Japanese Dragonball Evolution Trailer Looks Amazingly Terrible

Posted by on December 10th, 2008   Filed under: Action, Fantasy, Trailers, TV

At this point I don’t think I need to go into the whole backstory for Fox’s upcoming live action Dragonball movie… suffice it to say, Fox has been slow to show any real footage from this thing, and fans are clearly starting to get suspicious. Add this to the fact that they’ve recently decided to go with the ass-tastic new title Dragonball Evolution, and everyone knows this thing is a disaster waiting to happen.

Well, the new Japanese trailer for the film finally confirms our suspicions by showcasing some of the most ridiculous action scenes I’ve seen in a long time. And what’s up with the guns? The weird thing is, as strange as it might sound, this trailer actually left me wanting more! This could be one of the best worst movies released in a long time and I, for one, feel the need to bear witness to it. Dragonball Evolution hits theatres on April 8th, 2009. Check out the Japanese trailer below.



  • Mark

    Terrible…!

  • OMFG!!!!

    I guess I see what you’re saying now Sean. This is so horrible that I can’t look away. Ticket sold for witnessing such a disaster in an empty theater!

    Is this opening wide? I sure hope not!

  • Evolution? WHY!?

    …whut…I can’t process what Justin Lin was thinking. Why is Goku some deadpan idiot?

  • theman

    Ok I’m going to pull a Jay lady in the water here when I say that doesn’t look that bad. I mean have you seen what its based on? If anything it needs to be more over the top.

  • theman

    Justin lin didn’t direct this it was James Wong of X-files / Final distination.

  • Stubom

    Im sure witless idiots will spend money on this crap but i sure as HEAVEN AND HELL will not spend a cent watching something so far removed from the real thing that was Dragonball. What an abortion!

  • LLOSETI

    ** ENGLISH **
    If you think that Dragon Ball deserves a better adaptation than 20th Century Fox is making, please vote here: http://petitiononline.com/LLOSETI/
    ____________________________________________
    ** ESPAÑOL **
    Si consideras que Dragon Ball merece una adaptación mejor a lo que está haciendo la 20th Century Fox, por favor vota aquí: http://petitiononline.com/LLOSETI/
    ___________________________________________
    ** FRANÇAIS **
    Si vous êtes contre l’idée de l’adaptation que Twentieth Century Fox fait de Dragon Ball, votez ici: http://petitiononline.com/LLOSETI/
    ___________________________________________
    ** ITALIANO **
    Se sei contro l’adattamento che la Twentieth Century Fox sta facendo di Drangon Ball, vota qui: http://petitiononline.com/LLOSETI/
    ___________________________________________
    ** DEUTSCH **
    Falls Sie gegen die Twentieh Century Fox’s Dragon Ball Verfilmung sind, bitte hier stimmen: http://petitiononline.com/LLOSETI/
    ___________________________________________
    ** PORTUGUÊS **
    Se você acha que Dragon Ball merece uma melhor adaptação com o que você está fazendo a 20th Century Fox, por favor vote aqui: http://petitiononline.com/LLOSETI/
    ___________________________________________
    ** CATALÀ **
    Si consideres que Bola de Drac mereix una adaptació millor al que està fent la 20th Century Fox, per favor vota aquí: http://petitiononline.com/LLOSETI/

  • This looks like another Dragon Wars!

    And sorry Mr. LLOSETI, the DragynBallz television cartoon does not deserve anything more than what it’s getting–an obligatory big studio cash-in.

  • paulieq

    I dont normally judge a movie by a trailer but no way in hell am I going to waste my money on this maybe ill try to find some dvd boxes sets of the show might be a better deal.

  • Neal

    I think everyone is missing the point. “not close enough to the original cartoon”?? i dont want to watch a live action movie that’s exactly like the cartoon. then it would be for kids, rated G – just like the cartoon! that’s gay as hell!!! no one would want to see that. who wants to watch roshi as an old hunched over man with a turtle on his back. CHEESY!!! I think they definitely did a good job putting more realistic (if that’s even the word for it) touch on it. more for an older crowd. im pumped to see this film.

  • this is awesome what are you idiots talking about, ign put it on number 1 of top 10 trailers and what do you mean “whats up with the guns”. you retard sean have you ever even seen dragon ball. If you would take the time to see the show you wouldnt be bashing what what fans all over the world love. Fox wasnt hiding it they where editing it and reshooting it. If you knew any thing about the movie you wouldnt right this junk.

  • ssj4sonnino

    I’m replying to that dumb-fuck “Neal on December 16th, 2008″ Obviouly you’ve been watching the edited American Dragonball episodes on TV, now that shit is for kids yeah. But the original unedited Japanese versions show what the american versions don’t have. Blood, Blowing holes through each others chest while coughing up mad blood on a regular, Krillin actually expands and is in pieces when Freiza kills his ass, and the first Goku and Vegeta fight was drenched in blood, Vegeta killing the shit out of Zarbon was half the fight in the American version, when Piccolo blasted Goku and Raditz the hole in his stomach wasn’t even shown, and can’t forget the beer drinking and tits and ass grabbing MutenRoshi, and there were plenty curse words iterated. NOW the movie obviouly IS for kids due to a couple of facts, like Goku (teenager, not child) is in high school, no perversion Roshi, and from a review was told that Piccolo’s henchmen are exact replicas of Power Ranger fighting action. And thats the thing, we (real fans) want to see the same exact shit from the anime made to live-action, we’ve seen the animation and manga, NOW we want to see that in the flesh. Original Dragonball NOT FOR KIDS. Thats why its going to be rated PG-13 because its the AMERICAN version of the movie just to make a $hit load of $$$ and from what the trailer looks like and plot and everything, it looks like FOX just said “fuck keepin it real, just get a guy call him Goku make him relatable to kids that would watch this stupid movie (like put him in high school) and put some special effects, THERE… Dragonball movie done, put it out and lets make money.” Thats all this movie is. And thats why Neil doesn’t think before he posts and I’m not watching this badly done film. Its like they made a Batman movie and Batman has a red Bat suit, he’s 50 years-old, and deals out justice when the sun is up… with a gun.

    P.S. Only kids and dumb-asses will give there money to watch this, trust me. Watch whats gonna happen!

  • ah get the hell out of here, your nothing but a perverted and hill billy loser who thinks that sexual humor and cuss words make the anime, you arent a dragon ball fan you watch it not for entertainment but for sick perverted humor and for cuss words, and that isnt dragon ball

  • sonicdaniggahog

    Well it is true it doesnt do the actual series any justice. But because it is releasing to a mostly american demographic the plot would have to be significantly altered to be even remotely accepted by any other audience then DB(Z) fans.

  • Neal

    And I am replying to ssj4sonnino. first of all your name sucks and sounds like it was made up by a 9 year old kid, or a 30 year old loser. Second, most people in the good ol’ USA didnt see whatever version of dragonball you are talking about. You are like .05% of the population of dragonball fans who actually saw all that crap in the original series. Third, you must be an old pervert yourself if you are so obsessed with perverted roshi. No one would see a movie with all the garbage in it but you, sitting in the theaters by youself. This is an adaptation, the movie is entitled “dragonball EVOLUTION!” It’s not supposed to be identical to the original. So stop your whinning because when the time comes you know you’re gonna get off your ass to buy the movie ticket.

  • bob

    Yeah this looks pretty bad, Goku isnt some pretty boy loser, and he doesn’t do stupid karate fights against random guys with Bo Staffs, i mean at least make his hair a little bigger, idk lol. But my friend thinks this looks sweet, but then again..he has bad taste in movies. I think they could have done a LOT more , and they should have made a DBZ movie, and maybe had piccolo wearing his normal outfit? and maybe…have antennas? and…wtf is up with bulma? and since when is Roshi a tall asian? lol. Overall this looks bad

  • bob

    and the Kahmehameha wave looks retaarrrded

  • “I think everyone is missing the point. “not close enough to the original cartoon”?? i dont want to watch a live action movie that’s exactly like the cartoon. then it would be for kids, rated G…”

    -I stopped reading after this point of your ignorant comment, Neal. You obviously haven’t seen the show other than the heavily edited version that was put on the air by the then-partnered Saban & Funimation group. Go watch the non-edited version where there’s blood/gore, Roshi is a sexual pervert, nudity is shown, curing/swearing, etc. and then tell me that it’s rated G…by the way. What you ARE pumped about is a movie who’s violence is edited as well. The movie will be rated PG – in other words it’s going to be for kids – i.e. no heavy swearing, no blood, little violence. It’s for 5-12 year-olds and low-I.Q. individuals who don’t know how to do their research.

  • cbrice2807 (Brice)

    Well….It seems that everyone have their panties filled with sand. To all the ones that want to see the movie go head. For the DBZ comments I agree with the old school story line from the Anime and Manga. I wish the Movie industry would just do a little more research on things of that nature to make the movie actually feel like the anime. With this trailer I feel that this movie is catered to an audience that knows nothing about the actual TV series. I have always hated the American sensoreship system. The reason why I mentioned that bit of info is, because the true story of dragon ball and dragon ball Z shows are better in the original form. I have been into the show since the late 90s. I hate Funimation version of the show. I like the Japanese version better. I personally will not go see this movie because it is not sticking to the actual story. Evolution my ass! Dragon ball has transformed the way we look at cartoons today. The story is unique and one of a kind….They should have left this movie alone. Like the Streetfighter movie, Resident evil and DOA. All sucked in my opinion. They are just rtying to make money. Also take yours!!!!!

  • Guys it’s an adaptation… why do people want to see the same storyline from the manga/ anime? For me, as a DB(Z) fan I like it fresh that’s why the movie title is not Dragonball but Dragonball Evolution. Don’t get me wrong, the dragonball and dragonballZ storyline are very unique compare to other mangas/anime and its basically one of the few mangas that inspire other authors to create new mangas/anime that we know and love like naruto, bleach and etc.

    Why make a unique storyline that best represented in the manga into a live-action movie? That is why the story plot is different from the original one. Don’t judge Dragonball evolution because its not similar to the original one but judge it due to its own story plot and merit.

    Some fans are really strict on some stuff in this movie like why Bulma don’t have blue hair or why is Roshi not old and have a turtle shell on his back… guys come on…lets get real.. This movie needs to be realistic and not plain Mortal Combat version with horrible costume (well… back then when mortal combat movie was first released it was awesome but when I got older and watch it again the CGI was horrible and the fighting scene are corny; this shows how viewers and movies have changed overtime).

    I also seen many people wrote negative comments about why Goku is white and not asian…come on…don’t judge actors by their race but their talents. Also Goku is an alien so basically you can’t say that he is asian. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Do you guys really think this movie is going to be like the KARATE KID?

    Also Piccolo is green not white, probably hes white in the photos because with all the CGI he has to be white to corresponds to the greenscreen (w/e you call it) than later add the green on.

    woot… I ramble too much..lol

  • crimson2890

    okay, first of all. just as a movie this looks horrible. if i had never seen an episode of DBZ i would still think to myself, ” this movie looks like shit!”. So the fact that it looks like shit initially makes me glad that they didnt follow the original story line. i wouldnt want them to have a horribly acted, with horrible action sequences reenactment of the original DBZ plot so in a way im relieved. But would have been that heard to add some big budget special effects, with them flyin around and going crazy? and give it an r rating? they would make just as much money as they are going to with this shit if not more…….

  • rusty

    ive seen the movie… its sucks… no story at all, goku was so serious, from the start i already knoe that this role isnt for him..and what i hate the most is when he was eating, the drumstick.. “they dont even know why goku always eat the drumstick” then bulma became a fighter lols.. and master roshi was “soooooo.. over acting” yamcha look like a drugged dealer gone good.. the ape version of goku was so gay.. trying to masturbate .. and chi chi… is really hot.. “i love chi chi”

    but its all the creators fault.. chinese directed it… americans casted it.. but wasnt it made in japan??

    and i understand how many ppl will watch this.. ofcourse, i would…. cuz i wanna see how much it sucked

    love you chi chi…

  • rusty

    i think it would be gud… if they adapt the movie… from the red ribbon army.. atleast we’ll see “doctor gero”… and the androids on the sequel…..

    and yes its not adapted to the manga… but what is it adapated to?

    the story didnt give any introduction.. so if its not adapted to the manga… ppl who didnt watch dragon ball anime… wouldnt understand what the story is about… so dont say its an adaption. bacause it sucked all the way to its roots

  • lulz

    John Jacob, did you read what the movie was about on imdb or anything? They took pieces of the dragonball series storyline and turned it into a movie pretty much. Only it’s probably going to suck. They could have done MUCH better than this if they had spun this towards longtime fans of the series instead of trying to hook little kids and teenagers. If they wanted to use the high school crap, the least they could have done was made Gohan a part of the story because HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL. TBH, I don’t think a live action movie of the series should have ever been done. If they had kept it CGI I’m sure it would have been way better.

  • rusty

    i wonder whatever happen.. to jackie chan as goku, jet li as vegita, and wesley snipes as picolo… hmmmm?

  • Woofe

    John Jacob, sorry to say, this movie have no story, characther development or what so ever.

    Remind me again, why do Picolo want to destroy the earth in the first place? They don’t give a reason, Picolo just kinda wanted to destroy it? Pretty stupid right?

    If there’s another name for pure goodness, it is Goku. But the Goku in the movie was pretty F*cked up. I mean for some reason he wanted to sleep with ChiChi (She’s hot I know lol). I don’t mind they getting some white actor as Goku, but the thing is they should not change what Goku really is. Goku prefer woman than his own Grandpa Gohan? You gotta admit that was f*cked up. That is not the Goku we fell in love with. How do I suppose to enjoy the movie when I can’t even believe that person is Goku?

    I still have plenty in my mind but I guess, I should just conclude it with, this movie is not even half average, it’s a pile of rubbish!

  • Malas

    I don’t understatnd why some idiots still saying that we should think that this movie is a new Dragonball and more realistic.WTF are u guys retards or what how can Dragonball be realistic,u can’t make it realistic, idiots.
    Is like making a new Star Wars but more realistic can u imagine that? or make the action from Lord of the rings to happen in our time and they fight with ak-47 and tanks and some other shits:)))
    Once they put the name Dragonball then this must be related to Dragonball period.
    I have seen this crap and is really bad and for the majority that know something about the Dragonball world it will be the same because we go there to see a movie that has at leat 80% of the story and action inspired from Dragonball and not only 5-6%.
    We don’t need another high school movie we all needed a Live adaption of Dragonball.
    in max 1 year we all be forgotten this shit and i hope they will not attemp another one.

  • Ali

    I really really Hate this movie.
    DBZ4Life

  • Neal

    Kame – thank you for proving my point and just reiterating what the other douche said. Most people SAW the edited stuff. And, I’ll say it again, this move is and ADAPTATION. Get over it. It is BASED on the original. It’s not supposed to follow it perfectly. It was supposed to be changed. so go ahead and wack off to un-edited dragonball, just PLEASE stop leaving comments.

  • Caity

    ok honestly ppl, yes it’s an adaptation, yes its not supposed to be exactly the same, but still, it is a horrible movie.
    just getting that out there.
    ignoring all the ‘plot holes’ and stuff, the script is corny and boring, the acting is horrible, the special FX are nowhere near what you’d expect them to be.
    it was all round pretty disappointing, and thats without comparing it to the original.

  • Nonky-D-Luffy

    whoa the movie SUCKS A LOT!!! xD

    GOKU GOES TO HIGH SCHOOL?! now that’s new! xP
    and he even always bullied at the school lolz…

    and what’s with Kame-hame that can make u comeback to life? if it was in the comic, instead of comeback to life, goku will have a big hole in his chest xP

    and the story line is awful..
    i give the story line 1.5 points out of 5.. xP

    well then again, Hollywood never did good when they make films which based on Japanese cartoons…
    let’s say Final Fantasy Spirits Within, DOA, and Street Fighter… They’re all sucks..
    Japanese anime/manga based Live Actions movies should be made by Japanese i think… -_-;

  • What are they thinking doing stuff like this, it’s completely ruined the Dragon ball tradition, this is really disappointing

  • dragon ball evolution is shit

    this dragon ball evolution movie is shit! i just watched it on youku.com … and honestly.. this movie is the worst that i’ve ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. goku’s running speed is slower than bulma’s motorbike
    2. goku would preferably ride on a plane than fly
    3. goku actually can’t really fly… =.=
    4. he’s weak as shit
    5. he is shit
    6. the guy who plays goku has no muscles….
    7. did anyone know that kamehameha could be used to light up lamps?
    8. this is like an adaptation of star wars in dbz style… using chi = using the force .. the guns
    … etc.

    u get the point… don’t even waste ur money on this shit…

  • Maverick

    WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I just saw the movie on youku.com, and it truly is an insult 2 any1 who loved the DB/Z anime on tv…
    I mean C’mon, isnt hollywood supposed 2 have money?? It looks like a computer geek with a half-decent computer put this 2gether. This isnt a DB movie, its a martial arts movie with some low-tech effects now and agen.
    The whole movie was rushed, the plot was NON-EXISTANT!! Theres no sense of Goku getting any stronger with training(which they always emphasised in the anime) AND since when do u light up candles with a friggin KAMEHAMEHA wave!!!????… oh and how can i 4get, u can also revive people with the Kamehameha wave too!!!??? I mean, WTF..
    Its like the creators read/watched 1 episode of the series, took elements from that episode and whipped up a PILE OF CRAP!! It hurts me 2c DB this way…and if ur a true fan like me, then itl hurt u too..
    Its not worth paying 4, its good enough 2 catch accidentally on TV(then u might say its decent)…
    NO power-ups, NO senzu beans, NO krillin…
    Average Goku.. No high-speed anything.
    This movie was exactly what i expected 2 b… Its just like the STREET FIGHTER and MARIO BROS movies… UTTER RUBBISH!!!

  • I have a real hard time believing these supposed critiques considering most, if not all, of you have yet to actually watch the movie.

  • Chip

    Enough with this adaption arguing. DB(z) fans really dont care if you follow the manga word for word. In the end we just wanted a good movie that translates well from the animated written story. X-men fans got what they wanted. Twilight fans got what they wanted, Harry potter fans got what they wanted, Lord of the rings fans spiderman fans definetly got what they wanted, iron man fans as well. How come we couldn’t?

    But we knew this years in advance. No marketing done for this film. Premier party, photos? Try to find em.
    Hollywood should realize if they put together something, doesnt have to be perfect but, partially decent we’ll go back and see it 2-3 times. How many fukers went and saw spiderman 3, which everyone can agree wasnt the best one probably the worst, more then once? The money says it all. But its great we’re sending a message to hollywood with the horrible $4.7 million opening weekend numbers its put up. We’ll give you our cash ( as reported this easter weekend numbers are the highest ever beating out 2002 easter weekend sales) just dont fuck us with pieces of shit like DBE. Which will go down as one of the worst flicks ever. And thats unexcusable with today technology and production studios.