Dragon Ball Super: Broly is going to be making some significant changes to the character of Broly, in order to fit him into the canonized storyline of the series. However, some recent promos for the Dragon Ball Super movie have raised question about whether the film will preserve one of the core pieces of Broly’s character: his identity as the Legendary Super Saiyan:
Videos by ComicBook.com
Looks like they’re calling Broly’s beefy form “Super Saiyan Broly Full Power” this time around, rather than “Legendary Super Saiyan” or anything fancy like that. At least if this promo stuff is anything to go by. https://t.co/Xa5S4N0tl5 pic.twitter.com/tou8dEWG2D
— Todd Blankenship (@Herms98) July 21, 2018
That promo’s description of Broly’s blonde-haired form as “Super Saiyan Broly Full Power” is indeed a little confusing, as the Dragon Ball Super: Broly trailer seems to indicate that Broly will exhibit a wild and uncontrollable escalation in power during the film, which looks to be Dragon Ball Super‘s version of what berserker Legendary Super Saiyan power looks like. At the same time, the Dragon Ball Super anime and manga have both begun to expand the mythos of the Legendary Super Saiyan with Universe 6’s Kale, which has fans asking all sorts of new questions about the nature of the Legendary Super Saiyan, and whether or not Broly will still be connected to that mythos.
All About Semantics
Right now, there are some debates about what language is being used for Broly, as other promos for the film clearly demonstrate that the “Legendary Super Saiyan” title is still intact:
Maybe V-Jump didn’t get the memo pic.twitter.com/x1wkNH6hZC
— Terez (@Terez27) July 21, 2018
Yeah I was somewhat curious about that too, but at SDCC on the, “Which Saiyan will win?!” vote, we got the Legendary Translation. pic.twitter.com/Wus6F3ERLq
— SethTheProgrammer (@SethMPTP) July 21, 2018
No Official Word Yet
Hopefully the Akira Toriyama and the Dragon Ball Super: Broly filmmakers will settle this with a new official story synopsis – one that will indicate whether the term “Legendary Super Saiyan” is still in play. So far, the story synopsis we have for the film totally avoids the issue:
“This is the story of a new Saiyan. Earth is peaceful following the Tournament of Power. Realizing that the universes still hold many more strong people yet to see, Goku spends all his days training to reach even greater heights. Then one day, Goku and Vegeta are faced by a Saiyan called ‘Broly’ who they’ve never seen before. The Saiyans were supposed to have been almost completely wiped out in the destruction of Planet Vegeta, so what’s this one doing on Earth? This encounter between the three Saiyans who have followed completely different destinies turns into a stupendous battle, with even Freeza (back from Hell) getting caught up in the mix.”
With the question still open, fans are not surprisingly taking up all sorts of positions in the debate about whether or not Broly will – or even should – be dubbed as the LSSJ. Check out what they’re saying, below:
Like Freeza
Makes sense, in a way. Kind of like how Frieza did a similar bulk-up, and called that his full power form.
— Jared Delahoussaye (@jaebird88) July 21, 2018
Freeza and Goku both had power-up to the their big transformations – going all the way back to the first debut of Super Saiyan during Dragon Ball Z‘s “Freeza Saga.” It wouldn’t be shocking to discover that Broly has some kind of different power, even in a familiar SSJ form.
Levels of Brolyness
What about the buff form with black hair, I wonder?
— J ? (@JacobYBM) July 21, 2018
I guess its him getting serious but with restrained power just like in the first movie
— . (@_bearsbears) July 21, 2018
I noticed he has a thing on his neck which he’s also missing when the trailer shows him at full power
Although now that i look again he doesnt have it at that point either so maybe it’s him restraining himself or just the sheet showing the transition between normal and ssj
— . (@_bearsbears) July 21, 2018
I wamt to watch the movie so bad…….
As these fans point out, Broly has always had a scaled progression of power leveling-up, which is related to his LSSJ power, but doesn’t need to be defined by it.
“Full Power” FAIL
Doesn’t sound cool or distinctive.
— Robert S. Kolterjahn (@RobertSKolterja) July 21, 2018
It would be kind of underwhelming to learn that this was really Broly’s official name in full-power form.
Blaspheme
If your gonna bring him back (I’m not a Broly fan) you can not take that away. The new redo is looking pretty sweet. We are all gonna call him legendary away lol
— Chibi Joey (@ChibiJoey) July 21, 2018
As we stated in our breakdown of how to make a canonized Broly a success: you can’t mess with certain core aspects of the character, or the fandom will turn on you.
Me No Worry
Still going to call him The Legendary Super Sayian
— GrandPaPi (@JCGrandpa_pa) July 21, 2018
This fan clearly sees no reason for any alarm: he’s confident we’re still getting the same LSSJ we know and love.
R.I.P. BSSJ
* Super Saiyan Berserk
— One Punch Saiyan (@OnePunch_Saiyan) July 21, 2018
One good side effect of making Broly canon will be streamlining some of terminology surrounding his character.
Eat Your Kale
Wow, Male Kale is looking pretty darn good tbh
— Beerusberg (@beerusberg) July 21, 2018
For a new generation of fans, LSSJ is a title that belongs to Kale. Indeed, the Dragon Ball Super manga has just put serious emphasis on Kale’s LSSJ power, and the legend’s existence in Universe 6 as well, which has fans wondering what could be getting set up for the future.
The Question NO ONE Should be Asking
Is it just me or is that dude hung like a horse?
— extraordinarily boring (@Great_Eyewarp) July 21, 2018
*****
Do you think Dragon Ball Super: Broly will keep the Legendary Super Saiyan mythos alive, or will they go a different route with the canon Broly character? Let us know in the comments!
Dragon Ball Super: Broly will hit Japanese theaters in December, and is expected to arrive in the U.S. around mid-January 2019. Dragon Ball Super is currently airing its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on Funimation, VRV, and Crunchyroll.
