#i used to hAte freeza growing up but 1) Again he is much better in the manga and 2) Super really decided to flesh him out more which is fun

[shannonsketches]

i am never not thinking about freeza trying to win vegeta's loyalty back by offering him goku's kill shot and when vegeta's like 'eh pass sorry' he really says 'fine how bout this and a promotion'

that will never not be the funniest thing to me

[catbowserauthor]

Dragonball 30 Day Challenge: Day 21 Favorite Movie

So I actually really like most of these movies. I’ve never been bothered by the “it wouldn’t fit into canon” argument. I view them as fun AU adventures so I just judge them based on their individual traits. I won’t be including the specials in here as I think that’s a different topic.

So, let’s do a quick countdown to my favorite, from the worst to the best!

16: Resurrection F: Sorry, I have never been a huge fan of Freeza. He was fine as a villain in the Namek saga and his unexpected return until he was killed by Trunks was interesting. Beyond that, I don’t find him an engaging bad guy. He’s a Bond villain. He’s not fun for me to watch and him growing that much stronger in four months is stretching my sense of disbelief even for Dragonball. Vegeta getting robbed of that kill was crap and introducing Whis’ ability to rewind time killed any tension for future battles for me.

And I don’t wanna talk about what they did to Gohan.

15: Lord Slug: There’s nothing “wrong” per say with this movie but it’s just...well, it’s Piccolo Daimao all over again. So, it’s kind of boring. I do like seeing the colder climate as Toriyama didn’t draw that very often (claims he hates the cold so it’s usually summer or spring in his manga) so we didn’t get to see it as much. I also love the brief interaction Goku has with Gohan during the battle and Gohan and Icarus are way too adorable.

14: Bio Broly: Okay so I don’t hate this movie. It’s not good but I don’t think it’s utterly horrible like some people do. But the reasons I like it might be different than others. I like this one because you get to see Goten and Trunks’ friendship. You see them pal around, you see them argue but then when they’re close to getting killed you also see Trunks refuse to leave an unconscious Goten to die alone. I freaking LOVE that.

13: Return of Cooler: I think my issue with this movie is the same issue I have with Super in general. It’s focused on Goku and Vegeta almost the whole way through. We get small cuts to the others but otherwise it’s just them. I like both these characters but I like to see a mix of the cast so that’s why it falls lower.

12: Dragonball Super Broly: Okay so I really like the adaption of Dragonball Minus. It turned out way better than I hoped and the animation in this movie is absolutely amazing. I’d recommend it just based on that alone. I really enjoyed the new characters. But again, not a fan of Freeza and the fact it was really only Goku and Vegeta—again—really hurts it for me. Still a fun movie though.

11: Wrath of the Dragon: This one has a really fun plot and it’s neat to see Trunks really bonding with someone. I think the brief interactions at the BBQ are some of the best. The downtime in this movie has some of my favorite moments. The final battle is fun but I think it would have been better if someone other than Goku got the finishing blow.

10: Super Android 15: This one, again, I really love for the downtime! Seeing Goku’s family shopping, going out for lunch—I love that kind of stuff! The Androids themselves are interesting enough and while I know a lot of people don’t like it, I really like they gave 15 a redneck accent in the dub. Gave him some character. I also love Gohan and Krillin trying to help even though they are completely outmatched. Gohan throwing himself in front of a blast to protect his father who is creating a spirit bomb is one of my favorite small scenes.

9: Broly Second Coming: The interactions between Videl, Goten and Trunks are pure gold. I’d love to see them just...shooting the breeze with each other. The battle against Broly is fun but I love the ending where Goku pops in from the Other World (presumably) to lend his aid. That entire family Kamehameha is just brilliant.

8: Battle of Gods: So this is going to sound weird because Beerus and Whis are some of my favorites in DBS. I did not like them here. No idea why, just didn’t. The Super Saiyan God ritual is kinda weird but I love all the character interactions before this! This is what I really love about Dragonball, all these interesting personalities working off one another. I like how Goku and Beerus’ fight goes and the animation is really well done. Pretty solid. And Vegeta defending Bulma—awesome.

7: Bojack Unbound: This is how I pictured Gohan growing up into after Cell—still studies but plays outside and still trains and ChiChi being okay with it. This is the personality I love Gohan with—confident but not overly confident, shy but with pride in himself and a great blend of his human and Saiyan sides.

Freaking. Love. It.

The rest of the movie is meh. Save one element—Goku saying “screw it” to the rules and intervening to save his son

and Gohan utterly owning everyone with SSJ2.

But I have to rank it high with having my absolute favorite characterization of Gohan.

6: Broly the Legendary Super Saiyan: Yes, I’m ranking the old one higher than the new one. I don’t care. I watch this one more.

I like the aliens, I like all the other characters being involved. I love the fact that Gohan is a kid in this one. I love Vegeta’s being utterly and completely terrified. I love Piccolo coming in for the save, I love Goku forgetting about the battle and Broly and rushing to try and save his kid. And when Broly threatens his son...

“Kakarot, how much do you love your son?”

“Gohan, leave.”

“But Father—“

“NOW.”

I think having more characters and introducing peril to all of them makes it more engaging.

5: Dead Zone: Quick trivia fact, this is the movie that got me into Dragonball. I caught the end of it on Cartoon Network and was intrigued from them on. I really like that this has a younger Goku. Goku from the Saiyan Saga to the Android Saga is probably my favorite characterization of him. That really shows here. He doesn’t care what beef Kami and Garlic Junior have. He’s there for his kid. “Return my Gohan!” There’s so great choreography in this one too and more martial arts than just ki blasts which I always love seeing.

4: World’s Strongest: Little Gohan is fun. I love seeing him interact with Goku’s friends and an enemy that still thinks Roshi is the strongest makes for some great throwback scenes. I like seeing Goku’s friends get involved in the action. Goku intervening to protect his son against a brainwashed Piccolo and Gohan having to watch the two men he admires most in the world fight makes for great drama.

3: Fusion Reborn: This movie is just fun. It’s wacky, it’s crazy, the fights are insane, the dialogue is hilarious, it’s bright and colorful and Goku and Vegeta while being the main heroes don’t completely dictate the plot. There’s enough fun stuff going on with other characters that I can enjoy any aspect of this movie.

2: Tree of Might: The scents between Goku and Gohan are why I love this movie. Them playing in the tub, Goku letting him keep Icarus in a cave in the yard...the ENTIRE scene of Goku trying to break through to Gohan once he’s become a giant ape just breaks my heart. “Gohan! It’s Daddy!”

Then having time cut off his own son’s tail to save him and ooo, Goku’s “I’m so done” glare to Turles. I adore that when Goku is at his lowest, it’s his son’s voice that gets him to stand back up.

1: Cooler’s Revenge: I like these slice of life moments and this movie has lots of them. I love Goku and his friends and son just wanting to go on a camping trip. I love that Cooler comes not to avenge his brother but because Freeza being beaten by a Saiyan looks bad on their entire family. That is brilliant.

This scene:

Daddy Goku for the win here. I love how they show his relationship with Gohan in this movie. They’ve always been my favorites so I’m biased by nature. I love how the battle against Cooler goes. I love how they have to struggle not to use their ki when they’re tending to Goku. The characters and scenarios in this movie really make it for me.

One thing I noticed as I did this list is that most of my top movies have Gohan as a kid. I don’t think that’s random. I much prefer his characterization at that age and I like it when the others can still contribute to the plot. But as I said, except for my top most disliked one, I really like all of these in some manner. They’re always a fun time!