How the Hell is Broly so popular?!

[SRB2Unleashed]

As you guys know, Broly is one of if not the main factor (besides filler) that's responsible for Dragon Ball's negative stereotypes. I always assumed his fanbase originated from a movie airing of the first and maybe 2nd Broly movie(s) on Toonami but then I discovered...the Broly movies never aired on Toonami. So out of curiosity, why IS Broly so popular with DBZ fans? Do you guys have any feedback and opinions on why Broly is such a huge character?

[Hellspawn28]

I think the video game intros made fans think that Broly could go head to head with Gogeta. When reality speaking that Broly would get own by a single attack from SSj3 Goku. It only took Gohan and Goten (Or Goku if you really think that he was there helping out) to stop him which is nothing special.

[Super Sonic]

Well, I remember before the movies with him came out, seeing merchandise with him, but didn't know who he was to avoid spoilers. There might have been some hype to see him when they came out. And while I don't talk to any girls about this, he might also be popular due to his va having lots of fangirls.

[dprez]

Because he is the "Legendary Super Saiyan" and his power increases constantly.

[Chibi Gohan]

His title and design are what I think makes him popular... despite him having an empty, uninteresting personality with a dumb grudge against Goku, because he made him cry.

[Beji]

It is because of all of the assumptions. People like that the character is a "tank" with power that is constantly rising. The lack of pupils makes him look like an intimidating character it doesn't matter in reality what his power level is people just like think the character is, in the movies, an unstoppable juggernaut. I don't think any other character in a Movie showed such a gap in power by throwing multiple Saiyans through buildings and making their attacks seem useless. It was probably that kind of thing that gave him his popularity. The "his power is maximum" thing is also something that made his character referred to more.

[FNF]

The Japanese fanbase adored him and it seemed to stem out into the western fanbase. That's all there is to it really. Just look at the way he is idolized in current video games for example.

[Scarz]

And while I don't talk to any girls about this, he might also be popular due to his va having lots of fangirls.

As a DB fangirl I can tell you that there's not a lot a girls who are into Broly. At least not among the circle of friends I used to hang out with. Broly was really popular with the guys. I remember getting the bootleg video with all three Broly movies and my friends flipped out. I never heard of Broly at the time but they did and told me he's the greatest Saiyan in the entire DB universe.

I watched the first movie and I really liked it. Eventually I gave into the Broly hype. I thought he was really cool but after a few years I realized there was nothing really special about him. He had muscles larger than his face and screamed "Kakarotto!" a lot. No real personality other than the fact that he's probably mentally fucked.

I don't believe Broly was popular because of the gaming cutscenes. He was popular way before than. I think it was because he was a new "legendary" super Saiyan at the time that could kick everybody's ass and to a kid, especially a young teenage boy (or girl) that was pretty awesome.

[OzzyApu]

I admit, around 1999/2000 when I first started getting into DBZ, Broly intrigued me quite a bit. I didn't have that great of an internet connection and what little I saw of him made him out to be the villain to end all villains. Big, bulky, and retarded as hell. With no other redeeming factors to his personality, he ends up being quite the anomaly when it comes to having a fan base as big as it is, I guess. Watched his first movie, and I didn't like it. Saw the second, and I liked it even less than the first. Saw the third and it didn't even need to have him in it. He's like Kid Boo, but for Saiyans.

He's a big dumb lug with maybe one cool attack (that green energy ball that warps light when it quickly charges - "Eraser Cannon"?).

[dbboxkaifan]

He's angry, tall, muscled, spouts crap, screams, fanboys think he's the strongest warrior.

Kinda reminds of Hulk.

[Makaioshin]

He stands out as being the only villain Super Saiyan, which is probably the main reason behind his popularity and selling point of the movie. He is a brick wall character which isn't that rare in Dragon Ball , especially the movies, but he also lacks a villainous breakdown seen with every other villain. No pain. No fear. One reason people dislike Broly is because he doesn't talk but that is also part of his appeal. He doesn't waste time and goes right to the fight. Of course, Broly isn't really that different from Super 13 except that Broly has a much better character design.
As for me, I kinda like him. He is just Dragon Ball's Bolo Yeung.

[TripleRach]

Broli was definitely popular long before FUNimation had released any of his movies, or any modern games featuring him. I bought the DBZ Movie 8 DVD when FUNi first released it (2002? 2003?), and I remember I had high expectations for it because I'd been hearing the Broli hype for so long. And then I was very disappointed.

But fansubs of the movies were pretty easy to find in the old days, much more so than the TV episodes. Lots of people apparently saw the movies that way, and then word of mouth from that trickled down to others and created this big fascination with Broli and the other late movie villains. People also loved to talk about Janenba and Hildegarn long before FUNimation released those movies (2005? 2006?), too. But I suppose Broli stuck out more because of his "Legendary Super Saiyan" title.

Also, wasn't he the one that said something like "I'm not a monster. I'm the devil!"? I remember that line was really popular.

[Super Sonic]

He's angry, tall, muscled, spouts crap, screams, fanboys think he's the strongest warrior.

Kinda reminds of Hulk.

Your saying that reminded me of this vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKPJXLZfpZQ

[Super Sayian Prime]

This image sealed his infamy to me:

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

I don't like the character but I'm a fan of the first Broly movie. The reason I've always liked that movie was because of the fight choreography. Most specifically, the uppercut Broly gives Trunks where you can actually hear like teeth clench. I still get goosebumps when I hear it. After the first movie though, any sort of love for the character dies completely. When he was first introduced he was kind of a fun concept. The out of control Doomsday(Superman reference for those who don't know) character with a mental disorder and a dark childhood. It's kind of a sad story when you really think about; it's not deep, but tragic none the less. The first movie was fun, and even if you don't like Broly it's worth watching at least once...after that though it's just lame.

[samuraix123]

This image sealed his infamy to me:

Haha that picture made me laugh
But in the beginning I liked Broly he was a freaking tank but I don't like how people have built him up like he's an unstoppable force. but when Goku blasted him with the Kamehameha blast in movie 1 I was like

[Kingdom Heartless]

Despite how he was handled post-transformation, I liked the character of Broly in Movie 8. It was interesting having a completely harmless looking guy around that you knew was eventually going to start kicking butt. I like how it is a case of the Saiyan's demons coming back to haunt them, and reinforcing how much of a bastard their race was, rather than a race to be pitied.

I don't dislike Broly at all. However, I do consider him to be something of a missed opportunity. I feel that they could have given him more depth, and he could have been a truly awesome (and sympathetic, which would have been a rarity in Dragon Ball) villain.

[DarkPrince_92]

Broly, even though I do take a liking to him, he just reminds me of an overhyped WWE wrestler. All screams and muscles, but at the end of the day loses to the little guy (like WWE's fake ass fights).

[samuraix123]

Well you can kinda feel sympathy for him a little bit. sure he's evil, but can you really blame him and paragus for wanting to get revenge on King Vegeta and his son after what King Vegeta did to them?

[Makaioshin]

Well you can kinda feel sympathy for him a little bit. sure he's evil, but can you really blame him and paragus for wanting to get revenge on King Vegeta and his son after what King Vegeta did to them?

Maybe sympathy for Paragus but not for Broly. Paragus wanted revenge. Broly was just a destructive force that was controlled by Paragus and hated Goku.