Dragon Ball : Movies recap

Something people should remember before reading this: The movies don't exactly follow the series timeline since they are written and made while the arcs in the manga are being made. They are considered as a series of alternate universes, though similar things happen in both universes that line up, they're still separate and that does not harm my entertainment at all. I will go one by one and you tell me later what you think ... then again this picture is pretty much a nice clue as to which ones I've appreciated the most.
I will not talk about the Bardock and Trunks chapter because , welll, they're pretty good and completely fitting to the main timeline.

MOVIE 1: DEAD ZONE [Return My Gohan!!]

In order to wish for immortality and avenge his father, Garlic Jr. collects the dragon balls, kidnapping Son Gohan in the process. Goku, Kami, Piccolo, and Krillin unite to rescue Gohan and save the world from being sucked into a dead zone.

Personally... I really liked it.
Garlic Jr. can be seen as Pilaf's more competent and impressive cousin and he is a fitting villain for the Dragon Ball universe. Kudos to Kamiya Akira for giving him one of the manliest voices I've ever heard ! Garlic’s plan is also one of the few to succeed and ascend to immortality ( Freeza would have butchered even more babies to get that opportunity !).
This was the very first DBZ animated movie, and it did a solid job of living up to the hype. It has a great mixture of team work between Goku and his arch nemesis at the time, Piccolo, while also strongly focusing on Gohan's potential. Krillin was added in for comedy, and while I'd wish he'd be given a little more to do, it was nice to see him nonetheless.
True, there are some awkward moments like Garlic and his henchmen trying to off Piccolo and Kami despite wanting to use the Dragon Balls... but then again you can chalk it up by saying that they wouldn't know about that detail. My favorite about this flick remains Gohan's drunk trip , damn if that wasn't cute !
* VERDICT : Thumbs up. I am all for seeing a nice brawl and a race against time... LSD fruits FTW !


MOVIE 2 : THE WORLD'S STRONGEST

The old Dr. Kochin uses the dragon balls to resurrect his mentor, Dr. Wheelo, in an effort to take over the world. Dr. Wheelo, his body having been destroyed by the avalanche that killed him fifty years before, desires the body of the strongest fighter in the world as his new vessel. Believing Roshi to be said person, Dr. Kochin abducts Bulma and forces Roshi to surrender himself to save her. When Goku hears of that, he goes to their rescue.

Movie 2 is a rather strange animal. The good kind of strange mind you ! It has an atmosphere that works as a prototype to the Cyborgs saga's in some ways. It focuses on science fiction elements with a rather creepy looking enemies and a very well designed bunch of minions (if the saibaimen were like that, they'd have been taken more seriously ...). Also this movie gets bonus points for having Roshi fight the artificial warriors (God knows that old guy is just made of win !).
I find it quite smart that the villains decided to mind-control Piccolo (points for imagination here ...) . As for Dr Wheelo/Uirou himself, he's easily one of the most unsettling beings in all this franchise : a giant-brain-in-a-shell-robot that kicks the heroes asses. And we never are shown what his original human form looks like; which is why the less is more can be a pretty sound concept in fiction.
* VERDICT : Thumbs up. Might not have started with the same sense of danger as the first but still manages to be exciting on its own right.


MOVIE 3 : THE TREE OF MIGHT  [The Decisive Battle for the Entire Earth]

A seed of the Tree of Might has been planted on Earth by a group of space pirates. Once rooted, the Tree of Might will devour all life energy, leaving the land a deserted wasteland where no living thing can survive.

This one is rather boring. Tullece is an evil Goku, but then again that's pretty much all he has. And since I am not all that interested in Goku as a character in the first place ... not to mention that Masako Nozawa does not fit an adult saiyan (oh yes, I went there !).
The supporting cast was pointless and couldn't even beat the misfit henchmen . The Goku vs Tullece fight was disappointing to say the least. Who knew that just destroying the tree would make the world look good again !
* VERDICT : Bah ...


MOVIE 4 : LORD SLUG [Super Saiyan Son Goku]

A dark vessel descends from the surface of the asteroid, carrying a powerful new enemy, the evil overlord, Lord Slug. His forces have come to take control of the Earth and steal its natural resources, only in the process they intend to wipe out the entire human race! And when Lord Slug discovers the seven magic Dragon Balls,he uses them to recover his youth annnndddd ...

Yes it is a bargain bin King Piccolo ... much as I love the Namekians in general, King Pic...errr... Slug just does not interest me (unlike the actual King Piccolo who gets the 3rd place for fave villain in the series ...).  The weakness to whistling was somewhat logical to a race that has enhanced hearing nice touch but it didn't  seem all that consistent (or maybe they are more sensitive to certain kinds of sound ...).And was the "Super Saiyan" form really called for ?
* VERDICT : ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I…


MOVIE 5 : COOLER'S REVENGE [The Incredible Strongest vs. Strongest]

After destroying Freeza on Namek, Goku returns to a peaceful life on Earth. When informed that his kid brother has been killed by a Saiyan, Cooler is hell bent on killing Goku, and making him pay for disgracing his family's name (who I believe is Haagen daz...).  

ANd after 2 duds we get a winner !
Ladies and gentlemen , we're introduced to the BEST DB movies antagonist.
Instead of making a carbon copy of Freeza , they give the genocidal space tyrant a relative that is credible in that position and has a distinct aura. Cooler does not bring the disturbing sadistic vibe Freeza had , but rather a brutal no-nonsense iron-fisted dictator (and ironically less abusive than his kid brother. Yep, Cooler is a better boss ! Hands down !). While Freeza would look at most beings as specks that he would erase at whim, Cooler seems to ignore and discard whatever he deems as inconsequential or not worthy of his attention. Freeza was driven by an unstoppable ambition (that bit him in the tail) , Cooler is guided by pride and pride alone (hence why he did not explode the planet, he wanted Goku dead at his OWN hands. But procrastination doomed him !). ANd his transformation shows that we're going for the more impressive imposing opponent rather than the nightmarish looking one.
Also Andrew Chandler and Ryusei Nakao's takes on the character really work on his favor (and Nakao does sound different as Cooler; there's none of the jovial sadism of Freeza but an aggressive to-the-point tone for Cooler.).
Cooler's henchmen were pretty fun and interesting compared to the previous films. Even though they were Ginyu rip offs, they were at least memorable rip offs. And they actually realized that Senzu Beans were important ... and Piccolo has the honor of massacring them !
The movie is a pretty much a survival story and that's something Dragon Ball does very well !
* VERDICT : lh5.googleusercontent.com/_ZJE… . And I tend to consider this one and the next as ONE big movie !


MOVIE 6 : RETURN OF COOLER [Clash!! The Power of 10 Billion Warriors]

New Namek is besieged by an enormous evil entity, the Big Gete Star, which is a "living planet" of metal that sustains itself by devouring entire worlds.
Fearing for the existence of his people, Dende, the new guardian of Earth, turns to Goku and his friends for help. They spring into action in an effort to save the new Namekian home world from this invading menace, but their fight won't be easy! The Big Gete Star has an army of powerful Cyclopean Guards at its disposal, and what's more, the leader of said stronghold is Cooler !

This is the 1st direct sequel to a movie, and the 1st one to reprise a movie villain (and the only to succeed at doing so !). I'm proud to say that THIS is by all account my favourite ! Yeah, it has some nice humor, but it is mostly an all-out war against Metal-Cooler. It has a well constructed script, animation is top-notch (for the most part) and the action/fight scenes are excellent.
Now about Metal-Cooler , he was way luckier than his brother in terms of cybernetic conversion. devilkais.deviantart.com/art/S…
He pulls one of the best invasion plans ; he does not conquer the planet, the planet becomes part of him ! (meaning that, pretty much like Cell, it is a threat that needs to be offed before it reaches a very critical point !)
Also, Cooler here is purely motivated by revenge rather than pride and declared that he'd have eventually attacked earth after assimilating Neo-Namek. The explanation as to how Cooler came back was rather imaginative (not far-fetched in this universe since his race has an extremely resilient organism so his brain was not dead yet...):the Big Gete Star(cool name) absorbed him and with his brain parts they were able to bring him back more badass than ever (update regeneration, mass production and instant transmission FTW baby !). This makes him unique in the DB villains pantheon (he gets the 4th position for that !), a gigantic one-man army bent on establishing a steel-fisted dominion over the universe ! As the saying goes "One is never best served but by himself ."...
And this is not only the first time Vegeta gets to appear in a movie and through an effective team-work with Goku , they defeat one of the greatest threats of the franchise . Also , Vegeta gets to deal the finishing blow by breaking the Gete Star micro-chip after the fight so he did finish a major villain .
* VERDICT : Fuck yeah ! I consider it as a part of its predecessor for taking a good villain and revamping him into an awesome one ! And the theme is just as splendid www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDiOYr…  



MOVIE 7: SUPER ANDROID 13 [Extreme Battle! The Three Great Super Saiyans]

With Dr. Gero dead, just who is responsible for master-minding this new wave of Androids that are stronger, faster, and ten times more deadly than before? The mystery unravels itself as the Android assault begins!

This one is just average. Granted, #13 discovers that the best way to knock a Super-Saiyan is to aim for the nuts and has a hilarious Redneck accent in the english version ... but that's about it . Also his transformation into Super redhead smurf did not help that much. Noticeable for having Trunks in it , which is cool but unneeded since even his coolness does not save this movie ...
* VERDICT : Forgettable but watchable if you like seeing fluid fighting animation like Goku getting kicked in the nads (why isn't there a gif of that already ?!)


MOVIE 8 : BROLY:THE LEGENDARY SUPER SAIYAN [Burn Up!! A Close Fight - A Violent Fight - A Super Fierce Fight]


A Saiyan has arrived on Earth. His name is Paragus and he seeks the rightful ruler of the Saiyans, Vegeta. Confessing his loyalty to his new king, Paragus pleads with Vegeta to vanquish a rampaging Super Saiyan who is threatening to destroy the entire galaxy planet by planet!
Vegeta , not living in the same plane where his son does (a plane called sensibility and logic), accepts since it will be for him an opportunty to establish himself as the top dog once again.
But when King Kai learns of the Super Saiyan threat he begs Goku to rush to the scene of the action to take care of the problem himself. Which does not seem to please Paragus's seemingly nigh-vegetable son ...

Ah yes, the movie that most fans seem to love... well I like it . Seriously , I really enjoyed this movie for several reasons:
1) it reminds everyone who has forgotten it that Saiyans are an assholish race ! (My favorite instance of that was Paragus and Broly being left for dead due to being perceived as a threat by the saiyan king ! And in bonus, baby stabbing, literally... )
2) Paragus was a good villain with a nice revenge plan, the one downfall of said plan being that his son had a surprisingly EFFECTIVE memory. His demise was a really nice dark joke . Then again I might be a bit of a sadist ...
3) Vegeta's primal fear towards the legendary SSJ actually works . Why ? Because he is the only ACTUAL saiyan in the protagonist team (culturally speaking, all the others are earthlings.)! So this is basically him meeting the saiyan equivalent of the anti-christ ... and seeing how his attacks were ineffectual, well, he can be freaked out .
4) As for Broly ... I personally really like Broly. I actually discovered him in Budokai 3 and once I watched this movie , he gives a rather distinct impression compared to the game. At first , he's under the collar's control and can only manifest free will once he sees Goku (it seems that he has a rather effective memory ; he does remember what Goku was as a baby and perfectly aware of participating in enslaving the little people ). However once all hell breaks loose, he surprisingly talks like a snarky jerk. First time I heard that I was like " Wait ? Broly CAN TALK ? And A LOT ? ", so I guess that he becomes the legendary SuperTroll (and a loquacious one at that .). I agree that he's more of a ferocious force of nature than anything, but since the saiyans are brutal warmongers for the most part; it is perfectly fitting that what they'd see as a divinity would be a bloodthirsty renegade monster. He surprisingly does not focus that much on Goku once transformed, but gives the entire team one of the longest (and funniest ) spankings in history. Though I've never overrated him in terms of power, if that's what worries you. He should be around Perfect Cell levels of power.
Also , I said that becoming a Super-saiyan requires a price to pay (well until the Majin Buu saga threw that in the dumpster ...), Broly does not escape this rule. His condition is that he's the Dragonballesque equivalent of this 2.bp.blogspot.com/_NUi_KVmA7Qk… , except when he sleeps.
5) The scenery for the movie is apocalyptic at its finest ! And the ending theme is great as well www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fqjKU…
6) The way Broly dies felt anti-climactic to most people but to me, it was part of the gag ! A good Captain Planet punch eviscerated him and showed him he was not as invincible as he thought ... even he was surprised by that ! (though the parody by Vicabouc in l'union sacrée does have a way funnier resolution...). And yes , this is the only true Broly movie; let's say for his own sake that he died spilling his entrails and got blown up by the gigantic meteor ...

* VERDICT : 1.bp.blogspot.com/_xU4mYdHT-HM… . And my salutes to Bin Shimada and Vic Mignogna for bringing him to life ...



MOVIE 9 : BOJACK UNBOUND [ The Galaxy's at the Brink!! The Super Incredible Guy ]


The infamous millionaire X.S. Cash (a fine pun it is ! Hoho...) is funding the most amazing martial arts tournament the Universe has ever seen! The four tournament finalists must do battle with warriors representing the four corners of the galaxy in a decisive battle to see who gains the right to challenge Mark Hercule Satan (that is how I shall name him ! I have spoken ! na !) for the ultimate championship! But a ragged band of criminals have a scheme of their own: take over the tournament and conquer the Universe in the process...

Now this happens right after the TRUE SERIOUS ending for DragonBall (Yes, I give the Cyborgs saga the gold medal when it comes to ending this series ... but then again, depending on my mood I left 2 additional options; and no, the Uub and GT endings are NOT OPTIONS !), and it is a rather fun romp. The fights in the tournament remind us of the difference between a sports competition and struggle for survival and it was a clever twist to use the death of King Kai as a motive for freeing Bojack's gang. The fact that all the heroes fought is always a plus (even Vegeta shows that he's a changed person since he did show up to protect despite not saying it...) and it is a nice moment to see the murderous and enraged alter-ego of Gohan one last time (no, it was not a SSJ2 ... that whole level oversaturation came with the Majin Bonus part ...).
While Bojack and his henchmen were formidable enough, it would been nice to develop them a little more . They come off as superevil versions of Baba's henchman at the end of the Red Ribbon Army story-arc . Their strings technique were pretty nice though and I'd have loved to see Zangya transform (take a guess ...).The Goku part could have been done much better ; like NOT punching Bojack and talking to Gohan telepathically .
* VERDICT : Pretty nice ! Could have been improved in some parts but I can't really complain. It is also the end of the serious era since Piccolo and Trunks (the one that I do love...) won't be appearing in the other movie Oh well, C'est la vie ...



And we enter in the bonus era ... for better or worse !



MOVIE 10 BROLY: SECOND COMING [The Dangerous Duo! Super Warriors Never Rest]

Seven years have passed since Goku's defeat of Broly, which culminated with Broly being blasted to Earth and frozen over while in a coma. Now, Gohan has grown up, Goten is born, and Goku has died. While Goten, Trunks, and Videl are looking for the dragon balls, they come across a village that is being terrorized by a monster. They decide to help, but as they are waiting for the monster to appear, the sound of Goten's crying causes Broly to regain consciousness, seeking revenge!

The good ? Videl and Gohan are in it ...
The bad? AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ... we went from a bloodthirsty sarcastic troll to the kind of nerfed mushiness we wee in JP III. And you know what I said about that junk !
* VERDICT : 4.bp.blogspot.com/-XxZPs7WSmKo…


MOVIE 11: BIO-BROLY [ Super Warrior Defeat!! I'll Be The Winner]

Mr. Satan is challenged to a fight by an old rival, and he is taken to an island where the fight is to be held. Accompanying him are  #18, who is making sure he doesn't skip town before paying the money he owes her for letting him win the World Martial Arts Tournament, and Trunks and Goten, who are stowaways. When they get there they find that the rival doesn't want to fight himself, but rather has created a force of genetically engineered bio-warriors to fight Satan. Unfortunately for everyone involved, one of these bio-warriors was made from the DNA of Broly, and when he is released, all bets are off.

The Good ? We have Mr Satan, Krillin and (ESPECIALLY ) #18 in it. And I really like all 3 of them !
The bad ? Okay... what the fuck ! Look guys, if wanted an enemy looking that way , then you should only use the best ! www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w5neF… ...
* VERDICT : www.contestofchampions.net/ima…


MOVIE 12 : FUSION REBORN [The Rebirth of Fusion!! Goku and Vegeta]

When a worker at King Yemma's spiritual check-in station is accidentally covered in spiritual waste, he is transformed into a powerful monster named Janemba, who destroys the barrier between the real world and Other World, allowing the dead to walk the Earth. As the living Z Fighters fend off the dead, it is up to Goku, Pikkon, and Vegeta to stop Janemba.

The bad? It was way too short. The material this movie had could have easily made for a 90 minutes long EPIC. I absolutely love the otherworld unlike many fans and think that the manga's last arc should have been about it (an occasion to visit familiar evil pals !). The plot with Gohan, Videl, Piccolo (WHERE THE FUCK IS PICCOLO ?) and Gotrunks against the revived villains could have been fantastic and suspenseful fight : Freeza, Cell, Cooler , Bojack , Broly , the Ginyu force and all taking entire cities in hostage or something like that would have been excellent.It was rather pointless to put Hitler in the movie and a bunch of stupid ghosts instead...
The rest ? I fucking LOVE it. Janemba was the first enemy to be made out of sheer fucking accident, I even prefer him over Majin Buu. His 2 forms could not be more different and both ROCK. To those who complain that he does not have much of a personality; this is a MONSTER, not a person ! I see no one throwing a fit at Edgar from MIB for just being a monstruous cockroach ! Some things are much better when you keep them simple. Janemba is a very powerful and intimidating freak of nature, possessing many surreal abilities (especially in his fat form...) that put Goku and Vegeta to the test.
Speaking of which, I did like Goku in this film, even when he used the Super Asspull 3 form... errr... I mean SSJ3 form. At least he is not the callous jerk we have generally post-Cell Games.
You have no idea how glad to see Vegeta in this movie. Not only does this validate his sacrifice as Majin Vegeta (yep, I am of those rare Vegeta fans that prefered to have him dead and gone after his sacrifice against Buu. Rather than bringing him back as a neutered shell...) but it also gives a far better (and bittersweet) conclusion to his rivalry with Goku. I found the very last scene before Vegeta soul vanishes in this movie far more heartfelt and powerful than the long-winded speech during the fight against Kid Buu.
By the way, you do notice that there's no sign of Buu on Earth despite Goku mentionning him. And both he and Vegeta are dead! So this would imply that Gotenks, Piccolo, and Gohan were able to deal with him once and for all.... like it SHOULD HAVE ENDED ! So this is like eating your cake and still having it (and I really dislike that expression for some reason...).
I'll conclude this on 2 notes:
_ The Gogeta scene was short and EFFECTIVE ! THAT is a fusion done right !
_ Fuck all the other deities ! THIS MOFO IS THE ONLY Dragon Ball God of gods static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__c… ! (mainly because the Supreme Kaio shins were really underwhelming and unnecessary ...)
* VERDICT : Not only do I adore this movie, but it is the second best ending for the entire series, if not the best epilogue !


MOVIE 13: WRATH OF THE DRAGON [ Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Can't Do It, Who Will?]

A mysterious being named Hoy arrives on Earth and asks the Z Warriors to use the dragon balls to help him release Tapion. Tapion, an ancient warrior imprisoned in a music box, and Hoy needs him to fend off the monster Hildegarn, who is coming to destroy the Earth. But when they realize that Hoy is the last survivor of an evil race bent on the destruction of those who they consider inferior, and that by releasing Tapion they also released Hildegarn, they must fight alongside Tapion to stop the monster.

Yes I am aware that this movie is chronologically after the last straw for me (past Kid Buu , frankly my dear I don't give a damn...). BUt that does not mean I dislike it, far from that !
It starts with the Great Saiyaman and Saiyawoman (And you people mocked Gohan's disguise ? Tha ladies can't resist him ! I knew that kid was genius in many domains but here , he surprises me ! SEAL OF APPROVAL myfavoriteshowsgamesandmovies.… ) saving the obvious villain of the piece Hoy. Said jerk tricks them into summoning Shenron to open the box (...somehow I think Freeza's plans for getting immortality would have worked if he played the card of subtlety like Hoy here did... we learn something everyday !), and all hell breaks loose.
The rest is actually paced like a movie, and it's the best take on kid Trunks ever. Tapion and the Hildegarn curse were a nice combination and added some nice touchs like the Ocarina or Hildegarn's teleportation...
The only true bad marks I can give are the Dragon Fist's being random as all hell despite of how cool looking it is... eh , I stopped thinking that seriouly about DB at this point .
* VERDICT : It's fine.

So that concludes the movies list ... But wait ! You tell me that there are others ? Let me sum up my viewpoints on those ...

YO! SON GOKU AND HIS FRIENDS RETURN !

And I could not care less . BTW, do you really buy that freaking King Vegeta would send someone like Tarbles to another planet ? Knowing that we're talking about the Saiyans , Tarbles would end up in a meat pie and get served for his big brother's supper instead of wasting a space capsule for him ...

EPISODE OF BARDOCK

Bardock survives the destruction of his home planet and the genocide of his entire race, having been sent into the past to a strange planet where he battles Freeza's ancestor, Chilled.
... i.imgur.com/Y9v1p.jpg
   
VERDICT : " Of all the STUPID, ASININE, SHARK-JUMPING BULLSHIT !"



MOVIE 14 : BATTLE OF GODS [God and God]

The Z-Fighters must contend with Bills, the God of Destruction. But it takes a god to fight a god, and none of them are gods... not even the Saiyans.

Sigh... let's force myself to care . No I just can't. This movie does not thrill me in the slightest. What would you want me to talk about ?
How awesome Purple Garfield ...errr... Bills is ?  ... eh. I seriously find him just HERE. Seriously , guy was just HERE. And throwing a fit for a pudding ? If it was a chocolate parfait , I could have gotten behind his motive , but a pudding ? Puh-lease. He's the god of destruction ? Good for him and the metrosexual Kaio-shin he keeps around him.
Goku ? This is scumbag Goku at his finest and a reminder why I didn't like the character post Cyborgs saga. I repeat ; Goku was never THAT fascinating compared to the other protagonists or even some of the villains.
Vegeta Bingo dance ?  Remember what I said earlier right ? Vegeta is funny when stupid stuff happens to him , even Dragon Fall understood that !
Piccolo doing a karaoke ? ... right .
The Super-Saiyan God ? Yes because everyone knows the saiyans are a race based on friendship, love and unity OH WAIT ...
Krillin not even reacting while #18 got K.Oed by the purple sphinx ? Yeah right .

VERDICT : ... whatever.
www.mangatherapy.com/post/3245…


This concludes my thoughts on the movies kids . NEXT: you shall see my drawing's perfect form !