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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 29, 2025
Tuesday Jul 29, 2025
How do you handle introducing a rival? Why does Vegeta always call himself the Prince of All Saiyans? Is there any basis for this character in the story Journey to the West?
Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 30 through 35: "Goku vs. Vegeta," "Saiyan Sized Secret," "Spirit Bomb Away!" "Hero in the Shadows," "Krillin's Offensive," and "Mercy." We continue discussing the Saiyan Saga and talk in detail for the first time about one of the franchise's most iconic characters: Vegeta. We talk about his in-universe history, and his psychology, as well as his possible sources for inspiration, and what makes him so popular
In this episode:
- Jelli and Bekinney enter into the gravity well
- Just how good are THESE episodes? For really real.
- Who is Vegeta?
- Setting the stage using examples from X-Men, DCEU and Journey to the West
- Vegeta's history as the heir to the throne, and his early life
- Some of Toriyama's thoughts on Vegeta, at least early in the story
- Vegeta and Goku: Opposite sides of the same coin
- How Vegeta so internalizes the lessons he learns as a child that it shapes his entire worldview, and how the very existence of Goku flies in the face of said worldview
- The Six-Eared Macaque from Journey to the West, one of Sun Wukong's most formidable foes
- Some researched theories about the relationship between Wukong and Six-Ears and how that is mirrored by the relationship between Goku and Vegeta
- The Lego series Lego Monkie Kid and its portrayal of Six Ears
- Why Vegeta is always invoking his prince status as if it is a boast, despite there being only a handful of Saiyans left
- Why Vegeta is so relatable
- 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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