A review of Broly from Dragon Ball
First of all, I consider Dragon Ball Super (DBS) a waste of time. It feels like a Weekend at Bernie’s situation where instead of Bernie’s lifeless body, we have a dead Dragon Ball Z being presented as alive. But it’s not. It’s just another product being milked for every last cent forever.
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The audience for Dragon Ball seems to range from around 13 to 40 years old, and I wonder how people over 25 can still say they like Super.
Let’s take Broly as an example. This character was the embodiment of evil. In the Buu saga, we’re told that Buu is the personification of pure evil, but Buu destroys just for the sake of destruction. Broly, however, destroys because he enjoys it. He takes pleasure in causing pain, suffering, and despair in others. So, if anyone truly embodies evil, it’s Broly. He’s also a racist, calling Piccolo a "true freak" because he’s green and alien! The violence in Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan was pure 90s brutality. What can I say? Gohan getting dragged head-first along a wall? Vegeta getting his head slammed repeatedly against the wall until he passes out? Broly crushing his own father alive inside his capsule? For such a character, there was only one solution: death. He wasn’t misunderstood, sad, or traumatized. He was simply a psychopath.
Now let’s look at the new Broly. I won’t get into power levels because they make no sense. It’s absurd that Broly can even come close to, let alone fight, Vegito. But let’s focus on his character. He’s misunderstood, doesn’t want to hurt anyone, and just screams for half an hour straight. The violence is much tamer and softer. Instead, we get camera moves that feel like they’re inspired by a theme park ride or a drone that’s lost control. And in the end, everyone becomes friends, no big deal if a few harsh words were said, let’s go grab a beer.
Lastly, the music in the American version of Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan is another example of the shift from adult content to something aimed at a much broader target group. In the original Broly, we have metal music blasting as Broly takes down the Z fighters one by one. In the new Broly, the soundtrack is an orchestral score fitting for an epic battle but it gets mixed with explosions and other sounds, and in the fast pace of the film, it gets lost.
Overall, we have a Broly without his essence. Like decaf coffee, as Jackie Chan would say.
This is more of a rant about the downfall of Dragon Ball. A series that, as rumors suggest, Toriyama wanted to end after the Cell saga, then finished at the Buu saga, but it seems like they never let him stop… though I suspect that toward the end, he just signed off and collected millions, but that’s another conversation.
Nice observation. I was getting tired of the power-ups!