Loading ...A Lovely Interview
If you’ve been following the blog in the past few days then you know about all the excitement regarding the IMDB user who goes by the name lovely_raindrops-1, who claims she saw an early screening of the film and went on to answer fan questions about it. Now, we here at DBMB are not saying she is legit or not. That is for you guys to decide for yourselves. I just thought it would be interesting to see what else she has to say. I will say, however, that it is a coincidence that she confirmed Roshi wouldn’t be much of a perv as well as the running time before they were posted both here and on dbthemovie.
Anyway, I chated for a bit with lovely_raindrops-1 and here is what she had to say:
DragonballMovieBlog: Can you describe Piccolo in detail to the best of your ability?
lovely_raindrops-1: Of course for anyone who has seen the leaked trailer images of Piccolo they will realize that it is a strong departure from the original anime/manga. In a way this was a bit of a disappointment because he lacks the usual white turban/cloak and purple gi. He now wears a full body suit that looks very similar to something that Batman would wear and has a white/pink face. Just to settle something that has been long disputed though, Piccolo does turn green. Obviously I can’t say too much on this but he does.
James Marsters is the epitome of Piccolo though. He fits into the role perfectly and in my opinion is one of the best cast actors in the movie.
DBMB: How close to the source material was the film?
LR: All the characters are there but anyone that has been closely following the progress of this film will realize that quite a few aspects have been severely changed. Goku is still the oblivious, child-like character, especially in his relationship with Chichi. Yet this is thrown into the inevitable, Hollywood, High School situation cliche.
The characters still have their special moves so everyone will get to see Goku release his Kamehameha and Piccolo, his Special Beam Cannon. Yet for realism based issues the idea of Capsule Corp has been severely dumbed down. The company still exists within the movie and the whole concept is there, yet the capsules don’t have to ability to hold houses etc.
With this all said and done I am still convinced that the majority of changes have been for the better. Who really wants to see a film when they know exactly what is going to happen & one that looks exactly like a comic book to boot? If they were going to stick exactly to the source material they may as well have just reanimated everything and stuck it into a feature length movie!
DBMB: Which actor best represented their character’s manga counterpart? (You mention Jamie Chung, Emmy Rossum and James Marsters before; can you elaborate a bit more on this?)
LR: As I said previously, James Marsters is fantastic as Piccolo. Although the makeup (as good as it is) doesn’t look like his anime counter-part I think that he just feels so right in the role.
Emmy Rossum is great as Bulma. She has clearly studied the character in which she has set out to play and conveys Bulma very well.
People were very skeptical about Justin Chatwin, me included, but I think that he does a very good job in the shoes of Goku. Just remember hardcore fans; these people were cast for a reason and in my opinion you have nothing to worry about as far as this goes.
DBMB: Have you read Ben Ramsey’s leaked first draft? If so were there elements of that script still in tact?
LR: If I’m honest, no I haven’t read Ben Ramsey’s leaked first draft. Ben Ramsey is a fantastic writer though and I personally think he did a good job with the final script. He managed to convey the world of Dragonball in a short space of time (93 Minutes), this alone deserves to be commended!
DBMB: How was master Roshi’s sense of humor?
LR: As you can imagine Yun-Fat Chow doesn’t really look very much like the anime Master Roshi. The character has been greatly changed within this picture and as everyone knows, the idea of him being an old pervert has been completely erased. Then again, who wants to see some old man asking a young girl to show him her pants? It wouldn’t look right on film.
Master Roshi still has his sense of humor intact and is quite similar to Mr Miyagi from the Karate Kid in the way that he acts. There are subtle hints to his other personality as well in the way that he openly flirts with Bulma.
DBMB: Who has the most screen time, and is there any character who you felt was underused?
LR: Obviously Goku has the most screen time within the film, followed by Bulma and Master Roshi. In all honesty I think that the character of Mai was slightly underused. Although she is explained as an ally of Piccolo’s there is not really much story behind all that like where she has come from etc etc.
DBMB: Does the film rely heavily on special effects? And were there any filters used to give the film a stylistic look (I.E 300, Underworld)?
LR: Around the first quarter of the film doesn’t feature many special effects but towards the end when energy balls are firing back and forth everything is very CGIed.
Around halfway through the film when Bulma and Goku are searching through temples etc, everything is given a very gritty, yellow appearance and looks rather stylistic. Other than filters the landscapes look very stylistic as well with huge brown boulders and fluffy cloud filled sky’s. Everything suits the whole style of Dragonball very well.
DBMB: Are the fights anything groundbreaking?
LR: Not exactly, when you watch them you can see elements of other films thrown in which is evidenced by a fight that features bullet time. Obviously this was bound to happen because the same fight coordinators worked on The Matrix! Other than that though the fights look very cool. Scenery gets completely demolished and some of the characters get battered about like ragdolls… PG-13 style.
DBMB: Describe the chemistry (if any) between Chatwin and Chung as well as Bulma and Yamcha.
LR: Chatwin and Chung, or should I say Goku and Chichi, work very well together. Goku is completely oblivious to the way that Chichi feels about him which leads to some hilarious exploits.
I wasn’t feeling it as much with Emmy Rossum and Joon Park though. Some of the lovey-dovey stuff seemed very comic, like in the anime/manga, but also quite forced. This is obviously just my personal preference but that sums up how I felt about their character’s relationship.
DBMB: Without giving any (more) spoilers, are there any surprises that us fans don’t know about yet?
LR: Oh yes, there are definitely a few surprises. Without saying to much, there are a few characters people did not expect to see who make small appearances. Also, there are clear references to the original manga/anime only the fans will pick up.
Overall, the film isn’t exactly a masterpiece and is flawed but the majority of fans that didn’t want to see the manga replicated in live-action will be more than happy. There will more than likely be a sequel because although all the loose ends are put together at the end of the film there are loads of hints that the story will obviously continue. The Dragonball saga of movies is just beginning and to be quite honest, I can’t wait to see the next one!
Thanks again to lovely_raindrops-1 for taking the time to chat with us.
Discuss on the boards.
![[Ask]](http://www.dragonballmovieblog.net/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/ask.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.dragonballmovieblog.net/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://www.dragonballmovieblog.net/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Google]](http://www.dragonballmovieblog.net/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[MySpace]](http://www.dragonballmovieblog.net/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/myspace.png)
![[Windows Live]](http://www.dragonballmovieblog.net/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/windowslive.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://www.dragonballmovieblog.net/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://www.dragonballmovieblog.net/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
September 28th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
first… i hope
Nice post there. Great info and hopefully is legit on lovely_raindrops-1′a part. Hopefuly soon, i can get my hands on a screener copy and be as informative as possible.
September 28th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
FIRST!!!!!11
September 28th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
3rd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 28th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
fake, 3rd
September 28th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Without saying to much, there are a few characters people did not expect to see who make small appearances. Also, there are clear references to the original manga/anime only the fans will pick up.
YES!!!I hope its krillin and tien she is talking about!
September 28th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
For some reason I believe her. She sounds like she did watch it.
WHOAA!! I really, really, really hope she is 100% right, because if she is this movie is going to be so Alwsome. She said James Marsters will turn green like on the cartoon, when he transforms into Piccolo Jr.
Cooool!!!!
It makes sence, because anybody who is trapped for 2,000 years without sunlight will loose there color.
September 28th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
haha john i beat you!
September 28th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Awesome interview. I knew she was legit all along…
September 28th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Awesome!
September 28th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Whoops, forgot to log in, ill say that again..
Awesome!
September 28th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I’ll go out on a limb and say that Lovely Raindrops probably is the real deal, since she’s very specific about every question and her feelings about everything sound sincere enough.
I hear the words “bullet-time” and “ragdoll” and my heart goes racing. Bring it on!
September 28th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Greeness, Fluffy clouds, Yamcha and Bulma all lovey dovey… Sounds like dragonball to me.
I still have hopes!
September 28th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
i hope shes right, i knew piccolo was gonna be green in the end, but i wish she said somthing about that 8 foot guy thing
September 28th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
FUCK YES
September 28th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
this seems fishy, wouldn’t fox do something about this if they see it?
September 28th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Perhaps. Perhaps not.
September 28th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
But she said Piccolo wears a full body suit. In the pics you see him wearing those baggy pants? Does he changes his clothes?
About the Oozaru she said on imdb and dbthemovie, that its not really huge, more like an gorilla/wolf mixture about 8-9 feet tall.
And Picollo does have antennas, or are these things on the side of the head dreadlocks, greased back
September 28th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
‘Without saying to much, there are a few characters people did not expect to see who make small appearances’.
Maybe Vegeta will be at the End. No one expected him to be in it. Maybe in the very end or possible during the credits, they show Vegeta heading towards earth.
September 28th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Yea, im 99% sure Vegetas gonna make an appearance.. ”loads of hints that the story will obviously continue”
C’mon, obviously Vegeta!!
September 28th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
I believe she is 1000000% telling the truth!
September 28th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Oh come on. You guys are idiots if you think vegeta will be in the next film. We haven’t even gotten around to adding tien, krillen, chaotzu, and piccolo jr. for that matter. And these are all main players, Not to mention the critical relationships of secondary characters such as Kami, korin, Yajirobi, etc. You can’t just skip over this critical stuff and it’s gonna take more than one movie to actually Cover. I guarentee that the The Saiyan Saga won’t even be touched in the first 3 films.
September 28th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Wtf? Special Beam Cannon in Dragonball? Thats bs. Piccolo never used it till Z -_-;.
September 28th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
^^^ Ummm, Logically, the saiyan saga will be the next movie…
September 28th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Ben Ramsey did NOT write the final script. James Wong REWROTE Ben Ramsey’s first draft which means Ben Ramsey isn’t even attached to this project anymore. I don’t even know why he’s still listed on Dragonball’s imdb.com page.
She’s obviously lying.
September 28th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
i think she is full of it. the so called “spoilers” she may have leaked are all things that could have been guess by anyone who has been following this movie. in the reveiws of the movie that will come out days before the film they will describe scenes and all. she jus said logical stuff like Goku,Bulma, and Roshi have the most screen time. the second half will contain the CGI. there will be lots of destruction. im calling her bluff
September 28th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
This should not have even been posted, this seems very fake, saw her on IMDB seemed very made up, I don’t believe this at all.
September 28th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
This is probably a dumb question to ask, but I just wanted to know did she see the trailer or is she saying she saw the movie????
Im confused!!
Someone please let a brotha know
September 28th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
she said she saw the film
September 28th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
@ SSJ Jon:
Huh???? How is that possible?
Who is she? Does she work for Fox or something?
Whoever she is I hope she is right and not toying with us.
September 28th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Saiyan saga will be the next movie… They dont need Tien, The mime, or Krillin, or Korin, or Yajirobi… For a live action movie lesser importand characters have to be cut… And they will be cut. At least, i think so…
Dragonball to start Gokus REAL journey into martial arts, and being the greatest warrior the universe has ever seen..
The Saiyan Saga to introduce Vegeta and Gokus real past maybe… Nappa i would think could be cut out, and replaced with Raditz, as Vegetas right hand man… Raditz dies at the hands of piccolo, a new ally, and Goku lets Vegeta escape leaving it open for movie three…
The Frieza Saga, the last movie, will finally build up to Gokus transformation.. Instead of having Krillin (and possibly Gohan) Piccolo goes with Goku to Namek to save his people from Frieza.. there they meet Vegeta, and he teams up with them in order to kill Frieza, then the movie series is over at the point where Toriyama wanted it to end.
Thats my prediction.
September 28th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
The ramsey script had a scene in the middle just like this girl says where goku is in an old church and picollo’s creatures are attacking with mai and it’s all in bullet time style.
So mabey she is telling the truth……
Mabey its a guy playing a hoax thinking we’ll believe him if he pretends to be a girl, ha ha ha
September 28th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Absolute bullshit. Don’t buy into any of it.
September 28th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Corey I have no idea. Shes probably jus a troll
September 28th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Im waiting to see the movie to believe any of it… Anything could be truth, and anything could be a lie.
None of us know.
Except JP, he might know LOL.
September 28th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
She may be fake or not, but at least she gives us some positive info. People are starting to think the movie will be good.
September 28th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I’m betting a Krillin cameo.
September 28th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Fake…and whether or not it’s real…Lovely-Raindrops- shutup about the hardcore fans. You have no idea how we feel, being a casual fan yourself, so I don’t even want to hear any more BS from you.
September 28th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Luis Arrieta basically expressed previously that his character, Teto(Weaver), would be in essence, a replacement for Krillin’s character.
Raindrops seems to be telling the truth, and at least it sounds better than most people originally thought.
September 28th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
BS or not it’s an interesting read
September 28th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Dam i hoped she is lying cause then ill know what to expect..
September 28th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
I’ve already said it many times, but I’ll say it again anyway… Dragonball is the next Speed Racer. A property whose current popularity and potential audience is being drastically overestimated with source material that does not lend itself to becoming a decent live action movie. This movie will tank.
September 28th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
they deleted the post on IMDb - I wonder why?
September 28th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Obviously the bitch is lying. People can have their speculation until the trailer comes out. She got her information from the leaked images. saying Piccolo will be pink at the beginning and green at the end. what the fuck does it matter? I don’t care if he’s purple, who gives a fuck. A movie is a movie, either you watch it or not. Speed racer sucks ass even though i didn’t watch it. garbage patch kids, just like this movie is gonna be, garbage. fuck this.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
@John Campea…while I don’t agree with everything you said, I still hope you’re right about it tanking.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
^lol, somebody’s so fired xD
September 28th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
@ Mike:
ARE YOU SERIOUS???? They deleted her post?
JP think quick!!
Get the Original Bamfer and do a podcast with her. Do it quick!
We don’t have time to explain
JUST DO IT!!!!
The World is counting on you
September 28th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
John Campea, then WTF are you doing here anyways? If you think the movie will tank then why waste time going here and reading anything about the movie? There are tons of movies coming out in 2009 and yet you waste your pitiful time here bashing the movie. Go to “Wolverine” or “Hannah Montanna” or some other 2009 flick. Speed Racer was too much cartoony, how is it that it will be like Dragonball exactly? From what I’ve seen Dragonball will be a lot different hence why James Wong had changed a lot of things from the manga/anime.
Speed Racer was like a carbon copy of the anime and that’s why it sucked.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
she’s like Mr.Z on crack do not believe
September 28th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Finally found the special on youtube! audio isnt that good, here’s a link:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=NrIJHXg_7P0
September 28th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Hey Kame, Dragonball Z will bomb because it has a stupid story and it doesn’t have a huge following. If you go to my website TheMovieBlog.com and search for Dragonball Z you’ll see why.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Hey Anonymous, people didn’t know that until after the film.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
@ John Campea:
I know you didn’t just come to a Dragonball website dissing Dragonball Z. Dragonball Z is the best cartoon ever made period!! John Campea your a idiot for saying that!!
September 28th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
@ John Campea
It’s funny you say that seeing as how your Dragonball posts have more comments than any other news article on your front page. Seriously, get over yourself. Just because you happen to hate anime, doesn’t mean you need to share that with us. NOBODY CARES!
September 28th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Corey, Corey, Corey, Dragonball Z is NOT the best cartoon ever made. who wants to see people thorwing energy ball round.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
@Corey
LOL, very well said. JP, if you can find it in your heart, would you please make a podcast? There is a lot to go around, perhaps to damn much. PLEASE!!!!!!!!
September 28th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
@ fiferdodo:
ha, ha, ha, ha I just noticed that!! John Campea only gets hits when he post news about Dragonball and he has the nerve to talk sh*t.
John Campea and his website would go out of buisness if there wasn’t no Dragonball film being made.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
The only link between Dragonball and Speed Racer is that they are both animes.
Get your facts straight John Campea, Speed Racer is virtually unknown in this day and age in comparison to something like Dragonball. Dragonball Z is one of the most popular animated series in the world, also, people clearly care about this movie. There are tonnes of websites dedicated to it and people posting on the blogs every minute. Despite having a bad buzz this movie does have a huge following and judging from IMDB message boards it is much more anticipated than other films like; Wolverine, Transformers 2, Gi Joe etc.
Speed Racer bombed because it was a carbon copy of the anime not to mention that it was released between Iron Man, Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones 4.
To be honest John Campea you are reaching out to the wrong people here, not to mention your post has nothing to do with the article and seems like a poor advertisement for your mediocre webpage, now get the hell out.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
@ John Campea “Corey, Corey, Corey, Dragonball Z is NOT the best cartoon ever made. who wants to see people thorwing energy ball round.”
It all depends on the viwers opinion. No one can say that it is not or that it is, because for some it is, for others it is not.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Hey fiferdodo, i’m sorry but this is simply not enough to make Dragonball Z a success at the box office and i do like japaneseanimtion.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I dunno about this I’m still skeptical…a few of the things she said seem like BS. But, on the bright side, it’s only a couple weeks till the trailer comes out!
September 28th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Hey Matt B, Speed Racer failed because it didn’t have a huge following the same will happen to Dragonball Z.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Several big factors:
1) Major nostalgia factor. This movie was going to be a major hit long before the first day of shooting. Everyone was already interested in seeing it because it was The Transformers.
2) Big summer visual effects spectacles tent pole projects are what summer films are all about.
3) Giant Robots.
4) The target demographic was clearly defined and sharply aimed at in the marketing
5) A serious recognized named property.
6) It was one hell of a fun movie
September 28th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
John Campea: You are not backing your information up with facts!! You say it like it’s a statement. Prove to me that Dragonball doesn’t have a huge following.
Speed Racer was released back in the 60’s. Since then nothing has happened with it. Dragonball has aired on Cartoon Network for years, not to mention merchandise and computer games are released pretty much every year. They would not be releasing these things if they wern’t making any money. For someone who writes a Movie Blog you sure know NOTHING about how the industry works.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
John Campea is just bulling his eyes out because they made a Dragon Ball live action out of all of the animes. Naruto sucks, end of story.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Man, i dont know if i can belive her. She said some things in the post that has been deleted and now she sais others. The thing is that we cannot go an confirm it because it was deleted.
I could be wrong but i think i heard her complain about the movie not having krillin and now she says this. And she said that in the credits it was just goku flying into the sunset. And she said that the ONLY thing that suggested a sequel was that piccolo revealed goku was a (…)Saiyan and now she says that there are a lot of suggestions to a sequel.
If some one thinks i am wrong in my statement please correct me.
I want to believ her because i like of what i hear she says about the movie. I just hope that i am wrong in my doubts of her.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
“Hey Anonymous, people didn’t know that until after the film.”
After the film? Have you even seen the trailers before Speed Racer came out? It was downright cartoony.
“t doesn’t have a huge following”
If you’re talking about the Manga/Anime then you must be dumber than I thought. Dragonball has been I huge hit worldwide, has a very very very large fanbase, with over 20 videogames, etc. Not to mention there are other anime that were inspired by this series.
If you were talking about this LAM then forget the dumb part that I said above. Reason it doesn’t seem like it has a huge following is because FOX is dumb enough not to advertise this film.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
john campea your website sucks and dragonball z is the best animeshow around the dam world. And the rest of the world cant be wrong.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I did like to hear that Master rosi flirts with women specially bulma. It kind of makes the pervertedness abscene more bearable.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Dragonball Z is the best cartoon ever made!!
Name any anime or cartoon and Dragonball will crush it 10 fold. Why do you think it’s known world wide and liked by so many people of all different cultures. Dragonball is the most famous cartoon that adults still watch. Not counting the Simpsons.
Dragonball is the most anticipated movie of 2009. Fox hasn’t even started promoting anything yet and there is already a buzz to see it April 10 2009.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
SomeOneWhoEmulates: She never mentioned anything about Krillin in her IMDB thread and pretty much all the facts she said in that thread corespond with what she says in this interview. I’m pretty convinced that she is legit, I think that some of the other people arn’t because they are to afraid to admit that this movie really will be very entertaining.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Well said corey, the person who says that DBZ does not have a huge following must be on drugs. There are so many video games reales in the last 8 years of dbz here are still promoting the dbz uncut dvd
September 28th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Hey Matt B, i have no proof because there isn’t a huge following. If Dragonball Z has a huge following then proved it.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
@ John Campea:
When people first heard about a Transformers movie they was complaining about. So what are you talking about?? People start liking it when the full trailer came out. They was amazed, just like everyone is going to be amazed when the trailer for Dragonball is going to come out October 17th.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
wow. i think john campea might be the new Rammstein. or maybe its him under a new name.
anyway. i think shes right. I’ve seen so many movies months before they came out. you don’t have to work for the industry. they dont allow people who work in the media to go though. i see people around times square handing out free tickets for movie screenings. thats how i saw iron man, and the ray charles movie. WAAAAY before they came out, and when they were still editing. so i believe this girl
.
.
IM…REPAIR MAN MAN MAN MAN MAN MAN…
September 28th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
“Speed Racer failed because it didn’t have a huge following the same will happen to Dragonball Z.”
Like I said before, you ARE dumb enough to think that way. Do some research first bonehead. Dragonball has been a huge hit worldwide, has a very very very large fanbase, with over 20 videogames, etc. Not to mention there are other anime that were inspired by this series. Dragonball has been around since the late 80s and it is still famous as of right now.
Speed Racer however was around the 60s, after that it disappeared. It had BARELY any videogames.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
by the way does anyone remember the comercial or tv spots for the last DBZ game? I thouht it was hillarious. Normal people doing everyday task would shout KAMEHAMEHA!!!!!! at random. So damn funny.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
She better be telling the truth or I’m gonna have to choke a bitch! lol jk I LOVE MOVIE SPOILERS!!!!!!
September 28th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
John Campea: Open your friggin’ eyes! Seriously, this is like arguing with a brick wall. All your answers are completely un-explained and useless.
As I said previously, merchandise for Dragonball Z is released by the bundle. Think of what was known about Speed Racer before the films release. There was nothing. No merchandise on it. No video games. No DVDs.
Why would these companies invest money in all this merchandise if it wasn’t selling?! Seriously, I’m just repeating myself but I’m trying to get this into your thick skull. You say this movie is going to bomb like it’s some kind of huge revelation.
I hate to use illiterate language here but you are an idiot. You are delibrately winding us up with no valid proof in what you are saying.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
@John Campea if dragon ball z did not have a huge following we would not see all the dbz games that have flooded the market. The reason they keep making them? because people buy them. SUre it may not be LOTR but it has a huge following nonetheless.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr5dvuo8cw0
dbz burst limit commercial
September 28th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
“i have no proof because there isn’t a huge following. If Dragonball Z has a huge following then proved it.”
Here it is - Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール, Doragon Bōru?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. The series is primary inspired by the Chinese folk novel Journey to the West. The story follows the adventures of its lead character, Son Goku from his childhood into old age as he goes through several trainings and the research for seven mystical objects known as the Dragon Balls, which are supposed to grant any wish.
The manga was serialized in the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from 1984 through 1995, and its 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. The manga series is licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media, in the United Kingdom by Gollancz Manga, and in Australia and New Zealand by Chuang Yi. Dragon Ball has since been adapted into three different anime series, seventeen animated feature films, three television specials, a collectible trading card game, and a large number of video games. A live-action film has been in development since 2002, and is now slated for release on April 10, 2009.
Dragon Ball is one of the most popular manga series of its time, and it continues to enjoy high readership today. By 2000, more than 126 million copies of its tankōbon volumes had been sold in Japan and by 2007, this number had grown to pass 150 million. The initial Dragon Ball anime came in place twelve of the one-hundred top series from Japan. Other manga artists have also been inspired by Dragon Ball to the point of using some of its characteristics in their own manga.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Another example, even has a commercial based on a videogame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr5dvuo8cw0
September 28th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
If I had seen the movie that would pretty much defeat the word “prediction” wouldn’t it?
My prediction isn’t based on a trailer (which all look good and therefore don’t really tell you anything). My prediction is based on an overestimated popularity of a minor franchise that doesn’t have broad enough reach to appeal to a large enough audience.
It is also based on the notion that Dragonball is one of those franchises that works fine in one medium, but I don’t believe for one second will work in another.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Piccolo, his Special Beam Cannon… I call fake on this..
also no mention of the world tournament…. hmm I was expecting to hear something about that.
Also for everything that is supposed to happen in this movie, 93 minutes seems way to rushed.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
@ Myself:
Thanks!! John Campea has to be the dumbest critic it the world for saying Dragonball doesn’t have a huge following. The proof is in here!!
Look how many people are anticipated to see this movie John. There is way more Dragonball movie fan sites then Transformer fan sites out there. The sales for the Dragonball merchandise has probably gone up ever since they annouced there was going to be a movie. People are starting to watch Dragonball Z, GT again, because of this movie. Everyone is curious to know how this movie is going to be like. So shut your bum hole John!
September 28th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
John Campea, are you blind? read my post above you.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Dragonball has been selling millions of merchandises.
Here is an example, they even have a commercial on TV.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr5dvuo8cw0
September 28th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
lol @ John Campea. Having said that, I don’t believe for one second that Speed Racer was better than Transformers. Having said that, I am a prick.
I don’t believe for one second this is the real John Campea.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Dragonball has been selling millions of merchandises.
Here is an example, they even have a commercial on TV.
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr5dvuo8cw0[/url]
September 28th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
John Campea: Exactly! You just said the magic word ‘prediction.’ Everything you are saying is purely coming from your point of view and your beliefs. Dragonball DOES have a huge following and is an undeniable fact. An anonymous user showed you some source information and you chose to ignore it.
Leave, before you embarass yourself even more.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
That is true! I am one of does that started to see dragonball from the very begining because of the movie! LOL
September 28th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Characters Iwouldnt expect to see??? probably krillin and raditz
September 28th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Sorry Corey but its simply not enough with the budget of $100 million and if you click right here http://www.themovieblog.com/?s=Dragonball+&x=4&y=12 you’ll know why Transformers made money.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Who cares if it’s the real John Campea
There both idiots and should get energy blasted!!
That person who was Anonymous showed him prove and he chose to ignore it.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I own some dragonball Animation cels and now they are worth double for what I paid for them. MUAHAHAHA Dragonball is a Billion doller Franchise. Your Ignorant if you think Dragonball does not have a huge fan base think about how many fans are in Europe. Asia. North/South America alone and theres the rest of the world. This movie will make alot of money no matter what anyone says.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Yeah people don’t care about Dragon Ball! The show has been over for years! That’s why all the merchandise they come out with for the show still sells millions because Dragon Ball doesn’t have much of a fan base. I mean back when it was airing on Cartoon Network it was number one in the ratings and I bet Disney wished Hannah Montana was a successful as the Dragon Ball franchise. Yeah I agree Hannah Montana is defiantly gonna do better than DRAGON BALL.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
@walsh And also in latin america, IT IS HUGE in latin america. I remember back when i lived there EVERYONE LOVED IT. My friends would not miss it and if they did they would ask those who saw it to give them an update of the latest thing that happened in the series.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
@ King Kai: Lol, ha, ha, ha, ha that sh*t was funny!!
September 28th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
This girl might be saying the truth after all.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
bdkrx: “Wtf? Special Beam Cannon in Dragonball? Thats bs. Piccolo never used it till Z -_-;.”
James Masters said this movie is a combination of DB and the beginning of DBZ. So this Lord Piccolo is probably taking the role of both King Piccolo and Piccolo Jr at the same time.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
The girl is full of shit. Think about it. If any of you guys saw this movie, whether it was GOOD or TERRIBLE wouldn’t you have a lot to say about it ? When someone asks me about THE DARK KNIGHT I can tell them about the movie from start to finish describing every scene in explicit detail. Then I think about Iron Man. I didn’t really care for that movie but I could still give good detail about it, If I was asked to recall. ANY of you guys could do that for a movie you ACTUALLY saw. This “girl” is giving out vague answers that she probably cultivated from information on THIS website as well as other websites. Yeah she was right about Roshi but if you ask me I say it’s a lucky ASS guess…but Don’t worry. It’s just more reason to be hyped for DRAGON BALL 2009. James Wong is IN…THIS…BITCH!!!
September 28th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
@John Campea- To each his own opinion.
Of course the story isn’t a story that makes you think deeply, but I still love it more than any other anime out there. It has a great message and many people love that message, the action, and the comedy it provides.
I think this movie is a complete 180 from the original though and I will not in any way support it in order to do my best to preserve the integrity that I believe the original story has.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I feel like you’re supporting the movie just by being here…
September 28th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
There is more…
Dragon Ball is one of the most popular manga series of its time, and it continues to enjoy high readership today. By 2000, more than 126 million copies of its tankōbon volumes had been sold in Japan alone.By 2007, this number had grown to pass 150 million. It is the “quintessential mainstream manga” driven by an unending story. Its immense popularity resulted in the series being continuously extended, first through the use of acrobatic devices that regularly kept the series from falling into the routine characters and story lines, then by having the central characters surpass death itself using miraculous devises. In Little Boy: The Art of Japan’s Exploding Subculture Takashi Murakami notes that Dragon Ball’s “never-ending cyclical narrative moves forward plausibly, seamlessly, and with great finesse.”Goku’s journey and his ever growing strength resulted in the character winning “the admiration of young boys everywhere”.
In a survey conducted by Oricon in 2007 between 1,000 people, Goku, the main character of the franchise, ranked first place as the “Strongest Manga character of all time.” Other manga artists, such as Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto and One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda, have stated that Goku inspired their series’ main protagonists as well series structure. When TV Asahi conducted an online poll for the top one hundred anime, the Dragon Ball series came in place twelve.
Ridwan Khan from Animefringe.com commented on the manga to have a “chubby” art style but as the series continued it gets more refined with the characters leaner and more muscular. He also noted he preferred the manga versions of the series to their animated counterparts that makes the story slower and pointless. Anime News Network praised the story and humor of the manga to be very good due conveying of all the characters’s personalities. They also remarked Viz’s translation to be one of the best ones of all the English editions of the series praising the lack of censore. The storylines of Dragon Ball Z have been compared to Greek mythology.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Well sounds like this movie is gonna be crap…if this is true…
September 28th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
R: “Luis Arrieta basically expressed previously that his character, Teto(Weaver), would be in essence, a replacement for Krillin’s character.”
lol this is a big lie. I read Luis Arrieta´s interview in spanish and he said his role in the movie is minimum, it only took him 1 day to film his scenes and that he indeed IS NOT Krillin´s replacement. His own words. You should re-read his interview.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
i know i’m late here, but you know what guys?
if she did see it and she is here, it’s on purpose by FOX. She’e here on purpose to convince us fans.
don’t matter much to me, I’ve always looked forward to the movie and I’m the most HC of fans.
September 28th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
wow corey you are really bashing this John guy O.o
any news is good enough for me. what this girl said seems plausible so we cant say for sure if shes right or wrong.
September 28th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
id ejaculate if krillin is secretly in this movie
September 28th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I dont know if this is fake or not. Had they finished post-Production already?
September 28th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
John Campea is just a troll… just ignore him.
September 28th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
What’s a troll??
Anyways, I just want to know howcome she can’t tell us who is the special guest? I wonder is it Krillin. Probably not!!
You know what guy’s and gals….
I have a feeling in my pants that JP
is doing a podcast with her right now.
September 28th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
i think she is telling the truth, im just happy piccolo will be green, and for people who say Dragonball z sucks yo don’t have any tast at all. and if piccolo is going to do Special Beam Cannon that means raditz is going to show up at the end
September 28th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Oh come on! She’s lying! She hasn’t told us anything we don’t already know! She didn’t talk about the music, the dialog, or anything! She saying “Oh I don’t wanna spoil anything!” If you didn’t want to spoil anything you’d keep your mouth shut! Anybody that really saw this movie would be SPILLING THEIR GUTS telling us every little detail. Either she is a liar or she is VERY VERY VEEEEERRRRRY BAD at describing things.
September 28th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
@Chibi Vegeta, come on Gohan Is great! Lol, But seriously I wouldn’t see it without Gohan lol
I believe 80% this is real, and I have 20% of doubt, I will just have to wait
September 28th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
@ King Kai:
Hmmmm, Im starting to think maybe your right. She hasn’t shown us any proof whatso ever, but she sure sounds convincing. I think JP needs to do a podcast with her.
September 28th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
i getting more exited about naruto than dragonball…
September 28th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
The reason why she havent given specific details is because she said she didnt want to spoil everything. But she was right about Roshi´s non-pervertedness and the lengh of the movie.
I think I believe her.
September 28th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
@John Campea
Do you even know about DB/Z?
Dragonball Began in Japan then became Huge in Asia, Europe, South America, and finally North America. Theres a Japanese, Korean, Chinese, French, Italian, British, Spanish, Canadian, and American version of the series, it was a HUGE success in each of these countries and has touched every continent. In South America and Japan its still just a big today as was when it first came out.
There has been many games, dvd releases including the new remastered ones, as we know a new animated special, and the online game which jumped its popularity up again.
Do you know HOW many of the 10mil players are going to see Warcraft movie just because they play the MMO?
DBO is next in line and has a MUCH larger base then World of Warcraft had.
DB/Z fanbase is on a Global scale my friend, not just U.S.A and Japan….To even say DB/Z doesnt have a not only big but massive fanbase is unbelievably foolish and I would need a far more powerful word than “retarded” to describe you.
If wanna say its gonna bomb then have a legitimate reason to support you, not an incredibly false one, you’re like trying to argue that the Sky is Brown when everyone in the world clearly knows its Blue.
September 28th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
I want to believe her
September 28th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Honestly? She gave out more information on IMDB. She didn’t have a problem spoiling things then! Still it’s strange that her topic was deleted by the moderators over there. Whatever. I say there is a 27% chance that she is telling the mother fucking truth.
September 28th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
YEah is true in latin america it is huge they even christians knew about it they protested against it even the goverment said that the vilonce grew more beacuse of it and it was mention even in songs. ANd in mexico and spain it rock shirts i remenbered buying a lunch box that dragonball drawings man i grew up wacthing dragonball ,z,gt.and in japan it still plays look at the special that just came outdragonball anit dead yet baby.I bet that the movie is gonna be a world phenomon.
September 28th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
@John Campea: Why are you posting on a blog