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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 Jul 15, 2025
Tuesday Jul 15, 2025
Could Akira Toriyama have pulled inspiration from WWE for Dragon Ball Z? Did he really have nothing to do with the anime portion of the show? What happens when we come across five more 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 26 through 29: "Nappa's Rampage," "Nimbus Speed," "Goku's Arrival," and "Lesson Number One" We continue discussing the Saiyan Saga and talk about one of Dragon Ball's most infamous villains: Nappa. We also talk about filler moments such as the character Gregory, Snake Way, and Goku's misadventures in Hell and what influence Toriyama may have had on those elements. WE ALSO discuss some of the new ki attacks namely: the kienzan, or Destructo Disc, and the Masenko
In this episode:
- Jelli manages to stave off further adventure, much to the chagrin of Bekinney
- Just how good are these episodes? For real.
- How much input did Toriyama have on anime filler?
- We know he designed the character Gregory, and came up with the idea for Goku to be chased by a giant snake as well as Goku eating clouds. What does this say about how involved Toriyama may have been in filler?
- We briefly discuss the guidebooks, or Daizenshuu
- A note on a filler moment from very early in Dragon Ball, with regards to Muscle Tower and some possible foreshadowing to Goku's Saiyan heritage
- What inspired Toriyama to create the Destructo Disk?
- What would Gohan's use of the Masanko tell his intended audience (Japanese people) about Gohan and Piccolo at this point?
- It's over 9000! A discussion of the meme
- Nappa: his name, his design, and the team dynamics between he and Vegeta
- Bolo Yeung, Hulk Hogan, Bruce Lee, and King Boxer
- An attempt to tie-into Journey to the West, at least thematically
- 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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