Dragon Ball: Yo!

Alternate English Title: Dragon Ball: Yo! The Return of Son Goku and Friends!!
Japanese Title: Doragon Boru Ossu! Kaette Kita Son Goku to Nakama-tachi!!
Also Known As: DB:YO
Genre: Action
Format: 1 ONA
Allegiance: Toei Animation
Director: Yoshihiro Ueda
Vintage: 2008
Intelligence Agency Report by: Drake
Two years following the defeat of Majin Buu, Mr. Satan invites the Z Fighters to an all-you-can-eat buffet at his new hotel in honor of his “defeat” of Majin Buu. However, as the group sits down to feast, they are interrupted by Vegeta’s younger brother Tarble. The Z Fighters are informed that Tarble is being pursued from his planet by two devastating brothers, Avo and Cado, who laid terror to their planet. It is now up to Earth’s Greatest Warriors to take care of the brothers.

Field Agent Report by: Drake 
Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio
7.50
8.50
8.00
6.50
8.50
Overall 8.00
(not an average)

Admittedly, I was quite surprised to learn that there was a new Dragon Ball Z movie out after ten years with no new movies or specials being made. Naturally the remnants of my fanboy side screamed at me to check out the video on Jumpland. Thirty minutes later, I closed the streaming service, relatively pleased.

The movie was a pretty typical DBZ movie, featuring the all-too-familiar villain of the week formula. However, the movie time was condensed down from thirty episodes for a single fight to a mere thirty minutes, which was able to take all the things about Dragon Ball Z that I loved and exclude all the parts I disliked, i.e. waiting five episodes (give or take) to blow up a planet. One thing about this movie that really struck a good chord was the the movie focusing more on Vegeta than on Goku, which is a rarity in the series, even though the devices used to achieve this creates many plot holes. Another plus was that unlike past movies or the latter part of the series, the more minor characters were given a little time to shine, from Yajirobe to Yamcha, down to even good old Master Roshi. My only regret is Tien was unable to be featured, due to the voice actor, Hirotaka Suzuoki, who played Tien in Japan, dying two years earlier.

On the aesthetics side of things, the movie is a bit of a mixed bag. The animation reminded me strongly of Dragon Ball GT, which was a bit of a nuisance, but not a breaking factor for the movie. The music is what saves the aesthetics department in my opinion, from the opening song of Cha-La Head Cha-La, to the all-too-familiar special effects sounds of powering up, instant transmission and everything else.

Overall, this movie is definitely worth checking out, as we are introduced to four never-before-seen characters, and brings back some of our old favorites from the series in all their glory. As far as being something unique and original, this movie may not be it, but if you are or were a fan of the series, you’ll definitely want to check out this short film.