South City: Difference between revisions
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* [[Daizenshuu 7]], released in 1996, adds further confusion. It re-iterates the description and map provided in Daizenshuu 4<ref>TODO: Locate Daizenshuu7 reference</ref>, but also adds a contradictory explanation that South City is the capital city of Papaya Island, thus putting them together as a single location.<ref>TODO: Location second Daizenshuu 7 reference</ref> The two explanations in Daizenshuu 7 cannot be reconciled together. | * [[Daizenshuu 7]], released in 1996, adds further confusion. It re-iterates the description and map provided in Daizenshuu 4<ref>TODO: Locate Daizenshuu7 reference</ref>, but also adds a contradictory explanation that South City is the capital city of Papaya Island, thus putting them together as a single location.<ref>TODO: Location second Daizenshuu 7 reference</ref> The two explanations in Daizenshuu 7 cannot be reconciled together. | ||
There is no flawless explanation for the disparity. The cleanest approach may be to follow Daizenshuu 4 and accept South City and Papaya Island as two distinct places, but discard the remainder of the explanation. In this case, the Tournament must have locations after being destroyed by [[Great Ape]] Son Goku. | There is no flawless explanation for the disparity. The cleanest approach may be to follow Daizenshuu 4 and accept South City and Papaya Island as two distinct places, but discard the remainder of the explanation. In this case, the Tournament must have changed locations after being destroyed by [[Great Ape]] Son Goku. | ||
==Name== | ==Name== | ||
Revision as of 01:17, 3 November 2019
| South City | |
|---|---|
| 南の都 (Minami no miyako) | |
|
Manga  Anime  | |
| English Name(s) |
Metro South (Funimation) Southern Metropolis (Viz) |
| Manga Debut | Dragon Ball Chapter 32 (Disputed) |
| Anime Debut | Dragon Ball Episode 19 (Disputed) |
| Appears in | Manga & Anime (Disputed) |
| Locational Data | |
| Area | C-2 |
| Planet | Earth |
South City is a major metropolis in the world of Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama located in the far southern part of the Earth, in Area C-2. The city was initially visited in Dragon Ball Chapter 32, but subsequent chapters appear to contradict the initial depiction. These contradictions extend into the supplementary material with Daizenshuu 7 including two mutually exclusive explanations for the location. This ambiguity is exacerbated in English as the Viz translation of the manga offers a third location for the city. What is universally agreed is that South City is located nine kilometers northeast of Amembo Island as well as near (or possibly on) Papaya Island.
Continuity & General Overview
It seems that the fourth volume is a DragonBall "world guide". I think that the staff all worked very hard, particularly on the building's geometry, the maps, and whatnot. On top of just drawing things in a hit-or-miss fashion, there are many things that not even I had precisely determined. Were they not a bit fed up with how things didn't come together consistently? I'm very sorry.
-- Akira Toriyama, in the introduction to Daizenshuu 4
Initial Depiction
South City was first introduced in the Dragon Ball manga in Chapter 32, when the Turtle Hermit informs Son Goku and Kuririn that they will travel there for the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament. The trio, plus Lunch, are depicted driving to the airport, flying to South City, and taking a taxi directly to the Tournament grounds.[1] It is implied that they have traveled to South City as indicated in dialog, but it is possible that they only stopped over in South City en route to their final destination. Wherever they go, the group remains there until Chapter 54 when Son Goku leaves on his second dragon ball hunt.[2]
When this sequence was adapted for the anime, the connection to South City is strengthened: the city is mentioned earlier and more frequently in dialog (beginning in Episode 17) and more emphasis is placed on the size of the city and Goku's awe at being there.[3][4] Bulma explicitly names the location as "South City" in Dragon Ball Episode 29.[5] Together, these references place the tournament and adjacent adventures within the city. In this depiction, the city appears to be located on a large landmass and adjacent to a sizable desert.[6]
22nd & 23rd World Tournament
Three years later, when the characters are traveling to the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, they are explicitly going to Papaya Island rather than South City. The aircraft announcement says that "this time" the tournament is being held on Papaya Island, allowing for the possibility that it was previously somewhere else.[7] Despite this, the tournament complex looks nearly identical to what was depicted in the prior chapters. No further references are made to "South City" in the manga until the Cell arc. The manga does not name the location of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, but the anime continues calling the location "Papaya Island".[8]
Dragon Ball Z Movie 2
In Dragon Ball Z Movie 2, Dr. Kochin and Dr. Uiro destroy a wooded area near South City, transforming it overnight into a desert. South City itself is not depicted in the film.[9]
Artificial Humans Arc
South City is not mentioned again until the arrival of Future Trunks. He warns Son Goku that Artificial Humans will arrive on an island nine kilometers southwest of South City.[10] Although unnamed in the manga, this smaller island is named Amembo Island in the Dragon Ball Z anime. Unlike the Dragon Ball-era depiction of South City as being Indonesian-inspired, Amembo's architecture and design more closely resembles that of the other "modern" cities in the series such as Bulma's West City. The Viz translation of Dragon Ball Chapter 338 implies that the urban area on Amembo Island is called "South City"; this description is not in the original Japanese text.[11]
Although not made explicit in the manga, Daizenshuu 4 places the location of Vegeta's battle with Artificial Human 19 as just outside of South City.[note 1]
Guide Books
The discontinuity of the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament taking place at "South City" while the 22nd and later taking place on Papaya Island inspired the authors of the guidebooks to "solve" this problem:
- Daizenshuu 4, released in 1995, describes South City and Papaya Island as separate locations. South City is placed in quadrant C-2, at the southern tip of a small continent and surrounded by deserts. Papaya Island is a smaller location to the east in quadrant C-3.[12] The depiction of South City on a small continent and adjacent to a desert aligns with the view in Dragon Ball Episode 29. However, the Daizenshuu then ruins this by stating that South City was never depicted in the manga (mentioned in dialog only[note 2]) and that all of the tournaments were located on Papaya Island.
- Daizenshuu 7, released in 1996, adds further confusion. It re-iterates the description and map provided in Daizenshuu 4[13], but also adds a contradictory explanation that South City is the capital city of Papaya Island, thus putting them together as a single location.[14] The two explanations in Daizenshuu 7 cannot be reconciled together.
There is no flawless explanation for the disparity. The cleanest approach may be to follow Daizenshuu 4 and accept South City and Papaya Island as two distinct places, but discard the remainder of the explanation. In this case, the Tournament must have changed locations after being destroyed by Great Ape Son Goku.
Name
South City is one of the four cardinal-direction cities mention in the manga, including West City (Capsule Corp Headquarters), East City (destroyed by Nappa), and North City (near Doctor Gero's lab). In Japanese, 南の都 (Minami no miyako) does not need to be read as a proper noun and could also be translated as "southern city".
Notes
- ↑ Son Goku was attempting to force the Artificial Humans away from inhabited areas; it would be ironic but not necessarily incorrect if he mistakenly brought them near a much larger city in the region.
- ↑ Daizenshuu 4 specifically states that it was only mentioned in dialog once, however that is also untrue: it was mentioned in chapters 32, 335, and others.
External Links
TBD
References
- ↑ Toriyama, Akira. Dragon Ball Chapter 32: "The Tenka'ichi Budōkai Begins!!". Weekly Shōnen Jump, 1985 #32. Japan: Shueisha, 09 July 1985.
- ↑ Toriyama, Akira. Dragon Ball Chapter 54: "Another Adventure!!". Weekly Shōnen Jump, 1986 #03/04. Japan: Shueisha, 10 December 1985.
- ↑ "With Life at Stake! Milk Delivery". Dragon Ball. Episode 17. Japan: Fuji TV, 18 June 1986.
- ↑ "The Tenka'ichi Budōkai Begins!". Dragon Ball. Episode 19. Japan: Fuji TV, 02 July 1986.
- ↑ "Another Adventure – The Roaming Lake". Dragon Ball. Episode 29. Japan: Fuji TV, 10 September 1986.
- ↑ "Another Adventure – The Roaming Lake". Dragon Ball. Episode 29. Japan: Fuji TV, 10 September 1986.
- ↑ Toriyama, Akira. Dragon Ball Chapter 113: "The Twenty-Second Tenka'ichi Budōkai". Weekly Shōnen Jump, 1987 #13. Japan: Shueisha, 24 February 1987.
- ↑ "The Eight Chosen People". Dragon Ball. Episode 135. Japan: Fuji TV, 23 November 1988.
- ↑ Dragon Ball: The Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle. Japan: 1987 Toei Cartoon Festival. 18 July 1987.
- ↑ Toriyama, Akira. Dragon Ball Chapter 335: "A Message of Terror". Weekly Shōnen Jump, 1991 #34. Japan: Shueisha, 30 July 1991.
- ↑ TODO: Cite Viz chapter 338
- ↑ TODO: Fix D4 reference
- ↑ TODO: Locate Daizenshuu7 reference
- ↑ TODO: Location second Daizenshuu 7 reference