Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan is the eighth film released for Dragon Ball Z. The film was directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi, and it was released to Japanese theaters on March 6, 1993. FUNimation has released the film on home video in North America several times; as of this writing, the most recent DVD release of the film is part of the Dragon Ball Z Collection Two movie box set.

At the opening of the film, King Kai is on his planet in the Otherworld, and he senses the destruction of an entire quadrant of the galaxy; he also realizes that the threat is coming to his Northern quadrant next.

Goku and Chi-Chi are standing in a long line for an interview at a potential school for Gohan to attend; all the while, Goku complains about being hungry while Chi-Chi is trying to train Goku on how he should answer questions. King Kai telepathically communicates with Goku during their interview, summoning him to come see him. Goku uses Instantaneous Movement during the interview, shocking the panel of interviewers. When Goku meets with King Kai, he gets something to eat and learns of the impending threat.

Meanwhile, Gohan, Vegeta, Kuririn, Master Roshi, Bulma and Future Trunks are having a picnic in the park. Their picnic is interrupted by the arrival of a spaceship; commanding the spaceship is a Saiyan named Paragus. He says he's looking for Vegeta to be the king of the new planet Vegeta and to help defeat the Super Saiyan that's rampaging the galaxy. After some hesitation, Vegeta agrees to go with Paragus to the new Vegeta. Gohan, Trunks, Master Roshi, and Oolong tag along for the ride.

At the new Vegeta, the group meets Paragus' son, Broly. Goku arrives as well, and the rest of the movie progresses with various revelations and a big battle.

Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan is the longest of the Dragon Ball Z movies, clocking in at one hour and 11 minutes. However, the film doesn't really feel like it drags. There's an actual plot and story being told, in addition to the fights. The film probably wouldn't have been quite as strong if it been the length of an average Dragon Ball Z movie.

The one part of the film that I had a hard time believing was how much Vegeta, the proud Saiyan prince, was reduced to a whimpering wimp for a good portion of the movie. Yes, I can believe that he is overcome by the Legendary Super Saiyan's strength right at first, but I have a hard time believing the length of time it took him to overcome his fear. At this point in the Dragon Ball Z series, Vegeta has learned to become a Super Saiyan, and he's still rather arrogant and bullheaded. His reaction just felt a little too out of character and not as believable as it could have been.

I also have one major question: Where are all these Saiyans coming from? At the beginning of the Dragon Ball Z series, it's established that the only remaining Saiyans are Raditz, Nappa, Vegeta, and Goku. Back in The Tree of Might, a previously unseen Saiyan is the villain. Now in Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan, two additional Saiyans are introduced.

I saw this film on the DVD that is included as part of the Dragon Ball Z Collection Two movie box set. It's claimed on the box that the film was digitally remastered. The video quality was decent; however, the Japanese audio I listened to while I watched this disc didn't sound remastered. Since the Japanese audio is in mono, this would probably explain why the audio quality didn't sound as good as it could have been.

I would recommend acquiring this film to add your DVD collection if you're a die-hard Dragon Ball Z fan.

I wrote this review after watching a copy of the Dragon Ball Z Collection Two movie box set that my husband and I purchased.