yeah, i played this when the euro release came out quite a while ago-- i can't really stand anime, particularly dragonball, but this is a damn good little platformer. i'd definitely say it's worth a try for you other haters!
I believe this game is kind of like a simple action RPG where you only control a slime. That's what the GBA prequel was like anyhow. So it's actually not that much like Dragon Warrior Monsters, but now that you mention it I would love a new good DWM game. The monster arena in DQ8 made me think...