Dragon Balleasily has one of the most extensive film catalogs of any anime franchise. Between the yearly non-canonical films of the original run, the OVAs, and the few canon films, it all works out for there to be 23Dragon Ballfilms, 24 if one counts the much-maligned live-action film,Dragonball Evolution.
With mostDragon Ballfilmsoriginally being hour-long projects that did little more than advertise the anime, most of them aren’t worth watching, but a few have managed to stand out thanks to their gorgeous animation and surprisingly compelling narratives. That’s especially true of the modern films, where much more effort was put into their production, and it’s to the point thatone modernDragon Ballfilm has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Said film is the only one in the franchise to achieve that honor, and fortunately, it’s more than deserved.
How Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Became The Top-Rated Dragon Ball Film
What Makes Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero So Special
Of all the films in theDragon Balllibrary, none are rated higher than2022’sDragon Ball Super: Super Hero, and it’s easy to see why. WhileSuper Heroinitially drew some ire for being CG animated, especially since it came off the heels ofDragon Ball Super: Broly, the actual film used it to tremendous effect to deliver one gorgeous fight scene after another, with much of its animation being the kind that would be too hard to pull off in 2D.
What truly soldSuper Hero, however, was its writing. MostDragon Ballstories are focused on action more than anything, soSuper Herostood out for being a character-driven story focused on Piccolo and Gohan, which worked not only as a change of pace, but for how genuinely engaging their character arcs were, which left the entire film feeling like a perfect balance between the differing extremes ofDragon Ball’s narrative.
Going off of that, everything the film did for Piccolo and Gohan was a definite draw. After decades of the two getting little focus and steadily falling behind Goku and Vegeta in power and prominence, not only didSuper Herofinally put them back in the spotlight, but it also gave them new forms, Orange Piccolo and Beast Gohan, that explicitly put them on par with Goku, Vegeta, and Broly. It was the ultimate payoff for two ofDragon Ball’s most wasted characters, and it’s one of the biggest reasons forSuper Hero’s great Rotten Tomatoes score.
Does Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Set The New Standard For The Franchise?
Will Future Projects Be More Like Super Hero?
With how greatDragon Ball Super: Super Herowas, that begs the question of whether it should be the new standard for the franchise.Super Hero’s success proves that fans will respond well toDragon Ballcontent that isn’t focused entirely on action, and that can even be seen in the positive reception of2024’sDragon Ball Daima, which harkened back to the action comedy aesthetic of the originalDragon Ballera.
WithDragon Ball Superon indefinite hiatus, how the franchise will evolve is something of a moot point, but betweenSuper HeroandDaima,the positive reception ofDragon Ball’s most recent projects shows that there’s plenty of merit inDragon Balltoning down its action for future stories. How that would play out is unclear, but if it results in more stellar stories likeDragon Ball Super: Super Hero, then that would be great to see.
