Dragon Ball (All Series)

[LumRanmaYasha]

Oh, I could tell you enjoyed it from your thoughts. My phrasing might've been misleading there. 

All of those moments got big laughs from the audience in my theater as well. Beyond those, there were a bunch of jokes with Beerus and Whis' love of food and casual observations of the fight that got a bunch of chuckles. Jaco's drawing of Freeza, his various fight scenes, banter with Bulma, and just his presence in general were also extremely well-received, which surprised me as it didn't seem like too many people there had read his manga or knew of the character beforehand. Certain bits of banter between Goku and Vegeta were popular too, especially them bickering over who's turn was it to fight Freeza. Krillin's first appearance when stopping the robbers, 18's comment that she should probably join the fight since she was stronger than Krillin, Krillin asking her to shave his head, and 18's "He's so cool" line all got big laughs too, the latter especially. One comment that wasn't a joke that got big laughs was Tenshinhan's comment about leaving Chiaotzu and Yamcha behind because he thought the situation would be too much for them. I could really tell this was a crowd full of big fans of the series when a small throwaway comment like that got them really going. 

Really, most of the jokes, callbacks, and gags in the film got good laughs from the audience. The only ones that really noticeably seemed to fall flat were a few involving the Pilaf gang and some of the interactions between Freeza and his henchmen. I admit, the Pilaf gang didn't get nearly as good of material as they did in BoG, but I love Pilaf, so I was happy seeing him get a bit part in the movie anyway.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Jaco is going to become a new fan favorite after more people see this movie. I'm calling it. The crowd absolutely loved every moment that he was on screen. I was surprised by how great his scenes and dialogue were. I was expecting a cute little cameo, but what I got was just an awesome Toriyama character that felt right at home in the DB Universe.

As for Pilaf, at least the Zeni wish got a huge laugh in my theater. But yeah, they weren't too into the rest of his jokes.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Slight change of plans. Me and CX have agreed to post up both of our reviews up on the weekend.

However, what I will say is that if you're a Dragon Ball fan and have the time and opportunity to watch this movie in theaters, it's definitely worth it.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The movie is doing really well for a limited theatrical release: https://youtu.be/eEdpp-tuL2U

[LordGoku]

We made it!

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=anime.htm

It really makes you think that if this got a wider release this might have set a larger record. Like I can honestly see this going up to maybe 5th if done properly. But what really moved my heart was that I saw a whole bunch of families, couples and friends coming to watch in in the theaters. It really is a great reminder of just how huge this franchise is, when you can see not just your average anime fan, but people outside the fandom come and watch this.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm happy that the movie is doing so well. It honestly really deserves it, IMO.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

God fucking damnit, Toei....







I know that this doesn't have the same budget as the movies, but they aren't even trying here. Or rather, Toei gives so little of a shit that they force overworked, underpayed animators to get these episodes done on a weekly basis without the slightest regard to quality.

This shit looks even worse than Sailor Moon Crystal, and that's really saying something. I hope that the entity known as Toei Animation rots in hell some day.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Amazing that they're still able to get away with crap like that.

[Foggle]

Good lord.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Here's an example of how simply, yet fluidly and lively the action flows in Toriyama's manga: http://kotaku.com/a-closer-look-at-dragon-ball-s-brilliance-1578356576

Much like how a director uses clever techniques, tricks, and edits with camera angles to make a scene flow smoothly, Toriyama does this with his panel-to-page layouts in manga. It's something that seems effortless and goes unnoticed and is taken for granted by 95% of readers, but subconscious level they still notice how smooth this all comes off, which gives even more mundane scenes a sense of impact and profound significance. Toriyama is using a clever set-up in his art-style to direct the very eye movements of his readers. Contrary to what you might think, there is clearly a great deal of thought and effort put into almost every single page of this 42 volume manga, from panel-to-panel. It must be emphasized that very few other mangaka can even come close to matching this level of skill. This is Osamu Tezuka level brilliance just in terms of the presentation alone.

Now look at how Toei's cheap, uninspired, corner-cutting animation pays absolutely no mind to any of this, and as seen above can get this horrendously bad with its action scenes. That's right, the actual animated series feels more static than the comic book.

Do you all see why I've long held a distaste for the anime adaptations of Dragon Ball, and why I can't stand it when people base their opinions of the series as a whole solely on what less talented people put out?

And yes, I still have a soft spot for the original Dragon Ball anime, but as far as I'm concerned, Dragon Ball has never truly been done justice in animated form, aside from some of the movies (and only as far as animation goes). Super is just the latest offender.

[Kiddington]

The movie was great, pretty much everything I'd want and/or expect from a DB movie; good action, good comedy, solid animation. I'll echo the sentiment that it never felt like there was a whole lot of tension here, even with Frieza powered up to max, but the fight scenes were still entertaining enough. The comedy aspect was definitely their bread and butter here though; probably the funniest act in the series yet.

I actually enjoyed this way more than BoG, for what it's worth (and I sang that movies praises quite a bit as well). The comedy definitely feels a lot more natural this time around; while BoG had a lot of good bits with the Pilaf gang, a number of the jokes were kinda hit or miss for me after repeated viewings (especially some of the King Kai stuff early on). This was a really funny movie though; for me personally, none of the jokes actually fell flat at all.

My only disappointment was that we didn't really get to see Frieza train, but eh, you can't have everything. I'll take Roshi with his first worthwhile fight scene in 20+ years just fine instead (and Tien! Loved seeing the Tri-Beam in action again).

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

It was super fun, and you could definitely feel the Toriyama touch to this one as opposed to BOG.

I planned to have my review up a few days ago, but I'm still going to wait on CX and LordGoku so we can all post our reviews up as a single article.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Here's an example of how simply, yet fluidly and lively the action flows in Toriyama's manga: http://kotaku.com/a-closer-look-at-dragon-ball-s-brilliance-1578356576

That article is spot-on. For further reading on the anatomy of the action scenes in DB, I'd recommend reading this series of articles, which provide a thorough and in-depth look at what makes the art and action in DB so effective. It's a great read, and does well to highlight what makes DB a great comic, and Toriyama a true master comic artist.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I planned to have my review up a few days ago, but I'm still going to wait on CX and LordGoku so we can all post our reviews up as a single article.

The wait is over. Three new reviews. Dragon Ball Z. Posted August 11th at 3:40am. "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." Only Animation Revelation.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Furthermore, why does Gohan even go into his Super-Saiyan form when it was already established that he had achieved another form of power that had surpassed the use of that transformation way back in the Majin Buu arc of DBZ?

I've been asking this question for years. Just as I've been asking why Gohan isn't singlehandedly beating everyone since he is canonically the strongest non-fused character in DBZ.

But, oh well, I can't complain too much.

Nice reviews!