Honestly, if you’re still on the fence about whether you should watch Dragon Ball Super: Broly, you’re basically missing out on the moment the franchise finally grew up. It’s weird. For decades, Broly was just this hulking, screaming meathead from the non-canonical Z movies who hated Goku because... Goku cried as a baby? Yeah, it was pretty thin. But the 2018 film changed everything. It took a fan-favorite relic and actually gave him a soul.
It’s loud. It’s chaotic.
But beneath the planet-shattering punches, there’s a surprisingly tragic story about parental abuse and stolen potential that most shonen movies just don’t touch. When you sit down to watch Dragon Ball Super: Broly, you aren’t just getting another "villain of the week" scenario. You’re getting the definitive origin story of the Saiyan race, re-contextualized for a modern audience that expects more than just power-up screams.
The Broly Problem: Why This Version Matters
The original Broly was a product of 90s edge. He was cool because he was big and mean. That’s it. Akira Toriyama, the legendary creator who we sadly lost recently, didn't even have much to do with the original version. He just designed the character. But for this film, Toriyama took the reins. He looked at the old lore and decided to make it lean.
He made it human.
The film spends its first act entirely in the past on Planet Vegeta. It’s sort of a sci-fi tragedy. We see Paragus, Broly’s father, not as a mustache-twirling villain, but as a man driven insane by the betrayal of King Vegeta. The King, jealous of Broly’s latent power surpassing his own son’s, exiles the infant to a desolate rock called Vampa.
This sets the stage for everything.
💡 You might also like: Ashley My 600 Pound Life Now: What Really Happened to the Show’s Most Memorable Ashleys
If you decide to watch Dragon Ball Super: Broly for the story, pay attention to the silence. The scenes on Vampa are lonely. Broly grows up with a giant bug-monster as his only friend, and even that is taken from him by his father’s obsession with revenge. It’s heavy stuff for a series known for "Kamehamehas."
Where to Actually Watch Dragon Ball Super: Broly Today
Navigating streaming rights is a nightmare. It’s like trying to find a Dragon Ball on a planet without a radar. Depending on where you live, the options shift constantly because of licensing deals between Toei Animation, Funimation (now folded into Crunchyroll), and various regional distributors.
- Crunchyroll: This is usually your safest bet. Since the merger with Funimation, most of the Dragon Ball catalog lives here.
- Hulu: They’ve had a long-standing relationship with Viz and Funimation, often hosting the film for periods of time.
- Digital Purchase: Honestly? Just buy it on Prime Video, Apple TV, or Vudu. It’s one of those movies you’ll want to put on in the background just to see the colors pop on a 4k screen.
The animation style is a massive departure from the Dragon Ball Super TV series. Naohiro Shintani took over as character designer, moving away from the stiff, shiny, plastic look of the show. Instead, we got something fluid. Loose. It looks more like the classic 90s manga but with modern cinematic fluidity. It’s gorgeous. It’s arguably the best the franchise has ever looked.
The Fight That Broke Reality
We have to talk about the final forty minutes.
Once Goku and Vegeta finally square off against Broly in the Arctic, the movie stops being a drama and becomes an absolute fever dream of sakuga animation. If you watch Dragon Ball Super: Broly on a small phone screen, you’re doing yourself a disservice. This was meant for IMAX.
There is a specific moment where the power scaling gets so ridiculous that the characters literally punch each other into a different dimension. It’s not just a visual flair; it represents the sheer astronomical gap between Broly’s raw, untamed Oozaru power and Goku’s refined god forms.
📖 Related: Album Hopes and Fears: Why We Obsess Over Music That Doesn't Exist Yet
Goku tries everything.
Vegeta goes God.
Goku goes Blue.
Nothing works.
It forces a return of a character we hadn’t seen in canon for years: Gogeta. The fusion dance. It’s fan service, sure, but it’s handled with such stylistic bravado that you can’t help but cheer. The music shifts to this bizarre, chanting heavy metal/orchestral hybrid where the singers are literally yelling the names of the characters. GO BROLY GO GO! It’s campy, it’s hype, and it’s perfectly Dragon Ball.
Common Misconceptions About the Timeline
One thing people get wrong before they watch Dragon Ball Super: Broly is where it fits. It takes place immediately after the Tournament of Power. If you haven't finished the Dragon Ball Super anime, you might be slightly confused why Frieza is just hanging out or why Goku can't seem to tap into Ultra Instinct on command.
👉 See also: The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads: Why This Live Album Still Beats the Studio Records
- Ultra Instinct is missing: Goku mentions he can't do it at will yet. This keeps the stakes high.
- Frieza’s motive: He’s not trying to destroy the universe here. He’s just being a petty jerk. He wants to be five centimeters taller. I’m not joking. That’s his actual wish for the Dragon Balls.
- The Bardock Retcon: This movie adapts Dragon Ball Minus. It changes Bardock from a cold-blooded mercenary to a slightly more empathetic father. Some old-school fans hate this. Personally? It makes the connection to Goku feel more earned.
Why the Ending is the Best Part
Most Dragon Ball movies end with the villain dying in a giant ball of light. Broly doesn't.
That’s why this movie matters.
The film ends on a note of empathy. Cheelai and Lemo—two Frieza Force grunts who actually have hearts—use the Dragon Balls to save Broly from Gogeta’s final blast. They send him back to his lonely planet. Goku shows up later, not to fight, but to bring them supplies and a senzu bean. He recognizes that Broly isn't a bad guy. He’s just a victim of circumstance.
"I'm Son Goku. But Broly... you can call me Kakarot."
That line carries so much weight. It’s Goku finally embracing his Saiyan heritage while offering a hand of friendship to a man who was treated as a weapon his whole life. It sets up a future where Broly isn't an enemy, but an ally. We see the payoff of this in the later Super Hero movie and the Manga’s Granolah arc.
Actionable Next Steps
If you're ready to dive back into the world of Saiyans, don't just put it on as background noise. To get the most out of the experience:
- Check the Audio Settings: If you have a decent soundbar, crank it. The sound design of the ki blasts in this film uses a much deeper, more percussive frequency than the TV show.
- Sub vs. Dub: Both are excellent. Vic Mignogna (original) and Johnny Yong Bosch (current) both bring a primal intensity to Broly, while Christopher Sabat’s Vegeta is as sharp as ever. The Japanese cast, especially Masako Nozawa, still hits those high-pitched battle cries with unbelievable energy for their age.
- Watch the Prequel Content: If you have time, re-watch the Dragon Ball Plus chapters or the first few episodes of the Super anime to see how much the art style has evolved. It makes the Shintani style in the movie feel even more refreshing.
- Follow the Manga: After the movie ends, the story continues in the manga with the Moro Arc. It hasn't been animated yet, but it’s the direct chronological successor to the events of the Broly film.
There’s no better time to watch Dragon Ball Super: Broly. It remains the high-water mark for what anime tie-in films can achieve when they actually care about the characters as much as the explosions.