Facts / Dragon Ball

6 Dragon Ball Facts You Probably Didn't Know

Food puns, underwear jokes, and a monkey king.

ドラゴンボール · Since 1986 · Toei Animation · Akira Toriyama

1. Goku is the Monkey King

   Dragon Ball began as a loose retelling of the Chinese classic Journey to the West. Goku is based on Sun Wukong, which is why he started out with a monkey tail and a flying cloud.

2. Saiyans are named after vegetables

   Vegeta (vegetable), Kakarot (carrot), Raditz (radish), Nappa (napa cabbage) and Broly (broccoli) are all puns on produce.

3. The Ginyu Force is a dairy aisle

   Ginyu comes from gyunyu (Japanese for milk), and his squad is named after dairy too: Jeice (cheese), Burter (butter), Recoome (cream) and Guldo (yogurt).

4. Bulma's family is named after underwear

   Bulma (bloomers), her son Trunks and her daughter Bra continue a running underwear gag by Toriyama.

5. One woman voices three generations

   Masako Nozawa has voiced Goku in Japanese since 1986, and also voices his sons Gohan and Goten and his descendant Goku Jr.

6. Toriyama shaped video games too

   Akira Toriyama was the character designer for the Dragon Quest series and Chrono Trigger. He passed away in March 2024.

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