''Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon'', known in Japan as or by Toei's own English title ''Dragon Ball Z: Explosion of Dragon Punch'', is a 1995 Japanese

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

science fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...

martial arts film Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expres ...

and the thirteenth ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...

'' feature film. It was originally released in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on July 15 at the Toei Anime Fair. It was later dubbed into English by

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

in 2006, just like most of the other ''Dragon Ball'' films. It was also released on VCD in Malaysia by Speedy Video with the subtitle ''Explosion of Dragon Punch''. Set after the events of the final battle with Kid Buu, the film focuses on the efforts of an evil magician, Hoi, to release the deadly monster Hirudegarn onto the Earth, forcing

Goku Son Goku is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is based on Sun Wukong (known as Son Goku in Japan and Monkey King in the West), a main character of the classic Ch ...

and his friends to enlist the aid of a warrior named Tapion, who may be the only one capable of defeating the monster. Series creator

Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for his highly successful manga series ''Dr. Slump'', before going on to create ''Dragon Ball'' (his best-known work) and acting as a character design ...

designed the Tapion and Minotia characters.

Plot

On an unknown world, a young

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20t ...

is crushed to death by a gigantic

monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

which then vanishes as an unseen entity laughs and announces that it is headed for Earth. On Earth,

Gohan is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series, created by Akira Toriyama. Gohan is introduced as the first son of the protagonist Goku, and his wife Chi-Chi, in chapter #196 "Kakarrot", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' maga ...

and

Videl is a fictional character from the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise. Created by Akira Toriyama, she first appears in Chapter 421 of the ''Dragon Ball manga'' originally published in Issue 23 of ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' on May 11, 1993. Her name is ...

, acting as their

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

personas Great Saiyaman and Great Saiyaman 2, stop an elderly man from committing suicide. The man introduces himself as Hoi and presents them with an enchanted

music box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'') ...

, claiming that a hero named Tapion is trapped inside and is their only chance to stop an approaching evil. With all other methods of potentially opening the box exhausted, the magical Dragon Balls are assembled and a wish to the eternal dragon

Shenron ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, '' Dr. Slump''. While many of the ch ...

is used to open it. Tapion is released but expresses anger at having been freed, explaining that inside of him is half of the ferocious monster called Hirudegarn that only the box was keeping at bay. Tapion flees into isolation but is visited by Trunks who takes a liking to him. The lower half of Hirudegarn soon appears and begins attacking the city. Gohan and Videl attempt to fight it with Gohan learning that Hirudegarn is intangible except when it attacks. The fight ensues until Tapion plays a tune on his

ocarina The ocarina is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from c ...

which weakens Hirudegarn and causes it to vanish. Hoi claims that Tapion is the true threat and that the ocarina must be destroyed, so he attempts to steal the instrument and in the ensuing scuffle, Trunks takes possession of it and chooses to side with Tapion. Hoi flees and Tapion accepts Trunks as a friend. Tapion relays his story to

Bulma is a fictional character featured in the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise, first appearing in the manga series created by Akira Toriyama. She debuted in the first chapter "Bulma and Son Goku", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on June 19, 1 ...

and explains that one-thousand years prior an evil race of alien sorcerers set out to destroy all life in the universe by awakening Hirudegarn. Their conquest eventually brought them to Tapion's planet where during the battle, a priest created an enchanted sword and two ocarinas capable of stopping Hirudegarn. Tapion and his younger brother Minotia kept the monster at bay with the ocarinas while the priest cleaved it in half with the sword. In the aftermath, a

war council A council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated ...

decided to have Hirudegarn's two halves sealed inside of Tapion and Minotia and have them locked inside enchanted music boxes to be sent to opposite ends of the universe. Hoi, one of the surviving sorcerers, found and killed Minotia and now seeks Tapion's in order to complete Hirudegarn's revival. Bulma builds Tapion a specialized bedroom so that he can sleep without the monster escaping. However, this fails. The monster's lower half reappears and in desperation, Tapion begs for death in order to destroy Hirudegarn's upper half, but the beast manages to escape. Its revival complete, Hirudegarn lays waste to the city and is confronted by

, Gohan, and

Goten ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, ''Dr. Slump''. While many of the cha ...

who are no match for the monster.

Vegeta ( ), also referred as is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appears in chapter #204 "Sayonara, Son Goku", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on November 7, 1988, seeking ...

arrives to join the fight but is quickly defeated as well while Trunks and Goten fuse into

Gotenks '' Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, ''Dr. Slump''. While many of the c ...

and bombard Hirudegarn with

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

blasts. Hirudegarn then transforms into a more powerful form and defeats Gotenks effortlessly. Tapion attempts to seal Hirudegarn inside of himself again by playing the ocarina and asks Trunks to kill him with the sword once he does. Trunks hesitates and Hirudegarn escapes yet again, destroying the ocarina in the process. As Hoi gloats over his apparent victory, he is crushed to death by the monster. Goku learns from Gohan that the monster is only vulnerable after attacking and he takes a beating until Trunks intervenes and cuts the monster's tail off with the sword. An enraged Hirudegarn is weakened allowing Goku uses his Dragon Fist attack to finally kill it. Tapion uses Bulma's

time machine Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

to return to his planet before it was destroyed. Before departing, Tapion presents Trunks with his sword as a farewell gift. In the

ending credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...

Future Trunks is a fictional character in the '' Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. Within the series, he is the half-Saiyan half-Human son of Vegeta and Bulma and has at least two noteworthy incarnations. Trunks makes his debut appearance ...

is shown slaying

Frieza , also known and spelled as Freeza in Funimation's English subtitles and Viz Media's release of the manga, is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He makes his debut in Chapter #247: "Dark Clouds ...

with a similar sword.

Cast

Music

*IN (Insert Song): ** *** Lyrics by

Yukinojō Mori , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese lyricist, composer and poet who is affiliated with Amuse, Inc. He has written over 2,000 songs for numerous artists such as Kyosuke Himuro, Takuro Yoshida and Junichi Inagaki and theme songs for ...

*** Music by

Tetsuji Hayashi Tetsuji Hayashi (林哲司, ''Hayashi Tetsuji''; born on August 20, 1949) is a Japanese composer, singer-songwriter, and arranger. Hayashi got his start after he was influenced by American pop music when he was kid. He started to compose and arra ...

*** Arranged by *** Performed by *ED (Ending Theme): ** '' Ore ga Yaranakya Dare ga Yaru'' *** Lyrics by

*** Music by

*** Arranged by Yūzō Hayashi *** Performed by

Hironobu Kageyama is a Japanese singer and composer prominent in the soundtracks for anime, video game and tokusatsu productions. He is sometimes called Kami (Kei) by his fans. Kageyama got his big break at age 16, as lead singer of the rock band Lazy. By the ea ...

English dub soundtrack

The score for the Funimation English dub is composed by Nathan Johnson. He learned to play the

for Tapion's theme. The Double Feature release contains an alternate audio track containing the English dub with original Japanese background music by

Shunsuke Kikuchi was a Japanese composer who was active from the early 1960s until 2017. He specialized in incidental music for media such as television and film. Kikuchi was regarded as one of Japan's most highly demanded film and TV composers, working princi ...

and an ending theme of "Ore ga Yaranakya Dare ga Yaru".

Box office

At the Japanese box office, the film sold tickets and earned a net distribution rental income of ,. In the United States, the DVD release has grossed $4,770,466 in sales, .

Releases

In Japan, several editions of the film were released on both

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

. The first DVD was manufactured by

Toei Video () (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by ...

and released on April 14, 2006, under the title DRAGON BOX THE MOVIES, a limited edition containing all 17 theatrical films of ''Dragon Ball'', it also contains a deluxe box, a special brochure, a postcard-sized film poster sticker, and two personal transceivers that you can use to talk to your friends or coordinate your attacks. On February 13, 2009, Toei Video released the individual DVD of the film with some special features and bonus tracks. The Blu-ray Dragon Ball The Movies # 07 was released on January 9, 2019 and includes 2 episodes, ''Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon'' and '' Dragon Ball: The Path to Power'', it comes with an 8 page booklet and HD remastered scanned from negative. It was released on

in North America on September 12, 2006, It was later released in final Double Feature set along with ''

Fusion Reborn ''Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn'', known in Japan as , is a 1995 Japanese animated fantasy martial arts film and the 12th film in the ''Dragon Ball Z'' series. It was originally released in Japan on March 4 at Toei Anime Fair, and dubbed into Englis ...

'' (1995) for

and DVD on May 19, 2009, both feature full

1080p 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vert ...

format in HD

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ed 16:9 aspect ratio and an enhanced 5.1 surround mix. The film was re-released to DVD in final remastered thinpak collection on January 3, 2012, containing the last 4 ''Dragon Ball Z'' films.

Other companies

A second English dub produced and released exclusively in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

by Speedy Video features an unknown voice cast.

External links

Official anime website
of

Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...

*
Review
on

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

Review
at AnimeOnDVD.com *

References

{{Toei Animation films 1990s 1995 anime films

Wrath of the Dragon ''Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon'', known in Japan as or by Toei Animation, Toei's own English title ''Dragon Ball Z: Explosion of Dragon Punch'', is a 1995 Japanese Anime, animated science fantasy martial arts film and the thirteenth ''Drago ...

Funimation Toei Animation films Films scored by Shunsuke Kikuchi Superheroes in anime and manga