On this episode of Japan Station, we talk about the manga creator Akira Toriyama and his impact on the world and my life. Topics Discussed About the passing of manga creator Akira Toriyama About the impact and influence of Akira Toriyama on the US and the world About the impact of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z About the popularity of the Dragon Ball franchise around …

The world’s first dragon ball theme park is set to open in the outskirts of Riad in Saudi Arabia. Here is the original promotional video for the Dragon Ball theme park.

This is easily the wettest Kamehameha you’ll ever see. The Dragon Ball franchise has no shortage of iconic techniques that have managed to burn themselves into the hearts and minds of fans around the world. There’s the Genki-dama (Spirit Bomb), Vegeta’s Final Flash, Piccolo’s Makankōsappō (Special Beam Cannon), Captain Ginyu’s Body Change, the Solar Flare (Taiyōken), the Kaioken, and so …

Who knew a cajon could be so metal? Given the way Japanese media seems to be overrun by pop idol groups, at times you can’t help but wonder if there’s any other kind of music in Japan. Perhaps something with a bit more edge to it? Something with more “power” to it. Thankfully, if you look beyond mainstream media, you’ll …

Vegeta and Piccolo spend a magical day together. R Fujimoto is a Japanese comedian who has made a career for himself by imitating one of the Dragon Ball franchise’s most popular characters, Vegeta. Over the course of his career, he has done a whole lot of Vegeta-inspired silly comedy routines and videos. However, perhaps one of the weirdest and even …

Erina Kamiya sure loves pleasing her fans. Last October, the gravure idol and member of the pop idol group Kamen Joshi, Erina Kamiya started a YouTube channel and almost immediately she was met with the kind of success most YouTubers dream of. Her success wasn’t simply due to her status as a public figure either. Although yes, that certainly helped, …

Only Bulma is powerful enough to make the prince of the Saiyans clean toilets. A Japanese cleaning supplies and cosmetics company has released a new video which proves that the amazing strength of Dragon Ball‘s characters can also be harnessed for common everyday chores. Released on Monday (Feb. 19) by Koa, one of the largest makers of cleaning supplies and …

Where’s Yajirobe? A cat in Japan with an uncanny resemblance to a character from the popular manga/anime series Dragon Ball has gotten the attention of a whole lot of Japanese Twitter users. The character in question is Korin the cat, a.k.a. Karin-sama in the original Japanese, a.k.a. Whisters the Wonder Cat in the infamous Harmony Gold dub. In case you …