Goku's attitude of constant positivity, working hard to get what you want, and never letting anything get him down no matter how large the obstacle, was something I had never really seen before. Here was Freeza, this character that had been built up as the ultimate badass. Whom nobody had defeated; whom nobody had even seen the full potential of. And Goku wasn't afraid despite that. He didn't know if he would win but that didn't scare him. It excited him. It was a test he was giving himself for the only sake of self-improvement. Which was so important to him, that he was willing to put his life on the line. That was such a unique perspective that I had never been exposed to and it really changed the way I see the world, my problems, and myself. Goku taught me not to be a sissy.

That of course, was part of a larger perspective that I have grown to really adore and adopt in some ways. Goku's ambition is, as I have come to learn, very entrenched in the Japanese culture. The reason I had never seen it is because it doesn't seem to be as much of a valued character trait in the modern Western world. Which I find to be a shame. As I watched the show, I became completely wrapped up the wacky and fun Dragon Ball World. But there was so much I didn't understand. Why does Tien have three eyes? Why are there dots on Krillin's head? Just what the heck is wrong with Vegeta anyway? So I turned to the Internet. I found some great communities online with answers to my questions and more questions I had never thought of. I found out about the third eye meditation imagery and about implications of a character having three eyes that were lost on me. I learned about the Shaolin practice with the incense burns on the forehead, like Krillin. And I learned about the Japanese value of pride, hard work, and dedication. Because so much of Dragon Ball is intrinsically Japanese and Asian, by learning more about this silly story, I learned about another culture. I have also learned a little bit of the Japanese language, Japanese folklore, and a world view that I would have never known without Dragon Ball.

Since finishing the entire animated series, and revisiting it a few times in various forms, I have developed a wide array of interests that have shaped the person I am today. I am very interested in animation now, and I know the entire process from beginning to end. I am interested in international trade as I learned more about the process of bringing the show over to the United States and dubbing it in English. I am interested in martial arts and meditation now. I discovered podcasting by listening to the Daizenshuu EX podcast which lead me to listen to other podcasts. A collection that now include World News and Economics, of which I had an interest in as I learned about the production of Dragon Ball. I grew closer to my best friend as we shared Dragon Ball together for the first time and we still keep in touch today.

Dragon Ball has really, really changed my life. If I could go back, I would do it all over. I am interested in things I would have never discovered if it weren't for this goofy childrens cartoon. I am proud to be a Dragon Ball fan. And I look forward to sharing it with my own children one day.

That's a lot of traditional East Asian martial arts. Did you find any similarities between DBZ and your martial arts training? I'd love to hear more about that. Did it ever serve as inspiration to push yourself harder?

These are the types of stories I'm most interested in, personally, because I followed a similar path. Thanks!

But back to DBZ, Goku faces such a unique struggle, where most of the characters fight an aspect of their personality, a conscious phenomenon, Goku must fight a subconscious conflict, as you said, his saiyan primal self. It would be like fighting the reptilian brain to a human which includes such important features as the brain stem and the most basic physiological understandings. It's the part of us that allows us to know how to feed as newborns and the part that tells us we need to sleep.

I agree, it's wonderful that Dragonball could inspire so many people to take the martial arts seriously. I live in Vegas currently and let me tell you, the MMA scene isn't what I would consider serious martial arts training. But Dragonball brings it out of people! I think it's the dream that one day, we will attain that level

Speaking of philosophy, I would like to pose the following question:

Many cultures throughout history were cultures strictly of martial combat: The Shaolin, Ninja, Spartans, Illyrians, and Countless Others. Had those societies become the dominant empires of their time (though true warrior cultures generally had no will to conquer), where would evolution have taken us? Had we evolved to fight rather than debate, would we be at the level of the warriors we see in Dragonball? And to what extent? Where would our power levels be and how close to the energy waves in the series would we be?

I also find Goku to be a far more complicated individual then he appears at first glance. He essentially has two personalities. One, his Saiyan primal self, that is the source of his great power. And two, his human raised self, obtained when he hit his head on a rock. He actually killed his adoptive father unknowingly, while transformed into a primal great ape. He savagely crushed his own dad, then went on living the next decade or so of his life completely unaware. Fascinating, and it opens up some interesting philosophical questions.

Glad to hear that Dragon Ball inspired you to become more serious with the martial arts. The more I work on this project, the more I find people like you (and I), and from across the world who received the same inspiration.

It's also what took me from being a hobby martial artist to a serious practitioner. Not because I wanted to shoot energy beams out of my hand (though we all do!) but because it showed me the importance of being physically and mentally prepared for all tasks.