Dads Need to Watch Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero With Their Kids
No one would fault the casual viewer for assuming that Dragon Ball is a cartoon that celebrates hypermasculinity. After all, almost all of its heroes are extremely buff dudes who constantly flex and whose constant clashes over the past decades can be distilled down to who has the highest Power Level. There are hardly any female Saiyans, the aggressive alien warrior race from which Goku is descended. On the surface, Dragon Ball seems like a show for muscleheads and wannabes.
It’s good, then, that Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero doesn’t quite conform to that expectation but instead delivers 99 minutes of truly enjoyable, wholesome fun that reminds us all that fathers and father figures are only really heroes when they’re there for their family. A sequel to 2018’s Dragon Ball Super: Broly, series creator Akira Toriyama shifts the focus away from the usual Goku and Vegeta to Goku’s son Gohan and his mentor, Piccolo.
Viewers don’t need to know a single thing about Dragon Ball in order to enjoy Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, but fans of the franchise will appreciate the story immensely as Toriyama makes good on the promise of having Gohan unlock his potential. Former enemy turned close family friend Piccolo, who trained Gohan, is now training his former student’s daughter Pan in combat. He’s also sort of her babysitter and yayo, tasked with picking her up from school because Gohan is just too busy burying his head in books and research.
Gohan’s disinterest in combat frustrates Piccolo to no end, so when new enemies show up and plan to kidnap Pan to lure her dad out, Piccolo takes advantage of the situation to get Gohan to finally fight. Toriyama refreshes old bad guys from the 80’s, the Red Ribbon army, and introduces new characters to the saga, including a lovable (albeit murderous), oreo-addicted mad scientist named Dr. Hedo, who isn’t as concerned about crushing the Red Ribbon army’s enemies as he is in creating the perfect superhero.
The plot is relatively simplistic, but the nonstop comedy and hijinks coupled with some over-the-top battles make Super Hero a real treat. It’s simple enough to be a gateway film to the Dragon Ball saga, as well as being self-contained so viewers can also walk out of theaters without ever having to watch anything involving Dragon Ball again.
Fans will be reminded of how Goku (who makes a token appearance along with Vegeta and other characters) is just a really terrible dad because he just isn’t around when you need him. Piccolo, on the other hand, is probably one of anime’s best father figures, and having the film revolve around his relationship with Gohan and Pan only makes him even more endearing.
The film’s antagonists Magenta and Dr. Hedo are both progeny of old Dragon Ball villains, so part of the message is that bad parenting produces bad adults. Gohan is so absorbed in his scholarly role that he sometimes doesn’t get to fulfill his fatherly duties, but Piccolo is there to ensure he doesn’t go the way of his dad. Dr. Hedo, despite his childlike appearance and demeanor, is something of a father figure himself to a pair of formidable enemy androids whom he created. Gamma 1 and 2 are powerful androids dressed in retro costumes, like an homage to Japanese animation from the ’70s and ’80s.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is the first Dragon Ball movie produced with 3D animation, which makes it visually distinct from past Dragon Ball films. Director Tetsuro Kodama makes full use of the 3D to achieve interesting camera work so the animation feels a lot more dynamic.
It isn’t Dragon Ball without some new forms, so even with the stakes limited to earth (as opposed to some sagas where the fate of the entire universe hangs in the balance), we get to see a powered-up Gohan, because that’s what happens when you mess with someone’s kid; and a Shenron-infused power up for Piccolo. There’s enough action to get the adrenaline pumping and just enough heart for viewers to walk out of theaters with a smile.
