Final Forum: A Dragon Ball Podcast

King Yemma - Enma Daio (S4E5)

What does it take to be the 'man' sitting in front of the entry to the afterlife, judging souls? Why did we accidentally slip in to a discussion of the Ox King? Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 6 through 10: "No Time Like the Present," "Day 1," "Gohan Goes Bananas," "The Strangest Robot," and "A New Friend." We continue discussing the Saiyan Saga (now that the Raditz Arc is officially already over), and talk about King Yemma.

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney make ready for their next planetary expedition
• It's WWE time. Full Nelsons, Ruffy Silverstein, Hans Mortier, Bruno Sammartino, Hulkamania, The Warlord, the Powers of Pain, the Road Warriors, and Superstar Billy Graham. What do they have to do with Dragon Ball? Maybe nothing!
• The connection between King Yemma in Dragon Ball Z and the character Enma from Dr Slump
• The Hindu version of Enma, or Yama, and his history and mythology
• The Buddhist version of Yemma, Yama, and his role in the afterlife
• How these two characters fuse into the depiction of King Yemma
• Possible inspiration points from Dante's Inferno, as well as the depiction of St. Peter guarding the Pearly Gates
• A note about Nemuria and its connection to Lemuria, Mu, Atlantis and other Lost Continents
• Yamcha's team, the Taitans and why it's not spelled Titan with our tokusatsu reference for the day in the form of Ultraman (and Ultraman Tiga vs Ultraman Taiga)
• Somehow, a discussion of the Ox King and his ability to be Gohan's grandfather while navigating the parenting styles of both Goku and Chichi
• 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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It's Rad! Raditz! (S4E4)

What could Goku's next challenge possibly be now that he's the Strongest Under the Heavens? A sibling rivalry? Is that really all you got, Toriyama? Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by breaking down episodes 1 through 5: "The New Threat," "Reunions," "Unlikely Alliance," "Piccolo's Plan," and "Gohan's Rage." We begin discussing the Saiyan Saga (or the Raditz Arc under the new terminology), and talk about Raditz as well as the pivot into DBZ.

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney recuperate from their hard-fought battle
• We talk about the pivot into Dragon Ball Z
• Why is it called Dragon Ball Z?
• What role did Kozo Morishita, Takao Koyama, Kazuhiko Torishima, Yuu Kondo, and Akira Toriyama play in the decision to rebrand the show DBZ?
• We discuss whether this pivot is good or bad and talk a bit about everyone's favorite topic in Dragon Ball: Power Levels
• Raditz. His design, his inspirations, and his motives, we take a look at them and break them down in our typical fashion, talking about Saiyans and Toriyama's puns in the process.
• How does Raditz compare to Darth Vader, play on David vs Goliath, tie into Osomatsu-kun, Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, and the Bible?
• How does Jelli sneak in a kaiju/Godzilla reference this 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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Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone Commentary (S4E3)

It's FINALLY time for Dragon Ball Z! Kind of! Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon by ...getting into our first DBZ discussion by tackling the 1989 movie, Dead Zone.

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney recuperate from their hard-fought battle
• We sync up our audio commentary for the listeners
• We discuss some of the production facts about the film Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone such as its 1989 release at the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival, the film's box office, and the production team working on the film
• We talk about the other films released alongside the movie: Akuma-kun: The Movie, Mobile Cop Jiban, the Movie, and Himitsu no Akko-Chan's first movie
• We delve into the background behind the Toei Manga Matsuri – Toei Cartoon Festival and its inception in 1969 and other such festivals around the country such as Toho's Champion Festival
• Contextualizing the box office of the film
• Shedding light on Yuji Ikdeda, art director for Dr Slump and Dragon Ball
• Delving into Kozo Morishita, a producer for Dragon Ball GT and important figure in Dragon Ball history
• Morishita's work on Transformers The Movie (1986), as well as Tiger Mask and UFO Robot Grendizer, Fist of the North Star, Devilman, Mazinger Z, Cutey Honey, and Wolf Boy Ken
• Morishita's fame for Transformers and subsequent changes to Saint Seiya
• Mark Menza and Nathan Johnson, composers for the American music to these movies, working with the Bruce Faulconer team
• We discuss the different dubs created for the film by studios such as Creative Products, Speedy, and Funimation
• Breaking down the movie's characters and their inspirations, Garlic Jr, Sansho, Nicky, and the crystal used to seal away Garlic
• Comparisons between the Dead Zone and Superman's Phantom Zone
• and more, including some general pop culture, trivia, and editorializing, as usual as we react to this wickedly fast-paced film

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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March Madness 2025 Tenkaichi Tournament Pt 2 (S4E2)

Jelli and Bekinney continue their break from breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon, and pivot away from tearing into the manga and anime that are the most crucial parts of the Dragon Ball franchise to have a little themed fun!

In this episode:

• It's TOURNAMENT SEASON! Kick off your shoes, relax, and listen as we break down 32 of Dragon Ball's most popular (?) characters and discuss who would win in a theoretical game of Win Ben Stein's Money, with a Jeopardy kicker
  • We take if from the round of 32, down to the Sweet 16, Head into the Elite Eight, jump into the Final Four, and then choose our champion!
  • Who will reign supreme and be declared the number one under heaven in trivia?

• Join us as we take a break from uncovering the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise and have some March Madness themed fun!

Daima Discussion 4 Episodes 16-20

WILL we find out why Piccolo is here? Is Super Saiyan 4 really canon now? Does that matter? What's the meaning of canon? What's the meaning of life? Why are we here? Does anything matter? Are we just on a big ball of entropy careening towards the heat death of the universe?

Join Jelli and Bekinney as we continue looking at Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise by tackling a discussion of Dragon Ball Daima, and its final five episodes: "Degesu," "Gomah," "Awakening," "Betrayal," and "Maximum."

The Great Value Ginyu Force has their moment
Gomah gets the Evil Third Eye

Glorio does...I don't know...something. His story makes as little sense as we could have imagined
Piccolo's punches do nothing? What is he DOING here? (spoiler: we never find out)
Super Saiyan 4!?!?! SSJ4?!?!? Canon?!?!? ZOMG!
Vegeta and Bulma make us wish for that sitcom we pitched last time even MORE
Then there's a bunch of punching and fighting for multiple episodes
And then Kuu, Duu, Arinsu, Glorio, Panzy, Kadan, and the rest all get a happy ending...wait...not THAT kiind.

What else are Jelli and Bekinney up to? 
Jelli is re-reading The Dark Tower, talks about The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and talks about Mike Flanagan
Bekinney is playing Monster Hunter Wilds
Join us for this more casual conversation as we dig through the world of Daima and continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise.

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March Madness 2025 Tenkaichi Tournament Pt 1 (S4E1)

Jelli and Bekinney take a break from breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon, and pivot away from tearing into the manga and anime that are the most crucial parts of the Dragon Ball franchise to have a little themed fun!

In this episode:

• It's TOURNAMENT SEASON! Kick off your shoes, relax, and listen as we break down 64 of Dragon Ball's most popular (?) characters and discuss who would win in a theoretical episode of Win Ben Stein's Money with a Jeopardy kicker.
• We discuss the system used for determining outcomes.
• We break down our opponents in each matchup.
• In the Saiyan Region: Will Goku topple Tarble, will Vegeta defeat Paragus, who will win when Broly encounters Goten? Will the timeline handle Future Trunks facing off against his younger self? Can Gohan defeat King Vegeta?  Can Cabba beat Bardock? Can Kale topple Nappa? Will Caulifla be able to defeat Raditz?
• In the Earthling Region:
  • Krillin vs Yajirobe, Bulma vs Chiaotzu, Android 17 vs Ox King, Android 18 vs Mr Satan, Yamcha vs Chichi, Tien vs Nam, Android 16 vs Videl, Master Roshi vs Launch
• In the Villains Region: Can Frieza out-fox Mercenary Tao? Will Hit topple Recoome? Will Zamasu throttle King Cold? Who is more nefarious, Cooler or Pilaf? Who has the mad skills, Ginyu or Dabura? Will Buu beat down Android 19? Will Jiren smash Dr Gero? Can Cell prove to be more perfect than Garlic Jr?
• In the Deity/Ally Region:
  
  • Who will win when Beerus, Oolong, Korin, Mr Popo, Nail, Elder Kai, Supreme Kai Shin, Puar, King Kai, Gregory, Dende, Kabito, Kami, King Yemma, Piccolo, and Jaco all face off?

Join us as we take a break from uncovering the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise and have some March Madness themed fun!

Akira Toriyama Revisited (Summer Convention Series) (S4E0)

It's Summer Convention Season! You think it's not, just because it's winter? Well, tune in to find out why it is! Jelli takes you into the world of our summer conventions by presenting one of the panels we held this year, at Colossalcon Texas in Austin, TX (well, technically Round Rock, TX) from Colossalcon. This panel was also presented at Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) in (obviously) Atlanta, GA and the Q&A portion of that event is retained here. 

In this episode:

• Jelli is on his own.

• We talk about Toriyama's childhood life
• We learn about Toriyama's early obsession with drawing and animation
• The influences of a young Toriyama are discussed, especially his enjoyment of Showa-era television and movie entertainment including Godzilla, Ultraman, Osamatsu-kun, Astro Boy, Iron Man Number 28, Doraemon and some early manga by creators such as Osamu Tezuka, and Fujiko Fujio despite not being a big reader of manga himself.
• Toriyama's realization that to be a popular anime, you should have a popular manga
• Discussion of how Toriyama writes and creates while watching TV and movies
• We discuss Toriyama's initial years out of college in a salaryman job and how his non-professional attitude caused him to seek out something more fulfilling
• Toriyama's passion for building models and how that allows him to get a 360-degree view of things in order to learn how to draw them
• Toriyama's well-known antisocial tendencies and his desire to live as near a hermit lifestyle as possible
• How a young, budding Toriyama got his first big shot from Kazuhiko Torishima, an editor with Shonen Jump
• The fusion of a manga-ka (Toriyama) who doesn't read manga, and an editor (Torishima) who also does not read much manga, and how that led the two of them to create a unique presentation
• Brief discussion of some of Toriyama's earliest publications in Shonen Jump including Wonder Island, Today's Highlight Island, Tomato Girl Detective, and ultimately, Dr. Slump
• How Arale-chan's glasses became part of her iconic look
• How Dr Mashirito, the villain, came to be designed after Torishima
• Discussion of Akira Toriyama's Crummy Manga Lab, a series of funny, short manga that were intended to semi-jokingly teach people how to be a manga-ka.
• How Toriyama creates Toribot, because of his desire to never be seen in pictures and avoid being recognized by people in public
• Toriyama falling in love, getting married, and how a snafu with press on his wedding day leads to his vow to never show his face in public
• How Torishima had to push Toriyama along the way to be productive and ultimately create Dragon Ball
• How Yoshimi Kato, Toriyama's wife, helped create Dragon Ball with an off-hand comment to Torishima about the manga-ka's work habits
• A very brief discussion of how Dragon Ball Super is crafted, as a collaboration between Toriyama and his chosen successor, Toyotarou
• Some more details on Akira Toriyama's unfortunate passing from subdermal hematoma
• and more, including some general pop culture 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.

Daima Discussion 3 Episodes 11-15

What happens when Vegeta goes even further beyond? When will we find out why Piccolo is here? What's Daima's terrible behind-the-scenes secret?

Join Jelli and Bekinney as we continue looking at Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise by tackling a discussion of Dragon Ball Daima, and its next five episodes: "Legend," "True Strength," "Surprise," "Taboo," and "Third Eye".

Why is Majin Kuu best boi?
Is his brother, Majin Duu also best boi?
Piccolo forgot how to speak Namekian? What is he DOING here?
Battles against Tamagami 1 and 2
Kaiju sized hamsters!
Who is the mysterious woman with the fun hat?
What's the deal with the Great Value Ginyu Force?
Join us for a pitch for a new show: The Saiyan Prince and Buu Heirs, and marvel at its potential storytelling heights such as Duu and Kuu asking Vegeta in a heartfelt way, "Why doesn't Arinsu want me?" (Yes this is a Fresh Prince spinoff sitcom...featuring VegeBull Hybis Duu and Kuu)
What else are Jelli and Bekinney up to? 
Jelli is re-reading The Dark Tower, talks about The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and gives thoughts on 2025's Wolf Man as well as 2024's Street Trash remake
Bekinney is playing Final Fantasy 7, and gives thoughts on the anime and manga series Hajime no Ippo
Wait, what?
Are we okay?
Join us for this more casual conversation as we dig through the world of Daima and continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise.

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Season Three Finale - Final Forum vs A Planet (S3E30)

Jelli and Bekinney have no time to continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime Dragon Ball.

In this episode:

• The climactic battle!

Join us and find out if we will ever continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise, and unspool what we all love so much about Goku, the Dragon Ball franchise, the Dragon Ball anime, Dragon Ball manga, and more.

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Super Secret Movie Commentary (S3E29)

Jelli and Bekinney are still on a break from Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon (don't worry, it's still Dragon Ball related this time) by pivoting slightly and taking a look at the 1990 film: Dragon Ball: Fight Son Goku, Win Son Goku, aka Dragon Ball: Zero.

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney are closing in on the power reading
• We reveal our title and instruct listeners where to find this one
• We discuss some of the production facts about the film, its 1990 release, and the production team working on the film
• Discussing the history of mockbuster movies
• The Asylum, their philosophy, and their movies such as HG Wells' War of the Worlds, King of the Lost World, The Da Vinci Treasure, Snakes on a Train, Transmorphers, I Am Omega, and Atlantic Rim (obviously cashing-in on Spielberg's War of the Worlds, Peter Jackson's 2005 King Kong, The Da Vinci Code, Snakes on a Plane, Transformers, I Am Legend/The Omega Man, and Pacific Rim)
• The Asylums "original" movies such as King of the Ants, 3-Headed Shark Attack, 5-Headed Shark Attack, the Sharknado series, the Mega Shark series, Lavalantula and of course, bad cinema classic: Air Collision.
• A mention of Monster Island, Ape vs Mecha Ape and Ape vs Mecha Ape New World Order (meant to cash in on the MonsterVerse movies Godzilla King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs Kong and Godzilla x Kong the New Empire)
• The "rich history" of trash cinema naming things in ways that would trick audiences best, such as how the German film industry crammed the name Frankenstein into the titles for movies such as Ghidrah the Three Headed Monster, Ebirah Horror of the Deep, and Son of Godzilla due to the success of Frankenstein Conquers the World and War of the Gargantuas, and how they went on to cram Kong into the titles of the two Mechagodzilla movies due to the upcoming Dino DeLaurentiis Kong movie in 1976
• Italian cinema's history of ripoffs including Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2, an unofficial sequel to George Romer's Dawn of the Dead (released in Italy as Zombi, despite being a sequel itself to Night of the Living Dead)
• A very brief history of the Video Nasties
• Korean genre cinema, such as Space Monster Wangmagwi, War of the God Monsters, and Yongary, and how these movies are being released and preserved in the 2020s
• Director Ryong Wang (aka Mike Wang) and his career including appearances as the character Beggar So, time spent with Godfrey Ho, and turns at directing Korean adaptations of Fist of the North Star, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Street Fighter
• Hyung-rae Shim, who plays Master Roshi, and his career from his time as Esperman in the Korean sentai (Power Rangers/Jetman) ripoff Thunderhawk to his long-time portrayal of the character, Young-gu, an Ernest or Madea of Korean comedy fame
• Young-gu's many appearances alongside the likes of Dracula, Wolf-man, Rambo, The Three Musketeers, Master Thief Lupin, Goden Bat, and even in a movie called Power King that got the Power Rangers treatment when exported internationally.
• Learning about Korean mockbuster cinema and their riffs on jiangshi, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman, Gremlins, ET, Gatchaman, Wonder Woman, King Kong, Street Fighter, Robocop and more
• How Bong-joon Ho's movies Okja and The Host changed the attitude towards Korean genre cinema
• A history of this film's attempts at preservation and translation here and on the internet
• Bekinney's live reactions as he was told to come into this movie blind
• and more, including some general pop culture, trivia, and editorializing, as usual as we react to this wickedly fast-paced film

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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