Rank EVERY Dragon Ball Animated Theatrical Film

[superfan2024]

All 20 baby:

1. DBS: Broly
2. DBZ: Battle of Gods
3. DBZ: Wrath of the Dragon
4. DB: Mystical Adventure
5. DBZ: Dead Zone
6. DBZ: The World's Strongest
7. DB: Path to Power
8. DBZ: The Tree of Might
9. DBZ: Fusion Reborn
10. DBZ: Bojack Unbound
11. DBZ: Broly – Second Coming
12. DB: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle
13. DBZ: Cooler's Revenge
14. DBZ: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan
15. DB: Curse of the Blood Rubies
16. DBZ: Resurrection 'F'
17. DBZ: Lord Slug
18. DBZ: The Return of Cooler
19. DBZ: Bio-Broly
20. DBZ: Super Android 13

(This list will probably be changed in the future)

As a bonus, if you want, you can add the TV specials and/or OVAs to your rankings.

[PacificOceanDub]

1. Dead Zone
2. Cooler’s Revenge
3. Fusion Reborn
4. Battle of Gods
5. Lord Slug
6. Bojack Unbound
7. Wrath of the Dragon
8. Tree of Might
9. Resurrection ‘F’
10. Broly the Legendary Super Saiyan
11. Super Android 13
12. The World’s Strongest
13. The Return of Cooler
14. Bio Broly
15. Broly Second Coming
16. Path to Power
17. Curse of the Blood Rubies
18. Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle
19. Mystical Adventure
20. Super: Broly

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

1. DBS : Broly
2. Wrath of the Dragon
3. World's Strongest
4. Dead Zone
5. Curse of the Blood Rubies
6. Battle of Gods
7. Mystical Adventure
8. Tree of Might
9. Path to Power
10. Cooler's Revenge
11. Broly: Second Coming
12. Resurrection F
13. Fusion Reborn
14. Broly the Legendary Super Saiyan
15. Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle
16. Lord Slug
17. Return of Cooler
18. Super Android 13
19. Bojack Unbound
20. Bio Broly

Not counting History of Trunks, Bardock : Father of Goku or A Heroes Legacy on this list because they are not movies.

[superfan2024]

1. Dead Zone
2. Cooler’s Revenge
3. Fusion Reborn
4. Battle of Gods
5. Lord Slug
6. Bojack Unbound
7. Wrath of the Dragon
8. Tree of Might
9. Resurrection ‘F’
10. Broly the Legendary Super Saiyan
11. Super Android 13
12. The World’s Strongest
13. The Return of Cooler
14. Bio Broly
15. Broly Second Coming
16. Path to Power
17. Curse of the Blood Rubies
18. Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle
19. Mystical Adventure
20. Super: Broly

Very interesting list.

[JohnnyCashKami]

01. Dragon Ball Super: Movie 1 - Broly
02. Dragon Ball Z: Movie 13 - Wrath of the Dragon
03. Dragon Ball Z: Movie 2 - The World's Strongest
04. Dragon Ball Z: Movie 1 - The Dead Zone
05. Dragon Ball: Movie 4 - The Path to Power
06. Dragon Ball: Movie 3 - Mystical Adventure
07. Dragon Ball Z: Movie 12 - Fusion Reborn
08. Dragon Ball Z: Movie 3 - The Tree of Might
09. Dragon Ball Z: Movie 8 - Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan
10. Dragon Ball Z: Movie 9 - Bojack Unbound

Honestly, Battle of Gods and Resurrection F fit more as Dragon Ball Super movies than Dragon Ball Z. Though, BoG came before Super was released.

By the way, yeah, that's not every Dragon Ball movie ever released but it's just the ones I care about.

[Super Saiyan Swagger]

01. Super: Broly
02. Battle of Gods
03. Resurrection 'F'
04. Wrath of the Dragon
05. The Path to Power
06. Fusion Reborn
07. Bojack Unbound
08. Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan
09. Cooler's Revenge
10-20. Everything else, cause I'm too lazy to rank them.

Confession: I have yet to watch Dragon Ball movies 2 and 3. I've seen Curse of the Blood Rubies and didn't bother watching the other two for whatever reason. Are they worth watching?

[MasenkoHA]

. I've seen Curse of the Blood Rubies and didn't bother watching the other two for whatever reason. Are they worth watching?

The only version of Mystic Adventure I watched was the Harmony Gold dub, which I enjoyed. I would imagined I’d like the Japanese version even more.

I only saw a bit of Sleeping Princess in Devil’s castle which kind of bored me but I was watching the Funi dub so the low quality work probably didn’t help.

I plan on watching all 3 during my Dragon Ball rewatch. Probably after the respective arc they “adapt”

[JohnnyCashKami]

01. Super: Broly
02. Battle of Gods
03. Resurrection 'F'
04. Wrath of the Dragon
05. The Path to Power
06. Fusion Reborn
07. Bojack Unbound
08. Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan
09. Cooler's Revenge
10-20. Everything else, cause I'm too lazy to rank them.

Confession: I have yet to watch Dragon Ball movies 2 and 3. I've seen Curse of the Blood Rubies and didn't bother watching the other two for whatever reason. Are they worth watching?

Dragon Ball - Movie 2 is alright but Movie 3 is a fantastic Dragon Ball movie. I loved how the Penguin Village and thus characters from Dr. Slump's series were included in.

My favorite way to watch the third Dragon Ball movie is definitely with FUNimation's HD 4x3 AR remaster.

Dragon Ball movie 4 was a remake of Dragon Ball with animation and music of the Dragon Ball GT team. Tokunaga did an amazing job as a Dragon Ball composer.

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

Here's my personal ranking for all the movies (also includes Super Broly since i saw it recently)

Great:

1. Battle of Gods

2. Path to Power

3. Dead Zone

4. DBS: Broly


Good:

5. Wrath of the Dragon

6. Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan

7. Mystical Adventure

8. Tree of Might

9. Fusion Reborn


Decent:

10. The World's Strongest

11. Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle

12. Curse of the Blood Rubies

13. Resurrection F


Meh:

14. Lord Slug

15. Cooler's Revenge

16. The Return of Cooler


Bad:

17. Broly: Second Coming

18. Bojack Unbound

19. Super Android 13

20. Bio Broly

[Robo4900]

I haven't got around to seeing BOG or ResF yet, but when the inevitable boxset of either the three modern movies or the entire 20-movie chronology comes out at some point, I'll probably get around to it.
Anyway, with those two omitted...

The great ones: (The must-sees; if you missed any of these, fix that problem asap)
1. Dragon Ball Super: Broly
2. Dragon Ball: The Sleeping Princess Of Devil Castle
3. Dragon Ball: The Path To Power
4. Dragon Ball Z: Wrath Of The Dragon/Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Won’t Do it, Who Will?
5. Dragon Ball Z/Dead Zone
6. Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure

The good ones: (You're missing out if you haven't seen these, but they're not essential)
7. Dragon Ball: The Legend Of Shen Long/Curse Of The Blood Rubies
8. Dragon Ball Z: Rebirth Of Fusion
9. Dragon Ball Z: Broly 3/Super-Warrior Defeat!! I’m the One Who’ll Win
10. Dragon Ball Z: Broly 2/The Dangerous Duo! Super-Warriors Can’t Rest
11. Dragon Ball Z: World's Strongest

The tolerable ones: (Worth a watch. If you see one of these in a bargain bin somewhere, give them a look)
12. Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound/The Galaxy at the Brink!! The Super Incredible Guy
13. Dragon Ball Z: Broly 1/Burn Up!! A Red-Hot, Raging, Super-Fierce Fight
14. Dragon Ball Z: Coola's 2/Clash!! 10,000,000,000 Powerful Warriors

The bad ones: (Bad. Only worth watching via the Big Green dub, or TFS's parodies, or if you really must see all of the movies)
15. Dragon Ball Z: Tree Of Might/A Super Decisive Battle for Earth
16. Dragon Ball Z: Android 13/Extreme Battle!! The Three Great Super Saiyans
17. Dragon Ball Z: Coola 1/The Incredible Strongest vs Strongest
18. Dragon Ball Z: Slugg/Super Saiyan Son Goku

For the record, the two Z specials would rank among the great ones, the GT special would rank among the lower end of the good ones, the two iterations of Plan To Eradicate The Saiyans would rank among the tolerable ones, and if there were movie equivalents of the Black and Tournament Of Power arcs, they'd be in the bad ones, with Black taking the bottom spot.

[JohnnyCashKami]

entire 20-movie chronology

That would be a good time to include the extra footage of RF which seems it hasn't been released on Blu-ray / DVD yet.

I'm glad that BoG and RF helped reviving Dragon Ball but those two flicks.. I just can't stand them. I watched them once and even then I felt bored watching it.

If Freeza was somehow a real living being, I doubt he'd approve of the Golden form. It looks so corny and unoriginal. lol

[Robo4900]

entire 20-movie chronology

That would be a good time to include the extra footage of RF which seems it hasn't been released on Blu-ray / DVD yet.

I'm glad that BoG and RF helped reviving Dragon Ball but those two flicks.. I just can't stand them. I watched them once and even then I felt bored watching it.

If Freeza was somehow a real living being, I doubt he'd approve of the Golden form. It looks so corny and unoriginal. lol

Having seen the BOG and RF arcs of Super... I forgive the sins of RF being a dumb slog because it paved the way to the Broly movie, which was damn awesome, and also there was some fun character stuff in it. So, it wasn't a total loss. That's more than I can say for the Black arc, so...

I suppose, that should be ResF's motto: "At least I'm not Black"

Wait, that came out wrong

[PFM18]

1. Dead Zone
2. Cooler’s Revenge
3. Fusion Reborn
4. Battle of Gods
5. Lord Slug
6. Bojack Unbound
7. Wrath of the Dragon
8. Tree of Might
9. Resurrection ‘F’
10. Broly the Legendary Super Saiyan
11. Super Android 13
12. The World’s Strongest
13. The Return of Cooler
14. Bio Broly
15. Broly Second Coming
16. Path to Power
17. Curse of the Blood Rubies
18. Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle
19. Mystical Adventure
20. Super: Broly

DBS Broly at dead last?

[SuperSaiyaManZ94]

1. Dead Zone
2. Cooler’s Revenge
3. Fusion Reborn
4. Battle of Gods
5. Lord Slug
6. Bojack Unbound
7. Wrath of the Dragon
8. Tree of Might
9. Resurrection ‘F’
10. Broly the Legendary Super Saiyan
11. Super Android 13
12. The World’s Strongest
13. The Return of Cooler
14. Bio Broly
15. Broly Second Coming
16. Path to Power
17. Curse of the Blood Rubies
18. Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle
19. Mystical Adventure
20. Super: Broly

DBS Broly at dead last?

I'd sure like to know exactly what he disliked so much about the movie to rank it as dead last, heck i reserved the bottom of the barrel on my ranking for Bio Broly.

[Kunzait_83]

1) Dragon Ball Z M1: Return My Gohan!!
As perfect a self-contained and non-adaptation of a preexisting Dragon Ball story as it gets. Jaw-dropping art direction, stellar fight choreography, excellent original addition to the main series' mythos, great villain, and some of Kikuchi's most outstanding work. This is Dragon Ball at its absolute peak, firing on every cylinder it's ever had. I've said it many times before and will continue to say it again and again: if I only had one single, self-contained work with which to introduce somebody new to this series as a sampling that embodies everything that this series is all within one neatly tidy and marvelously executed package, then this movie is undoubtedly it hands down.

2) Dragon Ball M3: Mystical Adventure
The most "Wuxia purist" the entire DB franchise has ever gotten. Everything in this movie is all of Dragon Ball's core Chinese roots distilled and brought to the absolute forefront, with an interesting recasting of the Crane School fighters as a "corrupted imperial dynasty" of sorts. More outstanding art direction, more phenomenal fighting, more stunning work from Kikuchi, fantastic use of just about the entire cast (major and minor characters alike), and about as perfect a distillation of everything that made the franchise still an all-time classic in its pre-Piccolo era.

3) Dragon Ball M4: The Path to Power
As lovingly reverent and sentimental a tribute to the whole franchise's earliest roots as one can hope for. This is easily the best ever "retelling" of the series' earliest stories, with spellbinding animation (some of the series' all time best ever, pre-Super: Broly), economical and well thought-out "compressing" of the earliest chunk of storylines, and an overall "swan song" feel of a long-running, respected series in its twilight days. Perfectly captures Dragon Ball as something of a "timeless fairy tale" to be told and re-told and passed on from one generation to the next. I cannot imagine a Dragon Ball fan of any sort not considering this movie as an utmost essential piece of the franchise's identity.

4) Dragon Ball Z M2: The World's Strongest Guy
One of the absolute best ever encapsulations of the whole anarchistic feel of "late 80s/early 90s genre-hybrid Wuxia" I've ever seen anywhere: and in animated form no less! As Return My Gohan and Mystical Adventure were for its Chinese Mysticism roots, World's Strongest Guy is easily the best representation of the more sci-fi and 90s Hong Kong-flavored aspects of Dragon Ball (better in many ways than the Jinzoningen/Cell arc even), with instantly distinctive and killer mechanical designs and mutant fighters, as well as a great overall "science vs mysticism" premise for its villains. Also some of the best ever fight choreography in the whole franchise (to this day even), and some brilliant remixes of classic original Dragon Ball cues.

5) Dragon Ball M2: The Sleeping Princess of Devil Castle
Like a (non-crappy) children's animated take on 80s Wuxia classics like A Chinese Ghost Story by way of Zu: Warriors From the Magic Mountain, this is more of some of the best ever, series-defining material in its back catalog, with probably one of the best representations of Goku and Kuririn's buddy-cop chemistry and camaraderie in any of the theatrical movies. I almost wish this stuff was actually part of Goku and Kuririn's Kame School training in the manga: the fighting and demonic architecture and designs are top notch across the board, and the core cast all get to shine here.

6) Dragon Ball Z M3: The Ultimate Decisive Battle For Earth
I'm noticing that this once-highly regarded DBZ movie seems to be getting more and more shit thrown at it in more recent years. Yeah, fuck all that noise: this one still largely holds up. While I dearly wish that much more had been done with Tullece's "dark mirror of Goku" shtick, what is there of it is still striking enough to be effective, and the overall direction is some of the most tense and atmospheric in the series, with unforgettable action beat after unforgettable action beat. The Shinseijuu/Tree of Godly Might is also a pretty damn cool concept, and like Garlic Jr.'s castle and Dr. Uiro's lab, I wish it were brought back as a fighting arena in way, way more DB video games. Also features some of the best "throwaway henchmen" in the whole series.

7) Dragon Ball Z M13: Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Can't Do It, Who Will?
Easily one of the most genuinely "cinematic" of all the pre-revival DB theatrical movies, this one really stands out for both its awesome direction and animation, as well as its narrative focus on Boo-era Trunks of all characters, who's "adoring kid brother" relationship with Tapion is overall well executed and lends the movie a surprising degree of charm. Also the Kaiju-like villain is great and unique for the series, with a great monster design and lending itself to some genuinely unique (for Dragon Ball at least) action beats. Only thing that somewhat ruins it is Goku's legitimately gratuitous out-of-nowhere finishing of the monster (the thrust of the narrative is such that the final vanquishing of Hildegarn should've easily gone to Trunks), although this is somewhat salvaged by the Dragon Fist being an amazingly kickass fighting technique.

Dragon Ball Z M12: Rebirth of Fusion!! Goku and Vegeta
One of the most impossible-to-dislike Dragon Ball movies, this one is another perfect representation of the series overall "anything goes" demented spirit. Its got an undead Hitler's Nazi-zombie army versus two pint-sized Super Saiya-jin, and a reality-warping demon turning Hell into something almost out of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory: you don't really need to say much more beyond that. That the animation is also easily within the series' upper crust also certainly doesn't hurt. It honestly doesn't get much more "What the fuck am I watching?" than this one, and I mean that in the best possible way.

9) Dragon Ball Z M5: The Incredible Mightiest vs Mightiest
I like Coola. Quite a lot. People who posit him as "just an exact clone of Freeza" thoroughly miss the point of the character: he's Freeza minus the faux-affability. Unlike his brother, he doesn't even try to hide or mask his sadism and psychopathy beneath a veneer of gentlemanly aristocracy. He's raw, spoiled ambition and jealous envy, obsessed with upstaging his brother and being everything that he isn't. He's an excellent addition to the Freeza family empire, and adds a fun new wrinkle to the family dynamics: the Bardock special flashback that opens the movie and how Coola is seamlessly integrated with it is particularly neat and elegantly handled. Its just a shame we never really get to see the two brothers play directly off of one another: that'd certainly be a hoot. Coola's ultimate form's character design is also one for the books and easily deserves every ounce of praise and love its ever gotten throughout the years. Also Piccolo gets to shine a LOT in this one: and that's never, ever a bad thing.

10) Dragon Ball Z M6: Clash!! 10,000,000,000 Powerful Warriors
More Coola goodness, this time with his own stab at a "cyborg resurrection". On the surface, it seems kinda lame how BOTH Freeza and Coola are brought back as cyborgs: but the movie at least does something genuinely different and really creative with its approach to the concept with the whole "Big Gete Star" conceit, and the fun Agent Smith-like infinite duplication abilities it gives Coola. That almost justifies going back to the well with that concept. Going back to Namek yet again might seem tiring in the broad scheme of the whole series, but ultimately this is really the one and ONLY Dragon Ball movie that's set there in any way: so I suppose one can't really hold that too strongly against it. The fighting ultimately is what really shines here though, with outstanding choreography and great use of Piccolo and Kuririn, who's fight against Coola's robot drones is so damn fun it almost threatens to upstage the big Goku & Vegeta versus Metal Coola throwdown. Solid stuff overall.

11) Dragon Ball Super M1: Broly
Sat down with this only fairly recently: I have my issues with it, but its undeniably crack-cocaine for the eyeballs and pure Sakuga pornography. While the initial flashback stuff contextualizing Paragus and Broly's place within the "canon timeline" is perfectly fine and even features some legit great moments (particularly the bit showing King Cold stepping down and turning the empire officially over to Freeza: I love how Freeza is basically Colin Farrell's character from Horrible Bosses in terms of the empire's leadership dynamics - just the old boss' spoiled, shithead son being giftwrapped the family business for him to abuse for his own amusement ), the DB Minus flashback is 100% gratuitous, serves no purpose whatsoever (not even on any sort of loose thematic level), and could've EASILY been taken out of the movie without losing absolutely anything at all.

Once the setup of the first half of the movie is out of the way, the whole thing is basically just a gigantic exhibition fight between Goku & Vegeta against Nu Broly. But goddamn is it one motherfucker of a throwdown, with so many incredible moments and killer directorial flourishes (that exhilarating extended first-person view of Broly's aerial fight against Goku: good god ). And did I mention dat animation? It's certainly not my favorite DB movie by any stretch, but its undeniably a high point of the whole "revival" era of the franchise: just from a raw visual adrenaline-rush standpoint alone.

12) Dragon Ball Z M4: Super Saiya-jin Son Goku
One of the more unfairly maligned DBZ movies. This one has ALWAYS been over-hated on, even way, way back in the pre-dub years when it was brand new. I've never fully 100% gotten on board with the hate for it: I totally get that in many ways its just a Daimao arc retread, and that sense of "been there, done that" REALLY kneecaps it overall and hangs over it like a bad stink (down to even the Zarbon and Dodoria lookalike henchmen). But as far as blatant retreads go, MAN is it a visually vibrant, ultra-high energy example of one.

What this one lacks in originality it greatly makes up for in raw eagerness-to-please execution, with a distinctively unique atmosphere (who the fuck sets a martial arts movie in a snowy, iced-over, neon-lit, Vegas-like city with some subtle Western elements?), and particularly brutal, nastily mean-spirited fighting moments. This is the sort of DBZ movie where arms get broken, fists are crushed into a bloody paste, wrists are violently bent back the wrong way, faces get set on fire, and the backs of skulls get blown open. If you're gonna rip-off and recycle yourself, at a bare minimum do it at least with this degree of palpable enthusiasm and crowd-pleasing fun.

And yet again, Piccolo gets a TON of love here: always goes a long, long way.

13) Dragon Ball Z M8: Burn Up!! A Red-Hot, Violent, Super-Fierce Fight
Well THIS one certainly left a lasting mark now didn't it? Sorry to break it to some of you kids, but Broly and his initial outing has ALWAYS been ubiquitously ultra-popular among fans, even back in the early 90s: this ain't a FUNimation dub phenomenon. But while his movie sequels leave a lot to be desired, this first showing holds up rather decently well. While Broly's backstory sometimes gets a ton of crap from some fans, I've never particularly had a problem with it. I've never particularly had a problem with Broly in general really. I don't LOVE the character, or this movie to any significant extent either mind you: they're both just okay. I feel like these days, I'm one of the ONLY Dragon Ball fans who doesn't have any kind of weird emotional baggage with Broly and Movie 8 one way or the other: and I've had him and this movie as a fundamental and iconic part of my "anime fandom upbringing" for way, WAY longer than many of you.

The plot is totally serviceable DBZ material (though honestly, the Saiya-jin race's back-history was over-explored even at this point), and Broly as portrayed here makes for a fun and menacing enough villain, with surprisingly quotable dialogue (much of which has rightly and deservedly enshrined themselves into the fabric of DBZ fandom across all generations). But really, both Broly and this movie in general are equally both over-praised AND over-hated. Broly and Z Movie 8 are nowhere near the greatest, series-defining all-timers that their adoring fanboys blow them up as, NOR are they the absolute rock-bottom gutter trash that their reactionary detractors insist as a knee-jerk response to their cult popularity: Broly and Z Movie 8 are solidly fine. Not great, and not crappy: they're just fine.

14) Dragon Ball Z M9: The Galaxy's at the Brink!! The Super Incredible Guy
A weak, under-cooked villain hobbles what is otherwise an IMMENSELY vibrant, visually-creative DBZ outing. The Tenkaichi Dai Budokai arena and its myriad of increasingly weird settings - ranging from 19th Century London-esque cobblestone cities, to volcanoes, to Cherry-Blossom forests, to surreal rooms filled with gigantic, monster-sized toys and clocks that almost look like something out of a hallucinatory sequence from Labyrinth Labyrinthos - along with some incredibly staged, animated, choreographed, and executed fights are all highlights, and Bojack and his demonically pirate-like minions are instantly memorable from a purely visual standpoint (and their backstory ties to Kaio are cleverly thought out): but all these qualities are let down by the fact that in terms of characterization, interplay, and personality, Bojack and his crew are SEVERELY lacking and one-dimensional charisma vacuums.

The glaring shallowness of Bojack's characterization is a gaping black hole that lets almost all the air out of the movie: in this regard, this makes you all the more appreciate how much of a genuinely distinctive identity a character like Broly lends to an otherwise average DBZ movie like M8. What Broly's reactionary hatedom accuse him of being - a blank-slate all muscles, no-substance walking excuse-plot for stringing together fights - that's what Bojack ultimately is. Its really too bad because with better fleshed out personas for the villains, this one would otherwise EASILY be in my upper-most tier of DB movies. There's a lot of genuinely rock-solid fun to be had here, and it all feels like its ultimately gone to waste on villains that aren't really holding up their end of the movie.

15) Dragon Ball M1: The Legend of Shen Long
Basically a lesser version of what Path to Power ultimately ended up being an outstanding incarnation of. The movie overall isn't bad by any means: its just that King Gurumes and his army - like Bojack and his crew - are spectacularly average, forgettable, generic villains, and a far, FAR cry from Pilaf, Shu, and Mai. They're enough of a weak link that they generally kneecap what is otherwise a perfectly solid, serviceable Dragon Ball "retelling" movie. Its too bad, because otherwise - again, like with Z Movie 9 - there's quite a lot to recommend here for DB junkies, including some really lush visuals and fun classic kung fu shenanigans. Its okay, but VASTLY upstaged by all three of the following non-Z DB films.

16) Dragon Ball Z M7: Extreme Battle!! The Three Great Super Saiya-jin
Bleh. This one's very middling overall. I've ping ponged back and forth on this one a LOT throughout the years, going from "hate it" to "like it" to "hate it" again to "like it" again, back and forth, back and forth since the early 90s. Ultimately I think I'm just gonna split the difference and settle on "Meh". There isn't anything particularly BAD about this movie (other than a few wonky bits of animation here or there): but at the same time, there isn't anything particularly noteworthy, other than that famous "Goku nut punch" which was an instant meme even when this first came out.

Gero sends yet more Artificial Human warriors after Goku and co. - okay. Sure. The antarctic-like glacier setting at least lends the proceedings a distinctive atmosphere, and the fighting is generally fine throughout. And I'm largely ok with the designs of this batch of Jinzoningen: but ultimately, this one does very little to impress or make itself stand out from the rest. Its ultimately just more Dragon Ball Z hijinks. Nothing particularly terrible, but also nothing particularly notable either.

17) Dragon Ball Z M14: Battle of Gods
Yeah, I know: I'm ultimately nowhere NEAR as fond of this one as most people seem to be. One the one hand, there's still stuff to recommend here: Beerus and Whis are both overall great additions to the Dragon Ball canon/iconography, and the ending is so damn good and so perfectly summarizes Goku's entire character that it could EASILY serve as an alternate end-point for the whole franchise. And coming from me, that's high praise. But with all that being said: yeah, this one I think is overall VERY overrated by fans who were just inexplicably WAY too hungry and over-eager for this franchise to make a comeback. Apart from the "new SSJ forms" stuff, which I'm very, very mixed on overall, what really kills this one for me more than anything else is the comedy: there's just WAY too much of it overall, and while there's certainly a few genuine chuckles to be had here or there, a lot of it ultimately just comes across as incredibly forced, tedious, pandering, and poorly balanced with the martial arts.

And I'm also (particularly after the Jump Special) REALLY not a fan of "the gang are having a backyard barbecue reunion at Bulma's" as a plot setup, which has now been used so often its almost starting to feel like its own recurring sub-genre of Dragon Ball stories. One that I could happily do without any more of, frankly. I know that much of the fandom, particularly on the Kanzenshuu-esque "Japanese version-centric" side of things finds this sort of "Kawaii slice of life" thing endlessly charming and addictive: but with all due respect, I think that all y'all are out of your fucking minds on that stuff.

Mind you, this movie is still INFINITELY better than the "Yo! Son Goku and Friends Return" Jump Special (which I maintain is basically unwatchable, vapid crap, and very near - but not at - the absolute rock bottom of Dragon Ball anime material), and that's largely thanks to Beerus and Whis as well as that killer ending. And the fighting, once it gets underway, is also largely solid stuff.

But oof, the comedy in this. Dragon Ball lives and dies on both its martial arts and its comedic sensibilities: and on the latter BoG largely faceplants, to the detriment of the former.

18) Dragon Ball Z M10: The Dangerous Duo!! Super Warriors Never Rest
I've never been a big fan of this one. Its got some INCREDIBLE bits of animation and shot composition (that one zoom-out shot of Gohan going SSJ: holy mother of fuck ), and Boo-era Gohan squaring off mano-a-mano against Broly is fun, if way too brief. And of course that final "Family Kamehameha" is downright iconic, and more than rightfully so. But the overall whole feels way too bland and pointless, padded with excessive fucking around and nature frolicking with Goten and Trunks. I'm not usually as down on the two kids as some folks around here sometimes are: but yeah, broadly-speaking, the duo's shenanigans generally leaves me bored and disinterested in this particular outing.

More Videl is always welcome at least, Gohan gets to rock my personal favorite dogi of his (the all too seldom-used deep blue and red training dogi from the early Boo material), and Kuririn randomly cosplaying as Piccolo for no apparent reason is a genuine hoot. But the whole "religious zealot village shaman" subplot never really did much for me: and that serves as our tenuous link to the next subsequent Broly sequel. Bleh. Broly fans have generally always really liked this one, even back in the olden days: but for me this is where the diminishing returns on him was already setting in. And we don't even get any more of the cool dialogue from him that we got in Z Movie 8 to boot.

19) Dragon Ball Z M15: Resurrection of F
Ugh. This one has always left a bad taste in my mouth. It certainly doesn't elicit QUITE the violent reaction in me that it has in others: largely because I'm just nowhere NEAR as emotionally invested in the Revived Dragon Ball material as most people here generally are (I sort of just passively follow it with a kind of mild bemusement). But at the same time, this movie makes SO many missteps, I almost don't know where to begin.

To start with, I've ALWAYS been iffy on bringing back Freeza in and of itself: and the movie does very little to really justify it or give it the proper amount of weight and dread that it warrants (and the lack of us getting to see any of his training also REALLY hurts things). I've made little secret of my immense distaste for the new "recolor" forms that this introduces (SSJ Blue and Golden Freeza), at least from a raw design standpoint. They signify a level or pure uncreative laziness that Dragon Ball, even at its absolute worst and least inspired, just NEVER really trafficked in before, and feel more like something out of some dumb DBZ parody than they do the real thing.

And while the big free-for-all brawl between the Z Warriors and Freeza's minions is legitimately fist-pumpingly great and a genuine highlight moment of the whole Dragon Ball Revival in general, the actual final fight between Goku Blue and Golden Freeza is just... REALLY underwhelming. There's very little in the way of creative camerawork or fight choreography (outside of the "one-inch-punch" moment, which is fucking phenomenal and something that I dearly wish was in the original Goku vs Freeza fight on Namek in Z - having it as a move for Goku in video games like FighterZ though is a good consolation prize at least): its just a mindless bash-a-thon, with the two hammering away at one another until one of them finally, unceremoniously drops. It doesn't feel brutal or visceral or leave you feeling as exhausted and spent as the two fighters (the way that something like the fights between Kenshiro and Raoh in Fist of the North Star do): its just tedious and dull in a way that the worst kinds of Dragon Ball fights can sometimes be. And also, fuck that whole "time rewind" nonsense from Whis. Totally anti-climactic and cheap.

Love the absolute hell out of those new dogi designs for Goku and Vegeta though: those are downright spectacular. We ever gonna get those as alt-skins for them in FighterZ?

20) Dragon Ball Z M11: Super-Warrior Defeat!! I’m the One Who’ll Win
This one's ALWAYS been my least favorite of the lot, and I think it still remains so to this day. On paper at least, this SHOULD be just a boatload of a fun DBZ romp. All the ingredients are there: Goten, Trunks, #18, Kuririn, and Mr. Satan versus an army of bio-engineered mutants and a melting Broly clone in a B Monster Movie-themed story? This should be the EASIEST ever slam dunk and a candyland of good times. Again, ON PAPER that is. In actual PRACTICE however... this shit is just straight up B-O-R-I-N-G and altogether lifeless. This is one case where I DEFINITELY agree with the haters (who've had it in for this movie since its original release, for altogether justified reasons).

The villains (including an old enemy of Mr. Satan's who's existence you'll immediately forget when the movie's over, and the grand return that no one asked for of that nobody shaman guy from Z Movie 10) are a total forgettable snore, and the creature designs are just a complete and utter generic miss. "Swamp Thing Broly" SOUNDS like it should be the most badass thing ever: the reality of course, is anything but. He's a bug-eyed, banana-haired total nothing villain who lacks any hint of menace or personality whatsoever. And the other bio-warriors are similarly lame and forgettably generic. The fights are all unmemorable throwaways, and about the only truly cool moment is Kuririn getting one of the single all-time BEST animated visuals for his Kienzan that he's EVER had in the entire damn franchise (a shame it goes completely to waste here).

I've always WANTED to like this one. Very, VERY much. I absolutely LOVE #18 as a character in general: I particularly love her Boo-era look, and I certainly love her comedic "loan shark" interplay with Mr. Satan (they're such a great and underrated comedy duo). Getting a whole movie focused on Boo-era #18 and Kuririn (with Goten and Trunks in tow), focusing on the former's "Where's my money Lebowski?!" relationship with Mr. Satan, and culminating in a fight against a B Horror version of Broly has absolutely NO business whatsoever being anywhere NEAR this bland and lame. One of the all-time most spectacular fumbles of a can't-miss premise that Dragon Ball's EVER had.

-------------------------------

And finally, if we counted the other misc. assorted TV specials and OVAs: then the two Z specials (for Bardock and Trunks) would both be at the tippy top of this list, the Goku Jr. GT special and the Jump "Yo! Son Goku and Friends" special would both be down near the rock bottom, and the Plan to Eradicate the Saiya-jin OVAs would be hovering somewhere within the lower-middle/bottom half (with the "remade" version substantially lower down than the originals due mainly to its vastly shittier animation).

Oh yeah, and I vaguely recall some OVA called "Episode of Bardock" or something along those lines. Yeah, remember how I said earlier that "Yo! Son Goku and Friends Return" was near but not at the absolute rock bottom of DB anime material? Well, Episode of Bardock: THAT is at the absolute-most rock bottom, and deserves nothing but venom, bile, scorn, and contempt for its mere existence.

[MadSpecialist]

DBZ 01
DBZ 02
DBZ BoG
DBZ 12
DBZ 13
DB 3
DBZ 03
DBZ 08
DBZ 09
DB 4
DBZ 05
DB 2
DB 1
DBS Broly
DBZ 06
DBZ 07
DBZ 10
DBZ 04
DBZ RoF
DBZ 11

[sunsetshimmer]

Good
-Path to Power
-Battle of Gods
-Broly Legendary Super Saiyan
-Wrath of Dragon
-Cooler's revenge
-Fusion Reborn

Mediocre
-DB movies 1-3
-Broly second coming
-Return of Cooler
-Dead Zone
-The World Strongest
-Tree of Might
-Super 13
-Bojack unbound
-Lord Slug

Bad
-DBS Broly
-Bio Broly
-Ressurection 'F'

I didn't watch most of them for a long time so it's not 100% accurate and some of mediocre movies could be placed in good.

[Lord Beerus]

Everytime I see threads like this, it always makes me revalutes (to a somewhat minor degree) how I view Dragon Ball films. Because there's always seem a new Dragon Ball film that makes change my perception of how, as a whole, the Dragon Ball films should be judged; and as such, how the Dragon Ball films compare to another always seem vary with a rewatch.

For the time being, this is how I view all the Dragon Ball films from best to worst:

1. Dragon Ball Super: Broly
This films is everything wonderful about Dragon Ball distilled into 101 minutes.

Broly rebooted character is excellent. He's a wonderfully nuanced character that exuberates a Tarzan-like character that makes him endearing, Cheelai and Lemo with work well as foils to Broly, Paragus managed to walk the fine like of being the antagonist but also sympathetic enough to root for him, and Freeza played his role as the chessmaster excellently, Sumitomo's score was fantastic and the animation, direction and storyboarding are exceptional.

The film has its flaws though. Thematically speaking, the movie is quite undeveloped and conflicted with itself, Freeza’s wish was very fucking stupid and out of character, the CGI sticks out like a sore thumb and the inclusion of Dragon Ball Minus brings nothing to table plot-wise, creates more confusion with the movies chronology and is just bad in itself as content in Dragon Ball in general.

The issues aren't enough to drag the down movie as whole. It's a wonderful, if pretty isolated, sidestory that is narratively palpable and technically magnificent.

2. Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Gods
This movie was the shot in the arm that Dragon Ball desperately needed at the time. It takes Dragon Ball back to a period 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 well very rounded characters and the Z-Fighters in general displayed a whimsical 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.

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.

It's such a shame the fight scenes suck, the artystles is so unappealing and the direction is so fucking flat, otherwise this movie would top the list for me.

3. Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Won't Do It, Who Will?!/Wrath Of The Dragon
Dragon Ball movies in general don't spent so much time on characterisation, but this movie the thrives in that department with Tapion and Kid Trunks.Trunks' relationship with Tapion developed exceptionally well. I honestly feel this movie did more develop Trunks' character than 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.

This movie takes its time to expand the new introduced lore and provide the world building it needs to make the events of the story moving 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. The animation and art direction are also is stunning, and it's no surprise given this movie was produced around the time when Tadayoshi Yamamuro peaked as a character designer and animator. 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 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.

4. Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest Guy
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. It's 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* Bonus points for this film having the only instance in all of Dragon Ball where Goku, Krillin and Roshi teaming up to take on a common enemy

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.

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.

5. Dragon Ball Z: The Rebirth of Fusion!! Goku and Vegeta/Fusion Reborn
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 film also represents the absolute peak of Tadayoshi Yamamuro's visual flair. No Dragon Ball movie, until Dragon Ball Super Broly, looked this good. The big problem with this film is that Janemba is a very flat villain and an obvious expy of Majin Boo. Despite that, this movie is a fucking blast.

6. Dragon Ball: Mystical Great Adventure
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 and effective 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 previous Dragon Ball movie, but also works a great setup for the movie itself by giving the viewer an idea of what's already 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.

7. Dragon Ball Z: Burn Up!! A Red-Hot, Raging, Super-Fierce Fight/The Legendary Super Saiyan
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. 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. Dragon Ball Z: The Galaxy at the Brink!! The Super Incredible Guy/Bojack Unbound
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. 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 story.

9. Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle
It's astonishing how much a minor subplot could be exploited in such a grandiose fashion. The movie 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. This movie has one my favourite gags in all of Dragon Ball when Goku saves 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.

If there is 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 very rarely does -- and a well utilised cast, and honestly, I think this movie is superior to the material it adapts. It's a wonderful blend of comedy, action and horror that really encompases the unique charm and flavour Dragon Ball can offer.

10. Dragon Ball Z: Return My Gohan!!/The Dead Zone
This is one the few DBZ movie that has a plot that is more than one dimensional. 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.

11. Dragon Ball Z: The Incredible Mightiest vs the Mightiest/Coolers Revenge
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.

Another 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.

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.

12. Dragon Ball Z: The Ultimate Decisive Battle for Earth/The Tree Of Might
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 his evil and malevolent personality.

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. 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 afterward.

13. Dragon Ball: The Path to Ultimate Strength/The Path to Power
I find this 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. There have already been three Dragon Ball movies which have covered the ground that this movie 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 HUGE visual facelift, and more of an independant 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. 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 isn't inherently basic and somewhat cookie-cutter. But there was that unique 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 particularly good or particularly bad, it's just feels so redundant. At least Akihito Tokunaga's score is excellent.

14. Dragon Ball: The Legend of Shenlong/Curse of the Blood Rubies
There unfortunately isn't much to write home with this movie. It's, for ali 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. The pacing is also terrible. Nearly half the movie is spent just introducing the main characters (Goku, Bulma, Yamcha, Puar, Roshi etc.), and because of that, any kind of plot development feels very rushed and mostly unsatisfying. 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.

15. Dragon Ball Z Fukkatsu no F/Resurrection F
Oh God, there's so much wrong with this movie:
- The ridiculous the teased plotpoint of whether Vegeta would turn on Goku at Freeza's request
- The off-base lessons Whis tries to instill into Goku and Vegeta when he's training them
- The lack of any kind of real overarching goal
- Freeza becoming a strong as Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Goku and Vegeta in 4 months of off-screen training
- The retarded 1.3 million line
- The incredibly anticlimactic and poorly handled ending

But 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 Battle Of Gods 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.

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... a lot of this film just feel so uncreative. As a standalone 94 minute animated movie, it's bad. Very bad. I mean, it's a tolerable enough Dragon Ball Z movie in its own self-contained regard. But even then, when 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 really is the kind of film that you really shouldn't think about too deeply about. Because if you do, major parts of this movie falls apart. The only thing keeping this movie from being lower on the list is the Earthlings smacking around Freeza's ragtag army in a genuinely kickass fight sequence and Goku's One Inch Punch. That shit was awesome.

16. Dragon Ball Z: The Dangerous Duo! Super-Warriors Can’t Rest/Broly - Second Coming
This movie is such a rollercoaster, and for all the wrong reasons. This movie is 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". 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. 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.

17. Dragon Ball Z: Super-Warrior Defeat!! I’m the One Who’ll Win/Bio-Broly
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 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. And when you have Majin Boo era #18 (the most hilarious incarnation of the character in my opinion), Mr Satan, Goten and Trunks at your disposal and THAT is best you can get out of those ingredient for a movie, that's just disgraceful.

18. Dragon Ball Z: Clash!! The Power of 10 Billion Warriors/The Return Of Cooler
Right off the bat, the premise of this film pissess me off bigtime. 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.

The movie is also ugly The animation get very rough in several scene. I don't know what the fuck was going on behind the scenes for shit to get as bad as it did in this film, but, holy shit, this film became a real eyesore at time.

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, and eventual victory over Metal Cooler all the more satisfying.

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.

19. Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Battle!! The Three Great Super Saiyans/Super Android 13
This movie blows. The fights are stale, the animation is subpar, the antagonists are flat characters and the use of the non-Saiyan characters is appalling. 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 its character design. And this movie and DBZ Movie 6 were caught in the middle of this. Goku getting punched in a dick the highpoint of this movie, I mean, is that not indicative of the quality of this movie or what?

20. Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiyan Son Goku/Lord Slug
This movie offends me on so many levels.

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 bland as fuck. 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. 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, resulting 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 movie that (falsely) advertises Super Saiyan Son Goku, but ultimately that's all it has going for it.

Fuck this deceptive piece of shit movie.

[MajinMan]

This is my list without the TV specials

1. DBS Movie - Broly
2. DBZ Movie 14 - Battle of Gods
3. Db Movie 3 - Mystical Adventure
4. DBZ Movie 12 - Fusion Reborn
5. DBZ Movie 13 - Dragon Fist Explosion
6. DBZ Movie 3 - Tree of Might
7. DBZ Movie 1 - Garlic Jr.
8. DB Movie 2 - Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle
9. DBZ Movie 15 - Resurrection F
10. DBZ Movie 9 - Bojack
11. DBZ Movie 2 - World’s Strongest
12. DB Movie 4 - Path to Power
13. DBZ Movie 5 - Coola
14. DBZ Movie 8 - OG Broly
15. DBZ Movie 10 - OG Broly 2
16. DBZ Movie 6 - Metal Coola
17. DBZ Movie 4 - Super Saiyan Son Goku
18. DB Movie 1 - Legend of Shenlong
19. DBZ Movie 11 - OG Broly 3
20. DBZ Movie 7 - Three Super Saiyans


This is my list with the TV specials

1. TV Special - Bardock the Father of Goku
2. DBS Movie - Broly
3. DBZ Movie 14 - Battle of Gods
4. Db Movie 3 - Mystical Adventure
5. DBZ Movie 12 - Fusion Reborn
6. DBZ Movie 13 - Dragon Fist Explosion
7. TV Special - Future Trunks
8. DBZ Movie 3 - Tree of Might
9. DBZ Movie 1 - Garlic Jr.
10. DB Movie 2 - Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle
11. DBZ Movie 15 - Resurrection F
12. DBZ Movie 9 - Bojack
13. DBZ Movie 2 - World’s Strongest
14. DB Movie 4 - Path to Power
15. TV Special - Yo Son Goku and his Friends Return
16. DBZ Movie 5 - Coola
17. DBZ Movie 8 - OG Broly
18. TV Special - Heroes Legacy (GT)
19. DBZ Movie 10 - OG Broly 2
20. DBZ Movie 6 - Metal Coola
21. DBZ Movie 4 - Super Saiyan Son Goku
22. DB Movie 1 - Legend of Shenlong
23. DBZ Movie 11 - OG Broly 3
24. TV Special (?) - Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans
25. DBZ Movie 7 - Three Super Saiyans
26. TV Special (?) - Episode of Bardock (Super Saiyan)

[Cursed Lemon]

In my opinion, Super Broly should be at the top of every list.

Meanwhile, it is objectively true that Broly 2nd Coming should be at the bottom of every list.