Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle

1987 0h 45m JA

👍

6.7

SOLID

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 337★6.5IMDB · 3,394

ActionAnimationFantasyHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Goku and Kuririn are given an assignment by Kame-Sen'nin: "Retrieve the sleeping princess from Lucifer and I will take you as my students." But the mission proves to be more perilous than originally thought.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Masako Nozawa
Son Goku (voice)
Mayumi Tanaka
Kuririn (voice)
Nachi Nozawa
Lucifer (voice)
Hiromi Tsuru
Bulma (voice)
Toru Furuya
Yamucha (voice)
Naoko Watanabe
Puar (voice)
Naoki Tatsuta
Oolong (voice)
Shozo Iizuka
Shitsuji (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Daisuke Nishio
Writers: Keiji Terui, Yoshifumi Yûki
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 45-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Dragon Ball Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Daisuke Nishio, shot by Motoaki Ikegami. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Shunsuke Kikuchi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Shinichi Fukumitsu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Masako Nozawa and Mayumi Tanaka and Nachi Nozawa carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0142249 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Daisuke Nishio directs. Motoaki Ikegami behind the camera. Shunsuke Kikuchi scores. Shinichi Fukumitsu cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 45-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
239 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Dragon Ball Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Daisuke Nishio, shot by Motoaki Ikegami. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Shunsuke Kikuchi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Shinichi Fukumitsu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Masako Nozawa and Mayumi Tanaka and Nachi Nozawa carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0142249 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "friendship", "martial arts", "vampire", "thief".
10Released under 22 different titles around the world.