Basil Airport
| Basil Airport | |
|---|---|
| バジル空港 (Bajiru kūkō) | |
 | |
| English Name(s) | Basil Airport |
| Anime Debut | Dragon Ball Z Episode 146 |
| Appears in | Anime-only |
| Locational Data | |
| Planet | Earth |
| Location | Basil Town[note 1] |
Basil Airport is a fictional location in the world of Dragon Ball, located somewhere between Ginger Town and Kame House. According to Daizenshuu 7, the airport is located in Basil Town.[1] Imperfect Cell attacked the airport while powering up to fight the other artificial humans but was pushed back by Kuririn, Piccolo, and Tenshinhan.
General Overview
Basil Airport's location is unknown, except that Kuririn passed it while taking a "short cut" from Ginger Town to Kame House, and that Cell reached it after leaving Nicky Town.[2] It appears to be a general aviation airport, rather than one serving commercial flights, with at least fifteen numbered airplane hangars in the facility. The only airplanes seen on the tarmac are cargo planes. During Age 767, the airport was attacked by Cell as he sought power to confront the other Artificial Humans, killing guards and presumably other patrons. Kuririn arrives and successfully holds him off for some time until Piccolo and Tenshinhan join and force him to flee. The patrons were likely revived by the dragon balls later in the year.[3]
Name
Basil Airport name is based on the herb, "basil". It joins a group of herb name puns for towns attacked by Cell including Ginger Town and Nicky Town, a pun based off of the Japanese word for cinnamon.
Production
Due to the production schedule inherent in producing a weekly anime series based on a weekly comic, the writers of Dragon Ball Z interjected anime-only material both as a means of extending the runtime and to flesh out the Dragon Ball universe. Basil Airport and related locations were created to elaborate on Cell's escape from Piccolo in Dragon Ball Chapter 364.
One of the airplanes on the tarmac in establishing shots is a cargo plane labeled "Air Fix". In real life, Airfix is a popular brand of model kits, especially kits for airplanes. The plane shown appears to be a Junkers Ju 52, a German transport plane used in World War II. The original animators may have used an Airfix model of this plane while developing this sequence. Kuririn and a pair of young siblings that he rescues also flies off in a similar aircraft later in the episode. That later plane is yellow and only says "AIR" on the side, however this may be an animation error.
During the development of the episode, animators created a rough sketch and floor-plan of the airport. This was subsequently included in Daizenshuu 7.[4]
Notes
- ↑ The name of Basil Airport's town is only given in Daizenshuu 7; no licensed English-language source includes the name for the town.
External Links
TBD
References
- ↑ "Earth Section". Dragon Ball Daizenshuu 7: Dragon Ball Large Encyclopedia. Japan: Shueisha, 05 February 1996. ISBN 4-08-782757-7. (p. 256)
- ↑ "Goku Awakens to Battle! Go Beyond the Super Saiyan!!". Dragon Ball Z. Episode 146. Japan: Fuji TV, 01 July 1992.
- ↑ "I Will Carry On in the Afterlife!! Farewell with a Smile". Dragon Ball Z. Episode 192. Japan: Fuji TV, 07 July 1993.
- ↑ "Earth Section". Dragon Ball Daizenshuu 7: Dragon Ball Large Encyclopedia. Japan: Shueisha, 05 February 1996. ISBN 4-08-782757-7. (p. 256)