Part of the fun of revisiting these classic series lies in me getting a better sense of the context they were created in. A lot of times, you’ll feel like a certain show is old, and it’s simply because you grew up with it. You’ll watch another series that came out around the same time, or even before, and it’ll seem newer, only because you discovered it just recently.
I was musing about that for a couple reasons whilst watching these two episodes. First, Master Roshi’s hilariously-conspicuous double identity is obviously supposed to be a goof on Jackie Chan. I never pictured DRAGON BALL as coming out after his rise to stardom, and that’s only because of my perspective. Obviously, he made tons of flicks before RUMBLE IN THE BRONX caused such a fuss in America…
== TEASER ==
The other detail that struck me is the inclusion of this ‘grim martial artist’ in this tournament. Roshi even breaks the fourth wall some to point out that such a serious character - - who’s fighting for nothing less than the survival of his starving village - - looks rather out-of-place in a ‘gag anime.’
Considering how this arc is more-or-less about these two little knuckleheads intruding on the tropes of a martial arts melodrama, I have to wonder if this guy's a riff on somebody else. I remember reading a list that extensively detailed how pretty much every CAPCOM character was an homage to some other character from manga or film; and I can’t help but wonder if Toriyama’s referencing whatever Indian martial artist inspired Dhalism.
Considering how Ryu’s iconic Hadoken was rather clearly taken from Goku’s Kamehamaha, it seems fairly likely. Would any of you lunatics hazard a guess here?
Watch "Quarterfinals Begin" and decide for yourself.
from Anime Vice Site Mashup http://ift.tt/1FCdmqV
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