MistareFusion's Dragon Ball Dissection! (Updated 4/21/25!)

[Gaffer Tape]

The Forgotten Crossover - Dragon Ball Dissection: Dr. Slump (1997)

We begin our look at Dragon Ball's dead era of the late '90s and early 2000s. That journey brings us to an unexpected place and an unexpected hidden gem. This time period saw a revival of Dr. Slump, and the inhabitants of Penguin Village are more than happy to give Goku a place to stay (and a story arc) while he's between series. What could have been a retreaded bit of fluff ends up going in amazing new directions that force us to reflect on the nature of crossovers! I hope you like it!

[Gaffer Tape]

Freeza's Secret Son? - Dragon Ball Dissection: Neko Majin

Dragon Ball Dissection returns to the late '90s and early 2000s, Japan's dead era of Dragon Ball. Perhaps it's not as dead as people thought, because while there wasn't a running Dragon Ball series, it did see Neko Majin, an irreverent Toriyama comedy that constantly wants to remind you that Dragon Ball exists. From Vegeta and Goku cameos to secret sons to Oob in training, is this the canon sequel to Dragon Ball that we otherwise never got?

This definitely takes me back. Unlike most of what I've covered, this is something I remember happening when I was in the fandom! I hope you like it!

[Vegeta th3 4th]

I'm surprised this has not been animated yet considering it's the only Toriyama project to take part after End of Z (despite not making the most sense). With Sand Land getting animated, hopefully this will be next. I'm very much looking forward to your thoughts on the modern material, so it's great to finally move there starting with the 2008 OVA.

[Gaffer Tape]

I'm surprised this has not been animated yet considering it's the only Toriyama project to take part after End of Z (despite not making the most sense). With Sand Land getting animated, hopefully this will be next. I'm very much looking forward to your thoughts on the modern material, so it's great to finally move there starting with the 2008 OVA.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to the JSAT too. That's probably the first Dragon Ball thing I was there for to see when it was brand-new, and it was quite exciting. I remember watching it online over and over again when Toei was hosting it for a limited time. A new piece of media hosted online? That had never happened before!

[dragonballhero]

Dragon Ball Dissection is back for 2025, baby!

Toriyama's Dragon Ball Prototypes - Dragon Ball Dissection: Dragon Boy and The Adventure of Tongpoo

Dragon Ball Dissection continues forward by going all the way back to the beginning. Before the beginning! When Toriyama began brainstorming a new martial arts series, he drew two stories, Dragon Boy and The Adventure of Tongpoo. From characters to plot points to jokes, these one-shots should feel eerily familiar to anyone who is experienced with Dragon Ball. Today we dive into those stories and explore where Dragon Ball came from. Hope you enjoy it!

I finally got around to watching this dissection yesterday, and I have to admit that it's legit fascinating to see how proto-DB was formed. I hope I don't sound odd for saying this, but Tantong and Tongpoo actually look kind of... adorable, honestly.

What's more, Toriyama using such designs twice over (in addition to Goku himself being set to use that design) make me wonder... given how Dr. Slump was going to be more of a parody of Astro Boy by having the android character be a boy instead of a girl, do you think the 2 proto-Gokus were meant to be what Toriyama's male android character was going to look like for that series?

By the way, do you think the Princess (from Dragon Boy) and Plamo (from Tongpoo) also served as respective proto-designs for Chi-Chi and Bulma's big sister Tights?

Well, in the case of the latter... maybe it's moreso that Toriyama remembered Plamo during Jaco's development and decided to reuse her general design for Tights.

The Forgotten Crossover - Dragon Ball Dissection: Dr. Slump (1997)

We begin our look at Dragon Ball's dead era of the late '90s and early 2000s. That journey brings us to an unexpected place and an unexpected hidden gem. This time period saw a revival of Dr. Slump, and the inhabitants of Penguin Village are more than happy to give Goku a place to stay (and a story arc) while he's between series. What could have been a retreaded bit of fluff ends up going in amazing new directions that force us to reflect on the nature of crossovers! I hope you like it!

Personally, I'm happy that you decided to take a little 'detour' and cover this! Dr. Slump '97 is already such an obscure piece of Toriyama-related media that any love it gets is a plus in my book. Given how even the Japanese fanbase doesn't seem to care all too much for this show, I always looked this situation in this lens: 'If Dr. Slump '81 is Disney's DuckTales '87, then Dr. Slump '97 is Disney's Quack Pack.'. Both shows are a product of their time, but clearly, one managed to develop a longer-lasting legacy compared to the other.

Really, this whole crossover makes me wish that Dr. Slump wasn't written off by so many people in English-speaking territories just because it was a gag series. Dr. Slump ALWAYS helps remind me that Toriyama was a gag writer at heart and, BOY, did that series hammer that point in whenever it could. I mean, I'm STILL floored by the sight of Goku attending ACTUAL school of all things.

Anyways, I have to admit that this crossover in particular reminds me that, even though DB itself had come to an end in mid '95 (the manga)/late '97 (the anime), it's not as though Goku and the gang TOTALLY went away. In a way, I sort of like that feeling of the DB gang being like Japanese idols who (by all accounts) retire, and simply make the occasional guest appearance in future stuff.

Which actually leads into my thoughts regarding the next DB thing you cover...

Freeza's Secret Son? - Dragon Ball Dissection: Neko Majin

Dragon Ball Dissection returns to the late '90s and early 2000s, Japan's dead era of Dragon Ball. Perhaps it's not as dead as people thought, because while there wasn't a running Dragon Ball series, it did see Neko Majin, an irreverent Toriyama comedy that constantly wants to remind you that Dragon Ball exists. From Vegeta and Goku cameos to secret sons to Oob in training, is this the canon sequel to Dragon Ball that we otherwise never got?

This definitely takes me back. Unlike most of what I've covered, this is something I remember happening when I was in the fandom! I hope you like it!

While I brought up the whole Japanese idols making guest appearances following their retirement bit, I'd say your Fonzie reference is definitely WAY more fitting for Uub and the Son family's cameo in Neko Majin's final chapter. Embarrassingly enough, I'm actually someone who brings up "that panel" to explain that Goku didn't 'abandon his loved ones and returned as he promised.

Anyways, Neko Majin is probably my favorite of Toriyama's non-DB works or at the very least, in the top 5. I adore the 'What if Bugs Bunny was dropped into Dragon Ball?' vibe the series had going on and I have to admit that seeing the DB cast (and DB-adjacent cast) get involved in situations that DIDN'T involve high-stakes battles was SUCH a refreshing sight to me, ESPECIALLY after following Super for all of this time.

Ngl, there was a part of me that legit wondered if you were going to throw a REALLY quick '2005 DB Fashion Extravaganza' on us, but I guess not.
If anything, I was curious to hear your thought on Uub wearing a Kame-dogi, Pan looking totally different than what we get from her in GT (and by extension, looking more like a taller version of the version of her we see at the end of the OG manga) and Goten's leather jacket casual fit (which, BTW is my favorite older Goten design ever and I really hope modern DB uses it someday).

Frankly, with how forgetful Toriyama could be? There's a part of me that was (and still kind of is) surprised to see that he seemed to remember what Pan and Goten looked like near the end of the OG manga to NOT use their GT designs for their Neko Majin cameos (especially in Pan's case).

That aside, I have a confession to make... despite everything I've said about Dr. Slump earlier, I think it's more accurate to say that Neko Majin is where I TRULY began to find new appreciation for Toriyama as a gag mangaka, not to say that I ever disliked his gag stuff prior to that point, of course. In fact, this newfound appreciation is something I've been thinking about recently ever since learning about how Toriyama truly WAS forced to continue DB into the Majin Buu arc, and the reason for that arc's tone shift after Cell.

Between that and Daima, it makes me remember that I just don't think we're ever going to get a comedian like Toriyama to work on DB ever again, so I make sure to appreciate what the man himself was able to give us while he was still around.


Well, with all of that said... I can't wait to see you cover DB's 2008 OVA! If anything, that AND Neko Majin were THE pieces of 'dead-era DB' content that I've really been waiting to hear your thoughts on. This might sound a bit odd, but I'm curious as to what were your thoughts on CHA-LA HEAD CHA-LA getting used as the OP theme AND the fact that the Majin Buu arc (sort of) has its own version of the song now.