Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
• a review of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 25 August 2022.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

Immediately after being released from prison, Dr Hedo (voice of Miyu Irino in the original Japanese version and Zach Aguilar in the English dubbed version) is recruited by Magenta (voice of Volcano Ota / Charles Martinet), the new leader of his grandfather’s Red Army. Magenta wants Dr Hedo to create ‘Cell Max’, an invincible warrior based on the original villain, ‘Cell’. While Dr Hedo works on Cell Max, he also creates two super-fighter androids, Gamma 1 and Gamma 2 (voice of Mamoru Miyano / Zeno Robinson), both of which are capable of learning battle skills and adapting as they go. Believing Magenta’s lies and believing that he has created two superheroes, Dr Hedo sends Gamma 2 off to attack and kill Piccolo (voice of Toshio Furukawa / Christopher Sabet). Piccolo survives the attack and follows Gamma 2 back to The Red Army’s secret base where he learns of the plan to release Cell Max in a bid to get rid of Gohan (voice of Mosako Nozawa / Kyle Hebert) and everyone opposing Magenta or his Red Army. Meanwhile, Goku (voice of Mosako Nozawa / Sean Schemmell) and Vegeta (voice of Ryo Horikawa/ Christopher Sabat) are training on another planet while Gohan, believing the others to be more than capable of handling any trouble that may come their way, has been busy studying instead of honing his fighting skills. When the plot includes kidnapping Gohan’s three-year-old daughter, Pan (voice of Yuko Minaguchi / Jeannie Tirado), Piccolo cultivates a plot of his own to ensure Pan’s safety, while enabling her father to harness his inner rage and become the legendary fighter whom Piccolo knows is the only one capable of finishing off Cell Max, whose very existence threatens the safety of the entire world.

Perceived alien threat; War, Corruption: Power hungry criminals; Genetic mutations and android creations.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

• Numerous fight scenes and depictions of battles.
• Dr Hedo steals fresh bodies from a morgue and turns them into zombies.
• Dr Hedo throws an explosive device back into a prison as he is leaving it.
• A character says that: “people who mess with me wind up dead”.
• A security guard aims a gun at Dr Hedo and he responds with an attack from his killer bee which causes the car they are driving in to go into a tail spin.
• A character is chopped in half during a fight scene.
• Pan is blasted backwards into huge boulders which crumble around her while she trains with Piccolo.
• Two characters punch each other.
• Gamma 2 detonates an explosive at Piccolo.
• Gamma 2 tries to kill Piccolo. They fight each other, hitting, slamming, punching in the stomach and kicking in the head. They are shoved by light blasts that issue from their hands and ultimately Gamma 2 shoots a weapon at Piccolo, believing him to be vaporised.
• Piccolo grabs a guard and punches him hard in the face. He steals his clothes, leaving him lying unconscious in his underwear.
• Goku and Vegeta train by fighting against each other. There is: hitting, throwing, punching, twisting, smashing, kicking, slamming and the breaking of trees as they smash each other back and forth with their energy forces.
• One character is smashed into a rock where he is pummelled into a crater.
• Pan punches the guard who tries to kidnap her and blasts him through a sign.
• Gohan flicks a gun out of his face, blasts a crater into the earth and appears to explode a spacecraft.
• Gamma 2 blasts Gohan into the ground, kicking him in the head, neck and chest. He then blasts him into a cliff side and shoots him with an explosive.
• When it looks as though Pan is being tortured, Gohan becomes enraged. He punches a character in the stomach and blasts him through a wall.
• An android throws Piccolo off a moving train where he plummets down and is nearly killed, until extra power from his dragon wish kicks in.
• A guard shoots at Pan. She kicks him in the head and punches him in the stomach.
• Magenta shoots Dr Hedo in the chest three times.
• Dr Hedo stings Magenta with his deadly bee. Magenta is shown dying a painful death as the poison moves through his body.
• Cell Max blasts balls of fury, destroying everything in its path.
• Characters discuss the best was to kill Cell Max, such as shooting it in its head until it explodes.
• Piccolo and Cell Max shoot lasers at each other.
• Cell Max comes after Pan and it looks like she might nearly be killed but she manages to fly just in time to save herself.
• All the characters work together to blast Cell Max in the head at the same time.
• Gamma 2 and Cell Max go head-to-head; they are both screaming as they battle it out. When the dust clears, Cell Max’s hand is severed and the android is nearly dead. Cell Max tries to crush Gamma 2 but Piccolo intervenes.
• Piccolo transforms into a larger version of himself and he and Cell Max fight it out, blasting fire balls at each other.
• Cell Max rises from the earth after falling down a fiery gorge. He is screaming and ready to fight, even though his legs are on fire.
• Piccolo is bleeding and looks to have a broken arm as he and Cell Max continue to battle it out. It is only when Piccolo appears to fall, lifeless, that Gohan is able to release his own pent-up power. He shoots electricity at Cell Max’s head. It appears to go through it, blasting part of his skull away before his whole body explodes in a nuclear-like explosion.

Material that may scare or disturb children

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

• There are a number of creatures that appear frightening, including the much dreaded Cell Max, that must be fought in order to save the world. Cell Max bursts out of his enclosure looking like a demonic, robot zombie with red, glowing eyes who is angry and screaming. He is vicious, terrifying and relentless and clearly bent on destroying everything and everyone in his path. The final fight scene shows him having a hand severed in the attack, while he blasts fire in a terrible rage. Various characters die or appear to be killed before he is finally shot through the head with electricity and explodes. The scene is graphic, prolonged and intense and would be distressing for many young children.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

• Magenta instructs his army to abduct Pan, kidnapping her from preschool. She manages to fight off her attacker and help Piccolo make everyone believe that she is a hostage. She has to show that she is in distress in a video clip for her father and when he comes to save her she is forced to watch from a balcony while he is beaten and brutally attacked.

• Nothing further of concern.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

• Dr Hedo is repeatedly seen eating what appears to be vast quantities of Oreo cookies.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• One character says that he likes ‘this one’ referring to a girl and that she is welcome to stay with him. He appears to leer at her from time to time.
• A character uses a magical wish to perk up her buttocks to a ‘college age plumpness’, smooth out her wrinkles and add longer eye lashes.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

• A character has his bottom repeatedly exposed after his pants are ripped open from behind. He later moons another character in an attempt to antagonise him.
• There is a close-up shot of a woman’s behind as she bends over looking for something.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

• Magenta is frequently seen smoking cigars.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Moron(s)
• Geez
• Damn and Damn it.
• Crap and Holy Crap
• Screw it
• Fool
• Brat
• Dumb and Dumbass
• Idiot
• Satan
• Nerd
• Turd
• Roly-poly little twerp.

In a nutshell

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is an English dubbed anime film based on Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga series. The film features a fast-paced plot and frequent fight scenes. Due to the content, this is not a family film but one that is likely to appeal to teens, anime enthusiasts and fans of the long running Dragon Ball series.

The main messages from this movie are to work hard and train well; and that in a battle of good versus evil, ultimately good will prevail.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Courage
• Patience
• Determination
• Teamwork
• Integrity.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• Using violence as a means to solve conflict.
• Kidnapping a child.
• Manipulating others by spreading lies and false information.
• Using science for destructive purposes.