Today I introduce a new series called Dragon Ball Fan Focus, where one lucky Dragon Ball fan is interviewed and featured on The Dao of Dragon Ball.

My guest for the very first Dragon Ball Fan Focus is Monica, a young film student from Michigan who believes that she can win a debate against any other Dragon Ball fan, including the boys!

Is that a lofty claim, or can she really walk the walk? And what is it like for her to be a fan of a series made for young boys?

Let’s dive right in to the interview and find out what makes Monica such a unique Dragon Ball fan.

Dragon Ball Fandom Lives Eternal

Before our interview, Monica shared a bit about herself on the Dragon Ball Z sub-Reddit forum on Reddit.com, called r/dbz. It’s a fun community of like minded (and sometimes not so like minded) Dragon Ball fans from all over the world.

She told enough to make me intrigued and now here we are.

Derek: Hi Monica. Thanks for being the first Dragon Ball fan to be featured on The Dao of Dragon Ball.

You are from Michigan, right? Can you tell me a little about yourself?

Monica: I’m from Plymouth, Michigan but I haven’t lived here my whole life. I grew up around here and moved to South America when I was really little. That was the first place I started watching Dragon Ball, it was in Spanish.

Derek: You speak Spanish? I don’t know very much about the South American dub.

Monica: Yeah, fluently. It’s pretty good. I’ve been to South America a couple times and they have a lot of anime there. It’s all dubbed really well and they translate the theme songs, which they don’t do in the US, they make up their own theme songs here, which is stupid.

Derek: Which dub do you prefer?

Monica: I usually watch the English version, and I have a reason for that too. I’ve watched some of the Japanese version, but I watch the English version because they add in some things, certain character developments that I like. They do a good job with it.

Derek: Sometimes they fill in the characters personality, especially with Vegeta.

Monica: Yeah, and he’s my favorite character!

Derek: When did you start reading The Dao of Dragon Ball website and what do you think of the idea behind it?

Monica: I think it’s an interesting idea to go into the back stories, because there are a lot of things in Dragon Ball based on something else, like the Rabbit in the Moon article.

Derek: Have you learned anything from the site?

Monica: I read a lot of Dragon Ball Z in Shonen Jump, and they put history things into there, about that stuff, which led me to look into more of it. So I’ve looked at some of the Japanese history myself, and being interested in anime I’m like, “Hey, that’s in Dragon Ball!”

Derek: Right! You can see the correlations. That’s how the project started.

When you first told your story on Reddit you mentioned that when you were a child you used to wake up on Saturday mornings and watch the show with your little brother, but your dad decided it was too violent to watch. Can you tell me that story?

Monica: We were right in the Ginyu Saga when Vegeta kills Burter and Recoome, who aren’t dead yet, and my dad saw that and was like, “Oh, he just broke his neck!” Haha, and he decided that wasn’t appropriate for us, since I think I was still in 4^th grade.

But I still had some friends who watched it and they would all tell me the stories. I was amazed to hear that Krillin had hair!

Derek: So you didn’t get to the see the rest of the show until you grew up, you said about 8 years later?

Monica: I had dabbled in it a little since then because I had friends who liked it, but I had never seen it all the way to the end until I was much older, in high school.

Derek: Then a friend bought you the first and second seasons and rekindled your repressed love for the series. What happened then?

Monica: Right. I watched the entire thing on a straight marathon, all the way through! With all of the filler and long power up sequences it’s perfect to sit down and watch while you do homework. Every time I was doing something else I’d turn it on. As soon as Season 2 [aff] was over I was like, crap, I’ve got to get the next one. Haha.

Vegeta, Confidence and Pride

Derek: Why does Dragon Ball hook you? What’s your favorite aspect?

Monica: I think people seriously underestimate the story of it. Everybody gets involved with the long power up sequences and muscle bound characters and they forget that there’s an actual storyline going on, and the characters are quite involved in the story.

Derek: Yeah, it was tragic. Is he your favorite character because of how he changes or do you identify with Vegeta?

Monica: I like his character development and how he changes, but also how true they stay to his character. I know Akira Toriyama didn’t really intend for him to be a main character. He just threw him in and then kept him going.

Derek: Right, because the fans liked Vegeta and wanted him to stay.

Monica: Yeah, because of Akira Toriyama not liking him very much, he remains a bad guy all the way through to the end. I really like that because it’s something you don’t usually see. He’s the reluctant good guy the entire time. He hates everyone! Haha.

I like the tenacity of his character and I do identify with him a lot. My favorite thing about him is that he’s not always the best, but he’s always trying to be.

Derek: Do you feel that way about yourself?

Monica: I play hockey and I like to compete. Being a girl in a men’s sport I kind of feel that no matter what I do I’ll never be good enough, so I can relate to that.

Derek: So you’re always pushing yourself to be better?

Monica: Yeah. I said in my submission that I wanted to get a tattoo of the Saiyan crest. I’m a film student and a lot of my teachers are telling me “You’re not confident enough,” and Vegeta is a really confident character, so I feel like if I had that it would remind me to be more confident.

Monica shows off a drawing of the Royal Saiyan Crest tattoo

Derek: I see. I was going to ask what that symbol meant to you and now I understand.

You mentioned that you’re a woman playing hockey in a men’s sport. Dragon Ball also has a reputation for being geared toward young men. It is the quintessential example of a Shonen (Young Boys) manga and anime. And according to my 2012 reader survey, 91% of the readers of this website are male. What do you think of that? Is Dragon Ball a boy’s club, or is it universal?

Monica: It’s geared a lot towards guys. All of the main characters are guys. There are a couple female characters but they don’t do much, except maybe Bulma. Chi-Chi is just Chi-Chi. Haha. They don’t glorify them very much. 18 is really the only, oh and Videl is pretty cool too I guess. But they don’t glorify the women, which I guess I should have a chip on my shoulder about but I really don’t because it’s Dragon Ball Z!

I know a lot of girls who like it, like my roommate in college, she loves it now too. As a Shonen show it’s geared toward guys for a reason. I can understand why there aren’t a lot of girls who like it, but I feel like there’s a whole genre of girls who would, if they give it a chance.

Derek: I agree. You said that you’re a hardcore fan, you’ve got the Majin Vegeta hat, the Goku clothes and everything. Are boys ever surprised to find out that they’ve been talking to a girl about Dragon Ball, and especially when they’re proven wrong in debates or specific points of trivia online?

Monica: I try to point out that I’m a girl on r/dbz as much as I can.

But people don’t seem to like when I point out that I’m a girl because they seem to think I’m doing it for attention. They’re surprised, not because I’m a girl, but more so because I’m pointing it out!

Derek: You said that Vegeta is your favorite character and he inspires you to push yourself harder. Has Dragon Ball changed your life in any other way?

Monica: I think that’s probably the biggest way.

You can’t sit there and watch these guys go through all this stuff and then continue to watch television. I watch a couple episodes of Dragon Ball Z and then go to the gym.

Derek: I hear ya. I was religious about working out when I was really into watching the show. I was doing Kung Fu training for 3 hours a day, sparring and Tai Ji. Then I’d come home, shower, eat, and then watch DBZ on Adult Swim and work out again. It was mad.

Why do you think that 15 years after the series concluded in 1997, that there are still so many Dragon Ball fans, and it is still so successful?

Monica: It really is one of those cult shows. It has iconic things going on, the Kamehameha and stuff. People still make jokes about it, and when someone makes a Kamehameha joke, then everybody goes, “Oh yeah, Dragon Ball, I’m going to go back and watch that.”

Because it’s such a long running series and there are so many things to joke about and relate to, it has stood the test of time.

Derek: I think it’s something a lot of young adults grew up with and now it’s a language that we all speak and understand. When you mention Dragon Ball or one of those simple things like the Kamehameha, you instantly understand each other. “Oh, you grew up with Dragon Ball, too?” There’s a connection formed and then you can laugh about it.

If there were one question you’d like answered about Dragon Ball, what would it be?

Monica: I would like to ask Akira Toriyama why he shit’s on Vegeta so much in the Buu Saga!

Derek: Haha. Any idea what he might say?

Monica: I think he would say that he was never a huge fan of Vegeta and that was probably his reasoning for it. Vegeta just gets thrown around so much more than you think he should against Buu.

Derek: You’re right, he does take a pretty hard beating. But seeing Goku fight against him and win is the catalyst for his ultimate admittance that Goku is #1. It’s the ending of his character.

Monica: Right, but it was Vegeta’s idea of how to beat Buu.

Derek: True. The universe would have died without Vegeta. That’s a fact.

Monica: Haha.

A Hardcore Dragon Ball Fan

Derek: There are these terms, “hardcore” or “true” fan. Do you believe in those terms, and if so, what do you think they mean?

Monica: Yeah, I do. I’ve had a lot of seriously philosophical discussions with fans. I haven’t met a single fan that I haven’t been able to talk into a corner about Dragon Ball Z, because I watch it all the time. They’re all guys, too.

Would Majin Vegeta be able to beat Super Saiyan 3 Goku? Why, why not? If you can seriously lay your arguments out and have a hardcore, bloodthirsty discussion about stuff like that, then you’re a hardcore fan.

If you’re like, “Oh right, I saw him that one time when he had the “M” on his head,” it’s like, “Get out of here, you’re bush league.”

Derek: Haha. That was all of my questions, Monica. Is there anything you’d like to ask me?

Monica: I saw you had the ebook online. Is the book going to be published physically?

Derek: Yes. First as an ebook so I can generate the funding for the physical book. The people who pre-order the ebook now will get the 3 bonus chapters for free plus a physical copy signed by me when its published, as an incentive to pre-order it and support the project.

I just got another pre-order today from a person named “Majin.” So that’s pretty cool.

I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with me and answer so honestly. I think a lot of people are excited about this series and this was a great way to start.

Monica: Thanks for interviewing me. I told all of my friends I was going to be interviewed on a website!

Derek: Yeah, please share the link to the page with your friends.

Monica: Thanks. Bye!

Focusing on the Fans

What a fun way to start the series!

What do you think of Monica’s story? Her father wouldn’t let her watch Dragon Ball, but years later she received the first two seasons as a gift and fell in love with DBZ all over again!

She seems like a pretty big fan, wouldn’t you say?

Are you a huge fan of Dragon Ball? If so, what’s your story?

Leave a short version in the comments below. If I decide to feature you, then we’ll set up a time to talk.

Tell the world why you’re a Dragon Ball fan and become the next guest on Dragon Ball Fan Focus!

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Dragon Ball Fan Focus – Monica

The Prince of all Saiyans has awakened!

It’s time to explore Vegeta’s life through digitally painted Dragon Ball fan art.

Over the course of writing The Dao of Dragon Ball book and interacting with fans, I’ve been surprised by how much love there is for Vegeta. I had thought Goku was the most popular character.

But it turns out that Dragon Ball fans absolutely adore Vegeta’s attitude, his raw Saiyan strength, and his stylish hair line.

His transformation from a cold blooded killer to a family man over the course of hundreds of episodes is an iconic example of the power of redemption and personal change.

Vegeta now stands as one of the most recognizable characters in this or any other series. There’s no mistaking Vegeta when you see him!

Now we take a moment to look back on the life of a soul that sought the value of its self worth. A Saiyan who lost his tail and became a man.

The Early Years

“Prince Vegeta” by SD Nolan

“Demonic” by Inklingz

Saiyan Saga

“Invaders” by doomsplosion

“Nappa and Vegeta” by Big Sam

“Vegeta Sketch” by gavinslayer

“Prince Vegeta” by fluorescentteddy.

“Vegeta Oozaru” by Timsalcove

Namek Saga

“Vegeta” by raider

Artificial Human Saga

“Compulsion” by Inklingz

“Vegeta Badman” by Nenee

“Vegeta” by osiris999

“Vegeta vs A18″ by hoCbo

“Vegeta – GTA Style” by lynnember

“Stargazing” by ginkoflowers

“Vegeta and the Moon” by Tomahawk Dragon

“Eat Your Vegetables” by Rikona

“Vegeta n Trunks” by shadcarlos

“Vegeta’s Assault” by razwit

Majin Saga

“Majin Vegeta” by LucasHartes

“Majin Vegeta” by henryz

“Goku vs Vegeta” by mullerpereira

“Vegeta” by ginkoflowers

“Sacrifice” by unknown

“Gone” by Vegeta Pyscho

“DBZ Vegeta and Goku Attack” by Goldman Karee

Dragon Ball GT

“Vegeta 4 from GT” by shurikmx

“Vegeta’s Outdoor Trip” by Goldman Karee

Final Flash

Killer. Servant. Warrior. Lover. Father. To Hell and back. This was the life of Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyans.

These images were found on the internet and I gave attribution where possible.

In case you’re curious, the first one was called “Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyans” by Giye.

Did you have a favorite? Please share with others and tell us why you love Vegeta so much!

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Dragon Ball Art – Vegeta Paintings

Dragon Ball art is alive and well in the Dragon Ball fan community.

The previous post about Dragon Ball Paintings displayed fine art created with a brush.

Today’s article unveils digital art created with a mouse or pen, yet equally fine.

Using the following images of fan created works I have attempted to tell Goku’s story.

There may be a few pieces missing, but the hardcore dragon ball fans know where to fill in the blanks.

The majority of images are from the Deviant Art website, and I have given credit where I could.

Enjoy…

Goku’s Story

“Gohan” by kadlamalice

“Kid Goku” by XIIINinjaRabbits

“Goku vs Piccolo” by Zuthell

“Little Goku Day” by kadlamalice

“Flying Nimbus Color Wash” by saintchase

“Dragon Ball Fan Art” by elnota

“Epic Battle” by demitrybelmont

“Goku vs Freeza” by mobius9

“Goku” by paranoidvin

“Dragon Ball Cell vs Goku” by nig6ghtmare01

“Gokusan” by osiris999

“Kamehameha” by namekianpikkoro7

“Gokou” by osiris999

“The Super Saiyan” by Fallen Eye

“Dragon Ball Z” by elbrazo

“Goku” by cangdu

“Saiyan” by angel5art

“GSS4″ by alveeus

Images and Story Telling

Isn’t it amazing how each image carries an emotional history that we associate with Goku’s tale?

And the realism of several of the paintings helps bring his story to life.

Even though the images are still, they seem to be moving.

As each image enters our minds eye, it stirs our heart.

Such is the wonder of art.

What do you think? Have a favorite image, or how did you feel as you moved through the paintings?

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Dragon Ball Art – Goku Digital Paintings

Saluti, and welcome to “Galleria di Dragon Ball.”

The Dragon Ball community is really amazing. Aside from being one of the largest fan bases in the world, it is also filled with a lot of talented artists.

This is because Dragon Ball inspired many people to become artists, whether it be in drawing, painting, digital art or comic book illustration.

Most of us, including myself, began by copying the art of Akira Toriyama. Those who persisted in their artistic training became better and better, eventually reaching the level of fine art, as you’ll see here.

Fine art is a representation of the best that a culture has to offer.

The fine art presented here is an example of the best that Dragon Ball fandom has to offer.

Dragon Ball might appear to be a simple series, but its effect on society has been rather large, and the artists wouldn’t have created these works of art without being inspired in their hearts.

The works are traditional paintings, using acrylics, oils or other natural materials

I have done my best to give credit where it’s due.

As you scroll downward, try to imagine that you are viewing the paintings in a real art gallery.

Please enjoy, and Grazie Mille.

Dragon Ball Oil Paintings

The above painting and the next 10 are by Nacho Molino.

“Freeza Crossing the Namek” by PoisonousFox

“Cell” by Lucas Hartes

Dragon Ball Modern Art

“Kamehameha” by MysteriousSquirrel

“Jeice’s Portrait” by SirCrocodile

Dragon Ball Acrylic Painting

“Battle Preparashyuns” by arumise

“Nouveau Vegeta” by Sara Richards

As You Exit the Gallery

That concludes the “Galleria di Dragon Ball’s” fine art wing.

If there’s enough interest in Dragon Ball art, then I will continue to post more art in different styles, such as watercolor, digital paintings, 3 dimensional art, pencil drawings and alternative art.

Have a favorite? Please let me know in the comments.

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Dragon Ball Art – Paintings

Who is Boss Rabbit? Don’t remember him? Well that’s not surprising considering he’s only in a single issue and episode. But even if you do, I doubt you know his full story.

In this article you’ll learn about Boss Rabbit’s origins in Dragon Ball as well as his roots in Japanese, Chinese and Indian legends as the white rabbit of the moon. Yes, it goes that far back!

Boss Rabbit’s depiction in Dragon Ball is simple and comical, but Akira Toriyama manages to connect him to an ancient source at the very end.

You may have been confused by this reference since it was intended for a Japanese audience. Today you’ll finally learn what it’s all about.

Follow me as we dive into the rabbit hole and see how far down it goes.

Carrot Changing Rabbit Magic!

We’ll begin this topic by talking about Boss Rabbit’s one and only appearance in Dragon Ball.

Boss Rabbit premiered in Chapter 17 of the Dragon Ball manga, titled “Boss Rabbit’s Special Technique,” and episode 9 of the Dragon Ball anime, titled “Usagi Oyabun no Tokui Waza, うさぎオヤブンの得意技; English: Boss Rabbit’s Magic Touch,” on April 23, 1986.

His original name in Japanese is “usagi ninjin-ka” (兎人参化). This literally translates to “Rabbit Man Carrot Change,” or more accurately translated as “Rabbit who turns people into carrots.”

Since this is a hard term to translate, his name has appeared in different ways. In the Viz published manga he’s called “To, The Carrotter,” while in the FUNimation anime dub he’s called “Monster Carrot.” Fan translations have called him “The Carrotizer,” “The Carrotizer Bunny,” or simply “Boss Rabbit,” which I find the easiest to understand, even though it is not the most telling of his magic ability.

He’s called Boss Rabbit because he is the leader of the Rabbit Gang (Japanese: usagi dan, ウサギ団), a group of mobster-like criminals who have controlled a village near the Diablo Desert with fear. But it’s primarily because he’s a giant white rabbit that talks!

Why are the villagers so afraid of him? Because Boss Rabbit has the ability to turn people into carrots with his touch! He’s like the Greek legend of King Midas who turned objects into gold, but in this case, it’s into vegetables.

Only in this case it’s much worse, because after they’ve become a carrot he proceeds to EAT them. He does this because he’s evil, and he’s a rabbit, and evil rabbits eat carrot-people. That’s just what they do.

He has two gang members who walk around the town like they own the place. Bulma, Goku and Oolong happen to be in town. The two thugs see Bulma dressed in a rabbit costume (for altogether different reasons) and proceed to give Goku and the others a hard time, so Goku defends himself the only way he knows how.

The gang members retreat in pain and summon their boss to the scene.

Boss Rabbit drives up in a rabbit car, and gets out of the car wearing sun glasses.

The talking rabbit is walking on two feet and is wearing sun glasses traditional Chinese clothing with chaaracter (兎) on it. This character in Japanese is pronounced “usagi” (うさぎ) and means “rabbit.”

Toriyama often applies symbols to the characters’ clothing in Dragon Ball, and in many cases they have deeper meanings, but in this case it just means rabbit.

Boss Rabbit offers his hand to Bulma as a feigned act of kindness. She slaps it away in refusal. He starts laughing, and a moment later Bulma is magically turned into a carrot.

Goku is shocked. He fights against Boss Rabbit and uses the Nyoi-bo to make sure he doesn’t get touched.

Boss Rabbit is losing the fight so he holds the Bulma carrot hostage and says that if Goku fights back, he’ll eat her.

Goku has no choice but to endure the painful blows of Boss Carrot’s gang.

Seeing that Goku needs help, Yamcha and Puar (who were following our hero’s) steal the carrot away from Boss Rabbit, who is then defeated by Goku.

Goku forces Boss Rabbit to transform Bulma back into a person.

What happens next is straight out of a Japanese legend.

Boss Rabbit goes to the Moon

Goku ties up Boss Carrot and his defeated gang members. He then decides to take the gang as far away from the village as possible.

How, exactly?

By taking Nyoi-bo out, sticking it in the ground, and telling it to grow!

The magical staff that Goku carries (the Nyoi-bo) is based on the As You Wish Staff of Sun Wukong from Journey to the West (Chinese: Ruyi Jingu Bang, 如意金箍棒), and it has the power to change shape according to the users mind intent. The staff can become as small as a needle, or “As tall as Heaven.”

Sun Wukong (Son Goku) and the white Moon Rabbit (Jade Rabbit)

In this case, Goku grabs onto the tied up villains and rises into the air along with the staff. Higher, higher, and ever higher, until he reaches the moon!

There, Boss Rabbit and his two gang members endure punishment for their crimes, as they are seen pounding mochi cakes using a hammer.

Huh? What’s going on?

Okay, a couple things.

First, oddly enough, they can all breath in space, including Goku who brought them up there. This is because Akira Toriyama was more of a gag manga author at this time of his career, coming on the heels of Dr. Slump. He preferred to write more humorous story lines, interspersed with both traditional and pop culture, so even though they can breathe in space and it doesn’t make any sense, it’s funny and tells a better story.

But why are they pounding mochi cakes?

Quickly, in case you don’t know, mochi (餅) is a sweet rice cake in Japan eaten for dessert. In Korean it’s called Tteok (떡), and they’re made from glutinous rice flour. It can be cooked in different ways, including by being pounded with mallets inside a big pot.

The reason Goku took them to the moon is because Toriyama wrote his comic for a Japanese audience, and he was referencing an ancient Japanese legend, called The Rabbit on the Moon.

In western countries the craters on the moon are described as “The Man in the Moon,” as they look like a face. But in Japan, the craters are described as a rabbit standing above a mortar or pot, pounding into the pot with a hammer or pestle to make sweet rice cakes known as mochi.

As depicted here:

But how did a rabbit get on the moon?

Now that is a far more interesting tale.

The Rabbit on the Moon Legend

Like many aspects of Japanese culture, the Rabbit on the Moon legend comes from China. But as you’ll see, the Chinese legend goes even further back to ancient India and Buddhism.

All of the following legends show that our ancestors, no matter where they lived on earth, all looked up to the stars and moon in an attempt to find meaning.

Meaning for our lives and our place in the universe.

Let’s begin the telling of this legend in India, thousands of years ago, and then chronologically and geographically work our way toward modern Japan.

The Jataka White Rabbit

India is the most likely source of origin for the rabbit on the moon legend.

The Jataka, otherwise known as the “Previous Life Stories,” tell the tales of Buddha Shakyamuni’s 34 previous lives before being reborn as a human as Siddhartha Gautama and attaining enlightenment.

In story number 6, he is reborn as a white rabbit. Even though he’s an animal, this rabbit is so virtuous, beautiful, and good that the other animals treat him as a king and admire his wisdom. The three animals that became his closest students were an otter, jackal, and monkey.

One night, the rabbit instructed them that on the following evening there would be a full moon, and was a holy day (the Uposatha day of fasting), and that any beggars who needed aid should immediately be given food.

The rabbit realized later on that while his companions had a variety of ways to feed a human being, he had none. Only the bitter grass clippings that he ate each day. He immediately decided that if the opportunity arose, he would offer his own body as meat.

Hearing this thought, the god Shakra (aka Sakka, or Indra), the Lord of All Gods, decided to descend to earth and test the rabbit’s conviction. He appeared as a hungry beggar.

The otter brought fish. The jackal brought a lizard and a stolen pot of milk. The monkey brought mangoes.

But the rabbit had nothing to offer. So with the help of the other animals and the man he built a fire. As soon as the fire was blazing he jumped on top of it.

Shakra was greatly moved. He quickly reached into the fire, pulled out the unscathed rabbit and held it above his head, displaying him before all the gods in his mighty glory.

To honor the rabbits selfless sacrifice, Shakra placed the image of the rabbit on the top of his palace, and most importantly to this story, carved the rabbits image onto the moon.

This is where the “rabbit on the moon” idea comes from. The rabbit was engraved on the moon so that people across the world would forever have a symbol of piety, righteousness and sacrifice to look up to.

The rabbit had nothing to offer but himself, and this was the greatest gift of all.

Chang’e and the White Rabbit

The Buddhism of India was exported into China where it took root and assimilated with the existing culture. Many of the Buddhist legends became interwoven with existing Chinese beliefs and folk tales, such as those from Daoism.

One such Daoist story is about a young woman named Chang’e (嫦娥). She is the Moon Goddess and the Chinese equivalent of “The Man in the Moon.”

The quick version of the story is that Chang’e and her husband were both immortals. Through an altercation with the Jade Emperor, Lord of Heaven, they were banished down to the earth to live as mortals.

In an attempt to seek their immortality once again, her husband Houyi sought the way back and was fortunate to meet the Queen Mother of the West, a Daoist deity. Seeing his pious nature, The Queen Mother gave Houyi a magic pill of immortality, but warned him that they each only need to eat one half of the pill.

Unfortunately Chang’e was too curious and swallowed the entire pill herself. She rose upward into the sky as her husband looked onward, unable to do anything but cry. She kept rising up, and up, until she landed back on the moon.

Luckily she wasn’t alone! A “Jade Rabbit” lived there as well, and he had the job of constantly making immortality elixirs in his pot.

Throughout Chinese history the “moon rabbit,” as inherited from the Indian legend of Buddha Shakyamuni’s sacrifice, had been called many names, such as Jade Rabbit (玉兎) or Gold Rabbit (金兎). The Jade Rabbit refers to Daoism and immortality, while I believe the Gold Rabbit most likely refers to Buddhism and enlightenment. Here you can see the interwoven cultures.

The white rabbit (aka Jade Rabbit) is connected to the Dao because he was making an immortality elixir. Long life and eventual immortality was one of the goals of Daoist practitioners, who regarded Jade as the highest material substance (as personified by the Jade Emperor). They were known for collecting herbs or special ingredients and mixing them together in a pot in an attempt to create immortality pills.

This image is of an 18^th century Qing Emperor’s robe. The white rabbit is on the Emperor’s Robe because it was considered a Daoist symbol of long life. The Dragon represents the Emperor and “The Will of Heaven.”

The Chang’e legend was part of traditional folklore that became very popular in the Tang Dynasty (609 – 907 AD). On each Mid-Autumn day, the full moon of the 8^th lunar month, people throughout China set up altars and put their pastries and cakes on the altar to be blessed by Chang’e. When they eat the pastries and cakes, they become beautiful.

This is called the Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival, and there is an accompanying parade at night where people carry lanterns with rabbits on them.

In literary culture Chang’e is also found in Journey to the West, the inspiration for Dragon Ball. Here, she is banished from Heaven by the Jade Emperor just like Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, but through the process of redemption is allowed to make her way back up to Heaven and eventually to the moon.

Likewise, the famous Tang Dynasty poet, Li Bai, wrote of this rabbit in his poem, “The Old Dust,” saying, “The rabbit in the moon pounds the medicine in vain.”

These Indian and Chinese legends became intermingled and were then passed on to Japan.

The Japanese White Rabbit

Japanese culture is a mix of imported Chinese, Korean and native beliefs with its own unique flavors and disciplines.

A version of the Jataka stories from India can be found in the Japanese anthology, Konjaku Monogatarishu (今昔物語集), a classic source of many Japanese legends and both Buddhist and Shinto culture, written between 794 and 1185, a time of great trade with China.

It is retold here as a children’s story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN9Y_pZ8P0A

Many of the legends in the Konjaku Monogatarishu feature animals that can think and talk like humans. They sometimes appear bipedal and anthromorphic, with morality and feelings, just like the animal characters in Dragon Ball, such as Boss Rabbit, Oolong and Puar.

In the Japanese version of the Chang’e story, when she makes it to the moon and sees the white rabbit, the rabbit is pounding rice in a mortar, not an elixir in a pot. The rabbit’s name is Tsukiyomi (月読), the same name as the moon god in Shinto and Japanese mythology.

This is because Tsukiyomi is said to have killed Ukemochi, the rice goddess. Tsukiyomi pounds rice in a pestle and mortar because he harvested the grains of rice from the moon and is turning them into cakes. The “mochi” desserts come from Ukemochi.

The same idea of a rabbit making mochi (instead of elixir) is found in the Korean version of the story, but I don’t know which one came first.

Today, just like in China and Korea, people in Japan celebrate the first day of autumn by eating mochi. The first day of Autumn is an equinox, and therefore a perfect “moon viewing day” in Japan. People look up at the moon and see the rabbit. The rabbit on the moon makes the mochi. Then they eat the mochi. Makes sense, right?

This was common folklore and culture that Japanese citizens grew up with, just like Easter in America. It’s a national holiday that is celebrated throughout the country.

For example, the Rabbit Song, or “Usagi,” as it’s known, is a children’s song that mentions the rabbit on the moon and the festival. This song is as common in Japan as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” is in the United States.

Here are the lyrics:

The song is sung by young children throughout Japan, including Dragon Ball’s target audience, and they’re all familiar with the legend.

Toriyama References Traditional Culture

Toriyama wrote his comic for young Japanese boys, and so he purposefully appealed to what they would be interested in during their youth. He took the legend of the rabbit on the moon and incorporated it into Dragon Ball.

This slice of Japanese culture is in the comic for seemingly no other reason than to be funny. And I’m not even sure why it takes up an entire episode and issue, as it isn’t integral to the story. It’s just something that happens along the way.

Japan only has a 2% Christian population, so there aren’t many people who celebrate Easter. The legend as depicted in Dragon Ball obviously has nothing to do with Easter, as I’ve thoroughly explained, but I thought it a fitting day to tell such a story to a primarily Western audience.

Toriyama fills in the blank of the Japanese version of the rabbit on the moon legend using Goku, Boss Rabbit and his Rabbit Gang. The rabbit made it up there because Goku took him up there!

He and his gang presumably would have stayed up there forever, but Master Roshi destroyed the moon with a Kamehameha while fighting against Goku during the 21^st Tenkaichi Budokai later in the series.

Oops.

Did they die, as would be logical?

No, because in the book “Dragon Ball: Adventure Special,” (published December 1, 1987), Akira Toriyama explained that “They’re drifting through space.”

Toriyama was probably trying to be nice by not killing them off. But to me, drifting through space for the rest of your life is even worse than death and going to the afterlife.

Oh well.

In conclusion, the point I’m trying to make is that the entire reference to all of this ancient culture is depicted in 1 panel, of 1 page, in 1 issue of a comic. Yet it speaks volumes if you know the full history of what is depicted.

And now you do.

So the next time you see Boss Rabbit you’ll remember all of the ancient culture and the thousands of years of history that made his creation possible.

Resources

White Rabbit on Emperor’s Robe

Japanese Wooden Rabbit Toy

Bunny Rabbit on the Moon

Jataka Stories

Moon Rabbit on Wikipedia

Chang’e on Wikipedia

Carrotizer Bunny on Dragon Ball Wikia

Japanese Children’s Story on YouTube

Jataka Stories 2

A French Article on Dragon Ball’s Moon

Li Bai’s Poetry

Prints of Japan – In Depth Article on Japanese Mythology

Chang-e Moon Goddess and White Rabbit

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Dragon Ball’s White Rabbit of the Moon

Mark Menza. Photograph by Kris Hundt.

Welcome back to Part 2 of my interview with Mark Menza, composer of FUNimation’s Dragon Ball GT. We are continuing from Part 1.

In this interview you will learn about Mark’s perspective on Bruce Faulconer, hear his thoughts on the Dragon Ball fandom, and discover the origins of the Dragon Ball GT rap intro!

That’s right, the full explanation for the GT rap intro!

You’ve been waiting 9 years to hear the answer to this great mystery surrounding the Dragon Ball GT dub, so don’t miss it!

Bruce Faulconer and Mark Menza

Okay Mark, let’s get right into some of the controversy.

This may be a little sensitive, and I fully respect your right to stay silent or private on any of these questions, but these are things fans want to know. I polled the Dragon Ball community asking, “What would you like to know from Mark Menza?”

Mark: Right.

Derek: I’m going to talk about Bruce Faulconer, alright?

Mark: Okay.

Derek: Bruce Faulconer and his staff had developed a large following of fans for their Dragon Ball Z music. FUNimation evidently decided to not hire them again to continue with GT. Do you know why that is?

Mark: You know, I really don’t.

Again, I got to know Barry Watson [a FUNimation producer] on a personal level because I knew his wife. When he heard some of the music I did I think they were just looking for another voice on GT. Nowhere could I tell that they didn’t want to use Bruce or had a problem with him.

I don’t know a thing about it, let me put it that way.

Derek: You had done the Dragon Ball Z movies and then signed on for GT. I read that Bruce was very upset about this and actually pleaded fans to petition FUNimation to hire him back.

Mark: Right. I had heard that from somebody at FUNimation.

Derek: So you can confirm that that happened?

Mark: I heard it, I can’t confirm that it happened. Well, I mean like anybody he probably wanted to get hired back, like “Hey man, I’ve done a lot of work for you guys, why don’t you hire me again?” Why they did or didn’t, that’s a question for somebody else because I was not a part of hiring.

I don’t know how many episodes he did, but I’m sure it was WAY more than I ever did.

Derek: He did 224. There are 291 in DBZ and he started at episode 68.

Mark: Wow, yeah, and I did 64. So he definitely had a bigger deal there, but even other shows, we talked about The Simpsons a moment ago, they started with one composer and then they transitioned to Alf Clausen, like maybe in the 3^rd season.

You never know, sometimes it’s just a particular voice that maybe they were looking for on GT. I’m definitely more of a guitar player, so maybe, and I’m totally guessing, I wouldn’t at all want you to convey that Mark Menza got hired because he played guitar and this other guy is not a guitar player. I don’t know if that’s at all true.

Derek: Well, it is! Bruce hired assistants who played guitar for him, like Scott Morgan and Bud Guin. Bud played lead guitar for the main theme of Dragon Ball Z. He had others as well, students from local universities in Dallas.

Mark: Then maybe not, I don’t know. Then my guess is inaccurate. Haha! But I couldn’t really tell ya. That would be more of a question for Gen or somebody like that.

I think they just wanted somebody else.

Derek: That is a very clear answer. Thank you. Were there ever any conflicts between you and Bruce or his staff?

Mark: No, and you’re saying he had multiple guys over there, I didn’t know that. You mentioned Scott Morgan, but I don’t know that name.

Derek: Okay. A lot of fans felt confused about the switch from Bruce to yourself, because there was just silence from FUNimation, there’s mystery surrounding the why, as in, “Why not use Bruce?” Now you’ve cleared it up for us. I really appreciate that.

Mark: I don’t think there’s anything mysterious or nefarious there, I just think they maybe had exhausted all the possibilities, I don’t know, it’s hard to say. I’m sure he worked really hard on that show and did a great job for them and I think they were extremely happy.

Now did he do any movies as well?

Derek: Yes, he did the Lord Slug film before you came on board.

Mark: Okay, cool.

Derek: There is a very noticeable difference between the two musical styles, the compositional theory and the overall soundscape between Z and GT. Was this due entirely to the musical differences between you and Faulconer Productions? Or, as you touched on earlier, did FUNimation offer guidelines on how you were to approach the project.

Mark: Other than the things we’ve already talked about, they wanted to age it up. I don’t know how that compares to DBZ. Whatever dialogue the guys at FUNimation chose to use, or what provisions they used, whether it was Barry or other guys that worked directly with the crew at Faulconer.

I did meet with one composer, one guy who came to interview with me years ago. Mike Smith. He came to look for a gig as a composer and he had worked as a staff / assistant for Faulconer Productions.

He was a nice guy, seemed kind of young at the time. Other than that one experience I don’t think he had done a lot before that. He was a super nice guy, very talented, but he was a little green, particularly in the scoring to picture arena, which I think is a different skill set than being a song writer or somebody who writes symphonic music. Very different from my skill set where I tend to always be. Thank god I get a lot of work, so 99% of what I write is for something to picture.

I don’t think Mike had a lot of experience dealing with that.

Derek: I know Mike! I know all about him and have read about him.

Mark: He was a nice guy, very talented, and I would never want to say anything disparaging about him, but he definitely seemed like he was, probably when he came to working on that show, I can only guess, and this is just my idle speculation, that was one of the first time’s he had a chance to write that much to picture. It was probably a wonderful experience for him.

Derek: Yep, he was a student at Southern Methodist University and he got picked by Bruce to go work for him as an intern sort of thing. Bruce taught classes there. Mike had worked with Bruce for a year prior to Dragon Ball Z, and was there on day one for DBZ episode 68.

Mark: Well there you go! That confirms my suspicion! And that was apparent, let me put it that way. He was a super nice guy, but I was not in a position to hire an assistant. If I was, I certainly would have considered him. Super nice guy.

Corporate Direction

Derek: How much of GT’s music was your own creative decisions rather than corporate direction?

Mark: Well, boy, you know, I would say that most of it at the end of the day would have been things I came up with, but it was based on them giving me initial directions.

If somebody came to you and said, “I want you to play the part of an obnoxious villain in a movie for us,” and you played a really great bad guy who everybody loved, people would say, “How much of this is real, are you really this bad of a guy?” Well, no, that’s a part you’re playing.

I would have to say at the end of the day it’s a 50/50 proposition. Anything they didn’t want or wouldn’t fit, they would immediately tell me. If I ever by accident or potentially had some Jazz influence that showed up and they didn’t like it, believe me they would tell me to change it.

Derek: I see. I heard from Ric Villa, one of the FUNimation producers at the time, that GT had failed in almost every country where it appeared, except for in America. He said that was due to the edits FUNimation made, and the overall tonal change of the series from a light and happy adventure, to a heavy, dangerous, violent battle. And it’s true that it then became a financial success. What are your thoughts on these changes?

Mark: I guess I don’t have any opinion on it because I didn’t know the original GT in Japan. The little bit I had heard, I’m talking less than an hour of my life invested in listening to some of the original music, to say that oh yeah, it’s sweeter, definitely younger. Beyond that it was simply like, “Okay, don’t go there.”

Once I got the show, the shows sort of wrote themselves, guys yelling at each other, the voices are very aggressive, well, [that means] this music has to be aggressive. The show is aggressive, it’s about life and death situations, and it became… everything that Ric said is accurate. It was that.

Now saying that it BECAME that in comparison to something else, that I don’t know because I only know the more aggressive version of GT.

That’s what directs me a lot. Like when I was going off earlier about playing to picture, that’s totally what I respond to.

Derek: Right, that makes perfect sense. I completely understand.

Origins of the GT Rap Intro!

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

Derek: FUNimation acquired Dragon Ball GT in 2003 and they advertised it a lot and placed your intro theme song on their official website to build up buzz.

Mark: Oh yeah! Hahahahaha!

Derek: You remember that?

Mark: Oh yeah! Theme song! Haha!

Derek: So that song, now affectionately known as “Step into the Grand Tour,” premiered there, and it caused a really big reaction in the fan community. Some liked it, while others, to put it politely, did not.

Mark: They HATED it, man.

Derek: How involved were you with the development of this intro, and what do you think about it?

Mark: They, again, the idea was, and that was very much a directed idea, that was the first thing that I did on the show, before I saw any of the episodes obviously because they were still writing and figuring out sagas. They said, “Yeah, we want this thing.” They really had this idea of this rap tune.

So I did demo’s, 30 second ideas, “What about this, what about this, what about this kind of groove?”

I remember that they said, “Listen to this rap artist, and that rap artist.” I went and bought more rap CD’s than I had ever imagined I would own.

And this is what I love about my job, that I get exposed to more things all the time. Not because I’m always out there. There are some people I admire, they go out there and dig up new musical ideas all the time and are listening to new things. I kind of don’t have to do that because I have this whole bevy of clients that does it for me. They come to me one after another.

You have to understand that in the same week I’m doing a would-be rap piece for the intro to an anime, somebody else is having me write something for Boy Scouts of America and it’s on ukulele. Then I’m doing a very classical string quartet piece for some bank commercial. All at the same time. That’s the world that professional composers live in. I’m sure Bruce Faulconer is no exception, and all the guys who have ever come across the anime stuff.

I’m doing some heartfelt documentary at the same time that I’m doing GT. So we have what you would probably say is the most emotional, plaintiff and delicate, sweet little thing you ever heard, at the same time I’m playing this, “Bum Bum Bum Bum [bass guitar sound].” So that’s the nature of our business as composers.

And the GT thing was no exception. That theme song was just, like, try something different. Every day get up and try something different. And they really wanted that.

Derek: Haha, okay.

Mark: They’re going to come to you and say, “We’re thinking about this,” and lay 5, 6, 7 CD’s in front of me, and go, “Listen to these artists and then we’ll get back to you on the lyrics.” So they really wrote the lyrics.

Derek: Oh, THEY wrote the lyrics?

Mark: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Barry Watson. Now I did some tweakage on it, but they came up with most of it. Like, together we would sit down and go, “What about dada dada dee, dada da, dada da? Okay.” And that’s like one stanza. Then they went away and came up with 4 more stanzas.

Derek: Wow.

Mark: Yeah.

And then the real challenge was finding a rap artist who could perform the part. I had to go on my private talent search for a day or 2.

Derek: I was going to ask you, who was the vocalist that you hired?

Mark: Oh, god, what was his name? He was a really nice guy. A super nice guy. He was really trying to be a break out rap artist.

You have to set a budget and decide how much you can put into each part of the show. With script writers, the actors, recording, production and your own overhead, there’s only so much left to do something like a theme song.

Derek: Right. So he was a local talent?

Mark: He was a local talent, a guy I came across. I put my feelers out like I do whenever I’m looking for something.

He had a nickname he went by. It was like Shorty… something, or, god, I’d have to look it up. And I thought he was credited somewhere on the FUNimation website years ago.

Derek: I’ll look there, I’ll check.

[Note that I later looked through several years of Archive.org caches of the FUNimation site, but could not find any mention of this.]

[Luckily, through continued correspondence with Mark, I found out the rapper's name. It's Shorty the Man. Then through some further research I discovered that while in Dallas he published an album in 1999 called "Never 2 Far."]

The Backlash

Derek: You said they HATED the intro. What was your reaction to the fans?

Mark: I never really took it seriously. It goes back to what we talked about earlier, like, man if I heard The Simpsons done in German with a new score I would probably think it was blasphemy.

I don’t know that I ever heard the original one. I’m sure I did, but I don’t have a solid recollection of it because it was back in 2003.

Then they wanted guys to sing on it. It was supposed to be a rap thing but it was also supposed to be a rock thing where they sing these high notes.

Derek: So you were really trusting their direction.

Mark: Quite frankly, it’s their money, their show. “What do you want me to do? Jump through the hoop?” And I would jump through the hoop. And I didn’t have any objection to it.

I didn’t initially think it was going to be like, super catchy. I have a hard time making really catchy tunes, but that’s not what they wanted, they weren’t looking for a catchy theme song, they wanted something that was edgier and different and didn’t sound quite as predictable. I don’t even know what that was in response to. I always assumed it was in response to what the original GT series had on it.

Or it may have been in response to what they did in DBZ and they wanted something with its own foot print. That happens all the time. People do remakes. U2 did a remake of the Mission Impossible theme and some people hated it and some people thought it was the coolest thing they ever heard.

Appealing to Demographics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Asm4Ip8oBxk

Derek: Do you think there was any purposeful attempt to appeal to African Americans with the Dragon Ball GT soundtrack, with the rap and the hard, dark, heavy music. I’m not trying to be racist here, there just seems to be a very large fan base of African Americans for GT, whereas with the other series and demographics…

Mark: That was never pitched to me. You have to know that white suburban kids listen to as much if not more rap than the African American community. That much I do know as part of a demographic study.

I think Barry, Gen, and all the guys over there put their ear to the ground to see both what other shows were doing for the same demographic and also what was on the radio. And could they grab a bigger market share? It’s all about the market share.

If you’ve got more eyeballs on your show than other shows in the network, guess what, your show is going to get better time slots and higher revenue dollars. That way you can have more money from the networks for your show.

Derek: Right.

Mark: It’s very calculated on the part of the producers. Movies are made this way, everything in media is made this way. They try to figure out how to do the best job they can. Like, “How do we get the biggest audience?”

If you were making a show and putting millions of dollars into it, you would think, “Oh, I don’t want to lose my ass.” So let’s do this in a way that, forget your own personal tastes and what you’ll listen to in your car on the way home, who do you think the audience is? Say, males from 10 to 15.

If you think that’s your demographic, then you better go and listen to radio stations if you’re about to have a conversation with the composer you hired, go listen to radio stations and see what they’re listening to. Go watch other TV shows that are top rated for that time slot and listen to what the music is on them.

Derek: So they were trying to appeal to that demographic?

Mark: Totally, and I don’t think it was a specific African American demographic, because if it was only geared at that in some way, then it would really alienate another group, maybe a broader market. I think they were trying to hit as broad a market as possible.

I know the idea was not to put any sort of rap or hip hop influence into the show itself, but for the theme song, that was the idea at the time. And maybe they originally thought, “Well, we’ll do that, and maybe if we like it, then maybe we will have that in the show,” as part of like, Goku’s theme or something. But that never came up. So maybe they started there, I couldn’t guess about that.

Derek: So it’s very possible that, now you didn’t say this, but Goku might have had a rap theme if the intro had caught on and been successful?

Mark: Maybe! That’s total speculation. But really, from the get go once we started doing the actual episodes, it was, “We want it big, we want it driving, we want it guitar driven, and at the same time we like the symphonic thing,” that they had heard on my other projects. Those were the DBZ movies and work I had done for other clients.

That, probably more than anything else, including other composers who had worked for FUNimation, had more to do with them wanting me to do it like that. I think they liked the idea that I combined the guitar stuff with that kind of darker, orchestral scoring. So my best guess is that that is what led to considering me for the job.

Maybe they asked the guys at FUNimation what they were listening to and they said all kinds of things, or maybe they had all kinds of brainstorming sessions before they got to me and said, “Do this.”

Derek: Right. Very understandable.

Dragon Ball GT Music CD

Derek: There have been many CD’s of Dragon Ball Z music by Bruce Faulconer that have been published. Why has Dragon Ball GT music not been published and do you have plans to release it in the future?

Mark: I cannot release it. When you work for somebody, they own the publishing rights. Unless I own the rights, and maybe Bruce had a deal with them, well, he must have, to make his own CD’s. That’s pretty rare that you will unilaterally produce your own CD’s of music you did for a client, sell it, and not reimburse the client. Almost always the studio is involved. For example if you did a film for Warner Bros, the studio releases that album, not you.

Derek: Exactly. So why hasn’t FUNimation released a Dragon Ball GT CD?

Mark: The cost of doing that? Music sales have plummeted over the last 10 years, with illegal downloading going all the way back to Napster. The music industry and the idea of selling music for profit is in the toilet. I have a lot of family and friends in the music business and trying to make a living as a studio band only and selling music that way, rather than a touring act, is marginal at best.

But realize it was all continuous music, all 11 minutes long. I don’t know what it was like on Dragon Ball Z, was it continuous on that show as well?

Derek: Yeah, it was constant sound.

Mark: So they had to go back and turn those into separate queues, removing all the transitions, calling it “Fight Scene of Episode 12,” etc. You have to make up titles. That’s a bunch of work. I’d have to go back to those hard drives and I can’t even imagine wrapping my head around the idea of trying to edit that music into separate queues and turn out volumes of CD’s! I would have to hire an assistant to do only that! Hahaha.

Derek: How many tracks did you compose for the series, and did you have any favorites or was it all just continuous sound?

Mark: It was very continuous. I loved playing the guitar all day long because that was my first instrument, and I enjoyed doing that. But then the fact I would do that for 3 or 4 shows [would get tiring].

And then toward the end some of the closing music got a bit sadder when they wrapped things up in the last 2 or so episodes. Some of that I enjoyed. But maybe it was because it was different from the other 60 plus episodes we had done. Some very heartfelt themes when they split up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOhV1MDaDYM

I’d have to go back and listen to it all again to point to something specific.

And that was the goal.

Derek: Absolutely. I completely understand.

Dragon Ball Music Fandom

Derek: Next I want to ask you about the fandom. What are your thoughts on the Dragon Ball fandom that still burns so strongly? People tend to take sides, to put it very mildly. Did any of the more hardcore Japanese music fans who wanted it to sound like the original, ever give you a hard time?

Mark: No, although I will say that initially I would get some emails that were kind of tentative that were like, “Well, um, why did you, uh, why did you do that, because it’s really different from the other one?”

I would always have to confess that I didn’t know what the original was, and that I was just trying to make the show fun and exciting and geared towards a specific audience.

So I didn’t really have a response to it. And a lot of times, not to be rude, I can’t get engaged in these dialogues. Which is why I was even a bit tentative to do this interview.

I have to compliment you that your approach to me was very professional, and that had everything with me going, “Oh, okay, this guy is serious, he’s trying to write a book.”

Derek: Thank you.

Mark: Because a lot of the fans… I’ve had a few email exchanges. I had one brief email exchange with one guy, and I think only because I saw it show up on a Google Alert, posted it over and over again, analyzing 2 or 3 sentences. He was nice when he talked to me but he took quite a bit of liberty with it to interpret what we had talked about. And it was a brief conversation, 2 minutes, maybe 5 at the most.

I guess I just sort of find it mildly fascinating that the fans are so passionate about it. But at the same time I get being passionate about something you grew up watching, and I applaud their passion for a show. I can’t think I would ever find it off putting.

Derek: So you never got upset, angry or confused, “Why are people reacting this way?”

Mark:

I thought it worked at the time I did it. Any composer who tells you they listened to something they wrote 10 years ago, and it’s perfect, is lying to you. You only have so much time to work on it. At some point the client says, “Yeah, that sounds great, let’s do that. Make it that and turn it in tomorrow.”

But I could go back to GT for example and think, “Given some extra time I could rework that scene, maybe have done this differently.” Any actor will tell you that, any director, any writer, because you grow every year.

You’re a writer. If you look at some of the first things you wrote, or stuff from 2 years ago, you’d think, “Oh, you know, I try to use more mature language than that now.”

Derek: I agree completely. You’re always improving and growing.

Mark: Exactly! And you’re always changing. And I’m not just looking back and complaining. With some of the stuff I go, “Man, that was kind of a cool rift. I like that.” Then other times I listen to it and go, “Oh, that really goes on for a long time.” And I have to look back and realize that it’s because they were fighting for so long. So as much as possible you had to score the action and make it happen.

They forewarned me that fans are really passionate about the show.

Passion and Spirit

Mark: And the thing I thought was cool about the FUNimation guys is that, believe it or not, they were really into the show. These guys were all about the show. They knew these characters and could talk about them like film critics talk about what John Malkevich did in a film, or talked about it like it was Orson Welles.

And for me to come to it and essentially be an outsider initially, that was pretty cool to see this whole building passionate about doing the show, and at the same knowing they put their own finger print on it.

Derek: I see. So you feel that the staff at FUNimation really understood the characters and plot and everything about it and they were just trying to make it appeal, like they were trying to alter it in a way to make it more successful?

Mark: Yeah, and I don’t think they wanted to alter it as much as they said, like, I later learned LONG after I had worked on the show, that there was another sort of layer of spirituality to the original Japanese series.

Derek: Yes, that is what my book is about.

Mark: Right. Even myself I got to thinking, I thought there was a real parallel, I was talking to my wife about this once, that there’s a real parallel of the Goku character, that he was almost this Christ like character who comes back, as a child. That’s a very interesting saga.

Those guys would not have done 291 episodes of Dragon Ball Z and 64 episodes of GT, and 15 to 20 movies, you wouldn’t have produced that much stuff without having to take it seriously.

I think they took it very seriously. So when they warned me about the hardcore Japanese music fans they also said it really wouldn’t matter what we did, [since we were changing it from the original to begin with.]

Derek: Okay, well that is very eye opening and thank you for saying that about the spiritual aspects.

Mark: So that’s why I wasn’t surprised or confused when I occasionally saw something online, and a friend of mine would send me a link where a guy is bitching and screaming about the music. I would be like, “Yeah, alright, fine, get over it, it’s a TV show. Don’t watch it then! Haha.”

I watch a lot of TV because that’s my work medium, and sometimes I’ll say, “I so hate that show, and I hate the music.” My solution then is to not watch it. But for these guys who watched the original and really want to watch it in English, it’s a conundrum.

Derek: Yeah, it is! And that’s why there are so many debates about it.

Mark:

When people ask me, “Oh, whatever happened to that anime you worked on?” I tell them that they’ve moved on from me. Maybe that answers the Bruce Faulconer question earlier. They moved on to whoever they’re using now. And I think they’re using the Japanese music now.

Derek: Yes, with Dragon Ball Z Kai, the refreshed version, they’re using the Japanese music. Were you contacted about that at all?

Mark: No. When Barry left, FUNimation got sold to Navarre Entertainment, and they sold it again I heard, and another company owns it now. And the new owners have their own business models, and don’t want to spend money on new music, [thinking] “It’s fine the way it is,” haha.

Looking Back on the Grand Tour

Derek: Looking back, was it a positive experience?

Mark: It was great. And I learned about the whole anime thing that I think I would not have otherwise come into contact with.

Of course he’s never seen the Japanese. Do they air GT anymore?

Derek: They just started airing it again on Nicktoons.

Mark: Oh, interesting. I probably have the DVD series somewhere, but I never watched them because I already knew how it ended and had seen them so much and have a digital copy in my archive.

Derek: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans of the Dragon Ball GT music, people who are reading this article, the book, or comments to the people who did not like your music?

Mark: My message to all of them is what we’ve talked about. I applaud your passion for this media.

I think great storytelling needs passionate fans. Whether you love an aspect of the show, whether it’s an actor or the music, or a revoiced character from the original one, keep watching it and keep having strong opinions about it.

And I think they learn a lot about themselves in there. And that’s a really great thing. I applaud their passion.

I’ve learned a lot from the experience. It took me, maybe, all the way to the end of the series to go, “Wow, this was very interesting, I get what they’re totally into.” It was one of the few experiences I had where I came to know these characters in a way that you don’t often get a chance to do.

All Good Things…

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

Derek: This was a great interview and I really enjoyed it. I think this is going to be very exciting for the fans who now have a lot of their questions answered. Anything you’d like to add?

Mark: It was a fun gig. I will say that I am very passionate about animation, and I have more animated projects in the works. Not anime though.

And I do miss the guys at FUNimation. I miss working with Barry. He’s still a good friend and I talk with him from time to time. He’s a super guy and a lot of fun to work with.

Derek: This was extremely entertaining and enlightening as well. I appreciate you taking the extra time to speak with me.

I’m really glad everything is going so well for you, and that you’re doing what you love in life. That’s not easy to do. It takes a lot of dedication and hard work, and you’ve managed to succeed at it.

[Remember everybody, be sure to visit Menza Music to follow Mark’s career.]

Mark: Thanks, man. It’s fun to do. Again, I always applaud the fans and their passion, because that adds this whole other layer of interest to the show.

Derek: Yeah, it absolutely does! Thank you, Mark.

Mark: Thanks, Derek. Take care!

Revelation!

So there you have it! The mysteries of the Dragon Ball GT rap intro have been solved.

Now fans across the world will finally know where the rap intro came from, why it was created, who sang the song, and what they attempted to achieve.

In the eyes of the more vocal hardcore fans it seems to have been a disaster, but GT went on to be very financially successful, so maybe the producers knew what they were doing after all. Or maybe Dragon Ball is so awesome that it would have been successful no matter what they did.

In any case, now we know that Mark Menza is not the man to blame. So let’s lay off of him, okay? It’s been 9 years already.

Plus, to borrow Mark’s own words, I’d say he’s “a super nice guy.”

And I’d love to hear what you think about the explanation Mark provided on the switch from Faulconer Productions to himself.

Go on, talk amongst yourselves!

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Dragon Ball GT Music – Composer Mark Menza Interview Part 2

Mark Menza in his music studio. Photograph by Kris Hundt

American Dragon Ball GT. What do those words immediately make you think of? If it’s the controversial rap music intro, then today you’re in for a treat because I recently interviewed Mark Menza, the composer of FUNimation’s Dragon Ball GT.

Today you’ll discover how Mark earned the job working on GT, the challenges he faced, his musical influences, and what he thinks about Dragon Ball fans.

This article is for the hardcore Dragon Ball fan that wants all the details they’ve been missing since GT went off the airwaves.

You’ll learn exactly why GT ended up the way it did and discover the true story of GT’s development.

Dragon Ball Music and Mark Menza

Derek: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me.

Many Dragon Ball fans have stated that they love the American music, while as I’m sure you know, others have said they prefer the original Japanese. The Dragon Ball GT soundtrack is particularly controversial and still heavily discussed by fans 9 years after it was composed, so I thought who better to discuss this with than the composer himself!

Mark: There you go!

Derek: A lot of fans are interested in learning about the production and history of Dragon Ball’s music in the United States. Some of the questions here are from your fans that would like to know more about you and your Dragon Ball GT music.

Do you have any questions for me before we begin?

Mark: No, I read a little bit of your blog which was very interesting. I’m sort of surprised, maybe it’s more of an observation, that there’s still this huge interest in the show that has essentially been off the air for so long, particularly in Japan. I find it interesting that there is still this huge audience for it. It’s rather amazing.

Derek: I completely agree. People are still obsessed with Dragon Ball, and everybody wants a new series, but there isn’t one so they keep talking about the existing content.

And that is what brings us to our topic today, which is Dragon Ball GT.

First let me mention your background for a moment to introduce the reader to your experience.

You graduated from State University New York at Fredonia with a bachelor’s in music, correct?

Mark: Correct.

Derek: You taught guitar and Jazz from Brookhaven from 1989 to 1993. And then you opened your studio, Menza Music, in 1994, with a focus on scoring pictures. You’ve been doing it for 18 years and have worked on a number of documentary films, web media, and anime series, earning numerous awards.

Mark: Right. Actually, the reason I ended up working on GT was because I was in Dallas, in the area where they produced it. I came here to go to UNT (University of North Texas) and worked on my Masters for 4 years in Compositional Theory. So I was really here to write music.

I worked on other children’s properties; I worked on a show for PBS called Wishbone in the mid 90’s. I think that’s how I got involved with it. That was fun because we had a live, full orchestra to record, and we recorded some of it in Dallas and some of it in Seattle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sY-v6dZtz0

Then I worked on and scored the original pilot for Jimmy Neutron on Nickelodeon. I worked on that as the Audio Post Supervisor.

I started to write music for them and then Nickelodeon, the producers… and this applies to Dragon Ball as well, the producers really dictate what goes on.

Some of the other composers I’ve run into, we all sort of joke about this…

It’s always kind of amusing when the fans are like, “What have you done with our music?!” or “What were you thinking here?!” It’s like, “Agh, I don’t know, I didn’t really think about it. I did what I was told.”

Not that we’re robots, but on any project, whether it’s a film, TV show or even something simple like a commercial, the producers have really strong dictates about what they want. They’ll play all these things for you and say, “Can you make the music like this?”

Probably the most famous is the rap intro to GT, that people got…

Derek: Well, hold on, I’m going to ask you about that in a moment.

A Musician at a Young Age

Derek: Let me first ask, why did you get into music, and what type of music influences you the most?

Mark: I started playing and studying when I was 8 years old. I studied classical guitar as a teenager, about 13, 14, and 15. I studied with a guy name Michael Andriaccio at the University of Buffalo, which was a great privilege. My parents were a friend of the family and knew somebody who knew him. So he had a big influence on me, as well as several teachers growing up.

And of course all the music of the 70’s and 80’s was a huge influence, the Pop music for me and then later Jazz, probably the greatest influence, which you find in GT as well, is the Jazz idiom.

Derek: I noticed that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlozqzq9kxI

Mark: Yeah, from the traditional stuff. Whenever I could sneak a hint of that in harmonically, I would. You never hear a jazz theme necessarily. I mean, rarely if ever did that show up in the GT landscape, but a lot of the harmony that went into it is probably more indicative of Jazz harmonies, such as moving tonal centers and keys changing around, that’s part of everything I write, and I think that comes from Jazz.

So to answer your question about what influences me, it’s always been the jazz tradition.

There have always been a lot of musicians in my family. I have a cousin named Don Menza, who is really known in the jazz world, and saxophone. If you Google him you’ll get hundreds of thousands of hits. An amazing player. Used to be on The Tonight Show. Toured with Buddy Rich for 10 years, which was almost unheard of if you know anything of the Buddy Rich era.

Derek: Unfortunately I don’t.

Don still lives in North Hollywood, he’s retired now. His son is Nick Menza, the one-time drummer for Megadeath. Nick is pretty well known in the heavy metal world.

Derek: So this is really in your family, then.

Mark: Yeah, and on that same side of the Menza family, there’s another drummer who lives in Ventura who was out with the Wallflowers for 7 years. His name is Mario Calire and he is my first cousin once removed. They opened for Tom Petty for years, and he’s now the host of Ozomatli. They’re a wild band. He toured with Liz Phair and they’ve gone all over the world. His dad, Jimmy Calire was a keyboard player and a cousin of mine.

All of that had an influence on me growing up. I would go and watch my uncles play in the garage, in orchestras. That was always around me.

Derek: Wow, I can definitely see why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Getting on Board the Grand Tour

Derek: How did you end up working for FUNimation making anime music?

Mark: Barry Watson was a friend, I knew his wife who was a wonderful classical guitarist in the Dallas scene.

Derek: Barry was a producer at FUNimation, correct?

Mark: Yes, with Gen Fukunaga [the founder and CEO of FUNimation] and all those guys, when it was that generation of FUNimation.

So, Barry I knew personally, and one day he said, “Hey man, would you ever be interested in this other series we’re doing?” I said, “Sure! That sounds like a ton of fun, I would love to work on something like that.”

And I didn’t really know a lot about anime, and I knew only peripherally about Dragon Ball Z. When that was going on I was really heavily into Wishbone and right after that, Jimmy Neutron. I didn’t grow up with anime. Age wise I missed that. When Dragon Ball Z came to this country and was popular, I was already out of school, teaching Jazz and being a studio musician, that kind of thing, so I didn’t really know it.

Derek: Yeah, 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.”

Mark: Yeah, and you’ve got to know some of that is going to be marketing speak, although I think he really did believe that. I think I only met Gen twice, and it was during big events. It was like, “Hey, nice work!” He was always very nice to me and I didn’t really know anything about him until much later.

And Barry, I still talk to Barry every now and again, and he’s entirely out of the business now. He got me involved with it, to answer the question. He was the guy that knew me, knew what I did, had been to my studio, knew that I worked on animation and kids stuff, and thought I would be a good fit.

Derek: So there was no audition process, you were hand-picked?

Mark: If there was an audition to speak of, it was that I helped score one of the Dragon Ball Z features, and he really liked that. I think it was Return of Cooler.

It’s like, “Wow, I’ve got to go back and watch all of them!” Which I did, I watched some of the stuff. I didn’t invest a tremendous amount of time because of time constraints.

Derek: It’s a huge series.

Mark: Right. It’s a huge saga, all of it! And I loved all the music that I heard, from the guys who did it here to the original stuff in Japan, that was all interesting.

I could see how FUNimation wanted to change it, and I scored in total, I think, seven Dragon Ball Z features, either in part or in whole, and then one GT feature much later on. Broly I did, and the others I can’t even remember the names of them now.

A lot of the times they had working titles, and only 6 months later I would finally see them for sale on the internet and I’d be like, “Oh, they called it that? Interesting!” So that’s why I don’t remember the names, because I had all these working titles.

So I had done these for maybe a year, a year and a half. I would do one, then I wouldn’t talk to Barry for a few months, then I’d do another, and so on.

Then he came to me with GT and pitched that idea. We came up with a deal, a contract, and away we went.

Derek: Wow, alright, very interesting. Nobody knew that story, so that’s a brand new exclusive. It had always been a mystery, so thank you very much for clearing that up.

You were only vaguely familiar with Dragon Ball before you got the project, but were you aware of the fandom behind Dragon Ball when you went into it?

Mark: You know, my understanding, as limited as it was, was that it was a show that was well known in Japan.

Making the Music

Derek: You mentioned that you did listen to some of the Dragon Ball music. I had heard that you were specifically advised by the FUNimation producers to not listen to the DBZ soundtrack AT ALL. Is that correct?

Mark: I don’t know that anybody ever told me that. They did say, “Mark, don’t pay any attention to what’s come before, because we really want to take it in a new direction.” But I don’t think anybody said don’t listen to it because you don’t want to be influenced.

From time to time they would give me notes. The way all composers work is that somebody pitches the project to you, or in this case there’s an existing piece that has a legacy, so you can immediately see the picture. They send you the scripts and you can watch the finished product, which doesn’t happen on newer shows where it’s often a work in-progress. It was a little unusual to see a completed show where you could watch the show before it and even the show after it! Sort of wrap your arms around the storyline.

So I said, “Okay, what kind of thing are you going for?” They would play some examples for me very early on, “What about this band, or this one?” They would send little samples, mp3’s, and honestly I’d be lying if I could tell you what they were. Here’s a clip of some heavy metal band, or some dark orchestral music from a game that they liked. They said, “Use that as a jumping off point because that’s kind of what we’re thinking. What do you think?”

I would take that and do part of an episode, first or second episode, and send it to them. They’d say, “Yeah, that’s good. Maybe more of this, less of that.” Though after about 5 or 6 episodes I never got any notes back. They were like, “This is great, keep going!” Of course we talked on a regular basis.

Like they’d say, “On episode 20 (or whatever) that’s coming up, there’s a new villain, try to come up with a theme for him.”

So I had, sort of, themes for all the characters, but I didn’t really, it wasn’t like, The Lord of the Rings things, where you had this leitmotif going on, which is this Wagnerian idea where you give each character a theme and every time you see this character you play his theme.

It’s almost too complicated in most instances to do that, because all of a sudden, 3 or 4 characters show up on the scene. Piccolo shows up at the same time a villain appears, and somebody else shows up, and then Vegeta shows up. Then all of a sudden you’re going, “Um, okay, this is going to be a musical mess.” I decided to go with a more overarching theme as we move through it.

Like, here’s the hero, something heroic happening, and all the heroes of the series. Then the villains were more transient, and they might show up for 3 to 8 episodes, and they might have a theme.

Derek: Like the Super 17 Theme.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMiXWWMQw9w

Mark: Right, so those kinds of things would go on. But if you try to beat that to death, and be very literal with it, it gets goofy sounding to me. As a composer you have to figure out what’s working, and do that. So that was how the process worked and how I was introduced to it. I don’t remember anybody saying specifically don’t listen to this, that or the other thing.

My take on it, and some of this was influenced from what the guys at FUNimation were saying, is that GT would be for a much older American audience.

I think one of the main reasons they rescored the shows at all was that they found the fan base here, at least this is my understanding, was older here than it was in Japan. While at the same time that a Japanese 12 year old boy might be sort of, culturally, at a different place than a 12 year old kid here. So that 12 year old kid might be listening to what a 16, 17 or 18 year old might be listening to in Japan.

And a lot of the J-Pop stuff is very, almost what we used to call Bubble Gum music here. And I don’t mean that in a pejorative sense, I think it’s cool music and trust me, I write it, I’m involved in a lot of children’s music. I think that all that music fits for certain ages, and the idea with GT was they really wanted to, and I think FUNimation did this with all the stuff they worked on, they wanted to age it up, a little bit.

Not tremendously so, but when I compare it, at least in my ear, obviously fans who grew up listening to the original show, they’re going to tell you something completely different, but my ear, hearing the Japanese GT music for the very first time, the little bit I heard, it was like, “Oh, yeah, that’s definitely younger, sweeter, and in some cases kind of heartfelt.”

Derek: Yeah, more emotional.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPAkg1ji6_E

Mark: Right, the Japanese wanted it more emotional. And I thought that was fine, but it seemed much younger than an American audience, and I think the pacing of it was much slower. It almost ran contrary to all the action on the screen. You had these very big, dramatic things going on, and sometimes the music was almost trying to be humorous, and I was going, “Wow, that doesn’t seem to work for me.”

Some of that may have been the translations, because I think the guys at FUNimation translated the script to make the characters older in how they talked and what they were saying, and how they interpreted the storyline. And I think they did the exact same thing with the music.

Derek: Yes, I would agree.

Mark: So that was the idea. The music was tougher sounding, and maybe a little grittier, and less sweeter.

[On second thought,] the Japanese was more emotional? Perhaps. I think it was simpler and more childlike in the original Japanese. Although I would be afraid to ever say that out loud because I think a lot of the fans really love it!

Derek: Yes, that’s exactly what they do.

Mark: And I totally get that. I would be the same way for The Simpsons, which I watch a lot of. If I had to watch The Simpsons dubbed in German and rescored with music more endemic to German culture, I might hate it compared to what Alf Clausen has done because to me that’s vintage Simpsons. Anything other than the Danny Elfman theme, to me, would make me crazy.

Making the GT Music

Derek: That leads me into the music itself. The GT soundtrack has big thumping bass guitar, heavy, grungy lead guitar riffs and a drum set backed by various effects. How would you describe this sound?

Mark: I think that’s sort of accurate. It was lots of layers of guitars. The themes were based around doing, kind of like the Evanesence thing, which was popular at the time. That may have also been something that was suggested to me. I listened to that very driving, very distorted guitar.

I had a guitar I had not used in years that I pulled out for the show. This white, custom made, Jackson guitar that Grover Jackson made for me years ago. It’s a very early serial number, a kind of collector’s item.

It’s a serious, heavy metal guitar. I pulled this thing out, dusted it off, and it went to work on GT. It was used almost exclusively. Big, etchy, loud, Jeff Beck pickup in the bridge position, for those people who are interested in that kind of stuff.

Derek: Yeah, there are people who would like to know these things.

Mark: It was a Seymour Duncan, Jeff Beck pickup that was series parallel and tapped. The guitar nutjobs will know what that’s all about. It means I can split the coils or I can shut one off and turn it into a single coil. All of this had a very specific guitar sound, so I was going for that specific guitar sound.

The reason that it gets to be so much is, probably the most challenging thing to do on GT was that they wanted it scored end to end. And I’ve never worked on another show that was scored end to end.

Derek: What does that mean?

Mark: There are two 11 minute segments that make up the 22 minute episode. When a piece of music starts at the beginning after the opening credit music finished and the episode began, it was a continuous piece of music for 11 minutes.

Derek: There was no silence?

Mark: Never! I mean, I would say…

You would be hard pressed to find a single movement in most symphonies that are 11 minutes long. Bach, maybe. Most symphonies have several movements that stop. It was very difficult to compose GT’s music because it was continuously in transition.

Derek: Why was that? Was that a direction from the producers?

Mark: Absolutely. Right from the get go! They felt like the show needed that level of pacing, because they couldn’t change the animation and they couldn’t make any new animation.

Which for me, on something like Jimmy Neutron, if you watch any other kid show aimed at the same demographic, say, anything on Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network, even something like Power Rangers, in a 22 minute episode you might have anywhere from between 8 to maybe 15 minutes of music. That would be a heavily scored show.

This was 22 minutes of music.

Derek: Every episode.

Mark: Yeah! Every episode. I got to where I was doing each show in about 3 days.

Derek: Wow, that takes a lot of work.

Mark: It was a stupid amount of work. But I had to do it that way for scheduling purposes, with everything else that I was doing and the schedule of GT.

In the beginning I would probably spend 10 days to 2 weeks on the first 2 or 3 episodes. But once I had a chunk of material to work off of, I would say, “Okay, I’m going to bring in this theme, I’m going to use this, and this and this, I’m going to play a new guitar line on top of it, so let me lay down this part.” And boom, if I could get 3 or 4 minutes a day, then I was excited.

Then when I got to where I could do 7 or 8 minutes a day, I was truckin’. And the continuous nature of it was REALLY challenging.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPQT1l_EUu0

Derek: I bet. Did you have an assistant or staff that helped?

Mark: No. Not on this show. That was a budgetary constraint. I had to make it work by myself. When I worked on other shows I had audio post people, which I didn’t do on GT because FUNimation had their own in-house audio people, as that was primarily what they were doing. But they didn’t have in-house composers, necessarily.

They had audio engineers, dialogue coaches, and studios that were set up to record all of that dialogue. And that was a huge job, that ADR job of looping the picture and recording each line. Once these guys, the script writers, had written the show and figured out what they were going to do for each saga of the series, that was a tremendous job in and of itself.

Having an in-house composer is not a business model that makes sense. You can’t keep them busy everyday so you’re paying them lots of money and it makes no sense. And that’s the way most shows are done. The composer doesn’t work for the production company, he’s a separate entity.

When you’re talking about a film where they hire a famous composer like John Williams, or a TV show that’s on currently, like 30 Rock, that all goes out to a composer who is a guy like me who probably has his own studio, either in a facility like I do, or many of them even in their homes. I have a facility because I also do audio post production. I just didn’t do that on any of the stuff for FUNimation because they had their own sound effects editors and dialogue guys.

You asked about assistants. Usually I have assistants to help me out, other engineers to help me on the engineering side of things, and the sound effects and mixing side of things.

Derek: Were there synthetic instruments in the GT soundtrack as well?

Mark: The short answer to that is yes. A lot of it is strings samples. 90% of what you hear on TV, if you watch Law & Order, it’s all samples, they don’t hire a real orchestra anymore. They do on the Simpsons, interestingly enough. That is one of the few shows that has a 30 to 40 piece orchestra that they record each episode with. But that is a rarity. It’s a hold over. Most television shows, because of both the schedule and the budgets that have shrunk over the years, almost all of those are sampled strings. Meaning a live string section recorded into a sample library that go into these elaborate computers.

Derek: Through the keyboard.

Mark: Right. And they’re all virtual instruments in the computer, or I have stand alone sample players to play the strings, the brass, or the woodwinds.

As far as synth stuff goes in GT, all the bass was live, all the guitars were live, there was some actual acoustic mandolin that was recorded, some acoustic guitar, steel string and nylon string that was used. All of that I played, recorded and engineered myself.

Mark Menza's studio guitars. Photograph by Kris Hundt

Derek: That is fantastic. It’s amazing you did all that by yourself.

Let’s a take a break for a moment and then we’ll continue.

Conclusion of Part 1

Today you learned how Mark was chosen to be the composer for FUNimation’s version of Dragon Ball GT, how he composes music, and how he overcame the challenges of end to end music by working super hard, just like a Saiyan!

Continue reading Part 2 of the Mark Menza interview, where you’ll hear about Bruce Faulconer, corporate direction of GT’s music by FUNimation staff, the chances for a Dragon Ball GT album, and the origins of the infamous Dragon Ball GT rap intro!

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Dragon Ball GT Music – Composer Mark Menza Interview Part 1