How Bio Broly's Focus on Trunks and Goten Makes It a Great DBZ Film (2025)

Dragon Ball Z was supposed to eventually focus on the next generation of powerful warriors, but it eventually reverted to the mean and focused on Goku. This meant that other characters, namely Goku's own sons, many times went without their deserved spotlight. Thankfully, one entry in the series' movies broke that trend and barely focused on the Saiyan also known as Kakarot, instead putting others on center stage.

Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly was the third in the classic "Broly Trilogy," though it theoretically didn't feature the villain. It did, however, focus on Goten and Trunks, allowing them to come into their own as heroes. Despite the movie's somewhat ridiculous central concept, it was an excellent example of how focusing on someone besides Goku was a great way to shake things up.

Bio-Broly Featured a Dark Clone of the Legendary Super Saiyan

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Taking place after Dragon Ball Z: Broly - Second Coming, Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly was the 11th Dragon Ball Z movie, and the third featuring Broly. The Saiyan had actually been killed in the previous film, but this was far from the end for such a powerful opponent. His blood from a previous battle had been recovered by Mr. Jaguar and Dr. Collie, with the group hoping to create the ultimate warrior in order to defeat the "world's greatest fraud." This was none other than Hercule/Mr. Satan, who Jaguar threatened to expose as a bed wetter.

To keep this silly secret from getting out, he offers to fight his enemies' new "bio-warriors," with Trunks, Goten and Android 18 also coming along for various reasons. Unfortunately, while the bio-warriors are far from threatening, the genetic copy of Broly is a much tougher opponent. This clone of the Legendary Super Saiyan has the same powers as the original, though he's soon covered in a dissolving, devolving bio-fluid. This mutates and weakens him, but he's still a deadly fighter against the combined might of the young half-Saiyans, Android 18 and Trunks.

Likewise, the bio-fluid threatens to dissolve and consume the entire planet, though it thankfully becomes inert whenever it came into contact with seawater. A giant Bio-Broly, now covered in the remains of the substance, turns to solid stone once he touches the water. Once this happens, Goten, Trunks and Krillin destroy him with a mutual Kamehameha Wave. All the while, the movie ends with Goku, in the Other World, hearing that the real Broly has retained his physical body and is now wreaking havoc in Hell.

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Goten and Trunks were a big part of the "Majin Buu Saga," and they represented the Earth's last hopes against the pink demon. Unfortunately, even their combined form of Gotenks isn't enough to defeat Buu, and the same goes for Goten's older (and more studious) brother Gohan. Their defeat forces Goku and Vegeta back into the limelight, and they're ultimately the ones who save the day once again. While Goten and Trunks weren't able to be the true heroes of the final arc in Dragon Ball Z, they did achieve this role in Bio-Broly.

The bio-warriors in the movie are fittingly child's play compared to the two, with their power dwarfing these grunts. Likewise, they put up a more than formidable fight against Bio-Broly, even if they're beaten by him quite a bit. While Android 18 is also a key part in fending him off, she's nearly killed by the clone and only saved due to Krillin's intervention. Goten and Trunks get the final blow against the mutated villain, ending the threat of Broly once and for all.

This was a foe that previously required the intervention of Goku, and while this Broly was a clone that was heavily weakened due to exposure to bio-fluid, their victory against him still says a lot. The result is that the movie is thankfully able to go beyond its ridiculous premise and central concept. Mr. Jaguar and Dr. Collie seemingly want vengeance against Mr. Satan for becoming so popular and revered, despite his actual weaknesses.

This isn't really explored, however, and it's mostly overlooked in order to make way for Bio-Broly himself. Likewise, these villains and a shaman from Dragon Ball Z: Broly - Second Coming are soon killed by the flooding bio-fluid, showcasing just how unimportant they were. Goten and Trunks actually stowaway with Android 18 and Mr. Satan for a simple adventure, and it feels right in line with both of their fathers. Goku was always up for a fight and sightseeing, whereas the arrogant Saiyan prince, Vegeta, is always wanting to prove his strength.

In a way, it's somewhat reminiscent of the adventurous tone of the original Dragon Ball, all while retaining the action focus of Dragon Ball Z. This was a delicate balance that the non-canon sequel series Dragon Ball GT failed to achieve, and it did so without relying on Goku. The result was one of the more fun and entertaining movies in the series, even if it ultimately suffers a fate similar to other projects that go beyond Goku.

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For as much as Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly did a lot to make strides for Goten and Trunks, it sadly has a similar status to other movies of that era. The Dragon Ball Z movies are uniformly not considered canon, be it to the events of the TV anime adaptation or the original manga. Likewise, the anime has its own fair share of filler that's entirely exclusive to the show and has no basis in the Akira Toriyama manga. For reasons including quality, these side stories are largely ignored and seen as the nadir of the franchise by fans.

Despite that, one arc did finally focus on Gohan beyond his training with his father, and it made him into one of the most popular Dragon Ball Z characters. The same was done with Goten and Trunks in Bio-Broly, which is most certainly not canon to the series as a whole. Broly himself wasn't created by Akira Toriyama, and the same went for the movies featuring him. Despite this, his immense power level made him one of the most iconic villains in Dragon Ball.

This caused Toriyama to finally introduce a canon version of Broly in the titular Dragon Ball Super: Broly. This was set in the era of the sequel series Dragon Ball Super (which replaced Dragon Ball GT as the follow-up to Dragon Ball Z), and it featured a Broly that was less villainous but just as dangerous as ever. The success and creation of this movie meant that the original Broly trilogy would never, in any way, be made canon. Thankfully, while Dragon Ball Super has mostly focused on Goku, Vegeta and even Broly himself, it's also shifted focus to other characters, as well.

This includes Gohan and Piccolo, with both of them gaining incredible new forms, as well as the now older Goten and Trunks. The latter plays a part in defeating the massive Cell Max, though it's far from their exclusive victory against Bio-Broly. Given that the true Broly now has a canon counterpart, the same might be done in some way for Bio-Broly. If that happens, it will hopefully involve Goten and Trunks teaming up to take him on, recreating one of their greatest battles in the franchise.