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Dragon Ball has a wealth of cultural context and inspiration that’s often overlooked because the fights are cool. Though not averse to fawning over animation and allowing for the Rule of Cool, Jelli and Bekinney delve into the world of Akira Toriyama, and discuss lesser-known facts about the worldwide manga and anime phenomenon that is one of the most well-known and popular Japanese pop culture exports of all-time. Want to learn about the cultural importance of moments, literary inspirations behind scenes and characters, production facts, and more? Whether you‘re a fan of Goku, Vegeta, or any of the cast of characters including Piccolo, Gohan, Frieza, or even Broly, there should be something for you to enjoy as we cover all things Dragon Ball, including DBZ, GT, Super, Daima, and more! We‘ll have discussions, guests, interviews, reviews, and commentaries so grab a senzu bean, power up your fan level to Super Saiyan, and get ready to learn about Kakarot and his friends; and of course, thank you for helping us achieve our FINAL FORUM...We hear it‘s over 9000.
Episodes

Tuesday Apr 22, 2025
It's Rad! Raditz! (S4E4)
Tuesday Apr 22, 2025
Tuesday Apr 22, 2025
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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