Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018)

Score: 7 / 10
Category: Movie (Anime)
Platform: Apple TV

One-line verdict

A canon-defining Dragon Ball spectacle with enormous ambition and emotional weight, slightly dragged down by inconsistent animation and familiar timeline issues.

Context & bias (important)

I’ll put this upfront.

Dragon Ball is my favourite anime of all time.
I’ve watched almost everything in the franchise — from the original Dragon Ball to Z, GT, Super, Daima, and most of the standalone movies. Bias exists, and I’m not pretending otherwise.

I rewatched Dragon Ball Super: Broly on Apple TV after revisiting Fusion Reborn, specifically to appreciate the comparison between non-canon spectacle and canon storytelling.

Why this movie matters

This is a canon story, and that alone elevates the experience. Everything here connects directly to Dragon Ball Super, which gives the movie narrative weight that older standalone DB movies never had.

To me, this is the most complete standalone movie in Dragon Ball canon.

Broly’s reintroduction works extremely well. Showing his childhood, his isolation, and his relationship with his father adds emotional grounding, even if it comes at the cost of retconning older material. The story earns its runtime, and this is likely the longest Dragon Ball movie to date.

On story alone, this movie could justify a 10 / 10.

Where it peaks — and where it falls

Visually, the movie starts at an incredibly high level. The Vegeta vs Broly sequence is beautiful — detailed, fluid, and controlled. It represents Dragon Ball animation at its best.

Unfortunately, the longer the movie goes on, the more the character designs deteriorate. By the time it reaches Goku vs Broly, the drop in consistency is obvious. Some sequences feel rushed, even sloppy, which is unacceptable at this level. That alone forces the score down.

The section below discusses timeline and power logic.

Canon problems (as usual)

Timeline placement remains questionable — something Dragon Ball has always struggled with.

This clearly takes place after the Tournament of Power, since Frieza is alive again. Yet we never see Goku attempt Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken or even Ultra Instinct to test Broly’s absurd durability. That omission feels like a waste, even if I understand the intent of the movie was to introduce two major canon elements rather than fully explore them.

Final thoughts

Despite the flaws, my experience with this movie has remained consistent.

I remember watching it in the cinema and leaving satisfied. Every rewatch at home has felt the same — loud, excessive, flawed, but deeply enjoyable.

If I ignored the obvious issues and pushed this to a 8, I might as well rate every Dragon Ball movie a 10, which would make the scale meaningless.

So I’m giving a 7 / 10.

Disclaimer:
This rating applies to Dragon Ball fans only. If you’re not already invested in the franchise, this movie will likely feel long, noisy, and full of screaming — and that’s fair.