"Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure" is the third and final entry of the original Dragon Ball movies. The previous two movies played out more as recaps of the series with a changed villain. Mystic Adventure does keep this tradition intact, recapping the Roshi Training, RR Army and 22nd Tournament, but it does so with a creative twist.
This one, more than any of the other Dragon Ball movies, feels like it takes place in an alternate Dragon Ball timeline. The characters are there, but their positions are all different. We have Chatsu running the Red Ribbon Army, with the Crane Hermit and Tao at the command. Pilaf and the gang help build a dragon radar for the army. Bora is there as a contestant for the martial arts tournament. And hey, let's throw in Korin, Major Metallitron and Arale in there as well.
The story centers on Chatsu wanting to collect the Dragon Balls to find his lost wife. Meanwhile, Goku and Krillin are participating in the emperor's martial arts tournament. In actuality the emperor is being fooled by the Crane Hermit to collect the Dragon Balls so he can make his wish. This is at conflict with Bulma, Yamcha and the gang who are also searching for the DragonBalls.
Hearing the description of the set up, you may already notice the main problem with the story. At a 48-minute runtime, that is a lot of material to stuff into one movie. It is a lot of fun for Dragon Ball fans, but admittedly really confusing to those who aren't. And for both crowds it is very rushed.
Still a ton of fun, brings in the DragonBall magic, but it needs to take a breath, it is like one really long run on sentence that just abruptly ends.
This one, more than any of the other Dragon Ball movies, feels like it takes place in an alternate Dragon Ball timeline. The characters are there, but their positions are all different. We have Chatsu running the Red Ribbon Army, with the Crane Hermit and Tao at the command. Pilaf and the gang help build a dragon radar for the army. Bora is there as a contestant for the martial arts tournament. And hey, let's throw in Korin, Major Metallitron and Arale in there as well.
The story centers on Chatsu wanting to collect the Dragon Balls to find his lost wife. Meanwhile, Goku and Krillin are participating in the emperor's martial arts tournament. In actuality the emperor is being fooled by the Crane Hermit to collect the Dragon Balls so he can make his wish. This is at conflict with Bulma, Yamcha and the gang who are also searching for the DragonBalls.
Hearing the description of the set up, you may already notice the main problem with the story. At a 48-minute runtime, that is a lot of material to stuff into one movie. It is a lot of fun for Dragon Ball fans, but admittedly really confusing to those who aren't. And for both crowds it is very rushed.
Still a ton of fun, brings in the DragonBall magic, but it needs to take a breath, it is like one really long run on sentence that just abruptly ends.