Final Forum: A Dragon Ball Podcast

Captain Ginyu (S4E22)

What if… Dragon Ball were to implement a Secret Invasion type of story, with a race of Ginyu type aliens body swapping into various bodies? How would swapping two beings into the same body at the same time?

Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 71 through 75: "Goku is Ginyu and Ginyu is Goku," "Calling the Eternal Dragon," "Gohan, Defeat Your Dad," "Captain Ginyu…the Frog" and "Password is Porunga." We continue talking about the Ginyu Force, and this episode, zero in on Captain Ginyu, the namesake of the group.

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney pass a certain ringed planet
• A decent batch of episodes
• Vegeta’s outfits and the internal consistency (or lack thereof) of Saiyan armor stretching to fit its wearer
• The man (?) of the hour: Captain Ginyu
• Ginyu’s personality resemblances in WWE, including Ric Flair and the Ultimate Warrior
• Ginyu’s physical resemblance to the Talosians of Star Trek
• Whether Ginyu’s body is his original, which spirals into a conversation about how multiple body swaps would work simultaneously
• What if: Ginyu’s species could ALL do the body swap and we had a Secret Invasion type of story in Dragon Ball with the Ginyus acting as the Skrulls
• Should we have done a Frieza episode before a Ginyu episode?
• Are Ginyu and Frieza stand-ins for Mephistopheles and Satan?
• Nio, a pair of wrathful dharmpala who are guardians of Buddha and destroy obstacles to enlightenment, also known as Agyo and Ungyo
• And invitation to be corrected on the connections we’re making
• Ginyu and Frieza’s comparability to Orcus, Sauron and Galactus
• and more, including some general pop culture, trivia, and editorializing, as usual 

Join us as we continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise.

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Jeice and Burter (S4E21)

Prepare for Trouble! And make it...two. Two of the...the bad guys. Two of them. At the same time. A tag team of cosmic proportions, when the fastest man in the universe and...another guy team up to take on the forces of good.

Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 66 through 70: "Goku's New Power," "A Legend Revealed," "Ginyu Assault," "Incredible Force!" and "Frieza Approaches." We continue talking about the Ginyu Force, and this episode, zero in on Jeice and Burter, the two who operate as a tag team withing the unit.

In this episode:

• The season is over...?
• A good bunch of episodes again
• Some trivia about Burter, his height and his involvement in Dragon Ball GT
• A tangent into Ultraman Leo
• Jessie the Body Ventura
• The idea of punctuality and time management as it pertains to Japanese culture, and how the country was not always thought of as the bullet-train-driven hyper-efficient society it is now
• Jeice or Jheese
• Sticking with WWF/WWE bit of comparison with Jeice and Burter being like The Rockers, where Shawn Michaels betrayed Marty Jeaneatty, or a visual comparison point of The Road Warriors, especially with Road Warrior Hawk looking somewhat similar to Burter
• Revisiting the history of punk in Japan
• Tracing punk's history in Japan from Maruhachibu and Zuno Keisatsu into The Stalin and Hantarash and how punk's emphasis on visual style in Japan gave way eventually to Visual Kei
• A brief history of visual kei, via the band X Japan and some American comparison points like Twisted Sister or Kiss
• Jeice as a glam rock superstar
• and more, including some general pop culture, trivia, and editorializing, as usual 

Join us as we continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise.

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Ginyu Force Arrives! Recoome and Guldo (S4E20)

They appear as a full team for approximately 1% of the franchise, and yet the Ginyu Force leave an indelible mark up Dragon Ball. How do they do it? Is it their flashy poses, their sense of style, their group dynamic? What is it about these five warriors that make them so memorable?

Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 61 through 65: "Hidden Power," "New Ally, New Problem," "Guldo's Mind Binds," "Recoome Unleashed," and "Let the Battle Begin." We are officially into the GINYU Saga and we're taking a look at the eponymous Ginyu Force, especially zeroing in on Recoome and Guldo.

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney are looking out the window. Still.
• A much better batch of episodes
• The Ginyu Force as a microcosm of Toriyama's sensibilities - subversive, parody, colorful, fun, powerful, self-contradictory, everything he likes
• Breaking down the name Ginyu Tokusentai into a discussion of what toku and sentai might mean to American audiences
• Talking about Super Sentai, including Shotaro Ishinomori, the creator of Kamen Rider and Super Sentai
• Ishinimori as the Japanese counterpart to Jack Kirby
• The impact of Super Sentai on the pop culture landscape and the more well-known American counterpart, Might Morphin Power Rangers
• The Ginyu Force as a classic Disney trope of a second-in-command villain who's more of a bumbling oaf than a genuine threat
• Breaking down Ginyu Puns; Ginyu - Dairy, Recoome - Cream, Guldo - Yogurt, Burter -Butter, Jeice - Cheese
• Delving into Guldo or Gurd
• His function as the Saibaman of the Ginyu Force
• Possible comparisons to Herve Jean-Pierre Villechaize, who played Nick Nack in Bond film, the Man with the Golden Gun, and Tattoo on Fantasy Island
• Possible comparisons to Danny Devito, due to the movie Twins with Arnold Schwarzenegger coming out at this time
• Diving into Recoome
• Is Recoome a robot?
• Recoome as a blend of Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren, due to the popularity of Rocky IV at the time
• and more, including some general pop culture, trivia, and editorializing, as usual 

Join us as we continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise.

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BONUS: Rumor Control

Have you heard that Dragon Ball Super Season 2 is coming soon? What about new movies? The continuation of the manga?

It’s that time of year where “Dragon Ball Super Season 2” ‘announcements’ plague the rumor mills and every talks about what to expect for 2026, so we’re here to, frankly…ruin everyone’s fun. It’s time to do some rumor control.

Join Jelli and Bekinney as we do a casual check-in with our friend Lux Edwards.

We talk about Dragon Ball Daima now that it has finished its Toonami airing, and we get into some rumor control. We break down what facts we know about Akio Iyoku, president of Capsule Corporation Tokyo, and his past history with Shueisha. We get into his friendship with Akira Toriyama, and into the ongoing legal stalemate between Capsule Corporation and Shueisha. We don’t out-and-out DEBUNK rumors, but we do tell you to bring some salt to sprinkle on all these rumors. We also bemoan the current lack of a successor to the Goku Black arc’s most hilarious dub line, that has to do with Trunks shouting “Don’t shoot!”

We also talk about Predator Badlands, The Chair Company, I Think You Should Leave, Tim Robinson, put a bow on Halloween, discuss upcoming Thanksgiving plans, and just kinda ramble. It’s a casual conversation and nobody felt much like editing, so just come hang with us.

Join us for this more casual conversation as we dig through our lives.

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Binary Breakers:
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The Zenkai of Oz (S4E19)

How do we manage to turn a discussion of zenkai boosts into yet another of our disturbing moments of talking about carnality? Why does Goku do 10,000 reps of his training moves? Where does The Wizard of Oz figure into this? We'll present the information, you tell us if the answer is "anything at all"

Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 56 through 60: "Zarbon's Mission," "Gohan, the Hunted," "Unknown Enemies," "Destination Guru," and "Bulma's Big Day." We continue discussing the Namek Saga and take a look at Vegeta's assertion that Saiyans gain a power boost after facing death.

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney are looking out the window
• A discussion of how some of the filler here kills the pacing, differently than filler in the past
• Going back to the Pilaf Arc for a cleanup discussion
• Comparing Yamcha and Bulma to characters from The Wizard of Oz
• How the Wizard of Oz utilizes the "it was in you all along" trope and how that was influenced by the bluebird of happiness trope
• How the bluebird of happiness trope came from the Quran and what influence Journey to the West may have had in bringing in elements of this into Dragon Ball
• A discussion of Xi Wangmu, the Chinese deity known as the Queen Mother of the West
• Zenkai boosts
• A Vegeta impression!?
• Why zenkai are no longer used, featuring both an in-universe explanation and some head canon that re-defines a certain practice that was most (in)famously utilized by David Carradine (of Kill Bill fame)
• A Bruce Lee quote concerning the number 10,000
• The infamous 10,000 Hours Rule made famous by Malcom Gladwell in his book Outliers
• What Anders Ericsson, whose research formed the basis for this rule had to say about Gladwell's interpretations
• A bunch of discussion about practice creating greatness
• and more, including some general pop culture, trivia, and editorializing, as usual 

Join us as we continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise.

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Zarbon and Dodoria (S4E18)

What do WWE/WWF, King Kong Bundy, Bam Bam Bigelow, Junkyard Dog, David Bowie, the 80s punk rock movement, voice actor Sumi Shimamoto, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have to do with Dragon Ball? We'll present the information, you tell us if the answer is "anything at all"

Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 51 through 55: "Vegeta Has a Ball," "The Past and Future," "Zarbon's Surprise," "Guru's Gift," and "Piccolo vs Everyone." We continue discussing the Namek Saga and take a look at Frieza's right-hand men, Zarbon and Dodoria

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney are traveling through space
• The episodes are solid
• Notes on Dodoria's name pun, and physical appearance, including whether he was originally intended to be yellow rather than pink
• Confusion about the appearances of a durian fruit, horned melon, jackfruit and pineapple
• The differences between a tankoban and kanzenban and attempting to equate it to American comics with trade paperbacks and omnibuses
• King Kong Bundy, his life and career including his run at the top of WWF alongside Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, and his appearances on Married with Children
• Mentions of Bambam Bigelow and Junkyard Dog
• Musing about whether Dodoria's design was influenced by punk culture
• Brief notes on Japan's punk scene in the 80s
• Sliding over to Zarbon
• Notes about his name pun and appearance
• The cultural importance of the zabon fruit (aka the shaddock) in Southeast Asian festivals
• Whether Zarbon is at all influenced by voice actress Sumi Shimamoto from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
• David Bowie and his obsession with Japanese culture
• Musing on Zarbon's transformation and whether it's a nod to reptiles, or possibly frogs, and then a detour into the realm of TMNT
• and more, including some general pop culture, trivia, and editorializing, as usual 

Join us as we continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise.

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Dragon Ball-oween MINISODE - Bekinney's Top Ten Dragon Ball Attacks

#1 will surprise you! #10 will titillate you! [insert other clickbait phrase]!

Welcome to Final Forum's Dragon Ball-oween Spooktacular!
In this special Bekinney-only mini-sode we take a complete break from format, and from breaking down Akira Toriyama's manga and anime smash success to continue our October/Halloween Festivities and on this episode, it's all about attacks....and attempting to pick ten DIFFERENT attacks than Jelli previously picked. That's...scary...right?
Probably.

So, what will make Bekinney's Top Ten Dragon Ball Attacks? The pool to choose from is ENORMOUS:
Vegeta's Final Flash and Galick Gun and Big Bang Attack and Final Explosion, Tien Shienhan's Kikoho, General Blue's Hypnosis, Tao Paipai's Dodonpa aka Dodon Ray, Piccolo's Makonkosappo aka Special Beam Cannon , Frieza's Laser Blasts and Death Ball, Android 16's Hell's Flash, Majin Buu's Candy Beam and Human Extinction Attack, Dabura's Stone Spit, Beerus' Hakai, King Kai's Kaioken, Goku Black's Sickle of Sorrow, Hit's Time Skip, Yamcha's Wolf Fang Fist, Gohan's Masenko and of course Goku's Kamehameha
....and more...?

Bekinney threw all these (AND MORE) in a pile and picked out just TEN of his favorites. Who will they be?

Gamera vs Guiron Commentary (S4E17)

What is it about giant fire-breathing turtles that can become airborne flying saucers that delights children and even worms its way into the hearts of cynical adults?

Welcome to Final Forum's Dragon Ball-oween Spooktacular!

In this episode, Jelli and Bekinney break down the 1969 film, Gamera vs. Guiron. It's part of our October/Halloween Festivities where we're taking a break from breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon and delving into times our franchise's creators have "put on a costume" and worked on other shows and movies. In this case, we're talking about Shunsuke Kikuchi, the composer behind Dragon Ball. And since we felt like we couldn't do it alone, we've brought along a friend: John DeSentis is a composer, musician, and kaiju fan who has conducted orchestras, scored films, and helped organize kaiju conventions. His credits include the anthology Worst Laid Plans, the short film The Conduit, and Kaiju Crescendo: An Evening of Japanese Monster Music. He has appeared on the Kaiju Transmissions podcast, as well as Imaginary Worlds, Growing up with Godzilla and is a frequent guest on the Gen X Lounge. (He also loves Vin Diesel memes and enjoys being confused with Ron DeSantis.)

 

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney say hello to Johnny
• We discuss why we chose to look at Gamera vs Guiron
• Production facts and history behind 1969's Gamera vs Guiron, including its place in the Gamera pantheon of films, budget, and release history
• Brief discussion of Daiei studios as a company
• Why Gamera exists and how it kept Daiei afloat for close to a decade
• Discussing the film's "stars" including Yuko Hamada, Khan Omura (aka Kon-Chan, aka Cornjob), and Christopher Murphy
• A look at the life of director Noriaki Yuasa, his filmmaking prior to Gamera, including Nezura and If You're Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands, how Gamera became his signature franchise, and how Yuasa differed from his contemporaries, especially Ishiro Honda
• Yuasa's filmmaking philosophy and his thoughts on the 1990s Heisei Gamera films directed by Shusuke Kaneko
• How budgetary limitations affected the production of the film including the creation of Space Gyaos and the Guiron suit
• Daiei's financial struggles in the late 60s leading to their bankruptcy in 1971, as well as a unique agreement worked out with screenwriter Niisan Takahashi and how that may have influenced some of the Showa Gamera crew's feelings about the 90s Gamera films
• A discussion of Counter Earth or Opposite Earth and the Greek philosopher Philolalus, a disciple of Pythagoras and Aristotles thoughts on Philolalean cosmology as well as Pythagorean discipleship
• Shunsuke Kikuchi, his life, his background, and his career including Doraemon and Grendizer
• A comparison of Gamera films to fantasy and fairy tales including Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilock and the Three Bears, Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel (including a recommendation to check out the 2025 film The Ugly Stepsister)
• A brief discussion of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (aka MST3K) and their history with the Gamera franchise including the KTMA season of the show
• A closing in which we talk about our Halloween viewings including the Hammer Dracula films (and particular focus on The Satanic Rites of Dracula), Blacula, Tales from the Hood, Let the Right One In, the Grudge films, Sadako vs Kayako, Weapons and the documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror
• ...and more, including some general pop culture, trivia, and editorializing, as usual 

Join us as we continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise....or in this case, the Gamera franchise....for our special Dragon Ball-o-Ween event!

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Dragon Ball-oween MINISODE - Jelli's Top Ten Dragon Ball Attacks

Welcome to Final Forum's Dragon Ball-oween Spooktacular!
In this special Jelli-only mini-sode we take a complete break from format, and from breaking down Akira Toriyama's manga and anime smash success to continue our October/Halloween Festivities and on this episode, it's all about attacks. Because of the punching. That's...scary...right?
Sure.
So, what will make Jelli's Top Ten Dragon Ball Attacks? The pool to choose from is ENORMOUS:
Vegeta's Final Flash and Galick Gun and Big Bang Attack and Final Explosion, Tien Shienhan's Kikoho, General Blue's Hypnosis, Tao Paipai's Dodonpa aka Dodon Ray, Piccolo's Makonkosappo aka Special Beam Cannon , Frieza's Laser Blasts and Death Ball, Android 16's Hell's Flash, Majin Buu's Candy Beam and Human Extinction Attack, Dabura's Stone Spit, Beerus' Hakai, Goku Black's Sickle of Sorrow, Hit's Time Skip, Yamcha's Wolf Fang Fist, Gohan's Masenko and of course Goku's Kamehameha
....and more...?

Jelli threw all these in a pile and picked out just TEN of his favorites. Who will they be?

Journey to the West 1986 (S4E16)

What makes the 1986 adaptation of Journey to the West so endearing?

Welcome to Final Forum's Dragon Ball-oween Spooktacular!

In this episode, Jelli and Bekinney break down the 1986 Chinese television event, Journey to the West. It's part of our October/Halloween Festivities where we're taking a break from breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon and delving into times our franchise's creators have "put on a costume" and worked on other shows and movies. In this case, it's a little bit different, as we talk about Wu Cheng'en and the inspiration behind the Dragon Ball franchise.

 

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney say hello to Halloween
• We discuss why we chose to look at Journey to the West
• The life of Wu Cheng'en, novelist, poet, and politician who is the most likely author of Journey to the West
• Why the authorship of Journey to the West is up for debate and assertion from Anthony Christopher Yu, scholar, theologian, sinologist, and professor who translated JTTW that Cheng'en did in fact write the novel originally
• The production history of the show and how that ties into Mao Zedong, the Cultural Revolution, and China's moves towards embracing its traditions
• The struggles that Yang Jie, director, showrunner, producer, writer, editor, location scouter, casting director, and budget overseer had while making the show, including a single camera and accusations of theft
• The cast being largely derived from Peking Opera backgrounds
• Liu Xiao Ling Tong's performance as Sun Wukong
• The dangers of the show
• The reception of the show and its legacy
• Plans to continue breaking down the show in the future
• ...and more, including some general pop culture, trivia, and editorializing, as usual 

Join us as we continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise....or in this case, the Halo trans-media franchise....for our special Dragon Ball-o-Ween event!

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