Dragon Ball’s White Rabbit of the Moon
Happy Easter, Dragon Ball Fans. To celebrate this day I’ve decided to dedicate a blog post to our favorite talking bunny, Boss Rabbit.
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.
continue …
Gokuism – The Church of Goku
Dear friend, have you accepted Goku as your personal lord and savior? If not, then please listen to my Good News! The Church of Goku can help you increase your power level to Over 9,000 and follow in the sacred footsteps of lord Goku by training with King Kai, hallowed be thy name.
That’s right, there is now a Dragon Ball religion. It is called Gokuism, also known as The Church of Goku.
Gokuism is the belief that the principles of Dragon Ball provide a moral compass for one’s life, and that Goku is an ideal role model and moralistic person. By some definitions, it implies that Goku provides personal, global, and universal salvation, and that his death and resurrections were for our sake.
With so many religions already existing, why create this one based on Dragon Ball?
In today’s blog post you’ll learn where Gokuism came from, what its practitioners believe, and explore some thought provoking questions about this new faith.
continue …
Spirit Possession in Dragon Ball
Would you be willing to trade your soul to achieve worldly desires, or in exchange for more power? What about allowing your body to be controlled by God, or a demon?
In Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama incorporates spirit possession as a way to propel character development and plot.
This article explores how Toriyama was inspired by ancient belief systems and spirit possession traditions.
continue …
Marcus Brimage – DBZ and MMA Part 2
This is Part 2 of the Marcus Brimage interview about DBZ and MMA. Click here for Part 1 of the DBZ and MMA interview
DEREK: You stated that Dragon Ball Z is the greatest action anime of all time. Why do you feel that way?
MARCUS: Because, man! No fillers baby! They got straight to the point. The action!
They had one filler, and that was the Garlic Jr. Saga. Which wasn’t that bad! It was a nice little break, like 5 episodes, and then they got right back to Future Trunks and the Androids. They got right back on it.
And they had a little fun with Goku and Piccolo trying to learn how to drive, you know, that little bullshit, but for the most part Dragon Ball Z stayed the course, it always stayed focused on the action.
Marcus Brimage – DBZ and MMA Part 1
Dragon Ball Z is a martial arts epic brimming with legendary fights.
These fights have awed and inspired fans across the world. And there are some fans who become so inspired that they decide to pursue martial arts and make it their career.
I had the privilege of interviewing one of those inspired fans recently: Marcus Brimage, a Mixed Martial Artist who can currently be seen on Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) on Spike TV.
Here is Marcus’ introduction interview on the show.
This caught my attention and I decided to reach out to Marcus on Twitter. He agreed to the interview and the results were amazing.
We ended up talking for over an hour!
How and why did Dragon Ball inspire him? As an expert martial artist, what is his opinion on the fighting styles of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z? How does spirituality play a role in his fighting? And did Dragon Ball influence his fighting style?
We also discussed his time growing up in Alabama and his desire for a greater life. His early experiences getting tough love from his MMA instructors. And the superiority of Dragon Ball over other action anime.
Not to mention another comment by Marcus for all of the Naruto fans out there!
*Warning that this interview contains occasional swear words.
*Warning that this interview contains violence and mixed martial arts content.
*Warning that this interview contains Dragon Ball spoilers because Marcus and I are super-fans and discuss the series in detail.
That’s right, kids!
So without further ado, here is The Dao of Dragon Ball’s interview with Marcus Brimage, a mixed martial artist and Dragon Ball fan!
The Kiai in Dragon Ball
In Japanese martial arts, the Kiai (気合) is commonly thought of as a loud yell that coincides with an attack. But it’s actually a method of breathing, and is so much more than a simple scream.
In Dragon Ball, the Kiai is taken to an extreme. While drawing upon ancient martial arts legends, Akira Toriyama gives a visual appearance to what used to be invisible. He also illustrates what the Kiai could be capable of when used by a supernormal martial artist.
Toriyama’s creation has inspired a lot of people to practice martial arts, and the Kiai is an integral aspect of eastern martial arts, so it’s important to understand.
From super powerful punches to shields of energy, let’s take a deeper look at the Kiai in Dragon Ball.
Divine Combat – Zenkai Power
Super Saiyan Goku
In this excerpt from The Dao of Dragon Ball we will learn more about the martial arts as depicted in Dragon Ball.
There are many concepts that are disclosed in this chapter, such as Qi (Ki), Gong, Divine Powers, and how the popular conception of Qi in the martial arts were employed by Akira Toriyama and mixed with traditional Buddhist and Daoist spiritual views.
This particular section of the Divine Combat chapter explains the concept of Zenkai Power, and what it means both within Dragon Ball and traditional cultivation practices of East Asia.
Zenkai Power
Goku Fires the Kamehameha
Zenkai is a term used by fans to refer to the sudden power up that occurs to a Saiyan after they recover from a near death experience. Saiyans are the only ones with the genetic potential for Zenkai, but anyone with Saiyan cells in their body is able to experience a Zenkai.
The Dragon World is one in which fighting and martial arts are the primary form of cultivation recognized and supported by the gods.
The Saiyans are primed for development in the Closed Fist style of cultivation. They learn by fighting and mature through physical conflict. They do not study a set of teachings, nor do they specifically try to improve their character through looking inward and letting go of attachments. They increase their power as they train with intensity and fight against increasingly difficult external opponents. Yet they sometimes experience mortal blows; the type that would kill a normal man. Upon recovering from these grievous wounds the Saiyan is instilled with even more power, so that they can then defeat their opponent the next time they do battle. It is an accelerated form of evolutionary adaptation, and a large part of what makes them such formidable opponents.
Dragon Ball fans translated Zenkai as “Complete Recovery.” But this translation is incorrect, and there are further meanings to this term within Asian culture, Buddhism and the martial arts.
Sponsors
