Dragonball Evolution Snubs Critics

buff-roshi.jpg

The controversial Dragonball Evolution movie is attracting much attention in Japan for its unusual decision to refrain from any screenings at all to film critics, in what many interpret as a sign that 20th Century Fox know the title will be savaged.

The Japanese release is set to begin showing nationwide in 540 cinemas on the 13th of March, with the dubbed version boasting an all star seiyuu cast. The US release is set for April 9th.

Speculation from writers and critics ranges from “Aren’t they just trying to keep fans of the manga away from the film because they already know it will be savaged?”, to the optimistic “Isn’t this just a way of building anticipation by keeping a lid on the differences between the original and the new movie?”

The organisers of what very limited screenings there have been offer the  rather unconvincing excuse “We couldn’t get everything printed up in time, that’s the main reason. It has nothing to do with avoiding criticism.”

Japan is of course the heartland of Dragonball fandom, with the manga having sold a staggering 150,000,000 copies across all its volumes over the years; even so, it seems the North American market appears to be the crucial target for the film.

Even the original author of the manga, Akira Toriyama, does not conceal his incomprehension at the movie’s direction.

Last month, in public comments, he was quoted as saying “As the creator, seeing what they’d done with the characters and script I was like ‘what?’”, and “Perhaps it is best appreciated as ‘New Dragonball’, Dragonball in an another dimension.”

If even the creator cannot bring himself to gush over the title, perhaps a disaster of legendary proportions is imminent? Ghoulish curiosity on the part of fans may ensure that commercial success is not so far out of reach as might be expected…

Via ZakZak.

You can see the initial Sankaku Complex community response clearly in the original announcement, and you can see a little of the film in the recent trailers.


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    Comment by Zig
    21:39 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    竜の睾丸(Ryuu no kougan)

    Comment by Anonymous
    21:25 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Toriyama doesn't really... care about Dragon Ball. Well, nowhere near everyone else does. Him "gushing" over anything DB-related would make me shit bricks.

    Seriously, the guy is making money off of a comic book he drew on the toilet back in the 80's. He's not George Lucas with Star Wars.

    Avatar of Shizu's Waki Obsessor: MaidNiac
    Comment by MaidNiac
    23:27 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    To be honest, Hong Kong made parody/spoof movies of Street Fighter and Dragon Ball a lot better than this.

    Avatar of Muzaffar
    Comment by Muzaffar
    23:34 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Is it me or does Malaysia have the earliest screening of Dragonball? Well I'll try to watch the movies with some friends, and hopefully write an honest review about Dragonball on my blog. Look, flaming aside I think most of us could should give the movie a second chance before giving our opinion. Who knows, it could become a success for all we know.... XD

    Comment by pinkypiggy
    23:30 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    dont waste your money in this shitty movie

    Avatar of misterchef
    Comment by Riot Gear
    14:03 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    i want to see your views on this material because i'm not watching this.

    Comment by Anonymous
    13:11 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    what's that petition site that needs lots of signitures?

    at least we should get other peoples support to stop this abomination of a movie. and change the friggin title to "Golden Balls"

    Comment by Gex
    15:54 17/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Unfortunately, online petitions rarely ever work.

    Avatar of metatron
    Comment by metatron
    15:56 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I'll maybe watch this just for the lulz and then cry at the regret for having it stolen 90 mins of my life

    Avatar of DriftWise
    Comment by DriftWise
    09:05 12/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    ill be the one in the back of the theater shouting "HERESY!! UNCLEEAAANNN!!!" Look me up XD

    Comment by Firo
    17:08 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    *facepalm*

    Comment by Y10NRDY
    14:49 12/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    and here i find myself with quite a quandry. i KNOW in the fabric of my being HOW BAD this movie is going to suck and YET... hehe and YET i KNOW i will be there... opening night... probably the midnight release even. does anyone else know what im saying?

    Comment by Oneiros
    22:08 12/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    No. Torrents, IRC, streaming. JFGI. Watching this movie only encourages Hollywood to make retarded animu adaptations. What next? Evangelion with an emo-goth Shinji, slutty Asuka and barbiturate-addicted Rei? Oh wait...

    Comment by toshi
    13:10 13/04/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    i will buy the bootleg version and then i wont watch it,just burn it. garbage movie

    Comment by stephanie
    12:10 11/04/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I just have to make a post to say - that after being a fan of the Dragonball/Z/GT series for years, that even though this movie did not follow the very original story, it was still fu**ing phenomenal. How can so many people bash it so much because it doesn't follow the story when it WAS STATED by the actors themselves that this movie was not going to be a copy of the manga? That it would be different? That it was it's own story? They changed it up but this is 2009 people. It's a modern story of the events in Dragonball - and they did good at telling it. And there are similarities in the characters at least that were there to remind us that even though this is a new Goku, it's a new Bulma, etc. - we can still love them because we can remember them having that quirk.

    Seriously, everyone should give the movie a chance. Piccolo looked AWESOME. The special effects were great. While I wanted more action/more Bulma scenes, I was happy with what they did with the movie, and wouldn't mind seeing it again.

    I can't wait for the sequel. Props to Justin Chatwin also - who played a more than fantastic Goku. I'll admit he stole the show, but there was much to brag about with this movie. Two thumbs up from me.

    Comment by Anonymous
    11:29 17/04/2011 # ! Neutral (0)

    This is why women should be silent. They don't ever know wtf they're talking about.

    Comment by Christian
    09:56 01/04/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Look what they done!!
    20th shittycentury fox deserves a fucking shit!
    I will not pay a shit 4 this bullshit
    fox motherfuckers this is the last time that u shit on my childhood memories...and dont even think to make a naruto movie! Who will be the main character??? Rob scheneider?
    if someone in fox still thinking that DbE is good is a cocksucker

    Comment by Haste_Ver
    15:47 14/04/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    is a bullshit movie, I don't understand to Twenty century fox...

    Comment by syaima
    12:22 17/04/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    i'm glad i watch it without even spending a penny.. I HATE IT TO THE CORE.. really a dissappointment..

    Comment by what the..???
    20:34 10/05/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    okay lets do this.....just saw the movie on kino.to for free...and its a piece of...... i dont know what they done 2 my dragonball...i loved this so much but the movie should be banned from theatres...4 real...i mean i am from germany and here the movie comes out like 6th of june or sumtin....i coldnt wait 2 see it although i knew it would be bulllshiatttttt.........and know ohhhhhhhhh buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu buuuuuuuuuuuuuu what the......are they kidding or sumtin??????this faggot who plays goku suxxxs so much....dumb ass story......how did piccolo escape of that think he was banned in?????haaaa???????i mean this was nearly the only thing they took from the anime..... the strange bottle or what it was....yamcha...or yamchu....was a faggot ass bastard who should visit acting school or so...in the series he was fighting with ki blast and kameha...were was that...so stupid...bang bang with guns nice.....the sluts were hot...chi.....chi....and bulma......hmmmmm....the oozura was toooo smalll and a really cheap animation....buuuuuu.....couldnt they spend a little bit money to dreamworks or sumtin....uhhhh sooooo cheap and ugly looking buuuuuu!!!!!!!!take the director to the court!!!!!!2 hard!!!!!!the fight between picco and goku was tooooooo short!!!!!!cheap ass movie......really......and they wanna do db2 and db3...are they stupid?????this faggot as super sayian...and who plays vegeta....fag efron..????????let it beeee.....transformers revenge of te fallen and g.i.joe are the real deals this summmer....fuck db evolution.....the series still ruckxxxxxx!!!!!!!one of the best animes ever.....

    Comment by Anonymous
    08:27 06/05/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Well,I just saw the movie...I have 1 thing to say.E P I C F A I L !why the name of this movie is DragonBall?This "thing" is far far away from the original DragonBall...Please change the name of this "awful" movie to something else...

    Comment by Arkturas
    09:37 22/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I think we have a good chance to see something funny here. They stated that if the revenue is good they will release 2 sequels. The 1st will be the Saiyan/Vegeta Saga and then the NAMEK/FRIEZA SAGA. I mean if they can't do Dragonball and Dragonball's combat right don't you guys wanna see this potentially EPIC fail? Come guys, go to the movies for at LEAST that reason. Imagine trying to somehow lie about the Spirit bomb being an "Airbending Technique". LMAO!

    Avatar of kaishu
    Comment by Kaishu
    14:29 13/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I want to see how bad it actually is. I want to go to a theatre so I can yell and scream at the screen.

    A lot of people I know have the same plan, so maybe it will be a box office hit for the lulz.

    Avatar of emc2trooper
    Comment by Emc2Trooper
    22:45 13/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I showed two fingers at the screen at the end of the screening.

    Comment by deady
    01:42 15/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    since i was too r.a.ge to write any detailed comment
    i put it in point-post
    -the only character that i feel kinda okay ...= bulma nee-san : D
    -weird story twisting is weird it;s like IM TRULLY AN AMERICAN ZOMG
    -goku goes to school and well ....with chi chi .. D : *another point here is goku is a dumb kid who only know how to fight .. on the manga of coz*
    -..kame-hame-ha ..is *blink* ... wow cheap visual art is cheap
    -about all the character .. not so failed much in term of look ..
    minus goku he's to american D :
    -chow yun fat .. why must he stuck in this crappy sequel D :
    -picollo sidekick ..wait who is that again D : ...
    -theh dragonball wish is soo .. hahah i LOL I LOL I LOL AND CRY .. I CRY HAHAHA
    -storyline ..just like i say it;s to american D :
    first a metal pot saga endup failed ..(mafuba hahaha i lol again)
    then .. a disney fighting scene at chi chi party *oh you american ..*
    -then the moonlight factor .. im ready for action at that time
    but i was jawdroped .. wait there;s no epic memorable fighting scene between goku and picollo D :
    -the joke is kinda funny in this movie .. and i can say this movie is made of basic crap storyline ..to shaky and fast
    -the ending = i smell second duragonballs sequel D :

    i give this an unbiased personal rate 2/5

    i want to giv 1/5 but ..the joke save them i guess
    ..jeez i need my cpr naw ..sumone please tasuketei kudasai D :

    Avatar of Sora.vi
    Comment by CKraCKset
    04:08 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    this movie ist even worth a dvdrip

    maybe a cam but never a dvd

    Comment by Hitoshura
    04:05 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    What pisses me and many other people off is not a bad /Dragonball/ adaptation, and rather the Hollywood attitude “fuck ethics, come money”. Any American should be boycotting this movie. Did you ever stop one second to think what the Japanese will think about this movie? It shouldn’t be even released there. But, for Hollywood, Japan = Asian. Asian thing transformed into movie = Big success in Asia.

    Hell, just look at the whole picture. White guy as the main lead, all that crap stuff that brainless american teenagers like, etc… American Pie: Dragonball.

    Comment by Anonymous
    05:24 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    You're wrong about that issue being confined to America, but you're right that people thing in terms of demographic, rather than quality.

    Comment by kadian1364
    04:41 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    “As the creator, seeing what they’d done with the characters and script I was like ‘what?’”

    OTZ

    Comment by Deth
    10:23 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Ha!

    If the creator has doubts...

    Then we need to take - "heed".

    Comment by Chen
    05:21 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Isn't there any way to stop it? Like how korea stopped some anime....

    And isn't this some kind of copyright infringment or stuff?!
    Damn,... damn hollywood!

    Comment by Anonymous
    05:26 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I believe it has been accepted by both the original production studio for the anime, and the original writer.

    Comment by inducedconductance
    04:58 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    anyone know the reason why American movies are released overseas before being released in America? this one being released in Japan on march 13th, whereas it will be released in America in April.

    Comment by Kev
    04:50 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Definitely not touching this crap. I'll be just embarassed just by the thought of how crap it would be.

    Avatar of softbanker
    Comment by softbanker
    03:51 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Change the title into "The Dragon's Balls"

    Comment by Anon
    04:05 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    That sounds like the title of a possible adult movie parody/spoof. Like Forrest Hump or Backdoor to the Future.

    Comment by IC DeaDPiPoL
    06:28 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    more like Draggin Balls

    Comment by Anonymous
    12:56 15/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    it's over 9000 lulz

    Comment by HOYO!!
    03:23 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    we do not know for sure how the acceptance of this movie throughout the world..it would not enough for only us and the fans to un-support it since its one of the hollywood release..everyone would thinking it would be a great movie afterall..my prediction would be the movie would still be watch by most viewers and it will regain popularity regardless what others said..thats what i think..*nagai*

    Avatar of emc2trooper
    Comment by Emc2Trooper
    10:30 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Break the hearts of diehard fans, while getting new fans from the movie.

    You win some, you lose some, amirite?

    Just like 'Tank Girl' and 'Transformers:The Movie'

    Comment by Vetus
    12:55 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I can't imagine that this crap will get new fans. We're not talking about Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, you know...

    Avatar of emc2trooper
    Comment by Emc2Trooper
    22:36 13/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I changed my mind. This movie sucks major (dragon) Balls.

    WTF with Oozaru as Piccolo's minion? WTF with Kame Hame ha as an 'airbending technique'????

    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

    Comment by Channing
    11:58 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    You take that back, Transformers the Movie was awesome.

    Oh, you don't mean that animated one?

    ...yeah, ok.

    Comment by Anonymous
    03:17 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    as usual ..LA movie(anime-LA) sucks

    Comment by Anonymous
    03:16 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    nuclear bombs are about to set off when this releases.

    Comment by Anonymous
    Comment by Anon009392
    03:07 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    When i watch this movie i will cry all the 90 minutes. of course i won't pay for it.

    Comment by Anonymous
    20:04 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    it's over 9000 minutes

    Comment by Alaudia
    03:09 12/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    no, its not.

    Comment by Gex
    15:44 17/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    And thank heavens it isn't.

    Comment by jonysambal
    15:01 23/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I guess its dialogue from DB series..
    "Bezita, what is the scale of his power level?"
    Bezita: "it's over 9000.. "(screaming out loud)
    "what 9000?"

    Comment by Anonymous
    04:38 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    funny thing about that...i think they just trolled everybody...seriously...they made a bad movie for the sake of people watching it just to rant about it...good reverse psychology

    Comment by Anonymous
    17:28 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    yeah, I also think about it like that..so basically, people will wonder how bad this title can go, watch the movie, go home thinking that this movie is an epic failure (or epic success for some clueless people..)

    we can rant or scorn or puked about it, as long as we pay to see the movie and create profit for the producer, everything else is irrelevant...

    and yes, I think I'll watch the movie and laughed my ass off (without paying for it of course)

    Comment by dragonball evolution
    12:03 12/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    wow..
    nice illustration for uncle roshi body..

    wish that the roshi in dragonball evolution have the same body when he got mad :D

    Avatar of eksuterru-kun
    Comment by eksuterru-kun
    12:15 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    who's paying for this junk.
    they're lucky i'm at least watching it for free!

    Comment by koryu
    22:23 11/03/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    im watching for free by asking an otaku to bring me out on a date.





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