Derek Padula's Blog, page 8

Halloween Dragon Ball Book Giveaway Winner!

Did YOU win my Halloween Dragon Ball Book Giveaway? Read to find out!

Video Transcript

Hey, this is Derek Padula, the Dragon Ball Scholar, in this video, I’m going to reveal the prize winner of my Halloween Dragon Ball book giveaway.

And I have no idea who won. It’s all determined by random chance. So let’s dive in to the giveaway software and then we’ll go through it together and I’ll find out at the same time as you.

OK, so here we are in my giveaway software. And as you can see, this is th...

Akira Toriyama Comments on Dragon Quest Composer Koichi Sugiyama’s Death

Akira Toriyama has commented on the death of his lifelong colleague Koichi Sugiyama, the composer of the Dragon Quest video game series.

According to the official Dragon Quest news site in Japan, hosted by Dragon Quest video game publisher Square-Enix, longtime Dragon Quest series composer Koichi Sugiyama has passed away at the age of 90 from septic shock.

Koichi Sugiyama started composing for the series with its first game, Dragon Quest (May 27, 1986).

He has composed over 500 songs for the ...

“Goku is a ______ as a father,” says Akira Toriyama!!

Is Gokū a good or bad father? Akira Toriyama has the answer! Read a long-lost translation of Toriyama’s thoughts on Gokū’s parenting skills, and on Gohan and Piccolo’s fatherly relationship.

Dragon Ball fans have been debating this question for decades.

You probably have an opinion about it, or have argued about it with other fans.

Given that Father’s Day is here, I thought now was a perfect time to focus on this debate.

Gokū as a Father

Ever since Gokū’s first son, Son Gohan, was born at the ...

Dragon Ball New Age Returns!!

Dragon Ball New Age returns to my site on June 2, 2021!

Malik is back with new Dragon Ball manga and exciting action. Will Goku and Vegeta be able to defeat Rigor, or will this ultimate Saiyan warrior’s vengeance prove too strong?

Find out on Wednesday, June 2 when the new pages premiere on the manga section of my site.

There will be 2 new pages every Wednesday.

This will allow Malik to provide a consistent release of new content.

Want to support the project? Follow Malik on Twitter, and sup...

Daphne Gere Interview – Maron’s Voice is Inspired by a Cat?!

Read my interview with Daphne Gere, the voice of Maron in FUNimation’s Dragon Ball Z, and the vocalist of Dragon Ball’s ending theme, I’ll Give you Romance!

I reached out to Daphne Gere while writing about the English localization of Dragon Ball’s music for one of my upcoming books. I wanted to tell the story of this music’s creation. To do that, I needed to speak with the vocalists.

Daphne Gere is a somewhat elusive singer and voice actress when it comes to an Internet presence, and I had a di...

Vinyl Record Re-Releases of Dragon Ball Albums Coming

Vinyl record re-releases of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z’s opening and ending themes is coming in celebration of the anime’s 35th Anniversary.

Japanese music company Nippon Columbia is re-publishing three Dragon Ball anime vinyl records on July 28, 2021.

The first record is a 7-inch vinyl titled after Dragon Ball’s OP theme, Makafushigi Adobencha! It features the titular opening song by vocalist Hiroki Takahashi, and the ED theme, I’ll Give You Romance! by vocalist Ushio Hashimoto. One song o...

Dragon Ball Z Composer Shunsuke Kikuchi has Died

Dragon Ball Z, Dr. Slump, and Kamen Rider composer Shunsuke Kikuchi has died at age 89 of aspiration pneumonia.

Japanese music news site Oricon reported that Shunsuke Kikuchi died on April 24, 2021 at a medical facility in Tokyo. This was revealed by The Japanese Society for Rights of Authors of Music (JASRAC), an organization in Japan focused on managing musician’s copyrights.

According to an NHK report in 2017, Shunsuke Kikuchi had been “absent from composing because he was being treated for ...

Akira Toriyama’s Bali Island Tour 3

Join Akira Toriyama as he continues his adventures in Bali, in Part 3 of my Akira Toriyama Bali Island Tour Exposé.

You will see the connections between Toriyama’s real-life adventure to Bali, and how Bali’s cultural elements found their way into the Dragon Ball manga, including real-life people.

Read Part 1 of Toriyama’s Bali Island Tour, and then Part 2, to get up to speed.

In Part 3, Toriyama gives us 6 more pictures from his vacation in Bali in June of 1985.

They are published on Page 4 of...

Akira Toriyama’s Bali Island Tour 2

Join Akira Toriyama as he continues his adventures in Bali with big-breasted girls, in Part 2 of my Akira Toriyama Bali Tour Exposé.

We’ll continue where we left off in Bird Land Press 19, the exclusive and ultra-rare Japanese magazine dedicated to Akira Toriyama’s life and work.

Here we’ll see Toriyama give us a slice-of-life peek into how he likes to relax while on vacation.

Bali Island Tour

Read Part 1 of Toriyama’s Bali Tour to get up to speed.

In Part 2, Toriyama gives us 6 more pictures ...

Akira Toriyama’s Bali Island Tour

Akira Toriyama took a trip to Bali in June, 1985. See Akira Toriyama’s pictures of Bali from Bird Land Press 19, and learn how Bali inspired Dragon Ball.

As Akira Toriyama says in Daizenshū 4:

“Papaiya Island, where the Tenkaichi Budōkai is held, is completely modeled after Bali.”

After Toriyama returned from Bali to Japan, a collection of images from his trip were then published in Bird Land Press issue 19, dated July, 1985.

Bird Land Press is a series of booklets published by the Akira Toriy...