Final Forum: A Dragon Ball Podcast

The Magic Begins Commentary (100th Episode! ft. Eric Hates Dragon Ball Z)

It's our 100th Episode! And we didn't want to celebrate on our own, so we brought in some new friends, Spencer and John from the show Eric Hates Dragon Ball Z to do a commentary-slash-reaction to the second live-action bootleg movie, Taiwan's Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins.

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney are celebrating 100 episodes
• We reveal our title and instruct listeners where to find this one
• We discuss some of the production facts about the film, its 1991 release, and the production team working on the film
• Discussing the history of Taiwanese cinema
• Why this movie is on Tubi, Amazon Prime, and official YouTube channels
• A theory about why this movie looks like it has a budget
• Forays into the history of China and Taiwan
• A wild combination of everything being absolutely right and ABSOLUTELY wrong
• and more, including some general pop culture, trivia, and editorializing, as usual as we react to this insane fever dream of a film

Eric Hates Dragon Ball Z Links:
https://www.rocktopusnetwork.com/eric-hates-dbz 
https://erichatesdbz.libsyn.com/ 
https://x.com/erichatesdbz 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8rUZoC6KaDgEo9cnFnMRLw 
https://www.instagram.com/erichatesdragonballz/?hl=en 
https://discord.gg/7pUnfRf29k 

Join us as we 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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Saibamen and Attack Balls (S4E8)

Could Akira Toriyama have pulled inspiration from The Thing for Dragon Ball Z? What would the effects of Saiyan space travel be if it were real? What happens when we come across five stellar episodes of DBZ?

Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 21 through 25: "Counting Down," "The Darkest Day," "Saibamen Attack!" "The Power of Nappa," and "Sacrifice." We continue discussing the Saiyan Saga and talk about some new foes: The Saibamen. We also talk about the Saiyan Space Pods, or Attack Balls.

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney's situation has become most desperate
• Just how good are these episodes? For real.
• Were Saibamen inspired by the Bio Men from This Island Earth? Or perhaps by The Thing from Another World? Maybe by the Xenomorphs of Alien? Perhaps by the titular monsters from The Day of the Triffids? Maybe the pod people from Invasion of the Body Snatchers? More? None? All?
• Are there any ties between the Saibamen and The Red Ribbon Army? (not really, but there is a minor reference made by the hosts)
• A possible pull from Osamu Tezuka's manga, Lost World
• Potential inspiration from Dragon Quest
• Other variants of Saibamen that appear in video games and a tangent on their naming conventions
• How fast do Saiyan space pods travel? Is that speed feasible? 
• What does Saiyan deep space exercise look like? Something to think about when we talk about the exercise requirements of astronauts in space.
• The gooification of people inside the Attack Balls when they land and the Iron Man problem
• A possible tie back to Journey to the West, as well as the Chinese emperor Yu the Great
• A discussion of Soyuz rockets, used by Russian cosmonauts for space travel
• A brief look at Vostok-1 and Yuri Gagarin's historic feat
• The Rule of Cool
• 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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King Kai (S4E7)

What do centuries of isolation with only a monkey as company do to a martial arts master? Is the blue catfish man really a martial arts master? What's with all the dad jokes? Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 16 through 20: "Plight of the Children," "Pendulum Room Peril," "The End of Snake Way," "Defying Gravity" (and to think, we barely make any Wicked references), and "Goku's Ancestors." We continue discussing the Saiyan Saga and talk about Goku's newest teacher, King Kai.

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney are in a rather desperate situation
• Is Pigero like the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist? Or is he more like Rufio from Peter Pan/Hook?
• Good vs bad filler
• Do King Kai's jokes translate between languages? (We're actually asking)
• What episodes are cut out of the Ocean Group dub?
• Why HFIL happened and how and why things got altered wit a brief overview censorship
• An all-too-brief discussion of Funimation's history releasing Dragon Ball, DBZ, and their partnerships with the Ocean Group and Saban Entertainment
• Translating Kaio-sama to King Kai and/or The Lord of Worlds
• King Kai's design including his clothing from the Qing Dynasty, and his teashade sunglasses from John Lennon, or is it Mahatma Gandhi? And what is a Mahatma anyway? And who was Mahatma Hirandanda, and what of his Mewad Remayana manuscript?
• The deity Prince Rama and how he might tie-in to King Kai
• Catfish? No. What about fireflies? 
• Genji's Firefly
• Hitodama and a Return of Ultraman reference to hitodama kaiju Femigon
• The Tale of Genji or the Genji Clan aka the Minamoto
• Lamenting to loss of a great pun, but a promise to revisit when we discuss Dragon Ball Daima in the future and delve into Warp Sama
• 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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Daima Discuss-DONE. The Future of Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball Daima is over. The dub has been released in full. What now? Where does the franchise go from here? Where CAN it go from here? What would we LIKE for it to do now?

Join Jelli and Bekinney as we continue looking at Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise by tackling a discussion of Dragon Ball's "State of the Union." Recapping where things stand in the animated area of the franchise, the manga and of course, current video games.

We talk about where Dragon Ball Super last left off with the Super Hero arc being completed and the big Black Frieza teaser left out there.

We talk about the four big video games currently being supported in the Dragon Ball world that led to Dragon Ball being Bandai Namco's number one money earner for the past fiscal year, namely The Breakers, Xenoverse 2, Kakarott, and Sparking Zero.

We also talk about James Gunn's Superman, Sinners, Friendship, Paul Rudd, Tim Robinson, I Think You Should Leave, The Dark Tower, Stephen King, Holly Gibney, and of COURSE....lawnmowers.

 

oin us for this more casual conversation as we dig through the franchise in a post-Daima world and continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise.

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Snake Way (S4E6)

Do you walk this lonely road? Is it the only one you've ever known? Do you not know where it goes? But it's home to you and you walk alone? Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 11 through 15: "Terror on Arlia," "Global Training," "Goz and Mez", "Princess Snake," and "Dueling Piccolos." We continue discussing the Saiyan Saga and talk about Snake Way, and Princess Snake.

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney are on a new and strange planet
• Ox Head and Horse Face? Goz and Mez? Gozu and Mezu? We highlight the cultural underpinnings of a pretty good filler episode 
• The Sanzu River and the River Styx and a brief foray into Dante's Inferno
• The dream logic of Princess Snake, and the episode featuring Russian roulette
• Whether Princess Snake is inspired by a Nure-onna or an Uwabami and the importance of Snakes in Japanese culture
• Snake Way
• Snake Street in Nezu, in Tokyo, and its history along the Aizen River
• Torii gates
• Snake Way being a physical manifestation of the metaphysical Yellow Path or Sacred Path or Path Within Us from Shintoism and Buddhism
• Why falling off Snake Way is punished by a visit to Hell, or HFIL depending on what version of the show you're watching
• The Han Dynasty afterlife concept of the Yellow Springs
• How the cycle of reincarnation works
• 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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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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