Dragon Ball AF Explained
Dragon Ball AF. You hate it, you love it, or maybe you’ve never heard of it. In any case, I doubt you know the full story.
It’s a truth that Dragon Ball fandom is and always has been intense. Regardless of their preferred version, Dragon Ball fans absolutely love their Dragon Ball.
Just before Dragon Ball GT concluded its original television run in Japan in 1997, a rumor spread about a new official series called Dragon Ball AF. Fans wanted the series to continue.
The only problem is that it was never true.
And you might suppose we could end this article right here. But as with everything involving Dragon Ball and its impact across the world, there’s a lot more to the story.
Dragon Ball AF was originally the creation of an unknown fan that evidently had a strong desire for a fourth Dragon Ball anime series.
A single image appeared on the web of a hypothetical Super Saiyan 5 Goku with a “Dragon Ball AF” logo on it, and from there it spread like wildfire.
The rumor grew gradually over the years and took on a life of its own, spawning many fan creations, illustrations, videos, episode listings, action figures, and even high quality fan manga based on the collective rumors.
For example, who is this guy fighting Goku?
Images like this confused the heck out of new Dragon Ball fans. And those who circulated lies about Dragon Ball AF preyed on the gullible nature of fans who simply wanted to see more of their favorite characters.
The desire for a new Dragon Ball series is so strong that even today the rumor is still actively spread that Dragon Ball AF is the next official series from Toei, and that the videos and images “leaked” on YouTube will arrive in “the next year or two.” New fans continue to fall for it, and the cycle continues.
Despite all the time that it has been around, if you search online for an explanation of Dragon Ball AF, you will only find bits and pieces of info. A short wiki article here, some crudely Photoshopped images there, a guy saying it’s not real while another screams back that it is, followed by immature insults and a link to fan made manga. There are, maybe, two good sources on the topic. Unless you spend hours putting the pieces together, you’ll be confused or simply dismiss the whole thing outright.
Because of Dragon Ball Z Kai’s and Dragon Ball GT’s second syndication on TV, there is now a new generation of Dragon Ball fan looking to see what happens next.
With the realization that people are still being confused, I set out to discover the true story behind Dragon Ball AF and write the definitive article.
Along the way I found a captivating story to tell.
Kame Sennin and Kume Sennin – The Perverted Hermits
Every Dragon Ball fan is familiar with Kame Sennin, the perverted martial arts master. But how many of you have heard of Kume Sennin, the original perverted hermit?
Many of the characters seen in Dragon Ball were inspired by traditional or pop culture. It’s well known that Goku was inspired by the Monkey King from Journey to the West, as well as martial arts actor Jackie Chan.
But not all of the characters’ points of origin are as easy to see.
Today I will reveal for the first time the original inspiration for Kame Sennin.
You’ll learn who Kume Sennin is, hear his legend, and see how his transformation into a Japanese pop cultural figure was later emulated in cinema and then once again by Akira Toriyama in Dragon Ball.
You’ll also learn why this legend is so essential to the Dragon Ball story, and how it’s so well integrated that you may never have realized it.
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Interview with Olivier Richard – Author of Akira Toriyama Book – Part 2
Welcome back to Part 2 of The Dao of Dragon Ball interview with Olivier Richard, the French author of Akira Toriyama – The Master of Manga.
In Part 1 Olivier and I discussed the French comic scene, his career of broadcasting Dragon Ball in France, and his personal comic book interests.
Today you’ll discover why Olivier chose to write about Akira Toriyama, hear what it’s like to collaborate with Shueisha, learn how he conducted interviews in Japan, and understand why Akira Toriyama truly is a master of manga!
Will there be an English translation? Does Olivier have insights into Toriyama’s personality? Read the rest of our discussion to find out!
continue …
Interview with Olivier Richard – Author of Akira Toriyama Book – Part 1
Olivier Richard at the Shueisha headquarters in Tokyo, Japan
Join me for a conversation with Olivier Richard, the French author of the book, Akira Toriyama – The Master of Manga.
Olivier Richard was an integral figure in the French manga and anime industry during the 80’s and 90’s. As a long time fan of Japanese comics, he wrote the world’s first biography about Akira Toriyama.
This is Olivier’s first interview about the book conducted in English, and thus represents his premiere to the North American and international English speaking audience of Dragon Ball fans.
Read on to learn about Dragon Ball’s popular explosion in France, hear Olivier’s personal feelings about comics, and gain international insights into Toriyama’s success!
continue …
Attending Anime Expo
I’ll be attending Anime Expo from July 1 to July 4, in Los Angeles, CA.
If you’re going to Anime Expo this year and want to get together, then drop me a line on the contact form or via facebook.
I’m going as a journalist for The Epoch Times, and also because it’s a good opportunity to be nerdy and have some fun.
For those who don’t know, Anime Expo is the largest anime and Japanese pop culture conference in North America. Hundreds of thousands of people come every year during the 4th of July weekend. Next year I want to be there to promote my Dragon Ball book.
I’d love to meet with you so we can talk about Dragon Ball or simply hang out, play games and become friends.
And it will also be interesting to see what type of a presence Dragon Ball has at this years conference. The last two years have been rather sparse, aside from an occasional cosplayer.
Hope to see you there!
Editors Chosen
Mr. Shu. Gohan's Tutor
Hey everybody. I made a decision that will take the book one step closer to completion. I hired a pair of professional editors.
The first is Marta Tanrikulu at TanMar Editorial Services, as the developmental editor. It’s her job to help shape and focus the book, restructure it accordingly, and cut whatever gets in the way of the primary message. Which, by the way, is this:
The message of The Dao of Dragon Ball is to convey the true history of the Dragon Ball series, its connections to ancient Indian, Chinese and Japanese cultures, Hollywood pop culture, futuristic science fiction, and the underlying meaning of life discovered through spiritual cultivation via the martial arts.
The second editor is Elissa Rabellino at StyleInSites, and she is the copy editor. After I finalize the content with Marta’s guidance, Elissa will help refine the prose and deftly say more with less.
Both editors are from the San Francisco Bay Area. They each had an interest in anime or manga as well as a ton of experience in their craft. I imagine that their expertise will enable the book to reach the next level.
It required several weeks of interviews and a lot of soul searching to make the final decisions, so here’s hoping for the best!
Potara, Potala, Potaraka
The Potara Earring in Dragon Ball Z
The Potara earrings are a device in Dragon Ball Z introduced near the end of the Majin Buu Saga. They allow one character to fuse together with another and increase their power level dramatically.
Everybody knows and loves them. But is there more to these simple earrings than meets the eye?
When all hope seems lost, Goku is given a Potara earring by Eldar Kai (Japanese: Rou Dai Kaioshin) that allows him to fuse with another person. They look like spherical ball earrings suspended by silver beads attached to a hoop that is placed in the earlobe.
Goku and Vegeta Fuse Together
Goku convinces Vegeta to wear one of the earrings while Goku wears the other. Immediately they are drawn to one another and their two bodies slam together, creating a new superhuman warrior.
The pair combined has the best of Vegeta’s pride and Goku’s rage, creating Vegetto, self-named after the combination of Vegeta and Kakarotto (Goku’s birth given Saiyan name).
According to Kanzentai.com, in The Super Exciting Guide: Story Volume, “On p.63 it describes the Potara fusion as being closer to multiplication rather than simple addition in the way it increases power. Supposedly, Vegetto’s battle power is equivalent to Goku’s battle power multiplied by Vegeta’s. Also according to the introduction of the Super Exciting Guide’s training section, all the information in it is based on data that was supervised by Toriyama, though we have no idea how extensive this supervision was.”
This makes Vegetto the strongest character in the entire manga.
But where did Akira Toriyama come up with the idea of Potara? What’s the story behind them?
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