Based on the manga series “Dragon Ball Super,” written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball Super: Broly is a 2018 Japanese animated adventure fantasy film. It is also the canonical reimagining of the 1993 Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan. Dragon Ball Super: Broly is the 20th movie in the franchise, and after its release, it became the highest-grossing film of 2018. The film also ran successfully in the United States and Canada, and all of Akira Toriyama’s efforts for the movie paid off.
Just like other movies in the Dragon Ball franchise, Akira Toriyama was personally involved with this film. From the story to character design and even the screenplay, the creator gave his best to make Broly a stone of success, and as always, he didn’t disappoint.
For several years after the film’s release, Broly remains the topic of discussion.
Akira Toriyama Made Changes In Character Design
Naohiro Shintani was chosen as the animation supervisor for Dragon Ball Super: Broly by Akira Toriyama due to his impressive work. Like others, Shintani auditioned for the role and recruited Shintan instantly. He is one of the few who can impress Toriyama.
In an interview about the movie, Shintani discussed how he first encountered Dragon Ball.:
Plenty of other people I knew liked Dragon Ball, too. I went to the theater with my big brother each year to watch the movies.
He further explains how Toriya suggested changes to the characters:
Even Toriyama has made the characters less muscular than they appeared in the past, so I made a conscious effort to evoke a slim muscular style like he does.
Being his first major project, Naohiro Shintani didn’t have much experience working with muscular and buff characters, so he was already having a tough time creating the look for the Dragon Ball characters. But in the film, Akira Toriyama made pre-existing characters less muscular than they were previously.
So, Broly was created in a similar way, even though the character had previously been depicted as bulkier than Vegeta and Goku. The change in character design may have been intended to make Broly look bulky compared to others without being overly muscular or unattractive. This makes sense when comparing the design with Kale from Dragon Ball Super.
She and Broly share a lot of similarities. Both lost their control after turning into Super Saiyans and hurt others. While Kale appears slim in the series, giving the Broly the same appearance makes sense. Toriyama makes him more like an antihero than a villain. In the latest chapter of Dragon Ball Super manga, Broly mastered tapping into his Super Saiyn form without losing consciousness.
Currently, the Dragon Ball Super manga is on hiatus following the passing of Akira Toriyama. You can always check the Anime King website for the latest updates.
Dragon Ball Super: Broly’s Shading
During the interview, Shintani was asked about the action scenes in Dragon Ball Super: Broly. As the animation supervisor, he explained that he focused on adding more shading and emphasizing the muscles during battle scenes to create a cool impression.
The movie did not use the shading technique throughout, as it would have diluted the impact of the important scenes that needed attention. The director aimed to create visuals that clearly signalled it was time for battle.
Dragon Ball is one of the best action-fantasy anime, so especially skilled action sequence animators were hired for those parts. Further, the animation supervisor always left surprised after seeing their work. While Shintani focused on ensuring the characters in everyday scenes were portrayed accurately, he let the action animators have the creative freedom to do what they liked.
Conclusion
Dragon Ball Super: Broly is one of the best action fantasy films and the highest-grossing one of 2018. It happened because of Akira Toriyama’s efforts as he took the driving seat while creating it. While Naohiro Shintani, the animation supervisor deserves the credit too. Check the Anime King Website for the latest update.