We all frequent message boards and online forums (such as alt.fan.dragonball), and we all contribute as much as we can. Unfortunately, we don't KNOW of all the places people post questions, so it's impossible for us to reach everyone. However, if you're reading this, you at least know where WE are, so it's possible for you to ask us directly.

What we're going for here is sort of an "Answerman" or "Ask John" (from Anime News Network and Anime Nation, respectively). We'd like you to e-mail in whatever questions you may have, so long as it somehow relates to the world of DragonBall; be it the manga, the anime, merchandise.. whatever. We've been around for a few years, now, and we know the ropes... we like to think we know our stuff.

And we want to help. Contact us! We'll try to update this section as often as we can with questions straight from the fans. Thanks!

[ Last Updated: Monday, 05 December 2005 ]
[ Past "Ask..." Archives ]

Come discuss this week's "Ask Daizenshuu EX" on our forum!

Q. A great deal of the Buu saga's and late movies' (10-13) background music are not featured on the Dragonball & Dragonball Z Daizenshuu 5 disc set... nor any other set I can find, save the few 10 and 11 movie soundtracks out there. Is there a complete song collection out there that includes (the rest of) the music from the end of Z and the last of the movies? Or are there movie soundtracks out there for 12 and 13 (or other scattered collections) that can complete my BGM collection? - Matt

A. Unfortunately, there is (as-of-yet, anyway) no truly complete collection of BGM available for purchase. It's quite a shame that we have not yet been able to get our hands on some of this music. Personally, there's the piece in DBZ movie 12 when Gogeta forms the power ball and attacks Janenba... I'd loooove to be able to listen to that on CD.

Sadly, I can't say a whole lot more. I really wish I could...! - VegettoEX

Q. Which of Freeza's forms is the true one? Is it the first one we first see him in, with the horns and the chair he likes to use? Or the last one (Mecha-Freeza aside), with no horns, just the sleekness? I have the daizenshuu but I'm not good enough with Japanese to see if there's an answer provided. - Andy Stout

A. Freeza makes some vague reference to the possible fact that his transformations are actually an attempt to contain his true power, rather than allowing him to increase his power (as a SSJ transformation somewhat does). If this is the case, it's not hard to imagine that Freeza's final form is actually his "true" form, and that if you trace the transformations backwards to his "first form" (small, usually in the hover-chair), they're actually Freeza purposefully containing himself.

Though, we really have no idea, and that's just speculation based on a single thing that's said in the series... :D - VegettoEX

Q. I was reading about "Toriyama Akira Marusaku Gekijou", the collection of Mr. Toriyama's short stories. I read that some of the stories introduce character designs and concepts he later used in his work on Dragonball. Could you shed some light on the basic elements that were in some of the stories and how their ideas later pertained to Dragonball? - Harley Acres

A. The main one-shots that Toriyama took elements from were Dragon Boy and Tongpoo's Great Adventure (both from 1983). Dragon Boy deals with a Goku-esque lead, named Tanton, who must escort a beautiful, Chichi-esque princess to a far-off land. Tanton has a "Dragon Ball" (from which a small, useless dragon appears) at his disposal, as well as the ability to fly — although not by the same means Goku can. In their travels, they also encounter both a shapeshifting cat-thing (reminiscent of Pu'er), and a robot that is clearly the basis for the one guarding the pirate base in DB. Tongpoo's Great Adventure features capsules, but they're not as handy as the DB version: instead of pressing the button and throwing them, one has to boil them in water.

Mr. Hô (1986) has a main character that's the spitting image of Yamcha, but the comic came out when DB was already into the Red Ribbon arc, so clearly it was DB that influenced this. However, there's always Dr. Slump (1980-1984), which influenced DB in a variety of ways, both subtle and not so subtle (I'd say the three-chapter crossover falls firmly in the latter category). And so, there you have it. - Julian

Q. I am a big fan of character songs, mainly songs sung by the actual voice actors and/or actresses. I was wondering if there are any songs for Vegeta other than "Bejîita-sama no O-ryôri Jigoku" that are sung by his voice actor, Ryo Horikawa? - Hikari

A. As far as I can tell from looking through our "Music Database," that is the sole song that Horikawa-san has performed for the DragonBall world. - VegettoEX

Q. Who was the band that performed the first intro song to the DBGT dub? And what was the song called? - Xavious

A. The problem here is that you don't note which dub you're referring to. There's the FUNimation dub and it's "Step Into the Grand Tour" rap song, and there's the Blue Water dub (primarily aired in the UK, but also in Canada) that uses an English "version" of the original Japanese opening theme, "DAN DAN Kokoro Hikarete 'ku". Not living in either Canada or the UK, I've never actually seen one of the Blue Water episodes, and cannot comment on whether or not the song is given any type of name or performance credit in either the opening or closing credits. If someone out there happens to know, feel free to drop us a line and let us know!

And if you mean the FUNimation "song"... well, we don't really know if it has an official name, but it's commonly referred to as (like noted above), "Step Into the Grand Tour" and it's performed by someone who needs to enunciate better ^_~. - VegettoEX

Q. Are Panputto's manager and the two guys that are with him (Dragonball, Episode 92), the same guys that Tao Pai Pai is collecting the Dragon Balls for in Episode 174 of Dragonball Z? - Adam Malcolm

A. Probably not. It's not that uncommon for Toei to recycle the character designs for fairly unimportant filler charcters. However, sometimes they're even less original: there's an episode during the "Great Saiyaman" arc where some people are quite clearly Red Ribbon personnel, even though they aren't really supposed to be. So just chalk it up to one of those weird spots where the animators decided not to be as original as they should have. - Julian

DragonBall: Episode 092

DragonBall Z: Episode 174

Q. Is it ever mentioned how the Artificial Humans fly, shoot energy blasts, etc.? They don't have ki, so that's obviously not it. If they are using some internal means to shoot blasts, how can they generate such power? - actionmike84

A. #19 & #20 are energy-absorption models; we actually see them collecting energy from our heroes. #16, #17, & #18 have their own eternal power supplies.

How they go about converting this absorbed or generated energy into something that resembles ki blasts, I don't think we'll ever know. Our heroes state that they cannot sense these creatures, so it's obviously not ki in the standard sense, but some other type of controlled energy compression/manipulation. - VegettoEX

Q. If you add up every uncut episode of DragonBall, DragonBall Z, DragonBall GT,
PLUS all movies and specials, BACK TO BACK, approximately how many
hours/days/weeks of viewing is it? - Eternal Phoenix

A. Let's assume that the average TV episode is 22 minutes in length. Let's assume that the average TV special is 44 minutes in length (twice the length of a regular TV episode). Let's also assume that each movie is 50 minutes in length (they vary, but that's a fairly good average number to use).

There are 508 total TV episodes; that's 11176 minutes.

There are 17 theatrical movies; that's 850 minutes.

There are 3 TV specials; that's 132 minutes.

That's 12158 minutes, or about 203 hours, or about 8.5 days... of straight viewing, all day, every day, every second of every day. Then you can always throw in a couple extra things like the Chinese live-action movie, the PlayDia footage, the video game opening animations... let's even it off to a nice, round 9 straight days of viewing. - VegettoEX

Q. In the Saiyan Saga, Kuririn, Tenshinhan, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha go into the Room of Spirit & Time, go into the past to train for the arrival of Nappa and Vegeta, where they meet two Saiyans. What were those Saiyans' names, and did they appear in the manga? Or was that scene just filler? D'you have any information whatsoever I couldn't have gotten from the Ocean Cast dub? - QueenSaiyan

A. They were never given names in the show, and yes, they were entirely filler. The only extra information I can give you is what little there is noted in the fifth daizenshuu ("TV ANIMATION PART I).

(click above images for larger versions)

Basically, all the first image says is that they're "illusory" or "dream" Saiyans, and that Tenshinhan-tachi fought them in an illusion while training to fight the real Saiyans.

The second one deals more specifically with Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Chiao-tzu and Yajirobe, and how they went to train under Kami-sama to prepare for the Saiyans' arrival. Their "mind's journey through time" allowed them to fight these Saiyans and realize just how weak they really were, so they redoubled their efforts and successfully complete their training.

In DragonBall Z Complete Anime Guide: Son Gokû Densetsu, the following character entry is given:

ILLUSIONARY SAIYANS
Half-strength Saiyans that Kuririn and co. encountered during their journey through time in Kami-sama's temple, who appeared so that they might learn the strength of the Saiyans.

So as you can see, details on these mysterious filler Saiyans are pretty slim. - VegettoEX

Q. I watched fansubs of DBZ (Anime Labs I think) and in them they refer to the Demon that Babidi has under his control as Doubler. So for years I have known him as Doubler. Then along comes the dub and they call him Dabura. Now I figured they called him that because the way they say "doubler" in the Japanese version kind of sounds like "Da Boo raa" especially when Babidi says it. So I come here and see his name as "Dabra" and start thinking that maybe it's not "Doubler" at all and maybe FUNI's "Dabura" is closer to the truth than "Doubler". So what is it? Doubler, Dabura, or Dabra? - Kyle Rice

A. We (well, Julian ^_~) spell the name "Dabra"; we'll get to why in a second.

This name has been a constant source of confusion among fans, and rightfully so. It doesn't follow the traditional "food" series of puns, so that's out the window. If you were to try and say the English word "doubler" in Japanese, yes, you'd end up with something along the lines of "daburaa", which is pretty close to how the character's name is written in katakana.

But what does the word "doubler" have to do with the character? Is he two of something? Not particularly. So let's think of something else.

Many people commonly think that the character's name may also come from the same Cinderella song which Bibidi & Babidi & Buu come from ("Bippity, Boppity, Boo!"). Unfortunately, this is not true (the only nonsense phrase goes "Salicadoola, Mencicaboola, Bippity, Boppity, Boo!")

Let's take a look at the actual name in katakana.

ダーブラ
daabura

Believe it or not, while the word doesn't directly come from Cinderella, it does find its roots in the same idea... magic. Have you figured it out yet? If not, think of a very magical word. You would cast a spell with it. How about now? Got it?

アブラカダブラ --> aburakadabura --> Abracadabra

So, while "Dabura" is technically fine and well (so long as you're saying "DAH - buh - ra" and not "duh - BOO - rah" as FUNimation does), we choose to spell it "Dabra" to bring out the pun a little more. It's not entirely obvious, though, so it's a great question! - VegettoEX

Q. What does "Tenkaichi Budokai" mean in English? I assume it means something along the lines of "fighting tournament," but I'm not entirely sure. - cartoonboy

A. First off, thanks for getting the word-order correct! Remember (*cough* Atari *cough*), that's the order the words go in...! ^_~

天下一武道会
tenka'ichi budôkai

Let's break down the individual kanji:

So let's put the two "words" together on their own, now.

天下一 (tenka-ichi) would approximately mean "number one under the heavens".

武道会 (budôkai) would mean something along the lines of "gathering of fighters"; you have to consider that putting 武 (bu) and 道 (dô) together gives you 武道 (budô, which is typically translated as "the way of the samurai", but can apply simply to general fighters, as well).

Long story short? It's the "number one gathering of fighters under the heavens". OK, so that's not so short. FUNimation's typical translation of "World's Martial Arts Tournament" really isn't all that far off, but it sure doesn't sound as cool...! - VegettoEX

Q. In Future Trunks' timeline, with almost everyone dead and the Dragonballs gone, why didn't they just hop over to Namek and use their DBs to fix things up? Were the Nameks supposedly all on Earth when the Androids attacked? Or did Bulma forget how to make a faster-than-light spaceship? - Lee Laughead

A. That would defeat the purpose of telling the entire rest of the story ^_~ - VegettoEX

Q. In Final Bout, there are two versions of SSJ Goku as an adult, but the one called "Super Goku" in the American version (this is Goku as an adult SSJ in the gi he wore at the end of DBZ and the beginning of DBGT). I don't think was ever in the anime or the manga at all. Does Goku ever transform while he's wearing this outfit, as an adult? - Joshua Cochran

A. It's true; we don't ever see a regular SSJ Goku as an adult in the blue gi throughout all of DBGT. - VegettoEX

Q. I read on a site years ago that the character selection in Final Bout was left up to a fan poll in Japan. Is this true and, if so, does it account for why the game features so many repeats of the same character? Did the game designers not think players would be happy without a certain, specific version of Trunks? - Joshua Cochran

A. Wow, this brings me back. If you had asked me this seven years ago, I probably would have been able to answer it a little better. Alas, I am getting forgettful in my old age. The only thing I've been able to dig up is actually in the FAQ for the game written by Sherwin Abesamis (yes, the one we old folks know simply as "Wuken" ^_~).

It was apparent that the producers and developers behind Dragonball Final Bout were concerned with the presentation of their latest work. They were dead-set on making Dragonball Final Bout a game that would satisfy fans of the video game series, so they circulated a questionnaire across Japan asking fans, "What would make this new video game feel great?" The responses from this questionnaire became the foundation of the gameplay behind Dragonball Final Bout.

Sadly, that's the best I can do. The game came out in November 1997 (just as DBGT was leaving Japanese air waves), so it's been a loooong time... - VegettoEX

Q. In Viz's DragonBall Z Vol. 17, with regards to the title card to the book's first chapter (DBZ: 192, Trunks Surpasses His Father), there is a blank square on the far right, next to Vegeta and above Bulma. Was this square edited for the U.S. release or was there really nothing there? - Joshua Cochran

A. Most likely, it just held either an "Akira Toriyama - Bird Studio" emblem, or "Doragonbôru" in katakana (can't tell which, as I don't have that volumme in English). I wouldn't call it "edited," though; most likely, they took the color version from daizenshuu 1 (which would have had clearer definition than the already black-and-white page in the tankôbon), and just didn't add back in the missing elements. - Julian

Q. OK. We all know that Vegita was conquering a planet (or by himself in Freeza's ship) when Planet Vegita was destroyed. We know Nappa was being held in a brig on Freeza's ship for the uprising King Vegita led (why he wasn't killed, and the rest were, we don't know). We know Kakarot was in a pod headed for earth. We know Tullece was in his own ship, no longer associated with Freeza or his homeworld. We know that Paragas and Brolly somehow both weathered the explosion, and lived in space long enough to get somewhere they could breathe because of Brolly's powers as the Legendary Super Saiya-jin. But what we don't know, is how did Raditz survive? How did Raditz survive when planet Vegita was destroyed? Is it mentioned anywhere at all? Filler's fine with me. - Adam T

A. Unfortunately, I don't have a single shred of an answer for you. Nothing's said by anyone (including Raditz, himself) about where he was or what he was doing when Freeza wrought destruction upon the planet. Well, OK... Raditz does say a single line, but it's nothing more than essentially saying they weren't home at the time (duh). That's really all there is. I'm sure many a fanfic has been written, though... - VegettoEX

Q. On your page for DBZ Movie 4, "Lord Slug," your Special Notes section says that the music for the dub is done by American bands. I've also heard (I think from his website) that Bruce Faulconer did actual instumental background music for it too, but your page says nothing about it. So... did he or didn't he? If Faulconer did do Lord Slug's score, maybe I'll pick it up. ^_^- Tarl O'Donnell

A. Bruce Faulconer is credited for the dub opening ("Dragon Ball Z Theme"), with a small note later on saying "Additional Music Scoring by Bruce Faulconer and Cakemix Music / Evan Jones & FUNimation Productions, Ltd." Basically, on the dub side, whenever there wasn't that silly "real American band" music playing, the regular musical score was composed by either Bruce Faulconer or Evan Jones.

Needless to say, Shunsuke Kikuchi composed the original Japanese score ^_~. - VegettoEX

Q. Just out of curiousity, what do you think of Mark Menza's music used for the dubs of DBZ and GT? I'm having a hard time ...er... accepting it, because I'm so fond of Faulconer's music. I thought I'd get someone's opinion who favors the Japanese score. - Tarl O'Donnell

A. I've literally seen approximately two minutes, total, of any dubbed DragonBall GT. I have absolutely no place in saying what I think of something I haven't watched, nor will ever choose to watch. - VegettoEX

Q. Is the entire Garlic Jr. saga "filler" ? The movies have no real place in the regular storyline, and most video games seem to skip over this saga, but why? I haven't read the manga, so I don't know... ^^;;. - Daniel Strauss

A. Simple question, simple answer...! Garlic Jr. does not appear in the original manga, at all. It is entirely a filler arc in the anime (and beyond the Ano-Yo-Ichi Budôkai, the only example of a flat-out entire story arc solely based around filler material; all other filler at least had some relevance to the actual storyline going on). - VegettoEX

Q. OK, this question has been bugging me for a really long time now, and since you haven't updated Ask VegettoEX in a while, I figured I'd give you something to answer. At the end of the Cell Games saga, Kuririn asks Shenlong to turn the Jinzoningen human. Shenlong says this is beyond his power, so Kururin has Shenlong remove the bombs inside of them instead. My question here is, if Shenlong could not turn the Jinzoningen human, how in the world did Kururin manage to have a daughter with #18? Marron bears too much of a resemblance to her parents to be adopted, but if #18 was not human, how could she bear a child? The Shonen Jump translation refers to the Jinzoningen as "Cyborgs" on occasion, so is it possible that #18 and #17 are partially human, but with mechanical parts fused into them? But if THAT'S the case, it would seem Shenlong SHOULD have the power to make them fully human. I know Toriyama-sensei often leaves a lot unexplained, but I'm wondering if I'm missing something here?- gojira007

A. Let's just toss the word "android" out the window; it's not that it's completely irrelevant, it's that it's not entirely accurate and further complicates matters. Let's look at the word, jinzôningen, and break it down character-by-character:

人造人間
jinzôningen

Now let's combine some of the characters to get extra, more concise meanings:

Quite literally, what we get is "artificial human being". Now, this carries a very broad meaning. Just how do you define what an "artificial human" is? Android, cyborg, robot, mechanical person... just what is it?

(Forgive me for using Viz translations in the following, but since we don't have any problems with these particular translations, we'll use them with no issue.)

In the manga, after #17 is absorbed by Cell, #18 states:

We HATED Gero for turning us into (jinzôningen)!

Later on, Bulma, while taking a look through their blueprints, states:

They're based on human bodies... enhanced almost entirely with bio-organic components... I guess that's why this Cell figures it can fuse with them... I'll have to check, but these few cybernetic parts might be the key to their weakness...

Now let's take a look at a few dictionary definitions for terms we keep throwing around (namely robot, android, & cyborg), all from Merriam-Webster's Online dictionary.

robot
Pronunciation: 'rO-"bät, -b&t
Function: noun
Etymology: Czech, from robota compulsory labor; akin to Old High German arabeit trouble, Latin orbus orphaned
1 a : a machine that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts (as walking or talking) of a human being; also : a similar but fictional machine whose lack of capacity for human emotions is often emphasized b : an efficient insensitive person who functions automatically
2 : a device that automatically performs complicated often repetitive tasks
3 : a mechanism guided by automatic controls

android
Pronunciation: 'an-"droid
Function: noun
Etymology: Late Greek androeidEs manlike, from Greek andr- + -oeidEs -oid
: a mobile robot usually with a human form

cyborg
Pronunciation: 'sI-"borg
Function: noun
Etymology: cybernetic + organism
: a bionic human

So how would we classify the various jinzôningen? By now, it should be quite simple.

#16 is, flat-out, an "android." As he states, he was made "from nothing," and is completely built from the ground up with absolutely no human parts. He is a robot with human form; an "android". He seems to have "emotions" (which Gero seems to have classified as merely faulty programming resulting in failed initiatives, but we'll leave that up to you)... but without debate, he is completely robotic.

#17 & #18 are, without challenge, cyborgs. They were originally human, and "enhanced" in such a way that they are no longer mere humans; they have advanced beyond that to be something entirely different. They have feelings, they have thoughts, they have desires, they have hopes, and in the case of #18, they have a family.

We don't know exactly what parts were "enhanced" and in what way, but we know what we know. You may be interested in knowing that in many countries, they are referred to as "C17" and "C18" (with the "C" obviously standing for "cyborg"; of course, #16 also gets referred to as "C16" which totally ruins it, but whatever ^_~).

Long story short, #18 was originally human, and apparently still contained the necessary human parts to procreate. The use of "android" by FUNimation and Viz is unfortunate, but understandable at the same time. Thankfully Viz at least made notes time and time again to say "Technically, #17 & #18 are cyborgs"... so good on them.

Some additional good reading would be number18's "Cyborg or Android?" article, and just for the sake of advancing your intellectual understanding and theory, Donna Harraway's "Cyborg Manifesto." - VegettoEX

Q. Why are Number's 17 and 18 referred to as androids? By definition, aren't they cyborgs?- Flash Dude37

A. Uhh... see above ^_~ - VegettoEX

Q. Is it just me, or do ALL of Goku's "friends" start off as enemies? Krillin once dispised Goku because of his superior skill, and cheated to do better than him. Yamcha was originally a desert bandit, who attacked Goku for his capsules. Tien was almost killed Goku in the world tournament, same with Piccolo who was born to take revenge on Goku becaose of the death of his father. Vegeta, though a trusted ally of gokus, has never liked him and attempted to kill him on his first trip to earth. Pikkon could also be put into the category of 'rival who tried to kill goku in a tournament but saw the error of his ways after losing'. Fat Buu had a vendetta to kill all humans until Goku influenced him to kill Babidi, which gave Hercule the chance to turn him good and allow Fat Buu to give Goku time for his spirit bomb. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST! Uub, originally Kid Buu who destroyed earth and tried to kill goku, was reincarnated and for a few minutes in a world tournament (do you see the trend...?) hated Goku for making fun of him and his family, but soon saw Goku was only teasing. EVEN CHICHI, Gokus loving wife, once battled him in a tournament. Was any of this on purpose? - Flash Dude37

A. Whether intentional or not, one of the over-arching themes of DragonBall seems to be that most enemies — later DBZ ones discounted — are affected in some way by being brought close to Goku through fighting him. Thus, Oolong is tamed, Yamcha is brought in line, Kuririn becomes his best friend, Tenshinhan defects from the Crane School, etc. I think Vegeta hits upon it best when he sees that even though Goku loves to fight, he's kind-hearted, quick to forgive, and ultimately fights to protect the ones he loves.

True, Goku's naïveté and easygoing nature bely the fact that he's an astounding fighter, but he is also quick to give others a second chance, whether they deserve it or not. Maybe it's his humanity, maybe it's the impression he makes on others with his skill, or maybe it's a holdover from Journey to the West; but whatever the reason, he definitely makes an impression on the people around him, especially the ones who were his enemies. It's an aspect of the series I enjoy immensely. - Julian

Q. When Goku dies, Enma-daiou tells him that Raditz fought against being sent to hell. How is this possible, when Raditz ought to have been relieved of his body upon reaching the afterlife? And further, if Enma isn't even as strong as Kaiou-sama, how does he deal with the truly scary people (Freeza and beyond) that start getting sent to him?- Colin Phillips

A. I've always wondered the exact same thing. Perhaps Toriyama-sensei hadn't yet decided upon the fact that everyone (except for Goku and his clique of friends) gets their body swiped away and turned into little clouds. Technically, Enma-daiô should never have fought Raditz, because he was just a little cloud, and was simply pointed in the direction towards Hell. Ah, the fun plot-holes we discover :D - VegettoEX

Q. In the Buu Saga, Supreme Kai said that if Goku fused with him, the results wouldn't turn out very good. Then how come Old Kai managed to successfully fuse with the witch?- Blazefire12

A. Note that Kaiôshin said the results wouldn't turn out *good*; he never said they wouldn't be able to actually *do* it. Goku even ponders to himself what the results of fusing with either Dende or Mr. Satan would be (in fact, you can see a little bit of this over on the "Fusions" page of our "Transformation Guide"). They'd have been able to fuse, but the strength of the resulting character just wouldn't have made a shred of difference (as opposed to fusing with Vegeta, which brought out an amazing character!). Rô-Kaiôshin and the fusing with the witch falls under this same category; it worked, but the resulting... uhh... "person"... wasn't quite what anyone would have expected from a fusion ^_~. - VegettoEX

THIS WEEK'S MESSAGE BOARD DISCUSSION:

Q. Why is it whenever Funimation superimposes something onto the edited dub (I.E. the word "Root" above "Beer", the "Mad Cows" when Kamesennin does Drunken Boxing), the object can't stay in the same place? It like, randomly floats and moves as the scene progresses. I've seen a lot of edited anime, and Funimation's DB/DBZ is the only series I've seen that does that. - The S

A. Read over the discussion, here! Looking forward to your thoughts!

We're trying to stay with our weekly schedule for the section... so... e-mail us your questions for next week's update! We love getting all these questions, each week, so the more you send us, the more we can (try to) answer for you!

[ "Ask VegettoEX" Archives ]