“Every kid that believed they could train in 100 times earth’s gravity, and to every artist that taped Dragon ball Z to draw their favorite heroes…accept this as a token of gratitude” – Naseer Pasha (Artist and Director).
Recently, a fan animation on the most renowned and loved series, Dragon Ball, was released, and it immediately became the talk of the town amongst the anime community. This 12-minute video (roughly 9 minutes of actual animation) was titled “ Legend – A Dragon Ball Tale. Made solely out of the love and appreciation of the popular Dragon Ball Franchise. As you probably know, animation requires a lot of time, effort, and budget. Naseer, the creator of this stunning tale, had two of those, a team of the most talented artists and all the time he needed, but unfortunately, not the budget. However, gradually in 4 years’ time, his animation studio: Stray Dog Animation, made it happen. And in case you’re wondering who Naseer is, he is a very popular Animator from Toronto who has worked on some pretty popular shows like Castlevania and Total Drama All-Stars. So along with a team of the most amazing animators, voice artists, and music directors and a period of 4 Long Years came this Masterpiece of a love letter to Akira Toriyama, creator of the Dragon Ball Series.
Storyline: (spoilers)
The story begins at Planet Vegeta, where we get a glimpse of both our mighty Saiyan prince Vegeta and King Vegeta, as he advises him to stay strong and that his kingdom awaits his return. The prince leaves, brushing his cloak aside, on an Interstellar Assassination Mission. Meanwhile, on Earth, Goku and Chichi are squaring off against each other in the martial arts tournament. Chichi throws a barrage of punches and kicks at him for forgetting his promise? However, our goofball protagonist can’t even remember her name. Furious, at last, Chichi reveals that Goku promised to marry her. Bewildered, Goku can’t reply with anything but muffled sounds of confusion. However, this lovely reunion is interrupted when a mysterious hooded figure appears and comes straight at Goku. Chichi immediately covers Goku up, till she is sent flying away into the wall. Before Goku can react, the guy charges right at him. Goku manages to evade his punches left, right, and center, till he is finally caught with a green ki blast and is left lying on the ground shaking as the effect of ki surges through him. The hooded figure comes near him to put a nail in the coffin, as he charges up his ki blast, he mutters the words, “K-A-K-A-R-O-T”. However, this attack of his comes to a halt when a Saiyan pod falls from the sky. Vegeta arrives at the scene, reading the hooded man’s power level as “over 9000” identifying him as a ‘legend’. “It’s not every day that a king leaves his thrown but for you, I make a royal exception,” says Vegeta. Just then, the hooded figure takes off his cloak to reveal himself as Broly-The Legendary Warrior. Taking off his cape, Vegeta reminds himself that this is what the whole of his life has amounted to. He has to defeat Broly, for his family, for the pride of the saiyans, and even for Kakarot. As both turn Super Saiyan, the two engage in a life-threatening battle. Bobbing and weaving, Vegeta closes off the distance, trying to get in a clear shot, only to be sent flying sky-high with a double kick. Taking advantage of the situation, Broly punches Vegeta on his ribs, causing him to lose his form but not before Vegeta transforms right back and pummels him to the ground. Taking a step back he calls his final move “Final Flash” but with blistering speed, Broly appears behind and catches him. Slipping through his grasps, Vegeta turns his Ki into a sword and cuts Broly’s hand. However, before he can make the next move, Broly manages to halt his advance by choking and slamming him in the ground. A battered Chichi then comes running at Broly, only to get her arm broken and squeal in pain. Enraged, Goku loses control, making a burn-like mark appear on his chest, that slowly travels to the whole body setting not only his spirit but his face ablaze too. The form is called the ‘Savior From Heaven’. Seeing Goku in his most powerful form, Vegeta smirks. A wild Goku then comes running at Broly and sends him flying away. As Broly hits the wall, he prepares for a final attack to end everyone in the arena along with his two arch-nemesis. However, Vegeta suddenly stands alongside Goku, calling out his name. As the two connect their wrists, a Kamehameha, holding both their max energy, is charged and released right at Broly, blasting him out of the atmosphere. As Goku regains control, he runs to Chichi calling out her name, saying he remembered. However, this lovely moment is interrupted when Vegeta calls him out as Kakarot. Annoyed, Goku persists that it’s not his name. Vegeta, however, reminds him that he is of the proud race of golden warriors and that they’re keepers of the primal light. Goku’s primal light is out of control and must be tamed at first instance. “Your days under the sun are numbered Kakarot so marry that woman while you still can and come with, we must prepare,” says Vegeta while facing off to the sky. Prepare? For what? asks Goku confused. “War” replies Vegeta with a grim look on his face. After a few credits, we see a bruised and defeated Broly, lying on a stranded planet. In a weak yet eery voice, he says the name ‘Kakarot’ following it up with ‘Vegeta’, as looks ominously right into the viewer’s soul.
Final thoughts:
All in all, this is arguably the greatest fan animation ever produced and might just take the game for fan animations to a whole different level. This masterpiece may just be the trendsetter. Apart from the majestic animation, coloring, and the 90s art style. The story hits close to the heart as it takes the best bits of Dragon Ball Z and brings them together: Vegeta gets the limelight he deserves, and the fight choreography is much smoother and natural to the way Saiyans fight, Goku’s Saiyan form is closer to Sun Wukong(the character of Monkey King which he was inspired from) and the video ends with the perfect hook. This definitely left us viewers wanting for more, can’t wait to see what Naseer comes up with next.
