The long-running DragonBall franchise encompasses comics, video games, TV shows, and movies, all loosely centered on the "Saiyan" alien martial-artist Goku, who came to Earth as a bad guy but has turned out to be the planet's defender—surrounded now by decades' worth of extended family, allies, and other talking-animal-ninja types. Since Goku—whose main ambition is to be the best martial-arts champion anywhere—has vanquished escalating foes and even attained the status of "Super Saiyan" for BIG fights, where can the series go next? Up against a god, of course, as fans will discover in this 2013 anime feature film that finds a prolonged period of peace threatened by the awakening of the strongest creature in the universe: an Egyptian-cat-style god named Beerus the Destroyer, who can annihilate whole star systems for the mildest offense. When Beerus, following years of catnapping, learns that something called a Super Saiyan has dueled successfully against all opponents, he is led to seek out Goku for a decisive contest. Accompanied by a factotum, the god crashes a lavish birthday party on Planet 877 (Earth). How Goku approaches the practical matter of boosting his powers into god mode is handled satisfactorily, but it's Beerus who makes this material work—he's a doomsday-level menace who isn't cruel or sadistic and might even be a fun guy to hang out with—until he destroys your planet. Featuring both the theatrical and extended versions in separate dual-language DVD and Blu-ray editions, rated TV-PG, Blu-ray extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes. Sure to be appreciated by fans, this is recommended. (C. Cassady)
DragonBall Z: Battle of Gods
(2014) 105 min. DVD: $29.98; Blu-ray/DVD Combo: 3 discs, $34.98. Funimation (avail. from most distributors). ISBN: 1-4210-2967-7 (dvd), 1-4210-2968-5 (blu-ray). Volume 30, Issue 1
DragonBall Z: Battle of Gods
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