Ok... so @sally-for-sally took me to watch the new Dragonball Super movie. Thanks bestie♡
I promised a review so here it is~
WARNING: Spoilers! Rambling! Disorganized fangirling!
All the characters are so cute!!! I have no idea how to write a review about this one. It's going to be very scattered and I'm just going to ramble and word-vomit all the feels that I do remember!
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Dragonball Super: Super Hero
First off, I really liked the "montage" intro. Perhaps more like a tribute/flashback/review. It definitely served its purpose in setting the tone. It felt more like a nod to the OG db vibes and I loved every bit of it.
Speaking of OG db, they brought back the OG villain, Red Ribbon! I am aware RR is featured in the newer DBZ games, but it was still nice to see that old logo on the big screen.
The main villain is Magenta, the son of Commander Red. Red... Magenta... lol I will always appreciate the never-changing naming preference.
Magenta is this short mafia-head-looking dude. He hires another shortie. A superhero fanboy who is actually a genius, De. Hedo, the grandson of Dr. Gero.
Dr. Hedo is soooooo cute!!!!! We first see him leaving prison, so we are lead to believe he's a bad guy. But he was serving time for successfully reanimating the dead (think Frankenstein's monster). His crime was for unethical medical/scientific studies/esperiments. Ok. Still a crime...but we know he's a genius. He knows it too! He said his grandpa was a genius, but he's a SUPER genius. Lol so cute~
He's not only a super genius, he's also a hardcore superhero fan! He likes the oldschool superhero costumes, the aesthetic, everything! He even modified his own skin to make it more tough. Kind of like classic superheros where even if they get shot, they're daijyokay.
I liked seeing the son of Commander Red and the grandson of Dr. Gero interacting. They're both short so it's extra cute. The entire time, I was like "awww these two shorties~~" I was particularly amused when Magenta kept feeding Dr. Hedo oreos lol. So cuteeee!!!
Magenta successfully tricks the super genius Dr. Hedo into thinking the saiyans are the bad guys. So in order to save the planet, Dr. Hedo creates superhero androids, the Gammas!
Now look. I am not a seiyuu fan... but MAN.... why did they cast such amazing voices for these androids???? Gamma 1 and Gamma 2... their design is super cute! Gamma 1 has 1 fin on his head and Gamma 2 has 2 fins on his head. Idk if they are fins or horns. But they kinda reminds me of sharks so I'm just going to call them fins. Anyway, I like their designs!! Simple and non-human. BUT THEIR VOICES!!///// Why make their voices ikemen???////////// I was not ready for that.
Anyway, the Gammas were designed to be the best superheros. They, at first, blindly listen to Dr. Hedo's commands, believing that they were fighting villans (the saiyans + Piccolo). But when they realize the saiyans area the villains, they "re-program" themselves to be true superheros.
I like Dr. Hedo and the Gammas. They aren't villains, just a bit naive. I always love the classic trope of genius but naive. Dr. Hedo didn't disappoint.
Other than the Gammas, Dr. Hedo also made another Cell, Cell Max. Nothing too interesting to say about Cell Max, to be completely honest. His design is mainly the same, just more red. He's just supposed to create a "dangerous" atmosphere so that the heros can level up a bit before they save the world. He was "released" prematurely, so it's not like he is cognitive. He's just a brat that is big mad that someone woke him up from his sleep.
Ok. So to summarize the entire movie with 1 description... it's a Piccolo Movie.
We see Piccolo being a great babysitter, as always. Not only did he babysit Gohan, now he's babysitting Gohan's daughter, Pan. He trains her and also picks her up from school. But just because he's Pan's teacher, it doesn't mean he ever stopped being Gohan's teacher.
Biss gets attacked by Gamma 2, and what does he do? He goes above and beyond to make a training regime for Gohan.
He stops by for the dragonballs to wish for latent potential (Shenron gave him a little extra as well), goes undercover into RR HQ SEVERAL times.... and even makes Pan pretend to be kidnapped. All of this to make Gohan understand that training consistently is important because you never know when we will need to save the planet.
The entire movie is about Piccolo being extra.
I always liked Piccolo in the manga because he was always so darn cute. But it was great to see him depicted in a cute manner in animation too! His place of residency is very barren because he doesn't like to keep unnecessary things. He's also like a houseplant because he only really needs water to live. Because his basic needs are met, he has no use for monetary assets.
We learn that Videl has been "paying" Piccolo for his babysitting with plushies. Piccolo clearly does not need anymore (or any at all) plushies... but I'd like to think he can't get rid of them because they were gifts. It's super cute. And since he doesn't get rid of them, perhaps everyone just thinks he likes them. It's extra cute. The cycle doesn't break. More plushies!!!!!!!
Anyway, with Shenron's extra boost, Piccolo gets his first visual upgrade. His skin turns golden, very much how the saiyan's hair turns gold when going super. But then he had to go and slap a boring name on it: Orange Piccolo. This dude needs a better naming guidebook.
Piccolo not only helps the villains grab Gohan's attention, but he also helps to escalate the villains' plans, but it's all gucci because he ends up being the main drive to successfully save the planet. So yeah. A one-man show. A one-Piccolo show. Bless.
So many things I want to comment on!!
There was a great lack of ChiChi here. But looking back, it makes sense to take out ChiChi's presence. Gohan is too influenced by his mother. That's a whole 'nother can of Asian tiger mom worms. Not sure if that was the correct setting for this kind of movie. As much as I love ChiChi, for the vibes of this movie, it was right to leave her out.
Speaking of leaving out. I thought it was great how they sent Goku and Vegeta over to Beerus's planet to have them train under Whis with Broly. It was necessary to remove those training-obsessed grandpas from this "disaster."
Beerus crushing on Chirai is canon lol. I think I need some time to process this choice too. Pretty sure that was just added randomly so that there is an excuse to keep Goku, Vegeta, and Broly from being forced to return to Earth. I ship Chirai with Broly so kitty kat needs to just end it at the crush state.
I just want to say.... Goten's glow-up tho~~~ ahh so cuteeeeee I def love his new hair!~
I thought having Goten and Trunks mess up the fusion was a great move. Every small detail happened so that Gohan and Piccolo could level up. If Trunks and Goten successfully fused, they could have easily floored Cell Max.
We then have Krillin and Android 18. I absolutely loved how Krillin actually stayed back with Bulma to "protect" her. Bros been through a lot these many years. He's only human. Give him a break. No cap tho, I found myself hoping Krillin didn't get killed. It would be too much. And yay! They kept him alive! Good job, Krillin! You made it to curtain call!
I spoke about Videl a little bit, but sounds like she's also a girlboss. As much as people diss DBZ female characters, I kind of appreciate how Toriyama makes his female characters strong. No, I don't mean "can they solo Goku?" strong... but in the real world, Bulma, ChiChi, and Videl are all top tier.
Bulma: CEO of Capsule Corp. Certified genius. She has beauty, brains, and money.
ChiChi: Literally a princess. She comes from money, yet she settled for Goku. She's good at whatever she wants/needs to do. She's stubborn, sure, and has a bad habit of only seeing what she wants to see, but she's just super goal-focused. She's smart, pretty, and knows what she wants. I'd assume she also has money as well.
Videl: She's the daughter of Mr. Satan. Meaning... she also comes from money. She's also very efficient with her job. She knows how to ask for favors too (shown with Piccolo). Videl's EQ is probably the highest in the entire DBZ cast.
It's because of these fierce women then the saiyans are able to do whatever tf they're into...
Which brings me to Gohan.
At least he doesn't train all day like Goku and Vegeta.... at least he stays home... sure. He stays cooped up in his room... only interested in his research. ChiChi wanted you to study to land a good career! Not so you could continue the cycle of being a negligent father!
Dude really pushed all his fatherly dutied onto Piccolo. Like father like son... One would think that because he couldn't spend a lot of time with his dad growing up, you'd think he would want to be in Pan's life more... nah. Bro straight-up was like "I didn't need a dad, so you don't need a dad either, Pan!" Bruhhhhh
Which... kinda maybe yeah. Maybe Piccolo should just open an official academy. Get paid in sensu beans?
Pan was probably my favorite character in this entire movie. She was so cute!!!! Her lovely acting reminded me of Anya from Spy x Family too. "Papa!!! Tasukete!!!!" Was too cuteeee~~~!!!
But honestly... how does Gohan not know how strong his own kid is? At least Goku was like "nah, my son will be fine! He's 3 now, but he's strong!" Meanwhile, Pan's about to learn how to fly and our man Gohan is just like "oh no! Humans have kidnapped my saiyan daughter!" Lol. It's just extra sad and shows just how much of a negligent father he is.
Am I done with this review? No idea... I think this is all of my feels at the moment. It was a super cute movie. I loved Pan, I loved the shortie villains duking jt out, I loved the Gammas, I loved Krillin trying to stay alive, I loved Goten and Trunks messing up fusion. I loved Piccolo and his plushies.
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