Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

FK13★ 10

Might be a bit of spoilers in this review, fair warning: For someone who has been longing for a refreshing air in Dragon Ball, this movie gives it all of that. This movie also gives a direct dialogue which makes it far easier to understand for newcomers to the Dragon Ball series. Story: When it comes down to what this movie provides, it brings back nostalgia for most people but in current standards. The story is strong and straight to the point In regards to what the movie provides, it brings a heroic sense to the Dragon Ball series with a Marvel twist to it from the soundtrackto even the dialogue. The characters in this movie have a strong sense of justice from the Gammas to both Gohan and Piccolo, leading to an understanding from the two sides. Animation: In regards to animation being lead by CGI, I think this was a huge topic for most people when it was first announced. I personally feel that suits the movie and they did a fantastic job with delivering such a strong presentation, let alone it being the first time done by them. It leaves a very huge impact as a first project and what the future withholds with this new choice of animation. The best part about the movie comes from the pure fact that Goku and Vegeta are not brought in to win the fights like usual, which brings more depth to Piccolo and Gohan regarding their story. Having the main focus being drifted away from those two is where I think lies the allure of the movie because of everyone wanting some other fan favorites having showtime. Soundtrack: The soundtrack as I stated previously, is EXACTLY how Marvel would do their soundtracks. A heroic theme with heavy impact on what it is meant to hit works perfectly for this movie with how justice is the main theme. It hits home especially for those who are in love with the Marvelverse. Character: Piccolo and Gohan finally after many years get their shine that was very deserved. In all honesty, it seemed like it was more focused on Gohan being the main center but Piccolo plays an even bigger role than that and could be called his movie instead. These two have such an impact in Dragon Ball alongside Goku and Vegeta that it was honestly a sin it took them this long to decide on giving them such a deserving upgrade. Piccolo is almost like a teacher even in this movie throughout the entire time, even giving a talk to the Gammas and Gohan which leaves a huge imprint to anyone. As for Gohan, for those who love Super Saiyan 2 Gohan from Cell Saga and Ultimate Gohan from Majin Buu Saga, you are in for a real treat with them bringing back that level of Gohan. Overall/Enjoyment: This movie, in my opinion, is pure perfection and exactly what Dragon Ball is built around and has needed in such a long time. My enjoyment may be bias-heavy, but I truly believe this movie has lived up to its late promotional hype and will be talked about for a while. Having an upgrade for two of the fan favorites, on top of having such a sense of heroism that is Marvel-like was a perfect touch and suits perfectly well. I recommend thoroughly as a must watch from beginners to veterans of Dragon Ball. Edit from original review: Another thing to note if I did have to mention downsides, the controversial topic of Jiren being nerfed was uncalled for as well as wonky animations here and there are some negatives I would point out if I was asked about it.

Draculoid★ 6

While Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero's focus on characters besides Goku and Vegeta as well as it's expansion of the lore is welcome, it lacks the oomf of the prior and more action focused Dragon Ball Super: Broly. Will many hardcore Dragon Ball fans love it anyways? Most likely... Let's start with one of the biggest changes with this movie, and that's the new animation style. After it's new CG animation style was unveiled, I think a lot of people were tentatively waiting for this new instalment in the film series with baited breath. As trailers and more footage slowly rolled out, I think many peoplesgripes with the new style softened, and after seeing and entire film in this new style, I think it definitely worked (though I don't know if I'd want this as some new standard moving forward). Generally speaking, the new art style really pops and allows for some fun character animation, especially more varied and interesting character animation while characters are idle. Yajirobi eating some food while Piccolo and Korin talk, Pan spinning and walking around with big exaggerated steps and Gamma 2 striking ridiculous poses are just some of the moments that stood out to me where this new style really allowed the characters to pop and showcase more personality than ever before. Other scenes like Piccolo and Pan speaking to each other underneath a tree felt very immersive with the way lighting and shadows were handled, with spots of light breaching through the trees branches onto Piccolo and tracking accurately. The action itself was a little more hit and miss on this front. Depending the the battle or how it was choreographed, this new style could definitely match the more epic battles like in Broly, but more often than not fell flat. One moment that really stood out as a highlight of this new styles potential was a battle between Goku and Vegeta, where the CG and cel shaded style was blended together in a way that seemed seamless. In other action scene however, I felt like there was an over reliance on effects as well as 3D camerwork. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but overall most of the fights felt like they had less impact as well as creativity in the way they were animated and presented. Unfortunately, speaking of battles, while there were quite a few of them scattered throughout the film...they were generally over pretty quickly and didn't feel very high stakes. There are also new transformations, but with how they're worked into the battles, felt lacking, and as exciting as they were to see, weren't capitalized on. Obviously it's very exciting to see a fan favourite character achieve a new form after so many years, but then when they use a single attack and revert back to their previous form, it's definitely a bit deflating. The film begins with a fairly long explanation and set up for the new Red Ribbon villains that, while long, I was actually pretty on board. It was an interesting expansion of the lore, and an aspect of the lore important all the way back to Dragon Ball, but one that we rarely see or hear about these days. Speaking of, we actually get a really cool 2D animated segment of Dragon Ball Goku attacking the Red Ribbon Army that looks really nice. On this front, whenever a flashback is shown in the film it's done in 2D art and I thought this was an interesting touch. It conveys a sort of contrast between the new and the old which worked well with the drastically different art styles. I also enjoyed the way that the Red Ribbon Army was portrayed using propaganda to trick people into seeing their views on Capsule Corp and the Z Warriors feats. I liked the set up fine, and the new villain characters worked well enough (while by no means being interesting enough to steal the show). Where I felt the film really dropped the ball was with it's main big baddy hinted at from the start of the film. When mentioned, I got excited at the possibilities, but the execution was pretty crap. Where it could have been done in a very exciting and thematic way given the characters that were involved, the villain is reduced to a giant rampaging monster with a weak design. On top of that, I felt the final big character moment/transformation was really forced and poorly handled. Sure it was cool, but a few different decisions directorially could have had a huge impact on how the scene played out. Overall, the action worked fine enough, but also really didn't blow me away like with Broly, and many scenes were over too quickly. On a more positive note, I've always found the character work in these films to be fun and that continues here. While this film was advertised as a Gohan and Piccolo joint, it's really Piccolo who steals the show. He's upset at Gohan's lack of training and uses situations throughout the film to try and push him to unlock more power. He's also the main driving force of the film as far as uncovering the villains plans and also preparing their own counter attack. A fan favourite character who was definitely handled well. Gohan on the other hand is, alright...He's there and is given a big moment at the end but generally, he's just there. All in all, while it might sound like I'm being very critical of the film, at the same time i enjoyed it well enough. The character bits and humour sprinkled throughout somewhat made up for a pretty weak final battle and the new characters and lore introduced were fun. I definitely don't see this film making waves like Broly did, but if you're a Dragon Ball fan you're probably going to be checking this out and enjoying it on some level regardless.