Dragon Ball: The Path to Power – A Creative Reimagining

Growing up, Dragon Ball Z was one of, if not THE most popular anime on TV. Nerds and jocks were able to co-exist peacefully when it came to Dragon Ball Z. And honestly, you’d think that’s where it all started. Dragon Ball, the original show, wasn’t as big in America as overseas. DBZ, on the other hand, was all the rage due to the intense action and fight scenes. But don’t sleep on Dragon Ball. It’s an amazing show that does a great job of telling the origins of Goku and how he came to be the man we know him to be in Dragon Ball Z.

Dragon Ball: The Path to Power is a movie that gives fans a better understanding of the origins of Dragon Ball. It combines elements from two important sagas in Dragon Ball. The very first saga, the Emperor Pilaf saga, and the third saga, the Red Ribbon Army saga. I say these two sagas are important because they do a great job of not only introducing the audience to the world of Dragon Ball but also showing just how special Goku is in that world. But those are topics for another time.

There are some major differences between the OG Dragon Ball show and this movie, The Path to Power. Goku and Bulma meet exactly as they do in the show. Bulma hits Goku with her car, Goku throws the car accusing it of being a monster, then Bulma shoots Goku which has no effect due to his unknown Saiyan heritage. However, that’s one of the very few similarities to the actual show. Instead of Emperor Pilaf being the villain, as he is in the very first saga, he’s not featured or mentioned in the movie. The Red Ribbon Army takes center stage for the villain role in this movie, but it works. Emperor Pilaf is a bit too cartoony, and you can tell the movie is trying to be more on the serious side for the most part.

If you’ve seen the original show, you should know the storyline. Goku and friends are on a quest to find the Dragon Balls, and so is the Red Ribbon Army. Goku and their friends want to wish for silly things to benefit their lives, such as a perfect boyfriend or the ability to speak to girls without fear, whereas the Red Ribbon Army wants to wish for world domination. This naturally sets them on a course to cross paths and come to blows. That’s it. That’s the story. It’s a simple one, and that’s why Dragon Ball has been so popular over the years. The straightforward approach of “I want to be the strongest” has always resonated most with the audience, and it’s still evident even in this movie. It’s not the exact case, as this is more a story of adventure and good versus evil, but it’s the same Goku we’ve come to know and love.

While some characters are missing from the movie, Krillin and Arale, it doesn’t take away from the movie. As stated before, Goku meeting Bulma is the same as the show. Most other introductions are relatively the same, with the only real difference being how Goku and Bulma meet Oolong. And it’s a miniscule difference. Instead of Oolong terrorizing a village and tricking them into giving him the girls of the village with his shapeshifting powers, he’s alone in a forest. He blocks Bulma and Goku from going any further, disguised as a giant robot. The same concept exists; he tries to use his shapeshifting to take Bulma, but we all know Goku is fearless, and Oolong’s ruse is up.

Yamcha, Puar, and Master Roshi also show up in pretty much the same way as the show. Yamcha and Goku were originally rivals, and it’s crazy to see how strong Yamcha was back then. When he and Goku fight, he sends Goku flying a good distance. It’s funny that he’s become the laughingstock of the series when he was so beast back in the day. Puar is still always at Yamcha’s side, and they reference Oolong and Puar’s time in shapeshifting school, but Oolong is the only one to shapeshift in the movie.

Probably the biggest change to the established mythos is the character of Android 8. Goku met Android 8 in Dragon Ball during the Red Ribbon Army saga. In the show, Android 8 is a kind individual who hates violence. In fact, the only violence ever seen from Android 8, dubbed Eighter by Goku, is when one of the Red Ribbon Army generals, General White, shoots Goku. Android 8 is so upset by the thought of his friend being hurt that he punches General White out of a tower. Android 8 in The Path to Power is a bit different, being a mindless drone and attacking Goku from the start until he recovers his emotions. But even in the end, he comes to Goku’s rescue and helps Goku fight Staff Officer Black during the final battle.

Usually, I prefer more action than was shown during The Path to Power, but it was an entertaining movie the entire way through. Whenever there was action, it was done magnificently. Master Roshi’s Kamehameha was still epic. Instead of being used to put out a fire on a mountain, Master Roshi destroyed part of the Red Ribbon Army’s fleet with it. Mirroring the show, Goku mastered the move almost immediately, but the movie takes it to a whole new level. Goku’s first Kamehameha is a massive beam that takes out the rest of the armada.

The movie also leans into Goku’s unlimited potential as a child. The feats that Goku achieves are insane and it seems like this movie highlighted Goku’s strange strength more than anything, especially during the final battle. Dragon Ball Z was when things became a screaming fest for powering up, but that’s exactly what happened in the climax of the Dragon Ball: The Path to Power. When Goku thought he had lost Android 8, he screamed and unleashed the mightiest Kamehameha – one that Kid Goku had never even come close to in the original show.

As many changes were made between the movie and the show, this is still a Dragon Ball film. It did an awesome job of introducing this world to a new generation, and it’s definitely a movie that I recommend checking out if you’re into Dragon Ball. The pacing could stand to slow down just a bit, but the show suffers from the same fate when it comes to how fast events happen. I’ll always prefer the OG Dragon Ball sagas, but I wouldn’t be opposed to watching The Path to Power again. Now I need a video game adaptation of Dragon Ball in the same vein as Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot.