A beautiful rendition of Nostalgia
by Animexster on 2023-08-31Attendance to this event was a Birthday present from my wonderful fiancee. I was not sure what to expect and I went into the event completely blind. The whole event ended up blowing my mind away and it was one of the most nostalgic experiences I have ever had with a live event. I grew up watching Dragon Ball and all its many sequels as a kid and it was always my favorite Anime. To see it come to life with a masterful Orchestra sent me back to the days of watching it on TV after school while trying to perform a Kamehemeha or power up into Kaioken/Super Saiyan. This whole production was very obviously a labour of love, made apparent by the enthusiasm brought to the stage by Prakash Amarasooriya and all the members involved in creating this wonderful world reimagined on a live stage. From the choice of animations, the timing of the original audio, the choice for OST and the highlights of each arc; everything was meticulously timed and crafted. The surprise/unexpected presence of Hiroki Takahashi was an explosion of energy both from the crowd and from the legend himself. With the most humble of attitudes towards the fans and the utmost respect to the OST that began his journey with the franchise so many years ago, Takahashi san helped every fan present relive their childhood. From the hype poses, to the animated and masterful singing, it was a package deal. One of the best parts of the whole experience was the synchronized Kamehameha at the end of the show. From the beginning of the show, it was obvious how much thought and love had gone into creating this compilation of highlights for Toriyama's work. Every choice was meticulous and well thought out, and in my opinion was mostly inclusive for fans and non fans alike. My fiance is an avid anime fan but has never been much involved in Dragon Ball; however, during the show she was taking notes and asking me about the development of the story as everything was highlighted and fun for attendees. I feel like the show was really well organized and done, although as a lifelong fan you are always left longing for more. At an impressive run of 2-2.5 hours with an intermission included, the whole crew did a great job of telling the story of Goku, the Z-Warriors, and everyone that was a part of their lives in one way or another. *Disclaimer* I do not routinely listen to the full Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z OST so therefore I cannot suggest any alternatives/additions to the tracks that were used during the show, but I do feel like the same track was used a few more times than would have been ideal. I am not saying I disliked this, I am just saying that variety *if possible* would have been appreciated. Thank you very much to everyone involved in the creation of this masterpiece, and I very much look forward to upcoming shows put on by Kashamara Productions. I know there have been suggestions of FMA: Brotherhood or FMA original which I believe would be amazing, Sailor Moon would probably appeal to a lot of fans as well. I personally would love to see Samurai X/Rurouni Kenshin be brought back into the spotlight since it also has a remake as of this year. I cannot stress enough how wonderful an experience this was as a Dragon Ball fan specifically it was everything I could have hoped for. Even if Dragon Ball is not your thing but anime is, this show will be sure to keep you entertained throughout its entire runtime.