What can any fan of Japanese animation say about Dragon Ball that hasn't already been said? The franchise is a worldwide icon for action cartoons and comics. It's a rare pop cultural hit that transcends national barriers, making it difficult to imagine a time when the likes of Goku, Freeza, Piccolo and Vegeta weren't household names within the anime community and beyond. With the franchise in Japan currently experiencing a major resurgence, its legacy has been only that much harder to ignore. But even the plethora of Dragon Ball animated specials, movies and video games that have come out in recent years couldn't prepare us for this - the first new Dragon Ball TV show to air in 18 years. While far from groundbreaking, Dragon Ball Super's first episode proves that there's still plenty of life left in manga artist Akira Toriyama's brainchild work.
Dragon Ball Super aired its pilot episode in Japan on July 5, 2015, while most Americans were still being dazzled by Independence Day fireworks. A celebratory mood certainly suited the franchise's long-awaited return to TV. First published in 1984 as a gag-comic retelling of a classic Chinese fable, Dragon Ball morphed over the years into a martial arts romp, infused with science fiction elements and packed with absurdly powerful characters. Chief among them is Son Goku, whom the story follows from his days as a monkey-tailed wild boy, to his adulthood exploits saving the universe. With the later in mind, many returning viewers and those familiar with Dragon Ball only through hearsay may be surprised by how little new first episode dwells on its famous lung-straining action.
In the months following their titanic battle against Majin Buu, we find the Earth's heroes going about surprisingly normal lives. Goku has taken up farming to placate his shrewish wife, Chi-Chi and earn a living for their underprivileged family. A fighting junkie and lovable goof, Goku would of course much rather be off training. He even has his youngest child Goten take over driving his tractor while he exercises, demonstrating his famously relaxed approach to parenting. The answer to Goku's predicament comes when his future in-law Mr. Satan - a macho superstar - wins a world peace prize. "Who's getting the 100 million Zeni?" the episode's title asks, and given how the plot is framed, the answer shouldn't come as a surprise. In the meantime, Goten and his best pal Trunks also share a wacky adventure as they search for a wedding gift for Videl, Mr. Satan's daughter and Goten's soon-to-be sister-in-law. These slice-of-life moments take up most of the runtime, and weave in character introductions remarkably well.
From the start, Dragon Ball Super basks in Toriyama's signature storytelling style - at least the one he's currently most comfortable with. Though he dabbled in serious drama during Dragon Ball's more famous arcs, the majority of both his older profile and modern works are far more lighthearted. So far, the new Dragon Ball show counts itself in this camp. From the blobby, pink man-child Mr. Buu pestering Mr. Satan for food; to Master Roshi jogging all the way to Goku's house to mooch money to buy perverted DVDs, the goofier sides of Dragon Ball's characters are on full display. Little comedic touches are also appropriately sprinkled into the backdrops of many scenes. An old man sneezes out his dentures while soaking in a hot spring and Mr. Satan's prize money comes with the author avatar Tori-Bot printed on each bill.
Thankfully, the show proves it can balance humor with substance. We see this when the fickle God of Destruction Beerus feasts among a court of haplessly terrified pig people out in space. Tasked with maintaining balance in the universe, the feline deity is resolved to destroy the pigs' planet if their cuisine fails to please him. He finds one dish delicious, but too greasy, so he settles on blowing up only half their world. While the premise sounds ridiculous, the scene actually pulls off genuine tension. Eerie music plays throughout, and carefully composed shots build suspense by only framing parts of Beerus onscreen at a time while he judges the planet's fate. Attempts at embedding drama into the plot back on Earth, unfortunately, don't work nearly as well. At one point, a giant python attacks Goten and Trunks, resulting in a rather silly confrontation. Given how strong these kids are, a fight with an oversized woodland critter creates no sense of danger. It just comes across as padding.
Animation-wise, the episode looks just about as good as one could expect from Toei Animation. In its hands, Dragon Ball on TV was never especially well-animated from a technical standpoint, and Dragon Ball Super fares similarly. Its functional animation gets the job done and thankfully has more than enough charm to make up for clear budgetary constraints. Though the art uses bright colors, it never looks too glossy thanks to the right amount of texture and shading. Outdoor backgrounds have an especially lovely hand-painted look to them. Character movement isn't as fluid compared to modern Shonen adaptions like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Hunter x Hunter, but they never look too stiff. Many old-school fans may take a greater issue with how the characters are drawn across the board. Most sport noticeably flatter features, notably on the brows and contours of the face. Having said that, designs haven't changed so much as to render the cast unrecognizable. By and large, the aesthetic still screams Dragon Ball.
Dragon Ball Super offers a mixed bag of musical arrangements. Effective orchestral tracks are placed at the right moments, but others sound overly synthetic, notably one that plays when Mr. Satan comically confronts Mr. Buu for barging in on his press conference. It's a bit of a departure from the classical music of Shunsuke Kikuchi's original Japanese score, not to mention Funimation's brooding Americanized tracks from the early 2000s. On the other hand, the opening and ending themes (thanks in part to the animation paired with them) will tug on the nostalgia strings of anyone who grew up with Goku and the gang.
Vocally, that might not be the case for those who've only watched Dragon Ball in English. Dragon Ball Super obviously doesn't have a localized dub yet, and likely won't for some time. Until then, I hope western viewers give the seasoned Japanese actors a chance. After 30 years of voicing him, no other actor can really claim to know Goku better than Masako Nozawa, even if her high-pitch performance is an acquired taste. Many purists consider her an integral part of Dragon Ball. The rest of the cast perform well in their roles (though I do find Takeshi Kusao as kid Trunks a tad grating). Beerus's voice actor in particular commands attention with an authoritative, but also whimsical delivery.
Perhaps Dragon Ball Super's most discernable flaw so far is the failure of its producers to distribute it internationally. While many a lesser series streams to foreign audiences soon after an episode airs in Japan, the powers-that-be at Toei Animation have yet to set up a North American simulcast deal with Funimation, their logical partner. For an anime series as stupendously popular as Dragon Ball, I can only pin this on an astonishing lack of foresight. Obviously, in order to write this review I had to plunge into the shady realm of fansubs, something I'm not at all proud of. But I intended to cover such a historic series from its start, and for now the review must go on. With any hope, we'll all soon be enjoying Dragon Ball Super on a legit site, with professional translations and superior video quality. Unless you're frothing at the mouth to watch a new Dragon Ball show (or are obsessed with reviewing it too), I recommend waiting until then. Illegal anime streaming sites are only moderately less evil when they air a show that hasn't been licensed yet.
Dragon Ball Super's first episode feels like a callback to the adventuresome anime of the 80s and 90s in all the right ways. Rather than begin with a bang, the writers led with something softer and wholesome. Episode one feels like one of the breather episodes we got between major story arcs in the original series, working as a natural continuation from the Buu Arc. It tells a fun story, with fun characters and highlights many endearing traits that have helped the series endure for so long. A surprising early focus on family interactions also lends plenty of heartwarming moments for those who want more than nonstop action from a Dragon Ball story. The telling smile Goku gives the camera as he sits amongst his family and friends as the sun sets at the end of the show's ending theme says it all. Dragon Ball is back.
Episode Score - B+