Anime Spotlight #21: Dragon Ball Super & Broly

Article by Sean Wilkinson,

Dragon Ball fan.

You might have noticed (or been notified on Tumblr, Reddit, and Facebook) that Just the Ticket has a new look. As much as I liked the old theme, there wasn't as much flexibility as I would have liked with respect to the presentation, and while I've been asking you all to follow and subscribe and answer all those other calls to action, I didn't have an easy way for you to do that. So, big whoopsie on my part. But, it's fixed now, so in addition to what you think of my content, I'm open to any suggestions or opinions you have on the naming, placement, and general appearance of things.

As for the content itself, I forgot that way back, I posted a quick review of Dragon Ball Super: Broly. But in the spirit of the Anime Spotlight, in which I've given some franchises the "kitchen sink" approach (movies, all available seasons, etc.), I'm going to talk about the Dragon Ball Super anime, how the early seasons differ from the movies they recap, and re-include that review of the Broly movie at the end. Super Hero will get its own coverage on Friday.

So remember to like, comment, punch that Follow button at the right, and check in with me on Tumblr, Reddit, and Facebook for the latest updates on content like this:

Dragon Ball Super--to the relief of some fans, the events of GT never happened (or didn’t happen yet, or happened in continuity with the filler and the first thirteen Z movies). The Pilaf gang are children now, despite there not having been a canonical wish to Shenron to de-age them at any point (it's shown in Battle Of Gods, but left to assumption and movie knowledge in the series) and their being adults in the original Dragon Ball series. The secondary character dynamics from the Battle Of Gods and Resurrection F movies (especially concerning Trunks and a now young Mai) are either completely scrapped from the recap seasons or moved and repurposed into later story arcs. Goku is now the blatantly battle-obsessed moron of a character he was written as in the Abridged series (whereas in Dragon Ball Z, it was less obvious). Some of the early animation is rushed and badly drawn, which is more understandable (but no less forgivable) in the anime industry than the majority of casual viewers would expect. Many throw shade on the Thousand Soldier Battle sequence and the repetitive fight choreography in Resurrection F, as well, but the deliberate spectacle of the former makes it one of my favorite fights in the franchise, especially after the overload of faster-than-light fireworks we got in the latter part of Z and GT. Finally, the human fighters get a focus!

The character development, stakes, storytelling, and pacing are a mixed bag. a

Super is an interquel, taking place in the time skip between the last two episodes of Z, so we know that despite whatever threats of returning villains, planetary Destruction, genocide, or Universal erasure crop up, our heroes' plot armor will keep them safe. The arcs (without the potential for longevity and existing manga source that the original enjoyed, having Sagas is too ambitious) are basically self-contained stories with the barest amount of connective tissue (something that even the maligned GT got right). I've considered switching to the manga, as I've heard it's continuation and alternate telling did get more serialized. The padding of the recap seasons is often criticized by shonen battle maniacs, but I thought the slice of life stuff and character dynamics were some of the best aspects of the series.

With two exceptions, and I think you know what they are.... I'm talking about the hastily defined, non-character that is Jiren, who is very strong and hates friends because a shadow with red eyes killed his Master when he was a boy, and that's all we need to know. But before that, there’s that whole thing in the Future Trunks arc where Pilaf is trying to get Future Trunks (a grown man) to seduce the present version of Mai (whom we have already established is a woman trapped in the body of a child!). And she’s okay with her boss turning the future version of her future boyfriend into a pedophile why?????????????? Not to mention that it gets reciprocated with young Trunks crushing on Future Mai and then the Future couple agree to go to an alternate timeline where they already exist because they get to have a four-way with themselves. But that glaring collection of vomit induction devices aside, the series is as spectacular as it has ever been and then some, with the action and scale amped up to multiversal levels of awesome. You either like Dragon Ball or you don’t, and I have from the beginning. But the flaws in Super are less endearing and nostalgic than glaring and bulimic.

And now, the reprinted review of Dragon Ball Super: Broly FROM March 23, 2019 (State Of the Ticketmaster Address, 2019):

Dragon Ball Super: Broly is a spectacular watch for any Dragon Ball fan. Not perfect (the age retcon on Goku, the missed opportunity to explain Broly's forms and integrate them into the canon through comparison with Kale, Freiza's reduction from a complex, sinister tyrant to a comic-relief punching bag, and the heroes' ass-pull escape to practice a new technique in the middle of a fight, to name a few), but the animation is smooth and crisp, the character development is at least on par with the best in the Super series, and the fights are insane in the absolute best sense of the word. If you like Dragon Ball, support the official release.

Stay Tuned and get Omnibusted on Hump Day (WHOOP! WHOOP!), and I'll finish out the week with more dragons.

Ticketmaster,

Out.