Dragon Ball Z Movie 14: Kami to Kami

Its been a long time since I've seen a DB/DBZ Movie, and unlike all the other usual
macho good guy vs bad guy films that I've seen in the past of this franchise before.
This film takes an interesting alternative within the series and starts to proceed in a different dimension in this movie compared to the other usual movies in the past.

It would seem that this movie is actually cannon to the series stated by Akira Toriyama himself as this takes place 3 years after kid buu's defeat and 4 years before Uub's appearance at the world martial arts tournament within the anime. Don't worry ... NO SPOILERS.

Story - 7
If you have seen previous movies of this franchise, you will know that the premise within its own story is usually Basic and doesn't have much depth to them since its main focus is on Mindless and intense fights most of the time.

The action scenes in this movie are few and have been tone down to show a lot of the characters from the series present within the film.
This movie mainly follows a God that is known for destruction by the name of
Birusu / Beerus / Bills? ( hmm however you address his name ), is woken up by his flamboyant assistant and caretaker Wiss after a 39 year slumber.
Wiss informs Birusu of Frieza's defeat at the hands of a mysterious Saiyan (Goku) who transformed against him during their epic battle. upon hearing this, Birusu recalls a prophesy 39 years before his sleep, About an Oracle fish that told him about a So called Super Saiyan God that will compete against him in the future.

Having witness Goku's Super Saiyan transformation against Frieza,
Birusu feels now the time is right to face this saiyan with this SSG power.
So him and Wiss decide to find the remaining surviving saiyans after the destruction
of planet vegeta in order for birusu to test his God Powers against the one who possess this SSG power which eventually leads them across the galaxy to King Kai's planet where both Goku and Birusu face off for the first time.

Ultimately the story starts of really well with its introduction and brings a fresh new look to the progression and feel of the characters from the anime however as soon as it gets to the middle where Birusu and Wiss arrive to earth and enter Bulma's 38th birthday party (Which by the way who even celebrates their 38th birthday anyway? since she is so Loaded.)
its during these moments in the film where things for me personally became more tedious and a little too weird and random at times.

The movie had some nice comedy and interaction scenes with many of the characters within the set pieces of this film.
But during the middle I could see it started to drag on a little and it made the pacing of this film a little awkward to sometimes to keep watching which is understandable since this film has a more of a comedic tone to it, especially about that desert scene which perhaps could of used a different scenario perhaps. I know some people who did not like this scene involving a dispute between Birusu and Buu over a pudding cup (which believe me I've seen worse). but ultimately I found it hilarious XD.

This didn't turn me off instead however it kept me hyped for the tension and action that was happening and through the Last quarter of the film we find out the revelation of this Super Saiyan God and after, the incredible main event fight between Birusu and Goku which ends up taking place in many awesome locations from the city, forest, desert, mountains, cliffs, river, from underground labyrinth to the skies above and into the outer atmosphere of space itself (puff) it literally was Outstanding to watch to the end.

Art - 9
A really Great plus to this movie was the animation as it looks awesome, which was also one of the reasons it was worth seeing and not only that but this film is also the first anime film to be shown on screen in IMAX.
The locations throughout this film looked amazing as well as the action scenes, the CGI looked good within the angles even though its a little tricky to see here and there it still works really well. The character designs were nice apart from a few the super saiyan god form whether you like it or not I felt they could have done a better design
(mainly the look of the hair and few other things but thats just my opinion)
But also not to mention how Goku gains his SSG powers seems a little off,
Also ox king (Seriously what is he wearing?) and I could also say the same about the look of Wiss too. Also I felt Trunks and Goten could of looked a little bit older but that is just only a minor nitpick.

But anyway despite those nitpicks I felt that the most unique design was Birusu who has this Egyptian Siamese Cat God look to him almost resembling Anubis the Egyptian god of judgement which brings a lot more of a unique look to his character other than the typical generic steroid looking villains that we are so used to seeing in most Dragon ball movies.

Sound - 7
Not much in this music score stood out to me unfortunately. A few tracks suited some good moments and other scenes in the film including the original opening and closing theme performed by FLOW was good, however i found the music score at times to be quite generic especially with Goku turning into a super saiyan god. I didn't mind the heavy metal use in the fight between Goku and Birusu in the forest which was cool but apart from that, the music i felt wasn't really all that special.

Characters - 8
The characters are pretty much the same as always, there are a few changes in the behaviour of the characters like Goku, Vegeta, King Kai for reasons mainly due to the story which viewers will find out while watching it and not to mention some old faces that fans of the original
dragon ball will remember from the past like Emperor Pilaf, Mai and Shu, But again 1 of the most interesting characters that stood out to me in the film was of course Birusu.

Birusu is awesome, he isn't actually that evil as you think he is but he can be obnoxious.
He is casual and easy going yet has a playful manner about his personality and a lot of swag which is not something you get in a lot of db/dbz villains
he is quick to anger especially over pudding which sounds very silly.
But believe me people I have seen MUCH worse.
He is not only a powerful fighter, but he is also both quirky and entertaining at the same time which made me like his character a lot. Wiss despite his appearance also seems very calm and casual like Birusu not to mention A little mysterious at the same time. I kind of wish more characters were utilized a little more within the more

Enjoyment - 9
The thing is honestly I love how different this film is to a lot of the other films in this franchise, there were interesting moments I enjoyed besides the action, there were some nice comedic moments of nostalgia especially for those who like the Dragon ball series with a few hidden stories closely related to the Dbz series which will keep fans interested. And most of the characters from the Dbz series are in this film too along with some old familiar faces which is Great, they might not get as much screen time in this film but at least they are there in the film regardless.

Towards the end of the film it leaves off on a cliff hangar and one that will raise some questions from there on in. Also this film had some decent and memorable moments as well like for example Birusu final attack in outer space in the film which I like to call (Star Blaze of Judgement) which is basically like the sun being thrown at goku's face i have to admit was awesome! also (Bulma getting slapped by Birusu was also 1 of my favorite moments too ) I'm sorry to any bulma fans out there but that had me in stitches XD.

Overall - 8
I would like to say personally I didn't feel this was the best DB movie but it is one of my favorites alongside Wrath of the dragon and Broly The Legendary Super Saiyan and a nice addition to the story itself.
I know for some fans and others, its a Film where i feel its not going to be for everyone,
sure there is some hiccups and plot holes I notice in a few places here and there
which I can't deny that.
But this did not stop me from enjoying it since it had many parts catered to fans of the series.

Note: You should be aware that this is cannon material to the actual series created by Mr.Toriyama himself and for Db/Dbz fans its more than enough reason for this movie to be seen, Whether the creator Akira Toriyama would want to make a series or a set of movies or specials for the franchise only time will tell.

But for hardcore fans looking for a Bunch of straight up intense explosive action (Its over 9000!!) well there is action but not as consistent enough to meet everyone's needs like some of the other movies, but despite that as a fan, the film is still worth a watch.

Taking place a few years after the final battle with Buu comes a new threat, Birusu, The God of Destruction. He is feared by even the Kaious and Kaiou-shin himself. After a 39 year slumber (since the destruction of the Planet Vegeta), Birusu awakens and wonders how Freeza is doing and always talked about fighting him. Apparently, his assistant informs him that Freeza was defeated by Gokuu and that he obtained the form of Super Saiya-jin. During his slumber, Birusu had a dream about fighting the Super Saiya-Jin God and wishes to do battle with him. Always loving a good fight for the sake of ... the fight at times, Gokuu tries to challenge him but sees that he is strong and must find a way to defeat him.

For a good percentage of this movie, up until the ending, this will follow the basic DBZ formula. I won't give away the ending, but all I can say is it does something very different and will probably be controversial amongst western fans of the franchise. The movie does a good job of justifying the way that it ends and I think this movie deserves credit for doing something different. On one hand, you don't really expect to see it coming, but on the other hand, it does make good sense. What you can take out of this ending is how we all interpret Dragon Ball and the spirit of it.

Overall, this movie brings back a good portion of the charms of this series. The humor, the action, the intensity, and so on. So hardcore fans may enjoy this but the ending is very disputable at this point. Birusu as a villain is very distinct from other villains in Dragon Ball. I won't get too much into him since they would be spoilers, but I do think he is rather unique.

The action is pretty much in tune with how Dragon Ball Z always has been. Very destructive, explosive, and hyper paced. I wish in terms of special moves it was more diverse but it is more centric on hand to hand and the flying combat. I won't get into too much of what I think should have been used since they would be spoilers. The CG used in this movie isn't top notch. It is PS3 DBZ game quality, but the imagination I feel is what it counts. It demonstrates the devastation and the intensity very effectively and that is enough for me.

As for Birusu's style, his posture is a lot like Freeza's where he will wrap his arms around his back but he will use hands while fighting. As for his mannerisms, he does remind me of Thanatos from Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas. He is very powerful and a bit of a show off when it comes to demonstrating his strength against the other DBZ characters.

As for the general animation and design, its very much in tune with the franchise overall so no other complaints.

The music from the TV series and old movies is not present and is mostly using new BGM tracks. The tracks are more techno and a bit more orchestrated. It brings a more fresher feel to the series and it works in its own way. The only ending spoiler I can give is that the ending song is a new rendition of Cha-La Head Cha-La which I thought was ok.

The voice acting is still in tune with the original TV series. Nozawa Masako still captures Gokuu and doesn't sound like she's aged. She also does Goten and Gohan very well, too. She still has a great grasp of the character. Horikawa Ryo still does a great job as Vegeta, but due to the writing in context of the story, it does allow Horikawa to show more of his other voice talents in this portrayal of Vegeta. Horikawa Ryo is a very versatile actor and he did a great job of playing Vegeta. I think this is probably one of his best performances with the character. Last, Yamadera Kouichi plays Birusu. Yes, it is the voice of Spike from Cowboy Bebop. I didn't recognize his voice at all throughout the movie and when I saw the credits, I was surprised it was him. His voice as Spike had this really distinct charm to it while in this one, he is also a playful character but also something of a sadist. I think he captures the character in his own way where he is scary and also has his own distinct charm. Other voice actors are back that are still alive and reprised their roles did a great job with re-capturing their characters. And there will be some surprise cameos from some other characters.

I say this movie is certainly a give it a shot movie for the fans. I say people not familiar with Dragon Ball Z will be slightly confused and some familiarity with the franchise should be a prerequisite before watching. Like I said, a lot of the things are still the same, and some things will be different this time around. I don't think it is as good as the first Brolly movie or the Cooler movies, but it does bring a refreshing feel to Dragon Ball at some capacity. I think when this movie is made internationally available, it will get people intelligently discussing about the movie and franchise based on the ending. I am still trying to in-take it but I do understand why the movie chooses to go with the ending it has but I do have some issues with it. But feel free to watch it when you can.

First thing I just have to talk about is the art/animation... Seriously, I see a lot of people complain about the animation of the original DBZ series (though I personally love it and find it to be amazing for a 80's/90's show), well watch this and observe some of the best 2D animation in the history of 2D animated movies/tv shows. Seriously, practically every scene is accurately drawn, complexly shaded (as in they have shades, mid-tones, and highlights, whereas most 2D animations only have shades, and mid-tones - oh and One Piece where there's only mid-tones), and basically any other positive thing you can possibly ... say about 2D Animation. Then there's the 3D CGI animation done for backgrounds when there's complex camera motion. Most people hate 3D CGI mixed with Anime, but I mean, it's way too hard to do with hand-drawing and get the accurate details in. In this movie, I found it all to be well done; other than that there isn't much to say about it.

Now, finally, I'll talk about the story. Right before the Super Saiyan God part, it was 100% perfect for me. I wasn't keeping track of time, and so the entire movie before Goku came back to Earth felt like the intro to me. Now, that makes it seem like they spent too long on those parts, but I didn't find it to drag on, I was enjoying it. It just ended up feeling rushed when Goku got there. I don't know, it's like, you don't see Goku, and then suddenly, here he is and in a minute or two becomes Super Saiyan God. So yeah, that was my main problem, but I understand it's a movie (and an anime movie at that - they tend to be just over an hour) and so they have to try and get to the end pretty quick. If the movie was twice as long or even just 40 minutes longer, I feel this problem wouldn't have shown up. But yeah, just Goku's transformation feeling rushed was my main problem here. After that it was pretty much just Bills VS Goku, which was an epic fight with some real badass animation, and then after that was the ending, which I enjoyed and had no problems with.

In terms of sound, I just didn't like King Kai's (Kaio-sama's) voice acting in the beginning of the Anime; everything else was good. Unlike the Anime series, there aren't any "staying-in-your-head" soundtracks except for the theme song that plays during Bills vs Goku, which I didn't think was needed, but it didn't do any harm - made it feel kind of..... "AMV-ish" I guess.

In terms of characters, I love Goku's character in both the original series and in here. Also, Vegeta too; Vegeta's best moments are always when he's avenging his family and the part where he battered Bills after Bulma got hurt was pure badassery - though it didn't feel as serious as the scene in DBZ where he beats up Cell after Cell kills Trunks. And then of course there are the two new characters Bills and Whis. I liked Bills because he brought some comedy with him despite his title of "God of Destruction" and his immense power. And to avoid spoiling it for anyone who reads this without watching the movie first, let's just say the end of the fight is the ending of a fight that you probably haven't seen in DBZ since somewhere in the original Dragon Ball series; this is also something I like, because I preferred Dragon Ball and always wish maybe Akira Toriyama could someday do something with DBZ but takes it back to its original roots where Goku's friends are involved and every enemy isn't 100% pure evil. Oh and Whis is someone who has a lot of power but doesn't care to show it - it's not a new trait of a character within Anime, but I think other than Mr Popo and Master Roshi (in DB), this is a first in DB(Z).

I enjoyed this; best Anime movie I've seen to be honest. Especially considering it's a movie based on an already produced anime series, but then again, this is kind of different from Naruto and Bleach movies in that DBZ ended like 17 years ago. So yeah, I absolutely LOVED it, and hope there's probably more new Dragon Ball content coming in the future!

Give me pudding or I destroy the Earth!

Just when I thought this movie might be the rebirth of Dragon Ball, it presented itself as a lousy, high quality, piece of junk. Perhaps it was the initial hype from trailers that got me excited, but after thoroughly watching the movie twice, I just can’t seem to appreciate it. At all. But let us first get the good points of the movie out of the way since there are very few to talk about anyway.

The animation is quite something. If only the recently remastered DBZ TV series could be completely re-animated like that, I’m sure the ... fans will all wet their pants to see it. The CG used in flying and combat scenes were great. Not top notch, but still a welcome change especially when compared to the older DBZ movies. The remix of the popular theme song, Cha-La Head Cha-La, at the end of the movie give a nostalgia feeling. Talking about nostalgia, it was awesome to hear Goku’s voice actress, Nozawa Masako, still so lively. Brings back memories. Yeah.

God, I never ever dreamt of the day I have to criticize my childhood favourite anime. Where should I begin? How about the plot? Except there is none to start with. Unlike other Dragon Ball movies that has a villain with a sense of purpose to do evil, this movie tried to steer away from that tradition. I applaud its attempt, but there is nothing good about it. What we have is a god that got bored and want to have fun. When things didn’t go his way, he naturally become this “evil” threatening to destroy Earth. Cool story, bro. What is missing in the movie is the struggle of our heroes and how they eventually prevail. Isn’t this what Dragon Ball has always been about? The DBZ fighters always give it their all and fight one bloody hopeless battle after another, all the while viewers cheer and cry and finally a miracle happens leading to victory. We see none of that here. Very disappointing.

Not only is the plot non-existent, but the overall execution of the movie is just terrible. With a quarter of the movie dedicated to super minor side-kicks that most viewers simply doesn’t care about (not to mention their appearance serve no purpose to the plot), it felt like a complete drag to watch. While I understand people watch Dragon Ball for the fast paced action and cool fighting effects, this movie may have served its purpose in that regard, but it is a disappointment in every other category. This is just another sad case of milking money from an old established series by fooling loyal fans. Highly not recommend.

Dragon Ball Z is Back! I was so excited to see this movie and it didn't disappoint. Not like that other piece of shit Dragon Ball: Evolution which will go down as the absolute worst piece of cinema I have ever seen in my life. But I'm not here to talk about that I'm here to review Dragon Ball Z: Kami to Kami a.k.a. Battle of Gods.

The overall story is that Lord Beerus and his master Whis travel to Earth in order to find the Super Saiyan God for him to fight. After hearing that Frieza was defeated by Goku he decides to locate him ... and challenge him to a fight. After kicking Goku's ass in their first encounter Beerus travels to Earth and arrives at Bulma's Birthday party and if he wasn't amused about with the Earth's culture, people, food, etc. he would destroy the planet. Vegeta then tries to make sure Beerus was happy, so he could make sure that the Earth doesn't get destroyed. However, after Buu wouldn't share his pudding with Beerus, he throws a tantrum and starts a brawl with the Z-fighters. Goku arrives and later summons Shenron, who is also scared of Beerus, and tells Goku that a Super Saiyan God does exist and how to become one. After his transformation he and Beerus battle to decide if Beerus will destroy the Earth or not.

One major thing about this movie is that it is hands down the funniest DBZ movie I have ever seen. I mean there are so many funny moments in this movie. In addition there is kind of a breaking the forth wall joke in the beginning of the movie that got the whole theater laughing. The problem I had with this movie is how Goku becomes a Super Saiyan God. It was strange how someone becomes one, but it's even more strange on what they needed to turn Goku into a Super Saiyan God. Another, problem was Super Saiyan God itself. It just looks like a Kaio-ken. Even though it looks awesome with the reddish gold aura around him it wasn't that impressive of a design.

The art is outstanding. This was something I wanted to see and see how the fight scenes were going to play out with the updated animation. And my god is its amazing. Now this is a double-edged sword because even though the animation was beautiful it was a little unusual to watch because the animation was so much different then what I remembered as a kid.

The voice acting, as expected, was awesome. I mean come on it's Funimation and all the voices I remembered as a kid. However, got to give major praise to Manica Rial who wasn't the original voice of Bulma, but she did such a superb job that I didn't even recognize it.

The characters are basically the same. The one I want to talk about is Lord Beerus. His design is like an Egyptian cat which was a good design seeing that cats were considered gods back in ancient Egypt. He is incredible powerful, but still not as strong as Whis. Not to mention he has the title of "The God of Destruction". Beerus acts like a spoiled child, but acts like a gentlemen at the same time giving him a likable personality.

Overall this movie was a blast. It was funny, it had action, it had badass characters... It's Dragon Ball Z. What else it there to say. If you can find this movie in the DVD section of a store I recommend you buy it. Not only that it was just a delight to finally have a new DBZ movie be released. Did it have it problems, Yes, but it's still DBZ being DBZ and it will always be awesome.

First off, i'll make it clear that I don't and have not watched Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z, however I know a considerable amount about the show aside from the gritty details, and anything I didn't know I simply asked my friend who was sitting right next to me. That said, the fact that I haven't watched DBZ didn't affect my enjoyment at all as you can see by the score I gave.

Dragon Ball Z: Kami to Kami a.k.a Battle of the God's is an original story written by Akira Toriyama as apart of the Dragon Ball canon storyline. Right off the bat the ... fact that this film IS canon makes it more interesting to me, and the movie did such a good job of using the canon appropriately, introducing a new character; Beerus the Destroyer, as well as forwardly expanding the story with some things I won't spoil. Now the movie's undoubtably best aspect is that they combined the hilarious comedy and character interaction style of Dragon Ball, while at the same time adding the over-the-top crazy action of DBZ. As much as I wanted to see Goku kicking ass I simply loved the character interaction. The cast's chemistry was so good and seeing the voice actors reprise their role's with effort and emotion is such nice detail. There were some hilarious moments throughout the film, even during the action sequences which were fantastic. The fights didn't by any means drag, I feel people will penalize the movie for not incorporating a plethora of action but in my opinion the film had a perfect balance. Not only were the fights coordinated well, but they looked phenomenal in the remastered HD animation of DBZ. The animation wasn't the best i've ever seen, but seeing the old animation style of the show being reverberated in beauty all while keeping it's 90's aesthetic is eye candy to me. The effects look as good as any top notch anime you'll see, Super Saiyan God mode looks great as well as the transformations and other CGI and particle effects you see. That animation coped with the original sound effects and soundtrack make for a pleseant bundle of fine details that add to the movie. Moving onto the plot, the incorporation of the new character Beerus, couldn't have been done any better as I mentioned before. He's not just some enemy that Goku will overcome adversity to beat so don't worry about any clichés in that sense. And Beerus himself is brought to life by voice actor Jason Douglas, and having a very interesting and unique character design. The film does a good job and making you believe he's insanely powerful, and I only hope I can see him again. The film was also structured very well, there was a sub plot involving Emporer Pilaf that I thought was a little unnecessary but in the end it did add to the comedy at least a little bit so I didn't mind.

Overall I loved this movie despite not being a watcher of DBZ or Dragon Ball, the movie expects you to follow the story line, and I was able to follow since I know a majority of the story with the exception of the fine details. The story isn't over complicated though, it's very easy to follow and paced very well. If you're a fan of Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z I highly recommend this to you, as well as the casual anime watcher if you know a decent amount about the show of course. If you don't like DBZ, this isn't going to change your mind. However I loved it and am now more compelled to watch the show.

If you liked my review give it a thumbs up! Thank you (:

I didn't have the highest of hopes after watching past Dragon Ball movies since they are quite nonsensical and non-canon but Battle of Gods changed this and gives new life to a staple of the Anime industry.

The amount of fan-service in this movie is godly. You even have pilaf and crew making an appearance. The humour is certainly strong in this movie, it's very comical and brings back memories of the original Dragon Ball series. We have all our favourite characters and they each get quite a bit of screen time which is unusual for Dragon Ball Z which usually focuses on action and ... fighting. This movie was a nice mixture of fun and action.

The animation is absolutely gorgeous. The budget for this movie was obviously much larger than past movies along with the creativity. The character designs are very good and high quality but what most impressed me was the tactical use of 3D. The 3D is spectacular and blends perfectly with the 2D elements of animation. The colours are also very vibrant and in general, the colour pallet was good. The characters were all well represented.

I love the theme music for Dragon Ball, the Japanese version and this modified theme song was perfection.

The characters are great as usual. I don't feel the need to explain why you should like them because it's obvious that Dragon Ball has well developed and interesting characters. I would have loved to see Vegeta wear his pink shirt however.

The movie was impressive and deserves a higher rating. My ratings for other Dragon Ball movies have been 6 or 7. My rating for Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z has been 8 but the quality of this movie is amazing. The animation is incredible, the time and love poured into this movie is obvious to any fan of Dragon Ball and thus this movie deserves 9/10.

Story - 8
Art - 10
Sound - 8
Character - 9
Enjoyment - 10
Overall - 9

I'm a huge DB fan. Loved all three series and most of the movies. Till they put out this one.

The story was very lame. But like most of the DB movies has little to nothing to do with the episodes.

The art was great. It was a nice face-lift from the old.

Sound was good, but if you're like me who grew up watching the dubbed versions you'll probably be pissed. From the very start of the series Son-Goke has been played by a person with a less than manly voice.

The characters were nicely done again giving them a much needed upgrade.

Now down to the enjoyment. I ... would have rather sit through all the Naruto story fillers episodes than watch this. The opening wasn't bad But the fight scenes were quickly over and mostly lame. They try and make it to kiddy and kills it for the people that love the series.

So it was a very big let down from all the wait for new DB.

Overview:

Did this movie have some large flaws? Obviously. Did I still enjoy every stupid minute of it? You bet your ass I did!

Spoilers!

Plot and characters: 6/10

The plot is that the Lord of Destruction Beerus has awakened from his slumber and finds out that a Saiyan defeated Freeza. Beerus is informed that Super Saiyans now exist and this reminds him of a dream he had about fighting a "Super Saiyan God". Goku must now reach a new form of power to give an entertaining fight to Beerus or else the shaved Egyptian cat God will destroy the Earth. For no reason, there is also a sub-plot ... involving Pilaf and his gang that was simply there. Here are just a few questions I had about this movie: How the hell did Pilaf get the dragonballs and wish for eternal youth without the Z warriors ever learning about it? Wouldn't they be concerned that someone not exactly good was gathering up the balls and making a wish? Why didn't Bulma recognize Pilaf? If this takes place 4 years after Majin Buu, why are Goten and Trunks the exact same ages? If Vegeta know about Beerus and knew that Beerus was by far the stongest in the universe, why didn't he ever mention him before? Why didn't Beerus recognize Majin Buu or ever mention him, when he was a MUCH bigger threat to the universe than Freeza ever was? Who the hell thought shipping Trunks with Mai from Dragonball was a good idea? Despite the many plotholes and ridiculous nature of the film, it is an entertaining watch that actually does a great job combining the humor of the original Dragonball with the action of DBZ. The movie also introduces Beerus and Whis, who are fun characters and actually feel new and not simply a rehash of Freeza, Cell, Buu, etc.

Art: 7/10

The animators had a very difficult task in blending modern CGI with Toriyama's old school art style. However, they did a good job for the most part and I would say the movie looks pretty good...at least by DBZ standards.

Sound: 7/10

Not alot new, but we did get a snazzy new version of Head-Chala, so that's something I guess.

Enjoyment: 8/10

The primary purpose of this movie wasn't to be deep or challenge our view of the world, but rather simply to be enjoyable. The movie accomplished this goal quite well and I genuinely was entertained throughout the film's rougly 100 minute run time.

overall: 7/10

Is this movie a masterpiece that all anime fans absolutely need to see right now?! No. Is it a fun movie that old time fans of DBZ will probably enjoy? Yep. This movie knew what it wanted to be and met its goals. I reward it with a nice 7/10.

To view Battle of the Gods is to see something truly unique: a Dragonball Z full length movie that is completely consistent with the series, with a story designed by Akira Toriyama himself. The feel of the movie is unlike any other, the interactions between the characters is truly classic and feels every bit like the series. Rather than a random event out of time disregarding all continuity, everything feels genuine; because it IS genuine.

So why isn't this movie hands down awesome? Why, actually, is it disappointing and substandard? Mostly because of the art, partially because of the failure at epicness, and a little ... because of the acting.

I'm not sure why, but the voice acting in this movie stands out to me many times... which is never a good thing. From King Kai's somewhat lackadaisical tones while the character animation is very irate and, well, animated... to Goku's ridiculously silly-sounding battle-cries, the voice acting is just downright dissonant with the animation at times. Though the acting for the new, and quite amazing, character Bills-sama is refreshingly perfect.

The art, though, is what kills this in the crib for me. Everyone looks shiny, which is fine. Kind of reminds me of GT, which isn't so fine. The real problem is that the fight scenes are filled to the brim with bad 3D animations. It is jarring. One might even say that it ruins the whole DBZ experience, it certainly ruined mine. It's reminiscent of the switch in the DBZ games from Budokai 3 to Tenkaichi. If you liked that change, then you may not find the art to be as detrimental to your experience and may gain more enjoyment out of the film.

Now, it is not to be said that there is no enjoyment to be found here. As I said before, it's a nice look at the post-Buu continuation of the world, and a heart-warming reunion with our favorite old characters the way they were meant to be. Yet the content does not quite live up to the epic name. There are no great moments, no really memorable feats, as a stand-alone film it's a bit of a letdown.

I'll like to start off with a disclaimer for my review since I'm sure some of you will flair up after seeing my overall score. I'm a big fan of the dragon ball series with Z being my most favourite. The version of DBZ i grew up watching was the funimation dub that aired on Toonami which had the soundtrack composed by Bruce Faulconer. I believe that the enjoyment of this movie might be influenced by which version of DBZ you you have seen growing up; whether it was the sub or one of the two different dubs. Now with that out of the way ... I'll start my review and please bare in mind that the types of DBZ movies I am used to watching are the English dub and a few more recent ones in English sub that does not have a dub for it yet.

Story

The story was a very poor one. Even though DBZ isn't necessarily known to have a good story, this movie probably has the weakest story in the entire dragon ball z series. I don't want to spoil anything but their enemy was not the typical bad guy that wants to rule the Universe by destroying those who opposed him. Instead what we have here is a bad guy that is bored of having a long life and just wants to seek out strong warriors to fight and blow up planets for fun. My description of the enemy might sound like an interesting plot but it was poorly executed in this movie. The movie dragged on with fillers in between that made me constantly check the progress of the movie to see how far am i from the climax or what was supposed to be an epic battle in the end. The final battle itself had some things in it that made no sense what so ever similar to when Omega Shenron used minus energy ball on kid goku in GT while he was holding the spirit bomb but didn't even scratch him. That kind of thing really destroys the credibility it had going up to that point. The conclusion was very disappointing and it's the first time a DBZ movie has ended like that but it does give a hint that there may be more movies and adventures ahead.

Art

The art work here was really good. It was similar the opening of Dragon Ball Z kai. My biggest gripe however was the CGI backgound they used during the final battle because it was out of place and very distracting but i don't think many people will find it hard to deal with and some might even welcome this but for me, they should have just stuck to the cartoon backgrounds they normally used in the movie and series.

Sound

As stated before, I am a fan of the English dub dragon ball Z movies and I think the Japanese dub voices were a bad match for the characters and they were very distracting. The sound tracks used for this movie were almost none existent where it is dead silent at time with only the voices in the foreground. One of my favourite parts of the dragon ball z movies were always the epic sound tracks they chose for the movies to keep things exciting and to keep the viewers from getting bored in the slow parts.

Character

The characters are the same as you would expect from the DBZ characters. Trunks was my favourite this time because of how badly he wanted to look superior to Goten. I don't want to spoil this but Goku's newly found philosophy contradicts his fighting style up until this movie where he would mostly rely on fusion or spirit bomb to defeat his enemies.

Enjoyment & conclusion

The enjoyment of this movie is dependent on what version of dragon ball Z series/movies you grew up watching. If you were watching dragon ball z in pure Japanese audio then this movie will be more bearable. This movie distances itself from the usual dragon ball Z formula where this is not a serious movie and is around the same level of the one piece, toriko, dragon ball cross over episode that came out not too long ago which consisted of forced humour and a terrible story. This could be enjoyable or dreadful depending on the individual viewer's values but for me this was the worst animated Dragon Ball Z movie of all time.

This is my first review so please bear with me.

Dragon Ball Z is the show that marked an entire generation, it is easily one of the most beloved anime series to people from Latin America (the other being Saint Seiya). Suffice it to say this movie was met with great expectation. That expectation was met with mixed reviews, on one hand you have your die-hard hardcore fanboys who truly believe that everything that has "Dragon Ball Z" in it is shitted by God himself. On the other hand, you have people who love DBZ, and have come to appreciate the great quality this show is ... known for. I consider myself from the second group.

In story terms, I felt the movie was lacking. The main premise was quite attractive and gave way to what could have been and enthralling story, instead it was deeply hindered by an excessive amount of humour. Not to say humour is bad, but as it is with everything, you have to measure the amount you use, too much of something could spoil everything, happily this wasn´t the case, though it did diminished the overall enjoyement of the film.

Come on lads! We all loved DBZ for its epic fights, the despair from the main characters when faced with overwhelming odds and the struggle to overcome those odds. In the movie, almost all of that magic is lost, giving way to a more casual approach (there is only one kame hame ha, for fuck´s sake, and no Genkidama!!).

The art department worked just right with this one, though I´m not so fond of CG and animation mixtures, it didn´t hurt the production at all, it actually enhanced the animation in many ways. But still, I prefer one style for the whole work, call me a backwards-thinking individual, but that´s yours truly.

One thing that has always been in need of great improvement in DBZ is the soundtrack. Sound effects are awesome, nigh perfect. But that soundtrack just doesn´t convey the epic feeling this show deserves. The movie is no different in this matter, using old tracks and new ones that resemble Disney´s musicals. Please do tell me who doesn´t enjoy the soundtrack of Naruto, Bleach, Fate (series), Fairy Tail, Sword Art Online and many more (their overall quality is another thing). I was strongly hoping for a more epic, symphonic soundtrack, sadly I was disappointed.

Character progression is non-existent, I don´t complain since it is the fourteenth movie after all. Characters motivations, fears and psyche should be quite understood at this point. What I truly appreciated were the funny moments of the antagonist, but he did lacked progression, his character was just too plain. I´m mad; I fight, I´m happy; I eat...not great depth in this one.

Being able to meet such high standards imposed by your predecessor is a difficult thing indeed. DBZ Kami to Kami struggles to keep up with the expectations delivered by the original show and movies (Broly should never be forgotten), its struggle is commendable but falls short of our great childhood memories. Not saying this movie is rubbish, it´s actually quite enjoyable, you will smile if not outright laugh. I say you should give it a try and enjoy the fond memories you had when enjoying this show.

English is not my mother tongue, so I apologize for any and all mistakes.

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods has been hyped up as the big return of a monumental anime franchise, introducing a new villain and bringing back all of your favorite characters for one last giant bout... but does it live up to the hype? The short answer is "no". I thought it actually tarnished part of what I loved about Dragon Ball. It stepped over it so harshly that by the end, I had to wonder if perhaps they did it intentionally.

Let's start off with some of the positives. The art is competent. The quality is essentially on-par with the end of the Dragon ... Ball Z TV series, except now that art style has transitioned to HD. There are also a few shots which managed to really impress me, in terms of the quality of the animation, however these are few and far between.

The audio mix seems pretty typical, and sounds like something you would have heard in the TV series. However, there's now also a really horrible rendition of Cha-La-Head Cha-La during the intro, as well as the credits. That's definitely the lowest point of the soundtrack. The rest of the score does it's job and sets the tone, but overall manages to be pretty forgettable. I watched the movie in Japanese with English subtitles. There are a few voice actors who seem kind of like they phoned it in, but the actors do a pretty decent job for the most part. Nothing too memorable.

The story starts off being a pretty typical Dragon Ball Z tale. there's a new villain introduced, and after Goku hears how powerful he is, he feels the need to fight him. No surprises here. There's a short battle sequence, but then something shocking happens. The movie ends up devolving into comedy for an absurdly long time, before going back for a little bit of action towards the end. It felt like about 50 minutes of the movie's run-time ended up being comedic, with only a small amount of it being focused around action. There's a few surprising cameos, which I won't spoil, but I will say that as a fan, they were cool to see. Still, a few interesting cameos can't save the movie from being incredibly long-winded and dull. That dullness carries over into the climax as well, which isn't as exciting as it should have been. The whole thing is completely devoid of tension, and it just feels kind of like a dull side-story that didn't need to be told.

Part of that lack of tension has to do with a major flaw in the new characters. Specifically, the new villain manages to be completely non-threatening throughout, and ruins what little action moments there even are in the film. Some of the returning characters also tend to act a little out of character, compared to the TV series. I've seen most of the Japanese version of the TV series, so I am completely aware about how the characters felt slightly different in Japanese to begin with. However, some of the characters still seem somewhat different in this film. It makes me stop and wonder how little research the writers must have did before writing this script. It's a major embarrassment!

Overall, I expected Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods to be an action-packed throwback, but what I got was a mockery of the source material, which tends to throw out any interesting plot in favor of an overabundance of comic relief. It's an overall disappointing film, with a few redeeming qualities, and a couple of interesting moments. However, that's still not enough to save it from it's inherently flawed main story, which feels both incredibly lacking, and not very well thought-out.

I give Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods a 3/10.

In my opinion, this movie is not particularly bad, but there is for me two problems I can't put aside.

First of all, and this is something recurring in DBZ movies, the logic of the original manga isn't followed, especially about power level. It might look like a fanboy complaint, but I undertake the critic. Why did Gohan is so lame? Why SSJ2 Vegeta is way stronger than Gohan? Why Buu is defeated in one hint? These questions have no response, and it's somehow a shame. The fact is due to commercial issues, Toriyama didn't follow his own story logic, and it turned the movie into ... non sense. More than this, I'm not convinced concerning the eternal quest of power. Super saiyan is supposed to be a very strong mode, super saiyan 2 an awesome one, and super saiyan 3 a dreadful one. Considering there is an amount of others forms even more powerful (Mystic Gohan, SSJ3 Gotenk, Buu gohan absorbed, Vegito..), I think it begins to become non sense as well.

The second problem is concerning the tempo of the movie itself. The first half is quite good, but the other half seemed a bit weird to me. Maybe because contrary to Wrath of the Dragon or Fusions, the movie don't take a dramatic tone. It looks like the characters are taking a break by fighting Bills, and thus there is no real tension all along (and that's not by saying "i'm gonna destroy this planet" randomly in the movie that it will add stress and tension..).

But this is still a good DBZ movie, with some well animated fighting scenes, with badass transformations, and with a 2013 lifting.
Though it never won't be better than the 42 tomes of DBZ.

15 years after GT, Toriyama decided that he wasn’t making enough money from all the poorly created videogames, card games, and countless types of merchandise that were constantly being produced based on his badly written franchise. So, he officially labeled GT to be not canon, and that Super is the real sequel, in effect rendering worthless terabytes of fan fiction and fan art. He still hired Toyotaro as his best imitator and the one doing all the drawing, since he couldn’t be bothered to draw as he used to. The result was a lifeless continuation that could no longer excuse itself being bad because Toriyama ... was not part of it.

It was also not really a continuation, since that would demand a new story with new characters, in order to start fresh and avoid all the inconsistencies that piled up over the years. But who would buy that? We live in the age of sequels and franchises that reboot every few years. Toyotaro ended up tracing over Toriyama’s artwork, and kept rehashing the exact same shit, regardless of not making any sense. It was basically fan service for nostalgiafags and it worked spectacularly since many idiots ate it up immediately and called it amazing despite being a shameless cashgrab.

So, everything began with a pilot movie called Battle of Gods. It was mostly comedy and had another terribly handled power-up. They had 15 years to take out the power creep which ruined the franchise, and not only they didn’t do anything about it, they instead made it even worse.
-It was lazily acquired, since all it took was joining hands
-It foddered everyone who was not a saiyan even further, since only saiyans could be used to unlock it and use it
-It ridiculed the concept of SSJ even further, since at this point even a fetus could count as one
-It foddered even the SSJs, since Goku became even more overpowered and in less need of everyone else to support him in battle
-Visually, it was just a hair color-swap
-Its abilities were never explained properly, as they kept changing every few episodes (untraceable aura, power output, healing, zero ki drain)
-It was pointless, as it had no significance, didn’t defeat someone, and was quickly overshadowed by the next power-up

The new villain, Beerus, was not even a villain, but rather a cosmic bureaucrat doing his job. Really badly I must add, since not only he slept for millions of years, he also wasn’t around to stop super villains when they were threatening the universe, and instead all he did was blow up planets that didn’t have tasty food. He was essentially a comic relief with ridiculously high enough power to destroy the universe with a few punches. And somehow they managed to screw up even this simple character by constantly contradicting what he did in the past.
-He said he killed all the dinosaurs, although they still exist
-He said he ordered Frieza to kill the Saiyans, but he never addresses it afterwards and even planned to kill Frieza for doing what he was ordered
-The old kaioshin said he was trapped in the sword by someone weaker than Buu, although Beerus is stronger

What baffles me is how they rewrote his backdrop story, from the one who made the Saiyans evil, to a generic destroyer of worlds looking for some excitement by fighting the Super Saiyan God. This removed the personal connection he could have with the heroes, since he would be the one who kickstarted their battle frenzy. Without that, he was just another guy who wants to fight for the sake of fighting. He even goes as far as letting the heroes turn Goku into a Saiyan God, proving how little he cares about the whole thing.

And I have to point out the plot hole with the prophecy. The reason he knew there is a Saiyan God out there is because of an oracle fish which foretold it a million years ago. How can there be destiny in a universe with multiple timelines? Future Trunks came from the original timeline where everybody had died and it was impossible for someone to acquire the god form. Thus this whole concept was bullshit. The legend of the SSJ may have been a convenience for Goku to defeat Frieza, but it wasn’t contradicting the in-series logic, unlike the prophecy of the Saiyan God. And that’s why it’s proven once again why destiny and time travel are some of the worst plot devices ever conceived by man.

Anyways, back to what was supposed to be a plot, the battle between Beerus and Goku was the most anti-climactic thing ever. Because of modern limitations, they couldn’t show gore and violence in the same volume as they could in the past, everything felt like a videogame because it wasn’t hand-drawn anymore, and the terrible low budget of the tv version made it laughable in the eyes of everyone who were simply looking for a cool fight. Many voice actors were also so old at this point, and couldn’t do their job properly. Kaio in specific can barely talk, so when he’s supposed to be screaming, nothing comes out. And even Goku’s voice actress shows her age too much at this point, you can easily tell it’s an 80 year old lady. How can you enjoy this?

Not even the conclusion was satisfactory, since Goku lost, and Beerus did not destroy the planet because he liked the food. And he didn’t barely manage to overpower Goku either. Even in his god form, Goku was a billion times weaker than Beerus. Essentially, this battle was a troll, since there was no way for Goku could win despite making it seem he stood a chance. This continues the terrible tradition of characters holding back from using their full power right away, and making it seem like they are equal in power with whoever they are fighting.

This first arc of Super was terrible. GT may have been awful for having no idea of how to use its good ideas, but at least it had good ideas. Not only Super does not have good ideas, it contradicts its own concepts every five minutes and keeps trolling you with fake tension. It doesn’t even deserve a 1/10, it was an abomination that should have never been made.

DBZ: The Fanfiction.

After laughing my ass off to some TFS's parodies, I thought, maybe this new turd from said franchise that supports itself via fanwanks and merchandizing, was also some sort of parody - it just had to be! After a good doze of vodka, I watched it, and... Excuse me, my brain seems to be little broken, right about here.

I have no comprehention for this! This had to be a pardoy. A joke. A hoodwig! Something, that one should find, only by stumbling in to some really dier, and some really, really stupid fanfiction - like if Naruto and Sasuke did the fusion-dance! ... Because, that's how this movie felt... every single flipping second of it! Some stupid, stupid fanfiction about Carrot becoming a God, because Toriyama is clearly at this point writing himself being a Carrot himself, and collecting some new ideas from his fanboys with same power-fantasies... because they're ugly, fat and virgins - not muscular, flying virgins!

It just... it just had to be a bad joke! What, it's not? Well, fuck you too!


Story (1)

The plot in overall is very simple to grasp, knowing first that the DBZ franchise only has about one or two "plots"... kinda like the Alien-franchise. Wheter or not these two can actually be called as a plot itself is still open for debate, me saying no - they aren't!
(1) Some stupid idiot - presumably an alien, since they, unlike humans, have "cool/epic/(=stupid)" megapowers, and they're most likely gonna mess things up and brake stuff even more efficiantly, than our "heroes" themselves! - is heading to Earth, or already is on Earth, searching for Dragon Balls for whatever "evil" reasons.
(2) The stupid "cool/epic(=rehashed)" villain is heading to Earth, or already is on Earth, and wants to break shit up, because he's evil and gets himself off of it.

In this time around, this movie presents to us the plot number 2, meaning that this movie is - like already stated above - just some truly idiotic fanfiction, waiting to be brought to the fans so they can wank upon it with their hair-dyed glee. I wouldn't necsessarily mind about it that much, but this isn't my franchise, and I just can't get myself off by watching it! Not my fault - not many are getting off by tentacles either!

The story's as follows. Some ancient Egyptian cat-god- reject is all like "Being destructive/possibly hated god is such a bore! Better let the writers brainstorm for a while in Angelfire's DBZ-section, and come up with some good ideas for a plot! What's that - a new plot-device on the franchise? A Super Saiyan God, you say? And he's on Earth? No kidding?! Let's get going on some random planet, so that the universe/some other gods can hate/fear me even more!" Since that "once in every millenia"- entiteld supersaiyan-status is already pretty much bunked at this point, only those born into this specific rase - not Gohan, since he's a family man and thus too weak for the franchise, and who even cares about Goten or Trunks?! - can now become gods themselves, because who wouldn't want to be over-priviledged beyond rhyme or reason, and to be born in a race that can turn themselves into a gods via temper tantrum?! The Cat goes to Earth, but gets no pudding, and so the obvious happens. Everybody starst flailing and punching each other, Bulma gets slapped - finally! - and by the powers united by... holding hands in circle, Carrot becomes a god. Oh God... Some more flailing around occures, then some revelations about the multiverse, and the Cat leaves. Unbe-fucking-lievable!

What pissed me off most in this movie, is the utter and complite pointlessness, in terms of god-consept, and the complite lack of threat, urgensy, or consequenses. What't the point of Beerus, the god of destruction, if all he ever does, is eat good food, and blow up planets?! That's no reason, to be called a god! That's no reason to be called a character either! Expecially when the whole god-consept in itself is already so insignificant as it is! Vegeta could destroy planets - is he a god? Not yet, but if the Fandom demands it...! And what about Frieza and Buu? Good try for Cell, and maybe even Piccolo! By the same standards, they could've been called gods as well ages ago - both not so easy to kill... and eastern gods can be killed! Heck, if given the right moment, and the right two or three wishes, Tien or Yamcha would've easily been the new gods of the universe... and they're both humans! Why are the saiyans only so blessed with convienence, that they're allowed to be "turned into gods" so to say, just because the "story" needs them to be?!

I already mentioned this in my other review, but when the plot itself is constantly trying to write itself into a corner - "we have to get stronger, because villains are getting stronger... and not smarter, just like us!" - you would think, that the humans and/or namekians would also have something similar in their own mythos! Humans have gods/demi-gods too! Why can't they have something similar?! From the side of the point, what's the point of having any gods of destruction at all in the first place, when our so-called heroes kill, and destroy even more shit, than most of their villains ever do, almost every time, when one of them needs to prove themselves for someone?! Beerus, in his all flamboyant idiocy, is hardly any real threat at all at this point, when looking at the bigger picture, since the Earth has already been destoyed once, and everyone still survived... even the guys, who caused all of it - I'm looking at you Goku... Vegeta... Buu!

You would think, that introducing a villain, who can destroy planets and likes to eat - is he a cousin of Buu?! - would bring... if not nescessarily anything new, but atleast something interesting to the table, but no! Maybe, if this movie wasn't just about it's villain desperately trying to kill some time and in the process threathening to do his job, but about him trying to steal the dragon balls to turn them into evil, kinda like in GT, this could've been somewhat endearing, but no! It's just fighting, and some lame power fantasy, and nothing more! There's no danger, no stakes, and certainly no consequenses found from this movie, since this movie is just that, what it clearly was ment to be in the first place - a fanfiction, made into a movie, for the fans of the franchise, to wank upon!

Even a fanfiction can be good sometimes, but I wouldn't give any of them an actual real-life money to spend, and make their brainfarts into a movies on big screen for everyone to look at and spend their money on, even if I was up to my tits dipped in cocaine!

I mean... is there any limits for stupidity, even among the Fandom?! Is this really, what the fans of this franchise want?! More stupid plots after stupid plots, more stupid transformations and overly used plot-devices being overused - is this what's so good for you, you sick freaks?! Are you really wishing so desperately to be the next Pokemon, do you?! Well, too bad, since that's where you have been staying, since the Buu-arc and Super Saiyan tres!

This movie steals now even from it's fans, and that's just low... and I love it for it!


Art (4)

The art is... kinda mixed bag of beans to me at this point... pointing out the fact that it earns no points from me, in the overall-score. The art is itself amazingly improved since the old days, with it's clean lines, original animation and nice colors. The characters have a nice detail on to them, the heads are no longer shifting sizes between the cells, and they no longer pose constantly on that obnoxious legs wide open- position, like they're trying to push out huuuuuuge dump.

That being said, is it just me, or is the art-style a bit... plasticy? Is it just... maybe even too clean, crips and full of color? Is it just weird to see all the lines so fine and graphics so updated, that it kinda feels like... not what it's meant to be?

See?! I'm not even a fan, and even I can feel the difference in the end product! Even I can see, that almost twenty years has passed - more or so, I can't bother myself to actually care! - since this franchise lastly gasped air, and even I can still say, that this ain't pretty! It's better, but not pretty!

Although, I do have to say, that I like the fact that they used in this movie, most of the running-time in an actual story-mode, rather than the fight-mode, but still... even if I was hoping to see some interesting fighting in this one - since the story really isn't anything worth being even invested in - what I got to see in the end, was really, really... bland, to say the least. I can honestly say, that I knew the outcome in a second when the first hit was made, and even if they tried to decorate it with some new CGI-effects, pantering and pseudo-philosophical dialog, it was nothing less but a sore for my eyes.


Sound (4)

The sound is quite better too, I guess... I can't remember any of the soundtracks, and dialog isn't really anything to write to home about, but atleast Chris Sabat doesn't no longer sound like a smoking frog, suffering from bronchitis, so that's a plus... I guess.

Whatever! This section in the scoring doesn't earn any points to the overall-score from me either, so I'm not gonna spend my time in this section any more than I have to! You like it, good. I you don't, that's good too! I don't care!


Character (1)

Since the day that I started watching and reviewing this franchise - and since I started to hate my masochism - I've heard over and over again, that while the stories and plots aren't nescessarily the strong points of this franchise, the characters are. Like... all two of them?

Seriously, what is the appeal, other than their powers, since that seems to be the only reason, for picking the favourites out of the cast that basically looks the same, and acts the same - all stupid and pointless, with no longer no motives or arcs to fulfill! Women are either eye candy, baby factories/trophies, or horrible jokes, humans are either meatshealds, eye candy or stupid jokes, "hybrids" are either plot-devices or cameos, and aliens are either villains, ex-villains, eye candy, lame jokes or filling up the empty space. They weren't interesting then, they're not interesting now, and seeing Veggie sing and dance on the stage in front of everybody, isn't my idea of a subtle character development. Maybe it's just me, but to me, something seems a bit off with this cast... and not in a good way!

Why are these people even alive at this point, since the biggest criteria for importance in this franchise, is that how golden your hair is?! (Didn't Piccolo die for realzies in the GT... or is it just not cannon enough?) The way that I see it, from the story's point of view, Gohan would still be the only one, who would have any kind of story-arc left to fulfill and discover, him supposedly being the next hero of Earth, after his deadbeat father kicks the bucket! No one else no longer has enything else to do, contribute or achieve, but there they all just are, flailing their little song and dance- rutine for the fans, so that they can donate to the franchise through nostalgia!

"Yeah, I remember Tien! He was cool... with his thing, that he did... that one time!"
"And Krillin! He was funny! And he also did that thing... that one time... that was cool... before he died... Yay!"
"And Gohan - look, there's Gohan! Do you remember?! He used to be so annoying, and then he was cool, but then he became lame... and then cool yet again... until he became pointless... and started to have a character..."
"18 used to fight... Videl used to fight... Chi Chi used to fight... no they're all mothers, and useless..."
"Oh, and Piccolo! He's hot... right? I'm not the only one... right?! Guys...?"

If you don't have anything that you can do with your characters, don't keep them around, but either let them go, or kill them! I can only assume, that for the fans of this series, it's actually painful for them to see, how their once favourite fighting figurines - they're not deep enough to be called characters - dwindle and wade away from existance, to stand on the background and look stupid! But, since Toriyama can't write and this franchise needs to be supported by something...


Enjoyment (1)

This movie, is just a little something, that I like to call, a "Power porn"- movie... or a "Power Fantasy"- movie... or a "Fandom Wank"- movie. This is a... porn movie, for those, who are stupid enough, to like DB/DBZ... or god forbid, DBGT/DBS, and trust me... I know my porn! Like in any good porn movie, story in this is just so paperthin, that you almost won't even notice it - main focus on the fucking, please! - and the characters are so simple, bland and boring, that you won't remember their faces afterwards, just about who fucked who, and in what order... if any! The conclusion is messy, loud, yet shallow, and short-lived satisfaction, with little to no results, depth nor reason, and most importantly... no porn-babies - we wouldn't want any consequenses, now would we !I can already see, thousands and thousands, lonely virgin males, in their mid-thirties, watching and wanking on this pathetic waste of animation, paper and ink, while screaming manically "Goku, Goku, Goku... oh my...!" over, and over again! You have to like porn - and be stupid/easily satisfied, in order to like this movie, so thank goodness, that America isn't going nowhere - who else would give Toriyama money these days?!

Is it still necessary to say, at this point, that I'm not a fan, neither or this movie, nor this franchise?! This movie is... pointless. Just... pointless. Stupid. Overhyped. For stupid kids, and even stupider adults. Deep as a buddle of puke! Tasty, as a shitty cardboard - a waste of time, money, paper, and ink. There's just... nothing in here! Nothing to look at, and nothing to marvel upon... that is, if you're not some adrenaline-based lifeform, with no brain-functions, other than screaming and wanking, and any need of thought, meaning, or enjoyment, that you wouldn't find, from some empty shoe-boxes... or some really shitty, amateur porn!

This movie had no meaning, no plot, no story, and absolutely nothing, that any actual fan of anime, or movies in general, would, and should enjoy! My condolenses for the fans of this franchise, for actually indulging yourselves with this kind of a trash... and never realizing, of how shitty it really, really is!

For the rest of you, who know, and demand something better, than this... go, and forget this garbage! This movie, and this franchise! Forget it now, so it won't spread, and infect us all - like some really vicious STD! And trut me... those will burn!

Dragonball Z is another franchise everyone's heard of. People tend to either love it for its characters and action sequences or think it's kind of stupid because it's kind of a mindless action series where people scream to get stronger. Whatever your opinion on the series, Toriyama Akira's creation has certainly had a profound impact on pop culture. It also has over a dozen films. So, you may have wondered which one I'm looking at today. Well, that would be the most recent film from just last year. Dragonball Z: Battle of Gods.

Story:

The narrative begins with the Northern Kai talking to the ... Supreme Kai, using their long distance communication technique, about the awakening of the God of destruction, Beerus. Goku overhears, being on the Kai's planet for training because taking care of his family would not be fun and it's much better to wander off to distant planets where they can't find him. We cut to Beerus, who's waking up from his slumber. He and his companion, Wiss, discuss what's been happening with Frieza and Beerus learns that he was killed by a super saiyan. This reminds him of something he heard from the oracle fish, which is apparently a thing, about a Super Saiyan God. So, he and Wiss go on a mission to find out what that is. They start with Goku, whom Beerus easily defeats in a quick sparring match. Then they head to Earth, the Northern Kai warning Vegeta to not fight or upset Beerus, lest the God decide to destroy the planet.

There are several things the movie does well. It has a great sense of humour. It's also really interesting to see Vegeta try to appease Beerus, even though you know it's Dragonball Z and it's only a matter of time until the fight sequence. I also do like that the ultimate resolution isn't what you'd expect from the franchise. There's also one really satisfying fact about the film. It invalidates GT. If you're not a fan of the franchise, let me give you the short version. GT was a sequel to Dragonball Z that the original writer, Toriyama Akira, had absolutely nothing to do with. Most fans hated it. So, how does Battle of Gods flip this unwanted sequel the proverbial bird? Pilaf, Shu and Mai, three antagonists from the original Dragonball, appear in the film as little kids, having wished for youth at some unspecified time before. In GT the three of them appear as elderly and decrepit, while characters who are now older than them are just middle-aged.

Now, let's go into the negative aspects. There are really two major narrative problems with the film. The first just doesn't make much sense. Why does the Northern Kai only warn Vegeta? I get the reason from a comedic perspective. It puts Vegeta in a situation where he has to try to keep this guy calmed down while no one else realises the danger. But from a story perspective, it doesn't make any bloody sense. Why tell the guy who's known for his bad temper but not tell any of the people who could exercise a more calming influence? It's not like Piccolo or Gohan is going to panic because someone ridiculously strong is coming or they're going to deliberately antagonise him when they know the risk just to see his power.

That brings me to the second problem, which is a bit of a spoiler. I know, I usually try to avoid telling you major plot details, but this one needs to be talked about. Basically, they discover that summoning the “Super Saiyan God” requires five Saiyans putting their energy into a sixth. That leads to a bit of a pinch. They only have five; Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks and Goten. Enter one of the dumbest plot points I've ever seen. Videl is pregnant and the baby is going to be a quarter Saiyan, so they're able to draw upon the... power of the fetus to complete the transformation. You may notice that your brain actually hurts from reading that sentence. Let me assure you, I am not making that up. I know, it's hard to believe that any franchise would do something that profoundly stupid, but it actually happens.

Characters:

Since Dragonball Z has a massive cast, I'll keep the bulk of the discussion to the characters who play an important role in the film Yeah, you see most of the major supporting characters from the series like Yamcha, Krillin, Tenshinhan, Chiaotzu and so on. They get very little dialogue and they don't do much. If you're a fan of their characters you'll probably be happy to see them otherwise you'll just notice that they're there.

Vegeta gets some really good character moments in this. Actually, his entire family does. Vegeta, Bulma and Trunks all get some great moments and they interact with each other really strongly. Surprisingly so given that the film is only an hour and a half long. I also really like the Pilaf, Mai & Shu scenes. They were really funny in the original Dragonball and this film sees their triumphant return. Beerus is also a great antagonist. He's hilarious and just a delight.

Art:

The art in this is superb. It has Toriyama's signature character designs with really detailed backgrounds. I especially loved Beerus's world. It looks amazing. The fight scenes are what you'd expect with quick movements and flashy attacks. Although, being a movie, they don't spend nearly as much time with characters powering up or with moves that take a long time to charge. Which is frankly for the best since the fights in the series proper tend to drag because of that kind of thing. The fights in this are a lot smoother.

Sound:

Everyone in the cast is pretty good. The best performances come from Tsuru Hiromi, Horikawa Ryo and Yamadera Kouichi as Bulma, Vegeta and Beerus respectively. The music is also really good.

Ho-yay:

There is none. 1/10.

Final Thoughts:

There are some really good things about this film. The comedic moments, the antagonist, the interactions with Vegeta and his family, the non-traditional ending and invalidating GT are all reasons to give it a watch. That being said, there are also some serious problems. The Northern Kai's decision to warn only Vegeta makes no sense. The fetus helping them power up is oh so mind-numbingly stupid. All of the characters who are in the background but neither say nor do anything important beyond giving Bulma's party a sense of size. Which is kind of a flimsy justification for their presence. Still, I would recommend it to fans of the Dragonball franchise and I did enjoy watching it over all. As such, my final rating is going to be a 7/10. Tomorrow, Film Festival week continues with something more... futuristic.

This Dragon Ball Z movie, really surprised me in a very positive way.
When I began watching this, I expected a generic Dragon Ball Z movie, with a villain threatening Earth or Goku's friends.
But what I found was so much more. It took a different route with this movie, which I really liked, and wish they would do sooner, or more of.

Story:
The story is really simple, not to complicated for kids to not understand, but a the same time, enjoyable enough for old fans and adults to enjoy. And everyone that has seen or heard about Dragon Ball Z, should know what to expect. ''Fight ... the bad guy, save the world, and save his friends''. It's nothing new with this film(Although it take's it on a new twist, which I really loved).

Characters:
And this is where the film shine's for me. Dragon Ball has always had a very lovable cast of characters. All the characters have been gathered, even Emperor Pilaf and his gang make's a very welcome appearance. And they simple put a new spin on all of them. And with that we get to see a different side of some characters, and some old one's too.
Even the villain is very likable, and simple isn't there to destroy the earth, but to enjoy himself!

Art & Sound:
I have never seen a better animated Dragon Ball than this. They went all the way with the animation and effects in this movie. The fighting scene was just amazing, with different camera perspective. I have never seen such a nice and clean Dragon Ball then this.
I have nothing to complain about.

Final Thought:
To me, my biggest enjoyment was to see all the characters come together, and see what a great gang it really is. And watching Vegeta throwing away his pride, to save his friends and get mad, when Lord Beerus, hits Bulma. It is a all around a great movie.
If you haven't seen Dragon Ball for a long time. This is a great way to re-experience Dragon Ball on. And put's a new whole twist on it all.
And it really might surprise you. It certainly did me!

For the record, this from the perspective of a guy who finished the entire Dragon Ball manga yesterday, as of the writing of this review, then decided to jump onto this movie and is planning to watch Super. Good? Good. Also, spoilers.

To start with the story, I loved it: Beerus, God of Destruction coming down to earth to look for the sexy man in his dreams so they can fight for the sole reason of him getting some excitement in his boring life as he strongest thing in the 7th Universe. Thing is, Dragon Ball has never been about the super-complicated stories that are necessarily ... gonna make you think too much. ESPECIALLY in the Z movies; those sons of bitches aren't needed, except for this one and the 15th, I guess. I'll give the story a 9/10, 'cause it introduces the already seemingly concluded Dragon Ball timeline to an immense amount of lore, story and fighters which probably will be badass, going off what I've heard about Hit.

The art in this movie; holy shit, man! This is truly Dragon Ball Z revived! I stopped at the Namek saga so I could go for the manga, but I can see the difference in art styles, body designs and the overall color pallet, you know? The orifinal was more contained with its colors, while this movie makes everything pop straigh in your face, which I find great for a series trying to modernize itself, which it did greatly for that reason. The fighting animation is simply 'mazing! And I thought the older DBZ moviews looked great for their time, this one goes all out when the Goku Vs Beerus fight comes; Sakuga through the roof, badass feel to it all, the new transformation Goku attains and the classic Goku-like way he takes it in as, that being ''It ain't my power, so I don't feel guchi about it!'' I love that way of thinking. And the whole God Ki concept, and how it can't be sensed by not-gods is an intereeting concept and it started one of the most fascinating discussions i've seen: Is Gogeta SSJ4 a SSG, but that's not of importance. Art gets 8/10, since at points it looks really off-model and that one scene with Mai made me scared for her legs. You'll notice it.

The sound, like everything, is up to date and fresh. Those classing punch sound effects, that Instant Transmission, and everything in-between is awesome. Some sound effects did feel like they were ripped straight out of a 90s movie, though, but that's not a big deal, since it's not on-the-nose and easy to miss. And the sound of the Super Saiyan Jin, just...8/10.

The characters, or the once that were characters in the movie at least, were fantastic. Goku and Vegeta are simply perfect (for the most part), but Piccolo singing...? That was weirdly good, bit it doesn't fit him, I feel. Vegeta ignoring Bulma's birthday to train in the gravity chamber is just like him and Goku fogetting about it entirely fits as well. What i'm saying is, they fit their roles as they should. For the newcomers, that being Beerus and Whis/Whys, are quite interesting. Beerus was quite on-point, in my opinion; he's the God so bored of being the most powerful creature in the whole universe, he's just seeking for more excitement. He would prioritze food over most things, along with Whis, and he's laid-back and doesn't give a shit, since...he's the strongers. Whis is even more powerful, being Beerus' teacher, although he's more stern at points, literally treating Beerus like his little brother or child; it makes for nice interactions. 7/10.

My enjoyment with the movie was through the roof, no questions about it. I enjoyed when the music would cut out for them to make their jokes, I loved when they called out trunks for flying when he could've just walked through those 25 feet, and whe he just says ''So? It's whatever?'' like the cocky kid he is, I felt happy. The fighting, as mentioned, was of the highest quality for a 2013 movie, I think, and it never left me bored, but I do find Videl being abl to contribute to the ritual stupid just because she has Pan in her belly, but it's gotta work somehow, right? 10/10.

Overall, i'll give it an 8/10. I just liked it a lot, which is something I won't be saying about the Revival of F arc of Super, apparently. Thanks for reading this and hope it helped in any way. It's a good moie and I recommend the hell out of it if you wanna see how it goes here AND in the alternative DBS version. Bye!

The first DBZ movie in a long time and this is what we get. A film about the awakening of the God of Destruction, Lord Beerus, and his desire to fight a "Super Saiyan God" that he saw in a dream.

Story:
The film starts out interestingly enough with King Kai talking with the Supreme Kai about Beerus's awakening, and within a couple of minutes Goku has a fight with him where he is easily defeated as a Super Saiyan 3. Wanting to find out if anyone knows what the Super Saiyan God is, Beerus and his mentor, Whis, travel to Earth to find the other Saiyans ... and ask them.

First off, being the God of Destruction Lord Beerus is inherently evil, and yet while he is the film's antagonist the only reason he wants to destroy Earth is because he gets annoyed while on it, mainly from Majin Boo not sharing pudding with him. So the reasoning is stupid. Secondly there is no character development for Lord Beerus besides this. Even Freeza, Cell, and Boo from the main series had more explanation for their thoughts and actions. But here it's all over pudding and that Lord Beerus is supposed to destroy.

Art:
Second the fighting isn't amazing. There are no new moves seen here, unlike when Goku first became a Super Saiyan when he fought Freeza, pulled off the Warp Kamehameha with Cell, or when he became a Super Saiyan 3 and then merged with Vegeta to become Vegetto during the fight with Boo. All Goku does is turn into a Super Saiyan God, which makes him slimmer and have red hair. That's it.

Sound:
The music was pretty nice, but not was more complimentary than additive which is to say it wasn't anything like Bruce Faulconer's music. But it was much better than Kai's or the original soundtrack for the show when it aired in Japan.

Character Development:
As for the characters, you have to have seen the main series to understand who everyone is. They didn't take the time to introduce all the characters for newbies to the series; this show is for those of us who watched the show when we were kids. However, Lord Beerus and Whis could've been drawn out a LOT more.

Enjoyment:
Unlike the previous films, a good half of this film doesn't even have fighting. Ninety percent of the film takes place on Earth at Bulma's birthday party (her age I won't reveal here) and most of it is Vegeta trying to stop Beerus from getting mad and destroying the planet after hearing he defeated SSJ 3 Goku easily. While there are some funny moments, it's really just a bunch of filler for what could be an awesome, long fight with Goku and Beerus like in other films.

The ending to the film is weak, but I won't spoil it but it could've ended a LOT better. I'll say that the outcome of the battle is disappointing, but not terrible. But it's nothing we've seen in DBZ before. However, being a DBZ film it's still fun to watch and reminds me of my childhood days from when I used to watch it after getting home from school, so I'll give the final score a 7/10. It's still DBZ.