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Akira Toriyama’sDragon Ballmight have excelled in almost every industry, from manga to anime to gaming, but the one place where the series could not earn the recognition of fans was the live-action adaptation. In its entire timeline,Dragon Ballhas only had one live-action adaptation, and that too was a major flop.
The series could not properly explore the fantasy adventure theme of the original series, and even though they tried to add their own spice to it, the movie was just not able to connect with theDragon Ballfans. It was one of the first live-action adaptations that started the curse of adapting an anime or manga into a live-action film.
While the movie did not profit the franchise in any way, it did manage to bring Toriyama back to the industry, as the mangaka was so disappointed in the movie that he decided to get involved with every project from there on. It was one of the reasons why Toriyama started working onDragon Ball Super.
Akira Toriyama Came Back WithDragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods
WhenDragon Ball Z: Battle of Godsfirst came out, Toriyama was approached by Asahi Shimbun for a written interview which was shared byKazenshuu, where the mangaka was asked about his role as a scriptwriter for the first time. TheDragon Ballcreator revealed that although he was impressed with the story’s outline, a few things were missing from the entire narrative.
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Toriyama stated:
I was told about a project for Dragon Ball in its first animated film in a long while, and I read the story outline. while the beings “Beerus, God of Destruction” and “Super Saiyan God” (which goes above Super Saiyan) were interesting, the themes were heavy, and I felt that the world was a bit different from Dragon Ball.
Talking about overcoming the plotholes inDragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Toriyama stated:
Rather than telling them about this or that problematic spot, I thought it would be faster if I just wrote it out concretely, and while I had intended just to give them a model―”for example”―my hand wouldn’t stop, and ultimately, I ended up writing almost everything, including the dialogue.
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Godsfollowed a unique storylinethat was never seen before in the series. Thus, it got Toriyama so interested that the mangaka decided to write almost everything, from the plots to the dialogues, and ultimately he became the scriptwriter for the first time.
Akira Toriyama’s Motivation for Getting Involved withDragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods
While talking about the things that motivated him to joinDragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods,Akira Toriyamamentioned that when he first sawDragon Ball Evolution, he could not find anything interesting about the movie at all. This is why he suggested some major changes that, in hindsight, could have worked in the favor of the movie.
Toriyama explained:
Also, at the time of the Hollywood movie, the live-action Dragon Ball, the script had too little of a grasp on the world and its characteristics, and on top of that, it had a conventional content that I couldn’t find interesting, so I cautioned them, and suggested changes; but in spite of that, they seemed to have a strange confidence, and didn’t really listen to me. What came out in the end was a movie I couldn’t really call a Dragon Ball that lived up to my expectations.
However, the showrunners ofDragon Ball Evolutiontook Toriyama’s advice for granted and thuscreated the biggest failure inDragon Ball’sportfolio. The movie was shunned byDragon Ballfans.
“Her armpits during that scene were really drawn well”: One Dragon Ball Female Character’s Undressing Got Eiichiro Oda’s Blood Pumping, Left Akira Toriyama Stunned With the Bizarre Praise
And it forced Toriyama to get back into the industry, even though he left the manga world in 1995. When he worked onDragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, he decided to take the story further and expand it into another sequel that came to be known asDragon Ball Super.
You can watchDragon Ballon Crunchyroll.
Tarun Kohli
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2959
Tarun Kohli is the Senior Anime Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,900 published articles. He currently specializes in critiquing One Piece and other Shonen anime. A passionate fan of the genre, his love for thoughtful analysis reflects his genuine appreciation for the art of anime. His deep understanding of anime culture has earned recognition from industry figures such as Adi Shankar and the creators of Blood of Zeus.
