"Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" Review: An Exhilarating, Yet Familiar, Tale

Release Date: August 19, 2022

Platform: In Theaters

To consummate the long-building revival of the Red Ribbon Army, Commander Magenta manipulates Dr. Gero’s grandson, Dr. Hedo, into creating new androids to eliminate the Z-fighters. Under the impression that they were created to be heroes, androids Gamma 1 and 2 assist the Red Ribbon Army in their efforts to lure Gohan to their base and defeat him. Unbeknownst to them, Piccolo has infiltrated and been spying on the Army's plot, learning of the trap set for Gohan and the Army's new ultimate weapon: Cell Max, an upgraded version of Dr. Gero's original creation. The fight with Gamma 1 and 2 sees Gohan revive his Ultimate form and Piccolo reach a newfound power, but neither is a match for the mindless brutality of Cell Max. As the new androids begin to question the role they are playing, all hands are needed on deck as Cell Max threatens the entire planet. With Goku and Vegeta away on Beerus's planet training, Piccolo attempts to instill his former pupil with the motivation to tap into a new threshold of his power. Surrounded by the decimation of those close to him, Gohan surpasses his Ultimate form and fights to strike a final blow on the monstrous threat and protect Earth once again.

Since its debut, "Dragon Ball Super" brought a newfound focus on the upper echelons of the god realm, introduced a slew of characters throughout the multiverse, and brought the focus of the story back to its most powerful protagonists: Goku and Vegeta. It could be argued that "Super" surpassed any other releases from the storied franchise, but what was left behind in "DBZ" was a number of well-developed character connections that are briefly brushed upon in future stories. This movie revisits, perhaps, the most substantial relationship that Dragon Ball ever established: Gohan and Piccolo. Serving as Gohan's mentor throughout the majority of his youth, Piccolo became a stand-in father for him while Goku was either dead, missing, or training. Now, he serves a similar role to Gohan and Videl's daughter, Pan, splitting time as both her coach and nanny. It is refreshing when the series exhibits characters in roles outside of just Earth's protector, especially a character who is a loner and is typically found meditating until a threat emerges (not that this was absent in "Super Hero"). In a similar respect, Gohan has not been very substantial since he obliterated Cell over a decade ago. His latent power and limitless potential had been forgotten up until now. His longstanding bond with Piccolo not only protects his daughter from the Red Ribbon Army, but also builds up to the dramatic tribute to his mentor in the final moments of the movie. It is hard to determine which is better: the final blow to Cell Max or the endearing moments between Pan and Piccolo. The movie carried a nice mix of emotional tones, all of which are carried by this trio.

Unlike its predecessors, this movie trades in the typical 2-D approach for a 3-D based animation that is riddles with bold lines, stiff movements, and an overabundance of shading and contrast. At first, it is quite jarring to the eyes and for much of the first half, is hard to accept visually. There is both something really neat and off-putting about the style, but when Gamma 2 and Piccolo open the film's first major brawl, its advantages become quite obvious. The contrast between the background and the characters allows for the fighters and their strikes to stand out. A 3-D approach opened the door for cinematic camera pans that could exist across the Z-axis and capture the depth and magnitude of the fighters blows in ways not previously able. There is almost nothing like watching anime fight scenes on a big screen and "Super Hero" took almost every advantage it could to up the ante for the Dragon Ball franchise. This was encapsulated in the way that energy and blasts lit up across the screen, embodied with vibrant colors that set them apart from the rest of the scene and thrust them to the forefront. It begins as a questionable decision, but, ultimately, the animation becomes a fun part of the spectacle and a staple of its uniqueness. I think it would be best keep for large screen endeavors, though, and not further adapted into the "DBS" series.

Gracing the screen with a run time of 100 minutes, this takes the spot for the longest feature length "Dragon Ball" film, surpassing the 93-minute run of "Dragon Ball: Resurrection F". Having been over three years since the conclusion of the anime's Tournament of Power, spending a long time with these characters again was welcome, but there was quite a bit of bluff that could have been better served by more combat scenes. There was an extended opening that provided a history of the Red Ribbon Army, established their plan, and had Magenta's long-winded manipulation of Dr. Hedo. In addition, Vegeta, Goku, and Broly are shown training on Beerus's planet, which only ends up serving the end-credit scene and has no impact on the primary narrative. Understandably, many fans would likely want to know why the two main characters are not present for the world-threatening android, but simply citing it in dialogue would have been enough as the two have frequented the planet throughout the anime. As a Vegeta fan, the post-credit scene was absolutely satisfying and needed a bit of set-up to understand the conclusion, so this is not much of a complaint. However, the brief Vegeta versus Goku snapshot almost surpassed most of the fights back on Earth. This visit also included an odd piece of character development for Beerus relating to Cheelai, the female member of Broly's crew, and felt very incongruous with the God of Destruction.

The fights were not bad by any means and the brawls that Gohan and Piccolo had at the Red Ribbon Army base with Gamma 1 and Gamma 2, respectively, were excellent. Slivers of disappointment come in the form of the final battle with Cell Max, which is less skilled combat and more monster brawl. The decision to have the team battle against a prematurely activated Cell Max is a double-edged sword because just remaking Cell would have been an unoriginal rehash of the epic Gohan and Cell battle that ended the Cell Games. So having a Godzilla-sized, mindless brute gave a different edge and was, ultimately, a much more original idea that sets this action set apart from most of the Dragon Ball lore. The big story progressions are spawned through these fights, as they should be, with Piccolo and Gohan achieving new power thresholds. Dragon Ball has been bombarded with criticisms about its ever rising character power sets and the never-ending thresholds that get broken. However, in this case, both ascensions were achieved through previously established plot points. Having a narrative link from which to justify these newfound abilities provides more structure to the expectation and validates them more so than, for instance, Goku's stumble into Ultra Instinct. Even though the final battle did not carry the skilled technical prowess of earlier fights, it is appreciated for allowing certain narrative decisions to fit the mold and, again, for showcasing the amazing animation of energy effects.

This was a really great effort and a reward for those anxiously awaiting the next chapter of the "Dragon Ball Super" anime. New visuals will take some getting used to, but once the story dives into its signature combat and familiar characters, the visuals become more supplemental than a distraction. The real sin of the film is more likely to come in the future as "Super" returns to the small screen. "Super Hero" is an original story that follows-up the recent "Broly" film and is absent from the manga. How the series does or does not integrate these new developments could limit the impact of this film outside of just entertainment. Regardless, there is seemingly plenty of time before that bridge has to be crossed and plenty of satisfaction to be had in the meantime.

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RATING: 🐉🐉🐉🐉.5 / 5

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