(06-07-2016, 06:05 AM)puggsoy Wrote:I feel like the DBZ movies can still function without any prior knowledge, which I'd argue makes them stand-alone. The characters don't need to be properly introduced as long as they carry out the main plot until it comes to some kind of conclusion. And if I remember correctly, nothing is fully dependent on info from the anime, only the plot points that are often unique to the movie itself.(06-06-2016, 01:13 PM)Shade Wrote: A movie is a stand-alone feature that introduces and carries out a plot that comes to a full or partial conclusion by the end. I find that length has little to do with it as long as that's accomplished.
What about stuff like Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (and other DBZ movies)? That isn't really standalone (I'm pretty sure it doesn't newly introduce the characters), it has a place in the anime's timeline and is even referenced in later episodes. Still counts as a movie though.
I guess I'd say that's sort of a gray area. Okay I've decided that anime movies don't count anymore. Anime movies will now be called "Special Episodes".