Dragon Ball Z is one of the most beloved anime series of all time, and one of the first to be brought across from Japan and re-dubbed for the general public along with Sailor Moon, helping pave the way for future animes becoming popular amongst Western audiences. Whether viewed as a charming manga-adaptation with colorful designs and locations, or a nonsensical screaming fest with off the wall violence, no one deny the impact it had on localizing anime all over the world. Once the show concluded and a previous live-action attempt failed to revive it, the 2013 film, Battle of Gods came as a new step towards revitalizing the franchise; with brand new characters, furthering the narrative from after Z, and seeing if all of this could be done with a film release.  Battle of Gods squashed all negative preconceptions and managed to produce a movie that wasn’t only very good, but possibly one of the best things ever connected to the Dragon Ball name. Taking place after the end of Z, sayian warrior Goku (voiced by Sean Schemmel) faces a different king of threat, the highly feared God of Destruction Beerus (voiced by Jason Douglas) and his assistant Whis (voiced by Ian Sinclair). Waking up from a several years long nap, Beerus envisioned that he would be faced with a warrior as strong as himself, titled a ‘’Super Saiyan God’’ and plans to visit earth to check on every last remaining Saiyan alive to see if one fits the bill. After Goku is immediately defeat by Beerus despite going all out, Vegeta (voiced by Christopher Sabat) has to keep Beerus happy during his wife Bulma’s (voiced by Monica Rial) birthday party to keep his own life, as well as everybody else’s on the planet, safe. With a ticking time-bomb in the shape of a godly cat gate-crashing an earth party that could prove catastrophic if something goes wrong, Goku must discover what this ‘’Super Saiyan God’’ power is before Beerus loses his patience and lays waste to the planet. With its previous track record, it would be understandable if people were not willing to give this movie a chance, especially those who aren’t fans of the show. But with great animation, impressive voice-acting, stellar new characters, a charming atmosphere, and a smart balance between surprisingly nice character moments, and wowing action set pieces, Battle of Gods is a brilliant Dragon Ball Z movie that honestly offers the best of both worlds and provides a film that does better than many films created for them in the past (whether live-action or even animated).

The first big steppingstone for this movie’s plot is that it HAS a plot. Most Dragon Ball Z movies are known for having very little plot relevance, repeat what has already been done in its show, and seems to stagnate or regress the characters it shows off, new or old. Never being a franchise that was really run by its characters or even its narrative, its not surprising that this is the case, yet these movies featured enough eye-candy and pleasing visuals to make it not too much of an issue. This one actually uses its narrative in a much smarter way, building upon its already known characters with surprising development, as well as expanding upon their world with brand new characters and possibilities. It doesn’t feel like a restricted product or one where it was only made to satisfy a certain demographic, it feels like a properly put together movie with an ever-present threat (probably because creator, Akira Toriyama, had a hand in making this movie in particular), with a prominent sense of stakes and a climatic feel that feels deserving of a cinematic release. It isn’t only a single fight throughout, it actually takes it times at building up to the final act where it feels much more rewarding, as well as featuring enough character interactions and dialogue moments that it feels like something has been gained from watching this from beginning to end, outside of an adrenaline rush. The tone of the film is much more laid back and lighter in mood, but this doesn’t hinder the threat the antagonist brings and it also makes things a lot more inviting. Coming from a manga as well as the interesting realm of Japan, its allowed to be funny, its allowed to have oddly designed characters, it can make this show that is usually seen as mindless violence and show off its more charming goofy side to the public without it feeling out of place. With that said, the laid-back nature does mean that the structure of the plot, and most of the screenplay written by Yūsuke Watanabe, can be a bit too loose at moments, where some scenes may go on longer than they should, or a scene may feel a touch out of place because of where its positioned in the film, but other than that, the film does well at building up its world, its characters, and its fighting so much better through this method than its other attempts in films. It feels like a perfect showcase of Dragon Ball despite the fact that the director, Masahiro Hosoda, has never been attached to anything Dragon Ball related in the past

Most of the character have good moments throughout, along with their memorable manga-style designs, and the overall good voice acting, it generally gives everyone the right amount of screen time. Some may go too far, like this little threesome gang of adults turned into children called the Pilaf Gang (voiced by Chuck Huber, Colleen Clinkenbeard and  Chris Cason) get too much screen time, being pretty bland and a little annoying in their moments, but it’s not enough to wreck anything majorly. The main characters actually feel well used in this movie, bringing up previous flaws of their characters and evolving them to a better point by the end of it. Goku has never been the most interesting or best-handled in the show, but he’s used a lot better here, taking his character’s thirst for power and need for strength in a much better direction than usual. That mixed with a surprisingly cool student-teacher relationship between him and Beerus is refreshing and much needed material. Vegeta also gets some great moments earlier in the film, contrasting his usual prideful self with what he has to do to keep Beerus happy works great for comedy, but also shows his progression from villain to a heroic figure, leading to a great scene during his final confrontation with Beerus that undoubtedly satisfied a lot of long time fans of both the show and the character. But its not just the old characters that are treated nicely as some of the fresh faces fit very nicely into this world and their execution definitely cements them as classic characters. Beerus and Whis are pure delights as so much of this film’s praises come from their characters and what they do for this movie. Beerus balances the comedic and menacing factor flawlessly in this film, seeming lazy, short-tempered and slightly immature in one moment, and can immediately flop to intensely wild, powerful, sophisticated, authoritative, and massively intimidating on the flick of a dim. With a great simple design that gives a lot of character, his role of balancing the universe with destruction and life adds more to the universe and makes him more antagonistic than villainous, and with a brilliantly memorable performance by Jason Douglas, Beerus is a brilliant addition. Whis is also wonderful done, with a memorable design, great voice acting by Ian Sinclair, and feeling like a completely separate character from the normal dragon ball cast in the best way possible. These two have some of the best moments in the movie and more than make it worth a viewing, becoming two of the best characters ever made for this franchise period.

When people come for a Dragon Ball movie, they are no doubt looking for the action, which this film does not have a lot of. While that may turn people off, the fight in the end with Beerus is a great spectacle to see. Its well built up, the imagery gets very nice with unique locations, it becomes more of a discussion of character growth rather than a mindless fight which is far more interesting, and the actual conclusion of the fight taking place in the reaches of space overlooking the threatened earth is a great thrill and wonderfully energy-pumping. It isn’t the most flashy or action-packed movie, but it’s far more interesting and well structured when it comes to using its action, making it feel important and risky without making it bleak, still keeping that likeable edge the movie has created. The visuals in the movie are also pleasantly crafted by Hiroshi Kato, the man responsible for The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and the Neon Genesis Evangelion film.  The color palette is very smooth and bright, leading to a friendly mood, but also some visually stunning moments involving said colors, particularly in the fight scenes. The line-work is much smoother compared to the show, which means the expressions are ten times more flowing and the action is ten times more interactive, although there are a few moments where 3D animations is used and it does take the audience out of the moment for a bit not just because of the obviously different look, but also due to the choppy frame rate and overall design not looking very impressive. The camera work around the fighting as well as the speed of it is amazing, animating every frame beautifully with extreme speed, but still being able to make everything out.  The music done by Norihito Sumitomo captures the slow mysterious aspect of the gods, but also the fast-paced heroic aspect of the fighting perfectly.

With the duty of bringing back a series this big, Battle of Gods did a brilliant job at making this franchise loved again by not only old fans but brand-new fans as well. It doesn’t copy many of the mistakes movies before it has done and takes Dragon Ball Z to a completely different level that only opens up more great material. The story is smaller and less dramatic, but well-constructed and surprisingly tense, the characters are likeable and are taken in a good direction, Beerus and Whis are wonderful additions to the roster, the animation is great, the music is memorable, the action is well built up, its funny, its light-hearted, it’s got good world building, and it’s just an all-around great Dragon Ball movie. It’s not to the level of a Disney or Pixar movie, or even anywhere near the more dramatic intense anime movies, but for a Dragon Ball film, its exactly how it should be and so much more. Even if you’re a fan or not, Battle of Gods has something for everyone to enjoy. Check it out, return to the familiar world of Dragon Ball, and see how the world was almost destroyed by a pudding cup.

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