Dr. K's Waiting Room

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When the Great Demon King Piccolo was released, he declared May 9^th “Piccolo Day” and promptly claimed ownership of the planet, giving us as a good excuse to celebrate all things Dragon Ball today.

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Quick Facts:
Inspired by Journey to the West (Cheng’en, 1592), Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball first appeared in Weekly Shōnen Jump back in 1984 before making the jump to anime in 1986. Dragon Ball’s popularity saw it expand into celebrated spin-offs and feature films (most without Toriyama’s involvement), beginning with this first of many retellings of Son Goku’s (Colleen Clinkenbeard) early adventures. Initially dubbed to sell Dragon Ball to American syndicators, Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies has been re-dubbed numerous times and is generally considered a fun introduction to the consistently popular franchise.

The Review:
Dragon Ball’s first feature-length anime starts a trend that would somewhat dog the feature-length adventures for decades in that it’s a very loose retelling of the first story arc of the series, the “Emperor Pilaf Saga”, rather than being part of the main series canon. The diminutive Emperor Pilaf (Chuck Huber) is sadly missing, substituted for the more grotesque and greedy King Gurumes (Jeremy Inman), who has recently undergone a dramatic and monstrous change of appearance and personality after discovering the Blood Rubies buried in his kingdom. The cursed gemstones turn King Gurumes into a rotund, toad-like creature and leave him perpetually hungry no matter how much he eats. Angered and dismayed, King Gurumes sends his troops – led by trigger happy Pasta (Kate Oxley) and the muscular Bongo (Jonathan Brooks) – to find the legendary Dragon Balls, seven magical balls that summon the eternal dragon, Shenron (Christopher Sabat), who then grants a single wish before the balls scatter. As King Gurumes desires to wish away his never-ending hunger, he thinks nothing of ordering his forces to uproot villages searching for the balls, ruining the lives of farmers like young Pansy (Cherami Leigh) and her father (Brian Mathis), who takes a beating for daring to stand up to Bongo. King Gurumes soon acquires and eats four Dragon Balls (which probably exacerbates his condition), before ordering Pansy to disregard the threat of “fortune hunters” seeking the final two balls and complete her mission so he can finally feel full.

Bulma (Monica Rial) is one such fortune hunter.  The scientific genius heir of the Capsule Corporation, Bulma is here a young girl with a few gadgets hoping to wish for a boyfriend. Bulma follows her homemade Dragon Radar to the wilderness of Mount Paozu and literally bumps into sheltered, monkey-tailed Goku, a naïve boy with superhuman strength and an extendable power pole who’s never seen a girl and thinks technology like planes and motorcycles are giant birds and monsters. Living alone ever since the offscreen death of his Grampa Gohan, Goku is initially wary of Bulma since she doesn’t look like any human he’s ever seen and opts to shoot him after being startled by him! Luckily, Goku’s bulletproof and inherently kind-hearted, so he takes Bulma to see the four-star Dragon Ball left to him by his grampa, only to find it replaced by a Gurumes-branded coin as Pasta and Bongo have already stolen it. To retrieve his family heirloom, Goku joins Bulma, saving her life after Pasta blows up her craft and eagerly meeting any threats along the way. A curious boy with an insatiable appetite and incredible fighting prowess, Goku is largely an enigma here; there’s no insight into his background and no one seems to think it’s weird that he has a tail. He easily recovers from any attack and defeats foes twice his size and showcases his superhuman aptitude for fighting when the rag-tag group visits the reclusive Master Roshi (Mike McFarland) for help and Goku masters the old man’s patented Kamehameha, a chi-blast technique it took Master Roshi fifty years to learn! Goku also demonstrates his pure heart by riding Master Roshi’s Flying Nimbus and is the only one with no interest in asking Shenron to grant a wish. Goku also doesn’t hesitate to defend Pansy when the shape-shifting Oolong (Bryan Massey) assumes a demonic form and seems almost bored when the group is threatened by Yamcha (Christopher Sabat), a desert bandit looking to rob them.

Curse of the Blood Rubies speeds through many of Goku’s early adventures to service its unique plot, with Goku and Bulma meeting Oolong as he surprises Panasy in the woods and then immediately being targeted by Yamcha and his shape-changing cat friend, Puar (Brina Palencia), who Goku promptly humiliates. After hearing of Pansy’s plight, Oolong falls in with Goku and Bulma in hopes of wishing for some girly underwear and the three journey to a small island to ask the legendary Master Roshi for help. Though Yamcha beats them there and tries to fool Master Roshi into thinking the group are looking to steal his shell, the bandit’s deception is quickly revealed and this, coupled with his crippling shyness around women, forces him to flee. Indeed, Puar is amazed to learn that her “master” doesn’t want to wish for riches or power but instead wants to wish away his shyness so he can fall in love, get married, or at least go on a few dates! Master Roshi is revealed to be a dirty old pervert and only agrees to part with his Dragon Ball if Bulma shows her boobs. While Bulma agrees, she secretly has Oolong imitate her but is enraged when Oolong takes liberties with her goods and at how pleased Master Roshi is at seeing her tits. Unfortunately, these shenanigans allow Pasta and Bongo to launch a surprise attack from a submarine and steal one of the Dragon Balls, though Master Roshi is so impressed by Goku’s natural aptitude for fighting that he politely declines to join their quest as he believes Pansy has all the help she needs. Thus, Master Roshi is more of a cameo rather than Goku’s teacher, there to give us some amusingly perverted moments and teach Goku his famous energy blast (which amusingly fails to make a dent in the monstrous King Gurumes).

During their assault on King Gurumes’ opulent palace, Bulma, Oolong, and Pansy are shot down and Goku fights Bongo, easily destroying the brute’s hovercraft even in mid-air. The group are joined by Yamcha, though he’s left dazed and paralyzed when tangling with Pasta as he accidentally grabs her boob. Pasta tosses pipe bombs at the fleeing trio, and everyone ends up in King Gurumes’ throne room, where the grotesque monarch is fully revealed for the first time. Unable to contain his great hunger, he spontaneously grows to gigantic size and tramples his henchman in his desperate desire for the final Dragon Ball. Although Goku holds the giant back, the Kamehameha has no effect, leaving Bulma to defeat the corrupted king by willingly tossing the final Dragon Ball into his gaping maw and summoning Shenron. Although Bulma, Oolong, and Yamcha all vie to make the coveted wish, they defer to Pansy, who begs Shenron to restore her land. With a flash of his eyes, the eternal dragon grants the wish and disappears, leaving Goku determined to hunt down his grandfather’s trinket once more. Bulma and Yamcha’s despair at being denied the chance at happiness evaporates when they realise they share a common interest in wanting to be with someone and therefore find a natural solution to their wish, while Pansy is reunited with her father and relieved people. Rather than being torn to shreds, King Gurumes is reduced to his original, far smaller and less monstrous form and granted mercy by Pansy and the villagers, who show him how delicious their apples are. After returning Pasta’s gold coin, Goku hops onto the Flying Nimbus and goes to train with Master Roshi (presumably to power-up his Kamehameha since it was so ineffective).

Final Thoughts:
I didn’t grow up watching Dragon Ball. I started my journey mid-way through the “Cell Saga” in its successor series, Dragonball Z (1989 to 1996) and my only exposure to the original series (except for the finale) are the feature films. Honestly, I’ve never been a big fan of the simpler, more fantastical Dragon Ball and much prefer the more science-fiction-oriented route of Dragonball Z, but there’s something very quaint about revisiting Goku’s early days when the stakes were much lower and the lore was much simpler. Curse of the Blood Rubies may tell a truncated version of Goku’s early adventures, but it doesn’t feel rushed; the source material has been cleverly adapted to fit the new narrative into something that largely works. I much prefer Emperor Pilaf to King Gurumes, however, who was more of a lingering threat to be deposed than a persistent enemy, but then this movie is more about establishing the bond between Goku, Bulma, Oolong, and Yamcha. There’s no time to dwell on Goku’s background or explore his fighting potential as the film just wants to get the adventure moving. Indeed, more time is spent highlighting Yamcha’s shyness and Bulma’s outrage at the perverts she’s meeting and her wish for a boyfriend. Pansy was an adorable addition to the cast who I wish had been featured more, especially as a young friend for Goku, and I liked that the characters set aside their desires to restore her land. While Bongo was largely forgettable, I enjoyed Pasta’s trigger finger and explosive personality, which made her akin to Launch (Various). Fans of Dragon Ball’s crazy fights may be left disappointed by this film as they weren’t that impressive, though it’s fun seeing Kid Goku beat up guys far bigger than him. Sadly, I feel this movie lacked the x-factor to make it truly enjoyable. It’s certainly a lot faster to watch this than the thirteen episodes of the “Emperor Pilaf Saga”, but is best enjoyed as part of a marathon with the next two movies, which feature more recognisable elements (like Krillin (Laurie Steele), the Great Ape, and the Red Ribbon Army).

My Rating:

Could Be Better

What did you think of Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies? Where does it rank for you against the other Dragon Ball feature films? Do you agree that King Gurumes is inferior to Emperor Pilaf or did you like his cursed predicament? Do you prefer this movie over watching the original series? What would you wish for from Shenron? What Dragon Ball character (hero, villain, or otherwise), saga, or movie is your favourite and why? How are you celebrating Dragon Ball this year? Whatever your thoughts on Dragon Ball, leave a comment below, check out my other Dragon Ball reviews, and donate to my Ko-Fi if you liked this review.