Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound

Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound[a] is a 1993 Japanese animated science fantasy martial arts film and the ninth Dragon Ball Z feature film. It was released in Japan on July 10 at the Toei Anime Fair, where it was shown alongside Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha! From Penguin Village with Love and the first Yu Yu Hakusho film. The antagonist Bojack was created by Takao Koyama and was designed by series creator Akira Toriyama.[1] The film is the last to feature Kōhei Miyauchi as Master Roshi, who died two years after its release. It was preceded by Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan and followed by Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming.

Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound
Japanese DVD cover art
Directed byYoshihiro Ueda
Screenplay byTakao Koyama
Based onDragon Ball
by Akira Toriyama
StarringSee below
Music byShunsuke Kikuchi
Production
companies
Distributed byToei Company
Release date
  • July 10, 1993 (1993-07-10)
Running time
51 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office¥2.23 billion ($20.1 million)

Plot

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A wealthy family hosts an intergalactic martial arts tournament on Earth in which fighters from across the galaxy compete including Gohan, Piccolo, Future Trunks, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, and Krillin. All but Yamcha effortlessly advance much to the concern of Mr. Satan who recognizes them from the battle against Cell and knows he will need to face whichever one of them wins. In the semifinals, Trunks fights Tien and defeats him and Piccolo is annoyed by the lack of challenge and forfeits against Krillin. Gohan, Trunks, and Krillin advance to the finals where they each battle an alien fighter. However, as the alien fighters are revealed, the fight promoter realizes that these are not the staged, fake aliens that he recruited for the event. Trunks is challenged by a sword welding alien warrior named Gokua, Krillin is defeated by a female alien named Zangya, Gohan confronts the mysterious alien Bujin, and another tournament contestant Doskoi is killed by the alien fighter Bido. Meanwhile, having been complaining of fake stomach pain to avoid fighting, Mr. Satan gets trapped in a transportation pod and sent to the battlefield.

Trunks is surprised by his alien opponent's lethality and is forced to transform into a Super Saiyan to kill him. Trunks is then struck down by an unknown foe while Gohan continues his fight with Bujin until he discovers Trunks and Krillin have been incapacitated. Bojack arrives and tells Gohan about his plans to conquer the universe. Tien and Yamcha join the fight but are quickly defeated by Bojack's minions. Gohan fights them as Bojack watches on in amusement. While in the Other World, Goku and King Kai watch the battle with concern. King Kai reveals that centuries prior, the galactic warlord Bojack had been sealed inside of a star by all four Kais, but when Cell exploded on King Kai's planet, this allowed Bojack to become unbound.

Gohan is overwhelmed by the trio of minions and is nearly killed by Bojack until Piccolo saves him. Piccolo challenges Bojack but is quickly defeated. Trunks also challenges Bojack but is paralyzed by Bujin's energy absorption technique and nearly impaled by Bido's spear before he is saved by the surprise arrival of Vegeta. Bojack pummels Vegeta and assumes his "full power" form while Trunks is overwhelmed by Bojack's minions. With Vegeta, Trunks, and everyone else incapacitated, Gohan fights Bojack alone but is paralyzed by the combined energy absorption techniques of his minions. Gohan is attacked by Bojack but the sudden arrival of Mr. Satan's incoming pod distracts them. Gohan prepares to fight once again but is struck down by Bojack and his minions as Goku watches on helplessly as his son is captured in a bear hug and tortured.

Against the rules of Other World, Goku abruptly uses his instantaneous movement technique to transport himself to the fight and strikes Bojack before he can kill Gohan. After some advice and reassurance, Goku places his son on the ground safely and vanishes. Gohan, reinvigorated by his father's words, transforms into his Super Saiyan 2 form. Now unaffected by their attacks, Gohan effortlessly kills Bido and Bujin and Zangya is killed when Bojack blasts her toward Gohan. Bojack is impaled through the abdomen by Gohan's fist and as a last resort, he powers up a massive energy blast which Gohan counters with a Kamehameha wave. The energy beams clash and Bojack is killed. Gohan, exhausted, falls in delight as Goku praises his son from Other World. After the battle, the warriors and their friends laugh as they watch the news from the hospital that Mr. Satan is the one who defeated the alien intruders. On the roof, Vegeta and Piccolo sit, unimpressed by the cheerful tidings.

Cast

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Character name Voice actor(s)
Japanese English
Chinkel Post-Production/AB Groupe
(c. 2002)[2]
Funimation
(2004)
Gohan Masako Nozawa Jodi Forrest Stephanie Nadolny
Goku David Gasman Sean Schemmel
Piccolo Toshio Furukawa Big Green Christopher Sabat
Paul Bandey
Trunks Takeshi Kusao
Hiromi Tsuru (baby)
Doug Rand
Jodi Forrest (baby)
Eric Vale
Stephanie Nadolny (baby)
Yamcha Tōru Furuya Doug Rand Christopher Sabat
Tien Shinhan Hirotaka Suzuoki Tenshin John Burgmeier
David Gasman
Krillin Mayumi Tanaka Clearin Sonny Strait
Sharon Mann
Chaozu Hiroko Emori Jodi Forrest Chiaotzu
Monika Antonelli
Vegeta Ryo Horikawa Ed Marcus Christopher Sabat
Mr. Satan Daisuke Gōri Mr. Sahtan Hercule (edited version)
Paul Bandey Chris Rager
Bulma Hiromi Tsuru Bloomer Tiffany Vollmer
Jodi Forrest
Chi-Chi Naoko Watanabe Sharon Mann Cynthia Cranz
Kame-Sennin Kōhei Miyauchi Ed Marcus Master Roshi
Mike McFarland
Oolong Naoki Tatsuta David Gasman Brad Jackson
Gyosan Money (ギョーサン・マネー, Gyōsan Manē) Naoki Tatsuta Mr. Multibillionaire X.S. Cash
Ed Marcus Grant James
Okkane Money (オッカネー・マネー, Okkanē Manē) Hiromi Tsuru Mrs. Multibillionaire Lotta Cash
Jodi Forrest Jamie Marchi
Dollar Money (ドル・マネー, Doru Manē) Hiroko Emori Dollar Multibillionaire Monty Cash
Sharon Mann Colleen Clinkenbeard
Producer Toshio Furukawa David Gasman Dameon Clarke
Kim Unknown Sharon Mann Amber Cotton
Kaiō Jōji Yanami Ed Marcus King Kai
Sean Schemmel
Bubbles Naoki Tatsuta Christopher Sabat
Zangya (ザンギャ) Tomoko Maruo Jodi Forrest Colleen Clinkenbeard
Gokua (ゴクア) Toshiyuki Morikawa Paul Bandey Kogu
Ethan Rains
Bido (ビドー, Bidō) Hisao Egawa Ed Marcus Robert McCollum
Bujin (ブージン, Būjin) Hiroko Emori Sharon Mann Christopher Bevins
Bojack (ボージャック, Bōjakku) Tesshō Genda Boojack Bob Carter
Doug Rand
Doskoi (ドスコイ, Dosukoi) Naoki Tatsuta Paul Bandey Brad Jackson
Udo (ウドー, Udō) Kōhei Miyauchi Ed Marcus Brice Armstrong
Narrator Jōji Yanami Kyle Hebert

A third English version, produced and released exclusively in Malaysia by Speedy Video, features an unknown cast.

Music

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English dub soundtrack

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The score for the Funimation English dub was composed by Mark Menza. The Double Feature release contains an alternate audio track containing the English dub with original Japanese background music by Shunsuke Kikuchi, an opening theme of "Cha-La Head-Cha-La", and an ending theme of "Beyond Galaxies Rising High".

Box office

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At the Japanese box office, the film sold 3.3 million tickets[3] and grossed ¥2.23 billion[4] ($20.1 million).[5]

Releases

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It was released on DVD and VHS in North America on August 17, 2004. It was later released in Double Feature set along with Super Android 13! (1992) for Blu-ray and DVD on February 10, 2009, both feature full 1080p format in HD remastered 16:9 aspect ratio and an enhanced 5.1 surround mix. The film was re-released to DVD in remastered thinpak collection on December 6, 2011, containing the second 4 Dragon Ball Z films.[6]

AB Groupe released the film in Europe under the title Dragon Ball Z: Super Guy in the Galaxy. It was also the last Dragon Ball Z film to have an English dub produced by AB Groupe, although it was marketed as the 9th volume in the VHS/DVD set by Bridge Entertainment in the Netherlands, followed by Bardock – The Father of Goku, The History of Trunks, and Dead Zone.

Reception

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Notes

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  1. ^ Known in Japan as Dragon Ball Z: The Last Minute of the Galaxy!! A Super Incredible Guy (Japanese: ドラゴンボールZ 銀河ギリギリ!!ぶっちぎりの凄い奴, Hepburn: Doragon Bōru Zetto: Ginga Giri-Giri!! Butchigiri no Sugoi Yatsu)

References

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  1. ^ DRAGON BALL 大全集 6: MOVIES & TV SPECIALS (in Japanese). Shueisha. 1995. pp. 212–216. ISBN 4-08-782756-9.
  2. ^ "Behind the Voice Actors". Archived from the original on 2015-10-08. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  3. ^ "予約特典・ドラゴンボール最強への道・劇場版ご近所物語A5サイズ前売特典冊子". Dragon Ball: The Path to Power brochure (in Japanese). Toei Animation. 1996. Archived from the original on 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  4. ^ Komatsu, Mikikazu (January 29, 2019). "Japan Box Office: Dragon Ball Super: Broly Becomes Top-Grossing Film in The Franchise". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  5. ^ "Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) – Japan". World Bank. 1993. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  6. ^ Dragon Ball Z: Movie Pack Collection Two, Funimation Prod, 2011-12-06, archived from the original on 2015-12-31, retrieved 2016-04-12
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