‘Dragon Ball Super: Broly’ Art Director Reveals His Favorite Character

One of the biggest factors of Dragon Ball Super: Broly’s success was the major overhaul of the character and art design as the series has never looked the way it has in the movie. That’s largely thanks to art director and character designer Naohiro Shintani.

Shintani recently gave an interview to celebrate the release of the film (via Kanzenshuu), and has a surprising pick for his favorite character in the film: Paragus.

When asked who was his favorite character from the film, Shintani said, “…Maybe Paragus.” Though it’s a surprising choice, his reasoning for the pick is even more surprising, “The animators were granted the freedom to draw however they pleased, so I enjoyed seeing their finished work. Director Tatsuya Nagamine made a request that I found noteworthy: just because Paragus is a character who looks like he’s just wearing underwear doesn’t mean he should be drawn any old way, but should instead be fairly attractive, so the viewers might notice his backside and think, “looks nice.”

So it seems Paragus stood out in Shintani’s mind in particular because of the notes given about his design. This is even further evidence by an even stranger demand, “…in the scene where Paragus and Broly are first found, the direction said for them to look ‘as smelly as possible.’ It’s hard to express smell in drawings, but we tried our best to convey the image of underwear that hadn’t been changed in a long time.”

So while Broly was given the majority of the focus in terms of his new design and personality for the official series canon, Shintani fondly remembers Paragus as his favorite because of the strange notes that made him stand out from the other designs. Fans didn’t expect such an attention to detail for Paragus as well, and it’s one of the many reasons the film went on to such success.

Opening in Japan last December, Funimation officially brought Dragon Ball Super: Broly to the United States on January 16, and the film has earned more that $100 million dollars worldwide. You can read ComicBook.com’s spoiler-free review of the film here. The film is described as such:

“A planet destroyed, a powerful race reduced to nothing. After the devastation of Planet Vegeta, three Saiyans were scattered among the stars, destined for different fates. While two found a home on Earth, the third was raised with a burning desire for vengeance and developed an unbelievable power. And the time for revenge has come. Destinies collide in a battle that will shake the universe to its very core! Goku is back to training hard so he can face the most powerful foes the universes have to offer, and Vegeta is keeping up right beside him. But when they suddenly find themselves against an unknown Saiyan, they discover a terrible, destructive force. Locked into battle with the formidable Broly, Goku and Vegeta face their most dangerous opponent yet!”

via Kanzenshuu