The release of the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie in 2022 brought a lot of joy to fans of the series, largely due to the use of 3D CGI animation, which was a first for the franchise. The film’s plot centers around Gohan and Piccolo’s efforts to save the day against new, powerful androids created by Dr. Hedo under the Red Ribbon Army signature. In addition to this, one of the classic Dragon Ball villains, Cell, also makes a comeback.
However, Toei Animation’s increasing reliance on 3D animation has caused problems for their flagship series, as revealed by the movie’s producer and animation director. Despite the high costs associated with producing the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie in 3D, the film was entirely computer-generated, much to the chagrin of many staff members. Bounding Into Comics brings details.
Although some 2D animated sequences were included in the movie, these were primarily reserved for a beautiful recap of relevant events from Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z at the beginning of the film. The animation director, Chikashi Kubota, had to work hard to negotiate for these sequences, which caused him to regularly cut it close to his deadlines. The reliance on 3D animation resulted in a longer production time for the movie compared to other projects.
Cell’s introduction in Dragon Ball Z was a turning point for the series. He was a unique villain who was created from the DNA of some of the most powerful characters in the franchise, including Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Frieza. This gave him a wide range of abilities and made him an unpredictable and dangerous opponent for the Z Fighters.
Unlike some of the more bombastic villains in Dragon Ball, Cell had an eerie and unsettling demeanor. He was calm, collected, and almost robotic in his approach, which made him even more menacing. Despite this, he hosted an arena tournament to find the strongest fighters in the world, which gave him a veneer of respectability.
