DragonBall Super: Broly is a 2018 Japanese animated fantasy martial arts film, directed by Tatsuya Nagamine, starring the voices of Masako Nozawa, Ryo Horikawa, Bin Shimadaa, Ryusei Nakao, Aya Hisakawa, Toshio Furukawa, Katsuhisa Hoki, Nana Mizuki, and Tomokazu Sugita. The story follows protagonists Goku and Vegeta as they encounter a new Saiyan called Broly, and later resulting in a massive fight between them.

Plot: The story is deep, taking a slow approach to giving us a nice backstory for Broly, Goku, Frieza, and Vegeta. It’s that consideration that makes the story so intriguing. I was just as engaged with the story leading to the fight as I was the fight itself. It’s not just a big fight. There’s even a bit of character development with Broly. I do question why the writers thought to retcon all of the Broly lore. The story is a partially a mixture of Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan and Bardock – Father of Goku. The film does come up to a satisfying climatic battle, one of DBZ’s finest battles. Even the conclusion is satisfying. A breath of fresh air compared to the typical DBZ clichés. (3 out of 5)

Characters: We have many characters of the original cast including Goku, Vegeta, Beerus, Piccolo, Whis, Frieza, and Bulma. Frieza is a complete dick but it’s nice to see that he isn’t a complete dick (he is). There’s this rivalry between him and Goku and Vegeta. Three characters returning from previous films are Broly, Paragus, and Bardock (who has a small but important role). They’re as different as they are the same. Bardock is a concerned father, Paragus is the same, and Broly is shown as a more sympathetic figure. This is aided by two new additions Cheelai and Lemo, low-class soldiers from Frieza’s forces who were searching for recruits. They are actually the deepest characters in the film. (5 out of 5)

Cast: I watched the Japanese version so I got the English subbed. I honestly didn’t mind the voice performances which includes Masako Nozawa (Goku), Ryo Horikawa (Vegeta), Bin Shimada (Broly), Ryusei Nakao (Frieza), Katsuhisa Morita (Whis), Nana Mizuki (Cheelai), Aya Hisakawa (Bulma), Katsuhisa Hoki (Paragus), and Tomokazu Sugita (Lemo). Supporting performances include Masako Nozawa (Bardock), Banjo Ginga (King Vegeta), Naoko Watanabe (Gine), Toshio Furukawa (Piccolo), Koichi Yamadera (Beerus), Takuya Kirimoto (Beets), Masami Kikuchi (Kikono), and Kimiko Saito (Berryblue). I’m not the most enthusiastic with Japanese voice performances but they were okay. (4 out of 5)

Animation: The animation style is very impressive. The high quality gives the film a polished look. The ki and powers have a good ambient look to them. The character models are good especially the revamped designs of some of the characters. The camera angles are done exceptionally well. One of my favorite moments in the film is when Goku and Broly are fighting and we’re watching the battle from Broly’s eyes. The look and feel of Broly, the fury of the character, his ki animation looks cool. Also, there’s the mixture of animation and CGI that gives it a pretty unique look. (4 out of 5)

Score: The music and sound design is done well. I was worried that this film’s soundtrack would fall short of the first film but Norihito Sumitomo certainly surprised me with his execution. (3 out of 5)

Writing: The writing and direction is definitely better than in previous Broly films. In fact, some of the best writing of any of the DBZ films. Many of the unanswered questions from fans of the series are addressed and it helps to give plotholes in the series a bit of clarity. The pacing isn’t bad, though it initially starts off plenty slow, the action is handled pretty well, emphasizing intensity. One of the best aspects that was put into the fight was Vegeta and Goku double teaming him, something that was lacking in previous films. There’s also the drama and humor that is handled well, not feeling tacked on or phoned in. Tatsuya Nagamine takes the reigns as director and honestly, he does a fantastic job. He brings a focus to the characters, story, and setting that was sorely lacking in the previous Broly films. (4 out of 5)

The Verdict: In the end, DragonBall Super: Broly is a really good film. It manages to take itself seriously enough to tell a compelling story while sticking to its DBZ roots. I had very few problems with the overall story or writing. It was nice to see familiar characters with a new, more fleshed out presence. If you’ve liked the new direction of the films you’ll definitely like this one. The action is great, story deep, performances good, writing good, animation good, and good score. DragonBall Super: Broly gets 4 out of 5.