Dragonball Z: The Movie - The World's Strongest DVD

Gohan and Oolong are out hunting Dragon Balls when they discover someone has beaten them to it — all seven orbs have been gathered in the frozen Tsumisumbri Mountains, and Shenron has already been summoned. The wish: free Dr. Wheelo, the world's greatest scientist, from the glacier that imprisoned him fifty years ago. The problem: Dr. Wheelo's body was destroyed in the ice. All that remains of him is his brain, housed inside a massive mechanical suit of his own construction, and his desire to inhabit the body of the strongest fighter alive. His assistant Dr. Kochin identifies Master Roshi as the target — and when Piccolo and Bulma are captured as leverage, Goku heads to the Bio-Warriors' lab complex to get them back. Dr. Wheelo's three elite Bio-Warriors prove more than a match for anyone who isn't Goku, and even Goku must push the Kaio-ken to its limits against each of them before the final confrontation with Dr. Wheelo himself — now determined that Goku, clearly the stronger fighter, is the body he wants.

Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest is the second Dragon Ball Z theatrical film, originally released in Japan on March 10, 1990. It stands apart from many of the other early DBZ movies for its science fiction premise — a brain-in-a-robot villain, engineered Bio-Warriors, and a research laboratory setting that anticipates the Cell arc's aesthetic by several years — and for being the only DBZ film in which Master Roshi plays a meaningful combat role, holding his own against enemies that floor everyone else before Goku arrives.

Originally released in North America on bilingual DVD by Pioneer Entertainment (with the Ocean Productions dub) on May 26, 1998, then reissued by FUNimation with a new in-house dub in 2006 as part of the "First Strike" boxset alongside Dead Zone and The Tree of Might. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Daisuke Nishio
Original Manga: Akira Toriyama
Screenplay: Takao Koyama
Studio: Toei Animation
Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi (original score)

Japanese Cast:
- Masako Nozawa as Goku / Gohan
- Toshio Furukawa as Piccolo
- Mayumi Tanaka as Krillin
- Kohei Miyauchi as Master Roshi
- Hiromi Tsuru as Bulma
- Takeshi Aono as Dr. Wheelo

DVD Features

- Original Uncut Japanese Footage
- Pioneer / FUNimation Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: ドラゴンボールZ この世で一番強いヤツ (Kono Yo de Ichiban Tsuyoi Yatsu)
Runtime: ~60 Minutes (Uncut)
Director: Daisuke Nishio
DVD Release Year: 1998 (Pioneer Bilingual Release) / 2006 (FUNimation "First Strike" Release)
Original Release Date (Japan): March 10, 1990
Publisher: Pioneer Entertainment (1998) / FUNimation Entertainment (2006)
Rating: Unrated
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Martial Arts
Themes: Mad Scientist Villain, Bio-Warriors, Brain in a Robot, Master Roshi's Finest Hour, Kaio-ken Showdown

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.