Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods

Masahiro Hosoda’s film returned the series to cinemas after 17 years; the last Dragon Ball feature had been The Path to Power in 1996. Earlier Dragon Ball films played inside the Toei Anime Fair programme; this one was released on its own, at full length. Akira Toriyama told Weekly Shonen Jump this was the first time he had joined one of the films so early, at the screenwriting stage. He said the story began two years earlier, with the God of Destruction and Super Saiyan God ideas. He also explained there that Beerus is built on a cat, in clothes taken from Egyptian dress. Toei made it as one of four films given 50 million yen by the Agency for Cultural Affairs under UNIJAPAN’s co-production certification programme, the only animated title supported that year; the United States was entered as partner country. The fight starts inside a family gathering: at Bulma’s birthday party Beerus is provoked when Buu will not share his pudding, and Bulma, her party wrecked, slaps the god. A good fit if you want the fighting staged in the middle of a birthday party, with breaks for food and jokes. Not for anyone needing the film to establish who Beerus is, or why Frieza’s defeat counts; it treats both as known.