Dragon Ball Super: Broly Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Dragon Ball Super: Broly Blu-ray Movie Review

Goku vs. Broly: An epic battle to end all battles

Dragon Ball Super: Broly marks a landmark achievement in the long-running anime franchise which began with the original Dragon Ball back in 1986. As the twentieth feature film in the saga, the film is an action-packed tribute to the world of Dragon Ball Z and the fandom which has made it have such a long lasting impact in the pop-culture trajectory. The film marks the first time that Dragon Ball Super has transitioned directly into the cinematic realm in its latest incarnation.

After dedicated training by the earth's most powerful heroes, Goku and Vegeta, the world seems to be entering a more peaceful time. Little do these super-strength bad-asses know that a powerful Saiyan named Broly is about to enter the earth's stratosphere. Can the duo (along with the help of some old friends) defeat the menacing Broly and save the world from total annihilation?

The film begins with a flashback to Planet Vegeta, the home planet that originated the Saiyan race. During a series of back-story sequences, audiences will witness a story which unfolds around the parents of Goku: Bardock and Gine. As we see the early story of Goku unfold, the film lays the groundwork for the saga of the Saiyans.

In present time, the saga finds itself exploring the confrontation between earth's mighty heroes and Broly. There is also a surprising appearance: Frieza (one of the series most villainous characters) is back. Having returned to fight the heroes once more, Dragon Ball Super: Broly is perhaps the most action-packed entry in the series to date.

Fans will be pleased with the film's great balance between these beloved characters and the epic fight sequences. The film has remarkable action that is practically wall-to-wall for a significant portion of the film. These fight scenes are intense and well-choreographed with the animation showcasing both the heroes and villains with stunning imagery.

Directed by Tatsuya Nagamine (One Piece Film Z) and from an original story & screenplay from the original Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball Super: Broly succeeds in part because of the direct involvement of the creator. Toriyama's hands on approach to the film can be felt. This is a great entry in the saga. With an exciting score by Norihito Sumitomo (Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods), terrific action, and a memorable storyline, Dragon Ball Super: Broly is a must-see event for fans of this series and franchise.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The film is presented with a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded presentation in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. This is a generally strong presentation which has vibrant colors displaying the animation and artistry. The release has crisp details as well. On the down-side, Funimation does have some minor compression issues in a few sequences (this is particularly noticeable in the film's darker scenes) and the encoding has some banding issues which is unfortunately too common on Funimation's releases. Overall, though, this is still a generally strong presentation.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The audio on Dragon Ball Super: Broly is presented in both English and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. This is a pleasing surround sound presentation that does an excellent job of utilizing the surround fields to full-effect. The lossless sound mix has good clarity and highs in the soundstage. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The English dub work is also excellent.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Interview with the Cast of Dragon Ball Super: Broly (HD, 18 min. 07 sec.) is a somewhat extensive featurette containing interviews with the cast of voice-actors for the English-dubbed version of the feature. The cast gives a lot of great thoughts on the legacy of the series and the impact of the new feature-film. Any diehard fan should consider this a must-see extra.

Dragon Ball Super: The Legacy (HD, 4 min. 29 sec.) features interviews and behind the scenes footage from the voice-recording booth and from comic-con.

Are you smarter than a voice actor? (5 min. 12 sec.) features a multiple-choice quiz of questions about Dragon Ball Z in which the voice-actors are quizzed on their knowledge of DBZ lore.

"Voice actors answer your questions" features clips featuring the following English dub voice actors: Christopher R. Sabat (4 min. 29 sec.), as the voice of Vegeta, Ian Sinclair (2 min. 49 sec.) as the voice of Whis, Jason Douglas (2 min. 51 sec.) as the voice of Beerus, Monica Rial (3 min. 16 sec.) as the voice of Bulma), and Sean Schemmel (3 min. 23 sec.) as the voice of Goku. Each V.A. answers a series of questions submitted by fans.

Lastly, the release also includes trailers promoting other Funimation releases.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dragon Ball Super: Broly is one of the most entertaining Dragon Ball films ever produced in the saga's long-running history. With the direct involvement of creator Akira Toriyama, the film is sure to please both diehards and newcomers. The action-packed anime event of the year. With generally strong video and audio (as well as a supplemental package highlighting interviews with the English dub cast) the release comes highly recommended.