From Jackie Chan’s hit film “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow” to Anime Series “Dragon Ball”: Thunderleg Hwang Jang-Lee kicks off Global Rights Offensive
The influence of Jackie Chan’s films is immense, and it was already significant at the time of his 1978 breakthrough. “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow” and “Drunken Master” not only paved the way for Chan’s decades-long career of success but also introduced a legendary antagonist who remains deeply embedded in pop culture to this day: Hwang Jang-Lee.
Hwang Jang-Lee (also known as Hwang Jeong-Ri), born on December 21, 1944, in what was then Japanese-occupied South Korea, served as a Taekwondo instructor in the South Korean army before rising to become one of Hong Kong cinema’s most legendary martial arts performers; he became widely identified by the name of his character “Silver Fox” from the 1975 film “The Secret Rivals”. Renowned for his spectacular kicking techniques and extraordinary agility, he made a name for himself as a screen villain and remains one of the greatest kicking specialists in film history. It is not without reason that he bears the moniker “King of the Legfighters.”
Hwang Jang-Lee achieved international fame primarily through his roles alongside Jackie Chan in the kung fu classics “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow” (1978) and “Drunken Master” (1978). In “Drunken Master”, he portrayed the dreaded Thunderleg (or Thunderfoot), a villain notorious for his virtually unstoppable kicking techniques. Both characters rank among the most iconic villains of classic Hong Kong cinema and propelled Grandmaster Hwang Jang-Lee to global renown.
Interview Excerpt: Jackie Chan & Akira Toriyama
Akira Toriyama was also inspired by Jackie Chan’s films. While still working on his manga series “Dr. Slump”, the Japanese artist watched the movie “Drunken Master” in the cinema dozens of times. This led to the creation of the character Son Goku – a cheeky, insatiable, happy-go-lucky martial artist with a good heart who fights evil using humor and unconventional abilities.
In 1986, Jackie Chan and Akira Toriyama met in Japan for issue No. 22 of the magazine Bird Land Press. That magazine, which focused entirely on Toriyama, ran for a total of 25 issues between 1982 and 1987. During this meeting, Jackie Chan received several volumes of the “Dragon Ball” manga – the TV series had not yet premiered at that time.
Jackie Chan: “I used “Dr. Slump” as a reference when I was shooting a film here in Japan.”
Akira Toriyama: “I drew inspiration from your films when creating ‘Dragon Ball’.”
Akira Toriyama was a fan of Golden Harvest films. In several interviews, he openly acknowledged that the inspiration for “Dragon Ball” came, among other sources, from Jackie Chan’s kung fu movies. When asked about his favorite film, Toriyama replied in the January 2003 issue of Shonen Jump: “Definitely ‘Drunken Master’. If I hadn’t seen that movie, I never would have come up with ‘Dragon Ball’.” For some of the early Dragon Ball episodes covering the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai tournament, the series’ opening sequence was redrawn to mimic the Golden Harvest intro.
(Comparison of the “Dragon Ball” intro from Season 1, Episode 24, and the well-known Golden Harvest intro.)
Hwang Jang-Lee’s Office calls for Collaboration
To this day, “Dragon Ball” is considered one of the most successful manga and anime series. Not only was Jackie Chan’s screen persona transferred to Son Goku, but the character Jackie Chun was given his English name as a tribute to the film star. Hwang Jang-Lee was similarly immortalized in the anime series as Tao Pai Pai, a character who shares many traits with the role Hwang played in “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow”.
Hwang Jang-Lee’s office has now officially initiated legal action to safeguard the Taekwondo grandmaster’s image for the future. The original English press release is available for download here and reads as follows:
Dear Executives and International Partners,
As of yesterday, an international public-interest attorney active in both the United States and Korea has agreed to actively proceed with the matter concerning Master Hwang Jang-Lee’s character similarities, publicity rights, and recovery of commercial rights.
Accordingly, this project is now moving beyond fandom discussion or cultural commentary and entering a formal rights-confirmation and commercial-rights recovery process under legal review.
The primary matters currently include the following characters:
- Dragon Ball – Tao Pai Pai / Mercenary Tao
- Virtua Fighter – Lau Chan
- Mobile Fighter G Gundam – Master Asia
From this point forward, all official documents, external statements, corporate contacts, compensation discussions, evidence submissions, and legal expressions will be handled through HGC as the official point of contact, subject to attorney review.
We ask all partners to support the following:
- Collect evidence from your language regions, including articles, books, interviews, fan materials, videos, and community posts
- Record original links, screenshots, publication dates, authors, and source/outlet names
- Help route the matter to official executive, Legal, IP, or Licensing contacts within Japanese animation and game companies
- Avoid individual responses to external inquiries and route them to HGC
- For social media or event communication, use only the following framing: “widely discussed resemblance,” “formal rights confirmation process underway,” and “seeking proper recognition and fair settlement”
It is especially important that no partner use absolute, emotional, or legally risky language in public. This is a long-term strategic process to restore Master Hwang’s rightful recognition and commercial rights.
We respect the creative achievements of the Japanese animation and game industries. At the same time, if the image and persona of Master Hwang Jang-Lee—a real martial artist and action film actor—meaningfully influenced or were commercially referenced in globally successful characters, proper recognition and fair compensation must now be discussed.
This project has now officially entered the commercial-rights recovery stage.
Please direct all materials and communications to HGC.
2nd August 2026
Alessandro J. Kim
Founder/CEO,
H-Global Consulting (HGC)
Executive Chairman,
Hwang Jang-Lee World Federation of Martial Arts
When I asked about the impact on social media channels that had posted comparison photos and videos of the films and Hwang Jang-Lee, I received the following reassuring message.:
“Those posts are generally not a problem because they reflect the opinions and research of many fans, supported by years of comparisons and discussions.
In addition, before his passing, “Dragon Ball” creator Akira Toriyama had reportedly planned to visit South Korea about three years earlier to meet Grandmaster Hwang Jang Lee in person. Sadly, he passed away before that meeting could take place.”
– Alessandro J. Kim
We can therefore look forward to seeing what the next legal steps will be, how the opposing parties will respond, and what role AI will play in the future. In conclusion, I would like to quote Alessandro J. Kim, Executive Chairman of the Hwang Jang-Lee World Federation of Martial Arts.:
“We [martial arts movie fans] are practically one family. Sharing this story will also greatly benefit the legacy projects of both Jackie Chan and Grandmaster Hwang Jang Lee, while helping promote both legends together.”
– Alessandro J. Kim
Son Goku is Jackie Chan!
