Would you like to see Japan do a live-action DB feature?

[DragonBallFoodie]

Japan's has done a lot of live-action features of its famous shows. Examples include:

Gintama


Jojo's Bizarre Adventure


Space Battleship Yamato


Sailor Moon



Would you like to see Japan do a live-action DB show/film, if they could pull off the VFX (and more crucially the acting and fun/serious tone)?

[FlorianGran]

Eh, not really. Call it nostalgia or bias or whatever, but Dragonball should always look like Toriyama's art. It's cartoony and deceptively simple, and live actors wouldn't capture it as well. I feel the same about all manga that go for a cartoon style (I wouldn't want a live action One Piece either), but I don't have a problem with live action adaptations whose artwork or setting strive to be realistic.

[sintzu]

The only "live action" DB I'd like to see is a big budget CGI movie.

[LordCrumb]

NO.

Not even with a 100 Millon + Budget.

You will never capture the vision Toriyama created.

I've never seen any Ki style attacks look anywhere near good enough or realistic enough on film. They wouldn't even get Saiyan hair correct.

NO. Just NO.

[Cipher]

I don't feel like anything about Dragon Ball particularly lends itself to live action, especially not within an nidustry as hamstrung for special-effects budgets as the Japanese studio system is, but I'd still be curious enough to check it out.

Glad to see people here acknowledging that Dragon Ball is basically inseparable from Toriyama's art though.

[DragonBallFoodie]

I don't feel like anything about Dragon Ball particularly lends itself to live action, especially not within an industry as hamstrung for special-effects budgets as the Japanese studio system is, but I'd still be curious enough to check it out.

Glad to see people here acknowledging that Dragon Ball is basically inseparable from Toriyama's art though.

Here is the Pledge of Z Japanese music video from the Frieza DBZ film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYYhAryLnHY

They came very close to capturing Toriyama's artwork I think.

[Cipher]

They came very close to capturing Toriyama's artwork I think.

Unfortunately Chiaotzu is way too prominent in that video for it to feel authentic.

But yes, I would be up for a kitschy Japanese live-action take.

[DragonBallFoodie]

They came very close to capturing Toriyama's artwork I think.

Unfortunately Chiaotzu is way too prominent in that video for it to feel authentic.

But yes, I would be up for a kitschy Japanese live-action take.

It'd probably have to be kitschy wouldn't it? And that'd have to go for ANY adaptation, especially since much of DB is based on parodying other works (martial arts, Journey to the West, etc).

And anyway some kitsch would be refreshing after all the trend of live-action cartoon adaptations getting "updated" to be all grim and serious.

[Cipher]

It'd probably have to be kitschy wouldn't it? And that'd have to go for ANY adaptation, especially since much of DB is based on parodying other works (martial arts, Journey to the West, etc).

And anyway some kitsch would be refreshing after all the trend of live-action cartoon adaptations getting "updated" to be all grim and serious.

I mean, I'm all for kitsch, especially in Japanese manga adaptations, as the productions usually can't afford, and the content often feels somewhat betrayed by, anything but.

This is all to say, I'd be up for something of a similar nature to the live-action Sailor Moon series, even if I don't think it really needs to exist. I think that kind of adaptation would at least be sincere and interesting.

That might even go doubly for Dragon Ball, since so many of its influences are kitschy live-action productions to begin with.

[DragonBallLove]

Yeah, kitschy, tongue-in-cheek is OK. A serious one? No way, they would screw it.

[floofychan333]

Japan could do a live-action movie pretty well, unlike the absolute utter crap that Dragonball Evolution is. So I'll say sure, make a live action movie. They seem to be a big thing these days and unlike American live-action anime movies they are actually good and faithful to the anime.

[Jinzoningen MULE]

If Toriyama himself were given the final say regarding any of the creative liberties, I'd at least give it the time of day.

[8000 Saiyan]

No, it would just look like a bad cosplay.

[Man-Child]

With a damn good budget and people working behind the scenes who wouldn't make pointless changes to the source material, sure. I dont think the first arc of the manga is anything too vast to not be translated well to film. But again, it would have to have a damn good budget and the right people working on it.

[floofychan333]

Also, more criteria:
1. Don't make anyone white.
2. Have some of the original voice actors make cameos as roles other than the ones they voice.
3. Do it legally. The era of "Ssawora Son Goku, Igyeora Son Goku" bootlegs is over.

[Beek King]

I'm torn on this. On one hand, Japan would certainly do a better job than Evolution. On the other hand, while this kind of fighting has been staple of the Wuxia before DB was even conceived I just can't see it put together well outside of animation - Toriyama's art style is too iconic.

Also, more criteria:
1. Don't make anyone white.

IMO some characters would fit better played by whites, like Bulma who's supposed to be more Western (I know the stylised art direction makes any racial traits more vague, but culturally the western part of the continent she hails from looks evidently Western). Also Mr. Satan who's a tall, hairy, burly spoof of hammy wrestlers.

[Bullza]

Good god no. Their movies usually look like trash because they simply don't have the budget to produce anything worthwhile.

The Japanese actors are also infamously well known for being terrible at acting for the most part.

[Lord Beerus]

Nope.

Dragon Ball is so cartoony and outlandish with its distinctive style that it's impossible to capture completely faithfully in a live action setting, even if it had a monster budget behind it. You would need a crap load of CGI just match some of the settings in Dragon Ball, let along how the characters would look like. I honestly wouldn't mind if some liberties were taken, because it would really be a near improbable task to make a live action Dragon Ball movie capture all the aesthetics of the manga without going into the uncanny valley.

[floofychan333]

I'm torn on this. On one hand, Japan would certainly do a better job than Evolution. On the other hand, while this kind of fighting has been staple of the Wuxia before DB was even conceived I just can't see it put together well outside of animation - Toriyama's art style is too iconic.

Also, more criteria:
1. Don't make anyone white.

IMO some characters would fit better played by whites, like Bulma who's supposed to be more Western (I know the stylised art direction makes any racial traits more vague, but culturally the western part of the continent she hails from looks evidently Western). Also Mr. Satan who's a tall, hairy, burly spoof of hammy wrestlers.

I just meant don't pull an Evolution and make Goku white. True, Bulma could be white but it's probably really hard to find a white actress who can speak fluent Japanese. Also, I've always thought Mr Satan is half black, half Arabic.

[MasenkoHA]

He's a loud obnoxious showy wrestler Mr. Satan is the whitest guy ever in DBZ.


Not sure about Bulma being white vs Japanese though.


Goku needs to be Japanese. If its an unacceptable for Superman to be anything but white than its unacceptable for Goku to not be Japanese


Personally I think you can do Dragon Ball Z without the cartoony and kitschy elements and stay relatively faithful.


Dragon Ball Evolution was a terrible example.