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"I don't like violence," novelist Don DeLillo wrote in Underworld. "It scares the hell out of me. But I think I see it as an expanding force in a personality. And I think a man's ability to act in opposition to his tendencies in this direction can be a source of virtue, a statement of his character and forbearance." Dragon Ball Z took this idea as a literal expansion—check out how their muscles bulged with even one round of training—by blessing normally good men with amazing abilities to see if they could hold true to their hearts rather than become a conquering brute. What's important to remember, then, is that if the characters got angrier in order to get stronger, they did so because they needed to.The simplicity of this "might makes right, and the rightest might is the mightiest" ideology was resonant because it's nice to imagine that good wins, and that winning can be achieved by trying harder. Look at someone like MMA star Ronda Rousey, who proudly wears Dragon Ball Z shirts, or Chicago bop crew Sicko Mobb, who named two tapes of dizzingly energetic hip-hop after going Super Saiyan. Dragon Ball Z was a show about how to never stop going in, no ifs, ands, or buts. If it did not carry the same thematic eloquence of an Evangelion or Spirited Away or Akira or Fist of the North Star—well, that was kind of the point. Even death couldn't stop the characters from going in, as they were only a dragon ball–facilitated wish away from coming back to life. The deceased would simply hang out in heaven, waiting to rejoin the eternal fight.The new Dragon Ball Z movie, which opens in America this week, promises more of the same. First, we see that Frieza—perhaps the most notorious of the show's villains—has been resurrected following his untimely death, and sent in the direction of Goku and his friends. As the trailer shows, it looks like he's stronger than ever. Will Goku find a way to overcome? Yes, unless everything we have been taught about Dragon Ball Z has been a lie. If this is somewhat predictable, it's at least a satisfying predictability, brought to life by characters recognized by fans and narrative structures that still ring out as righteous. There's always another fight to be won, another enemy to be defeated, another new haircut to gain by screaming yourself hoarse.Follow Jeremy on Twitter.On Motherboard: Japanese Indie Devs Are Pushing Some Amazing, Bizarre Games