Dir. Tadayoshi Yamamuro, Japan, 2015, 93 mins, in Japanese with English subtitles.
Cast: Masako Nozawa, Ryo Horikawa, Hiromi Tsuru
After a recent trip to Japan it’s quite clear DBZ has many a competitor in the fighting crew manga market on the streets of Akihabara, Tokyo. Since having its last episode air in the UK via Cartoon Network in 2003, it is back with a very loud bang in the biggest manga cinema release of all time.
Here in the UK, my 30 year old self will never grow up. I will remain a fan for life of DBZ, forever be in love with Goku. Wish my brother was just like Krilin, I had an uncle akin to Piccolo and my future child was a real life Gohan. Back to the movie, The Resurrection ‘F’: the whole gang unite forces once more for an evil who is so formidable its name cannot even be declared in full for the subtitle of the picture. Laughs, action, thrills – it’s DBZ.
All the beloved characters are back, in full gear, shaved heads and all. All the do-gooders now back on Earth, banded together once more to save their planet. With Frieza brought back, they all have a responsibility to defend Earth and get rid of him for good this time. In 93 minutes, we see some excellent fighting with just enough Kamehameha to satisfy. After the disappointing DragonBall: Evolution (2009), the franchise has produced a much needed revival of a great series. A resurrection in itself if you will.
Released to the general public 30th September, this has already created a massive stir in the manga community outside of comic con season. And rightly so, it needs not the allure of the convention to get bums on seats but almost to attract new comers to the wonders of manga and all they can get from this witty, action packed cartoon. In a nutshell, this is a highly entertaining, hilarious piece of cinematic history being made in the form of a nostalgic classic.
DragonBall Z will forever reign as the best most accessible and most entertaining manga especially for the Western culture and the producers can easily continue making sequels at will, bringing back the resurrection of as many evil villains as we can stomach.
Review by Jennifer Chuks
