Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!

Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13 is a 1992 Japanese anime science fiction martial arts film and the seventh Dragon Ball Z film. It was originally released in Japan on July 11 at the Toei Anime Fair along with the third Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibōken film and the Rokudenashi Blues film. Early concept art for the reissue used the title Android Assault, but the final product went back to using Funimation's original title for the film. It was preceded by Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler and followed by Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan.

Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!
Japanese promotional art
Directed by	Kazuhito Kikuchi
Screenplay by	Takao Koyama
Based on	Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama
Starring	See below
Cinematography	Toshiharu Takei
Edited by	Shin'ichi Fukumitsu
Music by	Shunsuke Kikuchi
Distributed by	Toei Company
Release date	July 11, 1992 (1992-07-11) (Japan)
Running time	46 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	¥2.55 billion (Japan)

Plot

The mad scientist Dr. Gero is killed at the hands of his creations, the Androids 17 and 18. However, Gero had secretly copied his consciousness into an underground supercomputer that continued to manifest his dream of creating the ultimate android capable of killing Goku and destroying humanity.

At a shopping mall, Goku, Gohan, Chi-Chi, Krillin, Master Roshi, Oolong, and Future Trunks eat lunch in a restaurant. Two beings enter the city and begin causing mayhem as they hunt for Goku, eventually detecting his location in the restaurant above them. They use a massive energy attack in an attempt to kill Goku but he, Gohan, Krillin, and Trunks manage to survive and save the people inside of the restaurant from certain death. Goku is confronted by the culprits and correctly assumes that they are androids because he cannot sense their energy. Introducing themselves as Androids 14 and 15, they attack and overwhelm Goku before Trunks intervenes. Goku suggests that they take the fight elsewhere in order to avoid harming innocent people in the city, and they fly off as the androids pursue them.

Goku and Trunks engage the androids when another android soon appears—Android 13. He explains that despite Dr. Gero's death, his computer has been programmed to continue the mission to kill Goku out of revenge for defeating the Red Ribbon Army decades prior. 13 quickly overwhelms Goku while Trunks is outmatched by the combined assault of 14 and 15. However, Vegeta also arrives and joins the fight. Goku engages 13 while Trunks and Vegeta fight 14 and 15 respectively. Goku, Vegeta and Trunks all simultaneously power up to their Super Saiyan forms as Gohan and Krillin watch on. 13 manages to hold the upper hand against Goku, who is soon assisted by the arrival of Piccolo, while Trunks and Vegeta destroy 14 and 15. They surround 13, who proceeds to absorb 14 and 15's cores into his own being and undergo a transformation into a more hulking form.

With his newfound power, 13 completely overwhelms Goku and his allies. Seeing no other option for victory, Goku begins summoning energy for the Spirit Bomb attack while his allies attempt to hold off 13. 13 eventually realizes what Goku is doing and attempts to stop him, but Piccolo manages to hold him off just long enough for Goku to transform into a Super Saiyan again and he merges with the Spirit Bomb's energy. 13 attacks again, but Goku punches through 13's abdomen and sends him soaring into the core of the Spirit Bomb where he is obliterated by its massive energy. With 13's demise, the underground supercomputer shuts down for good. Krillin and Gohan are hospitalized where the group modestly celebrate their victory together. Elsewhere, Piccolo and Vegeta sit on an iceberg, isolated from the celebration.

Cast

Character name	Voice actor
	Japanese	English
		Chinkel Post-Production/AB Groupe (c. 2001)	Funimation (2003)
Goku	Masako Nozawa	David Gasman	Sean Schemmel
Gohan		Jodi Forrest	Stephanie Nadolny
Piccolo	Toshio Furukawa	Big Green	Christopher Sabat
		Paul Bandey
Kuririn	Mayumi Tanaka	Clearin	Krillin
		Sharon Mann	Sonny Strait
Future Trunks	Takeshi Kusao	Doug Rand	Eric Vale
Vegeta	Ryō Horikawa	Ed Marcus	Christopher Sabat
Android 13	Kazuyuki Sogabe	Doug Rand	Chuck Huber
Android 14	Hisao Egawa	Ed Marcus	Chris Rager
Android 15	Toshio Kobayashi	Paul Bandey	Josh Martin
Dr. Gero	Kōji Yada	Ed Marcus	Kent Williams
Kame-Sennin	Kōhei Miyauchi		Master Roshi
			Mike McFarland
Chi-Chi	Naoko Watanabe	Sharon Mann	Cynthia Cranz
Oolong	Naoki Tatsuta	David Gasman	Brad Jackson
Narrator	Jōji Yanami	Ed Marcus	Kyle Hebert

A third English dub produced and released exclusively in Malaysia by Speedy Video features an unknown voice cast.

Music

• OP (Opening Theme):
  • "Cha-La Head-Cha-La"
    • Lyrics by Yukinojō Mori
    • Music by Chiho Kiyooka
    • Arranged by Kenji Yamamoto
    • Performed by Hironobu Kageyama
• ED (Ending Theme):
  • Giri Giri Sekai Kyokugen (GIRI GIRI－世界極限－, "At the Brink: The Earth's Limit")
    • Lyrics by Dai Satō
    • Music by Chiho Kiyooka
    • Arranged by Kenji Yamamoto
    • Performed by Hironobu Kageyama & Yuka

English dub soundtrack

The score for the Funimation English dub was composed by Mark Menza. The "Double Feature" release contains an alternate audio track containing the English dub with original Japanese background music by Shunsuke Kikuchi, an opening theme of "Cha-La Head-Cha-La", and an ending theme of "At the Brink: The Earth's Limit".

Releases

It was released on DVD and VHS in North America on February 4, 2003. It was later released in Double Feature set along with Bojack Unbound (1993) for Blu-ray and DVD on February 10, 2009, both feature full 1080p format in HD remastered 16:9 aspect ratio and an enhanced 5.1 surround mix. The film was re-released to DVD in remastered thinpak collection on December 6, 2011, containing the second four Dragon Ball Z films.

External links

• Official anime website of Toei Animation
• Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! at IMDb
• Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia