Dragon Ball’s newest film, “Dragon Ball Super: Superhero” is a film set three years after the events of 2018’s “Broly” movie. The movie is a fine production all together, and a good Dragon Ball picture. The film focuses on the rebuild of the infamous Red Ribbon Army after the deaths of Doctor Gero and his super android, Cell. With the Red Ribbon Army’s return to power thanks to Doctor Hedo and his androids, it’s up to Piccolo to stop them before they take over the world. Instead of centering the film on Goku and Vegeta, this time the movie takes a different route, focusing on Piccolo and Gohan instead. This works really well, since they weren’t given much during the run of “Dragon Ball Super.” The story, however, feels slightly rushed this time around. While the plot is interesting, the pacing moves very quickly and leaves the audience with some unanswered questions that could be left for interpretation. It’s not as good as 2018’s Broly, but the story is filled with intense scenes, several callbacks to old concepts from the series and some low stakes.
Before talking about the characters, it’s worth mentioning how wildly different the animation is when compared to its predecessor. While Naohiro Shintani animated Broly with a beautiful 2D style, Superhero’s animation is mostly CG animated, wildly compared to the Dragon Ball video game, “Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot”. The style of Broly looked fantastical and had some of the best animation in any official Dragon Ball project since the Tournament of Power. Superhero’s style is very fluid, and every character looks great throughout this entire film, especially during fight scenes. There isn’t much to criticize regarding the art style; it looks fantastic and beautiful.
As mentioned before, Goku and Vegeta do not join in on the adventure, so Gohan and Piccolo fill in for their absence. Gohan’s character arc repeats from previous movies, where he is not strong enough and needs to become more powerful to protect his family. Gohan’s recurring arc trope takes on a new twist with the unexplained form known as “Gohan Beast.” Fighting against Gohan are Gammas 1 and 2; Gamma 2 is very expressive and entertaining throughout the entire film in contrast with Gamma 1 who’s more confident, calm and inscrutable. Then there is Doctor Hedo, who just feels like a little kid with[CT8] a strong enough knowledge in biology and a degree in plot armor to keep him from death. We get Magenta, who acts like any basic supervillain with a world ending weapon, intending to take over the world they plan to destroy. Viewers also get Cell Max, a redundant plot device for the main characters to fight, that also gives Gohan an extra push.
The film shines brightest during the moments viewers spend with Piccolo. What makes this otherwise alright film better is the character development Piccolo undergoes, a character who, while known as one of the strongest warriors in the Dragon Ball universe, has the most underdeveloped character thanks to his treatment in Dragon Ball Super. Piccolo’s scenes are the best parts of the film, and we finally get to see the side of him that longtime fans haven’t seen since Dragon Ball Z’s original run. With Piccolo unlocking his true potential, fighting Gamma 2 and becoming Orange Piccolo, his character is brought back to life after being overshadowed by Goku and Vegeta. Orange Piccolo is a terrific way to advance his character from where he was and give him more for fans to lean in on for future Dragon Ball stories. It gives hope for whatever is to come next for the series and brings opportunities for Piccolo and Gohan to explore their newfound powers.
If you are a Dragon Ball fan, you will appreciate several scenes and moments from this movie. While the pacing and some of the characters can be criticized, “Dragon Ball Super: Superhero” is still an enjoyable watch overall. Fans will love the moments they spend with Piccolo, Gamma, Gohan and Pan, along with the beautiful fights. While not as great as “Broly,” this movie is a must watch for fans of the series and a tribute to fans of both Gohan and Piccolo.
