Tuesday, November 13, 2001

Dragon Ball Z Movie 7: Super Android 13



Genre: Action / Fantasy
Parental Guidance Recommended
Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, Fuji TV




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Cover Description:
When the peace of a routine day is interrupted by violent explosions it seems like the world is under siege! But Goku quickly realizes that he is the target of the sudden attack! who are these strange assassins? When Goku discovers that despite their great power, the culprits are not emitting an energy signal, it can only mean one thing: Androids! With Doctor Gero dead, who is responsible for master-minding this new wave of Androids that are stronger, faster, and ten times more deadly than before? The mystery unravels itself as the Android Assault begins!

WWF Attitude! >>> by Darth Paul (11.13.2001)
More of a supplement than a stand alone, the movie should work on character depth. The villainous androids can be very intriguing antagonists, given enough background as proven in the series. Still, my hat is off to Akira Toriyama for the excellent and obviously more improved job on the artwork. The art was more cinematic and fluid this time around and dialogue is starting to improve in terms of realism.

Adept: On the shallow hand, fight scenes are better. Maybe, I can even say that the scenes here are the best. Featured are a wide variety of air combos and wrestling maneuver classics such as the back breaker. This rates a 9 on my coolness meter. Definitely of movie quality. Scenes were executed with good timing so boredom is out of the question. Smoothness and motion of the animation were first class.

Inept: Yep, it's movie quality, good imagery, good execution and all that but still lacks the punch story-wise. The Androids are a proven and effective antagonists but their potentials, I believe, weren't fully utilized. All of the villains pretty much do the same thing, with the exception of a few quirks (bottle drinking from the little one is the only example that comes to mind for now).


Individual Rating: Art: 10; Story & Plot: 7; Characters: 7; Sounds: 7



Generic, but fun, Dragonball Z movie >>> by MarkPoa (??.??.2004)
Okay, let's see how this movie matches up to the Dragonball Z movie checklist:

Mysterious enemy/ies with supernatural powers kicks everyone's butts? Check.
Mysterious enemy/ies appear to be defeated halfway through the movie? Check.
Mysterious enemy/ies suddenly becomes more menacing and kicks everyone's butts again? Check.
Son Goku pulls out a new move/technique that obliterates the enemy in one hit? Check.

Yep. Standard Dragonball Z movie fare.

The movie's plot takes its plot from the Androids Saga. While the manga and TV series had Androids starting from 16 to 20 (not counting Android #8, the Frankenstein look-alike, in the original Dragonball series), the movie extrapolates on what numbers 13 to 15 could have been. In addition, the movie also gives some interesting twinks as to the origins of Cell and his ability to "eat" Androids #17 and #18.

There's nothing really innovative about the movie, but it has some of the most memorable and coolest fight scenes ever animated. Some particular highlights for me:

* Vegeta and Piccolo's entrances. Why are former villains turned anti-heroes so badass?
* Trunks fighting with his sword. Simply put: Whoa.
* The big grey android catching Trunks' sword between two fingers. Again: Whoa.
* The scene of the three Super Saiyans powering up. Simply powerful, with nice background music to pump it up.

I probably wouldn't be as hyped up about this if I weren't a regular Dragonball Z fan. However, if your main rule for watching a Dragonball Z movie is to be entertained by the fights, this movie won't disappoint.

On a side note: the American release titles are no fun. Seriously. I mean, which would you rather watch for an action flick: "The Utmost Limits of Battle! Three Super Saiyans!" or "Super Android 13".

I mean, seriously.

Art: 7; Story & Plot: 6; Characters: 8; Sounds: 6


Skysenshi's Note: Couldn't agree with you more on that last bit. I had to change the naming convention on the Anime Index because the American naming convention has become sort of standard. There are more English-speaking people than Japanese ones, I suppose, so we gotta go with the flow.

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