New Dragon Ball Movie to Hit Theaters Internationally This Summer

This summer, one of the best, long-running anime will have another big-screen movie. Yes, you read it right: the Dragon Ball Super franchise will have another movie, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, released this summer. Fans have many reasons to be excited about this movie because it features a global release this summer of 2022.

The two giants handling international distribution for this film will be Crunchyroll. Sony will also have a say in the film’s screening. This means that fans from Northern and Latin America, Australia, and Europe will see the film. Japanese fans, however, can see the movie much earlier as it hits the big screens on June 11 in Japan.

The Franchise

The first movie of the Dragon Ball Super Franchise was released way back in 2018. Dragon Ball Super: Broly grossed more than $120 million and has satisfied fans worldwide with such an incredible film. The movie was so good that it was the 5th highest-grossing anime film at the US box office.

With fans wanting more, Toei Animation has heard the clamor. Fast forward to our current time, we now have this big news that the 2nd film, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, is coming very soon. 

Production, Development, and Marketing

Akira Toriyama, the author of this fabled franchise, is back at it again by providing the original script and concept of the movie. Toriyama was also responsible for altering a few designs specifically for the film. Knowing the success that the 1st film was to have, production for the 2nd movie began even before the first movie was released. The 2nd film will be the first to be produced in 3D.

Regarding marketing, news of the film was officially announced on May 9, 2021. More details were released during Comic-Con 2021. Fans were delighted as they got a preview of the film’s name and the character designs in the film. 

The crowd was shown what Piccolo, Krillin, and Pan would look like in the movie. In addition, new characters were shown along with a 3D rendering of Goku. Fans couldn’t get more excited as the first trailer was released on October 7, 2021. The Japanese release date and a second trailer was shown at Jump Festa. 

Delay and Toei Hacking Incident

No thanks to hackers, the film was originally slated for an April 2022 release. All screenings were canceled due to Toei animation getting hacked. Even major anime series such as One Piece was also affected due to the attack. Toei Animation revealed that it was a ransomware attack and that it had stopped production for many of its releases.

Trailer and Synopsis

Right off the bat, fans watching the trailer will see how beautifully animated the movie is. Next, we get to see a preview of the foe, in this case, “foes” that our heroes will face off with. In Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes, Goku, Gohan and Piccolo will be battling a familiar army: The Red Ribbon Army. 

Goku had already vanquished the group when it had Dr. Gero as its leader in the past. With powerful androids such as Android 18, 17, and 16, Goku and his crew were in for a fight. The arrival of Cell made it even more complicated as Goku and Vegeta tried fusion. Despite the funny first attempt, the duo successfully beat Cell by turning into Gogeta.

After the events of Dragon Ball Z, age 784, a new Red Ribbon army rises and proclaims themselves as “Super Heroes.” The newer androids are tougher and meaner as they try to achieve their quest for global domination once again. 

In the trailer, Piccolo is immediately greeted by an Android who shoots multiple ki-waves at him while meditating. Easily dodging the attack, Piccolo then notices the Red Ribbon insignia. The android then says he’s right and that they’re “Super Heroes.” After this interesting scene, the trailer shows buildings crumbling, explosions, and destruction.

The trailer also shows multiple fight scenes where Goku, Gohan, and other characters are fighting off the army of androids. Most noticeably, Gohan clashes with Gamma 1. Gamma 1 is the brother or copy of the android mentioned above that shot at Piccolo. With chaos in the trailer, we know that these androids are powerful.

In another trailer, we know that a young Pan, Gohan’s daughter, is being held hostage by the androids. Knowing the situation, Gohan will enter a seemingly new Saiyan state in the movie. We also see brief appearances from Whis and the God of Destruction himself, Lord Beerus. Finally, the trailer ends with a caption saying, “The Birth of the Ultimate Evil” along with a capsule that’s close to exploding. 

Cast and Production

Akira Toriyama is in charge of the screenplay and script for this movie. Tetsuro Kodama will be the director, with Toei Animation producing the movie. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero sees all the familiar voice actors behind the iconic characters:

Masko Nozawa – Gohan, Goku, Goten

Toshio Furukawa – Piccolo

Yuko Minaguchi – Pan

Ryo Horikawa – Vegeta 

Mayumi Tanaka – Krillin, Yajirobe

Aya Hisakawa – Bulma

Takeshi Kusao – Trunks

Miki Ito – Android 18

Bin Shimada – Broly

Korin – Ken Uo

Aya Hirano – Dende

The Red Ribbon Army’s top brass will be voiced by:

Hiroshi Kamiya – Gamma #1

Mamoru Miyano – Gamma #2

Miyu Irino – Dr. Hedo

Volcano Ota – Magenta

Ryota Takeuchi – Carmine

Aside from the Saiyans and other crew, fans will also get to see stronger characters in the DBZ universe, such as:

Bin Shimada – Broly

Koichi Yamadera – Beerus

Masakazu Morita – Whis

Many of the original voice cast are present. This will certainly attract older fans of this amazing anime franchise. The cast for the English dub will be announced at a future date. 

The Distributors

Let’s take a look at the two major players responsible for distributing the movie and how they’re bringing the best anime to your doorstep, wherever you are in the world:

Crunchyroll

In the past, Crunchyroll was a website that provided many fans with the manga and anime fix they wanted. Even though they were part of piracy problems by uploading illegal, fansubbed anime episodes, the site eventually secured capital from Venrock. 

After several ownership changes, Crunchyroll partnered with Funimation and has streamed the best anime. Recently, SPE, which is also the parent company of Funimation, brought Crunchyroll for a staggering $957 million. This buyout would mean more visibility for anime in the west. 

Sony Pictures Entertainment

SPE or Sony Pictures Entertainment is part of the Sony Corporation based in Tokyo, Japan. SPE’s operations mainly include movie production. However, Sony has also been involved with other high-profile acquisitions and distributions including this film. Aside from film, they also do TV. Other organizations that fall under SPE are Columbia, TriStar, AFFIRM, and Screen Gems.

Will There Be a Third Installment?

Since the success of 2018’s 1st Dragon Ball Super movie, series Author Akira Toriyama has confirmed that he’s deeply invested in the films of this franchise. With such involvement, Toriyama has expressed interest in this film. 

So will there be a third installment? Although there aren’t any actual announcements or hints, it’s safe to say that a third and even fourth film may come to fruition.

Conclusion

This June 11, 2022, fans of the Dragon Ball Z franchise will be treated to yet another ground-breaking film, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Building on the 1st movie’s success, many fans are excited about the film. 

In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, we’ll see the resurgence of the Red Ribbon Army and how the protagonists will fare. With only a few more weeks to go, fans can’t wait! In the meantime, you can check out the official trailers on Youtube.