It’s hard to believe that it’s been FOUR YEARS since Toei Animation rocked everyone’s butts off by finishing Dragon Ball Super on the explosive high of Jiren vs. Goku in the Tournament of Power, and then followed it up with the best piece of Dragon Ball anything in decades, the Broly film, in the same year! And while the Dragon Ball anime slumbered, the fans waited impatiently for something to be announced… The show and movie ended on such a brilliant open note, the series could go anywhere, and now we finally know what’s next, and it looks amazing! (Though probably not at all like anyone was expecting).
To get the most obvious thing out of the way, Super Hero is going to be the first fully 3D animated feature in Dragon Ball’s history, which has been very divisive, given the extremely hit-or-miss nature of 3D in anime. Sometimes you get a Land of the Lustrous or Lupin III: The First, other times you get EX-ARM. It’s hard to draw a comparison to their older CG work, because this is really the first one Toei is doing like this, we can only compare it to the other Dragon Ball films, which are very hit or miss… It’s not a roll of the dice though, it comes down to talent and skillful execution, as we’ve seen with studios like Kamikaze Douga (Batman Ninja, The Duel, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure), and Orange (Beastars). So how good do the Super Hero graphics look? Really good to be honest! The CG in Broly was already a really impressive feat, in fact they probably tricked you with it a couple of times, because characters would seamlessly transition mid-shot from 3D to 2D, but the Super Hero CG is, based on what we’ve seen in trailers, better than even that!
Also, considering where Broly left off, the storyline of this new movie is a massive left turn, but we are completely here for it! Wisely, this story is putting Goku and Vegeta to one side, in favour of a Piccolo and Gohan story! This is something the series desperately needs, since Dragon Ball has pretty much become the ‘Goku and Vegeta Show’ these days. It’s been ages since the side characters got any love at all!
Gohan and Piccolo are a really good pairing of characters to see more of too; their dynamic has been very fun to watch since Piccolo trained kid Gohan to fight the Saiyans, gave teenage Gohan a replica of his own gi to fight Cell, and finally became more of a friend and former teacher to adult Gohan. Both of them have changed a lot since they were first introduced, and despite the obnoxiously incorrect “Goku is a bad dad, Piccolo is Gohan’s real dad” takes, Piccolo is like a surrogate father, and we’re keen to see more of that relationship!
They’ve also been massively shafted by the series since DBZ ended, so more of them would be great. Akira Toriyama coming back as the lead writer and reportedly having a “really big hand” in all aspects of the story is super encouraging too! Not to mention the introduction of new looks for the central characters…
This is also the first time in 30-something years that characters have really aged in Dragon Ball! Fans have been asking for Goten and Trunks to age-up for decades, and they’re finally teenagers in this movie! It is a small thing but a change to the status-quo of DB that doesn’t involve a new transformation is very welcome! The last time we saw a character really age was in Dragon Ball GT, which of course, ISN’T CANON.
The story of this new film is also very reminiscent of another older part of Dragon Ball, which brings us to another point! There is so much here that’s reminiscent of original Dragon Ball! The original series, from 1986 to 1989, is the best part of the anime BY FAR (it’s not even a close race), and this new movie is leaning into it a lot! The Red Ribbon Army are finally back as the main villains, a group we haven’t seen since Kid Goku defeated Commander Red in the early days. The new movie also has a slightly older Videl in a starring role, who will likely be a stand-in for Kid Goku. Given the Super Hero title, maybe she’ll find Gohan’s Great Saiyaman outfit and try to emulate him? It’s possible that the Red Ribbon army is simply out for revenge against the kid who beat them years ago, and decides to target Goku’s family to that end. Whatever the case is, it’s a welcome return to a goofier era of Dragon Ball.
The big question is, will it live up to the greatest DB movie of all; DBS: Broly? Find out next time, on Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero!