Many of the characters seen in Dragon Ball were inspired by pop or traditional culture. It’s well known that Goku was inspired by the Monkey King from Journey to the West, as well as martial arts actor Jackie Chan. Likewise, there are characters throughout the series who were visibly inspired by the Terminator and Aliens films.

But not all of the characters’ points of origin are as easy to see.

In this article I will reveal for the first time the original inspiration for Kame Sennin.

You’ll learn who Kume Sennin is, hear his legend, and see how his transformation into a Japanese pop cultural figure was later emulated in cinema and then once again by Toriyama in Dragon Ball.

You’ll also learn why this legend is so essential to the Dragon Ball story, and how it’s so well integrated that you may never have realized it.

Who is Kume Sennin?

Who is Kume Sennin and how is he related to Kame Sennin?

First let me briefly describe the Japanese term, “Sennin.”

Sennin (仙人, or せんにん) translates as “Mountain Man,” but generally refers to hermits, sages, or immortals who live alone in the wilderness. The term comes directly from Chinese Daoism, where the equivalent Xianren (仙人) originates.

Daoists were known for leaving society behind, with all its illusions and false concepts, and turning to nature in order to unlock supernormal powers, become one with the Dao and attain immortality. They usually lived alone or at most with a few disciples.

Since they lived on mountains, rivers, and islands, “Xianren” was coined to describe these people. The Japanese inherited the Daoist and Buddhist concepts from China, and transliterated the term as “Sennin.”

Kume Sennin (久米仙人) was one of these Daoists who chose to live in the wilderness and cultivate his heart.

From the results of his cultivation he gained the ability to fly on a magic cloud, just like Kame Sennin’s Kinto’un in Dragon Ball, known in the American dub as the Flying Nimbus.

In traditional Chinese culture, people that could fly through the air, such as Buddhist or Daoist deities or powerful cultivators, were illustrated as having clouds underneath their feet. It was believed these people could travel extremely quickly along the skies or mists, or teleport through space and time.

Sun Wukong’s magic cloud in Journey to the West (late 16^th century) is based on these beliefs, and therefore so is Goku’s Kinto’un in Dragon Ball.

Everybody attributes Goku’s magic cloud to Sun Wukong. But it actually goes farther back than that. Much farther back.

As you may remember, Goku was not the first to own the Kinto’un.

Kume Sennin’s Legend

Kume Sennin’s legend is recounted in classical works, such as Book 11:24 of Konjaku Monogotari (今昔物語集) a 12^th century collection of Buddhist Parables, and Essay 8 of Tsuregurekusa (徒然草), a collection of thoughts on life by the Buddhist monk Yoshida Kenko (1283 – 1352).

The legend says that Kume was traveling on his cloud when he suddenly noticed a young woman near a river washing her clothes. He curiously watched the woman and unexpectedly caught a glimpse of her white leg under her raised kimono.

Kume’s mind became filled with desire and he immediately lost the ability to fly. Heavy with lustful thoughts, Kume fell to the earth and crashed in front of the lady!

Smitten, Kume chose to marry the maiden. They made love for many years and started a family. Yet one day Kume realized the error of his ways, repented and set off to achieve the ultimate goal of immortality all over again.

According to the legend, Kume worked hard to redeem himself, regained his powers, and built (or inspired the building of) Kumedera Temple (久米寺)in Kashiara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. This temple dates back to the time of Prince Shotoku Taishi (574 – 622 AD) and still exists today.  This tells us that the Kume legend goes back at least 1,400 years.

Kume’s legend is well known in Japan, and his story has been considered part of pop culture for centuries, just like Journey to the West, the primary inspiration for Dragon Ball.

The Perverted Sennin’s

Kume Sennin was not the first Sennin to fall prey to temptations of the flesh. The lesson of his story was most likely inherited from China, along with other Buddho-Daoist beliefs.

Certain types of Sennin in China also had the dubious reputation of being lustful because of their infamously detailed sexual practices involving “Jade Girls.” The Sennin’s believed that through ritual sex acts these young virgins could help transform their “vital essence” into immortality elixirs.

Since this culture and concept of ‘perverted Sennin’ already existed, and because Kume’s legend existed for so long and was so popular in society, I surmise that his tale, along with similar stories, became synonymous with a certain type of Sennin in general. A type that is, shall we say, weak to women.

That means alongside the classical “8 Daoist Immortals” that were found in homes and worshipped with deep respect, there was also this type of Sennin, a lecherous old man who was always looking for his next young lady.

In other words, even if they had special magic powers and could perform amazing feats, this type of Sennin became a joke.

Kume Sennin’s legend was an iconic example, and it took root in Japanese folklore.

Thus these Sennin became common, formulaic characters.

The Cinema Influences Toriyama

By now you may be starting to see where this is headed in relation to Kame Sennin, but it gets even more interesting.

When Akira Toriyama decided to create Dragon Ball, did he receive all his inspiration for Kame Sennin’s character from this classic legend, or was there something else that played a role?

Consider for a moment that Toriyama was born in 1955 and was a huge fan of cinema, both domestic and abroad.

In 1963 a major cinematic feature was released in Japan called Dai Tozoku (大盗賊, The Great Bandit) known internationally as Samurai Pirate and in America as The Lost World of Sinbad.

Dai Tozoku was developed by Toho Co., Ltd., the makers of Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira) and other giant monster movies, Akira Kurosawa samurai films, and many Tokusatsu superhero films; All of which Toriyama has cited as inspirations for Dragon Ball. Toriyama grew up watching Toho’s movies, and they greatly affected his later work.

This particular action adventure film stars Samurai film legend Toshiro Mifune as Sukeza, a brave man who fights to regain his lost treasure from pirates and defeat a corrupt chancellor trying to overthrow the king. Along the way he meets many companions, including bandits, a princess, and a nameless Sennin.

This Sennin looks and acts shockingly similar to Kame Sennin in Dragon Ball. He’s an old Japanese man with no hair, a classic white beard and mustache, dressed in traditional Chinese hermit clothing and carrying a staff. The stereotypical Sennin outfit, actually. He also smokes from a long pipe and is missing several teeth.

When Sukeza encounters him for the first time, it’s on a beach, with the Sennin sitting in front of a giant clam shell. Sukeza says, “Who the hell are you?” The Sennin replies, “My ancestor was Kume Sennin! Haven’t you heard of him?!” Sukeza says, “Oh, it’s the man who fell to earth from the clouds when he saw a nude woman, isn’t it?” The Sennin smiles slightly and says, “That’s right. That’s the weakness that has run in my family for generations.”

The Sennin stands up to follow Sukeza, and as he crosses a bridge he sees a beautiful woman washing her clothes in a nearby river, copying the story of Kume Sennin. The camera zooms in on the woman’s cleavage and then cuts back to the widened eyes of the Sennin (just like a scene out of Dragon Ball). He becomes stiff as a board, facing the woman at a sharp 45 degree angle, as if his whole body were erect.

The Sennin suddenly screams as he realizes he’s fallen into the trap of lust. Sukeza runs back to help him, but the Sennin regains his composure and says, “Hey, don’t look at me with such contempt. It’s the blood of my ancestor at work.”

He tells Sukeza, “There are different classes of Sennin, you know. When my ancestor fell from the clouds tempted by a woman, he was demoted from the Heaven Sennin class to the Earth Sennin class. Since then, the Sennin of Kume family have devoted our lives to being promoted back to the original Heaven class.” He then sits down and crosses his legs in the full lotus meditation position. “To make up for the mistake I’ve just made, I need to train for three days.”

Like other Sennin’s, this Sennin has mighty powers. He has the ability to transform into a fly or even into other people, just like how Oolong and Puar can transform in Dragon Ball. Once, while transformed as a fly, he purposefully landed on top of a woman’s breasts in order to do some “research.” Keep that point in mind as we continue.

And to make the comparison to Dragon Ball even stronger, the Sennin fights against an evil old witch named Baba.

That’s right, Baba the Witch. She’s a fortune teller who performs magic and can fly, just like Kame Sennin’s older sister, Fortuneteller Baba (占いババ, Urunai Baba), the witch in Dragon Ball. Baba the Witch in Dai Tozoku looks somewhat similar to and even talks like Fortuneteller Baba. In Dragon Ball she’s made more comedic by wearing a stereotypical witches hat, but otherwise these two Baba the Witch characters are strikingly similar.

There are a lot of other similarities between Dragon Ball and Dai Tozoku, such as bandits, Sun Wukong’s giant red staff, and more, but that will have to wait for another post.

Suffice to say it’s my belief that Toriyama must have seen this movie as a child and was heavily influenced by it.

Toriyama had always been into comics, fantasy, animation, giant monster movies and action adventure films. He grew up on these films and soaked up their influences like a sponge. Dai Tozoku was a blockbuster with well known stars and cutting edge special effects. Since he was 11 years old at the time, it seems very likely that he would have seen this movie and then later used it as inspiration in his comics.

In this case, to create Kame Sennin.

How Was Kame Sennin Created?

This is conjecture, but I can very easily imagine the following scenario when Toriyama was creating Kame Sennin.

Toriyama had read Journey to the West and wanted to create a similar story, as advised by his first editor, Kazuhiko Torishima. He had already turned Sun Wukong into Son Goku and now he needed a “master” character like Subodhi, who taught Sun Wukong the sacred arts, in order to teach Son Goku the higher level martial arts.

Just like Subodhi, he had to be a hermit who possessed mystical Buddho-Daoist powers. But because Toriyama is such a comedic fellow, he didn’t want him to be exactly like Subodhi, as that would be too boring. Subodhi was rather strict and unkind.

So instead he based him on Kume Sennin, the well known pop culture figure. By doing so, Toriyama would be free to make all the funny, perverted jokes that he loves so much.

But a direct clone of Kume would be boring as well, as he’d have to stick too close to the already established model. So he changed one letter and turned Kume to Kame.

The name made perfect sense. Daoist Sennin’s always had some type of unique characteristic or single animal familiar anyway, such as a fish, ox, toad, donkey or dragon, so basing him on turtle’s (亀, Kame) was a nice coincidence. Turtle’s also have great significance in East Asian culture, so it would serve as a rich source of ideas and symbols. For example, long life and immortality, which is what Kame Sennin exemplifies.

Like many of Toriyama’s creations, Kame Sennin fit within traditional culture while still being outlandish and funny.

It was also easier for his young audience to understand, since they could relate Kame Sennin with Kume Sennin.

Who is Kame Sennin?

Let’s take a moment to look at Kame Sennin (亀仙人, the Turtle Hermit), otherwise known as Muten Roshi (武天老師, or Master Roshi) and see how he compares to Kume Sennin.

As we all know, Kame Sennin is the old perverted master of martial arts that lives on Kame Island in the Kame House. Like other Sennin’s, he lives alone except for his acquaintance, Turtle (海亀, Umigame), a slow yet honest talking sea turtle that comedically represents his Sennin familiar.

Kame Sennin is very much a cross cultural creation. He teaches the boys martial arts in a Zen Buddhist style of self comprehension amidst physical suffering. Meanwhile, he dresses like a Daoist Taiji master when fighting or teaching. He knows Taiji Chuan and Chinese boxing styles, and helps strengthen his disciples’ ability to use Ki (Qi). On top of that, he emulates Jackie Chan as Jackie Chun, a traditional Chinese martial arts film star. He’s a mix of Buddhist, Daoist, Chinese and Japanese.

Kame Sennin is an immortal. It’s never explained exactly how he became immortal, but he is over 300 years old by the time Goku meets him as a child, and he never ages during the progression of the story.

Visually, like Kume Sennin, Kame Sennin is a bald man with a classic white beard and mustache, and carries a classic Daoist style Chinese staff. Like the Sennin from Dai Tozoku, he occasionally smokes from a long pipe and is missing several teeth.

Kame Sennin sometimes wears traditional Chinese clothing, but the first time he’s introduced he’s humorously wearing a modern tropical Islands shirt, shorts, flip flop sandals and a pair of sunglasses. Not the typical Sennin outfit you would expect a great master to be wearing!

This is Toriyama’s comedic style at work. A fusion of cultures across different time periods.

Let’s now turn our attention to the bigger links between the two.

Kame Sennin’s Magic Cloud

Just like Kume Sennin, Kame Sennin has a magic cloud, which he calls the Kinto’un (筋斗雲), and which shares similar Kanji to the one in Journey to the West, where it’s called the “Somersault Cloud.”

Kame Sennin is unable to ride the cloud, because like his predecessor Kume Sennin, his thoughts are impure and heavy, licentious and perverted.

In chapter 4 of the manga , Kame Sennin decides to thank Goku and Bulma for saving Turtle’s life (in the previous chapter), by giving Goku a gift.

He says, “COME TO ME, IMMORTAL PHOENIX!!!”

But nothing comes.

Turtle says, “Umm… the immortal phoenix died of food poisoning.”

Kame Sennin says, “Really?! Oh yeah, now that you mention it…”

Bulma asks, “It died even though it’s immortal…?”

Kame Sennin continues, “Hmmm… I was planning on summoning the immortal phoenix and granting you eternal life… Alright! Instead of that I’ll give you this…!”

“COME TO ME!!! KINTO’UN!!!”

Off in the distance a puffy cloud appears in the sky and with super speed zips toward the group. It stops on a dime in front of them.

Goku asks, “How do I eat it?” Kame Sennin responds, “Don’t eat my treasured cloud!!!”

Bulma says, “But why do YOU have this cloud? It has nothing to do with turtles…” He says, “It’s unbecoming of children to pay attention to such details…”

He tells Goku that it can be used to fly in the sky, but that “Only those with a pure heart can ride on Kinto’un!”

Kame Sennin tries to show him how to do it, jumping with both feet above the cloud. But he falls right through and hits the sand below!

“ARRRRGGGGH, m-my back!!!” Turtle asks, “A-are you alright? “Wh-what happened…?” Bulma points and laughs. Kame Sennin says, “Mumu… th-that’s strange…”

Goku jumps on top and becomes happy. “Yaaaay, I can ride it, I can ride it!!!” He then zooms around on the cloud at breakneck speeds, performing loop-de-loops in the air as if he already had years of experience.

Since Kame Sennin can’t ride the cloud anyway, he offers it to Goku as a gift. But then Bulma asks for a gift too.

Kame Sennin says, “Unfortunately there is only one Kinto’un. But I can give you something else in its place…….. As long as… y… you… SHOW ME YOUR PANTIES FIRST!!”

Turtle screams at him, “HOW CAN A SENNIN LIKE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!”

He responds, “WH-WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?! Even Sennin’s want to see some panties once in a while!!!”

Turtle says, “Now I know why you couldn’t ride Kinto’un…” Kame Sennin glares at him, “SILENCE!!”

Bulma is shy, but decides to lift up her dress and show her panties in exchange for another great gift. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t aware that Goku had innocently taken the panties off of her while she slept, just out of curiosity to see if she had boy parts like he does.

That means Kame Sennin and Turtle got an eyeful of the goods!

As a result, blood shoots out of Kame Sennin’s nose! Why? In manga this signifies that a man has an erection. The blood pressure becomes so high that it literally shoots out of their nose! It’s the same idea as the Sennin in Dai Tozoku standing erect at a 45 degree angle, but much more pronounced and visual.

In exchange, Bulma requests his Dragon Ball, the Three Star ball.

Kame Sennin gives it to her and then thinks to himself, “I should’ve brought my camera…”

He hops on to Turtle and rides back to his Island. He says to Turtle. “Wow, I still can’t believe what I saw today… I’m gonna live a long life!”

It’s as if Kame Sennin is implying his life is going to be extended because he saw Bulma’s naked body. Toriyama is basically presenting a child-like version of what the Daoist Sennin in China sought after, with their virgin “Jade Girls.” That is, the immortal elixir created by invigoration of their own “vital essence.”

Since the source of Kame Sennin’s immortality is never explained, perhaps this is how he became immortal in the first place!

And perhaps that is why he’s always looking for more pretty girls.

A Pure Heart and a Dirty Heart

Why was Goku able to ride the Kinto’un, while Kame Sennin was not?

Goku was pure hearted and simple minded, so the cloud supported him.

The ultimate goal of Daoism is to return to your original, true self. To return to the simple, pure hearted nature that we have as children, what Daoists refer to as, “The Uncarved Block.” Goku was already at this state, so he was able to ride the cloud.

Kame Sennin obviously no longer met that standard.

Consider the following question. Why would Kame Sennin have a flying cloud that he can’t ride?

To answer that, we also have to ask, how did Kame Sennin receive the Kinto’un in the first place?

It’s not explicitly shown, but it’s mentioned he got it from Karin, the Senbyō (仙猫, Hermit Cat or Immortal Cat) that lives in Karin Tower, the midway point between earth and Kami’s Lookout. Note that Senbyō and Sennin share the same first character, both referring to their hermit like nature.

Kame Sennin climbed up the impossibly tall Karin Tower, doing something that few people were ever strong enough to do. He also defeated Karin in combat and acquired the Super Holy Water. We are then led to believe that Karin gave it to him as a reward.

Why is this likely? Because in the original Dragon Ball series we see that Goku receives his own Kinto’un from Karin after performing the same feats. He had to replace the one that Kame Sennin gave him because it was killed by Piccolo Daimao’s child, Tambourine, a member of the Mazoku (Demon Clan).

Karin gave the Kinto’un to Goku because of his purity of heart and great inner qualities. That is the requirement for receiving it and also riding it.

Karin’s primary responsibility is to prevent the unworthy from going higher up and meeting Kami. The Kinto’un is unable to take a person higher than Karin’s Tower. To go higher, you need the Nyoibo staff that connects the top of Karin Tower to the bottom of Kami’s Lookout. But to even get the Kinto’un you first have to prove to Karin that you are pure of heart.

How did Kame Sennin ever get it? As a young man while training under Master Mutaito (alongside Tsuru Sennin (Crane Hermit)) he was already chasing after women and peeking at them through the bushes. Why would Karin give it to him if he was impure and couldn’t ride it?

The most likely reason is that at some point in his long life Kame Sennin climbed the tower, cultivated a pure heart and received the cloud from Karin. Karin tells Goku that it took Kame Sennin 3 whole years to defeat him. It took that much time to purify his heart and calm his mind.

Then later in his life he became licentious all over again, falling to the earth just like Kume Sennin!

Makes sense when you consider the inspiration for his character, doesn’t it? He cultivated well, received the blessings, then became lustful and lost his powers.

We never once get to see Kame Sennin ride the cloud that he rightfully earned.

But unlike Kume Sennin, Kame Sennin did not renew his cultivation. He stayed on his Island, living in comfort, watching the exercise girls on TV and reading pornographic magazines.

As a lonely old man unable to let go of his attachments, he continued to chase after every pretty girl he could find, for the rest of his life.

Forever alone.

Pervy Sage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MswXUj1UoCc

Kume Sennin’s story represents a transition point between showing immortals in a respectful way and showing immortals in a lustful and comical way. I surmise that over time, perhaps centuries, this then created a formulaic concept of Daoist Sennin’s being dirty old men who live in the wilderness and chase after pretty girls.

Meanwhile, Japan had a long history of slightly risqué art, depicting men peeking at women from a distance, or seeing underneath their skirts.

Toriyama then took these two humorous concepts to the extreme (as he tends to do) and made Kame Sennin, a blatantly lecherous immortal.

Kame Sennin is now such an iconic character that I would argue he is one of the most well known manga and anime characters of all time. Definitely not the most popular, but certainly well known. He is the martial arts master of Son Goku, after all.

Kame Sennin represents all the perverted, dirty old men of the world who also happen to be martial arts masters!

Of course there may not be many of those in real life, but just as Kume Sennin was iconic enough to inspire the creation of Kame Sennin, Kame Sennin was iconic enough to inspire the creation of Gama Sennin.

Who is Gama Sennin?

Toriyama’s Dragon Ball directly inspired manga author Masashi Kishimoto to create the Naruto series of Manga, often described as the spiritual successor to Dragon Ball. In Naruto, he created a character just like Kame Sennin, known as Gama Sennin (蝦蟇仙人, The Frog Hermit), also known as Jiraiya. And the titular character Naruto is a lot like Goku.

Toriyama’s influence on Kishimoto was profound, as Kishimoto has even stated that, “Toriyama is like a god to me.”

Kishimito, just like Toriyama, mined traditional Japanese legends for inspiration of his characters, while also having modern influences.

Going back in time to traditional culture, the Gama Sennin in Naruto was directly inspired by a 10^th century Sennin alchemist who learned the secrets of Immortality from a 3 legged toad. Like the Kame Sennin legend, Jiraiya is also the name of another Japanese legend, called Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari (The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya), a man who was a master shape shifting ninja associated with toads. He was one of three master ninja’s, the other two being Tsunade (associated with snails / slugs) and Orochimaru (associated with snakes). Together they made up the Sannin (Three Ninja’s). The giant toads and ninjutsu techniques in Naruto are a representation of his ancient background and Sennin powers.

In the modern sense, Naruto’s Jiraiya is directly inspired by Toriyama’s Kame Sennin, as a dirty old man who chases skirts, gropes women whenever he has the chance, and ogle’s girls from a distance through his telescope. Jiraiya takes Naruto on “research” expeditions, which involve hanging out at brothels, or peeking at women through the bushes, like Kame Sennin did as a young man, and like Kume Sennin’s descendent depicted in Dai Tozoku.

Jiraiya’s licentious ways are so obvious that Naruto gives him the nickname Ero Sennin, translated as “Perverted Hermit,” or the shorter, “Pervy Sage.”

Pervy Sage is now a term all its own, and refers to these types of formulaic characters: The super powerful old man who can kick butt and dispense wisdom, but also has an inherent weakness for the ladies.

These characters, Kame Sennin from Dragon Ball and Gama Sennin from Naruto, are regarded as two of the most iconic pervy sage’s in Japanese pop culture. They define the term.

After reading this article you can now see they had a predecessor in Kume Sennin. And the interplay between the three offers a fascinating look into ancient and modern Japanese culture.

A Popular Legend, Retold

Why was Kume Sennin a popular tale for thousands of years? Because he was a mystical, yet perverted hermit who finds redemption.

Kame Sennin is also a super powerful being who is human yet has relatable flaws. Plus he’s endearingly funny.

Successful in their cultivation or not, both of these perverted Sennin had this weakness of the heart and were relatable to the human condition.

Kume Sennin was an iconic Japanese Sennin figure, even though the majority of Sennin were inherited from the Chinese. And just like Journey to the West, where in Japan it became known as Saiyuki (西遊記) and received Japanese flavor, Kume Sennin was the Japanese representation of Chinese traditional culture and Buddho-Daoist beliefs. A cross cultural Chinese Daoist figure written about by Japanese Buddhist monks. That is to say, Chinese culture with Japanese characteristics.

Kame Sennin represents the same mix.

Let’s trace the path of inspiration. Ancient cultural beliefs in spiritual cultivation via Buddha and Dao led to Kume Sennin and Journey to the West. Then for Toriyama, Journey to the West’s Sun Wukong led to Son Goku, and its’ Subodhi figure led to Kume Sennin, which led to Kame Sennin. This then led Kishimoto to Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, which finally led to Naruto and Gama Sennin.

In all three cases the dirty old man became an iconic figure, and in all three stories the legend became popular among the masses.

The Kume Sennin story is extremely popular. The Kame Sennin story is extremely popular. The Game Sennin story is extremely popular.

Maybe the secret to success is being a dirty old man.

Returning to the Way and Ascending

The Kume Sennin legend tells of a man who achieved great heights, stumbled, and then found the Way again.

His legend shows the dangers of lustfulness, revealing that it will weigh you down in illusion and prevent you from rising to higher levels. It also shows the moral importance of remaining virtuous and returning to your true calling.

Unfortunately Kame Sennin was unable to do this. He fell down and stayed down, basically giving up on his cultivation after attaining immortality. He was undisciplined and succumbed to comfort and pleasure. Routinely failing the test of lust, he stayed fixed at the same level for the rest of his life.

Goku on the other hand, never had this problem. This is why he surpassed his master so quickly. Simply by being a pure hearted little boy, he did what Kame Sennin could not.

In the end of Kume Sennin’s story, he leaves his wife and kids behind. He decides that his own cultivation is more important. Through this action he lives up to the standard of a dedicated cultivator of those times. He cut his ties to the mundane world and let go of his attachments.

As harsh as that may sound, from a traditional cultivation perspective it was the right thing to do for his own salvation. He had to let go of sentimentality for family in order to escape from the cycle of life and death. All attachments had to be eliminated.

Goku, just like Kume Sennin, flies on a magical cloud, has supernormal abilities, and fell into the mundane world as he was essentially pushed into marriage by Chi-Chi.

Yet Goku is ultimately more focused on his own cultivation than he is on his wife and children. He prefers to train and refine his abilities rather than play the role of a family man. He fulfills some of his familial responsibilities, but at his core it’s not what drives him and truly makes him happy.

I honestly think that Goku would be happier living alone as a hermit, maybe with a single disciple, just like each of his martial arts masters. Goku is not concerned with staying around family for sentimental reasons. He doesn’t have that attachment. Like a true Saiyan (a true cultivator), he just wants to train. He understands that this is the purpose of his life.

In fact, this is exactly how Dragon Ball Z ends, with Goku finding his one disciple, Uub, among all the people of the world. He tracks down the reincarnated Majin Buu, unlocks his incredible power, and then flies away with his new student, leaving all of his family and friends behind. He even gives Uub the Kinto’un, and Uub can ride it.

Goku returns to the Way that makes him truly happy. He passes the magic cloud onto the next generation, and the two of them soar off into the distance to begin their training!

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Kame Sennin and Kume Sennin – The Perverted Hermits

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.

The Roots of Gokuism

For many fans, Dragon Ball has always held a special place in their hearts. It’s more than just a show. Some spiritually inclined fans find moral lessons that align with their own perspectives, or they are inspired by Goku’s actions to improve themselves. This can range from hitting the gym to trying to become more honest and pure.

In Western Europe and North America there are believers in Judeo-Christian tenets that feel their beliefs relate to the principles in Dragon Ball. They see Goku’s actions and are inspired to become closer to God. But such inspirations had always been restrained within the understandable confines of Dragon Ball being a fabricated series, not an actual paradigm of salvation. And they were individually personal, not promulgated to others.

In this college essay from 2009, “cmvitolo” wrote, “He was a role model of a father, a great guy, strong and above all, caring. This one character, named Goku, demonstrated this beautiful personality, and his positive attitude and pure heart affected me. … As a follower of Christ, I was further influenced by Goku’s ability to do exactly what Christ had suggested we do: “Love your enemy.””

Bringing it to others via Gokuism, Dragon Ball fans have taken a story and world that they know is fantastical to begin with, and made a belief system out of it.

This is not an official religion endorsed by the Japanese license holders, nor the creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama. It springs from the collective minds of fans.

There does not seem to be a single specific place that Gokuism originated. As a global phenomenon promulgated through the internet, Gokuism could have first appeared anywhere and then gained popularity. Although it has a somewhat larger following in Spain and Mexico.

At the moment, Gokuism seems to have just begun, with only a few sites and established groups existing on the internet. But the comparisons between Goku and Jesus Christ have been around for as long as the series has been popular, which I explore below.

Given more time, what might the future hold? Could Goku become a bigger religious icon or a larger symbol of faith?

Before you write off the possibility, consider for a moment that this exact thing has already occurred with another very well known series.

Gokuism and Jediism

Gokuism appears similar to the Jedi Religion born from Star Wars, known as Jediism, or The Jedi Church

Is Jediism for real? Yes, very much so. According to Wikipedia, Jediism is an actual recognized religion in Canada. And in the 2001 census for England and Wales, there were over 390,127 declared followers. That same year in New Zealand there were 53,000 declared Jedi followers, even eclipsing the amount of Buddhists. There are followers across the world, and you can see the resources below for more information.

Sociologically what I find most interesting is the cross cultural comparison between the two.

Both Gokuism and Jediism are fan based creations aligned with pseudo-religious spirituality and eastern principles.

Jediism was based on a western creation interwoven with eastern Daoist / Zen mysticism and Taiji theories ala the Force. While Gokuism was based off an eastern creation interwoven with Buddho-Daoist legends and American Hollywood influences, and then recently paralleled with Judeo-Christian beliefs of the west.

It’s as if each group of followers is looking outside their own culture for something else and then finding ways to connect it to their already accepted world view.

Numerous books about Star Wars and living the path of the Jedi have been written, where the authors detail the similarities between Jedi philosophy and western belief systems, so as to make the content relatable. Is Dragon Ball the next subject for this treatment?

On the Facebook page titled Evangelical Gokuism, the owner says he created the page “To spread the message of our personal savior Goku, as well as promote my forthcoming book, “Praying to Goku.””

As Dragon Ball is in many ways a similar phenomenon to Star Wars (with films, a global fan base, billion dollar licensing deals, etc.), could Gokuism become the next Jediism? It has the same qualifications, such as worldwide appeal, an in-world belief system, an afterlife, demons, deities, and martial arts based paths of personal development.

Star Wars fans find the Daoist / Zen Buddhist perspective attractive enough to make it their lifestyle, so it seems logical that Dragon Ball fans would as well, since it is based on Journey to the West. In addition, members of both fan bases share similar ‘nerdy’ traits, and it is common to admire both series.

But truth be told, on a larger scale it seems that Gokuism is still years away from reaching the level of the Jedi Church, if at all. That said, Dragon Ball is incredibly popular. Perhaps all Gokuism would need to grow is another televised Dragon Ball series or a successful series of Hollywood films, thus pushing it further into the minds of the populace.

The Beliefs of Gokuism

What are the beliefs of Gokuism?

At the bare minimum, practicing Gokuism implies that you are a huge fan of Goku, as can be seen on this Spanish Facebook page, called “Because he Died for Us and Rose Again to Save Us… WE LOVE YOU GOKU,” which has over 290,000 Likes.

On a more religious level there is unfortunately little material available on the actual beliefs or tenants. At the moment there are no texts or codified materials. There is this site in Spanish that lists the 10 Commandments of Goku, but it appears to be a joke.

From what is available online I gather that Goku is perceived as a super powerful figure who sacrificed his life, was reborn, and fought for the salvation of mankind. Goku is taken as the physical and moral ideal. A role model of innocence and purity who has unfathomable power yet only uses it to help others.

According to one Gokuism Facebook page, it states the following creed. “Do you believe that Goku is the all powerful son of Bardock? Do you believe that Goku has a power level Over 9,000? Do you believe that Goku died, trained with King Kai, and was resurrected? Do you believe that Goku defeated Freeza, and gave Son Gohan the motivation to defeat Cell? Do you believe that you would give Goku your energy if he ever did another Spirit Bomb?”

Elsewhere, this sacrament appears. “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Saiyan Spirit.”

On a Spanish Facebook Gokuism page, it says, “Goku is above all things. Gohan is seated at the right of the father. Through the work of Vegeta he spoke through the prophets.”

Honestly I can’t tell if these are jokes or genuine beliefs. I contacted the owners of several sites to try and get answers to my questions, but did not hear back.

More importantly, what does a follower get if they believe these things? The ability to fire a Kamehameha, fly into the air, teleport, or punch through mountains? So far nobody has promised these abilities to converts, but if the movement became more serious, these temptations would be easy bait to swing in front of the eyes, just like Jedi Force powers.

It’s not that far-fetched, either. Consider that these same promises and belief systems were proselytized during the Boxer Revolution (1898 to 1901) in China, and among the White Lotus sects and secret religious martial arts clans for thousands of years. The result was millions of violent deaths.

In regards to physicality, if I had to conjecture, I would imagine that practitioners of Gokuism should also try and embody Goku’s exercise regimen and dietetic practices, such as avoiding alcohol and consuming healthy, natural foods, while training in the martial arts. This seems positive.

What is the ultimate goal of Gokuism? To simply live a better life in the model of Goku? Or does it encompass entering Heaven and fighting demons and other villains as well? Maybe the more spiritual aspects are perceived as allegory for internal conflicts and achievements within the practitioner.

Gokuism opens up a gigantic can of theological worms, so for my own sake I’ll stop with conjecturing here.

As it happens, Gokuism is just beginning, and the majority of inspiration for its existence seems to have sprung from followers of Christianity.

Son Goku and Jesus Christ

Ever since Dragon Ball has become popular in the mid to late 90’s, comparisons between Son Goku and Superman have often been made. Likewise, comparisons between Son Goku and Jesus Christ. There are reasons why.

Consider that in all three cases, the “only son” was sent from “heaven” down to earth, where he matured and harnessed supernormal or “divine” powers to fight against “great evil” and “save humanity.” The three stories are similar in many ways.

Followers of Gokuism (Gokuists?) often seem to believe in both Goku and Jesus Christ. Theologically speaking, can a person who practices Gokuism also practice another faith simultaneously? I would think that eventually they would have to decide which one is their true personal savior.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcGjbTXIuVM

In the above video, rumored to be from Spain, titled “Ten Reasons Why I Am a Gokuista and Not a Christian,” the creator, EspirituNoTanSanto, states why he believes Goku is superior to Jesus.

For example, Reason 1, “The Number of Times They Saved the World.” According to the video, Jesus saved the world once, against Satan, by removing original sin. Goku on the other hand, saved the world from Pilaf, the Red Ribbon Army, Piccolo, Raditz, Vegeta and Nappa, Freeza, Cell, Majin Buu, and the Evil Dragons.

Reason 2, “The Number of Times Resurrected.” Jesus was only resurrected once, but Goku was resurrected twice.

Reason 3, “Their Skills.” Jesus can heal the blind, raise the dead, remove sin, walk on water, and multiply fish. Goku has the Kamehameha, Kaioken, Taioken, Dragon Fist, Teleport and Genki Dama.

It goes on like that for 7 more slides, concluding in the argument that Goku lived his entire life for other people and would soundly defeat Jesus in a fight. Therefore, he is the “Undisputed Winner.”

Dragon Ball and Parallels to Christianity

To be fair, there are many genuine parallels that can be drawn between Judeo Christian beliefs and the world of Dragon Ball, with Goku in particular.

For example, in regards to the Holy Trinity, Goku is simultaneously the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In one sense, he is the Son of Bardock, the Father of Gohan, and a Spiritual being that resides in both Heaven and Earth. He finishes Bardock’s fight against Freeza, closing the circle of “savior of the people” against “persecutory tyrant.” In a sense, he is like the child that was sent down in order to defeat Satan. He is also made in the same image as Bardock.

In another perspective, Goku is a Father to Gohan and Goten, the youngest and last pure blooded Son of the Saiyan people, and a Spiritual being that can manifest physically in two places at once. For example, after sacrificing his life and going to Heaven, he physically helped Gohan defeat Cell on Earth. Likewise, he rescued Gohan from the death grip of Bojack, appearing in physical form for a split second in order to punch Bojack in the face and free his son. Both acts could be considered the definition of a miracle.

Lastly, in Dragon Ball GT, Goku as an adult is the Father who shrinks down in size and becomes a child (aka the Son), while maintaining his mind and Spiritual powers. He is all three beings at once.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDfsF4zDdR0

Goku experienced many great tests. For example, at the end of the original Dragon Ball series Kami asks Goku to replace him as God and ascend the throne. But Goku refuses, choosing to remain on earth as a poor hermit so that he can continue improving and fighting stronger opponents.

There are also the demonic beings that Goku defeats, such as Broly. In Dragon Ball Z movie 8, Broly said the following. “Me, a monster? No, I am the Devil.” Christian fans of DBZ have grabbed onto this as an argument that Goku is defeating the devil. Similarly, Piccolo and several others also refer to themselves as demons. Goku defeats them all.

In terms of holy powers, in Dragon Ball Z movie 5, Cooler’s Revenge, Goku holds a dead bird in his hand and brings it back to life. And of course there is the ‘laying on of hands’ that Dende performs on others when healing them. Although from my perspective I believe this stems more from Daoist Qigong energy healing found in the eastern martial arts.

In any case, there are many other parallels to be drawn, and perhaps these are the reasons why people believe in the ideal of Goku and follow his way.

Practicing Ones Faith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SBMTHcAwXA

Fantastical or otherwise, in the mind of a believer, Goku represents an ideal that can be followed.

Having considered the emerging presence of Gokuism and its reasons for being, it may be easy to see why Goku is considered a god, or even a manifestation of God Himself. Goku’s ability to save others and defeat evil, while teleporting between dimensions and enduring the unendurable, all lend credence to the perspective that he is a holy being.

Naturally this brings up the question of religious tolerance, and whether or not Gokuism should be considered a valid religion.

In the above video’s description the creator says, “Do you realize something? The character of Jesus is as fictional and or fanciful as Goku. However, people consider it ridiculous to worship Goku and not Jesus.”

Should a religion based on a cartoon character be taken seriously? Is Goku real? Is Jesus real? Is it all in the mind of the believer?

Goku’s origins can be traced directly back to the mind of Akira Toriyama, a comic book creator in Japan influenced by eastern legends, Hong Kong martial arts, and Hollywood cinema. We know for a fact that Goku is a fabrication.

For Jesus’ origins we have the biblical texts and historical artifacts that point in His direction, but no definitive proof. Thus His existence is, arguably, dependent on faith.

And yet for a practitioner of Gokuism, who may seemingly also believe in Judeo-Christian beliefs, does it even matter? I don’t think so, because in the mind of a practitioner, gradual self improvement toward an ideal is all that matters, even if the source of motivation is fabricated.

In The Dao of Dragon Ball book I quote a young man who said that Goku helped him come closer to Jesus, and that he hopes that when he dies, that Goku is there waiting for him. He is not a declared follow of Gokuism, and I don’t think he had ever heard of the practice, but in either case, both belief systems are reflecting off one another and providing reciprocal motivation.

In the end, while it seems Gokuism has been around for years on an individual level, it is only now beginning to establish itself on the internet. This means Gokuism may fade away, or it may grow. Only time will tell.

Concluding Thoughts

Since there are so many unanswered questions, that means this post serves as a great conversation starter. I’d love to hear what you guys think.

Personally, if I got into the mind of a Gokuist, I would immediately ask myself the question, “What would Goku think of all this?”

I believe he’d scratch his head, let out a laugh, and then return to his training.

Resources

Definition of Gokuism

The Church of Goku

Goku and the Church of Latter Day Saiyans

Evangelical Gokuism

I am a Dragon Ball Gokuista

Gokuism Group

Gokuism Group 2

Gokuism Group – Resurrection

Religión Gokuista

Because he Died for Us and Rose Again to Save Us… WE LOVE YOU GOKU

Gokuism on Tripod [The Great Book of Shenron]

Goku and Jesus Comparisons

Comments and Jokes on Reddit about Gokuism

The 10 Commandments of Goku

Christianity and Goku

Essay on Goku and Christ

Morality and Jesus vs Goku

Goku is NOT God

Super Saiyan Jesus

The Return of Jesus as a Super Saiyan

An Internet Theory about Goku and World History

The Jedi Church

Jediism Census Info on Wikipedia

Temple of the Jedi Order

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Gokuism – The Church of Goku

In Part 1 Olivier and I discussed the French comic scene, his career of broadcasting Dragon Ball in France, and his personal comic book interests.

Today you’ll discover why Olivier chose to write about Akira Toriyama, hear what it’s like to collaborate with Shueisha, learn how he conducted interviews in Japan, and understand why Akira Toriyama truly is a master of manga!

Will there be an English translation? Does Olivier have insights into Toriyama’s personality? Read the rest of our discussion to find out!

Why Write About Akira Toriyama?

DEREK: Why out of all the shonen manga authors did you choose to write about Akira Toriyama? Are you a fan of Toriyama’s work, or do you just find him to be a fascinating figure?

OLIVIER: I chose to write about Toriyama because I have been following his work for more than 20 years, and I think he is one of the most interesting mangaka, because he’s very popular, because I also like his work, and because I think he produced something very interesting.

This is because Toriyama’s manga is very Japanese, but he is inspired by western movies and comic books. So in the end you have something that is very unique.

Toriyama belongs to the shonen genre. He’s one of the main founders of the shonen genre. But he’s beyond that. So I thought he was very interesting.

And the other reason was that I was looking for information about his latest works, and it’s difficult to find good information. You have to go on the internet. Some blogs are good, others are not. So I said to myself, “Okay, I’m going to see if there’s a book about him. After all, the man has sold around 250 million books.”

And I found there was no book. I was surprised. I decided to write a book about Toriyama so that people who are looking for information will have all of it compiled in one book, so it will be easier for them [laughter].

DEREK: Absolutely. Why do you think that despite his enormous success, nobody had written a book about Toriyama? Why did it take such a long time for him to be recognized in such a way?

OLIVIER: Before mine there were two Japanese books. Akira Toriyama: The World, the art book, published in 1990, and the exhibition catalog.

But I think so far no [biographical] books have been published because Shueisha, the publisher, is very careful, and they don’t want material to go out without approval. And people are afraid to ask for permission.

Collaborating with Shueisha and Toei

OLIVIER: Since I had worked with Toei and purchased Dragon Ball and One Piece, and also worked with people who published Japanese manga, I was aware of the way they think. They want you to behave. So I sent a request for materials and interviews.

But they did say okay you can publish some pictures. So later I sent a letter explaining what I wanted to do, why I wanted to write about him, and what the content would contain, the summary. Also a sum up of what I was going to say about Toriyama. I sent my request and waited for a long time before getting the approval to publish the pictures.

All of this before I knew it was possible to do the book. That’s how it happened.

DEREK: So you didn’t start writing until you received approval from Toei and Shueisha?

OLIVIER: No, no. I had already written the detailed summary, and I knew what I was going to write because I had followed his work for 20 years. I had detailed the contents. And I had traveled to China and taken pictures of Sun Wukong. I had almost everything I needed to do the book. But I chose to wait for approval, because it would have been terrible if I would have written a book and wouldn’t have been able to publish it.

DEREK: Yeah, definitely. Were you living in France when you wrote the book, or did you go to Japan as well?

OLIVIER: I was living in France, but I also went to Japan to interview people. Most of the people I interviewed were in Japan. The only Japanese person I met with in France was Shiro Sagisu, because he sometimes lives in Paris.

DEREK: Right, in the back of the book you have interviews with a lot of notable people in the industry. How did you choose these people to interview?

OLIVIER: First, I asked Toei for three people, but two of them were unavailable. The one I have is the only one who was available during my visit to Japan. The idea was to interview as many people in touch with Toriyama as possible.

For journalists, I wanted it to be three or four people. I work with a French publisher who has a correspondent in Tokyo, working in the manga business for almost 30 years. I told them I needed to get in touch with people who worked with Toriyama, so they suggested that I meet these people. For example, Mister Oshiguchi from Manga No Mori, I visited his book store in Shinjuku.

For the outsider professionals, it’s because I sent requests to their companies. Most people were unavailable or didn’t want to speak, you know? But I asked. It’s a request. You ask for 10 people and you never get 10 people, but even if you only have 3 or 4, it’s good because they are there.

DEREK: Do you speak Japanese, or did you need a translator for the interviews?

OLIVIER: I needed a translator. I’m only able to say survival phrases in Japanese, like, “A Japanese beer, please!”

DEREK: While we’re on the subject of publishing, did you have to get the final version approved by Shueisha, and if so, did they change anything in your book before it was published?

No, they were very open minded. Because I sent a precise list of contents they didn’t ask for the definitive version. I know sometimes they ask for the final.

Toei asked to see the book, so I went to Toei in Paris because they wanted to check the copyright. But it was okay. Usually, if you know you’ll have to see people, it’s okay.

Of course if you expect the process to be at your pace it could be frustrating. If you know the Japanese, you have to be patient, because that’s where they work, and then everything will go smoothly.

The Master of Manga?

DEREK: So let me ask you, where did the title The Master of Manga originate?

OLIVIER: Oh, the title? Because the Shueisha people, when they speak of Toriyama, they say Toriyama-sensei. And sensei means master, so I thought, okay, Master of Manga. I thought it was a good title because it is what he’s called by his colleagues.

DEREK: Ah, I see. What are your thoughts on him being a real master? After your book came out, some English speaking fans have now questioned whether Toriyama can really be considered a “master,” given his tendency to make things up as he goes along, forgetting about his characters and so on.

OLIVIER: Yeah, of course I understand their point of view, but to me he is a true master. The first master is Osamu Tezuka, but Toriyama is a master because his work is very huge and very good.

DEREK: When I first heard about your book and went on the internet to find more information, I saw the title said “Akira Toriyama: The Living God of Manga.” Are you familiar with that? Was that an alternative title or something else?

OLIVIER: Yes, I’m familiar with it. It was the working title. Obviously it wasn’t supposed to be released, [laughter], but it was, so, okay.

DEREK: I saw a picture of it, the book cover.

OLIVIER: Yeah, because the first cover we made bore this title, and it was given to commercials, you know, who are going to see it in libraries before the book is released, to explain to bookstores how beneficial it would be for them to take the book, and so we made this cover for them, and unfortunately this cover went out on the internet. It’s not a big problem, of course.

You could say it was the first title, but it was only a working title.

DEREK: Okay, so you changed it to match more of the Japanese respect for Toriyama. You changed it from Living God to Master, is that the idea?

OLIVIER: Yeah, I changed it because when they asked me for a title during the meeting for the commercials, we didn’t have one.

DEREK: I see. I understand now.

Making the Book

DEREK: So, what was the book making process like? How long did it take you to write the book, and were there any difficulties you had to overcome?

OLIVIER: I started to work on it in late 2009, and it was released in early November, 2011. In the mean time I worked on other projects. So it’s difficult to say if it was 6 months or 1 year. Of course by the end I was only working on this, to write and check the pictures with the publisher. It was quite a long process. And you don’t only work half-time on it.

The difficulty is always the same for a book, no matter the topic… you have to wait for people to reply to you. So you wait and you are hoping they say yes, and sometimes you can’t work until you have their answers. That’s the most difficult part of the job for me.

DEREK: There are a lot of American fans who would love to read your book, but they don’t speak French. Do you have any plans for translations of your book, perhaps into English? And if so, when can they be expected?

OLIVIER:

DEREK: Oh, no way, really?

OLIVIER: Yeah, really. Of course we asked for the authorization for the book to be published outside the French speaking market, but right now it’s not possible. Maybe later. But for now, you have to tell your American fans to learn French. [laughter]

DEREK: Okay, well they’re going to be disappointed to hear that, but French is a good language to learn, so maybe this will inspire them to do so.

OLIVIER: I hope! [laughter]

Insights into Toriyama

DEREK: If you were to write a second edition of the book, what would you like to include?

OLIVIER: A Toriyama interview.

DEREK: If you could interview Toriyama, what would you ask him?

OLIVIER: Oh, many things, many questions. Because he is such a shy man, and he almost never speaks, you have too many questions. The list would be too long. Many things about the way he did what he did.

As many as you would have, I guess. I’m sure you would have lots of questions to ask him. Same with me.

DEREK: Well if you were to have coffee with him, and had maybe 10 minutes, what would be your most important question?

OLIVIER:

And if I had to ask him about the past… boy, I would have so many questions, I don’t know. Sorry.

DEREK: No, I completely understand. I would have a hard time coming up with some questions as well.

You mentioned that Toriyama is known as being shy and reclusive. Why do you think that is?

And during your research were you able to find any insights into Toriyama’s private life or information that is not publicly available or that fans might be curious to know about?

OLIVIER: No, because I put everything into the book.

Of course I would be glad to ask him if he gets drinks once a week with his publishers, or whatever. But I think he wouldn’t want to say. It’s not his character.

DEREK: He has been enormously successful though. People have compared Toriyama’s success in manga with Steven Spielberg’s success in directing.

Do you know how well Toriyama has done financially? Some fans are curious to know if he received the same wealth that his publishers did for all of his hard work.

OLIVIER: I don’t have any figures, but I think he’s okay. [laughter]. Because you see, he owns the copyrights of the series.

DEREK: It’s not owned by Shueisha?

OLIVIER: As far as I know, it seems both Toriyama (or Bird Studios) and Shueisha own the copyrights. because when you look in the books it says, “copyright Bird Studios,” and “copyright Toriyama,” not just “copyright Shueisha.”

It’s not like the old Marvel comics or DC comics. For example, the artists or writers, for a long time, completely sold their works to the companies. When the company made a movie, they usually didn’t get money. Now in the last 15 or 10 years, it has changed.

But the Japanese artists, they usually kept their rights. This was not the case for most of the Americans.

DEREK: Yeah, I bet he’s doing okay. [laughter]

Toriyama’s Influence Today

DEREK: How would you describe Akira Toriyama’s influence on the world?

OLIVIER: I think it’s overwhelming. Thanks to him, many kids in America or Europe, opened up to Japanese and Asian culture.

In France, when the animated series was broadcast for the first time, there were only 5 or 6 TV stations, and only 3 broadcast programs for kids and teenagers.

DEREK: What time period was that?

OLIVIER: Between 1990 to 1996.

DEREK: So you guys got it before we did?

OLIVIER: Yeah, yeah, of course, yeah. The big question in the 90’s, the big thing… Dragon Ball Z was very huge in Europe, Italy and Spain… Everybody is aware of the American market, it’s very difficult to enter.

Because usually, at the time you didn’t get many anime series, and some of them which worked well in Europe, like Saint Seiya, didn’t do that well in America. But even in America, Dragon Ball succeeded.

But of course we got it before you because we had the tradition since ‘78 of the Japanese series on the French networks.

DEREK: That is very fascinating. When it came to America they made a lot of changes to the show, to Americanize it and make it appeal to the American audience. Did they do the same thing in France to make it appeal to the French?

OLIVIER: No, they kept the program.

However, sometimes in Dragon Ball Z it’s very violent. The show was broadcast on Wednesday mornings, and kids in France, the small kids, don’t go to school on Wednesdays. Some of the fights are very bloody, so the French version, the first one, was cut. Most of the gory scenes.

And we added a stupid French song in the opening credits. Terrible song.

DEREK: Yeah, I’ve seen it on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ1NcxAZUYk

OLIVIER: Awful song. [laughter]

DEREK: Well, what are your thoughts about the American version of DBZ?

OLIVIER: I think it’s American. It’s what you could expect from America. [laughter]

But at least they see the show, you know? They see it on TV and if they really like it they will buy the DVD’s and the original version. It’s better to have it that way than not have it.

DEREK: Did you see Dragon Ball Evolution? And what did you think?

DEREK: Why do you think it turned out the way that it did?

OLIVIER: I don’t know, because the studio wanted to make money, and they’re happy with it, you know? I think it’s bad, but I don’t know, maybe it turned out that way because the studio felt that it was such a big license that it was simply enough to put Dragon Ball on a poster and attract people to the theaters. It happened that way, unfortunately.

And the Japanese had a contract, and I guess somebody sent his [Toriyama’s] comments, but when you have such a bad, bad, bad movie, what can you do?

Even the poor Stephen Chow, who had directed in Crazy Kung Fu some very good Dragon Ball type scenes, wasn’t listened to by the studio execs, because I think it’s a cultural… I don’t know, I don’t know.

I think when James Cameron shoots his GUNNM version, it will be something that is very different and very good, but which will respect the original manga.

DEREK: Right, and that’s a shame. I would agree with you.

I have a question from an American Dragon Ball fan. He wants to know, from your perspective, which modern anime series holds the title of Dragon Ball’s successor?

OLIVIER: In terms of success, it’s obviously One Piece. One Piece is bigger than Dragon Ball now, in terms of sales.

DEREK: What about in terms of spirit?

OLIVIER: Naruto, One Piece, maybe Fairy Tale. Lots of, almost every shonen manga, has pieces of Dragon Ball in it.

Dragon Ball and Chinese Culture

DEREK: You said that you went to China to get pictures of Sun Wukong. Are you familiar with the Chinese legends that inspired Dragon Ball.

OLIVIER: Yes, yes, yes, of course, yes. I’m kind of familiar with the religion, and wherever you go in China there are places where the Monk and Monkey King are said to have passed. You have statues and wall paintings. And so wherever you travel in China, even in North China, you might encounter some art.

DEREK: Yeah, I traveled to Beijing and Xi’An, and they had the White Horse Temple there, and they also had statues of the Monkey King and Tang Monk.

OLIVIER: Yes, and in Beijing’s Summer Palace there are paintings on the walls of Sun Wukong.

DEREK: Yep, yep, I actually saw that in person. Speaking of which, has Dragon Ball been successful in China?

OLIVIER: Yeah, it’s very popular! But you know in China there are many bootlegs. So, many people read unofficial comics.

And we also had lots of Cardass produced in Hong Kong. Many people had to inspect if the cards were Japanese or Chinese, because they wanted to have the official products.

DEREK: Dragon Ball was inspired by these Chinese legends, at least in the beginning, and those Chinese legends are very much involved in religion, spirituality, legends and fables and things. Do you see any of those aspects in Dragon Ball?

OLIVIER: Yes. It’s very subtle, but when you read it, not every time of course, but in many episodes, there are references to the Japanese legends or Asian legends. So it’s like the watermark, it’s like the background of the series.

Toriyama’s Talent

DEREK: You mentioned that Dragon Ball has Japanese, Asian components to it, but was also influenced by American cinema in Hollywood, and also by Hong Kong, Jackie Chan and Kung Fu. The result could have simply been a mish-mash of a bunch of different things, but it worked out really, really well, and it’s extremely successful. Why do you think that is?

OLIVIER:

Of course he is influenced by Terminator 2, Chinese movies, many things. And in the end you have something which is very unique, even though you could spot some [references], or identify things that inspired him.

Most of the bigger artists are like this. If you look at Star Wars, the first ones at least, it’s heavily influenced by the old Flash Gordon. Speaking of designs, there are many starships, or the Stormtrooper’s uniforms, you could say they were influenced by the science fiction magazines of the mid ‘70’s, especially Heavy Metal. You could track George Lucas’ influence.

There are also influences in Star Wars from the Indian legends, like the Ramayana. You could say that the Padawana inspired the name, he calls (the young Jedi disciples), one of the two families of the Ramayana, you know.

Lots of big artists are inspired by many big things, and in the end it’s not a mish-mash, it’s something unique.

For example, if you look at Avatar, when you watch Avatar, many people are reminded of Princess Mononoke, from Miyazaki.

So for me it’s not a problem when you read Dragon Ball and you can identify what inspired Toriyama. It’s enjoyable because you can see how he took the werewolf, and many things from everywhere, to produce something that is unique and coherent.

DEREK: Yeah, I agree.  I think that is a big reason why it was so successful. I also think it just appeals to people’s… you know we grow up hearing about legends, like you said about werewolf’s, and vampires and witches, and monsters, and heroes who grow up to defeat these monsters. And that has been the case for thousands of years, and even today. So I think there is something in human nature, especially as kids, that draws us, we’re attracted to that, and Toriyama manages to depict all of that, while at the same time being funny and action packed, and he managed to find a worldwide audience. It’s really incredible.

OLIVIER: Yeah, and everybody speaks of his talent, saying he is a talented artist, but he’s also a talented writer, a very gifted writer.

When you start to read the story, if you dig those kinds of universes, you don’t want it to end, it’s very good, like a good serial, very incredible, it takes you by your neck and you can’t stop, you know?

Of course, in episodes 14 to 72 it starts to be tournaments, fighting, fighting, fighting, if you’re not interested in fighting, okay, you’ll start to feel it’s repetitive.

But if you are interested in action and sci-fi, it’s incredibly rich. Especially because it’s written and drawn by the same person. When you look at the American comics, which I like a lot, when you look at 10 years of Spiderman, it’s not that good.

DEREK: Oh, is that because there are different people involved?

OLIVIER: No, it’s because they don’t have Toriyama!

DEREK: Wow, that’s a big statement.

OLIVIER: Yeah, speaking of comic books, of course.

DEREK: So you have a lot of respect for manga and anime.

OLIVIER: Yes.

Dragon Ball is for Everyone

DEREK: Some people might say manga is just for kids. What do you think?

OLIVIER: Japanese comic books are not like in some countries, because they are aimed at different targets. Japanese manga could be for kids, it could be only for adults. It’s very rich.

Still, in France we still have people saying that it’s industrially produced by workshops of slaves who want to invade the western civilization with their low quality products. Those people, thankfully, their numbers are diminishing and everybody now appreciates good comic books, like graphic novels, the best American comics, or European comic books.

Like I said, even the government, who is not known for being avante garde in speaking of comics, gave a medal to Otomo Katsuhiro.

DEREK: That does say a lot.

Your book covers Toriyama’s entire life, from his childhood up until now. Dragon Ball was obviously his most successful, but Dr. Slump made his career, at least that’s what gave him his initial success after getting a few manga published in Weekly Shonen Jump and things like that. What do you think is his best work?

OLIVIER: I like Dr. Slump and also Dragon Ball because they are very different. But it’s difficult to say because they are different genres. One is a comedy and one is an action fantasy. They are both good, different styles and genres.

OLIVIER: What do you think Dragon Ball is? What is the essence of Dragon Ball, if you could describe it? It’s a huge epic series so it’s hard to describe succinctly, but what it is that people are attracted to, why do they like it so much?

OLIVIER: Most people like it because they can identify with a hero, they grew up with a hero. One of the peculiarities of the series is that in the end the hero is like a teenager. Not only a teenager, but he grows up, gets married, has kids, and you grew up with the series. So it’s very… you can relate to the hero if you met the series when it was released, you grew up with the series.

And if you meet the series later, it’s such a classic hero, very naïve, very pure, he’s irresistible. If you are sensitive to action, heroes, and the classic values of good versus evil, it’s like a synthesis of every good thing.

DEREK: It appeals to who we are as human beings.

OLIVIER: Yes, yes, that’s it!

DEREK: Well, that’s all my questions. Thank you very much for your time, I know that was a long interview. I could talk about Dragon Ball all day!

OLIVIER: Thank you very much for the interview, and if we have an English version that comes out, I’ll let you know. The approval was only for the French speaking markets. I’m sorry for the English speaking readers! I’ll let you know anyway if something happens with the book, if there is a new edition with more information. And keep me informed with what’s going on with your book too.

DEREK: Yeah, absolutely, and maybe you can interview me one day for the French speaking audience.

OLIVIER: Haha, you bet!

Concluding Thoughts

What a great interview! As you can see from our discussion, Olivier made a big impact in France by bringing Dragon Ball and other shonen titles to television, and he clearly knows his stuff about Akira Toriyama.

That’s a shame there won’t be an English translation though. What do you guys think about this? Will you pick up the French version?

And do you believe that Toriyama should be called a master? Is he the living version of Osamu Tezuka?

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Interview with Olivier Richard – Author of Akira Toriyama Book – Part 2

Olivier Richard at the Shueisha headquarters in Tokyo, Japan

Join me for a conversation with Olivier Richard, the French author of the book, Akira Toriyama – The Master of Manga.

Olivier Richard was an integral figure in the French manga and anime industry during the 80’s and 90’s. As a long time fan of Japanese comics, he wrote the world’s first biography about Akira Toriyama.

This is Olivier’s first interview about the book conducted in English, and thus represents his premiere to the North American and international English speaking audience of Dragon Ball fans.

Read on to learn about Dragon Ball’s popular explosion in France, hear Olivier’s personal feelings about comics, and gain international insights into Toriyama’s success!

Manga and Anime in France

DEREK: When did you first become interested in manga and anime?

OLIVIER: I was first interested in Japanese manga, actually, anime, by the end of the 70’s, when I was very young.

The first Japanese anime’s were broadcast on French TV in ‘78, with Mazinger. Everyone saw it on TV when it was broadcast.

Also around those years I was reading some fanzines about science fiction and fantasy movies. Those fanzines dealt with all kinds of movies from America and Great Britain, but also from Asia. So we were aware of what took place in Asia, and of course Japan.

Sometimes we were able to write reviews about Japanese anime, like the first movies of anime inspired by Space Cruiser Yamato. When it was broadcast in the Cannes film market there was a review about it, so we knew that it existed, and those films being made by the same kind of people who produced the anime we were watching on TV. And sometimes there were movies.

So I’ve been interested in Japanese manga and anime for a long time.

DEREK: Did you have a role in bringing these films to France?

OLIVIER: Later I had a job at French TV channels, like MCM, which is a kind of French MTV. We have MTV in France, and MCM is the same type of music channel. We also used to broadcast for the tweens and teenagers, so I used to purchase anime’s like Dragon Ball, One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist, Paranoia Agent and Bleach.

DEREK: Yeah, on the inside jacket of your book it said you helped to distribute Dragon Ball in Europe, along with One Piece and Bleach. How exactly were you involved?

OLIVIER: Dragon Ball premiered for the first time in France in the late 80’s. It was very popular at the time, so years later when I had the job of being the Head of Programs, I bought Dragon Ball and reran them, and it was the first time for ages that the channel broadcast the complete three series. So we had very, very high ratings.

Speaking of Fullmetal Alchemist, I broadcast the whole series.

Regarding One Piece, I purchased 150 episodes which were broadcast for the first time in France.

Speaking of Paranoia Agent, it was the first time it was broadcast in France.

DEREK: That’s great! Obviously you saw an audience there that would appreciate it.

How do French people, the youth, or whatever the target demographic is for anime and manga are, how do they view international Japanese manga and pop culture? Is it something that’s really popular? Is it understood well? Or is it just seen as some kind of oddity that people are curious about?

OLIVIER: It’s very popular. But of course we still have some people thinking Japanese only produce hentai or things like that. Now almost everybody is aware that it’s very big, and it’s read and screened by people from the core target of 12 to 24, but you can even read good reviews about Japanese manga in Newsweek type magazines in France.

It’s very, very popular. For example when Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, releases a new movie in France, everybody talks about it on TV or in Newspapers.

DEREK: Really? That’s good.

OLIVIER: Yeah, really, really. For example, we had Otomo Katsuhiro, he got an artistic award by one of the members of the government, like 5 or 6 years ago. He got a medal in Paris.

DEREK: That’s an impressive amount of sales.

OLIVIER: I was told France is the second market in the world for manga.

DEREK: Is that right? I didn’t realize that.

OLIVIER: I think so, yeah. And there are a lot of manga and anime conventions in France. The biggest one, Japan Expo, takes place in the Paris area and attracts almost 200,000 people in 4 days, every year.

Personal Tastes

DEREK: It seems that based off of your work that your focus is on shonen manga, is that correct?

OLIVIER: Yeah, because the channel I was taking care of was reaching this 15 to 24 year old demographic. We also broadcast some seinen and kids manga, but we mostly broadcast shonen manga.

DEREK: Is that your favorite genre as well?

OLIVIER: No, no, no, not my favorite. It’s one of the genres I like, but I also like seinen, and all types of comic books, actually.

DEREK: Do you also appreciate western comics?

OLIVIER: Yeah. Right now I’m reading a lot of DC Comics.

DEREK: Oh, yeah, they are going through a lot of changes right now, with The 52, right?

OLIVIER: It’s very good. Right now I’m following the Justice League. It’s very good stuff. I also like a lot of American and British comics. I’ve done interviews with writers or artists like Jack Kirby. So to me it’s the same kind of thing.

Of course there are differences between shonen manga, French comics and American comics. But what I like are comics books, sci-fi and fantasy, so of course Japanese manga are one of the most interesting comics produced.

DEREK: I see. I think that’s good, because it gives you a broader perspective. It’s entertaining, too.

Comics in France

DEREK: I recently just finished reading The Little Prince, which I understand is very popular in France. Are you familiar with that story?

OLIVIER: Yeah, yeah. Everybody hears about it. It’s been one of the books you’re supposed to read when you go to school.

DEREK: Oh, is that right? I bring it up because I’m curious, and see some parallels between that and Dragon Ball, in terms of innocence and things like that. And I wonder if Manga is so popular in France because of the culture that existed there already. Seems like maybe it was primed for that type of illustrated art that was targeted to children.

OLIVIER: You know, from Paris there is a long tradition of comic books. Since we are very close to Belgium, and half of Belgium speaks French, everybody has the opportunity to read them. Classics like Tintin, Spirou, whatever.

Speaking of Japanese manga, shonen manga is very popular in terms of sales. But of course the high brow people would prefer a seinen manga. Taniguchi Jiro is very popular with high brow people in France, and Miyazaki of course. But Shonen manga is not that well regarded. Some people think it’s basic stuff, you know. It’s read, it’s very big in France, but it doesn’t have a good reputation amongst high brow people.

But a good point is that, for example, when a new Naruto or One Piece volume is released in France, it’s one of the top 10 books sold in all of France, in all categories.

And I don’t mean one of the most successful comic books, I mean one of the most successful books of all types. [For example] Number 1 is Steve Jobs’ biography. Number 2 or Number 3 is One Piece.

It’s very, very big. Some people don’t like it, but they have to witness the facts.

DEREK: Yeah, you can’t deny that.

Toriyama Inspires

DEREK: How has Dragon Ball and Akira Toriyama’s work influenced your life in particular?

OLIVIER: My life? I know I wrote a lot about it! [laughter] Since I used to work in a video game magazine, at the apex of the Dragon Ball manga, we used to write a lot about it, so it’s one of the topics I’ve worked on the most.

DEREK: So for years you’ve been writing about Dragon Ball?

OLIVIER: Yeah, because I used to work at a video game magazine called Player One. Every month we had reviews about the new manga and animes. Between 1992 and 1995, 1996 maybe, there were at least 2 Dragon Ball movies a year, plus the games, plus the new manga, and since it was successful we did a lot of articles about Toriyama and the Dragon Ball series. It was one of the topics I worked the most on!

DEREK: From a professional perspective it sounds like Dragon Ball played a big part in a lot of people’s lives.

OLIVIER: Yes.

DEREK: From another perspective, did Dragon Ball ever inspire you to change your life in a positive way, such as practicing the martial arts, or working harder at achieving a particular goal?

DEREK: Did that happen while you were working on this book?

OLIVIER: Yes, it did. [laughter]

DEREK: Toriyama did work really hard!

The Right Man for the Job

As you can see, with Mr. Richard’s extensive career in the French manga and anime industry, he was the perfect man to write a book about Akira Toriyama and his life’s work.

This interview was particularly engaging, as we’re both big Dragon Ball fans, so check out Part 2 of my interview with Olivier Richard, where I ask him in-depth questions about his book, why he chose to write about Toriyama, difficulties during the development process, and why he believes that Toriyama is an under-recognized writer.

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Interview with Olivier Richard – Author of Akira Toriyama Book – Part 1

When people ask about Goku’s race, they tend to think Asian or Caucasian.

That’s because Goku’s skin tone appears light, even though it varied throughout the series, especially in Dragon Ball GT when he had a darker tan.

Also because of his literary and actual origins in East Asia.

But back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, American Dragon Ball fans started to connect with Dragon Ball and relate it to their own lives.

Some African American fans assimilated Goku and purposefully made him black, so as to better connect with their hero.

Today you’ll learn about this social phenomenon.

You’ll also see how FUNimation, the American dubbing company that licensed Dragon Ball from Japan, may have contributed to or capitalized on this trend, and how this then resulted in Americans further assimilating Dragon Ball into their lives.

Get ready to “Step into Da Grand Tour” of The Black Goku.

DaBlackGoku.com

Dragon Ball reached the height of its popularity in America between 1999 and 2003. During this time, the series appeared on Cartoon Network and was seen by millions.

The affect that this had on American youth was interesting, to say the least.

The first notable example of the African American assimilation occurred in October, 1999, when a young man with the screen name DaBlackGoku founded DaBlackGoku.com

Like many others, the site had general Dragon Ball information and trivia. But the main feature was a showcase of fan created works of Goku with black skin.

Most were simply an original Toriyama drawing edited to have darker skin, but some were modified or even original creations where the character’s hair was styled in an afro or dreadlocks, while their clothes were adorned with ghetto paraphernalia.

Almost every major character was present, including black Krillin, black Trunks, black Piccolo, black Majin Buu, black Freeza and black Vegeta, with a golden watch hanging from his neck like Flava Flav.

The black Bulma and black Chi-Chi were drawn like ghetto girls with skimpy clothes and overly sexy poses.

And my favorite was Super Saiyan black Goku with a golden afro slam dunking a basketball!

In another illustration, black Goku had his dreadlocks stuffed underneath a backwards baseball cap, wearing basketball sneaks and street clothes, jamming to some music with his headphones on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG8TOIV7OKs

The owner held an annual “Draw Me a Black Goku” contest, where fans could submit their work for Dragon Ball related prizes.

What’s noteworthy is that in the rules DaBlackGoku stipulated the following, “No lude or degrading pics. This includes things like guns and gold teeth. Remember Goku is a Dragon Ball Z hero and is not into gangsta rap.”

From this and other content on the site, I surmise that DaBlackGoku simply wanted to express his fandom for the series and share that with others, in his own unique way.

Granted that this website is most likely a representation of a minority within a minority but its social and pop cultural significance is worth further attention.

Accepting and Assimilating

It seems like most of the drawings submitted to DaBlackGoku.com were by little kids.

For children, a hero with super human powers and the ability to save the world is easy to admire.

The illustrations depicted a hero that children were connecting with on a daily basis, yet altered from the original.

Children want to connect with their heroes completely, and the differences in skin color stand out, so these differences are negated or transformed and turned into something new, yet the same.

While the core feelings of the character remain unaltered, the externalities change and cultural additions are made that reflect the artists’ environment, such as clothing and hair styles.

The site even had its own rap song, submitted by a fan in 1999. The techno bass track repeatedly loops, “Here comes Da Black Goku… Hoe’s in this house, got some hoe’s in this house,” and “Bitches ain’t shit but hoes and tricks.” The last line of lyrics of this song are taken from a Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg track.

And it’s not just Goku, either. I remember hearing from fans over the years that, in general, black people often associate with Piccolo, feeling that he is the “blackest” of all the characters.

Perhaps this is due to his physical features, his outcast relationship with the others, his stoic personality, or the deep rugged voice he was given in the American version.

The site stopped being updated after December, 2002, but it showed that for African American youth, Dragon Ball held a special place in their hearts.

It also shows the universal appeal of Dragon Ball. But it might be no accident that Dragon Ball, this inherently Japanese and East Asian creation, connected with so many young African Americans.

Kawaii Culture and American Consumerism

Dragon Ball is a martial arts epic, but it’s also a cute and silly show filled with gags and immature humor, such as poop jokes and boob grabs. These come from the silly mind of Akira Toriyama.

Japan’s stereotypical obsession with cuteness (Japanese: Kawaii, 可愛い) since the 1970’s can be seen in many aspects of its society. For pop cultural examples, look to Hello Kitty or Kirby, a floating pink smiley face. Even Dragon Ball is super cute at times.

But it’s believed by American marketers that Kawaii culture does not necessarily carry over to the general public.

Japan is a homogenous society, where generally speaking, people think alike, act alike, and look alike.

America, on the other hand, is a combination of many races and creeds, as it continually assimilates other cultures into itself. This includes foreign pop culture, such as that from Japan.

In Japan, cute and hardcore can go together. In America they apparently cannot.

Videogames or anime that are cute and colorful in Japan are often edited by American marketing departments to become dark, aggressive, angst filled, overall Americanized, or stereotypically in line with supposed consumer interests.

The makeover from cute to edgy is most likely a manifestation of the overall trend in America to make things more masculine.

The fact that Dragon Ball is already very masculine, filled with characters that have ‘angry eyebrows,’ and huge explosive fights, made it easy to capitalize on while completely downplaying the more cute, friendly and silly aspects.

Why was this done?

To make more money.

FUNimation’s Dragon Ball GT

The changes that FUNimation made to the American Dragon Ball Z were purposefully done to appeal to American youth.

This included a new soundtrack by Faulconer Productions, filled with guitar riffs and synthetic sounds, replacing the orchestral arrangements by Shunsuke Kikuchi.

It also included the addition of American slang in the dialogue, an ideology of ‘constant sound,’ and the removal of Japanese cultural references.

Having achieved success with such edits, FUNimation appeared to go even further to appeal to American youth with Dragon Ball GT, by directly targeting the African American demographic.

Stylistically, Dragon Ball GT represented a return to the cuter aspects of the original Dragon Ball, with Goku being transformed back into a child, and the main cast consisting of kids.

FUNimation felt they had to Americanize it in order for it to sell.

In November, 2003, FUNimation premiered a completely different rendition of Dragon Ball GT then had ever been seen in the world.

In an interview in Wizard Anime Insider magazine, Gen Fukunaga said, “If you think you know Dragon Ball GT, just wait! Nobody has done Dragon Ball GT like we have.”

And boy was that the truth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H9di7tCLVg

They attempted to make it hard, dark, and street, even though it was the exact opposite.

The happy go lucky J-Pop intro song of Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku (“Gradually You’re Charming My Heart”) by Japanese band Field of View, and the series’ score, were replaced by a rap song and heavy bass lines.

The Japanese intro was a top charting love ballad used to express the friendship and camaraderie of the adventurers.

The American intro provided by composer Mark Menza was heavy, gloomy, rap-based and repeated the lines, “Step into da Grand Tour, Grand Tour, Grand Tour. Step into da Grand Tour [Grand Tour, Grand Tour], Dragon Ball GT!” The entire mood of the series was edited to appear edgy and serious, even though the actual content wasn’t.

FUNimation producers and executives, such as Barry Watson, decided that this would increase sales of the GT series.

They were right.

For the week of July 20, 2003, the first two GT tapes secured the #1 and #2 positions (compared to all other VHS sales) for the edited versions, and the #9 and #19 for the uncut versions. For DVD’s they earned #17 and #18. These home video sales prepped the market for the series televised debut.

Dragon Ball GT premiered on Cartoon Network in November, 2003, and scored a monstrous 9.7 on the Nielsen ratings for males age 9 to 14, and an 8.6 rating for males age 6 to 11.

Either FUNimation’s business decisions to appeal to Americans were an effective change, or Dragon Ball was an unstoppable winner no matter what was done to it. Artistic integrity be damned.

For the casual fan in America it made no difference that Dragon Ball was a Japanese creation, because they had no idea this was the case. It felt American, and so it was.

In either case, FUNimation’s profits soared, and Dragon Ball became further ingrained in the minds of American youth.

Dragon Ball Rap Music

As the years went on and young African American boys grew up, a small number began to express their continued fandom for Dragon Ball through rap music.

Each of these songs contained references to Goku and Dragon Ball pop culture, while at the same containing heavy rap culture references.

Some of them became popular hits.

In July, 2010 the rapper Soulja Boy (real name DeAndre Cortez Way) created a single titled “Goku.”

In “Goku,” Soulja Boy says, “Uhhhhhh, bitch, I look like Goku. Bitch, I look like Vegeta … Super Saiyan swagger. Bitches on my dick … Bitch I look like Gohan, smoking up that marijuana.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kgpbHdbZA0

Soulja Boy is a self professed anime fan. He released this alongside another single titled “Anime” where he apparently tried to say the word anime as many times as possible within the three minute constraint of the song, while dropping the names of different anime series to the beat amidst gunshot sound effects.

In September he provided a more on target follow up in tandem with Lil B titled “Super Saiyan,” with lyrics like “Super Saiyan Chain, Dragon Ball diamonds. Kamehameha, yep boy you know we shinin’. Gimme all your energy, yeah we ‘bout to power up. Super Saiyan swag so you know it ain’t no stoppin’ us. Goku on my wrist. Chi-Chi on my dick. I need Senzu beans cuz my swag super sick!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx772RKxAds

Many of the hardcore Dragon Ball fans laughed in dismay, while others suggested it might lead a new generation in an untapped section of society to watch the series.

In August, 2011, the rapper MarZ B, who actually goes by the pseudonym Black Goku, released a rap song in tandem with rapper Uriah, called appropriately enough,“Black Goku.”

The song is extremely graphic and profane, so I’ll exclude typing out the lyrics, but here is the video in case you want to hear it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3XGLVLWqo4

Rap is a style of music where the artist sings about their surrounding environment and what they are passionate about. From these rap songs you can see that Dragon Ball definitely had an effect on these young men.

Dropping The Equivalent Beat

There are African American equivalents of most every type of white superhero.

But the assimilation of an already established character founded on East Asian legends and created in Japan that is then transmogrified into an African American cultural equivalent is rare.

In the case of DaBlackGoku.com, the process whereby a sub-culture of a community brought together by racial commonalities redefines the already seemingly established cultural assumption of Goku’s race to that of African American can be likened to the racial recreation of Superman or Jesus.

Superman, Jesus and Goku have all been transformed into a black equivalent, as have other messianic figures.

The questions I wonder about are these.

Would Dragon Ball have become so popular with African American youth if FUNimation hadn’t made the edits they did, to appeal to this demographic?

And would these youth have rapped about Dragon Ball if Dragon Ball GT hadn’t been given the rap treatment and given national syndication?

We can see that Dragon Ball Z had already been accepted and assimilated between 1999 and 2003.

When Dragon Ball GT came out, it was then aimed directly at this demographic, where it became further accepted.

Perhaps it was a combination of the right product, with the right treatment, at the right time.

But Dragon Ball GT is generally considered a lesser product compared to DBZ, so that may not explain everything.

What do you think?

Were FUNimation’s edits necessary? Were they good or bad, overall? And how do you feel about Dragon Ball being turned into rap music?

Resources

DaBlackGoku Internet Archive

Rules for DaBlackGoku contest

The Second Annual DaBlackGoku Contest Results

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

The Black Goku

DEREK: You stated that Dragon Ball Z is the greatest action anime of all time. Why do you feel that way?

MARCUS: Because, man! No fillers baby! They got straight to the point. The action!

They had one filler, and that was the Garlic Jr. Saga. Which wasn’t that bad! It was a nice little break, like 5 episodes, and then they got right back to Future Trunks and the Androids. They got right back on it.

And they had a little fun with Goku and Piccolo trying to learn how to drive, you know, that little bullshit, but for the most part Dragon Ball Z stayed the course, it always stayed focused on the action.

Fuck No you wouldn’t! Because Krillin and Yamcha are the fucking weakest ones, you don’t care about them. I mean, they’re great to be the gauge for the enemies strength, but if I had to watch The Adventures of Krillin and Yamcha, I really wouldn’t be watching it. I’m trying to skip that. It’s like that whole saga of Bleach, like, c’mon, really?

DEREK: Yeah, I haven’t watched the last 20 episodes of Naruto because it’s all been filler.

MARCUS: Right, right that’s what I’m saying! After Sasuke left, it was like 30 episodes of bullshit. There was like 5 episodes where something happened in the Sand Village where Gaara’s student got kidnapped. They should have just skipped all that shit and gone right to the kidnapping and then bam, go right into Naruto: Shippuden. It was just so much and I was getting tired of it.

And the other reason I was like, “Fuck Naruto,” is because I was buying these motherfuckers! I didn’t know about animefreak.tv and the torrent sites, I was buying them. I was like, “What the fuck?!” After all that. Spending $39.99 on this, and then all of a sudden, it’s like, “Okay, that was fucking pointless.” And that shit pisses me off. That’s money, dude.

DEREK: Yeah, the crappy filler episodes wasting your money.

MARCUS: See, that’s what I’m saying. You go right now and buy Dragon Ball Z Uncut Season 1 and you’ll be all, “Holy shit. I’ve got to buy Season 2. Holy shit. I’ve got to buy Season 3.” It doesn’t stop because it keeps you into it. It never loses your focus.

DEREK: Yeah, I absolutely agree. So as an expert martial artist, how would you describe the fighting styles in Dragon Ball Z?

MARCUS: Hmm. I would have to say it’s more traditional, but at the same time they utilize their own skill. Especially with Goku and Master Roshi. I didn’t have to do half the stuff Goku did because I didn’t start off with traditional martial arts. I started off in MMA and I focused a lot on boxing.

In boxing and MMA gyms you don’t have the whole respect culture that the traditional martial arts have. I felt I was adapting to it because I was partaking in Brazilian Jujitsu now, and to the Brazilians I was all like, “You won’t hit me once I figure out how to tie my fucking belt.” It took me like an hour, you know?

At the same time, while I didn’t like it, it taught me to respect the belt.

You know, in boxing there is no belt. You get better by beating this dudes ass. That’s how you get better at boxing. Same thing in MMA.

But traditional martial arts, they teach you how to respect the mat, how to respect the belt, respect your Gi.

DEREK: So there’s a different type of ethics to it, or a martial morality?

MARCUS: Yeah, like the Goku – Master Roshi experience, it’s more traditional. Even though he has surpassed his master, he still has a relationship with him. And Goku is so open minded, he’s like a mixed martial artist. After he learned what he could from Master Roshi, guess what, he went to King Kai after that.

DEREK: Actually, it was Karin, Mister Popo, Kami, and then King Kai.

MARCUS:

Like when he grabs Vegeta and then like, I just saw this on the Uncut, which pisses me off because Cartoon Network cut the Vegeta and Goku battle in half. They made it look like Vegeta barely lost to Goku. No, Vegeta got his ass whupped! If I had seen that in high school, it would have completely changed my whole perspective of Vegeta.

Haha. He utilized it because it was there, you know what I’m saying?

DEREK: Some fans I’ve spoken with have noticed a difference in the fighting styles of the original Dragon Ball and then Dragon Ball Z. It seems like the original one is very traditional Chinese, a little Japanese, fighting styles with deep stances, very Kung Fu.

MARCUS: Exactly. It changed though because of their ability to fly. Because you can’t do an iron horse stance in the air.

DEREK: How would you describe the changes in the characters fighting styles as the series continued?

MARCUS: They had to adapt because these are more powerful enemies. I mean, fuck, Freeza destroyed a planet with his finger. So of course he might not be as active as he should be. Especially with the aerial attacks, because in Dragon Ball Z they fought a lot in the air.

Like I said, you can’t do a traditional stance in the air. An iron horse stance, you’re drawing energy up from the ground, you plant yourself. Like when a boxer throws a punch, it’s all connected because he throws it from the hip. The power comes from the hip, which is drawn from his feet being turned when he pivots his foot on the ground.

Now when you’re fighting in the air, there’s no ground to touch. You have to use the forward momentum of your flight to make your punches harder.

DEREK: I never thought about that before. That’s a really good insight.

MARCUS: Yeah. You know I know my Dragon Ball Z!

I noticed it, the difference between the two. I liked every minute of the original, but it was different because they were fighting more on the ground, like humans.

But then in Z they’re fighting against aliens, and all these guys have flight abilities. It changes the whole scenario when a guy can fly.

Just like on Avatar, Nickelodeon’s Avatar. You remember how he defeated the blind girl, the earth bender? He flew. Then he wasn’t on the ground anymore and she didn’t know where that shit was coming from. That changes the game when you know how to fly.

DEREK: Absolutely. Good insight. So let me ask you, if you could have one of the supernormal abilities depicted in Dragon Ball, those really advanced techniques, which one would it be?

MARCUS: Which one would it be? You know what, mine wouldn’t be that advanced, because I would have the Saiyans ability to not age.

DEREK: Ohhhh.

MARCUS: Yeah, see, they maintain their youth as they fight. That’s just their race.

DEREK: Wow. Good wisdom. I did not expect that answer. I think it’s a great one.

Okay, I have a few questions that don’t really flow together, so I’ll just ask them.

Who do you think is the best fighter in Dragon Ball?

MARCUS: Are we talking hand to hand combat, ki blasts?

DEREK: I’m going to say over all, your subjective opinion of who’s the best.

MARCUS: It has to be Goku. Goku is constantly evolving. And guess what, [in GT] he got turned into a fucking kid. And now he has the knowledge of a 40 year old, in a 10 year old body. So guess what, when he grows up to be a 25 year old as a youth, he’ll have a completely different mentality. Could you imagine? Have you ever said, “Man, if I was 10 years younger and I had this mind, I’d do this!”

DEREK: You’re right. It would be a totally different perspective on life. A lot more experience and wisdom.

MARCUS: Exactly. And he was already constantly evolving as a fighter, as a grown man. Now that he has reverted back to a kid. I mean, at the beginning of GT, I’m just like Okay. But when he grows up again, he’s going to be even stronger. And at the end of GT the dragon balls absorb into him, so we don’t even know how powerful he is.

DEREK: Right. A lot of fans have wondered what that meant. And if they do another series, what that would be like.

MARCUS: Whatever happened to that Dragon Ball AF series? I was going crazy looking for it.

DEREK: Yeah, it’s actually not real. But there are fan made versions called Dragon Ball AF. There’s a really good comic by a guy named Toyble. It looks just like Akira Toriyama’s drawings, it’s really well done. That is essentially what happens after Dragon Ball GT. It’s good. I would recommend it. You can find it free online. But there is no new animated series.

Now there’s another rumor out there of a series called Dragon Ball Hoshi. And a lot of people are going frantic for that one. But that too isn’t real. It’s just like Dragon Ball AF.

So it’s like every 4 or 5 years another rumor starts, “Oh, another Dragon Ball series is coming out.” But there isn’t one. And unfortunately everybody wants it, but they don’t have it.

The only thing that is coming out, they got the new video games, and there’s another one coming out soon called Dragon Ball Online, which is like World of Warcraft meets Dragon Ball. You can make your own characters and play online. It’s a whole world.

MARCUS: Damn. Daaaaaaammn. I can’t play that. I would never train.

DEREK: I know. You can actually play it in Korean and Chinese right now. They don’t even have a Japanese or English version yet. That should be coming to the States within the next year or two, hopefully.

MARCUS: That’s going to change the game. The whole World of Warcraft, they don’t have a fucking chance after that.

DEREK: Haha. So, are you a fan of the English dub, or the Japanese sub?

MARCUS: I’m more of an English dub guy. But the thing is, with the English dub they cut out a lot of the dialogue. The only way you can get a true Dragon Ball experience is to watch the Japanese version. Because the uncut American version…

I’m more a fan of the English uncut versions, but the thing is, they take so fucking long to get out.

I’m starting to get over this, but I’m not going to lie, I hate the Japanese voice. [Does a high pitched scream]. Agghh! It ruins it for me! In the American version, we do a better job with the voices.

And the fucking music! I just remember the music when Gohan is doing the father-son Kamehameha against Cell and is walking forward. Dude, that music, it traps you into that moment. But when you hear the Japanese version, it’s like… cooky. It’s like, I don’t know, the song doesn’t fit that moment. The soundtrack that the American’s put into the English and the uncut, man it just really pulls you into that scene. It traps you.

DEREK: Yeah, still to this day there’s a huge debate between the American music and the Japanese music, and people are… It’s so divisive. There’s no middle ground! People take sides.

MARCUS: The music is so different. And I’ve got to admit, some things you can read, but it doesn’t get you as crunked as when you hear it.

For instance, when Imperfect Cell was fighting against Vegeta. You remember he was getting frustrated because Vegeta was beating his ass. “This is impossible. I’m Cell. I am the most powerful person in the world!” Vegeta’s like, “You are nothing.” Then he knocked him out.

DEREK: I would have to agree with you. Did you know that Blu-ray just came out? Dragon Ball Z on Blu-ray.

MARCUS: Yeah, man, but I’m going to stick with my DVD’s. I’m already at Season 3, and I’ll go ahead and buy 4 through 9, they’re uncut. And right now I’m getting my path on becoming a member of the UFC, so I don’t have money like that, for a fucking Blu-ray. So right now the DVD’s are tight.

And you know what, that goes to show you something. I love Dragon Ball so much I refuse to download off the internet. That is fucking love. Naruto? I’ll fucking download all them hoe’s. But Dragon Ball Z? No. No. I have to pay for them.

Also you know, when you go on porn sites, they have something where Dragon Ball characters are fucking Sailor Moon characters. I won’t even watch it. No. No. You’re messing up the integrity of Dragon Ball! I won’t even watch it.

DEREK: That’s an interesting segue. I want to ask you about some spirituality questions.

The Dao of Dragon Ball is a book that talks about Buddhism, Daoism and how it relates to the series. Dragon Ball is a Japanese creation and it’s related to Journey to the West and all these ancient cultures, the spiritual energy and all that stuff.

Do you feel, personally, that Dragon Ball has a spiritual aspect to it? And if you do, how would you describe it?

MARCUS: I never saw Dragon Ball as a spiritual outlet. I always believed in my God. I never really saw that in Dragon Ball.

And I saw that all that came from the inner workings of Goku, Vegeta and how Goku just wouldn’t stop. He had to. His love for his family was the reason he trained so hard. So he could protect them. I never saw the spiritual side of Dragon Ball.

Personally, I have a tattoo on my chest that says, “I can do all things through Christ, Jesus, that strengthens me.” Yeah. And that’s honestly how I feel about my spirituality as a fighter. A lot of people told me you can’t do this, you can’t do that. I was like, you know what, if I believe in Jesus I will. And guess what? I’m on the show. I’m the first person from Alabama to be on The Ultimate Fighter.

I hate to say this, but some of it’s true. Alabama just got boxing commission. It’s been a world renowned sport for centuries but why are we just now getting boxing commission? Where I’m from had a lot of drawbacks, but it had some good things to, like I’m a leading child, so I have a strong commitment to family, to my religion, all that stuff, I grew up in the church.

DEREK: Really? That’s a very profound statement.

MARCUS: Hm-hmm.

DEREK: You mentioned on one of your video blogs, that while everybody else on the show was raiding the fridge and having a barbeque, you were off in the corner reading your Bible. You are a Protestant, correct?

MARCUS: Yeah, Protestant. I’m Baptist, but Protestant, for some reason not Catholic. That’s why I have to put time into the military. Haha.

DEREK: Would you consider yourself to be a spiritual man? And if so, how does your spirituality interact with your life as a fighter?

MARCUS: It keeps me motivated. You think about where you come from, how did you get this far. I was so scared to move. I was so unhappy in my home state of Alabama. One day. This is the weirdest shit ever. One day I was driving and I felt really bad. I pulled over and was fucking crying. Really bad, like somebody just shot my dog or something. I can’t describe it. I think that was the Lord telling me it was time to go. “You’re not happy here. Time to go.”

I just graduated from college. I was 25 years old. I was in the military and had a job, it honestly wasn’t that bad, but I had to go. People were telling me that I needed to go to succeed at MMA, and there were other hints.

DEREK: Because you are so… Christ is in you to such a degree, but you’re not familiar with Eastern cultures, like energy, spirituality and all that. How do you explain the supernormal martial arts of Dragon Ball?

MARCUS:

That’s all they needed to advance. You saw that the harder they trained the better they got. When they went into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, that was the equivalent of a years’ worth of training in one day.

That’s how I understood that in order to be the best, you have to constantly train. And that’s what I saw in Dragon Ball, Goku was always training, Vegeta was always training. They were always training to be the best at all times. And training became an everyday regiment of their life.

That’s how I understood that I have to train, I have to push myself past that limit. I got to this point. Tomorrow I need to pass that point. I need to get to a new point. Everyday, life is about the regiment of training.

DEREK: Really? I agree. That reminds me of a saying, “How you live your days, is how you live your life.”

MARCUS: Hm-hmm.

DEREK: I think that is really true. And a person who is always training and improving is going to always be transcending their former self and rising upward. I think that’s a really great way to live your life, as long as you have balance.

So if training allows you to keep improving and rising up, the eventual endpoint of that might be some type of superhuman ability, it just goes beyond normal. Do you believe that human beings can fight like the characters in Dragon Ball, using those types of supernormal abilities?

MARCUS: To be honest with you, I don’t think humans will evolve to that point no time soon. But ain’t it a damn thing to try? To strive for that?

Just to strive to be that type of fighter, like Goku, it’s going to put you above everybody else. Goku is such a high standard, he’s such an elite athlete and fighter that you will surpass people as you try to catch him.

DEREK: Absolutely. That reminds me of another question. Another Dragon Ball fan in the community wanted me to ask this one. He wanted to know, how do you mentally prepare for a match?

MARCUS: Really, it’s a whole bunch of visualizations, like what am I going to do? A lot of that has to do with your corner. I’m getting my iPod, blasting rap music like Lil’Jon to get me amped, and then my coach in the background is saying,

You don’t understand how your corner gives you trust, love and respect and all these things. He believes in you, which fortifies your belief in yourself. That mental preparation is so important to me. Some people like to sit and meditate, but I need some amount of love, trust and somebody to tell me what I’m going to do to this man. That’s my mental stimulation.

“You going to throw a jab? What you gonna do? You gonna throw an uppercut, a cross, you gonna knee him, you gonna hit the ground, you gonna ground and pound, you gonna throw a triangle, you going to escape, you going to knee rise, then you gonna punch him in the face.” As he’s telling you this you’re visualizing it, and because he believes it, you believe it. You believe it even more because he said it.

DEREK: Yeah. Wow. It really gives me a feeling for what it must be like to be in that cage and to have somebody in front of you, it doesn’t matter who they are, you’re just going to go through them, and you are so confident and have that support. It’s a team and you’re doing it together. I think that’s really amazing.

It’s also very similar to the Dragon Ball spirit. It’s not like what Vegeta had going on. It’s not about being strong by yourself. You have to have other people that are with you and support you. That’s where strength comes from.

MARCUS: Yep. Exactly.

DEREK: What do you think of Vegeta when he let himself be possessed by Babidi to gain more power? And this is kind of a silly question, but would you ever let that happen to you, if it meant you could become the most successful fighter in MMA history?

MARCUS: Man, that is a tough question.

Vegeta sold his soul to the devil in order to get stronger than Goku. And that’s the thing about being lower than being the best. If you dangle that in front of somebody’s face for a long time, they’re going to cave. If you’re hungry and starving and I have this steak: “You want the steak? Well why don’t you just sign this contract and you can have as much as you want. And a glass of cold water.” It’s tempting. It depends on that person.

Now Goku never fought for himself, he always fought for his friends. Along with his friends, they’re like, “Nah we don’t need that.” But Vegeta always fought for himself, and to see somebody like Goku, who first of all, was supposed to be a low class Saiyan, surpass him. All of a sudden this elite Saiyan gets surpassed, works hard to get back up to Goku’s level, and then Goku surpasses him again.

And you have to remember, everything that Goku did, Vegeta did. Because Vegeta thought that if he had a family, he would be strong like Goku. But he had Trunks and Bulma, and nothing happened. “Why is he so much damn stronger than me?” It was pissing him off. And now he’s got this temptation: “You want to be stronger than him, sell me your soul.”

You don’t think [about the ramifications] like that, because you think that it’s all you want to be. “It’s all I want. I have one dream, to be the best and be better than him.” And someone offers you that… Would you take it? To be honest with you, we’re all human. We’re all human.

DEREK: Right. Do you see a corollary there between Vegeta’s choice… I see a corollary between Vegeta’s choice and the Temptation of Jesus in the desert, where it’s like, “I know you want this, here it is, I’ll give you whatever you want.” And Jesus says no, I didn’t come here for those things. And like Goku, he can’t be tempted because his heart is pure. But Vegeta can be tempted, and then he actually welcomes it. He tells Goku later, “I chose to let Babidi possess me to gain more power.” Do you see that as well?

MARCUS: Yeah, it’s just like that. And it shows just how strong God is, how strong Jesus was, because he was offered it and he said hell no.

DEREK: So that would never… we’re all human, like you said, but yeah, that’s a crazy scenario to be in where it’s like, there’s your dream, there’s your chance. That’s tough.

I have two more questions.

When you hear the title The Dao of Dragon Ball, what does this make you think the book will be about?

MARCUS: From what I read, it’s going to talk about everything. How Dragon Ball relates to real subjects, spiritualism, religions, training ethics, dreams, temptations. And how all of that that we go through in our daily lives is all reflected, the sentiments of that are in your Dragon Ball book.

And the way you just said how Vegeta was tempted, and how Jesus was tempted, that’s a great correlation. So I would like to see how if I read something about Dragon Ball, I can see how Goku was going through that, when this happened.

DEREK: So it’s really the relatable aspects of individual people and what makes them human, and how Dragon Ball helps you to see that and look within? Got it.

What made you excited to read this book when you found out about it? I tweeted you to let you know about it, and you wrote back saying that you wanted a copy. Why was that?

MARCUS: Because it’s Dragon Ball. I love anything Dragon Ball. I am so a fan. I love it. Anything that is Dragon Ball. I can’t describe it. Dragon Ball is the greatest. Hands down.

There’s a book that somebody is trying to relate our everyday lives and what we go through to a Dragon Ball saga? I’m like, “Okay I have to read this.” And then when you made that correlation, I’m like, wow, what the fuck else have you thought about?

DEREK: Haha. Yeah. I’ve been thinking about this… for a long time.

That was all my questions. Thank you! Is there anything else you’d like to express?

MARCUS: I just want to express my love for Dragon Ball. And I would also like to apologize to the Naruto fans out there. It’s not fuck Naruto. It’s fuck Naruto fillers! I just don’t like the fillers. Let’s get to the meat. Stay on focus with the task.

Naruto is actually a great action anime as well. But I just didn’t like the fillers, so just be to sure tell all your fans, I LOVE NARUTO, Naruto fans!

And Rock Lee is my favorite. I love Rock Lee. They don’t show him as much in Shipuuden. But Naruto is getting badder. And I can’t wait to see that final battle between him and Sasuke, because now he’s got the toad sage powers.

DEREK: Well okay. Do you have any questions for me?

MARCUS: Who is your favorite MMA fighter right now?

DEREK: MMA? I’ve been out of watching it for so long, honestly, I don’t even have one.

MARCUS: Well since you don’t have one, you can start with this person right here, Marcus Brimage! Get started with me. And you follow my career and I will follow your career. Hopefully we can make something happen. Maybe a real Dragon Ball movie. Although honestly I don’t think Dragon Ball should ever be made into a movie, because some things just can’t be done well.

DEREK: Yeah. Well if they ever do I hope that I get to be a part of it somehow, and make sure that it stays true to the series, because they just did not stay true to it at all, and that’s why it failed.

MARCUS: Exactly. I was like, why are people going to watch this? It looks fucking horrible. I boycotted that shit. I’m sorry. Please put that in your book, that I boycotted Dragon Ball Evolution.

DEREK: Haha. I will, I will. I might not name you specifically, but I will mention that.

Oh, I do actually have one last question. Do you have any inspiring words of wisdom for anybody like you who has seen Dragon Ball and has been so motivated that they want to become a fighter, but they don’t know how?

MARCUS: Tell those guys to believe in themselves and pray. Then go for it. That’s it.

DEREK: Very good advice. I guess it really is that simple too, if you can do that and make it.

This has been great. I really enjoyed this and you’ve given me so many great quotes, it’s going to be hard to choose. I feel like I’ve met a true fan of the series.

That’s one of the goals I had in writing this book. To meet other people… like me, really, so we can talk about it and enjoy one another’s company.

Dragon Ball is one of those things that brings people together no matter who they are, no matter how old they are, what race, financial background or anything, I think Dragon Ball can unite people. And I really enjoyed this. So thank you very much.

MARCUS: Thank you so much for thinking about me for the book. I greatly appreciate that.

DEREK: You’re welcome, and thank you for the interview!

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Marcus Brimage – DBZ and MMA Part 2

These fights have awed and inspired fans across the world. And there are some fans who become so inspired that they decide to pursue martial arts and make it their career.

I had the privilege of interviewing one of those inspired fans recently: Marcus Brimage, a Mixed Martial Artist who can currently be seen on Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) on Spike TV.

Here is Marcus’ introduction interview on the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ3Y-bdcjFc

This caught my attention and I decided to reach out to Marcus on Twitter. He agreed to the interview and the results were amazing.

We ended up talking for over an hour!

How and why did Dragon Ball inspire him? As an expert martial artist, what is his opinion on the fighting styles of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z? How does spirituality play a role in his fighting? And did Dragon Ball influence his fighting style?

We also discussed his time growing up in Alabama and his desire for a greater life. His early experiences getting tough love from his MMA instructors. And the superiority of Dragon Ball over other action anime.

Not to mention another comment by Marcus for all of the Naruto fans out there!

*Warning that this interview contains occasional swear words.

*Warning that this interview contains violence and mixed martial arts content.

*Warning that this interview contains Dragon Ball spoilers because Marcus and I are super-fans and discuss the series in detail.

That’s right, kids!

So without further ado, here is The Dao of Dragon Ball’s interview with Marcus Brimage, a mixed martial artist and Dragon Ball fan!

Dragon Ball Z Inspires a Young Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vpK0wlIP1I

DEREK: Dragon Ball Z really inspired you to join MMA.

On The Ultimate Fighter, you said, “Quinton Jackson and Dragon Ball Z are the reason why I do mixed martial arts today. Dragon Ball Z is the greatest action anime of all time. All time. All these little kids talking ‘bout Naruto. Man, fuck Naruto. Dragon Ball Z.”

You said that on national TV. That was your introduction to the series, people didn’t know who you are and you’re mentioning that Dragon Ball Z and Quinton Jackson, another MMA fighter, are what inspired you. How exactly did Dragon Ball Z motivate you to pursue martial arts and join the MMA?

MARCUS: Just because of the power that the Saiyans emit. It was crazy. Goku is such a super nice guy, but he’s super powerful. Vegeta is a badass, you expect him to be powerful. But I was always a nice guy and like making people laugh, and to see someone that was good hearted and kind, and all of a sudden he’s this powerful fighter, it really made me think that, “Man, I can do that.”

And that’s how I like to fight, because I push my conditioning so hard, I want to fight just like that, whup your ass from bell to bell.

It inspired me because in Alabama we don’t really have any martial arts, except Taekwondo. I just never liked Taekwondo. We have a few boxing gyms, but I wanted to learn how to kick and knee and all this other stuff.

I was in Alabama and I just basically had all these ambitions because of Dragon Ball Z. I mean, dude, c’mon, you’ve seen it, the fights are unreal. One of my favorite fights is when 17 fought against Piccolo, and the way Piccolo was using the body blows. He was hitting him so hard that the fucking fist was coming through the back of his shirt.

I was like, “Oh my God!” I knew I had to watch this cartoon. It was off the chain. It motivated me. I felt that I really wanted to learn how to do that. How to fight like that.

But at the same time, I don’t have to be a super badass guy like Vegeta. Vegeta has this attitude that everyone likes, but it’s not one that many people really have. More people are more like Goku than Vegeta. Happy go lucky: “I just want to eat food and fight!” So I thought that was pretty cool.

DEREK: How old were you when you saw Dragon Ball and you felt this way.

MARCUS: When I saw Dragon Ball I was actually in the 4^th grade. It came on WNEM-68, and I don’t know what made me watch that cartoon, because it was about this kid with a tail, and all of a sudden this hot chick with blue hair comes over to find his Dragon Ball that he thought was his granddad.

I remember I watched it before every football game, before I had to leave the house for little league football, I would watch an episode. I don’t know why, because Dragon Ball wasn’t that action packed, but the story gravitated to me, and then come to find out that Goku killed his granddad because he stepped on him. When he was younger he told him, “Don’t look at the moon because the evil monster will come out,” and all of a sudden he looked at the moon and turned into the ape. So it had a very cool story line, but even though it wasn’t action packed, I’m not sure why I was so drawn to it.

Now when Dragon Ball Z came out, I was in 6^th grade, and it used to only come on each Saturday, before Cartoon Network picked it up, and they used to show two episodes… and I lost it. The first fight with Goku versus Piccolo and Raditz, man… the thing is, with Dragon Ball, it stopped right after the first season, after they made the wish for supreme underwear.

It stopped after that, so I saw Dragon Ball Z and was able to put it together that, “Hey that’s the little boy, okay he’s strong now.” Not that it was hard to put together.

It was fast, it was ferocious, but somehow it was controlled. It wasn’t like, “Boom, Crash.” It was fast, ferocious, precise. Precision. Every blow was a precise movement. There was no unneeded movement at all. Everything was with precision, and so fast.

DEREK: Yes, it was very efficient. So you were in the 6^th grade, playing football, and you were into athletics, was there a particular moment when you were watching Dragon Ball Z and you said to yourself, “I want to be a fighter.”

MARCUS:

Because I didn’t know how to fight. And like I said, because I’m from Alabama, we’re a football state. We just got boxing commission in 2008, and in my opinion that’s fucking pathetic. We utilize the Victorian Era boxing rules in professional boxing today. The Victorian Era, do you know when that was?

DEREK: Well, yeah, centuries ago.

MARCUS: Exactly! A long ass time ago! Why the hell are we just now getting a boxing commission in 2008? And that’s what my situation was. It was football, or die. It was football, or just be a regular person. There was no other outlet.

DEREK: Oh, I see. Very limited options with what you could do.

MARCUS: Yeah, you go two hours to Atlanta, they had Jujitsu, they had Muay Thai, they had boxing, they had other styles that I would have gravitated to if I had that outlet by me. I just didn’t. When I saw Dragon Ball I immediately wanted to learn how to fight. But it wasn’t until I saw Quinton Jackson that I said, “I want to be a fighter.”

DEREK: Oh, I get it. Did you see that on TV, the clip of Quinton Jackson?

MARCUS: No, my brother actually downloaded his highlight reel. And he showed me it, him knocking out, what was his name, Marona, when he hit him with a power bomb, and they showed him slamming Shakarama in Prague.

It gave me that same feeling I got when I watched Dragon Ball Z. I got that when I saw Quinton “Rampage” fight. That’s when I said, “I want to fucking fight.” You know what I’m saying?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxyvdpk3WDU

DEREK: This is a really life changing decision, to become a fighter. So it must have had a really powerful influence on you, those two things, that feeling.

MARCUS: Oh yeah, it really did. To be honest with you, my whole life I kind of just did whatever my parents told me to. In Alabama, everyone is marrying, everyone has kids, around the age of 23. If you’re 25 and don’t have kids and are not married, it’s like, what’s wrong with you? Yeah. I even asked my mom, “Mom, is this all life is about? You graduate from high school, you go to college, meet a girl, graduate from college, marry the girl, have kids and have a family?” And my mother was like, “Yeah, son, that’s about it.”

I didn’t want that. “I’m 26 years old, I’m married, and I got a child” … Why? Why would I want to do that? But that’s the mindset in Alabama. You don’t know how many people have been trying to twist my wrist to marry my girlfriend of 3 years. I’ve known her since high school. “When ya’ll getting married? When ya’ll getting married?” That’s just their mindset.

But Dragon Ball Z and that Quinton Jackson clip made me think that there has to be something more than getting a 9 to 5 job, getting married and having kids. It really made me believe that there had to be something more.

DEREK: I see. So it broadened your perspective and showed you something greater, and made you want a different type of life.

MARCUS: Yeah.

DEREK: Dragon Ball obviously had a huge influence on you. What did you do to go and pursue that dream? Because there were no other places to train, except for Taekwondo in your neighborhood.

MARCUS: I was saving up money to move to Atlanta. Because Atlanta had some cool Muay Thai places, and I wanted to learn Muay Thai so I could fight like Sagat from Street Fighter, but at a Dragon Ball Z pace. My Sergeant in my guard unit told me that he knew this guy that could check out my moves before I left. I was like, “I don’t get it.”

So he took me to this place in Clay, Alabama, and I’m telling you I was the only black person for say, 30 miles. I know you’ve heard the stereotypes about Alabama, the part I was in, kinda true. So that was kind of awkward, being in that kind of place. But that guy who I was introduced to was not doing MMA anymore. So he introduced me to my coach back in Alabama, Chris Collins. Ever since then I’ve been with Chris [at American Top Team].

I wanted to show him I wasn’t a punk, so my first day I told him, “I want to be a fighter.” My first day, I said, “I want to fight” He said, “Yeah, how about you take some classes and then see how it goes.” “Nah, fuck that. I want to fight.” Haha. Yeah, I said it just like that.

So the first day, he dropped me, three times. Yeah, body’s. “Boosh, Boosh,” he dropped me, and I got back up. “Boosh, Boosh,” he dropped me, and I got back up. “Boosh, Boosh,” he dropped me, and I got back up! That repeated three times. Then at the end of practice I was like, “That was off the chain man, see ya’ll tomorrow!” He was looking at me like, “Yeah, you’re not going to be back.” But I was so excited I actually beat him back to the next training session. He turned on the gym lights and I was there ready for him. Yeah. I was a 19 year old kid, and I asked to fight him again. He dropped me again, for a week straight, over 2 times each session.

DEREK: How were you guys fighting at that time? Was it in a ring, did you have gloves, equipment and everything?

MARCUS: We had boxing gloves, shin guards, the whole nine. But the thing was, back then I was full of heart. You know that line I use in The Ultimate Fighter, “I’m nobody’s punching bag.” I got that from him.

He was like, “Look, I see that you’re excited. The reason I keep knocking you out is because you’re trying to kill me, and I’m nobody’s punching bag. So now that I see that you’re serious about this, how about we calm down and I’ll start showing you some shit.” I said, “Okay! Let’s see it!” Haha.

I started as part of the game, like, I think it was part of my initiation process. Truth be told, in boxing gyms that’s how it is. People who come in there, when you spar, they put you against advanced guys so you can get your ass whupped, and the guys who don’t come back, well fuck you, we don’t want you coming back.

The guys who do come back, okay, he’s a little hard headed, give him another ass whupping.

If you tell me that you want to be a fighter, but you get your ass whupped and then don’t show back up, well fuck you, get the fuck outta here and stop playing. If you get your ass whupped and show up the next day, then okay! That’s when we’re ready to work with him.

DEREK: Sounds like you had a lot of endurance and a really youthful, optimistic spirit, to keep going and push forward.

MARCUS: Yeah.

DEREK: Are there any characters in Dragon Ball that you relate to or connect with?

MARCUS: Truthfully, I hate that I… like I said before, I’m more like Goku. I’m happy all the time, I like making people smile. All around nice guy. But truthfully I wish I was more like Vegeta.

DEREK: Why do you wish that?

MARCUS: Because Vegeta got the fucking attitude. There’s something that draws you to that. I don’t know what it is, because he’s not as powerful as Goku. It’s just his persona, his aura, the way he presents himself: “I’m the prince of all Saiyans!” I gravitate to it. I can’t even describe it. The only thing I can describe it as, is impressive.

DEREK: Okay, that makes sense. Having watched Dragon Ball for so long, has it in any way affected your style of fighting?

MARCUS: Yes, it has. Like I said before, the way they move is so action packed, so fast. If you go back and look at my fights on YouTube, you’ll see all my fights are action packed, I’m in their face the whole time, “Pow, Pow, Pow Pow!” I’m chasing them around the ring.

Dragon Ball Z is like, “Boom to the temple, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom Boom Boom Boom!” You know what I’m saying? They’re everywhere. And that’s how I fight.

The thing is, right now I’ve got to learn how to be more controlled with it, but they’re just so in your face. And you know what, that’s what the crowd likes too. The crowd likes people slugging it out, going all out, balls to the wall, everywhere. That’s the shit that gets people standing up on their feet. So that’s how Dragon Ball Z is, and that’s why I always push my cardio.

DEREK: Do you train like the Dragon Ball warriors? Do you do that with a really high intensity, extreme difficulty and push yourself super hard?

MARCUS: Yes, I do that! And that’s another problem with me because I push myself too hard. I’m always thinking my opponent is training harder than me. “Last week, that shit was easy. Hey, how about I jump this 4 foot box and then make it even higher next time?”

DEREK: That’s very cool. So, regarding your comment about Naruto…

DEREK: Haha. Okay, so I guess there’s a little bit of an apology to the Naruto fans, maybe. You actually are a fan?

MARCUS: Yes. Just let them know that it wasn’t fuck Naruto, it was fuck fillers.

DEREK: Okay. Got it. Got it. So you were really inspired by Dragon Ball. Do you think that Dragon Ball has inspired other martial artists, and do you know of anybody else that has been inspired by it?

MARCUS: One of my friends from the show, his name was Prince Albert, he told me that he felt the same way I did, but he didn’t want anybody else to know that. But you can’t be like that. You’ve got to let the world know, like I did. Fucking Dragon Ball Z. You know?

He told me he understood what I was saying because he felt the same way, but he wasn’t as open with it as I was. Because man, Dragon Ball Z, I’ll tell you, it’s the greatest action anime of all time.

You can’t touch Dragon Ball Z. All them other animes, they fight for second place, because first place is already got.

Dragon Ball is #1

Learn from Marcus how mixed martial arts are different from traditional martial arts, in Part 2 of the DBZ and MMA interview »

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Marcus Brimage – DBZ and MMA Part 1