Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993) Poster

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8/10
Future Trunks!
ericstevenson2 October 2016
I think this is one of the best Dragonball Z movies and people here seem to agree with me. I think it's because it just has the traditional feeling of the series. The only fault is that the villain isn't that good. He doesn't appear until halfway through the movie! That's weird, given how short the movie is. I still liked this because it really did everything that made the DBZ show so good. I guess I just like the idea of everything being set up as a tournament. It's great to see all these familiar faces back.

It really helps being a fan of the show as you recognize all of the great characters. Everyone here acts in character. I like how it's set up, with them talking about Goku dying. Then again, it does say Trunks already beat the Androids so that seems to imply he came back to the present timeline. It doesn't matter, because it's still nice. I especially like when Bulma and Chi Chi are fighting over which of their sons is better! Vegeta is great in this and even though he's not that relevant it's nice to see what he's been up since Goku died. ***
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8/10
Vegeta Is Far To Underrated!!
gigan-923 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The ninth DBZ feature film, I really like this one. Everyone stars, albeit it'll be the last time the entire Z-team appears. Hard to find previously, buying it now-a-days is a simple matter with the Funimation re-release. The story is crafted much better than "Super Android 13", which is the double-edition set you'll receive with this film. It actually makes sense (most of the time) and offers better explanations for the villains other than Dr. Gero's henchmen. The fights aren't just beam wars and really offer some new material thank the Lord.

My favorite? Other than the ending its simply Trunks vs. Kogu. The setting is beautiful (come to think of it the whole movie has very nicely done locations) and the fight is spectacular. I love how Trunks goes ascended super saiyan (or super saiyan 2nd grade) and ends the brawl with a single punch. Bad-ass!! I also love the brutality of the movie seeing as how everyone is getting kicked in half and having holes punched into their guts. Also, the dialogue is freer, another enjoyable aspect.

One ploy that really grinds my gears is the misuse of Vegeta. He doesn't show for like the whole film but out of nowhere gets a bad-ass entrance. You would think he'd kill the weaker guys to the very least, but instead goes straight for Bojack, who even in his base form beats the sh*t out of the Prince. In the show and the manga Vegeta does get the chance to show off, but here its equal to abuse in my opinion. Maybe it's because I'm a hard core fan of Vegeta (especially Super Vegeta). In acknowledgment of that I guess that's why his bad-ass is on the cover of the DVD!! (=])!!

Well, the ending is very similar to season six in several ways but I loved it. Gohan quickly kills Bido and Bujin and actually defeats Bojack rather easily. The power of SS2 Gohan is unrivaled apparently. Oh yeah, Goku makes a surprise visit, much to the urk of most viewers., even me. Is it that hard to have a story flow without Goku?

Classic DBZ though, see it!!

Grade: B +
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8/10
Ki-blasts aplenty, but lacking a story
smetin16 June 2017
I have slowly been going through all the Dragon Ball movies and was told that this one was average at best. The story revolves around Bojack who was released thanks to a certain Z fighter. The setting is another martial arts tournament, of which Mr. Satan provides some comedic value with his Irritable Bowel Syndrome...

What I liked about this movie was that all the Z fighters got involved in the story, despite some having smaller parts than others. Krillin was somewhat more incompetent than usual, while Tien, Piccolo and Yamcha provided their mediocre strength relative to the Saiyans. Trunks and Gohan were the prime focus initially and provided us with some great battle scenes. When Vegeta eventually made an appearance it really completed the set (despite Goku's absence...since he was kinda dead).

The fight scenes in the initial qualifying rounds were pretty good. However, when Bojack and his crew eventually surfaced they got a lot more intense and interesting. I will leave it there, but suffice it to say, there will be plenty of BIG EXPLOSIONS to enjoy! The only thing that let this movie down was the lack of a story behind the villain. All we are told is how Bojack became unbound and then a minimal explanation as to who Bojack actually is. I would have liked to see a cut scene that showed the history of this villain. It would have made us 'get' why he is so darn evil and why King Kai was so concerned about his release.

That little niggle aside, the rest of the movie was good quality Dragon Ball Z as we know it. This may not be my favourite movie of the lot, but it certainly is worth a watch for fans of the series.
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7/10
Your basic DragonBall Z movie complete with very short fight at the end.
Aaron137525 July 2010
This DragonBall Z movie was rather entertaining, it just suffers the same flaw a lot of the movies do. They generally have all this lead up, a fight with some underlings, and then you have your fight between the two strongest warriors only to be left disappointed in the fact that the fight is very anti-climatic. This one features the DragonBall Z gang in the martial arts tournament, which for some reason in this movie is full of gimmicks. Some entertainment to be found here as I enjoyed the Tien and Trunks fight. Then this tournament goes onto a second phase, here though some rather unruly participants get involved and start causing major trouble. So the fighting begins between the Z fighters and the strange assortment of villains led by Bojak or whatever his name may be in Japan. It has its moments, but it is also a bit of a disappointment when compared to other movies from the series. Like most of the movies you can usually not fit this one into the flow of the regular series all that well, though it fits a bit better than others. It almost works, but then it doesn't, like the fact Trunks supposedly comes back from the future to fight in a pointless tournament other than help rebuild the decimated Earth from his time. This one also features a one note villain who has absolutely no back story whatsoever. Still, some cool fights here and there and you get to see Mr. Satan who is called Hercule in America. Though I guess it may be a negative to some that he is in this.
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8/10
Kick a** DBZ movie!
Deftone31515 November 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This DBZ movie is a must buy! One of the classic DBZ movies. This movie finally takes place in the right place, about 1 year after destroying cell. This movie might no have Goku fighting in it, but it is still extremely good. A tournament is held from people across the the galaxy.(Including Bojack and his henchman) and after they kill the other fighters in the final tournament, Gohan, Future Trunks, krillin,tien,Yamcha,Piccolo,and Vegeta all come to the scene. Another thing is that Tien and Yamcha actually fight again(Since DBZ movie 3) even though they last about 30 seconds at fighting bojacks henchman. The animation is great. The battle scenes are awesome. The enemy is actually cool. The only thing its lacking is good metal/rock music to add to it. In English anyway. One other thing that I don't like to much about is Hercule. As usual he's a little idiot who is afraid to fight and somehow he is a worldhero again for what Gohan did. Also it finally features gohan going SPOILER------------------SSJ2. This is a must have DBZ collection item.
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7/10
A decent Dragon Ball movie
Rectangular_businessman15 January 2021
I miss the time when Dragon Ball wasn't just "The Goku and Vegeta Show".

And while I know this movie is completely non-canonical, but I still like to see it as some sort of epilogue for the Cell saga, giving Future Trunks a last chance to shine (And honestly, the Future Trunks arc from Dragon Ball Super was simply awful)

The villains were a bit generic, but the setting was interesting, very fun to watch.
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8/10
One of the More Underrated Movies in the Franchise (Along with Bio-Broly)
Just-A-Fan-of-Buuhan17 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Plot: After the Cell Games and Goku's death, Gohan and the other Z-Fighters go to the Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament. Gohan, Krillin, and Trunks dominate the tournament, making it all the way to the finals in the process. But once Gohan meets Bojack and his Galaxy Soldiers in the Battle Zone, things take a turn for the worse. With Goku dead, will Gohan and the Z-Fighters be able to stop this new threat?

For those of you who hated this movie, you have no idea what you are talking about. This movie takes place between the events of the Cell Games aftermath and before Goten was born. The fight scenes are amazing, the scene with Goku saving Gohan from being crushed to death was awesome, and of course Mr. Satan provided some good comic relief like in the Cell Games Saga.

Although he doesn't appear until halfway through the movie, Bojack gives himself one of the best introductions ever, saying "Company... good. It's been so long... since I snapped someone's neck!," which catches Gohan's (and the audience's) attention. His backstory is also explained very well (thanks, King Kai.), and the way he takes on the Z-Fighters one by one is amazing. This could have been better if we got to hear Zangya's thoughts on SSJ2 at the very least, but overall, it's still a good movie.
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6/10
Everything is Great until the Plot Happens
JayWolfgramm31 March 2023
"Bojack Unbound" is a Dragon Ball Z movie that fits comfortably after the events of the Cell Games but before the time jump introducing Goten. In the proud tradition of DBZ movies borrowing heavily from their series, this movie closely mirrors the ending of the Cell Games. There are even some visuals that feel like they are lifted shot for shot from the series. Since the Cell Games are a huge highlight of the series, they are using good stuff.

The beginning of the movie is quite promising. The "Z-Fighters" are all participating in a sort of Martial Arts Tournament, different from the typical Tenkaichi Budokai's. It is neat to see fights that we typically wouldn't see. Fights like Tien vs. Trunks are very entertaining. We even have a time for Krillin to shine.

Sadly, similar to the Buu Saga, this tournament gets interrupted for a different less interesting story. This comes down to the villain and villain team being as dull as dirt. They have an interesting design, some unique powers and a confusing back story but beyond that I can't tell you a thing about them.

The fighting arena is different, I feel this one and "Fusion Reborn" really worked on having strange settings for our heroes to fight in. And it is refreshing to have a DBZ movie where Goku does not take center stage. This is Gohan's movie, and in theory could have been the torch passing movie fans were wanting.

The ending feels a bit cheap. Some of the characters are criminally underutilized. Some power is obtained in a kind of cheap way. The emotional beats of the ending only really works if you're already attached to these characters and know their story.

The movie has some great moments, but as a complete story from beginning to end, it falls short. If only Bojack would have stayed bound, maybe then we could have just seen the tournament play out.
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7/10
Enjoyable DBZ Movie!
Stefan_Loves_Movies16 February 2022
Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993) is a relatively short 50m Action DBZ movie, directed by Yoshihiro Ueda.

The story fits perfectly as a continuation to the Cell Saga. The animation and score are good. I like that they don't rely on Goku in this movie, so you get to see other characters shine. The only problem this movie has is the villain. I think that the villain had too little screen time.

All in all, I had a great time with Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993)! Cool fights, decent story. It's one of the better DBZ Movies and I'm sure you'll LIKE IT TOO! 7-8/10 rating!
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8/10
This is awesome
adamgranz9 March 2022
If you to see action and exposure this dragon ball z movie for you the only part that I did not like was villain he so boring the fight was good though I give b.
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4/10
The Worst of DBZ's Plotting All in One Movie
ikrani24 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
You know how DBZ has that issue where a lot of the fights will be awful one-sided as one fighter kicks the crap out of the other for way too long? Well, that's this movie in a nutshell. Really, there's nothing to spoil. It doesn't even give the illusion of tension. Everything from Act 2 on is just playing the waiting game.

The first bits, admittedly, are actually pretty fun. We see all the minor DBZ characters get a few moments of glory (sans Vegeta and Yamcha) and Tien and Future Trunks also get a nice friendly brawl at the beginning that ends once Trunks goes Super Saiyan.

Sidebar: the reason for Future Trunks being in this movie is incredibly contrived, but Future Trunks is an awesome character so I really don't care. Too bad the movie doesn't let him be his awesome character and instead turns him into Bojack's punching bag.

However, therein lies the main problem with this movie: the fights are all just waiting for someone to power up and turn the tables. Trunks gets the tar beaten out of him by one of Bojack's goons until he powers up and kills the dude. Bojack's goons kick the crap out of Yamcha and Tien and then proceed to do the same to Gohan, and then once Piccolo and Vegeta enter the fight proper Bojack kicks the crap out of them, then Gohan.

And then Gohan powers up and proceeds to own all the bad guys lickety-split. The fights aren't even that interesting. There's no moments I can point to that I remember distinctly, and I LITERALLY just finished watching the movie no more than 10 minutes ago. It's just that boring and that forgettable.

Bojack's also an incredibly boring villain. He has no on-screen back story, none of the fights he's in carry any kind of weight or engagement, and he has no lines to give him any kind of character.

Team Four Star might rate this movie high on their list, but for me, it was just a chore to sit through. Watch Super Android 13 instead.
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8/10
A Must Watch of the DBZ Movies.
DivineAzagthoth15 May 2022
This one has many reasons for being among the best DBZ movies.

First of all, one of the best elements in these movies is the humor. It's soft, well-placed and most importantly, funny. This is not different, and I dare say it is one of the best in this factor. I had a lot of laughs.

Here we have an opportunity to see unusual fights never to be seen in the anime. Trunks vs. Tenshin, Piccolo vs. Krillin, which ends in a very funny manner. And other cool fights vs the galaxy bandits.

Another good point is that Goku is not the main hero here, and don't take me badly, it is kinda boring to see Goku always beating up the bad guys in the end. As he is dead here, the job is done by Gohan, and we're able not only to see him as a super saiyan 2 again, but also with an alternative outfit, in his father memory.

The only complaint I have is that I would like to see some of the bad guys beaten by more Z Warriors, and here all of them were taken out by the almighty half-breed.
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10/10
Excelled
abirdeyad22 January 2021
A movie which feels like a canon. Fits perfectly in the timeline.
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10/10
Perfecto Villain but he was cheated
GokuMeatrider4 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
In This Movie You got the Main cast but just not Goku and the villain was perfect. 1. He Wasn't Cocky and he was boding everyone in the movie. 2 He has the whole thing planned out because he knew that Goku wasn't their and he could just whip out everyone without Goku around. 3. He Mastered the art of Jumping as he was Jumping Everyone his crew was throwing out the most slick moves known to mankind and Gohan was the only one as all 4 of them jumped his ass and Gohan then he powered up and destroyed them Then Boujack was whooping Gohan then This is when Boujack gets cheated as Goku comes from heaven and punches Boujack giving Gohan a chance to Violate Boujack. It was the plot so what do you expect and that is why Boujack was cheated truly mad at the plot.
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5/10
a wasted opportunity
erminahotmail1 February 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Then this is number 9 in the Dragon Ball Z films then in this film this time we understand where it can be connected in the anime work it is set after the death of cell then in this film Morricone's ball who wants to give a gift to his real son organize a tournament where there will also be Mrsatam and Here there will be all the warriors it is as always he wants to invade the earth. So what do I think about this film is it a wasted opportunity film as I already said in the title because I didn't like this film I know that all the people always say that it is one of the best of the Dragon Ball films but for me it is not for nothing was then were the reasons why it isthe story of the tournament was completely useless since this will not continue when the bad guy appears then the much bigger reason that makes me not appreciate this film is that all the Z warriors are knocked out by a female because Bojack's follower really makes them get knocked out one by one it isthen the thing that really pisses me off is that she isn't even defeated by our heroes but rather by bojack and you don't know why he just killed her for no reason maybe because he is very bad in fact because a lot of people get knocked out by this follower of bojack But he kills her Chebad thing and then the bad guy Bojack for me was another useless bad guy because they say he's one of the most powerful but that's not the case because he can't even stand up to Cell seeing as Bojack who was actually put in the head by Dragon Ball multivest if you read in mangaThe only thing is a positive moment in the film and when Goku intervenes he asks Gohan to save the earth. This film was a wasted opportunity and I can't even like this film but it won't be one of the worst in the film to conclude with a rating of 5.
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1/10
Plague disc -- avoid it!!
catuus27 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
There's probably a spoiler here. Who knows? People spoil so much more easily than they used to.

As a general rule, martial arts films are fairly stupid. Animated martial arts films are, as a general rule, terminally stupid. I will be the first to admit that the Dragonball Z material, which is extensive, isn't the most absolutely stupid, although at times it comes perilously close.

Those who are unfamiliar with this subset of the genre, the Dragonball series concerns the dynasty of muscle-bound martial arts superheroes founded by an alien (Seiyan), Goku. He was sent to Earth to destroy it as an infant, but forgot all about it an became the closest thing to Li'l Abner seen in modern anime (he's hugely strong, mild of manner, and innocent to the point of impraticality.

You would think the series would actually be about "Dragonballs". Well, it sort of is, occasionally. These little orange balls with stars on them, if collected together, allow the possessor to call up a gigantic magic dragon that will grant a wish. At times where's a lot of plot business connected with rivalry in getting the balls. However, at other times the dragonballs completely disappear. This is one of those times.

Instead we get lots of martial arts and of course the other thing associated with Dragonball Z, overabundant and overdone "comic relief" -- which is too self-consciously "comic" and from which there is little relief. A lot of this is provided here by a stock Dragonball character, Hercule. The reader is referred to an other "Hercule", Clouseau's assistant in the early Pink Panther films (and clearly a parody of a third Hercule, namely Poirot). The Panther Hercule is only marginally brighter than Clouseau ... the Dragonball Hercule is more than marginally less bright. Despite the clearly greater martial powers of the Goku dynasty and other fighters, he always manages to retain the title of World Martial Arts Champion through some fluke. For a while, Hercule has no idea he's benefited from other than his own skills, but by the time of the "Bojack" film, he's well aware of his position at the bottom of the totem pole.

You won't see much it here, but Dragonball comedy tends to use laughable names for its characters, particularly villains -- such as the perennial Garlic Jr.

As is usual with Dragonball, there is a martial arts contest and it turns into a serious threat to the continued existence of Earth. The threat is then dealt with (with lots of cliffhangers) by a member of the Goku dynasty. (By the way, nobody ever explains how the continued mating of the Goku dynasty members with Earth people fails to produce weaker and weaker offspring. If anything, this genetic dilution seems to produce stronger results. On the other hand, expecting things in this series to make any real sense in the real universe is very, very foolish.

The "Bojack" film is fairly harmless and will no doubt fascinate kiddies whose educational prospects are limited. Nevertheless, I urge you not to buy this turkey. The reason is simple: it is preceded by 2 blatant and obnoxious commercials that can't be bypassed. If you want to watch the film, you have to watch the commercials.

Shades, we hope, NOT of things to come.
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