"Dragon Ball: Battle of Gods" - A fun experience, plain and simple

 

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Me and “Dragon Ball” have an interesting relationship. Although I possess a lot of second hand knowledge, specifically the feats of high tier characters, I’ve watched very little of the franchise personally. Oddly enough, one of my main sources for information is the Youtube show “Death Battle”, which has scaled the heroes and villains of “Dragon Ball” to frankly ludicrous power levels. Versus debates aside, how does that lack of knowledge impact my thoughts on this film? 2013's “Battle of Gods” certainly requires some previous exposure to understand many details. How did the Pilaf gang become so young? Why would Majin Buu and Hercule Satan be eating together? I don’t know the answers to these questions, but fortunately, they are less crucial here. The opening montage covers the bare minimum of Goku’s reputation, and how he’ll react to his current hurdle. Some context was lost on me, sure, but I still felt the film’s story was comprehensible as its own singular piece. At the end of the day, I’m still fairly familiar with Goku: His origins, his personality, his techniques and his friends. Given that, I was prepared enough to witness this story, and the arrival of Goku’s most formidable opponent.

And since I’m talking about a film representing Japanese media, I’ll also address one of the big Anime topics: English dubs or English subs? My personal stance is that I generally prefer hearing the original Japanese audio. From a marketing standpoint, I understand translations might be easier for western audiences - specifically younger crowds - and international distribution. In terms of most Anime, though (or at least those featuring a Japanese ensemble or setting), I think it makes sense to have them speak their native language. As such, subtitled versions are typically the ones I watch, though when discussing these animations, I’ll clarify from the start which I’m reviewing. For “Battle of Gods”, I actually watched the dubbed version for a change, and it’s honestly one of the best ones I’ve heard. The only English voice I found somewhat grating was North Kai’s - ironic, given he shares an actor with one of the better dubbed performances in all of “Dragon Ball”. But I’m getting off course again; Let’s start discussing the quality of “Battle of Gods”, and its influence within Toriyama’s world. 

This movie added a few critical elements to the modern “Dragon Ball” canon. Its primary contribution was the red haired “Super Saiyan God” form, which appears in “Dragon Ball: Super” via a feat “Death Battle” references a little too much. It’s also responsible for introducing one of my favourite characters of the series - Lord Beerus; A universal god of destruction, with Egyptian style clothing, the body of a purple Cornish Rex, and the personality to match your typical feline. Strangely enough, this movie wasn’t where I first learned of Beerus. That’s again credited to “Death Battle”, and their episode with him and Sailor Galaxia from “Sailor Moon” (last time I reference the show in this review, I promise). Everybody in the movie fears Beerus’ potential - North Kai, Vegeta, and even Goku himself. But for being so strong, and a villain we should be intimated by, the character is also incredibly funny. He throws tantrums over not getting to eat a pastry, and will interrupt a pregnancy announcement just to demand seeing a powerup. I think the idea of this million year old deity acting so childish over the wrong food - or just being inconvenienced - is a hilarious juxtaposition. Jason Douglas matches this idea through his vocal performance, providing the right amount of arrogance, petulance and odd likability. Of course, some of the best comedy comes from duos, from contrasts in attitude and dialogue. “Battle of Gods” has that pairing with Beerus and Whis, the god’s polite and elaborately coloured teacher and assistant. Their conversations are quite enjoyable to watch, and like Douglas, Ian Sinclair does a fine job conveying Whis’ demeanour. His collected delivery is a great foil to his co-star, and not since C3PO has prissy snarkiness been so funny. 

New characters aside, this film’s animation quality is expectedly solid, and certainly reflects the field’s progression since the early days of “Dragon Ball”. The limited use of computer generated models and simulations is noticeable, but not to the movie’s detriment, I’d say. There’s also plenty of patented “Dragon Ball” imagery on display, namely the jagged, rippling outline of someone's KI aura, or the boldly coloured streams of their flight paths. One aspect I’ve always recognized about the series is the often vibrant, quirky designs of the cast and environments. “Battle of Gods” is no exception there; I like the serene blue and pink hues of Beerus’ and Whis’ home, as well as North Kai’s oddly proportioned planet. In regards to the fight scenes, most of the featured clashes are decidedly one sided…but that’s not surprising, since they primarily involve Beerus. His final brawl with Goku is obviously the film’s action highlight, which leads to another point I’ll address: What do I think of Goku as a mostly uneducated viewer? He wasn’t a part of my childhood like many people, but I’ll say I’m fine with the character. With his kind hearted (if naive) nature, and simple dream of self improvement, I can definitely understand his mass appeal. I can’t say I love Kakarot like many long time fans, but he does work for me. Sean Schemmel also deserves credit, for his consistent and devoted portrayal of the character - whether in this film or his other showings, from what I’ve gathered.

Structurally, I’d describe “Battle of Gods” as 80% build up and 20% pay off. The bulk of the movie’s run time is devoted to light, almost breezy interactions with a large ensemble of characters. That’s indeed an ingredient of the franchise, but from my impression of “Dragon Ball”, the big fighting spectacles are my first mental images. That said, I may be generalising the movie’s first hour too much, because it’s still fun. The isolated jokes and line readings are amusing, and if I was more versed with this fictional world, I’d find them even more endearing. The film absolutely knows its audience; It trusts you to have some familiarity with these characters, something I’m unfortunately not the most educated in. If I’m honest, though, the style, motion and tongue-in-cheek writing of the comedy wouldn’t be out of place in many American cartoons. Whether intentional or not, that does fit with the legacy of “Dragon Ball”, and it being a kind of pop culture bridge between east and west.

My clear-cut take away from “Battle of Gods” is that I wanted an entertaining film, and I got an entertaining film. There’s no part of the picture that slows down considerably, and the pace is maintained by a string of enjoyable snippets. The Pilaf gang bickering with each other, Beerus obliterating several planets after tasting Wasabi, Vegeta bending over backwards to appease a god…all funny moments. The scene where Vegeta briefly overpowers Beerus to defend Bulma is…not funny, but it’s admittedly very thrilling. That’s just a warm up, however, for that final fight between Goku and the god of destruction. And I’ll always give “Dragon Ball” this: It knows how to deliver on hype. The song “Hero” by Flow, Schemmel’s passionate battle cry, Beerus’ satisfied sneer, the high flying chase - everything comes together. It’s an rousing sequence, and well worth the wait or price of admission. I’ll further concede that when I first watched this film last year (this was my second viewing), I didn’t expect a dramatically heavy or complex experience. To reiterate my point above, I desired a fun, silly Anime movie above anything else. I didn’t believe for a second that Beerus would actually destroy the earth - it just didn’t seem fitting to his behaviour, or the movie’s tone. I did, however, believe in why he’d spare our planet, and why he’d be willing to train Goku further. The writing for that scenario made sense, as did its execution. The film functions as a chapter in our protagonist’s saga, and a celebration of a devoted fanbase. In my case, though, it also serves as pure animated joy, and I only needed to know the basics to understand the movie’s charm and value.