Dragon Ball Z - La resurrezione di 'F'

The 2015 Dragon Ball Z movie, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, is less than a month away from its official Japanese release of April 18, but early showings in select locations in the Land of the Rising Sun have already begun! Julian from Kanzenshuu had the great opportunity to attend one of the showings and afterwards he took the time to write a nice, detailed summary for the movie, take a look below!

It’s worth noting, for the unfamiliar, Kuririn is the Japanese name for Krillin and Goku is referred to as Son (from Son Goku) sometimes. Additionally, both Goku and Vegeta will be able to go Super Saiyan God, which is colored blue in this movie as an effect of going Super Saiyan God after being a Super Saiyan first.

Down in Hell, a gaggle of cute angels and stuffed animals crowd around a lone tree in a verdant field. Encased in a pod suspended from the tree’s branches is Freeza, looking thoroughly displeased.

Sorbet, the de facto leader of Freeza’s remaining forces, reluctantly orders their withdrawal from Planet 448 as the inhabitants rebel. He inquires of his soldiers’ progress in locating the Namekians’ new planet, but in spite of their many spy robots, they have found nothing. In disgust, he orders Tagoma, his top lieutenant, to accompany him to Earth to return Lord Freeza to life!

From orbit, Sorbet and Tagoma see that someone besides “that woman” can collect Dragon Balls, and this group already has six! Bringing the Pilaf Trio aboard, the group goes on to obtain the seventh ball at the bottom of the ocean.

Elsewhere, Piccolo is babysitting an infant Pan in front of Mr. Satan’s mansion, rocking her cradle with his foot. Videl and Gohan apologize for being late as Piccolo acts embarrassed. He suddenly notices an unusual ki in the distance.

In a rocky, barren landscape, Sorbet orders Pilaf to summon Shenlong, and orders that Lord Freeza be returned to life! Though Shenlong initially resists reviving a chopped-up body, the minions go through with it anyway. Freeza’s body lands in a pile of chunks in front of them. The Dragon then demands a second wish, so Shuu hastily wishes for one million zenny. The Dragon takes its leave, leaving Sorbet and Tagoma to collect the pieces of Freeza before departing.

Freeza pieces himself back together in a healing chamber on Sorbet’s ship. Freeza emerges in his first form, surveying his surroundings. Sorbet hastily introduces himself, as do his lieutenants Tagoma and Shisami, who Sorbet claims are equal in ability to the late Zarbon and Dodoria. Sorbet suggests reviving his father as well, but Freeza refuses, citing “Papa’s” egotism. After killing a random minion and grousing about the state of his own power, Freeza says it will take some time before his revenge. Tagoma attempts to reason with him, suggesting that it would be wiser to simply ignore the Saiyans; Freeza lifts him up telekinetically, then tosses him through the viewport into space. Soldiers are sucked out into the vacuum, as Sorbet orders the shields raised. Sorbet attempts to explain that Son Goku has become much, much stronger since their last encounter, but in spite of this massive power-up, Freeza, who has never trained before in his life, believes that if he trains for a few months, he will be able to surpass even that Saiyan…!

After a brief argument with a Capsule Corporation receptionist, Jaco, a member of the Galactic Patrol, is able to meet up with his old friends Dr. Brief and Bulma. Jaco says he’s heard that she was friends with the one who defeated Freeza… who has been revived, and is on his way to Earth with a thousand soldiers! Bulma attempts to summon Whis through a strawberry sundae offering, but when nothing happens, she decides to let everyone know about the situation herself.

Kuririn’s arrest of two thugs is interrupted by a call from Bulma. He hurries home to prepare, where he puts on his dōgi, and gets No. 18 to shave his head. He tells his wife and daughter to stay safe. As he flies away, No. 18 whispers, “So cool….”

Goku and Vegeta are sparring against Whis. While both appear to be going all-out, neither is able to touch him, and when they attempt to attack in tandem, they merely get in each other’s way. Both are thinking before they attack; they need to let their bodies take the initiative and act. Vegeta is always tense and slow to react, while Goku is too relaxed and open to attack. At this point, Beerus appears: he can’t get any sleep with that racket going on. He sneezes, and sends an energy ball hurtling towards a nearby planet, which explodes. Whis complains about the time that he had to fix Beerus’ destruction of several nearby suns. Goku is surprised, and asks if Whis can create worlds, but Whis says he can merely rewind time a bit and do things over. Vegeta asks what he is; Whis supposes he is… a life-form called “Whis”.

Back on Earth, Freeza’s ship arrives, and troops spill out. Earth’s fighters can feel Freeza’s ki and head in that direction, but not before he, as a greeting, obliterates North City with a single blast.

Gohan purposely avoided telling Goten and Trunks about the impending fight because the two of them might do something rash. Freeza notices the heroes, and singles out the one he remembers killing on Namek. A spaceship arrives and Bulma hops out. She wastes no time in unloading a verbal barrage on Freeza, who responds asking where Son Goku is. She engages in provocation until Kuririn points out to her that Freeza has in fact gotten much, much stronger, like he’s a different person. She quickly changes her tune and asks for Freeza to wait until Son-kun shows up, but when Freeza gives only 10 seconds, she unloads on him again. Freeza unleashes his army, while each hero is forced to engage multiple enemies at a time. Freeza dryly notes that Earth’s fighters are intentionally avoiding killing their foes.

As the crowd of soldiers thins, Piccolo is taken on directly by Shisami, who proves a more formidable challenge than the others. Gohan steps in, however, and makes quick work of him after becoming a Super Saiyan. Sorbet is horrified, and Freeza says he didn’t know how truly fearsome a Super Saiyan was.

Earth’s fighters take a senzu each to recover from their fight. Freeza laments the pitiable state of his forces, as one soldier apologizes for being no match for the Earthlings. Freeza comments that their lying around like that is an eyesore, and dispatches them all in an instant.

Freeza eyes Gohan and knocks him down with a single blast. Kuririn panics when he realize that Gohan has no pulse. There’s no way for him to eat a senzu like this, either…! Piccolo uses a kiai as a form of chest-compression which gets Gohan’s heart beating and enables him to down the second-to-last senzu.

The Oracle Fish shows up to tell Whis that there was a message for him earlier. Whis is excited at the thought of there being something tasty waiting for him, but his joy is quickly interrupted by Bulma shouting at him for not getting back earlier and that Freeza has returned. Whis notes that it would take 35 minutes, but Bulma interrupts to tell Goku to just teleport there already!

Goku tells Vegeta to hurry up and grab his hand, which flusters him. Goku reminds him that if they don’t hurry, Bulma might get killed, and he reluctantly puts his hand in Goku’s. The two of them disappear from Beerus’ planet.

Goku teleports to Earth, and Vegeta hastily lets go of his hand. Freeza speaks of his suffering in Hell, but at last the day of his revenge has arrived. He can’t bear the thought of Son Goku alive, to the point that he trained for the first time in his life. Goku says his power has indeed increased, but he himself has also gotten a lot stronger. Freeza acknowledges that he was caught a bit off-guard, but no matter: this time, he will start fighting right in his final form!

Goku is impressed, and comments that if Freeza weren’t such an evil guy, he’d make a good rival. This just annoys Freeza even further. After a moment, he also expresses his confusion at Goku’s lack of a Super Saiyan transformation. Goku responds that he does not need to. The two clash, and while the fighting is fierce, it becomes clear to the others that Freeza hasn’t landed a single hit. Freeza who attacks with a renewed ferocity. However, Goku is not seriously perturbed, and Vegeta starts to get annoyed. Eventually, he flies up to where the two are fighting… and starts fighting against Goku, shouting for him to give him a turn instead. Freeza, misunderstanding the situation, assumes Vegeta still has a bit of loyalty to him, and tells the Saiyan prince to stand back to let him have his vengeance.

Vegeta grudgingly obliges, and Goku and Freeza pause their fight. Freeza is impressed that Goku has improved this much, even if it took him quite a while. Goku senses that Freeza is still hiding something, and Freeza expects the same of him. They agree not to hold back any longer, and Goku goes first, warning Freeza that he won’t want to fight anymore once he sees it. He concentrates, and his hair stands on end as he is enveloped by an ethereal blue aura.

Goku says it’s hard to explain, but basically it’s Super Saiyan with the power of Super Saiyan God. Freeza is glad, then, that he decided to attempt attaining a further transformation. Freeza concentrates, and powers up a great deal, surrounding himself in a blinding light. Freeza acknowledges the cheap name, but refers to it as “Golden Freeza” anyway. Goku is impressed, but it also makes him excited. Goku offers to let Vegeta fight now, but he nervously declines, saying that Freeza’s opponent is Kakarrot.

The battle begins in earnest this time, and is much more evenly matched than before. Beerus notes that Vegeta isn’t fighting together with Goku, and that the two of them are just too proud. Beerus calls them both fools, which Whis says is just like the God himself.

As he begins to lose the battle, Goku compliments how amazing Freeza is, to have come so far when it took him so long to get this strong. Freeza is apparently tickled by this, but says it won’t do him any good. It is then, however, that Freeza notices the presence of Beerus, who complains that Freeza is going to get dust all over the food if he doesn’t fight somewhere else.

Goku thinks Freeza should quit while he’s ahead and go home: after all, they’ve spotted his weak point. Freeza is incredulous, but Vegeta pointedly explains that Freeza, consumed with the idea of revenge, probably came to Earth as soon as he achieved his “Golden Freeza” form. He hasn’t had time to get used to it, so it’s rapidly consuming his strength.

After holding him under water for a bit, Freeza sends a volley of energy blasts after Goku, who manages to evade or deflect them all. Finally, Freeza manages to land a solid punch directly to Goku’s face… but Goku is completely unfazed.

Finally, Goku launches a massive Kamehameha at Freeza, which he attempts to repel with a blast of his own. It is no use, however; the tyrant is utterly defeated. As Goku stands above him, Freeza hauls himself up on the water’s edge, erupting in rage and humiliation… followed by a smirk. Just then, a bolt of energy comes from behind Freeza and pierces Goku straight through the heart: it was Sorbet with his ring. Freeza then takes out his pent-up rage on Goku, kicking and stomping on his chest repeatedly.

Freeza gloats over Goku’s softness, mocking the “bad habit” of letting down his guard that left even his powerful body vulnerable to a mere beam attack. Freeza offers to let Vegeta have the final blow against the Saiyan he hates. Vegeta flies over, calling Goku an idiot for not listening to Whis’ warnings. However, he also refuses to kill him, saying that as much as Goku pisses him off, he needs him around for his own purposes. Freeza attempts to sweeten the deal, by offering to make Vegeta the supreme commander of his forces. However, Vegeta chooses instead to utterly obliterate Freeza. There’s no way he’d have any loyalty to the one who destroyed Planet Vegeta!

Vegeta tells Kuririn to give Kakarrot the last senzu, or else he’ll die. Kuririn does so, but Freeza tries to interfere, sending energy blasts towards them. However, Vegeta deflects them away, and one ends up killing Sorbet in a fitting comeuppance. Goku thanks Vegeta for saving him; Vegeta scoffs, and says in exchange, he’ll be taking the best part of the fight. Vegeta powers up, and reveals that he can also use the form Goku demonstrated earlier. Freeza freaks out, and unleashes a torrent of energy blasts at Vegeta, but to no avail. What follows is a one-sided beating in which Freeza is humiliated even further, to the point that he even loses his much-vaunted “Golden” form. Back in his fourth form, he pounds against the ground in despair. Standing before Freeza, Vegeta prepares to deliver the final blow…

Freeza sends a ball of energy straight into the ground below him. The Earth’s crust cracks and distorts, revealing magma underneath that rushes to the surface. Earth is engulfed in fire, and explodes in a giant shockwave.

Only Beerus, Whis, and those near them survive the destruction, thanks to Whis’ barrier. Goku laments not finishing Freeza off when he had the chance. “In that case… why don’t you?” asks Whis, as Beerus tells Goku it was his softness that invited Freeza’s victory. Goku asks what Whis means, and he responds that he will be turning back time. Goku had best hurry, as he can only go back three minutes. He taps his staff twice on the ground, and the events are undone.

Once again, Freeza is on his hands and knees, with Vegeta preparing to deal the final blow. As Freeza shouts his retort, Goku screams “FREEZA!” and hits him full-force with a massive Kamehameha. Freeza screams in defeat as his body is completely disintegrated.

The moment of relief is broken by Vegeta shouting at Kakarrot for stealing the coup de grâce out from under him. Goku apologizes as Vegeta chews him out for not switching out like he said he would, but Bulma tells him it’s all right, and that Son-kun actually saved him. Vegeta demands an explanation.

Beerus says it’s unbecoming for a God of Destruction to restore a planet, but Bulma says that as thanks, she’ll prepare them a feast… as soon as they restore North City with the Dragon Balls, that is. Whis is pleased. Bulma asks Jaco if it’s really all right for him not to be arresting Whis, since control over time is a serious offense.

Even after having things explained to him, Vegeta is less than pleased. Goku tries to add that, like Whis said, if they’d simply fought together from the beginning, none of that would have happened in the first place. Vegeta refuses point blank, saying he’d never do that. Goku laughs and says he feels the same way. Vegeta notes it’s the first time they’ve shared the same opinion on something.

After the credits, the angels and stuffed toys in Hell gather around the tree, shouting “Welcome back!” Freeza is back where he started, suspended once more in his pod.