Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler

Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (ドラゴンボールＺゼット 激げき突とつ！！１００億おくパワーの戦せん士したち, Doragon Bōru Zetto　Gekitotsu!! Hyaku-Oku Pawā no Senshi-tachi, lit. Dragon Ball Z: Clash!! 10,000,000,000 Powerful Warriors), also known as Dragon Ball Z: Fight! 10 Billion Power Warriors,^[2] is the ninth Dragon Ball film and the sixth under the Dragon Ball Z banner, originally released in Japan on March 7, 1992.

It was released on VHS and DVD in the United States in August 2002, and also had a limited theatrical run (as part of a double-feature with the U.S. premiere of Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn) on March 17, 2006. These were the first Dragon Ball related movies to receive a theatrical release in the United States. This film is a direct sequel to the fifth movie, Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge, and the first appearance of Vegeta in a movie.

Summary[]

The movie begins with the Big Gete Star. The liquid metal exterior of the star molds itself around New Namek, absorbing its energy. Dende, who is now the Earth's guardian, senses the plight of his people and calls Goku to ask for help.

Goku, Gohan, Oolong, Krillin, Yajirobe, Master Roshi, and Piccolo arrive and encounter an army of robots deployed on the planet to enslave the Namekians, whom they plan to use as biological fuel for the Big Gete Star. Goku demands that the robots leave peacefully, but their leader emerges and states himself to be "Cooler". Cooler admits that he was indeed burned critically in the fires of the Sun but survived and is now back for revenge. As the others engage the robots, Goku prepares to battle Meta-Cooler alone.

At first the Dragon Team have trouble penetrating the armor of Cooler's Cyclopian Guards, but Piccolo instructs them to concentrate their energy to one point, and doing so allows them to destroy a few of the robots. However, there are too many to handle, and the warriors are captured along with the Namekians. However, Piccolo remains on the battlefield long enough to unleash a devastating attack which destroys the robots completely. He flies for the Big Gete Star to free his friends.

Goku battles the Meta-Cooler, but it is apparent that Goku, even in Super Saiyan form, is no match for Cooler's "new metallic form", which gives him the ability to regenerate himself. Meta-Cooler reveals that the Big Gete Star constantly monitors his body and fixes any problems or glitches that may occur (like Cooler's arm getting torn off for example) while also strengthening him in such a way that it can't happen the same way twice. Goku goes in for a final attack, but Meta-Cooler grabs him and starts to strangle him. Vegeta suddenly appears and saves Goku, himself transforming into a Super Saiyan. However, they are both still no match for Meta-Cooler and are only able to win by combining their power and unleashing a devastating attack, which destroys the Meta-Cooler.

However, a whole army of Meta-Coolers immediately shows up (the Funimation dub has an explanation for this: to remedy the loss of one Meta-Cooler, the Big Gete Star has created a thousand). Outnumbered and drained of energy, Goku and Vegeta are captured and transported to create Metal Super Saiyans for Meta-Cooler Core's army (in the Funimation dub, their energy is intended to power the machine planet). It is here that Goku and Vegeta finally learn the truth about Cooler's survival: following his defeat at Goku's hands, he was not destroyed completely, but his remains floated through space for a while, including pieces of his brain. Cooler's remains were assimilated into the Big Gete Star, allowing him to take control to the mechanical planet, fusing with its main computer to become Meta-Cooler Core. Meta-Cooler Core begins draining Goku and Vegeta of their energy, but they flood the circuitry with too much power and overload it, causing it to collapse. All the Meta-Coolers are destroyed, and the prisoners are freed.

As the others evacuate, Goku and Vegeta face Meta-Cooler Core alone. Meta-Cooler Core takes on his battle form and grabs Goku, squeezing him, until Vegeta slices Meta-Cooler Core's arm off. Goku fires a Ki Burst Sphere into Meta-Cooler Core and destroys his body. The Big Gete Star exits New Namek's atmosphere and explodes.

Goku and Vegeta fall from the sky near the rest of the Z Fighters, and everyone rejoices. They then realize that Vegeta is nowhere to be found, and Goku looks up at the sky, noting that without Vegeta, they wouldn't have won. Indeed, Vegeta is flying in space in his Space Pod (which he used to follow Goku to New Namek) with the computer chip from the Big Gete Star in his hands. He crushes it and heads back to Earth.

Timeline placement[]

From Goku's mark-less gi, Dende being Earth's Guardian, and Vegeta transforming into a Super Saiyan, we can infer that this is an event from between when Dende became the Earth's guardian and the opening of the Cell Games.^[3]

Releases[]

The Return of Cooler was originally released on VHS and Laserdisc in Japan. In 2006, Toei Animation released The Return of Cooler as part of the final Dragon Box DVD set, which included all four Dragon Ball films and thirteen Dragon Ball Z films. These were presented in a new widescreen transfer from the original negatives with a 16:9 aspect ratio that was matted from the original 4:3 aspect ratio.

Funimation released The Return of Cooler for VHS and DVD on August 13, 2002 in both edited and uncut forms.^[4] As was the case with all previous releases, the movie was released in an unmatted 4:3 aspect ratio. The DVD featured an English dub with an original score done by Mark Menza. In 2002, Funimation bundled Lord Slug with Cooler's Revenge and The Return of Cooler in a new DVD box set. It was released on October 15, 2002, available in both edited and uncut forms.^[5][6] The Return of Cooler was released theatrically with Fusion Reborn in 2006 as a double feature.

Funimation re-released Cooler's Revenge and The Return of Cooler on DVD and Blu-ray on November 11, 2008 as part of their "Double Feature" line.^[7] This new set featured a brand-new widescreen transfer from Video Post & Transfer and a new audio mix for the English dub featuring the original Japanese score done by Shunsuke Kikuchi in addition to the old mix featuring the Menza score.

Funimation repackaged the Double Feature DVDs into three new thinpak sets, the second of which was released on December 6, 2011 and included The Return of Cooler, Super Android 13!, Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan, and Bojack Unbound. These three sets were also released together in the Canada-only Dragon Ball Z: Complete Movie Collection featuring revisioned artwork of Goten and Trunks from Bio-Broly on the cover.

American Box Art The American double-feature DVD steel book case, released in 2008 alongside Cooler's Revenge Double Feature Blu-ray version Movie 4 Pack Dragon Ball Z Complete Movie Collection

Cast[]

A fourth English version released exclusively in Malaysia by Speedy Video features an unknown voice cast.

Music[]

• Opening Theme (OP): "Cha-La Head-Cha-La"
• Ending Theme (ED): "HERO (Kimi ga Hīrō)"

Battles[]

• Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan vs. Cyclopian Guards
• Goku (Base/Super Saiyan) vs. Meta-Cooler
• Goku (Super Saiyan) and Vegeta (Base/Super Saiyan) vs. Meta-Cooler
• Piccolo vs. Meta-Cooler
• Goku (Super Saiyan) and Vegeta (Super Saiyan) vs. Meta-Cooler Core (Fourth Form/Battle Form)

Reception[]

The movie was released in theatres in Japan on March 7, 1992 as part of a double feature. It grossed a total of ¥2.72 billion (US $21 million).^[1]

Trivia[]

• This movie's premise is overall similar to the Trunks and Androids Sagas in the anime:
  • Cooler returns in a mechanical form, like Frieza's Mecha form.
  • Cooler claims to have been drifting in space until his remains were merged with the Big Gete Star's main computer, which revived him, similar to Frieza drifting in space until being found by King Cold.
  • Goku battles Meta-Cooler as a Super Saiyan and seems evenly matched with him until Meta-Cooler begins to strangle him before Vegeta turns up and kicks Meta-Cooler aside, demonstrating his Super Saiyan form, similar to Goku's battle with Android 19.
  • Goku and Vegeta defeat the first Meta-Cooler by smashing him to pieces and then blasting him, like Future Trunks chopping Mecha Frieza up with his sword and then blasting him away.
  • Meta-Cooler referring to Vegeta as the second Super Saiyan is similar to Future Trunks telling Mecha Frieza that he is looking at another Super Saiyan.
  • The core of the Big Gete Star-forming the Meta-Coolers is similar to Dr. Gero's Supercomputer creating Cell.
  • Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo and Krillin wear the same clothes from the Android conflict.
• The film shares some similarities to the Doctor Who serial "The Tenth Planet" - which had Earth get invaded by the Cybermen after arriving via the planet Mondas; Earth's twin planet and a world which the Cybermen had modified so they could pilot it like a ship. Much like how Cooler wanted to steal New Namek's energy for the Big Gete Star, the Cybermen intended to steal energy from Earth to replenish Mondas as its own energies were drained, while Cooler's plan of creating an army of Metal Super Saiyans is also similar to the Cybermen's plans to convert all of humanity into more Cybermen.
  • Also, both Mondas and the Big Gete Star share the same fate as, thanks to the intervention of the heroes, both absorb too much energy and are destroyed. This simultaneously results in the destruction of their invasion forces.
• This is the first theatrical film in which Vegeta appears.
• This is one of the few films to not feature Earth as the main setting. This is also the only film that takes place on New Namek and the first movie where the Z Fighters fight a villain on a planet that is not Earth.
  • Coincidentally, the villains for both movies where they fight on a planet that isn't Earth also ended up having multiple movie appearances.
• Both Goku and Piccolo's outfits are altered slightly in coloration for this movie compared to the anime; Goku's outer shirt and pants look more yellow-orange than red-orange, and Piccolo's sash is colored red instead of sky blue (which resembles both of their appearances in full-color chapters of the manga). They continue to wear these altered colors in the movies through Bojack Unbound (though Goku regains them in Dragon Ball Super: Broly and Piccolo returns to wearing a red sash in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero).
• The scene which Piccolo enters the Big Gete Star resembles the stargate sequence from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• This is the first Dragon Ball Z material to hint that Dende would become the Guardian of the Earth, as the manga chapter revealing this, Cell vs. the Army, was not released until seven months after the film's release.
• The robot trying to cut up the captured Namekians and Z Fighters inside the Big Gete Star slightly resembles the medical droid from the Star Wars films.
• It is one of the first Dragon Ball-related movies to receive a theatrical release in the United States.
• One discrepancy is that Dende is Guardian of Earth at the beginning of the movie, by which time Gohan could turn Super Saiyan, which he appears incapable of doing in this film. Gohan is clearly younger than he was in the Cell Games because his hair is still long and he is still shorter than Krillin. Also, Goku and Gohan did not power down from Super Saiyan form from when they left the Hyperbolic Time Chamber in the anime/manga until after Cell was destroyed, but they are seen in their base forms in this movie.
• In the original Funimation dub, Meta-Cooler has a slight mechanical sound to his voice, but in the Remastered edition, the sound effect has been removed, making Meta-Cooler's voice sound exactly like the original Cooler's.
• This is the last movie where Goku is seen using the Kaio-ken technique (excluding the flashback sequence from the extended version of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods).
• A poster for the film depicts Cooler in his fifth form, despite this form not appearing in the film (sans the flashback sequence).
• In Cooler's Revenge, Goku used a blue ki blast to push Cooler into the sun at the end of the movie. The subbed version of this movie changes that ki blast to a Kamehameha, thus changing the overall scene from the previous movie.
• The 15th Shunsuke Kikuchi music package for the franchise starts here. The cues were designated "M13XX" codes, and this package would make its series debut in The Reunion.
• In the AB Groupe dub and the Speedy dub, the Big Gete Star is called "the Great Gedester".
  • In the Creative Products Corporation dub, the Big Gete Star is referred to "The Metal Galactic Starship".

Gallery[]

Promotional Material[]

Cover Art The Return of Cooler poster The Return of Cooler Dragon Box DVD Dragon Ball The Movies: Volume 6

Screenshots[]

New Planet Namek when the Big Gete Star arrives A village on New Namek Moori during the Big Gete Star's arrival on his planet The Gang in the spaceship A Namekian Warrior A Cyclopian Guard fires a net at a Namekian The Namekian Warrior breaks free The Namekian Warrior attacks A Cyclopian Guard strangles the Namekian Warrior The Namekian Warrior on the ground Gohan saves the Namekian Warrior Gohan attacks Gohan prepares a Masenko Gohan's Masenko hits a Cyclopian Guard Gohan on New Namek Piccolo on New Namek Goku on New Namek Meta-Cooler on New Namek Meta-Cooler smirking Meta-Cooler battles with Goku on New Namek Goku uses a Dragonthrow on Meta-Cooler Yajirobe and Oolong on New Namek Roshi and Yajirobe Roshi prepares an attack Roshi punches a Cyclopian Guard Roshi hurt after he punched a Cyclopian Guard Oolong, Roshi and Yajirobe captured by Cyclopian Guard Piccolo and a Cyclopian Guard extend their arms Meta-Cooler prepares a Metallic Supernova Meta-Cooler charges the Metallic Supernova Goku is hit by Meta-Cooler's Metallic Supernova Goku appears behind Meta-Cooler Meta-Cooler using Instant Transmission Meta-Cooler grabs and smashes Goku Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan Piccolo Piccolo Gohan and Krillin An angry Gohan Piccolo's punch penetrates a Cyclopian Guard Piccolo destroys a Cyclopian Guard Gohan's punch penetrates a Cyclopian Guard Krillin charges a Cyclopian Guard Krillin destroys a Cyclopian Guard Gohan traverses a Cyclopian Guard Piccolo getting attacked Cyclopian Guards attack Piccolo Piccolo Piccolo prepares an attack An explosion caused by Piccolo Cyclopian Guards destroyed by Piccolo Piccolo after the battle Gohan is caught Gohan captured Super Saiyan Goku vs. Meta-Cooler Super Saiyan Goku vs. Meta-Cooler Meta-Cooler fires a Kiai Super Saiyan Goku attacks Meta-Cooler Goku rips off one of Meta-Cooler's arms Super Saiyan Goku Meta-Cooler regenerates his lost arm Meta-Cooler's arm regenerates up progressively Meta-Cooler punches Goku in the stomach Meta-Cooler knee strikes Goku in the back Meta-Cooler uses his grapple throw on Goku Goku fires a yellow Super Kamehameha at Meta-Cooler Goku's Super Kamehameha hits Meta-Cooler Meta-Cooler fires the Finger Blitz Barrage at Goku Goku deflects Meta-Cooler's Finger Blitz Barrage Goku counters Meta-Cooler's Finger Blitz Barrage Meta-Cooler chokes Super Saiyan Goku Vegeta kicks Meta-Cooler Vegeta faces Meta-Cooler Meta-Cooler looking down at Vegeta Meta-Cooler charges a Ki Blast in Vegeta's face Goku kicks Meta-Cooler, causing him to fire his Ki Blast away from Vegeta Vegeta about to blast Meta-Cooler with no regard for Goku Meta-Cooler knee strikes Vegeta Meta-Cooler charges the Lock-On Buster Goku catches Vegeta The Lock-On Buster fired at Goku and Vegeta Explosion caused by the Lock-On Buster Goku and Vegeta attack Meta-Cooler Goku and Vegeta combine their ki while ramming towards a Meta-Cooler Goku and Vegeta fire a Combined Energy Wave at Meta-Cooler Vegeta pointing his index finger to a Meta-Cooler Vegeta shooting Finger Blasts at Meta-Cooler Vegeta's Finger Beams destroy the Meta-Cooler A new Meta-Cooler appears before Goku & Vegeta The Meta-Cooler on a cliff Cooler's clones Cooler's clones Goku and Vegeta use a Super Explosive Wave One of the Meta-Coolers being created Big Gete Star robot captures Yajirobe and his friends Z Fighters and Namekians Vegeta grabs wires to fill with energy Goku forces the Big Gete Star to take in more energy The Big Gete Star starts exploding from the overload Cooler's surviving organic body The remains of Cooler Goku powers up to Super Saiyan The massive size difference between Goku and Meta-Cooler Core Goku prepares a technique to destroy Meta-Cooler Core Meta-Cooler Core ensnares Goku, stopping his attack Goku hurt by Meta-Cooler Core Vegeta's Destructo Disc, right before severing Meta-Cooler Core's arm Goku powers up, destroying his now-weakened restraints The technique used by Goku to destroy Meta-Cooler Core Meta-Cooler before being destroyed Cooler exploding The last remaining part of Cooler after the battle on Earth Big Gete Star exploding Gohan Piccolo and Gohan The Z Fighters

References[]

External links[]

• Anime News Network - The Return of Cooler
• The Return of Cooler at the Internet Movie Database

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