Final Forum: A Dragon Ball Podcast

What happens when the most evil man alive is revealed to just have Daddy issues? No, this episode isn't about Donald Trump; we're talking about Frieza and the revelations that he's a nepo-baby.

Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 118 through 123:  "Frieza' Counterattack," "The Mysterious Youth," "Another Super Saiyan?" "Welcome Back Goku," "Mystery Revealed, and "Goku's Special Technique." As we begin the Androids Saga. We discuss nepotism's history in Japan and get into cybernetic enhancements, such as they are in 2026.

In this episode:

Jelli and Bekinney are ...back?

A very good-looking batch of episodes

Bulma's underrated look

Gohan's tutor and the meaning behind his name

King Cold and what he represents

Nepotism's history in Japan, with the imperial lineage tracing its way back 2600 years, lines of patriarchal succession in the Edo Period, and the continued heritage of "political families" in Japan even in the post-war era

Toriyama's potential social commentary, but also his potential inspiration points such as Star Wars, the Six Million Dollar Man, and the kaiju film Gorgo

Mecha-Frieza's possible design inspirations from DC's Cyborg and Marvel's Deathlok

How this trope has influenced other storytellers moving forward, including, possibly, Star Wars

A brief history of mecha and cyborgs in kaiju cinema including Gigan, Mechagodzilla, and Zone Fighter

A discussion of cybernetic appendages and their use in the modern world

A reminder that current-day cyborg technology is not as cool as it seems in fiction

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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What do true crime stories about pearls whose tale consists of hired murder, money laundering, and Osama Bin Laden have to do with Dragon Ball? You have to listen to this one to find out.

Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 112 through 117:  "Call for Restoration," "Suicidal Course," "Extreme Measures," "The World Awakens," "Brief Chance for Victory," and "Krillin's Proposal." As we finish The Garlic Jr Arc. We discuss humanity's fascination with giant pearls, discuss the use of mist and fog in legends and folklore and wax poetic about cryptids and mythology and what it means to believe in such things.

In this episode:

Jelli and Bekinney are going to force their way back

We...liked these episodes

We compare Garlic Jr to that lovable villain of the Simpsons franchise, Sideshow Bob

Mermaid Tears, aka beach glass

The Pearl of Lao Tzu, aka the Pearl of Muhammed aka the Pearl of Laozi

A tale of death, murder, court trials, Ripley's Belive It or Not, and overvalued gems

The Pearl of Puerto

The use of mist and fog in storytelling including Irish feth fiada, a mist that ensures elvish supernatural beings known as Tuatha de Danann remain invisible to humans; Dutch Witte Wieven, mysterious figures of wise women; and the Norse Niflheim, which translates as World of Mist

Japanese yokai including enenra, azuki abba, and yuki onna

Stories of Lake Mashu, in Hokkaido

Discussing the Terragen Mists of the Marvel universe and how important it is to the Inhumans and mutants/X-Men

Stephen King stories including Wizard and Glass (and The Dark Tower), The Mist, Dr. Sleep and IT

Bigfoot, for some reason, and we talk about Harry and the Hendersons, Sasquatch Sunset, the Asylum's Bigfoot featuring Alice Cooper

Mermaids and we talk about gillmen and The Shape of Water and The Cabin in the Woods, the Polish movie The Lure, the film Blue My Mind and of course the Tom Hanks-Daryl Hanna film Splash

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.

https://www.facebook.com/FinalForumPodcast

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discord.gg/KGGeyt2jWD

https://www.youtube.com/@finalforum8985

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Spear fishing. Male boob windows. These are Dragon Ball things, right? They are now.

Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 108 through 112: "The Heavens Tremble," "Black Fog of Terror," "Battle in Kami's Lookout," "Fight with Piccolo," and "Call for Restoration." As we delve into a filler saga with The Garlic Jr Arc. We discuss the history of spear fishing and break down the Spice Boys who are a reference to what you think they are.

In this episode:

Jelli and Bekinney are trying to get back home

We...liked these episodes

The Spice Boys. Yes, they are referencing the Spice Girls

Groups that owe their success to the Spice Girls such as No Doubt, Britney Spears, All Saints, B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, Girl Thing, Girls@Play, Girls Aloud and more

The Four Demonic Monarchs...or the Four Heavenly Kings

Equating each Spice Boy to a Heavenly King

How the manga staff picked up Toriyama's tendencies again

A note about our Bansho Fan filler episode 

Notes about Maron and her design as it potentially appears prior to this in Savings Soldier Cashman, a Toriyama manga that appeared in V Jump.

Spearfishing, its history and how advances have led to regulation but also modern diving technology in general

Math!

We talk about Klein bottles, four dimensional space, and potential real-world applications for studying mathematically esoteric concepts

The ab window as the male equivalent of a boob window

We manage a reference to Evil Dead and Army of Darkness

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.

https://www.facebook.com/FinalForumPodcast

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It's the end of Frieza, forever, for real, with NO chance of him retur...he returns before the arc is even over? What? Anyway, how do we feel about the Frieza Arc having reached its conclusion?

Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball by jumping into comparing the Dragon Ball anime to the Dragon Ball manga. We finish discussing Frieza arc, and talk about pacing and intended endings. We also discuss six episodes of the anime, episodes 102-107, "Duel on a Vanishing Planet," "Pathos of Frieza," "Frieza Defeated!!" "Mighty Blast of Rage," "Namek's Explosion...Goku's End?" and "Goku's Alive!!"

In this episode:

Jelli and Bekinney prepare to return to their own universe

We recap the story 

We discuss whether the end of the Frieza Saga was the intended ending of Dragon Ball

Animation difficulties, both with continuity and overall quality

Toriyama's workload at this time

A brief note on reading burning leaves to tell the future

Wrapping up the arc with grades and comparing the manga to the anime

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://bsky.app/profile/finalforumpod.bsky.social

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The Yellow Robed Demon King? Who is that? Does he remind us of Goku Black? Or Baby from Dragon Ball GT? OR Captain Ginyu? What makes the 1986 adaptation of Journey to the West so endearing?

In this episode, Jelli and Bekinney take another look at 1986 Chinese television event, Journey to the West. It began as part of our October viewing where we take a break from breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon and delve into times our franchise's creators have "put on a costume" and worked on other shows and movies. Now, it's extending into BONUS ROUNDS, where we'll occasionally look back at the show and see what else we can discuss.

 

In this episode:

Catch-up time! Do we have any further news about Dragon Ball Age 1000 or the return of Dragon Ball Super? What plans do we have for the our show right now? Join us to find out!

We discuss YOUR results from the poll YOU voted in!

We discuss why we chose to look at Journey to the West

The reception of the show and its legacy

Plans to continue breaking down the show in the future

...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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