Dragon Ball Culture Volume 3: Battle

By Derek Padula

Goku begins a new adventure, and this time the quest is to conquer thyself.

In Dragon Ball Culture Volume 3: Battle, you’ll discover the origin of Goku’s training mentality. You’ll see how Akira Toriyama combines thousands of years of martial arts history and modern cinema together to create the Tenkaichi Budōkai. And you’ll hear how Dragon Ball almost gets cancelled, but then changes its format to become the world’s most recognized anime and manga series on the planet.

Travel alongside Goku as he becomes the disciple of the world’s greatest martial artist, meets his new training partner, and competes in the largest tournament on Earth. Will this wild monkey boy gain the discipline he needs to become the champion?

Let the battle begin!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Derek Padula
• Release date: Feb 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9780983120506

Derek Padula

Derek Padula is the Dragon Ball Scholar. He writes non-fiction books about the culture, history, and fandom of Dragon Ball, the world's most-recognized anime and manga.Derek has been a fan of Dragon Ball since 1997 when he first watched the anime, and has seen every episode and read every chapter of the manga dozens of times. His love for Dragon Ball inspired him to begin martial arts training in Shaolin Gong Fu, and then Taiji Quan, Qi Gong, San Sau, Shotokan Karate, and Falun Dafa meditation. Derek earned his B.A. in East Asian Studies and a minor in Chinese from Western Michigan University. He studied abroad in Beijing, China where he trained with the Buddhist Shaolin Monks and a Daoist Taiji Sword Master.He loves to design video games, speak at anime conventions, and wants to share his understanding of this profound series that continues to influence the lives of millions.

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Dragon Ball Culture

Volume 3

Battle

Derek Padula

thedaoofdragonball.com

Legal Disclaimer

Copyright © 2015, by Derek Padula

Written and published by Derek Padula in The United States of America, all rights reserved.

Cataloging In-Publication Data

Padula, Derek.

Dragon Ball Culture / Derek Padula

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN: 978-0-9831205-0-6

1. Fantasy comic books, strips, etc. – Japan – 20th century – History and Criticism. 2. Martial arts – Comic books, strips, etc. 3. Spiritual life – Buddhism. 4. Spiritual life – Daoism. 5. Good and evil. 6. Imaginary wars and battles. 7. Ethics, ancient. 8. Heroes.

PN6790.J33 – P2 2014

741.5952 – 23

LCCN: 2015901493

Notice of Rights

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Notice of Liability

The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information herein. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author nor its dealers or distributors will be held liable for any damages to be caused either directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

Trademark Notice

Rather than indicate every occurrence of a trademarked name as such, this book uses the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner with no intention of infringement of the trademark.

License Information

Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Kai, Dragon Ball Online, and all other logos, character names, and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of TOEI ANIMATION, Akira Toriyama, BIRD STUDIO, SHUEISHA, FUNIMATION, VIZ MEDIA, BANDAI NAMCO, ATARI, and all other respective license holders unmentioned.

This book was not prepared, licensed, or endorsed by any entity involved in creating or producing the Dragon Ball series. It is an independent, unofficial work that has no connection to the official license and is written within fair use guidelines.

Image Information

The illustrations in this book and on the cover that are rendered in the Dragon Ball style are original works, created through work for hire contracts with independent artists unaffiliated with the official Dragon Ball license. They are not licensed images, nor official artwork owned by the Dragon Ball license holders. All rights to the images are owned by Derek Padula, and may not be reproduced without his express written consent. The Dragon Ball license holders in the United States (FUNIMATION and VIZ MEDIA) recognize these as independent and wholly owned works, and do not claim ownership of them, nor claim that they infringe upon their official licenses, nor that they are equal to an official license.

Cover Art Illustration by Javier Secano.

Version 1.0

Web: http://thedaoofdragonball.com

Contents

Introduction

Batoru Manga

Batoru Manga Philosophy

Changing Emphasis

Changing Art Style

The Battle Begins

Battle

Discipline

Deshi and Shishō

Gathering his Belongings

The Master Awaits

The Master’s Test

Pichi-Pichi Gyaru

Pichi-Pichi Gyaru Round 2

Kuririn

Offering to the Master

Origin of Kuririn

Etymology of Kuririn

Kuririn’s Appearance

Body Breathing

Kuririn’s Shaven Head

Jièbā

Kuririn’s Purity

Ranchi

A Peculiar Girl

To the Rescue

Discipleship Declared!

Greeting the Young Lady

Etymology of Ranchi

Easy Offer

Official Uniforms

Ranchi’s Transformation

Two Ranchi’s, One Body

Kyōbō Ranchi

Kame House Family

Shugyō

Etymology of Shugyō

Origin of Shugyō

Martial Arts Shugyō

Shugyō Island

100-Meter Dash

Beer Run

Intuition Shugyō

Gokū versus Kuririn

Reward and Punishment

Shugyō Education Model

Rise and Shine

Rōshi’s Budō

Milk Delivery

Rōshi the Rōshi

Setting the Goal

Balance on the Log

Walk through the Quicksand

Wade through the Rapids

Run from the Dinosaur

Early Morning Shugyō

Plow the Fields

Study the Books

Unorthodox Orthodoxy

Take the Naps

Build the Roads

Push the Boulders

Swim the Lake

Dodge the Bees

Wear the Turtle Shells

Master the Basics

Graduation Day?

Graduation Day!

Ki Shugyō

Changing Your Heart

To the Tenkaichi Budōkai

Tenkaichi Budōkai

Suit Up

Departure

Arrival

Toriyama’s Trip to Bali

Tenkaichi Budōkai Grounds

Registration

Wayan Budhiyasa

Receiving Their Dōgi’s

Etymology of Dōgi

Origin of Dōgi

Kame-sen-ryū Dōgi’s Appearance

Symbolic Importance of Gokū’s Dōgi

Origin of the Tenkaichi Budōkai

Etymology of Tenkaichi Budōkai

Preparing for the Preliminaries

Origin of the Tenkaichi Budōkai in Traditional Culture

Ancient Fighting Platforms

Léitái

Twentieth Century Léitái

Cinematic Léitái

Ancient to Modern Fighting Platform

The 21st Tenkaichi Budōkai Preliminaries

Gokū’s First Match

Hajime!!

Gokū versus Ōotoko

Ōrin-ji Monks

Kuririn versus Ōrin-ji no Senpai

Kuririn’s Confidence

Kuririn versus Kanfū Otoko

Gokū versus Shishiga-ryū Kenpō-ka

Yamucha’s Back!

Yamucha versus the Wolf Man

Advancing as Friends

Action and Intensity

Reunion

Over the Wall

The 21st Tenkaichi Budōkai Quarter-Finals

Tenkaichi Budōkai Jōnai Anaunsa

Reading the Roster

Opening Ceremonies

Bubutai

Eclectic Crowd

Bakuterian

Bakuterian versus Kuririn

Jakkī Chun

Jakkī Chun versus Yamucha

Ranfan

Namu

Namu’s Appearance

Etymology of Namu

Namu’s Motivation

Ranfan versus Namu

Kaijū Giran

Gokū versus Giran

Opposites in Conflict

The 21st Tenkaichi Budōkai Semi-Finals

Manzai Routine

Jakkī Chun’s Song and Dance

Kuririn versus Jakkī Chun

Play-by-Play

Panty Trap

Iron Head

Breaking the Wall

Zanzō-ken

Gokū versus Namu

Kaiten kōgeki

Tenkū peke ji-ken

Chō-tenku peke ji-ken

Jakkī’s Big Reveal

The 21st Tenkaichi Budōkai Final

Opposite of the Opposite

Jakkī Chun versus Gokū

Kamehameha versus Kamehameha

Zanzō-ken versus Zanzō-ken

Sui-ken versus Kyō-ken

Saru-ken

Yoiko minmin-ken

Jan-ken Tactics

Bankoku bikkuri-shō

Ōzaru Awakens

Makkusupawā Kamehameha

Gokū’s Fate

Jakkī Destroys the Moon!!

Time-Out

Body against Body

Tenkaichi Declared

Toward Higher Mountains

Celebration Dinner

Parting Ways

Conclusion

Next Steps

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About the Author

Glossary

Introduction

Gokū says goodbye to his friends and soars through the sky on his magic cloud. He begins a new adventure by flying toward the great Muten Rōshi’s home to become his disciple, in pursuit of greater strength.

Dragon Ball Culture Volume 3 will serve as your cultural tour guide along Gokū’s journey. Together we’ll explore his discipleship, training, and the ultimate test of what it means to be a martial artist.

Let’s start by catching up with Dragon Ball’s author, Akira Toriyama, and his own ongoing adventure to make the series a success.

Batoru Manga

Despite the exciting events that occur in Gokū’s first adventure, readers aren’t as interested in Dragon Ball as they are with Dr. Slump. Toriyama recalls in the Mens-non-no (2014) interview, It wasn’t received well. At the very beginning, there were something like anticipation votes" in connection with Dr. Slump, but right away my ranking in the reader surveys went toward the lower end."

His editor, Torishima Kazuhiko, tells Toriyama that it’s because Gokū’s character is too plain and isn’t developed enough. Torishima-san says in his Kazé (2014) interview, "Dragon Ball didn’t get the expected success from the get-go. At this rate, the serialization was set to cease. The series was in big trouble. And after analysis, the problem boiled down to one thing: Gokū’s character didn’t leave a strong impact on children. So we sat down and thought about how to make Gokū more charismatic for the kids."¹

Remember that the original idea of the Dragon Ball manga is to provide Toriyama with a showcase for gōngfu battles and exciting fights like those he watches in the movies, and Gokū is supposed to be the ‘Sūn Wùkōng mixed with Jackie Chan’ type of character who gets into a lot of battles. However, so far there haven’t been many battles, and the few that do exist are over quickly. Torishima-san wants Toriyama to take the series in a new direction and make it more exciting.

Toriyama is aware of this as he’s writing the story, but still prefers to write manga where nothing inherently exciting or meaningful happens. He says, I knew that it would probably be popular if I increased the fight scenes. Even so, I’m a contrarian by nature, so it would rub me the wrong way to go that way immediately. In spite of that, I wasn’t in any position to say so.

He respects his editor and listens to his suggestions. It is here where Toriyama changes the Dragon Ball series from a gyagu manga (ギャグ漫画, "gag manga") to a batoru manga (バトル漫画, "battle manga").

Batoru Manga Philosophy

The Shōnen Jump philosophy for batoru manga has three principles:² yume (夢, dreams), yūjō (友情, friendship), and batoru (バトル, battle).

The main characters have a big yume (dream) and challenge themselves to be the best. The road to success is difficult, but they’ll make yūjō (friends) along the way and come to rely on them to push through hardship. Their challenges will come in the form of batoru (battles) with characters who have different motives than their own, and who represent external goals to overcome as they climb the ladder toward their highest internal level.

A batoru manga places special emphasis on this last point, and centers the story around the idea of the main character and his friends getting stronger. As they gain strength, their mind and body continue rising upward into multiple dimensions. They must improve themselves through training, let go of selfish mentalities, make sacrifices, learn perseverance, and ultimately conquer themselves. As the reader, you travel alongside them during this adventure. As a result of watching them grow, you gain the lessons of optimism, self-confidence, and discover how to unlock your inner potential.

Dragon Ball goes on to almost single-handedly define this genre by representation. It does it so well that it serves as the model that other authors use for their work. Dragon Ball becomes the most quintessential shōnen batoru manga of all time.

Changing Emphasis

The emphasis shifts to Gokū. Toriyama removes the ensemble cast and writes the story around Gokū’s quest for greater strength. He says in the Dragon Ball Super Exciting Guide: Story Volume (2009), "My interest gradually shifted towards the growth and growing strength of the boy Gokū, and it diverged more and more from the original concept based on Saiyūki."

Toriyama has the option of following the standard Xīyóujì (西遊記, Japanese: Saiyūki, "Journey to the West") story track, where they interact with demons, Buddhists, Dàoists, and different Chinese cultural elements along the standard timeline of events until the cast reach India. But he doesn’t do that. Instead, he borrows bits and pieces from Chinese culture and interweaves them into a story that becomes increasingly modern and futuristic, yet still always couched in traditions. However, in choosing to make a batoru manga in the setting of ancient China, Toriyama also chooses to connect his characters to a wellspring of Buddho-Dàoist mind-body martial arts concepts. This gives him the best of both worlds. He can borrow from whatever genre he wants in order to make his impromptu story work.

A batoru manga’s story usually begins with a shift in tone or sudden catastrophe. Then, it gradually leads up to a big battle followed by a resolution of friendship. For the characters involved, it goes as follows: train for the challenge at hand, fight, lose, train more, fight, win, and repeat. This is how most of the hen (編, Chinese: biān, part of a book, or arc) sub-stories are delineated. Along the way you get to see how each of these events serves as a stage of development for the characters and the story.

Throughout his journey, you’ll see how Gokū’s yume of gaining greater strength causes him to run into conflicts with other characters, who are either defeated in batoru and (or) become his yūjō. We’ve already seen it happen with each of the characters in our adventure so far, and this trend will continue forever. It becomes a common aspect of the story, but not everyone realizes that this emphasis is deliberate. It’s part of the editing style at Shūeisha and reflects Torishima-san’s influence on Toriyama.

This change may also occur because Torishima-san recognizes that his star author isn’t an endless joke machine and can’t keep doing gags forever. Toriyama already felt tapped out of humor when he decided to end Dr. Slump. So while it is Torishima-san who changes this lighthearted gyagu manga into a batoru manga, this may have been a kind gesture for the author’s sake. Without that change, the pressure might have been too much for Toriyama to continue, and we wouldn’t have as grand of a story as we do.

He says in the Terebaru (1986) magazine interview, "I made it a rule not to play around this time. I reduced play-things as much as possible. When I wrote Dr. Slump, I really played with my stories. For instance, I myself appeared in the manga… . But this time the story is important."³ As a result, you might think that there will be more exposition and dialogue. But in classic Toriyama fashion, it’s the opposite. There is less use of the Narēshon (ナレーション, Narration) as the story veers away from the Xīyóujì source material. Likewise, the humorous tone in the first hen of Dragon Ball shifts toward continual action, undercut by occasional jokes.

This changing emphasis gains Toriyama more fans and cements Gokū’s place in the annals of history. Toriyama says in the Mens-non-no interview, So I started the Tenkaichi Budōkai and shifted toward fighting, and it started to gain in popularity. Once it actually started to get a good reception, I got feedback even as I drew, which was nice.

Changing Art Style

Toriyama’s gradual shift of the story toward battle causes him to change the art style of his manga. It goes from the soft and round style he made famous in Dr. Slump, to hard lines and square edges. It doesn’t occur overnight, so Gokū is still cute for a while longer, but as he ages and the action intensifies, his cuteness is replaced with a serious martial artist who moves at incredible speed. It’s the speed that warrants the change.

Toriyama may prefer gags and word jokes, but he is a great director when it comes to fight scenes and flow of action. He says in Terebaru, "I want to see movements, colors and sounds harmonize with each other in anime. As for manga, koma-wari is important." Koma-wari (コマ割り, panel layout) is the art of arranging panels of manga to elicit a particular feeling.

Toriyama is taught by Torishima-san to make his manga easy to understand. In addition to the writing and character designs, he teaches Toriyama the art and science of koma-wari. Torishima-san says in his interview with Kazé, "Koma-wari is essential. It’s a characteristic aspect of Japanese manga. If an author is taught how koma-wari should be, then the quality instantly gains a level. The important thing is that everything happens through motion. It’s this speed that characterizes manga. It was Tezuka Osamu who discovered this.⁴ And today, still very few editors know what to do to achieve this. So I studied this extremely hard and taught Toriyama-san. He quickly assimilated my teachings, and his work quickly got better."

Pay special attention to Toriyama’s ability to layout his action and you’ll notice how talented he is. He keeps his koma-wari simple, with the majority of the panels being rectangles. As the panel’s progress from the upper right to the bottom left, your eye glides across the page and you get the meaning and excitement of the moment in a millisecond, without reading the words. You don’t have to study the page, with your eyes darting all over the place. Instead, you’ll notice ‘Z’ patterns, ‘reverse Z’s,’ and eye movement from top to bottom that place an emphasis on the action and the resulting sound effects. Combine this flowing action with the easy to understand dialogue, and you can blast through volume after volume of Dragon Ball in no time. This ease of reading is part of why the series has such a big following. Everybody can read it, and it’s a joy to do so.

Toriyama’s art is easy to understand because he works hard to make it easy for you to grasp. As a result, his battles are fast and the action stays intense as you turn the pages.

The Battle Begins

Toriyama says in Daizenshū 2 (1995), I initially thought that I’d end it after they finished collecting the dragon balls. As you can tell, he doesn’t do this, and instead transforms Gokū’s story into a batoru manga. I suspect it’s the momentum of the manga’s serialization, and Torishima-san’s belief in its potential, that propels them to transform the series and create further adventures, just as Gokū propels onward in his quest to become stronger.

So let’s turn the page and discover how the next saga of Gokū’s journey begins.

---

1 Kazé is a French licensor of the Dragon Ball series. In 2014 they published an exclusive 7-part interview with Torishima-san on their Bluray release of Dragon Ball Kai (2009). Here is Part 4 of 7, from which I quote him on the importance of making Gokū more charismatic: http://youtu.be/pXQ5sAdHXzg

2 Weekly Shōnen Jump (週刊少年ジャンプ, Shūkan Shōnen Janpu) is the manga anthology that Dragon Ball is published in, alongside other shōnen manga (少年漫画, young boys comics). The philosophy for batoru manga is found in other manga as well, but Dragon Ball becomes the most iconic example in the 1980s and early 1990s, and remains so to this day.

3 Toriyama’s interview in Terebaru (1986): http://www.furinkan.com/takahashi/takahashi4.html

4 Tezuka Osamu (手塚 治虫, Handbuilt Mound Snake Governor, November 1928 – February, 9, 1989) is the father of manga. Tezuka’s work has a great influence on the work of Toriyama and his editor.

Battle

Gokū begins a new adventure, and this time the quest is to conquer thyself.

When people think of Dragon Ball, they often think of the battles. This is because of how the series is both defined and then marketed as a batoru manga. The action is what sells, so it’s always described with action-oriented words. In this book, instead of focusing on the externals that are plain to see, I want to emphasize the inner battles that Gokū experiences. This is where the deeper aspects of East Asian culture are found. Once you discover the richness of these beliefs, you’ll understand why Gokū has his outer battles.

This volume is subtitled Battle because it consists of inner battles and outer battles. I define the word battle as a struggle or tenacious fight to achieve or resist something. It’s a difficult conflict born from within, that manifests without. Oftentimes in stories, these battles come about through a villain who challenges the hero, or forces them to take action and resist their violent methods. But these battles only occur because the hero is ready to be tested at his current level of mind and body. The villains are manifestations of the hero’s inner quest to reach the next level. They’re threshold guardians who require the hero to overcome hardships, let go of attachments, and make sacrifices. As a result, the battles keep increasing in intensity. But in truth, the battle is with the self, rather than with others. It’s as spiritual as it is physical.

So as Gokū experiences these battles over the course of his life, I’d like you to ask yourself why these battles occur. What is the lesson that Gokū is supposed to learn? And while you’re enjoying the fights, take time to look within yourself, and ask what it is you can learn. There’s a lot that Dragon Ball can teach us. Not just about culture, but about ourselves.

Discipline

Like every great man who seeks to conquer thyself, Gokū’s battle begins with discipline. As Toriyama transitions from adventure to battles, Gokū transitions from a wild mountain boy to the disciple of a strict martial arts master.¹ A young warrior needs a master if he’s to become strong, and in traditional Chinese culture, this starts with a sacred initiation process.

Think Toriyama will keep it sacred? I have a feeling that he won’t.

Deshi and Shishō

Gokū seeks to become the deshi (弟子, Chinese: dìzǐ, disciple) of the great master Muten Rōshi (武天老師, The Exalted Master of Heavenly Martial Arts). The word deshi carries the connotation of a child (子) being reared by a master as if they were their son or junior (弟).² In traditional Chinese and Japanese culture, a young student will seek the discipleship of a master who will take them in as their child. This can be in the martial arts or any other craft, from swordsmithing to pottery.

In Chinese language, the shīfu (師父, master father) serves as the dìzǐ’s father and instills them with the discipline of their ways so that they can attain greatness in life. The Japanese corollary of the shīfu is the shishō (師匠, master artisan) who accepts the deshi into their family.

Shishō is a term of great respect used to address masters, consisting of shi (師, teacher, master, or specialist) and shō (匠, artisan, or craftsman). It’s likely derived from the Chinese shīfu (師傅, master of teachers); a homophonic term alongside shīfu (師父, master father). The two terms become blended together in China and then the Japanese end up using shishō.

For example, in the martial arts a karate-ka (空手家, empty hand practitioner) is a member of the karate shishō’s ka (家, family, or household) as well as all karate practitioners at large, forming a global family.

Students under a shishō or shīfu are referred to as deshi or dìzǐ because the emphasis is on refining their character and discipline; not just knowledge and techniques. This is also used in a religious context. For example, shīfu is the honorific used to refer to the real-life Táng Monk, Xuánzàng, in Xīyóujì, and denotes his high level mastery of the Buddhā Law.

A master can have several deshi. In the Buddhā School they welcome everyone, while in the Dào School they only accept one, two, or a handful of students. This is because the Dàoist masters are strict and must ensure their students can pass muster, while the Buddhist masters offer salvation to everyone and let each student enlighten according to their own volition.

Every great man is a disciplined man. It’s important to find an upright but strict master who not only talks the talk, but walks the walk. What Gokū finds is a man who appears to have no discipline at all, but in Gokū’s innocent eyes is a great master. As we saw earlier with his kamehameha, the old man carries a hidden power. Could he be the perfect master to train our young adventurer?

Gathering his Belongings

Gokū flies over his home on Paozu-yama (パオズ山, Paozu Mountain). He’s never seen it before from on high. He says to himself, "I’m gonna’ be staying at Kame-sennin Jī-chan’s place now. I’d better take a futon and stuff." Gokū stops at his hermit hut and grabs the futon (布団, sleeping cushion), which is a thick mattress that can be folded up and stored away. Futon’s are a bedding that emulate the Chinese pútuán (蒲団, cattail cushion), filled with the flowery fluff of a kabana (蒲, Chinese: pú, cattail) plant. Gokū’s futon only consists of the bottom mattress called a shikibuton (敷き布団, diffused sleeping cushion) and not the quilt that goes on top. He also grabs a traditional tatami (畳, folded pile) block headrest, shaped like a rectangle and made with woven soft rush straw. These are both traditional and light Eastern sleeping aids, in contrast to modern Western pillows and heavy mattresses. He piles the futon and tatami onto his kintōun, and they stay afloat. I guess these beddings are pure of heart?

In traditional East Asian concepts of life, there is no distinction made between organic and inorganic. These distinctions are a product of Western dualism. So in Eastern thought, everything is alive. This may explain why physical objects can float on the cloud. It could also be the result of Toriyama being lazy.

Gokū changes into a new pair of clothes to replace Ūron’s trousers, consisting of a white sleeveless T-Shirt, some wristbands, a simple pair of pants tied together with an obi (帯, sash), and a new pair of his gōngfu xié (功夫鞋, kung fu shoes). Along with these he brings a knapsack of personal belongings. He’s ready for his new adventure!

The Master Awaits

Dragon Ball is a story inspired by the Chinese legend of Xīyóujì, and Son Gokū is inspired by the main character, Sūn Wùkōng. Both stories are filled with fighting from this point onward. So Toriyama borrows a page from the classic, and has Son Gokū seek out a master to learn the physical and spiritual arts that will help increase his strength.

Gokū begins his quest for greater strength as he soars across idyllic Chinese mountains and holds his hand over his eyebrow like his simian predecessor. But unlike Sūn, who has to travel for over 10 years across great seas and jungles before he finds his master, Gokū already knows where the old-timer lives. So he just has to gather his belongings and knock on the front door.

"Hey, Jī-chan! I’m here! Gokū lands at the front door of Kame House and announces his arrival, but no one responds. He hears music coming from inside, and a woman’s voice saying, Wan tsū, wan tsū (ワンツー, ワンツー, One two, one two)."³ When he looks inside he sees a pair of beautiful aerobics instructors on TV, spreading their legs and exercising.⁴ They’re both Western women wearing leotards and leg warmers, representing the hippest fashion of the 1980s. Televised aerobics is a popular trend at the time this manga is written, in 1985, and Toriyama is showcasing the TV programs that a Westerner would see broadcast.⁵ People usually watch the show and perform the exercises to get fit, but that’s not the case here.

Kame-sennin (亀仙人, the Turtle Hermit, Muten Rōshi’s perverted persona) kneels on a square zabuton (座布団, floor pillow cushion) similar to a futon, but made specifically for kneeling.⁶ His face is super close to the TV, and he stares at the women with absolute focus, repeating, "Wan tsū, wan tsū (One two, one two). A bit of drool drips out of his mouth.⁷ Below the TV is a record collection that includes an album called Nudist Beach," with a naked lady on the cover, and behind him is an open beer can and a pack of cigarettes. A disciplined master indeed.

Gokū climbs in through the window and says, "Jī-chan (じいちゃん, gramps, or old man)!! But he doesn’t hear Gokū because he is transfixed by the women’s beauty. Gokū stands next to him, takes a deep breath, and shouts into his ear, JĪ-CHAAAAAAAN!!"

The sound goes off like a gong, and the old man is rudely awaken from his heavenly trance. Gokū giggles and says, "Jī-chan. I’ve come to do shugyō…" But the shugyō will have to wait until Kame-sennin’s happy time is over. He points Gokū to the refrigerator.

Gokū walks into the kitchen and says, Hmmmm, he sure puts his food in a weird box. He opens it up. Whoa, it’s so cold! It’s like winter inside here! Gokū’s naïve nature is entertaining all by itself. He grabs the food and scarfs it down: raw steaks, vegetables, fruits, fish, eggs, milk, fried chicken, and everything else. Kame-sennin finishes his afternoon delight and turns around to see an empty fridge! He’s shocked to see how much Gokū eats, saying, "Even the batā (バター, butter)… That was a week’s worth of food for me…"

Gokū stands up and says he’s done hunting for the dragon balls and has come for the shugyō that Kame-sennin promised him.

The Master’s Test

Seeking discipleship under a master is considered sacred. A master can’t just train anybody. They first have to give the prospective student a test to determine if their character is worthy. If they can’t pass this first test, then there’s no way they’ll pass the tests that follow. And there are times when the master is reluctant to take on a new deshi. For example, in Shàolín dòu lǎma (少林斗喇嘛, "Shaolin versus Lama," 1983) the hero spends over half the movie trying to become the master’s student.

These tests are as varied as imagination allows, but they usually test a student’s endurance. For example, a new prospect will have to wait outside the temple gate for days on end, being ignored or treated poorly on purpose, to test their patience. In another example, a student will be accepted but will not be taught anything of value for the first 10 years, to test their determination. Only once they have shown that their heart is genuine, will they be accepted by the master and taught the true arts.

Toriyama makes his test the opposite of sacred. Kame-sennin cracks