Dragon Ball - A Tribute | Falcon Talks
A tribute to Akira Toriyama and to one of my favourite manga
Hi everyone,
Today is the airing of the last episode of Dragon Ball DAIMA - the last Dragon Ball story that original creator Akira Toriyama worked on before his death.
And though I have no doubt that new Dragon Ball works will keep coming out after this, it really does feel like the end of an era with this one - from it being Toriyama’s last work to many of the characters having new voice actors in their mini forms (except for series lead, Son Goku)1, there is a paratextual melancholy and finality surrounding this otherwise light-hearted adventure story.
Dragon Ball has been a huge part of my life since I was young - from reading the manga in Chinese and watching the anime (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT) in the Cantonese dub as a young child in Hong Kong, to watching the English dub(s)2 of Dragon Ball Z as a newly-immigrated teen in Canada, to rediscovering it with a new Japanese dub in the form of Dragon Ball Kai as a young adult, and all the way to the new Dragon Ball Super and now Dragon Ball DAIMA as an even older adult. Dragon Ball has been with me through thick and thin, and some could even say that it travelled with me across the world!
So, there’s no big point this time - I just wanted to pay tribute to a creator whose seminal work has been a huge part of my life and to one of my favourite manga of all time.
And for that, I wanted to highlight three things about Dragon Ball.
Super Saiyan - The Iconic Moment
Oh, yes - how could I not talk about this moment?
Possibly the most iconic moment in Dragon Ball, as well as being a very influential moment in battle shounen manga history and beyond.
I’ve seen many versions of this moment over the years (from the original manga, the anime, and lots of video games), and I don’t think I’ve ever not enjoyed it! 😄
In what was supposed to be a triumphant moment after a long and arduous fight for Goku and our heroes, galactic tyrant Freeza reveals himself to still be alive!
Taking them by surprise, Freeza brutally injures Goku’s friend Piccolo with a finger beam, before lifting Kuririn3, Goku’s best friend, telepathically up into the air and then… blowing him up! 😱
Consumed by anger, Son Goku finally accepts his Saiyan heritage4, and transforms into… the legendary Super Saiyan!
Goku then proceeds to overwhelm Freeza with his newfound might, finally ending the tyrant’s reign.5
Oh, I love it - I love it so much! 😄
This iconic moment would have a huge effect on the battle shounen genre (and even beyond that), because it can be seen as the birth of the modern “super mode”.
Luffy’s Gears from One Piece? Naruto’s tailed-forms from Naruto? The Super Modes in G Gundam? All thanks to this moment!
There might have been power up forms before this, but THIS is the reason why they are so prevalent and awesome in their modern forms.
What’s a Plan?
Writing and drawing a weekly serialized manga is… hard.
Just imagine - having to come up with, write, and draw a new chapter of story every week. That’s not an easy task!
So it amazes me that Toriyama was, in many ways, the ultimate by-the-seat-of-your-pants mangaka.
Famously, he didn’t really plan out the manga that much in advance6; and yet, so many fans from across the world (including me) would still be engaged in each and every chapter!
A well-known anecdote goes that, for the Android Saga, Toriyama’s editor at Shueisha7, Kazuhiko Torishima, had argued with him that the villains introduced for the arc, Android8 #20 and Android #19, weren’t good enough villains.
So Toriyama whipped up Androids #16, #17, and #18!
And when that STILL wasn’t good enough for his editor, he introduced Cell…
Who would go on to become Perfect Cell…
… one of the most iconic villains of the series, perhaps second to only Freeza!
Now, imagine having to do all that… and still fit it into a time travel plot! 😆
Legacy - Transforming Battle Shounen Manga
In many ways, Akira Toriyama and Dragon Ball would go on to transform the battle shounen genre, influencing and inspiring many mangaka (and beyond) that followed him.
Here are just some of the ways that this can be seen:
Of course, the already-mentioned Super Saiyan popularized and inspired many super modes that followed it, especially in battle shounen manga.
Dragon Ball’s story of Goku being a little kid at first and then training to become a great warrior can be seen in the journeys of many battle shounen protagonists that followed him (for example: One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach).
Before this, a lot of battle shonen manga had the protagonist already a master warrior and learning new techniques wasn’t really a part of the plot (for example: Fist of the North Star).
Time skips became more common in battle shounen manga (it was actually shocking the first time when Dragon Ball did it and all the characters were aged up!)
Dragon Ball’s use of tournament arcs popularized that trope as well.
And, of course, the many shounen protagonists following Goku’s mould (for example: Luffy from One Piece and Naruto from Naruto).
As well as the shounen rivals who would follow in Vegeta’s footsteps (for example: Sasuke from Naruto and Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh!).
And, of course, being so well-known and so popular worldwide, Dragon Ball’s influence can be felt even beyond the battle shounen genre! It continues to be a huge influence and inspiration to many creators all over the world, leaving behind quite the legacy.
Thank you all for reading! 😊
I hope you enjoyed this tribute to Akira Toriyama and to Dragon Ball!
I will be watching the last episode of Dragon Ball DAIMA soon, and I am certain that it will be with a bittersweet joy that we close this chapter on Dragon Ball and celebrate Toriyama’s last work together.
Let me know below if you love Dragon Ball as well! Or maybe there’s another work that’s been as huge a part of your life as Dragon Ball has been for mine - I would love to hear about that too!
Whatever the case, drop a comment below, and I hope to see you all next time…
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Though most of the original VAs do return to voice the characters in their adult forms, it does still feel like as if the franchise is getting ready to pass the torch to younger VAs in the future. Time will tell if I’m right or not.
There were apparently two English dubs that were produced - one by Funimation and one by Ocean Studios. Canada has apparently broadcasted both at different times, so I have no idea which one(s) I’ve watched.
I’ve accepted a lot of the localized English spellings and pronunciations over the years, but not Kuririn! Krillin just feels so off to me, and it ruins the original pun so much!
Those who watched the English Funimation dub will have a somewhat different read on this, because the dub changed Goku’s character and the implications of this scene to emphasize being a hero more; whereas the original (as well as Viz’s localization for the manga) placed more emphasis on Goku’s struggle with learning about his Saiyan origins until finally accepting and declaring himself to be a “Saiyan, sent from Earth”. Both still have him be a hero who opposes Freeza, they just emphasized different things.
Well, at least until Resurrection ‘F’, but that’s a story for a different day… 😅
See Reason #2 in this article.
The company that publishes Weekly Shōnen Jump, which was the magazine that Dragon Ball was serialized in.
The original Japanese is 人造人間 (jinzōningen), which is something more akin to “human-made humans” or “artificial humans”. While “Android” is a fine localization, it does lead to people mistaking all the Androids to be robots, when only #16, #8, and #19 are fully mechanical robots. #17, #18, and #20 (Dr. Gero) are all cyborgs, while Cell is organic.