by Keegan Fountain

A monster, a beast, Dragon Ball Z’s devil, Broly the legendary super Saiyan. 

Even if you’re not a Dragon Ball fan, chances are you’ve heard of Broly. He was first introduced on March 6, 1993, in the movie: “Dragon Ball Z: Broly the legendary super Saiyan.” He was introduced as this huge, menacing villain that was a threat to even the likes of Goku. However, his character was rewritten to fit a new movie that released Jan. 16, 2019, titled: “Dragon Ball Super: Broly.” In this review, I’ll go over both the change with this new Broly, and how he contrasts the old one.

When the movie starts, we’re placed on Planet Vegeta. We meet many characters — King Vegeta, Frieza, Bardock — but who we want to focus on is Broly. He was only an infant, but displayed immense power. To protect both his planet and his pride, King Vegeta sends Broly off to another planet, Vampa. Broly’s father, Paragus, steals a spaceship and flies after him, finding and training his son for 40 years due to them being stranded. 

After Frieza makes a move and steals 6 of the 7 dragon balls from Goku and the others, they track the last one down to intercept Frieza and his soldiers. However, that’s when they meet Broly, and Paragus immediately recognizes Vegeta as Prince Vegeta’s son. He sends Broly after him, and there’s a huge fight with Vegeta and Goku versus Broly, each of them pushing their limits and going through multiple forms. The fight eventually ends with Goku and Vegeta fusing into Gogeta, defeating Broly before he is ultimately teleported back to Vampa. Goku befriends a calmed down Broly and that’s where the movie ends.

This movie is beautifully written. The visuals are stunning, the characters are extremely well written, and I can never stop admiring the story in this film — it always makes me smile.

Another nod to an old Dragon Ball Z movie, the fusion Gogeta was first introduced in the 1995 movie: “Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn,” where Gogeta was made to defeat Janemba. They both share similar characteristics, despite Gogeta being more serious in his first appearance, so I won’t stay on him.

The differences between Z Broly and Super Broly are obvious. Z Broly is more one dimensional and flat, while Super Broly is much more developed and characterized. Z Broly was made purely for the instance of having a villain stronger than Goku, and that’s evident in his size and muscle mass. However, Super Broly was made to turn Broly into a more deep and sympathetic character. He is soft spoken, honest, kind, and only fights with Goku and Vegeta because his father wants (and forces) him to. There’s a moment near the middle of the movie that really shows Broly’s difference in the two versions of him.

After Broly and Paragus are found and rescued by Cheelai and Lemo, Frieza Force soldiers, Cheelai offers Broly proper food. Broly takes it and scarfs it down, but after which he is reminded by his father to use his manners. He thanks Cheelai, and even tries to replicate her little thank-you gesture she does. It’s also shown at the end when Goku befriends Broly. Broly doesn’t attack Goku at all, letting him speak and even smiling as he leaves.

This movie is a beautiful representation of the difference between two versions of one character that can be made. It also shows the symbolism between Dragon Ball characters. The world of Dragon Ball is met by two kinds of characters, good and evil. Without the good, the evil takes over and tips the scale, and if there’s no evil, vise versa. Broly perfectly shows this, because good and evil of him exist, both movies showing what could happen if he is good or evil. What I’m trying to say is, Broly perfectly encapsulates the path characters in Dragon Ball can go — they’re either Goku’s friend, like Vegeta, or his enemy, like Frieza.

This movie is beautifully written. The visuals are stunning, the characters are extremely well written, and I can never stop admiring the story in this film — it always makes me smile.

Movie title: Dragon Ball Super: Broly

Starring: Christopher Sabat, Vic Mignogna, and Sean Schemmel

Director: Tatsuya Nagamine, Kazuo Ogura (Art director), and Naohiro Shintani (Animation director)

Writer: Akira Toriyama

Rated: PG

My Grade: A

Platforms to watch: Disney Plus, Hulu, and Crunchyroll