Dragon Ball Z: Revival of F Speculations
Big news about the 2015 Dragon Ball Z movie has been announced!! People are asking for my thoughts, so here we go!
The Official News
The movie is titled Doragon Bōru Zetto: Fukkatsu no “F” (ドラゴンボールＺ 復活の「Ｆ」, “Dragon Ball Z: Revival of “F””), it will premiere nationwide in Japan on April 18, 2015, and is speculated to be 2 hours long, in 2D and 3D.
According to Kanzenshuu.com and Anime News Network, there is no alternative English title provided, such as with “Battle of Gods” for the previous Kami to Kami film.
According to these sites, the general plot is this.
“An Earth where peace has arrived. However, remnants of Freeza’s army Sorbet and Tagoma arrive on the planet. Their goal is to revive Freeza with the Dragon Balls. Their dastardly wish is granted, and the “F” that plans its revenge against the Saiyans is revived…!”
Sorbet (ソルベ) is the shorty on the left and Tagoma (タゴマ) is the tall guy on the right.
These are food based puns, where sorbet is a type of frozen dessert and Tagoma is the rearranged katakana rendering of tamago (卵, “egg”).
The magazine says:
A mysterious pair of planetary warriors, equipped with the latest type of battle armor!! “Tagoma” in particular looks to be wearing a new type of Scouter!!
Then at the top of the image it says ‘Saranaru hen’ (更なる変, “further change”). But the image is cut off, so Kanzenshuu speculates that “This is likely the phrase ‘Saranaru henshin’ (更なる変身, “further transformation(s)”).
There’s no way to know whether this applies to Freeza, the Saiyans, or someone else.
No announcement has been made about an international release or foreign dub.
That’s it for the official news.
Speculation Time!!
This official teaser trailer has caused fans to speculate for months as to what “The worst wish in history could be.”
Well now we know…
It’s Freeza!
Wait, THAT is the worst wish in history? Freeza?!
Freeza is a weakling compared to Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo. Heck, I bet Goten and Trunks could beat him without fusing if they tried hard enough. Remember when Trunks sliced through Freeza and brutally murdered him? Yeah, me too. Not to mention Buu.
So something about this doesn’t seem right. Perhaps Toriyama is pulling a joke on us here, and this is just a façade for the REAL worst wish in history.
Or maybe Freeza receives a power up, or is also wished to have immortality?
Remember that the dragon balls grant 2 wishes now, not just one. So the first wish could be to resurrect Freeza, and the second could be to make him immortal or super strong.
For those of you who think that “This isn’t even my final form! MUWAHAHAHA!!” is going to happen. Think again.
Freeza’s final “form” on Namek is actually his normal body. All of the other forms he goes through are a ways for him to control his unbelievable power. So when he’s transforming he is actually returning to normal, not evolving to a higher level. That means there’s no transformations left.
His brother Cooler is anime movie content only, and one could argue that the same logic is being applied. Hard to say.
But in any case, according to Toriyama, the final Freeza IS Freeza, so it’s difficult to imagine him transforming and gaining enough power from this to be able to rival Goku and the gang. Even with a Cooler style transformation.
If you look at Freeza’s aura you’ll see that it looks just like the Super Saiyan God aura that Goku has in Battle of Gods. If this is intentional, then maybe it means that Freeza is going to become the new God of Destruction.
Or perhaps he’s the Freeza from a DIFFERENT universe altogether, who has much more power and isn’t defeated by the Saiyans. Because remember at the end of Battle of Gods, Beerus says that Gokū and the crew are in universe 7 of 12. This expands the scope and opens up new possibilities.
But really, I don’t think Freeza’s power level in this movie matters.
I believe that Dragon Ball is about more than power levels. It’s about heart and character development. It’s about seeing how worldviews collide, and how people change.
So Freeza could be the ideal villain for this film.
Vegeta’s Time to Shine?
Perhaps most important of all, this image shows us that Vegeta is going to be in the movie, and Toriyama said that Vegeta should be the hero
As for Vegeta, in the event that there’s talk of another animated film, then next time, I’d like him to play the main role. (Of course, this is nothing more than intentions, and I haven’t decided anything at all.)
This is the next movie and Vegeta is in it, so does that mean Vegeta will FINALLY get what he deserves? By fighting Freeza he’ll have a chance to avenge his Saiyan people and regain his pride.
So I suspect that this is why Toriyama is bringing back Freeza. He has to make the villain a character that matters. If he brings in a new guy then there won’t be enough emotional content to sink our teeth into. But with Freeza we get SO MUCH emotional content and psychological factors that it will help explain the plot and character growth.
With that in mind I think it’s a great choice for a villain. I have faith that Toriyama will figure out the power level issue and make an interesting conflict.
But here’s the thing!!
Toriyama always does the OPPOSITE of what you are expecting. He put that quote out there because it’s what he wanted to see in the story. But now everybody is EXPECTING Vegeta to be the hero.
So what’s Toriyama supposed to do?
Is he going to give people what they’re expecting and break his own storytelling rules, and at the same time let down a couple of fans who think this will feel forced?
Or is he going to follow his storytelling rule and have Vegeta get his ass kicked AGAIN?! Thereby disappointing everyone in the world, yet at the same time keeping things alive and interesting.
That to me is going to be the most fascinating part of the movie, and I can’t wait to see how he handles it.
Gokū’s New Dōgi
We’re seeing new designs in this image, and Goku’s new dōgi (“martial arts uniform”).
This dōgi is sleeveless, it’s a dark red color, almost rust-like, and it has a new symbol on the front.
This symbol isn’t kanji, so it’s very different from Goku’s usual. What could it be?
Could Goku be receiving training from the God of Destruction? Is he now the disciple of Beerus, or maybe Whis, since Whis is stronger than Beerus?
In any case I love that Toriyama is doing something different here. By adding a new symbol into the series it will carry with it a lot of meaning and depth, and anytime you can add depth to Goku, it’s a good thing.
I look forward to discovering its origin.
The Title of Fukkatsu no F
http://youtu.be/BnF7E9wV8b0
According to Anime News Network the V-Jump magazine says Akira Toriyama states that “the ‘F’ in the title in fact stands for “Freeza,” who will be revived in the film. Toriyama noted that he thought of the title while listening to the song “F” by band Maximum The Hormone, who he came to know personally through a friend. In fact, one of the members told him that they had been singing the song about Frieza.”
Posted above is what appears to be a fan made music video for their song, “F.” Fair warning that it’s rather intense and graphic, but it does have DBZ clips in it.
So Toriyama is paying tribute to this song which pays tribute to Dragon Ball. It’s a full pop culture circle.
Let me state for the record that fukkatsu (復活) means “revival.” It can also mean “return to life,” “resurgance,” or “comeback.”
Fukkatsu is the word used for fukkatsusai (ふっかつさい, “Easter”), the Christian holiday about “ressurection,” so this may explain why there are other sites translating the title as “Resurrection of F.”
But “revival” is the more accurate term.
Do I like the title? Well, yeah. I like that it’s short and sweet.
Is it a bit strange? Well, yeah. But this is Japan, and Toriyama does some strange things.
Freeza’s Companions
Sorbet and Tagoma. You’ve gotta love that they’re named after food.
I think Sorbet resembles one of Toriyama’s wizard or sorcerer designs from Dragon Quest and DBZ.
Tagoma has a smooth head like the shape of an egg and is wearing a dual-eye scouter.
Kanzenshuu says that the information about Tagoma’s new Scouter is reminiscent of Toriyama’s interview with Naho Ooishi in the July 2014 issue of Saikyō Jump:
If you’re a soldier in Freeza’s army, you can have one made to order to fit your ear. The different screen colors can be chosen to fit the peculiarities of different aliens’ eyes, or to suit one’s tastes. Also, dual-eye types exist as well.
I wonder if this Scouter works differently than the others. Of course, one can’t help but predict new dual-type Scouter toys!
And I like whenever Toriyama introduces characters in pairs, with opposite qualities of short and tall. It’ll be interesting to see if they have opposite personalities or how they work together.
Gohan and Krillin’s New Look
I suspect this is Gohan in the image, but it’s unclear. It could also be Goten, because Goten would be 3 years older by now if that’s how long it takes for Beerus to wake up.
If it’s Gohan, then this would make sense because these guys in the image are the ones who originally fight Freeza on Namek. So maybe the ‘old gang is getting back together again’?
Regarding his outfit, Akira Toriyama loves wearing tracksuits, and he even has Goku wear a tracksuit in Battle of Gods. So maybe it’s Gohan taking after his dad?
What’s up with Krillin shaving his head again?
I explain this practice in great detail in my upcoming book, Dragon Ball Culture. Suffice to say that Krillin letting his hair grow out during the Majin Buu arc is the indication that he has stopped training and become a family man. Same with no longer wearing his dōgi.
So the fact he has a shaven head and is wearing his dōgi again indicates that he is ready for training and combat. All the Krillin fans rejoice!!
Concluding Thoughts
In conclusion, all aboard the hype train!! This movie is going to be AWESOME!!
It’s 2 hours of Dragon Ball Z on the big screen, in 3D, with an original, canonical plot written by Toriyama himself. And it’s guaranteed to have a lot of comedy, action, and new twists.
What more could you ask for?
I’m also excited that Dragon Ball Z is getting the big Hollywood treatment marketing approach, where they release these teasers and news tidbits to keep the fans talking. It’s what this franchise deserves!
So those are my thoughts and speculations on Dragon Ball Z: Fukkatsu no F.
What do you think of this movie and the character changes?
Does the wish match up with what you thought it would be?
Update on Nov. 19
Kanzenshuu.com has an update and confirmation on the recent news.
They state that the transformation IS for Freeza. Even though:
“This is reminiscent of Freeza’s line in Chapter 303, where he says, “As a special privilege, allow me to show you!! My final transformation… My true form!!!” (大サービスでごらんにいれましょう!! わたくしの最後の変身を… わたくしの真の姿を!!!) What this new form or forms will entail is unclear.”
So how can there be a new form if the one we all know and love is his final, true form?
We’ll have to wait and see!