This movie is just amazing! Despite being, in some ways, a retelling of the original story, I can say that it's an improved DB's beginning, with all main characters (some with minor changes in their appearance, like Staff Officer Black and General White). Better renderized, it just became beautiful and gives joy to watch. The original magic got stronger with this special animation and it surely won't disappoint anyone who loves DB, and even the ones who had never watched it. Some characters were excluded, like Pilaf and his comrades, and some members from RR (Colonel Silver, Captain Yellow etc.), but those were less important in thesaga. What matters is that it shows us, in 75 minutes, all that happened before Piccolo Daimao's appearance. So, basically, the story goes from Goku meeting Bulma, Oolong, Yamcha, Puar and Master Roshi, to the complete defeat of the RR's army, with some small changes in the way it goes and the exclusion of Goku's training with Kuririn, as well as their first Tenkaichi Budoukai. Ending credits with "Dan Dan Kokoro Hikarete 'ku" as its background made me cry (this song really moves me). Any real fan of this incredible saga should watch it! Strongly recommended!

It's better than Curse of the Blood Rubies. I would never say this is worth watching over the actual series. Nor would I even really recommend watching it unless you were just curious. As a retelling, it really adds nothing to Dragon Ball. As far as a retelling goes this one is decent. The art and sound are more or less Dragon Ball. The animation feels a lot cleaner. Music sounds slightly better, but they did a good job of not straying too much in this aspect. Unlike Curse of the Blood Rubies you have the proper English voice actors too. The story is a weird mixtureof the Pilaf arc and the Red Ribbon Arc. Sadly it cuts some of the best parts like the Tournament, Korin's Tower, and Pilaf himself. What you get isn't terrible. It's just a highly rushed mash up of what you got in the anime series. Do you need to see this movie? No. Is it worth your time? No. Is it the worst thing ever? No. So if you love Dragon Ball and are curious/bored then give it a shot.

Wow this anime has no reviews yet. I better add mine before someone else gets the first spot!! Ahem. "The Path to Power" is the Dragon Ball 10th Anniversary movie that backtracks to the origin of the series, with apparently an "alternative take" on how Goku met up with his friends. If truth be told, I was pleasantly surprised by "The Path to Power". Unlike most of the other DB movies that I've seen, this one actually has a story. Yeah, you heard me right. The usual set up for Dragon Ball movies is this: Introduce some new villain(s) within the first 5 minutes that's out to takeover the world... and then the rest of it is just a long drawn out battle between Goku and co with the aforementioned villain(s). At some point, Piccolo would make an "unexpected" appearance in order to save Gohan (Goku's son), then gets beaten up before Goku saves the day. The end. Surprisingly, this movie deviates from that much used formula. Shocking though it may seem, THIS movie actually has a story to tell, a story that can actually be considered a proper adventure, albeit one with lots of time spent battling enemies. However my point is there IS story development here and not just a simple 5 minute set up to face up to the newer, badder, stronger than ever enemy. This is what makes it so refreshing in comparison to the other Dragon Ball movies. The story itself is decent too, and kept me interested for most of the duration of the movie despite some parts being quite predictable. I enjoyed the comedy element of the movie as well, I remember one classic line "I don't want to touch your dirty ass" that had me LOLing for a bit. The animation is of the usual sub-par Dragon Ball standard, though I'm grateful for the lack of typical fast exchanges of blows style battle animation that's so prevalent in other Dragon Ball movies. The character designs are typically uninspiring, with young Goku looking exactly like Gohan in the other movies - they are so similar in fact, that I thought this was Gohan's story at first. It's quite funny (in a good way) to see a young, naive Goku. He's makes for a decent lead character. The frankenstein character wasn't so good though - there was one point where he suddenly changed in a way that doesn't make much sense from a character development point of view. Oh well, what the hell am I doing being so fussy about the characters in a Dragon Ball movie anyway... My main issue with this movie isn't actually with the quality of the content (my expectation wasn't exactly sky high in the first place), it's with the frequent fanservice. I'm not a fan of fanservice even during the best of times, but it's worse here because it's highly inappropriate considering the age group of the audience thats being targeted. Though "The Path to Power" still a way from being good, I'd definitely give it a thumbs up for good effort, and for succeeding to be one of the more interesting Dragon Ball movies. Extended edit: having watched the first Dragon Ball movie "Curse of the Blood Rubies", I'm even more impressed with "The Path to Power" now, because comparing the two movies revealed just how different this one is to its predecessor. It's not just a copy cat version of the original (which is a trap that remakes can easily fall into) - it came up with a completely different storyline that achieves the same aim and is by no means inferior to the old one.

I've reviewed the first three Dragonball films already. Now, it's time for the fourth and final film before they moved onto Dragonball Z, Saikyou e no Michi. It was released by Toei in '96, seven years after the Dragonball series had ended and the same year Dragonball Z saw its finale. Which seems like odd timing. Like, the non-canon GT had started airing when this came out. In any case, let's take a look and see what they had in store for us. Story: We open with Goku meeting Bulma for the first time. Yay, another re-telling like the first film. So, they meet Oolong and Yamchaand then things surprisingly get switched up and they encounter the Red Ribbon Army. So, instead of a straight up re-telling, it's more an alternative scenario where the group encounters the Red Ribbon Army while first hunting for the dragonballs instead of Pilaf and his minions. The biggest issue with the narrative is that some parts of it are overly predictable. Like, the big climax is very much of the "everything is obvious before it happens" variety. Of course, this isn't a franchise that's known for its surprising twists. It's known for its big, over the top action sequences. But it's usually not quite this obvious with every single beat being super telegraphed. The film also repeats some of the gags from the series verbatim and they just don't have the same impact. It doesn't help that they aren't even close to the funniest gags from the series. On the positive side, changing things around so that the group's first major conflict is with Red Ribbon, does change things up enough to give the film a sense of uniqueness, in spite of being an alternative re-telling. Which is something of a rarity. It also does mostly capture the sense of fun of the series proper pretty well. Characters: Chances are, most of you are familiar with the major Dragonball characters like Goku, Bulma and Roshi. You also get more minor supporting characters like Oolong & Pu'ar. There's also Yamcha for the one person out there who likes Yamcha. Fortunately for the rest of us, he pretty much just follows the group and gets used as a butt monkey. The somewhat surprising character is Cyborg Eight, or Hat-chan if you prefer. He gets used quite extensively in this one. It's a fun cast, not all that deep but well suited for the film's aesthetic. Art: Mostly, the artwork is pretty well done. There are some cool action moments. The character models look good. Bulma has purple hair instead of her usual teal for some reason and Goku wears a blue gi instead of his usual orange. Probably because the non-canon GT had just come out and he wore blue in that. The only real issue with the art is that they really overdo the shadow effects and there are points where it just looks a bit rubbish. Sound: The acting is well done. They got the usual cast with Nozawa Masako, Tsuru Hiromi, Tatsuta Naoki, Iizuka Shouzou and the others. So, it's a group who know the characters they're voicing really well and are good at them. The music is typical for the franchise. Which isn't a bad thing. Dragonball consistently has some pretty strong music. Areas of Improvement: 1. A little surprise to the climax. Yes, this is a formulaic franchise but they could still put in something a bit unpredictable to make things more interesting. 2. Rework the gags a little. There's a reason Spamalot doesn't use the exact same jokes as Quest for the Holy Grail. Gags are funnier when they're fresh. If you know the punchline, they just don't work as well. 3. Stop Putting shadows over everything. Final Thoughts: Saikyou e no Michi is a solid Dragonball film, in spite of its late release and fans of the franchise will probably enjoy it once they stop complaining about Goku's wardrobe change and Bulma's hair dye. For myself, the climax was far too obvious and the recycled gags didn't land particularly well, but I still thought it was a solid film. In the end, I'll give it a 7/10.

To preface: I watched the Funimation Dub. Story: For starters, Sikyou e no Michi is noncanon and sorta mashes the first bits of Dragon Ball with the Red Ribbon arc. It spends a lot of time on the former and not so much on the latter, ending with an awkward blend of disjointed scenes that aren't all that engaging or interesting. Now, that last comment is extremely relative, I understand that. How engaged someone is depends on, quite literally, their knowledge of the source material. I couldn't find myself enjoying it all that much because the source material was being butchered in favor of telling an alternateworld Dragon Ball. However, the aspects within this film are just other-worldly enough to make someone keep going back and forth between what we already know about Dragon Ball and what this film is translating. For instance, the first time Goku uses a Kamehame wave he ends up using far more power than he initially would. In the manga it's big but not DBZ Super Saiyan tier. In this, Goku seems to already be able to make a big enough wave that a fleet of ships are destroyed. It's really strange and sort of off-sets the film especially in the last bit where Goku has some trouble during the last fight. But, things get way out of hand during this scene when almost becomes Super Saiyan? It's weird. It makes the whole thing memorable for all the wrong reasons. Art: With story aside, it's a shame to realize that the animation here is pretty solid. I found some set-pieces to be really beautiful and certain combat sequences to be well animated despite their lack of depth or martial arts. That said, I can't say the film doesn't LOOK GOOD. Sound: Forgettable music. Can't remember a single song used during the film, neither any prominent sound effects that humbled me, something that should regularly happen when people are shooting lasers from their fingertips or punching the tar out of each other. I want to be wowed by what's going on not just with visuals but with audio. I didn't get this at all. VA work was good, though. Character: Again, not that great. Since Goku's character is spent laughing too much (to the point of utter annoyance) or being horribly unrealistic within the world of Dragon Ball, we're left with the supporting cast being nothing but basic type-casts that don't get very much to go on. Granted, it's not until later on in Dragon Ball when the characters begin to really develop beyond caricatures but it'd still be nice to get some development. I can't tell you one thing about each character when I exclude what I already know from the manga. It's disappointing. Enjoyment: Unenjoyable. For me, at least. The fanservice didn't help. I know early Dragon Ball has a couple scenes here and there but some of the additional stuff in this film was a little stupid. Some camera angles were so stupid, like... really stupid. ((If you liked this review, check out my other reviews by going to my profile and clicking the 'reviews' tab. I review virtually all anime and manga I find!))

Ah, the only good Dragon Ball movie of the 4! This one follows the same format as the last 3, but the execution is done better in every way. Covering the Red Ribbon Army saga in it's 80 minute runtime, this movie is far more focused and concise in it's direction- resulting in an actual movie. It still goes through introducing us to the characters again, but this time in a much more natural way. It doesn't overstay it's welcome, and does a better job than the first movie. Dialogue and scene structure got a huge buff, and I love the GT-style art! The action scenesare done really well, and all the battles are fantastically animated. Eighter tagging along was a great choice, as he serves as the emotional crux. This is a definite reccomended if you're a fan of the OG Dragon Ball, and also a satisfying watch as an entry into the series.

Story: This is a super condensed version of the first 2/3 of Dragon Ball so it feels rushed. I loved the original story so this paled in comparison. A lot of the comedy was lost in favor of DBZ style action. They did manage to keep one of my favourite scenes where Roshi gives Bulma his dragon ball but the non-canon writing was lackluster. Trying to fit such a rich story into 74 mins robbed a lot of the characters of a good backstory (particularly Red and Black). A lot of great characters were left out and some like Yamcha and Oolong really had no reasonto be in the story. Art: Absolutely amazing. More along the angular lines of DBZ than the chubby round originals. It makes me wish the redid the original story like they did DB Kai. Characters: Not as fleshed out as the manga or anime unfortunatley. Enjoyment: It wasn't nearly as bad as any of the other DB movies. Overall: Watch this if you're a fan of DBZ and wish DB could've had more action and better visuals. I would recommend watching DB Recut (A fan edit with a lot less filler) instead!

Simply FUCKING AWESOME! This movie, for me, is exactly what should have been considered canon, because it delivers a much more solid and engaging experience than the classic series. The story is more cohesive, the character development is more consistent, the design is extremely meticulous, absolutely everything here seems to have been made with attention and care, perfectly evoking the unique Dragon Ball style that has marked generations. I want to highlight especially the animation, which still impresses today. Even with technological advancements and the ever-increasing industry standards, this film remains visually fantastic. At the time of its release, it certainly represented the peak of animation withinthe Dragon Ball universe, without a doubt. The changes in character style and narrative choices, as well as the revamped soundtrack, contributed to a unique identity that, in my view, works better than many elements of the canonical work. Nothing here seems inferior; on the contrary, almost everything seems like a natural evolution. The story revisits the classic arc against the Red Ribbon Army, which, honestly, I always found a bit dragged out in the original series. In the film, however, this same arc receives a much more interesting and well-planned approach. The pacing is more dynamic, the characters' motivations are clearer, and the conflict becomes truly captivating. It was a very positive surprise, and I really enjoyed the result. My final score is 7 because I genuinely enjoyed watching it. I'm not giving it an 8 or more because, despite being a very entertaining work, it still presents some controversial scenes and certain plot holes, but let's face it, if it didn't have those, it might not even be Dragon Ball. Even so, it's a film that's well worth watching. =================================================================================================================Versão em Português===================================== Simplesmente F-O-D-A! Esse filme, para mim, é exatamente o que deveria ter sido considerado canônico, porque entrega uma experiência muito mais sólida e envolvente do que a série clássica. A história é mais coesa, o desenvolvimento dos personagens é mais consistente, o design é extremamente caprichado, absolutamente tudo aqui parece ter sido feito com atenção e carinho, evocando perfeitamente o estilo único de Dragon Ball que tanto marcou gerações. Quero destacar principalmente a animação, que até hoje impressiona. Mesmo com o avanço tecnológico e os padrões cada vez mais altos da indústria, esse filme permanece visualmente fantástico. Na época em que foi lançado, com certeza representava o auge da animação dentro do universo Dragon Ball, sem sombra de dúvidas. As alterações no estilo dos personagens e nas escolhas narrativas, assim como a trilha sonora repaginada, contribuíram para uma identidade própria que, ao meu ver, funciona melhor do que muitos elementos da obra canônica. Nada aqui parece inferior; pelo contrário, quase tudo parece uma evolução natural. A história retoma o arco clássico contra a Red Ribbon, que, sinceramente, sempre achei meio arrastado na série original. No filme, porém, esse mesmo arco recebe uma abordagem muito mais interessante e bem planejada. O ritmo é mais dinâmico, as motivações dos personagens são mais claras e o conflito se torna realmente cativante. Foi uma surpresa muito positiva e eu gostei bastante do resultado. Minha nota final é 7, porque me diverti de verdade assistindo. Não dou 8 ou mais porque, apesar de ser uma obra muito divertida, ainda apresenta algumas cenas polêmicas e certos furos narrativos, mas convenhamos, se não tivesse, talvez nem seria Dragon Ball. Mesmo assim, é um filme que vale muito a pena.