Dragon Ball Fan Art Shows What Live-Action Movie Characters Could Look Like

Dragon Ball fans have still not recovered from the traumatic experience that was Dragonball: Evolution, Hollywood’s horrendous 2009 attempt at a live-action Dragon Ball movie.

However, with Dragon Ball Super and games like Dragon Ball FighterZ showing that the franchise is more popular than ever, it seems inevitable that we’re going to one day get a new Dragon Ball live-action movie. If that happens in the same “whitewashed” fashion as the previous film, there could be a small silver lining if that Dragon Ball reboot at least looked something like this fantastic artwork by Datrinti, which you can check out, below:

Goku

This image shows a live-action version of Goku that captures the characters playful brawler spirit – and, most importantly, the spirit of his signature hairstyle. 

Vegeta

This image captures how an actor could convey the Saiyan Prince’s signature swagger, and the body type and face type look pretty spot-on. Not sure the actual laws of gravity would allow that hair to work, though…

Freeza

This image captures the alien nature of Freeza perfectly, and makes him look like a frightening villain. The red eyes are a perfect touch to the purple lips and bulbous head. 

Cell

Cell looks like a sickly awesome combination of bio-organic and mechanical monstrosity. This image really conveys a sort of Frankenstein creation moment – with a Dragon Ball power upgrade. Again, the eyes really bring out the villainy of the character. 

Kid Buu

Like Freeza, this image of Kid Buu captures alien aesthetic of the character perfectly. The lean muscle/flesh look is perfect, as are the beady little mischievous eyes. The real highlights are the gold accents of the gauntlets and belt. Awesome work on that. 

Super Saiyan 3 Goku

The visual imagery around this SSJ3 concept is sound, and this would be a stunning moment in the actual movie. However, that hairless and chiseled SSJ3 face still looks weird – especially on a non-Asian actor. 

Ultra Instinct Goku vs. Jiren

This one is for the Dragon Ball Super fans who are still riding high of the thrills of those final few episodes – especially the milestone fight between a complete Ultra Instinct Goku, and a fully-powered Jiren. Jiren look every bit like the “little green men” alien design the anime and manga went with – and even a whitewashed Goku looks pretty great in his frosty Ultra Instinct form. That UI aura could use some color, though. 

The Artist at Work

Wondering how this Portuguese artist creates these masterpieces? Check out this time-lapse video of Datrinti creating the Goku pic! 

*****

What did you think of Datrinti’s artwork? Would this be acceptable to you as a Dragon Ball live-action movie with non-Asian actors? Or is the cultural factor a hard red line for you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on FunimationNOW and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and Crunchyroll.