In a heartfelt tribute to the late Akira Toriyama, Canadian actor Justin Chatwin, known for his role as Goku in Dragonball Evolution, the 2009 Hollywood adaptation of Dragonball manga, apologized for messing up the film.

“Rest in peace, brother. And sorry we messed up that adaptation so badly,” Chatwin wrote in his tribute to Toriyama which was shared on his Instagram story.

Chatwin’s message reflects the widespread disappointment among fans and creators alike over the botched adaptation of Toriyama’s Dragonball manga.

Dragonball Evolution, which was produced by 20th Century Fox, faced significant backlash for its departure from the source material, including poor writing, acting, production values, among others.

Notably, the film opted for a modern American high school setting over the fantasy/sci-fi elements integral to the original narrative, leading to accusations of whitewashing and cultural insensitivity.

Toriyama himself voiced his displeasure with the live-action adaptation during an interview with Asahi Shimbun Digital, stating, “Also, at the time of the Hollywood movie, the live-action Dragon Ball, the script had too little of a grasp on the world and its characteristics, and on top of that, it had a conventional content that I couldn’t find interesting, so I cautioned them, and suggested changes; but in spite of that, they seemed to have a strange confidence, and didn’t really listen to me. What came out in the end was a movie I couldn’t really call a Dragon Ball that lived up to my expectations.“

Toriyama’s message in the 30th Anniversary Dragon Ball Super History Book further confirmed his dissatisfaction.

“I had put Dragon Ball behind me. But seeing how much that live-action film ticked me off, and how I revised that script for the anime movie and complained about the quality of the TV anime, I suppose somewhere along the line it’s become a series I like too much to ever leave alone,” he stated.

Source: Twitter, Kanzenshu (1, 2), CBR