After years of wondering whether or not it would happen, Dragon Ball Super is confirmed to finally return and will adapt the Galactic Patrol arc that had previously been exclusive to the manga. I feel that's a good enough excuse to give my thoughts on the Super era of Dragon Ball movies.
What made these movies different from the previous Dragon Ball Z movies I've covered is that series creator Akira Toriyama was directly involved in the story and would be considered canon. So instead of being one-off adventures, they were part of the larger ongoing narrative. And considering how popular Dragon Ball had become in North America in the 2000's, this would lead to actual theatrical releases for the dubbed versions not long after the initial release in Japan, even retaining their original titles and music.
While the proper Super series didn't start until 2015, its first two arcs were retellings of the movies released the previous two years under the Dragon Ball Z name. Personally, I think one would be better off watching these movies first and start Super at episode 28 with the Universe 6 arc. Similar to why I prefer Z over Kai, watching the original version of a story is better than one that's either shortened or lengthened.
But let's go ahead and dive right into the first movie...
BATTLE OF GODS
SYNOPSIS: Beerus, the devastating God of Destruction, travels to Earth in search of an opponent who can match his brutal battle skills. Driven by visions of an all-powerful warrior known as the Super Saiyan God, Beerus threatens to destroy the planet unless a worthy challenger steps forward. Goku must draw upon the power of his friends to unlock the strength of a Super Saiyan God and stop Beerus' evil rampage.
MY THOUGHTS: For the first entry in the Dragon Ball franchise that got a worldwide release since GT, "Battle of Gods" truly lived up to the hype when it was released in 2013.
The best way to describe the film's antagonist, Beerus, is a hedonist with a short fuse and unlimited cosmic power under the hood. Supply him good food though and you have a better chance of saving your planet. The introduction of him and his attendant Whis, who is revealed to be Beerus' teacher (and also later on to be an angel), would be the tip of the iceberg in how vast Super would go in expanding the Dragon Ball multiverse.
"Battle of Gods" mixes the serious action DBZ would be known for and return some of the more comedic from the original Dragon Ball series, setting the tone for the franchise going forward. On the latter, this is most exemplified with the return of the Pilaf gang, who were absent for all of Z. They're depicted here as children after a wish on the Dragon Balls to be young again has some Monkey's Paw connotations. What's interesting though is that none of the characters who knew them in the original series seemed to recognize them or put two and two together. Watching the movie this time around, I think maybe this was a dig at certain fans who skipped right over Dragon Ball and only watched Z.
In terms of both comedy and action, Vegeta would be the MVP on both. While his BINGO song and dance would be iconic, the rage he unleashes on Beerus after he slaps Bulma was epic. If Bruce Falcouner was still involved in redoing the music, his Super Saiyan Vegeta theme would have been very fitting for this scene. Something I noticed this time was how Vegeta as just a Super Saiyan was able to give Beerus some pushback while Goku in Super Saiyan 3 couldn't even land a blow near the beginning of the film. It's interesting because the motivation between the two characters seemed to switch in this movie. Goku challenged Beerus for the love of the fight while Vegeta defended the honor of the woman he loves. And the results speak for themselves.
One of my gripes is the wardrobe choices for Goku and Vegeta. They really should be wearing the main clothes from the Buu saga for continuity's sake, but they (understandably) went for their more iconic looks. It's not that egregious with Goku, but Vegeta wearing his Android Saga armor goes against how his clothing choices reflect his character development and his acceptance of Earth as his new home. Since the Saiyan saga, how much armor he wore would lessen as time went on, from losing the shoulder pads halfway through the Frieza saga to going without it completely by Buu.
The promise of the new Super Saiyan God form had fans excited and speculating how it would look, many expecting it to be like Super Saiyan 4 but with golden fur. What we got could be described as simplistic though it does end up being effective, but I'll get more into that with the next movie. In any case, the form leads to an exciting battle between Goku and Beerus that in true Dragon Ball fashion has a slow build up to a high-speed climax that would actually subvert expectations.
The excitement is elevated thanks to some music provided by Japanese rock band Flow. While this is more prominent with "Hero" near the end of Goku and Beerus battle, they also covered the original Dragon Ball Z opening theme "Cha-La Head-Cha-La" for the closing credits, which was just as good.
I feel I should mention that while the main Super series redid the movie, at the same time the Galactic Patrol sequel series was confirmed, that before that will be a miniseries with "Dragon Ball Super: Beerus" which will once again adapt "Battle of Gods". It will be apparently shorter than the Super version but still longer than the original movie. As I said in the opening, just watch the movie! It's infuriating that they're not only doing this story for the third time, but the production put into it could have gone to getting the Galactic Patrol arc faster as well as the rest of the yet to be adapted manga storylines.
Anyway, Dragon Ball had made its glorious return and the follow-up to "Battle of Gods" would bring back another familiar face...
RESURRECTION F
SYNOPSIS: After years in spiritual purgatory, Frieza has been resurrected and plans to take his revenge on the Z-Fighters of Earth. Facing off against Frieza's powerful new form and his army of a thousand soldiers, Goku and Vegeta must reach new levels of strength in order to protect Earth from their vengeful nemesis.
MY THOUGHTS: This may sound pedantic, but I always thought the full title of the film should have been "Resurrection of Frieza". "Resurrection F" sounds like the secret title before the big reveal. I could however see it as being a reference to the song "F" by Japanese heavy metal band Maximum the Hormone, which is about Frieza. The song would actually be used twice in this film. Along with an instrumental during his fight with Goku, the song is most prominent when Frieza's body, which had been sliced to bits by Future Trunks, is being regenerated by his followers. The tone of the song matches perfectly with the somewhat horrific imagery of a body being forced back together (though why his armor regenerated with him was probably an oversight). I could also see the title being their way of avoiding the name spelling discrepancy, as the character's name is spelled "Freeza" in Japan.
While the film does a good job at building up the threat of Frieza's return and how he's committed to getting stronger to shorten the gap between him and his enemies, the revival itself does create a plot hole though. The Earth's Dragon Balls can only bring back someone who's been dead for less than a year. By this point, Frieza had been dead for over a decade. This would actually be the beginning of Toriyama kind of playing fast and loose in Super with the rules he created before that, like the limitations of Shenron's power and the Hyberbolic Time Chamber. Well, it was his show, so who are we to argue?
One of the things that "Resurrection F" outshines "Battle of Gods" in is how it uses the other Z-Fighters. While they were all bodied by Beerus before, this film gives them some time to shine as they fight Frieza's thousand-man army. As I said before when talking about "Tree of Might", I always enjoyed the seeing Z-Fighters contribute to the plot and fighting more as a team before it usually comes down to Goku.
Goku and Vegeta gets some new outfits for the film. While they're not my favorites and Vegeta still wearing armor goes against the symbolism of his character progression, they're at least different. I just wish they kept them throughout Super instead of dropping them once again for their iconic outfits after the Universe 6 arc.
On the flipside is the lack of creativity in Frieza's new Golden form. While it's powerful, it can come across as deciding to go a different route in a Dragon Ball coloring book. The same criticism applies to the form of Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, the name later thankfully shortened to Super Saiyan Blue. As the name implies, the form is basically applying the Super Saiyan power-up to the Super Saiyan God form. In hindsight, it would have made more sense for the original to be called Saiyan God while Blue would be Super Saiyan God. In terms of design though, the actual Super Saiyan God design outshines Blue in my opinion. While a first glance at Goku as Super Saiyan God would just be that his base hair style is red, his physique also becomes leaner, and his eyes gain red pupils. In contrast, Super Saiyan Blue just feels like Super Saiyan with blue hair and eyes instead.
The ending of the film remains controversial to this day. After tagging in from Goku, Vegeta powers up to Blue and gives Frieza a beatdown decades in the making. However, Vegeta's choice to savor his victory gives Frieza time to shoot a blast straight down to the Earth's core and immediately trigger the planet's destruction. Thanks to Whis, Goku and the others present are the only Earthlings to survive. But Whis' limited ability to reverse time gives them a second chance, with Goku jumping in to deliver a Kamehameha that obliterates Frieza. Given that Vegeta was the Z-Fighter who had suffered the most under Frieza, not giving him the well-deserved win over Frieza is a frustrating story choice. The reason for it though ties in with Goku and Vegeta's training session with Whis earlier in the film (which I realized this time around planted the seeds for Ultra Instinct). Whis explains that Goku and Vegeta could overcome their personal flaws as fighters if they learned from and worked with each other in battle; their decisions during their fight with Frieza would have definitively lead to the end of the world if not for Whis. As the movie concludes though, no one seemed to learn anything as Goku and Vegeta reaffirm their preference to fight solo.
I used to have trouble deciding which was better between "Battle of Gods" and "Resurrection F" because they each do some things better than the other. I've come to realize though that "Battle of Gods" is the clear winner. But overall, "Resurrection F" is flawed but still a fun movie to watch. Just for the love of Beerus, don't do this a third time too.
The credits close out the film with another entertaining song choice in "Pledge of Z" by Japanese girl group Momoiro Clover Z. I always get a sense of hope while listening to it after the film and feel the need to close out this post with the song to try to evoke the same in others. But come back next month when I cover the films actually under the Dragon Ball Super name.
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