Episode #0407 (19 June 2016)

[VegettoEX]

Episode #0407 (download MP3) (rss feed) (subscribe in iTunes) (YouTube version) (SoundCloud version)
40:58; 96 kbps, mono; 28.3 MB

Episode #0407! Mike and Meri discuss the "change" of Trunks' hair color from lavender to blue for the "Dragon Ball Super" TV series. What has Akira Toriyama said about these kinds of changes in the past, and what circumstances might have led to this situation? Is this lack of consistency even a worthwhile conversation to have, or is it yet another overblown production nugget?

SEGMENTS:
00:13 - Introduction (what's on deck, etc.)
02:47 - News (Xenoverse 2, Digest Edition, new character "Zamazu", new "Dragon Ball Super" ending theme, etc.)
11:56 - Topic (Trunks' blue hair color change in "Dragon Ball Super")
34:35 - Bonus post-credits discussion

REFERENCED SITES:

• NEWS: "Dragon Ball XENOVERSE 2" E3 2016 Initial Information
• NEWS: Dragon Ball "Digest Edition: Legend 5" Cover Artwork + Upcoming Preorders
• NEWS: New Character "Zamasu" Teased For "Dragon Ball Super"
• NEWS: Fifth "Dragon Ball Super" Ending Theme Song Announced>
• TRANSLATION ARCHIVE: V-Jump May 2013 Issue, Akira Toriyama Special Interview
• TRANSLATION ARCHIVE: Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods Official Movie Guide, Akira Toriyama Special Interview
• TRANSLATION ARCHIVE: Dragon Ball Full Color Comics, Freeza Arc Vol. 4, Akira Toriyama Q&A
• NEWS ARCHIVE: "Future Trunks Arc" Announced For "Dragon Ball Super"

Trunks Trunks Trunks. Trunks? Trunks Trunks. Trunks TRUNKS Trunks Trunks. Trunks Trunks? Trunks!

[KameRule]

Maybe it'll be left in as a kind of deliberate elephant-in-the-room thing, only to be addressed by a gag character like Pilaf or maybe even Kuririn as a joke. I mean, at this point, explaining it with a gag as "fuck you his hair's blue now" is the only way that they could possibly address it. Though, judging by this new arc's darker atmosphere I doubt that would happen.

[ryou766]

Meri mentioning that Bulma's recent dialogue regarding Trunks' blue hair ruined her TempleOTrunks tagline.

[SaiyaSith]

#MoreMeriPlease

[Ajay]

That ending. Jesus Christ.

No. More. Singing.

(Adding to the "More Meri" comments. It's refreshing to listen to her raw excitement after reading weeks of bitching from other fans.)

[VegettoEX]

It's my podcast and I'll sing if I want. Just for that, I'm commissioning Kirbopher to do an all-BGM a cappella album with me, something everyone's most certainly been clamoring for.

[Ajay]

Oh god, what have I done?!

I take it back.

I'm sorr-- Noooooo^{ooooooooooooo!}

[Anime Kitten]

That was a nice podcast. First one I've listened to, keep up the good work, Mr. LaBrie! Coulda done without the language though...

[SaiyaSith]

Coulda done without the language though...

The fuck are you talking about?

[nato25]

Great podcast as always guys, hang out for it each week good to see the weekly schedule back up. Luckily I jumped on late so I have a wealth of podcast backlog to listen to.

I'm going to say my peace here about the blue hair debate.

I was kind of with Meri on this, until Bulma's line of dialogue about Trunks hair I was mostly OK with the change, it was purely cosmetic and yes, I'd much prefer it to be grey/violet/purple/lavender whatever but it was fine. But now with that line it's like we are meant to believe Bulma has always known Trunks to have blue hair, which means what the fuck was she seeing every time she saw Trunks in the past? The line of dialogue causes continuity issues any way you look at. And why did they pick such a controversial line anyway? Why when she couldn't see Trunks did she have to mention his hair, it makes the situation even worse.

I really wish DBZ's continuity came together better but I'm OK with how it is. It's such a huge interesting world filled with great characters, back stories and lore if it all worked consistently together it would be absolutely amazing, even more so then what it is now. This line of dialogue is probably the worst offender trying to drag all that down.

Does it ruin Dragon Ball for me? No. Does it ruin Super? No, I'm really enjoying this arc and have enjoyed nearly all the episodes to varying degrees for the most part. But to me this cheapens the story and makes a mockery of established continuity. If you want to make a style change then fine. I would have liked an explanation but not having one is OK. But then when that starts to create problematic dialogue I think that's an issue and I don't understand why the people in charge of this decision let the story come into disrepute for a simple style change when the issue could have been avoided by so many ways, ie leaving his hair as it was, giving a small explanation or just no one referencing it at all.

[sailorspazz]

Dragon Ball: the series that somehow incites endless hair discussions

Pretty sure I've said at some point that I think he looks great with the new hair, so I really don't care. Consistency is nice to have, but given Toriyama's repeated comments about getting the important stuff right, a change of hair color isn't a big deal. And Bulma's line in episode 48, while slightly irritating, I don't think was done with the intention of being a forced retcon like I've seen some fans accusing it of being. Probably just had Bulma giving the easiest description she could go with, and since they made his hair blue, they had her say that (though they could've avoided making her describe it if they'd had her go check out the time machine herself...) Also slightly curious about why she said "blue" in English instead of Japanese...

And that ending sequence left me highly curious about the diss Meri made that was so brutal it was censored out

[JulieYBM]

I hope the ending animation is good. The song sounds so crazy based off of the preview I would hate for the animation to be the usual tired Yamamuro nonsense.

I have no problem with the hair. It does no use look at the series within-universe, Toriyama has no interest in that sort of thing. Why care if the author doesn't? Creating art is all about expressing oneself. This is what Toriyama wants to express.

I love how Tomioka Atsuhiro's script just ignores the topic by having Blooma comment on the hair.

[Soppa Saia People]

Coulda done without the language though...

The fuck are you talking about?

Maybe it was the sheer bluntness of it, but I laughed so hard at that.

[Bansho64]

Movie 9 probably had some of the best music Kikuchi's ever done. Especially that Gohan piece. I was definitely on the same page with you guys on that part where Bojack pushes Zangya There was absolutely no point in him doing that. I freaking died when I first saw that.

[Anime Kitten]

I know this isn't relevant to this podcast, but how come Episode #0408 isn't up yet? It's been over a week. Sorry for going off-topic here.

[Nejishiki]

The podcasts don't tend to have a schedule if you notice the dates on the other recordings.

[VegettoEX]

After more than ten years, we don't necessarily stick to an EXACTLY weekly schedule for the podcast.

[Anime Kitten]

Okay, thanks! This was the first one I listened to, so I had no idea.

[AlexFili]

Another great one, Mike & Meri. I would have preferred the purple hair but I guess as a change I can probably just go with it, for the sake of the show. I like the whole apocalyptic feel of the Future Trunks timeline and I hope they do a good job at explaining who 'Black' is. I didn't expect Goku to be attacked like that! Wonder what will happen next...

[linkdude20002001]

Until I listened to this episode, I was unaware that people were freaking out over Future Trunks having blue hair. How is that really any different from the violet-blue he and Bulma had in the comic? It doesn't look quite as good as violet-blue, but it's still WAY better than that horrendous lavender they gave him in DBZ, or that nasty green they gave Bulma (yes, I know it's based on Chapter One coloring). The only thing coloring-wise that bothered me about the new movies and DBS is that Little Trunks has lavender hair. If Toriyama says to make it blue, they really oughta do it. People wouldn't be freaking out nearly as much if Little Trunks and Future Trunks had the same hair color.