I've been watching the Dragon Ball franchise for nearly a decade now, and I've witnessed its transformation from an old relic of the 20th century to a revitalized sensation that captures new fans worldwide. Prior to the announcement of Battle of Gods in the early 2010s, the only thing that quenched the thirst of the Dragon Ball community was the sporadic rumors and fan manga that roamed the internet. The franchise's latest installment prior to Super, Dragon Ball GT, ended back in 1997 not before facing a variety of criticisms ranging from its change in story direction, design inconsistencies, and even its vague lackluster ending. While GT certainly had its flaws, its lack of overall appreciation can also be attributed to the fatigue that slowly began to plague the franchise starting with the Majin Buu arc.
However, after a decade and a half, the producers of the series noticed the increased appetite for more Dragon Ball among fans. In response, they released two new films and a installment called Dragon Ball Super. When the new series aired, I went in with high expectations only to be tragically let down when the first episodes were pathetically animated rehashes of the two movies. Fortunately, the quality of the series did progress, but it never really met my initial expectations which I had to lower to thoroughly enjoy new episodes. The Future Trunks arc did introduce interesting concepts, not counting the cliché "Evil Goku" trope, and it also featured a couple of beautifully animated episodes. The following Tournament of Power arc was also interesting; nevertheless, my expectations were so watered down that I no longer watched to get any meaning out of the plot, but instead I tuned into each episode to see all the pretty colors, auras, and explosions. The Tournament of Power finally concluded in episode 131, and I finally felt like I was free — no longer bound by the addicting rush of waiting a week for the next twenty-minute episode just to then set my sights on following episode which would then air another week later. In retrospect, I really was in a cycle of lukewarm pleasure and constant disappointment. But then, the announcement of a new Broly movie dropped on everyone's lab. I was devastated. I had to see this movie, but I just knew it would completely utterly suck. I thought Dragon Ball was finally done, and I was wrong.
Fast forward a couple of months, and the first trailer came out. I was immediately intrigued by the art style; it seemed very bouncy and fluid in stark contrast to the rigid, detailed animation style I was expecting. I, along with others, took the animation style as a sign of a step in the right direction since Dragon Ball is a fighting anime and a smooth fluid animation style would give the animators more creative power to improve the fight choreography. For the first time in awhile, my expectations began to increase as more trailers were released. Once the movie came out in Japan back in December, I only heard of reviews that ranged from good to stellar. My hype had reached an all time high, and I even searched the internet for any decent movie leaks. Unfortunately, none were to be found, and like everyone else in North America, I had to wait until the middle of January.
Eventually, the time had come. I headed to the movies late one night and sat in the middle row. The move lights dimmed to darkness, the movie opened with a crimson red Planet Vegeta, and I knew I was in for a good time. The dozens of reviews that are circulating the internet do the movie more justice than I could with one post. Nearly everyone agrees that the animation serves as the movie's blaring strength. The fights looked absolutely amazing from the camera angles to the changing environments. The only thing about the animation that turned my brow were the brief moments the animators had to rely on CGI to capture the three-dimensional landscape of the battle. In addition, the music that accompanied the fights was excellent. In my experience, the most memorable song was Gogeta's soundtrack which nearly gave the movie a new thrilling tone. Now, while the movie was excellent when it came to its visuals, it did not have a deep profound plot; however, this did not prevent me from enjoying it, as I would consider it an average plot with amazing execution. Besides, I am now under the impression that people don't really watch Dragon Ball for its story line. Everyone watch it for the fights, buff men, and testosterone that literally irradiates from the screen.
All in all, I really enjoyed the movie. Through all of this, I hope that Dragon Ball Super: Broly is an indicator that Dragon Ball will see a major increase of quality when it comes to its future releases. While the movie isn't necessarily in any league with the best of animated films that have found their way on the big screen, I would definitely call it the best movie in the Dragon Ball franchise by a mile. The movie shows that when Dragon Ball's animation studio, Toei Animation, puts their best into something, they are capable of building a masterpiece.
And if you happen to be a Dragon Ball fan who has not seen this movie, what are you doing? Go watch it!