Retelling the story of a beloved character is the sheer motive of the new Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie, yet fans might wonder why they would want to pay to see a story that’s been done before. Fans should go in with an open mind and know that the story of Broly is being retold with major changes to the story to connect Broly to the world of the super series.

Fans were thrilled in July 2018 when the announcement of a new Dragon Ball movie was being written by the series’ creator Akira Toriyama. On Wednesday, Jan. 16, fans in the U.S. finally got their chance to watch Goku and the Z Fighters take on a new foe.

“Dragon Ball Super: Broly” premiered in select theaters around the nation, six weeks after premiering in Japan. The movie is the twentieth installment of the Dragon Ball franchise. It’s the first official movie of the Dragon Ball Super series which brought back fan favorite characters in 2015 after almost 20 years since it was last aired in Japan.

The movie is centered around Broly, the legendary super Saiyan who the movie is named after. Toriyama takes into consideration the casual moviegoer and starts the narrative by retelling key elements of the story for those not familiar with when he was first introduced back in 1993.

The pace of the movie was well-executed by movie director Tatsuya Nagamine, who adds the right amount of back story prior to the climax of the movie. The movie keeps viewers entertained throughout the movie by humanizing the main antagonist and getting to know his struggle.

The main plot of the movie seems to add a beloved character right after the tournament of power ended in the Dragon Ball Super series and how he can be a key character going forward in the series. The main plot of the movie also serves as fan service. It fills in questions most fans might have about how Broly is now connected from the Z series, to the Super series and what happened this whole time prior to his arrival.

The movie even does a great job with the subplot of the movie by showing the culture of the Sayan race besides what’s already been established in “Dragon Ball Z” and movies that came before. Fans will get to see familiar characters from the Z series in a way they never expected.

“Dragon Ball Super: Broly” embodies all the elements that made kids in the 90’s fall in love with the franchise such as Goku’s great sense of humor, as well as his noble desire to fight stronger fighters despite putting Earth in danger.

The fights are probably one of the most important aspects of the franchise and the movie does a fantastic job elevating the fights by using better animation methods and even CGI to give scenes an extra pop on-screen.

The comedy of the movie never felt out of place and will take viewers back to the days of them cheering and laughing at their favorite Z Fighters.

Fans of the franchise should enjoy the movie and although it’s retelling a story, it is done the right way and feels fresh. The movie hints that this is not the last we have seen of Broly. Fans will wonder what happens going forward with “Dragon Ball Super” when it makes it return to the small screen.

Score: 8.5/10