# Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (ドラゴンボールZ 超サイヤ人だ孫悟空)
**Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug** (Japanese title: *Doragon Bōru Zetto: Sūpā Saiya-jin da Son Gokū*, ドラゴンボールZ 超サイヤ人だ孫悟空, literally "Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiyan Son Goku") is a 1991 Japanese animated theatrical film, the seventh [Dragon Ball](https://www.edgepedia.org/dragon-ball) movie and the fourth released under the [Dragon Ball Z](https://www.edgepedia.org/dragon-ball-z) banner, in which Son Goku and the Z Warriors defend Earth from an invasion by the evil Namekian conqueror Lord Slug.[1](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_dragonballz_goku/story/) • [2](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_Ball_Z%3A_Lord_Slug) It was released in Japanese theaters on March 9, 1991 as one of the entries in the Toei Anime Fair family program.[1](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_dragonballz_goku/story/) • [3](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/151338)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Japanese release | March 9, 1991, distributed by Toei; screened as part of the Toei Anime Fair[1](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_dragonballz_goku/story/) • [4](https://eiga.com/movie/41634/) |
| Position in series | Seventh Dragon Ball film, fourth under the Dragon Ball Z title[2](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_Ball_Z%3A_Lord_Slug) |
| Running time | 50 minutes per Eiga.com and allcinema; 52 minutes per WOWOW and JustWatch[4](https://eiga.com/movie/41634/) • [5](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/064200) |
| Key staff | Director Mitsuo Hashimoto; screenplay Takao Koyama; original work Akira Toriyama; music Shunsuke Kikuchi[4](https://eiga.com/movie/41634/) |
| Villain | Lord Slug, an evil Super Namekian who arrives on a planet-shaped cruiser and wishes for eternal youth from Shenron[1](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_dragonballz_goku/story/) |
| Title vs. content | Despite the title, Goku never becomes a Super Saiyan in the film; the manga's true Super Saiyan debut came ten days after release[2](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_Ball_Z%3A_Lord_Slug) |
| 1991 box office | 1,300 million yen in Japanese distribution income (billed with *Magical Taruruto-kun*)[6](https://www.eiren.org/toukei/1991.html) |
## Spoilers
### Story
A mysterious star approaches Earth, and Goku and Krillin fly up to deflect its orbit with a Kamehameha wave; the attack is repelled and Goku is left critically injured.[1](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_dragonballz_goku/story/) The star is a planet cruiser carrying an army led by the Namekian Slug, who declares Earth his own and intends to convert it into a cruiser for his conquest of the universe.[1](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_dragonballz_goku/story/) • [5](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/064200) Because Slug's demon clan cannot survive more than about an hour in direct sunlight, his forces first block out Earth's sunlight and chill the planet.[8](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/doragonboruz-chao-saiyaren-dasun-wu-kong)
With Goku missing, Gohan and the other fighters resist, but Slug's soldiers seize Gohan's four-star Dragon Ball; after reading Bulma's mind and taking her Dragon Radar, Slug collects the remaining balls and has Shenron restore his youth and power.[5](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/064200) • [9](https://theanimelist.net/anime/dragon-ball-z-movie-04-super-saiyajin-da-son-gokuu) Rejuvenated, Slug wraps the Earth in dark gas and turns it into a world of ice.[4](https://eiga.com/movie/41634/) The cold revives the injured Goku, who rejoins Gohan for the final battle.[1](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_dragonballz_goku/story/) The fight turns on a Namekian weakness: the sound of whistling is agonizing to them, and Piccolo has Gohan whistle to stagger Slug, giving Goku his opening.[7](https://letterboxd.com/thrash/film/dragon-ball-z-lord-slug/)
## Production
The film was produced by [Toei Animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/toei-animation) with [Akira Toriyama](https://www.edgepedia.org/akira-toriyama) credited as the original creator. Mitsuo Hashimoto directed, and Takao Koyama wrote the screenplay, continuing from the previous Z films; the animation directors were Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru and Masashi Sato, with music by Shunsuke Kikuchi.[4](https://eiga.com/movie/41634/) • [3](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/151338) [Masako Nozawa](https://www.edgepedia.org/masako-nozawa) voiced both Son Goku and Son Gohan, Toshio Furukawa voiced Piccolo, Mayumi Tanaka voiced Krillin, Hiromi Tsuru voiced Bulma, and Yusaku Yara voiced Slug.[5](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/064200) The film was the first of the non-canon Dragon Ball Z movies not directed by Daisuke Nishio.[7](https://letterboxd.com/thrash/film/dragon-ball-z-lord-slug/)
## The "Super Saiyan" title
The Japanese title promises a Super Saiyan, but the film delivers something else. At the time of release the Super Saiyan transformation had only just begun appearing in Toriyama's manga, and the film used the name ahead of the story, depicting Goku's climactic power-up with its own interpretation rather than the canonical golden-haired form.[3](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/151338) Goku's proper Super Saiyan form did not appear in the manga until chapter 317, "Life or Death," published on March 19, 1991, ten days after the film's release, and Goku does not transform into a Super Saiyan at any point in the film itself.[2](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_Ball_Z%3A_Lord_Slug) The climax instead shows a brief, unnamed powered-up state that later fans came to call the "false Super Saiyan" form.[10](https://quartilefilm.com/films/39102/dragon-ball-z-lord-slug)
## Timeline and canon
Like the other original Dragon Ball Z films, Lord Slug is not part of the manga's continuity. The Daizenshuu 6 companion book places its events after Goku's arrival on Namek but before his final showdown with Frieza and his Super Saiyan transformation, in the same window as *The Tree of Might*; the film itself, however, depicts events at least one year after *The Tree of Might*, since a vision Slug reads in Bulma's mind shows Krillin, Bulma, and Oolong summoning Shenron in the outfits they wear at the start of that film.[11](https://dragon-ballwiki.com/wiki/dragon-ball-z-lord-slug/)
## Release and reception
The film earned 1,300 million yen in Japanese distribution income in 1991, billed in theaters with *Magical Taruruto-kun*.[6](https://www.eiren.org/toukei/1991.html) FUNimation released an English dub in 2001, and on September 16, 2008 re-released the film digitally remastered in 16:9 as a "Double Feature" DVD and Blu-ray alongside *[Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might](https://www.edgepedia.org/dragon-ball-z-the-tree-of-might)*.[12](https://dragonballencyclopedia.com/wiki/Dragon_Ball_Z_Lord_Slug) It was the last Dragon Ball film in which the Dragon Balls are used until *Dragon Ball Z: Broly: Second Coming*.[12](https://dragonballencyclopedia.com/wiki/Dragon_Ball_Z_Lord_Slug) On IMDb the film holds a 6.5 rating from about 7,000 users, and reviewers have generally treated it as a formulaic entry that reuses the franchise's alien-invader template, with the whistling weakness and Slug's giant transformation cited as its more distinctive elements.[8](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/doragonboruz-chao-saiyaren-dasun-wu-kong) • [10](https://quartilefilm.com/films/39102/dragon-ball-z-lord-slug) • [4](https://eiga.com/movie/41634/)
## References
1. [ストーリー - ドラゴンボールZ 超サイヤ人だ孫悟空, 東映アニメーション](https://lineup.toei-anim.co.jp/ja/movie/movie_dragonballz_goku/story/)
2. [Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, Dragon Ball Wiki (Fandom)](https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_Ball_Z%3A_Lord_Slug)
3. [ドラゴンボールＺ 超サイヤ人だ孫悟空, allcinema](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/151338)
4. [ドラゴンボールZ 超サイヤ人だ孫悟空, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/41634/)
5. [ドラゴンボールZ 超サイヤ人だ孫悟空, WOWOWオンライン](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/064200)
6. [過去興行収入上位作品 1991年, 日本映画製作者連盟](https://www.eiren.org/toukei/1991.html)
7. [Rewind: 'Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug' Review, Letterboxd (A.N. Milne)](https://letterboxd.com/thrash/film/dragon-ball-z-lord-slug/)
8. [ドラゴンボールZ 超サイヤ人だ孫悟空, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/doragonboruz-chao-saiyaren-dasun-wu-kong)
9. [Dragon Ball Z Movie 04: Super Saiyajin da Son Gokuu, TheAnimeList](https://theanimelist.net/anime/dragon-ball-z-movie-04-super-saiyajin-da-son-gokuu)
10. [Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (1991), Quartile](https://quartilefilm.com/films/39102/dragon-ball-z-lord-slug)
11. [Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, Dragon Ball Wiki](https://dragon-ballwiki.com/wiki/dragon-ball-z-lord-slug/)
12. [Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, Dragon Ball Encyclopedia](https://dragonballencyclopedia.com/wiki/Dragon_Ball_Z_Lord_Slug)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Japanese anime features › Released 1932 to 1998*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license