Movie Substrate · Film

Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (1988)

★ 6.7 · 305 ratings on TMDB
Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure poster★ 6.7

Master Roshi has succeeded at the one mission he valued most: to train Goku and Krillin to become ultimate fighters. So, he arranges for them to test their mettle at a competition hosted by Emperor Chiaotzu. Not everyone's playing by the rules, however, as a member of the ruler's household schemes to use the Dragonballs to extort money and power from the royal.

DirectorKazuhisa Takenouchi
CastBanjo Ginga, Hiroko Emori, Hiromi Tsuru, Hirotaka Suzuoki, Kohei Miyauchi, Mami Koyama
GenresAction, Animation
The emergence reading

In Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure, consciousness is carried by aliens — a plane of “saiyan martial realm”. The story fights on E8/E12 of the E0–E14 reality ladder, compressing power, ambition, politics, war.

↷ aliensJPpowerambitionpoliticswar
Also inFilms about warConsciousness hiding in aliensFilms that move consciousness off the human
Explore Movie Substrate → Where to watch ↗ TMDB ↗ Rotten Tomatoes ↗ Ask about this film → Reading look wrong? → Copy link

Same rung, same subject

Films fighting at the same level of reality, about the same things.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)E8/E12 · rare rung · politics, powerStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)E12 · rare rung · politics, powerWatchmen (2009)E8/E12 · rare rung · power, warThe Suicide Squad (2021)E8/E12 · rare rung · powerSuperman (2025)E8/E12 · rare rung · powerThe Dictator (2012)E8/E12 · rare rung · politics, power

Same subject, different rung

The same preoccupations examined at another scale — one mind versus a nation.

Blade II (2002)E4/E10 · rare rung · politics, powerArthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds (2010)E6/E11 · rare rung · power, warSkylines (2020)E6/E13 · rare rung · power, warTransformers: The Last Knight (2017)E11/E13 · rare rung · power, warStargate: The Ark of Truth (2008)E9/E13 · rare rung · power, warThe Keep (1983)E11/E13 · rare rung · power, war

Also hides consciousness here

Other films that move a human interior onto the same kind of thing.

Independence Day (1996)consciousness in aliens · global alien invasionCosmic Sin (2021)consciousness in aliens · interstellar warAvengers: Endgame (2019)consciousness in aliens · cosmic superhero sagaThor: The Dark World (2013)consciousness in aliens · nine‑realm cosmosCaptain Marvel (2019)consciousness in aliens · interstellar warZack Snyder's Justice League (2021)consciousness in aliens · heroic alliance vs alien empire

Same subject, different mask

The same preoccupations carried by a different kind of thing — grief told through the dead, an animal, a machine.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)consciousness carried elsewhere · power, warThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)consciousness carried elsewhere · power, warWonder Woman (2017)consciousness in monsters · power, warThe Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)consciousness in monsters · power, warKung Fu Panda 2 (2011)consciousness in animals · power, warMortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)consciousness in the dead · power, war

Same people

Shared director or cast.

Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might (1990)Hiroko EmoriDragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986)Hiromi TsuruDragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (1987)Hiromi TsuruOne Piece: Curse of the Sacred Sword (2004)dir. Kazuhisa TakenouchiDragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! (2008)Hiromi TsuruDragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992)Kohei Miyauchi