Our latest addition to the translation archives takes us back to 2006 with the final “Dragon Box” release in Japan. “Dragon Box The Movies” covered all seventeen of the franchise’s films up to that point (three for the original television series, thirteen for Dragon Ball Z, and the 10th anniversary film), and like its fellow DVD box sets in the previous years, came with a “Dragonbook” packed with production information, interviews, image galleries, and more.

This “Dragonbook” featured a “Theatrical Story Q&A” with Takao Koyama, scriptwriter for all thirteen of the Dragon Ball Z films and series composer for the vast majority of the franchise’s animated adaptation. Koyama spoke to the actual production process as well as naming schemes and scenario inspirations.

When we made the episodes for the theatrical features, first the scriptwriter, the producer, and Toriyama-sensei‘s supervising editor would get together, and meet about story concepts, such as what to do about the main villain. Then I would put together a plot based on the content of what we’d talked about. I’d send that plot to Toriyama-sensei and get his opinion on it, then start writing out the scenario — that was the typical flow. Once I got to writing, I’d be joined at the hip with the producer. … It would take about three months’ time from the planning stage until the completion of a single movie’s scenario. Dragon Ball Z had two movies shown each year, in spring and summer, so that works out to me having been writing a theatrical movie scenario for over half a given year at the time. (laughs)

Koyama also spoke at length about Broli, a villain that appeared in three of the later theatrical films.

Even including the TV anime, nobody exists in the world who’s stronger than Broli. I mean, even Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyans, was trembling in fear. (laughs) I felt that there’s no way that kind of mightiest being would die in a single outing. After all, there were kids who cried at Broli’s overwhelming strength when they saw Burn Up!! at Shueisha’s preview screening. (laughs) It’s always difficult coming up with an enemy for Goku, because I’d constantly have to escalate their strength. So, he ended up appearing three times.

Koyama’s thoughts on Broli at the time are interesting to put in comparison with a 2013 blog post in which he reviewed his experience watching Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, a film he had no involvement with, where he contrasts that film’s antagonist Beerus with Broli.

This “Dragonbook” Q&A has been archived in our “Translations” section.