REVIEW of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, CGI is a bad idea (spoiler-free)

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is the new movie of the Toei-Animation which is currently screened in Japanese cinemas. We are (also) in Japan, and we had the chance to land in a cinema to watch this new adventure, in order to give you our impressions. When communicating about this film, the firm often highlighted the new rendering while CGI (3D), which made some fans cringe. Finally, what to titillate the pupils? Is the story gripping? It’s time to answer these questions, without you spoiler Of course.

We felt like we were watching a huge 1:40 cutscene.

Let’s be honest from the start, no, the visual part does not manage to convince. The reason ? All is not all beautiful, all rosy, and the plans are uneven. Thus, we end up with super well modeled and colorful characters, which kindly amuse the retina and which are exhibited in a setting worthy of a PS3/Xbox 360 game, with flat textures, without life and without detail. Other sequences also show poorly realized protagonists who shock the image. To put it simply, one shot is class, one shot is catastrophic. To sum it all up better, we felt like we were watching a huge 1:40 cutscene.

Another point,aliasing (staircase effect on the contours) is visible, and we have spotted visual bugs, such as the part of a body sinking into a wall. The problem of this kind of defect, it’s that we’re totally out of the movie, and that’s a real shame. In addition, the number of frames per second is not constant, the movements are jerky, even laughable depending on the sequence. A bit of a positive anyway? 3D makes it possible to have a dynamic and nervous camera during the clashes. The fights are then heated and the light effects smack us in the face to make our hairs stand up; especially during huge offensives. During some assaults, the breath is cut off, the spectator clings to his seat to get his foot.

On the soundtrack side, we have tones that don’t really sound like “Dragon Ball”. The melodies are in electric styles, with very superhero notes. Not enough to please the esgourdes? Honestly, it’s very nice. The few musics that we perceived stick perfectly with the action in the image. It’s different, it’s new, it’s fresh, it changes and it passes! Regarding the dubbing, we feel that Masako Nozawa, lending her voice to Gohan, reaches its limits and lacks pep in the howls at times. His game is good overall, but remember that this legend is still 85 years old; yes, yes, you read that right. Toshio Furukawa (Piccolo), he gives everything he has to burst our eardrums. Its timbre is still incredible, our ears loved it.

And the scenario in all this? Well, the story is well thought out and very well put together. There is emotion, surprising sequences, twists and turns, explosive phases, overall it’s fun to watch ; even if the CGI takes us out of the frame from time to time. We appreciated the evolution of the characters, and the humor Dragonballesque is ubiquitous. The concern comes mainly from the outcome which makes no sense with what was exhibited just before. The Toei draws on a cult moment from the 90s to try to win over the aficionado of yesteryear. From fan service pushed to the extreme in short. And sincerely, apart from a furtive product placement for future toys, we had a hard time understanding the choice of this final sequence.

It’s a shame, because there are good ideas, new ones, and the designers took some risks. But, between the stiff 3D, pointless moments, and an unconvincing finale, it’s hard to say this new film is a good one. dragonball. Moreover, the colorful and simplistic universe is clearly not intended for adults and teenagers. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was designed to satisfy another, very specific audience, very young children. And it’s rather clever, since the parents who grew up with Toriyama’s work then go to a cinema with their toddlers who will ignore the bland aesthetics and the fan service (over)misused.

Note : 2.5 out of 5

Find the complete Dragon Ball movies on Blu-ray, on Amazon at €52.85.