Harnessing the power of Gods and fighting epic battles in lava — sounds like a typical "Dragon
Ball Super" experience! This is what you may not know about "Dragon Ball Super: Broly."
Like the two preceding "Dragon Ball Z" films, 2013's "Battle of Gods" and 2015's "Resurrection
'F,'" "Broly" is written by "Dragon Ball" creator Akira Toriyama.The legendary creator had grand
plans for the 2018 film: in an interview with the official "Dragon Ball" site,
director Tatsuya Nagamine revealed that, after storyboarding Toriyama's original script,
the movie was projected to run for twice the intended length.
"Broly" was planned to run for approximately 90 minutes, with Nagamine feeling that the
script Toriyama had written was enough to cover two feature films. Nagamine worked
closely with the producer and the rest of the production crew to trim down Toriyama's script
to a more manageable 100 minute runtime while retaining the "Dragon Ball" creator's vision.
Nagamine has been a prominent animator and filmmaker with Toei Animation for years,
working not only on "Dragon Ball Super," but also on the long-running "One Piece"
anime series and several of its films. With "Broly" possessing its own animation style,
Nagamine recruited two of his prior collaborators from the 2012 anime film "One Piece Film: Z" to
work with him on the "Dragon Ball Super" project. In the "Dragon Ball" official site interview,
Nagamine cites both background animator Nobuhito Sue and animation director Naohiro Shintani as
prominent past "One Piece" colleagues he brought on to work with him for "Broly."
While the animation team brought their own visual flair to the production,
they were keenly aware that iconic imagery such as Super Saiyan transformations and
Kamehameha Waves were firmly established in fan expectation. Nagamine instructed the animators
to feel free to use modern technology rather than rely entirely on traditional methods to
bring the movie to life. Nagamine reasoned that, just as Goku has evolved and grown
over the course of "Dragon Ball," so too should the visuals behind the franchise.
Though Toriyama wrote the screenplay for "Broly" and provided character designs for the film,
his contact with the production crew was limited. According to the theatrical
program for "Broly" distributed with the Japanese release of the film,
Nagamine spoke with Toriyama only once during a private advance screening for the film's staff.
Nagamine admitted he did not consult with Toriyama before starting production on "Broly," feeling he
had Toriyama's tacit blessing to do the provided script justice. Prior to "Broly," Nagamine adapted
Toriyama's work with the "Dragon Ball Super" anime series and the 2007 short film "Doctor
Slump." Nagamine felt that these experiences helped him understand Toriyama's storytelling
nuances and stylistic sensibilities, and kept them in mind during production.
Though Broly's past appearances in the
franchise had been considered non-canonical to the overarching continuity, the Legendary Super
Saiyan had become a significant fan-favorite character. In an interview with the official
"Dragon Ball" website, Nagamine revealed he felt special responsibility as his mentor
Shigeyasu Yamauchi directed Broly's debut in the non-canonical 1993 film "Dragon Ball Z:
Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan." This led to the production crew taking a careful and
methodical approach in animating Broly's action for his canonical introduction to the franchise.
Nagamine sought to evoke the feeling of raw power and strength that Broly exuded in his
prior appearances. Nagamine worked on many of the action sequences' storyboards himself,
and estimated that 300-400 storyboards were created for Broly's actions and movements
alone. This thorough attention to detail made for a carefully designed Legendary Super Saiyan,
with every action meticulously plotted out as he battled the heroes in the film.
While Toriyama provided character designs for a long line of non-canonical "Dragon Ball Z"
anime films, his input on their productions was limited at best. While he helped design Broly
for "Legendary Super Saiyan," he admitted in a tweet years later that he wasn't really involved
in the production. When an editor suggested incorporating Broly into the "Dragon Ball Super"
era as the centerpiece of the 2018 movie, Toriyama had to rewatch the character's prior appearances,
as he had forgotten important details about the stories he was involved in.
In revisiting Broly's past appearances, Toriyama saw an opportunity to reintroduce
a different version of the character that was more closely linked to the Saiyans' tragic
history with Frieza. Toriyama kept the classic image of Broly in mind from these non-canonical
films while setting out to create a more fascinating version of the character.
Broly has historically towered over his opponents, overpowering them with the
sheer might of his brute strength — and that remains true of his redesign in the movie. In
the promotional program for the film's Japanese theatrical release, Shintani recalls receiving
the designs for the new Broly, feeling they were noticeably different from his previous
appearances. With all of the character designs that he received depicting Broly in armor,
Shintani added his own touch to the redesign and wanted to get him out of his armor.
Shintani revealed that the only design directive he received from Toriyama was
not to depict Broly as, quote, "overly macho" in the final film. Taking that note in mind,
Shintani strove to depict Broly as physically imposing as possible without
going overboard in demonstrating the Saiyan's overwhelming power.
"Thank you very much. I am grateful."
In the finished film, in contrast to his bare-chested prior appearances,
Broly maintains his armor through his fights against Vegeta and Goku
before losing it in a fit of rage at the end of the movie.
With the battle against Broly lasting for most of the film,
the clash begins in an arctic location on Earth before the snowy environment
is completely destroyed. The fighting only intensifies, however, with exposed magma
burning below the combatants before the skirmish begins to shatter the walls to reality. Though
this changes up the visual aesthetics of the movie's environments and the fight itself,
Nagamine had even more ambitious plans for the film's climactic bout.
In the theatrical program for "Broly's" wide release in Japan, Nagamine revealed that he
had considered having the fight progress into outer space near the Earth's sun or deeper within
the planet's core. In addition to changing up the scale of the battle, the settings would be a clear
homage to similar sequences in the non-canonical anime film "Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second
Coming." However, these plans were dropped to accommodate the final film's 100-minute runtime.
Frieza plays a prominent role in "Broly," after being resurrected at the end of the
"Dragon Ball Super" anime series in exchange for his assistance during the Tournament of Power. The
late voice actor Christopher Ayers provided the English dub performance for Frieza in the film,
reprising the role he had held since the 2010 anime series "Dragon Ball Z Kai." Tragically,
Ayres' performance in "Broly" would be the last time he portrayed the
character before passing away in October 2021.
Ayres endured end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and underwent a double lung
transplant to treat the serious condition prior to playing Frieza in "Broly." The procedure and
disease left Ayres with 11% lung capacity, meaning the actor had to bring two to three oxygen tanks
with him to recording sessions. Ayres would take himself off of his oxygen supply long enough to
record a handful of lines as Frieza before taking a break to resume his oxygen intake.
"However, this is proving far too interesting to pass up."
This arduous process would similarly be used by Ayres to record the
final episodes of "Dragon Ball Super," underscoring his dedication to the role.
Nagamine is a credited co-director on the anime series "Dragon Ball Super" for the
latter half of its run, working with fellow co-director Ryota Nakamura. While the last
stretch of episodes was produced concurrently with "Broly," Nagamine intended to maintain his
full directorial responsibilities, helming both projects simultaneously to see "Dragon Ball Super”
through to the end. Nagamine's intentions were overruled by Toei Animation, however, who had him
instead focus his primary efforts on directing "Broly" rather than the television series.
In an interview with the official "Dragon Ball" website,
Nagamine admitted he wanted to finish what he had started with "Dragon Ball Super." but
felt Nakamura did a good job closing out the series. With the show also ending in 2018,
several months before "Broly's" release, Nagamine was able to give the feature
film project his full attention while Nakamura worked diligently on the series.
In the "Dragon Ball" manga and anime, Bulma's home and the headquarters of her family's
company Capsule Corporation are based out of West City. "Broly" features an early scene set
at Bulma's seaside home as she entertains Beerus and Whis while Goku and Vegeta spar nearby over
the ocean. In designing this second home for Bulma, Nagamine was personally inspired by a
recent family vacation he had taken on the coast of Italy to add to the film's varied environments.
An early design for Bulma's coastal home noticeably resembled the Amalfi Coast in Italy,
where Nagamine and his family had visited. Eagle-eyed "Dragon Ball"
fans noticed the scenic inspiration from the film when the background artists shared an
early look at several environments for "Broly" months ahead of its premiere.
As Vegeta's duel against Broly escalates, the Saiyan Prince transforms into a red-haired
Super Saiyan God to even the odds against the Legendary Super Saiyan. The movie marks
the on-screen debut of Vegeta making the transformation, despite him using the
significantly more powerful Super Saiyan Blue form throughout the anime series "Dragon Ball Super."
In episode 27 of "Dragon Ball Super," Vegeta shows off his ability to reach
the Super Saiyan Blue transformation, surprising everyone but a proud Goku.
"Yeah, and unlike me, Vegeta didn't have the benefit of absorbing the
energy from the Saiyan ritual — he had to figure it out all from scratch."
Vegeta's use of the Super Saiyan God transformation in "Broly" finally shows
him unveiling the form in action, before Goku steps in to continue the fight.
Before Goku and Piccolo teach Vegeta how to perform the Fusion Dance so he and Goku can
join together to form Gogeta, they maneuver Broly into attacking Frieza to buy themselves
time. Though no specific time frame is given for the skirmish in the film, Piccolo reminds
the two Saiyans that each fusion lasts for 30 minutes before they separate and can perform the
dance again. With Goku and Vegeta botching the Fusion Dance twice before finally mastering it,
this means Frieza battles Broly alone for over an hour before Gogeta arrives on the battlefield.
Whereas the film only provides glimpses of the fight between Frieza and Broly,
the battle is expanded upon in the manga adaptation. In his golden form, Frieza is able
to actually deliver some palpable hits on Broly that are enough to briefly stagger his opponent,
though he still finds himself outmatched by the Saiyan's raw fury. In contrast,
Frieza endures the beating of his life before Gogeta steps in to finish the fight for good.
"Broly" saw the feature film debut of voice actor Aya Hisakawa in the iconic role of Bulma
for its Japanese-language track. Hiromi Tsuru, who had been voicing Bulma since the original
"Dragon Ball" series in 1986, passed away in November 2017 from an aortic dissection.
"Broly" marked Hisakawa's full debut in the role,
as the character only silently appeared in the "Dragon Ball Super" series finale over the end
credits sequence. Following "Broly," Hisakawa has continued to play Bulma in the franchise,
including the film's 2022 sequel "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero."
As Goku — and, later, Gogeta — fight against Broly,
the announcer is heard eagerly hyping up the proceedings over the film's soundtrack.
"KAKAROT!"
The decision to include this auditory flair was inspired by
Nagamine observing the lengths Mexican fans went in their unauthorized promotion of the
"Dragon Ball Super" series finale. Goku's climactic bout against Jiren in the anime
series was publicly broadcast while mock-up posters hyping up the fight were produced.
In an interview with Mynavi, Nagamine revealed that these unsanctioned fan
promotions inspired him to add a fight announcer to "Broly" to evoke a similar
sense of energy. Nagamine felt that the addition enhanced the enjoyment of the
fights and encouraged audiences to revisit them to reignite that thrill in repeat viewings.