Dragon Ball Z Special 2: Zetsubou e no Hankou!! Nokosareta Chousenshi - Gohan to Trunks

Okay the only reason I went out and found this movie back in when I watched it (I don't really remember when) was because I read somewhere on Wikipedia that the English dub soundtrack used songs from Scenes from a Memory, my favorite album, from my favorite band: Dream Theater. 10/10 soundtrack, I don't care that it doesn't fit the source material at all. So obviously there is some bias there, and that's why this gets a higher grade than a Dragon Ball OVA normally would from me.

I like the idea of the story, and again this was one that was covered in the Legacy ... of Goku games. It's cool to see where Trunks came from and gives a bit of context to a character that otherwise feels like a fanfiction OC that came out of nowhere. I mean, come on, the son of two character that previously had like no screen-time together coming from the future and also suddenly being a Super Saiyan even though only Goku could do that up until this point, and he easily kills a robot version of the main villain from the last arc. If you described that to me and I didn't already know the story of Dragon Ball I would have laughed and asked if Bakugo died next.

I think this would have worked really well if they'd opened the arc in the main story with it like they did in Legacy of Goku or even the Future Trunks arc from Super kind of did. By itself it's like some really good flavor text in anime form, it doesn't say anything you didn't already know, but it says it in a pretty cool way I guess. Also Dream Theater was there. I just can't get over that. It's hilarious because they put the song "Through Her Eyes" over the credits, and that's like a song about a guy finding out about how he died in his previous life as a 1920's girlfriend of a corrupt politician, and has nothing at all to do with the content of the movie it's just the song on the album that sounds the saddest so they put it over the sad credits. Peak Funimation.

Dragon Ball in an apocalyptic reality where the androids won against the Z warriors, with just two of heroes that still live: Trunks and Gohan.

SPPPPPPPPOiler

It's a simple idea, but it sounds very interesting. This movie gives future Trunks a past, a horrible past.
It's very simple, too much I say. Half of it are battles and scenes that are not so important. The plot twist and the reason of Trunks SSJ is predictable, so it hasn't the waited effect to see Gohan dead.
Trunks is bland till he has his transformation, the real star of the first half of the movie is Gohan, who is now ... a big and strong boi, almost like Gaku.
This movie had a scene that impressed me a lot when I was young: Gohan losing his arm. Seven years ago, I was like: :0000000, when that happened, and even know it impressed me, I was like: 0.o
I don't have much to say, it's just good if you want to know with all your soul what happened to future Trunks (Who is obviously superior to the original boy Trunks). It's a six, thats all. It can be boring sometimes with nothing happening.

Some bloke ones told me, that the History of Trunks is like a DBZ, mixed with the Last of Us, that's nursed by Terminator, and boy, was he wrong!

Now, don't get me wrong - I gave this movie... well, special, the highest score yet, out of the whole franchise! True, I'm not a fan, and thus my opinion maaay be just a liiiitle bit biased, knowing of how much this franchise hurt me... but still... there're just too many details, and flaws, that keeps reminding me why I'll never gonna be a fan of the series! That aside, what do I think about this ... mov... no, special! Special...

The story? Goku is dead, cyborgs are killing people, everything is horrible. That's it. That's just as deep as it gets, and boy... it is shallow as hell!

First of all, Goku's dead, so that's a huge plus! Only downside is... no! No downsides here! Goku's dead and burried, so now's the chance for all the other left-over-fighters in the series to actually nutt it up, and do something, rather than doing nothing, right?! Heck no! We all know, that the rest of the Z-fighters are utterly useless, and truly incompitent, without this one, stupid, sadistic knucklehead, inable to do, or accomplish anything on their own, so... why take the chance to improve now, when the world is about to end - again! Instead of just letting all the stupidity take place, they could've easily take advantage of Krillin's plan to find androids beforehand, and destroy them before activation! After dying, Goku's not there to insist on fighting them, so why be so stupid now?! Seriously! And what's even stupider, is that how stupid these stupid idiots - heroes - are, by taking these cyborgs out in... one-on-one- style. Like real man/hero/fighter/stupid alien would do... right?! But hey, obviously I'm not a fighter, a man, nor a alien, so... what do I know?! Expect that, when your enemy is out numbered, yet still stronger than you, or your party, just suck it up, and take them out together - simple RPG logic here, guys! If they really are so stupid, that they would rather die meaningless death, while accomplishing nothing, then they really should just die, and stay dead... and for good, this time, if you don't mind!

The villains - I refuse to call them androids - aren't really any better. They're just two punks from the hoods, who like to kill, and destroy aimlesly, without any motivation, or goals in set! They say they hate humans, but really... who doesn't sometimes, am I right?! What are they planning to do with themselves, when all of the humanity is dead and gone, and they're the only living things on Earth? Go Casshern Sins on us, and just... rust away?

Besides, these people of Earth, don't even seem to care anymore, what's happening, who's doing the killing, and who dies - I guess they're just too used to that by now - and who can really blame them, since all this world ever sees, is it's habitants getting killed horribly, then brought back from the dead - Buffy knows, it ain't funny! - only to get killed again, when the next bick bad evil comes, either to suck ass in what they're doing, or eat us?! I swear, not as dirty as it sounds! They won't even fight back anymore, what brings me back to my old peeve, of this franchise - why is it, that when the world is threatened, all the humanity needs in order to survive, is some stupid, muscle-bounded psychos, presumably aliens, to save the day?! Why can't humans fight for themselves... just for once?!

And what else, this wolrd is the most nicest, and actually most pleasant apocalyptic-settings I've ever seen! I would totally live in there, since the only thing, that would truly bug me in any day, would be couple of murderous, sociopathic cyborgs - not as bad, as it sounds, really! They had cities, with people in it, doing things, having fun with themeparks, and eating themselves fat and happy, like in any other day of the week! Only thing to remember never to do, would be to listen up radio, and hear all the terrible screams and cries of human incinerating themselves, and you would be just fine!

If theres anything good I can say about this movie, it would be... well, it was short, for the starters. And it actually had Gohan, for the main hero, and not his deadbeat father, nor that obnoxious Veggiemite, Prince of Apes! This movie at last profed to me, that Gohan should have been the hero in DBZ after Frieza-saga, and not his father. Unlike Goku, Gohan doesn't enjoy fighting for the sake of it, but because it just has to be done! He knows, what needs to be done, and he does it, without streching the battles out needlesly, thus endangering innocent lives and partymembers, nor does he let his powers get into his head, thus clouding hes reason and judgment, like Vegeta. By the standards of this franchise - that are relatively low to beging with for someone to be a hero - he's a true hero to me, and it truly pains me, that it's only shown here, in this special movie... which I'm not even certain, is even canon! Trunks on the other hand... well, altough I never truly felt, that he's needed, or that he was ever supposed to be born, for the sake of the story anyway, it's actually nice to see, that even if your father is as horrible as Vegeta is, you can still be somewhat decent guy, so... that's nice, eh? I really did like Trunks as a character on this one, but... yeah, I really have to stand behind my point, on this one. Trunks didn't need to be born, and Gohan - who has freaking three hidden potentials unlocked in tv series... with no prevail! - could have just as well be the one, that got sented to the past, thus making his character arc have a full circle, when battleing with Cell. Oh, no, wait... that would actually reguire some sort of talented writing, from Toriyama... wouldn't it?!

Overall, this movie was a dissapointent, in so many levels, that I almost feel sad for it. I really wanted to like this one - I really did! I liked how this movie, unlike original TV series, was more about characters, and story, and less about mindless action, and pointless fighting! I loved to hear characters talking to eachother, about live, death, power, and faith and responsibility, and I truly liked the fact, that Gohan/Trunks was all about respect, trust and friendship, and not nearly as disturbingly abusive, and bitterly revenge-based, Stockholm-syndrome-ish and always somewhat unequal level, like Gohan/Piccolo was to me, but when judging this as an actual movie and not just a overlong episode... it's just really, really weak! The story, while having a tons of potential to be something truly great - yeah, right... like a DBZ would actually mature a bit! - was just very shallow, and somewhat empty, with very little impact, and satisfaction, on my part. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that this movie finally proved to me, that a DBZ at it's best, can only be to me - as a former pokemaniac - what pokemon movies can be, at their worst. The villains, while likable and somewhat interesting as an consept to the very least, were just... there, for the sake of being evil, and not doing anything special, that hasn't been done about billion times before already, with so ridiculous motivations, that I just wanted to hang my head low, and weep. This movie - much like most of the pokemon movies - suffers ultimately from the oh so deadly sin, of laziness, never really shining on any of the categories for me, and I truly despise laziness, when I'm trying so hard to actually like about something!

I guess what can be said about my feelings towards this movie, would be guilty pleasure, at best - really, really guilty, low and bad pleasure! I guess I would see it again, if forced against my life, but I still wouldn't enjoy it. At all! It's like diving in a deep blue sea, but being too scared to descend all the way down to the bottom, in order to see, what's in there - wich is how I felt, during this whole movie. You get the experience, and the basic idea, but you'll never truly grasp, of what you could have gotten out of it. And it's both sad, and sickening, since this movie had all the potential to be, what DBZ as a franchise, has never ever been to me before; the growing-up tale, about actual losses, sacrifices and consequenses, thus accepting your own destiny, wheter you liked it, or not, for making everything better for everyone. Tried as it might have, it just never bothered to go to that extra mile, thus, leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth, and utter and complete dissapointent. Not quite on the shitpie-levels on the scales of bad animes, but it's still there, and staying, for me.

Story: 4
Art: 6
Sound: 3
Characters: 4
Enjoyment: 4
Overall: 4