The live-action movie, Dragonball Evolution’s star pays tribute to Akira Toriyama and also apologizes for the disappointing film.
Dragon Ball is one of the most popular anime and manga franchises in the world, with several spin-offs and movies under its belt. Akira Toriyama originally published Dragon Ball in 1985, and had been actively working on the manga for over four decades.
His sudden death on March 7 due to acute subdural hematoma has shocked the entire world. Several artists and actors paid tribute to the legendary mangaka, whose work inspired countless souls. News of the mangaka’s death was revealed via the official Dragon Ball Z Twitter account. The account shares a letter to their fans as well as those close to Toriyama.
Justin Chatwin, the Canadian actor who played the live-action Goku in Dragonball Evolution, the Hollywood film adaptation, also paid tribute to Toriyama, along with an apology note.
Dragon Ball live-action actor Justin Chatwin apologizes to Akira Toriyama
Justin Chatwin shared an Instagram story saying, “Rest in peace, brother. And sorry we messed up the adaptation so badly.”
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Justin Chatwin, actor of Goku in Dragon Ball Evolution, posted this. Legit really sad. pic.twitter.com/Z8XaiYQVSN
— SLO (@SLOplays) March 9, 2024
The story is no longer available on Instagram, but one Twitter user screenshotted this and shared it.
The live-action movie removed most of the fantasy and sci-fi elements of the original Dragon Ball movie. The film is set in a modern American high school. The story follows young Goku, who goes on a quest to find Master Roshi and the seven Dragon Balls upon his late grandfather’s request.
While Goku only has one of them, he proceeds to collect the rest before Piccolo, who wants to use the power of the Dragon Balls to take over the world. Directed by James Wong and produced by Stephen Chow, Dragon Ball Evolution was released in 2009, earning severe backlash from fans and critics alike. It currently has a score of 2.5 on IMDb and 14% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama hated the live-action movie so much that he stepped out of retirement to work on the anime series again. Additionally, according to the 30th Anniversary Dragon Ball Super History Book, Toriyama said: “I had put Dragon Ball behind me, but seeing how much that live-action film ticked me off, and how I revised that script for the anime movie and complained about the quality of the TV anime, I suppose somewhere along the line it’s become a series I like too much to ever leave alone.”
