This week, FUNimation invited the Geek Outpost staff to get a first-hand look at Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods before it hits US theaters. The voice cast of the show were in attendance to promote the film, and we managed to catch a few minutes of time with such legendary voice actors as Sean Schemmel (Goku, King Kai), Kyle Hebert (adult Gohan), Justin Cook (Dende, Raditz, Buu, as well as YuYu Hakusho’s Yusuke Urameshi) and the man himself, Chris Sabat (Vegeta, Piccolo, and practically every other character in Dragon Ball Z). Each one demonstrated their own sense of charisma and excitement before we all entered the theater.

For those that have not ruined the plot for themselves by reading it on Wikipedia (and those who have not seen a pirated copy of the movie in Japanese), the plot centers on Lord Beerus, the God of Destruction being awoken from a 30+ year slumber by his flamboyant mentor, Whis. Beerus had received a prophecy some thirty odd years earlier that a “Super Saiyan God” would arise and prove to a formidable anniversary, albeit an arch-rival to Beerus, which sparked interest in visiting earth, home to our heroes and the majority of last known living Saiyans.

Prior to heading to earth, Whis informs Beerus of Frieza’s defeat by the hands of Goku (which no one seems to remember Future Trunks for some reason, but whatever). Goku, who at the time of the latter two’s conversation, was training on King Kai’s planet. Whis and Beerus sense this and immediately travel to Goku’s location where Goku challenge’s Lord Beerus to a fight, much to the dismay of King Kai. Having transformed into a Super Saiyan 3, Goku proves no match for Beerus and is easily knocked unconscious with little effort. Leaving King Kai’s planet, Beerus and Whis head to earth in search for the known whereabouts of this “Super Saiyan God“, hoping that Vegeta and the other Saiyans may have answers.

Upon arriving to earth, Beerus and Whis are met by Vegeta, who had been partaking in Bulma’s birthday party on the grounds at Capsule Corp. with almost all the familiar faces from the series. Vegeta, whom had known of Lord Beerus’ existence having witnessed his terrible force first hand while a young child on his home planet, desperately tries to keep Beerus calm so as to avoid the earth’s seemingly inevitable destruction all the while Whis nonchalantly enjoys all of the uniquely foreign earth foods at the party.

Of course at some point all hell breaks loose, Lord Beerus gets upset, threatens to blow up the earth, and much action ensues. But here is the thing; Lord Beerus is not a bad guy. He is simply a deity with a  short temper, and after finishing the film, I left the theater having grown quite fond of Beerus and Whis. Their antics and character showed to be a lot more than any of the earlier challengers the Z-Fighters had faced, and in only a 90+ minute movie no less.

Straight to the point, Battle of Gods was a lot of fun, a great time at the theater that I have not had the pleasure in some time. The cinematics are stunning around every turn, and that goes for the animations as well. The action sequences are impressive to say the least, and do the original series justice.

My favorite part, as if the aforementioned was not enough, was the dialogue. This, hands down, bar none, was some of the best dialogue I have heard in an anime to date. And my résumé spans pretty far among Japanese and English dubs. There was a lot of humor, a lot of anger, and a lot of conviction in the way each character was portrayed. Of course, dialogue could not carry its own without the use of proper voice acting, so we certainly tip our hats to Sean and Chris, among  others. I laughed, I cheered, I wanted more. And let’s hope we get more. If rumors have taught us anything, it’s that if we are willing to share our passion for more of something, we eventually get it. After all, it’s practically the reason we got Battle of Gods in the first place.

We Interview the Cast of DBZ: Battle of Gods:

Battle of God’s is out August 5, 6, 7, and 8, 2014 for a limited run only. So be sure to get out there and scope out where it’s playing before you miss your chance to witness one of the greatest anime series of all time hit the big screen!

Check out the Theatrical Trailer Below:

Created by Akira Toriyama, and based off of the original manga series, Dragon Ball Z originally aired in North America on Cartoon Network from September 13, 1996-April 7, 2003 before making it’s way to the late night Toonami Block in 1997. 291 episodes later, DBZ has received widespread recognition as being one of the most popular and influential anime series of all time. 

Battle of Gods was originally released on March 30, 2013 in Japan and is scheduled to come to the US in a limited theatrical release August 5-9, 2014. Locate a theater near you!