Dragon Ball Super: Broly Review
PG: Prolonged frenetic sequences of action and violence, and for language
Funimation Films, Toei Company, 20th Century Fox
1 Hr and 41 Minutes
Dir: Tatsuya Nagamine | Writer: Akira Toriyama
Voice Cast: Sean Schemmel. Christopher Sabat. Vic Mignogna, Sonny Strait, Christopher Ayres, Jason Douglas, Ian Sinclair, Monica Rial, Emily Neves
Release Date: January 16th 2019
A planet destroyed, a powerful race reduced to nothing. After the devastation of Planet Vegeta, three Saiyans were scattered among the stars, destined for different fates. While two found a home on Earth, the third was raised with a burning desire for vengeance and developed an unbelievable power. And the time for revenge has come. Destinies collide in a battle that will shake the universe to its very core. Goku is back to training hard so he can face the most powerful foes the universes have to offer, and Vegeta is keeping up right beside him. But when they suddenly find themselves against an unknown Saiyan, they discover a terrible, destructive force.
When Akira Toriyama developed Super, it became evident that his writing as a storyteller had improved immensely. Most of that is notable in Broly. An unexpected aspect that I really loved was the first act which develops the origin of Broly and also goes in depth with Vegeta and Goku’s stories. The drama surrounding the Saiyan race bears many resemblances to Man of Steel (I guess I now know why many fanboys always pit the two against each other) but it’s written far stronger, even more so than any aspects of the original Broly movies. He never appeared in the Super series and is now confirmed as canon. This was a perfect chance to wipe the slate clean of stupidity and thankfully they did. Since this was a character/antagonist that had the dumbest motivation for revenge ever, Toriyama has now developed him into a very emotionally resonating character more so than just another average antagonist. Besides Broly becoming canon, there are a few other appearances that surprisingly confirm many fan favorites in the ever expanding Super universe. The film adds welcoming character developments to Vegeta and Goku where they finally get to work together as friends instead of bickering as they usually do.
As usual, the animation is incredible. The fighting sequences are frantically fast paced and what keeps it so exciting is the fluid movement and the line art. The way lineart is utilized in the outlines of the characters’ expressions, especially in their pupils, makes the film feel so engaging and fun. The action sequences are visually captivating and keep you on the edge of your seat. We don’t get 2D animation like this in theaters anymore, especially a film that plays with size and scale. For a DBS movie, there is brilliant framework throughout. During the fight between Broly and Goku there is a long tracking shot that starts off wide but turns into a POV and the fast-paced energy makes it so damn fun. Even the basic transformations we’re all familiar with are presented in a badass way. Through the direction of Tatsuya Nagamine and the Toei animation team, their valiant effort makes for sufficient proof that 2D animation can still thrive and make for fun theatrical viewing. Just saying, if Dragon Ball Super: Broly proves to be the reason behind the resurgence of theatrical 2D animation in theaters, then I am here for it.
Back in 2015, I walked into Dragon Ball Super: Resurrection F which was my introduction to the Dragon Ball Super franchise. All I knew was that Frieza was back with a new form, and me being the son of a weeb, I had to see it. My dad loved DBZ and I was raised up on it. The series is America's most beloved (and basic) anime. Surprisingly, the movie was one of the best theater experiences I’ve ever had in my life. Because of the film being such a fun time, it got me back into DB with open arms for a brief time. I enjoyed Dragon Ball Super, but after they did the Battle of Gods tournament saga, I fell off and moved on to a new anime that got my full attention.
Walking into Dragon Ball Super: Broly an entire 100 episodes behind proves one major thing that I will advise to anyone who has fallen off the series: DON’T GO INTO THIS MOVIE BLIND! If you have fallen off DBS at one point, do yourself a favor and finish the series before seeing this. Unlike the other two previous releases that are non-canonical, this film is not a one and done film like Battle of the Gods and Resurrection F. This is a follow up to all 130 episodes of Dragon Ball Super and if you miss any sagas from the series, you’ll be as lost as I was. Once the film time jumps to the present, they just let you know, yeah Vegeta impregnated Bulma again and FRIEZA IS BACK?!
The best way to describe Frieza’s role this time around is to compare it to Ken Watanabe in Godzilla because he pretty much just says:
His role is a bit smaller this time around as he’s just the prick who plays the conductor of chaos, setting Broly loose on Goku and Vegeta for his (and the audience’s) viewing pleasure. Plus, there are waaaay too many characters introduced in this movie and, while they do provide well-written newbies, it felt a bit too overstuffed for a movie.
The video game company Bandai Namco has a production credit and it shows whenever the film tries to incorporate 3D for the bigger budgeted blasts because it looks cheap. Whenever the film utilizes CGI, the animation just looks like cutscenes ripped out of the game Dragon Ball FighterZ. It won’t bother viewers since it might fly over their heads, but it didn’t fly over me. They already had incredible 2D, there was no need to use CGI.
There are times when the MPAA doesn’t give a shit about their ratings and this is one of those cases because Broly is so damn violent yet bears a PG rating. Vegeta calls Goku a dumbass several times and I’m sitting there thinking, wow they really let this slip with a PG rating. So ballsy, MPAA. The film shows ruthless on-screen deaths throughout, including a mass genocide of an entire planet, but I guess because it’s animated and there’s not much blood shown, it gets a pass.
One of the rating classifications is for prolonged frenetic sequences of action and violence and boy are the action sequences prolonged. Because the film never takes a breather, you feel moments of fatigue as it becomes about damn near indestructible characters punching each other taking little to no damage. The animation is cool and makes it fun, but it does wear out its welcome after a while.
Fast-paced, action-packed, and develops upon the series it’s based on, Dragon Ball Super: Broly packs one kamehameha of a good time. This one’s for you weebs.
Rating: 3.5/5 | 72%
Super Scene:
