For many otakus, “Dragon Ball”It was the entrance door to the world of anime. A series that marked the childhood of millions, which defined an entire generation and that inspired hundreds of lives. With so much fame, Hollywood did not take long to put a hand in the franchise, and ended up destroying it completely. This happened with “Dragon Ball Evolution” in 2009, one of the worst anime live-action adaptations never made. But, ironically, this disaster had a positive side: it was so bad that it caused the return of Akira Toriyama to his own work.
From the beginning, “Dragon Ball Evolution” painted badly. Goku at school? A boring Píchoro? Special effects worthy of a movie from India? It was not necessary to be a fan of the original franchise to realize that this film would be a disaster. Fans hated her to die, but even the public who didn't know anything about “Dragon Ball” did it too.
Let's put it that way, screenwriter himself Ben Ramsey admitted years after he only accepted the work for the pay: «I got into this for money and not as a fan. I learned that when you enter a project without passion, the result is garbage», He wrote in an apology in 2016. In addition, Akira Toriyama at first had faith in the movie. He tried to give advice, make changes in the script and suggest improvements, but the production team in Hollywood ignored it completely. «The script did not understand the world or its characteristics. I warned them and said suggestions, but they seemed strangely confident and they didn't listen to me»He explained at the time.
What nobody expected is that this cinematographic disaster of biblical proportions would turn on the spark that Akira Toriyama needed to return to “Dragon Ball.” Until that time, the author had left the franchise behind, but “Dragon Ball Evolution” was the drop that spilled the glass. In 2013, he returned with “Dragon Ball Z: The battle of the gods”, introducing Bills and the Super Saiyan Phase God. Then, in 2015, he wrote “Dragon Ball Z: Freezer's resurrection.” And he did not stop there, then he continued with “Dragon Ball Super”, officially expanding the universe with new characters and transformations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f2V4JMO8L0
All this revealed him in the “Dragon Ball 30th Anniversary Super History Book” saying: “I had left Dragon Ball behind, but watching how much that movie Live-Action dislike I like a series to leave her abandoned».
With Toriyama's sad departure in 2024, his last contribution to the saga, “Dragon Ball Daima”, is also the project with which fans say goodbye. But if we can rescue something, even the biggest failures can bring something good. And yes, “Dragon Ball Evolution” is still an abomination and should never have come to light, but its existence was vital for the return of “Dragon Ball” as anime.
Fountain: Comic Book Resources
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(Tagstotranslate) Dragon-Ball
