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Tag: Dragon Ball GT

Dragon Ball Super 0

The Tournament of Power’s Important Lesson (Drunk Freewrite)

Disclaimer: This freewrite was written under the influence of alcohol. It may not make logical sense.

Dragon Ball isn’t deep.  There are deep themes, but it isn’t that deep than other anime.  Dragon Ball is a goofy, battle action manga and anime series created by some crazy Japanese dude who bread and butter is gag comedy manga (Dr. Slump). Expecting Dragon Ball to be meaningful and insightful is like trying to find one’s dignity at a drunken,  drug-fueled  anime con orgy:

 

It ain’t gonna happen.

This doesn’t mean that Dragon Ball can’t teach us lessons about life.  After all, Goku’s journey is a lesson that if you want to better yourself, you must go out and travel; putting in the hard (and smart) work to and learning under those better than you to obtain whatever you want in life.  Baby from Dragon Ball GT  teaches us that people who were treated unfairly (through oppression) will come back to take revenge against those who oppressed them – even going as far as hunting down and killing innocent people if they have to.

Dragon Ball Super with the Tournament of Power arc is no different.  There are valuable lessons to be taught about that arc, one that is obvious and yet – it’s the most important lesson.  In order to achieve what you want, emotions need to be put aside.

In episode whatever it was in Super (I’m drunk: I don’t feel like looking it up), Majin Buu succumb to his deep sleeping habits; putting him out of action for two months.  Thing is, it would have been okay for Majin Buu to take a two months break from combat…if he wasn’t a team member of Universe 7, and the existence of their universe was at risk of being destroyed by Zeno-Sama.  With their ranks shorten, Team Universe 7 had two options:

  1. Find a replacement for Majin Buu
  2. Operate at a loss and/or risk destruction

Logically, Team Universe 7 should have put Majin  Buu in the Time Chamber (Room of Spirit and Time for your purist elitist weeaboos) but logic doesn’ work in anime. While everyone else was in a panic, Goku came up with an ideal replacement for Majin Buu: Lord Frieza – mortal enemy of the Z Warriors.

The Z Warrirors weren’t happy with Goku’s suggestion.  They had every right to.  Krillin and Vegeta were murdered by him.  Piccolo’s race and home planet was destroyed by the cruel tyrant.   Plus, Frieza’s a snake.  Who knows what kinda of shit Frieza would pull on the Z Warrriors if given the chance.  If he wanted to, Frieza could had kill members of Unvierse 7 for shits and giggles.  (Un)forutnetly for Team Universe 7, Freiza’s an asset to their surivivial.  Yes, Frieza did horrible things to Z Warrrios and caused suffering to the unviersse.  But what’s worse; Having a powerful, yet psychopathic warrior on your side who can get the job done with ease or losing your exsitance because you got emotional over somebody you don’t like?

I thought so.

In dire situtaitons, you have to put aside your emotions and focus on the ultimate goal.  Emotions are great.  They make us humans.  They drive us to do amazing things.  But emotions can fuck you up if you can’t control them.   Let’s look at what happen to Lerbron James during the 2018 NBA Finals.  Game 1.  He got in his feelings over a teammate’s mistake.  He gave into them and got swept by The Golden State Warriors.

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What would had happen to Universe 7 if they gotten emotional over Frieza’s includcion to their team?  You might say “But Ben, they could had went with Yamcha instead or maybe even Cell!” You’re right.  They could had went with Yamcha or Cell.  But Yamcha would had gotten slaughter within the first five seconds of the tournament.  And Cell doesn’t give Toei Animation enough money like Frieza in terms of product sales.

Don’t get emotional when trying to hit your targets.

Freewriting 2

The Law of Attraction Works, But…(Freewrite)

There’s a peculiar law that many believe in. Earl Nightingale, the late motivation speaker, considers this law to be the strangest secret known to man. It is said by believing in this law you’ll attract the things you desire. That if you think about it all day long, it will happen. What you put into the universe is what you get out  — good or bad.  This law is none other than the Law of Attraction.

Sounds awesome, right?

What if I told you that simply believing that things will happen isn’t enough?  The Law of Attraction works (about 10% of the time), but you have to put in the work to obtain the things you want in life.  Any ol’ fuck can just look in the mirror and say “I will be successful.  Today will be a good day.  I will become a millionaire.” But few put in the work to achieve their goals. Let’s be honest: people just say things so they can feel good about their about their current situation without doing anything.

They’re not willing to put in the work.

While the majority is comfortable with wishful thinking, there’s a minority that not only speak positivity into their lives, they make moves to ensure it.  Saying some silly mantra over and over again do not and will never make them happy.  They need to to go out and get it.  Do you think Son Goku stood in front of a mirror and told himself “I’m going to meet powerful warriors, train with masters, and better myself.”?  No.  He went out to the world and did it.  He took action in order to grow.  Goku traveled to hone his skill s and learn new things.  He wasn’t content and happy with staying in one place.

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People who do the law of attraction thing must act in the same manner.  You don’t just say silly shit and think you’re gonna magically get shit.  This is why I hate most self-help books and gurus who say you only have to say you’ll get what you desire.  They’re full of shit.  The ones who show you how to get it and warn you it’s not going to be easy – I respect them.  They want more than just money from some book.

The law of attractions works.  It’s a wonderful law that I follow and have faith in.  But I understand that I must put in the action to get what I want in life.  Simply lounging around and operating on a hope and a wish that I will become successful is not only stupid, it’s pathetic.  I do not want to be one of many who does that shit without applying me.  That’s boring.

 

Talking shit is easy.  Doing shit is hard.

 

Dragon Ball Super 0

70cm Sqaure Windows Should have Been Dragon Ball Super’s Final ED (Drunken Rant)

(Warning: Terrible grammar and spelling.  I was drunk off three shots of Jim Beam and drank like two 32 oz. cans of cheap Miller beer. You’ve been warned.  Originally written on March 2nd, 2018.)

Assuming that there won’t be a final ED for Super’s finale, ONEPIXCEL’s Lagrima as the final ED is a poor choice.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad song for what it is (and the women performing the song are pretty cute).  I find myself bobbing my head in sync with the beat of the song even. Still,  it’s doesn’t carry the emotional weight of 70cm Square Window.  Why do I think it carries more weight than Lagrima?  Well, hear me out.

Once we get past Adult Goku riding on the Flying Nimbus (or the Kinto’un for you fucking Japanese sub purist weeaboos), there’s a shot of Kid Goku alone starting far into the distance.  Following that, the ending animation transition to  Kid Goku’s running animation cycle featuring the OG Dragon Ball characters in the background (Bulma, Pura, Oolong, Yamcha, Krillin, Tien, Muten Roshi, and Goku’s late beloved grandpa, Gohan).  Next, Goku grows into his current self, riding back on the Flying Nimbus while images of the Team Universe 7 crew scroll along.  Finally, that shit ends with Goku running next to images of Beerus, the Zeno Kings, Grand Preist, Hit, and Jiren – the important characters of DB Super.

The animation of 70cm Square Window shows Goku’s growth from classic Dragon Ball, Z, and Super (sorry DBGT stans ya don’t get shit).  Goku went form a curious, humble country boy traveling the world for stronger people to fight and train with,  to a man who could destroy an entire universe with ease.  Just imagine, you finish watching the final episode of Super, this song plays, and you watch Goku’s progression within this ED.  You watch this man improve and better himself – becoming this unstoppable warrior. Imagine that shit man.  How the fuck can Lagrima could ever compare?

Fuck, let’s check the  best lyrics of the song:

‘I was always thinking of you
The reality that squeezes my heart
I was always longing to see you
And I’ll continue to forge ahead with that memory…”

Let’s imagine that none of the universe or any warrior that died will be brought back (they will cuz it’s Dragon Ball Super and Super is fuckin predictable as fuck) after the Tournament.   Do you know how those lines could fit well with say 18 remembering her brother or Vegeta remembering Cabba and the Saiyans of Universe 7 and how they will have to continue on living without them?  I want you to imagine 18’s and Vegeta’s sadness as those lyrics play.

Wouldn’t that shit be perfect?

Real shit tho, I’m drunk as hell and none of this will lever happen cuz Toei Animation don’t get deep with Dragon Ball like that.   Hope you enjoyed this durenk rant I will do more in the future when I have nothing better to do on a Friday night or something.

Afterword:
Alcohol doesn’t make you a better writer.  It only makes you an alcoholic writer and increases your alcohol dependency.

 

Feature image source:
http://msdbzbabe.tumblr.com/

Dragon Ball Super 0

Goku Black Didn’t Kill Jiren’s Friends and Family, You Idiots

Boy, the Dragon Ball community never ceases to amaze me with their stupidity. With the revelation of Jiren’s backstory in episode 127 of Super, fans are speculating who could have murdered Jiren’s family and friends.  One utterly idiotic theory floating about is that Goku Black was behind the slaughter of Jiren’s loved ones. Yea.  Goku Black.

Can I explain how stupid that sounds?

First, let me outline how this theory got started.  It’s real stupid but check it.  Niggas legit think Goku Black is behind the murders because of how the animators used a similar technique to hide the killer’s identity as they did with Goku Back’s. That’s it.  Nothing else to logically suggests that their theory is correct.

If Goku Black was the killer, Jiren wouldn’t be alive. Why?  Because Goku Black hates all mortals. He deems mortals as evil. He wants them all dead.  Jiren is a mortal. Goku Black would have killed him.  Furthermore, why would Toei Animation hide Goku Black’s identity if we already know who he is? That doesn’t make any sense to me whatsoever.

Back in Dragon Ball Z, Trunks was explaining to Goku about the upcoming Android threat.  During this, there was a scene where we see two figures whom we could not make out their physical appearance; similar to how we couldn’t figure out Goku Black’s identity.  It was to add tension to Trunk’s story and the upcoming storylines.

This isn’t exclusive to Dragon Ball either.  In many visual media (video games, comic books, anime, etc.), villains’ identity is concealed by shadows and lighting so the audience won’t know who they are until the climactic moment of their reveal.

 

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The face of the crazy ass science dude in Sailor Moon covered in shadow.

 

Let me keep going so I can break down this stupid ass theory.

Goku Black is just Zamasu in Goku’s body.  Because of that, Jiren would have tried to take out Goku from the start of the Tournament of Power for revenge.  Jiren would have believed that Goku was Goku Black. Then, he would have attempted to do anything within his power to beat the shit out of him and possibly kill him.  Jiren had no interest in Goku when Goku tried to fight him at the start of the Tournament.  If there were any interests towards Goku, it’d be related to the fact that Jiren believes that Goku is Goku Black – which he doesn’t – because it’s fucking impossible.

To close out my rant, you are utterly fucking stupid if you believe the theory that Goku Black was the murderer. You ate paste as a kid and you probably the same nigga who thought Goten was Goku Black.  I’m not sorry for calling you fucking stupid.

Have a blessed day that our Lord has made.

Dragon Ball Super 0

Toppo: Pride Trooper of Destruction

As the Tournament of Power reaches its conclusion, I am constantly reminded of Dragon Ball Super’s 7th ending theme: An Evil Angel and Righteous Devil.  Towards the end of it, there’s a line that goes “Justice and evil both carry the same gun”.  I couldn’t help but think about the song when Toppo tells Frieza that “Justice…is worthless now” during their battle and Toppo’s resolve (to become a God of Destruction and forego his morals).  The theme of justice is played with Toppo throughout the Universe Survival Arc. Toppo is a proud warrior of justice; leading his Pride Troopers to battle after battle in the name of all that is righteous.

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From analyzing Toppo’s personality, he holds justice, morals, and honor with the utmost respect.  He fights fairs: preferring honest play over cheap tactics.  This is shown when Toppo snapped on Android 17 for attacking the Kamikaze Fireball (during their transformation).   He questioned the motives of the Tournament, The Grand Priest, and Zeno-Sama.  Toppo doesn’t feel right about fighting in a tournament designed to wipe out multiple universes; a tournament in which countless lives will end upon each universe’s erasure.

Toppo and his Pride Troopers initially entered the tournament to punish those who they deemed “evil”.  While survival was ideal, targeting evil doers were their prime goal. However in episode 104 of Super, Toppo started to change his mind.  With seven of his men gone and his universe at risk of deletion, Toppo decides that the Pride Troopers must kill their ideologies of justice and ethics in order to live.

There’s no place for justice and heroism in a war of survival.

Towards the end of the tournament, Toppo is struggling against Andoird 17.  After analyzing 17’s combat style (and discovering 17 has infinite energy), Toppo decides to end his battle with 17 with one blow.  However, he fails and is forced into a beam struggle with the Universe 7 warrior.    During the struggle, Frieza attacks Toppo from behind.  Frieza taunts Toppo while blasting him with Death Beams. Bored with Toppo, Frieza attempts to blast Toppo off the battlefield; enveloping him with overwhelming energy.

Despite the struggle, Toppo survives but is heavily wounded.

Frieza taunts Toppo once more.  He mocks the man, calling him trash.  He then points out how shameful it must be for Toppo to have his prized uniform of justice in shreds.  It’s here where Toppo snaps.  Coldly, Toppo replies that justice is worthless.  After seeing his men fall and the destruction of six universes before him, Toppo comes to a resolution.  Justice is worthless.  It has no use on the battlefield.  Justice doesn’t translate to survival.

In order to survive,  Toppo gives up on justice.  This same man who praised it with pride now sees it as a waste. A liability even.  Toppo decides to ascend to godhood: A God of Destruction.  Destruction – like war – is neutral.  It doesn’t care about silly ideas like good or evil, justice or injustice.  All it cares for is annihilation and death.

What good are both justice and playing hero if both things never ensure survival?

‘There’s only one difference between heroes and madmen: It’s whether they win or lose.’

-Lambdadelta, Umineko no Naku Koro ni

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Dragon Ball Super 0

Jiren’s Respect

“Respect is earned, not given” is a controversial statement.  Some believe that respect should be given to all – regardless of who they are or what they have accomplished.  Others think that respect should only be earned through hard work, talent, skills, etc. In high levels of competition, respect is earned only if one is impressed by the superior flair of another person (most of the time).  In the Tournament of Power, we see Jiren giving his respect towards both Goku and Vegeta: calling both men warriors.  Jiren doesn’t use this term lightly, nor does he use it freely.

For Jiren, calling you a warrior is his sign of respect and admiration.

In Episode 122,  as Jiren squares off against Goku, the two engage in conversation.  Jiren asks Goku why does he seek to become stronger.  Goku simply replies that he doesn’t know why; he just wants to.  Following, Goku asks  Jiren if he too wants to be stronger.  Jiren states that what he wants is beyond mere, selfish thought of strength. This is a change from how Jiren initially viewed Goku (from their first fight).  At first, it appears Jiren had no respect for Goku.  But, after proving his worth against Jiren, we can assume that he’s a little curious about Goku’s strength and goals.  It should be noted that Jiren calls Goku by his name: “Son Goku”, rather than a title like “Saiyan” or “Assassin” (as he did with Hit during his battle against him).

With this, it’s safe to say that Jiren respects Goku.

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In Vegeta’s case, Jiren gives him the title of “Warrior”. As  Belmod and Khai both stated, Jiren calling Vegeta “warrior” is his  sign of respect Now, originally Jiren viewed Vegeta as arrogant. He even dismisses his brash fighting style as too prideful – taunting his Saiyan heritage in a sense. When Vegeta was able to hold his own against Jiren, that’s when Jiren was able to show his respect towards the Saiyan Prince.

Jiren’s respect doesn’t end there.

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When Goku fought Jiren in Ep. 123, Goku overwhelmed Jiren. Not by brute strength, but by tactics and strategy.  Using a combination of teleportation, Ki landmines, and Destructo Discs (or Kienzans for you purist weebs), Goku was able to knock Jiren out of the ring.  This forced Jiren to use a hint of his true power to recover and combat against Goku.  In turn, Goku tapped into his reserves; going Super Saiyan Blue with Kaikoen x20 stacked.  Vegeta tapped into his hidden power, breaking his shell and limits.  The fact both Goku and Vegeta drew out power beyond their limits could suggest that Jiren want to see both warrior’s true power in combat.

Jiren sees them as truly worthy warriors. Goku and Vegeta have earned Jiren’s respect.

 

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Jiren using a hint of his true power against Goku

 

 

Dragon Ball 0

The Pride of Vegeta: Ego is the Ally.

“Indeed, I am arrogant.  But, to me, that’s precisely what my pride as a Saiyan is!”

After his ego and pride were belittled by Jiren, Vegeta felt that he had to defend who he is as a person.  As a proud Saiyan Elite prince, Vegeta dedicated his life to the art of combat, surpassing others, conquering planets, and of course – breaking his limits.  It shouldn’t  shock anyone that Vegeta took offense to Jiren’s criticism.  Is Vegeta arrogant?  Perhaps to some. However, I don’t see it as arrogance. I think he’s confident and prideful of what he has accomplished over the course of his life.  After all, he has every right to act as such. Vegeta earned his high self-esteem and self-worth through hard work.

Hard work thanks to his greatest ally: His ego.

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All champions have big egos.  Without a big ego, they would have never become a champion.’
From Victor Pride’s article The Importance of Having a Big Ego

Why does Vegeta have a big ego?  Well, it stems from a few factors. Prince Vegeta is a Saiyan.  Saiyans are naturally physical, competitive warriors.  Vegeta is also a paragon and of royal blood.  He achieved master-level combat skills and knowledge as a child.  Seeing his power, King Vegeta (his father) took him under his wing and the two conquered (and destroy) planets for years.  Now mind you, Vegeta did all of this before he hit puberty – and he wasn’t finished yet.

Even as a child, Vegeta proved himself to be an outlier.

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Being controlled and abused by the tyrant Frieza also impacted his ego.  The Saiyans could have been a prosperous race if it wasn’t for Frieza.  Frieza murdered King Vegeta.  He betrayed the loyalty the Saiyans by killing them and destroying their planet.  Following that, he reduced Vegeta’s status to that of a common, low-ranking lackey – completely disregarding his royal heritage.

To say Vegeta was bitter towards Frieza’s treatment is an understatement.

Then, you have the case of Kakarotto – or Son Goku.  Son Goku was thought of a low-class Saiyan who would never amount to anything (in the eyes of the Elite Saiyans).  Vegeta was disgusted at Goku (due to Goku’s kindhearted nature – unnatural for Saiyans).  He didn’t view him as a real Saiyan – nor worthy of becoming a Super Saiyan.  Even after believing that Goku was the Super Saiyan of legend, Vegeta held resentment towards Goku  for obtaining such status and power.  Vegeta was convinced that only he – a  royal Saiyan Elite – deserved the title and power of the Super Saiyan.

It was his birthright.  And Kakarotto took it away from it.

Yearning to not only obtain the Super Saiyan transformation but also surpassing Goku, Vegeta spent three years’  training to acquire his goals.  He worked mercilessly – even to the point of death. It was at that point of near death is where Vegeta finally gained the power of the Super Saiyan.  After years of pain and suffering, the prince reclaimed his title of the prince of three Saiyans.  He even “surpassed” that blasted Kakarotto!”

(And by surpassed I mean Goku caught the heart virus and was out of commission for most of the Andoird conflict. Therefore, Vegeta was the strongest due pure “luck” on his end).

Vegeta didn’t stop there.  Super Saiyan wasn’t enough to quince Vegeta’s competitive thirst.  After Goku told Vegeta that they must go beyond Super Saiyan, Vegeta took this chance to prove himself as the superior Saiyan.  Vegeta trained for another year in the Room of Spirit and Time (or the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for you FUNimation weebs). Then, he gained power that exceeded Super Saiyan: Super Saiyan Grade 2 (or simply, Ascended Saiyan).

Vegeta yet again surpassed Kakarotto!  Oh, how Vegeta praised himself for his efforts. And then a few hours later, Vegeta was curbed stomp by Perfect Cell. See, Vegeta – although proud of yet another accolade – let his ego get the best of him.  Cell tricked Vegeta into obtaining his Perfect form and made the Prince his bitch.

That was funny.

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Let’s fast forward seven years.  With Goku dead, Vegeta had nothing better to do.  Well, besides training (because of that competitive nature).  Vegeta got news that Goku was returning to the living world for the 25th Budokai Tenkaichi Tournament. He sees this as a chance to finally beat Goku once and for all.  See, Vegeta never got over the fact that Goku was the better warrior.  Vegeta was envious that Goku achieved so much (despite him being a low-class Saiyan).  Vegeta wanted to prove once and for all he was the best.  And he could have if shit didn’t go south during the tournament (the Majin Buu and Babidi conflict).  During the Majin Buu conflict, Vegeta allowed his jealousy to get the best of him and let Bababi brainwash him into Majin Vegeta.

All because he wanted to show his superiority towards Goku.

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The evil prince has returned!  At last, Vegeta could dominate Goku in combat…by killing a bunch of innocent people and allowing the release of Majin Buu.  Then Vegeta realized that his ego is problematic and that he had to sacrifice himself to take out Majin Buu – all because he fucked up.

Okay, so maybe Vegeta had some minor issues with his ego.

In the real world, high-level athletes, performing artists, and businessmen are viewed as egotistical. Their self-sense of pride are off-putting to some – but they have the right to be prideful.  These people pour countless hours into their craft.  Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players of our time, is viewed by many as arrogant. But when you won six Championships rings, brought money to your team’s city, and created a multi-million-dollar brand, you earned the right to be arrogant.  Kanye West, a rapper hated for his ego, won over 92 awards over the course of his career.  He better be egotistical. Entrepreneur Tai Lopez, (in)famous for his “Here in My Garage” video (where he showcased his then-new Lamborghini)   was criticized for showing off the luxury sports car and the thousands of books in his personal collection.  Then again, when you are the investor and advisor to over 20 successful multi-million dollar companies,  I think it’s okay to show off your trophies – and how you earned them through knawledge.

These guys have earned the right to be egotistical, cocky, and arrogant, whatever you wanna call their high levels of self-esteem.  Why?  Because these guys worked their asses off to get to the levels of where they are today.  Vegeta is like that.  Vegeta worked his ass off to maintain his Prince and Elite status.  He dedicated his life to push himself beyond his limits. He earned Super Saiyan 1, Ascended, Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan God, and Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan.

It’s understandable to see why Vegeta was angry at Jiren’s remarks about his ego.  Vegeta had to back up his pride – the thing that drives him to better himself.  Vegeta himself stated that he can never throw that away.   It what makes Vegeta.

Vegeta is an arrogant man.  And what’s wrong with that?

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‘Being humble doesn’t work as well as being aware.’

-Drake, (From his 2014 single The Catch Up)

 

FURTHER RESOURCES:
The Importance of Having a Big Ego:
https://boldanddetermined.com/big-ego/

Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday (the inspiration for the article’s title):

DISCLAIMER: I am not associated with Amazon nor Ryan Holiday. I do not make any money off this.

Dragon Ball Super 0

The Emotional Brilliance of Dragon Ball Super Ep. 118

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The word “tragedy” for the episode title of DBS Ep. 118 is fitting.  Beerus losing his twin brother, Champa.  Universe 2 was destroyed e despite their cheer and support for their team.  Piccolo had to defeat warriors of his own race to survive. Valdos was in grief as she saw her hand pick warriors and good friend Champa disappear from existence.  And finally, Vegeta’s anger as he saw once again, his proud warrior race destroyed.

This was truly tragic.  Hiroshi Yamaguchi’s genius writing of Episode 118 should be celebrated and analyze. He graced Super with such emotions that haven’t been felt since the Future Trunks arc.  It must be brought up!  Since I love me some good writing, I decided to break down why this episode is so brilliant. Let’s go!

PART 1: The Beautiful Power of Love

‘Without love, it cannot be seen.’
-Ange Ushiromiya, Umineko no Naku Koro ni

 

Episode 118 opens up with the revelation that Team Universe 2 was broadcasting the tournament to their citizens. The people watched in despair as Ribbranne admits she – and the rest of the Kamikaze Fireballs – were defeated.  She begs her beloved fans to cheer on the final three warriors with their supportive love.  As requested, they start to cheer and send love. The power of their love empowers Zaolin, Zarbuto, and Rabna and pushed them to defeat Universe 7.  They mentioned that the weight of Universe 2’s love is a heavy burden, but they must bear it to save their universe.  This shows us that  Team Universe 2  is loved by this fans.  This can be proven not just story-line alone, but visually as well (as many of their fans were wearing t-shirts  with members of Team Universe 2 printed on them)

With this power of love, Team Universe 2 takes charge towards Team Universe 7.

Time passes and Universe 2 is struggling. During their last stand, Zaolin, Zabun, and Rabunra summons a black heart of love.  I love the symbolism used in this seen.  Obviously, the heart is the symbol of love, but one should note the color of the heart: Black. Going by color theory, the color black is used as a symbol of death.   If an Universe loses in this tournament, they’re erased.

Being erased means death.

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Universe 2 explains how the Black Heart entraps its victims with it crushing, unbearable weight.  The weight of the hearts forces itself to sink to the ground. We can take two things from this.  One: the weight of this heart is the burden that Team Universe 2 must carry to protect the people they love. It represents the trust, faith, and love of the people has towards them.

Two: The sinking is symbolism of Universe 2’s defeat and death – not the defeat of Team Universe 7.  You see, Goku is a simple man.  While he (barely) understands the power of love, he prefers guts and spirit over it.  He’s not going to let love bring him down. And so, Goku overcomes the burden of Universe 2 with a Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken Kamehameha.  The Kamehameha breaks overpowers Team Universe 2, knocking them out of the ring.

Universe 2 is defeated – and destroyed.

 ‘It’s so beautiful.  The moment before imminent destruction.’
Sailor Saturn, Sailor Moon Infinity

Universe 2 has fallen.  Yet, despite destruction approaching, they accept their fate with grace.  The Universe 2’s citizen still happy and celebrating their warriors. The Kamikaze Fireballs perform one final formation; thanking their fans for their loving support.  Then, we have Kakunsa’s final line:

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It’s like the real world: When a love one dies, it is just their body that is dead. The precious memories, love, spirit, support, and bonds, they are still alive in the hearts of the people they touched.

Those feelings will never die.

Universe 2 kept their pride, spirit and love to the bitter end.  They refused to wallow in grief.  Instead, they chose to show love.  They reminded true to themselves, touching the hearts of those they impacted.  A sad approaching event turned into short lived happiness and grace.

PART 2: The Emotional Connection of Universes 6 and 7

While the destruction of Universe 2 is depressing, the true tragedy lies in the destruction of Universe 6: Universe 7’s twin universe.  Bear in mind that members of Universe 7 have personal connections with Universe 6 (Goku and Hit having respect towards one another, Vegeta as Cabba’s mentor, etc.).  In the real world, fans have grown to know and love Universe 6 since their introduction during the Unvierse 6 vs. 7 Tournament arc. Seeing Unvierse 6 being destroyed was a heavy toll for the fans.

 

After Universe 2 charges at Goku and Andorids 17 and 18, there is a scene where Champa is mocking Universe 7 (as Goku is struggling to fight against Universe 2) Valdos chime in to remind him that Universe 6 is at near defeat and follow up with her usual jests and jabs.But   More on that later.  Let’s focus on Piccolo first.

 

Piccolo (along with his son Gohan) are struggling against the Universe 6 Nakemians.
Gohan and Piccolo’s victory over the Nakemians means that Piccolo will, by proxy, wipe out his own people.  Nakemians from another universe, but they’re still Nakemians. Back in DBZ,   Piccolo had to liberate his people who were suffering under Frieza’s rule.  For Piccolo to have to wipe out his own race is a heavy burden – but it’s either his universe or theirs.

The Universe 6 Nakemians go on the offensive against Gohan and Piccolo.  The father/son duo is overpowered, with Gohan jumping in to protect his mentor and father figure. .  Piccolo asks for Gohan’s forgiveness (as he let the fear of the Nakemians’ overwhelming power get to his head).  This mirrors Dragon Ball Z when Piccolo had to risk his life to save Gohan’s.  To see Gohan protecting Piccolo can be consider full circle in this sense.  The two regain their composure fire back at the enemy.


Gohan, along with his (real) father  Goku, both charge up their respective Kamehamehas against their enemies in unison.  Both engage in a beam/energy struggle against Universe 2 and 6.  Gohan is grabbed by Pirana in a failed attempt to stop and attack Gohan.  Piccolo backs Gohan up with a Special Beam Cannon, stopping them. At the climax of the distinct Father-Son Kamehameha, Gohan and Goku overpower their enemies at the same time.

Universes 2 and 6 have dropped out.

The defeat of Universe 6 is a victory for Universe 7, but it’s not something to be celebrated.  As I mentioned earlier, Universe 6 and 7 are twin universes.  Members of Universe 7 (such as Goku and Vegeta) formed personal relationships and bonds with members of Universe 6.  Goku lost Caulifia – a girl he promised he would train and mentor.  You can even say that Caulifia looked up to Goku as an older brother. Piccolo defeating Universe 6 means that he – by proxy – helped wiped out members of his own race.  Vegeta was promised by Cabba that he’ll give him a tour of Planet Salada to see the Saiyans of that race.  Vegeta was longing to visit the King of the Saiyans of that race; since Vegeta himself is of royal blood.  Vegeta will never have get that chance (assuming he does not win the chance to use the Super Dragon Balls).

What make this disheartening and tragic for Vegeta is that this man just witnessed the total destruction of his people once again.  Vegeta grew up experiencing the Saiyans of Universe 7 suffering and dying under Frieza’s rule.  To find out there were full-blooded Saiyans still existing in other universes made him happy.  Now, they’re gone.

He isn’t happy.

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Then there’s the tragedy of  Beerus and Champa.  Yes, the twins did fought and get into arguments, but they’re brothers; that’s natural.  While they didn’t show it, you can tell they still loved each other.  Even if Champa was being goofy towards Beerus at the bitter end, he still loved him. Even if Beerus was stoic about his brother’s death, you can’t say he wasn’t hurting inside.  Beerus want to show it, but he has to keep it together for his team’s sake.

And that’s hard.

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‘I was always thinking of you.
The reality that squeezes my heart
I was always longing to see you
And I’ll continue to forge ahead with that memory’
70cm Squared  Window by Rottengraffy (DBS ED 10)

 

The destruction of Universe 6 reminds me of two lines from the full version of  Dragon Ball Super ED 7 “An Evil Angel and Righteous Devil”.   The first: “Either destroy yourself or destroy everyone else.”  Piccolo had to destroy Pirana and Saoneru.  Gohan, a man who finds no joy in being maliece and hurting/killing others, had to help Piccolo do it.  It was either their universe losing, or defeat Universe 6.

The second line reads “Winning or losing doesn’t benefit anyone – Everyone is simply hurt, crying at the end.”  I’m reminded of this line by Valdo’s grief of losing Champa.  Yes, she did make jabs and jokes at him. Yes, she did call him out on his bullshit at times.  But she did care about him.  She did enjoy his presence…even if she made fat jokes towards him from time to time.

It’s safe to say that those two were good friends, maybe even best friends.

This is Dragon Ball and no good popular character stay dead or erased forever.  There’s the chance that somebody will use the Super Dragon Ball to bring everyone back to life and everything.  I just wish with the emotional driven episode we got with Hiroshi Yamaguchi’s writing that this arc could had been a series finale arc.  Perhaps Toei should had introduce this tournament arc after there was an arc were we got to know all the universes in this tournament a little better.

Just to have that stinging pain of losing them in the Tournament of Power/Unvierse Surivivial arc.  Even people who hated Universe 2 (myself included) were upset and sadden by their deaths.  They went out carefree and happy.  They stay true themselves and rather than cry and complain about hteir last moments of life, The Kamikaze Fireballs and Hellios decided to just be graceful and be themselves.

That in itself, is tragic.

That’s the emotional brilliance of Episode 118. This is why many of us are consider this as the best wrirrten episode of the tournament so far.  It reminded us how the emotional power of Dragon Ball in general.  Dragon Ball is a simple Shouen  action battle anime series that’s more logical than emotional.  But there are times were the emotions do reveal themselves and they hit hard when they’re showcased.  I hope Hiroshi Yamaguchi returns to Super to write yet another emotional episode.  His writing surprising works for Dragon Ball Super.

He deserves so much respect for this episode.

 

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THEORY: Universe 6 is Doomed (Thanks Frieza!)

Episode 112 of Dragon Ball Super has me thinking; Frieza will be the one to defeat Universe 6. You may be asking “How so?  How can you be so sure?” Well, this odd theory I have  comes from the fact that the final warriors of Universe 6 are made up of two Saiyans and two Nakemians.  And as well all know, Frieza has a fantastic history with members of those races.

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His hand slipped. 

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Frieza hates Saiyans.  I’m talking your racist neighbor getting mad every-time he sees those “illegal” Mexicans across the street level of hatred.  The mere sight of those uncivilized monkeys fuels Frieza with great, furious anger.  Frieza wants nothing more but to kill any and all Saiyans – even if they’re from another universe.   Frieza mentions to Cabba that wants to play fun  with Kale and Caulifla.  Frieza, he’s a fan of games with full cooperation from others.  Those are his favorite type of games after-all. Like the classic chocking game.  That’s a game where Frieza wraps his tail around his buddy’s throats, and starts squeezing the life out of them until they choke to death.

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He’s also a fan of the game “Shoot people’s pressure points with non-lethal Death Beams Barrages until they’re begging for the sweet release of death.”   I think Kale and Caulifla will become great fans of those games.   It’s going to suck when Frieza decides that he’s bored and stops playing with them.  Maybe he might bring them back with the Super Dragon Balls if Universe 7 wins.  Plus, having two Saiyan monkey girls just means he’s respect diversity and equal gender rights in the work place!

Diversity quotas don’t fill themselves now.

Now, let us imagine Frieza meeting the Universe 6’s Namekians.  Just picture his joy! He’ll become so happy that Universe 6 has Namekians too! Frieza will get all warm and nostalgic – reflecting on his youthful days of Planet Namek.  Days where he made those green people bow at his feet. Ahh, that was a great period in his life.  Shooting Dende in the head. His troops hunting and killing the lot of them.  Ripping that one Namek who look like Piccolo arm off.  I think his name was Nail or something I dunno they all look alike. Frieza strikes me as a fellow who loves reliving his glory days of being a ruthless dictator on Namek. I mean, look how happy Frieza was when he was healing Goku.  It brought back lovely memories of Namek.  I hope him meeting those Nameks of Universe 6 will re-spark that happiness once more.

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Nail vs. Lord Slug

 

Here’s where my theory comes to play.

It’s strange that the final four warriors of Universe 6 include members of  two races that Frieza has a past relationship with.  In the past five episodes or so, Frieza was given some shine story-line wise. We can assume that Toei wants to build some focus on Frieza, the Saiyan girls, and the Namekians (whom were given a little shine in Episode 111).  Before I forget, let me bring reminder you that universes who were shown to have low numbers (sans Universe 11) were doomed to erasure (as we’ve seen with Universe 9 and 10).

See where I’m going with this?

I predict that in the near future, Frieza will take out the Saiyan girls and the Nameks. Therefore, with their elimations, Universe 6 will be erased.  They’ve lost their leader and strongest warrior — Hit.  Their morale is low. Frieza’s hatred for Saiyans has no bond.  He also doesn’t take too kindly to Namekians either.  I may be wrong, but I think Toei is hinting that Frieza will be the one who will slaughter Universe 6.

That or this all a red herring from Toei.  The Namekieans are going to get a Toriyama handjob, the Saiyan girls are going to get a Toriyama finger bang, and get an asspull powerup and defeat Frieza and we’re all being mislead by Toei and Trollriyama.

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30 Day Anime Challenge Day 12: Best Ending to an Anime: The End of Dragon Ball GT

(NOTE: Written on 7/7/2017)
Ayy what’s up ya!  Since I’m about do some  light partying tonight at Anime Midwest, I’m going to leave you guys  with a quick,  simple, but emotional ending to an anime series – Dragon Ball GT’s ending montage.

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The ending montage showcase the series iconic and memorable events from the entire Dragon Ball series prior to Super.  The montage starts with Goku’s first encounter with the teen genius, Bulma. This marks  the start of Goku’s grand (animated) adventure ehich would span for over 10 years.  Next, we see his training with the legendary martial arts master,  Muten Rosh, his epic battle against the Demon King Piccolo and defeating his son, Piccolo Junior.

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The montage transitions into the moments of Dragon Ball Z  with Goku supporting Gohan against Cell with the Father-Son Kamehameha,  him destroying Kid Buu with the Spirit Bomb, his rivalry with Vegeta, and of course – the debut of his legendary Super Saiyan transformation, and using the form to defeat Lord Frieza.

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Finally, scenes of GT are featured such as the death of Baby and the battle against Omega Sheron.  The montage also features a credit scroll of everyone who’ve worked the series production – from voice actors, animation staff, writers, etc., thanking them for their hard work and effort they put towards the series.

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The montage is set to GT’s Japanese theme song “Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku (lit. “Bit by Bit My Heart Is Charmed.  Despite being a love ballad, the nostalgic and emotional tone  of the lyrics and music fits it.   We were charmed the story of Goku  – an innocent, small, yet powerful child of everlasting superhuman strength and feats who grew up into a paragon of raw power and fighting; combating against terrifying foes and villains such as the Red Ribbion Army, King Piccolo, Mercenary Tao Pai Pai,  Vegeta, Frieza, Cell, Baby, and the Shadow Dragons.

To this day,  fan opinions of Dragon Ball GT are split. Some fans love the cool ideas presented, the Super Saiyan 4 transformation, bringing back classic characters and powers. Others despise it. However, most, if not all Dragon Ball fans agree that GT’s ending montage was a perfect moving sendoff for Dragon Ball. Fans have even cried while watching the Montage and I can’t even lie, I found myself teary eye  as well.  We believed that tribute and ending would be the last time we saw Goku and company in animation form.

Dragon Ball had that much of an impact on its fans.

‘Til we meet again guys!’

Son Goku

THE - END

 

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30 Day Anime Challenge Day 5: Favorite Anime Opening Theme

I’ve been looking forward to Days 5 and 6  of this list. I love music.  I love anime.  This will be a challenge indeed. There are far too many opening songs I love that I can not possibly just choose one as my favorite.  I’m going to do ten songs, five opening and five ending themes for each day and let you in on why I love them so much.

Keep in mind that there’s order to this list (although number one is based off personal bias)

  1. Dan Dan Korko Hikareteku (lit. Bit bv Bit My Heart is Charmed)
    Dragon Ball GT OP
    By Field of View

There are only three good things about Dragon Ball GT –  the animation, the new ideas presented (that were poorly executed sadly), and the music.  When I’m talking about GT’s music, I am not speaking of the horrible American original soundtrack (OST).  And I’m especially not talking about horrible attempt at hip-hop that is “STEP INTO THE GRAND TOUR”  trash (still to this day I cringe every time I hear that shit).

I’m talking about the superior Japanese OST, mainly GT’s opening theme song “Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku” or “Bit by Bit My Heart is  Charmed”.
There’s a certain, nostalgic charm with this song,  setting it apart from other Dragon Ball opening themes.  To start, Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku is actually a love ballad. The character iit reminiscing on the first time he first met the one he fell in love with . On the surface, it seems out of place to have a long song in the Dragon Ball series, but if you dig a little bit, it make sense (plus, original Dragon Ball had a few romantic ending themes and as of recently with the Tournament of Power Arc , “Boogie Back” [the second ending theme of that arc] also carries that romantic feeling of longing).

Dragon Ball as a whole, is a charming series of adventure with unique and lovable diverse characters.  Plus, I can promise you that we Dragon Ball fans can remember the first time when we first watched Dragon Ball and fell in love – our hearts charmed by the show bit-by-by.  It works.

Finally, the best thing about the song is how it was used in the final episode of  Dragon Ball as we relive main character Son Goku’s life, trails, and victories from Dragon Ball, Z, and GT.

‘You see, when I met you
I remembered the view which I had treasured when I was a child’

  1. Smile Bomb

Yuu Yuu Hakusho OP 1
Sung By Sara White

Another intro that gives me a sense of nostalgia.  Maybe it’s how the English version still kept that 90s Shonen  anime vibe with the lyrics, instrumental arrangement, and  singing. Maybe it’s the lyrics and it reflection on friends supporting you on your journey. That’s probably it.

  1. The Hero!!
    One Punch Man OP 1
    Performed by JAM Project

Have you ever listen to an anime song that you just knew it fit just right with the series?  The lyrics fit perfectly with the series’s tone, or the song was just full of so much energy that it felt just right using it as a theme song?  That’s “The Hero!!” to me. I don’t think words can even describe the emotion in it, so I’ll just provide the full version below.

‘I wanna be the strongest HERO’

 

Seriously any version of the iconic Lupin the 3rd Theme
Lupin the III
Composed by Yuji Ohno

Do I really have to explain why I love this song? Seriously I kinda don’t wanna because I have to go to a friend’s house soon.  Fine, I’ll explain why.  Ready?  70s acid jazz in an anime with a charming thief, the OG Femme Fatale, the stoic wandering samurai, and a smooth gunman.   This song makes me want to go out and do some high level criminal things with my crew.

Theme of Lupin the 3rd

1. Tank!
Cowboy Bebop
Performed by The Seat Belts

The moment when I first heard the horns section blaring in the first bar of Tank, I knew Cowboy Bebop would be dissimilar to any anime series I’ve watched prior.   Cowboy Bebop’s opening combined two of my loves: jazz music and anime.  Never would I imagine that somebody in the world would put those two things together and make it work.   Let me tell you something, It was at that moment in the year 2001 at the age of 12 that I knew Cowboy Bebop would be a game changer in the American anime fanbase.

With that, those were my favorite anime opening theme.  Stay tuned in the future when I’ll drop my top 5 anime ending themes!  In the comments, please tell me some of your favorite anime theme songs of all time!

 

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FREEWRITE: Dragon Ball Fighterz MUST Be Successful

Arc System Works’s (ASW) Dragon Ball Fighterz must  be successful in order to lay down the path of future anime fighting games based off other anime/manga series. Currently most “fighting games” based off anime series (Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm and Dragon Ball Z Xenoverse) are average, bland, noncompetitive, 3-D arena, smash “X” on the PS4 pad over and over for punches and kicks,  100+ plus characters but only five are actually being used, bullshit tripe that are not  and should not get any type of respect from the fighting game community (FGC).

Dragon Ball Fighterz  appears to lack the problem mentioned above. Basing this off word-of-mouth and seeing gameplay videos from e3, the Dragon Ball Fighterz play  like your traditional 2D  anime fighting game with mechanics influenced by Guilty Gear (make sense given ASW are creating the game) such as dusting (ground-to-air comboing) and combo linking (linking from normals to specials to supers to ultras), creating an in-depth and high learning curve.  Further more, this leads us to an expansive meta game unlike in Xenoverse.  It’s safe to say that  Dragon Ball Fighterz will be far more advance, deeper (perhaps superior), and complex compared to Xenoverse 1 and 2.

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To be completely honest, it’s  what a Dragon Ball fighting game needs: complexity.  Yes, it can be and should be simple and easy to pick up for casual and new players, but hard to master for the more advance and competitive player.  You know, the same players who are willing to put in 8-12 hours a day, just to master a main and sub character for tournaments and money matches. The ones who are willing to spend an entire day learning each little detailed of the gameplay and characters to dominate the FGC scence.  If Dragon Ball Fighterz can do that and  receive  a highly positive feedback from both Dragon Ball and fighting games fans alike, just imagine what other anime and manga series could benefit from the potential success.

Naruto I would say would have the greatest benefit from Dragon Ball Fighterz success.  No more of that arena bullshit like Ultimate Ninja Storm.  In fact, what if we could apply the cool accepts of that series and put it on a 2D fighting game with the Naruto brand?  One Piece fighting game, but it plays like Blazeblu?  And ya already know ya boy loves Sailor Moon.  I would love it if  Arc System Works did a Sailor Moon anime fighting game with not only just the Sailor Scouts, but their enemies and series villains too!

But we can not have any of those pipe dream fighting games if Dragon Ball Fighterz tank or do not get community support, feedback, or success.

So please, please support Dragon Ball Fighterz when it’s released.  Please provide Arc System Works with feedback to help improve the game once the closed beta drops.  We must support Dragon Ball Fighterz and ensure it’ll become a success.   The future of any other anime/manga based fighting games rest on Dragon Ball Fighterz.

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ANIME LYRICS ANALYSIS: Limit Break x Survivor (Dragon Ball Super)

The second opening theme song of Dragon Ball Super, performed by Kiyoshi Hikawa (signed with Nippon Columbia).  Debuted in Dragon Ball Super on Episode 77, the start of the Universe Survival Arc.

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Kiyoshi Hikawa

‘Get excited! To space, let’s go!
The latest obsession! Join the flow?
I’ll hold in my hand’

Too anime for me to analyze

‘I wanna laugh like a crazy!
I’m used to bein’ confused!’

When you’re so used to going through the same bullshit day in and day out, not receiving any results that makes you happy, you can only just simply laugh as if you’re insane.  Besides, you’re used to dealing with confusion (may it be from general life bullshit or what not).  It’s second nature, why not laugh about it?
‘I can’t get no satisfaction’

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Goku in his Super Saiyan God form.  A form in which he was ultimately unsatisfied with (which lead to Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, or Super Saiyan Blue).

This is Goku to a tee.  He is consistent with is training for self improvement and he is always seeking new, stronger warriors as he’s not satisfied with his current state of power.  His drive to become stronger and combat against people as strong or stronger than himself is one of the catalyze of the Tournament of Power.

In the real world, this can be applied to anyone with  drive and passion.  People  who reach their personal best want more in life, thus feeling unsatisfied. This create a desire to push themselves to a new heights, to explore new things to curb the thirst as to speak.

(This is my favorite line of the song, as it describes my nature of wanting more in life)

 

‘(woo-hoo) Boredom
(woo-hoo) Becomes a stone
Before it gets too heavy and falls (Let’s fly high)’


Stones are heavy.  Stone can drag you, slowing  down your process or your entire life.  Bored people, people who aren’t doing anything with their lives, are dragged down by it.  When people apply their dreams, drive, passion, and thoughts into action, they do not allow any stones to drag them down.  In fact they refuse to be dragged down.

In short, be obsessed with your passions, or be average and boring.

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‘(woo-hoo) Let’s spread
(woo-hoo) Our wings of excitement’

Open your wings and soar high.  Let others know about your excitement and influence them.
‘Let’s go to the next world’

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Goku achieving Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan

Go to the next level in life.  Do you want to stay in the same place as always  No? Then go do something about it!

‘The door of possibilities is still locked
Oh well, I’ll break through the wall again’

Opportunities.  Advancements.  Desires. At times, they’re locked behind a closed doors, blocking your path to achieve greatness.  Sometimes, you have to force your way to gain what you want in life, may it be breaking down walls or destroying road blocks.  Those who are used to facing roadblocks and locked doors in life just tend to say “screw it” and destroy the barriers as usual.

‘Now! Shoot past the limit! Shout “It’s piece of cake”!
The Invinclbe Me is waiting there’

Again, Goku to a tee.  As Beerus stated in the “Battle of the Gods” movie, Goku is a fighting genius.  A title Goku truly earned has he has shot past his personal limits with his Super Saiyan forms, discovering new forms of Super Saiyan overtime.

In the real world, those who push themselves will always go past their limits, achieving new heights no matter what.

Tupac said it best; “Real niggas do what they wanna do, bitch niggas do what they can do.”

‘Dragon Ball Super!’            

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It’s the name of the fucking anime it’s not deep at all.
‘Even Zen-Oh Sama will be blown away!’

It’s not that deep.  Lord Zen-Oh is a kid who can be impressed very easily.  Granted, he was super excited from watching the exhibition fights earlier in the arc.  Perhaps he will be blown away by the tournament.

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Reflecting on the Dragon Ball Super Eps. 95-98 Leaks (*POSSIBLE MAJOR SPOILERS*)

Before I begin I want to say two things:
1.  These leaks have yet to be confirmed until we have scans from the official Japanese TV Guide (usually provied by Herms98 over at Twitter).  Take these leaks with a grain of salt.  However, Toru Furuya (voice actor of Yamcha) posted a tweet that may confirmed the truth of these leaks.

2.  You assume the risk of being spoil if these leaks are legit. If you do not want to take that risk, turn back now. You have been warned.  With that said, let’s go!

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Today has been a wild news day for the Dragon Ball community.  Recent leaks from 2channel have surfaced containing major spoilers for Dragon Ball Super episodes 95-98.  Let me say that (these spoilers are some straight up game changers for the Tournament of Power of the Universe Survival Arc (assuming if they’re real of course) .  Freiza betraying Universe 7 and joining Universe 4?  Universe 11 recruiting warriors from different universes to target Universe 7? If you fall off the arena, not only you will die, your existence will be erased as well?!
Man, this is crazy!  Let’s break down the episode spoilers and I shall give my opinions on each!

Episode 95 (Airdate: 6/10/17)

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Members of Universe 9 decide to take a nice and fun little universe studies field trip to Universe 7 meet their favorite people in the whole wide universe: Goku and Frieza.  No, not so they can get their autographs or anything cool like that.  They wanna kill them both before the tournament begins. If you remember from episode 93 of Super, Universe 4’s God of Destruction Quitela hired spies to scout Universe 7’s  warriors and discovered that Goku recruited Frieza for the Tournament.  Surprised that Universe 7 have went as far as inviting  dead warriors within their rank, Quitela starts plotting with Sidra (God of Destruction of Universe 9) to assassinate Frieza.  Frieza and Goku, for the very first time, must join forces to take out the assassins of Universe 9.  They decide to waste no time, as they have little of it before the tournament.

Do not get too content with Frieza and Goku being buddy-buddy for long.

Episode 96 (Airdate: 6/17/17)

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Ya really thought this man would work with a Saiyan!

Oh no.  Oh my. Frieza doesn’t wanna work with Universe 7 after all. He betrays them, linking up with Universe 4 instead.  Man that’s so fucked up. I can’t believe that this  man Frieza would backstab Goku like that.  Are you surprise as much as I am?  Well, I dunno how Quitela managed to get Frieza on his side, but he got him.  Maybe Frieza is playing mindgames with both Universe 4 and 7, killing members off of Universe 7 first,  and then betray Universe 4  and will  kill them  off as well just for his own personal and selfish gain.

Welp congrats Frieza, you played yourself!  Say goodbye to the deal of you coming back to life  with the Earth Dragon Balls (as if he could had use them to come back to life again). Beerus might just reward him with a stupid prize (Hakai) for playing stupid games. Well, Goku boy is short a member, again.  Universe 7 enters the Tournament of Power with just nine warriors.  But wait!  Who is the 10th  member entering at this 11th hour!?.  Who is “He”?

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$200 says this “He”.  Screenshot this post.

Well, there aren’t any information within the spoilers about who’s the new 10th member, but some rather interesting “meta” information have came out on Twitter within the last 24 hours or so of this writing.  There are talks in the Dragon Ball community of Yamcha being the possible 10th  member of Universe 7th.  How do we know this?  Well, let’s check out this tweet by Yamcha’s voice actor, the legendary seiyu Toru Furuya.

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Seriously the 10th member is Yamcha just screenshot this post.

“I was tired talking a lot with Yamcha.” (Gotta love Google Translate) Hmm. And he can’t go into further details about what he was talking about.  That’s rather suspect, isn’t it? Yamcha has been featured in a few episodes of the Universe Survival arc, waiting for Goku to recruit him (poor fellow) but perhaps he’ll finally have his chance to prove his worth with Frieza’s betrayal and leaving Universe 7 one member short.  I for one can’t wait to see Yamcha shine!  Plus, I figure Toei needs to sell some Yamcha figures and toys because there’s a fan demand and market so why not!

Enough about Yamcha, let’s move forward to the next episode, and my lord, the Grand Priest’s new information is  grim, scary, and depressing.

Episode 97 (Airdate: 6/24/17)

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There’s something about his smile and the camera’s angle…

Finally!  After 20 episodes, the Tournament of Power kicks off with this episode (I’m gonna have some beers and trees on standby for this one).  The warriors of the eight universes gather at the World of Void to combat for their survival!  Before doing so, The Grand Priest drops some dire news: whoever falls off the  arena will not only die, but their existence will be erased on the spot!  That’s it.  Game over man. You’re gone for good!  Yea, I mean this is Dragon Ball, nobody (good) stay dead forever.  It’s pretty obvious the victor will use the Super Dragon Balls to revive all the universes that were erased, but this is some pretty grim shit.

Now that I think about it, the “no killing allowed” rule make sense.  In the world of Dragon Ball, if you die, your spirit will either go to the Other World or Hell depending on if you were evil or good in your life. You will still exist unless you either die again in the afterlife or if a God of Destruction erase your existence.

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Ghosts can get it too. 

So let’s imagine if a warrior  in the tournament was killed  by say  Frieza.  Their spirit would enter either the Other World or Hell, and tell the rest of the dead folks some shit like “Hey, so I was just killed in a fucked up tournament in which if our universe loses, we all being erased.  Let’s go to this World of Void and revolt against the Onmi King and his priests! Also Son Goku of Universe 7 caused this to happen so let’s kill his love ones!”

You know how chaotic things would be if word of  a tournament of this nature got out to the other universes?  Pretty great insurance policy the Grand Priest installed by banning killing.  Eh, I’m just hopefully speculating at this point. Let’s move on to the last episode leak.

 

Episode 98 (Airdate: 7/1/2017)

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The  warriors are divided into two groups: Those who’ve joined forces with Universe 11 to take out Universe 7 , and the rest who do not wish.  Universe 11 were going around recruiting fighters from outside their own ranks to link up and take out Universe 7’s warriors.  Goku, being the asshole he is, is just sitting back enjoying his own allies being targeted by Universe 11 and their new temporary teammates. This is interesting and we had clues that this  might happened.  First off, let’s check out a screenshot of second opening of Dragon Ball Super.

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Kale if you were taken  in by Universe 11 against your will please blink twice

It’s possible that the woman in the background next to Jiren is new best girl Kale of Universe 6.  I can only assume and speculate that Universe 11 managed to recruit Kale to join the assault on Universe 7.  Now, this is interesting to say the least.  Universe 6 and 7 are counterparts.  Warriors such as Cabba and Hit hold Universe 7 in high regrades. To see Kale on Universe 11 side to attack Universe 7 will create conflict within Universe 6.

Also,  remember that Universe 11 pride themselves as being warriors of justice, yearning to rid the universe of any and all evil by any means necessary.  Let’s take this one step further by examining some  lyrics Dragon Ball Super’s 7th ending theme “An Evil Angel and A Righteous Devil”:

‘”For all that is righteous, destroy this evil!”
They say, “The whole world is waiting for you!”

“’For all that is righteous, fight this evil!”
They’ll say “You’re our hero!  You’re the one!”

As stated earlier, Universe 11 prides themselves to their oath to destroy all evil and defend righteousness.  I can imagine members of that universe sweet talking somebody like Kale to use her powers for justice to attack Universe 7, the evil doers.  Plus, as fucked up as this sound, it’s probably easy to convince like Kale (who has self-esteem issues) to join forces with a group like Universe 11 to give them some confidence in themselves..  Just tell them “Hey, Goku and his team are evil and we’re the good guy.  They’re the reason why we’re in this situation!” Some fucked up game of politics if you ask me.
I really hope these leaks are true because if so, this makes the Tournament of Power and the Universe Survival Arc in general interesting as all hell.  Frieza betraying Universe 7 and joining Universe 4, Yamcha may make a comeback, Universe 11 recruiting warriors of other universes to attack Universe 7, and the rule of not only dying, but being erased if you lose?

Yeah, this will be a fun arc to watch!

SOURCES AND MORE INFORMATION:

Geekdom 101’s DBS Episodes 95-98 spoilers video
Ken Xyro (translator of the leaks):
https://twitter.com/KenXyro

Toru Furuya’s Tweet (English):
https://twitter.com/EmperorBigD/statu…

Toru Furuya’s Twitter:

Featured Image Source:
https://www.facebook.com/DBZexclusives/

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THEORY: On the Source of Kale and Her “Legendary Super Saiyan” Power (Part 2)

In my last post,  I  explored  bullying as a possible source of Kale’s rage, which served as a catalyst for her faux “Legendary Super Saiyan” state.  Supported by theories such as her  shyness , timid nature, and socially withdrawn, I theorized that Kale may had been bullied in the past, and  bottled her anger of being bullied within her.  Bottled up until Cabba managed to enrage her, sending her over the edge, and triggering her transformation.  Caulifla managed to chill her friend out, telling her that she wasn’t into Cabba romantically (which Cabba  assumed was the source of Kale’s anger from his interactions with Caulifa).  Hearing this, Kale reverts to her normal state and passes out with a smile on her face.  Kale was pleased to know that the two weren’t that close and that her mentor respects her.  Maybe Kale likes Caulifa beyond that of a friendly relationship, and seeing Cabba and Caulfia all chummy with each other might had been the cause of her rage.

Is jealously the true link to Kale’s rage?  Let’s examine this theory!

In the previously episode, Kale is “spying” on Cabba training Cauifla to become a Super Saiyan.  She smiles when Caulifla snaps on Cabba for making her angry.  Kale becomes at awe, amazement ,and admiration  when Cauifla obtains Super Saiyan with ease.  Kale is impressed by her mentor’s achievement, but beats herself up as she states she could never be a Super Saiyan like her.  Later (in the following episode), Cabba and Caulifla are encouraging Kale how to become a Super Saiyan.  Cabba attempts first.  He focus his energy and displays the Super Saiyan form to Kale, who is completely unimpressed by his power.

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Caulifla encouraging Kale. 

When Caulifla shows Kale her Super Saiyan transformation, she starts blushing and flash a bashful smile towards her.  It’s clear that Kale is more impressed by Caulifla’s efforts.  Perhaps Kale has a secret gay crush on Caulifla or just really looks up to her.

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Either way, Kale has a strong interest towards Cauifla.  Too strong maybe, as Kale ggets rather jealous with Cabba and Caulifla’s interaction.   Kale assume that they’re too friendly just to be that close.    It’s possible that Kale gets jealous quick.  A little too jealous for the good of her friend’s sake, and her own sake.

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Kale: The Yandere

Kale’s jealously (and inner rage) hits maximum  when Cabba and Caulifla are trying their absolute damn best to help Kale tap into the power of the Super Saiyan.  After a barrage of insults by Cabba, Kale becomes agitated and discouraged.  She loses hope of becoming a Super Saiyan, telling Caulifla that she’ll never reach that level, and that she’s just an useless and pathetic excuse for a  Saiyan.  Cabba’s words triggered Kale’s emotional state, causing her power to soar. She loses control of all sense and self awareness and finally achieves the Super Saiyan transformation!  However, there’s something  quiet different about transformation compared to Cabba and Caulifla.

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Kale transform into a hulking monster, influcned by her rage and jealously.  She focus her attention towards  Cabba, and vows to make him her first victim.  She lunges at the man with furious anger, completely ignoring Caulifla, who seems to be pretty excited that her friend achieve a greater level of Super Saiyan.   As Cabba and Caulifla tries to combat against the berserk Kale,   Cabba theorized that Kale’s  rage is rooted in assuming that  Cabba and Cauifla were a bit wee too close to be just friends.

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Caulifla just scoffs at Cabba’s theory and tells Kale that she isn’t so cheap that she would be romantically involved with such a low class Saiyan like Cabba (ouch).  Kale hears this, and stops her attack.  Caulifla then praises Kale, admiring her superior power.  Kale calms down, reverts to her base form, loses consciousness, and falls towards earth. As Kale is falling , Caulifla rushes towards her, catching her in her arms.  Cauilfla praises her friend once more, smiling at her sweetly.  Despite her unconscious state, Kale herself wears a warm smile across her face , happy to know  that Caulifla and Cabba aren’t an item as she originally believed, and her mentor  lauding her power.

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With the examples provided, I can conclude that Kale’s initial transformation was inspired by her jealously towards Cabba. She assumed that Cabba was romantically close with Caulifla (whom I can  assume Kale may have a possible crush on).  In addition of Cabba’s insults and her own frustration of feeling useless and fear of failure, Kale unlocked her Super Saiyan form out of pure hatred, jealously, and rage.  Thankfully, with Cauilfla’s calm words of respect, and reassuring her that she does not like Cabba, Kale managed to snap out of her rage.

 

With that all said I hope you’ve enjoy reading my theories on Kale’s power as much as I’ve enjoyed analysiing and writing about it!  Stick around for more theories and thoughts on Dragon Ball and other anime series in the future!

 

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THEORY: On the Source of Kale and Her “Legendary Super Saiyan” Power (Part 1)

It’s safe to say that Kale (the new Broly-inspired female Super Saiyan of Dragon Ball Super) stole the spotlight of episode 93 of Dragon Ball Super with her powers and Legendary Super Saiyan influenced transformation.    Clearly she’ll be an astonishingly teammate of Universe 6 for King Zeno’s Tournament of Power, just as long as she can showcase the same raw, brute strength that she has shown Cabba and Caulfia during their training.  Now, we know  that her power is prominent compared to her Saiyan friends, there’s no debate about it (not yet at least), but what is the source of it?

I have two theories I came up with: From either being bullied in the past or jealously towards Cabba.   To start off, let’s go with my first theory: her being bullied. When we’re first introduced to Kale, we can see that she’s very timid, shy, and socially withdrawn; common traits of children (as well as teens and adults) who’ve been bullied.

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Children who’ve been often bullied tend to have a lot of anger and rage build and bottled up inside.  Like her inspiration Broly, what does Kale has a lot? Rage.  Pure rage.   But unlike Broly, she probably knows how to hide it “well”…or at least somebody starts taunting her with cruel words.  Cabba  learned this the hard way.
Since anger is a great tool to transform into a Super Saiyan, Cabbas uses this tactic to help Kale achieve this state.   And by “help” her, I mean he starts insulting the poor girl with horrible words and phrases such as “useless”, “pathetic excuse for a Saiyan”, and “stupid”.  Kale starts crying, losing whatever reminding confidence she had and doubts herself.   She states that Cabba is right; she is a useless no-good Saiyan, and that she’ll only get in Caulifla’s  way in the tournament (Kale got some unresolved self-esteem problems).  Caulifla is rather pissed, upset at Cabba for making her student cry.  She tries to calm Kale down and wants her to stop beating herself up, but it’s too late.

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Kale gets emotional and loses all logical sense and reasoning.  Cabba’s words totally had an effect on her, as she starts transforming into a Super Saiyan, but not just any ol’ average Super Saiyan.  Cauifla notices Kale’s transformation is a little wee different compares to her own and Cabba’s.  Cabba tells Kale that she doesn’t need to put out so much energy, but Kale has completely lost it.

Kale  finishes her “Legendary Super Saiyan” transformation, directs her attention towards Cabba, and vows to kill him first, marking him as her first victim.  She’s pissed.   When bullying victims had enough, they will snap. They’ll   go after the source of their pain and anger, and attack.  It can be assumed that Cabba’s words  were the last straw for her.

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I assume in her young life, Kale was often bullied and teased.  Maybe she had a vicious tormentor that called her useless and pathetic  at any  chance.  Maybe, this tormentor got her on a really bad day, and she was already piss off about something.   The tormentor does their usual bullying  towards her.  Kale may have been like “please stop”, but the tormentor just laughs and laughs,  insulting Kale further.  All the anger that she bottled prior starts to overflow and she can’t contain it.

Kale snaps, transform into her monstrous state, and attacks the bully violently.  I doubt she killed them (she seems like a very sweet girl who wouldn’t purposely kill somebody), but did enough damage to scare the fuck outta her tormentor into not trying that bullying shit towards her again.

After she regain herself and transforms back to normal, she saw the damage she caused, regretted her actions (despite the bully being a piece of shit), and vows not to allow herself to get that so angry  that she transform into that state again.

Of course, this is just all my headcanon/theory, and we may not yet get an official in-depth backstory about Kale and her powers in the immediate future.  Anyway, that’s it for part one of my theory about Kale’s.  Part two will explore how I think jealously and a possible crush Kale has on Caulifa might be the source of her powers.

Until then!