Dragon Ball Evolution: The Disaster That Revived the Legend

If you grew up with anime, it's almost certain that Dragon Ball played an important role in your childhood. The story of Goku and his epic battles marked entire generations, becoming one of the most influential franchises of all time. With so much popularity, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood tried to capitalize on the phenomenon. And so Dragon Ball Evolution was born in 2009, a movie that promised to bring Goku to live action… and ended up being one of the most disastrous adaptations in film history.

Even today, mentioning Dragon Ball Evolution sends shivers down fans' spines. Goku as a generic high school teenager? A Piccolo with no personality? Special effects worthy of a low-budget movie? Everything in this adaptation seemed designed to fail. It wasn't just about disappointing fans of the saga; even those who had never seen a single episode of Dragon Ball recognized that the movie was a monumental disaster.

A mistake no one wanted to own

Not even its own screenwriter could defend it. Ben Ramsey, in charge of the script, confessed years later that he only took the job for the money and had no connection to the original story. In 2016, he publicly apologized to fans:

"I went into this for the money and not as a fan. I learned that when you enter a project without passion, the result is garbage."

But the most serious part of all was that Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball, tried to prevent the disaster. From the beginning, he suggested changes to the script and tried to guide the production, but Hollywood executives ignored him. In Toriyama's own words:

"The script didn't understand the world or its characteristics. I warned them and gave suggestions, but they seemed strangely confident and didn't listen to me."

The result was a total failure. The movie cost 30 million dollars and barely recovered 58 million at the box office. But its true impact wasn't in the numbers, but in what it provoked in Toriyama.

The rebirth of Dragon Ball

Up to that point, Akira Toriyama had left Dragon Ball behind. While the franchise remained alive through video games and merchandise, the creator was no longer actively involved in new stories. But seeing what Hollywood had done with his work was unbearable to him.

That anger turned into motivation. In 2013, just four years after the Dragon Ball Evolution disaster, Toriyama returned with Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, introducing Beerus and the Super Saiyan God, a completely new concept. In 2015, he wrote Resurrection 'F', and shortly after pushed the return of the anime with Dragon Ball Super, expanding the universe with new transformations and powerful enemies.

In the commemorative book Dragon Ball 30th Anniversary Super History Book, Toriyama revealed:

"I had left Dragon Ball behind, but seeing how much that live-action movie disgusted me, and how I revised that script for the anime movie and complained about the quality of the TV anime, I suppose at some point it became a series I like too much to leave abandoned."

From tragedy to legacy

2024 brought devastating news for the anime world: the passing of Akira Toriyama. However, his legacy lives on in every new Dragon Ball story. Dragon Ball Daima, his last great contribution to the saga, is now the way fans can say goodbye to their creator while enjoying a new adventure.

Dragon Ball Evolution may still be a cinematic abomination, but without it, we might never have had the rebirth of the saga. A reminder that even the biggest mistakes can bring something positive with them.

And you, do you think Dragon Ball Evolution was the necessary evil for the franchise to come back stronger than ever?