The perfect live-action Dragon Ball movie would face an impossible challenge that One Piece somehow overcame

Getting a Dragon ball The live-action film’s entitlement would depend on the successful casting of the main character, a challenge that One piece perfectly successful in. While Netflix One piece restoring hopes for future adaptations, most of Hollywood’s live-action anime films have missed the mark and failed to live up to the source material. Fifteen years later, Dragonball Evolution remains the most infamous example of how not to turn a beloved anime into a live-action film. The 2009 film not only completely changed the story and setting, but also got the casting of Goku and his friends wrong.

Dragonball Evolution covering up Goku was the first and biggest indicator that the film would not be about Dragon ball with the respect it deserved. Naturally, the actors cast in the project were not to blame, but Dragonball Evolution was doomed to failure from the beginning. Among the questionable casting choices, the relatively low budget compared to what would be a proper film Dragon ball the film would need and the changes made to the story, Dragonball Evolution It has no redeemable qualities. If another Dragon ball If a live-action movie happens, the first step to making it work is finding the perfect Goku.

A live-action Dragon Ball movie would have to cast the perfect Goku

A faithful adaptation only works if it casts the right Goku

Goku is one of the most iconic anime main characters of all time, if not the most. From his first adventures as a child to saving the universe, even when he shouldn’t even be alive, Goku has been the face of Dragon ball franchise since its inception. A charismatic and kind protagonist who just wants to have fun and get stronger, Goku is not a very complex character. Yet, launching the right Goku would be a very difficult mission as audiences around the world already have preconceptions about what he should look and sound like.

From small but important details like how to do Goku’s hair in live action, to the acting challenges the character would pose, portraying a proper Goku in a different medium would be a Herculean effort. Naturally, it would all start with the right casting – an actor who could capture not only the look but also the spirit of Son Goku. Such an actor would have to convey Goku’s naivety and humor, but would also have to be ready for the physical aspect of playing one of fiction’s greatest fighters.

Netflix’s One Piece Live-Action Goes Gold With Its Monkey D. Luffy Cast

Iñaki Godoy as Luffy is one of the reasons why One Piece Live-Action works

While there have been many live-action anime adaptations, few properties as big as Dragon ball have been turned into Hollywood movies or TV shows. The only other example is Netflix One piecewhich brought Eiichiro Oda’s best-selling manga to live-action for the first time. One piece It did a lot of things right and is, without a doubt, the best live-action adaptation of an anime by far. However, in addition to all the right creative and visual decisions made by the show, One piece struck gold by finding the perfect actor to play Monkey D. Luffy.

There aren’t many characters in fiction who can compare to Monkey D. Luffy in terms of personality and appeal, Goku being one of them. That’s why it was so important – and difficult – for the Netflix series to find the right Luffy. Fortunately, they did. Iñaki Godoy managed to capture Luffy’s spirit and achieved what many considered impossible creating a version of the character that fits into the “real world” and at the same time feels like Luffy from the manga and anime. The rest One pieceThe casting choices were also spot on.

An accurate adaptation of Dragon Ball would have to cast two actors to play Goku

Goku is 12 years old at the start of the series, but is an adult later on

The ideal Dragon ball the film franchise wouldn’t skip the first 194 chapters of Goku’s story. Although Dragon Ball Z – which begins with the arrival of Raditz and the revelation that Goku is an alien from a planet of warriors sent to conquer Earth – is the most iconic part of the franchise, the story does not begin there. Jumping straight into the Saiyan saga and turning it into a big-budget action movie certainly sounds tempting, but the first part of Dragon ball should not be ignored in an adaptation.

Curiously, Dragonball Evolution was technically a Dragon ball adaptation and not a Dragon Ball Z one. Still, in addition to Goku and Bulma teaming up to find the Dragon ballIf Piccolo as the villain, there weren’t many similarities between the film and the classic anime series. Regardless, one should Dragon ball The live-action reboot begins with Goku as a child, the franchise would likely have to cast a second actor to play the older version of the character later on – Goku is 12 at the start of the series and 24 when Raditz arrives.