The Dragon Ball Z franchise is starting to show some very similar trends in how the Dragon Ball franchise has released their movies. The Dragon Ball saga had what looked like a retelling of various stories from the series into feature length films. Initially it seemed as though it was going for a summary like telling for a few seasons at a time. But by the time the series had ended, it was just random selections sampled from various episodes. As for Dragon Ball Z, the first film lined up fairly well with how the sequel series was starting. Though not long after the subsequent films to come after are starting to make less sense in terms of chronology. Unfortunately for this next entry, the time line placement is just as off. It just weird.
This story is about an evil Saiyan by the name Turles (Chris Patton) who seeks to finish the job Kakarot (Goku, Sean Schemmel) didn’t complete as a child, which was destroying Earth. Instead of blasting the planet to kingdom come with some kind of energy ball, Turles’ plan is planting what is called the Tree of Might, a megasized sequoia that will produce a fruit with incredible power if eaten. The only catch is that it sucks the entire life out of the planet as a host. However, Goku and friends do not plan on letting that happen and thus viewers have their plot. The production was headed by the usual Nishio, Koyama duo with Eric Vale this time handling the English dub. Even with a different English dub writer the story still lacks in continuity.
The biggest issue here with that is the movie includes Goku’s friends like Chiaotzu (Monika Antonelli), Tien (John Burgmeier), Piccolo and Yamcha (Chris Sabat). All of which were killed after season one of Dragon Ball Z and would not be resurrected until after season three. This was the same issue as with the previous movie. On top of that, Goku again uses his Kaoken and Spirit Bomb skills in this feature, things he only would have learned while his other friends were in the afterlife. It just makes no sense to include characters who wouldn’t be around. Turles as a villain isn’t even that bad as there can always be a way to introduce an antagonist that has ties to the protagonist. It’s just how it doesn’t fit into the series timeline.
Acting is fine though as the main English dub group from Funimation is in full force. Even though very few characters participate in the main plot, it is interesting to see just how many voices they’re able to pack in. Turles and his henchmen voiced by Chris Patton, Robert McCollum, Jeff Johnson, J. Paul Slavens and Mark Lancaster respectively do a good job too. All of these actors have taken part in many other popular animes as well. As always though, the feature has plenty of action which is cool to watch. Martial arts are special skills and the way it’s animated here is entertaining. Especially because the animation is from the 1990s, which gives it a much more nostalgic look to it. It is unavoidable to say the least.
The cinematography though is still up in the air to understand. With Motoaki Ikegami credited as the cinematographer, it is hard to comprehend just what camerawork is exactly being used here if it is not live action. Ikegami is the same cinematographer credited throughout the last several Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z films. Lastly, while Shunsuke Kikuchi composed the original score to this feature, the English dub again thought it was better to have it rescored by Nathan M. Johnson. There’s no need for this as all the Dragon Ball films kept Kikuchi’s music. It’s just the Dragon Ball Z films the music has been recomposed by various talents. The new music heard here does work in its place but knowing that the sound of the film would be much better in tone and style is what makes it subpar.
While the animation, action and acting is all in the right place, it is still middling at best. The cinematography is unclear, the music isn’t original and the timeline placement of this particular entry again makes no logical sense based on the show.
