Everything you never knew about Chiaotzu! Is he the darkest character in Dragon Ball? Let's discuss!
Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon by breaking down episodes 91, 92, 93, 94, and 95, "Counting Controversy," "Goku Enters the Ring," Tien Shinhan vs. Jackie Chun," "Stepping Down," and "Goku vs. Krillin" We continue discussing the 22nd Budokai Tenkaichi, and delve into the topic of zombies (kind of) in Dragon Ball.
In this episode:
- Jelli and Bekinney are faced with a veritable ocean of molten rock
- We recap the episodes and discuss our favorite moments
- Some notes on Panputto and the less important matches that happen herein
- We begin discussing Chiaotzu with how his name is derived
- Breaking down language to explain who and what Chiaotzu is
- The topic of zhiren in Japanese culture and how Toriyama may have been inspired by the Bruce Lee film, Fist of Fury and the Sammo Hung film The Dead and the Deadly
- The concept of jiangshi in Chinese and Japanese (and Daoist) culture
- How jiangshi are akin to Western zombies
- How jiangshi relate to the concepts of shishen and yuanshen as well as fengshui
- Toriyama's possible inspiration points for bringing a jiangshi into Dragon Ball, including the Sammo Hung films Ghost Beats Ghost and Mr. Jiangshi, and a 1985 film known as Kung Fu Wonder Child
- How Chiaotzu is also inspired by Prince Nezha, whom we had previously covered in our Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle commentary
- and more, including some general pop culture, trivia, and editorializing, as usual
Join us as we continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise.
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