Things I Like: Android 13 (Dragon Ball Z)

A close-up portrait of Android 13 from the Dragon Ball Z movie Super Android 13, wearing a prominent trucker hat with the 'RR' Red Ribbon Army logo, and showing a confident smirk.

Android 13 is the main antagonist of the Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! anime movie, which honestly is no surprise given the title. Compared to the mainline Androids in Dragon Ball Z, he feels a bit underwhelming, but as a movie villain he still gets the job done.

A dark, moody shot focusing on the back silhouette of a powerful figure with small red, glowing eyes, standing before a large, lit stasis tube, potentially a glimpse of the soon-to-be revealed Android 13 from the Dragon Ball Z movie Super Android 13.

It has been a long time since I watched it, but as I remember it, Dr. Gero had a system that stored parts of his personality and plans, which eventually led to the creation of three new Androids meant to be unleashed on Earth. So between Androids 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, plus Cell, Dr. Gero basically created nearly a whole army of artificial beings, many of whom are on par with or stronger than some of the most powerful fighters in the universe. Then again, realism has never really been the point of Dragon Ball Z.

A fast-paced, high-intensity aerial battle scene from the Dragon Ball Z movie Super Android 13, capturing Piccolo holding a leaping Android 13 by the legs while fighting alongside Super Saiyan Goku.

Android 13 leads the trio and mainly ends up fighting Goku, with some assistance from Piccolo. On his own, he never really feels like he can fully overwhelm the Z Fighters.

The ultimate fusion form: Super Android 13 is formed as Android 13 absorbs the remaining components of his fallen comrades, Android 14 and Android 15, on an glacier in the Dragon Ball Z movie Super Android 13.

That changes once Androids 14 and 15 are defeated by Future Trunks and Vegeta. After that, Android 13 absorbs their components and transforms into Super Android 13, in a way similar to Cell absorbing 17 and 18, though the process and result are very different. His new form ends up looking like a massive blue brute with bright orange hair that feels almost like a distorted Super Saiyan design.

A dynamic battle sequence from the Dragon Ball Z movie Super Android 13, showing Super Saiyan Goku lunging forward to deliver a crushing punch to the midsection of the massive, blue-skinned Super Android 13.

After the transformation, the fight becomes more intense, with Super Android 13 pushing Goku much harder than before. There is even the infamous moment where he lands a punch to Goku’s groin, which definitely feels like something that would not happen in the main canon considering the conception of Goten.

A dynamic battle sequence from the Dragon Ball Z movie Super Android 13, showing Super Saiyan Goku defeating a blue-skinned Super Android 13.

Before Akira Toriyama later added Goku using the Spirit Bomb against Kid Buu in the main series, the movie already experimented with a similar idea. Instead of Goku fully launching an attack, he ends up absorbing a massive amount of energy himself and using it to finish the fight. It is an interesting concept, but compared to other finishing moves in Dragon Ball Z, it does not quite land as memorably as some of the franchise’s best climaxes.

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