It’s not every day you see a fan film eclipse its big budget studio counterpart, but that looks to be the case with Dragonball Z: Light of Hope. The 35-minute short film from Robot Underdog does more with the Dragonball Z franchise than 2009’s live-action Dragonball: Evolution could ever hope to accomplish.
Light of Hope, which we found over at io9, puts the spotlight on the future timeline of the anime’s “The History of Trunks.” This story arc saw Androids 17 and 18 reign supreme, having defeated the majority of the Z Fighters minus young Trunks, his mentor Gohan, and mother Bulma. After unsuccessfully defeating Androids 17 and 18 in the future, Bulma devises a plan to build a time machine to send Trunks to the past and stop the villains before their rise to power. Thankfully, you won’t miss Goku and the others, because this fan film is actually good!
One immediate takeaway after watching the film is the level of care taken in selecting the movie’s soundtrack. The music decreases during quiet moments between Trunks and survivors of the Androids’ path of destruction, and then picks back up to increase the drama ahead of a confrontation. Considering this is a fan film, the special effects aren’t bad either. Trunks’ attempt to power up features energy radiating off his body, and the creators emulated the quick teleporting-style movements that the fighters use to dodge attacks. Not to mention the awesomely recreated video game fight sequences.
Whoever did the costume design for Light of Hope deserves a raise. Robot Underdog nailed the look of each character, from Trunks and Bulma’s hair color to Gohan’s familiar orange sparring shirt. Take a look for yourself below.
Bulma
Gohan
Android 17 & Android 18
What are your thoughts on Dragonball Z: Light of Hope? Did it capture the spirit of the original anime? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Images: Robot Underdog
Tim Adams is a freelance writer who loves comics and the TV and movies that feature them. Follow him on Twitter!
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