Does anyone still remember the disastrous Dragon Ball Evolution? Few times have I left a movie theater more disappointed, and that all the pre-release material did not leave much room for hope. A really fat cairn that should have been buried under tons of sand in the New Mexico desert, along with all those cursed copies of the E.T. for Atari.
In fairness, it must be admitted that it is not easy to adapt a real image shonen fighting like Dragon Ball. But it takes a little love for the characters and the story to do something minimally decent. Below, we have collected some of the best 'live-action' fan films and shorts made by fans of the franchise in recent years. After watching the videos, imagine what they could have done with the Hollywood budget that James Wong's film handled ...
Dragon Ball Z: Light of Hope
"Dragon Ball Z: Light of Hope" is an adaptation in real image of the mythical "History of Trunks". An alternate timeline where all the Z warriors are dead and Gohan, Trunks, and Bulma survive as best they can in this alternate future where there is hardly any room for hope.
On a technical level it is impeccable, the story is well told, the casting is successful and the special effects are the most credible we have seen to date. It may be slow and dramatic at times, but overall, it is the best 'live-action' product related to the franchise.
Dragon Ball Z: Light of Hope (parts 2 and 3)
As the name suggests, these are episodes 2 and 3 that make up the complete story of "Light of Hope."
Dragon Ball Z: The Fall of Men
"The Fall of Men" shares many similarities with "Light of Hope." In both cases we are faced with a serious and very careful work in which we try to adapt the original story with respect and affection. This short was released about 4 years ago, and although the special effects have not aged so well (that Cell ...) it is admirable what can be achieved when you want to do things well, even if there is not much budget to half. Highly recommended for any fan of the series.
DragonBall Z - Saiyan Saga
One of the first quality 'live action' short films (the video is 7 years old) to hit the Internet was this "Saiyan Saga" by K&K Productions. The footage focuses on Vegeta's arrival on Earth, and includes almost every epic moment in the manga. The armor of the Saiyans looks a bit like a carnival costume, but there are some characters like Nappa, Tenshinhan, Gohan or Piccolo who enjoy a characterization of the most correct.
DRAGON BALL B
Dragon Ball B is a short film in which 2 Saiyans brothers face off in a demonstration of ‘cachismo’. According to the creators, it took them 2 years to make it and the truth is that the result looks pretty good. A tribute to Dragon Ball from humor with some outstanding details like that super saiyan beard, which we could almost-almost even say has become canon.
Dragon Ball: The Legendary Warrior
Excellent fan-film in the form of teaser trailer, of what could become a Dragon Ball movie based on Piccolo Jr.'s first appearance. It barely lasts a minute, but it's nice to see Goku riding his Kinton cloud, the martial arts championship and that exquisite setting. Let's hope that Esteban Aduriz, the creator of the project, will succeed in bringing his idea to fruition and will give us more material in the coming times.
Dragon Ball: Runaways
Dragon Ball: Runaways is a 5 episode web series that narrates Goku and Bulma's first adventure from a realistic point of view. The rhythm of the chapters becomes a bit heavy, but both the setting and the general tone of the production denote a level of professionalism that is beyond the typical fan film. The story concludes in the encounter with Kame Sennin and Goku's first Kame Hame.
Dragon Ball Z Fan film by Optical Rhythm
This live-action fan film features the best representation of Cell a server has seen to date. The short was shot between 2016 and 2018, with a total of 87 friends participating in the project. The truth is that it is not a very well known short, but we could not leave it out of the list. At times it looks like a cosplay convention with special effects, but at others it totally hits the mark.
«HOOD DRAGON BALL SUPER» Goku vs Broly
"Free adaptation" in real image of the latest film by Goku and company, Dragon Ball Super: Broly. And when we say "free" we mean sooo free. The short is focused on humor, with some fights that are resolved to the sound of hip-hop music, with dancing included. You can see that there is not as much budget as in other projects on this list, but it has some very well resolved elements and is one of the most original fanfilms.
The Cell Saga in 5 minutes
Mega-64 is the collective behind this funny short that summarizes the entire Cell saga in just 5 minutes. The characterizations seem like something out of a bad dream of "poor cosplay", but therein lies the fun of this whole thing. The editing and creativity that the montage exudes make it one of the funniest Dragon Ball live-action shorts to date.
What do you think? What is your favorite Dragon Ball fan film in real image?
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