When the Great Demon King Piccolo was released upon the world, he broadcasted a message on television declaring May 9^th as “Piccolo Day”…and promptly celebrated by announcing his ownership over the planet. Since then, May 9^th has been officially recognised as “Goku Day” and, accordingly, I have spent the last few Sundays looking back at one of the franchise’s most popular villains: Broly.

Released: December 2018
Director: Tatsuya Nagamine
Distributor: Toei Company/20^th Century Fox
Budget: $8.5 million
Stars: Sean Schemmel, Christopher Sabat, Vic Mignogna, Chris Ayres, Erica Lindbeck, and Dameon Clarke

The Plot:
After restoring peace to the Earth, and the multiverse, in the Tournament of Power, Son Goku (Schemmel) and Vegeta (Sabat) have been undergoing rigorous training to combat both the renewed threat of Frieza (Ayres) and unknown enemies from beyond their world. However, they face a threat unlike no other when Frieza joins forces with Paragus (Clarke) and his son, Broly (Mignogna), a being whose power eclipses both Saiyans and forces them to turn to the one technique they swore they’d never use again: Fusion.

The Background:
After debuting in the pages of Weekly Shōnen Jump back in 1984, Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball has proven a popular and influential manga and anime; its sequel series, Dragonball Z, not only came to define the entire franchise in popular, mainstream media but also spawned several feature-length movies and even a third series, Dragonball GT, all of which are generally considered non-canon as they lacked the direct involvement of Toriyama. After years of speculation and anticipation, Toriyama returned to Dragon Ball in 2015 with Dragonball Super, an official continuation of his popular manga that spawned two more feature-length movies in 2013 and 2015 and, of course, an accompanying anime series that ran from 2015 to 2018. Picking up immediately where Dragonball Z left off, Dragonball Super has largely supplanted Dragonball GT in the Dragon Ball canon and saw series protagonists Goku and Vegeta transform into even more powerful states, harnessing the powers of Gods, the return of many familiar characters and villains from the franchise’s rich history, and a tournament that spanned parallel universes! Soon after the end of the anime, Toryiama began working on a feature-length film to cap off the series that promised to introduce a “long awaited, strong opponent”. Thanks to his immense popularity among Dragon Ball fans, this turned out to be none other than the Legendary Super Saiyan, Broly, redesigned by Toryiama and officially integrated into his main series canon for the first time. This popularity, alongside improved worldwide distribution compared to previous films, saw the film eventually eclipse even the U.S. lifetime gross of the much-lauded Spirited Away (Miyazaki, 2001) to amass over $120 million worldwide.

The Review:
It is to my great shame that I have to admit that I haven’t really watched much of Dragonball Super, much less read the original manga. I’ve been patiently waiting and debating about buying the physical releases of the anime and caught a few episodes here and there, but the majority of my knowledge of the series comes from what I’ve read online and the previous movies in the series. Luckily, Dragonball Super The Movie: Broly opens in familiar-enough territory; with King Cold (Jason Douglas), Frieza, and the Ginyu Force arriving on Planet Vegeta to meet with King Vegeta (Sabat). If there’s one thing I’ve found Toryiama likes to do whenever he revisits his seminal franchise, it’s digging up the past; he unnecessarily resurrected Frieza in the previous film, Dragonball Z: Resurrection “F” (Yamamuro, 2015), and even brought back Future Trunks (Eric Vale) in Dragonball Super. It’s a helpful shorthand for getting a sense of how powerful certain characters are by having Frieza around but, generally, I don’t really like that villains and characters so hopelessly outclassed are suddenly brought back and deemed a threat once more.

The film even revisits Frieza’s eventual campaign against the Saiyans, including Goku’s father, Bardock (Strait), into the plot and officially incorporating him into the overall canon at the same time. Interestingly, the alterations made to Goku’s origins not only recontextualise the characterisation of Bardock but also slightly alter the specifics of how Goku escaped the destruction of Planet Vegeta and the majority of the Saiyan race and even his early years on Earth. This also allows us to see Vegeta and Raditz (Justin Cook) as little kids, which is something we’ve never really seen before in the series. All of these elements form the background to Broly’s revised origin: similar to his original incarnation, Broly is still a child prodigy with a power level that initially appears to eclipse that of even King Vegeta’s son and who has the potential to be even the Legendary Super Saiyan. King Vegeta is still fearful and frustrated by Broly’s superiority over his son and ostracised the child, and his father, Paragus, by sending them to the backwater world of Vampa where Broly’s power would not be a threat to his rule or the purity of the Saiyan race. Angered, Paragus pursues his son and vows to harness Broly’s power to oppose his former king, resulting in a backstory that is largely the same but slightly different in subtle ways; clearly, Broly’s original origin as a Saiyan born with incredible powers was iconic enough to leave mostly intact but his eventual personality and the circumstances of his madness are altered quite considerably.

Originally, Broly was overwhelmed by his power, frustrated by his father’s control over him, and enraged to the point of mindless insanity thanks to Goku’s crying disturbing him as a child; though initially quite eloquent, he was always a mindless engine of destruction even before he literally became little more than a rampaging monster. Here, though, Broly is a far more complex character; naïve and almost caveman-like, he’s easily controlled by his father thanks to a restraining collar and is quite passive and childlike even when fully grown. He’s not only far more gentle and eloquent, he also makes friends with Cheelai (Lindbeck) and Lemo (Bruce Carey) and grew so attached to Ba, a gigantic creature from Vampa, that his father had to mutilate the beast to keep Broly focused on his training as an unstoppable weapon. These elements all add much-needed layers to Broly’s backstory, transforming him into a far more tragic and sympathetic figure who is a victim of his machinations of his father and upbringing as much as his limitless power and uncontrollable rage. When we are finally reintroduced to Goku and Vegeta, they are still just as enthusiastic about sparring and growing stronger than ever thanks to their experiences in the Tournament of Power. While Goku wishes to grow more powerful to take on opponents from other universe, Vegeta desires to increase his power in order to defeat Frieza, angered that Goku not only resurrected Frieza but allowed him to go free after he helped them in the anime. It’s interesting to see Vegeta be the voice of reason; I would have assumed that his and Goku’s motivations would have been reversed but, instead, Vegeta is most perturbed by the potential threat Frieza poses, especially after they discover that he has stolen six of the seven magical Dragon Balls.

Convinced that Frieza can’t be up to much good, Goku agrees to go with Vegeta and Bulma (Monica Rial) to the ice continent (picking up some nifty cold-weather clothes along the way) to find the last Dragon Ball. In a strangely amusing twist, though, it turns out that Frieza’s motivations for finding the Dragon Balls are as laughably vain and simple as Bulma’s: Bulma wants to wish to look five years younger and Frieza wants to be five centimetres taller, with both characters reasoning that any more would be “too noticeable”. It’s a tenuous reason to get the plot in gear but a recurring joke in the film and perfectly in line with the wackier elements and motivations of the franchise. Frieza’s motivations change, however, when his soldiers find the now-aged Paragus and Broly; impressed by the potential of Broly’s power, Frieza feeds Paragus’s desire for revenge against Vegeta by coercing them into engaging with his hated enemies. This time around, Broly’s rage is not at Goku alone but, instead, at anyone his father deems to be an enemy and, specifically, Vegeta for being the son of the man who condemned them to death. Once he begins to engage in battle, though, his formally peaceful and serene nature gives way to an insatiable bloodlust and increasing, overpowering rage that pushes both Goku and Vegeta to their limits.

Overwhelmed by Broly’s limitless rage, power, and brute strength, Goku and Vegeta are forced to not only team up with Golden Frieza to defeat Broly but also to turn to Piccolo (Sabat) for help in mastering the Fusion Dance. Previously, the two had fused into Vegito using the Potara Earrings and, though they had performed the Fusion Dance and transformed into Gogeta in non-canon anime, movies, and videogames, they’ve never performed the dance or assumed this form in canon until this moment. It’s a striking contrast to Vegeta’s fear and helplessness in Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (Shigeyasu, 1993); there, he was so reluctant to fight against Broly or lend Goku his power that he was almost willing to accept what he saw as his inevitable death at the hands of the Legendary Super Saiyan but, here, his resolve against Broly’s power never falters and he begrudgingly agrees to undergo the transformation in order to prevail. As much as I enjoyed seeing Vegeta’s usual arrogance and ego stripped away and him brought to his knees by fear, it’s equally as entertaining to see him forced to merge into the same body as his hated rival.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Unlike his original appearances, which quickly devolved into little more than an extended series of fights against a near-unstoppable opponent that ended in anti-climatic fashion two out of three times, Dragonball Super The Movie: Broly depicts Broly as a formidable opponent whose power increases again and again as the film progresses and, yet, also a foe whom Goku and Vegeta are able to put up a much better fight against than in his original incarnation.

Unlike his original counterpart, Broly is actually rather untested in battle, relying on brute strength, anger, or instinct in a way that is slightly different to in the original films; despite his vast power level, he cannot even transform into a regular Super Saiyan, much less the Legendary Super Saiyan, at the start of the film and, yet, his base form is more than capable of matching Super Vegeta and pushing him to his limits. Broly also demonstrates the ability to learn, adapt, and increase in power as a fight progresses and, after being bested by Vegeta’s Super Saiyan God form, Broly summons the power of the Great Ape but channels it through his normal body, attaining a new form not seen before: his Wrath State. In an interesting twist, Broly is far more devoted to his father than in his original depiction; rather than turning against and killing Paragus in the midst of his onslaught, Broly follows his father’s directions (when not in a mindless rage) and is so traumatised by his death at Frieza’s hands that he finally transforms into a Super Saiyan. Nothing, not even a Kamehameha/Galick Gun combination or Golden Frieza is enough to stand against Broly, forcing Vegeta to swallow his pride and endure the Fusion Dance to allow Gogeta to be born in canon for the first time. Their eventual team up with Golden Frieza makes for a suitably impressive finale; as much as I may dislike Frieza being resurrected and even him being somewhat redeemed and becoming more of an anti-hero and reluctant ally, it’s still impressive seeing him forced to fight alongside his hated enemies in their merged form.

The result is a series of far more impressive and spectacular fight scenes than in any of Broly’s previous appearances; as awesome as it was to see the original Broly swat away our heroes like they were nothing, there’s no denying that Broly’s fights are bigger, more explosive, and far more exciting as the stakes continually increase and each character is forced to up their power level again and again to match the other. Even better is the climax of the film; as noted, Broly’s previous appearances all ended in anti-climatic fashion save for one and even that did little to redeem the film that proceeded it. Here, Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta and Legendary Super Saiyan Broly fight so hard that they threaten not only the safety of the Earth but the entire universe as well. Tying back into Broly’s introduction as a simple man-child with a kind heart, he is ultimately transported back to Vampa by Cheelai’s wish right as Gogeta is about to finish him off. Frieza allows Broly to go, confidant that Cheelai and Lemo will be able to domesticate him so Frieza can utilise his power at a later date, and the film ends with Broly, now living a simple life as a farmer with his friends, content and at peace with himself. Unlike in his original incarnation, he even ends the film on good terms with Goku, who not only wishes to face Broly in battle once again but also finally, surprisingly, embraces his Saiyan heritage for the first time in a nod to the original films by insisting that Broly call him “Kakarot”.

The Summary:
Of all the films to feature Broly, Dragonball Super The Movie: Broly is easily the best one, even better than Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan. One of the biggest issues the original Dragonball Z feature films had was that they were so condensed that they often focused solely on comedy or fight scenes, with little substance to their style. This is great when you’re burned out from watching characters power up over the course of three or five episodes of the anime but not so much when you’re trying to invest in their original characters and the potential of their premises. Dragonball Super The Movie: Broly takes everything that worked from Broly’s previous appearances and expands upon it, giving him a far more intricate and interesting backstory while still portraying him as a brute of near-unstoppable power. At this point in the franchise, Goku and Vegeta are so powerful that it’s hard for any opponent to be taken seriously but the fact that Broly forced them to not only merge together but also turn Super Saiyan Blue in that form shows that he’s just as formidable, if not more so, than his original incarnation. With far more impressive fight scenes, much better use of characters, comedy, and action, and even some much-appreciated peeks into the past, Dragonball Super The Movie: Broly is probably the best Dragon Ball movie out of them all and the fact that it leaves the door open for Broly to naturally and seamlessly return to the franchise is all the better.

My Rating:

Fantastic

What did you think of Dragonball Super The Movie: Broly? Were you happy with the alterations made to Broly? How do you feel about characters like Frieza returning to the franchise and being somewhat redeemed? What did you think of Dragonball Super as an official continuation of the series? Which story arc from Dragonball Super did you like the best and which characters from the multiverse would you like to see show up in future films? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to leave a comment below.

When the Great Demon King Piccolo was released upon the world, he broadcasted a message on television declaring May 9^th as “Piccolo Day”…and promptly celebrated by announcing his ownership over the planet. Since then, May 9^th has been officially recognised as “Goku Day” but, to make things simpler, I’ve been using this as a good excuse to celebrate all things Dragon Ball and to take a look back at one of the franchise’s most popular villains: Broly.

Released: July 1994
Director: Yoshihiro Ueda
Distributor: Toei Company
Budget: Unable to verify
Stars: Kara Edwards, Laura Bailey, Vic Mignogna, Meredith McCoy, C.T. Anger, Bill Townsley, Chris Rager, Sonny Strait, and Robert McCollum

The Plot:
When the World’s Martial Arts Champion, Mr. Satan (Rager), is challenged by his old rival, Mr. Jaguar (Townsley), Goten (Edwards), Trunks (Baily), and Android #18 (McCoy) accompany him to an island laboratory to take part in a special tournament only to find that Jaguar’s bizarre cloning technology has resurrected the Legendary Super Saiyan, Broly (Mignogna), now mutated into a grotesque abomination.

The Background:
Dragonball Z, the anime that defined a generation of kids, was the sequel series to Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, a manga and anime that followed the adventures of Son Goku, a young boy with incredible martial arts prowess who grew up to become the kind-hearted (if goofy) saviour of the world. With the anime proving to be even more successful than its original series, a number of feature-length animated movies were produced without the direct involvement of Toriyama. Though they are largely non-canon to the wider Dragon Ball story arc, they did introduce us to Broly, a near-unstoppable and mindless antagonist who appeared to be the “Legendary Super Saiyan” incarnate. So popular was Broly upon his debut that he became only the second movie villain to star in more than one film and quickly became a popular character in Dragon Ball fighting games and merchandise. This, and the ¥2.33 billion brought in by his debut feature, Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (Yamauchi, 1993), no doubt contributed to Broly featuring in not one but two movies in 1994 to complete a loose trilogy of sorts.

The Review:
Bio-Broly gets off to a bad start for me, personally, right from the get-go. Because of where it takes place within the Dragon Ball timeline, Goku (Sean Schemmel) is back in the afterlife after returning to Earth for one day for the World’s Martial Arts Tournament and, given the absence of many of the series’ most popular and powerful characters, this movie is awkwardly placed in the early going of the “Majin Buu Saga”. This, unfortunately for me, means that the film’s primary focus is on Goku’s youngest son, Goten, and Trunks, the son of Goku’s arch-rival and fellow Saiyan, Vegeta (Christopher R. Sabat). This wouldn’t be a problem were it not for the fact that I find both of these characters incredibly annoying; they’re all the worst parts of Saiyans (overconfidence to the point of arrogance, insatiable hunger, and being bored to the point of distraction when they’re not fighting) dialled up to the nth degree thanks to their childishness and immaturity. They’ve never made for compelling characters for me, personally; Trunks was only interesting when he was a time-travelling prodigy and Goten never even managed to grow up to match the disappointment his brother, Gohan (Kyle Hebert) turned out to be. The only time I really enjoy the characters is when they’re fused or being beaten to a pulp as it’s the only time I find them credible or tolerable, respectively.

The same can also be said for my thoughts about Mr. Satan (or “Hercule”), though I do find him to, at least, be a far more enjoyable and hilariously ridiculous character when he’s used sparingly and smartly. Luckily, that is largely the case here and we get to see a little bit more of Mr. Satan’s past and backstory but I find the movie’s focus on Dragonball Z’s more ridiculous characters to be its downfall and it only serves to further devalue Broly’s mystique and aura. This means that it’s largely up to Android #18 to carry the film’s fight scenes; a cold, focused character, #18 is only interested in receiving the money she is owed by Mr. Satan. In the absence of Vegeta or Piccolo (Sabat), she’s easily the film’s most credible fighter, fulfilling the same stoic, grouchy characterisation those two typically have and she’s perfectly cast as the reluctant muscle of the film.

Sadly, though, the film’s fight scenes leave a lot to be desired; for the most part, our heroes are battling Jaguar’s generic-looking “Bio Warriors”. Jaguar himself is a largely ineffective and bumbling fool; the entirety of his threat is based around his cloning technology and his ability to create monstrous fighters, the majority of which are largely unimpressive to look at. Unfortunately, far too much of the movie’s runtime is devoted to fight scenes involving these Bio Warriors; the opening already hints at Jaguar having a Saiyan ready to go and we know Broly is in the film but he doesn’t actually show up until a good way into the movie, meaning the bulk of the film’s focus is on a bunch of unimposing freaks that are easily dispatched by #18, Trunks, and Goten.

As it is part of a loose trilogy of films revolving around Broly, Bio-Broly sees the return of a small character from the last movie, Maloja (McCollum); rather than developing into a fully-fledged character or playing a pivotal role, however, Maloja simply exists to explain how Jaguar was able to recreate Broly. In some ways, the film’s plot would have made more sense to me if Maloja had replaced Jaguar entirely as the film’s primary human antagonist; after all, he has an axe to grind against Goten and Trunks after the last movie and it would have been a far better pay off than randomly bringing in a guy who even more pathetic and foolish than Mr. Satan. Once Broly is discovered by Goten and Trunks, the film steps up a notch for the briefest of moments; still just as obsessed with killing Goku and overcome by his limitless power, Broly is just as sadistic and terrifying as ever…for about five minutes. Rather than going on a destructive rampage as the Legendary Super Saiyan, Broly is almost immediately engulfed by a mutagenic liquid and becomes little more than a mindless slop monster, severely diminishing his threat.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Bio-Broly suffers quite a bit by focusing on slapstick and nonsense for the majority of its runtime; the film’s central plot revolves almost entirely around Mr. Satan, which is somewhat amusing when he’s either being pummeled or held up for money by #18, but quite a step back considering the different facets of established characters we saw in Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan or the potential of a cross-generation conflict in the previous movie.

Truthfully, Broly was always kind of one-dimensional in the previous movies, motivated purely by his destructive rage and hatred of Goku but, here, he’s even more of a blank slate; he literally could have been replaced with any other dull monster so ineffectual is his presence. The potential threat Broly has is given some lip service but the film does little to follow through on it other than showing Bio-Broly to be just as unstoppable as the original Broly, but nowhere near as eloquent or visually appealing, until he is unceremoniously dissolved with relative ease. I’m not really sure why these films go to such lengths to portray Broly as this creature of limitless power and largely immune to pain and physical damage only to have him destroyed with the most anti-climactic of methods; the last film set such a high standard with its triple Father-Son Kamehameha but this film’s climax is even more disappointing than Broly’s end from his debut film.

This time around, there’s no magic assistance from dead fathers or other Saiyans; Goten and Trunks are just as physically outmatched as ever and, thankfully, never depicted as being physically capable of matching or besting Broly’s power. Instead, they have to rely on dousing Broly in a caustic liquid that dissolves him on a cellular level; while this does initially cause Broly to transform even further into a gigantic goo creature, he simply collapses from the strain of the damage. I can’t help but feel like the film would have been a little better if Broly had retained his usual appearance for the majority of his screen time, exhibiting new or enhanced abilities (elasticity and near-instant cellular regeneration), and not assumed his monstrous, gunk-covered form until the end of the film. At least then he’d be far more imposing and interesting to look at rather than being reduced to a mindless sludge monster.

The Summary:
Dragonball Z: Bio-Broly is a pretty poor end to what was, initially, one of the more impressive movie (and Dragon Ball) villains. While always little more than an engine of destruction, Broly at least looked impressive and intimidating, dominating the most powerful characters of the series with ease and only being defeated by pure luck more than anything. Rather than focus his second appearance around a generational conflict that saw Broly go head-to-head with a more powerful and experience Gohan, his subsequent appearances have been little more than shameless attempts to cash in on his popularity. There was so much potential in repeat appearances from Broly to expand on his characterisation and threat but, in each reappearance, he was neutered further and further until he literally became nothing more than a mindless monster that was more an inconvenience than a true, life-threatening menace. It’s not just my bias against Goten, Trunks, or Mr. Satan that drags Bio-Broly down; it’s flawed on almost every level of its execution and can’t even be salvaged by the brief return of Broly let alone its few unimpressive fight scenes and, even when compared to other Dragon Ball features, it is one of the weaker entries for me.

My Rating:

Terrible

What did you think of Dragonball Z: Bio-Broly? Were you as disappointed as I was at the way Broly was treated in this film or do you actually rate this movie quite high? Are you a fan of Goten and Trunks or do you also find them to be annoying and grating characters? Which Dragon Ball characters do you like, or dislike, the most? How do you feel about this loose trilogy of films involving Broly? No matter what you think, feel free to leave a comment below.

When the Great Demon King Piccolo was released upon the world, he broadcasted a message on television declaring May 9^th as “Piccolo Day”…and promptly celebrated by announcing his ownership over the planet. Since then, May 9^th has been officially recognised as “Goku Day” but, to make things simpler, I’m using this as a good excuse to celebrate all things Dragon Ball and spend this month taking a look back at one of the franchise’s most popular villains: Broly.

Released: March 1994
Director: Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Distributor: Toei Company
Budget: ¥14.5 million
Stars: Kyle Herbert, Vic Mignogna, Kara Edwards, Laura Bailey, Robert McCollum, Sonny Strait, and Sean Schemmel

The Plot:
Whilst searching for the seven magical Dragon Balls with Videl (Edwards), Goten (ibid) and Trunks (Bailey) accidentally awaken the Legendary Super Saiyan, Broly (Mignogna), who crash-landed to Earth after escaping the destruction of New Vegeta. With Goku (Schemmel) dead, it’s up to the Saiyan children, and Goku’s oldest son, Gohan (Herbert), to confront Broly and end his threat once and for all.

The Background:
After debuting in the pages of Weekly Shōnen Jump back in 1984, Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball spawned not only an anime of its own but also a sequel series, Dragonball Z, in which series protagonist Goku had grown up to become a superhuman defender of the world. After being licensed by Funimation back in 1996, Dragonball Z largely dominated the lives of a generation of kids who were exposed to its depictions of good and evil and wacky, otherworldly concepts. A series of feature-length animated films accompanied Dragonball Z; though produced without the direct involvement of Toriyama, and thus largely considered non-canon, the films did introduce us to Broly, the hulking, terrifyingly powerful Super Saiyan of legend. The character became a near-instant hit, which no doubt contributed not only to him being only the second Dragonball Z movie villain to star in more than one film but also his multiple appearances in videogames and being the only movie villain to eventually be integrated in Toriyama’s recognised canon.

The Review:
Broly – Second Coming opens to show a Saiyan pod ominously crash-landing on Earth. Its passenger is, of course, a seriously wounded Broly, who is quickly frozen and entombed in ice. Apparently, mere moments before the destruction of New Vegeta in the last movie, Broly was able to make his way to a Saiyan craft and escape; quite how his pod knew to come to Earth isn’t really explained (I assume Paragus (Dartanian Nickelback) pre-programmed all of his crafts to head there since it was his goal to invade the planet, after all) and, while it is a bit lame to have Broly’s injuries not be as fatal as they appeared in the last movie, it’s no more lame than him being defeated by a simple punch. We quickly join Goten and Trunks, who are searching for the seven Dragon Balls in order to summon the Eternal Dragon, Shenron, for Gohan’s girlfriend, Videl. Their motivation for this literally extends to simply being that Videl wishes to meet the dragon, Trunks wants his own amusement park, and Goten wants to live in a land of cakes and ice cream; the quest for the Dragon Balls has often been arbitrary and played for laughs but you’d think the group could think of something a little more useful to wish for.

The group stumbles upon a village of locals, which is largely destitute despite the abundance of crystals scattered across the landscape. According to the village shaman, Maloja (McCollum) they are under constant threat from a monster that demands human sacrifice; Videl is characteristically sceptical but the village elder, Zalador (Grant James), attests that Maloja’s demands are the only way to appease their mysterious monster. Noticing that Maloja has a Dragon Ball around his neck, Trunks offers to take care of their problem and the three of them lay out an elaborate feast to lure the monster out. When Goten is unable to resist his Saiyan hunger, he gets a slap from Videl that sends him bawling; his cries echo through the mountain and awaken Broly, who was traumatised by the cries of Goten’s father as a child. The villager’s monster turns out to be little more than a dinosaur, a common creature in the Dragon Ball universe, which the Saiyan kids quickly taunt and make short work of, much to Videl’s chagrin. They then roast the dinosaur’s remains and return to the village as heroes, receiving the Dragon Ball for their troubles and disgracing Maloja. Their good time is soon interrupted, however, when Broly emerges from his frozen tomb and begins destroying the countryside; still baring the scars and wounds from his battle with Goku, and driven to insanity in his desire to kill the Saiyan who has haunted his nightmares, Broly violently attacks Goten (who naturally closely resembles his father) and the others.

Immediately outclassed, the Saiyan children are little more than play toys for Broly’s raw strength. However, while Broly is attacking them and searching for them in their many periods of hiding, they manage to locate the Four-Star Dragon Ball, the last one they need to summon Shenron, and make a plan to hold out against Broly long enough to call upon the dragon for help .Sensing the battle, Gohan rushes to join the fight and is horrified to find Broly still alive. Well, maybe “mildly aggravated” would be a better way of putting it as even Gohan, despite having witnessed Broly’s bloodthirsty and brutal nature, seems more annoyed by Broly’s presence than fearful. Equally outclassed, Gohan is unable to best the Legendary Super Saiyan, even when transforming into a Super Saiyan 2 and throwing everything he has at Broly and with Goten by his side. With certain death looming their way, they desperately wish for more power (specifically, in Goten’s case, for his Dad’s presence) and, finally, the Dragon Balls decide to activate, bringing Goku’s spirit to the battlefield and joining his sons in obliterating Broly with his own ki sphere.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Videl is just as pig-headed as always but, thankfully, her role in the film is relatively short. It’s amusing to see her charge at Broly head-on but at least the film never depicts her as having a chance at going toe-to-toe with the Legendary Super Saiyan. One scene that is a source of constant amusement, however, is when Krillin (Strait) impersonates and imitates Piccolo (Christopher R. Sabat) to rescue Gohan, proving that Krillin alone is all the comic relief a Dragonball Z movie ever needs. Goten and Trunks are as annoying as ever in their arrogance and stupidity; they constantly avoid serious harm simply by virtue of being little kids and having been basically born Super Saiyans. Realistically, they would never stand a chance against Broly based on his power level from the last movie, especially at this point when they haven’t even mastered fusion yet.

As expected, the children care more about food, peeing, sleeping, and looking cool rather than actually being capable fighters, lucking into a lot of their advantageous positions due to dumb luck and the raw power of their Super Saiyan forms rather than skill or strategy. The same largely applies to Gohan, who was continuously noted to be far weaker as a young adult compared to when he destroyed Cell (Dameon Clarke) as a teenager. Indeed, Gohan’s power at this point was presumably far lower than his father’s when he fought Broly, and Goku could only defeat the Super Saiyan through the power of his allies. Because of this, the battles against Broly lack the impact and danger of those in the last film; rather than seeing Dragonball Z’s most powerful characters helpless and beaten to within an inch of their lives by this monstrous new foe, Broly – Second Coming is more about the remaining protagonists trying to survive until Shenron decides to hear their wish and summon Goku to the battlefield.

As a result, Broly’s power and menace seems far less impressive this time around; injured and driven to a near-mindless rage, he even seems leaner and less imposing that in his debut appearance. Though he makes short work of the children, and Goten, it’s nowhere near as impressive as the way he no-sold the combined attacks of Goku, Vegeta (Sabat), and Future Trunks (Eric Vale), characters all far more powerful than those that appear in this movie. Sadly, despite his raw power and constant rage, Broly is a bit of a joke in this movie; he is easily outwitted and eluded by the kids (despite the fact that he should be able to sense their ki) and even gets pissed on by Trunks at one point and still fails to live up to even half of the threat he posed in the last film. Once Broly finally powers up to his “Legendary Super Saiyan” form, much of his former glory begins to return as he pummels Goten mercilessly, to the point where he is forced to beg for his father’s help. This, of course, leads to a pretty decent call-back to the iconic “Father-Son Kamehameha” that finally destroyed Cell as Goku joins his sons, in spirit, and, after Trunks follows his own father’s example and lands a minor blow that is enough to distract Broly, the three Saiyans vaporise Broly once and for all. It’s a great moment and trumps Broly’s disappointing end from the last movie, finally giving him a fitting death, but the entire film is a poor imitation of Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan.

The Summary:
Broly – Second Coming could have been so much more than it ended up being; thanks to the time period at which the film takes place (essentially some time after the end of the “Cell Games Saga”), we’re left following Goten and Trunks for the majority of the film’s runtime and, biased though I may be, I never found these characters that interesting; they’re an annoyance at the best of times and aggravating at the worst, constantly messing about and acting like…well, spoiled, arrogant little kids. I would have much preferred that the film focus on Gohan and his personal battle against Broly in a recreation of his battle against Cell; since much of the film borrows from these recognisable elements anyway, I feel it would have been far stronger if it had gone down this path and included Vegeta, Goten, and Trunks as supporting characters rather than not at all and primary protagonists, respectively. Either way, Broly is a neutered threat; he lacks most of the imposing menace and destructive power so brilliantly showcased in his debut film and seems to struggle against a handful of opponents who are far weaker than those he faced last time, making for a bittersweet reunion with one of Dragon Ball’s more ferocious villains.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

Did you enjoy Broly – Second Coming? How do you feel it holds up compared to Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan? How do you feel about Goten and Trunks and the missed opportunity to have Gohan become the series’ main protagonist after Goku’s death? Do you agree that Broly was severely neutered in this film or do you, perhaps, rank Broly – Second Coming quite high compared to other Dragon Ball movies? Whatever you think about this film, feel free to share your memories of Dragon Ball in the comments below.

When the Great Demon King Piccolo was released upon the world, he broadcasted a message on television declaring May 9^th as “Piccolo Day”…and promptly celebrated by announcing his ownership over the planet. Since then, May 9^th has been officially recognised as “Goku Day” but, to make things simpler, I’m using this as a good excuse to celebrate all things Dragon Ball and spend this month taking a look back at one of the franchise’s most popular villains: Broly.

Released: March 1993
Director: Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Distributor: Toei Company
Budget: ¥713.7 million
Stars: Sean Schemmel, Vic Mignogna, Christopher R. Sabat, Stephanie Nadolny, Eric Vale, Sonny Strait, Mike McFarland, and Dartanian Nickelback

The Plot:
A rare moment of peace for Son Goku (Schemmel) and his friends is interrupted when Paragus (Nickelback) lures them to New Vegeta by appealing to the vanity and ego of Vegeta (Sabat), prince of the Saiyan race. Their curiosity is piqued by stories of the “Legendary Super Saiyan” running amok but things soon take a turn for the worst when they encounter Paragus’s unhinged son, Broly (Mignogna), who desires nothing more than death and destruction.

The Background:
Debuting in the pages of Weekly Shōnen Jump back in 1984 as Dragon Ball, Dragonball Z is the much-loved and popular creation of writer and artist Akira Toriyama. Originally borrowing many of its plot and characters from Journey to the West (Cheng’en, 1592), Dragon Ball followed Goku, a young boy with a monkey’s tail and exceptional martial arts skills, as he travelled the world growing stronger and often searching for the seven magical Dragon Balls. In Dragonball Z, Goku was depicted as an adult and a member of the exceptionally powerful Saiyan race. Dragonball Z took a far more science-fiction-orientated approach to the narrative, introducing several new characters and concepts that would come to define the entire franchise in popular, mainstream media. Dragonball Z was a massively popular anime in the West and was first licensed by Funimation back in 1996, who set about cutting or otherwise altering the often graphic and violent content of the original anime for its less desensitised audience. Nevertheless, the anime was popular enough in both the East and the West to inspire the creation of several feature-length films, seven of which had been produced prior to this one for Dragonball Z alone. Generally produced without the direct involvement of Toriyama, these films told a truncated version of the “Sagas” depicted in the anime and often failed to align with established canon as a result. As is often the case, though, Toriyama was invited to conceive of the design for an all-new antagonist, creating one of the most recognisable characters in Dragon Ball canon as a result, one who was so popular that he featured in three more movies (two of which were direct sequels to this one) and numerous videogames and ancillary media.

The Review:
Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan sets the stage for the threat the titular Super Saiyan poses right from the off as it opens with the South Galaxy being “shattered by a Super Saiyan”; the level of destruction is so fearsome that it puts the wind up King Kai (Schemmel). While that may seem impressive, though, you have to remember that every threat that comes along in the Dragon Ball franchise tends to give King Kai the shivers; it’s such a common theme that it doesn’t really carry the same weight, especially when viewed retroactively. We then jump to series protagonist Goku, who has been forced into a fancy suit and is being badgered, as always, by his highly strung wife, Chi-Chi (Cynthia Cranz). Desperate to make a good impression so that their son, Son Gohan (Nadolny), can get into a fancy private school, Chi-Chi is even more overbearing and demanding than usual (if that’s even possible) and Goku is just as awkward and dumb-headed as ever, thinking only about fighting and food, and only serving to aggravate his wife even more.

Goku is restless not only because he’s bored and hungry but also because he’s missing out on a nice little picnic for his closest friends and family; in many ways, though, I envy Goku as he doesn’t have to put up with Krillin’s (Strait) God-awful singing, which is so bad that Vegeta looks ready to kill him. Thankfully, this ear-splitting screeching is interrupted by the arrival of Paragus, who drops down in a massive spaceship full of alien soldiers, all of whom immediately bow and pay reverence to Vegeta. While Vegeta isn’t massively impressed with Paragus’s desires to rebuild the Saiyan army, his curiosity is piqued when Paragus mentions that the “Legendary Super Saiyan” is wreaking havoc across the galaxy. Sure that it’s some kind of trick, Future Trunks (Vale) moves to stop his father from leaving and stows away on the spaceship with Krillin, Master Roshi (McFarland), and Oolong (Bradford Jackson), of all people. These latter two character exist simply to act as our comedy relief for the remainder of the film, which is generally their role in most of the Dragon Ball movies and anime but it’s somewhat out of place here; Roshi’s intoxicated state is good for a few laughs but I can’t help but feel like Krillin could have handled the awkward comedy relief parts perfectly well all by himself.

Goku, having learned of the “Legendary Super Saiyan” from King Kai, is just as excited at the prospect of facing such a powerful opponent. While Vegeta views the presence of the mythical warrior as a worthy challenge, arrogant in his belief that he will be able to overcome such a foe, Goku is as giddy as a schoolkid at facing someone that is potentially more powerful than him and immediately heads to the South Galaxy to track the Super Saiyan down. Neither character, or any of the others for that matter, seems to think about the fact that Super Saiyans already exist (Goku, Trunks, and Vegeta are already Super Saiyans by this point) but there is clearly a distinction between their power-ups and the “Legendary Super Saiyan” that inspired their golden forms. Equally odd is how easily impressed Goku is with the destruction left by the Legendary Super Saiyan; considering Frieza (Linda Young) did far worse to both Planet Vegeta and Planet Namek compared to what Goku sees, it’s a bit strange to see him so concerned about this new being’s power when all he’s seen is a wrecked city. Still, once the others reach New Vegeta, Vegeta is hailed as a king and takes an instant liking to Paragus’s Saiyan son, Broly. Vegeta even chooses Broly to accompany him in confronting the Legendary Super Saiyan over his son, which is a bit odd considering everyone goes out of their way to say how weak, timid, and unassuming Broly is.

Clearly affected by his father’s choice, and concerned about Paragus’s true motives, Trunks investigates the planet with Krillan and Gohan and discovers that New Vegeta is little more than a barren wasteland filled with the skeleton of a civilisation to give the illusion of a vastly populated world. They also discover an alien race being enslaved by Paragus’s troops to power his citadel but, after Goku arrives via Instant Transmission, their concerns about Paragus are almost immediately and stupidly put to ease. However, we the audience are then subsequently shown that Paragus is, in fact, plotting to have a comet destroy the planet. Vegeta and Broly return empty-handed soon after; Vegeta is characteristically frustrated not just because they failed to track down the Legendary Super Saiyan but also because of Goku’s presence. And he’s not the only one annoyed by Goku as, upon meeting him, Broly gets extremely agitated, is barely able to contain himself, and must be subdued by his father and his handy-dandy remote control. The very next scene reveals that the remote is starting to have less and less effect on Broly’s power due to Goku’s presence and we get the first of a number of flashbacks to help flesh out the backstory of Paragus and Broly. Broly was a super destructive feral child and Paragus, unable to control him, was forced to fit him with a suppressing device out of fear for Broly’s violent and ever-growing powers, which almost caused Broly to kill his father, and in a bid to use that same power to dominate the universe.

Critically, Broly was also born with a power level of ten thousand and on the same day as Goku; baby Goku’s constant wailing and crying disturbed Broly, traumatising him and causing him to grow up with a dead-seated hatred for Goku. Unable to contain this hatred, Broly attacks Goku in a mindless rage, proving a formidable opponent whose power appears to be almost limitless, until Paragus is able to calm him once more. The fight is enough to convince Goku that Broly is the Legendary Super Saiyan they have been searching for, a fact he shares with Vegeta just as he is about to leave and which is corroborated when the alien slaves identify Broly as the one who ransacked their world. With the truth revealed, Paragus immediately reveals his true intentions: he orchestrated the entire charade in order to use the oncoming comet to remove the only ones capable of keeping him from invading and colonising Earth with a new Saiyan army (quite how he intends to do that without any Saiyan women is beyond me…). He also reveals that he desires revenge against Vegeta since it was his father, King Vegeta (Sabat) who, fearing Broly’s power, banished the two of them and tried to have them killed. Unable to contain himself any longer, Broly disobeys his father, begins to power up, and engages with the Saiyans. Even as a Super Saiyan, Vegeta’s attacks don’t even faze Broly, who relentlessly targets Goku, shattering his restraining headband and finally transforming into the hulking Legendary Super Saiyan in an explosion of power so immense that it threatens to split the planet in half.

Now little more than a mindless, ravenous beast, Broly’s awesome power is enough to bring Vegeta to his knees in fear; seeing that Broly truly is the Legendary Super Saiyan, Vegeta refuses to fight, believing that they (and even he) are powerless in the face of such awesome might. Broly makes short work of all those who oppose him, his power actually increasing the longer the fight progresses, and lays waste to the entire planet in a burst of rage. So total is his mindless, insane fury that he callously murders his father, freeing him of all restrictions and allowing him to truly let loose his full power. True to form, Piccolo (ibid) eventually arrives to lend a hand, healing the protagonists with some Senzu Beans and setting the stage for the film’s ultimate climactic battle and eventually convincing Vegeta to join the fight. Of course, Vegeta’s fears are true and they are no match for Broly’s power, even fighting as a group, forcing the protagonists to pool their energy into Goku for one last blow, defeating Broly and leaving him to die as the comet strikes New Vegeta.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Broly is a nigh-unstoppable force of nature not unlike DC Comics’ Doomsday, who debuted a few months earlier, and attacks do little to faze him even before he powers up to his “Legendary Super Saiyan” form. He has the same distinct footsteps as Cell (Dameon Clarke) but, despite having an interesting backstory that directly ties him to Goku and being far chattier here than in other appearances, he is a far cry from more loquacious and charismatic villains like Frieza or Cell. Instead, Broly is all about sheer, mindless power and unbridled destruction; he is the Saiyan lust for battle incarnate and dialled up to eleven, revelling in death, devastation, and driven only to kill Goku and all those who stand before him

So awesome is Broly’s power that he destroys an entire world with one energy blast; this puts him at a level above Frieza, who took forever and a day to charge enough energy to destroy Planet Namek. His sheer indestructibility and ability to absorb and no-sell hits also puts him on a similar level to Cell, though he favours raw, unbridled strength over absorbing or adapting to the abilities of his opponents. In just a few blows, Broly is able to blast Gohan and Trunks out of their Super Saiyan forms and, even after Piccolo’s Senzu Beans restore their vitality, Goku is, of course, soon left to tackle the Legendary Super Saiyan alone with only his strength and matchless tenacity.

Vegeta is so horrified by Broly’s power that he refuses to fight; never before has Vegeta been so crippled by fear and awe. Even in the face of Frieza and Cell’s final forms, he would rise to fight, refusing to admit that he was outmatched but, here, he can’t even bring himself to defend himself much less try to oppose Broly. He cannot understand why Goku and the others even attempt to match fists with Broly, so total is his despair at the futility of their situation; even when completely out-matched by Kid Buu (Josh Martin), Vegeta at least attempted to fight but, against Broly, it’s all he can do to begrudgingly lend Goku the power to defeat the Legendary Super Saiyan. It’s an interesting new twist on Vegeta’s stubborn, prideful nature; seeing him shaken to the core and paralysed by dread is a sobering moment and really helps sell the level of Broly’s threat just as much as seeing him make mincemeat of Goku and the other Super Saiyans.

Yet, as impressive as Broly is, he is little more than a mindless beast and this film essentially boils down to an extended fight scene. The plot moves along briskly, never stopping to dwell or elaborate on things and characters more than it has to, which is something I always liked about the Dragon Ball feature films: they distil the generally prolonged fight scenes and endless power up sequences of the anime down to the basics and get right to the action as quickly as possible. Broly has an interesting backstory and certainly makes an impression…right up until his anticlimactic defeat. In the end, after all the ki blasts, power-ups, and blows he has absorbed, Broly goes down relatively easily from a super-powered blow to the abdomen. At least it makes a change from Goku defeating his opponent with a Spirit Bomb but it’s a disappointing way to defeat what is an otherwise very impressive villain; luckily, though, the next movie retroactively shows that Broly actually survived this attack (and rightfully so) but Broly’s unbeatable aura would be diminished in his subsequent appearances.

The Summary:
The Dragon Ball feature films have always been quick snapshots of the generally long-winded anime and Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan is no different; flying through the simple plot and getting right to the action, Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan stands out from its predecessors through the sheer impressive presence of Broly. A sadistic, merciless, hulking monster of a Saiyan, Broly is fascinating for the questions he raises about the Super Saiyan form alone: is he truly the Legendary Super Saiyan whom Vegeta had heard stories of as a child or is he simply an enormously powerful Saiyan who has tapped into a raw form of the same energy the other Saiyans use? While little more than one massive fight scene, Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan is worth a watch for the titular Super Saiyan, if nothing else, and definitely to see Vegeta so wracked by horror that he flat out refuses to fight.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

What did you think of Dragonball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan? Where does it rank for you against the other Dragonball Z feature films? What did you think of Broly’s introduction and how would you rate him as a character and antagonist? Would you have liked to see Broly integrated into the main series canon sooner or do you feel he’s over-rated and, perhaps, a relatively underwhelming character? What Dragon Ball character (hero, villain, or otherwise), saga, or movie is your favourite and why? How are you celebrating Piccolo/Goku Day this year? Whatever your thoughts on Dragon Ball, please leave a comment below.