Dragon Ball Evolution Gets an Impressive Anime Makeover

Dragon Ball Evolution is considered one of the most controversial anime adaptations of our day and age, as the West attempted to give Goku and his friends from the original series a new tale that hit movie theaters in 2009, and one fan has revisited the cursed film with an anime makeover that attempts to re-imagine these designs. With the movie starring the likes of Justin Chatwin, Emmy Rossum, Jamie Chung, and Chow Yun-Fat as the likes of Goku, Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Master Roshi, the film was ultimately reviled by many fans for its unique interpretations of the beloved Shonen characters.

Shockingly enough, Dragon Ball Evolution actually had a hand in Akira Toriyama coming back to the franchise and creating Dragon Ball Super, wherein the legendary Shonen creator was quoted in the book, Dragon Ball 30th Anniversary “Super History Book”, as saying “I had put Dragon Ball behind me, but seeing how that live-action film ticked me off…” The writer of Evolution, Ben Ramsey, went so far as to apologize for the creation of the film, stating, “To have something with my name on it as the writer be so globally reviled is gut-wrenching. To receive hate mail from all over the world is heartbreaking. I’m not blaming anyone for Dragon Ball Evolution but myself,”

Reddit Artist Due_Bandicoot_5940 gave the original players of Dragon Ball Evolution a fresh anime makeover, imagining what these new designs for Akira Toriyama’s biggest players might have looked like had they arrived with an anime series of their own:

There obviously was never a sequel created for Dragon Ball Evolution, but apparently, there had originally been plans to continue this take on the Z Fighters as a script for a second movie apparently was created. Though there has been no live-action takes on the world created by Akira Toriyama in recent years, we imagine that it will only be a matter of time until Hollywood decides to dive back into the Shonen series. With live-action anime adaptations such as Death Note, Ghost In The Shell, and Alita: Battle Angel being only a few, with Netflix currently working on a live-action Mobile Suit: Gundam movie to boot, this is definitely a case of “never say never”.

What do you think of this anime take on the designs from Dragon Ball Evolution? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Shonen.