Dragon Ball Z Movie 2: The World's Strongest Man

Animation - 6.7

Sound - 6.1

Story - 5.4

Character - 5.0

Value - 4.8

Enjoyment - 5.3

Average - 5.6

Reviewed 9 times Statistic

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BallerGamer

(2006-06-25 11:54:46) 2006-06-25 11:51:45

Average	6.7
Animation	8
Sound	6
Story	6
Character	7
Value	6
Enjoyment	7

Whenever I watch anime based movies, I never come with the intent that it'll provide a good story with great character development, unless it was an Inuyasha or One Piece movie. Anime based movies are usually created for cash in for fans of the series, but quite ironically, while this movie isn't really great, it provides some of the elements that the anime itself is lacking, which in a sense, makes the movies more appreciative than watching the anime itself.

While Oolong and Gohan were mountain hiking, they noticed that all the dragon balls were gathered. Dr. Kochin wished for the mountain to melt so his master, Dr. Wheelo, can come forth once again. Then, these mysterious little alien beings (resembling a bit like the saibamen) started to attack Gohan. Piccolo comes, and mysteriously disappears. Later at Master Roshi's house, the same aliens come, which Master Roshi quickly defeats. While Dr. Kochin distracted him, the aliens got a hold of Bulma, forcing Master Roshi to yield. Later, three bio fighters do battle with Roshi, but quickly loses. Goku enters the scene, and defeats one of the bio fighters. Gohan and Krillin also enter, defeating all of them.

When proceeding into the fortress in order to search for Bulma and Roshi, they encounter the master mind himself; Dr. Wheelo. He desires Goku's body in order to create a deadly combination of brawns and brains so he can control the world. He's already controlling Piccolo, who engages in battle with Goku. Gohan, failing to get through Piccolo's head, gets enraged, and destroys some of the fortress. Dr. Wheelo was forced to take action himself, fighting in the mechanical container he's been trapped in for years. Even with the combined strength of Piccolo, Goku, Gohan, Master Roshi, and Krillin, they were still no match for Dr. Wheelo (which makes me wonder why he wants Goku's body if he's already stronger than him in his mecha). Goku had to use the Spirit Bomb, which completely obliterates Dr. Wheelo and his brain.

What I found pretty cool while I was watching this movie was that I've noticed quite a few scenes in here were in the opening theme sequence. I've always wondered why I've never seen some of those scenes before, but I guess it's a pretty cool concept only using the movie fights to create the opening theme. On topic, this movie was thankfully longer than the first movie. However, maybe it would have been better if they shortened it, because the ending was pretty dragged out. Though what I liked about the ending is that it didn't end really as predictable as expected. Well, in the end, Dr. Wheelo was finished off using a trademark technique, but before Goku was able to fire the spirit bomb, Wheelo unleashed a powerful attack against earth, disrupting Goku's gathering of the Spirit Bomb. However, it was still dragged out a little bit.

The problem that many people have with Dragonball Z is the fact it's filled with hours upon hours of talking. We all know that's a result of the anime catching up with the manga, so the anime has to stall for the manga to go on further ahead. But guess what; the movies are filler, so you don't have to waste time on pointless talking. The best aspect of this movie is the pure fighting. Little talk, and a crapload of fighting. However, the fighting would have been better if they created a more inspirational antagonist. I mean, mad and powerful scientists just don't fit in the Dragonball Z realm. The fighting itself felt taken away because of this. Little do people realize that fights are also great for its background story on why the two fighters are fighting. This is the reason why Dragonball Z is praised by many, because it has excellent build up to develop the character, whom then face off with the main character. Dr. Wheelo had pretty poor build up, and his fight with the main cast didn't feel inspirational. Though some of the fights before the Dr. Wheelo one, specifically Master Roshi's, were pretty cool.

The fights though are still top notch. People also like to rag on how Dragonball Z fights are repetitive, but you can't deny they're still great. The animation didn't seem like it improved significantly compared to Dead Zone, but the sounds department sure has. The outdated sounds and music are finally gone, so that's a plus. Though Goku's acting is still subpar, which is annoying. Overall, this movie, like all anime based movies, should only be watched by fans of those animes. Since people will always be expecting movie caliber quality when watching a movie, such as this one, don't be surprised if you find yourself disappointed.