Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubiesby Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 7 This is the first Dragon Ball movie. Some things in the movie happen separately from the series so treating the movies like their own series will help. Goku is a child with no knowledge or experience about humans or technology or much of anything on Earth. He meets Bulma who is searching for the 7 dragon balls to summon Shenron and make a wish. While they talk, Goku's own dragon ball is stolen! They travel to a kingdom where the king is turning into a monster. Goku meets and fights Yamcha and then learns the Kamehameha from Master Roshi before fighting his way into the castle and helping them defeat a king cursed by his greed for blood rubies!This movie shows its age a little bit (from the mid-'80s), but is still a fun watch. The humor can seem a bit droll in places and other times it just plays the ace up its sleeve (boobies!). Master Roshi is just a dirty old man, and I love him because of that. Yamcha is so shy around girls that he literally can't do anything. The two shape-shifters give us scares as well as humor and scare each other with funny results. I love the innocence this movie has. Ok, the little girl running off to find a savior by herself is a bit of a stretch. I almost wish she wasn't in it, but she does pull everyone together with a real sense of purpose and is the only one with a worthy wish. The art holds up well, though the scary/dark scenes definitely have that "made in the '80s" look with lots of dark blues and purples with the black and scary shapes like spikes and just outlines of the main monster until the end. When the monster/king finally shows himself I was first disappointed with the blatantly funny-looking design, and then he changed! The action scenes are great fun too combining fierce spirit, amazing skill and some humor as Goku nearly faints from hunger. I watched the dub with voices that are familiar and fitting; this is one series where I will always choose dub over sub. I smiled my way through this viewing. It's a bit nostalgic, but overall is a good quality animation for it's age (better than many from that time). Written: January 1, 2011
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