Here are the characters from Dragonball Evolution. To see tropes about characters from the original anime, go here.
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Goku
Goku
"Geeko"
Portrayed by: Justin Chatwin Dubbed in other languages by
The main character, an ordinary high school boy who loves goofing off and playing martial arts, and doesn't have much of a social life. One day, he returns home to find his adoptive grandfather killed. He manages to tell Goku that the evil King Piccolo has returned and give him a Dragon Ball. Now, Goku must find the martial arts teacher Master Roshi to become powerful enough to defeat him.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the original series, Goku believed that his uncouth way of living was normal. Here, he laments how it sucks that he's different from everyone else and wishes he was a normal teenager.
- Adaptational Curves: Inverted. Son Goku is one of the most iconic example of Shōnen heroes with a Heroic Build and his physique is often idolized by anime fans and Gym goers (to the point that the Goku's gym
meme exists) and he constantly suffers Clothing Damage to show off his impressive physique. Movie Goku has a very average, slim build to the point that even Yamcha is more muscular than him. The story arcs the movie is adapting had a less muscular Goku, but that is because Goku was a lot younger in the source material during the King Piccolo saga. The movie gives him an Age Lift, but leaves out his muscular physique, presumably to portray him as a loner/loser. - Adaptational Personality Change:
- Goku cares about things such as looking "cool" and getting a girlfriend, when his original counterpart was oblivious to the fact that most people thought he was stupid.
- While the manga/anime Goku is consistently portrayed as optimistic and confident, this version is shy and prone to self-doubt.
- In the original anime, the only thing he cared about is training and protecting his friends, but here he's willing to sneak around and go to a party thrown by his crush Chi-chi.
- As pointed out
by MasakoX, in the original series Goku hated needless violence and only fought when he had to. In Evolution, he enjoys beating the crap out of his bullies and quips with Casual Danger Dialogue back and forth.
- Age Lift: Goku is aged up to a teenager at the start instead of being a kid.
- All-Loving Hero: He loves everything and everyone, and believes that fighting is a great way to protect them.
- Anime Hair: Even though this pre-Dragon Ball Z, his hair already looks like if it's in it's super-saiyan form. This trope is a downplayed realistic spin on this since he even tried to gel his hair down to prepare for a party.
- Big Eater: A nod to his original counterpart happens when we see him munching on a giant turkey leg in one scene.
- Bullying a Dragon: He's usually as pacifisitc guy, when the bullies take it too far, he show's just how far he's come with his training by mopping the floor with them.
- Butt-Monkey: Haha. In the first leg of the film, he's humiliated by his grandpa and thrown into the fields while training, despite his grandfather's old age and years gone without fighting. At school, he's seen as a loser, and is constantly bullied by the "cool kids", and can't muster up the courage to talk to his crush Chi-chi. When he gives his teacher an earnest answer in class, everyone laughs at him. And so on.
- Cheerful Child: Though he can be a bit whiny, he loves his granddad with all his heart and is a happy-go-lucky guy.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Is viewed as this by everyone else in his class. He believes in aliens, goes on tangents about ki and misses obvious social cues. Only Chi-chi is the only student who doesn't think he's a total joke.
- The Cloud Cuckoolander Was Right: When his teacher asks him about the solar eclipse, Goku responds that it's actually the Namekians, a race of aliens that nearly destroyed the Earth 2000 years ago. The entire class laughs at him, but later, he's proven right.
- Composite Character: He has more traits in common with Gohan (being an endearingly dorky high schooler who has to balance his Earth life and saiyan duties), but also has Goku's backstory. Goku here can also be called Peter Parker.
- Deadly Dodging: When Goku is confronted by a couple of bullies at the big party, he informs them that he promised he wouldn't fight them - before smoothly allowing the bullies to beat the crap out of each other and the head bully's very expensive car.
- Dead Person Conversation: Goku has a conversation with his grandfather after Mai shoots him with a ray gun and leaves him near-death.
- Idiot Hero: He fails to read the room and abide by social cues (like going on about Grandpa Gohan's prophecies to the kids at his school who aren't familiar with it) and doesn't question Mai's disguise as Chi-Chi, leading to her gaiining the dragon balls.
- Ironic Nickname: The bullies at his school call him "Geeko", but "geek" is a slang for someone intelligent. One of the trademarks of Goku, no matter what iteration, is how absolutely stupid he is (due to suffering a head injury as a child).
- Innocent Blue Eyes: Has big, blue, puppy dog eyes. See here◊.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: At the beginning, Goku cares more about dealing with bullies and getting with Chi-Chi than with his kung fu-ing, which is a complete 180 to the source material, where Goku cares only about fighting and can barely comprehend the fact that he's engaged to Chi-Chi without her sitting him down and explaining it to him.
- Malicious Misnaming: Carey and the other school bullies call Goku "Geeko".
- Nice Guy: He's upbeat and jovial, and willing to be friends with anybody, even to Bulma and Yamcha, who initially antagonized him.
- Only Friend: Chi-chi. Everyone at school thinks he's a dumbass, a wierdo, or both, but she recognizes his strength as a martial artist and the two bond over it.
- The Power of Lust: Goku has trouble controlling his ki, and Grandpa Gohan's guidance doesn't help. It isn't until Chi-Chi, his eventual Love Interest, begins to motivate him that he gets the hang of it.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Goku's eyes keep changing color after his transformations into Oozaru form.
- Race Lift: Though he's a Saiyan, Goku was Chinese-coded in the original series. His name was based on "Sun Wukong", from Journey to the West, and he had black eyes and black hair. In Dragonball Evolution, he's played by the white Justin Chatwin.
- Akira Toriyama even once stated that when it came to the casting of Goku no one came to mind, but if "it were back when Jackie Chan was still young, I suppose I would have thought nobody could play Goku but him."
Chi-Chi McRoberts
Chi-Chi McRoberts
"Just because my name is Chi-Chi doesn't mean I'm a complete idiot!"
Portrayed by: Jamie Chung Dubbed in other languages by
A girl who goes to the same school as Goku, and is well-liked amongst her peers for being beautiful and outgoing. While she hides it to fit in with the others, she secretly loves fighting and practices martial arts. She finds out that Goku is on a quest to find all the dragon balls and joins him, but is taken advantage of by Mai, who assumes her form to steal the dragon balls.
- Action Girl: She loves fighting and is also one of Master Roshi's students.
- Adaptational Skimpiness: Chi-Chi infamously wore a bikini as a kid but switched to more modest clothing as an adult. Here she wears a lot of cleavage revealing outfits.
- Age Lift: Her anime counterpart was a kid.
- Cool Kid-and-Loser Friendship: She's the Cool Kid to Goku's Loser. She's one of the most social students, even throwing a party the other popular kids attend, while Goku has a Friendless Background and is often laughed at for being "different".
- Commonality Connection: She's very happy to see Goku at the training grounds and tells him that he's the only one she can be honest to about her love of fighting, since "everyone else wouldn't understand".
- Composite Character: She's more like Videl than Chi-Chi, since she's the main character's female best friend who's on par with him in terms of fighting skills.
- First Girl Wins: She was the first person at school to reach out to Goku and treat him with respect. By the end of the film they're an item.
- Hidden Depths: Despite her savvy, "popular girl" persona, she actually likes training as much as Goku does.
- Little Miss Badass: Chi-Chi is a teenaged girl who takes part in martial arts tournaments.
- Named by the Adaptation: The video game adaptation gives Chi-Chi the last name of McRoberts of all things.
- Nice Girl: She finds Goku adorable and doesn't laugh at him like everyone else, even offering him an invite to her party when he opened her locker for her using his ki.
Carey Fuller
Carey Fuller
"Just like I thought. Nothing."
Portrayed by: Texas Battle Dubbed in other languages by
A boy who leads a Gang of Bullies at Goku's school and likes to make fun of him. He calls him insults like "geeko" and is angry whenever he gets close to Chi-Chi. When Goku quips back to one of his insults, Carey is so angry he tries to run him down with his car, only to get his ass handed to him in return. He eventually realizes he made the wrong decision messing with someone like him.
- The Bully: He hates Goku and harasses him at every opportunity. His friends even try to heckle him out of going to the party Chi-Chi invited him to. For this, Goku fucks them up.
- Canon Foreigner: He was created for the live action movie.
- Green-Eyed Monster: It's implied that he's gone out with Chi-chi in the past and his hatred for Goku is because he's also infatuated with her. And while Chi-Chi doesm't reciprocate Carey's feelings, she certainly reciprocates Goku's.
- Jerk Jock: He's implied to be a martial artist since he confidently proclaims he can beat Goku in a fight. Instead, Goku beats the crap out of him and his friends, without moving a finger.
- Kids Are Cruel: Tries to run Goku down with his car to spite the latter.
Bulma
Bulma
"Somebody stole my promethean orb, and I'm here to get it back."
Portrayed by: Emmy Rossum Dubbed in other languages by
The daughter of a scientist herself, Bulma is skilled science genius who created a device to find all the "promethean orbs". Her goal is to utilize them to create an endless amount of global energy. When Goku explains to her that the "promethean orbs" are actually dragon balls she decides to help him on his quest and takes him to Master Roshi on her bike. She uses her scientific knowledge many times to help him and his friends.
- Adaptational Badass: Her other character traits are toned down to push that she's a Hot-Blooded gun-toting Badass Biker. She's also a martial artist in this incarnation.
- Adaptational Hairstyle Change: She has long brown hair in the movie, whereas in the anime she had short blue hair that would occasionally be changed into a perm.
- Adaptational Heroism: Her motive of wanting to use the Dragonballs to power the Earth and benefit humanity as a whole is more noble than her original anime counterpart, who wanted to wish for "a perfect boyfriend". Which becomes even funnier since her eventual love interest is a megalomaniac, egotistic, stuck-up Conquering Alien Prince that's massacred countless people.
- Adaptational Late Appearance: In the original series she met Goku when he was a kid, but in Evolution they met when they're both teenagers. This is because he's been aged-up while she stays around the same age as the anime character.
- Adaptational Modesty: Bulma is a Ms. Fanservice in the source material, but dresses a lot more modestly here.
- Adaptational Personality Change: She's more.....family-friendly than her anime counterpart.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Two times over. Bulma had purple hair in the manga and blue hair in the anime. In Evolution, she has dark brown hair.
- Adaptation Name Change: Bulma's full name is Bulma Briefs in the movie, but Bulma Enchanto in the novel and game versions.
- Badass Biker: She developed her own, summonable, shapeshifting metallic bike and it's how her and Goku find Master Roshi.
- Composite Character: She can be considered one of both Bulma and Vegeta. She has Bulma's traits, but like Vegeta, she was initially someone willing to harm Goku but later became his friend for a common goal, and snarks at him for being stupid (see also Adaptational Badass above).
- Deadpan Snarker: Goku's idiocy provides her with a lot of material to snark at.Goku, upon seeing Bulma brandish a gun to his face: "Are you Piccolo?"Bulma: "If I was a Piccolo, or whatever that is, I wouldn't tell you."
- Faux Action Girl: Bulma is briefly able to keep up with Goku and point her gun at his head even when he uses his speed, but ultimately never gets to show off her potential and needs Yamcha to bail her out in the final fight.
- For Science!: Why she wants the dragon balls- she sees that they provide limitless energy and she wants to use them to power the Earth.
- Guns Akimbo: Shame she misses everything she shoots at.
- I Have Boobs, You Must Obey!: Tries to pull this on Yamcha when her, Goku and some others are stuck inside a massive pit. It doesn't work because Yamcha has grown wise to her tricks.
- Insistent Terminology: Calls the dragonballs "promethean orbs".
- Nonconformist Dyed Hair: Possibly as a Mythology Gag to the character she's based on, she has a streak of blue hair.
Master Roshi
Master Roshi
Portrayed by: Chow Yun-fat Dubbed in other languages by
An old man and martial arts teacher who Goku is instructed to see to help train and defeat Piccolo. He has many students, but Goku is the only one who's shown him unmatched potential. Master Roshi believes that Goku can truly defeat Piccolo, but sadly he is turned into an Oozaru before he can watch him achive victory.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: He's played by and just looks like regular, handsome Chow Yun-fat instead of the scrawny, hunched-over, bald old man with missing teeth.
- Age Lift: Master Roshi appears to be younger and more youthful looking than Grandpa Gohan, despite being his former Martial Arts master.
- Cool Teacher: To Goku, Chi-chi, and all of his students, as he's the only one who can train them to their fullest potential. At the same time he's very easygoing and hilarious.
- Dirty Old Man: Bulma finds porn magazines in his house.
- Fighting from the Inside: After being transformed into Oozaru, Roshi, with his dying breath, manages to get through to Goku and get him to change back to his old self.
- Necessary Drawback: Roshi tries to seal Piccolo again, even though it sucks out his life force. It doesn't work.
- Perpetual Smiler: He's full of energy and is introduced jumping off the walls to Goku and Bulma. When he's informed Grandpa Gohan has died, he actually breaks out of this and stares in horror.
Yamcha
Yamcha
Portrayed by: Joon Park Dubbed in other languages by
A desert bandit who's implied to be an old flame of Bulma's. When Goku, Bulma and Master Roshi fall into a hole, Yamcha reveals himself as the one who built it, and refuses to get them out. When Goku shows him his power, Yamcha is impressed and decides to join them on their quest to find the dragon balls.
- Adaptational Badass: He isn't as prone to being defeated and actually lands the finishing blow on Mai.
- Adaptational Hairstyle Change: He doesn't have the anime Yamcha's wacky hairstyle and has shorter, thinner hair.
- Adaptational Wimp: Zig-zagged. While, as stated in Adaptational Badass, he isn't as prone to being defeated, he also doesn't seem to posses Manga Yamcha's vastly superhuman abilities.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Played with. Like his manga counterpart, he does indeed have naturally black hair, but appears to have dyed it blonde In-Universe.
- Nonconformist Dyed Hair: The front of his hair is dyed blonde but the rest of it is black.
King Piccolo
King Piccolo
"Imagine being shackled so tightly that every atom in your body stood compacted, still. That was my hell... for two thousand years. With this Dragonball, I take my vengeance upon the Earth."
Portrayed by: James Marsters Dubbed in other languages by
The king of the Namekians, an ancient race of aliens that conquer planets for a living. 2000 years ago, King Piccolo arrived to our planet, Earth, and tried to take it over. He nearly managed to ravage the planet to a wasteland void of life, but a group of mystics used the Mafuba to seal him into prison. Swearing he'll get revenge, he breaks out one day and with the help of Mai, seeks to find the seven dragonballs so he can be eternally youthful forever.
- Adaptational Jerkass: At least his anime counterpart cared when his sons were hurt. Evolution Piccolo doesn't even say anything when Mai is injured.
- Aliens Are Bastards: He is aim is to make humanity his slaves after conquering the Earth, and annihilate the ones that refuse to bow down to them.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: His skin is green.
- And I Must Scream: If the page quote is anything to go by, when he was imprisoned, he was literally forced to stand still like a mannequin for 2,000 years. Refusing to accept that this was a consequence of his murder of billions on Earth, King Piccolo swears to exterminate Earth as revenge.
- Blood Magic: Piccolo creates creatures from his blood.
- Composite Character: Piccolo keeps most of his traits, but also gains a few possessed by Emperor Pilaf - most notably having Mai as his assistant (in the series proper, it would be Piano), his wish to take over the world (in the series proper, it was to become young again), and being the first villain fought. On top of that, his usage of the Saibamen comes from Nappa and Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z.
- Forgot About His Powers: Piccolo demonstrates telekinesis powerful enough to crush a house, but never uses it again, even to try to retrieve a Dragonball that's rolling away.
- The Greys: Demon King Piccolo more resembles a green colored one of these than the sluglike Namekian of the manga and anime
- Not Quite Dead: In the post-credits Sequel Hook, Piccolo is revealed to have survived.
- Revenge: He initially wanted to conquer Earth, but now wants to destroy it as revenge for his banishment.fr
- Sealed Evil in a Can: He was sealed in an urn for centuries after wreaking havoc on Earth, but managed to escape by unknown means.
- You Killed My Father: He slaughtered Grandpa Gohan in cold blood in his quest to find the dragon balls.
Mai
Mai
I followed Muten Roshi as directed. He is training the boy, Son Goku. I could disrupt them.
Portrayed by: Eriko Tamura Dubbed in other languages by
A high ranking minion of King Piccolo's, skilled in kung-fu, shapeshifting, electroshock powers and using guns. She is fervently loyal to him and willing to lay down her life as per his orders.
- Adaptational Badass: In the manga and anime, she was an Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain, while in the film she's much more efficient (even if she does end up being a total Anti-Climax Boss) and also much more evil.
- Adaptational Comic Relief: Inverted. It's her source material counterpart that was a comedic character, while Evolution Mai is a deadly, sociopathic killer.
- Adaptational Hairstyle Change: Mai had longer hair in the anime.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: She has the power to electrocute people in this incarnation, which is probably because of her ki energy.
- Adaptational Villainy: She actually reformed and became a good guy in the anime, whereas Evolution Mai stays evil.
- Ascended Extra: Mai was originally just a minor character who was a henchwoman to second-rate villain Pilaf. She also becomes an Adaptational Badass.
- Blood Magic: Mai steals a sample of Chi-Chi's blood to take her form.
- Cleavage Window: Although Mai mostly has adequate protective gear, she leaves her chest unprotected. Huh.
- Dark Action Girl: She's a mixed martial artist and can throw shurikens as well as use guns. She even competes against Chi-Chi, but forfeits the last minute. It was actually a ruse to gain access to her blood so she can assume her form later.
- Death by Adaptation: In the original manga and anime timeline, Mai lives. But she dies in the movie.
- Emotionless Girl: Barely ever speaks, let alone emotes. One of the telltale signs that she's posing as Chi-Chi is her blunt lack of emotion, in contrast to Chi-Chi's bubbly and friendly demeanor.
- Establishing Character Moment: Murdering a poor peasant woman for information about the Dragon Ball, even after she complies with her demands. Her smile afterwards shows you that she's batshit insane and soulless.
- Gratuitous Japanese: Mai has a scene that's all in (subtitled) Japanese. In Real Life, her actress is from there.
- The Gunslinger: Like Bulma, she favours using guns and shoots Goku after decepting him as Chi-Chi.
- No-Sell: When Mai takes on Goku, she lands a solid punch to his face. Goku doesn't seem to notice.
- Sensual Spandex: In the video games◊, she wears a skin-tight blood-red suit.
- Shapeshifting: She can assume someone's form if she has their blood.
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