You're Normal Dose of Anime: Dragon Ball Feature - Reviewing Dragon Ball Super: Broly

                                                       

The one thing that the DragonBall Universe isn’t lacking, is background on the two main characters Vegeta and Goku. And yet, Tatsuya Nagamine was able to provide you with more clarity regarding the fall of the Saiyan race, and the full story of how Goku and Vegeta avoided annihilation brought on by Freiza in Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2019). 

For those who don’t know, Broly is the most naturally gifted and naturally powerful Saiyan to ever be born into the universe. His power levels are close to rivaling Lord Beerus the Destroyer. However, his father, Paragus, was a commoner with a low power level. Power levels are everything to the Saiyans, as they are a warrior race. So Broly was put in a birthing pod close to Prince Vegata. This angered King Vegeta that a commoner would be put so close to his pride and joy. When his servants tell him that Broly’s power surpasses Vegeta, King Vegeta exiles Broly to a desolate planet. His excuse for doing this is power levels that high will eventually cause Broly to go insane. Although probably driven by jealousy, and not committing this act in good faith, King Vegeta ends up being right on that matter. When Broly is in combat, he loses all control, very similar to what happens when the Saiyan’s turn into their ape form. His emotions get the best of him, and so it’s probably good that the guy who has the cognitive levels of a child be isolated. 

Before we get into the full meeting of Broly, Vegeta, and Goku, the film takes an inside look at Bardock, who returns from a mission to find out that all Saiyans have been called back to their home planet Vegeta. Bardock begins to suspect that Freiza is planning an extermination of the Saiyan race, as he sees less value in them as his father King Cold. Bardock ships off Goku to planet earth where he won’t be threatened by the weaker race of people called humans. Vegeta is with Raditz on a mission when this happens, saving both of them from extermination. 

The film then travels us back to present day, as the new Freiza force is looking for a powerful fighter for Freiza to weaponize in his revenge against Goku and Vegeta. They travel to this planet where Broly inhabits, and Broly’s dad, recognizing the Freiza force ship and uniforms, asks them to take him and Broly so they may exact their revenge on King Vegeta. Not knowing Freiza killed everyone, he sees the power Broly possesses and is instantly intrigued. Freiza informs him that he extinguished Planet Vegeta, but is still rivaled by Prince Vegeta, and that he would like Broly to help him extinguish this enemy. So Freiza travels to earth where he is confronted by Vegeta and Goku. As soon as Broly sees the two enemies, he loses his control and attacks Vegeta. Vegeta and Broly fight, but eventually, Broly overpowers Vegeta, causing Goku to step in. Goku is excited by this power, and loves that he has a new sparring partner who’s this much of a threat. They battle and eventually Goku is beaten badly. Freiza kills Broly’s father to enrage him even more. This works, but Broly, blinded by rage, begins to attack anything in front of him. Goku grabs Vegeta and instant transmissions to Piccolo. In the interim, Broly begins to dismantle Freiza, as Freiza's weapon has fully turned on him. Goku and Vegeta use the fusion technique to match Broly’s power levels. They go back and turn the tides of the fight. However, the members of the Freiza force who found Broly, summoned Shenron with the Dragon Balls. They wish for Broly to be free and back on his home planet. They do this because they know the true heart that lies inside Broly. They travel back with him where they will look after their friend. 

However, Goku tracks them to the planet with instant transmission. But instead of fighting, he brings Broly food and senzu beans. Recognizing the good in Broly, Goku befriends the Saiyan, and asks if he can come and train with Broly later down the road, to which causes Broly to smile and acknowledge the request. This seemingly begins an alliance between Broly, Vegeta, and Goku, and the rest of the team.

Thoughts on the Film 

DragonBall has been extremely fight heavy, knowing what viewers want and giving it to them. The films however, have been very different, as they’ve set out to tell much of the entire story with filler information. That is exactly what this film did. Close to 70% of the film was being narrated from Broly’s father, recanting what happened to get exiled, along with the flashbacks showing the annihilation of Planet Vegeta. It was important to tell the story, but if you’re like me where the only reason you come back to the DragonBall Universe is to watch badass fights, this was not for you. Also, I was a bit confused as this seems to forget a lot of what happened in previous Broly movies, not to mention, Goku and Veget fused together in the Super Boo saga at the end of DBZ. Yet this movie portrayed this as the first time they fused together (I say this without the knowledge if it’s common for DragonBall films to not correlate with the series). The movie was fun, and DragonBall has set a new standard for its graphics and animation pertaining to film. The production looked absolutely beautiful! I look forward to some of the other works that DragonBall Super plans on putting out. Also, Broly’s design is excellent, he just basically looks like a Goku on steroids. It’s easy to believe him being some all powerful Saiyan. 

Danny’s Magical Scene

My high point of this film was when Vegeta and Broly first engage in a fight. Vegeta displays some serious fighting skills and takes Broly to school before Broly powers up. Goku seems more aimed at calming the Saiyan down and befriending him as a training partner to help him control his emotions. You forget how good of a mentor Goku could be since we’re so removed from him training Gohan.  

Grade 6.2