Dragon Ball Z Movie 12: Fukkatsu no Fusion!! Gokuu to Vegeta

When it comes to the Dragonball films in general they usually follow something different. instead of the canon material that the series contains
It instead mixes certain content from the series themselves but only to present a different setting that usually is not always direct from the series.

So therefore, Do not go into watching them expecting anything that great of a premise in the first place since its not meant to do so, except just take them as special added content for its standard viewing alone.

So on to the 12th Dragon Ball Z Movie and I totally loved it!!
This surprised me because I didn't have that much expectations of it and yet as soon as I started watching it, It starts to go with the action and comedy formula right of the bat and it works so well for this film.

The action is fun, You get your silly slapstick moments of the characters, some bizarre real life character references like hitler in this like wtf xD, as well as fusion from the series.

The animation looks brilliant for a mid 90s movie along with its fights as well which was pretty memorable in terms of how epic it looks.

The voice acting was fine on both in English and Japanese, Though I like more of the soundtracks from the english version since Gogeta and Janemba's theme sounds really cool.

The villain here Janemba who doesn't have any personality what so ever is this manifestation of evil negative energy similar to majin buu in terms of having a primal like personality starting his form as this giant oversized child like thingy than shortly enough into this sinister looking demon which I have to admit the design of it looks brilliant.
Janemba also possesses a pretty incredible ability of materialising and manipulating space and anything over the dimensions of space itself making him capable of transforming the universe in its entirety into his image which includes the Other World where goku is fighting pikkon.

These effects causes the other world and their overseers including the checking station to falter in this dimension making the villains escape from their confinement.

Not only that but the magic of the dragonballs are also effected by this as well.

The movie's main plot is mainly about goku, vegeta and the others trying to stop the powerful janemba and his powers over the dimensions that pulls in some of these entertaining moments out really well.

The only thing I wished to have seen more of was janemba effecting other parts of the universe and for the other villains though only minor, to be a little more involved in the movie to at least make the film a little more longer but other than that, this movie was fun and enjoyable and Gogeta totally rocks!!

Its probably my favourite dragonball film so far ;)

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In my opinion the best DBZ film out of them all apart from the latest one which I am yet to watch.

Story 7/10 The story is slightly better than in some of the other movies as its not just another typical bad guy returning to destroy the world with this movie they have gotten at least a little bit more creative and came up with a new idea for a villain.

Art 8/10 The art work is amazing for the year it was released in, the characters were all well animated and the scenery was packed with colour and detail.

Sound 8/10 The music in this movie was really good especially throughout the fight scenes it added epicness to the fights.

Characters 8/10 By far one of the best things in this movie with a new bad ass looking bad guy Jenemba, Goku and Vegetas fusion Gogeta, Picon and guests appearances from old villains such as Freeza himself.

Enjoyment 9/10 this movie is one of the finer movies of the DBZ collection it has a little bit of everything and the fight scenes were just the best with Goku and Vegeta facing an opponent with abilities they've never seen before.

Overall 8/10 This is a really good movie and also has a lot of humour in there as well from Mr Satan himself all the way through to the return of Hitler. With old bad guys appearing from the dead that are no longer a match for the Z fighters and an all new enemy that is the strongest they have ever faced, this is one enjoyable watch.

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this review contains spoilers

The Dragon Ball movies in general end up being good, this movie is not at all the exception.

The movie "Dragon Ball Z Movie 12: Fukkatsu no Fusion! Gokuu to Vegeta" is undoubtedly my favorite movie of this whole franchise. I just liked it very much.

The story, despite being simple, manages to present very interesting topics. The fact that to go to hell you have to "purify" the soul and remove all negative feelings is something that, at the very least, can give possibilities and be something quite curious, because the evil of all enemies who defeated Goku before is stored in that place. The film took advantage of its very little used scenario (beyond, hell) to propose interesting things.
The way in which this whole issue of the beyond is presented is done in a good way (adding everything implemented in the anime / manga), so the story is not searched or forced, because the whole incident occurred by simple carelessness which cost very expensive, in general it seemed a simple story, but very effective.

The characters in the movie are many, but very few end up importing; what happens on earth is entirely secondary and feels without emotion. Goku and Vegeta remain the same (which is to be expected), but in the middle of the battle against Super Janemba, Vegeta accepts that Super Janemba is a very strong enemy for him, coming to mourn the frustration (Vegeta very rarely does this , he is very proud) and agrees to merge with Goku. His first fusion fails miserably due to an error of Vegeta, but despite that Vegeta continued to accept that the fusion is his only salvation, showing that he can come to reconsider his chances of winning a fight (I repeat, Vegeta rarely does this) , so it has an acceptable "evolution" for the duration of the movie.

Goku is the same as always, loves the fights (so much that he even wanted to continue battling against Paikuhan despite the rumble caused by Janemba), Goku never comes to hate Janemba or thinks arrogantly against him, Goku is just as always, what does not get to emphasize its evolution or things of that nature. What stands out of Goku in this fight is his battle against Janemba, since Goku faced off against the most unpredictable enemy of all (Goku even goes so far as to say that Janemba or Super Janemba has been the strongest enemy against which he has fought ), Goku's surprise at seeing Janemba's attacks and how he plans to defeat him was something good and quite exciting.
 
Paikuhan is a rather minor character in the film, his only important activity was discovering Janemba's weakness, but that does not mean he can be devalued or belittled, Paikuhan is someone with an "air" or very chivalrous personality, so it's funny see him insult the crystals that Janemba did. Apart from that, the other thing he did was to make a very short battle against Janemba, so in combat it is quite disappointing (although he won time for Goku and Vegeta to merge). Paikuhan in general is quite deceocionante by its very short battle and because I spend most of the movie with the crystals of Janemba.

Janemba, on the other hand, is an enemy that arises from a very ingenious idea, the badness made person (literally) and Janemba is not at all an untapped enemy, her silly and childish personality in its first form passes to a personality much more serious and that emits terror, their movements are very varied to be a Dragon Ball character where most of the times are limited to throwing waves of energy, does not emit decent dialogues (only says Janemba), but is a very well used enemy and thought.

The atmosphere of the movie is very good, hell was turned into a very eccentric place (more than it already is), full of crystals that seem sweet, that complements very well the personality of the fat Janemba, an excellent scenario.

The film also has a soundtrack very much in line with what was presented on the scene, the most remarkable being the one that sounds when Goku confronts Janemba, transmitting a feeling of madness and mystery. Another soundtrack that is very much in tune with the moment is when Goku and Vegeta transform into Gogeta to defeat Super Janemba, an epic music.

A movie that I think is very good from Dragon Ball, feels the frenetic and crazy of the combats in this movie, the fusion does not feel gimmicky or something that is convenient (since the fusion was implemented before the movie, besides the first fusion failed), a very enjoyable movie if you are looking for something that is "style on substance", but without leaving the "substance" obsolete.

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Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn is one of the best movies the franchise has to offer and I shall elaborate my statement in the following.

1. Story

Fusion Reborn's story is nothing to write home about. It is by no means a "bad" story for a Dragon Ball movie, but it is obvious that it was not the main focus of the movie, or at least not the parts that don't feature the two protagonists. It is definitely no Dragon Ball Super: Broly in terms of story, but it suffices for the movie's premise.

2. Art

Despite my wish to give this category a solid 10, there is one minor thing that has bugged me in my multiple watching-sessions. The movie adds very thick borderlines on the non-protagonist characters which really are off-putting. Other than that, most of the movie looks like how you would expect a Dragon Ball Z movie to look like, and I personally think that it looks better than the show at some points.

3. Sound

The sound design and soundtrack of Fusion Reborn surpass at least the Funimation Dub of the original show. Near the end of the movie the punches and kicks sound like explosions and it really adds a lot to it. The English dub made a good effort in terms of the soundtrack, but it is fair to say that the Japanese dub has the better soundtrack overall.

4. Character

The characters in the movie aren't as fleshed out as in the show, but fairly well written for a Dragon Ball Z movie. The most interesting character in the movie is the main villain, because of their uniqueness as a Dragon Ball villain. I felt like it was a refreshing change from "super bad villain that wants to destroy Goku because of reasons" types of villains that were featured in previous movies.

5. Enjoyment

While this is mostly subjective, I only have warm feelings whenever I rewatch Fusion Reborn. It definitely is a highly enjoyable movie, especially as a fan of the franchise. Though most of the enjoyment stems from the fight of the main protagonists and the main villain, the side characters have their fun moments as well.

Overall:

Fusion Reborn is a solid 9 in my book, because it really comes to show what a Dragon Ball movie can be if the people involved really put in effort. With enjoyable characters, good music and mostly good art, I cannot recommend this movie enough to all Dragon Ball fans. People that are new to the franchise will also get a lot of enjoyment out of the movie, but I recommend to watch more of the show or perhaps even other movies beforehand.

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I've talked about Toriyama Akira's Dragonball and I've talked about the Dragonball Z: Battle of Gods movie. Now it's time to delve into the franchise once more with a look at the twelfth Dragonball Z movie, Fusion Reborn. Will it be on the level of the fourteenth movie or is this one of the weak Dragonball Z films?

Story:

Our story opens after the Buu saga with an afterlife tournament where Goku faces off against Paikuhan, in spite of the fact that Goku was resurrected by the old Kaio during the Buu saga and the fact that the grand Kaio decided that the prize for the afterlife tournament needed to be withheld for a while so he could get back in shape. Unsurprisingly, this is a Dragonball Z movie that doesn't fit in with the continuity, which is an issue with a lot of them. Moving on, King Yama is busy judging souls while the oni in charge of monitoring the soul cleansing equipment goofs off. This results in an accident which causes the evil to burst out and transform the young oni into Janemba, a being of pure evil that seals Yama's palace, enabling the souls of the dead to break free and roam around on Earth. The tournament is postponed so that Goku and Paikuhan can investigate.

To be fair, the concept behind this isn't a bad one. The idea of the dead wreaking havoc could have been very interesting. But this is DBZ so it's used as an excuse for action sequences and that's pretty much it. To be fair, that's pretty much to be expected from the franchise and it's what people are going to be watching the film for. That's why the biggest problem is the final fight itself. It is really anti-climactic. You get some good buildup for it, but the fight itself ends in about thirty seconds. Mr. Satan fought Cell longer than Gogeta fights Janemba. On the positive side, the film does have some funny moments and some stupidly awesome bits, including Trunks and Goten fighting undead nazis.

Characters:

The film focuses primarily on the saiyajin and half saiyajin characters. Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks and Goten. Videl also plays a somewhat significant role. None of them really develop in any substantial way over the course of the film, but you do get a good sense of their personalities, which is fair enough given that the film isn't even an hour long. Then we have our villain, Janemba. He's basically like Majin Buu right down to starting as an obese man-child and transforming into a meaner, more heavily muscled form. It's like the Frieza and Cooler thing where a film just makes a weaker copy of a villain from the main series.

Art:

The artwork and animation are pretty decent. The biggest issue is that the action sequences are kind of weak in this one. Given how much the franchise relies on those, that's pretty bad. I will give the film credit for having some really interesting backgrounds during its tour of hell.

Sound:

The entire vocal cast delivers decent performances. There's some exaggeration, but no more than the usual given the franchise's tendency to have dudes screaming to get stronger. The music is pretty good.

Ho-yay:

There isn't any homo-eroticism in this movie.

Final Thoughts:

Dragonball Z: Fusion Reborn is an action movie with some good ideas and funny moments, but that suffers from weak action and a boring antagonist. It isn't a bad movie, nor is it one of the worst DBZ films for what it is, but there are a lot of better Dragonball Z films out there. This one is just kind of dull. My final rating for it is going to be a 5/10. Tomorrow I'll take a look at Spirited Away.

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This movie is crazy, crazy fun. So, while Goku is dead and about to play in the underworld championship something insane happens. A janitor messes up his work and becomes some overpowered monster called Janemba. Goku and our beloved Paikuhan try to beat him. No matter what they did he was simply too strong and after Goku goes Super Saiyan 3, Janemba becomes a lot smaller but also a lot stronger. Goku is simply overpowered and Vegeta who is now dead comes to help him out. They fusion creating Gogeta and smack Janemba's ass back to its place.

The story is really amusing and takes the opposite direction the others movie took. They create a totally imaginary or partly scenario and make some new characters but this one goes along the story but stops it to showcase this new enemy. Another really fun point is that the Janitor's mistake also made it so that the dead people came back and we get several funny moments like Goten and Trunks battling with Hitler's army and him once again trying to achieve world domination. Overall, this movie was lots of fun, I would give the story a 9.

The art is like DBZ at the time and it looks great. 8.5/10

The opening is "We Gotta Power", pretty decent but still inferior to head Chala. 9/10, the ending is "Saikyou no Fusion", this ending was pretty cool. I would give it an 8.5, sound is an 8.

The characters are pretty well projected and we have all the characters we really need. 8/10

This movie just simply excelled in being fun and accurate. It was packed with action but also was lots of fun. 8.5/10 (8)

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This fits in nicely with my theory that the Dragon Ball Z movies are getting sh*ttier with each new addition. "Fusion Reborn", being one of the last ones as far as I can tell, manages to hit a new low.

I must have missed something in one of the earlier Dragon Ball Z movies that I didn't watch, for in this one, all the characters from the old generation such as Goku and Vegeta appear to be dead. Either that or this movie is meant to be set in the far future relative to the other movies... who knows, it's probably too much to expect Dragon Ball Z to make much sense anyway.

"Fusion Reborn" is an incredibly boring movie. But what's more incredible is that they somehow manage to stretch the nothingness of the content into almost an hour long film when there have been other Dragon Ball Z movies that's got more content that are shorter. I watched through most of "Fusion Reborn" in a kind of trance as one of the most bizarre story lines I've ever watched took place in front of my eyes. They appear to be going for some sort of original, comical storyline, and the result isn't pretty. Dragon Ball always seemed to be quite a childish franchise, but this one takes it down to a brand new level: Hell, or whatever that place is, gets frozen in some sort of jelly bean, with a big baby as boss for Goku and Vegeta to battle... what the F*CK? Although I have to admit I chuckled at some of the comedy, like the fusion poses, most of this movie is pure sh*te.

Other than that part of the storyline, which is different but worse, the rest of the anime is mostly standard Dragon Ball Z fare. The animation is typically mediocre - although at least there's none of the usual fast exchanges of punches/kicks style fighting that I hate so much, the voice acting is typically rubbish (although the music used is okay), and again they managed to collect 7 dragon balls and summon the dragon Shen Long. That creature is seriously starting to lose its novelty value due to appearing so frequently.

I appreciate that they appear to have tried something different from the usual Dragon Ball, but unfortunately the result is something that's worse.

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The Dragon Ball Z movies had become the living definition of money grabbers after the 7th movie. Many non fans would actually argue even before that. The movies were severely lacking in creativity and imagination, to where the writers found themselves either resorting to gimmicks or just playing copy and paste with stories. Therefore, I remember coming into this expecting the same thing, which was why I put it off for way over a year after its US release date. When I finally gave it a look; I was surprised with the solid effort as it did manage to work well with its key elements; the action, plot, and even the comedy held my attention to actually consider this a good movie.

The plot follows the same pattern as any DBZ movie; a threat shows up that could destroy the world or even the entire universe, and Goku must face this threat. This time around the culprit of mischief is a mutated being by the name of Janemba whom is completely responsible for the living and dead to collide. Goku engages him in battle which leads to quickly being pushed to his limits. I guess this movie will only be about as great or bad to you all depending on how well DBZ comedy and action jells with you.

The movie constantly flips between Goku's battle and his sons battle with the undead. The latter is completely comedy motivated all the way down to the visuals and it does work at times. I actually laughed during Frieza's return, plus the parody on Hitler down to some of his dialog, where he even admits that he should be recruiting these super strong blond guys. It's rare to find a DBZ movie where the comedy can make you do something other than groan. However, it's the serious fighting that will grab everyone's attention. It contains the usual Super Saiyan gimmicks plus Vegeta makes a very predictable appearance. The fighting is fun to watch, but again, the comedy has moments where it shines here as well concerning the Fusion technique.

Although I enjoyed the movie; I will admit that some of the scenes drag and I doubt this is due to multiple watches. I always felt this way about this movie, and even at 48 minutes I wanted it to end. The villain Janemba is the living definition of cookie-cutter, completely lacking any type of personality which is something that had been plaguing the DBZ movies for a very long time, probably after the Return of Cooler. All he does is just grunt and laugh, and that really isn't cool.

The visuals are much better here than in the TV series. The animation is a lot more crisp and vibrant. Although there is a heavy re-use of cels during some combat, there are moments of sharp blows and some type of action choreography. I liked the backgrounds this time too. The Other World where Goku and Janemba battle in has some pretty cool details, such as a rectangular shaped blood pond just floating in mid-air, and a forest made from sharp metallic needles. There are other elements indicating they are fighting in a different world, which is a good change of pace from the usual mountain and vegetation like areas. There is also a second, more manga like style during the comedic living and dead conflict. The designs at times are more cartoony with a darker outline here. I thought it was fine for the most part, but I probably wouldn't have been able to tolerate that had the movie been longer.

The voice acting for the English dub which is the only one I can tolerate, is fine for the most part except at times the dialog can feel awkward, as if the cast are just creating plot holes or something. It just sometimes feels strange. In any case, the usual Funimation suspects show up for the party, with Chris Sabat delivering a solid performance as usual playing Vegeta. Plus I will always admire Kara Edwards range playing both Goten and Videl. I would have never noticed it was the same person if not for the credits. The BGM rock score works well with the action, but don't come into this expecting Cooler's Revenge or Broly: Legendary Super Saiyan.

Fusion Reborn is among the better DBZ titles. It actually tries to be a better movie and succeeds. Plus it can probably rope in new fans despite it not really fitting into main continuity. It appears to be taking place at some point during the Fusion Saga, but this is hard to buy into. In any case, if you're a fan of DBZ than check this out. If you're new and heavily interested in DBZ, I recommend starting with the TV series first season, then the Dead Zone movie only if possible. Others with no interest or knowledge, there is far better anime out there to invest your time in.

Highs: Clean visuals, action and comedy that has good moments

Lows: Has its weaker moments too, plus a cookie-cutter baddie

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I don't give it the score for its storyline, thats not in this movie at all. the story is only made for this movie to be and tell why everything happens but thats it. The fighting is good in and is also the biggest part of the movie.They also made everybody so that you can see how strong everybody is, for exemple that Gohan is stronger than ever before in the series and how badass Goku and Vegeta are. The effects used by the powerup to ssj3 are a little stupid that the film goes to negative color but its fairly done and the ending...well the bad guy dies and Goku and Vegeta say goodbye in a really gay way...

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I'd rather die than merge with you Kakarotto! But Vegeta, you are already dead. Why can't we have this bright Goku in Super?

This movie is interesting, it is the 1st movie I had to rewatch in order to do this review. I have so many mixed feelings, If I were to describe this movie in one word, it would be: Cool! If I were to rate this movie purely out of enjoyment and cool factor, then it is 8/10 easily.

Anyway let's move onto the review. Dragon Ball Z Movie: Fusion Reborn is a non canon movie, that means events within this movie doesn't appear in manga.

Because I am so divided on this movie, I am gonna split this movie into 2 halfs and I am gonna talk about those halfs and say, what I like and dislike.

\\spoiler alert//

0:00 - 25:00
We start at the other world tournament grounds, where Kaios are having an argument between each other about the strongest contestant. Goku and Paikuhan meets in the final and when it's about to get interesting comes cut and we suddenly are in King's Yemma/Enma place.
Comment: I am not a fan of this decision, it's nice to have our main cast doing something, but this cut has literally made this small intro pointless and waste of time.

After watching King doing his job for a while, we see an evil spirit laundering machine with a devil boy that serves as a plot device. Basically, because of his lack of attention and laziness spirit machine gets destroyed and evil spirits devour boy, turning him into Janemba.
Comment: It's kinda meh plot device to be honest.

Dead arises! Gohan, Videl with Goten and kid Trunks are called to fight. After Gohan and Videl defeat some random zombies, Frieza appears with an army. Fight does last exactly one blow from Gohan and Frieza is defeated and his army retreat and this is the last time we see Gohan and Videl until the end. Mister Satan makes small cameo beating down zombies. Meanwhile Goten with Trunks are about to face an ultimate Dragon Ball villain known for his villainous action through the series and it is ...... not Cell, it's fucking Adolf.
Comment: Who though this was a good idea? I mean I like Adolf (in satiric sense!!!), but he has nothing to do with Dragon Ball series. Quick idea: Why weren't Red Ribbon army there, it would have made way more sense than Adolf.

Goku confronts Janemba! 1st form Janemba persona is lazy copy of Majin Buu and if you disliked or hated Buu, then this villain won't be to your tastes likely. Luckily, his attacks and abilities are more interesting than Buu, so that's a nice plus. Meanwhile Paikuhan begins his own verbal fight with a barrier.
Comment: Fight are okay, it would have been great if there weren't an idiot shouting his name every ten seconds. Anyway I don't really have any problem with this part. Shame for Paikuhan though, well at least he didn't end up like Gohan.

25:00 - The end
Goku fights final form Janemba! After Goku lands a solid blow, Janemba turns to his final form and all I can say is: cool! This form is absolutely cool, his abilities are cool, he's just so cool, but he's kinda Jiren the Gay (DevilArtemis Cell vs. Jiren part 2 reference). Janemba is extremely powerful, but he doesn't say a word. He's just a powerhouse, that sometimes screams or laughs with evil tone. The main difference between Janemba and Jiren are theirs abilities, while Janemba has unique and interesting abilities, Jiren has insane strength, just because.
Comment: From visual and enjoyment view, this is a very good fight, Janemba has a lot of unique abilities that makes the fighting scene look fresh even with 291 DBZ episodes.

Kids are fighting Nazi army! This is the reason, why we won't see any Gohan until the end and it is not worth it. Just to clarify, I am not someone, who hates nazis. I don't rate movie differently just because something politically controversial appears on the screen. Even though satiric, nazis has nothing to do with Dragon Ball series, Red Ribbon does, so what about excluding something completely alien to the series and instead add an evil organization, that was crushed by kid Goku in DB 1986?
Comment: Not much else to add, really.

Wild Vegeta appears! He tries to fight Janemba, because prince of all saiyans and get his ass kicked, after he ends up in mountains of needles and after some convincing, he agrees to do Fusion with Goku.
Comment: It's okay. I don't really have anything to comment here, but...

Instant Transmission to a place without living being? Just before Janemba bombards the mountain, Goku and Vegeta escape with IT to a cube without living being. This is deus ex machina. Instant transmission follows rules: You need to sense someone's ki to teleport to the place, so how did they escape?

Finally Fuuuu... Are you joking me, they fucking failed? Are you telling me that the two elite saiyans, who knows each other for many years, who fought against themselves and beside each other cannot do this transformation on 1st try. Kids were funny, they are kids and you expect that they don't have required discipline to do it on a 1st try, but Goku and Vegeta? This scene exists to prolong this movie and to give us a cheap laugh and I am not fan of that.

Gogeta vs Janemba! It's a quick work, Janemba doesn't stand a chance and Gogeta does (my No.1 favorite) finishing move, then we get some "romantic" farewell between Goku and Vegeta and the end.

Before I finally end this review, there are some really annoying points about this movie:
1, Timelines: Vegeta is in the other (dead) world, but if this is between Majin Vegeta and final Genki Dama, then why does world looks so peaceful and Gohan, kids and everyone seems in such a normal manners prior to dead rising? The only mention of Buu is, when Goku goes Super Saiyan 3 and says only Buu seen it before. This movie does terrible job to place itself into DBZ timeline in this aspect.
2, Where is Piccolo, Kuririn, Android 18, where is Buu? It is never explained, where was either our gang or Buu at this time. Piccolo cannot be absorbed, because Goten and Trunks would have been absorbed as well and stoned Piccolo doesn't make any sense either, because Vegeta would have been still alive.

Summary: This is all I wanted to say. I like this movie, I really do and as much as I would like to ignore all the negatives, I cannot.

Dragon Ball Z Movie: Fusion Reborn earns the strongest 6,99/10, meaning 6/10. I was and I am still divided about the rating, my opinion just flips back and forth between 6 and 7. Maybe I will revisit Fusion Reborn in future and redo the review. Until that time comes, take care and thank you for reading my review.

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[Original English Dub with Japanese Music]

This film is a great combination of everything I love about Dragon Ball. With light and goofy bits mixed in with a wonderful array of great action choreography and artwork, this bizarre premise of a film had me laughing and cheering throughout the whole thing.


Also Hitler was in it along with some interesting Gas Attacks, so that was fun as hell. It got kind of a bit slow in the middle with Veku, but I had a great time! I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I did. 7/10,would watch again!

#ChrisAyersBestEnglishFreeza

Ah, HERE's the good Dragon Ball Z movie. The best one by a really wide margin. It's utterly silly stuff, but it doesn't attempt to take itself seriously like some of the worse movies in this extremely long series. This is classic comedy-action stuff that early Dragon Ball was famous for, just with the ridiculous over-the-top powers that all the characters have at this point in the series.

It's a tough battle between this and Bio-Broly for my favorite so far. On one hand, Bio-Broly has a more cohesive, interesting story, while Fusion Reborn is fairly stitched together and has a villain so paper-thin that he literally doesn't speak or have a motive. On the other hand, that villain is also the best villain the Dragon Ball movies have had yet-- possibly the coolest in the entire series, aside from Picccolo and maybe Frieza. The dude has reality-warping powers and uses a sword and it's friggin' awesome. After trudging through the banality of the Buu Saga in the TV show for a couple weeks, I am so glad to have gotten to find a villain that's actually fun to watch.

The fight animation is pretty incredible, which is typical for these movies. However, for some unexplained reason, while the stuff in Hell is really well-animated with gorgeous art direction, the stuff on Earth is given a completely different style, with the characters all getting thick outlines and much worse animation quality, as if it were made for the TV series and then pasted into the movie all of a sudden. I kind of like the art style in these silly scenes, especially when they're fighting friggin' Hitler, but it doesn't mesh well.

If you want to encapsulate Dragon Ball Z all in one movie, Fusion Reborn is probably it. It's wacky, fast-paced, nearly-plotless, super pretty, and has a sense of style you won't find anywhere else. I wouldn't suggest watching this without any prior knowledge, but you can probably go in not having seen the show in decades and still come out with a smile on your face.

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Back in the day when Dragon Ball Z was on Toonami they would sometimes do runs of the Dragon Ball Movies. I happened to catch this one and it's probably the only Dragon Ball Z movie I've actually seen all the way through up to this point not counting abridged versions. So it gets a review.

I think the story of DBZ movies fall squarely into that anime movie non-canon territory of barely having any relation to the show it's about, but that's fine for a show that barely has a plot to begin with. The Legacy of Goku 3 game on GBA actually managed to fit the story of the movie into the plot somewhat. You just have to ignore a lot of sequence of events and do some head cannon to make it work. That was actually where I was familiar with the story such as it is. I had watched my brother play those games way back when and now I was seeing the movie it was based on on TV and that's probably why I tuned in for the whole thing.

But yeah the story is basically there's a new strong guy, go fight him. Like the rest of Dragon Ball. Doesn't really need to be more complicated but they mix it up a bit by adding a new fusion to the mix. The fusion is a slightly different named rehash of Vegetto but it was still cool. The fight scenes themselves were cool. The villain was cool. It was all very cool.

But when the best thing you have to say for a show is that it was cool it probably didn't have much of an impact otherwise. I'm all for it on one level but when you think about what makes a show really great or stand the test of time it isn't just cool fight scenes. So 7 out of 10 it has a little something for everyone.

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The opening is brief and enjoyable enough. The concept of how the villain comes about is interesting, but ultimately it's not a very interesting character outside of the design. The best part of the movie is the environment the character creates, and the weird otherworldly powers. The fighting is okay, and it's good to see SS3 actually be used for a while.

There's not much to the villain as a character, and at some point toward the end some of the comedy felt forced and went on too long, it would've been better without it. I also think the bit with hitler went on too long and wasn't very interesting to begin with. If they needed filler fights on the side, there were much more interesting things they could've done that would've made more sense than infinite tanks. The end of the fight is anticlimactic, but the end of the movie is good. Overall I'd say it's okay, with some high points. It's worth giving a try.

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