SpectralTime
Since: Apr, 2009
08/23/2022 00:00:00
I disagree, if only because it could then serve as a glimpse of what many fans actually want before going back to the same ol\' same ol\' that makes money.
Also, I have complicated feelings about Gohan \"needing\" to be a fighter instead of a scholar, but I suppose that from the perspective of remaining relevant in a series that\'s ultimately about fighting it\'s a fair point.
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A film which will can't be fully judged without hindsight
Dragon Ball Super Super Hero is an enjoyable film for long-time fans of the Dragonball franchise and a breath of fresh air for people who may be sick of the constant Goku/Vegeta show and the sidelining of all other characters. But it is still too early to judge how impactful it will be and if it actually progresses anything or if it is just filler they happened to release in theaters.
Taken on its own, the film is fun, with the focus on other characters, particularly Piccolo, allowing for a different kind of story than we usually see with Dragonball, with much of the plot devoted to Piccolo's infiltration of the new Red Ribbon Army.
There's no bad character among the cast. Pan, Dr. Hedo, and the Gammas are a delight to watch. While Krillin, 18, Goten and Trunks only show up for the final act, they get to do more than would in a typical Goku/Vegeta story.
I do have a complaint with the 'brief' glimpse of Goky, Vegeta, and Broly and his friends training on Beerus' planet. It went on for far longer than it should have.
I don't have much of an opinion on the switch to CG from hand-drawn animation. Both look good to me, and I didn't really notice the change that much.
The problem with reviewing this movie centers around the character of Gohan. We've seen this song and dance before. Gohan stops training, devotes himself to his studies, and needs to rediscover his fighting power when a new threat arises. Dragonball has rehashed this plot without any sort of advancement 3 times already. If, after this movie, Gohan goes back to studying 24/7 and not training like he's done every time this plot has been done before now, than this movie will have been near-pointless in hindsight. If Gohan still hasn't evolved from the early Buu Saga even after this new movie and his new form, then he likely never will, and Super Hero will turn from a milestone in the franchise to an extended filler episode with a bigger budget.
The long-term fate of Super Hero now rests in the hands of the writers of Dragonball. It is entirely up to them now to capitalize on what this movie does and to make Dragonball about more than Goku and Vegeta, or to repeat the mistakes of the past and render Super Hero a pointless curiosity which can be skipped because it doesn't focus on the only two characters who mattered before or after its release.