The Dao of Dragon Ball Blog

Gokuism – The Church of Goku

gokuism church of gokuDear friend, have you accepted Goku as your personal lord and savior? If not, then please listen to my Good News! The Church of Goku can help you increase your power level to Over 9,000 and follow in the sacred footsteps of lord Goku by training with King Kai, hallowed be thy name.

That’s right, there is now a Dragon Ball religion. It is called Gokuism, also known as The Church of Goku.

Gokuism is the belief that the principles of Dragon Ball provide a moral compass for one’s life, and that Goku is an ideal role model and moralistic person. By some definitions, it implies that Goku provides personal, global, and universal salvation, and that his death and resurrections were for our sake.

With so many religions already existing, why create this one based on Dragon Ball?

In today’s blog post you’ll learn where Gokuism came from, what its practitioners believe, and explore some thought provoking questions about this new faith.
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Spirit Possession in Dragon Ball

Majin Vegeta Face Majin Symbol DBZWould you be willing to trade your soul to achieve worldly desires, or in exchange for more power? What about allowing your body to be controlled by God, or a demon?

In Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama incorporates spirit possession as a way to propel character development and plot.

This article explores how Toriyama was inspired by ancient belief systems and spirit possession traditions.
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Dragon Ball’s Bloody Pond of Hell

Welcome to the "Bloody Pond" from DBZ episode 13

Welcome to the "Bloody Pond" from DBZ's Hell

Have you been to the Bloody Pond of Hell?  It’s a great place to visit… They have row boats.

Many fans of Dragon Ball may be aware of the Bloody Pond in Dragon Ball’s Hell, but how many of them know that you can actually visit it?

It turns out that there is a real Bloody Pond in a city of Japan, and that it was the most likely source for Dragon Ball’s version.

This Bloody Pond also has an interesting part to play in traditional Japanese culture and society.

What is the Bloody Pond and why does this matter in Dragon Ball?  And where exactly did Toriyama receive the inspiration for his Bloody Pond?

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