| DBZ
Movie #1 - Return my Gohan!! |
Our Rating:
4 of 7 - Somewhat boring, though humorous
at times.
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|
Released
in: Japan, America (The Dead Zone)
Japanese Release Date: 7/15/1989
Producer: Toei
Synopsis: The story begins with Piccolo training in the wilderness,
muttering about defeating Goku in the next Budoukai. He is ambushed
by three mysterious warriors, members of the Makyo race. The three
of them gang up on Piccolo, and in typical DBZ movie fashion, beat
the crap out of him. They smash him into a mountain, and you see
one lone shadowy figure, talking about how Piccolo's death means
that Kami is gone as well, and soon the world will be his! The next
scene switches to Gohan, studying some books, and setting a standard
that would haunt him for the rest of his life. His studying is interrupted
by a visit from Gyuu Maou, laden with presents (All books O_o).
While delivering the packaged textbooks, Gyuu Maou falls victim
to one of the three demons (he survives). The short, irritating
creature demands the Dragon ball on Gohan's hat, and he and his
two comerades proceed to beat up Chichi and kidnap Gohan. Goku,
sensing that something is wrong, rushes back to his injured wife
and father-in-law, and then begins his mission to find whoever did
this. Meanwhile our villain, Garlic Jr, succeeds where all other
DB/DBZ villains had failed: he is granted immortality. Reveling
in his newfound eternal life, Garlic Jr. decides not to kill Gohan
outright but instead to train him. From there comes one of the funniest
scenes in DBZ, involving a demon, Gohan, some alcoholic apples,
and millions of dancing purple dinosaurs and multicoloured fuzz-balls.
After the majority of the joke is over, Goku arrives to challenge
Garlic Jr. and his henchmen. He begins a fight with the three demons;
Ginger, Nikki, and Sansho by name. During the fight, Kami comes
in to face Garlic Jr. himself, showing that neither he nor Piccolo
had actually died. It is revealed that 300 years ago, Kami had a
rival to the throne: a demon named Garlic. Kami made it, garlic
didn't. So, being the well-to-do demon that he was, Garlic called
up the demon hordes and was then consequently locked up for eternity.
Now seeking revenge, Garlic Jr. wants the throne that his father
coveted. Garlic Jr. and Kami fight, while Goku fights the demons
inside the castle. He is assisted by Kuririn and Piccolo; Kuririn
gets Gohan out to safety (or at least tries to), while Piccolo and
Goku make short work of the henchmen. Kami loses his fight against
the now-immortal Garlic Jr., and the Namek/Saiya-jin team pick up
the battle. At this point, one of the most dramatic transformations
takes place: 3-foot Garlic Jr. becomes 12-foot Garlic Jr. The fight
resumes in pure late DB-style, ending with Garlic Jr. creating a
portal to a "Dead Zone," and accidentally sucking himself in when
Gohan gets angry and starts blasting things.
Our Thoughts: While not one of the best of the DBZ movies,
Return my Gohan! does have some comedic value, and the animation/background
artwork, particularly with Garlic Jr's castle, is incredible. The
movie suffers from a lack of, well, life in the plot, and was really
saved only by the humor and visuals. The alcoholic apples scene
really must be seen to be believed. |
| DBZ
Movie #2 - The World's Strongest Man |
Our Rating:
4.5 of 7 - Excellent animation, but poor plot.
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|
Released
in: Japan, America (The World's Strongest)
Japanese Release Date: 3/10/1990
Producer: Toei
Synopsis: Oolong has "borrowed" Buruma's Dragon
Radar, and discovers that someone is gathering the Dragon Balls.
He tells Gohan what's up, and they decide to go north into the mountains.
There they find a mysterious man named Dr. Kochin, who has just
summoned Shenron. He wishes for Dr. Wheelo and his lab to break
free of their icy prison. Gohan and Oolong are ambushed by Wheelo's
henchmen, and Piccolo steps in to save them. He is captured by Wheelo's
androids, but Son Gohan and his pig companion escape. Dr. Kochin
flies to the Kame house, and kidnaps Buruma to force Kame-sennin
to come with him. Wheelo wishes to possess the body of the world's
strongest body, as he lost his in the accident that encased him
in ice. Since Dr. Wheelo was trapped in the ice for 50 years, he
believes Kame is the best fighter on Earth. To test the martial
arts master, Wheelo makes him fight the three androids. Kame-sennin
actually holds his ground for half a minute...then he is smacked
around and electrocuted. Goku learns of what happened, and flies
to the mountains to rescue his friends. He is confronted with a
number of tests, including a battle with the fat android named Minkatsun.
After puncturing the android, he is joined by his son and Kuririn
in battle. The two other androids, Kishime and Ebifuraiya, prove
to be a challenge at first. They both fall to Goku's Kaio-ken technique.
At this point, Dr. Wheelo reveals his most powerful follower: Piccolo.
Son Goku does battle with his old enemy, infuriating Gohan. Dr.
Kochin doesn't make things better with his inflammatory comments
and energy staff. In a blind rage, Gohan shatters Piccolo's mind-controlling
gold veins, and does serious damage to the ship. Kuririn confronts
Dr. Kochin, who greets our bald hero with a heavy machine gun. Kame-sennin
leaps in and chops off Kochin's pesky weapon, saving his student
from a few painful wounds. Now with all his henchmen disabled, Dr.
Wheelo is forced to do battle himself. His metal body is extremely
powerful, and withstands a full-force Kame Hame Ha from all the
Z warriors. Wheelo loses an arm in the battle, and decides that
he'll just wipe out the Earth. Gohan, Kuririn and Piccolo follow
him up into space, and do battle while Goku charges a Genki-dama.
Goku eventually gets his attack off just as Wheelo is launching
his planet smashing attack, and the villain is destroyed.
Our Thoughts: I personally enjoyed this movie for a number
of reasons: We're treated to outstanding animation, there are gorgeous
views of the mountains and the Earth, and Kame-sennin gets his hands
dirty (not in that way, you pervs). The animation seemed a lot cleaner
than movie #3, even though it was produced before. Evil Piccolo
just looks menacing. Out of the three movies released in the U.S,
this is the best one by far. |
| DBZ
Movie #3 - Ultimate Decisive Battle for Earth |
Our Rating:
3.5 of 7 - "Dry" animation, boring plot.
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|
Released
in: Japan, America (Tree of Might)
Japanese Release Date: 7/7/1990
Producer: Toei
Synopsis: A small probe from Outer Space lands and causes
a forest fire. Gohan and Kuririn manage to put out the fire and
save a small purple dragon, but the forest is destroyed. Saddened,
they gather the dragon balls, and Gohan wishes the Forest back to
its earlier state. The next morning, the probe activates and starts
scouting out the earth. It reports back to a strange group of Space
Pirates, led by a mysterious leader. They decide that the planet
is suitable for growing "Shinseiju (Tree of Might)," and plant the
seed. The Shinseiju literally demolishes several square miles in
its growth, and starts sucking the life out of everything. The tree
is made to bear fruit for the gods (Think the Immortality peaches
in the old Chinese Myths). Goku, Kuririn, Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and
Yamcha all rush to the base of the tree (Gohan was told by his mother
to stay home), where they face off against the Pirates. Gohan sneaks
away from his mother to fight, and runs into a Saiya-jin, the leader
of the pirates, who looks exactly like his dad. Tares grabs Gohan,
and recognizing that he's part Saiya-jin, creates a fake moon. Oozaru
Gohan comes after Goku first, and a small fight begins between them.
This fight lasts until Gohan sees Higher Dragon, in which Gohan's
short attention span is diverted. Enraged, Tares blows the Dragon
away, and then attacks Gohan. Goku cuts off the Gohan's tail, and
sets him aside where he's safe. Having defeated the rest of the
Z warriors, Tares' henchmen surround our hero. Goku takes them all
on and kills the lot with ease. Tares resumes the fight, and they
find that their power levels are nearly equal. Tares grabs some
of the fruit from the Tree, and takes a healthy bite. He then trashes
Goku, leaving him for dead. Goku attempts to make a Genki-dama,
and the other heroes band together against Tares to stall for time.
The villain defeats them all with ease, and concentrates back on
Goku just in time to see him lob the ball of energy. Tares deflects
the Genki-dama, and is totally unaffected. The earth had been drained
so much that it was impossible to gather any real energy. Goku begins
draining energy from the Tree of might itself, until he builds one
last Genki-dama. He then confronts Tares for the last time, and
hits him with the attack. Both Tares and the tree are destroyed,
and all of the energy taken by the tree is restored to the earth.
Our Thoughts: Not the best (or worst) DBZ movie you can watch.
Tree of Might has a few good points in it, but overall the lack
of character originality, and the strange plot holes--like why the
Heck Tares looks like Goku--detract from the film. |
| DBZ
Movie #4 - Super Saiya-jin Goku |
Our Rating:
2 of 7 - Pure cheese, the worst of the movies.
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|
Released
in: Japan, America (Lord Slug)
Japanese Release Date: 3/19/1991
Producer: Toei
Synopsis: The fourth DBZ Movie starts out with a scene of
Piccolo meditating by a waterfall--something that he does often.
His quiet time is interrupted by Gohan and Higher Dragon. Gohan
has taught his little pet dragon to dance to his whistling, and
he wants to show it to Mr. Piccolo! Before the Namek can stop him,
Gohan begins his little song-and dance routine. Before the sickening
display becomes enough to harm us, though, Piccolo screams out in
pain (I would, too, but this is apparently because Namek's can't
stand human whistling), and Gohan is forced to stop. Then, after
that little "cute scene," the actual "plot" begins. In the movie,
a giant planetoid looks like it's going to hit the earth, yet explodes
just before it makes impact. The inhabitants of the planet, a group
of space-pirates, land on the Earth in their little ship to terraform
it and use it as a new home base. They are a bunch of horned, sun-sensitive
oddities led by Lord Slug--a strangely familiar green alien. Slug
learns of the Dragonballs by reading Bulma's mind; he immediately
collects them and makes his wish: restore his youth. After becoming
young again, the fight begins. Gohan and Piccolo face off against
Slug's three main henchman: Dorodabo, a fat gargoyle (Blown to bits
by Piccolo early), Angira, a Zarbon look-alike, and Medametcha,
an extremely strange frog with the ability to create energy-sucking
clones of himself. After a little bit of fighting, Goku steps in
and kills Medametcha and Angira rather easily. Then it's Goku vs.
Slug in one of the most predictable DBZ movie battles ever. Slug
Trashes Goku. Goku goes "Super Saiya-jin" (Well, not really...his
hair remains black) Goku trashes Slug. Slug proves to all that he's
a Namek. Slug grows to super size and trashes Goku. Piccolo joins
in and gets hurt. Ho-hum. Then more wierdness enters the story,
as Piccolo tells Gohan to whistle--causing Slug to fall to his knees
in pain. Goku flies through Slug's stomach, and then creates a small
Genki-dama and defeats the Evil namek. The Earth returns to normal,
birds sing, and Master Roshi wakes up from his nap and comments
about the beautiful weather.
Our Thoughts: There is a running debate over which DBZ movie
is worse: 4, or 11. Basically everything was done wrong in this
movie. The characters were flat, the plot sucked, the villains were
wasted (Just look at Zeeun in the beginning), and the humor was
about as funny as eating stale yogurt. The "Super Saiya-jin" transformation
need not be mentioned. In fact, the only good points of the movie
were Piccolo's reaction to Gohan's whistling (hehe), and the look
on Slug's face right before he killed one of his henchmen for calling
him old (Classic). So, get this movie only if you really want to
see EVERYTHING, or if you're in a weird mood. Either way, we'll
forgive you. |
| DBZ
Movie #5 - The Best of Strongest Vs. Strongest |
Our Rating:
4 of 7 - Nice samurai action, less focus
on Goku for a change.
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|
Released
in: Japan
Japanese Release Date: 7/20/1991
Producer: Toei
Synopsis: The movie begins with a scene of Freeza destroying
Planet Vegeta, despite Bardock's efforts. We see Goku's pod escape,
and we are introduced to Koola (Furiza's brother) who tells his
henchman to leave Goku alone, since this is Furiza's territory.
At this point there is a flash forward to the present. After a little
comedy, Goku, Oolong, Kuririn and Gohan go camping. Koola, after
hearing of Furiza's death, decides he must kill all living Saiya-jin.
After some beating Koola's henchmen, Koola and Goku go at, only
for Goku to escape injured. After some commotion and a bit of luck,
Kuririn, Oolong, father, and son are able to convene. Gohan is delegated
to get Senzu beans, and has little trouble thanks to Yajirobi's
generosity. Gohan is caught by Koola's henchmen on his way back,
but he is quickly saved by Piccolo (surprise, surprise) until Koola
himself intervenes and knocks him out. Gohan makes a getaway, and
as he is giving the bag of senzu beans to Kuririn, one of Koola's
henchmen blasts it to smithereens. Gohan, however, was given an
extra senzu bean by Yajirobi, which he had tucked under his belt.
He gives it to his father just before he receives a thorough ass
wompin' from the henchman Sauza. As Goku is about to launch an attack
on Sauza, Koola appears with Piccolo's unconcious body and does
some further damage to it. Goku knocks Sauza away (and into a mountain)
and begins to fight with Koola. They duel for a while, and Koola
decides to transform. After Koola forms a ki attack powerful enough
to destroy Earth, Goku realizes his failure, and after some sadness
goes SSJ. He easily does away with Koola's energy technique, and
proves that Koola has nothing on a Super Saiya-jin. Koola's last
resort is to put a little distance between him and Goku and form
an even more powerful planet destroying attack, which Goku catches,
and eventually Kamehameha's right back at Koola. Koola is pushed
into the sun by his own attack, and by the same Saiya-jin he refused
to kill. (How very ironic!) Before a full happy ending can ensue,
however, Sauza reappears. Piccolo kills him with ease. Then we get
a little comedy, as the Namek-jin nonchalantly blows off Gohan.
Our Thoughts: Movie #5 is one that will leave you saying
"ho-hum." Definitely not the most exciting movie, but
still with its moments. The animation is pretty good, but definitely
not near the top. It's unfortunate that the three movies (5, 10,
and 11) where Goku sees little or no action are mediocre at best.
Would be fun to see Piccolo or Gohan have movies where they are
the main characters. Even with my quarrels, I still recommend this
movie. Why? Because it provides the back-story to what I believe
is the greatest of the films: Movie #6. |
| DBZ
Movie #6 - Clash!! 10,000,000,000 Power Warriors |
Our Rating:
6.5 of 7 - Great animation and story, fun
to watch.
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|
Released
in: Japan
Japanese Release Date: 3/7/1992
Producer: Toei
Synopsis: Our story begins on New Namek, where a giant, planet-sized
machine begins to devour the world. The Z warriors catch wind of
the plot, and fly off to the crippled planet. By this time, all
the inhabitants of Namek have been captured by advanced battle droids,
and are being led off to a prison camp where they are to be executed.
However, our heros arrive just in time, and save the Nameks from
certain death. As the droids prepare for battle, the leader of the
machine army, Metal Cooler, reveals himself. He explains that after
Cooler was blasted into the sun, the space-faring Big Ghetti Star
came across his remains and assimilated Cooler's brain. The only
way to sustain the tremendous sphere is to sap large amounts of
energy from the cores of planets and its inhabitants. Piccolo, Kuririn,
and Gohan begin battle with the robots, but their armor proves to
be exceedingly tough to puncture. While his friends are occupied
with the droid army, Goku begins to battle Metal Cooler. It isn't
long until Goku gains the upper hand, and knocks off one of Metal
Cooler's arms. Unfortunately, Cooler regenerates his limb, and informs
our hero that the Big Ghetti Star instantaneously corrects weaknesses
and repairs damage. Now with better tactics, Metal Cooler begins
to win the fight. Yet out of nowhere, Vegita comes to the rescue,
and joins Goku in his foray. Meanwhile, Kuririn and Gohan have been
captured by the droids, and flown to the prison camp. Only Piccolo
remains, and with a huge burst of energy, he evaporates the remaining
droids. With the army destroyed, Piccolo flies to the heart of the
Big Ghetti Star. Vegita and Goku attack Metal Cooler at full strength,
and turn his body into such a fine powder that no regeneration is
possibly. Thinking that they have won, they are shocked to see hundreds
of Metal Cooler's sliding down a nearby ridge, and running straight
towards them. The next thing they know, they are hanging in the
main chamber of the Big Ghetti Star by thousands of tiny electrodes.
Cooler begins to steal their energy, but finds that the Ki of a
Super Saiya-jin is too much to handle. With overloading batteries,
the Big Ghetti Star begins to self-destruct. Goku and Vegita, in
a final showdown with the massive core of the world-eater, destroy
Cooler's remains. The good guys barely manage an escape, and the
Big Ghetti Star explodes in a fireball. Namek is left scarred, but
no blood is shed this day.
Our Thoughts: This is, by far, my favorite Dragonball movie.
The animation and music are far above the standard, and the battle
droids are just plain cool-looking. The plot is fairly simple, but
it is different from the usual "all-powerful being arrives, Z warriors
must kill it." Instead, we are treated with a tale about a giant,
ever-evolving spore colony. My one complaint would have to be the
length of the movie: it was just too darn short. Many of the fight
scenes seemed compressed for time, and the 45 minutes just didn't
do it justice. This is one of the better anime films available,
and even casual DBZ fans should own a copy. |
| DBZ
Movie #7 - Utmost Limits of Battle!! The Three Super Saiya-jin |
Our Rating:
6 of 7 - Some great panning shots, interesting
characters.
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|
Released
in: Japan
Japanese Release Date: 7/11/1992
Producer: Toei
Synopsis: The trouble starts when two odd looking androids
(#15 and #14) make their way through the streets toward a hotel
where Goku, Gohan, Kuririn, Master Roshi, Oolong, Chichi, and Trunks
are staying. They wreak havoc as they blow up buildings and cars
and send people screaming in terror. Eventually they locate Goku
and destroy his temporary residence. The Z warriors rescue everyone
in the skyscraper before it fully collapses. Trunks reminds Goku
that they will only hurt civilians if they continue to fight in
the city. As a result, Goku flies, chased by the two androids, to
some uninhabited ice plains. There they battle, and we see that
yet another robot has been released from Dr. Gero's laboratory.
This robot, #13, tells Goku that the and the others were created
by Dr. Gero's computer, and though Dr. Gero is dead, his computer
magnified his hatred for Goku many times over, and created #13,
#14, and #15 as a result. As they fight, it is clear that the androids
are gaining the upper hand (Goku fights #13, while Mirai Trunks
takes #14 and #15). Vegita comes to help out Goku, because he wants
to save the victory over Goku to himself. There is now one Saiya-jin
per android (Vegita takes #15). Soon, all the Saiya-jin go SSJ.
Vegita and Trunks make short work of their foes. Gohan tries to
help his father, but is shot at, and saved by Piccolo, who helps
Goku take on #13. #13 absorbs the batteries and processing units
of the two fallen androids after realizes they have been disposed
of. With the power of the other two androids within him, android
#13 is transformed into Super 13. This blue monstrosity makes short
work of all the Z warriors but Goku. He continues to pummel Goku
until Goku falls under water, at which point he turns his attention
to Gohan. Gohan sees that Goku is gathering energy for a Genki-dama,
and one by one, the Z warriors sacrifice themselves yet again, though
they are near unconcious. Eventually, Goku turns SSJ while gathering
energy, and absorbs the Genki-dama's energy. His aura is so powerful
that Super 13's skin begins to melt away. Goku embeds his fist into
Super 13's abdomen, and destroys his remains.
Our Thoughts: As far as DBZ movies go, this one is close
to the top. It's quite action packed, and blends elements of humor
well with the action, so that one can get a little comic relief
every now and then. The fight scenes are up to the usual DBZ par,
and are very fun to watch. The ending is actually a little anti-climatic;
we were hoping for Goku to have another fight at full power with
Super #13 after the Genki-dama was absorbed. Even so, however, this
movie is definitely worth buying. You won't be dissapointed. |
| DBZ
Movie #8 - Burnout!! Fierce Fight, Violent Fight, Super-Exciting
Fight |
Our Rating:
5.5 of 7 - Longest DBZ movie, compelling story.
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|
Released
in: Japan
Japanese Release Date: 3/6/1993
Producer: Toei
Synopsis: The Z warriors (excluding Goku) are introduced
to two new surviving Saiya-jin. We find out that one of them is
named Paragas, while the other remains temporarily anonymous. These
Saiya-jin wish to make a new home for their kind, with Vegita as
king. Goku happens to be at a school interview, but is contacted
by Kaio-sama and is told that a Saiya-jin of immense power utterly
destroyed the South Galaxy, and is now heading towards the North
Galaxy bound on wreaking havoc. Meanwhile, the Z warriors have decided
to venture to New Vegita, and after arriving catch wind that the
legendary Super Saiya-jin is heading towards the North Galaxy. They
form a team with Paragas's son Brolli to see if they can find out
any extra information, but all they discover is that New Vegita
is being constructed mostly by slaves. During their expedition Goku
teleports to join them. We soon find out that Paragas knows of a
comet which will eventually collide with New Vegita destroying the
planet. In the middle of the following night, Brolli attacks Goku,
but Paragas is able to stop him by use of a remote control linking
to an odd electronic necklace Brolli wears. The next morning, Goku
informs Vegita that he has recognized Brolli as the legendary Super
Saiya-jin. Trunks then informs his father that New Vegita was simply
a ploy, and Paragas confirms this, stating that he and Brolli were
disposed of as trash from Old Vegita-sei and left for dead. Thanks
to Brolli's awesome powers, they managed to survive. They plan to
exact revenge on Vegita and take over Earth. Vegita is afraid of
Brolli, after admitting to himself that he really is the legendary
SSJ. Brolli has meanwhile broken the control device around his neck
and is fighting against all the Z warriors, with the exception of
the terrified Vegita. When things are looking grim for the Z warriors,
Piccolo arrives with a senzu for everyone. Kuririn and Kame-sennin
are able to escape to safety through Piccolo's spaceship, and Vegita
finally begins to fight Brolli. The giant comet has already begun
to descend on New Vegita, and Paragas attempts to escape in pod,
only to be killed by his son. Goku continues to fight Brolli even
as the comet descends on them, but to no avail. At last, Piccolo
instructs everyone to give their strength to Goku. They do so, but
Vegita is too full of pride to commit. Eventually he allows himself,
and Goku is given enough power to defeat Brolli. Just as the comet
is about to blow New Vegita to smithereens, Goku teleports everyone
to safety and a happy ending ensues.
Our Thoughts: This is definitely one of the better DBZ movies.
The story of Paragus and Brolli's life on Vegeta is well orchestrated
and does not hesitate to be emotional, something which many of the
other movies are lacking. The fight scenes between Brolli and the
Z warriors are, as always, action packed and animated very well.
There is also a peculiar moment of tension and sorrow when Paragas
is vanquished by Brolli, but we realize that it is the "way of the
Saiya-jin." This movie also has the advantage of being the first
appearance of Brolli, so it does not suffer from his character becoming
stale (which is beautifully demonstrated in movie #11). |
| DBZ
Movie #9 - The Galaxy's in Danger! The Super Awesome Guy! |
Our Rating:
5.5 of 7 - Spectacular battle scenes.
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|
Released
in: Japan
Japanese Release Date: 7/10/1993
Producer: Toei
Synopsis: Movie 9 begins with a tournament, organized as
a birthday present for Dollar Money, the son of Gyusan Money, the
richest man in the world. The combatants are to fight simultaneously,
until there are only four contestants left. At this point, the remaining
four were to fight four "aliens" (Idiots dressed up in costumes),
and whoever finished first was to fight Mr. Satan for the grand
prize. The first half of the movie is mainly comedy, with Gohan,
Mirai no Trunks, and Kuririn fighting their way through the tournament,
becoming three of the four finalists (The fourth was a huge sumo
wrestler named Daisuke). All the while Goku is watching his son
from heaven, and Mr. Satan is engaged in his usual antics in trying
to get away from "Those people!" The second half begins when,
in the final rounds, the four "Aliens" have most obviously been
replaced with REAL aliens- led by one named Bojack. Bojack had apparently
tried to fight the gods some time ago, and was imprisoned in a star.
Kaiou's death during the Cell game freed him, and he was trying
to get special revenge on the North Kaiou by taking his student's
planet first. Trunks defeats his opponent, but loses to Bojack,
while Kuririn and Daisuke both lose to theirs- at the cost of Daisuke's
life. Gohan doesn't finish his fight before all of the villains
convene and introduce themselves, thus spawning one of the finest
one-sided movie fight scenes yet, which lasts until everyone is
trashed and Gohan is being crushed to death by Bojack. Goku, breaking
the afterlife rules, teleports out of heaven in an effort to save
Gohan (He whacks Bojack in the jaw in what was actually a rather
funny scene). Gohan then goes SSJ2 and kills two out of the three
henchmen (The third expired at BojackÕs hands for showing fear),
and Gohan then kills Bojack. The movie ends with everybody recovering
in the hospital, a typical happy movie ending.
Our Thoughts: Despite its shortcomings, which I will get
into later, Movie 9 was one of the best of the DBZ movies. The fight
scenes were well-done, the one-shot characters were creative, the
music was incredible, particularly near the end, and it had
a good mix of humor and action- not to mention the fact that it
actually fit into the DBZ timeline. The only problems were that
it was excessively short, that the enemy characters were not developed
nearly enough (I hate wasted characters), and that it ended too
abruptly. Gohan defeated Bojack with one punch. With those few exceptions,
the movie was about as good as any DBZ movie could get, and was
actually on par with the series a lot. Being one of the few that
Toriyama had a big hand in, I recommend this movie to anyone who
wants to find a good DBZ movie. |
| DBZ
Movie #10 - Dangerous Partners! Super-Warriors Never Rest |
Our Rating:
4.5 of 7 - Reused plot, corny ending.
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|
Released
in: Japan
Japanese Release Date: 3/12/1994
Producer: Toei
Synopsis: The Tenth DBZ movie opens with a strange scene
in a dark valley. A dark, powerful figure is unconscious, experiencing
vivid flashbacks of Kakarotto defeating him. The scene switches
to a happy one of Goten and Trunks searching for the Dragon balls,
chaperoned by Videl. Goten wants to wish for lots and lots of food
to eat, and Trunks wants the Dragon balls so he can go on lots of
adventures (As if the Buu saga isn't enough for them). They have
some fun, cute adventures finding the DBs, and eventually make it
to the last one, which is strung on the necklace of a village shaman.
The villagers are about to sacrifice a young, beautiful maiden to
the monster god of the village, in return for their peace and well-being.
Goten and Trunks fly off and defeat the monster--a really goofy
dinosaur--easily. The villagers congratulate them and give them
the Dragon ball, and all three Z soldiers stay in the village overnight.
The next morning, Videl goes out early and runs into Brolli, who
has inexplicably survived Movie #8, and has also inexplicably lost
most of his brain. Brolli mistakes Videl for Kakarotto and knocks
her unconscious in a lake, then goes after Goten and Trunks. The
two boys spend some time running around, avoiding Brolli, and getting
into hi-jinks. This goes on until Gohan steps in for no good reason
and tries to fight. There's a really typical fight in which Brolli
is covered by lava, and Gohan is rescued by kuririn in a Piccolo
outfit. Brolli escapes the lava, and fights back again. Goten wishes
that the Dragon would defeat Brolli, and Goku's ghost is resurrected
to help them fight. Using a Triple Kamehameha, the Son family knocks
Brolli into the white-hot sun. Goku disappears, leaving the question
of whether or not he was really there, and everybody goes home happy.
Our Thoughts: Movie #10 was really a letdown after movies
8 and 9. There were a few good parts, such as: The opening scene
with Brolli, the scene where Trunks pisses on Brolli's head, and
the scene where Kuririn rescues Gohan, and the scene where Goku,
Gohan, and Goten destroy Brolli. However, it's the same story once
again, and it really does not present us with anything new. Granted,
it is better than movie #11, but just by a hair. Watch this movie
if you want, but don't expect too much from it. |
| DBZ
Movie #11 - Crushing Super-Warrior!! I am the Winner |
Our Rating:
2.5 of 7 - Gives #4 a run for its money in overall
crapiness.
Back to the Top
|
Released
in: Japan
Japanese Release Date: 7/3/1994
Producer: Toei
Synopsis: The movie opens with the emergence of several mutant
creatures from their holding tanks, which Jaga plans to use to gain
his revenge on Mr. Satan. Elsewhere, the enraged Android 18 trashes
Mr. SatanÕs mansion in an effort to collect the 20 million zeni
he promised the Artificial Human for throwing the Tenkaichi Budoukai
to him. As their bickering ensues, a strange man enters Mr. SatanÕs
house with a challenge from Jaga Badda, one of Mr. SatanÕs childhood
rivals. Mr. Satan agrees to accompany the man back to JagaÕs castle,
and Android 18 Ñ wanting to collect her money Ñ tags along (Goten
and Trunks invite themselves and hide out in the trunk of the car).
Making his grand entrance to face JagaÕs challenge, Mr. Satan ever
so gracefully slips on a banana peal and falls flat on his ass.
With blinding speed, JagaÕs mutant creations surround the cowering
world champion (some hero, eh?) Satan ÒinvitesÓ Android 18 (his
ÒstudentÓ) to take on the mutants. Not wanting to miss out on the
action, Goten and Trunks join fight and the three super-warriors
quickly extinguish all the mutants at hand. Jaga, angered by yet
another defeat at the hands of Mr. Satan, reveals his laboratory
full of bio-warriors. As Trunks and Goten investigate, they run
across a very familiar specimenÉ Brolli! Not wasting any more time,
Jaga orders the release of his super-warrior. [Note: Though heÕs
been killed twice before, Brolli is revived once again via a drop
of frozen blood collected from the scene of his last demise. Some
plot, eh?] However, due to a fluid overflow during his release,
Brolli is now covered in genetic-altering goop. Android 18 releases
a flurry of attack on the monster, only to be taken down with one
swift blow. Trunks then saves Mr. Satan from BrolliÕs attacks, but
in doing so causes the release of several thousand gallons of genetic-altering
goop. The two Saiya-jins power up, and begin their battle with the
legendary Super Saiya-jinÕs third incarnation. The battle ensues,
the Saiya-jins become distracted, and Android 18 intervenes, only
to be knocked away. Kuririn arrives just in time to save his wife,
and the battle continues. The two Saiya-jins are once again distracted
by cries for help from Mr. Satan, and are soon in danger of being
killed themselves. Kuririn saves Goten, whose head is about to be
crushed by Brolli, with a Kienzan, and Trunks draws Brolli away
with his patented full-moon-ass-slapping-bird-flipping technique
(^_-). Up against a wall, Trunks is saved once again as an entire
container of genetic-altering goop empties itself right on top of
Brolli. With Brolli out of the way, Trunks, Goten, and Kuririn turn
to the task of evacuating JagaÕs island castle. A tidal wave of
goop is now engulfing the island, and all efforts on the part of
the three Z-Warriors to stop it fail. However, when the goop finally
contacts the seawater, the warriors realize itÕs the key to stopping
the goop. In what is probably the best scene in the whole movie,
the three warriors fire a triple-Kamehameha into the ocean, causing
a tidal wave to cleanse the island of the goop. In a final attempt
to have his revenge, a much larger Brolli emerges to the ocean,
turns to stone, and is blasted to peaces by Trunks and Goten. Finally,
back on Kaio-samaÕs planetoid, Goku comments on BrolliÕs never-ending
persistence and proceeds to stuff his face. Nani!? ItÕs over!!!
Our Thoughts: I nearly gagged when watching this movie the
second time for the purposes of this review. Luckily, I remembered
most of the (paper-thin) plot, and was able to fast-forward through
damn near the whole thing. Despite all the low points, which encompass
nearly the entire movie, this movie does have its moments. For instance,
the scene where Trunks pulls off his gi, slaps his ass, and gives
Brolly a full moon isÉ well, one of the only humorous scenes. Aw
heck, who am I kidding? This movie is just more recycled Brolly
garbage. End of story. |
| DBZ
Movie #12 - The Rebirth of Fusion! Goku and Vegita! |
Our Rating:
6 of 7 - Features one of the best villains in the
series, really amusing at times.
Back to the Top
|
Released
in: Japan
Japanese Release Date: 3/4/1995
Producer: Toei
Synopsis: The trouble starts when a careless teenage...heaven
dweller, we'll call him, neglects to change the tanks of the "soul
laundry machine", which cleans souls that are going to hell. When
the tanks explode, the heaven dwelling kid becomes possessed and
turns into Janenba, a huge blob-like creature. Janemba changes the
laws of the afterworld and creates much havoc, including bringing
such characters back to life as Furiza and his minions and all of
the other dead. Pikehan and Goku try to free the Demon lord (who
has been imprisoned in a bubble of sorts) and distract Janemba,
it becomes evident that this tubby bastard's magic is almost invincible.
While Pikehan shouts insults at the Demon lord's prison, Goku strikes
back against the Jell-o menace. It looks as though Goku has won,
when Janenba transforms into a smaller, deadlier fighter, whom Goku
cannot defeat. When Vegita shows up, he too realizes that he cannot
beat Janenba, so Goku convinces Vegita to fuse with him (after much
petulance and whining). Unfortunately, Vegita screws up the fusion
dance, which is amusing in and of itself, and they turn into fat
Gogita for 30 minutes. During this moment of weakness, Gogita gets
the living snot beaten out of him. Meanwhile, Gohan, Videl, Goten,
and Trunks are taking care of the masses of undead that now walk
the Earth (Including Hitler and his army of tanks!). They prove
to be no match for our seasoned warriors. When the Fat Gogita transformation
wears off, Pikehan buys Goku and Vegita the time to fuse correctly.
In this new form of Gogita, Janemba is easily defeated and the rules
of the afterworld return to normal and the generic happy ending
ensues.
Our Thoughts: This movie is probably the most amusing from
DBZ. But as with most of the movies, it really is too short to develop
a good plot. The fight scenes are some of the best in the series
(Janemba's sword is damn cool). The scenes with Trunks and Goten
fighting the undead are quite humorous, especially when Hitler attempts
to conquer the world again. |
| DBZ
Movie #13 - Dragon Fist Explosion!! If Goku Can't, Who Can? |
|
Our Rating:
5.5 of 7 - Wonderful animation, decent overall.
Back to the Top
|
Released
in: Japan
Japanese Release Date: 7/15/1995
Producer: Toei
Synopsis: As the movie begins, we are presented with a flashback.
In it, a young boy with elf like ears and a sword (think Link with
an orange Mohawk) is fighting a gigantic monster. Despite his masterful
sword handling skills however, the boy is defeated. Time jumps forward
to a point somewhere around the 25th Budoukai. As Gohan and Videl
sit in class, Gohan receives a message on his wristwatch informing
him that his assistance is needed in order to save an old man who
is contemplating suicide. After saving the old man, Gohan learns
that the old man only attempted to jump off a building in order
to get his attention. The old man produces a golden music box, which
he tells them contains a legendary warrior who has been trapped
for ages. After several attempts to open the box using Goku's shear
strength and Bulma's technological expertise, the warriors collect
the Dragonballs and summon Shenlon to release Tapion, the warrior
who is trapped inside the box. The box shatters at Tapion is released,
and Trunks and Goten marvel over the legendary warrior. After inquiring
as to his surroundings, Tapion informs them that he must be returned
to the box at once, or the Earth will surely be destroyed. Tapion
walks off as the Z Warriors contemplate the events that just took
place. The following day Hildegarn, a large monster, is reeking
havoc on the city. Gohan tries unsuccessfully to defeat the monster
with several very large Ki blasts. However, the monster does not
subside until Tapion arrives, and plays a tune on his flute, which
causes the monster to disappear in a puff of smoke. The following
day, Bulma attempts to build a device that will contain the monster
and Tapion as well as the music box did. Unfortunately, as Tapion
sleeps inside the device that night, the monster escapes from within
him, and reeks havoc on the city once again. After a long and drawn
out battle with Hildegarn, Goku decides to use a technique that
he has never used before. He goes SSJ3, powers up, leaps into the
air, extends his fist, and shouts "Ryu Ken". Hildegarn explodes
in a flash of light. After the battle, Tapion presents Trunks with
his sword, saying he won't need it anymore, and flies off. Neither
the monster, nor Tapion are ever heard from again.
Our Thoughts: Movie 13 is probably one of the better features
in the DBZ series. Only the second in the series to use computer-generated
graphics, the visuals are striking. The camera's pans and zooms
are superb, and even the non-computer-generated animation is commendable.
The sound track, while not the best, is one of the better, featuring
a wide range of high quality original and true-to-the-original music.
As always, the voice acting is outstanding, far surpassing the meager
limits of FUNimaton's dubs. The story is intriguing, and even attempts
to explain a few things that transpire during the series (most notably,
how Trunks acquired his sword). The movie runs a bit longer than
most other Dragonball Z films, albeit not nearly as long as movie
8, and achieves a nearly perfect length in doing so. Overall this
movie is quite enjoyable, and is a must-have addition to any Dragonball
Z otaku collection. |
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