Launch and Training (S1E14)

How does one mix the concept of "austere training" with a girl whose name is a pun on a meal? What makes this girl a gag that's fun, but ultimately forgotten?

Jelli and Bekinney return to format and continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon by tackling episodes 15-19 of the anime. We're taking on "Look Out for Launch", "Find that Stone!", "Milk Delivery", "The Turtle Hermit Way" and at least part of "The Tournament Begins", and then having a discussion about the character of Launch (or Lunch, aka Ranchi) and her inspirations from cultural and literary history as well as where Toriyama may have been introduced to these concepts via film. Then we're dealing with Goku and Krillin's training, or Shugyo, and again, delving into where these concepts begin in literary and cultural history.

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney are adrift in space, with things looking more and more dire
• Brief plot synopsis of episodes 15-19 of the Dragon Ball anime
• Brief discussion of favorite moments from the anime episodes
• A quick aside about a couple moments towards the end of episode 19, where Goku and Krillin are wearing suits, and the setting for the tournament
• We explain where Launch's signature look came from
• We break down the confusion over her name and discuss why she's known as both Launch and Lunch
• We debate whether her good or bad side is the "normal" side, and draw a comparison between the bad side and a previous Toriyama character, Polly Buckets
• We talk about hammerspace
• We editorialize about Launch and her value to the story, whether we'd like to see her back and whether we're upset that she was more or less forgotten
• We discuss the Shugyo, or austere training, of Goku and Krillin at the hands of Master Roshi
• We talk about whether the training via unorthodox methods has any real-life parallels, and a bit about its connections to films a la The Karate Kid
• We compare the idea of Shugyo to the Chinese concept of xiulian, or refinement through fire
• We have a brief aside about calling it Shugyo vs simply training, and why we're for this episode at least, going with the former
• We compare the idea of self-cultivation and self-salvation as espoused in Eastern culture with the more traditionally Western idea of salvation through external means, and more pointedly, Christianity
• We discuss how there is no standard, set, single path in a shugyo method of training and cultivation. One can become a Buddha via multiple paths of self-cultivation
• There's an in-depth discussion of how the concept of Shugyo and ever-increasing challenge is the key to Dragon Ball's ability to steadily increase the stakes and keep the franchise going essentially forever; there's always a higher level
• We compare this concept of training and increasing stakes with the idea of getting into "the zone" or "a groove" when it comes to things in our day-to-day lives
• 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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