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.

We’re a couple days late on this, I know, but here is our continued updates on the new DBZ special! It finally aired in Japan and here is the synopsis!
It has been two years since Majin Buu was defeated and Satan has become a hero for defeating him. However, Videl remembers the truth of those events, and seems to be embarrassed about her father. A gigantic hotel is being built in Satan’s honor. Upon completion, Satan decides to throw a party for Goku and the others who fought with him. Meanwhile, Goku, Chi Chi, Gohan, and Goten have been making their living growing radishes. Videl soon arrives and asks Gohan to bring his family to the party. At first Goku doesn’t want to go, but he changes his mind once he hears there will be rare foods there.

Kame-sennin, No. 18, Krillin, etc, take off for the hotel and give Goku’s family a lift. Piccolo descides to not ride along, but rather flies after them on his own. The group from Capsule Corp. arrives at the hotel first, and when Vegeta and Goku see each other, they begin to fight. Goku realizes the party is starting, and heads off to the assembly hall. Apart from Goku’s family, Vegeta’s family, and Kame-sennin’s group, the crowd includes Dende, Mr. Popo, Karin-sama, Yajirobe, Yamcha, Oolong, Gyuumao, Kaio-sama, Bubbles, Gregory, Kibito-shin, and Elder Kaioshin.

Despite the fact that there’s supposed to be no media coverage of the party, members of the press appear and ask Satan questions about Buu’s defeat. While the “Z Senshi” are eating, two Saiya-jin style spaceships land on Earth. Piccolo and Gohan are the first to notice, then No. 18, and eventually everyone stops eating and the atmosphere becomes tense.

A sharp-eyed Saiya-jin and a small alien emerge from the two spaceships. Using his scouter to detect higher battle powers, the Saiya-jin soon arrives at the party. Upon seeing Vegeta, the Saiya-jin calls him “big brother”. The “Z Senshi” are all shocked by this sudden event. The Saiya-jin introduces himself as Table, along with his wife, Grey. Vegeta says that Table had been sent off to a remote planet because he had no talent for battle. Table begs our heroes to defeat Abo and Kado, who have ravished his planet and pursued him to Earth.

Goku says that if they’re strong, he’ll fight them, and Gohan wants to help as well. Goten and Trunks think it sounds interesting, Krillin and Yamcha say they want to try as well, and eventually even Kame-sennin wants to fight. Table measures their battle powers with his scouter, and says that they’ll be of no help since their battle powers are so low. Vegeta scolds Table for relying on his scouter, and as an example, Goku begins to gather ki. The battle power reading on the scouter steadily increases. It soon breaks as Goku goes Super Saiya-jin and then Super Saiya-jin 2, and Table is amazed by Goku’s power. Goku thinks it will be unfair to if everybody fights the weaker guys, and suggests they select a single representative to fight.

Goku teleports Gohan, Goten, Trunks, Piccolo, Yamcha, Krillin, Kame-sennin, Videl, Chi Chi, Bulma, Table, and Grey to Mount Paozu (this whole time, Satan, Fat Buu, Kibito-shin, and Elder Kaioshin have been ignoring Table and just go on drinking). Goku suggests that they each draw a radish, and the person who draws the longest radish will be the representative. Goten draws out a very long radish, and it seems he will be the one to fight. This makes Vegeta jealous, and he tells Trunks to pull out an even bigger radish. Pressured by Vegeta, Trunks pulls out a very thin but incredibly long radish, and becomes the representative.

Meanwhile, two other spaceships land on Earth, containing Abo and Kado. Pursuing Table, they arrive at Satan Hotel, and a panic erupts. Goku and the others soon return, and things clam down. It turns out Abo and Kado are remnants of Freeza’s army, who have taken control of Freeza’s planets now that he is gone. Vegeta also knows of them, and says that they were supposed to rival the Ginyu Special-Squad. Table says that the two have become much stronger, and that not even Freeza could beat them now.

Goku loses his enthusiasm when he hears that they’re “only” at Freeza’s level, and decides that it’s alright for Trunks to fight them. With some difficulty, he gets Vegeta’s permission to let Goten fight as well. At first Abo and Kado underestimate their child opponents, and they get clobbered and knocked into some boulders. They decide to get serious, and they each split into three people.

Trunks and Goten are completely unable to counterattack now that Abo and Kado have become six people. Vegeta advices them to sense their ki and locate the real Abo and Kado, but they can’t. Gohan offers to help, but they turn him down. They settle on having Gohan merely tell them where the real Abo and Kado are. With Gohan’s accurate advice, Goten and Trunks drive Abo and Kado to the wall.

Cornered, Abo and Kado merge to become even stronger, forming merged Aka. Put on the defensive by Aka’s attacks, Goten and Trunks use their secret weapon, Fusion. However, since it’s been so long since they’ve used it, they fail and become fat Gotenks. They eventually succeed on their second try, and Gotenks overwhelms Aka, using Yamcha’s Rouga Fuu-Fuu Ken, Tenshinhan’s Haikyuuken, and to finish him off they use Satan’s “Miracle Special Ultra Super Megaton Punch”, going Super Saiya-jin the moment they punch Aka. Aka crashes into a lake and it looks like the fight is over, but…

Aka rises out of the lake and is enraged. He lets out a giant energy wave, firing it from both hands and his mouth. It hits Gotenks and causes the Satan Hotel to collapse. Aka then starts shooting energy bullets, damaging each part of the hotel one after the other (this technique is called the “Wahaha no Ha/Wahaha Wave”).

In order to protect his friends, Piccolo deflects each energy bullet with a Makankosappo. Krillin uses a Kienzan to save No. 18 and Marron as they’re about to be crushed by rubble. Yamcha protects Bulma from the falling rubble by using the Sokidan, Yajirobe saves some people by slicing rubble in half, and Kame-sennin also protects a beautiful woman from the rubble.

Goku and Vegeta decide to finish off Aka. They argue over which one of them should defeat him, when Goku points and asks “What’s that?!”, causing Vegeta to look away. With Vegeta distracted, Goku takes off towards Aka, while Vegeta objects that that was dirty trick by Goku. Aka fires a Super Wahaha no Ha and Goku counters with a Kamehameha, then nails Aka with a punch with all his heart and soul behind it.

Aka is finally defeated and the battle is over. Videl tells her father that having his hotel smashed was a punishment from God, but brightens his spirits by saying she’ll help rebuild it. Goku also encourages him, saying that it can be rebuilt, and the party starts again amid the hotel rubble. As the party continues, Goku eats Vegeta’s sushi, who eats Goku’s Char Siu in return. Angry, the two finally turn Super Saiya-jin and begin fighting, as everyone else watches in amazement.

Thanks to dblegends and kanzentai for the info! And here are some more images:

NY Anime Festival ‘08 has already kicked off and it looks like we have confirmation that a Dragonball panel will be held. Manga:About.com has this to say:

Day Two of the 2nd New York Anime Festival promises to be full of interesting and newsworthy events, including appearances by special guests Yoshitaka Amano, Hideyuki Kikuchi, the designers of Baby the Stars Shine Bright, and a “Top Secret” panel at 2:15 pm at the Anime News Network Theater. Now why on earth is there a picture from the Dragon Ball movie next to that panel’s description, plus an autograph session at 3:30 pm for Dragon Ball, I’m guessing it might be about… oh heck, just go check it out and see if this is one of the worst kept secrets in NYAF history or a very clever red herring.

So, if you happen to be attending feel free to send us a report!

UPDATE: Looks like that rumor was false. Thanks 5aucy.

The program guide has a mysterious top secret panel today in the anime news network theater. This is NOT taking place. The space is for rie tanaka - who got into nyc last night. The plan was for her to surpise fans with an early panel, but she is instead going to use this hour for additional rehearsal for her performance tonight. She loves you and that’s why she’s taking this extra time to make sure her concert rocks!

SOURCE

Ah well. . .

Discuss on the boards!

Brian Tyler, composer of Dragonball’s score, talks briefly about the feel of the film’s music in an interview with Filmmuziek.

Listen to the interview here.

Quick Summary: Brian Tyler says that Dragonball is based in fantasy and thus the score will be more whimsical than his other scores for films based in reality. He also mentions that the tone is “Transformers meets Harry Potter”.

Discuss on the boards.

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Happy one year! Here’s to many more!

[listen here]