General Information

Movie Premiere & Promotion

The movie premiered as part of the 1992 Summer “Toei Anime Fair” (東映アニメフェア; Tōei Anime Fea) on 11 July 1992, along with two other movies from the Dragon Quest and Rokudenashi Blues series. The event originated from the “Toei Manga Festival” that was established by Toei in 1969 as a way to showcase their popular children’s series as theatrical films during seasonal breaks in the school year. In Japan, almost all schools below the university level run a three-term school year (trimester system) with a vacation period of several weeks to a month at the end of each trimester: spring vacation, summer vacation, and winter vacation. The movies were screened together back-to-back in various cities across Japan, with a typical total running time of roughly three hours. Most festivals would last roughly one month, or as long as the seasonal vacation allowed. Tickets could be purchased at the theater, or discount tickets could be purchased in advance which covered the cost of admission, as well as a bonus item such as a promotional pamphlet describing the featured movies, and various other special presents, such as posters, paper hats, cards, and toys. Additional items, including the official theatrical pamphlet and a variety of other commemorative goods, were available for purchase at cinemas or by mail during this period.

Following the movie’s premiere, a “Summer Vacation Special” was broadcast on Fuji TV in an hour-long time slot to promote the movie. Hosted by the tuxedo-clad duo of Goku and Gohan, the special featured a compilation of footage, much like a clip show, from the movies up through Dragon Ball Z movie 7.

Franchise Timeline

At the time of the movie’s premiere, both the Dragon Ball manga and Dragon Ball Z TV series were in the midst of the Artificial Humans story arc. In the manga, Cell had just absorbed No. 18 and was transforming into his perfect form, whereas in the animated adaptation Goku and Gohan had just entered the Room of Spirit and Time to train while Piccolo began his battle with No. 17 in hopes of destroying even one of the artificial humans in order to prevent Cell from reaching his perfect form.

On 01 July 1992, just prior to the movie’s premiere, Shueisha published the film animation comic for the franchise’s previous movie. The comic features a six-page section covering the current events and newly introduced characters of the Dragon Ball Z TV series, including a look at the Red Ribbon Army and the various artificial humans created by Doctor Gero. For promotional purposes, the section also includes a small half-page segment showcasing Nos. 13, 14, and 15, artificial humans set to appear in the “upcoming” summer theatrical film.

Home Video Release

Up until the Dragon Box DVD sets began being released in the early 2000s, the only Dragon Ball properties released to home video in Japan were the original seventeen theatrical films, most of which were available on VHS, LaserDisc, and 8mm film reels. These home video releases were a luxury for most fans, as they came at a rather high price point for the time. They were later re-released in the late-1990s to replace the then out-of-print VHS tapes with a lower price point and slightly alternate covers.

After releasing the entirety of the three Dragon Ball TV series, Toei released their fifth and final “Dragon Box”, which was entitled “Dragon Box The Movies”. The Dragon Box contained all seventeen original Dragon Ball movies presented in their theatrical 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. As a special bonus for the movie’s first DVD release, Toei dug through their vaults and included some of the movie’s original promotional material.

Following the “Dragon Box”, Toei began releasing each movie individually on DVD. To help promote the sale of movie individual discs, Shueisha handed out a free promotional DVD highlighting the releases at Jump Festa 2009. The DVD contained promotional trailers for each movie which were narrated by veteran Dragon Ball cast member Shigeru Chiba, the voice of such notable characters as Pilaf, Garlic Jr. (TV series), and Raditz. More information about the promotional DVD is available in our “Home Video Guide”.

In July 2018, the original seventeen theatrical films were released on Japanese Netflix and Amazon Prime streaming services. The addition of the movies themselves was heavily promoted throughout social media, however it was not announced or promoted at the time that they were actually new, high-definition remasters of the films scanned, and subsequently remastered, from the original film negatives. Shortly thereafter on 09 August 2018, Toei Animation formally announced the release of these newly-remastered versions of the movies across eight Blu-ray volumes. All non-credit versions of the opening and endings included with the release are up-converts of those originally included on the original LaserDisc releases and all bonus promotional materials (trailers, digests, etc.) are presented in their original standard definition format as included in the Dragon Box release.

Movie Synopsis

Characters, Items, & Settings

The following original character profiles were translated from Daizenshuu 6, with character designs from the respective guide’s “Library of Adventure” section. Additional character design comments from the movie’s character designer, Minoru Maeda, have also been included as published in the “Design Lab” section of the “Dragon Box The Movies” Dragon Book.

• Artificial Human No. 13 (人造人間１３号; jinzōningen jūsan-gō)
  Serves the role of leader. His special attack is the energy bullet S.S. Deadly Bomber and can transform by absorbing parts from Nos. 14 and 15. His final form is “Merged No. 13”.

  The enemies this time were all Toriyama-sensei’s designs. I was amazed every time at the abundance of characters Sensei could pull out of thin air.
   — Minoru Maeda

  
• Artificial Human No. 14 (人造人間１４号; jinzōningen jūshi-gō)
  A silent and expressionless warrior. He has enough precision and enormous power to stop Trunks’ sword with only two fingers.
  
• Artificial Human No. 15 (人造人間１５号; jinzōningen jūgo-gō)
  Fights as a combo with No. 14. He is equipped with a barrier. His specialty seems to be enemy analysis.
  

Akira Toriyama Character Design

While not contributing to the movie’s story development, original author Akira Toriyama provided original character designs for the three artificial humans, which were later printed in the “Gallery of Akira Toriyama” section of Daizenshuu 6. The section notes that at the time of Akira Toriyama’s designs the names of Nos. 14 and 15 were reversed. However, the two names were later swapped by the animation staff for unspecified story development reasons. These designs were later reprinted in the “Dragon Box The Movies” Dragon Book, Chōzenshū 3, and the 30th anniversary Chōshishū –Super History Book–. While Chōzenshū 3 is a near identical reprint of Daizenshuu 6, the other guides featured new full-color versions of No. 13 that had never previously been published.

Items

The following item details were translated from the “Item Dictionary” section of Daizenshuu 7:

• Doctor Gero’s Computer (ドクター・ゲロのコンピュータ; dokutā gero no konpyūta)
  A large computer in Gero’s laboratory. Inheriting the dead Gero’s hatred, it created Artificial Humans No. 13, No. 14, and No. 15 with the sole purpose of killing Goku.
• Computer Chips and Energy Reactors (コンピュータチップ＆動力炉; konpyūta chippu ando dōryoku-ro)
  Artificial Human No. 13 absorbed the chips and power generators from the destroyed No. 14 and No. 15. He then transformed, achieving a super power-up.

Settings

The events of the movie take place on Earth, primarily in its northern region. The map below represents the locations in general chronological order of these events, from Doctor Gero’s death in his laboratory to the great battle in the northern glacial region.

• Doctor Gero’s Laboratory Basement (ドクター・ゲロの研究所の地下室; dokutā gero no kenkyūjo no chikashitsu)
  While the basement of Doctor Gero’s laboratory was established in the series proper, according to Daizenshuu 7 this is a separate basement where Artificial Human No. 13 and the others were manufactured by another computer. The laboratory is located in the the north central area, classified in Daizenshuu 4 as “Area A-3”.
• West City (西の都; nishi no miyako)
  A large city located in the western portion of the central region, classified as “Area B-2” in Daizenshuu 4. It is home to Capsule Corporation, and is considered the most technologically and scientifically advanced city in the world. Goku and the others are spending the day shopping and eating in the city when the artificial humans first appear. While the city itself is not referred to by name in the movie proper, it is identified in the movie’s summary in Daizenshuu 6.
• Northern Glacial Region (北の氷河地帯; kita no hyōga chitai)
  A freezing wasteland with steep cliffs of ice located somewhere in Earth’s northern region. Its exact location is unknown, but is likely located in the colder northern region west of Doctor Gero’s laboratory in “Area A-3”. It is possible that this region is located east of the laboratory, however Kuririn is shown flying over a large body of water after leaving West City to follow Goku and the artificial humans, which would only be possible if the glacial region was located to the laboratory’s west. The straight-line distance from West City to the area east of the laboratory is also farther than to the area to the west, and it seems unlikely that Goku would fly any farther than he had to in order to resume their battle.

General Notes

• Daizenshuu 6 classifies this movie as an event that likely occurred in a world parallel to the original story, explaining:
  

  The time period can be inferred from the fact that Doctor Gero is exterminated during the course of the film, and that Gohan cannot yet become a Super Saiyan. However, at that time frame Goku was either passed out from his contagious disease or in the middle of training in the Room of Spirit and Time. It could be said that these are the events of a parallel world.
   — “Dragon Ball Daizenshuu 6: Movies & TV Specials” (p. 96)

• The title page for Dragon Ball Chapter 367 features a history diagram showcasing the various artificial humans developed by Doctor Gero. In the description for Nos. 9 thru 15, the page specifically notes that Nos. 13, 14, and 15 are “nearly complete”. This is in contrast to No. 18’s earlier statement in chapter 350, where she notes that every artificial human up thru No. 15 had been disposed of by Doctor Gero. For reference, chapter 350 was published on 19 November 1991, roughly 8 months prior to the movie’s premiere and even 4 months before the premiere of Dragon Ball Z Movie 6. In comparison, chapter 367 was published on 31 March 1992, presumably during the movie’s production.
• This movie marks the first appearance of Trunks (adult) in a theatrical film, who first appeared in the manga roughly a year prior to the movie’s release in late-June 1991.
• The swimsuit event that Oolong and Kame-Sen’nin are attending at the mall in West City is titled the “Miss ‘World’s Most Exceptionally Beautiful Woman’ Pageant” (ミスこの世で一番べっぴん世界大会).
• Although this movie was presented in a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio in theaters, it was actually animated in a 4:3 fullscreen format. In fact, when the movie was initially released in 1993 on VHS and LaserDisc, it was presented in this 4:3 fullscreen format. However, the “Dragon Box The Movies” release would later drop this format, instead presenting all of the movies in their original widescreen theatrical format. Overall, this movie has been released to the home market on VHS, LaserDisc, 8mm film reel, DVD, and Blu-ray.
• The movie was eventually adapted and released by Shueisha as a film animation comic in March 1993, and subsequently re-released under Shueisha’s “Jump Remix” line in July 2004.

Name Puns

• The “Animation’s Gleanings” section of the Supplemental Daizenshuu notes that the naming of the artificial humans began with No. 13, but that they all follow the straight-forward sequential naming scheme of prior artificial humans.
  

  No. 13 was named for the point that 13 is an unlucky number, and also a number of an Artificial Human that did not appear in the original manga. Nos. 14 and 15 have that same concept.
   — “Dragon Ball Supplemental Daizenshuu: TV Animation Part 3” (p. 68)

Musical Score

The orchestral score for this film, as with all Dragon Ball Z TV series background music, was composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi. It was recorded on 18 June 1992 at AVACO Studios in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture; pieces recorded for the film are designated by the numbering M14xx, where xx stands for the ordering of the track within the film itself. Certain pieces of this music have been made available on three CD releases:

• The first Ongakushū (“Background Music Collection”) volume was originally released on 21 August 1992 and re-released under the budget-priced ANIMEX 1200 series on 22 September 2004.
• The five-disc Daizenshū collection released on 01 April 1994, with the fifth disc specifically containing movie background music up through Dragon Ball Z Movie 9.
• The three-disc Dragon Ball Z BGM Collection was released on 22 February 2006 and contains an expanded selection of Dragon Ball Z TV series and movie background music than originally featured on the Daizenshū set.

The table below outlines all of the musical pieces used in the film, and which (if any) CD releases contain said music. Most Dragon Ball background music collections compile multiple pieces of music into a single track (or suite); as such, individual pieces tend to not have their own unique titles, but rather exclusively have catalog numbers. The CD listings below indicate which disc (if applicable), which specific track, and which individual piece within that track’s suite of music is that scene’s corresponding background music.

Following each film’s theatrical run, its musical score was eventually incorporated into the TV series to supplement the show’s existing catalog of background music. The first episode of Dragon Ball Z to feature music composed for this film was episode 161, which plays as Vegeta continuously attacks Perfect Cell high up into the sky. As with other films’ musical scores, some pieces would go on to become synonymous with a specific character or scene within the TV series. For instance, much of the music used during Gohan and Cell’s Kamehameha struggle at the end of the Cell Games comes exclusively from this film’s musical score. Not only was the film’s musical score utilized throughout much of the Cell arc, but it remained in frequent use through the remainder of the TV series.

Ending Theme Song

As with most of the preceding Dragon Ball Z movies, this movie features an exclusive ending theme song with vocals from singer Hironobu Kageyama. Titled “On the Brink –The World at its Utter Limit–”, the theme song was written by Chiho Kiyo’oka and arranged by Kenji Yamamoto, with lyrics provided by Dai Satō. In addition to the main vocals from Hironobu Kageyama, supporting vocals are provided by singer Yuka Satō, who is known primarily by her stage name, “YUKA”. The song was first released as part of the Dragon Ball Z Hit Song Collection 11 album on 01 July 1992, just prior to the movie’s premiere. It has since been released on multiple albums and compilation sets.

Movie Credits

All credits listed below are as originally presented in the theatrical film. All original credit errors have been corrected to maintain accurate spellings throughout the site. For more information and a complete listing of the series staff, visit the Production Guide.

Cast Credits

The cast credits are listed in order of character importance within the series. For more detailed information about the series cast, visit the Cast Guide.

Opening Credits

Ending Credits

おわり

The End

© TOEI ANIMATION STUDIO 1992