“Is He Even A Saiyan?”: Dragon Ball’s Awful Live-Action Movie Couldn’t Even Get The Simplest Thing About Goku Right

Dragonball Evolution could not even get the simplest things about Goku and the world of Dragon Ball right, including the main character’s origin story. Arguably the worst live-action anime adaptation ever made, Dragonball Evolution did not even come close to doing Akira Toriyama’s iconic manga justice. From whitewashing most of the main characters to putting Goku in high school, it’s hard to find any redeemable qualities in the 2009 film.

As one of the most popular manga and anime series of all time, any Dragon Ball property needs to meet certain expectations. Given how iconic the series is around the world, even those who have never read or watched Dragon Ball might be familiar with characters like Goku and Vegeta. As a result, Dragonball Evolution’s failure was especially catastrophic, with the film failing to portray even some of the smallest, simplest details about Goku’s character. This includes Goku’s backstory and where his powers come from.

Dragonball Evolution Never Confirms Whether Goku Is A Saiyan In This Universe

Dragonball Evolution Comes Up With An Original Story For Piccolo And Oozaru

The word “Saiyan” is never used in Dragonball Evolution, meaning the movie never addresses whether Goku is an alien in this universe. Granted, Goku being one of the last survivors of an alien race of warriors was a retcon Toriyama made when he introduced Raditz in what would become the start of Dragon Ball Z. Still, the fact that Dragon Ball’s main character is a Saiyan has since become an essential part of his story. However, Dragonball Evolution makes no effort to confirm or even tease Goku’s heritage.

At the start of Dragonball Evolution, Goku is a teenager living with his grandpa, Gohan, which sort of matches the start of Dragon Ball. However, the film barely addresses Goku’s childhood, only establishing that Oozaru "traveled by meteorite" and hid among humans until Goku's 18th birthday. To make things more complicated, Dragonball Evolution includes Goku’s Oozaru form but never mentions things like “Saiyan” or “Planet Vegeta”

Oozaru Was Not A Transformation In Dragonball Evolution But Rather An Ancient God

Oozaru Is Not The Name Of A Saiyan Form In Dragon Ball Evolution

In Dragon Ball, Goku becoming a giant monkey was eventually retconned as something that happens to every Saiyan when they look at the full moon as long as they still have their tail. In Dragonball Evolution, however, “Oozaru” is not a term used to describe what Goku looks like after he transforms but rather the name of an ancient god who once served Piccolo. Thousands of years ago, Piccolo and Oozaru attacked Earth but failed to conquer the planet. Piccolo was captured, whereas Oozaru disappeared.

Dragonball Evolution implies Goku is the reincarnation of Oozaru, with the giant monkey set to be reborn on the day of the eclipse. It doesn’t seem like this version of Goku ever had a tail as a child, which is also a significant difference from the source material. Lastly, instead of Goku accidentally getting his grandpa killed after transforming into Oozaru for the first time, Gohan is killed after Piccolo attacks their house.

Needless to say, virtually nothing about Dragonball Evolution’s Oozaru matches Goku’s great ape transformation from the source material. In fact, Dragonball Evolution’s Oozaru story heavily implies that Saiyans are not a thing in this universe. Instead, Oozaru is an entity of its own that ended up being reincarnated as a boy, Goku. For a movie that was already getting so much wrong about Dragon Ball, Dragonball Evolution’s decision to ignore Goku’s Saiyan heritage altogether was yet another massive mistake.

Dragonball Evolution Complicated What Should’ve Been A Fairly Simple Origin Story

Goku’s Origin Story Is Not That Complicated

Dragonball Evolution’s opening sequence is full of exposition as a voice-over narrates the story of Piccolo and Oozaru’s first attack against Earth. The movie also quickly establishes the importance of the eclipse and how Goku is destined to confront Oozaru to find his true self. Rather than spending so much time building up a somewhat generic story that could have been found in any other fantasy movie, Dragonball Evolution could’ve easily incorporated more elements from Goku’s actual backstory.

Of course, Dragonball Evolution saying that Goku once had a tail or namedropping Planet Vegeta in the opening sequence would not have saved the film. Still, it would have made the 2009 movie feel a little more like a Dragon Ball adaptation instead of something that barely resembled the source material. Although a sequel to Dragonball Evolution thankfully never happened, it’s interesting to imagine what characters like Raditz and Vegeta would have looked like in this universe given that so much about Goku’s backstory was changed.