The recent Dragon Ball Super: Broly film does a major retcon of Saiyan history and mythology, hoping to straighten out a canon that has become twisted and convoluted with unofficial characters and story arcs. One of the biggest retcons that it pulls off is reinventing Broly himself, giving the iconic character a entire new backstory, personality, and role in the series. However, Dragon Ball Super: Broly‘s position within Dragon Ball canon has raised some interesting questions, especially where the film stands in relation to the Dragon Ball Super anime and its final “Tournament of Power” arc.
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The main question a lot of longtime Dragon Ball fans have raised is how this new depiction of Broly and the new source of his powers compare to Kale, the female Saiyan of Universe 6 who both the anime and manga indicate could be the embodiment of the Legendary Super Saiyan!
Broly: No Longer Legendary
The original 1993 Dragon Ball Z: Broly movie debuted Broly as a galactic marauder who Goku and Vegeta have to stop. That film also introduced the concept of “The Legendary Super Saiyan” in conjunction with Broly: a mythical Saiyan of limitless power that is said to only appear every 1,000 years. The main signature of the LSSJ was an exponential and limitless power boost at the cost of the warrior’s conscious control, rendering them a mindless berserker that can’t be focused or controlled. Dragon Ball Super: Broly alters the source and nature of Broly’s powers completely: gone is the LSSJ name and backstory, and instead Broly is presented as being the first canon version of a Super Saiyan 4, as he’s able to channel the power of a Saiyan’s Great Ape form while still in his human form, complete with the gold eyes and wild hair. The effect is still the same — limitless power with little control — but the only time the film mentions the term “LSSJ” is when Goku’s father Bardock discovers that the Saiyan legend is motivating Freeza to exterminate the entire Saiyan race.
The New LSSJ
Bardock’s mention of Legendary Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball Super: Broly is the first mention of it in the series, chronologically speaking, but in terms of how the official canon is unfolding, there was already a character who inherited the LSSJ title: Kale of Universe 6. Kale was introduced during the Dragon Ball Super “Tournament of Power” arc, where the meek and quiet female Saiyan exploded into berserker rage both leading into the tournament and during a battle where Kale and her friend Caulifla took on Goku. It was during that fight that Cabba muses that Kale may be the embodiment of the Legendary Super Saiyan, a concept that Goku and Vegeta have never really heard of or encountered before within canon.
The Male Kale
That brings us to the big point of semantics here. The Dragon Ball fandom has been calling Kale “The Female Broly” since her LSSJ debut in the “Tournament of Power” arc. However, looking at it properly through the lens of canon, Kale arrived before Broly, and if they have the same set of unique power, then Broly would technically be a male version of Kale, not the other way around.
It’s a lingering story thread that Dragon Ball Super may eventually have to address; no matter how you apply the LSSJ label (or not), Broly and Kale definitely seem to be counterparts from two different universes (Universe 7 and Universe 6, respectively). Now fans are less concerned about figuring out who the “true LSSJ” is, and more concerned with seeing Broly and Kale have a berserker Saiyan slugfest!
Who is the “true” Legendary Super Saiyan in your book? Let us now in the comments!
Dragon Ball Super: Broly is out now. Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami block Saturday evenings. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release is available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and Crunchyroll.
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