Final Forum: A Dragon Ball Podcast

By Final Forum Podcast

Dragon Ball has a wealth of cultural context and inspiration that’s often overlooked because the fights are cool. Though not averse to fawning over animation and allowing for the Rule of Cool, Jelli a... more

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FAQs about Final Forum: A Dragon Ball Podcast:

How many episodes does Final Forum: A Dragon Ball Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 144 episodes available.

Final Forum: A Dragon Ball Podcast episodes:

December 22, 2021Away We Go! Yamcha, Oolong, and Pilaf (S1E3)
What's in an antagonist? What about Dragon Ball's earliest attempts to get under Goku's skin? Why are we talking about Pinball Wizard?

Join Jelli and Bekinney as they delve further into Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon by tackling episodes 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the anime ("The Emperor's Quest," "The Nimbus Cloud of Roshi," "Oolong the Terrible," and "Yamcha the Desert Bandit" and then have a discussion about the antagonistic characters Pilaf, Oolong and Yamcha.
In this episode:
Our hosts prepare to leave for their mission, again.
Brief plot synopsis of the episodes listed above
Brief discussion of favorite moments from the episodes
A talk about whether the sexuality and sexual humor presented in these episodes are problematic
A quick look at some of the readily obvious differences between the manga and anime
An explanation of Flying Nimbus and its Japanese name Kintoun, which means Somersault Cloud.
An explanation of the effects of Oolong's diarrhea pill, including the differences between the English "piggy piggy" and the Japanese "pipipi"
A look at Emperor Pilaf, and his inner and outer hypocrisy and self-contradictions, most notably his Napoleon complex
A discussion of what Pilaf's clothing means, including its reference to The Who, Tommy and Pinball Wizard.
Who are Mai and Shu, Pilaf's underlings?
We talk about whether Pilaf is a good or bad antagonist.
Deep dive into Oolong, his name inspiration, from a Chinese tea, his connections to the Tang Dynasty, and his literary connections to the character Zhu Bajie from Journey to the West and how this character normally interacts with Sun Wukong and Xuanzang vs. how he interacts with Goku and Bulma
Oolong's ability to transform and his connection to Japanese Oni demons
A debate about whether Oolong is meant to represent communism, Mao Zedong, and/or Kim Jong Il (or Kim Jong Un, or North Korea)
Yamcha, Bekinney's favorite character, and his connection to Journey to the West via the character Sha Wujing a man-eating sand-demon, who is known more as a river-bound character and how Akira Toriyama is subverting the expectation by having Yamcha be a desert bandit
Bekinney's assertion that Yamcha is a Jobber
A discussion of whether Yamcha is a joke and whether that's a bad thing
Puar, Yamcha's constant companion, whose name is also based on a tea
A discussion of Yamcha's status as a Lone Wolf, and his Wolf Fang Fist
Join us as we continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise by analyzing these original antagonists

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52min
December 07, 2021Hi! I‘m Goku! (S1E2)
He's the main character of the show, one of the most important characters in animation history, and a major reason we're bothering to have a podcast, but what do we know about Goku, really?

Join Jelli and Bekinney as they take the first real steps into Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon by tackling episode 1 of the anime "The Secret of the Dragon Balls" and then have a discussion about the character of Goku.
In this episode:
Our hosts prepare to leave for their mission
Brief plot synopsis of the episode "Secret of the Dragon Balls"
Brief discussion of favorite moments from the anime episode
Brief analysis of some of the pop culture references including Michael Jackson, Madonna, and 80s fashion included in the episode
Definition of the terms Yokai and Ningen
Introduction to Japanese honorifics
Introduction to Goku as a character, including very briefly his Saiyan roots and birth name of Kakarott
Akira Toriyama's design process in the creation of Goku, including his more monkey-inspired concept, and influences from action starts like Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, and other manga and anime characters such as Astro Boy and Merry Melodies and Mega Man
Goku's literary inspirations from Journey to the West: the character Sun Wukong, a key ally to the Buddhist Monk, Tang Sanzang, the literary character based on Xuanzang.
Goku's lack of desire in terms of having a wish for the Dragon Balls, and his inner contented nature.
A discussion of Goku's race
Goku's abilities (or lack thereof) as a father
The inspiration behind Goku's Power Pole
A discussion of whether Goku is overconfident and cocky
A discussion of whether Goku is a "boring" character and the flat character arc including other examples such as Wonder Woman, and Superman - and the similarities and differences between Goku and Superman
How Goku's flat character arc contrasts with more traditional growth character arcs such as those for Vegeta, Piccolo, Yamcha, Krillin, and Bulma, and even less traditional arcs like Frieza and Zamasu.
and more, including some general pop culture and editorializing, and an argument over whether Goku is stupid.
This is the first full discussion of a topic of many more along the way as we'll uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise.
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57min
November 23, 2021Introduction to Dragon Ball and Taste Calibration (S1E1)
Welcome Super Elite Warriors to Final Forum! A podcast for the discussion of all things Dragon Ball.
Join Jelli and Bekinney as they begin their journey into Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon as they briefly explain what Dragon Ball is, why they enjoy it, and do some taste calibrations so listeners can get a feel for where our hosts stand on various this-or-that questions as they pertain to Dragon Ball.
This episode had some technical glitches that we mostly salvaged, and do not repeat, so we hope if you decide to check it out, you’ll come back for more as it legitimately only gets BETTER from here.
In this episode:
Introduction to our hosts
Brief description of what manga is
Introduction to Dragon Ball including the general premise, start and end dates of manga and anime titles
Akira Toriyama's creation of Dragon Ball and his past history with Dr. Slump
Acknowledgement of Dragon Ball's inspiration points including Bruce Lee, Godzilla, Ultraman, and more
Brief discussion of Journey to the West, the main point of inspiration for Dragon Ball, including a biography of the Buddhist monk, Xuanzang, who inspired the story and the character based on him, Tang Sanzang
Connection between Yokai and Dragon Ball
Acknowledgment of Dragon Ball's gorgeous animation and fight sequences
Jelli and Bekinney's first experiences with Dragon Ball via Toonami, including an admission of ignorance about Super Saiyans
The cultural importance behind Dragon Ball, and whether it was intentional
Discussion of Goku as a character
Goku vs. Vegeta
Favorite secondary characters (Gohan? Frieza? Krillin? Yamcha? Piccolo?)
Subtitles vs Dub
Anime vs Manga
Dragon Ball vs. Dragon Ball Z vs. Dragon Ball Super
Favorite filler episodes
Shinsuke Kikuchi vs Bruce Faulconer
and more, including some general pop culture, just to help you better understand us and where we're coming from with our opinions.
This is the first of many steps along the way as we'll uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular franchise.

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44min
January 01, 2021 EPISODE 0 - An Introduction to Us
Welcome Super Elite Warriors to Final Forum! A podcast for the discussion of all things Dragon Ball.
Join Jelli and Bekinney as they begin their journey into Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon ...from the future?
We sat down in 2026 to welcome newcomers to the show, after re-listening to some older episodes and deciding things needed an introduction now.
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23min

FAQs about Final Forum: A Dragon Ball Podcast:

How many episodes does Final Forum: A Dragon Ball Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 144 episodes available.