Movie Reviews

Dragon Ball Super: Broly (Major Spoiler) Review!

Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2019)

Synopsis

“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. Locked into battle with the formidable Broly, Goku and Vegeta face their most dangerous opponent yet!” – Fandango

Spoiler Review!

Starting this review, I have to state, I believe this is the best Dragon Ball Z movie ever created! Broly has character development unlike his counterpart in (1993) Dragon Ball Z: The Legendary Super Saiyan“. We get to dive deeper into the Saiyans history getting into each of the past Sayian’s psyche. The melding between Animation and CGI works beautifully, character designs, music, and comedy all work seamlessly.

Broly 1993 vs Broly 2019

There was always something missing from the character Broly from Dragon Ball Z: The Legendary Super Saiyan. Yes, he was a badass back then, but that was all he had going for him. In Dragon Ball Super: Broly we get more character development and he still remains a badass.

Many Dragon Ball Z fans might like Broly from Legendary Super Saiyan more because he is a straight-up villain, but for me, I like Broly from Super more because he is still a good guy at heart, no matter the circumstance he lived through.

For me, old Broly was a weak character that didn’t really have any redeemable qualities, only that he was basically invisible. The new Broly reminds me a slightly of Goku back in Dragon Ball and a little bit of Vegeta.

Broly 1993 vs Broly 2019 Score: 10/10

“He said that being friend with Ba wasn’t training but playing. So, then… then, shot Ba’s ear off with a gun, we can get angry with him and me. After that, Ba was never the same again. That’s why I decided to Keep Ba’s ear. To remember like we were friends.” – Broly

History of the Sayians

The first part of the film shows us three different stories, some of which have been reckoned to fit the movie as a whole, working well overall. We get King Vegeta exiling Paragus’s son, Broly, Frieza and King Cold’s relationship with the King Vegeta and the Saiyans, and Bardock’s and Gine separated from their son, Goku.

Speaking on King Vegeta, we see a little bit on insight on his character development. Learning that Paragus’s son Broly will soon be stronger than Prince Vegeta, King Vegeta exiles Broly out of fear that prince Vegeta would be second best. There is not much to say about King Vegeta other than that he is a spineless king that has no honor.

We get more of King Vegeta when we see Frieza and his father King Cold. Frieza, as a kid, gave no remorse to anyone. He was the embodiment of evil his father. King Cold knew that which was the reason why he gave Frieza control over Planet Vegeta.

In the scene where Frieza introduces the scouter and finds out that a couple of King Vegeta’s men had snipers focused on them, he decides to shoot them without warning. This is where we first see Frieza as a tyrant.

History of the Sayians Score: 9.5/10

“Maybe is because I’m constantly fighting… destroying, And I’d actually would like to save.. something for once…” – Bardock

Animations/CGI

I’ve seen many critiques that Dragon Ball Super: Broly action sequences look like a video game, which is a fair critique, but for me, it only adds to the experience. There are some examples where the CGI sticks out way more than it should, but only was very few number of times. The one scene that sticks out for my critique is the scene where Goku and Vegeta lead Broly to Freiza.

Even though that is one of my biggest critique for animation/CGI there are way more scenes that capture Dragon Ball Super perfectly and more!

Animation/CGI Score: 9/10

“How is that possible? Damn it, he’s learning as he fights” – Vegeta

Music

There is nothing to critique for the music, in my opinion. Everything is perfect, especially Gogeta vs Broly! To those that don’t know who Gogeta is, He is a fusion between Goku and Vegeta by using the fusion dance.

Music Score: 10/10

Character Design and Character Interaction

The character designs in Dragon Ball Super: Broly is extremely well done. Broly, having the caveman quality to him, in my opinion, is better than the old design of Broly, which I love too and works for that type of movie. The character designs of Chirai and Remo are also very good. Then you have Goku, Vegeta, Bulma, Whis, Beerus, Frieza, Trunks, Goten, Paragus, King Cold, Bardock, Gine, Baby Vegeta, Baby Goku, Baby Broly Baby Raditz, Young Nappa (With Hair!)

The character interactions feel fresh, especially from the new characters Broly, Chirai (Cheelai), and Lemo (Remo). For me, they have the second strongest chemistry after Goku and Vegeta of course. I hope to see more of them in the future. I also thought it was awesome how Goku was fighting Broly and Goku could feel that Broly was not a bad guy so Goku held back so he could get through to Broly. It was a really great sequence.

“Me and Ba got along well back home… Ba was a big anomal than giant, and more fearsome than most besome of Vampa. I named Ba after the sound of creature would make sometime… It was scary when they got mad. But, I got over that. And I statted to train while avoiding Ba’s teeth. We become like friends, we became like good friends.” – Broly

Character Design and Character Interaction Score: 10/10

Comedy

There were so many hilarious moments in Dragon Ball Super: Broly. Starting off with the gag with Bulma wanting the dragon balls, so that she could wish to look younger by five years. Shifting over to Frieza to reveal what his true intentions are for retrieving the Dragon Balls, which was to gain five centimeters in height.

Both Scenes were hilarious, but it also had something important to say about society. Much like people in this era, we tend to worry about what people think. This was a great way to put something in that is important in today’s world, but can also be used as a comedic element for enjoyment.

Another great moment was the death of Paragus. Yes, that was a serious moment for Broly, and it did lead to the fourth greatest transformation of Dragon ball history, I could not help but laugh at Frieza killing Paragus to see Broly’s full potential. This scene shows how twisted Frieza is but in a comedic way for his characterization.

“You dare make me exert myself? To put effort into a fight?” – Frieza

Comedy Score: 10/10

Overall Thoughts

Much like every Dragon Ball Movie, it is on point with the action sequences and comedic timing, built upon with beautiful animation, great new characters, and a satisfying end. In my opinion, even though the animation was good most of the time. There were points where the animation seemed off and King Vegeta was one-dimensional. He should have equal opportunity as Paragus and Bardock to show us why he is king.

They should have gone in a little with Beerus, Frieza and Planet Vegeta. In my opinion, this would have been a perfect time to expand on that lore.

Other than that this movie is wonderful and everyone should watch, especially people wanting to get into anime.