'Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Gods' Anime Review- The Next Level
This film was released in 2013.
Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Gods is an anime film sequel to the highly acclaimed series created by Akira Toriyama. The movie is directed by Masahiro Hosoda and written by Yusuke Watanabe. It was produced by Toei Animation.
The God Of Destruction known as Lord Beerus (Jason Douglas) is awakened by his attendant Whis (Ian Sinclair) that Frieza has been beaten by the Saiyan warrior Goku (Sean Schemmel). Traveling to meet Goku, the two fight, but Beerus easily defeats Goku, even at Super Saiyan Three. Beerus and Whis then travel to Earth and interrupt the birthday party of Bulma (Monica Rial). Vegeta (Christopher R. Sabat) recognizes Beerus and tries to keep the peace, but the God of Destruction gets angry and threatens to destroy the Earth. Despite their best efforts, all of the Z Fighters are defeated, but a clue about Super Saiyan God could help Goku.
The animation was superb. They truly build off the look of the Dragon Ball Z show while also updating the colorizations and shading. It was lively and colorful, maintaining that old school design.
Apparently, Toriyama, RIP, was heavily involved in the production of this film. You can definitely tell. It restores the soul that Dragon Ball GT removed from the iconic anime and quietly erases it from its canon. Thank goodness. The movie is worth the price of admission for that.
As for the story itself, it is thrilling. As Goku continues to get more powerful, it is hard to create an opponent to challenge him and now we get to see that in action. Goku is always after the next battle and so to see him get excited for another rival to take on. I also enjoyed seeing Vegeta get an upgrade to fight against this new threat.
Beerus is a worthy rival. After Frieza, Cell, and Maijun Buu, he would be the one who can take on the Saiyans. He seems to want to slumber and not get involved, but will since his anger is fierce. It provides for some cool moments and even for some humor.
With rumors of a new series in the air, I am so glad I got to see this film in theaters. It made for a fun experience.
Bottom line, Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Gods is a fun sequel to the DBZ universe and a good set-up for the Dragon Ball Super series.
PARENTAL CONCERNS: Strong violence, Crude humor, Minor foul language
FAVORITE QUOTE: With his friends energy flowing through him, this Saiyan shall then take the form of a Super Saiyan God. I have given you the knowledge you've desired. Your wish has been fulfilled. Please excuse me.
Check out the trailer below:
This review is based on the dub from Funimation (now Crunchyroll).
That is my review. What did you think? Let me know in the comments below and tell me if there’s a movie, anime, or TV show you’d like me to review.