Review: Dragon Ball Movies (1995-2015)

"In handling the scripts for the films, what I always worried about each time was the problem of what to do about the opponent Goku fights against. That's because, at the very least, they had to be stronger than [the ones from] the previous movie. After much hard work, I was unable to come up with an opponent stronger than Broly, and fell into a rut where I made him appear three times." -Takao Koyama, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z head writer, and author of DBZ movies 1-13, speaking about his work. (Full thoughts here, on Kanzenshuu.)

The mid-DBZ section of movies and specials were some of the weakest in the bunch. And from looking at Koyama's own thoughts years later, it seems a lot of this was due to writer's block he ran into after writing DBZ Movie 8. Akira Toriyama has expressed a similar problem with writing Dragon Ball before, too -- an expectation to always raise the stakes with stronger villains with each villain. As Dragon Ball came to a close, and then revived over a decade later, we'll see the strategy shift from "stronger" to ... something else, for better or worse.

The Rebirth of Fusion!! Goku and Vegeta

Dragon Ball Z Movie 12

Rating: Great (3 out of 3)

First of all, this movie is gorgeous. In early 1995, when this movie was released, CG was beginning to play a larger role in animation, even traditional animation. And while the TV series remained traditional at this point, this movie has small, but effective, use of CG to give it large, cinematic scope the other films simply didn't have. The story is quite odd, truthfully. Because of an accident in the Next World, Hell's spirits are let loose on the Living Realm, and it's up to Gohan to take on the villains of the past, while Goten and Trunks fight Hitler. (Yes. Hitler.) But the real magic of the movie is in Hell itself, where Goku, Paikuhan, and a momentarily revived Vegeta (still dead and in Hell from his fight with Majin Boo) take on a new incarnation of evil - Janemba. And Janemba is an awesome villain. While he takes quite a few cues from Boo, Janemba has a kind of maniacal charm that Boo at his most anarchic never quite captures. He truly seems to be enjoying himself, originally fighting Goku as a game, and slowly learning and increasing his strength as the game gets more deadly. The real strength isn't in the story or the villain, though; It's in the dynamic of Goku and Vegeta, as they fight a battle for all of existence within Hell, against the embodiment of wickedness. While it parallels nicely with much of what made the fight with Kid Boo great, it came before those episodes. And Gogeta is way cooler than Vegetto. Also, the music is really great.

Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Can't Do It, Who Will?!

Dragon Ball Z Movie 13

Rating: Great (3 out of 3)

Like the previous movie, this movie looks larger than life. Some of that is to do with the Kaiju villain, or city wide setting. But the beautiful mixing of traditional and early computer animation blend into a gorgeous movie. And a movie that decides to pull back with some of the noise of a typical DBZ feature, and instead focus almost exclusively on character. Specifically, Trunks, and his new friend, the ancient hero Tapion. While Goku and his sons still play a big role in the movie, they largely take a back seat to Trunks, whose desire to have a big brother of his own leads to him becoming attached to Tapion, a sword-wielding, handsome, sorrow-filled youth (sound familiar?).  Instead of instantly bonding, the movie takes time to breathe and allow their friendship to form naturally. So when the final battle comes and the only way to win might be for Trunks to slay his new friend, you really feel it. (And when you consider what this means for Future Trunks, you feel it extra.) If I have any issues with the film, it's that Vegeta's role is terribly small... but also one of the highlights, so that makes up for it, I guess. Also, the music is really great.

The Path to Ultimate Strength

Dragon Ball 10th Anniversary Movie

Rating: Great (3 out of 3)

Like the previous Dragon Ball movies, sans-Z, this movie (sometimes called DB Movie 4, and once even called DBZ Movie 14, weirdly, on the internet in my youth) retells and slightly remixes the original Dragon Ball story. Unlike those movies, this movie wasn't made as the series was in production. As an anniversary movie, it's able to tell a condensed version of the two storylines most synonymous with pre-Z Dragon Ball, Pilaf and Red Ribbon, but also pull smaller inspiration from the wider world and mythos of this then-decade old tale. The movie is sweeter, humbler, and sillier than Takao Koyama's Dragon Ball Z movies; A staple of Aya Matsui's writing, who penned this, as well as many fan favorite DBZ episodes, and served as head writer for always-sentimental DBGT. And that's what this movie is, sentimental. Whether to a new fan, a returning fan of old, or a life long diehard fan, this movie will fill you with the vast scope of Dragon Ball's story, themes, and messages, without ever blurting it outright or cramming it in your face. In that regard, it's the perfect celebration for Dragon Ball. As the series first Feature Length film, the budget is remarkably larger than any previous movie, and it shows. Like DBZ Movies 12 and 13, CG and traditional are merged beautifully into some breathtaking shots and lightning quick action scenes. This movie also becomes the second movie not to use Shunsuke Kikuchi's music, instead employing GT's Akihito Tokunaga. He leaves out the plonky, kiddie-fied sounds he used throughout early GT in favor of sweeping, emotional, and to say it again, sentimental music. It works well, and it's easy to see why these tracks were favored when scoring the later half of GT, and its TV special.

Dragon Ball GT: Goku's Side Story! 

The Four-Star-Ball is a Testament to Courage

Dragon Ball GT TV Special

Rating: Great (3 out of 3)

Speaking of the GT TV Special, it's also pretty dang great. While not written by Aya Matsui, her influence on GT's sweet tone carries over to this special. Atsushi Maekawa penned this one, who wrote a ton of GT episodes, and no doubt made you cry if you've ever watched Episode 63 and 64 of GT (which he wrote). Unlike what Koyama spoke about in my quote at the top of this post, and Toriyama's similar musings, this movie makes no attempt to raise the stakes. It lowers them, right to the ground, right to a new beginning. Son Goku Jr. is his own kind of protagonist, despite his design and name. As some kind of mixture of Gohan and Kuririn, he is a timid boy with a big heart, which leads him to a gutsy adventure. This movie is about character, family, legacy, and hope. It's the kind of coming-of-age tale you wouldn't expect out of Dragon Ball, and indeed shouldn't expect out of Dragon Ball, yet it's done here so beautifully. Between every attempt to sequelize Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z that Toei, Toriyama, Bandai, and even fans have done, this movie stands above them as the very best one. And the music is largely borrowed from the Path to Ultimate Strength, so that ain't bad either. 

Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
Jump Festa 2008 Special

Rating: Great (3 out of 3)

11 years after Dragon Ball GT aired its final episode, it was Shonen Jump, and not Toei, who brought the gang back together. And I'm not talking about Goku and his pals -- Akira Toriyama wrote the draft, Takao Koyama wrote the script, Shunsuke Kikuchi's original score was revived, and a baker's dozen animators from the original production of DB/Z/GT all returned to craft this half hour, one-off reunion of the greatest anime ever produced. And it's every bit worthy of that legacy. Though new characters arrive, Toriyama seems to have found this story in reverting the expectation he and Koyama wrestled with; Endowing the villains of this special with abilities that might have made Goku sweat in his pre-Super Saiyan days, but certainly not now. It's played for laughs and given the opportunity for many characters to return and shine. It's weird to think about it now, but when this special came out, it was the first piece of "canon" Dragon Ball that bridged the gap in the Lost Decade between Majin Boo and DBZ's sudden conclusion. And unlike the now-numerous additions to that once empty era, it does nothing to take away from Z's ending, but gives us one last little story with the gang, before saying goodbye. Also, the music, for the last time it would be, is really great.

The Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans
Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast 2 OVA

Rating: Poor (1 out of 3)

Of all the things to remake, maybe the weird/bad OVA from the mid-90s that no one really bothered to see? Actually, it's pretty clever, in spite of itself. At this point, the "Lost OVA" had been a legend on DBZ internet fandom for a decade and a half. Also at this point, Dragon Ball Z's annual video games sales had been declining - sales that were once so good, they literally kept Atari from going bankrupt. So by packaging their latest entry with a brand newish animated feature, and one based on a legendary unseen OVA, Bandai could market their game to fans who were tired of beating up the same old DBZ staples. This also meant they didn't have to sink the time into making something wholly original, either. And frankly, while it suffers from much the same stuff as its 90s counterpart, it is considerably better. The music is leaps and bounds better, with one track during the final battle I quite like. And with it being half the length of the original two-part OVA, so much of the nonsense that reference "hey this is based off of a video game" is completely cut, leaving a stupid, but much more traditional DBZ story. It isn't good, by any stretch. But as an added intensives to buy video games go, I'll take "not very good new episode of DBZ" over GameStop pre-order bonuses any day.

Episode of Bardock

Dragon Ball Z OVA

Rating: Good (2 out of 3)

I get the sense that this might be the most controversial review of the whole batch of movies; A perfect one to point to if I didn't like Movie X (which also happens to be your favorite) and proof that I really don't know what I'm talking about. But as What If video game ties in go, this little special is a lot of fun. It's well animated, well acted, well written, and even dodges the nasty bullet these kind of stories are often hit by; Overly explaining themselves. We don't know why Bardock was thrown through time. We don't even know if he really was, or if this is all in his mind. We don't know, and it's fine. Bardock again delivers as a protagonist, this time having the first, and as of yet only, Dragon Ball movie or special where Goku doesn't appear on screen or tie into the plot. And you don't miss him. Bardock will always be a fascinating character, and while seeing "new" adventures with him live and well in the canon universe is may the worst idea since Dragon Ball Minus, I love seeing him get the What If treatment. Especially when it's this fun and cool.

Battle of Gods
Dragon Ball Z Movie 14

Rating: Poor (1 out of 3)

Battle of Gods isn't the worst DBZ movie, but it is the worst competently made DBZ movie. What I mean to say is, all the parts for a good DBZ movie are here, but they're out of order and with the emphasis in all the wrong places. Beerus is entertaining enough, and a brand new character idea for the franchise, but he's an utterly crap villain. Super Saiyan God is a similarly new and cool idea, but is executed stupidly and looks neither good nor awful -- making it boring. Unlike the previous DBZ movies, which raised the stakes with each entry like the TV show and manga, and unlike the movies between those and now, which refined the stakes by telling humbler, sweeter stories, this movie tries to do both and ends up failing miserably at both. On one hand, Battle of Gods wants to be like Movie 3 or 9, where the whole cast is pushed to the limit by an utterly incomprehensibly strong new foe. On the other hand, it wants to be Yo!, with a simple reunion tale about Goku and the gang kicking back and having good times and fighting with an amusing baddie as a finale. But what it actually achieves is a Dragon Ball without any sense of stakes or tension. Not because the villain is actually a push over -- he isn't -- but because of simple bad writing that never allows the viewer to ever feel any real sense of fear, or let the characters show a real sense of struggle. Yes, this movie is better than hot garbage like Movie 7 or the Eradicate OVAs. But unlike those, this wasn't a Festival attraction or a straight-to-VHS schlock. This was supposed to be Dragon Ball's grand return. And everyone who worked on it should be absolutely ashamed that they bothered to show it in public and have their names on it. Fuck this movie. It made Dragon Ball boring.

Resurrection "F"
Dragon Ball Z Movie 15

Rating: Good (2 out of 3)

Sadly, Freeza's return is a bit of a bust. He's brought back easily, gets a new form quickly, and then attacks the Earth lazily. And the fight between him and Goku is far too long, and with Vegeta, far too short. But the middle section, where Goku and Vegeta are training with Whis, and the Earthlings are fighting against the Freeza Force, are classic Dragon Ball at the franchise's absolute best. Like Toriyama's previous movie, he doesn't quite know what to emphasis here, though he's a lot better at it in this much simpler story. The animation has a plastic, lifeless quality to it that, while not as bad as Battle of Gods, still looks so terrible when compared to the other Feature Length film, Path to Ultimate Strength. That said, the acting is tremendous, with Nakao killing it again. Super Saiyan Blue is a lot cooler looking than God. And while the main fight lacks any real sense of tension or accomplishment, again, that middle section, especially the Earthling fight, is so fucking good, that I can't dislike this movie. And at least it doesn't have that godawful Flow cover of Cha La Head Cha La.