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

The video was so popular that “Super Saiyan” trended worldwide on Twitter.

People everywhere were talking about Super Saiyan’s and Dragon Ball. Retweeting how they loved the show when they were a kid, or laughing in response to his video.

Jalen’s YouTube name is KillerKarisma, and on the KillerKarisma YouTube page Jalen has the following description. “im a very strange character, i like performing social experiments, its hard to put me in one category and im random but i always do things for a reason you never know what to expect from me……..”

This makes me wonder if the whole thing was one big social experiment. I contacted him for an interview and am waiting to hear back.

The next day on Jalen’s Facebook page he said this:

“alot of ppl ask me if i was faking or sincere……….its kind of hard to explain….i have multiple personalities, so the one in that video believed what he was saying, but a part of me did it as a social experiment just to see how ppl would react, all in all, i believe there are powers that we can achieve if we stop limiting our thinking, i believe u can achieve anything with the power of your mind, and that goes for ANYTHING, not just being a super saiyan. if not in the literal sense, we have super saiyans among us everyday, army troops that fight and die for us everyday are super saiyans, single moms struggling to raise kids on their own are super saiyan? know what im saiyan??”

I guess this means he really does have multiple personality disorder.

In any case, in the video, Jalen gives a speech about how he believes people can go Super Saiyan in real life. It is very obvious that Dragon Ball strongly influenced his life.

Jalen’s Super Saiyan Speech

Here’s his speech, transcribed from the video.

“What’s up YouTube. This is something that’s been on my heart for a long time. All I ever wanted to be in life was a Super Saiyan. Ever since I was a kid I used to always look up to Goku and Vegeta, Gohan. I used to look at them and wonder, “How come I’m just a human being? I’m so worthless. Oh, what can I do? I can run, I can jump, I can flip.” And we are just so limited as human beings. And I feel like, when I see superheroes, why can’t life be that exciting and that awesome? Why can’t I wake up, and if I’m late for school, just teleport there and just be on time?

But I feel like, during that time of meditation and just thinking about it, I realized something. All of that is possible and more. It’s in here [points to his head], it’s all in your mind. Think about anything that you ever tried to do. You thought to yourself, “Man, I could never do that.” But then when you practiced it, guess what? You got better at it and you actually achieved it, didn’t you? It’s the same thing when you look at super powers. Of course it sounds absurd when you first look at it. But if you try it! If you actually set your mind to it and believe, you can achieve it.

I saw a Chinese man set a piece of paper on fire with just the power of his hands! Now you gonna tell me that that was fake? No it wasn’t fake! He channeled that energy from within, and he believed, he channeled that energy through the creation of his mind, what his mind believed and what he spoke into existence, of the power that he had! You understand what I’m saying?

I feel like anything that you set your mind to, your mind can create that force, because your mind is just this powerful machine, and whatever you set it to, and you believe, and you work towards achieving it, you can do it! You can do it.

And I believe I can be a Super Saiyan.

So this is my first time exposing this side of me to the world. And I know a lot of you are laughing, but the people who really, who are on my level of intellect, they understand what I am saying. And thank you all for understanding.

I’m going to attempt to go Super Saiyan on film, and I’m gonna upload it to YouTube. This is my first attempt. Now I’m believing. And I’m going to create that energy and channel it through my mind.

Now I might not turn full Super Saiyan, I might turn full Super Saiyan, or you might just see a glimpse of it, of that power. But this is my first attempt, I’m going to turn the music on. Super Saiyan 3 Goku theme.

This is it. Alright.”

Jalen turns on the Super Saiyan 3 Goku Theme music, by Faulconer Productions, featured on the American Dragon Ball Z, and starts to power up!

Transforming into a Super Saiyan

Jalen centers himself.

The power surges through his body. He starts snapping his head back like Goku when he first turned Super Saiyan while battling Freeza.

Then he SCREAMS!

And he screams louder!

He crosses his arms and separates them, while powering up and screaming like crazy.

Jalen stands up, takes his shirt off, stares into the camera and starts screaming even louder!!

“AAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

AAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

He plays the part exactly like Goku when he transforms into Super Saiyan 3.

And then all of a sudden he stops…

The music stops.

His eyes roll into the back of his head for a moment and then he stares at the camera.

“My name is Jalen,” he says. “And I am a Super Saiyan.”

The video immediately ends.

AWESOME.

The Reaction

What type of reactions did people have to Super Saiyans are Real?

Most of the comments and reactions were laughter and jokes, making fun of Jalen and calling him names.

Jalen said on his Facebook page, “when these ppl insult me i wonder if they think they’re actually effecting me or hurting my feelings. LOL i was brave enough to put myself out there for everyone to see, you honestly think your little snide remarks is gonna make me cry or commit suicide? LOLOLOL BITCH im a super saiyan u cant harm me!! NOPE!!”

But some people really understood what he was trying to say and do.

For example, “I take this video as a form of inspiration. i don’t think you’re being serious while doing this, but i do believe you are being serious on trying to make a point. that us as human beings limit ourselves to so many things. but you my friend, will open many peoples eyes into seeing they can achieve what they want. at least i know i can now.”

There were also several video reactions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNzYsjd-UVg

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2JlQ0s4k9E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mBqZX5Fox8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhFpBrG_K3g

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUng_9Chfaw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyf0CAvuYeE

People on Twitter continued to talk about it for the next 48 hours, continuously retweeting the video and laughing like crazy about Dragon Ball Z. On Feb 17, 2012, Super Saiyan was still trending.

At 8 pm PST, the rapper Teboe sent me a new song about Jalen via The Dao of Dragon Ball Facebook page. He wrote and mixed a custom track called Super Saiyan, featuring Jalen’s voice, the Super Saiyan 3 music, and audio samples from the American Dragon Ball Z. Listen to it now because it’s awesome.

Human Dynamo Jack Chang

In case you’re curious, this is the video that Jalen referred to when he said, “I saw a Chinese man set a piece of paper on fire with just the power of his hands!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gid-Ag082lo

It’s from the History Channel’s special on Spontaneous Human Combustion. There are longer videos available online.

This is a video that inspired his belief in Ki / Chi and Super Saiyan powers.

Still Going Viral

It’s too early to say what the results of this will be. Although over 323,328 views in 3 days and dozens of video responses is already pretty big!

And it’s too early for any analysis.

But I can’t help but ask, why did this video go viral? Why was it so popular across the world?

It’s because Dragon Ball is a global phenomenon and because everybody, across the world, WANTS to go Super Saiyan!

The amazing thing about Jalen is that he had the guts to explain his beliefs, film his attempt, and then actually put it on YouTube after failing!

Also because of his amazing performance, the fact that he rips his shirt off half way through, and acts just like a screaming Saiyan the entire time. Perfect!

That is the confidence and absolute belief of a young man. Even in the face of potentially millions of people, he wasn’t afraid to say what he believed and then LIVE it.

The very shonen spirit that Dragon Ball represents… Jalen represents in real life.

In the description of the video Jalen says, “add me on facebook, good luck becoming a super saiyan as i did!”

Indeed, good luck in becoming a Super Saiyan!

Are Super Saiyans real?

On rapper Lil B “The Based God”‘s Facebook page, Jalen wrote, “THANK U BASED GOD IM A MEME ON THE INTERNET NOW SUPER SAIYAN BASED KID!! OMG!!”

Jalen may not have succeeded at becoming a Super Saiyan, but his video did go Super VIRAL, and that’s a real accomplishment all its own!

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Super Saiyans are Real

On October 6, 2011, FUNimation streamed a live interview on YouTube to help promote the Blu-ray release of Dragon Ball Z on November 8.

The guests included Gen Fukunaga (Founder and CEO of FUNimation), Matt O’Hara (Manager of DVD, Blu-ray and video production), and Christopher Sabat (voice of Vegeta, Piccolo, Yamcha, and also the ADR Director behind the English voice cast).

During the interview Gen hints that he would love to have more Dragon Ball Z in the pipeline, and has been trying to collaborate with TOEI and Shueisha to make that happen!

What does this mean for the series, and for fans?

DBZ Blu-ray Interview Transcript

Q: Gen is the founder, the CEO of FUNimation Entertainment. He is responsible for bringing Dragon Ball Z to the United States.

Q: Gen, can you tell us about Dragon Ball Z’s journey to the west.

Gen: Sure, well, it started back in the 90’s. Eventually we signed a deal and started FUNimation in 1994. But it took quite a while to negotiate the terms with TOEI because we were a startup, and it was such a big franchise overseas already by then. So they had told us we couldn’t have it at first. So it went through a long, arduous process of trying to convince them. My uncle, Nagafumi Hori helped a lot, to help bring that over. He works for TOEI on the live action side, he’s retired now, but he worked for TOEI there, and that helped as well.

[note that Nagafumi Hori was a producer at TOEI on the Tokusentai type series – shows similar to Power Rangers.]

Q: Dragon Ball Z has been in the United States for over 15 years now.

Gen: Yeah, I started the company when I was 10!

Q: What inspired you to really introduce Dragon Ball Z as a property in the United States? Were you a fan of it originally?

Gen: Yeah, well, I was a fan of anime in general. Especially [because] I lived in Japan in the eighth grade, which is perfect timing to get inundated with the great stuff that is over there. Got to see a lot of great shows. Nothing like it was in the U.S. at the time. Then when I was older I still didn’t see it in the U.S. It started that way. When I got to meet TOEI and I saw Dragon Ball Z it was kind of a no-brainer, in my opinion, “That’s the one title I want.” Of course, they said, “No, we have these other couple hundred titles, why don’t you pick one of these up, but not that one, that one’s too important.” But I was really persistent to get that particular title, because it was just so good.

Q: What do you think makes Dragon Ball Z so timeless as a property?

Gen: Like a lot of things in entertainment, it’s actually just back to the content. If you have really good storylines and great character development or endearing characters, that’s what drives good content. That is certainly the case with Dragon Ball Z. The content is excellent. The character development is excellent. The story lines and plots, and there are a lot of unique elements. Really, when you think back to the 90’s, there were a lot of innovative elements to that series that people have copied now over the years.

Q: In relation to the Blu-Ray, what can fans really expect out of the Blu-ray release coming up?

Gen: It’s the first time they’ve ever seen the film back to its original film footage. Honestly, when it was first brought over to the U.S., because anime wasn’t that big of a hit, how it was transferred over by the Japanese to ship us materials and make copies, it wasn’t top quality. They just transferred it over. There’s tape jitter, there’s tape cut marks, there’s scratches on the film, there’s a lot of things that were kind of issues, and really that’s the master we’ve been using for 17 years in the United States. But we actually got back in there, and through a big negotiation with TOEI got the original film, and we literally cleaned it up frame by frame by frame. Yeah. Got rid of all those imperfections. Color corrected it back to how the original production was when it was first shot. It looks just like the original original. That’s like, the ultimate.

Q: If you collected all seven dragon balls, what would your wish be?

Gen: I was hoping we could make more Dragon Ball Z! [laughter]. [We’re] trying to get TOEI and Shueisha to agree to all that!

Q: Believe me guys, we want it to happen as much as you guys want it to happen.

So What Do You Think?

Gen said, “I was hoping we could make more Dragon Ball Z! [laughter]. [We’re] trying to get TOEI and Shueisha to agree to all that.”

Since the series is over, what does Gen mean by “more Dragon Ball Z”? Does this mean that TOEI, Shueisha, and FUNimation are discussing the possibility of a new Dragon Ball series? Or does it simply mean more re-releases of the same usual content?

In the interview Gen says it with a slight pause, as if the negotiations are something he’s worked on for a while.

And the interviewer follows up and confirms that not only do the fans want “more Dragon Ball Z,” but so does FUNimation.

This isn’t a surprise considering that Dragon Ball is the series that made them super rich and successful.

What do you think? Will we see a new Dragon Ball series?

And for those who didn’t know exactly how FUNimation was started, or how they managed to secure the rights to Dragon Ball in the first place, this may have been an eye opener.

Essentially, Gen Fukunaga was able to secure the Dragon Ball license in the United States because of the influence of his uncle, Nagafumi Hori. Gen may have had his own strengths, but his uncle’s relationship with TOEI is what made it happen.

If you want to know more, I talk about this in a lot more detail in The Dao of Dragon Ball book.

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Gen Fukunaga Hints at More DBZ

Goku Thinks Deep Thoughts

I prefer to write all of my own content and create original posts. That’s why sometimes it takes a little while for a new article to find its way to the blog. But I just discovered some gems of Dragon Ball related philosophy that had to be shared.

These beauty’s are from the Overthinking.com site:

• Why Overthink Dragon Ball?
• On Chosen Ones and Super Saiyans
• Metonymy and Metaphor
• Dragonball Abomination Z

All the articles are written by the same author, Fenzel, and they each explore a different aspect of the Dragon Ball series.

They are also poignant because sometimes I am accused of over thinking Dragon Ball. Now I know there is at least one other person out there willing to take the time to write articles like this. I’m not alone!

On their podcast he said there would be 48 posts, but so far there are only 4. Luckily they are well written and thought provoking.

Why Overthink Dragon Ball?: Fenzel discusses the inherent value of the Dragon Ball series and how it does so many things well that are often overlooked.

On Chosen Ones and Super Saiyans: The “Chosen One” story path and the concept of determinism are discussed in light of pop culture stories like Star Wars, The Matrix, and why Dragon Ball is a prime example of how to do it right.

Metonymy and Metaphor: An educational lesson on advanced literary techniques espoused through the lens of DBZ.

Dragonball Abomination Z: Here Fenzel analyzes the Dragonball: Evolution movie and talks about the ways he felt it failed.

All of them are worth reading for a deeper look at the series.

Unfortunately their comments are disabled on older posts. So, if you feel like sharing, then please do so in the comments below. There’s certainly a lot of fuel for the fire.

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Overthinking Dragon Ball

James Wong at Shen Yun

The Shen Yun performing arts company finished its encore tour in Los Angeles on July 11. James Wong, the director of Dragonball: Evolution was in the audience with his family and praised the Shen Yun show.

An article was written for The Epoch Times newspaper to convey his feelings.

From the article:

James said, “I think it’s incredible. The dancers are amazing, the synchronicity of the dances, the tradition, the traditional dances, along with the costumes, is fantastic. I’m really impressed.”

“His most recent film, Dragonball: Evolution (20th Century Fox) is based on the hit comic book and animated series Dragon Ball that finds its roots in traditional Chinese and Japanese culture, notably from Journey to the West, a Chinese classic. The triumphant climax of the epic Journey to the West is retold in Shen Yun as the final performance of the show. The Buddhist Monk Xuanzang and his faithful guardian, The Monkey King, make a glorious return to Tang Dynasty China where they distribute the Buddhist teachings to future generations.”

As a contributor to The Epoch Times I was asked to write this article because of its relationship with Dragon Ball. Shen Yun’s display of authentic traditional culture incorporates The Monkey King legend that inspired Akira Toriyama to create Dragon Ball. And I was happy to help with this unique synchronicity.

The full article: Hollywood Director Recommends Shen Yun: ‘It’s Spectacular’

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Dragon Ball Director Praises Shen Yun

Dragon Ball Z. How is it pronounced? Perhaps you never asked yourself the question, but it turns out there are a few different ways to say it. All because of the Z.

For example, is it pronounced Dragon Ball Zee, Dragon Ball Zed or something else entirely? The title of the show represents a linguistic problem with various answers that depend on where you live and what language you speak.

Why does it matter? Because the show is an international phenomenon with no agreed upon standard for how to pronounce its name. And the differences stand as another example of diversity seen within the localized versions of the Dragon Ball series.

To really understand why this is the case we have to learn a little about languages and world history from within the Dragon Ball perspective.

The American Way

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c8FzDm4Gbo

Dragon Ball Z is a proper noun, the name of an entity, so it should be pronounced the same in every country, like how the band ZZ Top should be pronounced Zee Zee Top regardless of where you speak it.

But unfortunately this is not the case for DBZ, and the pronunciation varies around the world.

Americans are taught to pronounce the letter Z as Zee. We are taught to pronounce it this way in schools as well as on Sesame Street at home.  So we pronounce the show’s title as Dragon Ball Zee.

We pronounce it Dragon Ball Zee in the theme song, in the marketing materials, video games and everywhere else. For example, the original theme song to Dragon Ball Z in America has lyrics of, “Dragon, dragon, rock the dragon, Dragon Ball Zee!  Dragon, dragon, rock the dragon, Dragon Ball Zeeee-yah!”

Now, in the United Kingdom the people use the Queen’s English and pronounce the letter Z as Zed. They end their alphabet with a full stop; “X, Y, Zed.” So it is pronounced Dragon Ball Zed.

And Australian’s, while normally saying Zed if the letter stands alone, will still finish the alphabet with “X, Y, Zee.” Same with New Zealand. Yet in words they’ll pronounce it as Zed but without the d, so Zebra is not pronounced Zed-bra, in contrast to the American Zee-bra.

In Canada they have both French and English as national languages, but which English do they speak, the Queen’s English or American English? In this case, the answer is both, and it’s called Canadian English! Because the country is so large and geographically varied sometimes they will say Zed and other times Zee, depending on the region.

Yet this is not an English specific issue. To make things more complicated, the French also pronounce Z as Zed, so if Canadians decide to speak French, then they will say Dragon Ball Zed.

In other parts of Western Europe the Spanish may say Ceta, the German’s say Zed and the Swede’s say Zeta.

However, as a result of the popularity of the American Dub (and the intro along with it), the American pronunciation of Dragon Ball Zee was catapulted into the common fandom across the world.

A user by the name of “Super Sayian Prime” on the Daizex.com forums stated that he grew up in Canada where he was taught to pronounce Z as Zed, but he also grew up watching American Dragon Ball Z, which confused him because they always pronounced it Zee. He said, “This shows’ theme always screwed me up on the alphabet. I’d always say “Zee” instead of “Zed”.”

The same problem occurs in Australia where children watch the American’s Sesame Street alphabet song and are then corrected later by their parents to say Zed. The letter T (tee) rhymes with Zee, but it does not rhyme with Zed, hence the issue. Therefore, teachers that instruct children in the alphabet use the rhyme as a learning device but also teach them about Zed.

Americans might it find it strange to pronounce the Z as Zed, but the reasons why others do so is very rational and goes back thousands of years.

A Brief History of Z

The Greek Alphabet, source (www.uic.edu)

As mentioned, Zee and Zed are not the only pronunciations. In fact, Z has a rather involved past.

In ancient times when the Romans borrowed 21 of the 26 letters from the Etruscan alphabet, they included Zeta as the 7^th letter in the alphabet. But at some point after 250 BC the letter was dropped because Latin words no longer needed that particular sound. Then when Rome conquered Greece in the first century BC, the Z was taken back into Latin from the Greek so they could transliterate Greek words. This time they placed it at the end of the alphabet and pronounced it Zeta just like the Greeks.

The modern pronunciation Zed is derived from the Middle French Zède, which the French in turn derived from the Latin Zeta, which the Romans borrowed from the Greek. Today, some languages use Zed while others use a form closer to the original Latin and Greek.

The pronunciation Zee comes from America.

Noah Webster (1758 – 1843), an American lexicographer and author of the American Dictionary of the English Language (today known as the Merriam-Webster dictionary), proposed to change the pronunciation of the letter.

Why?  Primarily because he wanted Z to be pronounced in the same way as B (bee), D (dee) and V (vee). And perhaps as a point of national identity to distinguish from the British form of English.

There were other pronunciations as well, such as Izzard. In the 1755 Johnson’s Dictionary it states “Z… zed, more commonly izzard or uzzard, that is, shard.”

These pronunciations were rarely used up to the middle of the 20^th century alongside the more common Zee, but they were there all the same, and for a while their use could help could signify where a person was from. If a person said Zee then they were from New England and the North-Eastern colonies, and if they said Zed then they were from the South, where it was born from French or Spanish colonies.

As we know, eventually Zee conquered Zed.

Even so, then you might reply, “Our alphabet would no longer rhyme: T, U, V, W, X, Y and Zed?”

The thing worth keeping in mind is that the alphabet is not a poem and it does not have to rhyme. But we prefer that it does and creative people still find a way:

“….

O, P, Q, R, S and T

Read it back again to me.

U, V, W, X, Y, Zed

Now it’s always in your head.”

See?  And there’s a brief history of the letter Z.

But what about the Japanese?

The Japanese Z

The Dragon Ball Z Logo

How do the Japanese pronounce the letter Z? Dragon Ball Z was created in Japan so certainly the Japanese must know the proper pronunciation of their own show.

Not necessarily.

The letter Z is not part of the Japanese language, and the Japanese pronounce the Latin alphabet Z by saying Zetto, which is based off the original Latin Zeta.

To be specific, the Japanese say “Doragonbôru Zetto” from the katakana of ドラゴンボールZ.

To confuse matters further the developers and marketers of the shows’ related products occasionally say Zed as it is pronounced most everywhere else in the world, perhaps to cater to those markets. So they are inconsistent in the pronunciation of their own creation. Notably, they do not say Doragonbôru Zii.

Mike Labrie from Daizex.com said on a forum post about the topic, “Hell, I’ve seen tons of Japanese commercials with a narrator and the zed pronunciation, followed immediately by another one with Masako Nozawa and the zetto pronunciation. If the original country won’t decide on a pronunciation, you don’t have too much to complain about.”

Another important question, what does the Z in Dragon Ball Z even stand for?

The ‘Z’ was added to the title by Akira Toriyama to signify it as different from the original Dragon Ball, as well as to denote it as the final arc of the series.  He was tired of working on the show and wanted it to end, so he picked the last letter of the Latin alphabet thinking that there would be no further place to go afterward. The irony of course is that it lasted even longer than the original and was followed by another, known as Dragon Ball GT.

The Z series lasted much longer than Toriyama wanted it to, and the Z theme began to creep in, such as in the Z Sword, the Z Warriors, and Z TV. It became a part of the comic book and the show.

In regards to the Z Sword in particular, Americans (FUNimation) called it the Z (Zee) Sword, while the Japanese called it the Zetto Sodo. And as you might have guessed, the British called it the Zed Sword.

So, which Z is correct?

The Latin Z, from Wikimedia Commons

There is no correct one, per say.

It depends on where you live and how you speak.

I cannot base an argument for the American version being “correct” simply because it is the most popular in the West. Why not? Because it is an American translation of a Japanese TV show to begin with, and Zee is an altered version of both the original English Zed and Latin Zeta.

Likewise, I cannot pose an argument for Zetto being “correct” either because it is only the romanji pronunciation of the Latin letter, although it is the original pronunciation.

So what’s to do? Is there a solution to all this?

Fundamentally it is a linguistic concern that stems from Americans pronouncing the letter Z differently from everybody else. If we want a global pronunciation, then Americans will have to change their Zee’s to Zed’s, and the others that followed the American pronunciation will slowly change in turn.

But I have doubts that this will happen because it would involve a complete shift in our educational system.

If you’re an American, then as an individual fan you can certainly make the effort, but is it even necessary? Other international fans will know what you mean all the same when you say Zee.

Perhaps if you’re a hardcore fan of the Japanese you may even want to call it Zetto, but others might have a hard time with it.

Luckily, now if you’re talking with a fan and they say Dragon Ball Zee, Zed or Zetto, then you’ll be able to understand why, if you didn’t already.

Zee, Zed, Zetto, it’s all in the mind!

Resources

http://daizex.fanboyreview.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=8413&p=186738&hilit=Zed#p186738

http://daizex.fanboyreview.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7462&p=161336&hilit=Zed#p161336

http://daizex.fanboyreview.net/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4741&p=98900&hilit=Zed#p98900

http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/The_Z_Sword

http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=110064

http://momm-eh.blogspot.com/2005/10/zed-versus-zee-love-letter-to-nancy.html

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20000707

http://www.teenspot.com/boards/showthread.html?p=13322594

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c8FzDm4Gbo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFOvKQPk9LI&feature=video_response

http://www.uic.edu/las/clas/style/greek_alphabet.gif

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-692114.html

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Dragon Ball Zee or Zed?

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Red Hot Boiling Blood of Hell

Sign post for "Bloody Pond Hell" in Beppu, Japan (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The Chinoike Jigoku (Bloody Pond Hell) is a hot spring located in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, Japan, and is one of Japan’s oldest, dating from as early as 700. A.D.

The Chinoike Jigoku’s (pronounced “Chee-no-eekay Jee-goh-ku”) most notable feature is its blood red water that boils at over 200 °C.

The blood red water appears to have led the Japanese people to believe it was a type of Hell erupting forth from down below.  Their version of Hell in this case is one derived from the Buddhist belief system, which believes in multiple layers of Hell’s, each with a different nature.

In Beppu City there are 8 other hot spring attractions, each with a distinct nature, such as boiling grey mud, hot blue water, milky water, or a hot geyser that erupts every 25-30 minutes.

The "Bloody Pond Hell" of Beppu, Japan. (Source: Panoramio.com)

Why is this one blood red?  The pond is blood red because of the high iron oxide (hematite) content in the sediment deposited at the bottom of the pool.  (Interestingly the word hematite is derived from the Greek word for blood.)  In this case, the red color of the iron fills the water and makes it change color, and when you combine this with boiling temperatures it looks like a scene from Hell.

The Bloody Pond has been a famous tourist spot for centuries.  It was also a place where they tortured and executed people.

Yep, moving on…

Bloody Pond in DBZ, Oni!

Gozu and Mezu from DBZ's Hell in episode 13

The Bloody Pond in Dragon Ball is first seen in the Saiya-jin Saga of DBZ.  It is shown in a pair of filler episodes (Japanese DBZ episode’s 12 and 13 (aired July 19, 1989 and July 26, 1989 respectively)) when Goku falls off the back of the heavenly street cleaner’s “zamboni” while traveling along Snake Way.  He becomes tired, rests on the zamboni, falls asleep and poetically falls from the way and lands in Hell.

When Goku lands he comes face to face with some Oni.

In Toriyama’s version of Hell the spirits are watched over (and tortured) by the Oni, demonic humanoid creatures with giant iron clubs and super strength.

The Oni in Dragon Ball are Toriyama’s representation of the Japanese version of demon’s found in Buddhist Hell’s.  It’s believed that within each Buddhist Hell are Oni to enact punishment on those who have accrued karma and must pay back their debts.  Each Hell has a different set of punishments.

Oni that stands near the "Bloody Pond Hell" in Buppa, Japan (Source: Webshots.com)

The same concept is depicted in Dragon Ball, only a little more comical and lighter in tone.

Oni are traditionally depicted with red, blue, or green skin, with one or two horns on the top of their heads.  They will also carry their club or torture instrument and wear a tiger skin (or other animal based) loincloth around their waist.  This is the traditional (and expected) version of an Oni in Japanese culture.

The two Oni that Goku runs into pretty much fit this description, except they are wearing modern clothes of T-shirts, shorts and sneakers.  The T-shirts have the words “HELL” written on them in giant letters, and one of them has a pair of black rimmed glasses.

But to meet our expectations we also get to see Goku run past a cardboard cut-out of a traditional Oni dressed in a tiger skin loincloth.  And this Oni looks almost exactly like the cardboard cut-out of an Oni that stands next to the real Bloody Pond in Buppa.  Red skin, loincloth, iron club, two horns and shaggy hair to match.

Unfortunately I’m not sure how old the cut-out next to the real Bloody Pond is, or which of these came first.

Goku stands in front of a traditional looking Oni cardboard cut out. From DBZ episode 13.

And that’s not the end of the story.  The two Oni he encounters are named Gozu and Mezu.

“Gozu-Mezu” is a Japanese term for the succinct version of Gozu Rasetsu and Mezu Rasetsu, the ox face and horse face demons that guard the gate of Hell and torture and feast upon the living.  They are typically depicted as red and blue counterparts, as they are also seen in DBZ.

We can see here how Toriyama took a classic Buddhist belief and made it modern and comical.

To make matters even more interesting, they were about to be outclassed by a “monkey” that fell from Heaven and ran amok in Hell, just like in the classic legend Journey to the West.

Escape from Hell

Goku asks for a way out of Hell so he can continue along Snake Way and journey to North Kaio’s planet for special martial arts training.  In response, One of the Oni challenges him to a race around Hell.  If Goku can catch the Oni he’ll be shown the way out.  If he loses, then he’ll have to stay in Hell… forever!  Goku agrees to the conditions.  Only thing is, nobody has ever won.

Goku and the Oni run around Hell and we get to see to the Bloody Pond in various scenes.

Spirits play on the pond aboard row boats! From DBZ episode 13

Strangely it turns out that some of the spirits in Hell (or at least in these couple of episodes) are allowed to roam around freely, as we see a pair of them on a rowboat out on Bloody Pond and others enjoying the Ferris wheel.

The main difference between the real Bloody Pond and the DBZ version is that the DBZ pond appears to be made of real blood.   And it has a nice fountain.

The similarities are that it boils just like the other one, has arched fences around certain sections of the perimeter, is guarded by Oni and is a “scene” from Hell.

They both have signs that say “Bloody Pond” on them, labeled “Chinoike.”  Since DBZ’s Blood pond is already in Hell, there is no reason to call it “Chinoike Jigoku” (Bloody Pond Hell).

Essentially, Toriyama takes the idea of the Bloody Pond Hell, a famous tourist attraction in Japan, and places it into his own artistic version of Hell seen in Dragon Ball.

Bloody Hell

The demon warped version of the "Bloody Pond." From DBZ Movie 12, Fusion Reborn

The Bloody Pond also makes a few other appearances in the series.

One of these is in DBZ Movie 12 (Fusion Reborn, Japanese:  Rebirth of Fusion, Goku and Vegeta).  In this movie a demon named Janemba runs loose in Hell and Goku has to travel from the Other World dimension to defeat it and re-establish order in the afterlife.

While fighting the demon Goku escapes to the Bloody Pond, which is now transformed into a solid cone of floating blood because of the demon’s powers.  He hides inside the pond to take a rest from the battle but the demon finds him anyway and starts carving it up with his sword.

We see the Pond once again at the end of the film as Vegeta’s body is turned back into a spirit, where he awaits further punishment in Hell to pay for his crimes.

The Bloody Pond also appears during the Freeza saga for a brief moment when the Ginyu Force members are summoned to North Kaio’s planet to assist Tenshinhan, Yamcha, Piccolo and Chaotzu with their training.  The four beat the Ginyu Force off of the planet and send them into Hell, where they land in the Bloody Pond and drown in hot blood.

So how exactly did the real Bloody Pond end up as the Dragon Ball Bloody Pond?

My guess is that Toriyama either heard of or visited the Bloody Pond in Buppa and used it as inspiration for his Bloody Pond in Dragon Ball’s Hell.

The 9 Hell’s of Buppa have been a famous tourist attraction for centuries before the creation of DBZ, so it’s quite possible that he didn’t have to go there directly to be inspired by it, but in any case, this seems the most likely source of the Blood Pond in Dragon Ball.

Akira Toriyama was inspired by or borrowed from a large amount of traditional Japanese and Chinese culture, so it makes sense that this particular feature of his Hell would also be derived from these cultures.

The Bloody Pond’s history as a well known tourist attraction and depiction of Hell makes it a prime candidate for source material in the Hell of Dragon Ball.

More Information and Resources:

http://www.chinoike.com/en.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4702.html

http://www.beppu-jigoku.com/ (Japanese)

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/3054780

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beppu_Chinoike-jigoku01n4272.jpg

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Dragon Ball’s Bloody Pond of Hell

Hitler Heil's Hello in DBZ Movie 12

There are many unique aspects to the Dragon Ball series and several may contain socialist and communist elements.  In this article I will introduce 5 of them.

They are the following:

1. Red Army
2. Stars
3. Hitler
4. Hooked Cross Z
5. One World Government

The elements on this list are the results of watching the Dragon Ball series and seeing what is already there.  I am not making any of these up.

This article is not only here to reveal what was in front of us all along, but to also help explain how and why.

Red Star Hammer and Sickle

Please keep in mind that Dragon Ball is above all else a fun and lighthearted show with a heavy dose of silliness and martial arts antics.  These socialist and communist elements do not detract from the Dragon Ball experience in any way.

It’s possible you may disagree with some of the inherent meaning behind these elements within the series, and a lot has been said about one of them in particular, but that does not take away from the fact that they are there to begin with and left for us to explore and understand.

If you have any thoughts on their meaning and why the creator’s put them in, then please state your thoughts in the comments below.

Now let’s begin our adventure.

Red Army

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZs_mrR02MA

The Red Army is a term used to describe an army that gathers under the Red Flag, a militaristic symbol of a Communist force.

The term Red Army was first coined by its commander Leon Trotsky to refer to the newly created army of Soviet Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.  The term continued to be used in Europe for the next several decades and became synonymous with violence, bloodshed and power.  Afterward, the term spread east when Mao Zedong created his own Red Army in China, which would later be known as the People’s Liberation Army.  Both of these army’s militarily dominated Asia for several decades, including several wars with the Japanese, the birthplace of Dragon Ball.

Commander Red

We find the Red Army in Dragon Ball in the form of the Red Ribbon Army, a spoof like representation of a unified military threat.  Most of the Red Ribbon Army and all of its leaders are “Foreigners,” i.e. Westerners (or talking bipedal animals).  They represent the stereotypical socialist or communist army trouncing across the country and taking whatever they want with their military might.

The Red Ribbon Army has a collection of foot soldiers, military experts, assassins, evil scientists, technicians, a mobile division (speeders, trucks and tanks), a flight division (planes, helicopters), a sea division (subs, boats), killer robots, androids and special operatives (scuba divers, flamethrower shock troops) and more.  Red Ribbon Army headquarters is a huge base surrounded by and filled with defensive weapons technology.

They appear to be depicted like the army of an evil villain in a James Bond film.  Though more accurately they are reminiscent of the Red Army of Soviet Russia, upon which many of the James Bond villains were based.

The main theme that accompanies the Red Ribbon Army contains the following lyrics (translated):

Dye a red ribbon in a sea of blood

Hands of demons creep through the wilderness

A screen which reflects the dark desires

The leader, Red, watches and laughs

Blue, Black, Silver, the sky is scorched

Yellow, White, Brown, a mechanical army

Only if we conquer everything in this world

will our supreme pride be fulfilled

Soldier Red Ribbon

We’ll drop the world into a deep terror

Soldier Red Ribbon

The demons that came from hell

Red Ribbon Army

All of the soldiers are dressed resembling World War II era troops with a minimum of personal equipment, consisting primarily of a jacket, baggy trousers, a rifle and high-top boots.  The Red Ribbon Army’s “RR” logo is placed on their chest and hat.  The elite soldiers wear colored “RR” logo armbands to denote their superior rank.

Red Ribbon Army's Red Flag

The “RR” logo stands for “Red Ribbon” and is usually seen as a symmetrical red ribbon with white text placed anywhere the logo could be applied, such as on a military uniform or tank.  But it is also seen on a Red Flag that is very similar to Stalinist and Nazi versions of the Red Flag.

Their leader is Commander Red, a short power obsessed man with a Napolean complex and a desire to gather all the dragonballs so he can make a wish to grow taller, and thereby (naturally) rule the world!  He also has bright red hair that is styled a lot like Leon Trotsky’s, the original commander of the Soviet Red Army.  It seems oddly similar, though this could just be a coincidence as Toriyama has never commented on his inspiration for the character.

General Blue

In addition, one of their leaders, General Blue, is based on the ideal disciplined soldier of Hitler’s eugenics program.  Blue is lean and strong with blond hair and blue eyes and it is implied that he is of German descent as he speaks German in one line of the English comic book, saying the phrase “Auf Wiedersehen” (Goodbye).  He is the strongest fighter of all the Red Ribbon Army soldiers and matches up against Goku for several episodes, employing super human strength and psychic abilities.  The funny thing is that in the anime Toriyama made him into a very effeminate (with implied homosexuality) character.  He loves his own appearance, stops to smell the roses and is disgusted by mice.  However in the comic book he is much more serious and clever.

The Red Ribbon Army is already well established by the time Goku comes along, and they have generated a healthy dose of fear and respect in the world community.

The Red Ribbon Army met its match time and time again at the hands of Goku, and he defeated them almost entirely by himself.  He had some slight assistance from a few companions he met along the way, but there were no other Z warriors or main characters of the series involved.  Just him against an entire communist inspired army.  And he won.

Stars

Red Star of Communism

Stars are another communist symbol, and they are frequently seen in the Dragon Ball series because each of the dragonballs contains stars.  Red five-pointed stars in particular carry the most symbolism.

The five-pointed Red Star is a symbol of communism and socialism movements in general.  There are different interpretations as to why this is, and the argument is often made that the five points represent the five fingers of the common worker’s hand, or the five major continents of the world that will one day be ruled under a communist government.  It could also be indicative of the five forces that would bring communism to power, namely the youth, the military, industrial laborers, peasants and intelligentsia.

The Red Star is a symbol used throughout all Communist nations, along with the Sickle and Hammer, and can be seen on national monuments and government buildings as well as flags and military uniforms.

Often times the Red Star will stand alone or be outlined in yellow on a red background.  Sometimes the stars will be completely yellow on a red background or feature multiple yellow stars arranged around one another, such as in the Chinese Communist Party flag.

Dragonball Collection

The seven dragonballs are a golden orange amber type color and the five-pointed stars inside them are all red.  The seven balls are named by the amount of stars that each ball contains, such as the 1-star ball, the 4-star ball and so on.  The dragonballs naturally play a major role in the series and so we see this imagery again and again.

But we also see stars elsewhere.

We spot a red five-pointed star time and again on Emperor Pilaf, another diminutive character with an out of control ego questing for more power, power that can only be granted by the dragonball’s.  Pilaf is a blue skinned impish character that repeatedly has his plans foiled by Goku’s presence.  Goku doesn’t even go out of his way to interfere with Pilaf’s schemes; they keep bumping into one another as if it were fated to be.

Pilaf wears a red and blue cap with a black band around the rim.  A red five-pointed star is placed on a yellow background front and center.

Emperor Pilaf

It’s possible that the star is there to represent his “Imperial Status” as stars have also been used throughout medieval history to denote royalty.  But once again Toriyama has left us with no explanation.

The shape-shifting pig Oolong also wears a Red Star on his hat in the beginning of the series.  He is a short and fat pig seen dressed in a green Chinese Communist style uniform similar to the one Mao Zedong would have worn.

It’s not known exactly why Toriyama decided to create him to look like a Chinese Communist soldier, but it’s possible that he was trying to take a jab at the CCP by dressing up a pig in their clothes and making him short, fat, obnoxious, loud and selfish.  What do you guys think?

Oolong in CCP Clothing

Goku and his traveling companion Bulma soon trick Oolong into traveling along with them on their quest for the dragonballs, and while Oolong never really improves his demeanor he does learn to tolerate his new friends, at least more so than he did initially.  He stays with them for the rest of the series.

In addition, we see the star in every episode of Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT, as they are featured in the logos.  Dragon Ball Z’s logo has a small orange 1-star ball standing in for the “O” in Dragon.  Dragon Ball GT’s star is placed inside the “O” of Dragon and is a red five-pointed star on a yellow background, like the one Pilaf wore before.  It can also be seen in logos of derivative works, such as the video game Dragon Ball Online where the red star inside a circle is used as the entire “O” of Dragon once again.

So why are there so many stars in Dragon Ball?

We are left to ponder.

Hitler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSd4E1U1kzY

The biggest and most frequently talked about reference to socialism in Dragon Ball is Hitler himself.  Hitler is in Dragon Ball Z Movie 12, Fusion Reborn (Japanese title:  The Rebirth of Fusion!  Goku and Vegeta!) as a guest villain who comes back from the dead after a demon takes control of the underworld and the laws of life and death.

Hitler comes back to life with his whole zombie army and rolls his tanks through the city, crushing cars and barking out orders like the dictator he is.

He is depicted as a diminutive man (once again) dressed in a purple Nazi uniform with a red “X” armband wrapped around his left arm.  The red “X” is also on the front of his hat.  This is because the Nazi double hooked cross (German: Hakenkreuz), which we often refer to as a Swastika, was replaced by the red “X” for censoring issues.  Aside from those changes he looks just like his namesake, mustache and all.

Hitler starts to destroy the city and is challenged by Goku’s son Goten alongside Vegeta’s son Trunks.  Hitler orders his men to fire at the pre-teen boys and they dodge the hundreds of tank shells and bullets with ease.  The two pint-sized heroes make a mockery of his entire army while they punch and kick his tanks into tin cans.

Hitler screams to “Destroy the infidels!” and the pair turn into golden Super Saiya-jin fighters in response.  Their hair and eyes change color and they are surrounded by golden flames.  Hitler looks at them in confusion and replies, “Blonde hair, blue eyes, super strength, I should be recruiting them.”  Then he yells, “… Shoot them down, they are no match for us, they are inferior!”

In the Japanese version after a bit more fighting with Goten and Trunks he says, “What are they, bright youths outshining the gods?”

These comments are in reference to Hitler’s philosophy and world perspective, as he stands looking at that which he pursued in life, a master race of perfect warriors that are superior to anything created on earth and powerful enough to conquer heaven.  Slight downside is he’s not in control of them.

The line about “bright youths” is also a comment from Japanese parents on counter culture youth dying their hair blonde and other colors.  The joke is that Hitler thinks they are rebellious kids.

Goten and Trunks kill Hitler and destroy his zombie army, sending them back to where they came from.

Hitler’s presence in the movie and the “golden haired supermen” that defeat him have led many fans online toward a presumption that DBZ is racist or has racist connotations.  There are other pieces of supporting evidence to their arguments within the show, but this Hitler reference will almost invariably be used at some point in an argument on the topic.

This isn’t an issue that will be settled any time soon unless Toriyama decides to join the conversation.

Yet so far we have seen how Goku, who is believed to be natively Japanese by the Japanese people, has crushed a Western Red Army, repeatedly stopped an Emperor from ever gaining power, changed the wicked ways of a fat Chinese Communist pig, and now defeated Hitler himself through his superior genetic offspring of “supermen.”

What’s noteworthy is that this scene was cut from the German and French versions of the film due to strict prohibition of Nazi emblems and references.  Likewise it was removed from the Hebrew version of the film to avoid the sensitive nature of the scene in relation to Holocaust survivors.  It was also removed from the American televised version shown on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block.

Recognition of these separate yet relatable events that are already within Dragon Ball has caused some fans to question Toriyama’s motives.

Did Akira Toriyama have ulterior motives?  Unfortunately the definitive answer to the question is unknown.

Keep in mind it’s a parody scene and is humorous, but it’s still there nonetheless.  Quite an odd thing to include in a major theatrically released animated film, and it’s not something you would ever see in a Disney movie.

Hooked Cross Z

Dragon Ball Z Logo

The Z in the Dragon Ball Z logo is very unique and unlike a regular roman alphabet Z.

The logo is something which has yet to be talked about on the net, and this may in fact be the first time anyone has discussed the logo in greater detail, at least from what my research has discovered.  I guess it’s just taken at face value, like many other logos.

This is my attempt to explain why the Z is drawn the way it is, as it is displayed promptly in every single episode, movie, video game and piece of related merchandise.   It is an iconic and easily recognizable logo and I am surprised no one has ever looked beyond its superficial value.

Perhaps you never gave it a second thought but it has some noteworthy aspects.

DBZ Logo Z

This Z has two unique elements.  These are notably the hooked cross ends and the slanted cross in the middle.

The hooked cross ends of the Z in the logo are the ends that point both diagonally up and down, like the German hooked cross (German: Hakenkreuz).  A normal Z does not have these, and these two ends appear similar to a single hooked cross.

Please remember that the Swastika was two hooked crosses placed on top of one another and inverted.  I am not implying that the Z logo is a Swastika, rather I am saying that it resembles a single hooked cross.  If you placed another Z on top of the original than it would resemble a stylized swastika, but this is never seen in the series and a presupposition like that should not be made.  The Z just is what it is.

The second element is the slanted cross in the middle of the Z.  The cross is slanted from the top left to the bottom right in a form similar to a Russian cross.

Russian Cross

A Russian cross is a variant of the familiar Latin cross, and is a three tiered cross (a Latin cross is one tiered).  The Russian cross’s first tier is a horizontal line near the top that stretches across half the horizontal distance.  The second tier is placed just beneath it and stretches all of the horizontal distance.  The third tier is short and placed near the bottom, where Jesus’ feet would have hung while on the Cross.  It is slanted from the top left to the bottom right.

There are different interpretations as to what the slanted cross means in the Biblical sense, but I’ll leave those to the Biblical scholars.

What does it mean in Dragon Ball Z?  Nothing as far as I can tell.  There does not appear to be any correlation between the slanted cross and the contents of the Dragon Ball series.

But in researching Z’s and their overall meaning I found that the Z is often associated with the lightning bolt, and a Z with a horizontal cross in the middle of it was once used by Hitler to denote his Socialist party, as seen in the yellow on black flag (pictured).

Crossed Z Hanging from the Wall of a German Town

In addition, the Z and S in the German language are used interchangeably, as seen in the symbol for “SS,” two sharp S/Z lightning bolt shapes next to one another.

Furthermore, a single S or Z with a horizontal cross in the middle of it was the precursor to the use of a full double cross Swastika.  This is the single hooked cross.  At some point the single and the double hooked cross began to be used alongside one another.

Moreover, a study of Hitler’s signature shows that in the late 1930′s and early to mid 40′s he signed documents with an S/Z shaped lightning bolt shape, this time with a slanted cross like in the DBZ logo and third tier of the Russian cross.

Now all of that may sound very interesting, but there are no hard and fast correlations between Dragon Ball and the socialist party of Germany or the Nazi party and I don’t wish to make accusations or lead anyone to assumptions based on a small amount of conjectural evidence.  This is simply the best explanation I’ve come up with so far for the Z’s unique shape.

SS Logo

It’s entirely possible that Akira Toriyama merely thinks this particular Z looks nice and that it has no deeper meaning.  This would be in line with his usual explanations of doing what is easiest.  If he comes out and says something to that effect, then the mystery is solved.  But until he does we are left to our own devices to try and figure out why the Z is drawn like it is.

We are each free to our own interpretations.  I like to ask “Why?” and Toriyama likes to stay quiet.  So far this is the best explanation I can produce and I’m totally open to it being refuted with logical arguments to the contrary.  If you have a rational alternative explanation, then please let me know.

What do you think?  Does this theory make sense?

Whatever the case may be, we march onward…

One World Government

Dragon World

The goal of communism is to unite the world in a communist controlled utopia, ruled by the people.  The goal of socialism is state ownership and control of the fundamental means of production and distribution of wealth, to be achieved through restructuring existing capitalist or political systems.

The government in Dragon Ball doesn’t exactly fit the communist description, as it is ruled by a King, but the concept of a single united world government is still strong.

In Dragon Ball the entire planet is ruled by the King of the Earth, a talking bipedal dog named King Furry (Japanese name: King Koku) who resides in the World Capital.  There are several capitals, such as the Northern Capital, Central Capital, etc, similar to a Dynastic Chinese feudal organization system (Beijing, Nanjing, Xi’an, etc.).

King Furry seems to run things fairly peacefully and everyone appears to get along rather well.  Of course the world is not without its problems by any means and there is an army established to suppress any serious evils (such as aliens and super villains that attack the kingdom or planet) as well as city employed police forces and systems of law to handle domestic issues.  There are individual mayors within the 43 districts of the complete landmass, but they all pay homage to the king.

There are no other countries on this planet, and because there is only one large landmass in Dragon Ball it means that there is only one world government.  One government is in charge of everything, including (presumably) banks, schools, large farms and production facilities.  Private and smaller enterprises like local village farms and residential areas appear to be managed without supervision, such as Goku’s house in the mountains, but city life appears somewhat regulated, as almost every city across the world looks the same.

I noticed this same thing while traveling through China in 2003.  Were it not for the traditional ancient buildings, palaces and natural landscapes, all of the cities would look the same.  Everything created by the government had the same style.

King Furry

So how was this socialist utopia formed?  The country must have been broken up at some point and then unified and placed under the leadership of a king at another.  It’s not known when this happened, but no world of such diversity, race and culture could have been unified at the outset.  There must have been some type of social change which led to this grand unification.  But we’re given no evidence or hint as to what this could have been.  A large threat or looming crisis?  Military conquest?  A slow and gradual shift of power toward the few?  It’s unknown.

Now granted that it’s an immense landmass with great differences in environment and ethnic people, but it’s all ruled by the same talking dog.  Whatever that talking dog says, goes!

Conclusion

These were 5 communist and socialist elements in Dragon Ball.

Hopefully this article helped shed some light on a few of the more unique aspects of Dragon Ball and helped you think a little more about the series and its creator.

Perhaps Toriyama had more in mind when he created this show then is visible at first glance.  There are definitely some unique aspects.  Maybe he’s trying to tell us something and provide a message.  If so, what is it?  The unanswered questions are food for thought.

The neat thing is that you can still find all of these elements there today, so please feel free to watch the show and come up with your own interpretations.  I’d love to hear them.

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

5 Communist and Socialist Elements in Dragon Ball