With: Toshio Furukawa, Masako Nozawa, Miyu Irino, Yûko Minaguchi, Ryô Horikawa, Aya Hisakawa, Kôichi Yamadera, Masakazu Morita, Bin Shimada, Hiroshi Kamiya, Mamoru Miyano, Volcano Ota, Ryōta Takeuchi (Japanese voice cast), Christopher Sabat, Kyle Hebert, Zach Aguilar, Sean Schemmel, Robert McCollum, Aleks Le, Zeno Robinson, Charles Martinet, Jason Marnocha, Johnny Young Bosch, Sonny Strait, Jeannie Tirado, Monica Rial, Jason Douglas, Ian Sinclair (English voice cast)
|
Written by: Akira Toriyama
|
Directed by: Tetsuro Kodama
|
MPAA Rating: PG-13 some action/violence and smoking
|
Language: Japanese, with English subtitles / English
|
Running Time: 100
|
|
Date: 08/19/2022
|
|
|
|
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022)
Cell Shocked
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
While a fan's foreknowledge is certainly helpful, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, a brisk, vibrant entry in the long-running franchise, succeeds by juggling silly fun with gorgeously-animated action, characters, and backgrounds.
The Red Ribbon Army, now under the control of Magenta (Volcano Ota and Charles Martinet), recruits the fresh-out-of-jail Dr. Hedo (Miyu Irino and Zach Aguilar) to build a powerful android warrior. Meanwhile, Piccolo (Toshio Furukawa and Christopher Sabat) is increasingly irritated at Gohan (Masako Nozawa and Kyle Hebert), who insists on reading and studying rather than training; additionally, Piccolo is frequently recruited to pick up Gohan's daughter, Pan (Yuko Minaguchi and Jeannie Tirado), from school.
Hedo's new creation, the super-hero-like Gamma 2 (Mamoru Miyano and Zeno Robinson), appears and engages Piccolo in battle. Believing Piccolo defeated, Gamma 2 returns to the Red Ribbon Army headquarters, with Piccolo secretly following. Piccolo disguises himself as a guard and discovers that Magenta is building a new, more powerful version of the villain Cell called "Cell Max." And to lure Gohan into battle, they also plan to kidnap Pan!
Mainstays Goku and Vegeta mostly sit out Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, unreachable due to an ice cream-related glitch, but their occasional appearances are sure to please fans (be sure to stick around for an after-credits bonus). Piccolo is arguably the driving force of this story, the head of a team of oddballs taking on the big villain. While there are plenty of fights, the movie is not entirely fights, and it does sometimes pause, if not for character depth, then at least for lots of playful banter and goofy humor.
While teamwork abounds, there are also some iffy messages here. Characters are able to wish for things they need, rather than working for them; fighting is often valued above thinking; and one character, Bulma, is vain, obsessed with her physical appearance, and using magic to enhance her figure and features.
Still, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero seems to be here mainly to offer a good time. The good-natured humor persists throughout, never taking a backseat to the action, and the action itself is expertly-crafted, with detailed attention to speed, distance, and impact, as well as some breathtaking production design. It's a breezy, satisfying ride that should go down like a plate of cookies.
|
