Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball Z is a landmark shonen anime that’s become far more than just a popular manga and anime series. Dragon Ball Z produced nearly 300 episodes — and the entire franchise’s total dwarfs 600 — but its success has also facilitated more epic cinematic adventures. Dragon Ball movies became a common occurrence ever since the series’ debut, but Dragon Ball Z alone produced 15 feature films that push the series to new heights. Some Dragon Ball Z movies are more popular than others and the 11th film, Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly, is particularly contentious in the fandom.
Bio-Broly is the third Dragon Ball Z movie to feature the fan-favorite character, following Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan and Broly – Second Coming. That being said, the concluding entry in this unofficial trilogy is largely considered to be the least effective of the bunch and the nadir of the Dragon Ball Z movies. Admittedly, Bio-Broly takes some big swings — many of which don’t pay off — but it’s still a fascinating chapter in the anime franchise’s history. With the 30th anniversary of Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly on the horizon, it’s now the perfect time to revisit the controversial movie and some of the interesting trivia that surrounds it.
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10Bio-Broly Is Written & Directed By Longtime Dragon Ball Creative Talent
The right creative team can make or break a project and there are plenty of anime movies that have great stories, but crumble under misaligned writers and directors, and vice versa. Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly doesn’t have a great reputation with the franchise’s fans, but this has little to do with the people who helped bring the film to fruition. Bio-Broly was written by Takao Koyama, who is well-versed in the universe. Koyama wrote the second-half of the original Dragon Ball anime, Dragon Ball Z, and all the series’ movies, including Dragon Ball GT: A Hero’s Legacy. Koyama is also responsible for writing the first season of Slayers and 50 episodes of Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac. On the other side of production, Bio-Broly’s director is another franchise mainstay, Yoshihiro Ueda.
Ueda got his start directing 11 Dragon Ball Z episodes, as well as Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks and Bojack Unbound, but not all of the previous Broly adventures. Ueda also directed many of Dragon Ball’s more niche productions, like The Return of Son Goku and Friends, Episode of Bardock, and Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans. Ueda also has additional experience directing two episodes of One Piece and one installment of Digimon Ghost Game. These eclectic filmographies, as well as extensive Dragon Ball experience, help give Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly its distinct energy.
9Bio-Broly’s English Dub Has An Original Score By Mark Menza
Funimation’s most recent Dragon Ball productions, like their work on Dragon Ball Super, have worked hard to retain as many elements from the original as possible. However, Funimation’s earlier work with Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT routinely featured new musical scores that were produced for their English dubs. Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly’s original Japanese version has a score by Shunsuke Kikuchi, like all the other Dragon Ball Z movies.
The music for Bio-Broly‘s English dub is produced by Mark Menza, who had already started working on his original score for Dragon Ball GT, replacing Bruce Faulconer from Dragon Ball Z. Menza had provided original musical scores for all of Dragon Ball Z’s movies, starting with the sixth film, The Return of Cooler, while previous films would also feature music by trendy bands like Deftones, Finger Eleven, Dust for Life, and Drowning Pool. Some of Menza’s best musical work for Dragon Ball is included in Bio-Broly and he really captures the film’s sci-fi atmosphere.
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8Bio-Broly Is Chronologically Set After The 25th World Tournament
One of the larger criticisms that get launched at Dragon Ball Z’s movies is that they’re not a part of the series’ official canon and are accordingly dismissed as being disposable. Some of these movies don’t plausibly fit into Dragon Ball Z’s timeline, but Bio-Broly is actually a movie that meshes with the series’ events. Bio-Broly begins with Android 18 hounding Hercule Satan for money, which is the direct result of her throwing the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament so that he’s able to maintain his inflated ego.
Additionally, Goku and Vegeta are both absent during the film’s events, which is consistent with what’s currently going on with the series at this point in its chronology. One could also argue that Gohan isn’t present during Bio-Broly because he’s training on the Sacred World of the Kai during these events. The fact that Goten knows how to fly, but that he hasn’t yet learned how to fuse, also helps pinpoint Bio-Broly’s placement in the grander Dragon Ball Z canon. The film may not be the most popular Dragon Ball Z story, but it’s at least one that could have technically taken place and isn’t completely impossible.
7Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly Teases A Pikkon & Broly Battle
Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly is one of the few Dragon Ball Z movies that barely features Goku and, in this case, he doesn’t even contribute to any of the film’s battles. Goku’s lone scene in Bio-Broly is contained to a brief coda where he’s informed that Broly’s biological body is currently wreaking havoc in hell. This, in itself, is fascinating information due to how Broly is allowed to keep his body in the afterlife and that it’s Bio-Broly’s death that prompts his exodus to Other World, rather than his execution in Broly – Second Coming.
However, it’s mentioned that Pikkon is trying to handle this mess and that he requires Goku’s help in hell. A battle between Goku, Pikkon, and Broly would be so much fun and it definitely feels like Bio-Broly’s conclusion teases this showdown in a future film. It’s worth noting that the next film, Fusion Reborn, does feature Goku and Pikkon fighting together in Other World, but not against Broly. This might have actually been the original intention for Dragon Ball Z’s 12th movie before it ultimately develops Janemba into its central villain.
6Bio-Broly Was Designed To Skew To Younger Audiences
Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly takes some major risks when it comes to its core characters and focus. Goten and Trunks are both central figures in Broly – Second Coming, but Bio-Broly is really their true showcase and it’s a movie that’s sillier and more child-friendly as a result. Other older characters like Gohan, Goku, and Vegeta aren’t present in Bio-Broly, which really lets these younger heroes dominate the story and steer the narrative. Bio-Broly also shines a significant spotlight on Android 18 and Krillin, who become de facto babysitters during Goten and Trunks’ exploits.
This new direction didn’t work for all fans, especially the older Dragon Ball crowd who had been watching from the series’ start. However, an emphasis on Goten and Trunks is curiously something that’s become a common request for contemporary Dragon Ball Super stories. Bio-Broly is far from perfect, but it’s still a Dragon Ball Z movie that attempts to genuinely mix things up when it comes to its featured cast and it’s the only film where Goku doesn’t fight.
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5Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly Was Originally Released Alongside A Dr. Slump & Slam Dunk Movies
Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly is a movie that was released in theaters, but many of the franchise’s films are actually rather short and qualify more as double-length episodes than feature-length adventures. For instance, Bio-Broly is only 46 minutes long, which is hardly an anomaly for Dragon Ball Z movies. As a result, these films would often be released as double or triple features with other anime movies.
Bio-Broly was initially released during 1994’s Toei Anime Fair, alongside other popular Toei anime series movies. Bio-Broly was featured with the ninth Dr. Slump movie, Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha!! Excited Heart of Summer Vacation, and the second Slam Dunk film, Conquer the Nation, Hanamichi Sakuragi! All three of these movies total 114 minutes, but the Dragon Ball Z film was the most anticipated of the trio and billed as the most substantial of the lot.
4Bio-Broly Had Two Other Niche English Dubs Were Produced For Foreign Markets
Funimation is Dragon Ball’s primary studio when it comes to English dubs. That being said, the franchise has a unique history where it’s passed through several different companies for region-specific English dubs. There’s Dragon Ball‘s original Ocean Group dub and the subsequent redub that was commissioned by the AB Groupe.
However, there are also two other considerably more obscure English dubs that were produced for Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly by Speedy Video and Solar Entertainment. These two companies produced English dubs for previous Dragon Ball Z movies that were distributed in foreign markets. These English dubs feature lesser-known voice actors that don’t include any of the preexisting Funimation, Ocean, or AB Groupe talent pools.
3Bio-Broly Is The Dragon Ball Z Movie Villain Who’s In The Least Amount Of Video Games
There are many Dragon Ball Z movie villains that gain a second life in video games, which in turn exposes them to a larger audience and helps them become even more popular. Dragon Ball Z villains like Broly, Cooler, and Janemba likely wouldn’t be as prominent as they are today without multiple Dragon Ball video games putting them in the spotlight and giving them their due. That being said, Bio-Broly is the Dragon Ball Z movie villain that receives the least representation in Dragon Ball video games and he’s almost been completely ignored.
Bio-Broly is essentially in just two titles, the Dragon Ball Heroes games — which mark his first appearance — and Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle. He’s also indirectly referenced in Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2. These games equip Bio-Broly with some new and original moves, like the Legendary Demon Unit and the Super Genome Ray. Bio-Broly remains quite an obscure character, and he barely has any merchandise. It will be interesting to see if Bio-Broly makes the cut in the upcoming Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO.
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2Bio-Broly’s Alternate Name, Drooly, Is Deeper In Japanese
Dragon Ball Z has a playful history when it comes to its characters’ names, many of which have hidden meanings and are layered puns. Broly is actually a riff on broccoli and further feeds into the running joke that all Saiyans have vegetable-based names. Bio-Broly is a rather unoriginal title, albeit one that plays up the film’s science fiction angle. However, the character is given a more colloquial nickname, “Drooly,” in reference to his syrupy and unstable state.
Drooly just seems like a silly pun that’s not very deep, but it actually holds greater significance in the film’s original language. Drooly is supposed to be a combination of “Broly” and “dorodoro,” the latter of which is an onomatopoeia oozing sound in Japanese. This adds a little extra humor to Bio-Broly’s disgusting transformations and decaying nature throughout the film.
1Bio-Broly Is The First Super Saiyan With A Tail To Transform Into A Super Saiyan
Dragon Ball Z’s three Broly-centric movies reveal some rewarding details about the Legendary Super Saiyan and what makes him unique from other characters like Goku and Vegeta. Dragon Ball Super: Broly continues to build upon this as it revises Broly’s backstory and pushes him to new heights. Bio-Broly deals with a volatile clone of Broly rather than the real thing, but this new version of the character does provide some illuminating Saiyan details. Bio-Broly technically becomes the first Saiyan who transforms into a Super Saiyan while they still retain their tail.
It’s an interesting development, especially since before this film there was a belief that Saiyans who still have their tails couldn’t become a Super Saiyan. Bio-Broly’s Super Saiyan transformation also establishes that a Saiyan’s tail stays brown, rather than becoming gold like the rest of their hair, during this transformation. This detail is consistent with what’s later explored in Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock with Bardock and what’s covered later in Dragon Ball GT. It’s a seemingly random detail that goes on to inform later Dragon Ball canon.
