Shenron and Aladdin's Genie

[DragonBallFoodie]

Dragon Ball's Shenron has inspiration from the tale of Aladdin and his magic lamp, which summoned a mystic being that could grant three wishes.




But while DB debuted in 86, Disney's adaptation of Aladdin - the most popular and well-known version - debuted in 1992.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEryAoLfnAA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foyufD52aog

At this point in DB Goku and Vegeta are probably more powerful than any dragon that could possibly appear (Shenron, Porunga, Shadow Dragons). But I like to think that Disney's Genie is the kind of being that Toriyama in his prime would have created: a comical all-powerful being who could do anything but gets nerfed for some reason or other, like Arale Norimaki, Zeno and of course Goku.

[shadowfox87]

Actually the concept of the "genie" existed long before Disney's Aladdin. It derives from "djinn" which is written in the Quran and dates back to 18th century Arab folktales, one of which is called the "One Thousand and One Nights". The same book had stories of Alibaba and the Forty Thieves and Sinbad the Sailor.

Dragon Ball has been influenced by several cultural things which you can read about in a book by Derek Padula who has covered it in depth.
The word, "jinn" by itself can be generalized to mean a supernatural magical being as well. Dragon Ball has of course used the word, "Majin" which really can be broken down into "Ma" and "jinn". Ma means demon which one should know since Piccolo Daimou had the kanji (魔) for it on his gi. Then Piccolo became known as Ma jr. for this reason. Therefore, "Majin" really means demon magical being. There's also "mamono" which means demon magical being. Mamono was just recently referred to as the being that killed Jiren's master.

https://www.kanzenshuu.com/tidbits/demon-guide/

[MyVisionity]

Actually the concept of the "genie" existed long before Disney's Aladdin. It derives from "jinn" which is written in the Quran and dates back to 18th century Arab folktales, one of which is called the "One Thousand and One Nights". The same book had stories of Alibaba and the Forty Thieves and Sinbad the Sailor.

I think that Djinn/Genies go back much further than that. Like pre-Islamic times.

[MasenkoHA]

Dragon Ball's Shenron has inspiration from the tale of Aladdin and his magic lamp

Does it though? I don’t think the djinn necessarily owned the concept of thing that grants wishes. Especially since Shenron originally only granted a single wish.

which summoned a mystic being that could grant three wishes.

In the original Aladdin tale I’m pretty sure there was no cap. I’m not sure where the rule of 3 came from but it definitely predates the Disney movie

). But I like to think that Disney's Genie is the kind of being that Toriyama in his prime would have created: a comical all-powerful being who could do anything but gets nerfed for some reason or other, like Arale Norimaki, Zeno and of course Goku.

The Genie in Disney’s Aladdin is heavy on American pop cultural references. I just don’t see that being Toriyama’s thing

[shadowfox87]

Actually the concept of the "genie" existed long before Disney's Aladdin. It derives from "jinn" which is written in the Quran and dates back to 18th century Arab folktales, one of which is called the "One Thousand and One Nights". The same book had stories of Alibaba and the Forty Thieves and Sinbad the Sailor.

I think that Djinn/Genies go back much further than that. Like pre-Islamic times.

It does but you need a written reference point and the ones I mentioned were the earliest ones recorded.

[VegettoEX]

We know that Toriyama took the idea of gathering the items (and changing it from eight to seven so as to not directly rip it off as-is) from Hakken-den.

Toriyama also showed a "Teapot Genie" (complete with Arabian garb) -- a "Majin" -- back in Dr. Slump back in 1985; we wrote about this and other Slump pulls in our 30th anniversary magazine.

Aladdin isn't the source for any of this; all of the stuff Aladdin likewise pulls from is the common ancestral source.

[MasenkoHA]

[].

Aladdin isn't the source for any of this; all of the stuff Aladdin likewise pulls from is the common ancestral source.

That and Thief of Bagdad

[DragonBallFoodie]

The Genie in Disney’s Aladdin is heavy on American pop cultural references. I just don’t see that being Toriyama’s thing.

A lot of DB is based on cultural references though, many of them from the West.

One of Freeza's forms is an Xenomorph.

Androids - Blade Runner androids

Trunks - John Connor from the Terminator saga

There was even a character named Skop who was based on Spock.

Toriyama was culturally well-informed, and was also a big fan of Disney. Bibidi, Babidi and Buu were named after the "Bibidi Babidi Buu" song in Disney's Cinderella.

We know that Toriyama took the idea of gathering the items (and changing it from eight to seven so as to not directly rip it off as-is) from Hakken-den.

Toriyama also showed a "Teapot Genie" (complete with Arabian garb) -- a "Majin" -- back in Dr. Slump back in 1985; we wrote about this and other Slump pulls in our 30th anniversary magazine.

Aladdin isn't the source for any of this; all of the stuff Aladdin likewise pulls from is the common ancestral source.

I never knew about the Japanese legend and the teapot genie, that's cool.

But yeah, Toriyama must have known of the Aladdin tale, even before the Disney adaptation. And he could have made a genie character similar to Disney's Genie, or maybe made Shenron similar to Genie. It's a big "what if" here, but I think Toriyama could have achieved it.

[KBABZ]

Also worth noting that Buu is very much like a genie as well, having a VERY magical air about him, and when first summoned he materializes from smoke (which is also how he regenerates when Piccolo and Krillin attempt to destroy him after Vegeta's sacrifice). He's also able to transmogrify people, and in one scene all but grants a wish when he restores the eyesight of a blind boy.

[Polyphase Avatron]

In the original story, Aladdin actually met two genies - one of which only granted one wish, but the second could grant more than one. Shenron and Porunga, possibly? A coincidence more likely.

[KBABZ]

In the original story, Aladdin actually met two genies - one of which only granted one wish, but the second could grant more than one. Shenron and Porunga, possibly? A coincidence more likely.

Most likely! Porunga granting more than one wish to me appeared to be to help get Piccolo both alive and to Namek, something impossible with Shenron (as shown in the Saiyan arc when Goku is revived). And then the extra rule of "one person revived at a time" is to both balance that out and serve as an exciting roadbump in the story.

[MyVisionity]

Also worth noting that Buu is very much like a genie as well, having a VERY magical air about him, and when first summoned he materializes from smoke (which is also how he regenerates when Piccolo and Krillin attempt to destroy him after Vegeta's sacrifice). He's also able to transmogrify people, and in one scene all but grants a wish when he restores the eyesight of a blind boy.

I think with Boo though he's actually supposed to be an outright Genie, like it wasn't just Toriyama alluding to it. It's not told in the popular Arabian Nights/Aladdin fashion, but still.

[KBABZ]

Also worth noting that Buu is very much like a genie as well, having a VERY magical air about him, and when first summoned he materializes from smoke (which is also how he regenerates when Piccolo and Krillin attempt to destroy him after Vegeta's sacrifice). He's also able to transmogrify people, and in one scene all but grants a wish when he restores the eyesight of a blind boy.

I think with Boo though he's actually supposed to be an outright Genie, like it wasn't just Toriyama alluding to it. It's not told in the popular Arabian Nights/Aladdin fashion, but still.

I think it's still somewhat vague, and I recall a thread a while back where multiple users, including a long-time one, made the realization. I like it because it explains a lot behind certain aspects of the character (it even explains Uub's exact character design to a certain extent).