Dragon Ball Z is perhaps one of the most popular and most recognizable anime series in the world. Alongside running the Dragon Ball Z TV series, Toei Animation also produced a total of thirteen Dragon Ball Z theatrical movies. The stories and plots would often coincide with events that happened in the TV series, but they are not part of the DBZ continuity set by Akira Toriyama and the manga he wrote and drew. This is probably why DBZ movie villains are almost never mentioned in TV episodes.
The World’s Strongest is the second of thirteen theatrical DBZ movies. It’s also one of three that received more than one English dub in the USA. For this review, we’ll be looking at the more recent dub by FUNimation.
The events of The World’s Strongest seem to take place after Goku’s first battle with Vegeta in the TV series. In the TV series, Goku would be in the hospital recovering from his injuries, but he uses the Kaioken and the Spirit Bomb in the movie’s fighting scenes. That might help illustrate that the movies are not officially part of DBZ cannon according to the manga it’s based on.
Fifty years ago, Dr. Wheelo and Dr. Kochin were imprisioned in the glacial ice while conducting evil science experiments. Fifty years later, Dr. Kochin escapes the icy prison and uses the Dragon Balls to free his partner. Now Dr. Wheelo plans to capture who they believe to be the strongest man in the world: Master Roshi, one of Goku’s first teachers, and replace his brain with his own. Now, Goku must journey to Dr. Wheelo’s fortress to prevent the human race from becoming his specimens.
The plot of Strongest is far better than Dead Zone because it clearly involves world domination and/or destruction as the main goal of the antagonist. The fans will really appreciate the epic scope of this conflict. The English voices are also quite well acted with little to no over-acting. (There’s also Japanese with subs for those against dub.) The animation quality, the sound, and music are also quite above par for a theatrical movie based on a TV series.
Strongest should be readily available at most retailers that sell new and used anime DVDs. The price will vary depending on how you buy it.
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