If you’re one of many people who feel that “Dragon Ball GT” hurt the integrity of the “Dragon Ball” franchise more than it helped it, you probably also consider the final episode of “Dragon Ball Z” as the official ending point of Akira Toriyama’s beloved anime. Of course, you’d be wrong to think that. While “Dragon Ball GT” is quite the abomination, Toriyama and Co. released two more “Dragon Ball Z” films that take place after the end of the series, and believe it or not, they’re actually quite good. The plot of “Fusion Reborn” will probably sound familiar to fans (something about the inhabitants of Hell wreaking havoc on Earth while Goku fends off the latest, greatest evil supervillain), but thanks to a nice mix of action and comedy, not to mention the first appearance of Gogeta, it’s actually pretty entertaining. (Bonus points for Hitler’s comment about Trunks and Gohan: “Blonde hair, blue eyes, super strength. I should be recruiting them.”) “Wrath of the Dragon,” meanwhile, is perhaps the best “DBZ” movie of the lot because it actually feels like the writers put some thought into creating an original story. This one involves the unleashing of an ancient monster, and though the monster itself is defeated rather easily, it’s the relationship between Trunks and Taipon (the hero in charge of trapping the monster) that really makes the film feel like it’s more than just one, long 40-minute fight sequence. It’s too bad the other movies don’t adhere to the same set of rules, because while “Fusion Reborn” and “Wrath of the Dragon” feature a similar checklist (action, comedy, and more action), they go the extra mile in making the actual stories satisfying as well.
Click to buy “Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn / Wrath of the Dragon”
