Dragon Ball may be one of the most popular anime series of all time. Its three main sagas, several spinoffs and movies have captured countless fans throughout the years and even more with its recent re-imaging, Dragon Ball Kai. The series’ success has also spawned a number of video games and two new entries are coming Fall 2010.

The popular anime and videogame series Dragonball is about to go live on the silver screen. No joke. In fact, actress Jamie Chung has just been casted as Goku’s love interest, Chi Chi, and will join Justin Chatwin (Goku) and James Marsters (Piccolo) have already been casted in the live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese comic Dragonball.

The film will be produced by Stephen Chow, a successful Japanese cultural export of all time, and directed by James Wong. The setting of this film is a science fiction action-adventure that will center on an adult humanoid alien named Goku who, after discovering he was sent to Earth to destroy the population, tries to fulfill the wish of his dying grandfather and collect all seven of the world’s mystical Dragon Balls to keep them out of the hands of the evil aliens.

Fans of the game and anime franchise already know the back story of the series and I’m sure will be cautious about the live action release for fear of disappointment. And who wouldn’t, the series has grown since its first release in Japan.

Ever since its Rome like fall from power in the game industry, Atari was probably best known for its financial woes.  Now it seems that the American branch of Infogrames, which licensed out the name and logo of the long-deceased company, has inherited similar troubles including getting into hot water with anime dubbing company FUNimation. more »