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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 Mar 19, 2024
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Jelli and Bekinney take a 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 64 of Dragon Ball's most popular (?) characters and discuss who would win in a theoretical episode of Iron Chef.
- We discuss the system used for determining outcomes.
- We break down our opponents in each matchup.
- In the Saiyan Region: Will Goku topple Tarble, will Vegeta defeat Paragus, who will win when Broly encounters Goten? Will the timeline handle Future Trunks facing off against his younger self? Can Gohan defeat King Vegeta? Can Cabba beat Bardock? Can Kale topple Nappa? Will Caulifla be able to defeat Raditz?
- In the Earthling Region:
- Krillin vs Yajirobe, Bulma vs Chiaotzu, Android 17 vs Ox King, Android 18 vs Mr Satan, Yamcha vs Chichi, Tien vs Nam, Android 16 vs Videl, Master Roshi vs Launch
- In the Villains Region: Can Frieza out-fox Mercenary Tao? Will Hit topple Recoome? Will Zamasu throttle King Cold? Who is more nefarious, Cooler or Pilaf? Who has the mad skills, Ginyu or Dabura? Will Buu beat down Android 19? Will Jiren smash Dr Gero? Can Cell prove to be more perfect than Garlic Jr?
- In the Deity/Ally Region:
- Who will win when Beerus, Oolong, Korin, Mr Popo, Nail, Elder Kai, Supreme Kai Shin, Puar, King Kai, Gregory, Dende, Kabito, Kami, King Yemma, Piccolo, and Jaco all face off?
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!
Tuesday Mar 12, 2024
Tuesday Mar 12, 2024
On this episode of Final Forum, we discuss the recent, unfortunate, and untimely passing of Akira Toriyama, and do our best to talk about what his works, from Dragon Ball, to Dr. Slump, to Dragon Quest, to Chrono Trigger, meant to us, and attempt to parse this news as best we can.
We were joined on this episode by our friend Lux Edwards (Soulmass218 Linktree).
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball by breaking down episodes 110, 111, 112 and 113, , "Piccolo Closes In," "Roshi's Gambit," "King Piccolo's Wish," and "Siege on Chow Castle." We continue on with Demon King Piccolo Saga, and discuss the "man" of the hour himself: Great Demon King Piccolo (orPiccolo Daimao).
In this episode:
- Jelli and Bekinney are returning to Frieza Force controlled space
- We recap the episodes and discuss our favorite moments
- Discussing the puns of Piccolo's name as well as the meaning of Daimao
- Drawing a parallel between Piccolo's airship and the Hayao Miyazaki movie Castle in the Sky
- Kazuhiko Torishima's inspiration that led Akira Toriyama to create Piccolo
- How Piccolo attacking martial artists parallels real life demons fearing Daoist, Buddhist, and Shintoist priests
- The origins of the Pokopen chant that's done when Piccolo gives birth
- The importance of Piccolo having only four fingers
- A discussion of the burakumin, and why the anime staff MAY have changed Piccolo's design prior to animating him in the show
- 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, 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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Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball by breaking down episodes 108 and 109, , "Goku's Revenge," and "Goku vs. King Piccolo." We continue on with Demon King Piccolo Saga, and break down Piccolo's Children, Tambourine, Cymbal, Drum and Piano (and more).
In this episode:
- Jelli and Bekinney are trying to find a way off the planet where they are stranded
- We recap the episodes and discuss our favorite moments
- Discussing puns, Piccolo, Drum, Piano, Cymbal and Tambourine
- Mentioning Piccolo's non-canon children, Ukulele, Harp, Mandolin, Maraca, Organ, Castanets, Harmonica, and Bongo, and their appearances in video games, including Damaio Fukkatsu
- Breaking down Tambourine, his voice actors Dameon Clarke and Ryusei Nakao and their connections to other characters like Frieza, Cell, Krillin, Nuova Shenron and Eis Shenron
- Discussing Cymbal, his voice actors Brad Jackson and Daisuke Gori, and their connections to other characters including Ox King, Turtle, Ghastiel, InoShikaCho, Drum, King Yemma, Porunga, Mr. Sata and King Cold
- Drum, his voice actors Daisuke Gori and Bob Carter, and Carter's voicing of Bojack and Syn Shenron
- Piano, his voice actors Masato Hirano and Sonny Strait and their connections to Man Wolf, Mummy-kun, Bardock, General Blue, and Krillin
- The Mazoku race and breaking down the word and how mazoku differ from yokai or oni
- Why Piccolo's children are not mere Namekian clones
- 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, 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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Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball by breaking down episodes 105, 106 and 107, "Here Comes Yajirobe," "Terrible Tambourine," and "Tien's Atonement." We continue on with Demon King Piccolo Saga, and introduce a new character, Yajirobe.
In this episode:
- Jelli digs Bekinney out of the cold, cold ground
- We recap the episodes and discuss our favorite moments
- Yajirobe's design inspirations, coming from the Akira Kurosawa film Yojimbo and the actor Daisuke Kato
- A note about a first when it comes to a fight within Dragon Ball, between Yajirobe and Cymbal
- Yajirobe's swordsman skills
- What Yajirobe means in Japanese both as a toy (Circus Sam) and in breaking down the characters that make up the name
- Yajirobe's status as a Ronin and inspiration from the real life historical figure Musashi Miyamoto
- How Kurosawa redefined the narrative around Ronin
- 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, 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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Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball by breaking down episodes 102, 103 and 104, "Enter King Piccolo," "Tambourine Attacks!" and "Mark of the Demon." We leave the 22nd Budokai Tenkaichi behind, and delve into the Demon King Piccolo Saga, starting out with the idea of the Evil Containment Wave, or the Mafuba.
In this episode:
- Jelli and Bekinney collect themselves after a harsh battle
- We recap the episodes and discuss our favorite moments
- Some notes on the episodes about translations with Master Mutaito and Master Roshi, timeline items with Master Shen (Crane Hermit) and Chiaotzu, canon issues regarding Piccolo's Namekian heritage, and some censorship notes
- We talk about Master Mutaito and the origin of his name
- Looking at Mutaito's gi
- Mafuba, and breaking down the word and its translation as Evil Containment Wave
- How Daoists, Buddhists, and Shintoists inspired the Mafuba
- The origins of sealing demons or foes in general for centuries, with a few examples from Journey to the West (Laozi sealing Sun Wukong within the heavenly crucible and Buddha trapping him under a mountain)
- The Japanese art of onmyodo
- How runes become jewelry in Japan
- Toriyama's playful nature in having Piccolo sealed within the denshi-ja (electric rice cooker)
- A look ahead at the arc and our initial impressions
- 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, 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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Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
Jelli and Bekinney have no time to continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime Dragon Ball.
In this episode:
- The climactic battle!
Join us and find out if we will ever 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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Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Jelli and Bekinney take a break from format and Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball by pivoting and talking about the life and personality and career of one of the most influential creative minds behind Dragon Ball: Akira Toriyama's first editor Kazuhiko Torishima.
In this episode:
- Jelli and Bekinney are fired upon!
- We have already discussed the life and career of Akira Toriyama, Daisuke Nishio, Toshiki Inoue, Takao Koyama, Chiaki Imada, and (one of the men who inspired the creation of Goku himself) Jackie Chan...let's talk about one of the key men when it came to the birth of Dragon Ball itself: Kazuhiko Torishima, Toriyama's first editor, the man who pushed and pulled Toriyama all the way from up-and-comer to one of the most successful manga ka of all time, and one of the most important men in the history of Shueisha and Shogakukan.
- Torishima's birth and childhood in Niigata prefecture
- His early career, in which he wanted to be an editor for Playboy
- How he wound up working for Weekly Shonen Jump
- His initial opinion that manga was a lower form of entertainment
- His first job working on Doberman Deka, created by Buronson, who would go on to create Fist of the North Star
- Torishima's role in pushing Akira Toriyama to make Arale the main character of Dr. Slump
- How Torishima's occasionally harsh style led to the creation of the antagonist of Dr. Slump, Dr. Mashirito
- Shueisha's desire for a hit to follow up Dr. Slump when it ended
- How Torishima kept pushing Toriyama to make Dragon Ball better when popularity initially slumped and again and again in order to make it more and more popular
- How Torishima helped make sure the Dragon Ball anime was more faithful to the manga than most anime at the time
- Torishima's general philosophy behind storytelling and his preferred reading, including philosophy (like Nietzche and Confucius)
- Torishima's work with Nintendo to create a fusion of manga and video games, in Famicon SHinken
- Other works Torishima helped launch including Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece, Naruto, Dragon Quest, Bleach, Death Note, Gantz II, and Pokemon
- His rise to being the editor-in-chief of Shueisha and ultimately director of Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions
- Creatives who have been inspired by Torishima, including the minds behind Tottemo! Luckyman, Momotaro Dentetsu, Yudetamago, and Kinnikuman
- Why Torishima even became an editor in the first place
- Some of Torishima's activism as a face of the manga industry as a whole
- 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, 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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Tuesday Dec 05, 2023
Tuesday Dec 05, 2023
Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball by breaking down episode 101, "The Fallen" and then jumping into comparing the Dragon Ball anime to the Dragon Ball manga. We continue discussing the 22nd Budokai Tenkaichi, and delve into the topic of Tien and his third eye.
In this episode:
- Jelli and Bekinney are on their way to a new planet.
- We recap the episodes and discuss our favorite moments
- The cliffhanger ending involving Krillin and how shocking it is
- The physics of the end of the battle
- Whether Tien or Goku is technically the stronger one and whether latent ability and power level (ugh) determine a battle's outcome
- Comparing the manga to the anime, as we do when we wrap up an arc
- 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, and unspool what we all love so much about Goku, the Dragon Ball franchise, the Dragon Ball anime, Dragon Ball manga, and more.
https://www.facebook.com/FinalForumPodcast
https://twitter.com/finalforumpod
Tuesday Nov 21, 2023
Tuesday Nov 21, 2023
What kind of sense does it make for a being with three eyes to be a "human"?
Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball by breaking down episodes 96, 97 ,98, 99 and 100, "Tail's Tale," "Final Match: Goku vs. Tien," "Victory's Edge," "Tien's Insurrection," and "The Spirit Cannon." We continue discussing the 22nd Budokai Tenkaichi, and delve into the topic of Tien and his third eye.
In this episode:
- Jelli and Bekinney split up. That will end well.
- We recap the episodes and discuss our favorite moments
- Some notes on Toriyama's claims of making it all up as he goes along
- Parallels in the fighting to Daoist concepts about levels of refinement and control
- Breaking down the Taiyo Ken, or Solar Flare, and its relationship to ying and yang energy
- Where the volley ball attack came from, and a brief note about shojo manga being essentially created by the manga Attack No. 1
- Breaking down the Shiyo-ken or Four Supernatural Fists Technique
- How Shiyo-ken ties Tien to Hindu deities such as Ganesh
- Breaking down Tien, Tien Shinhan, Tenshinhan, Ten, and which is the "correct" pronunciation
- Tien's ties to the Qing Dynasty
- Tien's all-important tenme, or third-eye and its metaphysical importance
- How a tenme is inspired by humanity's pineal gland
- A brief note on the movie From Beyond, which features the pineal gland as a plot point
- How Daoists believe it is possible to utilize your pineal gland and open a third eye
- A note about Tien and his retroactive explanation of being an alien from the Mistume-jin (three-eyed people)
- Toriyama's possible inspiration from Osamu Tezuka's manga, The Three-Eyed One, and Journey to the West, and the character Erlangshen
- Comparisons between Erlangshen and Tien Shinhan including uses of a third eye, fighting a monkey child, being able to defeat Sun Wukong (Goku), and more
- 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, 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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https://twitter.com/finalforumpod