Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might – The Games Don’t Do It Justice

It’s been a long time since I watched the Dragon Ball Z movies, and Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might proved that. There were a lot of events that happened that I didn’t remember. I have never gone back to watch The Tree of Might until now. Honestly, my memories of the film’s events were solely based on Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 because I played it so much over the years. But that game is a horrible reference after my latest rewatch.

Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might revolves around Goku and the Z Fighters working to save the Earth after a rogue Saiyan named Turles and his henchmen planted a seed to grow the Tree of Might. Once the seed is planted, the tree begins to grow and the roots start to suck the life energy from everyone and everything on the planet. The tree also produces fruit, which can give the eater a massive strength boost and revive organisms that have been dead for a long time with the fruit’s extract.

This movie focuses on the Z Fighters assisting Goku this time around. Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu all show up to give Goku a hand. Unfortunately, none of them get a chance to shine. Turles’s henchmen, the Turles Crusher Corps – think of them like a bootleg Ginyu Force, give all the Z Fighters a hard time. Gohan gets a good shot, and Goku obliterates them using Kaioken, but they are outmatched for most of the battle.

That’s not to say that each battle is terrible because of that, but it’s something that tends to happen often with these movies that I’m noticing. The Z Fighters going down so easy was one thing, but even Piccolo was getting rocked. I don’t mind Goku being the hero, but I like it when the supporting characters can actually support. Except for Chiaotzu – I don’t ever expect anything special from him. He’s been trash since O.G. Dragon Ball.

The Tree of Might gives Gohan a lot of screen time. This movie introduces a new friend for Gohan, a purple dinosaur named Icarus. Turles, at one point, comments on Gohan being engrossed with the purple dinosaur and berates Goku for raising Gohan too much like an Earthling. Nobody else caught it, but I’m here to tell you that that line directly references Barney. What other purple dinosaur do we know that had kids obsessed? I wouldn’t be surprised if Akira Toriyama knew about Barney back then, but we will never know. We can, however, create our own headcanon.

Thankfully, Gohan doesn’t end up saving the day this time. In fact, he almost ends Goku after being forcibly transformed into a great ape. One thing this movie doesn’t do well is explain certain events. Gohan’s tail suddenly grows back, enabling his transformation. And I know Goku’s tail grew back at random, but it just seems lazy. Especially considering when this is supposed to occur.

In my last review for The World’s Strongest, I stated that the movie was set after the Saiyan Saga but before Goku goes to Namek. It turns out that isn’t the case. I forgot that many characters, like Piccolo, died during the battle with Nappa and weren’t revived until the Namek saga. Goku also can’t turn Super Saiyan but has an excellent grasp on Kaikoen. There’s a reason that all but 2 Dragon Ball Z films aren’t canon, and this is a perfect argument for why.

The main villain of The Tree of Might is a Saiyan by the name of Turles. He used to work under Frieza but went rogue and started conquering planets independently. Turles is a powerful opponent, albeit very overconfident and delusional. He also looks almost identical to Goku. They have slightly different hairstyles, but they are a match in all other areas, down to facial features, height, and build. The explanation is that they’re both low-class and low-class warriors don’t have distinct characteristics to stand out in their race.

Turles believes himself to be the mightiest Saiyan, which could be the case. But we know Goku will find a way to overcome him, and that’s simply overconfidence that he’s showing. Turles comments during the film, though, stating that a Saiyan never perishes. And I’m sorry, but he surely has to be older than Goku regardless of their similar looks. I don’t care if he went rogue, I have no doubt that he would have heard about Planet Vegeta’s destruction. And Saiyans aren’t invincible. Overconfidence mixed with delusion equals stupidity, and Turles displayed that with pride.

Turles was a good villain, though. Turles was the O.G. Goku Black. He was the antithesis of Goku in every way. He even gave Goku a challenge during their battles, but it was his overconfidence and stupidity that killed him. Turles’s victory was in place, but he had to be an idiot and let it be known that he got an extra boost from the fruit of the Tree of Might. Then, after a multitude of fruit is shown to have grown, he does an evil chuckle while making a note that he has an extra one as a backup. But Goku is still alive. So naturally, Goku will use that energy to come out on top. I did appreciate the ending, as it was the first time I’d seen the Spirit Bomb look so similar to the Budokai Tenkaichi 3 Spirit Bomb.

I have to say, the momentum hasn’t dropped one bit after The Tree of Might. I’m glad to have seen another fantastic story; this time, there were no similarities between this movie and the prior one. While coming to the realization that this has to be some other timeline-type storytelling, I can still appreciate The Tree of Might for what it is—worthy of being under the Dragon Ball Z banner.