza. Not Goku. I call shenanigans!

Anyway, back on Earth, it's Bulma's 38th birthday. Now, right off the bat you want to scream plothole in regards to Bulma's age. But this one of those fuck-ups that I can live with because how old Bulma is doesn't really have any bearing effect on the plot. And you could handwave this as Bulma being full of shit, as its in-character for her to fib about something that like given how superficial and vain she can be. Either way, it's nice all of Dragon Ball's major cast again. But still no Lunch. Damn.

Back on Kaio-sama's world, Goku remembers it's Bulma's birthday and is suddenly more afraid of her than Beerus. This movie can be really funny.

Beerus arrives and lays the smackdown Goku's ass, even as a SSJ3. So right there and then, the stakes have been set. Wonderful.

Kaio-sama contacts Vegeta and gives him the news about Beerus coming to Earth, and tells him under no circumstance is he to let Beerus get annoyed or angry. While Vegeta is more shocked there's someone who could beat Goku at full power, without trying that hard. Beerus and Whis arrive and it's there we descore the connection between Vegeta and Beerus. We found, via flashback, out that King Vegeta, Vegeta's dad (duh), had an encounter with Beerus that left King Vegeta humbled and Kid Vegeta like, "What the fuck, Dad!?".

Beerus joins the party, and it's joy to watch. Beerus just meshes with the main cast instantly and so damn well. This is the kind of harmonious downtime that's so rare in Dragon Ball, not just in the movies, but in the franchise itself. And it's even rarer for it feature the antagonist.

And just to top off this merry band of whimsical antagonists, the PIlaf Gang return. And are young this time because, when they asked Shenlong to make them young again, Shenlong fucked up and turned them into children. But now they've tracked the Dragon Balls to Bulma's party and they're going to steal them and get their wish. Goten and catch them in the act, and by mistaking Goten for Kid Goku, the Pilaf Gang get Oozaru PTSD-induced flashbacks and hightail it...but not before Mai gives Trunks the diamond back they lifted from the vault of prizes for the Bingo Game... which was only a ruse to swipe the Four-Star-Ball. Even though you can't get a wish with one Dragon Ball, the plan to ransom it back to the Bulma's family for 1,000,000 Zeni. Shuu then points out that diamond was probably worth more than 1,000,000 Zeni. Gag like this are why I love the Pilaf Gang.

Trunks, trying to act cool, tells Goten that Mai is his girlfriend. And that they've held hands. And of course Goten spills the beans tells Bulma about this. So Trunks has to come over and ask Mai to pretend to be his girlfriend. Pilaf thinks Trunks is talking about him and blushes. But when Trunks states that's not the case, Shuu thinks he means him. I love the Pilaf Gang so much.

In the end, Trunks gets it across to Mai that they'll need to atleast hold hands, which leads to Mai becoming very flustered. So Pilaf, Shuu, and Mai join Trunks at Bulma's party, and Trunks gets to pretend to have a girlfriend as his mom announces the beginning of the Bingo tournament. But when Yamcha points out a Dragon Ball is missing, and Pilaf immediately drops the Four-Star-Ball from his pocket, Mai and Shuu react by taking Trunks hostage. And it's just adorable. Like, it's the most hilariously non-threatening scenario you can imagine.

This escalates to a drunk and disorderly Gohan wanting to get in on the shenanigans. And even dresses up the Great Saiyaman for it. Gohan encourages Mai to shoot at him to make the show more spectacular. When she does, she fires real bullets which Gohan deflects with ease. Then Gohan chews her out for using a real gun. That made me laugh way more it should have.

One of the bullets Gohan deflects, ricochet and graze his Videl's leg. Dende heals her easily, and notes she's pregnant. But Videl wants to keep it a secret, so that she can surprise him.

Beerus get annoyed by all the shenanigans taking place and decides now is the time he'll destroy the world. So Vegeta decides to personally entertain him, and we get highlight of the movie: the Bingo Dance. This divides the fandom. Some people love it, while others hate it. I love it. I feels it's great way to cap off on Vegeta's characterization, with him becoming so accustomed to Earth's traditions, that he'll willingly throw himself in their embarrassing past-times if it means he can protect the ones he loves. And it doesn't feel out of place for the context of the movie itself, given how much of a comedy-oriented direction this movie has taken. And it even advances the plot as Beerus calms down as a result of it.

Then Majin Boo arrives and fuck's everything by going full Eric Cartman as he refuses to share his pudding to Beerus. Beerus gets angry and opens a can of whoop-ass on all the Z-Fighters. It's a fun scene. But has nothing really noteworthy.

Bulma, upset that Beerus has ruined her party (and is still probably piss drunk), slaps Beerus and Vegeta go nuts and smacks around Beerus. Who no sells it all at the end and knocks Vegeta out with one attack.

With everyone defeated, Beerus informs the rest of the peanut gallery that he'll give one chance for the Earth to survive. But he wants to play Rock-Paper-Scissors with Oolong to decide. Yamcha sees this as a great opportunity as he believes that Beerus must think Oolong is a normal pig, which mean he would only be able throw Scissors. But he's a pig-man, which means unlike a pig, he can throw more than just Scissors in the game. So if he throws Paper against Beerus, who is sure to expect Scissors and throw Rock, Oolong will win and once more save the Earth itself. That is amazing logic. And of course, it doesn't work.

Then Goku arrives to save day, because he always has to. And he has a plan for taking care of Beerus. And that's to use the Dragon Ball's and ask Shenlong what a Super Saiyan God is. They gather up the Dragon Balls and we get some more lore. Shelong exposits a story of how five Saiyans of pure intent poured their energy into another righteous Saiyan, leading to a Super Saiyan God being born. This Super Saiyan God would lead a revolt on the other wicked Saiyans. But after not too long, the power up wore off and Planet Vegeta went back to the way it was before, ruled by Saiyans with wicked hearts.

A huge fracus then ensues about whether or not that have enough Saiyans. Piccolo suggests only Gohan and Goten have a pure intent, given that Goku and Vegeta are blood knights. Although it's pointed out that Vegeta hasn't done anything bad in a long time. And then Roshi wonders if Goku's pure heart actually means he has pure intent, or if his need to keep gaining more strength disqualifies him. You know, I would have loved it if the story spent a bit more time on this aspect. Because morality is very hazy in Dragon Bal, and I would have loved to have seen a more in-detail internal discussion regarding it. Oh well.

The first attempts at getting a Super Saiyan God fails because somebody fails to count properly, as they need six Saiyans, not five. It's then we get the big "reveal" that Videl is pregnant. It's so narm-ish, but I can't help but have a huge grin on my face with this scene. But what is very schlocky is that Videl's fetus can qualify as the sixth Saiyan need to give Goku the power needed to become a Super Saiyan God. I mean... it's a fucking fetus! How much power could it possibly supply?

Anyway, we get Super Saiyan God, and it looks pretty... uneventful. But I really like that twist of the form having have this grandiose backstory, only for it be form that dye's Goku's hair a pinkish hue of red and for him to be slightly thinner. It's the kind of bait-and-switch you would expect Toriyama to do. Unfortunately, the form doesn't last long in battle against Beerus, but we get another indication of Goku's prowess as martis artist as he body manages to learn from the experience of being a Super Saiyan God and retain the forms power.

The climactic battle is one of the more unique aspects of the film. It has all the cliches, like Goku being on the ropes, the Earth about to be destroyed, Goku remembering who he's fighting for, and then getting a second wind. But that's still not enough to defeat Beerus. In the end, it's because of how much Beerus develops as a character and grows a fondness for Goku, that he uses a loophole to destroy earth, but not really "destroy" Earth. I adore that twist. It's so unconventional for Dragon Ball movies to end with the antagonist basically winning. The clever use of the overarching goal Beerus had of destroying Earth being used a loophole to not destroy in works fantastically as a display of how much Beerus' characterisation changed from the beginning of the film to the end.

We also get the whopper reveal that there are 12 universes (on top of that, all of the universes have their own Hakaishin and Kaioshin) and that Whis is Beerus' teacher and stronger than him. The former reveal being something Dragon Ball Super would pick up on in two original arcs down the road. Cut to Beerus eating some Wasabi and then getting ready for bed, Bulma bitch slapping Goku for being an asshole, Trunks and Mai sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G and we're out.

This movie was the shot in the arm that Dragon Ball movies desperately needed. It takes Dragon Ball back to a time where the story was told more through the character interactions and less though the fighting. The movie in general is also really funny. You can tell a lot of love was poured into the script of this film to make it as whimsical and charming as possible, and it work in spades. The Pilaf Gang were hilarious, Beerus and Whis were a riot and the Z-Fighters in general displayed a comedic charm that I really thought I'd never see. The lore given in this movie was also wonderfully entwined into the plot and opens the door to so much potential within Dragon Ball.

Beerus is without a doubt the best antagonist introduced in the Dragon Ball movies by leaps and bounds. Not even taking into consideration how well he fits himself into the lore of Dragon Ball, he's an exceptionally well written character. Despite his at time lackadaisical attitude and down-to-earth nature, he never loses his looming sense of dread. He bring a fantastic balance of whimsy (his learning-on-the-four joke about the 26 minutes journey to Earth would give him enough time to watch an episode of an anime crack me up and makes me think what kind of anime Beerus would watch) and a general feeling of fear given his overbearing power and Godly ranking in the Dragon Ball cosmos. He's also one of the best developed antagonist the franchise has ever produced. He started off with a goal of finding his arch rival, which Beerus believed to be the Super Saiyan God based on a dream he had, and upon having defeated Super Saiyan, despite not using his full strength, he decide to find a way to fulfil his promise of destroying the Earth but not really destroying the Earth, because he developed a subconscious attachment to it. It's such a delight to see Dragon Ball take such a unique and distinctive route with the climax of a narrative like that. I love the fact the fate of the world isn't determined by who can hit the hardest, but by the fashion of which a character -- and the central antagonist no less -- has managed to develop in character.

And as previously mentioned, Beerus' integration into the universe of Dragon Ball doesn't feel out of place (mostly). In fact, his inclusion in the universe bring so much to Dragon Ball. We find out what the role of Kaioshin are and how that relates Beerus and his role as a God of Destruction, as well discovering why Kaio-sama planet has always been tiny and the the big reveal of their being 11 other universes. Although, I do have to say I think the reveal of Beerus wiping out the dinosaurs on Earth millions of years ago to be a bit over the top. If only because it's inconsistent with the living dinosaurs we see in the main story. And I'm not sure that Beerus having some existential role in Freeza destroying Planet Vegeta was really needed, despite that tidbit being quite vague in the nature of itself.

Norihito Sumitomo's score for the movie is also pretty good, despite having a few tracks that feel somewhat generic and forgettable.

There are some issues I have with the movie.

This movie would mark Tadayoshi Yamamuro's reign of terror as Chief Animation Supervisor. And with how much Yamamuro's art declined in quality over the years, it really hurts the aesthetics of the movie. Something that would carry over into the next DBZ film and all of Super. I mean, the film isn't bad looking, it's just too... plastic-y. Like, the character resemble actions figures. Another aspect that was visually unappealing was the CGI. That shit stuck out like a sore thumb. Something would also carry on into the next DBZ film.

I didn't like the plot point of Videl's fetus being good enough to qualify as a Saiyan required to give Goku the energy needed to become a Super Saiyan God. That stretched my disbelief way too much. I don't know how much of a pure heart and great power a fetus can have, even with the blood of Saiyan. But, whatever, it is what it is.

The fights in general were... not good. It saddens me say this, because I love this movies plot to death, but Dragon Ball always delivered on the action it usually delivers. But I found most of the direction for the fight scenes to be uninteresting. There was one moment where a fight got visually good, and that was where Goku turned into a SSJ after losing Super Saiyan God and fought Beerus in space. But that, in itself, only lasted for a two minutes.

The implications of Ma's relationship with Trunks are... very uncomfortable. I mean, a woman that's at least in her 50s (Do not believe Toriyama he says Mai is 41. That's nonsense.) falling in love with a 13 year old boy... is just... I mean... really?! Did Chris Hansen have a role in this script?

Also... Majin Boo is a greedy dick head. Fuck that guy.

This is quite a plot heavy and character driven movie, where the action in reality takes a backseat. How much mileage you get out of that will greatly vary depending on what you value the most about Dragon Ball. If you're looking for the more action-oriented displays that most DBZ movies provide, then, well, you're kinda gonna be shit outta luck with this movie. But if you're the kind of person that values plot, characterisation, world-building and a greater emphasis on Dragon Ball's unique charm, comedy and whimsy, and don't mind if the battles play a more secondary role in the narrative, then this movie is right up your alley.

Some fans may bemoan the shenanigans of the Pilaf Gang, Beerus and Oolong play Rock-Paper-Scissors, Vegeta's "Bingo Dance", and Gohan becoming the drunken monkey as "fluff", but I just find it so wonderful, wholesome and fun. And that what this movie wanted to be... fun. This movie is so much fun. - 9/10[/spoiler]

Dragon Ball Z ~ Fukkatsu no F (Dragon Ball Z Movie 15):
[spoiler]

There really isn't must of a plot in this film, but I'll do the best I can.

Freeza's army is in disarray, so Sorbet, one of Freeza's top ranking soldiers, decides to bring Freeza back to life.

Freeza is resurrected, trains for 4 months and achieves a Golden new form.

Freeza's army fights with some of the Z-Fighters and lose badly.

Goku mixes Super Saiyan God with Super Saiyan to produce... well... the new blue haired Super Saiyan form isn't actually named in the movie.

Goku and Vegeta use their Super Saiyan blue hair dyed forms to fight Golden Freeza.

Freeza loses and nukes the Earth.

Whis rewinds time so that Goku can kill Freeza.

Goku kills Freeza and sends him back to Hell.

The End.

That's the movie's plot. Pretty barebones, ain't it? Might as well get right to the "good" and "bad" of the movie.

Let's handle the positive first. The majority of the fight scenes were pretty damn good and major step up from the previous DBZ Movie 14. The grand highlight being the Z-Warriors taking on Freeza's army. The comedy was also very well done. I legit laughed out loud at Jaco's drawing of Freeza and honestly, Jaco was really major highlight for me in this movie. He was amazing in practically every scene he was in and integrated with the cast so well.

Norihito Sumitomo's score is also pretty good. But not as good as God and God.

Now the negatives. And there are quite a few...

I hated the teased plotpoint of whether Vegeta would turn on Goku. In what universe would Vegeta pull a heel/face turn and decide kill Goku at Freeza's request. You have to ignore everything about the Majin Boo arc and previous DBZ movie to even pretend to be fooled by this for even a split-second. That whole scene was so fucking dumb and a poor attempt at forced drama.

Some of the lessons that Whis tries to instill into Goku and Vegeta when he's training them also seem a bit off base. Whis talks about how Goku is too relaxed and Vegeta is wound up too tight. And that if they could work together, they could even fight and overcome Beerus. But Whis ultimately dismisses the idea of them working together. It's even more bizarre with the way Whis and Beerus talk about how Goku and Vegeta teaming up is like an impossible scenario, despite what happened in the Majin Boo arc.. Whis and Beerus, and to a lesser point Vegeta, keep harping on about how Goku and Vegeta would never work together, to their detriment. And it's played up as a key plot point for this whole film with how Vegeta gets angry over taking too long with his "turn" at fighting Freeza and tries to fight him in anger over it. And then it's just left as a plot thread to be resolved with future storylines. But the problem with that is that plot thread was already resolved, and in an incredibly satisfactory way, during the tail-end of the Majin Boo arc. But that's not to say there's isn't any interesting ground left to take Goku and Vegeta as characters. However, this movie doesn't try to advance their story. We're right back to where we started after the events of this movie. Nothing was learned and nothing was gained. Which goes right into my next issue, and arguably the biggest one I have about this movie... the ending.

Now the whole purpose of the film was to explore the major flaws within people, and yet when Goku and Vegeta know about their flaws and experience the consequences from their shortcomings, they still didn't learn anything. So what was the whole point of exploring their shortcomings if it didn't do anything to change or develop their characters? I mean, holy shit, that was incredibly anticlimactic and poorly handled. I know this was a 94 minute film, but I feel as though things could have been wrapped up more neatly. This issue itself is related to another problem I have with the movie...

There's no real overarching goal and any kind of significant shift in the story with this movie. The movie honestly feels like it's written in vacuum with how closed-off and isolated it feels. Especially considering this movie is coming right off the heels of another DBZ movie that introduced another realm of deities (Hakaishin) and 11 over universes. It honestly feels like a bit of disservice to God and God, that a movie of such a grand scale as that feels somewhat ignored.

Freeza becoming a strong as Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan is something I can live with... if done properly. It was not done properly in this movie. By virtue of the fact that is only took only 4 months of offscreen training for Freeza to become the strongest mortal in the universe (at that time). I just resent the revelation. Even in regards to Freeza being a freak of nature, it's still such a mammoth growth in power in such a short space of time, that is make damn near every other power-up in the franchise look like shit in comparison. I mean, Dragon Ball is a show that hands out ridiculous power-ups like their candy to kids, but never to this extreme case. This at least provides the context that you should be more weary of what combatants can achieve in training, even in short spaces of time, but, goddamn... four fucking months. I guess Freeza was always an incredible mutant, but a lazy bastard.

The 1.3 million line was fucking retarded. And one of the dumbest I've ever heard any Dragon Ball character say. Even as tongue-in-cheek reference to the absurdity of battle powers (which is what I'm guessing Toriyama was going for), it's still very stupid. Freeza's power was over one million in his second goddamn form. Are you telling me Freeza was planning on becoming weaker? Or is Freeza that fucking stupid?

Another battle power related issue I have in this movie regards Shisami. It is stated by Sorbet before Frieza's invasion of Earth, that Shisami possesses a power level comparable to that of Zarbon and Dodoria in their prime. And Vegeta back on Namek was able to waste them with little effort. Yet Piccolo, who has battle power that is literally thousands upon thousands of times stronger than anything we see on Namek, can't defeat Shisami. It's so dumb.

Visually speaking, Fukkatsu no F is a step up from God and God but that's not saying much. The storyboarding feels very flat and lifeless at time. But I guess that's the result you'll get when you have Chief Animation Supervisor and Character Designer who is far past his prime also be the director for the movie. The CGI, much like God and God, also stuck out like a sore thumb. It was marginally better than the CGI that was in God and God, but that is by no means a compliment.

Also, I didn't like that Beerus was really just a spectator. I know he was the main antagonist in the last DBZ movie, but I felt as though he could have contributed more to the plot than just to be a bystander and gush over food.

And what was up with the casual mention from Tien (of all fucking people) of leaving Yamcha and Chiaotzu behind because it would too dangerous for them for fight Freeza's low level grunts? Seriously... what the fuck was up with that? Was there any need for that mention? Or, hell, who not just have those two in the movie? There is plenty of fodder to go around. But, no. I guess Toriyama just needed to remind the audience for the umpteenth time of how worthless Yamcha and Chiaotzu are in combat. Goddammit, Toriyama.

Now, was the movie as good as God and God? No, not in my opinion. This movie nowhere close to the quality of God and God. I think the most damning thing about this movie is that there's really nothing of important that happens. At the end of the day, this movie suffers from the same issue as The Path to Ultimate Strength did... this movie feel incredibly superfluous. It's a movie that doesn't really have anything interesting to say, or even have virtue of being a unique retelling or re-imagining of a story arc during the serialisation of the original series like most of the other Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z movies. The only thing from God and God that carries into this movie in some significant fashion is Super Saiyan God... and that in itself is just used as an avenue for Goku and Vegeta to get another Super Saiyan transformation.

The sad situation about this movie is when I watched in originally in the theatres in the UK back in 2015, I loved this movie. Perhaps it was the wonderful atmosphere of the crowd at the screening of the movie that may have lightened by perspective of this movie, because, man, this movie does not hold up well at all under close examination.

You can tell this movie was done on an whim because Toriyama thought it would it would be fun to bring back Freeza and him fight the main cast again. And I guess I can't deny original creator having fun with his toy box, as Toriyama is very unabashed is what kind of Dragon Ball stories he like to tell these days. But... this just feel so uncreative. As a standalone 94 minute animated movie, it's... okay-ish. I mean, it's a fine enough Dragon Ball Z movie in its own self-contained regard.

Fukkatsu no F is a lighthearted, action oriented film. If you're looking for some decent fight scenes, then this is the movie for you. But there a several other Dragon Ball that not only offer better fights, but also better artstyle and animation and better stories. So I guess you can say all this movie can really offer is the Earthlings kicking ass, which is nice, and to this movies credit, I don't think it's ever been done this well before in other Dragon Ball movies. However, this movie feels quite inconsequential in the grand scheme of Dragon Ball's plot and doesn't have much of a plot to offer. I mean, there are Dragon Ball movies out there that barely last longer than half this movie's runtime and they have more of story to tell. What does that say about this film's narrative?

This is a film that you really shouldn't think about too deeply. Because if you do, major parts of this movie falls apart. - 5/10[/spoiler]

Final thoughts on the Dragon Ball films as a whole:

The Dragon Ball films are products of their time. And I mean that in the most sincere way possible. 90% of all the Dragon Ball movies exist in one way or another to be a reimagining of arcs that were occuring while Toriyama's story was originally in publication. Which is understandable given how incredibly popular Dragon Ball was at the time the majority of the movie were in production. But it also lead to some of the Dragon Ball movies, especially the Dragon Ball Z movies, suffering in quality from their attempt at recreating story beats from popular story arcs, and as such, some of the movies would come across is condensed quasi-retellings that don't really tell any kind of story.

BUT...

There are a few Dragon Ball movies that provide originality in their narrative to make them worthwhile. Dragon Ball Z movies 1, 2, 8, 13 and 14 are the movies that really stick out as movies that don't want to rely on the success of Dragon Ball at the time carry their narrative and personal image, and instead venture to tell their own unique Dragon Ball tales and I applaud those movies for do such as thing. It also helps that the movies, in their own right, are really damn good.

HOWEVER...

There are Dragon Ball movies that, despite recycling the story structure of several other well known Dragon Ball arcs at the time, manage to still manage to produce a well paced, nicely written and wholesome movie. Even if in some case they feel disposable. Those films that I feel meet that criteria are Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle, Mystical Great Adventure, The Galaxy at the Brink!! The Super Incredible Guy and The Rebirth of Fusion!! Goku and Vegeta. Those are Dragon Ball movies which take significant elements form the respective arcs they structure their base narrative around, and provide enough of a unique spin on them to feel a lot less like a rehashed version of a story arc in Dragon Ball that was hastily put together to quickly cash-in on the franchises booming success at the time, and more or an somewhat earnest attempt at taking what worked in Toriyama's story an expanding on it to produce a movie that fans can familiarize with Dragon Ball's general plot, but at the same time, not feel as though they've already seen something like this, and done better, beat for beat in the TV anime or the original manga.

ALTHOUGH...

There are few Dragon Ball movies that really stick out a glorified soulless cash grabs without an ounce of originality to them and seem to exist only to exploit the fondness fans have for some characters or certain gimmicks. Those movies are Clash!! The Power of 10 Billion Warriors, Extreme Battle!! The Three Great Super Saiyans, Super Saiyan Son Goku and Fukkatsu no F. With Fukkatsu no F feeling the most redundant and Super Saiyan Son Goku feeling the most cynical.

ALSO...

Who the hell came up with the titles for the Dragon Ball films? Some of the titles for the Dragon Ball films are the most generic and non-descriptive film titles you can possibly imagine.

IN CONCLUSION...

I personally feel that most of the Dragon Ball movies worth checking out. But only a few of them would, in my eyes, would classify as films that are "must see". And those movies are Mystical Great Adventure, The World's Strongest Guy, The Galaxy at the Brink!! The Super Incredible Guy, The Rebirth of Fusion!! Goku and Vegeta, Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Won't Do It, Who Will?! and God and God.

On the flipside, the movie I'd label as "strong recommendation to avoid" are Super Saiyan Son Goku, Clash!! The Power of 10 Billion Warriors, Extreme Battle!! The Three Great Super Saiyans and Super-Warrior Defeat!! I’m the One Who’ll Win.

For the purposes of ranking the Dragon Ball movie from best to worst (out of 10) if you're aren't willing to walls of text I've produced:

The Rebirth of Fusion!! Goku and Vegeta (10)
Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Won't Do It, Who Will?! (9.5)
The World's Strongest Guy (9.5)
God and God (9)
The Galaxy at the Brink!! The Super Incredible Guy (9)
Mystical Great Adventure (9)
Burn Up!! A Red-Hot, Raging, Super-Fierce Fight (8.5)
Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (8)
Return My Gohan!! (8)
The Incredible Mightiest vs the Mightiest (7)
The Ultimate Decisive Battle for Earth (6.5)
The Path to Ultimate Strength (5.5)
Fukkatsu no F (5)
The Legend of Shenlong (4.5)
The Dangerous Duo! Super-Warriors Can’t Rest (3)
Super-Warrior Defeat!! I’m the One Who’ll Win (2)
Clash!! The Power of 10 Billion Warriors (1.5)
Extreme Battle!! The Three Great Super Saiyans (1)
Super Saiyan Son Goku (0)

I'll be covering the TV specials, OVA and other animated material in the future. So stay tuned for that...

[ulisa]

I agree with a lot that you mentioned here. First one I saw was DBZ MOVIE 1 and while, yeah, it can’t exactly fit into the canon, I do love it as a potential alternative timeline start to the Saiyan saga. The choreography is excellent and it was great to see Goku using the Power Pole again! I think we only see it again in Movie 2? I can also say that while I enjoyed this far more once I got into the series, as a kid who had never seen Dragonball before, I followed this pretty well even without all the history. I tend to prefer Garlic Junior over Pilaf and I do have to give him credit for actually managing to GET immortality.

DBZ MOVIE 2 I really like for the involvement of Bulma, Oolong and Roshi. It didn’t feel like they were pushed in for no reason and they did serve a purpose. The concept was interesting and I like the icy landscape for a fight. If I recall, Toriyama mentioned he hates cold so that’s why I’ve and winter don’t show up much in the manga so it’s a nice landscape shift.

DBZ MOVIE 3: I’ll admit, while this movie has its flaws the fight Goku has against transformed Gohan is great. Those two interacting is always one of my favorite pieces and I still think Goku's threat to Turles after Goku has to sever Gohan’s tail is epically frightening, mainly due to the animation on Goku’s face, it’s a neat bit of Papa Wolf trope showing up: “I don’t know about the Earth [to Gohan] but I’m definitely gonna save you.” [To Turles] “And I am DEFINITELY gonna defeat THAT guy.”

DBZ MOVIE 4: Yeah, not much to save about this one. I like Gohan’s whistling and dancing and it was nice to see ChiChi fight even if it was just for a moment. Not much else to say on this one. I think I watched it all the way through once.

DBZ MOVIE 5: I like this one a lot. Cooler’s fifth form is great and I really wish we’d see more of it as opppsed to Freeza’s final form. Like I mentioned, I love any interaction with Goku and Gohan so his shielding Gohan from Cooler wins the movie some more points. I also love how Cooler has no qualms about how little he cares about his brother and it all really boils down to pride.

DBZ MOVIE 6: Another one I think I’ve watched through once in its entirety. I liked Roshi being along and the dub added a line or two that I remember: “It’s been nice knowing you Vegeta.” “Oh, shut up.” But aside from that, not too memorable.

DBZ MOVIE 7: For the longest time, all I remembered about this movie was that Gohan told ChiChi off and the dub made one of the androids into a red neck. That’s really all that still stands out to me except, like you mentioned, poor Goku getting nailed. I guess because that just doesn’t happen in the anime, it was funny to see it actually occur. Goku’s face when he gathered the spirit bomb energy as Super Saiyan was pretty frightening visually though.

DBZ MOVIE 8: The build up and plot for this one had a lot of potential. I think it still has one of the stronger plots of any of the movies. Broly’s character just needs some personality. A monster persona isn’t exactly very interesting.

DBZ MOVIE 9: My Favorite Movie, I love that Goku takes a back seat and we still get some fun tournament style fights. It’s one of the few that fit canon and I love it as a follow up to the Cell Games. Goku’s decision to just completely ignore the rules of the Afterlife to save his son is awesome and I have always loved Kaio-sama’s “But you’re dead!” protest and Goku could care less.

DBZ MOVIE 10: I always saw the end of this movie as similar to how Goku appears in spirit to aid Gohan against Cell...but then they show the dragon balls scattering at the end. It’s...confusing.

DBZ MOVIE 11: Okay so I’m not a fan of the plot nor of seeing Broly again but I do enjoy seeing Goten and Yrunks. I think they play on their friendship really well in this one. 18’s demands of Mr. Satan also provide some great banter.

DBZ MOVIE 12: This movie cracks me up. I love it. It’s one of those movies where I am entertained throughout the entire thing: from the dead against Goten, Trunks and Gohan to Vegeta and Goku messing up fusion, to Gogeta...this one is gold.

DBZ MOVIE 13: Interesting designs on the villain, a fun backstory for Tapion and I do enjoy his development of a relationship with Trunks. Dragon Fist is one of my favorite attacks so that was nice to see incorporated too.

DVZ MOVIE 14: The animation is great. It took me a while to warm up to Beerus but rewatching it again, I do enjoy it. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the Super Saiyan God concept nor the form but the final battle is done really well.

DBZ MOVIE 15: Eh, not really a fan of this one. I’m not the biggest fan of Freeza so that has a lot to do with it. I don’t think his new form is particularly memorable; I’d have rather they used Cooler’s fifth form to be frank. Don’t like Whis’ time solution but it doesn’t ruin it for me, just not my favorite.

[mikezilla2]

Good Stuff Reminds me of the Planet nemeke reviews from way back

[ABED]

I also like DB movie 3, but disagree that it's the only time Chaozu felt like a character. He's given focus, but in the 22nd TB, he has a memorable bizarre quality to him. Movie 3 could've used a little more breathing room, but it does a great job of using elements from a bunch of different arcs.

[Vijay]

Cool write-up

I always liked DBZ Movie 8-13

As with M10....well, Trunks chi blast did nothing in that beam struggle

In fact, it flew-away in comical way (music inserted as well, check out the scene)

Its Goku, Gohan & Goten's Kamehameha blast that simply overloaded Broly's Omega Blast to the point Broly's repetitive firing has no effect whatsoever on his beam.

Like....think of you blowing an already overblown ballon. Would it expand anymore beyond its capacity? Obviously not. It'll only explode

Which was exactly the small "window" Goku would've expected thereby smashing Broly's blast which acted as both Barrier & Finisher & propelling him directly to space...who would've thought it'll shoot straight to Sun?