Final Forum: A Dragon Ball Podcast

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.

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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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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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Have you ever wondered why Goku can sometimes punch someone and it blows up a mountain nearby and other times blast someone with a full power Kamehameha and it barely ruffles anyone's hair?

Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 96 through 101: "Explosion of Anger," "Namek's Destruction?" "A Final Attack," "Approaching Destruction," Gohan Returns," and "The Last Wish." As we continue on into the Frieza Saga, we focus on Goku and Frieza's battle and talk about their ability to control their ki.

In this episode:

Jelli and Bekinney are face-to-face with....something new

A slight step back up for the episodes, because despite the pacing still being slow, the plot has things happening

Toriyama's Dragon World as spiritual, rather than religious

Ki as a metaphysical energy

Metaphysics. What is it? Why is it important? What is the difference between a spacetime relativist and a spacetime absolutist?

The difference between energy, ki, and power

Ki as a Daoist idea and the concept of the infinite, both outside ourselves and within

The connotations of Ki

How ki refinement can change one's aura

How the ideas of ki control are built from Dragon Ball's foundations, and how this is important to understand for everything moving forward

Goku's ability to control his ki vs Frieza's inability and how their external struggle is a manifestation of their own internal battles

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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Note: The audio is less than ideal for Jelli during the opening 3 minutes, but improves drastically during the topic-of-discussion.

It's one of anime's most iconic moments, but did you know it has its basis in Buddho-Daoist traditions and the yin-yang cycle of energy? Let's talk about SUPER SAIYANS in today's episode!

Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 91 through 95: "Embodiment of Fire," "Trump Card," "Keep the Chance Alive!" "Power of the Spirit," and "Transformed at Last." As we continue on into the Frieza Saga, we focus on Goku's transformation into a Super Saiyan and the importance of the moment.

In this episode:

Jelli and Bekinney CAN escape...but SHOULD they?

A slight step down for episodes, as the pacing really hurts some of what's happening here

Focusing this discussion on Goku and Vegeta for reasons that will become clear

Dragon Ball as a story about growth, even if that growth is incremental

Why Dragon Ball's spectacle is not empty and how having something underneath spectacle makes the fireworks all the more satisfying

The key conflict of the Frieza Arc

A narrow mind vs an open mind

How Goku brings these two ideas together and how that helps him transform

Goku's philosophy of pushing himself to his limits and beyond and how Frieza's ruthlessness gives Goku no other choice but to transform

A discussion of yin and yang and the taijitu

How older Daoist texts refer not to black and white, but to red and blue

Blue and red make...gold?

Sudden enlightenment in Buddhism, satori, and how that influences the Super Saiyan transformation

Attempting to rank the three biggest/most memorable Super Saiyan transformations against one another

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

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

discord.gg/KGGeyt2jWD

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

https://www.instagram.com/finalforumpod/