Thoughts on a potential Netflix series.

[MasenkoHA]

Oh yes, Wuxia. I think many people have watched the genre without knowing that's what they were watching.

Well everyone here has least watched Dragon Ball


Most people here probably watched at least: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Forbidden Kingdom, or Hero. And that new Mulan remake definitely looks like it’s at least trying to be wuxia (more so than the cartoon)

Then there’s maybe not classified as wuxia but still inspired by it like The Matrix, Xena Warrior Princess, Kill Bill, Dairanger, Buffy, Angel etc

[goku the krump dancer]

I think that's the biggest disconnect between a lot of us here and Kunzait is that not too many people knew of some of the unsung influences of Dragon Ball's world.

Granted it isn't really anyone's fault for not knowing, I mean "Wuxia" is hardly a talked about film genre here in the states, hell at best it can probably be considered an extremely niche sub genre. The only time I can recall anything openly Wuxia related being anything close to main stream is in the early 00's when Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Hero and House of Flying Daggers were all the cinema rage for a hot second. Most times even if you want to see your standard Asian Action Flick, you'd have to go on adventures through your local China town and stumble upon some random Mom & Pop shop to find anything.

Speaking of which I would love to know the name of those films/shows that you GiFs of Kunzait, that type of stuff is up my alley.

EDIT : Ninja'd by MasenkoHa lol

[mrsilentq]

While the odds are astronomically low, I can imagine the series being wonderful if an absurd amount of love and effort are put into it. And hopefully they pay young actors an amazing amount of money to keep them around for years and years.
Just like current Netflix shows, they'll probably only have 8-10 episodes if it's an hour long, or maybe 12 episodes if it's half hour. Within these limits they need to tell a cohesive story. It'd be a huuuge undertaking if they wanted to tackle it from beginning to end, probably at least 12 seasons. Imagine starting with a 13 year old boy playing Goku, and ideally keeping him around until he's around 30 (taking production time into consideration). That'd be insane. Then doing something similar with Gohan, maybe from 10 years old to nearly 20. Holy cow it would be like Boyhood - the series.
Series 1: Introductions & Pilaf arc
Series 2: Training and 21st Tenkaichi Budokai
Series 3: Red Ribbon
Series 4: 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai
Series 5: Piccolo Daimao
Series 6: 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai
Series 7-8: Saiyans
Series 9-10: Namek/Freeza
Series 11: Artificial Humans/Cell
Series 12: Majin Boo

Depending on planning these various arcs can carry over into the following series. They have the opportunity to follow the blueprint of the original manga & anime while doing making it their own. It should have a completely new feel. They also have the benefit of retrospect and find ways to include characters like Dr. Gero, Kaioshin, & Jaco (to name a few) in an organic way to suit their story.

[kemuri07]

While the odds are astronomically low, I can imagine the series being wonderful if an absurd amount of love and effort are put into it. And hopefully they pay young actors an amazing amount of money to keep them around for years and years.
Just like current Netflix shows, they'll probably only have 8-10 episodes if it's an hour long, or maybe 12 episodes if it's half hour. Within these limits they need to tell a cohesive story. It'd be a huuuge undertaking if they wanted to tackle it from beginning to end, probably at least 12 seasons. Imagine starting with a 13 year old boy playing Goku, and ideally keeping him around until he's around 30 (taking production time into consideration). That'd be insane. Then doing something similar with Gohan, maybe from 10 years old to nearly 20. Holy cow it would be like Boyhood - the series.
Series 1: Introductions & Pilaf arc
Series 2: Training and 21st Tenkaichi Budokai
Series 3: Red Ribbon
Series 4: 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai
Series 5: Piccolo Daimao
Series 6: 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai
Series 7-8: Saiyans
Series 9-10: Namek/Freeza
Series 11: Artificial Humans/Cell
Series 12: Majin Boo

Depending on planning these various arcs can carry over into the following series. They have the opportunity to follow the blueprint of the original manga & anime while doing making it their own. It should have a completely new feel. They also have the benefit of retrospect and find ways to include characters like Dr. Gero, Kaioshin, & Jaco (to name a few) in an organic way to suit their story.

that's um....ambitious to say the least.


I think Wuxia would probably work for a live-action Dragonball movie. But then it'd just be another Journey to the west adaptation.

[MasenkoHA]

I think Wuxia would probably work for a live-action Dragonball movie. But then it'd just be another Journey to the west adaptation.

It was just another Journey to the West adaptation.

Anyways I would just do an initial 5 year plan

Season 1- Hunt for the Dragon Ball with elements of the Red Ribbon saga like Tao Pei Pei as an hired assassin to kill Goku and training with Karin. Maybe replace Bora and Upa with Gyumao and Chi Chi with Gyumao being the one to bite it by Tao Pei Pei’s hand and the dragon balls are used to bring him back


Season 2-Tournament saga that mostly pulls from the 22nd Budokai with Tenshinhan as the main villain

Season 3- Piccolo Daimao saga. Just skip over the reincarnation stuff and make Piccolo Daimao and Piccolo Jr one and the same (I mean they technically are but ditch the whole reborn from offspring thing)

Season 4- Saiyan saga.Maybe have a 10-year time skip so Gohan can be introduced as a 9-year old which might work a little better in live action than a pre-schooler

Season 5- Namek saga.

[It_Is_Ayna_You_Flips]

Season 1- Hunt for the Dragon Ball with elements of the Red Ribbon saga like Tao Pei Pei as an hired assassin to kill Goku and training with Karin. Maybe replace Bora and Upa with Gyumao and Chi Chi with Gyumao being the one to bite it by Tao Pei Pei’s hand and the dragon balls are used to bring him back

That's actually a great edit. It also provides a much more relatable reason for why ChiChi would obsess over Goku as long as she did. Especially since, if they use actual child actors, it'd probably wouldn't be kosher to have the actress's crotch felt up.

[MyVisionity]

Especially since, if they use actual child actors, it'd probably wouldn't be kosher to have the actress's crotch felt up.

They can just use a stand-in for the actress and cut between. Or fake it somehow.

I think with a Netflix adaptation you can probably get away with a lot more of the dirtier content.

[MasenkoHA]

Especially since, if they use actual child actors, it'd probably wouldn't be kosher to have the actress's crotch felt up.

They can just use a stand-in for the actress and cut between. Or fake it somehow.

I think with a Netflix adaptation you can probably get away with a lot more of the dirtier content.

Yeah having your main character grab kick or pat a girl on the crotch isn’t gonna fly period.

[MyVisionity]

Yeah having your main character grab kick or pat a girl on the crotch isn’t gonna fly period.

In a weird comedy show like DB? I don't see why not, especially if they're kids. It would be a shame for it to be left out.

[MasenkoHA]

Yeah having your main character grab kick or pat a girl on the crotch isn’t gonna fly period.

In a weird comedy show like DB? I don't see why not, especially if they're kids. It would be a shame for it to be left out.

Hmm I wonder why something like grabbing girls in the privates without their consent wouldn’t fly today. It’s genuinely a mystery.

[It_Is_Ayna_You_Flips]

Yeah having your main character grab kick or pat a girl on the crotch isn’t gonna fly period.

In a weird comedy show like DB? I don't see why not, especially if they're kids. It would be a shame for it to be left out.

It's actually the other way around. Suggestive scenes are a lot harder to do with kids than with adults. Most studios stay away from it unless it's very important to the plot and even then there's usually a lot of editing/camera trickery at work. A throwaway gag isn't a hill any hypothetical studio head is likely to die on. Now if the whole cast is aged up that's probably a different story.

Anyway this convo has reminded me about Gohan's Fluffy Pillow and it's starting to really dawn on me how much of this shit is going to need a rewrite XD

[MyVisionity]

It's actually the other way around. Suggestive scenes are a lot harder to do with kids than with adults.

I would think it would be easier with kids. None of the pressure or baggage that adult scenes might carry. Easier to play things as innocent or comedic.

Anyway this convo has reminded me about Gohan's Fluffy Pillow and it's starting to really dawn on me how much of this shit is going to need a rewrite XD

Nah, I say they embrace it. Crotch-pillows and all. Give the audience their money's worth and maybe push the boundaries a little bit.

[It_Is_Ayna_You_Flips]

It's actually the other way around. Suggestive scenes are a lot harder to do with kids than with adults.

I would think it would be easier with kids. None of the pressure or baggage that adult scenes might carry. Easier to play things as innocent or comedic.

Works well in theory but you have remember 1) social attitudes towards putting real children in sexual situations and 2) that pedophilia and other forms of sexual assault have been a real concern for child actors going back decades.

Nah, I say they embrace it. Crotch-pillows and all. Give the audience their money's worth and maybe push the boundaries a little bit.

Oh god there'd be so many letter lmao

[Jackalope89]

...Yeah, let's avoid the patting for Goku to see the difference between boy and girl. Its one thing for animation (from the 1980s no less). But live action? In the era of #MeToo? Yeah, that's a good way to get canceled fast.

It can be done well enough with whomever plays Goku looking like he's contemplating something deep, only to blurt out that he can't figure out if *insert character* is a boy or girl.

[JulieYBM]

As a girl who was touched in a place she did not like being touched as a child by another child...yeah, no. Nonononononononononono. Not in live action. No. Please. No. No. No. No.

No.

[ABED]

The joke works just as well from a pure humor perspective if Goku just asks if someone is male or female.

[MyVisionity]

It might be better to have Goku just ask them whether they have balls or not.

[JulieYBM]

"Ossu, I'm Son Gokuu. My pronouns are he/they, what are yours?"

There, solved the problem.

[Peach]

Original Dragon Ball i could see working a lot better than Z.

Just make it a simple comedic martial arts show.

[Beiga]

Count me in for a series that starts with Dragon Ball from the beginning.

I'd like a (mostly) Asian-descent cast, with a Goku actor that believably looks like he's 12. I realize that finding good child actors, let alone ones that can perform choreographed martial arts is hard, but if something is worth doing, it's worth doing right.

This would require planning on par or exceeding the Harry Potter movies which took over the better part of a decade for its actors. Very few people would be willing to sign away that much of their life.

A live-action version of this series has the potential to be the next mega-franchise hit the likes of which would make Game of Thrones blush.

edit: Oh, yeah. Please get rid of the sexual humor, at least any of it involving children in any way. If you want to keep Kamesennin mega-horny, that's fine, but keep him away from Bulma, and maybe limit it to him just loving porn. It's 2020, not 1986. I can still enjoy the original manga while also realizing why it's problematic and shouldn't be 100% faithfully reproduced. And this is from a big Kamesennin fan.