Super Android 13! Movie - Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! is a Japanese anime martial arts and fantasy film that premiered at the Toei Anime Fair on July 11th, 1992. The film was directed by Daisuke Nishio, produced by Chiaki Imada and Tomio Anzai, written by Takao Koyama, and composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi. Cinematography and editing for the film were handled by Toshiharu Takei and Shin’ichi Kikuchi respectively.
Summary
The film opens on a scene where Androids 17 and 18 destroy Dr. Gero. Unbeknownst to the Androids, Gero had built a supercomputer underground that contained Gero’s consciousness and was set to carry out his will and create the ultimate android.
In the present day, Goku is out shopping with Gohan and Chi-Chi while several of the other Z Fighters are out waiting for a beauty pageant to begin. They later meet up in a restaurant on one of the higher floors of the building. Meanwhile, two new Androids make their way into the city and into the same building Goku is in. Once they enter the building, they fire an energy blast straight up to Goku, creating a quick path to the Saiyan and his family.
The androids introduce themselves as Androids 14 and 15. Android 14 appears to be based on a Native American design with a large, muscular build and pale, grey skin. He has black hair that is braided off to one side and wears a brown brassard on his shoulder and a Red Ribbon belt on his waist. He also has brown eyes, a characteristic never seen in one of Dr. Gero’s Androids before. Android 15, on the other hand, is incredibly short when compared to 14. 15 has purple skin and wears a big green hat and a pair of sunglasses on his head. His blue tuxedo shirt is covered by a large Red Ribbon bowtie and a blue and orange overcoat that is tied together. The two Androids scan the area and attempt to find Goku, which they do fairly quickly. Goku tries to ask what they’re doing, but they don’t seem to listen much.
To get them away from a populated area, Goku has them follow him to an arctic area that is completely uninhabited. The rest of Goku’s party tries to save the people caught up in the Androids’ blast in the meantime. Gohan, despite his mother’s worries, follows Goku to fight the Android and Chi-Chi forces Krillin to go after them as well. Back at Gero’s supercomputer, Android 13 is activated and released from its containment pod.
After Goku and Future Trunks fight with Androids 14 and 15, Android 13 appears, much to the frustration of Goku’s party. Android 13 is a muscular man with white, shoulder-length hair. He wears a pair of black pants that are held up by suspenders, a dark yellow Red Ribbon best, and a Red Ribbon cap. 13 talks about Gero’s supercomputer is trying to fulfil Gero’s wishes to create the ultimate android even after his death.
The battle then continues on with Goku fighting 13 while Trunks faces off against both 14 and 15. Trunks is quickly overpowered while Goku is quickly losing momentum against 13. Vegeta suddenly appears and takes on Android 15, leaving everyone with one Android to defeat. Gohan and Krillin appear shortly after, but are too afraid to join in the battle because of the strength of their opponents. The fighting team then transforms into Super Saiyans to turn the tables and defeat their opponents. Androids 14 and 15 are quickly defeated, though 13 is still left standing. Gohan musters the courage to launch an attack on Android 13 to catch him off-guard, but this backfires. 13 launches an energy blast in retaliation and Piccolo has to come in to save Gohan.
After Android 13 sees his fellow comrades defeated, he seems rather excited. He begins telepathically picking up various components from the destroyed Androids and absorbs them into himself. Android 13 then transforms into Super Android 13, an even bulkier powerhouse with blue skin and spiky orange hair.
The new and improved Android 13 then begins destroying all of the Z Fighters. All of the Saiyans are no match for him, even after turning into a Super Saiyan. Eventually, Goku begins charging up a Spirit Bomb, though Android 13 tries to stop Goku from charging it completely. Everyone with enough courage and strength left tries to buy enough time for Goku to finish the Spirit Bomb. After it is finished, instead of throwing it at his enemy, Goku absorbs the massive amount of energy into himself, super-charging his Super Saiyan form. He quickly punches Super Android 13, completely obliterating him. Gero’s supercomputer also shuts down as a result of Gero’s last hope being destroyed.
The film ends with Goku, Krillin, and Gohan being sent to the hospital to recover while Vegeta and Piccolo sitting on an iceberg together to stay away from the celebration.
Releases
Apart from the original Japanese release, North America received an English version of Super Android 13! on February 4th, 2003. Just over six years later, the film was remastered and re-released as a double feature along with Bojack Unbound on Blu-ray and DVD on February 10th, 2009. The film was released once more on December 6th, 2011 as a part of a box set that included Dragon Ball Z movies 5 through 8.
Links
Dragon Ball Series
Dragon Ball Z Series
Dragon Ball Kai Series
Dragon Ball Super Series
Dragon Ball GT Series
Super Dragon Ball Heros
Akira Toriyama