You’ve probably seen some weird stuff in the world of anime adaptations, but nothing quite prepares you for Dragon Ball The Magic Begins. It’s a trip. Honestly, if you grew up watching Goku go Super Saiyan on Namek, watching this 1991 Taiwanese live-action film feels like stepping into an alternate dimension where copyright laws simply didn't exist. It's bootleg cinema at its absolute peak.
Most people stumble upon this movie through low-quality YouTube clips or old DVD bargain bins. They usually ask the same thing: "Is this official?" The short answer is a hard no. Toei Animation had nothing to do with this. Akira Toriyama definitely wasn't consulted. Yet, despite being an unauthorized production, it captures the chaotic energy of the early Dragon Ball chapters better than the big-budget disaster that was Dragonball Evolution. It’s a strange paradox.
What Dragon Ball The Magic Begins Actually Is
This wasn't some high-end Hollywood venture. It’s a remake of a 1986 Japanese animated film, Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies. Because they didn't have the rights, the names had to be changed—mostly. Goku becomes Monkey Boy. Bulma is Seetoe. Oolong is a guy in a mascot suit named Shaggy. It sounds ridiculous because it is.
The plot follows Monkey Boy as he tries to stop King Horn from collecting the "Dragon Pearls" to wish for world domination. You've seen this story before. But you haven't seen it told with 1990s Taiwanese practical effects and wirework that makes the actors look like they’re actually flying—mostly because they were literally being yanked into the air by visible cables.
The Casting and the "Monkey Boy" Factor
Let’s talk about Charles Chen. He played Monkey Boy. Unlike Justin Chatwin in the 2009 version, Chen actually looks and acts like the kid Goku from the manga. He’s energetic, naive, and surprisingly good at the martial arts choreography. The movie leans heavily into the "Monkey King" mythology which inspired Toriyama in the first place.
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The rest of the cast is... a choice. Master Roshi (played by Huang Zhong-yu) is actually pretty spot on. He’s got the bald head, the sunglasses, and the creepy vibe that was a staple of the early series. Seeing a live-action Roshi perform a Kamehameha—called the "Meditation Blast" here—is a fever dream you can't unsee.
Why the Special Effects Are Somehow Great and Terrible
There’s no CGI here. We’re talking about 1991. Everything is practical. Pyrotechnics, miniatures, and lots of colored smoke. When King Horn’s palace explodes, it’s clearly a model, but there’s a charm to that. It feels tangible.
The "Dragon Pearls" look like orange resin balls with stars in them, which is exactly what they should look like. But then you have the creature designs. One of the villains looks like a guy wearing a rubber alligator mask he bought at a Halloween store five minutes before the cameras started rolling. It’s glorious.
The fight scenes are surprisingly decent. Taiwan has a long history of "wuxia" cinema, and that expertise bleeds into this movie. The choreography is fast-paced. Characters flip over each other, use staves, and kick through wooden walls. It lacks the polish of a Jackie Chan flick, but it has heart.
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The Legal Limbo and Distribution Chaos
How did this movie even get made? In the late 80s and early 90s, the intellectual property landscape in Asia was the Wild West. Films like this were produced quickly to capitalize on the massive popularity of Shonen Jump titles. It wasn't just Dragon Ball; there were unauthorized live-action versions of Fist of the North Star and City Hunter floating around too.
For years, Dragon Ball The Magic Begins existed only on VHS tapes. It was a "you had to be there" kind of cult classic. Eventually, a company called Films by Jove released a dubbed version for the West. They leaned into the campiness. The dubbing is intentionally over-the-top, which actually helps the movie. If you try to take this film seriously, you’re going to have a bad time. If you treat it like a localized piece of pop-culture history, it’s a blast.
Why This Version Beats Dragonball Evolution
It’s the elephant in the room. Why do fans unironically prefer a low-budget bootleg from 1991 over a $30 million Fox production?
- Spirit over Budget: The Magic Begins actually likes the source material. It keeps the talking pig (sort of), the pervy hermit, and the sense of adventure. Evolution felt like a generic high school movie with a Dragon Ball skin.
- Aesthetic: The 1991 film feels like a martial arts movie. The 2009 film feels like a failed superhero pilot.
- Goku's Character: Monkey Boy is an alien-raised forest kid. He’s weird. That’s the point. The live-action Goku in the Hollywood version was a brooding teenager. It didn't work.
Honestly, the Taiwanese film understands that Dragon Ball started as a comedy. It was a gag manga first. By keeping the slapstick humor, it stays truer to Toriyama’s original vision than any "gritty" reboot ever could.
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Tracking Down a Copy Today
Finding a high-quality version of Dragon Ball The Magic Begins is a challenge. Most "remastered" versions you see online are just upscaled VHS rips. There was a DVD release titled "Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins" that featured a "Ultimate Edition" which cleaned up the grain slightly.
If you're looking to watch it, search for the "Films by Jove" version. It’s the one with the most "authentic" 90s feel. Just be prepared for the fact that some scenes are cut depending on which region’s version you find. Some cuts remove the more "adult" Master Roshi jokes, while others trim the longer fight sequences to fit TV time slots.
What You Should Do Next
If you're a die-hard fan or just a connoisseur of weird cinema, you need to see this once. It’s a piece of history that shows how global the Dragon Ball phenomenon was before the internet made everything accessible.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Hunt for the Original Soundtrack: The music is a bizarre mix of synth and orchestral swells that you won't find on Spotify. Look for fan-archived rips on specialized forums.
- Check the Credits: Look for Charles Chen’s other work. He did several martial arts films in the 90s that carry the same high-energy wirework.
- Compare the Versions: Find the 1986 anime Curse of the Blood Rubies and watch it side-by-side with The Magic Begins. You’ll see that the live-action movie is almost a shot-for-shot remake in certain scenes, which is impressive given the budget constraints.
- Avoid the "HD" Scams: Don't pay for "4K Remasters" of this movie on sketchy sites. They don't exist. The original film stock wasn't preserved well enough for a true 4K scan. Stick to the community-preserved versions.
This movie isn't "good" in a traditional sense. It’s messy, loud, and technically illegal. But it has a soul. In an era of sanitized, corporate-controlled blockbusters, there’s something refreshing about a group of people in Taiwan just deciding to make a Dragon Ball movie because they felt like it.