Hi hi guys! Welcome to another exciting article. This time we will talk about one of the most awaited movies of the year. That’s right! I’m talking about Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (as you can already guess by the name of the post)!
Anyway, I don’t know about you, but I’m very excited for it, especially because I’m a huge fan of Gohan and I’m very happy to see that he will have a big role this time! Also, it will be the first movie of the franchise to be made with 3D animation graphics! But let’s go in order, shall we? Join me to find out the last news and the thrilling details of the movie!
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Table of Content
PROMOTION
The first mention about this movie dates back to an interview with Akiyo Iyoku and Norihiro Ayashida of June 2019, attached to the blu-ray edition of the movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly. The directors said that they were planning to make a new movie that would be even better than the previous one.
The first official announcement came in May 2021 (there were accidentally released some leaks before it, but they were immediately deleted) through the Dragon Ball official website and, in June 2021, the August issue of V Jump featured two pages dedicated to the newly announced movie, in which it was written that the story adapted in the movie would be original.
In July 2021, the official website announced that the San Diego Comic Con online event would host a panel about Dragon Ball and that there would be a discussion about the movie. During the event held on July 24, the discussion involved some details about the production and the first images, such as the character designs of Piccolo, Pan, Krillin, Gamma 1 and Gamma 2 (whose names weren’t revealed on the occasion), were discussed. And finally, the official title of the movie was displayed together with its first teaser trailer. Plus, the official Twitter account of the anime has been renewed for the occasion and turned into the SUPER HERO account.
More information about the production was added during the panel of the New York Comic Con in September 2021. During this event, new character designs were shown, including those of Dende, Bulma and Karin, together with a new trailer in English and some interviews with the Japanese voice actors.
In December 2021, an article featured the first key visual of the movie, where we saw for the first time Gohan and Vegeta’s character designs. The visual also showed the sentence “the battle of a lifetime”.
RELEASE DATE
We already know about the famous Jump Festa, one of the most important and awaited events in Japan during which a lot of good stuff about the Shonen Jump series is released. Well, the one that was held in December 2021 gave us a lot of information about the movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
First of all, the debut date of the movie had been announced. Take your calendars and a pretty colored marker to write it down! The date is April 22, 2022! Also, to make the event more exciting, a brand new trailer was released.
The new trailer showed us better info about the new villains, the mysterious Gamma 1 and Gamma 2. First they attack Piccolo, then the new fighters face Gohan, who now wears Piccolo’s trademark uniform. Interestingly, Gohan throws himself into battle while still wearing his wide-rimmed glasses, which he will toss away once he transforms into a Super Sayan. With this trailer, it was announced that two of the most famous and popular voice actors of Japan would join the usual main cast. They are Hiroshi Kamiya, who will voice Gamma 1, and Mamoru Miyano, who will dub Gamma 2.
No international release date has been announced yet, but the movie’s producers previously promised they would work hard to ensure that the gap between the Japanese and the international film’s release would be as short as possible.
PREDICTED CAST
About the cast, we are 100% sure that the usual Japanese cast will once again dub the characters of the franchise. However, as I mentioned before, there will be new entries in the cast that will join the fun. Anyway, let’s refresh our memory with a list of characters and the respective voice actors who have already been confirmed to appear in the movie, and let’s see some details about them.
Gohan and Goku
Both Gohan and Goku will voiced by the legendary Masako Nozawa. She is like a goddess to me, along with Mayumi Tanaka (Krillin’s voice actress). She has dubbed Goku, Gohan and Goten since the very beginning of the series. Standing ovation to her! Anyway, she has also done other roles in other anime adaptations. One of the most known examples is Kureha from One Piece.
Piccolo
Piccolo will be voiced by Toshio Furukawa. He’s another great voice actor, who has dubbed a lot of important characters, such as Ace in One Piece, Inspector Yamamura in Detective Conan and Satotz in Hunter x Hunter.
Pan
Pan will be dubbed by Yuko Minaguchi. Minaguchi is also Videl’s voice actress. We don’t know if she will appear in the movie as her presence hasn’t been confirmed yet, but in this case, she will surely resume this role as well. Her other roles include Hotaru Tomoe from Sailor Moon and minor characters from One Piece and Detective Conan.
Vegeta
Vegeta will be voiced by Ryo Horikawa. Horikawa is not only popular because of Vegeta’s role, but also because he dubs one of the most popular characters in the Detective Conan franchise, Heiji Hattori. Other popular roles are Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star and Andromeda from Saint Seiya.
Krillin
Krillin will be dubbed by Mayumi Tanaka. I swear, she is amazing! I’m always surprised at how this woman can be so energetic at her age! Anyway, I’m sure most of you already know this, but she is also the incredible voice actress behind Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece! In the Dragon Ball franchise, she also dubs Yajirobe and Uranai Baba. What a legend!
Bulma
Bulma will be voiced by Aya Hisakawa. She is the new voice actress that has replaced Hiromi Tsuru for this role in 2018. Unfortunately, Tsuru, who had voiced Bulma since the beginning of the series, passed away due to a sudden sickness. Hisakawa has also voiced characters such as Rei from the Bayblade franchise, Ami Mizuno from Sailor Moon, Kero-chan from Cardcaptor Sakura and Captain Unohana from Bleach.
Karin
Karin will be dubbed by Ken Uo. He got this role in 2015 when the Dragon Ball Super adaptation first started airing. He has also dubbed some minor roles in Dragon Ball and in Detective Conan.
Dende
Dende will be voiced by Aya Hirano. She is one of the most popular voice actresses in Japan as well as a very appreciated idol. Her most important roles are Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail, Nobume from Gintama, Kurumizawa from Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Konata from Lucky Star and, her most iconic role, Haruhi Suzumiya from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
Majin-Buu
Majin-Buu will be dubbed by Kozo Shioya. He has also had some minor roles in Detective Conan, One Piece, Bleach and Dragon Ball itself.
Mr. Satan
Mr. Satan will be voiced by Masashi Ebara. Ebara is the third voice actor to fill this role, since the other two have unfortunately passed away. His other important roles are Gai Maito from Naruto and Raizo from One Piece.
Broly
Broly will be dubbed by Bin Shimada. Besides Broly, he is also the voice actor of other minor characters in the Dragon Ball franchise, such as Babidi and Dyspo, as well as the voice actor of Gengai from Gintama and Foxy from One Piece.
Gamma 1
Gamma 1 will be voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya. I don’t know how to start when I have to talk about this living legend. He’s so popular and he has filled so many meaningful roles that 3k words are not enough to fully describe him. I’ll give you a very short list of his most important characters: Trafalgar Law from One Piece, Edogawa Ranpo from Bungou Stray Dogs, Izaya Orihara from Durarara, Akashi from Kuroko’s Basket, Natsume from Natsume’s Book of Friends, Yato from Noragami and Levi from Attack on Titan.
Gamma 2
Gamma 2 will be dubbed by Mamoru Miyano. If you have read what I wrote above about Kamiya, it’s useless to rewrite the same words, since we are dealing here with another living legend! I’m literally in love with him and his warm voice! Here too I’ll give you a short list of his most iconic roles: Dazai from Bungo Stray Dogs, Taichi from Chihayafuru, Light from Death Note, Masaomi from Durarara, Rin from Free!, Chrollo from Hunter x Hunter, Gilthunder from Seven Deadly Sins, Death the Kid from Soul Eater and Riku from the Kingdom Hearts franchise (I know it’s not an anime, but I really care about this role, so I felt the need to include it too).
Dr. Hedo
Dr. Hedo will be voiced by Miyu Irino. Miyu-Miyu is a very loved voice actor in Japan. He’s a close friend of both the legends I wrote about above. He has voiced a lot of important characters in the anime industry, such as Jinta from Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Akito from Code Geass, Kiritsugu from Fate/Zero, Sugawara from Haikyuu!!, Syaoran from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Ritsu from Mob Psycho 100, Yuuichiro from Seraph of The End and of course Sora from the Kingdom Hearts franchise (once again, I’m so attached to this video game series).
Magenta
Magenta will be dubbed by Volcano Ota. He has also dubbed some minor characters in the Dragon Ball Super series.
Carmine
Carmine will be voiced by Ryota Takeuchi. Among his other roles, there are Darui from Naruto and Ushijima from Haikyuu!!
Of course, the movie will be produced by Toei Animation, the animation studio who has taken care of the Dragon Ball franchise since the beginning. The screenplay is taken care of by Akira Toriyama, the author of the series, while Norihiro Hayashida is in charge of the production. The music is composed by Naoki Sato.
THE CHARACTERS
After listing all the confirmed characters and their respective voice actors, I’ll write a brief recap of each character and their roles.
Gohan
He is the first half-blood Saiyan of the series. He is the son of Goku and Chichi, Videl’s husband and Pan’s father. Gohan is a shy and quiet man, with an immense hidden potential inside him. In fact, when he was only 11 years old, he managed to transform into a Super Saiyan 2 (he is the first character to reach this transformation). However, unlike his father, he is not obsessed with becoming stronger, since his interest is directed more towards studying than fighting, except when it is strictly necessary. I’m very excited to find out what Gohan will do in this movie, since he will be the main character as we can see from his position in the official poster.
Goku
He is the main character of the Dragon Ball franchise and one of the most popular characters ever across the world. He is Chichi’s husband, the father of Son Gohan and Son Goten, and Pan’s grandfather. He is a Saiyan, but he grew up on Earth, totally unaware of his true origins. However, since he was a child, he has always been stronger than average men. Goku grew up to become a kind and cheerful man, who trains constantly in order to become the strongest warrior and protect Earth from threats. We can’t know what his role in the movie will be, but since he is in the main portion of the official poster, I’m sure we will see Goku fight to make sure that good triumphs over evil.
Piccolo
He is one of the most important characters in the franchise. He is a powerful Namekian, hence the green skin and the antennas. When Piccolo was first introduced, he was Goku’s enemy. After being defeated by the hero, the two developed a frenemy relationship. After Goku’s (first of many) death, he took Gohan under his wing to train him and get him ready for the upcoming fights. From this moment on, Piccolo grows really attached to the young Saiyan, becoming a mentor and a second fatherly figure for him. That’s why I’m looking forward to seeing how the two of them will interact in the movie.
Pan
The cute little Pan is Videl and Gohan’s daughter and Goku’s granddaughter. Even though she is just a minor character in the Dragon Ball franchise, she is the deuteragonist of Dragon Ball GT, the non-canon sequel series. Anyway, the fact that she will appear in this movie and that she will have an active role is pretty interesting. I would love to see some interaction between Pan and the other members of her family!
Vegeta
And here we have the Saiyan prince and Goku’s rival! He’s Bulma’s husband and Trunks and Bra’s father. He is one of the most popular characters of the franchise along with Goku, and, in my opinion, the character who had the major development in the series. I mean, he starts off being Goku’s arch nemesis characterized by an arrogant and hostile behavior, and now he is a loving father and husband who will do anything to protect his family. Seriously, this man changed into a completely different person. Anyway, let’s anticipate his actions during the movie!
Krillin
He is Goku’s best friend, Android 18’s husband and Maron’s father. He is a very short and bald human, who, compared to his Saiyan friends, is not very strong. All we know about him in the movie is that he will wear a police officer uniform. Well, that’s interesting, isn’t it?
Bulma
She is one of the most important characters of the series. She is the first friend Goku had and the one who set the whole story in motion. Bulma had a short relationship with Yamcha during the series, but then she will marry Vegeta and will have with him a son named Trunks and a daughter named Bra. She is a brilliant and smart scientist who has helped our heroes many times. In the character designs of the movie, we see her with a yellow lab uniform, so it’s pretty easy to figure out what her role will be!
Karin
He is an anthropomorphic hermit cat who is more than 800 years old. He has helped Goku and his friends a lot of times thanks to his infinite wisdom. Let’s see how he will help them this time!
Dende
He is a Namekian who has the power to heal others. He is also the guardian of Earth. Like Karin, he has a supportive role in the story and helps our heroes in the sidelines.
Majin-Buu
Well, Majin-Buu’s story is complicated, but I’ll sum it up. He is one of the most feared and strong antagonists of the series, but, after being defeated by Goku and expelling his evil side, Majin-Buu becomes a friendly buddy who lives together with Mr. Satan. I wonder what he will do in the movie.
Mr. Satan
He is Videl’s father and Pan’s grandfather. I think that we can say that Mr. Satan is the comic relief of the series, even though his presence has helped our heroes on different occasions. He is considered the hero of the planet, since he takes all the credit for Goku and his friends’ actions to protect Earth.
Broly
He is one of the few Saiyans who survived the destruction of Planet Vegeta. Broly has enormous fighting strength and he is probably the Super Saiyan of the legend from the original story, the one who appears once every thousand years. Anyway, since he was the major antagonist of the previous movie, I was quite surprised when I read that he would appear here, too. But I think that he will show up in flashbacks or something like that (it’s just my guess).
Gamma 1
He is an original character that will appear in the movie for the first time. He is the first of the new series of Androids created by Dr. Hedo. He seems to have a strong sense of loyalty and a calm personality. Together with Gamma 2, he will be the opponent of our heroes. I wonder how strong he is.
Gamma 2
Like Gamma 1, he will appear in the movie for the first time ever. He is the second in the new series of Androids created by Dr. Hedo. Sometimes he is reprimanded by Gamma 1 for his slightly irreverent attitude. Let’s anticipate his fights against our heroes together with Gamma 1.
Dr. Hedo
Another original character. He is the brilliant scientist behind the creation of Gamma 1 and Gamma 2.
Magenta
He is an original character. He is the CEO of Red Pharmaceuticals and the current public face of the Red Ribbon Army. He relies on Dr. Hedo to rebuild the army.
Carmine
He is Magenta’s adviser and driver.
PREDICTED PLOT
Not much is known about the movie’s plot yet, but an active role of the creator of the series, Akira Toriyama, has been confirmed in drafting the storyline. We also know that the plot will adapt an original story (as I wrote before). Being linked to the Dragon Ball Super series, the story will probably take place after the events of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the previous featured movie of the series, released in December 2018.
The poster suggests that Gohan could have an important and active role (finally!! I have been expecting his shining time since Dragon Ball Z), in addition to introducing a slightly more grown up Pan and many new characters. Also, we can read a rather indicative sentence on the key visual, saying “The super secret operation of the Red Ribbon army begins”, which brings us back to a group of historical enemies of Goku during the first series.
If you don’t remember them, don’t worry, I’ll give you some details to help you! So, the Red Ribbon Army was a technological company that focused on military weapon technology. They were pretty powerful in the past, in a way that made them stronger than the army or the police. They attacked cities and recruited mercenaries such as the killer, Tao Pai Pai. I’m not sure if you remember this character, but he is one of the first enemies defeated by Goku during the first series. Anyway, Goku has also managed to attack the central base of the army, destroying it.
However, the army wasn’t completely wiped off and appeared once again during the Dragon Ball Z series. Do you remember Dr. Gelo, the creator of the robots Android 16, Android 17, Android 18, and Cell? That’s right, he was a member of the Red Ribbon army. What a small world. Tao Pai Pai also appears in some episodes even if he was supposed to be dead.
Also, even if it’s known that it’s not a canon series, the Red Ribbon’s army also appears in Dragon Ball GT. They manage to escape from the Underworld, but they are defeated by Pan.
Anyway, even if we don’t have a very detailed plot of the movie yet, we already know a couple of details, based from the articles and the trailers, that can make us somehow predict a rough synopsis. We can also say that, according to Akira Toriyama’s words, the storyline of the movie will include some extreme and fun fighting scenes. So, here we go.
Several years have passed since the fall of the Red Ribbon Army. However there are some of its survivors, who are now part of the New Red Ribbon Army, who gave life to the powerful androids Gamma 1 and Gamma 2. They call themselves “superheroes“, and attack Piccolo, Son Gohan and their companions. These two, who are now under attack, awaken their hidden potentials and begin to fight together against these new enemies.
RELATED TWEETS AND POSTS
Trailers
🔥 年末年始は #ドラゴンボール 🐉
— 映画「ドラゴンボール超 スーパーヒーロー」公式 (@DB_super2015) December 26, 2021
公開に向けて #ドラゴンボールイッキ見 するチャンス!💻👀
⬇︎予習・復習はこちらから⬇︎https://t.co/PI7A8r7v81
原点回帰のエンタメ
✖️
最も鮮烈な体感型バトルアクション👊💥
『#ドラゴンボール超スーパーヒーロー』
🎬4/22(金)公開 pic.twitter.com/6BFnvp4auF
Dr.ヘドに何やら持ちかけている様子のマゼンタ🍘
— 映画「ドラゴンボール超 スーパーヒーロー」公式 (@DB_super2015) January 19, 2022
新生レッドリボン軍の新たな狙いとは・・⁉️#ドラゴンボール超スーパーヒーロー #dragonball https://t.co/PI7A8r7v81 pic.twitter.com/8EeiWYwEPi
気合たっぷりのピッコロ師匠💪
— 映画「ドラゴンボール超 スーパーヒーロー」公式 (@DB_super2015) January 28, 2022
久々の戦いでどんな姿を見せるのか・・⁉️#ドラゴンボール超スーパーヒーロー #dragonball https://t.co/PI7A8r7v81 pic.twitter.com/sb5yQINq8O
ガンマ1号とガンマ2号、
— 映画「ドラゴンボール超 スーパーヒーロー」公式 (@DB_super2015) January 22, 2022
そしてカーマインが何やら話している様子👀
中央の大きな画面には...サタン⁉️#ドラゴンボール超スーパーヒーロー #dragonball https://t.co/PI7A8r7v81 pic.twitter.com/Y99uaZsAp9
ベジータ、戦闘中！
— 映画「ドラゴンボール超 スーパーヒーロー」公式 (@DB_super2015) January 31, 2022
その鋭い眼光の先には誰が・・⁉️#ドラゴンボール超スーパーヒーロー #dragonball https://t.co/PI7A8rp5Zz pic.twitter.com/s4oM0Z3TzH
孫悟飯 🆚 ガンマ1号
— 映画「ドラゴンボール超 スーパーヒーロー」公式 (@DB_super2015) January 25, 2022
勝つのはどっちだ...⁉️#ドラゴンボール超スーパーヒーロー #dragonball https://t.co/PI7A8r7v81 pic.twitter.com/bdJvCFf1mc
戦闘中の孫悟空👊💥
— 映画「ドラゴンボール超 スーパーヒーロー」公式 (@DB_super2015) February 3, 2022
この場所は一体・・・⁉#ドラゴンボール超スーパーヒーロー#dragonball https://t.co/PI7A8rp5Zz pic.twitter.com/4RErHy4CO3
This is the link to the official website of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. I’ll give you a brief guide to use the website properly. If you click the movie section, you can watch all the released trailers. In the introduction section, you can find the character designs of Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, Pan, Gamma 1, Gamma 2, Dr. Veto, Magenta and Carmine. There are also brief descriptions in Japanese. There are also the cast & staff, the news and the comment sections. If you want to have fun and navigate the website, it could be interesting, but since it is all in Japanese, you may have some difficulties.
This is the link to the official Twitter account of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Follow it and activate the notifications to get the last news in real time!
Are you excited?
I’m sure that this movie will be exciting like the others and will give us so many thrilling fighting scenes. I’m really looking forward to watching it and seeing what Gohan will do. As I already said many times in the article, he is my favorite character from the franchise, and knowing that he has his chance to shine, makes me very proud of him (you have no idea how I felt when I found out that he was supposed to be the main character in the second part of Dragon Ball Z, but Toriyama had to bring Goku back to life because of the fans’ complaints).
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post! Stay hydrated and healthy and see you next time!
