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Funny enough, during early release trailers of “Super Hero” there was much criticism about the movie. These included some opinions on the choice of choosing CGI versus its usual 2-D handwritten art style and on making the movie look like one of its games. Another thing that had fans sturred was the story. Instead of seeing Goku, the show’s main character, and Vegeta, the fan-favorite deuteragonist, the main roles were given to Goku’s eldest son Gohan and his long-time Rival/Ally Piccolo.
That plus confusion of where in the canon of the story the particular movie takes place really had fans worried about the quality of the movie.
But after experiencing the movie for myself and seeing plenty of sources about how the movie did, it’s safe to say that there was nothing to be afraid of. “Dragonball Super: Super Hero” is a movie for “Dragon Ball” fans to enjoy. The debut movie put itself in history by bringing in $ 20.1 Million dollars beating the DBS last movie that came out in the last two years, “Dragonball Super: Broly,” by almost twice as much money it made. It also broke “Pokemon: The First Movie’s” 33-year-long record of the highest-grossing anime movie debut.
Though some of the movie’s pre-determined issues are there, its high outweighed its lows. Yes the CGI animation choice made it “Video Game Cutscene:” The movie, but as you continue watching that feeling goes away. The character’s movements during the regular scene are smooth, the environmental setting shots were beautiful and the fight and transformation scenes were peak “Dragon Ball.”
For those who seemed worried about the movie not being still a “Dragon Ball” movie without Goku or Vegeta. Gohan and Piccolo were the perfect picks to feature this role. Both characters have not had their time to shine since with Piccolo’s last time being the first few arcs of “Dragonball Z” ( Saiyan, Namek, and Cell Saga’s) where he was the role of the rival turned deuteragonist until Vegeta’s arrival in the Saiyan Saga, and Gohan’s being the Cell Saga. This was definitely needed since most of “Dragon Ball Super” was put on the sidelines until the Tournament of the Power arc where still, they didn’t have the same screen time as Goku and Vegeta.
We also get appearances from Bulma and Krillin, Goku’s friends since they were younger, Krillin’s wife Android 18, Bulma and Vegeta’s son Trunks, Goku’s second son Goten, and Gohan’s daughter Pan. Goku and Vegeta still make an appearance in the movie, but it is a minor scene and an end-of-credits scene, so don’t leave the theater right after.
Finally, though the story’s insertion into the canon could be debated for days, the plot itself is nice and handled pretty well. The once destroyed Red Ribbon army has risen once more after its many failures to take over the world were foiled by Goku and his pals. They also make a discovery of Dr. Gero, a mad scientist who created the androids during the Cell saga has a grandson who also creates the same thing he does. So they use him the created an android with the power to you guessed it, take over the world. With Goku and Vegeta not on earth to deal with this problem, it’s up to Piccolo and Gohan to stop the army once more.
A few things stood out to me in the movie that I want to highlight when it comes to the plot I loved in “Dragonball Super.” The character motivations really set the story into motion, from Piccolo trying to get Gohan back in the fighting spirit, and Gero’s grandson actually wanting to be a superhero so the Red Ribbon tricks him into thinking the cast are the villains.
I also like how the reoccurring characters are still true to their TV shows and Manga selves so it doesn’t feel like we missed anything. The Time skip helped the film in my opinion, with most of the child characters finally aging, especially Trunks and Goten, and seems the same age from the Buu saga in “Dragonball Z” till the “Tournament of Power Saga” in “Dragonball Super.”
In Conclusion, “Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes” is a film worth watching with any fan of “Dragon Ball” no matter the age. It is action-packed has good comedic timing, is flashy when it needs to be, and will have you at the edge of your seat. But let’s be honest, the normal “Dragon Ball” of most of us.
Written By Daylontie Jasper
Edited by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
AMC Theaters: Dragonball Super: Super Hero
Box Office News: ‘Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’ Has Expectations Shattering $20.1 Million Debut, ‘Beast’ Has A Quiet Roar With $11.6 Million By Sam Mendelsohn
Anime Senpai: Japan: DBS Super Hero Is The Worst Performing Dragon Ball Film In the Past 25 Years So Far
Featured Image Courtesy of Kami Sama Explorer Museum‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of 黄靖昀’s Flickr Page- Creative Commons License
