Dragon Ball: Shenron no Densetsu

Dragon Ball Curse of the blood rubies is a movie that re tells/re imagines the 1st season of Dragon Ball.

Literally all they did was replace the villian from the show with another villian (Who is far more forgettable), add a few more characters, and crush the entire plot of the 1st season into 50 minutes. That's it.

Maybe it's not so bad if you didn't watch the 1st season or the show for that matter but if you did this movie just pales in comparison.

For starters the movie never takes a break. The characters are always running from one scene to the next. There's never a moment where you can take in the scenery or get to know the characters at all. Somethings always happening and it never stops, making the whole movie feel rushed.

There's a couple of cool action scenes here and there which can be cool but that's about it.

Another problem is the dub.

Now this is just a me problem and it probably doesn't effect the Japanese version but in the dub (which was made in 2010) they recasted pretty much all the characters with new voices which are different from the regular show.

This was jarring at 1st and while I did get used to them, simply put there just not as good as the old voice actors from the original dub, and they already add on to making this movie look more like a water down version of the show.

The script for the movie is pretty bleh as well. It's not nearly as funny as the show or clever. The whole movie just feels underwhelming and forgettable. Not terrible though. Just average.

I would honestly just recommend people would watch the show or the 4th movie Path to Power which is another retelling of the 1st season but much better.

Being a huge fan of the Dragonball franchise, I simply had to watch this, although I do just watch all available movies. Now, the weird thing is that I had no idea what the plot of this film was. It turns out it's actually a retelling of the original "Dragonball" series! I admit that I was kind of turned off by the idea that I would just see the same stories that I had seen before. I actually ended up enjoying this film because even though it doesn't really add anything new to a great franchise, it was enjoyable in its own right. It helps that the animation is so gorgeous.

It's great to see these classic characters even if it's not an original concept. It was weird how they replaced Emperor Pilaf and his minions with these new characters. I mean, they act nothing like Pilaf and his henchmen. It doesn't matter, because it still captures the spirit of the Dragonball series. It's always weird to see this much material being put in a 50 minute movie! I actually was impressed with the end result. I would recommend this to non fans if only so they could get a nice introduction to the series. It's just great to see the first in a huge movie series. This movie is definitely not canon. Puar's voice is as funny as ever. ***

This movie is fantastic. In the original japanese version, the action and voice action was terrific! The dub was merely okay, but Saffron Henderson did an excellent job dubbing goku... The japanese version is better but the dub is okay. Look at your local blockbuster and pick it up!!!

Just recently I've begun to watch the entire series from the first episode with English subtitles. The Japanese version is by far much better than the English version of the series because of the lack of censorship on it.

This being said, having to watch "Curse of the Blood Rubies" with an English dub was a little painful for me. Don't get me wrong! The dub in Dragon Ball and this movie are very good, but they just don't compare to the way it's originally meant to be heard and seen.

If you're new to the Dragon Ball franchise, this movie is a great place to pick up if you don't feel like watching the first saga of the series. Though the story is different in MANY aspects, it can sum up a ton of episodes in a very short period of time if you want to just jump into the action of the series.

All of the main characters are introduced with the exception of Emperor Pilaf and his goons, whom are in the first saga. In place of Pilaf, you'll be meeting King Gurumes. The way the characters meet is a bit different, but you'll end up in about the same place with either the series or this movie.

Blood Rubies is a bit more "cutesy" than the original Dragon Ball series in my opinion, and seems to be a bit more aimed at a younger audience than the series itself is. That doesn't mean it's a bad movie though, but anyone coming in directly from the series may find themselves a tad disappointed.

Overall I recommend this movie to anyone who's interested in the Dragon Ball series, regardless if you've seen the first saga or not. It's a fun animation, and though a bit slow in some parts, will keep you interested until the end.

If there's an anime that were to come to anyone's mind right off the bat without a thought, it would be Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise. There's no shade being thrown at animes before it that paved the way for one's like this to exist like Gigantor (Tetsujin 28) or Astro Boy. They deserve their own acknowledgement. However, there's something about Toriyama's endearing story that has completely captivated its fans while creating new ones to this day. There's just something about the characters, the martial arts, the comedy and heart behind everything. With that said, it is no surprise that Japan would begin making films during the TV show run as well. After three seasons, Toei Animation released their first Dragon Ball film. Since the origins were from Japan, US audiences would get their own version but not a more proper one until much later, which is what's being reviewed here.

The story is very much a similar summation of some of the past seasons in the show. Introducing audiences to Goku (Colleen Clinkenbeard) and his innocent life being transformed into a chase for magical spheres that could grant any one wish. All this is kicked off when he meets Bulma (Monica Rial). One the way, they meet Yamcha (Chris Sabat), his pal Puar (Brina Palencia), Oolong (Bryan Massey) and the one and only Master Roshi (Mike McFarland). Together this crew of characters end up coming across a heavily frustrated community where a little girl named Pansy (Cherami Leigh) asks for help as the ruler, King Gurumes (Jeremy Inman) wants nothing but blood rubies. Written by Toshiki Inoue who worked with Akira Toriyama before and directed by Daisuke Nishio in his first credit put together a feature film that's alright for shear initial curiosity.

Readapted by Sean Teague who mainly does voice acting, made the English dub as good as it can get. Unlike other animes later like Pokémon or Sailor Moon which attempted to connect the movies to each season to make a flowing story, it seems like making truncated versions was the method here. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense as it just tells the story already seen through the show with different alterations. For one, when the third season ended Goku had only defeated muscle tower of the Red Ribbon Army. If the movie was supposed to recap parts of this, it did not. Just to the end of season one for the most part. To some, perhaps that's okay. Some scenes from the show are redone with minor changes as not every single character that appeared in the show appeared here like Chi-Chi (Goku's future wife).

The voice acting to this feature is a mixed bag even for the latest English redub. The plus side is some of the well-known North American cast have redone their lines. Actors like Chris Sabat and Mike McFarland make the film feel that much closer to the show. However, for whatever reason Stephanie Nadolny was not available to do kid Goku and Clinkenbeard filled in who is not exactly the best. Yet she's voiced kid Goku and Gohan versions in dragon ball before. Other actors like Monica Rial is sort of close to Tiffany Vollmer but doesn't quite get there. Similarly, Bryan Massey sounds sort of like Brad Jackson's way of speaking but not completely. It's disappointing that the complete cast from the show could not completely return, as consistency is what keeps fans coming back.

The visuals to the film are what one would expect from the show level of quality. It is a feature film but like many others, an extended episode or special of sorts. Minoru Maeda as animation director keep things looking decent except for one obvious scene in the beginning where a scene change happened right over an existing shot which was surprising. Cinematography was also in play from Motoaki Ikegami which for animation films doesn't make a whole lot of sense since there was no digital 3D modeling of any sorts yet. Lastly, the other good aspect to the film was the score provided by Shunsuke Kikuchi. There is absolutely nothing that beats classic dragon ball film score and Kikuchi's themes nail it.

As a first feature, it recaps some of the events of the show but mainly up to the first season even though by the time it was released, the show finished its third. Animation and music are spot on. And some of the voice acting is appreciated because it is the most widely known voices, while the others are less desirable but not bad.