Mystical globes, martial arts action, quirky comedy antics and a wish-granting dragon are the hallmarks of one of the most famous mangas and animes ever: Dragon Ball. Last week Hong Kong saw the release of the live-action Hollywood version of Dragonball: Evolution starring Chow Yun-fat. The movie is loosely based on the original material with most of the main characters and the dragon balls still in place, but with a new twist on the storyline.

Dragon Ball was written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama from 1984 to 1995 and published in Weekly Shonen Jump. Toriyama was already a well established manga illustrator due to his previous creation Dr Slump, which was also made into an anime.

Dragon Ball follows the journey of Son Goku and his friend Bulma on their quest to find the seven magical Dragon Balls that, when collected together, will unleash the Dragon God who will grant one wish. But the story evolves into Goku's quest to protect the world from the evil Lord Piccolo who is bent on destroying the Earth.