BROLY STRONGEST THERE IS!
Broly is an odd duck of a character. For over 25 years, he has been arguably one of the most popular non-canon “Dragon Ball” character to date despite his movies’. . .less than stellar reputation, making his return to the big screen, in a canon way, all the more exciting for “Dragon Ball” fans. Want some proof of that? Dragon Ball Super: Broly, at the time of writing, has made around $10 million dollars in its opening weekend, debut at #1 at the box office and closed the weekend out at #3, and is the third highest grossing anime movie (in US theaters.)
That’s some serious clout for a limited run anime film and while I cannot call this the best anime movie I’ve seen in theaters the last year, it earns those numbers and that hype. I also feel it is important to note that I watched this dubbed so I cannot comment on the quality of the Japanese voice acting.
The movie is split into two distinct parts, with the second part following a more traditional three-act structure: the prologue, which takes place prior to the events of “Dragon Ball,” and the main movie, which takes place after the final episode of the most recent anime, Dragon Ball Super. The prologue is where much of the heavy lifting in terms of rewriting occurs, making sure that Broly’s backstory, as well as that of Bardock, make sense and are treated with respect. The emotional stakes are set, character motivations are established and we spend enough time with these characters and moments that no outside information is necessary to be invested in their story.
That said, Broly is a movie built for fans, as most anime series movies tend to be. For anyone without an encyclopedic knowledge of all things “Dragon Ball” — movies, TV specials, canon and non-canon anime — a lot of the little moments, as well as all the call-backs to the changes and updates to the backstory and the characters, will pass you by. There are bigger moments too that will leave non-fans puzzled by fan reactions. For example, it’s satisfying for old fans to see Bardock portrayed with more nuance than the original as well as redeeming him as a father, and it is even MORE satisfying to have legitimate pathos for Broly, who is now the fully-fleshed out, tragic character with internal motivations that the original movie creators thought he was.
Moreover, in constructing a story meant to rehabilitate a fan-favorite character and retreading these formative, narrative moments of the “Dragon Ball” universe first, instead of in flashbacks, Broly succeeds in opening itself up to a wider audience, crafting a story that is newcomer friendly and offering a taste of the series for those who might want more.
In addition to the engrossing albeit simple story, Dragon Ball Super: Broly channels the quintessential “Dragon Ball” humor throughout much of the film and while it doesn’t all land — the light tone right after the prologue is jarring — when it did, the whole theater was laughing. I won’t spoil the jokes but part of it is in relation to some meta-moments in relation to the dragon balls.
But what kind of a “Dragon Ball” movie would this be without a lot of action, a lot of fighting, and a lot of screaming. In that department, the film delivers beautifully. Although, if you’re not a fan of “Dragon Ball” style fights, then this won’t do it for you. The animation for the film was smooth and grandiose, thanks in part to the softer linework and some, mostly, well integrated CGI. Escalation in a natural but visually interesting manner is key for the fights in this series, even more so since Broly is supposedly the strongest in the universe. Broly employs a number of techniques to achieve this but my favorite is the first person view sections and the early battle scenes.
Those first scenes are marked not by animation of two dudes hitting each other but instead by the environmental damage they cause and the depictions of speed. Holes appear in the ground as the camera pans swiftly across the landscape and then all we see are flashes in the sky and speed lines showing the direction they traveled in. Many of the shots are long tracking shots, swooping in and out to show the fighters with clarity, so we can feel the speed and impact of their attacks.
Continued belowThere is a back and forth to the battle, each section working based on the characteristics of the fighter and their mood and it’s a fantastic showcase of what good fight choreography can look like. It goes on for a while, which is par for the course, and the later fights do lose the sharpness so, again, if these kinds of fights aren’t your thing, the last third of the film will be a bit of slog.
Honestly, my biggest gripe with the film is with its treatment of the new character, Cheelai. She is, unfortunately, wasted for much of the film’s run-time. What moments we get for her are kickass but they all revolve around Broly. Part of the reason for that may be because she sees him suffering and wants to help but there is no attempt to show why that is. Her past is underdeveloped, so her motivations feel more like a plot device, and there aren’t nearly enough scenes with her and Broly commiserating for her third act actions to feel earned. There are also the gratuitous fanservice shots but thankfully, those’re kept relatively small.
She isn’t a one dimensional character but it feels like Toryama still doesn’t quite know how to write women as central figures in a narrative and, while he tried, he was more concerned with Broly’s arc than Cheelai’s. It’s not a deal-breaker nor is it particularly bad but it did bug me for much of the movie. We simply needed more time with her. Supposedly, the original script was three hours long so it’s possible much of that got thrown onto the cutting room floor, which is a shame, but if there is more Dragon Ball Super to come, I hope they use that time to develop her further.
All in all, Dragon Ball Super: Broly is a film perfect for newcomers and fans alike. It’s a simple story that’s constructed tightly and executed sharply, with a lot of pathos and a set of characters that you can’t help but fall in love with.
Oh, and for the curious, Mirai and Night is Short, Walk on Girl are at the top of my list.
