Growing up in the early 2000's, one of
the most exciting things about coming home from school was gearing up
for Toonami on Cartoon Network, back when it had the afternoon block.
It introduced me to popular anime at the time, like “Sailor Moon,”
“Gundam,” “Outlaw Star,” “Yu Yu Hakusho,” and of course,
“Dragon Ball.” I've always loved the “Dragon Ball” franchise,
and it always feels nostalgic whenever I revisit the series from time
to time, even if it does seem a bit long at times but that's mostly
on “DBZ's” part.
With how action packed and popular
“DBZ” had gotten, there have been movies made to appeal to the
fans of the series, some of them ranged from good, to okay, but they
weren't really canon with the main story itself. That however has
changed, as we were given the first “Dragon Ball Z” movie to be
both canon with the series AND have Akira Toriyama involved with it.
And seeing how it's the 30th anniversary of “Dragon
Ball,” I now bring to you, my review of “Dragon Ball Z: Battle of
Gods.”
After waking from his deep slumber,
Beerus the Destroyer, a god of destruction, sets his eyes on
approaching the legendary Super Saiyan God. He believes that Goku is
that legendary one, since he was the first to achieve Super Saiyan
and had defeated Frieza. However, when he finds that Goku isn't the
deity, he goes to Earth to see if Vegeta is the chosen one. Now Goku
has to find out the secrets of the Super Saiyan God, all the while
Vegeta tries to keep Beerus calm and relaxed so he doesn't destory
the Earth.
Just to jump to conclusions, I fucking
loved this movie! Out of all the theater experiences I've had this
year, this and “Guardians of the Galaxy” were the most fun! The
animation is great to look at, the action scenes are some of the best
I've seen animated in the franchise, and...oh my god, it's just a
complete nostalgia trip for me! I can die happy, knowing that I got
to see this epic event in the theater with other fans like me. Thank
you, Fathom Events, for allowing this to happen. It was said that the
reason Akira Toriyama wanted to make this film happen, was to fight
back at the horrendous pile of shit that was “Dragon Ball
Evolution,” which I still hold for being the biggest middle finger
a film could possibly give. Not only that, but since it takes place
after the Majin Buu incident, I can only assume it's a bit of an
attack on “GT,” which...wasn't bad, but not really that great.
And from what I hear, this film's success has allowed for the
approval of new “DBZ” movies to follow this one. All I can say
is...I'M SO HAPPY!
All the characters we've come to love
are in this film. Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, King Kai, Krillin, Gohan,
everyone's there, so if you know the series, you know how these
characters are. With that said, the only characters I'll be going
into depth with are Beerus and his teacher, Whis. Beerus the
Destroyer is actually a pretty enjoyable villain, and one of the
funnier ones in a while. He doesn't destroy because he wants control
over the universe, he just does it because it's what he does for a
living, hence the name “the Destroyer.” His interactions with all
the characters are enjoyable, and with the kind of attitude he has,
only tactics like Vegeta singing and dancing could distract him from
destroying the Earth over a bullet. And yes, you read that
right...Vegeta does that, in this movie, and it's really funny. Not
to mention, Jason Douglas does a great job voicing the character,
making it fitting for the kind of character in the film.
Whis on the other hand, is more calm
and well focused than Beerus, as he doesn't feel the need to destroy
as much as Beerus does. In fact, most of the time he just feels like
taste testing most of the food on Earth, which also has some good
moments too. And Ian Sinclair, who does the English voice of Brook in
“One Piece,” really lets the tone settle in with him throughout
the film.
While the film was excellent, I do
have one little nitpick that I want to address: How did King Kai get
his planet back? Seriously, it was blown up by Cell, and he's been
living with the other Kais since then. How'd he get it back?
Somebody answer me!
Aside from that, not much else can be
said. If you're a “Dragon Ball” fan, you will have a blast with
this movie. It's action packed, it's gorgeously animated, it's funny,
it's just a fresh and tasty treat to the fan base. Happy 30th
anniversary, to Goku and his friends.
Rating: 10/10
No comments:
Post a Comment