Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022)

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For nearly 30 years I’ve been a fan of the Dragon Ball universe, and despite its ups and downs, it’s one of my favorite anime franchises out there. So it goes without saying that I had to check out its latest film entry, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. While these new films tend to rely on old stuff (Broly in the last one and Cell/Androids in this one) and having to get used to the CG here, it’s still a fun, action-packed time for fans.

Taking place not long after the Super series and Broly film, this feature returns fans to the infamous Red Ribbon Army, an evil organization that was responsible for a lot of bad things in the Dragon Ball universe, namely the famous android saga that brought about one of my favorite villains of all time, Cell.

Thought to be destroyed and forgotten, the army is still active and have teamed up with the grandson of the scientist that created the androids to make a new pair to take on Goku and company named Gamma 1 and 2. At least that’s what the plan is supposed to be, but instead our favorite alien Piccolo, Gohan, and his cute little daughter Pan are the ones who will rise to the challenge in this adventure.

Once Piccolo has a chance encounter and small scuffle with Gamma 2, he’s able to sneak into the Red Ribbon base and learn of their plans, including remaking Cell into a hulk-like monster. It falls on Piccolo to snap Gohan out of his work studies to take up being a fighter once more while also training Gohan’s daughter Pan to fight and do what she can to help.

Some fans will be disappointed that Goku and Vegeta aren’t the main focus this time around, but I for one am glad this film focuses on Piccolo mainly as he’s always been my favorite Dragon Ball character. Fret not as Goku and Vegeta do make an appearance and actually get to fight each other for the umpteeth time, but mostly we’re stuck with Piccolo, Gohan and Pan which brings about some serious action with plenty of humor to spare as well.

The main thing that threw me off was the entire film being done in 3D CG. Don’t get me wrong, it looks pretty good to the point when you see still images of it you’d swear it was the traditional 2D art style fans are used to. It took some getting used to though as with most CG animation, it has some of those framerate hiccups throughout the movie.

Even still, they’re pretty well done when it matters, namely during the intense fights which had me cheering, especially near the end when all hell breaks loose with the androids and the Cell monster taking center stage, prompting Piccolo and pals to call in some old reinforcements that I won’t dare spoil. But trust me when I say it’s a slugfest fans will love for sure.

While it doesn’t bring a lot of new things to the table plot wise, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is still a fun and entertaining feature that fans will be pumped to see. While I would’ve preferred the old school 2D animation, as well as had more screen time with Goku and Vegeta, the CG works and I love having some of the other characters taking the lead and doing super job of doing so.