DRAGON BALL Z: SUPER SAIYAJIN DA SON GOKU

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MOVIE ActionDragon Ball Z: Chikyuu Marugoto Chou Kessen
ANIME ActionDragon Ball Z
SPECIAL ActionDragon Ball Z: Kyokugen Battle!! Sandai Super Saiyajin Special

REVIEWS

• 

  Kuropiko

  50/100
  Super Saiyajin Son Goku and its consequences for Dragon Ball have been a disaster for the human race

  There is something to be said in regards to Dragon Ball and the notion of formula. I’m sure most people clicking on a review for one of the 15 Dragon Ball Z films probably knows what I mean, most people know the Dragon Ball formula. New bad guy shows up, the crew fight the bad guy, Goku gets incapacitated, all the side characters get beat up, Goku comes back and wins, typically with a genki-dama.

  Now, if you’ve seen Dragon Ball, you’re probably annoyed by this. This formula doesn’t work, it only really fits three arcs in the whole series, those being Piccolo Daimao, the Saiyajin arc, and the Namek or Freeza arc, or put in other terms, 30% of the series. The reason this formula exists though, is probably due to the films.

  Having watched four of these films (now five, and soon to be six), I can say the formula is real and alive here. In fact, this film, Son Goku the Super Saiyajin, is probably the most emblematic of the formula, as for the most part it is just a ripoff of the Piccolo Daimao arc, right down to the main antagonist being a Namekian (who calls himself a Mazoku) who summons Shen Long to regain his youth. It’s honestly insulting as a watch, and probably my least favourite of not just the Z films but also the Dragon Ball films as well.

  

  But, that’s not what is interesting, I’d go so far as to say there is nothing interesting about this film. The actual thing I’m writing about here is precisely what I mentioned in my opening paragraph- formula. In recent years (though let’s be honest, this has been around quite a long while), there has been an aversion to formula and even just homaging or reusing ideas. People reject the familiar, in spite of what the familiar can bring in a new time or with a new group of characters.

  Obviously I’m not just saying, “the formula is great and you should love it”, but rather, I’m saying that formula isn’t inherently bad, in the same way subversion isn’t inherently good, or even interesting. Going back to old ideas and showing them in a new context CAN be interesting, to look at Dragon Ball, the Namek arc does recycle a tried formula, that being a Dragon Ball hunt. But, presented under new context with new characters makes it interesting, that’s the subversion to the formula.

  To go to a different arc, the Saiyajin arc is probably one of the most formulaic, though what makes it interesting is its character beats. Son Gohan learning to become a warrior, Piccolo Daimao becoming more humane and growing through Gohan’s friendship as he knowingly gets closer to his final days, Vegeta having his pride torn down by these supposed “lowest class warriors”, Yajarobe overcoming his fear and becoming the lynchpin that saves the day. These are all important and meaningful moments, but the arc that surrounds them is just the Piccolo Daimao arc. Big bad guy shows up, Goku “dies” fighting him, turns out that bad guy wasn’t even the biggest bad guy, the rest of the crew trains to defeat him, Goku undergoes mystical training to gain new power, and at the end Goku takes the rage from the deaths of his friends, defeats the bad guy’s really buff lackey that was about to kill his companion, and then beats the big bad guy.

  

  I'd like to point out that, yes, I'm aware that there are a number of other differences, such as Goku's actual battle with Vegeta vs his battle with Piccolo. But, generally the conceit behind both battles is the same, it's always seen as Goku's fight, not Gohan and Kulilin's (and I do think they, as well as Yajarobe, are overlooked in regards to their role by the fan community).

  Change a few words, and I pretty well described the structure of the Saiyajin arc. The Saiyajin arc is currently my second favourite arc in the series, just behind the Namek arc. So, no, there’s nothing wrong with a good formula, if you know what you’re doing, and whoever wrote this awful movie didn’t know what they were doing. This movie is bad, plain and simple. To write a review on it, I had to pick a more abstract topic from its long list of weaknesses. If you came here for general thoughts on the film, I'm sorry, there really isn't much to say.

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• 

  WhatAGoodShow

  68/100
  What does Toei have in story with their attempt of making a Super Saiyan before Toriyama?

  Dragon Ball Z Movie 4: Super Saiyan Son Goku, also known Lord Slug in America, is disliked by fans for the main antagonist being similar to King Piccolo:

  • both have demonic henchmen
  • both are evil Namekian
  • both use the Dragon Balls to regain their youth to regain lost power
    And Lord Slug also doesn't have many of the features that make other popular villains memorable, but he has motivations unique to him.

  At the start of the movie Slug and his men invade earth and use a machine to shield the planet from the sun creating an environment where the demonic aliens can flourish. This plan also has side effects on the planets inhabitants as many characters succumb to the cold created by that change. In other words, the movie does a great job displaying the destruction caused by Slug arriving.

  This movie has some of the most brutal action scenes in the franchise even some done by the good guys. For example Goku would counter an energy blast of an opponent sending it back inside his mouth. Or Goku breaking the ankle of an opponent.
  The setting is also very well used to show tragedy. They move their fight into a theme park which is normally associated with happiness but because of the invasion its dark and lifeless.

  The fight against Lord Slug is also entertaining since he uses known Namekian abilities in a very good style especially when he turns into a giant. There is also a very creative way how Goku and Piccolo fight it instead of the boring charging into random body parts to attack like in most Dragon Ball fights. Piccolo being also a Namekian does a good job in knowing how to handle him using what normally is a strength of a Namekian and turning it against it.

  Lastly the false Super Saiyan form which is considered by many the most underwhelming or bad. And it did come out of nowhere and considering we got so many forms, it feels like another pointless transformation. In terms of release it did come out before regular Super Saiyan and is a form that you can only stay in while enraged. But honestly it feels no different than a golden colored Kaioken, but then again it turned Goku more aggressive which isn't anything knew after seeing the real Super Saiyan. However, it does look far more powerful than many forms you will see in Dragon Ball Super.

  The characters in the movie are well used. While in many other movies characters feel like filler sometimes because they don't accomplish anything. In this movie, even if they don't nor affect the movie, they feel relevant simply because they are affected by the invasion.
  Gohan and Piccolo were crucial to beat Slug and Goku obviously does the heavy lifting.

  Lord Slug doesn't feel like he is deserving his power and even him being a Super Namekian feels like a rip off of Super Saiyan without the deep lore behind it. But it did foreshadow the Super Namekian in the manga I guess. So isn't very memorable, but not a bad one. As I mentioned Slug has motivations besides regaining his youth, that being turning earth into an utopia for him and his men. And it feels he wants to succeed in it and manages to do so.

  There were obviously some issues. Like how Goku used defeated the bad guy with the same technique as in the prior movies. Piccolo continuing the tradition from prior movies to come safe Gohan. Not outrageous since this is the third time, but it will happen more often.

  Overall this movie is better than I remembered. The name is kinda a false advertisement since it doesn't have THE Super Saiyan, but a Toei interpretation what a Super Saiyan is.
  If you are a Piccolo fan, I think his movie does really feel as brutal as you know him in the past. Not a nanny of the son family.
  Action is good with fluid animation and the Japanese music is great setting the atmosphere well.
  Not one of the best movies and it doesn't stand out, but an enjoyable experience regardless.

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• MOVIE

  ActionDragon Ball Z: Konoyo de Ichiban Tsuyoi Yatsu