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Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (Full Review)


Earth’s legendary heroes are back again for another exciting journey on saving the world from the beings that would cause them harm. After a summary about the Red Ribbon army, we find that Dr. Gero (the creator of the once fearsome androids, including the biggest one Cell) had a grandson. His grandson, Dr. Hedo has followed in the similar footsteps of his father and has always wanted to create androids, but his versions were supposed to be superheroes. Unfortunately, Dr. Hedo has already been in trouble with the law for creating androids on a separate occasion, but eventually he gets out and is picked up by the duo, Magenta and Carmine. These two gentlemen run a front for the red ribbon army called Red Pharmaceuticals and manipulate Dr. Hedo into creating new android superheroes to ‘save the world’ from the ‘evil’ Goku, Vegeta, and the rest of Earth’s defensive force.

Normally a situation like this wouldn’t sound so bad knowing how powerful the two legendary super Saiyan’s are, but alas, Goku and Vegeta are off-world training to get stronger. In turn, this leads Piccolo to do most of the heavy lifting during the film, and the rest of the fighters left on Earth who can help, and most of all, Gohan! Gohan hasn’t been ready for action in quite some time, so he isn’t exactly prepared to go against a new set of androids, and that leads Piccolo to do some extra planning to ensure the safety of Earth. If any of this sounds like Jargon, or you are unfamiliar with Dragon Ball’s universe, then this movie does little to onboard newcomers. The film assumes that the viewer has watched all the Dragon Ball Super anime and takes place directly after. Fan service is the name of the game with this movie, as the fans have wanted more from Gohan after he defeated Cell for years!

Equipped with a flashy new art style made directly for the movie, you are getting a high-end Dragon Ball experience than ever. The animation is like a mix of 3D rendering and cell shading, and mostly works to the viewer’s benefit. There are some hiccups, and the fighting doesn’t always look so fluid like it would with traditional animation, but it is a lot more eye-popping on screen for sure. Without going into spoilers (which most of the film is already), there are some amazing surprises, especially in the final action scenes. In my opinion, the Red Ribbon army is getting a little tired, but the film does a good job of trying to make us care, and really is a joy to see. If you are going into this thinking, you will see a Goku and Vegeta movie, you would be mistaken. This is a Piccolo and Gohan story, and they make that clear by leaving the two Super Saiyan’s off-world for the duration. There are a lot of slow moments though, and it's true that most of these Dragon Ball movies usually build to some incredible fights in the final 3rd, but a lot of the earlier moments could feel sluggish.

It’s hard to talk about this film without spoiling the best parts, but this is another fan service aligned film through and through. Anytime we get to spend with these characters is always a good time, with plenty of levity, and emotion. The biggest fans will feel like they are joining up with their long-time friends for another awesome adventure. It isn’t without its faults, but Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes is a great time in the end, and still easy to recommend for fans. Just don’t expect to bring a newcomer, as I don’t imagine they will enjoy it.


Review By: Dimitreus Newell


80/100

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