Final Forum: A Dragon Ball Podcast

It's the end of Frieza, forever, for real, with NO chance of him retur...he returns before the arc is even over? What? Anyway, how do we feel about the Frieza Arc having reached its conclusion? Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball by jumping into comparing the Dragon Ball anime to the Dragon Ball manga. We finish discussing Fri...

The Yellow Robed Demon King? Who is that? Does he remind us of Goku Black? Or Baby from Dragon Ball GT? OR Captain Ginyu? What makes the 1986 adaptation of Journey to the West so endearing? In this episode, Jelli and Bekinney take another look at 1986 Chinese television event, Journey to the West. It began as part of our October viewing where we take a break from breaking down Akira Toriyama's wor...

Have you ever wondered why Goku can sometimes punch someone and it blows up a mountain nearby and other times blast someone with a full power Kamehameha and it barely ruffles anyone's hair? Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 96 through 101: "Explosion of Anger," "Namek's Destruction?" "A...

Note: The audio is less than ideal for Jelli during the opening 3 minutes, but improves drastically during the topic-of-discussion. It's one of anime's most iconic moments, but did you know it has its basis in Buddho-Daoist traditions and the yin-yang cycle of energy? Let's talk about SUPER SAIYANS in today's episode! Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwid...

You may know Frieza is based on real estate agents, but do you know why? Do his design quirks point to a deeper cultural connection to Japan's history with relating to outsiders (aka foreigners aka 'aliens')? Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 86 through 90: "The End of Vegeta," "The Ulti...

Is Piccolo his own person or a re-incarnation of Demon King Piccolo? If he's his son why does he have his memories and his connection to Kami? If he's a reincarnation why does he become good and speak of himself as if he's a different person? Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 81 through...

Tree of Might gave us all plot and little action, but what happens when we have all action and little plot? Can we sustain a commentary for a film as threadbare as this? The answers are within as Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon by tackling the 1991 movie, Cooler's Revenge. In this episode: Jelli and Bekinney are chilln We sync up our...

False Super Saiyan?!?! What could it mean???   The answers are within as Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon by tackling the 1991 movie, Lord Slug. In this episode: Jelli and Bekinney are ...doing something... We introduce special guests for this episode, the cohosts of the podcast Kaiju vs. History, Patrick and Myles We sync up our audio...

Who is the most DATABLE Dragon Ball character? Let's find out TODAY!   Jelli and Bekinney continue their break from breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon, and pivot away from tearing into the manga and anime that are the most crucial parts of the Dragon Ball franchise to have a little themed fun! In this episode: It's TOURNAMENT SEASON! Kick off your shoes, relax, and...

Who is the MOST LOVABLE Dragon Ball character?!?! Jelli and Bekinney take a break from breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon, and pivot away from tearing into the manga and anime that are the most crucial parts of the Dragon Ball franchise to have a little themed fun! In this episode: It's TOURNAMENT SEASON! Kick off your shoes, relax, and listen as we break down 64 o...

Jelli and Bekinney have no time to continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime Dragon Ball. In this episode: The climactic battle! Join us and find out if we will ever continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise, and unspool what we all love so much about Goku, the Dragon Ball franchise, t...

We've reached a mid-point(?) of the overall Namek arc of Dragon Ball Z. We've reached Namek, we've dispatched Frieza's henchmen, and even the elite Ginyu Force have been defeated. How do we feel about this saga, as we begin the final battle against Frieza himself? Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball by jumping into comparing t...

Dragon Ball Super RETURNS! After the much-anticipated Genkidamatsuri event that took place in Tokyo, Japan, on January 25, 2026, there's a slew of news about Dragon Ball: New games, new anime, now DLC, and new versions of old anime...or old stories done new or...uhmmmm...Dragon Ball Super Kai, basically. Join Jelli and Bekinney as we do a casual check-in and wrangle together the news from the Genk...

What do you get when you put together all the PLOT of a movie, but little of the ACTION of a Dragon Ball movie? Why are we talking about Jane Fonda on a Dragon Ball Z commentary track?  The answers are within as Jelli and Bekinney continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon by tackling the 1991 movie, The Tree of Might. In this episode: Jelli and Bekinney are neari...

What happens when an independent artist unofficially adapts a Dragon Ball-free adaptation of a Dragon Ball video game into a light novel? Did that question even make sense?   Jelli and Bekinney are taking a quick break from breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at a novelization of the NES game: Dragon Power, inspired by the Worlds of Power bo...

What if… Dragon Ball were to implement a Secret Invasion type of story, with a race of Ginyu type aliens body swapping into various bodies? How would swapping two beings into the same body at the same time? Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 71 through 75: "Goku is Ginyu and Ginyu is Goku...

Prepare for Trouble! And make it...two. Two of the...the bad guys. Two of them. At the same time. A tag team of cosmic proportions, when the fastest man in the universe and...another guy team up to take on the forces of good. Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 66 through 70: "Goku's New P...

They appear as a full team for approximately 1% of the franchise, and yet the Ginyu Force leave an indelible mark up Dragon Ball. How do they do it? Is it their flashy poses, their sense of style, their group dynamic? What is it about these five warriors that make them so memorable? Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon...

Have you heard that Dragon Ball Super Season 2 is coming soon? What about new movies? The continuation of the manga? It’s that time of year where “Dragon Ball Super Season 2” ‘announcements’ plague the rumor mills and every talks about what to expect for 2026, so we’re here to, frankly…ruin everyone’s fun. It’s time to do some rumor control. Join Jelli and Bekinney as we do a casual check-in with...

How do we manage to turn a discussion of zenkai boosts into yet another of our disturbing moments of talking about carnality? Why does Goku do 10,000 reps of his training moves? Where does The Wizard of Oz figure into this? We'll present the information, you tell us if the answer is "anything at all" Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime...

What do WWE/WWF, King Kong Bundy, Bam Bam Bigelow, Junkyard Dog, David Bowie, the 80s punk rock movement, voice actor Sumi Shimamoto, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have to do with Dragon Ball? We'll present the information, you tell us if the answer is "anything at all" Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z...

#1 will surprise you! #10 will titillate you! [insert other clickbait phrase]! Welcome to Final Forum's Dragon Ball-oween Spooktacular! In this special Bekinney-only mini-sode we take a complete break from format, and from breaking down Akira Toriyama's manga and anime smash success to continue our October/Halloween Festivities and on this episode, it's all about attacks....and attempting to pick...

What is it about giant fire-breathing turtles that can become airborne flying saucers that delights children and even worms its way into the hearts of cynical adults? Welcome to Final Forum's Dragon Ball-oween Spooktacular! In this episode, Jelli and Bekinney break down the 1969 film, Gamera vs. Guiron. It's part of our October/Halloween Festivities where we're taking a break from breaking down Ak...

Welcome to Final Forum's Dragon Ball-oween Spooktacular! In this special Jelli-only mini-sode we take a complete break from format, and from breaking down Akira Toriyama's manga and anime smash success to continue our October/Halloween Festivities and on this episode, it's all about attacks. Because of the punching. That's...scary...right? Sure. So, what will make Jelli's Top Ten Dragon Ball Attac...

What makes the 1986 adaptation of Journey to the West so endearing? Welcome to Final Forum's Dragon Ball-oween Spooktacular! In this episode, Jelli and Bekinney break down the 1986 Chinese television event, Journey to the West. It's part of our October/Halloween Festivities where we're taking a break from breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon and delving into times ou...