Dragon Ball: One of Its Animators Has an Issue with Vegeta's New Anime Look
While Dragon Ball Super gets its new manga chapter ready for the month, fans are keeping their eyes on the horizon. After all, the series is set to return to theaters this spring with a new movie, and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero has a lot on its shoulders. The movie will be a first for the series as it will feature completely CG animation. But as it turns out, a familiar artist from the franchise isn't thrilled with part of Vegeta's makeover.
The comments come from Masaki Sato, an artist who has worked on Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. In the past, he has stood in as a director and key animator for the franchise, but there is something about the CG shading on Vegeta's new design that has the artist bristling.
Masaki Sato, who had worked as both Key Animator and Director on DB & DBZ, has taken to Twitter to share his opinions on the movie's CGI and Vegeta's nose in this shot from the #DragonBallSuperSuperHero trailer.
— SUPER クロニクル (@DBSChronicles) February 1, 2022
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(Source: @/miyagido_karate) pic.twitter.com/t8pvzsuVyc
"Since I am not involved in this movie, I can talk about this. I hate the shading. I always try to not shade noses, it just looks lame to me," Sato shared. "Hand-drawn animation... is a key selling point. I'm not too interested in fully CG animation, but if the plot is interesting, I think it is okay! The only way to know for sure will be to watch the movie."
As you can see above, the shading called out by Sato comes from the first Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero trailer. Vegeta is given a close-up in the clip, and his profile shows Vegeta's nose easily enough. You can see the feature is fairly pronounced given its shading, so fans like Sato aren't thrilled with the little tweak. But for now, fans will have to wait until Dragon Ball's new movie drops before they do a full assessment of its animation.
What do you make of this animation critique? Do you agree with this take on Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero's makeover? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.