Final Forum: A Dragon Ball Podcast
Dragon Ball has a wealth of cultural context and inspiration that’s often overlooked because the fights are cool. Though not averse to fawning over animation and allowing for the Rule of Cool, Jelli and Bekinney delve into the world of Akira Toriyama, and discuss lesser-known facts about the worldwide manga and anime phenomenon that is one of the most well-known and popular Japanese pop culture exports of all-time. Want to learn about the cultural importance of moments, literary inspirations behind scenes and characters, production facts, and more? Whether you‘re a fan of Goku, Vegeta, or any of the cast of characters including Piccolo, Gohan, Frieza, or even Broly, there should be something for you to enjoy as we cover all things Dragon Ball, including DBZ, GT, Super, Daima, and more! We‘ll have discussions, guests, interviews, reviews, and commentaries so grab a senzu bean, power up your fan level to Super Saiyan, and get ready to learn about Kakarot and his friends; and of course, thank you for helping us achieve our FINAL FORUM...We hear it‘s over 9000.
Episodes
What happens when the most evil man alive is revealed to just have Daddy issues? No, this episode isn't about Donald Trump; we're talking about Frieza and the revelations that he's a nepo-baby.
Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 118 through 123: "Frieza' Counterattack," "The Mysterious Youth," "Another Super Saiyan...
What do true crime stories about pearls whose tale consists of hired murder, money laundering, and Osama Bin Laden have to do with Dragon Ball? You have to listen to this one to find out.
Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 112 through 117: "Call for Restoration," "Suicidal Course," "Extreme Measures," "The World Aw...
Spear fishing. Male boob windows. These are Dragon Ball things, right? They are now.
Join Jelli and Bekinney as they continue breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon Ball Z by looking at episodes 108 through 112: "The Heavens Tremble," "Black Fog of Terror," "Battle in Kami's Lookout," "Fight with Piccolo," and "Call for Restoration." As we delve into a filler saga with The Garlic Jr Arc. We dis...
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 Frieza arc, and talk about pacing and ...
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 worldwide manga and anime phenomenon a...
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 Final Attack," "Approaching Destr...
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 worldwide manga and anime phenomenon Dragon...
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 Ultimate Battle," "Clash of the Super P...
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 85: "Deja Vu," "Frieza's Second Tra...
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 ou...
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 audi...
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, an...
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...
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 fran...
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 the Dragon Ball anime to the Dragon ...
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 Genkidamatsuri event and talk about it.
...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 ar...
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 book series.
In this episode:
- Jel...
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," "Calling the Eternal Drag...
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 Power," "A Legend Revealed," "Ginyu ...
Popular Podcasts
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.