Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn

Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn, known in Japan as Dragon Ball Z Fukkatsu no Fusion!! Goku to Vegeta (ドラゴンボールZ 復活のフュージョン!!悟空とベジータ, "The Rebirth of Fusion!! Goku and Vegeta"), is a 1995 Japanese animated fantasy martial arts film and the 12th film in the Dragon Ball Z series. It was originally released in Japan on March 4 at Toei Anime Fair, and dubbed into English by Funimation in 2006.

Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn
Japanese film poster
Directed byShigeyasu Yamauchi
Written byTakao Koyama
Screenplay byTakao Koyama
Based onDragon Ball
by Akira Toriyama
StarringSee below
Music byShunsuke Kikuchi
CinematographyToshiharu Takei
Edited byShinichi Fukumitsu
Production
company
Distributed byToei Company
Release date
  • March 4, 1995 (1995-03-04)
Running time
52 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office$23.5 million

Plot

In the Other World, a teenage "oni" guarding a spirit cleansing machine turns the volume of his walkman up so loud that he fails to change the evil essence tank when necessary. Due to the overload of evil essence, the machine explodes and the "oni" is transformed into a huge-childlike monster with power over the laws regarding the worlds of the living and the dead. As a result, both worlds are thrown into chaos: in the living world, several deceased are brought back to life, while in the other world, beings who were allowed to keep their bodies turn into spirits, and vice versa.

While fighting in the final of another Other World Tournament, Goku and Pikkon are interrupted by the appearance of a crystal-like substance all over the place, and are sent to see to the disturbance. They find the Check-In Station and most of the Other World encased in crystal-like jelly beans which are immune to their energy attacks. From inside the station, King Yemma directs them to the culprit, sitting on the roof. The monster, who is unable to say anything other than its own name, Janemba, refuses to put the barrier back after Pikkon insists. Goku decides to lure Janemba down to Hell to fight him while Pikkon tries to free King Yemma.

Earth comes under siege by an array of villains and zombies, one of them a comical parody of Adolf Hitler and his Wehrmacht, as well as an army of deceased past villains led by Frieza. Gohan makes quick work of Frieza, causing the villains to scatter. During the fray, Goten and Trunks gather the Dragon Balls, summon Shenron and ask him to put the barrier between the living and deceased worlds back up, but Shenron claims that he cannot grant the wish since only King Yemma has that kind of power. In Hell, Goku and Janemba engage in a game-like fight, with Janemba taking the upper hand against Goku. Goku realizes that despite Janemba likely not meaning any real harm, he is nevertheless a danger to both worlds, and powers up to Super Saiyan 3. In his new form, Goku dominates Janemba and literally smashes his head in, but Janemba merely transforms into a much smaller but more powerful and sinister form and again takes the upper hand, almost killing Goku, but a deceased Vegeta, having regained his physical body, arrives in time to help. Both Goku and Vegeta are no match for Janemba and are forced to hide. Goku proposes fusion, but Vegeta refuses to join bodies with Goku, given his pride.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, most of the villains are defeated. Pikkon continues to try to free King Yemma, but to no avail, and in his anger, insults the crystal substance, causing it to crack. But even Pikkon's worst insults cause the crystal to crack only slightly, and he eventually gives up and rushes to aid Goku and Vegeta. After much persuasion, Vegeta agrees to fuse with Goku via the fusion dance, but Vegeta fails to extend his forefinger at the last minute and the fusion fails, resulting in a weak, obese "fighter" named Veku. Janemba beats Veku severely and almost kills him, but the fusion wears off and Goku and Vegeta escape in time. Pikkon arrives to stall Janemba while Goku and Vegeta try the fusion again, this time successfully performing the ultimate fusion into Gogeta. Meanwhile on Earth, Goten and Trunks sense that their fathers have fused, and decide to fuse themselves into Gotenks to help rid the world of the undead. Gogeta swiftly gains the advantage over Janemba. But rather than kill him, he uses his power to cleanse Janemba of all evil inside him, reverting him to his teenage "oni" form, who runs away from Gogeta in horror.

With Janemba gone, his hold over the Multiverse disappears and the deceased return to the Afterlife. After sharing a good-natured farewell with Goku, Vegeta reverts to spirit form and disappears. While flying home, Goten and Trunks tell Gohan and Videl that they know who closed the barrier between the living and dead, but won't tell who it is (the English dub changes this to Goten and Trunks teasing Gohan and Videl after having watched them kissing earlier on). The film comes to an end with the still-summoned Shenron, asking if anyone wants to make a wish.

New characters

Janemba

Janemba (ジャネンバ, Janenba) is the main villain in the film Fusion Reborn. He is a demon of pure evil, spawned through an accident at the Other World check-in station when a worker ogre caused the spirit cleanser to overload. Janemba's first form (known as Janempa in the English dub) is a giant, yellow, and repugnant demon with a very playful and innocent demeanor. In this form, he does not know any other words other than his own name, which he repeats. Fat Janemba displays many unique abilities; such as opening portals, creating doppelgangers, and firing ki blasts through the pores on his stomach. Despite his power he transformed when Goku more than stood a chance against him when he was Super Saiyan 3. Janemba's second form is about human size (though very tall), has red skin covered by violet armor, and his voice is deeper and more demonic. In this form he doesn't speak at all, but laughs maniacally and is built for fighting. Like his previous state, he has many unique abilities like teleportation, being able to destroy the fabric of interdimensional gates (which break off into little glass pieces that target his enemy), and can generate a sword. This Janemba was too much of a match for Goku and even Vegeta upon arriving to help him. Goku and Vegeta then fuse into Gogeta, who puts up more than a fair fight, and defeats Janemba, and is restored back to the little ogre boy whose body was taken over by him. Janemba has since appeared in the video games as well as in several other Dragon Ball media.

Gogeta

Gogeta (ゴジータ, Gojīta) is the fusion of Goku and Vegeta who first appeared first in the twelfth Dragon Ball Z film Fusion Reborn through the Metamoran fusion dance. Like most other warriors formed via the fusion dance, Gogeta wears the traditional Metamoran attire and always appears as a Super Saiyan. In the film, Gogeta is formed by Goku and a reluctant Vegeta after realizing they are no match for the demon Janemba separately. However, the Saiyans' initial attempt at the fusion dance would fail due to Vegeta's uneven finger positions, resulting in a fat warrior named "Veku" by the South Kai. Once they are able to perform the dance properly, Gogeta quickly overpowers Janemba. Gogeta would later appear again in Dragon Ball GT as a Super Saiyan 4 to battle the final Shadow Dragon: Omega Shenron. In this form, he sports unruly, shoulder-length red hair and reddish-brown fur covering his torso. Unlike his film counterpart, this version of Gogeta is much more childish and arrogant, seen through his constant teasing and taunting of Omega Shenron. Though being significantly more powerful than the Shadow Dragon, Gogeta is unable to defeat Omega Shenron due to him defusing much sooner than expected. Gogeta appears in his first canonical appearance, in the latest movie Dragon Ball Super: Broly in his base form, Super Saiyan, and Super Saiyan Blue to take on Broly.

Cast
Character name[lower-alpha 1] Japanese voice actor English voice actor
GokuMasako NozawaSean Schemmel
GohanKyle Hebert
GotenKara Edwards
VegetaRyō HorikawaChristopher R. Sabat
TrunksTakeshi KusaoLaura Bailey
JanenbaTesshō GendaJim Foronda (pre-transformation)
Kent Williams (post-transformation)
BulmaHiromi TsuruTiffany Vollmer
Chi-ChiNaoko WatanabeCynthia Cranz
VidelYuko MinaguchiKara Edwards
PikkonHikaru MidorikawaK. Henry Hebert
FriezaRyūsei NakaoLinda Young
ShenronTesshō GendaChris Sabat
Mr. SatanDaisuke GōriChris Rager
King KaiJōji YanamiSeán Schemmel
South KaiToku NishioDartanian Nickelback
West KaiBin ShimadaKyle Hebert
East KaiKeiko YamamotoSteph Ann Nadolny
Grand KaiRyuji SaikachiEvan Jones
GogetaMasako Nozawa
Ryō Horikawa		Sean Schemmel
Christopher R. Sabat
GotenksMasako Nozawa
Takeshi Kusao		Kara Edwards
Laura Bailey
Veku (ベクウ, Bekū)Masako Nozawa
Ryō Horikawa		Sean Schemmel
Christopher R. Sabat
King YemmaDaisuke GoriChris Rager
Psyche Demon (サイケ鬼, Saike Oni)Tesshō GendaJim Foronda
The Dictator (独裁者, Dokusaisha)Bin ShimadaChristopher Bevins
Other World Tournament AnnouncerRyūsei NakaoC.T. Anger
NarratorJōji YanamiKyle Hebert

A second English dub produced and released exclusively in Malaysia by Speedy Video features an unknown voice cast.

Music

Box office

At the Japanese box office, the film sold 3.2 million tickets[1] and grossed ¥2.16 billion[2] ($23 million).[3]

On November 3 and 5, 2018 it had a joint limited theatrical release with the TV special Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku (1990), titled as Dragon Ball Z: Saiyan Double Feature, by Fathom Events in the United States due to the upcoming release of Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018).[4][5] According to Box Office Mojo, as of November 7, 2018, the Saiyan Double Feature made a revenue of $540,707.[6]

This adds up to a total gross of $23,540,707 in Japan and the United States.

Releases

It was released on DVD in North America on March 28, 2006, It was later digitally remastered and released in a final Double Feature set with Wrath of the Dragon on Blu-ray and DVD on May 19, 2009. The film was re-released to DVD on January 3, 2012 in a remastered box set containing the final four Dragon Ball Z movies.

Notes
  1. In the closing credits, the English cast were listed with the character's English names (e.g. Goku, Master Roshi, Krillin), while the Japanese cast were listed with Japanese names (e.g. Son Goku, Turtle Hermit, Kuririn).

References
  1. "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.
  2. "邦画興行収入ランキング". SF MOVIE DataBank (in Japanese). General Works. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  3. "Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) - Japan". World Bank. 1995. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  4. "Nostalgic Dragon Ball Z Titles Come to U.S. Movie Theaters This Fall With 'Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan' (1993) and 'Dragon Ball Z Saiyan Double Feature' (1990 & 1995)". PR Newswire. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  5. Kofi Outlaw (12 October 2018). "'Dragon Ball Z' Double-Feature Reveals U.S. Theatrical Trailer". ComicBook. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  6. "Dragon Ball Z: Saiyan Double Feature". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
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