The Director of Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie revealed that some of the most talented One Piece Film: Z artists contributed to Broly’s creation!
SUMMARY
Fans got to know some of the most fascinating behind-the-scenes insights into the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie’s creation.
According to the Director, Tatsuya Nagamine, several artists from One Piece Film: Z lent their expertise to bring Dragon Ball Super: Broly come to life.
He said that he wanted to ensure Broly’s animation stayed true to the series’ roots while introducing fresh flair.
Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the name itself brings back memories of those epic battles and animations that shocked everyone when it was first released. This is certainly one of the most action-packed movies of the Dragon Ball franchise. But what’s even more interesting is that there was this one surprising collaboration between One Piece and Dragon Ball, which shaped Broly’s saga into legend.
Goku and Vegeta from Dragon Ball Super: Broly | Credits: Toei Animation
Some of the lead artists who worked on One Piece Film: Z, gave their time and effort in developing and giving life to Broly’s insane fight scenes. A 2018 interview with the director of this Dragon Ball movie gave us insights into how these two anime behemoths exactly crossed over with one another and brought Broly to life!
One Piece: Film Z’s background artist worked for Dragon Ball Super: Broly
Son Goku | Credits: Toei Animation
In a very candid interview, Tatsuya Nagamine, the director of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, gave fans some interesting insights behind the making of the movie. One such revelation is his collaboration with Nobuto Sue, a veteran background artist from One Piece: Film Z! Nagamine had trusted Sue to balance the iconic style of Akira Toriyama with his own vision, and the result was breathtaking.
Nobuto Sue (background art) and I worked together on One Piece: Film Z, and for this movie I asked him to stay close to Toriyama’s work, while also showing his own vision of the world.
But how good was the One Piece Film: Z, that the Dragon Ball movie had to borrow artists from it? The answer lies behind its success.
This 2012 film grossed a whopping $85 million. Its box office performance proves the artistic competence of its staff members, and that is why Nagamine found Sue’s talents suited to make Broly so cinematic.
Indeed, this collaboration played an important role in shaping those epic battles, making it a modern anime classic, but there’s more to the story! It wasn’t just Sue alone who joined forces from the One Piece franchise.
Staying true to the source was the key to success!
A still from Dragon Ball Super: Broly | Credits: Toei Animation
The connection between One Piece: Film Z and Dragon Ball Super: Broly runs deeper than just its background art. Naohiro Shintani, animation director of One Piece: Film Z, also made a contribution to the story of Broly. Director Nagamine himself said,
I also knew Naohiro Shintani (animation director) from One Piece: Film Z, and for this movie the first thing I talked with him about was how we wanted it to feel.
Nagamine wanted to keep the animation true to the series’ roots while making it feel new and fresh. He told Shintani, that he wanted to balance nostalgic moments with modern twists, and it actually worked! The scenes of the Kamehameha blast or Super Saiyan transformations felt both familiar and refreshing in the movie.
The movements to fire a Kamehameha or the setup of a Super Saiyan transformation scene are things that are so well-known they’ve become fixed.
Numbers don’t lie! Dragon Ball Super: Broly’s massive success was in fact the result of the tireless effort put in by Nagamine, Shintani, Sue, and the entire crew. They managed to harmonize One Piece: Film Z’s artistic expertise together with Dragon Ball’s timeliness to create a cinéma experience that felt perfect for fans around the globe.
