Yep, another extremely random movie review from me. Hey, they can’t all be winners. This one actually wasn’t so bad – it’s basically a bunch of Dragonball-style jokes followed by some Z-but-with-actual-animation fights, so if you have any lingering fondness for Dragonball, it’s not the worst way to spend an afternoon. The film doesn’t take itself particularly seriously, which makes the whole experience actually pretty enjoyable. And the new villain is a lazy cat, and cats are great, so, uh, there’s your recommendation.
Huh, nice to see you write this! I’m an unabashed Dragonball fanboy (70% nostalgia, 30% love of simple things), so I’m a bit sad to see that in the aniblogosphere it is most of the times dismissed as this mediocre, boring shounen. Which… it kinda is, of course, but still, it’s one of those things that just sticks in the collective imaginary (maybe also because we all saw it when we were kids). Either way, I have pretty much the same opinion of Battle of Gods – ’twas fun, nothing groundbreaking, but no one was expecting that either. I remember seeing it next to One Piece’s “Film Z” though and having to admit that the latter was definitely the superior movie – sporting also some unexpectedly well-developed themes and villains.
Yeah, I certainly have a nostalgic fondness for DBZ – I can vividly remember coming home from school to watch a straight hour of it on Toonami every day. This movie kind felt like it was actually made for someone like me, who’s no longer invested in the “drama of DBZ,” but would still enjoy spending some time with these characters.
Glad to see you review this. I like the movie. The animation is very very good, especially that delicious battle at the end… And Beerus is just too charming. I like him, an antagonist who is not evil and ends up being friend with the characters. Cats are cute too, and at the end of the movie, I certainly want to see more about him.
I like the fact that it is the first conflict in DB that was resolved not by Goku or somebody overpowered the enemy. He realised his own limits and lost, but gained respect and friendship of Beerus instead. It’s Beerus, the main “villian”, who “befriended” him, a nice subversion of how it usually is in shounen.
Personally I wish Beerus could remain ahead of the characters like this – it’s more refreshing, and I don’t want he got nerfed and gradually become battle-commentator for the Saiyan like Piccollo and basically anyone else. But with the fact Beerus would appear in the next move about Friezza’s revival, I think it’s a hopeless case. Friezza and Saiyans would probbaly out-level him soon, or the guy could just appear and nuke all the kids out of commission and destroy all sense of conflict.
And Vegeta is definitely cute in this move. Especially his feeling to Bulma. But I kinda wish our most beloved Namek got more screentime.
Aw, that is a shame. Beerus is pretty great, and did a tremendous amount of work pulling this movie together, which you wouldn’t expect for a “reunion tour” kind of feature. I hope he doesn’t immediately lose all relevance again.