Dragonball Z - Movie 09: Super-Saiyajin Son-Gohan

"Bojack Unbound" is a Dragon Ball Z movie that fits comfortably after the events of the Cell Games but before the time jump introducing Goten. In the proud tradition of DBZ movies borrowing heavily from their series, this movie closely mirrors the ending of the Cell Games. There are even some visuals that feel like they are lifted shot for shot from the series. Since the Cell Games are a huge highlight of the series, they are using good stuff.

The beginning of the movie is quite promising. The "Z-Fighters" are all participating in a sort of Martial Arts Tournament, different from the typical Tenkaichi Budokai's. It is neat to see fights that we typically wouldn't see. Fights like Tien vs. Trunks are very entertaining. We even have a time for Krillin to shine.

Sadly, similar to the Buu Saga, this tournament gets interrupted for a different less interesting story. This comes down to the villain and villain team being as dull as dirt. They have an interesting design, some unique powers and a confusing back story but beyond that I can't tell you a thing about them.

The fighting arena is different, I feel this one and "Fusion Reborn" really worked on having strange settings for our heroes to fight in. And it is refreshing to have a DBZ movie where Goku does not take center stage. This is Gohan's movie, and in theory could have been the torch passing movie fans were wanting.

The ending feels a bit cheap. Some of the characters are criminally underutilized. Some power is obtained in a kind of cheap way. The emotional beats of the ending only really works if you're already attached to these characters and know their story.

The movie has some great moments, but as a complete story from beginning to end, it falls short. If only Bojack would have stayed bound, maybe then we could have just seen the tournament play out.

This one has many reasons for being among the best DBZ movies.

First of all, one of the best elements in these movies is the humor. It's soft, well-placed and most importantly, funny. This is not different, and I dare say it is one of the best in this factor. I had a lot of laughs.

Here we have an opportunity to see unusual fights never to be seen in the anime. Trunks vs. Tenshin, Piccolo vs. Krillin, which ends in a very funny manner. And other cool fights vs the galaxy bandits.

Another good point is that Goku is not the main hero here, and don't take me badly, it is kinda boring to see Goku always beating up the bad guys in the end. As he is dead here, the job is done by Gohan, and we're able not only to see him as a super saiyan 2 again, but also with an alternative outfit, in his father memory.

The only complaint I have is that I would like to see some of the bad guys beaten by more Z Warriors, and here all of them were taken out by the almighty half-breed.

This DragonBall Z movie was rather entertaining, it just suffers the same flaw a lot of the movies do. They generally have all this lead up, a fight with some underlings, and then you have your fight between the two strongest warriors only to be left disappointed in the fact that the fight is very anti-climatic. This one features the DragonBall Z gang in the martial arts tournament, which for some reason in this movie is full of gimmicks. Some entertainment to be found here as I enjoyed the Tien and Trunks fight. Then this tournament goes onto a second phase, here though some rather unruly participants get involved and start causing major trouble. So the fighting begins between the Z fighters and the strange assortment of villains led by Bojak or whatever his name may be in Japan. It has its moments, but it is also a bit of a disappointment when compared to other movies from the series. Like most of the movies you can usually not fit this one into the flow of the regular series all that well, though it fits a bit better than others. It almost works, but then it doesn't, like the fact Trunks supposedly comes back from the future to fight in a pointless tournament other than help rebuild the decimated Earth from his time. This one also features a one note villain who has absolutely no back story whatsoever. Still, some cool fights here and there and you get to see Mr. Satan who is called Hercule in America. Though I guess it may be a negative to some that he is in this.

A movie which feels like a canon. Fits perfectly in the timeline.

A great entry with Gohan as the main fighter in an intergalactic martial arts tournament hosted by Mr. Satan. Mr. Satan's responses to the Z fighters in action provides some great comedic relief. Goku is in Otherworld with King Kai somehow watching the tournament on a tv. I like the small changes to the usual DBZ movie format. Each Z fighter's motivation is different from the usual "we're all here to save the planet." Vegeta arrives for Trunks, Piccolo for Gohan, and Tien & Yamcha to do what's right. Vegeta arriving by blocking an enemies blade aimed at Trunks and landing his sword on his back was so badass. I absolutely love Gohan as the main protagonist. He is full of heart when he goes super Saiyan but his flip switches when he goes beyond. Unlike Goku, he doesn't take time to feel out his opponent or give them a chance, he just goes for the kill. Rightfully so as Bojack and his cronies are true evil. He's a decent villain but their power sets are their best feature. I'm looking forward to more Gohan centered films and less of the energy sharing finale bs.