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Dragon Ball Super: Brolyis critically acclaimed for its stellar animation quality and fight scenes, as Gogeta vs. Broly is revered by fans as one ofDragon Ball‘s best fights ever! Even though some people may find the plot and Bardock’s characterization to be controversial, all Dragon Ball fans can agree that the film’s visuals, art style, and animation are some of the best in the industry.
This comes after the hype following the end of the Tournament of Power and director Tatsuya Nagamine giving up his role to Toei’s fan favorite animator and director Megumi Ishitani forDragon Ball Super‘s final episodes. This was a game changer from the poor animation quality inDragon Ball Super‘s initial episodes and fans expected better things to come in the future.
Even afterDragon Ball Super: Super Hero‘s stellar quality in the CGI space, fans still demand the style of animation that the Broly film had, and it’s all thanks to the film’s animation supervisor Naohiro Shintani.
How Shintani was handpicked to be the character designer and animation supervisor
During an interview in August 2018, Shintani revealed how he got intoDragon Balland eventually got the job as an animation supervisor inDragon Ball Super: Broly.
According to him, watching the anime was what got him interested in it first, rather than the manga. Plenty of other people he knew likedDragon Balltoo, so he went to the theater with his big brother each year to watch the movies. That means he was already accustomed to the style ofDragon Ballmovies since he was a kid.
“I created my design for him at Full Power from scratch”: Not Vegeta, Akira Toriyama Personally Ensured One Dragon Ball Villain Wasn’t ‘Overly Macho’
When it came to the audition for the role of “Animation Supervisor,” series creatorAkira Toriyamapersonally handpicked Shintani because he felt Shintani’s art style was closer to him than the other candidates. But it came as a surprise for Shintani, as he never drew forDragon Ballin his entire time at Toei Animation so far. In the interview, he said:
There was an audition where several of us drew character designs, then Toriyama looked them all over and picked me. I drew the characters that Toriyama viewed as most important: Goku, Vegeta, and Bulma. I’ve never drawn for Dragon Ball the entire time I’ve been with Toei Animation. This was my first time, so it felt very fresh to me.
Toriyama’s art style has changed from his early days ofDragon Ball. The modern Toriyama style is different, wherein he draws characters a bit smaller and less bulkier. When asked which style he wanted to use, Shintani said:
Toriyama’s style has changed from how it used to be, so it was difficult to judge what sort of style I should emulate. I believe he now only draws using his current style, so I felt I should draw with that same updated look.
In the same interview, Shintani reveals how he began designing the characters forDragon Ball Super: Brolyand which style of animation he should incorporate.
Shintani describes the process of character design in DBS Broly
Although he had been an animator for the 2008 OVA,Dragon Ball: The Return of Son Goku and Friends!, Shintani had never gotten the chance to draw characters from the series until now.
He tried to stay true to Toriyama’s current and slimmer designs, so he gave the character a mixed sensation between the thinness of Toriyama’s modern style and muscular designs. He drew his first promotional poster around February of 2017, taking his wife’s idea of having Goku hold his Power Pole, which is based on a manga cover where Gohan holds a staff in a similar pose.
“I just had the urge to see him lose his shirt”: Akira Toriyama Made 1 Rule Set in Stone for a Dragon Ball Super Character to Avoid Making Him Look Too Macho
After that, he submitted the rough designs of the characters, and once they were approved, he proceeded to make clean copies of them. He also drew various expressions for each character, so the number of sheets piled up rapidly. For Goku alone, there’s his normal version and Super Saiyan, plus his Red and Blue forms, so the sheet number went to 20 or more.
Shintani rewatched all the oldDragon Ballmovies and the anime and wondered which style to use. In the end, he mixed styles from his favorite animator with those who worked on the Cell and Frieza sagas.
I used Toriyama’s designs as a basis and I redrew everything to be suitable for animation, but the whole time I was wondering, “is this good enough?” Since I wasn’t accustomed to drawing Dragon Ball yet, I also referenced the flow and expressions of Yamamuro’s designs. I also re-watched all of the old movies. Some people prefer the Cell arc, while others think the Freeza arc is the best, so it was hard to judge which era’s style I should use for the designs. I like the designs by former Dragon Ball television series animation supervisor Minoru Maeda, so while I was drawing I hoped to bring out the same nuance as his work, with a softer touch to the forms and expressions.
Dragon Ball Super: Brolywas Toei’s highest-grossing movie untilOne Piece Film: Redcame along. With Toriyama gone, the current creators ofDragon Ballhope to create another film that will surpass everyone’s expectations once again.
Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, andDragon Ball Superare available to watch on Crunchyroll.
Anand Bhaskaran
Articles Published :134
A Dragon Ball fanatic who also loves to read and talk about Indian spirituality. An MBA finance graduate with a passion for doing everything that is unrelated to it. Anand has over 4 years of experience under his belt, having worked with leading content heads in the anime community. Currently, he’s more into Slice of Life and Romcom shows than actual Battle Shonen. But unfortunately, he’s stuck with a job writing ONLY about Battle Shonen (smh).
